By KALYANI VASAN
CERRITOS, CA - Philanthropist Navin Doshi, well known for his support of educational institutions donated $500,000 to IIT Gandhinagar in Gujarat, India to establish the Kanchan Harilal Doshi Chair. At an event held here that turned into a celebration of Doshi’s life, many A-listers in the field of education, prominent community leaders,
CERRITOS, CA - Philanthropist Navin Doshi, well known for his support of educational institutions donated $500,000 to IIT Gandhinagar in Gujarat, India to establish the Kanchan Harilal Doshi Chair. At an event held here that turned into a celebration of Doshi’s life, many A-listers in the field of education, prominent community leaders,
family and friends spoke of his wonderful and entertaining personality. Hosted by Cerritos College the event was held at the college’s impressive Student Center and was organized by Anand Rao Lingayat of the Leprosy Foundation. Ambassador Venkatesan Ashok, Consul General of India in San Francisco graced the event as the guest of honor.
Dr. Jose Fierro, President/Supervisor of Cerritos College welcomed the guests and thanked the Indian American community for their ongoing support of the college. He stated that the goal of Cerritos College was to serve local students and they have seen a 30% rise in graduation rates. Additionally, the face of the campus has been undergoing a metamorphosis with the construction of state of the art buildings. He welcomed the audience to take a tour of the college to see firsthand the wonderful work that is taking place.
Continuing the theme of the evening - philanthropic support to education, it was mentioned that Doshi believed strongly in the concept of teaching one how to fish rather than simply gifting a fish. Doshi arrived in the
USA in 1958 to earn a Master’s degree in engineering and envisioned achieving the proverbial American dream. He worked tirelessly, lived frugally and along with his engineer wife-Pratima built a business empire of velvet patchwork blankets, stock market and real estate investments. The Doshis have also raised two successful children-Rahul a cardiologist and Sonya, a financial advisor. Doshi, who took graduate classes in engineering at UCLA, along with Pratima, has also donated $500,000 to UCLA to establish a chair that would focus on the history of India before 1800. Both their children are UCLA graduates.
Dr. Sudhir Jain, Vice Chancellor, Indian Institute of Technology(IIT) Gandhinagar-was at the event to accept the $500,000 contribution. Dr. Jain has served as IIT faculty for 25 years, after which he took on the challenge of establishing a new IIT in Gandhinagar. Dr. Jain then stated that the new IIT at Gandhinagar was a unique mission where their students are encouraged to serve and solve India’s problems upon graduation. Student life at the IIT campus he said, “Begins with 5 weeks of non-academic learning which includes travelling in economy trains across India. This journey serves as a study in observing and devising ways to conserve precious resources such as water.” Preserving water as a valuable resource is a major undertaking at the campus-as rain water is harvested and stored for later use. This commitment to conserve water as an essential resource is what also brought Doshi and Dr. Jain together in the first place. Upon learning of the college’s firm commitment to serve as a conduit to strive towards resolving the water crisis in India, Doshi agreed to donate to IIT Gandhinagar.
Ambassador Ashok also shares Doshi’s and Dr. Jain’s commitment to water conservation. The ambassador stated that India despite having just 4% of the world’s water resources, consumes 16% of the world’s water resources. He stated the case for five water crisis solutions: Retention, Reducing water wastage, Reusing, Re-cycling and Recovery. He lamented that the historic Yamuna River has dried up and many others have become trash holders.
Speaking on the occasion, Pratima Doshi gave the audience a glimpse into what daily life with her husband is like and her humorous observations regaled the audience. Anand Rao, a longtime friend of Doshi spoke about some of Doshi’s pet peeves and his ardent love of conservation of natural resources.
“Navin would like to be laid to rest in a cardboard box wearing just what he came into the world in and his body should be used as compost either for the Bodhi tree in India or the sequoia tree in California. He does not want his body to pollute the earth and atmosphere by way of cremation or burial. Navin Doshi truly believes in the body-less soul and it is this soul that should be celebrated not mere earthly decorations like flowers, clothes etc,” Anand Rao said. Bhupesh Parikh, Ganpath Patel, Uka Solanki are some of the prominent “education philanthropists” who have openly acknowledged that Doshi has been their star, their role model who led the way to recognize the importance of education and have since followed in Doshi’s footsteps in giving back.
Dr. Jose Fierro, President/Supervisor of Cerritos College welcomed the guests and thanked the Indian American community for their ongoing support of the college. He stated that the goal of Cerritos College was to serve local students and they have seen a 30% rise in graduation rates. Additionally, the face of the campus has been undergoing a metamorphosis with the construction of state of the art buildings. He welcomed the audience to take a tour of the college to see firsthand the wonderful work that is taking place.
Continuing the theme of the evening - philanthropic support to education, it was mentioned that Doshi believed strongly in the concept of teaching one how to fish rather than simply gifting a fish. Doshi arrived in the
USA in 1958 to earn a Master’s degree in engineering and envisioned achieving the proverbial American dream. He worked tirelessly, lived frugally and along with his engineer wife-Pratima built a business empire of velvet patchwork blankets, stock market and real estate investments. The Doshis have also raised two successful children-Rahul a cardiologist and Sonya, a financial advisor. Doshi, who took graduate classes in engineering at UCLA, along with Pratima, has also donated $500,000 to UCLA to establish a chair that would focus on the history of India before 1800. Both their children are UCLA graduates.
Dr. Sudhir Jain, Vice Chancellor, Indian Institute of Technology(IIT) Gandhinagar-was at the event to accept the $500,000 contribution. Dr. Jain has served as IIT faculty for 25 years, after which he took on the challenge of establishing a new IIT in Gandhinagar. Dr. Jain then stated that the new IIT at Gandhinagar was a unique mission where their students are encouraged to serve and solve India’s problems upon graduation. Student life at the IIT campus he said, “Begins with 5 weeks of non-academic learning which includes travelling in economy trains across India. This journey serves as a study in observing and devising ways to conserve precious resources such as water.” Preserving water as a valuable resource is a major undertaking at the campus-as rain water is harvested and stored for later use. This commitment to conserve water as an essential resource is what also brought Doshi and Dr. Jain together in the first place. Upon learning of the college’s firm commitment to serve as a conduit to strive towards resolving the water crisis in India, Doshi agreed to donate to IIT Gandhinagar.
Ambassador Ashok also shares Doshi’s and Dr. Jain’s commitment to water conservation. The ambassador stated that India despite having just 4% of the world’s water resources, consumes 16% of the world’s water resources. He stated the case for five water crisis solutions: Retention, Reducing water wastage, Reusing, Re-cycling and Recovery. He lamented that the historic Yamuna River has dried up and many others have become trash holders.
Speaking on the occasion, Pratima Doshi gave the audience a glimpse into what daily life with her husband is like and her humorous observations regaled the audience. Anand Rao, a longtime friend of Doshi spoke about some of Doshi’s pet peeves and his ardent love of conservation of natural resources.
“Navin would like to be laid to rest in a cardboard box wearing just what he came into the world in and his body should be used as compost either for the Bodhi tree in India or the sequoia tree in California. He does not want his body to pollute the earth and atmosphere by way of cremation or burial. Navin Doshi truly believes in the body-less soul and it is this soul that should be celebrated not mere earthly decorations like flowers, clothes etc,” Anand Rao said. Bhupesh Parikh, Ganpath Patel, Uka Solanki are some of the prominent “education philanthropists” who have openly acknowledged that Doshi has been their star, their role model who led the way to recognize the importance of education and have since followed in Doshi’s footsteps in giving back.
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