I was privileged to be Prof. Manjali’s student for four years of my M.A. and M.Phil life at JNU. His perspective on Linguistics was so fresh and unique for me that I never missed taking his courses. I must acknowledge that I was too young to understand the real meaning of his teachings about the philosophy of science, structuralism, and post-structuralism. However, I never felt excluded in his classes. In his own way, he tried to involve all of us despite knowing who was interested in the topics and who was not. The little knowledge I have of the greatest philosophers like Nietzsche, Foucault, Descartes, Kant, and Wittgenstein is solely because of Sir!
I will never forget once, during our M.Phil semester registration, a few of us were confused about which courses to take or drop. He was acting Chairperson then, and we needed his signature. We went to his o ce and asked him what to do. He clearly stated how important it was to find our topics of interest and not get swayed by the courses and the grades. This simple advice helped me so much, and just a few days back, I was advising the same to my junior peers, referring to Sir.
I would also not forget how he used to start discussing random topics (like why A.C. should/should not be centralized in the buildings or how the parking areas of the new buildings are) whenever he met us on the pavements and alleys of the JNU campus. His personality calls for absolute respect and admiration. I am grateful that
in the formative years of my intellectual life, I have witnessed and interacted with such a personality and a kind heart. Rest in peace, Sir!