Early Times Report
JAMMU, Dec 25: The adage "You don't need to venture into the Old West or shuttle into space to be a pioneer," aptly describes the long and challenging journey of Vijay Kumar Gandotra, a well known figure in teaching circles of Jammu, who brought the Commerce stream of education within the grasp of a large number of students in Jammu.
With his sheer grit, determination and hard work, Gandotra carved out a niche for himself as a leading teacher of Commerce stream in Jammu city.
He was not only instrumental in making Commerce as one of the highly pursued streams by hundreds of students in Jammu but also made it relatively easy to understand for the pupils with his unique style of teaching, which was a good mixture of both friendliness and discipline.
Born on January 19, 1941 in a business family of Jammu city's Raghunath Pura locality, adjacent to posh Raghunath Bazaar, Vijay Kumar Gandotra did his schooling and college in Jammu itself. He did B Com, LLB and Diploma in Industrial Appreciation.
It was in mid-70s, Gandotra thought of opening a private coaching institute for imparting quality education to the students of Commerce stream and finally his dream took a concrete shape on October 22, 1978 when he laid the foundation of his brainchild with the name and style of "Vinay Tuition Centre", named after his younger son, at his ancestral house in Raghunath Pura, Jammu.
It was no looking back after the establishment of the tuition centre as Gandotra on one hand was successfully running his venture with élan; on the other hand his stature as a top teacher of Commerce was growing by leaps and bounds.
Gandotra soon started getting teaching offers from premier private schools of Jammu and he accepted those proposals without any hitch. He began the new sojourn by accepting the assignment of visiting lecturer in MHAC School, Nagbani, Jammu in June 1979 following which he joined Gurmat Kanya Pathshala (GKP), Purani Mandi, Jammu in 1981-82 as a visiting faculty. He was actively involved in the introduction of Commerce as one of the streams in GKP, Jammu.
Simultaneously, he joined Dewan Badri Nath Vidya Mandir Higher Secondary School, Mubarak Mandi, Jammu, as a guest lecturer in 1982 and went on to give his services in the school till 1990. Gandotra also served as a visiting faculty in Delhi Public School, Jammu which he joined in 2003.
Meanwhile, Gandotra's own baby "Vinay Tuition Centre" was converted into a private limited company in 1992 and was rechristened as "Gandotra College of Commerce", which was later moved to his new residence in Sector-7, Trikuta Nagar, Jammu in the year 2000.
"A large number of the Chartered Accountants of Jammu have been taught by me. They were my students at one stage or the other till 2008-09. After that I passed on the baton to my younger son, who was assisting me since 2000," a proud Gandotra told Early Times.
Now, the Gandotra College of Commerce is being fully nurtured by Gandotra's younger son Vinay Gandotra, who whenever needs a helping hand- his friend, philosopher and guide- father is always there to support. Moreover, Vinay is getting continuous guidance from his mother Shubh Gandotra, who herself served as a teacher in DBN Vidya Mandir School, and elder brother Vaneet Gandotra, who is a successful Chartered Accountant. |
