Mumbai: The sad news of Goa Chief Minister (CM) Manohar Parrikar’s demise on Sunday left an atmosphere of despair and gloom at the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IIT-B), where he studied engineering from 1973 to 1980. While many of his batch matches went nostalgic sharing heart warming memories of Parrikar as a student, others narrated incidents of how the topper of their batch was a humble man who led a rather simple lifestyle even after reaching lofty heights as a public servant.

His batch mates at IIT Mumbai had a strong intution that Parrikar had inborn traits as a leader. Bakul Desai, Parrikar’s junior, hostel mate and close friend, recalled, “Our hostel mess fee was Rs 180 per month. In order to reduce the price, he went to Byculla market to buy vegetables himself. The idea was adopted by our mess contractor and the fees were reduced to Rs 160.”

Desai said, “At every alumni meet, members were handed a coupon for lunch. Despite his status as the defence minister [from 2014-2017], he would hold the coupon and stand in the queue year after year. He always asked his security to step away when he was with friends.”

Another hostel mate of Parrikar, Mukund Deshpande, a Pune-based civil engineer, remembered a time in 1978 when the hostel mess staff went on an indefinite strike. “He was on good terms with the mess workers as he always participated in the committee. After the strike was called, he spoke to the workers. When they refused to serve us, he convinced 40 of us to cook ourselves. That was the best meal we ever had,” said Deshpande, who graduated with a civil engineering degree from IIT-B in 1980.

“At a time when all of us only focused on books, we always saw Manu on his Yezdi, involved in things beyond just studies. He showed us a different side to campus life.”