Urmibrata Bandyopadhyay – NPTEL STAR
In an age where retirement typically signifies rest, Urmibrata Bandyopadhyay has paved a new chapter for himself. His days are quiet, deliberate, and purposeful. A glimpse into his routine shows him waking at 7 a.m., attending to chores, browsing the internet, and by 4 p.m., settling into what he calls the best part of his day: engaging with NPTEL.
With over 47 years of work experience, including 17 as a faculty member, retired academician Bandyopadhyay firmly believes that learning has no deadline. His journey is truly mesmerizing, spanning from earning his mechanical engineering degree in 1971 to completing a PhD from
Jadavpur University 37 years later.
The most transformative chapter of his academic life began not in a lecture hall or anywhere, but in front of a screen. “I joined NPTEL in 2018, just curious to check if I could still pass a modern digital course”, he says. That initial curiosity quickly blossomed into a passion, and he has since completed 50 NPTEL courses.
“After completing two courses, I realized I was competent enough in digital learning”. “Moreover, the NPTEL platform is also designed in such a way that it does not necessarily require anyone’s assistance to navigate courses and materials. I can now learn things on my own at my own pace without having to be dependent on anyone,” he adds.
He has done many courses in fields far removed from his engineering roots: English Literature, Psychology, Drawing and Painting and Drama, and more. “Humanities was that unexplored terrain.
I wanted to study English, but obviously, I can’t sit beside students younger than my grandchildren and pursue them. It is here that NPTEL offered me the perfect bridge of dignified, self-paced and free of judgment learning opportunity”.
That bridge has since taken him to unexpected places. Through courses like Gothic Literature, World Literature, Indian Fiction and American Literature and Culture, Bandyopadhyay has encountered writers he never read in his youth. “Toru Dutt and Henry Derozio for instance. I didn’t know about them until I did the course on Poetry”. He speaks with wonder of their lives, how some left the world in their twenties but left behind legacies that still ripple through literary spaces today.
His favourite professors include, Prof. A Divya, Prof. Merin Simi Raj, Prof. Aysha Viswamohan and more. “Each one opened a window to the other side of the world I was ignorant about”, he shares.
“I had read Tagore all my life, but through an NPTEL course, I saw him anew, from another angle and another light,” he adds. “I also got introduced to new writers from across the nation, like Amrita Pritam, Ambai from Tamil Nadu and Temsüla Ao from north-east.
So, every day I was stunned by how much I didn’t know. But the newer things I kept learning had and have me all excited even today.”
For Dr. Bandyopadhyay, numbers don’t matter when it comes to learning. “I study only what truly interests me”. And yet, he has earned 20 NPTEL STAR certifications, often unaware of them until the acknowledgments arrive. On the question of plans for the future,
“Learning is my only plan now”, he says with quiet conviction. This July, he has applied for an offline diploma course in personal counselling, driven by his growing fascination with psychology – a field he explored through 13 NPTEL courses.
NPTEL, he says, is his constant companion. In a world focused on outcomes, Dr. Bandyopadhyay stands out as someone who embraces the learning process itself. He is proof that learning isn’t just for the young and restless, but for anyone with curiosity, courage, and a desire to grow. His advice to fellow learners: “Choose subjects that stir your soul and learn to see the world differently.”
– written by Asha Thangaraj