Trust the uncrowned King Khan of Bollywood to weave magic with his dialogues, whether on screen or in a university auditorium. At the sixth convocation ceremony of Maulana Azad National Urdu University (MANUU), the actor, who was conferred with a honorary doctorate, did not let the absence of the President dampen the spirits of the young crowd. From sharing interesting bits about his parents to highlighting the significance of prized possessions, the actor took the opportunity to share some life lessons which struck an immediate chord with the audience.
Mr. Khan said the doctorate awarded to him was special since his mother hailed from the city and his father had the highest regards for the scholar Abul Kalam Azad, after whom the university is named. He advised students to follow their passion and interests when they are young and avoid regrets later in life. He also recalled the possessions passed onto him by his father, who the actor said was highly educated, but failure in business made a deep impact on his life.
“My father gave me a broken chessboard which he used when playing with his friends. He told me that the game of chess teaches a lot about life. The typewriter he gave taught me diligence as words cannot be erased once they are typed. I got a broken camera with a viewfinder, but I could not click pictures with it. It showed that like the viewfinder, creativity is for yourself and it need not be for the world,” he said.
Along with Shah Rukh Khan, honorary doctorate was also awarded to Sanjiv Saraf, founder of Rekhta Foundation for his contribution in the promotion of Urdu language and culture. President Pranab Mukherjee and the Governor of Telangana E.S.L. Narasimhan could not make it to the function.
Vice-Chancellor Mohammad Aslam Parvaiz and Chancellor Zafar Younus Sareshwala took part in the convocation in which 48,000 students from various disciplines were awarded degrees.
