Sundar was punctual, serious, sincere: Sanat Kumar Roy, Professor

Sanat Kumar Roy sounds like he was expecting a call. "Yes, you want to know about Sundar?" the metallurgy professor from IITKharagpur asks. About 24 hours ago, Roy heard that his student from the graduating batch of 1993 became the new CEO of Google. "I knew him as Sundararajan, the brightest boy in my class," says Roy. Sundar did his engineering in metallurgy at IIT, and Roy says he taught him from 1989. "He was not only very sharp, but also such a decent boy. You know, I’m a professor, and see lots of intelligent young people who don’t leave an impression because they’re lazy or the last-minute studying type. But Sundar was punctual, serious, sincere, and so attentive in class. He worked extremely hard. That set him apart from all the top students who flood IITs."

Roy lost touch with Sundar after he left to the US for his MS at Stanford, but is impressed that even after an MBA, his student stuck to his special focus. "Every year, some of my students go to America to study - it’s common today. Many are successful, but go where the tide takes them. I am touched that Sundar chose to work around the same field he initially desired."

Roy spoke to Rohini Mohan in Bengaluru