Paddayana - 4 (As narrated by Vasu Kaka)

His Travel Abroad

The three gold medals on account of his University rank were not to be his for long as some burglars broke open his room in his absence for work but the impact it had left on the family was everlasting.. He made waves again in 1956 when Padda, Venkatasubramanian and Thathachary were selected for Assam Oil Scholarship for studies in UK. This time it meant ‘crossing the seven seas’ one of the taboo for an orthodox Brahmin. Soon his maternal grandfather at Mayavaram gave his approval as his brother’s son Sethuram had done so before. The family relented for his studies abroad. But there was one more hurdle to cross. Someone had to stand surety for him for an amount equivalent of the scholarship plus the passage cost. The period was also long and in 1957 ( the departure was delayed by one year) he was already married which meant his young wife had to be left behind for 2 years as scholarship amount of ₤40 was too meager even for one person to maintain himself. Out of this pocket money he would dutifully send ₤3 by British Postal order to his wife for her maintenance (roughly Rs 40 in those days) Our father consulted Rev Fr TN Sequiera who told him that none other than our father would stand surety for Padda. Finally he agreed.

Then the day for an emotional farewell came. He was scheduled to leave by a Streamer called Strathmore. Pandu Kaka was chosen to represent the family at Bombay for his farewell. Just before boarding Padda had recalled to Pandu how Bapa our father used to sense our long hours of play in the sun by touching the head and feeling how hot it was. This Pandu had also experienced and so the tearful farewell meant 22 days of long journey in the high seas. Here a word about the mode of travel. Almost all travel in those days meant long journeys and perhaps it was one strong reason for a taboo from the religious angle as the observance of daily rituals with fresh water, newly cooked food and observance of timely prayers were almost impossible. Air travel was unheard of except for VIPs and lot more expensive than today’s travel. In today’s context who would like to waste 22 days of his life for research in Science!

He joined the City and Guilds College and registered for an M Sc in science and Diploma from Imperial College of London. One of his unfulfilled dreams was to do his Ph D in Science but how could he spend more time with his existing family commitments. But his dream for a Ph D came true when his second daughter Nalini could get Doctorate from IIT (Kharagpur). Atmaavaiva Putra Namaasi. – Your children are perhaps extensions of your own personality. At the end of 2 years he was MA (Physics) MSc (Electronics) and DIC.

His home coming was important to many. For our father it meant he was getting out of the bondage for the security of the family. For his wife, it meant a reunion with her husband. For some of us younger lot, it was a relief from responsibility of running the household on a shoe-string budget. Rejoicing was in the air. From Bombay his port of arrival he was booked to go to Delhi with his wife – our Vahini by Frontier Mail a day after his arrival. Her sister Saroja, her parents Lakshman Rao & his wife and our parents all went to Bombay to receive him arriving by Strathanaver which arrived a day late. After a day of the family reunion at the residence of Smt and Sri Dole they all departed for their respective homes cheerfully.

His vilayatati exploits became folklore as his mother used to narrate the stories to her grand children mainly with a view to inspire younger minds. He was still not out of the rut as he continued in NPL as senior scientific assistant while many of his friends and class mates had climbed the ladder much faster. There was always a conflict in his mind as to the financial success and professional achievements and never the twains shall meet. Here again he chose a mid-path and tried to reach heights through Science administration a channel which was offering some perks which a pure scientist could not enjoy. Soon he was selected as a Senior Scientific Officer II in CMERI, Durgapur where he was required to set up laboratory facilities for material testing. This he did to the great satisfaction of his Director Dr Baker another scientist from UK who was heading the nascent new Institute under CSIR. Dr Baker had respect for his basic intelligence and his training in UK and within a span of 4 months raised his status to the next higher grade Senior Scientific Officer I which meant he would now be able to live a life of above-wants. He then raised a family of boys and girls – five of them - all of them getting the best education in the Convent schools in Durgapur. Family-wise this was the golden age as the children got all the attention from the parents in spacious bungalows as Govt. Quarters. For a brief period of a year or so, he was shifted to Madras by the then Director Prof MM Suri who believed in his ability now to raise a new unit MERADO in Chennai which was to become role model for other similar centers in India. The shift proved to be his nemesis in his career as his relations with the Director hit a low and he was reverted to the parent Laboratory CMERI. The unit MERADO flourished perhaps to justify the truth – When the tree grows, the seed disappears! This meant his greater attention to the family and his uncanny knack of spotting talents in them helped the kids to grow into a happy well-knit family.

An important message has to be derived here as observation on his life. Life was tough those days with a few opportunities and options but much less competitive due to lack of awareness of openings. So like his father, Padda too gave his children liberal education and wanted them to flourish on their own skills – a natural way of blossoming. This also meant that they had to face life as is - without much inhibition nor did they develop any great ambitions which kill the joy of living.

Another observation here is also pertinent. He gave all for the studies and education of his children whom he considered as real assets but did not build up material assets such as a house or a car etc. for his or their comforts. His priorities were his children. This had removed from his mind all associated worries, commitments and a freer life which meant that the children too understood the position as they got continued guidance and lease of active life from the parents.