I am deeply shocked by the sudden demise of my school teacher Verghese Thomas who was a father figure to me and made a huge impact on my life. Verghese sir taught us Mathematics from grade seven to ten at Amar Jyoti High School in Luitel, Gorkha and helped build a strong foundation for years to come. I still remember how sir included a unitary method question in one of the exams even though the topic wasn’t part of our syllabus. When I scored 100 on the same paper he told me he had made that question to trick me and was happy that I was able to find the right solution.

Verghese sir, who was originally from Kerala, made a great contribution to the education of youth from Gorkha as well as Lamjung and Tanahu and was responsible for nurturing talents like Upendra Devkota. After serving as headmaster at Amar Jyoti for several years he went on to teach at Pokhara’s Gandaki Boarding school where he even became campus chief. As soon as I heard about Verghese sir’s death, I knew we had to do something to honour him. I have been in touch with Dr Laxmi Devkota, president of Amar Jyoti Alumni Association and other members to discuss plans for a memorial program. Many have sent me suggestions on twitter as well. Some have recommended issuing Nepali citizenship to Verghese sir’s children who were born and brought up here and are working in the country. I’ll have to see what can be done in this matter.

When the comprehensive peace agreement was signed and our party entered mainstream politics, sir came to visit me personally in Kathmandu. We were supposed to meet in February but he was unable to come as his wife had fallen ill. When I told him I would pay him a visit, he said he would come to Baluwatar. Unfortunately, I could not fulfil his wish of seeing me in Baluwatar.