Am I less Indian

Recently I was invited for a workshop on "Sustainable Production and Consumption" by an NGO; the workshop was supported by MOEF, UNEP, DEFRA and EC. I was reluctant to attend the workshop initially; the NGO was persistent that I should attend and contribute to the debate on Sustainable products. I could manage to squeeze in some time to attend the workshop as I believed that it was my social obligation.

The group debating various issues related to Sustainable products consisted of a few representatives from UNEP, EC, DEFRA, a few NGOs and two from MNCs, one from Unilever and the other me. This guy from the NGO was vocal in his criticism of the Corporate sector in general and MNCs in particular for spoiling India's environment...at every opportunity he was spewing venom on the corporate sector...the intention it appeared was to make us feel small with the guy taking a high moral ground, as a saviour of the environment. I did not know how much he had done to improve India's environment; but I know how much I had done in the last twenty years for environmental improvement. Initially I thought that I would ignore him; but his barbs became too much and needed to be curbed; at that point I asked him point blank if he was "more Indian" than us, who work of MNCs. I asked him this question in the presence of delegates from Europe and others; this guy was taken aback. He did not expect such a question. Luckily he answered "No" and I left the debate there (he did not open his mouth later during the discussion). If he had said "Yes", I had already prepared many questions to show his hollowness. This guy was speaking about plastics and their ban; he was wearing polyester pants and a shoe with PVC sole !!!

Just because one works for an NGO does not give him a right to put other Indians off....does it give him a right for a moral high ground? Am I "less Indian" than him ?

A long Innings

I have completed 25 years in Philips on 17 October, 2007... a long innings indeed !!!

Looking back....

"Why are you joining this lousy company".....this is what the HR guy at the HO told me in September 1982

"You will not continue for long in Philips....It is a useless Company" ....that is what Kolkata Chithappa told me in 1982

Is Philips a lousy company ? Is it a useless company ? For me it has been a "good" company.....there are many positives and less (avoidable) negatives to the company.

I have gone through ups and downs in the last 25 years....

I had to face "politics" in the beginning.....tried to wriggle out of it...but it had its effect on my career....I fear that political undercurrents were always affected my career in Philips till I was attached to the lab

When Dr. Vaid retired (or pre-retired) he handed over ALL the keys (including to those of confidential information) to me and announced that I would take over his function from then on....I later came to know that political under-currents do interfere with such professional decisions......Dr. Dutta, with no background in the functioning of the lab, took over as the boss.....

I was forced to take up a new function, at that time in 1985 an unknown entity, environmental coordination, which came in handy later......

By sheer luck and coincidence, I was made the National Environmental Coordinator in 1990, which till then was a POST MAN's job..... I happened to see the letter written by Shanbhag to HO, questioning the appointment of someone else to this position and recommending my name......

Dasgupta asked me in 1995 to come out of the lab and concentrate on Environmental Management....I think it was a good move...had I stayed in the lab, I would have been shunted to some unknown corner by this time.....the move also made me concentrate on this new subject...going through the Master's programme, the Ph.D., the professional qualifications of IEMA....ending up with a C.Env.....

While I was active in the BIS (ISI) committees on plastics and PCBs prior to 1990, with IPCA in the early 1990s, the change in track post-1995 had given me a wider canvas to work...from ASCI, CII, MOEF, BCCI, IEMA, Indsearch etc., and could earn me some recognition, including that from CSE.

Throughout I noticed that people come to you only when they derive some benefit from you.....while people who approach me changed over the period....I am satisfied that people still approach me for help....that means they derive some benefits from this association. Of course, I do not get benefited by such associations personally...never the less it gives me some satisfaction that I am still "wanted".

The shift from Philips India to Lighting, APR, did provide me with new challenges....the change was initiated by Dasgupta and recommended by Ramachandran....I was not sure if Bernard was indeed interested. The first challenge was to be accepted by various units and their people in the region...a tough one as I replaced a white skin....When Francis took over, the challenge was to be accepted by a Chinese boss....

Along with this change came the change in my life-style....too much travel to do my job....struggling with food and languages....struggling to convince people. At least now I believe that there is an acceptance... of course one does not know what goes on behind the scenes.....

During this long stint I had developed friendship with quite a few good souls....I am indeed privileged to know them....there are, of course, a few whom I would wish that I had not come to know at all....but life provides a heterogeneous environment to make it spicy....

I have met people who are outright selfish....some who are always scheming....some showing their power on the weak....some highly corrupt.....some always politicking.....some using the resources of the company to build their business....some weak....some psychophants.....some bullys.....some chameleons......some spineless....some cheats....some stupid......but the bulk of the people I came across here are warm, good mannered, well intentioned and lovely people. One's success depends on how one identified the the two groups.

I am wiser than I was 25 years ago....I never planned my career... probably I could never have planned my career... My career has been like a dry leaf blown by a breeze or a wind or floating on a flood water...you get stuck to something on the way....many successful people talk about their "planned career "...as usual they fit in what happened to their wishful thinking. Basic dictum is "if you are the right person, in the right place at the right time and noticed by right people" you have a chance of a good career. Lucky are those who occupy high positions; one's education or intelligence alone does not take one to the top. Sheer hard work, combined with intelligence, may take one to a certain level, provided one's relationship with the superiors was not marred by any personal issues. My philosophy, therefore, is: "Do your work to your utmost satisfaction. Enjoy your work. Leave the rest to GOD". Don't look around and get frustrated; there are people who specialize in bringing your morale and enthusiasm down. Avoid them.

What is the overall score that I would give for my innings in Philips so far: 60 %. This will open up a new debate.....let me see if I can open this subject later.

Philosophical ??? or Hopelessness ???

I wrote this piece (as well as a few more that follow) a few days ago (10 December, 2007).....I was not sure if this is OK to share with my beloved ones....today I decided to post it....whether it makes sense or not I am not sure...but such thoughts do come often

I am alone...sitting in IIM, Bangalore. Sheila is in Pune. Maya in Vellacheri and Indhu at Mandavelli...not to speak of others, near and dear. Am I lonely only now...no for many years....what happened to all those days I enjoyed the company of others....do we really mature as we grow...we slowly get into our own path...may be a lonely path....is that maturity ? I call Sheila, Indhu and Maya now and then to ensure that I am not alone....does it really help ? I don't know. Do you know ? I know only this: I started my journey alone....I will end it alone. Whatever happens in between does not matter, because these are not permanent. All the ties and bonds are temporary....they vary depending on the moods of people and the usefulness of the relationship. They can be broken any time wihtout rhyme or reason...but the truth is that I don't have any control over it. I don't get love; I don't get affection; I don't get admiration....but I want to show that I have all these...just to cheat and please me....after all individuals live for themselves...not for others....what is good today can become a sour tomorrow..and the vice versa....simply these are all contextual....when am I gonig to grow / mature to be untouched by any of these emotions....I am looking for that day.

Maya's Wedding Photos....

It is always a pleasure to share, espeically when it comes to happy occasions like Maya's Wedding.

Click this link: http://picasaweb.google.com/dr.l.ramakrishnan/MayaSWedding?authkey=ICbNcQ6pN6E

to see all the photos taken during Maya's Wedding. I shall add the other photos taken and Tirunelveli and Pune later.

In the meanwhile if you would like to add captions to the photos...to make the album more fun..please let me know

This is only for those who have access to my blog

Some stray thoughts......learning from the past

Yesterday I received a presentation on Philips Lighting Sustainable New Business Initiatives. When this project was started in 2004, I was very active as a member of a small team of four...now only two of the original members remain in the team..(that is what I presume !!!). We decided to have project managers to handle the day-to-day affairs to take the project to success....even after appointing project managers at fat salaries, the project is limping.....the project managers are on their own trejectory....establishing their own network within and outside Philips Lighting....why am I talking all these....are they relevant...YES

Now I don't find my name in the Project team published by one of the project managers...I have become an outsider in my own project !!! I don't want to make a noise about this.....but the learning is clear...."If you spend your time and energy in an area away from your Core area of competence (as decided by the organization), it is almost certain that you don't reap the benefit of your efforts"...someone else, who has more contacts, will hijack the whole programme...you have helped them to build their own empire....losing in the process precious time and effort.

Looking back, I believe there were so many instances like this in my career....sweet talks and "right things to do" , "team work" talks have made me work in areas which were not my core areas...essentially what I was doing was helping others to build their career...as these contributions were never considered in my appraisals....Those guys presented the results (bosses bother about the results...to hell with process, even if they profess that they would insist on the right process) and got their rewards. If I had spent this time and effort in my area, the situation would have been different...who knows.

