After my first assignment abroad in Singapore, I had to return to REC cancelling part of the sabbatical leave sanctioned for the purpose. I had explained the reasons an earlier episode. After re-joining, I continued my work as usual predominantly teaching and a little bit of research. Almost a year elapsed during which time I bought an old Maruti 800 and was using my car regularly. Then , as had happened in my first assignment abroad, one of my friends whom I met in NSS College of Engineering Palakkad as a co-examiner sent me an email asking whether I am interested in an assignment in Turkey. He was in Turkey for quite some time , but now moved to North Cyprus as Dean of a university and was checking whether I am interested in joining a university in Turkey under government. It was in Cukurova University in Adana, a small city hardly 15 KMs from the Mediterranean. Like the offer for Data Storage Institute, this also came up through the goodwill of a friend.
However,
there was some difficulty in
getting further leave from
college as I had signed a bond to serve the
institution for two years when taking leave for
assignment in Singapore. This was for one full year leave, but I had
availed only half
the leave sanctioned to me. I
had completed one year and so I thought I can take
extra-ordinary (without salary) leave for another two
years. As principal was not cooperative, I approached the Chairman BoG through one of his relatives in the mechanical
engineering department. He was
kind enough to phone the person concerned
who was also MLA of our assembly constituency Kuttanad and I got my two years ‘leave
sanctioned under little pressure on principal.
While I was planning to go to Turkey,
inflation was very high in Turkey. The promised remuneration of approximately
USD 2000/ was thought to be sufficient to live in Turkey and as we
were only interested in seeing the places even if we cannot
save much, I decided to accept the offer. It was as Professor in
Electrical Engineering in the Faculty of Engineering ,
Department of Electrical & Electronics Engg .
The assignment to
Turkey came up after a few months after
the wedding of our son. We left the
responsibility of running the house to our son and
his young wife. They had excellent company with
a few of his class mate doctors practicing in
Calicut and newly married. So, for almost a year, the three families were in
three different continents, we on
the gateway to Europe, daughter and
her husband in USA and our son and daughter in
law in our own great India.
Our son and his wife were left absolutely
free in the house. He was working and his wife preparing
for her PG entrance examination. It seems
in company of the two doctor
couples newly married and they used to ransack all
the good restaurants in Kozhikode like
Paragons, Sainoos’ etc. Rest of the time our daughter in law could
prepare for her medical PG entrance examination.
At that time, there was no direct flight to any of the
airports in Turkey. Emirates were running their flight from Madras(Chennai) to
Dubai and another flight from Dubai to Istanbul. Gulf Air flight was
via Bahrein to Istanbul. We have to catch these flights from Chennai
or Mumbai. First time, we chose a Gulf Air flight from Chennai . We had
booked a ticket by train to Chennai in the evening. At Kozhikode
railway station, there was heavy rush. For every
passenger travelling more than 10-15 persons had come to see
them off. Of course, later we realised that these people were in the first lap
of their journey to Mecca for their Haj
pilgrimage. Similarly, when we reached the airport, it was almost
difficult to enter the airport. Somehow, when we entered the check in counter,
we found that very old people with several health problems were all sitting
in their white cloth carrying their
identity tags aloft waiting for a flight to
Saudi Arabia.
Turkey which was known to be the
‘sick man of Europe’ was transformed to modern Turkey by
the efforts of a single man, Mustafa Kemal Pasha
later known as Ataturk(Great Turk).
During the World War I, he led the Ottoman army to a
victory against the allies in the war of
Gallipoli and thus came to prominence as a leader. But after the
world war, when the Allies wanted to divide Turkey, Kemal Pasha prevented this
and developed the unified Turkey and made it the Modern Turkey. He
was made the Father of the Nation in 1924. Primary education was made free for
all and a constitution was made in which religion and governance will not have
anything in common. Unlike in many countries in the West, ladies were given
equal rights like that of men including voting rights in election. Turkish
language was made compulsory for all in education and administration. People in
public places were not allowed to follow religious customs like wearing
scarf on the head of women.
Our flight from Chennai was to Bahrein first and then to
the ancient city of Istanbul, a city in two continents on
the North of Turkey. We had to take another flight to Adana from Istanbul. We
missed the first connection flight but luckily there was another flight at 11
PM which took us to our destination, Adana. Fortunately, a future colleague in
the EE department was waiting at the airport. It was extremely cold outside,
somehow, we managed to reach the university guest house by 2AM.
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