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An interview with Shri R. Natarajan IAS, First Registrar of IIT Madras by Prof. Ajit Kumar Kolar, Former faculty and alumnus in presence of Shri Kumaran Sathasivam

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We are here at the residence of Shri R. Natarajan

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IAS, who was the first Registrar of IIT Madras

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from 1959 to 1965.

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He has graciously consented to a personal interview by me,

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Ajit Kolar here and my friend Mr. Kumaran

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to discuss about his experience with IIT Madras right

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from the time it was instituted in 1959.

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Thank you Shri Natarajan for having

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accepted to have us here in you residence.

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It is an honor for me.

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Pleasure and honor for us too.

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We have set up a Heritage Centre IIT Madras,

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Professor R. Natarajan who was the Director then asked me to

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start this work and later under Professor Ananth’s directorship

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it was completed.

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And when I started collecting information about IIT Madras,

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I had some Annual Numbers of those times and albums.

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And one person who was there in most of the photographs

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of the early albums and who was referred to in many of these articles

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was yourself Shri R. Natarajan, the first Registrar of IIT Madras.

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That was the gracious Registrar of the IIT.

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And I have always been thinking about

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meeting personally with you and

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getting information about IIT Madras in those days.

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And today it has been possible and along with me

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Mr. Kumaran who is now on the Advisory Committee

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of the Heritage Centre we are here today.

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As you know the seed for IIT Madras was sown in

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Bonn in July 1956 when Prime Minister Nehru visited Bonn;

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he had discussions with President Hayes

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at that time and Chancellor Adenauer. Konrad Adenauer.

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Yes, that was July 15th, 16th of 1956.

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At the end of that visit, they basically agreed that

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Germany will help us in setting up an in

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Technical Teaching Institute in India.

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They call it a Technische Hochschule in German Technische Hochschule in German. Yeah.

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So, that was in the report at the end of the visit.

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And then the Ruker Mission came in November 1956;

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several interactions were there between Indian bureaucrats

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educationists and the Germans.

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The result of all that was IIT Madras,

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the third one in the IIT family

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was inaugurated by Professor Humayun Kabir on 31st July 1959

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and then the history of IIT Madras really started.

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I would like to know at what point in time you came into this picture,

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when were you offered the position and how did? I was officer in Madurai,

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when I heard it was it was a bolt from the blue.

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I had I was organizing settlement

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that is introducing ryotwari

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in Trichy and Madura districts

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and thoroughly enjoying my time there.

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I was living in a colonial building,

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huge with a garden and all that

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and when suddenly my posting orders came

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appointing me as the Registrar of the IIT;

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I must be frank enough to tell you

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that I was shocked more than surprised,

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because the IIT is a very a technical affair

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and for me to be posted an IAS officer

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to at the IIT was a disappointment.

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But then when I joined the IIT

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and went to that cool cathedral greenery the I bought

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above the IIT with all its deer and of course,

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not to leave out the monkeys and mongooses. Yeah.

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After 15 days I found that it was my

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deliverance from routine revenue administration

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to do something new, to sit on a campus,

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enjoying nature and you could watch your the result of your work

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from day to day.

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not so in god, will dispose of files and god knows

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when the result flows out.

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But here in the IIT buildings, academics

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and all our efforts in making the IIT

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the glorious institution that it is

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and Professor Sengupto was the first Director;

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he was a very fine personality,

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he was a King's Prizeman from Bombay. Ok.

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He had won the Kings Medal for Mechanical Engineering

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and it was a real pleasure to work with him.

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He was a very encouraging type

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and he knew the art of delegation to a team.

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And once you get into his confidence,

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he will leave the whole thing to you.

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And we formed a very good trio: Professor Sengupto,

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myself and our engineer Y. S. Ramaswamy. Yes.

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He came from CPWB again on deputation,

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but he came 2 years after I joined. I see.

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And everything we were shining in borrowed feathers only,

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because our my our office was in the

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Central Leather Research Institute. Yes.

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The classes were being held in the A. C. College of technology. Yes.

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And students were staying in a hostel of the Teachers College,

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students staying in a Teachers College hostel. Yeah.

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Sir, I believe there were two hostels;

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one the one you mentioned in Saidapet Teachers College. Yeah.

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Another one in Guindy. Yeah.

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Near Guindy Race Course. Right.

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We have not been able to identify those places actually;

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one was a vegetarian mess,

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I am told another was a non-vegetarian mess at time. Non-vegetarian.

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And Dr. D. Venkateswaralu was the first- Yeah.

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warden of these hostels. Not only that, Dr. Dunduluri Venkateswarlu-

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Yes. was the team man,

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he was- we appointed him as the President of the Gymkhanas

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because he had an excellent rapport with the students.

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And I found Dr. Venkateswarlu to be very hard working,

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very sweet and student orienting.

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So, the students enjoyed Dr. Venkateswarlu's leaderships.

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Sengupto and we were

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highly impressed with Dr. Venkateswarlu social abilities.

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Sir, actually you were basically you were a lawyer,

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am I right? No.

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Before IAS, you took a law degree at least.

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Law degree also, I took my B.A. Honors in History- Sir yeah.

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Ok. from Presidency College,

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and then the law degree from the Law College.

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So, what was, again I am slightly going back.

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So, law degree holder,

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IAS officer and suddenly coming into a

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Institute of Technology to start; so

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what kind of thought processes in terms of starting this,

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in terms of you were training or information that you got

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how to start the IIT? I got some information

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fortunately for me, Mr. Chandrakant was there with me for 20 days.