If you look back you will have enough experiences already like this...be careful in the future.

I have been fortunate.....

God has been kind to me....I could visit Tirchendur twice last month...once with Indhu, Ramji and Arjun on 16 October, 2007 and again on 26 October, 2007, with Sheila, Maya, Ashwin, Mrs & Mr. Ramasamy....on both the occasions I had fantastic dharshans of Sri Subrmania Swamy...on 16 we had abhishekam....it was indeed the grace of God that Arjun did not bother us much (it appears that ARJUN himself is a grace of God, especially indicated by his date of birth, 27 September, and his star, Visakam)...he appeared to be in peace with Lord Subramanya....only towards the end of the Abhishekam he became a little restless....over all both the visits gave me internal peace.

Another visit that I cannot forget during the period is the one to Ayikudi on 27 October, 2007. Ayikudi Balasubramania Swamy happens to be the Kuladeivam of Mr. Ramaswamy; we had abhishekam and a quiet dharshan of Balasubramania Swamy...the smiling deity will always be in our hearts.....the "padi payasam" that is given to people on the banks of the river next to the temple by pouring the payasam (prasadam) on the steps (padi) is unique to this place...I cannot, however, understand the reason for this.....

It was very nice of Shri S. Ramakrishnan to have come all the way to the Balasubramania Swamy temple to meet me....I am fortunate that I met him and have his love and affection....I see GOD in him....on his invitation we visited Amarseva Sangam...and as usual, Shri Ramakrishnan has been an excellent host, providing all of us tasty Lunch....I missed Shri Sankara Raman who had to attend to some other meeting elsewhere...but his absence was more than compensated by Dr. Sumathi, his sister....I salute all the three, Shri Ramakrishnan, Shri Sankara Raman and Dr. Sumathi, for being so kind to me and those who visited Amarseva Sangam along with me on 27 Ocotber 2007....it is (Bala) Subramania Swamy's will that I had to meet them...hopefully one day I will come to know why HE willed so!!!!

Is a simple "THANKS" to HIM is enough for ensuring that Maya's wedding went off well .....for blessing them .....for blessing other members of the family mentioned above.....Lord Subramanya Swamy please GUIDE me.

What they say....what they mean

"Random Walk in Science" is an interesting book published by the Physical Society of London .....among many interesting information in the book is this chapter on what people mean when they write something in the scientific paper (e.g. when they say "after a thorough literature survey" they mean "we have gone through a few journals available in our library"), I thought I should attempt a similar one on what people say and what they mean. Here are some of the initial entries........we can enrich this as the days go....

1. "Beautiful Couple" - I cannot say otherwise, you will throw me out
2. "Nice Food" - Worth the spending to come here
3. "Made for each other" - I had rehersed this dialogue even before coming here; I cannot change it now
4. "Excellent Arrangements" - You are normally untidy; how could you do this?
5. "Shall I take leave" - Give me the momento - don't forget
6. "Ask me for any help" - Forget it...I am too busy to waste my time here
7. "Cute Baby" - I can't say the same thing about you
8. "You are very kind" - Let me tell you after my job is over
9. "Great Wedding" - The food was fantastic-I, with my family, enjoyed it in
all the sessions
10. "Good People" - Stupid fellows..

Add more if you have.....enjoy

Excuses.....

I am sorry to find that people are not innovative.....they use the same excuses, in one form or the other, for their failure to attend the wedding or the reception...for the benefit of my own invitees here are the excuses recorded during Maya's wedding:

1. Someone expired in our family...today is the 10th day.....
2. The Muhurtham is too early to attend on a working day...
3. We had planned a trip to USA/SWEDEN/Germany/Timbaktu long ago....we will be away
4. We are too old to attend the marriage; however, our blessings are with the young couple
5. Boss made us sit till late in the evening...there was no chance for us to start till 8.30 pm which was too late to start for the reception
6. We did not receive the invitation
7. I suddenly had my periods ....I sat only yesterday (covering all the three days)
8. We wanted to come...but you see it rained heavily and we could not get any auto....
9. We started...but got delayed in a traffic jam....we had to go back
10. I have fallen ill suddenly
11. My sister has fallen ill...I had to be with her
12. There were many muhurthams on the same day...we had to skip a few
13. You did not attend my daughter/son 's wedding...why should I attend your daughter's???
14. You did not invite me personally....
15. I am sorry...I had been called by the Ministry for an important meeting at the last minute
16. Today my boss completes 25 years in the company...I have to be there for the function
17. We had sent so-and-so as the representative of our family...did he attend ?
18. I cannot climb up three floors....sorry I cannot come
19. My children have been having exams, you see 10th exam is important
20. I don't want to waste money travelling all the way to Chennai for the wedding
21. Oh!!Baba !!! I have completely forgotten...you had given the invitation long ago.....
22. You see...my parents had suddently landed up at Chennai and I had to take them to Kanyakumari
23. Due to unavoidable circumstances I could not make it to Chennai to attend the wedding
24. We had sent so-and-so to represent us in the wedding...because you were busy he did not meet you
25. I would have loved to have attended the Wedding/Reception....I was too busy to move out
26. As my mother/father/son/wife expired only recently I don't attend any function......
27. (I made a calculation...the food we eat there would cost Rs.200/= for that I would not like to spend Rs.300/= worth petrol)

You can add more if you remember.......

Exploitation in a Wedding......

Maya's wedding was over last month (24 October)......while we, the family members, all enjoyed the wedding, there were a few who also enjoyed exploiting us......the smart ones around have perfected the art as they repeat the same with all those who happen to come to them.....during the wedding...here are some "lessons" in exploitation.....

The foremost is the Kalyana Manadapam Guy.....if you book the Kalyana Mandapam, you have to engage the decorator, flower decorator, electrical decorator etc., as suggested by the Mandapam....whatever be the charges they demand. For a Chair for reception, you have to pay Rs.3000/= for three hours !!!!! For an extention of the stage for the musical performance for three hours, you have to pay Rs.3000/= (which in my opinion has to be provided as a routine !!!).....for keeping the Venkatachalapathy & Alamelu background (which has been used for many times already) you have to pay Rs. 1000/= !!!! If you are booking rooms for guest in the Kalyana Mandapam, you have to book for the whole period you have booked the Mandapam...especially if you need the booking from the first day...even though you do not need the room for the second day (as the guest leave by the afternoon), the Mandapam policy demands that you book the room till the time you leave the Mandapam.....easy way of earning one day's rent for the room without occupancy.....You have to book the Mandapam well in advance (at least six months in advance) paying the full amount (say Rs. 75000/=) ....what about the interest accruing on this amount....ten days before the marriage you have to pay another Rs.75000/= as advance for gas, electricity and other facilities. Pay for pillows, Jamakalams....in advance. In my case I had to pay for one broken wash basin too !!!!

Then there is our /their Vadyar....in our initial discussions he wanted amount "X".....later he wanted another Rs.2000/= (this happened during Indhu's marriage too).....the Vadyar from Tirunelveli hinted that I should give him and his assitanct Rs. 500/= each as they did not receive their share from our Vadyar......great !!!!

Someone said he had to fix the machine for spraying Panneer during the reception......said the amout was Rs.650/=....again from the Mandapam....while settling the bill he made it 850 and wanted Rs. 100 /= for him as tips.!!!!! money anyway grows in trees...pluck and give the guy...

Then there was this guy who had taken care of the Vaidika needs ...he is from Chellappa....he hinted in the beginning itself that he need to be taken care of...another guy, a server, from Chellappa used his English to entertain Frank and his wife,...was not satisfied with Rs.100/= as he has two little girls to take care of ....so another Rs.100/= for their education.!!!!

The liftman, sweepers, cleaners, watchmen.....the list goes on....they have to be given some tips...when you give tips...the number of sweepers, cleaners, liftman etc....swells - you see many faces whom you had not seen in the last three days...but they were there...they insist...working without break.....for ensuring the success of the function...

The supervisor had to be taken care off too !!!! At the Kattusada Kudai formally the cook and servers have to be taken care off !!!! (this is official)

I shall fill up further as and when I remember other exploiters........

Biodegradable......

