“Tomorrow morning, we will have a class on oceanography. Please come without fail.” These were the last words spoken by D. Shankaran, founder of the Shankar IAS Academy, to his students on Thursday.
The same night, he hanged himself at his Mylapore residence. He is survived by his wife Vaishnavi and two daughters. They live on Krishnasamy Avenue, Mylapore.
According to the police, he had a quarrel with his wife in the evening. Depressed over the issue, he went to his bedroom at 10.30 pm and hanged himself from the ceiling fan. The family rushed him to St. Isabel's Hospital in Mylapore where the doctors declared him brought dead. His body was then taken to Royapettah Government Hospital for a post-mortem.
His mortal remains were then taken to his coaching centre for his students to pay homage. Later they were taken for burial.
Born in Nallangoundampalayam village, Tiruchengodu, Shankaran did his graduation in Agriculture. He completed his post-graduation from Haryana Agricultural University. He attempted the UPSC exam several times and attended personal interviews a couple of times but failed to get into the civil services. In 2004, he opened an institute in Anna Nagar for coaching civil service aspirants. The academy, which has branches in Chennai, Coimbatore and Bengaluru, has produced several civil servants over the years.
Left reeling
On hearing about Shankaran’s death, hundreds of his students rushed to the hospital and his residence to get a final glimpse of their teacher. S.P. Karthik Annamalai, a student, said, “I find it so hard to believe. He asked us come for class tomorrow and suddenly we get a message at 2.30 a.m. from the academy that the class has been cancelled due to unavoidable circumstances. It was horrifying wake up to such a news.”
A patient, understanding and humble person - that is how his staff and students describe Shankaran.
Mir Mohammed Ali, a student of the academy who now serves as District Collector of Kannur, recalled how Shankaran drastically changed the way he approached exams. “He is the reason I cracked the UPSC exam. I couldn’t get through the first time and then came to this academy. He teaches you what 10 books can’t teach. I have never seen a humble man like him.”
S. Chandrasekar, a staff in the academy for seven years now, said he met Shankaran in 2005. He fondly recollected how Shankaran would take time to find out every student’s strengths and weaknesses. “He encouraged me so much. If a student fails, he will carefully observe and say what went wrong and what needs to be done. It is hard to come across a man like him.”
G. Muniraj, an IPS officer from Uttar Pradesh said, “Mr. Shankar’s institution has produced several officers like me. In those days, there was no reputed coaching instution in Chennai for civil service jobs. Only the affluent could go to Delhi for coaching but Mr. Shankar changed the situtaion.”
On social media platforms, messages came pouring in. Kairali Akshaya posted: “#Shankar Sir, I have never seen a teacher or a personality like you in my life. Academy #ShankarIASAcademy will never be the same without you. May your soul rest in peace.”
Mr. Annamalai said the striking quality about him was that he managed to pay equal attention to all students and put them at ease. “We, his students, will certainly make him proud,” he added.
Assistance for overcoming suicidal thoughts is available on the State’s health helpline 104 and Sneha’s suicide prevention helpline 044-24640050.
