JOIN USThis picture was taken in 1957 at Central College in Bengaluru, where I did my graduation in science. I was taught by some of the best teachers. The college had some wonderful professors like M E Bharathraj Singh, O K Nambiar and many others.
A few other teachers who instantly come to my mind are Prof G P Rajaratnam and Prof U S Krishnarao (an exponent of bharathanatyam) who taught Kannada and Chemistry respectively. Physics was taught by Prof Tirunarayanachar and Mathematics by Prof M J Narayana Iyengar. Each one of our teachers has influenced us in some way, shaped our thoughts and made us what we are today.
We were a very close bunch at college. Many of them seen in the picture have gone on to achieve great heights in their chosen careers. The notable students are Rangaswamy, who went on to become a state level kabaddi player, Muthanna, who captained the hockey team of Central College and Cheri Chittianna, who was a tennis star of our college. These people have made a name for themselves in the field of sports. Chi Na Mangala was the former principal of NMKRV College. L G Sumitra, LG Kamala and LG Vimala were all AIR artists. Sumatheendra R Nadig is a well-known writer. Another student P Lankesh, went on to start the ‘Lankesh Patrike’. There was also Rajeev Taranath who was popular for singing songs of Talath Mohammed. Ramachandra became the president of The Chamber of Commerce and went on to achieve great heights.
We all enjoyed travelling a lot. One of the memorable journey was when Radhakrishnan, Dharmakumar and I trekked to Nandi Hills. This was our first experience of climbing through the clouds. The travel together was indeed memorable.
A few of my other close friends in the picture are A R Ramarao, P U Appiah, K Krishnamurthy, Ravi, Keshavamurthy and Ramachandra. All of us are from the 1955-57 batch and we are still in touch. I studied Aeronautical Engineering and later joined Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL). I retired as design engineer in 1997, from the Flight Test Center, Helicopter Division, HAL. I am grateful to HAL because my job gave me a direction to grow in my life and it also brought me close to some great people who were simple but honest, sincere and committed in whatever they did. Now, after retirement, I volunteer my services as a counsellor at the ‘Help Desk’ in Nimhans, Kidwai, MS Ramaiah, Baptist, Mallige Hospitals and a few other places.
This picture brings back a lot of memories of my days spent in college where I picked up some of the most valuable lessons in life. These lessons have stood me in good stead all through and they continue to guide me.
(Ramaswamy can be reached at ramaswamynatampally@yahoo.com)