By Vivek Pattanayak in Costa Rica, February 17, 2022: Staying in a far away country, Costa Rica, news of passing away of Madan Mohanty, the popular name in cricket in Odisha of the early sixties of the last century came as a big shock.

My memory goes back to 1955 when one afternoon on a by-cycle, what used to be called double-riding, Prasanna (Pari) my classmate in Ranihat School, a grandson of the famous Professor of Physics, Narayan Mishra arrived at my residence within the premises of the SCB Medical College hospital with another teenager by the name Madan (Lulu), son of equally famous Professor Ramanath Mohanty of Mathematics.

Both came to invite our club of teenagers, mostly doctors’ children to play a cricket match against a club of Professor pada, mostly children of the Professors of Ravenshaw College. In the match Madan showed his brilliance in batting and earned immediate respect of all, no matter who played for which team. His team consisted of Prasanna Mishra, Kuna Mishra, Babudhan Patnaik, Bhuna Jena, and Kalu Jena who had all earned name in the Odisha cricket.

Madan’s career in cricket was spectacular. Within few years he hit the headlines of the national newspapers like the Statesman when he scored a magnificent chanceless century playing for the East Zone Schools against the West Zone in the famous Cooch Behar Trophy in the Brabourne Stadium.

In that match Ashok Mankad, the son of the famous Indian Test cricketer Vinoo Mankad also played. Madan Mohanty stole the eyes of all the stalwarts of cricket watching the game in Bombay (now Mumbai). In a similar match a year earlier, Kunderam came to fame, and later became Test cricketer of eminence. Mankad also later played in Tests.

In the Stewart school where Madan studied, he was known as a very bright student. No wonder he topped in the Senior Cambridge with ‘A’ Grade.He not only excelled in studies and in cricket but also made a name for him in football and hockey having played for the Odisha Schools, the Utkal University, and the State. He also in the Ravenshaw College became tennis champion.

Cricket of course was his passion. He possibly still holds the record in Inter-College Cricket Tournament, scoring 265 not out. While playing for the Utkal University against BHU in Rohington Beria Trophy, he scored a spectacular century.

By then he had drawn attention of many as a probable future top player in cricket in India. At the peak of his ascending career in cricket he was stuck by ailment at an incredibly early age which forced him to abandon study and game for a year. That changed his career in cricket. He was advised not to play other games.

After doing first year of degree course in science he had moved to Political Science in BA Honours. After he returned to study, he switched to English. He made a mark in the subject both in BA (Honours) and in MA getting first class standing first earning gold medal. Versatility of Madan was universally acknowledged when he won the Kumaraswamy Raja General Knowledge Prize.

His getting into the Indian Administrative Service was a foregone conclusion. While serving as the Collector of a district playing for Odisha in the Ranji Trophy, even after crossing the age of thirty he scored a faultless century against Bihar. Shri L. I. Parija, a civil servant of eminence of the eighties, himself a brilliant cricketer having scored a century on the first appearance in the Ranji Trophy, in a public meeting in the Barabati Stadium had acknowledge that if Madan would not have been hit by ailment, he would have reached the Test level.

In civil service as a young Assistant Collector working as a judicial magistrate during training made a mark with his judgment written with precision but with cogent analysis of evidence coming to irrefutable conclusion. Many officers of judicial service used that judgement as a model.

As the Director of Land Consolidation, he gave a momentum to the programme. His technical knowledge of land consolidation process and brilliant grasp of civil and land revenue law earned admiration of his junior staff and respect of seniors. Both Shri Sudhansu Mohan Patnaik, former Chief Secretary and Shri Gopal Dash, former Land Reforms Commissioner rated him as an outstanding officer. Personally, I could not follow his civil service career as I left Odisha, and then India for a long period.

He and his wife, Kumkum, a former member of the Indian Postal Service, an Odissi dancer of national eminence recipient of Padma Award went through a trauma of loss of a brilliant son, Ben, a promising lawyer who was shaping to go up in career, at a very young age in the most tragic circumstance.

Madan, himself maintained an indifferent health for many years. My association with him began from the school days although we studied in different schools, and it flowered in the college when we became classmates and it continued in civil service. His intellect was superb endowed with a sharp vision. He had matchless guts. His tenacity was unassailable.

In game and civil service, he could have reached the apex. Destiny was not with him. His sunset came at the noon.