Gone are those Halcyon Days,

Back in 1945, I came to join Presidency College. What impressed me most at first sight was the grandeur of the impossing structure and the lovely garden. A sense of awe struck me. Those days, the students of Presidency College were called ‘Princes of Presidency’. To join such a great institution was a matter of pride for me.

I joined as a student of Chemistry. Prof. M.E. Duraisamy of the Chemistry Department was a strict disciplinarian. In contra-distinction, the then Asst. Prof. B. Ramachandra Pai, was soft-spoken and endeared himself to everyone. The English Professor Milgnatius Absalom, known for his sartorial discipline, was invariably clad in white suit with a red kerchief protruding from his pocket He was an impressive figure whose lectures were inspiring. When he taught Shakespeare, he was almost acting on stage, personifying each character.

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The famous Marina Ground is where we played entertaining cricket. It encouranged an excellent sporting spirit. It so happened that in one match the batsman, a star player, hit the ball straight towards me at mid-on at great speed. The ball hit my stomach, but I grasped it. Lo! The star batsman was out. The excruciating pain in my stomach did not bother me at the time, but for three days, I suffered hell. Hot water formentation was the only remedy in those days.

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We spent happy days in Victoria Hostel. What lovely food we had. The mysorepak would melt on your tongue. I gratefully remember Nagaraj Rao, the Head Cook (Vegetarian A-Section). He was the prime speaker at almost all Hostel Day functions. His perfect English was a surprise to all VIPs. Students from other colleges came to Victoria Hostel to enjoy lunches and dinners at the nominal price of eight annas a plate.

What fine friends we had! A galaxy of names simmers in the sauce of my memory. In later life, all of them happened to adorn very high posts. The late B. Mithreyan from Thanjavur was my closest friend. He became a Deputy Auditor General, Government of India. I always enjoyed his witticisms. T.V. Rajeswar, the former Governor of West Bengal and Sikkim, was a ‘prima donna’. No wonder he became Governor. Sathia Dev was a close friend of mine. He became a Judge of the High Court. Likewise, Sivasubramaniam, an embodiment of patience.

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One day in the 1940s, I was standing in front of the entrance along with my friends, admiring the green lawn. There was a signboard reading “No thoroughfare”. Near that signboard stood a beautiful lass, whose name I did not know. My friends cajoled me to write a poem including the greenery, signboard and the lass. I wrote:

“On the gateway of my heart, I wrote “No thoroughfare”.

But love came piercing through, Saying I enter each and everywhere”.

The poem was shown to my good friend S. Ramasamy. He said, “Merely writing this, you are not going to achieve anything. Why don’t you go and hand over the piece of paper to the young lady?” Summoning all my courage, I handed over the piece of paper to her with trepidation and fled. The young lady mistook it for a ‘love letter’. She went and handed it over to Principal Dr. Abdul Haq. Naturally, I was summoned by the Principal. Trembling in my shoes, I gave him my name. I thought something disastrous would happen. But to my surprise Dr. Haq, a good-hearted person, told me, “Mr. Mohan, you are capable of good poems as evidenced by this paper, but why do you give this to a person who can hardly appreciate your poetic talent. I advise you to write about the glistening of the waves of the Bay of Bengal on a full moon day or the beautiful sun-set. That will make us love nature more. You may go now.” What a relief!

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One more incident. I was the Vice-President of the Tamil Association. Ananthanayaki, later a Congress MLA, was the Secretary. The President, Teeka Ram, was an ardent Dravida Kazhagam man. He had invited, without our knowledge and even without the permission of Viswanatha Iyer, Head of the Department of Tamil, the DK leader Annadurai. On the morning of the function, the invitation was shown to Prof. Viswanatha Iyer. He was reduced to shivers. He called me and asked, “Mohan, what is this? This is a Government college. How can he invite a DK leader like Annadurai? If he makes a speech criticising Government, there will not only be embarrassment and several problems may arise, but I will be in the soup.”

During tea, prior to the meeting, I whispered to Anna about the fear of the Tamil Professor. Being a thorough gentleman, Anna said, “I am aware this is a Government college and the position of the Tamil Professor. I will not cause the slightest embarrassment to anyone, have no fear.” I felt assured. Later, I asked what his topic would be. He said “Fear”. Anna’s speech lasted an hour and fifteen minutes. It was like torrential rain during summer. The speech was about the fear that pre-historic men had for thunder and lightning. They thought they were due to curses. The early men propitiated a form of God to appease God’s anger. No wonder the speech held us spellbound. (Courtesy: TCC Digest)