“I was born and raised in Bengaluru, the erstwhile Bangalore until my sixth standard, which gave me the option to learn Kannada and Hindi along with English. When my father retired we decided to move to a small town called Tiruvidaimaruthur in Tamil Nadu as my elder sister was living with her family. I was admitted into the school in the seventh standard, under the condition that I learn to read, write, and speak Tamil by the Half-yearly exams. My teachers Shri Rangaswamy Iyengar, Mahalingam Sir were very helpful as they took pity on my family since I had lost my father just a few days that summer vacation.
My mother, sister, and I realized that the only way out for us to sustain was by me securing a well-paying job. Besides my tuition under Shri Rangaswamy Iyengar, I spent all my after school hours in the library and ensured that I pick up my Tamil skills and i topped in my 8th standard Tamil annual exam. There were a lot of challenges we had to overcome and a lot of sacrifices by all of us to ensure that I pursue my PUC. Life in PUC was no different, I spent my free hours in the college library working towards improving my grades . I went on to secure a decent score and earned a three-year scholarship to pursue my B.Com and dreamt of starting a career in any nationalized bank. But, given my family situation, I was forced to take up a job in a metal melting and rolling mill and then in an auditors’ firm for about two years.
I went on to appear for and cleared the Staff Selection Commission exam and secured a job in the Central PWD in 1982. However, my dream was still to be part of the banking sector, so I wrote the BSRB exam in 1983 and was placed in SyndicateBank as a Clerk-cum-typist. Later on, I was promoted as an officer.As a manager, I worked there giving the organization my fullest until the day I looked back to see my son and daughter all grown up and settling down in their life. I realized that I was done working and took VRS in 2014.
The beauty of school friends is that they never change and that’s what I found when I became a part of the Thiruvidaimarudur Schools’ old students group, called TOSA (Thiruvidaimarudur Old Students Association). This was formed in 2008 and I joined them a year later. We as a group have been doing our bit to give back to our society and to our school. What makes me happy is , beyond the fact that I get to connect with my school friends, the fact that we help children with what they need, better facilities in classrooms, and everything that we wished we had . We are reaching all the schools in that place and our e-magazine called TDRTimes that publishes articles from the members . I edit regularly since 2013. This is something I enjoy because it is similar to the magazine that I was part of when I was studying in college. That was a handwritten magazine with like-minded friends which was popular among the readers. We called it the “Vadigal” and J Lakshminarayanan was the chief editor. I feel happy and proud to be a part of Marudha Natyanjali Trust, which organizes the Grand Natyanjali program on the Sivarathiri night every year here.
Life has come a full circle and this is my second youth is what I would call. But this time in Chennai, a city that I have seen evolves from single-screen cinema theaters to multiplexes, from busses to metro, the flyovers and skywalks, and the malls. Everything has changed, yet a lot remains the same. I think that’s the beauty of this place. It embraces everyone who walks in and makes them get used to the city’s way of life. Imagine a person like me who grew on the banks of Cauvery getting used to the water problem and chlorine-filled water here and saying I am happy about living here. Happens only with Madras!”
#MotivationDiaries #PeopleofChennai #Inspire #Cauvery #SliceofLife #Vadigal #Students #Changingtimes #Friends #Olddays #Educate #Madras #HumansofMadras