He joined BBAFS in 1971 in Mechanical Engg.Post AFBBS, he changed his emphasis to Economics and completed B. A. (Hons) in Economics from St.Stephen’s College (1974-77) and M.A. in Economics from Delhi School of Economics (1977-79). Briefly worked for a year at a bank and then joined Indian Economic Service. After being trained for two years to work as an Economist in the Government, he worked in the Department of Commerce and the Finance Commission till 1989. He then decided to educate further and completed M.Phil in Development Economics from University of Glasgow (1990), UK and PhD in Economics from Washington State University (1995), US. This was a transformative experience for Anil and he discovered his passion for teaching and research (after 15 years of working in different jobs / careers). He worked at the World Bank in Washington DC during 1994-95 and then took up an academic job at Pittsburg State University in Kansas in 1995 where he currently a Professor of Economics.——–Says Anil “Had amazing teachers – most of them young, enthusiastic, and all of them very concerned about student welfare. Was fascinated by Science and loved all my classes, particularly Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics, and Mechanical Drawing. My young years at BBAFS laid the foundation for scientific inquiry – a curiosity to learn, and explore new opportunities. In 9th grade, joined Tennis team and completed one semester of German at Max Muellar Bhavan to fulfill 3 language requirement of CBSE. Lot of memories about school, but the favorite one is how Mr. Suresh Goel addressed my curiosity about theory behind mathematical subjects. Sometimes I would ride my bicycle to his house in Lodi Road on way to our house in Jorbagh. Mr. Suresh Goel always offered tea and biscuits and answered my questions about rationale / usefulness of different sub-disciplines in Mathematics. One memory, that is etched in my mind, is of 3rd Dec 1971, when I was at his house around 7.00 PM to ask questions about permutations / combinations – my father came to pick me up as Pakistan had attacked India and we were going to have blackouts. We packed my bicycle in my father’s car and went home. My relationship with Mr Suresh Goel continued even after leaving school and he has been true “Guru” for me since I first met him in 1971. I am indebted to him for his encouragement and guidance during school years and beyond. Even after 46 years or so, he remembers each one of his students by name and also remembers where they used to sit in the class 8. Another memory that I have is of our relationship with our amazing Principal, Mrs. Baxi – she was strict and at the same time very compassionate. In 10th grade or so, the boys were required to wear shorts and girls were required to wear skirts. Our bodies were changing and our legs were becoming hairy. Boys wanted to wear pants but could not do so. Some boys started wearing pants over shorts and whenever Mrs. Baxi came to check on us (somehow, we would get prior information about her visit), we would quickly remove and hide our pants so that she could see that we were wearing shorts. She came to know of it and all of us were called for a meeting and she insisted that boys looked smart in shorts. After the meeting, boys continued to wear shorts. A few weeks after the meeting, she relented and boys were allowed to wear white pants. It was a growing up time for us and we were testing our limits, what we could and could not do – some of our actions were based on what we thought was unfair to us and some of them I am not proud of, but then it is a part of growing up.Have been married to Archana (also a PhD from Washington State University) for about 35 years and she teaches Biology at a local college. Our son, Ankit, is married and lives in New York. Recently, we were blessed with a grandson. Both Archana and I share a passion to travel, watch Broadway plays, and visit Art Museums. After leaving the tennis team at the end of 9th grade, picked up tennis in 2003 and played till it became hard for me to play tennis with younger folks. Now, I play golf regularly and enjoy working out in the gym. It gives me immense joy to re-connect and interact with people, particularly with those that I grew up with. Still keep in touch with my school and college classmates/friends and, my teachers, Mr. Goel and Mr. Kapur. I visited School in 2013 and met the Principal, Mr. Anand Swaroop.”——–Kudos ! and Best Wishes !
Team OSA