MY PROFESSOR–A GREAT GUY
Prof.C.H.Alexandrowicz
I am proud to call him my Guru. I am now in my Eighties, residing in San Diego. In 1954/55 I was in my Twenties, and had won a Stipendiary scholarship of his in the post=graduate International Law & Constitutional law course of the Madras University. The first words I heard from his mouth when I met him were in Tamil– ‘Seekram, sesekram’ to his steno. He was a handsome man and his classes were different from the usually crowded classes in the colleges. It was a comparitively medium sized room , the windows from which gave a grand view of the sea.
We were about twenty students and I can still see him standing in front of us and lecturing in his French-accented English (His wife was French). His knowledge was phenomenal and his lectures brief but salient. He made a special study of India’s case law pertaining Constitution.He was very informal with studentsto the extent he would even accept a cigarette from them. He found the Binny cotton drill material the best in the world and wore nothing but that.
The Indian Year Book of Internationa Affairs which was his brain child brought kudos even from International publishers—for its rich content.. I had done a book-review and written a researched article on “India and the Commonwealth”. I remember the volume,containing articles on Legal aspects, received a very good press in the review columns.
He said to me that he was getting used to ‘Indian punctuality’—he had to wait for thirty minutes to meet a higher up in the University. though he was there at the appointed time He had a knack of making friends with big-wigs in the legal field . Those were Prohibition days and among visitors who called on him (without prior notice!) was a judge who had a partiality for Scotch!
Among his students one had become a judge of the Andhra High court (Mr.P.A.Choudhary), another becameAdvocate-General, Judge of the Madras High court and Supreme court Judge (Mr.S.Mohan), another became Professor in his place after he left (Mr.Rama Rao) a lady is still practising lawyer in the Supreme Court of India (Ms Lily Thomas and making waves there) and one went on a foreign assignment in Africa to be a Professor (Mr.A.K.Srinivasa Murthy) where he died.. He also helped a student Mr.Nawaz to get a job in the United Nations. I have lost touch with them having moved to America.
Some years back I heard from Mr.Rama Rao that the Professor had come to Madras on a nostalgic trip and met some of his old students occupying important posts in the legal arena and gave a lecture there. From India he went to Australia , if I remember right..
It was with great sadness that I read his obituary in The Hindu. The Professorwas a great guy!