Prof. Parinitha on Prof. Waheeda

I feel a great heaviness in me after having heard of the death of my friend Waheeda.   Maybe we can defeat the irreversible loss of those we loved, to death, by speaking about them and memorialising them through our words. 

Waheeda had qualities that were special and admirable. She had the ability to stand outside a crisis situation and respond to it with practical efficacy. This made her a good administrator. She knew how systems functioned and how to survive within them and manage them.

Her integrity while managing institutional finances was impeccable. She was just not interested in money that she was not entitled to. This integrity was the putting into practice of a very deeply rooted ethical sense of right and wrong.

Waheeda had many friends among the wives of teachers, and female employees of the university, who lived in the staff quarters of the campus. She was invited to the many festivals that were celebrated in their houses. It was as if she was a close member of their family. I was always struck by the fondness they had for her.

Waheeda had that rare ability to be happy and content with whatever she had. She knew the art of contentment. She knew how to make much out of little bits of joy. She was generous with her money and her friendship. 

She is remembered with fondness by those who worked under her.  People who worked in her home, the clerks and peons in her department always make it a point to enquire after her, with me.That is a rare certificate of character. 

Waheeda has been taken away by death from her friends. But what she has left in them  and with them will live after her.

....

Dr. Parinitha

Professor 

Department of English 

Mangalore University

Prof Usharani on Prof Waheeda Sultana

August 6th was a very difficult day for me. I received a call from Waheeda’s family in the morning to say she was in the hospital and in critical condition. My sister and I rushed from Blore to Manipal Hospital, Mysore. Sadly, she passed away at 2 pm before I could see her alive, leaving her family and friends in deep grief.

She was hale and hearty, always smiling, gentle, polite, and dignified. Last month, I met her and her husband when she was still in grief over losing her brother in February.

She started a school for kids, was extremely happy with her work, and loved teaching tiny tots. She also loved making videos for them and teaching rhymes, which she was good at.

Ours is a friendship of 40 years. We knew each other’s families well and took part in both happy and sad moments. She and her husband were with me when my mother passed away last year. 

She comes from a coffee planter’s family, a rich, elite, and educated Muslim family from Kodagu. All the women in her family, including her mother were educated in a boarding school in Ooty.  Her grandfather was the head of Southern Railway headquartes in Mysore and the family stayed in a huge bunglow railway quarters in Yadavagiri. Her father was an officer in Coffee Board, Blore. Later after retirement, they moved to a palatial house in Saraswathipuram that faces a park. The house is still a landmark in the neighborhood.

 She was brought up in a joint family, and I used to be part of all festivals, including birthdays. The family showered me with love and affection, and her grandparents treated me as a member of the family.

Well known Kannada journalist I.K. Jagirdhar was her uncle. Karnataka’s prominent politician F.M.Khan was her grand mama. All her sisters and the women in her family are well-educated role models for a progressive household who always treat people with respect and dignity.

We were classmates in an MA in Journalism at Manasagangotri. We did an internship together at the Indian Express. After I started teaching in UoM, she joined me as a guest faculty member, and we worked together. She was later selected at Mangalore University and stayed there until she retired. 

She wanted to do a Ph.D under my guidance and it was a beautiful academic journey for both of us. She was my first Ph.D candidate, and will always be proud of her work. We together attended many international conferences. I visited and stayed with her when she was in Mangalore. 

Just last month, we met and I never thought I wouldn’t be meeting her again.  I cherish her friendship, which is so pure and sacred. You left us too soon. We are going to miss you and your large heartedness and hospitality.

...

ಪ್ರೊ.ಎನ್. ಉಷಾರಾಣಿ

ನಿವೃತ್ತ ಪ್ರಾಧ್ಯಾಪಕರು, ಪತ್ರಿಕೋದ್ಯಮ ಮತ್ತು ಸಮೂಹ ಸಂವಹನ ವಿಭಾಗ,

ಮೈಸೂರು ವಿಶ್ವವಿದ್ಯಾನಿಲಯ

She Taught Journalism Without Noise | Prof. Waheeda Sulthana

Today,  we lost a teacher who was much more than a professor.

