Brij Mohan: person, pioneer, and professor

While swimming in the very stream of this vast river of life, there comes a moment, imperceptible . . . vague, when all wo(men) look back over their lives. Retrospective sense-making is quite simply part of the human condition. Within the context of this regular retrospective occurrence or intellectual nostalgia, there emerge rare sparks of life and light that dramatically impact culture and the everyday experience of being; these lives, these sparks need (if not deserve) to be examined by the very culture, class and colleagues that grew in wisdom from the impactful words, witnessed the daily life and demeanor, gained from the dynamic lectures and gleaned from the collected works of such a person. Therefore, with this understanding in mind, this article will reflect upon the life of Brij Mohan in a condensed but hopefully holistic manner. Dr Hasan (2010, p. 102) so eloquently stated: ‘‘It would need half-a-dozen doctoral dissertations to spell out the meaning, interpretation and impact of his salient contributions’’. Even more voluminous works would be needed to accurately describe a man who has transcended his craft, his professional call and remained free of the hubris he despises so fiercely. I first encountered the name Brij Mohan when visiting a friend on the campus of Louisiana State University (LSU). I was weighing my graduate school options, so I politely sat in on one of the social work classes being taught in the spring semester of 2009. This name Brij Mohan came up in classroom conversation, as my friend described certain articles she needed to read as part of Dr Plummer’s independent study course relating to international social work and community development. My friend spoke of how challenging it was to read Dr Mohan’s work because he used language that superseded her vernacular. She went as far as to ask me to listen as she read and try to capture the essence of what was being said, and then recapitulate that quintessence to her. As she read, I was struck by the extraordinary diction used to describe what was ordinarily termed ‘‘dry reading’’. There were moments when I sat back with a smile on my face and asked ‘‘Who is this guy because I cannot explain what he is saying any better than how he has already stated it? He has come as close to describing the intricacies of international social work as is humanly possible – and has done it with panache’’. A few weeks later