After some deep thinking and reviewing of multiple subjects for my next 3 to 5 posts, I finally decided to put some write up on my inimitable mama. When I say mama, I am not talking about my mom’s brother or my dad’s sister’s husband or my sister’s husband. I am going to talk about my friend Mr. Mohan Raj who we all call as mama and for sure he is a great mama. Let us get this rolling and see how many posting this spans out to be, let us start with our first meeting….
Our first Encounter...
Our first Encounter...
Our first meeting dates back to 1995 in the month of June. I had taken Kovai Express in the morning along with my Dad for my Engineering Admission at Government College of Technology, commonly called as GCT. Guess the college is in Lolly Road / Thadagam Road, I really like the names of those roads. Interestingly, people give a different expansion for the acronym GCT (Girls College of Technology), this apparently is due to the fact that the percentage of girls in this college is higher than the guys, and one would tend to think LUCKY GUYS. As I reached Kovai sometime in the afternoon, we headed straight to PSG, IMS (Medical College at Peelamedu). This is where my brother had finished his MBBS and some of his friends helped us with accommodation inside the campus.
Next day morning dad and I found our way to GCT and I was taken aback by the distance of the college building from the main gate. After a long walk we reached the main building and further we were directed to the nearby auditorium. Both of us were surprised to see the parents and kids with beds, books and huge suitcases. While we inquired on the reason, we then realized that the classes start once the admission is over. I was not prepared for that since my plan was to get back home (Chennai) and return after a week. I was feeling sick just by thinking about the fact that I need to spend my time out of home and I did not like that idea even a wee bit. On the contrary to majority of the students in the campus I was feeling very low and sick.
While my dad and I were trying to find our way to the auditorium we encountered a guy who was tall, a bit dark, shaven head and with a neatly pressed formal shirt and a trouser. My initial thought was that he must be a senior; I did not have the courage to talk to him. In my mind the look of his was imposing and sent a wave of fear in my spine. My dad approached this guy and asked for the way to auditorium, that’s when we learnt that he has also come for admission. I was surprised and realized how small I am (in size) when compared to my peers. Truly and surely I was scared about the prospect of attending classes with this guy, don’t know why, but I was dead scared. This man happens to be the softest guy I have come across so far and he answers to the name of Mohan Raj.
After that I did not see him during the admission and completed all my admission formalities and headed back to PSG medical college. Next day, I attended the first half of the class where a rude chemistry teacher lambasted a guy. I still couldn’t figure out a reason for him scolding the poor guy. Guess what, our teacher gave the time table for the semester and our friend who was taken to task had noted down the days as columns and periods as rows (typically people note down the days in rows and periods in columns). This apparently pissed our teacher and gave him a mouthful; in fact he even concluded that our poor friend will become good for nothing. One does not expect this from a teacher, at that time I was scared, but if I ever happen see such a teacher I will give my piece of mind. He had no business in the first place to shout at the guy since it is one’s prerogative to note down things the way they understand and want to. Our respected teacher went to an extent of making a judgment, not done, certainly not done.
After that first session, dad and I took the afternoon Kovai express and reached home in the night. By this time I decided not to continue with GCT and I was looking forward for the counseling at Anna University for the admission of two branches Civiil and Geo Informatics Engineering.
A Week Later…..
I headed to Anna University (If I get the date correct it was July 6th, 1995) along with my Dad and Mom. We took the then Pallavan Bus 47A and I was thrilled to see T.Nagar since that was the first time I passed T.Nagar. We got down at Anna University and went straight for counseling; I met quite a few of those people who would then go on to become one of my best friends. Top of the list was one Lakshmi Krishnan, a wonderful girl whom I respect a lot. During the admission process, one of my other friend Makka (Arun Prasad Raja) was having problems in admission and unfortunately we were not able to help him. When all the admissions procedures were done I had a sigh of relief that I need not go out of home for my graduation. Somewhere in the corner of my heart I also felt happy that I need not encounter Mohan Raj again in life, but that happiness was short lived. Just when we stepped out of the campus, we found Mohan Raj along with his parents and he felt happy to let me know that he has also got admitted into Civil Engineering. I don’t think he had any clue on how sad and scared I was about his admission....
This is how the whole thing started, we will get into some details in the upcoming postings…
