Mr. Pai: A Role-Model

Today morning, while reading a report in a local newspaper regarding the coming monsoon, my thoughts traveled 24 years backwards.  I was a student of Pre-Degree (equivalent to Plus-Two) in the Cochin College.  Mr. Sivananda Pai completed his M.Sc (Physics) with first rank from the Maharajas College, Ernakulam.  Hailing from a small middle-class family of Kochi, Mr. Pai had become the University topper.  This was an achievement, big enough for friends and well-wishers to celebrate.  The local news-papers covered the story of his achievement and many organisations felicitated him.  I was a member of two organisations, Saraswath Youths Association (SYA) and Gowda Saraswath Students Organisation (GGSO), with which Mr. Pai was also associated.  I was involved in organising a function to felicitate Mr. Pai.  He was a big source of inspiration for all young students like me.  We had many role-models whom we never met; but to have a person amidst us, whom we could look forward to as a role-model was something great!  'Pai D', that is how he was known among his friends.  Our parents started showing Mr. Pai as a benchmark for our academic achievements.  Though I haven't had much personal interactions with him, 'Pai D' was always an exemplification of hard work, determination and success for me.  Soon after this, I came to know that he had moved to Delhi for higher studies.  I changed my course from science to commerce; went on to complete my post-graduation; and moved out of Kochi in 1996.  Since then, I have been living outside Kerala.

 

Today morning, I was reading an article in the online edition of 'Mathrubhumi', where it was mentioned, "the monsoon would reach Kerala by the first week of June, says the IMD Chief Forecaster, D Sivananda Pai".  Within no time I realised that it was the same 'Pai D', who was my one-time role model.  I immediately searched for more details on Mr. Pai and I was extremely happy to know that he continued to scale newer heights.  He completed his second post graduation (M.Tech) from IIT Delhi and Ph.D in Atmospheric Science from University of Pune.  He has been a Scientist with the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) since 1993, and is currently the head of the Long Range Forecasting (LRF) Division.

 

Mr. Pai has many international research papers to his credit.  He was awarded the Certificate of Merit by the Government of India for his outstanding contributions in the field of Atmospheric Sciences.  He developed a new Statistical Approach to forecast the arrival of monsoon over Kerala; and this system is said to have increased the accuracy of Long Range Forecasts.  It is also reported that the forecasting system that he developed was the world's first such system.

 

In a country like India, the livelihood of majority of the population depends on agriculture.  Though the share of agriculture in GDP has gradually fallen over the years, it continues to be the sector providing employment to the largest share of population, directly or indirectly.  It has also been observed that even a small percentage point increase in the agricultural output is enough to kick start an overall growth-cycle in the economy.  Since agricultural output is heavily dependent on the arrival and the patterns of monsoon, the increased accuracy in forecasting becomes important.  In this context, the research of Mr. Pai and his contributions assume greater significance.

I was extremely happy to know more about Mr. Pai and was inspired by his success story.  I immediately thought of sharing my memories, because I strongly believe that Mr. Sivananda Pai is a great source of inspiration for all those (especially the youngsters) who dream of scaling newer heights.  His life is a perfect example of what one could achieve through hard work and dedication.  When I am writing this, it is raining heavily in Tumkur.  I feel something special about today's rain; when I look through my window, a thought fills my mind, that sitting in Pune, 'Pai D' is monitoring this rainfall !!

Note: Photo courtesy: India Today & IMD.
I have used Mr. Pai's photographs without his permission, and I hope he wouldn't mind.
Please see the following sites for more details:
http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/indian-scientists-at-forefront-of-research-d.-sivananda-pai/1/150711.html
http://www.imdpune.gov.in/achivements2.html