She was the only woman lecturer in the Department of Mass Communication and Journalism at Mangalore University during our time. She had literally grown up in Konaje, and perhaps in her late 20s, she joined the department. From then until her retirement in 2018, she spent decades quietly, patiently and steadily teaching journalism.

Ma’am was soft-spoken. There was never any unnecessary loudness in her teaching.

Her subjects themselves were the soft skills of journalism: *Reporting, Feature Writing, New Media Technology and Corporate Communication.

I still remember the way she would enthusiastically explain *CSR activities* or explain interesting advertisements. Those little examples stayed with us.

She would begin the class with an activity, asking students to read aloud new-media terms and explain their meanings.

She had those handwritten time-worn pages from which she would teach. She would look through them, and then explain everything in her own calm and steady manner. She never rushed. She never wandered away from the subject. She was be very meticulous about completing everything prescribed in the syllabus.

*Not once do I remember her deviating from her topic.*

She was extremely careful with her words. She never unnecessarily uttered controversial words, never tried to create a stir, and always stayed away from anything that could create a ruckus on campus. There was a quiet dignity in the way she carried herself.

And when she became the *Chairperson of the Department,* that meticulousness became even more evident.

She would read every file. Every letter. Every word. 

She would make corrections, sometimes even to a single word. She believed in doing things properly. She didn’t seek attention. She simply went with the flow of her work, quietly doing what had to be done.

Ma’am taught us journalism, but perhaps unknowingly, she also taught us something about discipline, precision and dignity.

I was fortunate to have her not only as my professor, but later as my research guide.

Today, I think of those those carefully chosen words, those slow explanations, and the quiet presence of a teacher who spent her life teaching generations of journalists.

Dear ma’am, 

You taught us, guided us, corrected us and watched generations of students move forward.

You will remain a part of the journalism department, a part of our memories, and a part of the journalists we became.

You lived quietly, calmly and with dignity. *May your soul now find the same peace and tranquillity that you carried throughout your life.

-Dr Safiya,

Assistant Professor in Journalism

ಪತ್ರಿಕೋದ್ಯಮ ನಿವೃತ್ತ ಪ್ರಾಧ್ಯಾಪಕಿ ಡಾ. ವಹೀದಾ ಸುಲ್ತಾನ ಇನ್ನಿಲ್ಲ...

ಮಂಗಳೂರು: ಮಂಗಳೂರು ವಿಶ್ವವಿದ್ಯಾಲಯದ ಸಮೂಹ ಸಂವಹನ ಮತ್ತು ಪತ್ರಿಕೋದ್ಯಮ ವಿಭಾಗದ ನಿವೃತ್ತ ಪ್ರೊಫೆಸರ್‌, ಮೈಸೂರು ಕಲ್ಯಾಣಗಿರಿ ನಿವಾಸಿ ಡಾ.ವಹೀದಾ ಸುಲ್ತಾನಾ (70) ಹೃದಯಾಘಾತದಿಂದ ಮೈಸೂರಿನ ಖಾಸಗಿ ಆಸ್ಪತ್ರೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಗುರುವಾರ ಅಪರಾಹ್ನ ನಿಧನರಾದರು. ಅವರು ಸುಮಾರು 3 ದಶಕಗಳ ಕಾಲ ಮಂಗಳೂರು ವಿಶ್ವವಿದ್ಯಾನಿಲಯದ ಸಮೂಹ ಸಂವಹನ ಮತ್ತು ಪತ್ರಿಕೋದ್ಯಮ ವಿಭಾಗದ ಪ್ರಾಧ್ಯಾಪಕರಾಗಿದ್ದು, ವಿಭಾಗ ಮುಖ್ಯಸ್ಥರಾಗಿ ನಿವೃತ್ತಿ ಹೊಂದಿದ್ದರು. ಅವರು ಪತಿ, ಇಬ್ಬರು ಸಹೋದರರು, ಮೂವರು ಸಹೋದರಿಯರನ್ನು ಅಗಲಿದ್ದಾರೆ. ಅಂತ್ಯಕ್ರಿಯೆ ಶುಕ್ರವಾರ ಅಪರಾಹ್ನ ಮೈಸೂರಿನಲ್ಲಿ ನಡೆಯಲಿದೆ ಎಂದು ಕುಟುಂಬ ಮೂಲಗಳು ತಿಳಿಸಿವೆ.

