What Made the Difference?-By V Ramamurthy

From Ramu’s Gallery

What Made the Difference?

V. Ramamurthy

# 2, 59 and 190 Mahadana Street, Thiruvidaimarudur

Thanks to Sri. M. Mahalingam (M. Mali) I watched the final episode of Makkal Arangam–TDR and was quite impressed with the summary statements of Director Visu.  A question often on the minds of parents, teachers and the like is “how to make the younger generations focus on the positive aspects and see the abundant opportunities in life.”  Awareness of these opportunities is easier with support from family and neighborhood and in resourceful big cities like Chennai, Bombay etc.  Children in villages and small towns like Thiruvidaimaruthur, Veppathur, Thirunageshwaram and Thirubhuvanam often lack the knowledge of the possibilities toward esteemed professions such as Advisor to Prime Minister, Director of an IIT, a renowned Scientist at a National Laboratory, etc.

I briefly summarize the events that I believe prompted me to take a different path from my classmates at TAHS.  In doing so, I hope it inspires a few students to the less explored paths in life.  The strategic location of my childhood home at 2, Mahadana Street provided a great opportunity for my father (Sanskrit Pandit) to converse with people who passed by (including Mr. Jayaraman - IA&AS officer who retired as a member of Board of Directors of ITI, Bangalore, Mr. Vaidhayanathan – educated at IISc, Bangalore and settled in USA, Mr. Satyamurthy – retired scientist at BARC, Mumbai, Ms. Padma, Mr. Gopalaraman, retired Professor of Physics, Govt Arts College, KMU; all associated with TAHS and some with the honor of even being gold medalists.  After their departure, my father would mention their achievements and their struggles in life to his family.  Seeing such people and hearing their achievements made me realize that greater heights could be reached in life and one’s economic status and surroundings need not be an impediment to it.

My father enjoyed talking about great personalities.  To a frequent audience of  Muthumani (retired as Head and Professor, Department of Energy, Madurai Kamaraj University) and myself, he would elaborate the life struggles of people like V. S. Srinivasa Sastry and Srinivasa Ramanujam.  To learn about them, all one needs to do today is Google their name (hope some of you do this).   Back then,  I learnt much about Srinivasa Sastry from my father: He was a Brahmin from an exceptionally poor background who studied at Govt Arts College, KMU, gained admiration of British for his political and English oratorical skills and eventually would be called “Silver Tongued Orator of the British Empire.” Similarly, Srinivasa Ramanujam came from a poor background,  lived in KMU, studied at Town High School and Government Arts College, KMU and became to be known as the brilliant mathematician of the century.  These chronicles made me realize that opportunities in life are unlimited and life could be satisfying even if one does not become rich financially.    I did not then know that Ramanujam was an extraordinary genius, or else I would have been misled into believing one needs to be a genius to be successful in science and mathematics.  Inspired by his life story, my attempts at locating his house in KMU did not fruition till 1990s when the biography of him (The Man who Knew Infinity by Robert Kaneigl) provided the address at Saragapani Street.   In my opinion, every student must read about Ramanujam and visit his ancestral house.  These accounts made me realize that one’s ambition and accomplishments need not be shaped by one's economic background and the place where one grows up.

 

   

My father also took an unusual initiative and interest in teaching Muthumani and myself  Hindi and Sanskrit literature during summer.  They included the work of Kalidasa (Raghuvamsa, Uttararama Charita, Megasandesa in original and not the Lipco notes), Harsha, AdiSankara etc. AdiSankara was a young village boy who on getting motivated to find the meaning of life was willing to leave home and walk thousands of miles to find a teacher in the Himalayas and became famous later for his philosophical thoughts and other works.  The legendary story of AdiSankara had a huge impact on me and made me realize that achieving anything meaningful in life requires sacrifices.

Many Indian scientists with whom most young boys and girls could relate, have made significant contributions.  The center page of the Hindu newspaper in my younger days published with photographs, articles detailing the accomplishments of such successful scientists.  These articles with many names from South India and often from poor or middle class background exposed me to the possibilities and helped build courage and confidence and look for opportunities beyond the borders of TDR.  

My father’s intentions then were focused on educating and keeping us motivated to work hard toward a fruitful future life.  Looking back, it is easy for me to say now that these episodes motivated me and put me on a track different from most of my friends, but back then they were just examples of other people’s lives.  I believe it is the responsibility of the parents, teachers and modern media such as TV to open the minds of young children to see beyond where they live.  Of utmost importance is to expose the young minds to the wide world beyond and turn on the light of curiosity toward creating a fulfilling and meaningful life in the future.  I recognize that many people lead full, happy, contended lives in villages like TDR, but this is best when it is a choice -- not a fate that's accepted because one doesn't think there's any other option.   Hope my ‘thinking back’ has made the boys and girls of TDR aware that there are lots of options in life for everyone.  

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