Early Life
Purnendu Mohan Das was born on the 28th of November, 1938 in the small hamlet of Bezarapar, district of Kamrup in Assam. The fourth child of late Hari Mohan Das and Girija Sundari Das; Soon after his birth, his parents moved into the city of Guwahati, settling in the Uzan Bazar area where he would spend most of his childhood and adolescent years.
His is family consisted of four brothers and two sisters, who all affectionately called him “Khudu”, a reference to him being “tiny” as an infant.
Considered the mischievous one in his family, he was known to escape into the surrounding jungles of Guwahati in search of adventure. His skill with the catapult with which he used to hunt game birds was almost a local legend amongst his fellow companions.
Education
His primary education was in Manik Chandra Barua High School which was a stone’s throw away from his childhood home in Uzan Bazar, following which he took admission in Cotton Collegiate Government Higher Secondary School. After graduating from high school, he took admission in Cotton College for his intermediate studies before going into University.
Following his keen interest in the sciences, he enrolled in the graduate programme for Physics in the same institution. Graduating three years later with honours in Physics, he went on to pursue an engineering degree at the Assam Engineering College in Guwahati.
Generally very meritorious throughout his academic life, it was not uncommon to find his peers approach him for help with their studies. And as ever his kind and generous nature ensured that in him they always found a teacher patiently explaining the most complex of engineering concepts.
Personal Life
He married Pahari Saikia in 1972 and settled down initially in Umtru and then in Shillong.His first son, Rick, was born in 1973 while he was still in Canada. The whole family relocated to Guwahati in 1979, to be followed by the birth of his second son, Suman a year later.
Very much the family man, he devoted his time and energy to his family throughout his life.
Professional Career
First Posting (1963)
After having completed his Bachelor’s in Electrical Engineering, his first job in ASEB (Assam State Electricity Board) led him to oversee operations and maintenance at the Umiam and Umtru power stations as the resident engineer on site.Winnipeg, Canada (1973)
In this early stage of his career, he made a name for himself as a young gifted engineer with an eye for meticulous details. This led to him being noticed by the senior hierarchy in the organisation, and was one of the chosen few to be put forward for the prestigious Commonwealth Colombo Plan, which gave him the opportunity to train in the Manitoba Hydro Electricity Plant in Winnipeg, Canada. A time that he fondly reminisced throughout his life.
The ASEB Years (1973-1988)
On his return from Canada, he resumed his duties progressing in his role over the years, eventually becoming a Superintending Engineer for the ASEB (Assam State Electricity board). Throughout these years, he built a rich experience of working in Power plants all over Assam, of which worth mentioning are the ones where he played a seminal role in managing and developing the operations of the plants like the Bongaigaon Thermal Power Station, Lakwa Gas Power Turbine station, Dhansiri Micro Hydel Project and the primary power plants in Geleky, Kathalguri and Amguri.
Leading a Private Venture (1988 – 1994)
During this time, he had a brief stint as a Chief Engineer for Superec India Limited where he continued to lend his expertise in the erection and commissioning of the Hydro Electric Power station in the Langpi area of the Karbi Anglong district. He would later return to work on this project, and see it all the way through to the time when it became operational.Along with his close friend – the late Bhaskar Choudhury – and two other engineers, he founded Chartered Engineers Private limited, an engineering consultancy specialising in design and commissioning of power sub-stations. He was pivotal in guiding the firm’s operations on several vital power projects in the region with clients like the NF Railway, Government of Arunachal Pradesh and the Dumsung Cement Factory in Bhutan.
Reputation as an Engineering Expert (1994 – 2008)
By this time his reputation as one of the foremost electrical engineering experts had been cemented in the engineering community and he was much sought after by several power companies operating in the region.His consultancy throughout this period in several organisations like APGCL (Assam Power Generation Company Limited), Superec India, AIDC (Assam Industrial Development Corporation) and ASEB left a lasting legacy in them and their work culture.
Most notable is his consultancy with ASEB where he is highly regarded for his breadth of experience over four decades. He helped the organisation through some of its most prominent projects like the Cultural Complex at the Maaskhuwa locality in Guwahati, the Vivekananda Kendra also in Guwahati, the Guwahati Refinery Auditorium, the Dibrugarh University Auditorium, the Namrup Thermal Power Station and the micro hydel projects in Bordikarai, Basanti and Bordikharu.
High Impact Projects (2008 – 2014)
Even in his later years, he continued to involve himself in several engineering projects with the same enthusiasm that he showed in the past five decades of his exemplary career.Never saying no to any engineering complexity that his clients would throw at him, even till his last few months he worked on several high value projects with clients like the Sarada Eco Power Projects and SMEC International where his expertise in handling every aspect of the project was very much sought after.
A Genius of his Time
Not only was his natural grown talent in his field of expertise well known, but also his professional work ethic, his knowledge of the region and the unique challenges it offers and his ability to manage and train personnel at all levels made him an asset for any institution involved in developing that region.He will forever be remembered as a genius in his field.