Obituary of Govind Narain SHARMA

March 11, 1927 – Jaipur, India
March 8, 2021 – Calgary, Alberta

Dr. Govind Narain Sharma, beloved husband of Shanti Sharma, passed away on Monday, March 8, 2021, at the age of 93 years in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

Born in Jaipur, Rajasthan, India to father Shyam Lal and mother Gulab Devi, Dr. Sharma completed most of his schooling in India, having earned his B.A. and M.A. degrees from Agra University and the University of Rajasthan. After teaching for a time at Delhi University, Dr. Sharma studied at the University of Toronto as a Commonwealth Scholar and received his PhD degree there.  All told, his teaching experience included nineteen years at Delhi University in India and twenty-four years in Canada at Acadia University as a Professor of English. 

Dr. Sharma’s interests were in the fields of British Romantic and Victorian Literature, History of Ideas and Commonwealth Literature; especially African and Indian. He was President of the Canadian Association for Commonwealth Literature and Language Studies for three years and had published extensively in his fields, including three books and numerous articles in reputed learned journals. 
Since his move to Calgary, following his retirement from Acadia in 1992, Dr. Sharma served as a member of the Board of Trustees of the Hindu Society of Calgary, taking office as Chairman in 1996-97. He also served for a time on the Asian Advisory Committee of the Glenbow Museum.
 

Dr. Sharma taught classes on Hinduism at the Hindu Temple and was well versed in Sanskrit writings, especially the Upanishads. He also presided over a Study Circle forum at the Hindu Temple on Hinduism and interfaith studies. His scholarly pursuit and passion for learning continued after his retirement to include learning classical Indian music, Sanskrit and Urdu. Just before his passing, he had even started to learn Latin in his spare time.

Dr. Sharma is survived by his wife Shanti of seventy-four years, his three children, Neelima, Rajiv and Surabhi, as well as their spouses Naresh, Sharmila and Shirish, respectively. He was also blessed with six grandchildren, Rishi, Rahul, Parul, Rachana, Keshav and Akshay; and most recently with two great-grandchildren, Anay and Senya.

A Private Family Funeral Service will be held at this time to safeguard one and all during these difficult times. A Public Celebration of Dr. Sharma’s Life will be announced at a later date.

In living memory of Govind Sharma, a tree will be planted in the Ann & Sandy Cross Conservation Area by McINNIS & HOLLOWAY FUNERAL HOMES, Chapel of the Bells, 2720 CENTRE STREET NORTH, CALGARY, AB T2E 2V6, Telephone: 403-243-8200.