A Tribute to Dr. Dilip Sarma

After India gained independence from the British, Assam gave birth to a number of gems. Among them, there were also some gems in the subject of physics. But there was a deficiency among them in their respective fields. Some intellectuals completed their Ph.D. and were related in the field of research but lacked the ability to write textbooks and teach students properly. Some intellectuals possess the ability to write good textbooks and guide their students excellently but haven’t applied for a Ph.D. in physics and are not related to research. Even some intellectuals lacked the ability to administer their respective physics departments. At that time, Assam gave birth to a great all-rounder in the field of physics, whose name was Dr. Kamalendu Deba Krori. He was an excellent teacher and a strong administrator. He even completed his Ph.D. and was a great research guide. His position in the physics world of lower Assam was like that of Sir Don Bradman in the cricket world, along with that of the world’s greatest umpire, Dickie Bird. After Dr. K.D. Krori’s retirement as Cotton College’s principal, there emerged another great all-rounder who was none other than my father, the late Dr. Dilip Sarma, with all the qualities similar to those of Dr. K.D. Krori. In the Cotton Collegiate School Entrance Exam, my father stood first in the entire lower Assam and got a scholarship of Rs. 5, which was similar to today’s Rs. 5,000. The relationship between Dr. K.D. Krori and my father was like that of Dronacharya and Arjuna in the Mahabharata. My father joined Cotton College as a lecturer of physics and completed his Ph.D. under Dr. Kishori Mohan Pathak. He was an excellent teacher who wrote some very good textbooks and guidebooks. The most prominent among them was ‘Modern Approach to Physics’ on which he collaborated with another professor, and it was published by Kalyani Publishers. After the retirement of excellent teachers like Dr. K.D. Krori, late Sri Biren Baruah, Dr. Anil Kumar Goswami, late Sri Harideb Goswami, Dr. Pabitra Borgohain, Dr. Sunil Kumar Borthakur and others, my father’s position in Physics Department and in the Physics world of lower Assam was similar to that of Vivian Richards, Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli, Dennis Lillee, Freddie Truman, Sir Richard Hadlee, Shane Warne, Frederick Spofforth, Malcolm Marshal, Andy Roberts, Wes Hall, Sir Garfield Sobers, Bobby Simpson, Wasim Akram, Jonty Rhodes, Imran Khan, Sunil Gavaskar, Kapil Dev, Lala Amarnath, Mahinder Amarnath, Glenn McGrath, Sir Ian Botham, Bob Willis, Ray Lindwall, Ian Chappell, Greg Chappell, Martin Crowe, Allan Border, David Boon, Dean Jones, Mark Taylor, Steve Waugh, Brian Lara, Chris Gayle, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Shivnarine Chanderpaul,Rahul Dravid, Mark Vaucher, Jack Blackham, Andy Flower and others of cricket world along with great umpires like David Shepherd and Simon Taufel. He was also a very strong administrator and was even appointed as a disbursing officer to supervise the construction of a new building in Cotton College before it turned into Cotton University. The contractors were so impressed by his honesty that they even visited him when he was admitted to Bangalore for his heart problem and even offered to help him financially, which he refused.

He was also a very good cricket bowler at the state level in collegiate school and a bridge champion who represented Cotton Collegiate School at the state level. He also won several bridge tournaments at the state level. He also possessed great knowledge of cricket strategies.

– Diganta Sarma

Son of late Dr. Dilip Sarma

Also Read: Assam: Tributes Pour in for Chandra Sekhar Roy, Renowned Photographer and Singer, Following His Passing (sentinelassam.com)

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