I came to Madras in 1959 to join Presidency College. When I entered the campus I was astonished by the atmosphere and the neatly, well-dressed students. Women students were all in sarees. When I entered the College building, I saw a staircase fit for a Maharaja’s palace. Waiting in the corridor itself was an awesome experience. The students were so quiet while going to classes.

'President' Roosevelt addresses a Students' Union meeting.

A man in a full suit saw me and asked what I wanted. I promptly replied that I sought admission. He asked me to come to his room. He was Principal Dr. T.R. Govindachari. He told me that all the admissions were over but there was one B.A. English seat available. He went through my records and said, “You have secured good marks in English. I will admit you in B.A. English.” I had my own reservations about choosing B.A. English. So I requested him to give me any other course. After looking at me silently, he said that he would give me a seat in Economics, as a student who had been given admission had not joined. I accepted the offer gladly.

The head of the Economics Department was Prof. Dr. C. Velayutham, a renowned scholar in Tamil. When I met him he started talking in Tamil. I felt great pleasure in speaking to him in Tamil. He advised me that as I had come from a remote village near Pattukkottai, Thanjavur, I needed to understand the decorum practised in the college. He told me that admission to the college was a great honour. Admission would normally be given only to children of leading families of Madras. So I would have to cope with the environment and my fellow students. His advice stood me in good stead.

I was given a double sharing room at the Victoria Hostel attached to the College. The room was good and my roommate very cooperative and helpful. More than anything, the hostel food was excellent.

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I contested for the post of Secretary of Presidency College Tamizh Mandram. My opponent was Arivudai Nambi, the son of the Speaker of the State Assembly, Pulavar Govindan. I won the election.

During my tenure, I invited Tamil scholar “Kiva” Jagannathan, poet Soundaram Kailasam and S.A.P. Annamalai, then editor of Kumudam, to speak at the association’s functions. Annamalai announced eight pages in the ensuing issue of Kumudam to bring out the writing talent of Presidency College students.

I wanted to bring out a souvenir in the name of Tamizh Cholai. The Head of the Department, Dr. K. Meenakshisundaram, agreed on condition that I did not ask for any funds from the College. We raised the funds and brought out Tamizh Cholai.

Dr. Meenakshisundaram asked Assistant Professor K. Thirunavukkarasu to edit Tamizh Cholai. We then released the souvenir at a grand function.

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'President' Roosevelt (right) with Rajah Sir Muthiah Chettiar (left).

When I joined M.A. Economics, V. Gopalasamy (Vaiko) used to sit beside me and we became good friends. I was attracted by his eloquent and passionate speeches.

When the College announed the Students’ Union President’s election, I decided to contest My life’s ambition was to add President before my name, as my father, P.K. Meiyappan, had named me after the American President F.D. Roosevelt. V. Gopalasamy, who had done his B.A. in Palayamkottai and had been the President of the College Union there, also wanted to contest. Our common friends discussed the matter with him and he agreed to support me. AVM Caesar, who was doing M.A. in Politics and was a well-to-do day scholar, was my opponent. With Gopalasamy’s support I won comfortably.

I took charge as Union President. I was extremely happy that I had achieved my life’s ambition to he called President Roosevelt. During my presidentship we invited Dr. Raja Sir Muthiah Chettiar to inaugurate the College Union. He was an old student. After the inaugural function, Dr. Raja Sir invited me to his birthday dinner at Chettinad Palace. He sent a car to pick me up from Victoria Hostel. I was thrilled to attend that big function in which all the city’s VIPs, including the Chief Minister, were present. Raja Sir introduced me to all the dignitaries.

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During my time, we nominated N. Ram, later Editor-in-Chief of The Hindu, and P. Chidambaram, later a Union Minister, as our English oratorical team members and V. Gopalasamy and Raja Mohammed (later a Tamil Nadu Minister) as the Tamil oratorical team members. They used to participate in all inter collegiate debates and won many trophies for the College.

Gopalasamy suggested we participate in the anti-Hindi agitation. We joined together and launched a campaign. The College was closed and we were asked to vacate the hostel. The CID police used to follow us around to ascertain what action we planned. Several students were arrested.

We collected a lot of funds in the Triplicane area to buy food items for the students in Central Jail. After a month, the College reopened and all the students were released from jail. We again started concentrating on the students’ union activities. We brought out a monthly magazine, The Presidencian Trend, with articles from students and professors. It was welcomed by all. Then it was time to say goodbye to College with a grand party. (Courtesy: TCC Digest).