Bengaluru: The untimely demise of Bishop Cotton Boys’ School Principal John K. Zachariah on Sunday shocked Cottonians and educationists in the city. Students, teachers and colleagues paid rich tributes to the professor, who touched hundreds of lives during 34 years of his service.
Dr Nanita Reuben, vice-principal of Bishop Cotton Boys’ School, who was working closely with Prof. Zachariah, said, “He was a humble, kind and excellent human being, who took visionary decisions. The man who walked tall and strong in every sense of the term has left a vacuum that cannot be filled by anyone. The entire Cottonian fraternity is orphaned.”
Prof Kiran Jeevan, the PRO of St. Joseph’s College, from where Prof. Zahariah began his teaching career in 1984, said, “As my school principal first and later as a close family friend, he inspired me to strive harder. I follow his words and ideas whenever I organise events even now.” Entrepreneur Nithin Varghese (batch of 2013), on his first meeting with Prof. Zachariah, said, “During the interview, when I expressed my interest in becoming a successful businessman, Big Papa (as I fondly call him) helped me define success. He told me it is defined by the number of lives one can touch. It has stayed with me even now.”
Budding Chartered Accountant Nikhil (batch of 2014), like many others, is an admirer of Prof. Zachariah’s “majestic” and “commanding” voice. “Listening to his morning messages at school always gave me goose bumps. A great source of inspiration and motivation, he always pushed us to raise the bar,” he remembered.
