AI Generated Summary
- While the world knew him for his razor-sharp satire and unforgettable comic roles, within PAU’s green campuses, he was equally revered as a dedicated educator, mentor, and Head of the Department of Extension Education until his retirement in 2020.
- Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) is in mourning following the passing of Dr Jaswinder Bhalla, a celebrated figure in both academia and Punjabi entertainment, who died early Friday morning at Fortis Hospital, Mohali, at the age of 65.
- Students remember Bhalla as a rare academic who could command a lecture hall with as much skill as he could a theatre audience.
Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) is in mourning following the passing of Dr Jaswinder Bhalla, a celebrated figure in both academia and Punjabi entertainment, who died early Friday morning at Fortis Hospital, Mohali, at the age of 65.
While the world knew him for his razor-sharp satire and unforgettable comic roles, within PAU’s green campuses, he was equally revered as a dedicated educator, mentor, and Head of the Department of Extension Education until his retirement in 2020. Colleagues recall him not just as a professor of agriculture, but as a man whose humour carried wisdom, and whose wisdom often arrived wrapped in laughter.
“His contribution to Punjabi literature, culture, and education was immeasurable,” said PAU Vice-Chancellor Dr S.S. Gosal. “We were proud to have nurtured such a multifaceted personality. The void he leaves behind will be felt in classrooms, on stage, and across Punjab.”
Students remember Bhalla as a rare academic who could command a lecture hall with as much skill as he could a theatre audience. Gurpreet Singh, a former student, shared: “He was the only professor who could make you laugh in the corridor and make you think deeply in the classroom. His lectures were refined, never overshadowed by his fame.”
Dr Bhalla often expressed a quiet regret that his retirement coincided with the pandemic, robbing him of a formal farewell from students. Today, those same students paid their respects with floral tributes at PAU, their grief echoing through the university’s corridors.
For colleagues like Dr Gulzar Singh Pandher and Prof Tejinder Singh Riar, Bhalla’s loss is personal and professional. “We have lost a distinguished academician, a social reformer, and a cultural icon,” Prof Riar said. “His legacy will live on in the memories of farmers he guided and the generations of students he inspired.”
Beyond formal accolades, it was Bhalla’s everyday presence at PAU — his approachable manner, his deep empathy, and his knack for turning even mundane interactions into moments of joy — that endeared him most. As Prof Gurbhajan Singh Gill reflected: “He left before I could meet him — before the sun could rise today.”
In Ludhiana, the city that watched him grow from a young lecturer into a household name, his passing marks the end of an era. Yet in PAU’s fields and lecture halls, his spirit will remain — a gentle reminder that learning and laughter need never be apart.
