Prof Mohan Bhandari: It is there, but it is not there
2nd September 2026. At 6.00pm in one of the IDC alumni WhatsApp groups I saw message informing that Prof Mohan Bhandari has passed away. I don’t know if the word “shock” will do any justice to the feeling when we read that message. The pain was beyond articulation. The silence was deafening. I just sat there reading that message again and again. One of the greatest academicians ever has been liberated. One great friend has vanished into thin air. The great philosopher has followed his favorite line “It is there but it is not there…..” Prof Bhandari had told me once: “We are all guests on this earth, bubbles which can burst anytime…..”. I have never forgotten that line. A flashback: The year was 1990. I had just got admission to the Master’s programme in the Industrial Design Centre (now known as IDC School of Design) at IIT Bombay. At that time, the yearly intake was only 25, ten for MDes in Visual Communication and 15 for Product Design...