I have been hearing this argument: "Plastics are not good for the environment....because they are not biodegradable"...Last month I was in Bhilai and met a few bright school children who have formed an Green Club....again they gave me a lecture why plastics are not good for the environment....they are not biodegradable. ...but they were wearing a uniform made of "Polyester" and cotton blend... I asked them if steel is biodegradable ? Is cement biodegradable ? Is porcelein or glass biodegradable ?...are they bad for the environment ? Are stinking dead bodies or rotting vegetables that add the BOD to water and making it unusable good for the environment ? Is "Biodegradable" the only criterion for deciding which material to be used for a specific purpose? Are we not misleading the children ?....Just because we don't know as to how to handle a waste/ used polythene bag (with < 25 micron thickness) and our (mis)handling of this waste results in choking of drains (including the alimentary canal of cows), do we teach our children that Plastics as a whole is bad for the environment....I cannot imagine a world without plastics (polymers)...the dress you wear, the paint you use, the brush with which you clean your teath, the comb you use for combing your hair, the shampoo bottle, the soap box, the water bucket and the mug, the washer you use in your tap, the TV you watch, the IPOD you enjoy, your washing machines, your refrigerators, your cooker handles, knobs of your LPG stove, and the insulator of the electrical conductors...and so on are made of plastics....can you avoid them and enjoy your life???? Children should be made to think....do they come to conclusions based on life-cycle thinking ? If they do so, the "bio-degrable" argument will die....dead bodies are still burried under ice in the arctic...not degraded for centuries!!!!!

A long silence

October was a hectic month for me....



3-7 at Chandigarh - Energy Workshop

12 Started for Chennai via Mumbai

13 Received Ramji, Indhu and Arjun at 3.30 am

14 Arjun's Ayush-homam

15 Left for Tirunelveli / Munnirpallam (stayed at Ashwin's home)

16 Abhishekam at Tiruchendur

16 Return to Chennai

17-22 Hectic purchasing and coordinating activities for Maya's Wedding

23 Moved to the Balaji Shreemahal Kalyana Mandapam at 5.15 am

23 Wedding preliminaries throughout the day

24 Wedding (6.00-7.30 muhurtham) and Reception

25 Kattusada Kudai

25 Left for Tirunelveli / Munnipallam

26 Visit to Tiruchendur

27 Visit to Ayikudi / Murugan Temple + Amarseva Sangam

28 Reception at Tirunelveli

29 Returned to Chennai by the day train (Gurvayur Express)

30 Returned to Pune by morning Jet Flight

30 We (Arjun, Indhu and I along with Sheila) celebrated Sheila's 50 Birthday at Pune


The above explains why I did not write a blog for a long period.....a long silence as I did not have access to net and also did not have the energy or the time to sit and write


By the way I have completed 25 years with Philips on 18 October 2007!!!....a long period in Pune considering the present trend. By the way, Sheila has spent half her life in Pune so far.

Down the Memory Lane.....

Pettavaithalai days.....(2nd instalment)

I can imagine the difficulty that a "serial" (Thodarkathai) writer will have...after writing "Thodarum" at the end of the last posting, I am expected to continue and post the next post within a week...What about the guy who was writing "Sindubad" in Dhinathanthi...of course for him one sentence was sufficient for one day....of course I cannot compare myself with those fertile minds and versatile writers...with this handicap, I thought I should continue, in spite of being termed as a bore....(mun vaitha kalai pin vaikathe thamizha !!!).


It appears that many things happened during the Pettavaithalai days......


Apart from Trichy, Appa used to take us to Mahadhanapuram, a small village on the way to Karur from Pettavaithalai. Mahadhanapuram is a beautiful village with an agraharam (where Brahmins used to live) on the banks of Cauvery and has the Samadhi’s of quite a few Sanyasis. One of the Samadhis is that of Sri Ramananda Saraswathi, my great grandfather (Sri Ramachandra Iyer, in his purvashrama). Ramananda Saraswathi attained moksha at Kollimalai, on the other side of the river Cauvery. His Samadhi was built at Mahadhanapuram, alongside his guru, the Nelamavu Madam Swamigal. We used to visit Mahadhanapuram for the Aradhanai festivals…an elaborate festival with daily Pujas and Pravachanams and music throughout the day for two weeks or so. Even though I did not know anything about music, philosophy, religion etc., at that age, it was exciting to be there among the bhaktas yearning for the blessings of the elders and to eat at the community lunch/dinner.

Another place where where we had been more than once was the Ramakrishna Thabovanam at Tiruparaithurai, a village on the way to Trichy from Pettavaithalai. The Thabovanam was run by Swami Chitbhavananda, who, if I remember right, was, in his purvasrama, an uncle of Sri C. Subramaniam. The Thabovanam took care of hundreds of orphaned children, giving them food, sheter and education. Whenever I went to this place, I used to feel blessed...at least my parents were with me....

Pettavaithalai Sivan Temple was famous...but I had been there only twice if I remember right; once we had been there to listen to the musical performance by Amma's cousins (daughters of Papa Chithappa)...I still can not figure out why we did not visit the temple often.

We also visited Kamanayakan Palayam a few times, when Sri Chandrasekharendra Saraswathi, then the head of the Kumbakonam mutt visited the place. Somehow, I did not have much reverence for him or the mutt or for his successors...there was no specific reason except that I happened to hear some heated debates on the Kumbakonam mutt at our Pettavaithalai house when thatha stayed with us for a few days. My irreverence got strengthened later when I read "Kumbakonam Mutt - Oru Vimarsanam" and when I had a chance presence (as a young boy accompanying my thatha) at a meeting of elders at the house of Modern Stores Sattanatha Iyer at Triplicane, Madras, many years later.

I remember once Jayaraman (our servant and a DK member) took me to a public meeting addressed by Periyar Ramaswamy Naicker.....he was dead against Brahmins....I don't know as to what made Jayaraman to take me there...I remember Periayar's first sentence: "Enda, ella mutta pasangalum inga vandhu okkandu irukkinga...vela onnum illaya ?"..I was shocked...how people could be humiliated and still be made to follow ...this is an art that DK had perfected and DMK had used later...they committed (are still committing) all atrocities on Brahmins, but Brahmins were the ones who first helped them to form the government...shameless people (I am not debating the right or wrong of things here...in my opinion it is a matter of giving respect to other human beings..especially, later I came to know, that Periyar used to call even a child with respect).

Four trips out of Pettavaithalai (appa, amma, cheena and I) are still green in my memory.

The first trip was to Sringeri. First we went to Bangalore by train and then took a car to Sringeri via Chikmagalur and Shimoga…Sringeri is a serene and sacred place on the banks of the river Tunga, where Adi Sankara established a mutt. Sringeri is full of temples, the foremost being the Sarada Temple; then there are marvels like the Vidyaranya temple, Rishyashringar temple etc. We visited Sringeri during the Navarathri festivals; the acharya (at that time Sri Abhinava Vidyathirtha Mahaswamigal) used to conduct Chandramouleeswara puja in the morning and in the evening he used to appear in a dress which was a combination of royal and feminine dresses. He used to wear a Kreedam and sit on a throne. There used to be exponents of Vedas and music exhibiting their skills in front of him every evening. This was a memorable occasion. My maternal thatha Sri Krishnaswamy Iyer and patti Sundarambal were there at Sringeri at that time. Thatha was closely attached to the Sringeri mutt and it made out stay at Sringeri that much easier, with good dharshans and meeting with the Swamigal. I enjoyed throwing Pori (puffed rice) into the Tunga river to watch “big” (at least one foot long and fish rushing to catch the pori; I was told that Swamigal did that every day and he admired and loved the fish in Tunga at Sringeri. Swamigal was living on the other side of Tunga, in Narasimha Vana and it was fantastic to see him cross the river in a Parisal. The water level in Tunga was really high and the current was dangerous…still Swamigal had a daily routine of crossing Tunga many times. We had an opportunity to cross the Tunga once to visit the Samadhi of Sri Chandrasekhara Bharathi Swamigal. The place was calm, quiet and divine. We sat for about an hour in front of the Samadhi of Sri Chandrasekhara Bharathi Swamigal; it was a good experience for me, who had never kept quiet for such a long period anytime in the past.

On the way back we visited Mysore, Chamundi Hills (famous not only for the Mahishasura Mardhini temple, but also for the Mahishsuran statue and for one of the largest bull, Nandi, statues made of single stone), the museum (having a good collection of paintings, including those of Raja Ravi Varma) and the Brindavan Gardens (at the Krisha Raja Sagar Dam on the river Cauvery, and known for its garden, water fountains and the light show). In the evening we witnessed the then Maharaja Jaya Chamaraja Wodiyar, in his royal attire, celebrating the Dassera by being taken on a procession on a well decorated elephant, followed by many decorated elephants; at the end the procession he presided over an assembly of sevaks of the erstwhile Mysore State, outside the Lalitha Mahal Palace, giving them gifts and honours. It was indeed reminescent of the days of the Maharaja's of the past. For me, the trip was full of fun.

