FELICITATIONS TO Dr. SHIV NADAR ON HIS CONFERMENT OF 'PADMA BHUSHAN'

ON 5th SEPTEMBER 2008

Function Venue
 

A felicitation ceremony was held in the college auditorium on 5 September 2008 to celebrate the monumental achievement of the Padma Bhushan awardee Dr. Shiv Nadar. This great occasion was as grand as the award winner, the Chairman of the HCL group and the founder of SSN Institutions
   


Besides the host-cum-guest Dr. Shiv Nadar, there was on the dais, a galaxy of dignitaries including Ms. Kala Vijayakumar, the President of SSN Institutions; Dr. S. Salivahanan, the Principal; Mr. N. Ranjit, Chairman, Strategic Planning and Policies; Mr. P. Sivakumar, Chairman, Governing Council; Research Advisory Council Members: Dr. Raj Reddy, Dr. V.S. Arunachalam, Dr. R. Natarajan, Dr. N. Balakrishnan
 
   
 

The function commenced at 4 p.m. with the invocation to the Almighty. The Principal, Dr. S. Salivahanan welcomed Dr Nadar describing him in the words of William Shakespeare:

“His life was gentle and the elements so mixed in him

That nature might stand up and say to the world: This was a man.”

The Principal enthralled the audience and won a round of applause as he ended his speech with a poetic rendering in Tamil.

 
   

This was followed by a felicitation by Ms. Kala Vijaykumar who is also the niece of Dr Shiv Nadar. Words flowed out of her heart as she shared her childhood memories.

  

This prestigious gathering had a unique personal touch to it as Ms. Kala Vijayakumar invited Dr. Nadar’s brother and sisters to the podium to facilitate Dr.Nadar.

  

Felicitation by his elder brother. His elder sister had prepared a wonderful chart of several photographs of Dr. Nadar at different points of time in his life. The chart also had a letter written by him to her during his college days which she still preserved all these years as a mark of her love for him.

  
     

Felicitations followed in appreciation of Dr. Nadar by the Governing Council Members

  

  

Felicitations followed in appreciation of Dr. Nadar by the RAC members

 

 

 

A plaque highlighting the achievements of Dr. Nadar was read out by the Dean, Dr. K. Kasthuri and the citation was presented to him by Ms. Kala Vijayakumar. Mention must be of some of the words in the plaque which truly reflect the sentiments of the entire body of people at SSN institutions:

“We cannot say everything here because there is too much to say. Our tongues are mute with excitement and our lips are numb with joy at your success; so we cannot express ourselves adequately.

All we can say to you is that we admire you and love to own you as our Great Founder. Suffice it to say:

You are the triumph of SSN, the jubilation of HCL, the prodigy of Tamil Nadu, the gem of India and the pride of mankind.”

  

Enthralling moments followed as the multifaceted personality voiced his thoughts.  He reminisced about his youth and his career; he aired his views on the scholarship scheme; he boosted the confidence of students and motivated them to pursue research. Every minute and every second, he remained a man of great insight and deep perception, even as he accepted the praise and accolades showered on him with a remarkable professional and polite demeanor and admirable grace.

 

What followed was a feast to the ear and the eye in the form of a cultural performance by the students. The function was rounded off with the National Anthem at about 8 p.m.

 

After the programme the most striking thought that reverberated in the heads and hearts of the audience must have been, “Some awards bring pride and prestige to the recipient, but in some cases the awardee adds prestige to the award. And Dr.Shiv Nadar is one such person.”