Days at Vivekananda

Mathematics section at Vivekananda is notorius for fun and every Monday one of our friends should bring idly&vadai from the hotel for the other friends to eat while the class is going on.Myself& all my friends always occupy the back bench and while the classes are on we used to take our refreshments.On one such occasion our lecturer has found out that this sort of activities were going on during the session and he took me and my friends to the principals room and gave a report about the matter.The principal suspended all the boys including me for two days and the management wanted a letter from the respective parents to allow us to the college once again.I had to inform my father about this and with a lot of shoutings and beatings from my father I finally got the letter and was readmitted in to the college once again.It was fun altogether and we did not kept quiet and again we started giving a lot of problems to the mathematics section.Usually in our section our lecturers used to wear only panchagatcham and on seeing a lecturer wearing the same without an undergarment we all the boys collected money for purchasing an undergarment for him.When we were collecting the money the lecturer saw us and questioned what we are doing during the class and one of my friends said that we are collecting money for the purpose of getting him an undergarment.He got wild and the entire class was summoned before the principal.But the principal who suspended us previously was changed and another man was in charge of the college.He was timid man by nature and on seeing all the boys in his room he was afraid and he politely told all the boys not to repeat these kind of activities once again and we escaped from the punishment.Again on one such occasion when one of our lecturer was harsh with us we wanted to pay him back.In the evening he used to play badminton along with the boys and we asked one of our friend to give him a shot in his eye so that he cannot take his class on the next day.The instruction were carried out meticulously by our friend and next day he was not seen in the college because of a sore eye.We take pleasure in doing all sorts of activities ane yet carrying on without any punishment.All the lecturers were furious with us and when the selection for the university exams came they prepared the question papers very tough so that we cannot get through the exams.We know very well that this will happen and hence we bribed the college peon to get the question papers and we all scored more than 80% in all the subjects and the question of detaining us from the exams was also lost.Lecturers do not know what to do with us and we all were selected for the university exams.The exams were supposed to be in March and we were preparing well for the exams.A lecturer of calculus department was almost under retirement stage and one day we wrote in the blackboard that Mr.Srinivasaraghavan is bitten by snake and he will not come to the college since his condition is critical.The college authoriteis were worried but was surprised to see him in the college in the next two hours since he missed the train and was late to the college.Such sort of incidents were going on in the college and finally we had to face the uni exams in a couple of months.We were all geared up for the exams.

Days at Vivekananda

The days I spent in Vivekananda college are green in my memory since I had a lot of friends and they gave me a wonderful company.The three years I spent in the college was really fantastic.Everyday morning we used to assemble under a tree in the college befor the bell rings and discuss various subjects right from cricket and the girls studying in Queen Mary’s college and Ethiraj college.On certain days my friends use to follow the girls of their choice and compell me to come along  with them.But to be honest I have never gone with them on any day since I don’t like these sort of activities in my younger life.I generally give respect to the opposite sex and hence bluntly refuse to go with them whenever they invite me.My priority in the evenings after the college will be to go to the play ground and play cricket or Hockey.Hockey was my first love and I captained the college unofficial team.Then I took special interest in cricket and started playing in the evening everyday.Mathematics department had a number of sportsman too.We used to win in all interdepartmental sports activities.college life going on smoothly when the final year exams was about to start.When I thought of leaving my friends after the university exams made me feel sad once again.