The second trip was to Kodaikanal. We (appa, amma, Cheena and I) went up to Kodai Road by train and then by car to Kodaikanal. The car journey was exciting with so many hair pin bends. I do not remember many things that happened there…but I do remember that we went up to the pillar rock and took a boat ride in the lake. We had been to the Observatory. For the first time I saw the fruit PLUM, a fruit inviting to be eaten but I did not like the taste.

The third trip was to Coimbatore. All of us went to Coimbatore to attend Kannan’s poonal. For the first time I met Jaya, Kannan, Jayaram, Raju, Balaji and others. We children had fantastic time playing around. Kannan, Jaya, Cheena, Renu, Kalyani et al formed a senior group not allowing us to enter their domain. We kids enjoyed our freedom without interference from “big” brothers. My memory is failing me…but I can say that Kannan’s poonal was the first family function when I could meet almost all my cousins for the first time; probably that was the first time I met (with a clear memory) Ramakrishna Chithappa and Radhakrishna Chithappa. Ramakrishna Chithappa was a successful Ayurveda doctor in Coimbatore; his home at Raja Street was really big. I learnt that he was considered to be not so good at studies and was sent to Coimbatore by my thatha Sankara Sastry, to stay with Dr. Kasinatha Iyer (my athimber, whom I revere and who had showered his love and affection on me; he is one of the three people I am fortunate to be associated with - the other two being my father and thatha Krishnaswamy Iyer) and get a job; thatha had given him the "Dhanvanthari" upadesam (my thatha Sankara Sastry, I learnt later, was not only a great Sanskrit Scholar but also an effective Ayurvedha doctor) before sending him to Coimbatore. In Coimbatore, chithappa Ramakrishnan started as a Compounder, later registered himself as a Medical Practitioner (RMP) and became a successful Ayurveda doctor. His story was really inspiring...from a position of hopelessness to that of a great success. His brother, chithappa Radhakrishnan studied Sanskrit at Annamalai University and settled at Coimbatore as a Sanskrit Pundit at the Municipal High School. He distinguished himself in sports, especially badminton and social service. Even today he is full of energy..at his age of about 90 he moves around swiftly form one place to another, and lives alone in Coimbatore. They were considered in Coimbatore as ideal brothers, one supporting the other and be together always. (the story changed later, however).

The fourth trip was to Madras to attend Mani’s marriage. There was heavy floods in Cauvery on the day we started in a Willis van for Madrasi. By the time we reached Mutharasampettai, we could see breaches of the bund and water was flowing on to the highway. Our driver in his unusual act of bravery started driving the van further on the road and to our bad luck, the van stopped in the middle of water. The water level was rising slowly and it had almost entered the vehicle…we were all afraid (at least I was…having faced the drowning experience once already). None of us knew swimming and the water current was strong…any time the water level could go beyond our head. Luckily for us a few villagers around the area came to our rescue, not minding the risk they were taking, and pushed the vehicle out of the running water. We had to wait for some time before we could again start the vehicle and proceeded to Madras. Those few minutes when we were not sure whether we would be drowned in Cauvery floods were really difficult to express…I can only say that GOD was with us and HE came in the form of the villagers. In those days 16, Buchi Babu Naidu Street, Triplicane, Madras, was like Mecca for anyone in our family visiting Madras. That was Papa Athan's house, where Dr. Kasinatha Iyer (Athimber) also lived. Dr. Kasinatha Iyer was revered by one and all in the family..his life story was amazing...he was born in Varanasi and within a few days of his birth he lost both his parents and I learnt my patti (Vepachi patti, appa's amma) took care of him (a cousin of hers) in the early days...and got him married to her daughter (my peria athai) ..he studied well..did his BA in Chemistry at the Presidency College, Madras and later did his Ph.D. in Oxford...in Organic Chemistry..after returning to India, he joined the Coimbatore Agriculture College as a lecturer in Chemistry...later moved to Banares Hindu Univesity as a Reader in Chemistry. By the time I first came to know him he was already retired from service; he was full of energy though. He never tolerated mediocrity and one of his "characteristics" was "kopam". He used to get angry at anything less perfect than his expectations. Mani got married to Sarada, daughter of Dr. Kasinatha Iyer..and we all stayed at 16, Buchi Babu Maistry Street throughout our stay... I remember an incident when I ran away from Buchi Babu Naidu Street to Venkatarangam Pillai Street (where Srinivasa Chithappa lived) via the Triplicane High Road and Pycrofts Road in search of Cheena and others who left me back (you see, I was a kid and they were all grown ups!!!) when they went out..I did not have the address..there were no phones/cell phones to contact..I could have been lost in the Madras crowd...I still cannot understand how I got to the right house...if I have to do it now, I will not....age brings along with that the fear of the unknown !!! One of the finest couple I met during this trip was Gomathi Manni and Narayana Ammanji...an excellent host of Palamadai lineage.

Coming to relatives, Pettavaithalai days were the ones when I came across many relatives… thatha Sri Krishnaswamy Iyer (majestic and commanding respect) and patti Sundarambal (one of the most beautiful and graceful ladies I had ever seen) came and stayed with us for a few days. Many relatives and friends used to visit us during that time to meet Thatha. I did not know at that time the greatness of thata. I was only interested, sitting on his lap, in fiddling with the spherical mass (I used to call Seedai) on his ring finger....Later in life, after reading (not studying..which I have to do still) quite a few of his books, I realized I was fortunate to be born his grandson...I have read his "Kumbakona Mutt - A Vimarsanam" many times and admired his analytical and logical expressions and conclusions. His "Saint of Sringeri", "Dialogues with the Guru", "Sparks from the Divine Anvil" etc., were/are for uninitiated people like me. I struggled many times to understand his English translation of "Vidyaranya's Panchadasi". A highly principled person, he "retired" from his "lawyer" profession when he was still at his peak at the age of sixty...despite the fact that mama was yet to complete his education...I believed (still believe) that he had a liking and a special place for me and I had his blessings....this thought was reinforced when I last met him at Mannadimangalam, as Janananda Bharathi Swamigal, in the sick bed with tubes inserted in his body to feed and to remove things from his body...even under those conditions (some time around mid 1970s) he explained to me many things, including answering my many silly questions on Sanyasa. He also expressed his love and affection for me by specially sending his correspondences with various VIPs and "the Hindu" to be given to me specifically when he took Sanyasa.

Amma liked to invite girls in the family to spend some time with her..quite a few, Lalitha Athangar, Saradha Athangar, Rukku Akka, Chelli, Meena et al visited us during our Pettavaithalai days to spend their holidays with Amma.

Chandra Anna used to visit Pettavaithalai once in a while. For the first time I remember to have come into contact with Mani anna; he was studying at the Islamiah College, Vaniambadi and came for a holiday to Pettavaithalai. For many years I thought I had only one brother, Cheena. Slowly it dawned on me that there were two more elder brothers too who were away from Pettavaithalai. Slowly I started recognizing the larger family beyond Pettavaithalai (i.e., beyond Amma, Appa, Cheena, Patti and Ammalu Athai). Later in life I realized the need to be near the dear ones...once you are away (I am away from Chennai for over 34 years), away from your dear ones's radar, you are considered an outsider, even though you are close by blood.

Looking back, the period between 1957 and 1962 appears to be an exciting period in my life...a small kid trying to learn things, making connections with people, picking up impressions that influenced life, not polluted by politics of masses and numbers, enjoying each and every minute the natural surroundings....given a chance I would like to live that life again...again...and again.

My Teachers - Part IV

All in one - 1967 to 2001



Remembering my teachers again today...I thought I should complete this series now.



1967 - 1968: Vivekananda College, Mylapore, Madras



Teachers to remember: Prof. Venkatasubramanian, Mr. Chandrasekhar (now Prof. at IISc)

1968 - 1971: Presidency College, Madras

Teachers to remember: Prof. B.R. Pai, Dr. N. Muthukumaraswamy, Mr. Ramachandran, Sri Thangavelanar

1971-1973: Department of Analytical and Inorganic Chemistry, University of Madras, AC College of Technology Campus, Guindy, Madras

Teachers to remember: Prof. P.B. Janardhan, Prof. V.V. Ramanujam, Dr. Subbaiyan, Ms. Rajeswari (Prof. now), Dr. Agnes Paul, Mr. Sivasankaran

1973 - 1977: Department of Inorganic and Physical Chemistry, Department of Physics, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore

Teachers to remember: Prof. S. Soundararajan and Prof. J. Ramakrishna

1979-1980: Department of Chemistry, Wayne State University, Detroit, USA

Teachers to remember: Prof. John F. Endicott

1997 - 2000: Indsearch, Pune

Teachers to remember: Prof. Ashok Joshi

When time permits I would like to revisit this page and pay my tribute to each one of the teachers mentioned above...for the present I would like to record my deep sense of gratitude to each one of them ......

