Nearly a decade before his death, actor Nana Patekar stood before the graduating class of NIT Agartala and told them that their degrees marked the beginning, not the end, of their education. His 2016 convocation address focused on careers, national interest and the responsibilities that come with higher education.
Patekar, 75, died after suffering a cardiac arrest at his residence in Dona Paula, near Panaji, Goa, in the early hours of Thursday. He was found unconscious and taken to a private hospital, where he could not be revived despite 45 minutes of CPR, Dr Shekhar Salkar, a senior doctor at the hospital, told PTI. A medico-legal case has been registered and a post-mortem will be conducted.
Degree as a starting point
Patekar told the graduating students that they had completed their formal education with their degrees, “but this is just the beginning.”
He urged them to choose their careers with a sense of responsibility and to keep the country's larger interests in mind. He also asked students to live in a way that would allow them to face themselves without shame, stressing that professional success should not come at the cost of personal values.
Patekar also encouraged the students not to lose hope and to approach their professional lives with renewed energy. He asked them to think independently, innovate and use creative ideas to address problems facing the country. “Try to innovate something, think originally and do creative things which will help the nation.”
A call to give back
Patekar described work as a form of worship and asked the graduates to practise restraint and austerity so that their resources and energy could also be directed towards society and people in need.
He also pointed to the public resources invested in higher education. Students at institutions such as NITs, he said, receive their education with significant public support and therefore have a responsibility to give something back to society and the country.
His message extended beyond employment and professional achievement. Patekar asked the graduates to continue learning, think independently and use their education to contribute to the wider society.
Honorary doctorate
NIT Agartala conferred an honorary D.Litt. on Patekar at its ninth convocation on November 12, 2016, according to the institute's records. The chief guest at the ceremony was Prof. Sandeep Sancheti, then President of Manipal University, Jaipur. During the same visit, Patekar called on then Tripura Chief Minister Manik Sarkar in Agartala.
Career
Born Vishwanath Patekar on January 1, 1951, in Murud-Janjira in present-day Raigad district of Maharashtra, Patekar studied at the Sir J.J. Institute of Applied Art in Mumbai. He made his film debut with Gaman (1978) and went on to work across Hindi and Marathi cinema.
He won the National Film Award for Best Actor for Krantiveer (1994), and National Awards for Best Supporting Actor for Parinda (1989) and Agni Sakshi (1996). He was awarded the Padma Shri in 2013. In 2015, he co-founded the Naam Foundation with actor Makarand Anaspure to support farmers in drought-affected regions of Maharashtra.