A good friend in my life

The place I lived with my father in Mandavelli was situated in NO:34,West circular road  where I had the association for 11 long years and I cannot the forget the memories I had in that small outhouse.Dhandapani was my very good friend and I was really happy to have a good friend like him in my life.He was my friend,philosopher and guide.He moved with me so closely as a brother and was ready to give me advises whenever I needed his help.His parents were treating me as their own son.His father Mr.venkatraman was a manager in a shipping corporation and was a nice gentleman.He used to talk me endlessly and liked me very much.His mother was really a very affectionate lady always asking me to take my food in their home.I had my memorable days with them and whenever they asked me to take food in their house.Iused to save my hotel meals ticket since my father used to check whether I have taken my food in the hotel.That is the reason I used to preserve my tickets and I invite my friends to the hotel to have dinner with me with the tickets I have preserved.Dhandapani also used to come to my hotel to have dinner with me sometimes.But most of the time I used to take one of my friend Rajaraman who is very fond of taking food in the hotel and he used to love the food.Thereby I can just get relieved whenever my father check my meals coupon.Rajaraman is in california now in San fransisco and recently I got his aquiantance once again after 41years through my cousin who also lives in USA.My cousin’s daughter is married to rajaraman’s son and during the marriage my cousin in his talks with him told him that I am a good cricket player and referred my name to him and he immediately replied him that we played together in the same team.Next day I got a mail from him and our contacts once again renewed.Dhandapani later left Vivekananda college and joined in a chemiacal factory in Ennore.Life in West circular Road was a happy one and I once again started playing cricket for a team in Tamilnadu cricekt associaton league and Dhandapani was also playing for our team.I was a leading bowler for the team and our captain was a fanatastic cricketeer with  qualities of true leader.He was a very good leader with a lot of strategies and under his leadership we won a lot of matches.He was a man of character and never allow any member of the team to go beyond their limits.My dad was absolutely against my cricketing activities,but somehow I was managing to play without his knowledge.He used to ask my friend Dhandapani sometimes about where I have gone on sunday for which Dhandu as we call affectionately,will not give him a proper answer.He used to save me a lot of time by saying that he did not know where I went.Even the family members of dhandu used to save me in that matter from my dad.My dad used to engage me in giving home works in Mathematics and as I told you earlier that the jobe will be half done.I used to get a lot of shoutings from him but I go in the same way as I used to be.We were just like room mates and and generally we don’t talk to each other.our mode of conversation  will be in the form of a balckboard where I will write something and he will read and he will also write something an I will read and do whatever he says.He used to complain about me to Dhandapani’s dad that I am not studying properly and dhandu’s dad in reply will tell him that boys should be handled with care.By shouting at anybody nothing will work out.Our exams were in the corner and I did not do well to the satisfaction of my dad.I got only B+ and was aiming to do Economics in Bachelors and then do post graduate.But again I had a problem and he wanted me to do BSC(Maths) and he said if I want to do Economics then he will not help me finacially and said you do whatever you like and I will not fund you for the course.I had to obey and that is how I became a Maths graduate.And I joined in the same college taking Maths as my subject with no sort of interest in the subject.The days were rolling and I had a lot of happenings in my life once agian.

Outhouse

After leaving my grandparents and settled in a small house called outhouse those days.The rent my dad was paying those days was only Rs45/-per month and it had a fairly a decent room and a small kithchen.We had a separate bathroom and a toilet.WE used to buy a cup of milk everyday for our morning coffee and the rest of our breakfast,Lunch&dinner in a hotel.The main house was occupied by a yelderly man having two daughters and two sons.One of his son was a demonstrator in chemistry department in vivekananda college where I was studying preuniversity course.His name was Dhandapani and it was a coincidence that I got his friendship.One morning when I went to get water for my bath I fell down and I was unable to get up from the floor.I had to take somebody’s help and when Mr.Dhandapani saw me lying on the floor he helped me and he took me inside his house and gave me a cup of coffee and after talking to them for a couple of minutes I returned to my outhouse.We became great friends from that day onwards and I used to call him Sir when I see him in the college and when he comes back home call him by name.We became so close that his parents used to treat me as their son and two of his sisters also treated me as their own brother.My associaton with them continued and we used to go for pictures and go to the beach nearby.Most of the time I used to spend my time with them and Dhandapani’s father was very much attached towards me.Taking pity on me that I don’t have a mother they used to shower their love towards me and most of the days I used to have dinner in their house.I settled comfortably in that outhouse and regular with the college activities.Time was passing on—–