Down the memory lane......

Revisting Pettavaithalai days......


This morning I was speaking to Balaswaminathan over phone..requesting him to suggest some programme for Maya's wedding reception at Chennai....after the discussion he told me that Kalahasthi Subramaniam, the Nadaswara Vidwan for Maya's marriage, had approached him with my recommendation and got a chance now to give a performance in Jaya TV on the Ganesh Chaturthi day.....Aha...here is a repeat of what happened in Pettavaithalai about fifty years ago....someone got a chance because of me....it took me back to my Pettavaithalai days....I thought I would recollect some nice moments .......


Initially when we went to Pettavaithalai we were put up in a palatial bangalow on rent...later we moved to the officer's quarters ...hardly about 500 yards from the Cauvery river...there was a high river bund between some agricultural land and Cauvery and the colony was just adjoining the agricultural land. Between the bund and Cauvery, there was a burial ground. The colony was located in an orchard with mango, coconut, guava and other trees....Our house was one of the first to be constructed...it had a hall and two bedrooms (a third bed room was added later), a dining room, kitchen and veranda; initially there was only one bath room (and toilet), later one more toilet was added. In the corner of the hall was the "PYE" radio which Appa bought much before I was born. We had many cane chairs (15 ???) and a wooden sofa in the hall. There was no furniture in the dining hall, except that at one corner of the dining hall was the abode of our Gods ...."Puja Alamari" (Narayana Dikshidhar from Mahadhanapuram used to come often to give bath to all the saligramams in our Puja; I always wanted to ask him: "How is that you are so lean even after eating so much day after day ?"). One bedroom (and living room) where Patti, Ammalu Athai and Meenakshi mami used to occupy had a wooden cot (exclusively meant for Patti) and a refrigerator. Appa, Amma, Cheena and I slept in the other bedroom....Appa, Cheena and I slept on a king size spring cot with silk cotton matress...and Amma slept down by the side of the cots. There was a steel almirah at one corner of the bedroom, where Appa kept is favourite brief-case with all important papers, and at the other corner was the dressing table...with a stool in front. By the time I got up, Appa used to be well dressed - neatly ironed Khaki half-trouser, nicely tucked in half sleeve shirt, stockings upto the knee and well polished brown shoes....Appa used to be always tip-top and with his dress would always command respect...Amma would be bringing morning tiffin to Appa at the dressing table...and a cup of coffee to finish the tiffin. Appa was majestic and Amma was graceful in her 9 yard saree....they were a perfect couple. At this time of the day, I would be wriggling on the bed praying God that it should be a holiday that day....by around 07 o'clock a Jeep would come to pick him up for the factory.....I would see him again only in the evening...even though Appa used to come home for Lunch, I would be away at School at that time.


I remember Mr. Ramanatha Iyer, a tall middle aged man in full pants and half shirt, with a hat always on his head, who used to visit the colony often...he was the contractor who built the colony (and many more EID Parry buildings in Pettavaithalai)....there were three more houses like ours...occupied by families of Joseph Das (in front of us, Cane Superintendent), Raman (Chief Engineer, our immediate neighbour) and Hussain (a bachelor at that time, Labour Officer, next to Raman's). Beyond Hussain's house was the "Club", with facilities for Tennis, badminton and indoor games. As the days passed many more houses came up - they were a little smaller than ours...Hariharan, Chacko, Vasudeva Rao, Adinarayanan et al..with their families occupied them....in a short period the colony was already bubbling with a lot of social activity....finally the biggest house was constructed for Killick (General Manager)....Killick with his Aiyangar wife lived there for a year or so....later it was occupied by Ranganathan...the guy who was Appa's boss at Nellikuppam. (Luckily Appa escaped him again...and became the Factory Superintendent / Acting General Manager of the Pugalur Factory....let me tell this story later).


We had a nice garden around our house...Amma had interest in gardening....she had roses, jasmines (mullai and malli), marigolds (both samandhi and tulukka samandhi), pavazhamalli, marikozhundu, lillys + vellari (cucumber), Poosani (pumpkin, both white and red), Vendakkai (ladies finger, Okra), beans, podalangai (snake gourd), Kothavarangai (cluster beans), Chillies, Kaththarikkai (baingan), Karuvepilai (curry leaves), Kothamalli (coriandar), Thakkali (tomato), Vazhai (different types of banana - Puvan, rasthali, mondhan) etc., in our garden....Pazhani used to take care of watering these plants and tending them. There were two big Mango trees on the sides of the house...branches of these provided ME the route to our terrace....There was also a big guava tree at the rear of the house...full of red ants...I never ventured near this tree for fear of being stung by these ants. The colony was full of snakes (Nagam, Sarai, Komberimukkan etc) ....I had stumbled on a few...they were moving all over, trees, bushes, on the road...but never harmed anyone. Scorpions were in plenty in all the coconut trees....Parrots, minahs, crows etc., added beauty to this ecological system......I was fortunate to experience this....when I was young.....


Our drinking water used to be brought by Meenakshi mami in a Kudam from Cauvery, every morning after taking bath in the running waters of Cauvery. We never used to filter or boil the water...Amma used to tell us...running water from the river is of drinking quality....she had a point...but on my visits to Cauvery for a bath, I had seen people easing themselves, washing their ..........taking bath..and cleaning buffalos...was that water "potable"??? Probably we had good immunity....what happened on those days when Cauvery shrunk to hardly a feet width of water???? For me, Cauvery with more sand than water was an opportunity to cross the river to go to VELAYUTHAM PALAYAM....to see the temple of Muruga....I had gone to Velayutham Palayam a few times alone !!! When Cauvery had enough water, it was time to take bath in the water....trying to learn swimming....which I never learnt. On one such occasions, Cheena, Vellaichamy (our servant) and I went to Cauvery for a bath...the water level was hardly two feet...in some places mud islands could still be seen. We were jumping into water from one such mud islands....it was my turn....I jumped with a lot of enthusiasm.....suddenly I found myself sucked into the "podhi manal" (whirlpool)....I was shouting from below the water, raising my hand above the head....I was sure to die...a good "Jalasamadhi"..... suddenly I realized that someone caught hold of my hand which was above the water level...apparently it was Cheena....and he was also sucked....both of us would not be living today but for Vellachami....in a fraction of a second (that was what I thought) he caught hold of both us and dragged us on to the mud island....by that time I had swallowed a lot of water...probably enough for the whole life....Cheena was dazed....Vellachami not only saved us...but also his job.


One good thing about all our servants was that they somehow could enter the factory rolls after a stint at our house...it happened with Jayaraman, Vellachami, Pazhani.....Appa had a fantastic reputation in the factory.....he was respected by his superiors as well as sub-ordinates.....when Kamaraj visited the Pettavaithalai factory, it was Appa who took him around to show the factory (as Killick did not know Tamil)....When the CITU was strong, with Umapathi as the President of the local chapter, the striking employees of the factory did not touch Appa, while they gheroed Ranganathan....probably Appa was the only one to be allowed to leave the factory premises. Appa never showed any discrimination among people....for example Jayaraman was a hardcore DK member, a follower of Periyar....I don't know even today, how he worked in a "Pappan's" house...that too without any heart-burns. Appa did not hesitate to help him to get a job in the factory....I cannot but admire my Appa for his qualities.


While I was trying to explore the heights on the branches of Mango trees, trying to emulate our forefathers, Cheena was honing his skills on the Tennis court...he had a set of friends with whom he would play Tennis (In the evenings Appa also used to play tennis....with his colleagues). We had also formed our Cricket team....of course I was no body....but Cheena was an important member...we used to practice in our colony....Nagarajan, Chellappa and others used to come from other staff quarters to join us...Panchanathan, Stephen from our colony would add to our crowd...we used to go to a ground in Kamanayakan Palayam, the next village..we did play with Cricket ball...not tennis ball...since I was not a permanent member of this team, I had my own team playing hide and seek or something like that...this consisted of all young kids in the colony - Ragothaman, Madan, Rama, Latha et al. In this team I was the only one to study in the Pettavaithalai Higher Elementary School...a unique distinction !!!


