The Hindu : Kerala / Thiruvananthapuram News : ‘A monumental milestone of encouragement’

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Saturday, Jun 21, 2008
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Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram

‘A monumental milestone of encouragement’

Special Correspondent

Kerala University honours Chief Justice of India K.G. Balakrishnan

– Photo: C. Ratheesh Kumar

Recognition: Governor and Chancellor of the University of Kerala R.L. Bhatia conferring the university’s honorary degree of Doctor of Laws on Chief Justice of India K.G. Balakrishnan at a special convocation in Thiruvananthapuram on Friday. Education Minister and Pro Chancellor M.A. Baby looks on.

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Chief Justice of India K.G. Balakrishnan received the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws from the University of Kerala at a special convocation at its Senate Hall here on Friday.

Conferring on him the honour in recognition of his ‘outstanding contributions to learning,’ Governor R.L. Bhatia, who is also the Chancellor of the university, described him as one of the illustrious sons of Kerala, who had enshrined himself in the minds of the people of the country with his versatile personality, profound conviction and commitment to his calling.

Vice-Chancellor M.K. Ramachandran, reading out the university’s citation, said that the world would always perceive as role models those who achieved success in life through hard work, fixity of purpose and unflagging enthusiasm.

Kerala had such a role model in Mr. Balakrishnan, the Chief Justice of the country, the citation said.

Mr. Balakrishnan, who was a student of the University of Kerala more than 40 years ago, said that the honorary degree conferred on him represented “a monumental milestone of encouragement, rather than a figurative representation of what I may have achieved in my life.”

He said the honour encompassed all who had given him intellectual and emotional support along the way.

“Often in life, we find that we are tempted by incentives that attempt to sway our efforts and aspirations away from what we truly desire to do to what we ‘should’ do. In this process, we forget what we love and our work is not motivated by our heart, but by our mind alone. So it is important that we focus all our energy on that which we would do with all our heart, such that each day of hard work brings a sense of fulfilment and joy of going beyond our capabilities and doing things we never thought we could do,” Mr. Balakrishnan said in his acceptance speech.

Education Minister M.A. Baby (in his capacity as the Pro Chancellor of the university), Pro Vice-Chancellor V. Jayaprakas and all the senate members of the university were present at the special convocation.

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