22.Higher studies and condensed M Tech course

 After graduating in Electrical Engineering from Kerala University in 1968 with a good First Class and Distinction and First Rank from Kerala  University, I could have tried to join Kerala State Electricity  Board or Public Works Department  or any other public sector undertaking as Electrical Engineer and settled down. Compared to teaching, the   job of a practicing engineer was much more lucrative, respected and dignified in society. It is well known that an engineer does his job by hand but a teacher does his job with his tongue. But I preferred to join an engineering college as that I thought that this is the best job for going for higher studies. I thought that I can still work as an engineer after completing my higher studies. However, only later I came to know that in India, an engineer teacher will always remain a teacher as the industry takes teaching as an inferior job. In many reputed universities abroad, in USA, Europe, UK etc, engineers and teachers exchange their roles by working in industry and academic institutions in tandem and enrich and share their knowledge and experience  to do better  service to the society. I do not support the caustic remark of  G.B. Shaw  who said “ One who can do does, who cannot teach”. I believe an engineering teacher can also do something, definitely.

My efforts for higher studies started from the very first year in teaching at TKMCE Kollam. Those days, many higher educational institutions like IITs used to conduct Summer Schools for enhancing the knowledge of engineering teachers. These   summer schools were organized by APTI (Association of the Principals of Technical Institutions) which was later renamed as ISTE (Indian Society for Technical Education). These schools were held for 8weeks during summer, mostly  in IITs and teachers admitted were  reimbursed travelling expenses and provided free food and accommodation in the student hostels. I also applied for such a summer school in I.I.T. Madras. This happened to be a sequential summer school running for three consecutive summers in sequence and the additional attraction was that those who do well in the examinations conducted during these three  sessions will be admitted to second year of M Tech course directly. Even though   it was a tall order to get a grade not less than B+  for all the  30 odd subjects we were offered during the three sessions of the summer school, I took up the challenge as I could save one year of 2-year M Tech course. So, I completed the first summer school in April – May 1969 itself during the summer vacation from TKMCE. The second and third sessions were completed from REC Calicut during the summers of 1970 and 71.

In IIT Madras at that time and even now, there was only one department for Electrical and Electronics Engineering.. They called Electricals as high current (HC) group and Electronics as low current (LC) groups.  During the summer schools, we had to study several courses in Electrical Engineering and Electronics Engg . Moreover, the courses offered were chosen in such a way that almost all the staff members  could teach as they were given some extra remuneration for this. It was a difficult proposition to study during the extreme summer in Madras where the temperatures at times hover around  42-43C  in May. As most of the participants of the school were young teachers from different institutes, the stay and food in the student hostels were very good, it was enjoyable. Five of the participants were from REC Calicut. Y Venkataramani and myself from Electrical , M/s  Babu T Jose and V J Kurien from Civil and V George  from  Mechanical   Engineering were the participants. Company of these friends and the special service from the Malayali staff in the hostel mess all made our stay in the IIT Campus very enjoyable. Sri. E K Bhass and A P Skaria  were  also present  from TKMCE .In the evenings, one of us used to go to Adayar to fetch  the Malayalam Newspapers and magazines  for  reading.

Higher  Studies  at  IIT  Madras

Even though we had to struggle with the high temperature and the wide variety of subjects,  our efforts bore fruit as all five of us from REC Calicut were  offered admission to  second year of M Tech  as we all fulfilled the conditions stipulated. But getting leave for one year  for completing the M Tech course was another big hurdle at REC Calicut.  I was denied leave as I had not completed the probation in the lecturer post after promotion. As I had already completed my probation in the lower post of Associate lecturer, it was just a flimsy reason for denying leave to me.  However, others M/s Venkataramni,  Babu T Jose and V J Kurien   were granted leave and could join M Tech in 1971 itself. However, I had to keep quiet expecting grant of leave during 1972-73. Sri. V George of Mechanical Department and  myself were granted loss of pay leave for one year to join second  year  M Tech course in Aug 1972.

As summer schools were only for 8 weeks and we were accommodated in some of the undergraduate hostels far away from the academic blocks, we could not get much time to familiarise with the people around.  But as we joined for the second year M.Tech as full-time students and were  to stay in the same Krishna hostel  for the full term of the course, we could  get to know a few persons.

There were quite a few mess employees from Kerala including one supervisor. Among them, I remember one Narayanan Nair from Ottappalam who was close to us. He used to borrow some small amounts from some of us who promptly repaid after getting his salary. There was some benefit in making friends with him as he was the person serving us chicken curry. Chicken curry was served twice a week in the evening and we used to get good fleshy pieces from Mr.Nair. Moreover, after the main pieces were cut from the chicken, they used to make an extra curry with the smaller  left-over pieces. Nair  being our friend, we used to get some good pieces  from this  curry too which we  jokingly called ‘feather curry’(poodakkari  in Malayalam). We used to collect some money from amongst us when our  mess employees went home for Kerala festivals like  Onam or Vishu.

Another person whom we could never forget was our postman Vellachaami. Mr. V.George and myself were two  enforced bachelors who could not bring our families with us. As our children and  wives were in our native places far away, the only way we could know their well being  was through  letters we received from home. Remember, it was 1972 when there was  no internet, no Google talk, mobile  phones, emails or messengers as of now.  Vellachaami used  to come  with the mail   between 1230 - 1300 and we used to wait for him before going to the mess for lunch. He  knew that we are waiting for him. On those days when we don’t have a letter, he used to come to us and say with great sorrow or sympathy “ Dear Sir, I am very sorry,  today  you have  no letter, definitely I will bring a letter for you tomorrow”  as  if it is his fault   that we do not get any letter.  On days when we have letters, he appeared to be very happy and used to come to us straight  and hand over the letter telling “You are lucky today Sir, you have two letters”. Probably he could understand our happiness when we received letters from home describing trivial things like how my little  daughter of 3 years used to  snatch the letters from the post man at home and keeping it to her chest go around telling everyone that it is my dad’s  letter without allowing any one to  read it. If she saw some photos of a young person of my age  with  spectacles in the Newspaper, she  used to tear it away and go around telling others that this is my dad studying in Madras  in her own broken Malayalam.  People  like Vellachaami makes our life  worth living. Vellachaami  was pitch dark in complexion but his  mind was  super white ( as his name in Tamil  implies – vella  meaning white), we used to say. I take this opportunity to salute this kind man who sympathized  with us  when we did not get a letter  or was equally happy  like us when we had a letter  from home. 

Leaving my wife and children at home with her parents I completed my M Tech course including thesis  work in almost ten months, combining 8 months leave and two months’ vacation.  After successfully completing M.Tech  with Control Systems as special subject, I re-joined REC  in June 1973. Even though I could get only a good first class, with a good thesis work, I could publish three research papers in an Indian journal (IETE), which proved to be useful when I applied for admission to the research programme at IIT Delhi  much later.