I used to start for the school by about 8.30; my first stop always would be the tamarind tree on the way...I would try to bring down as many tamarinds as possible with one or two stones....after collecting enough tamarinds for the day, I would proceed to the school...I used to have friends and well wishers always waiting for me...(or for the tamarind)...tamarind had brought many new friends to me. More friends means more stones to throw and more tamarinds to collect...before the owner of the tree could shout and chase me out.


I was always fuzzy about taking food...Ammalu athai adopted a not so unique method of making me eat..every night she and I used to sit out on the steps behind the kitchen...she used to tell me stories ...and asked questions like:"do you know what happened next ?"....Obviously I would not have an answer...she would give an answer only if I ate some quantity of food...I was curious to know things and did not mind eating the food even though I did not like it. One constant feature of my dinner used to be Parry's mittais.


Appa used to buy 10 Pounds of Parry's sweets and send them to Pettavaithalai Higher Elementary School on every August 15...probably he knew what would happen in 1980....he perhaps started celebrating the day well in advance !!! He never thought of saving anything for him...he spent everything on others...till his last days.

We used to go to Trichy to see movies..I remember seeeing (in fact sitting through for a few minutes !!!) Pavamannippu, Pasamalar, Adutha vittu pen, Vanjikotai Valibhan, Sabhash Meena, Bagapirivinai, Nenjam Marappadillai, Kalyana Parisu, Parthipan Kanavu and many more...of course in those days, my interest was not the movie, but the perks that would come with the movie...Crush..especially Kali Mark Cola...I would wait for a few minutes and with some awkward movement of the body would tell Amma (not Appa) that I was thirsty...she would immediately order for Kali Cola and would give me....my goal achieved I would go to sleeep...to be up in my bed the next morning.


(Thodarum......)

Teachers' Day

These flowers are for you my dear teachers ....on this Teachers' day

My thanks to my past, present and future teachers....at (a) the Danish Mission



Elementary School, Nellikuppam, (b) the Higher Elementary School, Pettavaithalai, (c) the High School for Boys, Srirangam, (d) the Hindu High School, Triplicane, Madras, (e) Vivekananda College, Mylapore, Madras, (f) the Department of Chemistry, Presidency College, Madras, (g) the Department of Analytical and Inorganic Chemistry, University of Madras (A.C. College of Technology), Madras, (h) the Department of Inorganic & Physical Chemistry and the Department of Physics, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, (i) the Department of Chemistry, Wayne State University, Detroit, USA, (j) Indian Institute of Cost Management & Research (Indsearch), Pune + all those young and old who have been giving me advices, without asking for (unsolicited) and without hesitation - at times with extra enthusiasm, for improving myself throughout life.

My Teachers: Part III

Days at the Hindu High School.....(see: http://www.hinduhighschool.com/)

Appa was to retire by 1965; Cheena had completed his VI Form at the High School for Boys and it was time for him to move to a College. Appa decided to move to Madras (as Mani and Chandra were already living there) after retirement; so he looked for shifting us to Madras for further studies. Cheena got admission at Vivekananda College for his PUC (pre-university Course) and I struggled...I could not get admission for quite sometime in Madras for the IX Standard...I should thank Papa Athan here...he knew someone in the Secretariat and through him he could get me a seat at the Hindu High School, Triplicane, a School with a lot of tradition. It was decided by Appa that I would stay in the Hind High School hostel till Appa moved to Madras.

Hindu High School was like a pigeon hole compared to the High School for Boys, Srirangam. The red colour and the arches reminded me of a Jail (similar to ones shown in some movies). There was no real playground, except for a small strip of land inside the school building complex which was always crowded and noisy. There was no choice...I had to continue. There was also a sort of a cultural shock...for a person coming from a village, small town to a big city...I felt that the other guys were looking down upon me...as if looking at a species from the stone age. Some of the students joining the school from other schools in Madras had a sort of "air" around them.

The hostel, an old rented house, was some distance away from the school; both the hostel and the school were located on BIG STREET; to go to the hostel one had to cross the PYCROFTS ROAD...it was a nightmare initially..but slowly I got used to the traffic of Madras. This hostel was a contrast to the Lakshmi Hostel, Srirangam. Here all of us were to sleep in a big hall and no one had privacy. Food, of course, was excellent. For the first time I ate "Seppankizhangu" curry here; it was delicious (at home, Seppangizhangu was used only for Avial). The avasara "urulai" curry (i.e. for those who come late after the main curry got exhausted) was fantastic.

Coming to my teachers, I remember only a few....not their names...but their faces. We had quite a few "vaals" in our class; there was this guy who used to eat shaving blades every day...without a drop of blood in his mouth...he used to eat glass too...this was strange to me...this guy became a friend of mine..while others shunned him because of his image, I did not feel the necessity to keep him away. I remember one incident, when he wanted to teach the maths teacher a lesson...this maths teacher used to give us sums to work and used to go to sleep, sitting on the chair and leaning on the black board. On that day, the teacher went to sleep, as usual, after giving us some sums...my friend went behind him and drew a big circle on the board with the chalk (big enough to encircle the tuft of the teacher)..the teacher as usual started leaning on the board. When he woke up and moved around the class, there was smile on each ones face....there was a big white circle around his tuft, transferred from the black board (image transfer technology at work!!!). On some other occasion, the same friend wanted to teach the "sleeping teacher" a lesson...he smoothly went out of the class, took the teacher's "Cheruppus" and threw them on two different directions....at the end of the class we all had smiles again to see the teacher moving here and there in search of his "cheruppus".

One of the first friends I had at the Hindu High School was Kannappan...his father, TK Bhagavathi, was a great actor and they were running the famous drama troupe, TKS Brothers. Kannappan also joined the Hindu High School in 1964 and we were together for a month or so till our sections were announced. At that time Kannappan was acting in dramas like "Appavin Asai". Kamala Hasan was also acting in this drama ( I suppose)..through Kannappan I happened to "see" Kamala Hasan once or twice in the school - Kamal was in the sixth or seventh standard at the time. I am sure Kannappan is doing well...even at that age Kannapan had shown that he could be a good leader..well poised and good mannered.

Hindi was a compulsory subject for us...one had to attend the examination...but need not pass. I had "Seruppadi" Mahadevan as my teacher for Hindi. A good Hindi teacher...he had some affection for me because he was "sharing" my "native place" was Kallidaikurichi....but I did not have any inclination for studying Hindi...probably I did not deserve his attention. There was a student in my class..who had already passed "Praveen" which was (that is what he told us) equivalent to MA in Hindi...this fellow used to put almost all the Hindi teachers on the mat....

"Pillayar" was my tamil teacher in XI standard....he too had a liking for me. Both of used to travel from T.Nagar to Triplicane and back by Bus No. 11 every day (after we moved to West Mambalam in 1965) ; I always used to give my seat to him if he did not get one...a pot bellied, tufted, short, black, heavy old man...and he used to appreciate that...(this was before he became my Tamil teacher). In the XI standard he was "thrilled" with my knowledge of tamil, so much so that he had asked me to correct all the Tamil answer papers for the half yearly and pre-final papers...for the entire school !!! I used to go to his house at West Mambalam and spend time correcting the papers...I enjoyed the recognition given ....without realizing that I was wasting my time....I also had to write my Board exams that year!!!!

In X and XI, Balaswaminthan, Eugene and I used to sit in the same bench..Bala's father, Vepathur Kittu, had just penned the dialogues for "Motor Sundaram Pillai", a Gemini Studio Production. Every day we used to get tit-bits about what Ravichanran did or Jai Shankar did etc. from Bala. He had taken me to his home at Royapetah many times and we became good friends. Even today we have contacts...even though we do not meet often.

Our Maths teacher, Shri Sundaram Iyer (I think I am right...) was fantastic...I was also taught by "Nadkarni" (I don't know his name...he looked like Cricketer Nadkarni and so all in the school knew him as Nadkarni)...this teacher was supposed to be a mathematical genius. I heard a story that when Sakunthala Devi visited the Hindu High School, she took more time to answer Nadkarni than any other teacher...so everyone said that he was a genius...giving tough time to Sakunathala Devi!!! (such stories abound in each school...I don't know how far these are true). Of course no one can forget Shri T.S. Rajagopalan, whose book on composite mathematics for X and XI standards was a bible..he was the Head Master during those days. I should be proud to state that Rt. Honrourable Srinivasa Sastry was also a Head Master of this School. Nobel Laureate S. Chandrasekhar was a student of the Hindu High School between 1922 and 1925.

