REMEMBERING J.C.B.A.

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Dr. J.C.B. Abraham was a brilliant teacher whether lecturing to college students, clubs like Multi-Discipline Mandram and The Historical Society, or enthusing school children to develop a scientific temper, writes J. VASANTHAN


DR. J.C.B. ABRAHAM, THE eminent professor of Zoology and former Vice-Principal of American College, was known as Bhaskar to his friends, and JCB to most others. But no one knew what the initials J.C. stood for.

During the 1920s when he was born, it was a custom among Christian parents to name their children after some foreign missionary or dignitary. So it was with JCB's parents. The first two names proved to be a great embarrassment to him, and so he consigned them to the anonymity of initials. When anybody asked him what JC stood for, he would say Julius Caesar or Jesus Christ, but would never divulge the real names.

An irrational rationalist

JCB was a brilliant teacher whether lecturing to college students, clubs like Multi-Discipline Mandram and The Historical Society, or enthusing school children to develop a scientific temper. But he did have many eccentricities.

He was a bundle of contradictions. He proclaimed himself to be an atheist. But a former Bishop of Madurai declared him to be "a better Christian than many". He was very fond of children, but never thought of getting married and raising kids of his own. He prided himself on being a rationalist, but was prone to quick likes and dislikes, and unreasonable prejudices. His friends labelled him an `irrational rationalist'. He was a scientist, but was morbidly distrustful of modern gadgets. He refused to have a TV or a fridge in his house. It is such contradictions that made him an interesting person to know.

Cricket crazy

There was a certain boyish enthusiasm in his pursuit of his interests. Cricket was a great passion with him. He had all the scores and records at his fingertips. When he went to England, he visited the Lords cricket ground. The guides there who were taking various groups around and explaining the features of `the Mecca of Cricket', were amazed to find that JCB was better informed than they were. Some people among the tourists asked him to show them around. The professional guides also urged him to do so.

And so the man from Madurai gave the Englishmen and men of other nations, including Pakistan, a guided tour. If they saw a stuffed bird in a showcase, JCB could tell them which bowler's ball had killed the bird, in which year, in which over and who the batsman was. At the end of the tour he was given a great ovation.

During test matches JCB always carried a transistor radio to listen to the commentary. And when someone hit a four or got clean bowled, he would do a little jig, unmindful of where he was and of the decorum demanded of a senior professor. There was something child-like about him in such matters.

Holmesiana

Another great enthusiasm he had was for Sherlock Holmes stories of Sir Arthur Conan

Doyle. If you quoted any line from these stories, he could tell you the title of the story, who illustrated it in the Strand Magazine, and even the year it was written. For him Holmes was not just a fictional character. He was a living hero to be looked up to, for Holmes was a practitioner of pure reasoning. And just like JCB, Holmes was a confirmed bachelor.

JCB was the only member from India of the Sherlock Holmes Society. To become a member one had to pass a test in the complete Holmes stories. Needless to say, our man came off with flying colours. He once visited the Sherlock Holmes Museum at 221-B Baker Street, and soon had an enthralled group of tourists trailing him around as he expounded on the various memorabilia on display and the stories connected with them. Another passion of his was the Hollywood Western. He would carry a pocket counter to the theatre and count the number of shootouts and showdowns. One would expect this kind of reaction to be more in keeping with a teenager.

Homage to Russell

Among his great heroes were Bertrand Russell, Bernard Shaw, Jawaharlal Nehru and Don Bradman. He could quote extensively from Russell's books, Shaw's plays and Nehru's `Autobiography'. And he could reel off the ups and downs of Bradman's career.

When he went to London a few years after his retirement, he carried a zari garland all the way from Madurai, went to a park where Russell's statue stood, climbed the pedestal when no one was looking and garlanded his hero. The garland adorned the statue for three days before it was noticed and removed.

When Russell died, JCB kept writing to the Indian Government urging them to issue a stamp in Russell's honour. After some lengthy correspondence he finally got a letter saying that they were going to bring out a Russell stamp. India was the first nation in the world to do so.

Matrimonial jitters

Being a geneticist, JCB was mortally afraid of there being genetic flaws leading to insanity in any family. That was perhaps one reason why he kept putting off his marriage. Once he was persuaded to see a girl in a southern town. He went with his parents and was very well received. The girl came in, and she was a real beauty. The stony heart of the bachelor began to thaw and melt. At that point a downy feather came floating into the room. The girl leapt up, seized the feather and blew it at her father, then ignoring her father's remonstrances rushed to the other side, caught it and blew it again. By the time the feather settled down JCB had vanished from the scene.

Self-diagnosis

JCB trusted only one doctor - Dr.E.S.Johnson, his classmate and friend. So when he fell ill some years ago, and Dr.Johnson was not available, being sick himself, JCB decided not to go to any other doctor. He diagnosed his own illness by referring to the definitions in the Oxford Dictionary. The dictionary said there was no cure for this, and so he decided to ignore his illness.

On the table in his drawing room he had a small framed quotation, "A bachelor lives like a king and dies like a dog. A married man lives like a dog and dies like a king." An attender for household chores found JCB lying dead on the floor one morning.

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