Professor Sunil Kumar passed away recently. He was 64. He was a specialist in the History of the Delhi Sultanate (Medieval Delhi). He had developed health complications. He is survived by his family. The blog and its author extend their heartfelt condolences to the bereaved family.
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So, why is a heritage and off-beat travel blogger writing this piece? It is because along with this blog, which is 11 years old now, even its author has grown. From being a blogger about history I attempted to take my passion to the next level, the academic level. And today, I am a historian who is a blogger.
During my full-time blogging days, I would be in awe of the research work Professor Sunil Kumar did over Medieval Delhi. He was one of the rare historians of the Delhi Region, 'My Home'.
In this journey, I have had the privilege of learning from some big professors. He is one of them. So, once I completed my Master's in History, I attempted to do research and for that, I gave interviews at Delhi University twice.
Being the Head of the Department of History, he led the interview panels and sat right next to me. Also, apart from these two interactions, we briefly exchanged emails because I requested some help from him regarding my research proposal and he was kind enough to respond. It left me touched. My communications with him were formal and brief.
The tyranny of the academic system in India is that, a prospective researcher has got 10 minutes to prove to the panel that he or she has the historical aptitude, confidence in the topic he/she is proposing, they have read books and research papers related to that proposal and defend that proposal in front of the panel. After the 10 minutes are over it’s the time for the next candidate to come in.
In my opinion, these three things cannot be displayed by a candidate, to an interview panel, in less than 35-40 minutes unless they are highly intelligent and bordering on genius. In my opinion applications along with research proposals (and academic resumes) should be invited by Universities well in advance, and then interviews should be slated. Anyways, we live in India. The priority of the education system here is to churn out doctors, engineers, and MBAs. So we need to take that into our stride.
The academics who are sitting in the interview panel also have the harrowing task of judging a candidate's abilities in 10 minutes. I am sure they do so with the regret that they would be missing out on students who require time to express themselves and their ideas comfortably. I do not envy their job.
My two interactions with him (concerning the interviews, especially the second one) were 'intense' experiences, and my failure to clear those interviews left me with an aching heart and dealing with severe bouts of depression and self-doubt. Yet, once I overcame those debilitating emotions, through my reflections of those interactions, I 'scrutinized' every word exchanged between him and me so that I could identify and correct my flaws and also my approach to such interviews.
So, while being heartbroken because of my lack of success, I always felt that even in those moments of failure I was taught something. How can I say that? Because I failed in front of Professor Sunil Kumar!
As I mentioned earlier, he was a historian par excellence of medieval Delhi. His research work has helped people gain a better perspective about those who constructed such beautiful monuments (of the sultanate period) all around Delhi like the Qutub Minar, Alai Darwaza, Begumpuri Masjid, etc. He 'always' had my unconditional respect.
This blog 'is' run by someone who has passionately covered the monuments of the same period of history which Professor Sunil Kumar was a master of. He was my teacher by proxy. The lessons he taught me through his emails, rejections, etc, and the lessons he continues to teach me via his research papers on Sufism are invaluable.
There was a great chasm between his abilities and mine but, there were a few similarities that united us in our outlook also. We were both liberal, we both have studied at St Stephen's and, most importantly, we both 'loved' the Delhi Sultanate period.
Even in my days as a full-time blogger, while I read more of Professor Satish Chandra and Professor Irfan Habib still, I knew how significant Professor Sunil Kumar's book 'The Emergence of the Delhi Sultanate' was. The book helped me understand the Mamluk Dynasty (the constructors of the monuments in the Qutub Complex) so well.
He even wrote a research paper on the Qutub Minar namely 'Qutb and Modern Memory'. In his research paper, 'The Tyranny of Metanarratives' he talked about the areas of Delhi and the local non-Persian speaking population of Delhi which thrived in their own right and yet, were not covered much by Persian historians of that period. He also explained how medieval Delhi appeared geographically (with mountains, ravines, forests, and riverine plains), in the paper. In his research paper The Pirs Barakat and Servitors Ardour he talked about the mosque behind DLF Saket which has been built over a dargah and a 700 years old baoli (step-well). He also talked about the Dargah of Hazrat Qutbuddin Bakhtiyar Kaki in Mehrauli and the Dargah of Jalal ud din Chishti Aulia in Jahanpanah City Forest.
I will regret forever that I was never able to sit down with him, in a relaxed atmosphere and discuss Delhi's monuments (especially those in the Qutub Complex like Quwwat ul Islam Masjid, Alai Minar, etc.) with him. That would have been a conversation which would have delighted me.
It is my opinion that a historian's life begins after he retires as that is the time he is free to do his research work. It is a tragedy for Delhi that Professor Sunil Kumar left before giving such works to shape.
Appearance-wise, I observed that he was stylish, with his mobile case by his side. He was tall and had a deep voice.
Professor Sunil Kumar, please accept this traveler's humble and respectful bow. You are in my prayers, Sir.
May your Soul, Rest in Peace.
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Sandstone carvings at the base of the Alai Darwaza