Hindu High School, had a decent laboratory for science experiments and was stocked with quite a lot of biological species, preserved in formalin. I remember our teacher pouring concentrated acid on woodfloor and make it catch fire...or making a toy ship to move with the steam produced by a candle etc...they were enthusiastic showing us experiments...I think the name of my Science teacher was Narasimhan...Seshan was another science teacher...

Mani and Manni were living at 3, Ramaswamy Maistry Street, Triplicane, in a small portion of the house with two small rooms, hall and a kitchen. This was OK for them when they were living as young couple. By the end of the academic year 1964-65 (around Jan/Feb 1965), I contracted "TB Glands" in my hip joint leading to unbearable pain. Dr. R.I. Srinivasan, Orthopaedic Surgeon, advised me complete bed rest and regular injection of Streptomycin and Pencillin for three months. My right leg was plastered and tied to the bed. My Appa, the great human being I have seen, took all the pains to see me clean every day, including cleaning the toilet pan, cleaning the "shit" from me etc. I have not seen such a soul devoted to service so far....I take this opportunity to thank my appa for what all he did for me...he never felt awkward cleaning me every day or for forcing the enema pill through my anus / colon to remove the faeces. While I was in bed many things happened around....Hindi agitation was started by the DMK in Jan/Feb 1965, with more and more students joining the agitation it had assumed unimaginable dimensions; many students got killed, schools and colleges were closed...Dhinathanthi and Malai Murasu had their field days....people used to wait for them for the "hot" news...I did not lose any lesson thanks to the agitation. There were no examinations at the end of the academic year...I was saved and promoted to the X Standard.

While I was still in bed, 3, Ramaswamy Maistry Street house had become over crowded; a house meant for two was occupied by six, including my grandmother (Vepachi Patti). and essential luggage ...and one room was exclusively given to me...the house was, indeed, in a mess. This had created, in my opinion, a lot of stress in Amma. She was used to big bangalows ten times bigger than the portion we lived in 1965...the bathroom was outside our portion...for her it was, perhaps, difficult to pull on .....then came the news that the marriages of Rukku and Lakshmi were fixed and would be taking place at Didigul on the same date. While Srinivasa Chithappa and Chithi were to give Kanyadhanam of Rukku, Amma and Appa were to give the Kanyadhanam of Lakshmi. Appa requested Ramakrishna Chithappa for taking care of Patti for a short while....there was no response....the day for starting for Didigul arrived...but Ramakrishna Chithappa or Radhakrishna Chithappa did not arrive....Amma blurted out something at Patti which she should not have....probably the stress was telling on her...I loved my Patti...she loved me as much too...I could not stand the tears coming out of Patti's eyes....I was also crying within me....For me Patti was an epitome of patience...Appa probably had imbibed some of her qualities...the months following this incident were the worst in life I had seen...even though personally I did not get affected. I also saw how Appa handled the situation, almost like removing a cloth entangled in a thorny plant carefully without any damage...he was at his best at the worst of the situations.

By 1965 end we moved to 21, Kuppiah Chetty Street, West Mambalam...a big house stretching between Kuppiah Chetty Street and Lake View Road, with a little open land at the rear. This was an old house belonging to Duraiswamy Iyer, Appa's Chithappa (not direct).....The surrounding was dirty...the first thing one used to see was a child easing itself on the open ...there was this open drain on the side of the street which was used by one and all in the street as an open lavotary...and the stench....the less said the better. Initially it was a shock...but later I got used to it. I can write a book on neighbours and friends and good/bad/ugly experiences ...at 21 Kuppliah Chetty Street.

Appa used to give me about Rs.25 every month for my bus fare and Lunch.......I had visited almost all the restaurants around the Hindu High School - Sarathy Canteen, Murali's Cafe, Ratna Cafe etc. With quarter of an ana I could get Idli-vada and Coffee (somehow taking coffee became a prestige issue....just taking Idli Vada and leaving the restaurant looked indecent...I don't know why?). Sarathy Canteen was the preferred eatery...because it was CHEAP and I could save some money by the end of the month....that savings allowed me to visit Nathan's (T. Nagar) whenever I felt hungry while returning home. I NEVER exceeded the budget.

In 1966, Vepachi patti died...Krishnaswamy Thatha and Sundarambal patti came home to stay with us for a few months, Sringeri Swamigal Abhinava Vidyathirthar visited our home, Appa conducted a Pada Pujai for him, and by the first quarter of 1967, the time had come for me to leave the Hindu High School....for Higher Studies again.

Brahma Kamal

For HIS feet : A short-lived Wonder


I have been waiting for this day for five years..I bought the plant more than five years ago as a small leaf sticking out of soil from a street vendor...at that time I did not know what I was buying... except that I was buying a flowering plant. A visitor to our home told us that it was Brahma Kamal and it would flower only during the Ganesh Chaturthi. Last year I saw one flower ...but by the time I noticed it, it closed its petals...It flowered during the night and we missed an opportunity. This year I





was looking for the flowers... I saw three buds at the edges of the leaves...I saw the buds growing fast....I was anxious that I should be at home to see the flower.......all the three were growing to full size without any blemish....I came back home from tour in time to witness the Brhama Kamal with open bright white petals and stamens exposed... whiter than the white Lotus...an exhilarating experience...and the mild scent addeded to the new experience. Where-else can be the final abode of such a wonderful creation than HIS feet ?


Of all the plants that I have in my balcony, Brahma Kamal is the one that needed the least attention....but in terms of ROI it is the best so far....I look forward to August 2008 to enjoy more and more Brahma Kamals.

(PS: There are fantastic photographs of Bramha Kamal in the internet...the pictures above are probably the worst)

Added on 14 November 2007: After I wrote this blog, the plant bore three and two flowers on two occasions over a period of about a month....i.e. my understanding that the plant bears flowers only once a year is not true...probably it bears flowers during August - November.

My Teachers - Part II

Part II - Great Time at Srirangam - more than a tribute to my teachers

Originally I posted a LONG essay...on seeing the reaction of Maya and Sheila to the post, I decided to ruthlessly edit the post and the result is the following.

I completed three years at the Pettavaithalai Higher Elementary School and it was time to go for HIGHER education - i.e. sixth standard, elsewhere....by this time Cheena also finished his III Form (eighth standard) at Kulithalai. Appa found it convenient to transfer us to the High School at Srirangam; Srirangam could be reached in about one hour by car from Pettavaithalai so that Appa and Amma could visit us during weekends.

I don't remember the first few days at the Srirangam School...I know that Appa and Amma left us in the hostel with a promise to meet us the next weekend...Cheena and I were given the same room...Cheena was my protector and guardian.

I remember with reverence many teachers of the High School for Boys, Srirangam. It was Shri Rajagopalan who taught me English (Wren and Martin !!!!)...Shri Ramanujam and Shri S.K. Ranganathan, to appreciate tamil literature, especially literature pertaining to Vaishnava saints. I still enjoy the memories of eating Akkaravadasal, Thirukanamudhu, Venpongal Bagalabath etc., which Sri Ranganathan used to bring from Ranganatha temple, especially for us on the days he took turn as Bhattar...Shri Denu taught us Science and Mathematics. There are countless teachers whose faces I could recollect, not their names...my apologies...but I believe that they had given me a strong foundation on values and knowledge...to sail me through in my life...a great contribution for which I salute them all. It is rare to see such dedicated teachers ..each one a genius...now.

It is at the Srirangam school that I learnt to live with people of different backgrounds and faiths; it is there that I learnt to play badminton, football, basketball and was introduced to atheletics; it is there I was made to live on my own steam, without getting bullied by others; it is there where I learnt to take material loss (murukku, thattai, money etc., kept in locked boxes used to be stolen by our beloved friends in the hostel; they knew when to strike..immediately after the visit of Appa and Amma during the weekend) in my stride; it is where I learnt the rudiments of student politics; it is there I learnt many more things than just Science, Maths, English, Tamil, Social Studies......in short the Srirangam School prepared me to face the world in the future. I had seen "the good, bad and ugly" side of kids as well as elders...and learnt that the life is not a bed of roses....

Looking back - my teachers - Part I

Part I: Pettavaithalai Days..

Today (16 August 2007) Maya started her blogging....she saluted three of her teachers including me. I thought I should salute my teachers who shaped me and helped me to face life.

