IIT, Powai award posthumous degree to Nagpur lad

By Vikas Vaidya

The convocation of IIT, Powai on August 10 witnessed an unusual happening. One of the degrees was received by father of the student, and that too, when the student had not appeared for the final examination! The extraordinary story of a young student, whose big dreams were shattered by the whims of fate, had compelled the institute to make an exception. His father, Siddharth Dhoke, a loco-pilot with Central Railways, recieved the degree with moist eyes.
Siddharth Dhoke accepted the degree at the hands of Abhay Karandikar, Professor and Head of Department of Electrical Engineering. With his intellect and compassionate nature, Akshay had left a mark which made the institute award him the degree posthumously. His father, not a very rich man, too did not lag behind. He gave an amount of Rs 2 lakh to IIT, Powai, so that every topper in Microelectronics could be given medal and three students of weaker section could get scholarship for research project. Siddharth Dhoke did not stop here. He went ahead with a booking of an Echo ambulance worth over Rs 4 lakh which he would be donating to Government Medical College, Nagpur in the memory of Late Akshay Dhoke. He has donated Rs 75,000 to Rashtrasant Tukadoji Maharaj Nagpur University to start a gold medal for the final topper of BE or B.Tech stream among Scheduled Caste students which would be called as Late Akshay Siddharth Dhoke Memorial Gold Medal.
Akshay Dhoke, a city lad, had a dream of becoming the best among IITian toppers fought with death for eight months and succumbed on September 14, 2012. Till then his father Siddharth, mother Sarbani, sister Shefalee, uncle Nagsen Dhoke (GGM, RITES), aunty Vishakha were waiting eagerly to welcome him. His death made them numb. Akshay’s journey from his birth to schooling, his entry in IIT, Powai, his being among the toppers and then being detected with blood cancer, his fight with the death, all flashed before their eyes.
After scoring brilliantly in HSC and cracking IIT-JEE, Akshay got admission in the prestigious Indian Institute of Technology, Powai in 2009. He was a student of M Tech in Electrical Engineering (dual degree) with speciality in Microelectronics. He was a top scorer there too. His teachers were happy with his academic excellence and his good natured conductr too. Soon he became the blue-eyed boy in the college. When he entered in his final year in the year 2011, he fell ill. His platelate count came down to 09. The related tests confirmed that he was suffering from blood cancer. He was advised Bone Marrow Transplant (BMT)
“On February 17, 2012 a BMT was conducted on Akshay. As per rules, after such transplant, relatives are not allowed to meet the patient for 31 days. He was kept in a cube. We were not aware of his condition. We tried to peep from the holes, or tiny windows to have a glimpse. On the 17th day we desperately requested administration at the Tata Memorial Hospital for a glimpse. Finally they allowed. I went inside, saw him.......,: Siddharth Dhoke paused, tears rolled down from his eyes, speechless with grief. “Akshay looked with pale eyes that lighted up when he saw me. With a force of desperation, he asked me to sit, he did not want any rules to dominate our meeting. I met him with mixed feelings, still confused whether I was happy to meet him after 17 days or sad to see him in such a condition. No one can understand what is in Destiny’s mind,” said Dhoke. His journey till death was full of mixed events and feelings. At one point it seemed that he was cured but then he again lost strength. His father was there. Akshay was on the move all the time, but now, his frail body ridden with cancer forced him to rest. He read books on cancer brought by his father. He downloaded information about cancer on laptop. He was always thirsty for knowledge. Then his death seemed certain. His friends, aware of his fondness for cricketer Rahul Dravid, tried to arrange a meeting with his idol. He could not come but these techno-savvy youths got him on Skype and he spoke to Akshay.
“I don’t want to caste an aspersion on the doctors at Tata Memorial Cancer Hospital where he was being treated, but Akshay told doctors some things about his disease and humbly suggested some mode of treatment but they did not pay attention to him. They ignored him and said that he was an engineering student and could not know the medical aspect. I personally feel that Akshay was sensible and his grasping power was tremendous. But I do not want to blame anybody. I think Akshay lived a life worth living. We are happy with his stint in this world,” said Dhoke.
Dhoke started a trust Late Akshay Dhoke Memorial Trust. The Trust has Shefalee, late Akshay’s sister and his friends - Kumar Akarsh, Ronak Mehta and Saurabh Suryavanshi who were there all the time in the hospital serving Akshay. Through this trust, health  and eye check up camps were conducted. Needy people were given specs and medicines free of cost. Divisional Railway Manager Cricket Cup was sponsored, blood donation camps were held, winner and runners up trophies of Dr B R Ambedkar Hockey Tournament were sponsored. Siddharth Dhoke and his family are not ready to let Akshay’s memories fade away but they are not brooding over his death and are paying back to the society.

Akshay to be remembered in different way

On September 14, 2013, Akshay Dhoke’s death anniversary to be observed. The students of Bishop Cotton School, Somalwar High  School, Khamla and Dr Ambedkar College, Deekshabhoomi who scored above 95 per cent would be felicitated. Akshay was in Bishop Cotton till Class IV, till SSC he was in Somalwar and he did his Class XI and XII from Dr Ambedkar College. The ambulance will be donated to GMCH, Nagpur on the same day.