BHUBANESWAR: Beneath Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik’s persona of a tough administrator and astute politician lies a soft and sensitive heart. His deeply emotional side came to the fore during his ongoing visit to Rome, when his interaction with an Odia diaspora there left him teary-eyed.
As Seshadev Kisan, a research associate in a German University who belongs to Sambalpur, spoke of immense hardships in his life and the constant support and encouragement of the Chief Minister for all that he has achieved today, Naveen became very emotional and was seen wiping tears from his eyes.
Hailing from a humble background, Seshadev rose above the grim financial circumstances, overcame all sorts of odds to top examinations and became a gold medallist in Integrated Master of Sciences (MSc) from National Institute of Science Education and Research (NISER). He had joined Georg-August University in Germany as a research associate with the help of a scholarship in 2018.
He had then been invited by the Chief Minister to meet him. “I am pretty much delighted to meet you for the fourth time. The first time I had met you wearing bathroom slippers, faded shirt and a Nokia phone in 2018 when you had gifted me an iPhone.” With these words when the tribal youth started recalling the moments by waving his iPhone, Naveen was in tears.
Seshadev thanked Naveen for supporting him and bringing from nothing to everything. He said he has been able to build a house of Rs 30 lakh with the money he received as stipend during his research on nitrogen containing organic compounds.
“Naveen Sir had first invited me to share my journey in front of bureaucrats, ministers, academicians and students at the State Secretariat four years back. He gave me the much-needed courage for an orphan and despondent like me. I have already lost my parents and my sister. He is my parent,” Seshadev said.
Recalling the promises he had made then, the chemical engineer said, “I have adopted 170 poor students of my village and employed two teachers for special coaching. Starting from their education expenses to tuition fees, I have been bearing everything. Our CM Sir wanted to see me as a good human being and contribute to the society. I will fulfill his dreams.”
The Sambalpur lad has finished his PhD in three-and-a-half years and is aspiring to work in a global pharmaceutical company for two/three years before returning to Odisha. He plans to set up a pharmaceutical unit in the State and become a part of the Odisha’s industrial journey.
Officials accompanying the CM were taken aback. “We have seen the Chief Minister through many ups and downs. But he had never looked so emotional. He was standing at the podium when Seshadev was asked to share a few words. His speech lasted for about 2.5 minutes and all along the CM was seen weeping. Those were definitely the tears of happiness, but this was a rare and unseen side of his,” said an officer. Non resident Odias from 12 countries across Europe interacted with Naveen. Seshadev had come all the way from Göttingen in Germany to Rome.