My first memories of a teacher go to Shri Swaminatha Pillai. It was the year 1959; I was in the third standard in the great Pattavaithalai Higher Elementary School, in Pettavaithalai, a small village in Tiruchi district. Cheena (my brother) was in Standard VI and was travelling to Kulithalai for his HIGHER (!!!) education. Appa wanted someone to tutor both of us and there entered Shri Swaminatha Pillai. A dark, middle sized, old (above 60, claiming to be less than 60) gentleman with Veshti (thattu veshti) and thundu to cover his chest, he always sported Vibhudi on his forehead and carried an umbrella. He used to be punctual at about 06.30 hrs every day (except Sunday); our lessons always started with "VAKKUNDAM" - a prayer to Lord Ganesha, followed by a few prayers to Goddess Saraswathi and Lord Muruga. Cheena had a nice time ...because Shri Pillai told Appa that he was good for tutoring students up to class 5; so his tuitions were confined to his sitting and studying (on his own !!) and in effect I was the sole student of Shri Pillai for three years. He used to make me study and go for a quick nap....catching up with what he lost during the previous night. Once he recommended to Appa to change my section because the teacher was a Parayan (an untouchable); the section he recommended was taught by a Pallan (another untouchable)...for him Pallan was better than a Parayan. For me it did not make any sense...both were good teachers...the society had labelled them...that did not take their competence into account. I was lucky; from my childhood I did not care about anyone's religion, caste or creed....probably I have my Appa's qualities imbibed.
I am a great admirer of my Appa - I will write about him in a separate blog.

I cannot forget the Head Master of Pettavaithalai school. He used to call me to his office often and ask me to recommend to Appa someone or the other for appointment in the Sugar factory..When the Head Master called me first, I was hardly 7 years old and was terribly afraid of this Head Master. I was equally afraid of Appa. A catch 22 situation...how do I convey the message of the Head Master to Appa ? Appa used to come home very late in the evening and leave for the factory very early....(and my waking time at home was mutually exclusive to that of Appa). For a few days I dodged the Head Master, bluffing to him that Appa would tell me when someone could meet him...but the smart Head Master caught me one day and gave me an ultimatum..."tomorrow.....the boy will come to your Banglow". I was nervous...I had not spoken to Appa anytime on this...I did not want this guy to turn up at my place ..anytime....My wonderful, creative brain worked... I wrote a letter, "on behalf of Amma" (Amma did not know anything about this) to the Head Master asking "the boy" to meet the Labour Officer (in those days, Personnel Managers were called Labour officers), Hussain. I handed over the "letter" to the Head Master telling him that I wrote the letter as my mother dictated it as she did not know how to write. A couple of days passed...on the third day as Appa entered the house, as usual I was sleeping(!!), he was asking Amma about me. The next day morning, Amma was asking me, with a mischievous smile, about the mysterious letter that she dictated to me.....I was shivering..nervous...almost dead by the very thought of facing Appa in the evening. So before Appa came back home, I was "as usual" in the bed, covering head to foot with the blanket...As Appa entered the house, he was telling Amma, "the boy got the job"...I was relieved...at last "I am out of the Catch 22 situation". Next morning, after getting up (a little early) I went and sat on Appa's lap, knowing fully well that he would not thrash me, as if nothing had happened. Appa told me softly, "don't write anymore letters; otherwise there will be 100s outside our Banglow"....With a lot of "Asadu" on my face, I got down from Appa's lap and ran away from him ...before he could say anything more. At the end of this episode I was proud that I could get a JOB for an un-employed youth. Later in life, I learnt "If you try you may; if you don't you won't"). For quite a few years, I was teased by Hussain with this story....for me it was OK as far as I did not get a thrashing.

There was this teacher who was a Periyar follower...always making fun of Brahmins, teaching us Science and Maths. He formed many small teams of students, called ministries, headed by leaders called Ministers. We used to call this teacher Anna..I forgot his name. I was made the "Co-operative Minister". My task was to collect quarter of an Ana (presently equal to about 2 paise) from all the students of the class and invest the amount collected in buying notebooks, pencils, slates, balabams (I don't know the English equivalent of this), Kadalai mittai (Chikki), orange mittai etc. I, as the Minister, used to go to places that Anna asked me to go for buying these items at whole-sale prices. These items were "sold" to students at concessional prices (less than the prices at the Petty shop outside the school), while making some "profit". If I remember right, we made a profit of about a rupee or two by the end of the year; we bought sweets and distributed to all the students of the class with the profit...Now I don't remember as to what happened to the "Principal"...of course all the money was given to Anna (was he the Prime Minister ??).

How can I forget the Craft teacher ? He was a gem of a person and he had a soft corner for me. He taught us as to how to make small toys with clay; the source of clay was the small canal behind our school. Each one of us used to collect the clay from the canal (looking back will I do now...never, after seeing someone easing and cleaning himself a few feet away...those were the days when we were not corrupted by education...our relationships, with people and nature, were purely based on raw love and affection for one and all around), make small pots, rods, balls etc., dry and play (especially with small balls of clay for use in catapult, which we used to "bring down" tamarind fruits). He taught us as to how to get the fibre from "Kathazhai" (a cactus with meaty leaves), how to make ropes out of this fibre and how to make "mats" using this fibre thread and split Nanal (a tall grass). He taught us as to how to use Cigarette boxes to make toys, carry bags etc. He taught us fundamentals of drawing. He taught us how to make metal discs out of "Kali crush" lids (it was fun leaving these lids on the Railway line and wait till the train passed by to collect the discs); he also taught us to get some "grease" from the Railway engine driver for stopping the leaks from our ink pens. One of his contributions to my acquiring leadership (!!!) qualities was his teaching us the way of making "pee pee" (whistle) from coconut leaves. Aha!!! I became such an expert in making pee pees (even up to one foot) that there was always a crowd of young kids around me. This earned me the title "Pied Piper of Pettavaithalai" in some circles of my relatives - they were amused by the kid crowd around me admiring my skill for making the pee pee. My Craft Teacher was good to me and I was an admirer of him...till one day. I cannot forget that day...this teacher who was taking rest at the back of my class, suddently started shouting and running...there was froth in his mouth..people tried to hold him..he overpowered all of them and was running all over shouting something which I could not understand..this went on for about half an hour ...some one suggested to give him a key to hold...nothing worked. On his own he fell down...for me a young kid, it was a horror...I thought he was dead. He resumed duty after a couple of days...but I did not have guts to go near him or to see him eye-to-eye...I used to run away from him even at the slightest hint of his coming somewhere near. For a kid it was a confusing experience...someone said that he was possessed by a Pei (bad spirit). Who would go near a Pei???? The very thought of him would make me shiver..Later in life, when I came to know more about this condition, I was ashamed; probably I had hurt a good soul. I am sure he would forgive me...for he was always good.

My teachers at Pettavaithalai taught me to be a theist, to be God fearing, to be sensitive to social imbalances, to handle money (??), to work in teams, to handle pressure, to dirty one's hands to learn, to enjoy nature and to accept life as it flowers...as a kid, with the then curiosity and creative mind, I imbibed some of the good qualities of these teachers...may be these qualities are deep rooted even now. I take this opportunity to thank all the teachers at Pettavaithalai for sowing the seeds of my future personality. In these days of artificial relationships, those were the gems who gave their lives for their students, in spite of their own poverty and problems. My Salute to all of them.

15 August

Greetings to you on this 60th Independence Day, 15 August 2007

15 August has been an important date in my life, not just because India obtained freedom on this date:

My loving first daughter Indhu was born on 15 August

My loving second daughter Maya is getting married to Ashwin, born on 15 August

More than that my wife was reborn on this date - by GOD's grace. She is alive today because of my daughter's birth....which triggered off many incidents leading to her being alive today.

Is there a link between these dates and our lives??? I am not sure...there may be. There are 365 days in a Year...why do a few dates become important in our lives ? For me 01 May, 30 October, 02 November, 01 December, 27 September, 1 February, 3 March are important dates...why are they clustered around the month end or the month beginning ? I don't know...do you know?

Starting Trouble

As usual I found it difficult to start a blog..tried about a week ago and did not succeed. Today I have resolved to write something so that the initial resistance to change is overcome. What else to write about than the grace of God...the ever loving and guiding "Tiruchendur Murugan". I am sure He will guide me althrough to make this blog useful and interesting. Whenever I go to Tirchendur Temple I feel a sense of happiness and bliss ...something difficult to express. Standing in front of the deity in the Murugan Sannadhi, and seeking HIS blessings to be always near/with HIM has given me immense pleasure than anything else in the world. Always HE had guided me in the right direction....whenver I was down HE pepped me up. Now that I am taking an important step, I seek HIS blessings to make it a success.