A Dronacharya Of Our Times
Prof. Sunny Thomas is more known as a national shooting champion and an international referee and coach, trainer and an authority in the field, but Sunny Sir , as he is warmly and affectionately addressed by everyone around in his circle of friends, which is so far and wide, is essentially an academic par excellence, as he happens to be one of the most brilliant teachers in our contemporary times whose first love always have been English language and literature.
Commencing his career as a Lecturer in English in the S.H.College, Thevara on their offer in 1963, Destiny designed him differently, making him the first Head of the Dept of English in the newly founded St. Stephen’s College, Uzhavoor, the very next year, even before his becoming twentyfive!. And he presided over the dept of English there for a quarter of a century and more with an inimitable dignity and an incomparable decorum till his formal retirement on superannuation as the Vice-Principal of the College in 1997.
Prof Sunny originally hails from Thidanad, near Aruvithura, born as the son of the celebrity Kadhikan or Master of Kathaprasangam those days, K.K. Thomas, a contemporary of Joseph Kaimaparamban, Prof M.P. Manmadhan and V. Sambasivan, the shining stars in the field in yester years. K.K.Thomas Sir of Mekkat was a B.A. L.T and Headmaster of Kalaketty High School those days. Sunny is himself one of the Celebrity alumnus of the CMS College, Kottayam where the great son of Uzhavoor and former President K.R.Narayanan too studied a quarter of a century before him.
Prof Sunny Thomas has been a genuine teacher on all counts ever since he joined the Thevara College, and dropped his long time dream of becoming an IAS, once he found teaching as his natural cup of tea.The hundreds of thousands of his students bear the best testimonyto him as the most brilliant teacher who taught them ever.While a student, he proved his merit in sports and games by being a smart member of the College team in both cricket and badminton and was a star player in both.But Prof Sunny’s record was different and unique as a sharp shooter in the Rifle Club and eventually he became a state champion in the field, subsequently ascending the throne as a national shooting champion consecutively for a couple of years. In no time it rather became his first love, of course next only to his elegant and gracious first lady, Prof. Jossamma Maniangatt, who was my college mate in the Palai St. Thomas in 1963- 65 PG course, me for Political Science and Jossamma for Botany. Jossamma subsequently joined the Faculty in the Uzhavoor College when Sunny was reigning there as the most eligible bachelor! . The rest is history, and they became the most colourful couple In the then academic world of ours.
Prof Sunny Thomas became a very close friend in our social circle when we found to our surprise that he has been a confirmed teetotaller, campaigning among his students very sternly against the use of alcohol and drugs. He happily joined us with the Kerala Prohibition Council on our request to lead the campaign against alcohol, along with his two Young Turks from Uzhavoor College, Prof Regi Kochuthazhath, who later became a priest inspite of his being the only son of his parents; and Prof N.I.Joseph,whom his students and friends affectionately called “Palunny”, who being so white and handsome because of his milkywhite Knananite complexion! Prof.N.I. was a very warm and loving friend and one very active and vibrant in the Movement, but he made us all stunned and shocked when he unfortunately met with a fatal motor bike accident along with a college colleague of him on their way to Kottayam while he was so promisingly young. We miss him still.
In the Anti alcoholic movement those days with us were celebrity leaders of the first order like Lekshmi. N. Menon, Prof M.P. Manmadhan, K.P. Madhavan Nair, Prof Sukumar Azhikode, Fr Kuriakose Parakkal Core-episcopa, Rev K.K.Chandy, Rev. P.DMammen Achan, Vettom Thomas, P.C.Cherian, D.C.Kizhakemuri, and the young stars, Dr Jose Parakkadavil, Fr George Vellappally, Prof. P. J. Michael, and a host of others. Former Central Minister Mrs Lekshmi. N.Menon was the President of the Movement, with Prof. Manmadhan and Rev. Parackal Achan as Vice-Presidents and Former Central Minister and Ambassador A.M.Thomas,treasurer and myself the General Secretary. Prof Sunny Thomas served as our General Captain, in charge of the student volunteers, drawn from different colleges, commanding and controlling them so effectively under his thump.
I remember a number of student leaders too who were steadfastly with us those days who later made a mark of their own in public life like Adv. Mathew. T. Thomas MLA and Former Minister, Adv.Thomas Kunnappally,former President of the Kottayam Dist.Panchayath, Chevalier Adv.VC Sebastian, Adv. Joy Kuttiyani,now in USA, Thomas Jacob Boban, Adv.Noble Mathew, currently Ktm Dist.President of the BJP, Prof Sreevalsan Namboodiri, very active in the Congress , Adv. Stephen Chazhikadan, Rev.Oommen.V. Varkey, a good organiser and a firebrandspeaker then; Adv. Sasi Philip, Johnson Edayaranmula, K.J.Jose, now in the US and so on, in whose moulding Prof Sunny Thomas certainly had a key and decisive role. He proved himself more than a mere teacher, but a true mentor too for the younger folk of his teaching days.
Prof Sunny made his name a brandin his field of choice by registering records one after another as an unbeatable sharp shooter and a state and national champion in the art and science of the shooting game. He was shooting championfive times, a record still unbroken.And as a national coach and trainer, Prof. Sunny moulded many a champions in the Asiad Games, the Commonwealth Games and in the Olympics too, ensuring Silver through Rajyavardhan Singh Rathode in Athens(2004) and Gold through Abhinav Bindra in Beijing( 2008).
The Nation decorated Prof. Sunny Thomas with the highest honour in the field, the Dronacharya Award in 2002 by the President and he received it from Dr.Abdul Kalam. In 2012 he opted retirement as National Coach and Trainer, besides saying goodbye to the field as International Referee too, in good grace.
Prof.Sunny and Prof.Jossamma are blessed with two sons and a daughter, son Manoj an engineer and a good singer like his father, and Sanal too an engineer, both recipients of national shooting championships and G.V. Raja Award winners in Sports; and daughter Dr Sonia, a Ph.D in Computer Science is the Vice-principal in the Pudukkad College and happily married to Deepak, AGM in the Catholic Syrian Bank.Manoj is married to Dr Beena, HoD of English in the St.Teresas, Ekm, and Sanal married to Manju, an Engineer. Dronaacharya is now happily living in Uzhavoor with his wife, but more happy when his grandchildren reach there to give him a joyfully comfortable company during their holidays.
God bless our noble friend,
the pride of our place and that of our Nation too.
Cyriac Thomas
He had served as the Vice–Chancellor of Mahatma Gandhi University, Kottayam, Kerala, India and the acting Vice–Chancellor of Cochin University of Science and Technology (CUSAT). He had also served as the pro Vice–Chancellor and acting Vice–Chancellor of University of Kerala.