ಅ‍‍‍‍ವರು ಮಂಗಳೂರು ವಿವಿ ಮಹಿಳಾ ಹಾಸ್ಟೆಲ್‌ ವಾರ್ಡನ್‌ ಆಗಿ, ಅಲ್ಪಸಂಖ್ಯಾತರು, ಇತರ ಒಬಿಸಿ ವಿದ್ಯಾರ್ಥಿಗಳ ಐಎಎಸ್‌ ಕೆಎಎಸ್‌ ಕೋಚಿಂಗ್‌ ಕೋಆರ್ಡಿನೇಟರ್‌ ಆಗಿ ಸೇವೆ ಸಲ್ಲಿಸಿದ್ದರು. ಮಾಧ್ಯಮ, ಆರೋಗ್ಯ, ತಂತ್ರಜ್ಞಾನ, ಮಹಿಳಾ ವಿಚಾರಗಳು ಸೇರಿದಂತೆ ಹಲವು ವಿಷಯಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಅವರು ಲೇಖನಗಳನ್ನು ಬರೆದಿರುವುದಲ್ಲದೆ, ರಾಷ್ಟ್ರೀಯ, ಅಂತಾರಾಷ್ಟ್ರೀಯ ನಿಯತಕಾಲಿಕಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಸಂಶೋಧನಾ ಪ್ರಬಂಧಗಳನ್ನು ಪ್ರಸ್ತುತಪಡಿಸಿದ್ದಾರೆ. ಬಾಂಗ್ಲಾದೇಶ, ಮಲೇಶ್ಯ, ಶ್ರೀಲಂಕಾ, ಹಾಂಗ್‌ ಕಾಂಗ್‌ ಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ನಡೆದ ಅಂತಾರಾಷ್ಟ್ರೀಯ ಸಮ್ಮೇಳನಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಭಾಗಿಯಾಗಿ ಪ್ರಬಂಧಗಳನ್ನು ಮಂಡಿಸಿದ್ದಾರೆ. ಕಾರ್ಪೊರೇಟ್‌ ಕಮ್ಯುನಿಕೇಶನ್ಸ್‌, ಮಹಿಳೆ ಮತ್ತು ಮೀಡಿಯಾ, ಆರೋಗ್ಯ ಸಂವಹನ ಮತ್ತು ಮಹಿಳೆ ಇತ್ಯಾದಿ ವಿಚಾರಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಅವರು ಹೆಚ್ಚಿನ ಆಸಕ್ತಿ ಹೊಂದಿದ್ದರು. ಏಷ್ಯನ್‌ ಕಾಂಗ್ರೆಸ್‌ ಫಾರ್‌ ಮೀಡಿಯಾ ಆ್ಯಂಡ್ ಕಮ್ಯುನಿಕೇಶನ್‌ ಇದರ ರಾಷ್ಟ್ರೀಯ ಸಮಿತಿಯ ಉಪ ನಿರ್ದೇಶಕರಾಗಿಯೂ ಕಾರ್ಯ ನಿರ್ವಹಿಸಿದ್ದರು. ಅವರ ನಿಧನಕ್ಕೆ ಮಂಗಳೂರು ವಿ.ವಿ. ಸಮೂಹ ಸಂವಹನ ಮತ್ತು ಪತ್ರಿಕೋದ್ಯಮ ವಿಭಾಗದ ಹಳೆ ವಿದ್ಯಾರ್ಥಿಗಳ ಸಂಘ ಮಾಮ್ ತೀವ್ರ ಸಂತಾಪ ವ್ಯಕ್ತಪಡಿಸಿದೆ.