IISc’s OLDEST LIVING ALUMNUS – Dr. VIOLET BAJAJ – PASSES AWAY

IISc’s OLDEST LIVING ALUMNUS – Dr. VIOLET BAJAJ – PASSES AWAY

 

 

 

Girl Students outside the J Block at IISc

From Left - Rajeshwari, Roshan Irani, Prema Kamath, Mariam George, Violet D’Souza

 

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Office of Development and Alumni Affairs

Indian Institute of Science

www.alumni.iisc.ac.in | www.odaa.iisc.ac.in 

 

Dear alumni,

 

We are deeply saddened to inform you of the sad demise of Violet Bajaj, one of the earliest women students at IISc during the 1940s. She was a contemporary of Anna Mani, Roshan Irani, Nagamani Kulkarni, Indira Bhat and Rajeswari Chatterjee. Dr. Bajaj passed away at the age of 103.

 

Violet Bajaj was born Violet de Sousa on 21 January 1917 in Agra. After completing a BSc in Lucknow, she came to IISc in the 1940s, where she studied biochemistry in the Fermentation Technology Section. She co-authored papers with M Sreenivasaya, her advisor, and continued to exchange notes with M Sreenivasaya even after leaving IISc. While at IISc, she witnessed the Institute's war effort during World War II and India's freedom struggle. And it was at the Institute that she met other women like Anna Mani, Roshan Irani, Nagamani Kulkarni, Indira Bhat and Rajeswari Chatterjee, pioneers who went on to have their own careers in their respective fields. Some of them, like Anna and Indira, would remain Violet's close friends for life. Violet Bajaj completed her PhD at the National Chemical Laboratory, Pune, and later worked in Delhi, in CSIR's Biochemicals Unit, until her retirement. 

 

During her time in Bangalore, Violet met and married Vidyaprakash Bajaj, an officer in the Indian army.  Violet Bajaj passed away peacefully on 29 May 2020. She is survived by her daughter, Sheela Bajaj, and son-in-law, Sudhir Sahi.

 

The Institute expresses its deepest condolences to the bereaved family.

 

 

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THE STORY BEHIND THIS RARE ARCHIVAL PHOTOGRAPH

Girl Students outside the J Block at IISc

From Left - Rajeshwari, Roshan Irani, Prema Kamath, Mariam George, Violet D’Souza

(Photo Courtesy - Prof Rajeshwari Chatterjee - Archives and Publications Cell, IISc)

The year was 2007. Prof Balaram, the then Director of the Indian Institute of Science, IISc, Bangalore, had decided that IISc needed an Archives Cell to collect, catalogue and preserve our archival history, it was towards this endeavor, that the Archives Cell was established at IISc, thanks to his foresight.

 

Again, thanks to Prof P Balaram, he had invited me to attend a talk he was delivering at the United Theological College, Miller’s Road, Bangalore; it was there that Prof Balaram introduced me to Prof Rajeshwari Chatterjee, retired Professor, Electrical Communications Engineering (ECE), IISc.

 

On hearing that we had just set up an Archives Cell at IISc, Prof Rajeshwari was kind enough to gift us her entire personal collection of photographs and memorabilia and amongst them was this rare archival photograph.

 

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Footnote:

I wish to thank Dr. Suresh Kulkarni, USA, for bringing to my attention the Obituary Note of Dr. Violet Bajaj.