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Ok, L. S. Chandrakant. L. S. Chandrakant.

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Deputy Educational Advisor from the Government of India. Government of India

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and from our local Assistant Advisor

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V. R. Reddy. V. R. Reddy. Based in Madras.

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He was a IAS officer. No no,

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he was a from the ministry. Oh, from the ministry in IIT Madras.

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Under he was Deputy Director in Delhi and sent here. I see.

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And V. R. Reddy was the state representative- I see.

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of the ministry, which was headed then by Mr. G. K. Chandramani.

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G. K. Chandramani, yes

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his name comes up often.

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He was a member of the Board of Governors. Board of Governors.

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So, these two personalities also helped you in initial.

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On the insuring and then a Professor Sengupto was-

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gave me all the background information. Ok.

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And so, I at almost a semi technocrat was born in me. Ok.

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I caught up with all those things,

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especially a history of honors student

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coming into violent contact with technology. Yes.

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But then started my journey, every day.

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We would like to know that sir,

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your meeting Professor Sengupto almost for the first time I would guess.

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First time. And also Dr. A. L. Mudaliar as the

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Vice Chancellor. A. L. Mudaliar it was who had got me to the IIT.

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Oh, he was-

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After going through the personal file and all that

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and Dr. A. L. Mudaliar was already there he was the Chairman. Yes Chairman,

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again I would like to mention President Hayes

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Chancellor Adenauer and Jawaharlal Nehru,

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I call them the First Trinity of IIT Madras- Yes.

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for sowing the seeds. Yeah.

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And then Dr. A. L. Mudaliar, Professor Sengupto and

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yourself as the Second Trinity yeah

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of IIT Madras who planned and implemented that idea. Yeah absolutely.

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Which was extremely important.

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So, what were the first? In fact,

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the day I gave the names of Bonn avenue,

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Delhi Avenue and Madras Avenue- Ok.

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because I told them ours IIT madras

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is a tale of three cities. Yes.

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Charles Dickens wrote a tale of two cities. Yes.

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Ours was a handiwork of three cities;

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Bonn, Madras and Delhi. Absolutely.

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So, that is why I got those the avenues that those names. ok

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So, in connection with that actually I wanted to ask you that,

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but you have volunteered to give me that information;

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how did this Gajendra Circle and the two elephants come in? It was purely my idea.

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Ok. To see I was always fond of Bangalore.

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I see. There you see Narasimharaja Circle that circle,

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even now you have a Kumble Circle. Yes.

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After he took 10 wickets. Yes.

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So, I was impressed and I told Professor Sengupto-

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and our engineer that we should install two big elephants there. I see.

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And call it Gajendra Circle, I coined it. Ok.

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Gajendra Circle and it became caught fired immediately. Yes.

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The students all were referring to Gajendra Circle.

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How were you connected with Bangalore sir?

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Nothing special. Ok.

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Except that I represented

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a Presidency College in the All India

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Inter-College Oratorical Debate at Bangalore- I see.

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which I visited in the 1946, Ok.

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when Bangalore was indeed a pensioners paradise. Yes.

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In fact, I had to reach out for a sweater at 5 PM. Ok.

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There were no fans; Yeah.

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here you have air conditioners also in Bangalore.

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At that time Bangalore was called the air conditioned city of India.

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Air conditioned city of India

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and then I had one advantage;

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I was sub-collector under training at Salem,

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which was only a 100 miles from Bangalore.

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And I could go within 23 kilometers of Bangalore

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in our own territory at Hosur.

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Hosur yes. At Hosur.

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So, on a Saturday or Sunday we could always go on to Bangalore. Very very nice;

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how about the names of the hostels,

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why were they? As we say I told Professor Sengupto

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we must not name them after politicians

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because they come and go. Yes.

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We must go after something which is perennial

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and that is the rivers. Yes.

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All civilizations have flourished

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only on river banks,

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Paris on River Seine. Yes.

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Kabul, Kabul was once Kapisha;

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Kapisha was the river and in Gandhara.

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So, the the river was always the fountainhead of the civilization. Absolutely.

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Like Saraswati being the foundation of the Indus Valley Civilization. Yes.

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We said we will name the hostels after the rivers, perennial river. Ok

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that is- And then the buses were named after the-

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Buses were named as a for a sort of a comical interlude,

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we named them Kanchenjunga- Kanchenjunga.

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because phonetically it was very good, Yeah then Everest.

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Yes yes. To remind us of the great Everest.

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And Kailash was there. It was a great challenge,

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Kailash they were all great challenges to humanity

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and the IIT was facing a big challenge; Yeah.

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so he wanted to be inspired by Everest

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and hilltops Kanchanajunga. Yeah IIT therefore,

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IIT Madras was referred to as the place with

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static rivers and moving mountains. Yeah.

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Actually that was and that was by Professor Eisenhower.

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Yes. A grandson of President Eisenhower.

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And he was the dean of the Columbia University.

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He came to the institute and addressed the students and faculty.

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I was there and at the OAT. Yes.

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And he said, what whatever you have or

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have not at the IIT in Madras,

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you can be proud of one thing. Yes.

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You are the only place,

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where you have stationary rivers and moving mountain. Oh, I see came from him.

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You can always be proud of that. Very nice.

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Sir, what was the first big challenge you faced when you came in

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and started the all the activities? You see

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the the costs of construction it iself; Yeah.

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this school this at at best it was a temporary arrangement. Yes.

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We must convert the forest into an academic institution,

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have build and and then there was a shortage of commodities,

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for the first year it was cement. I see.

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The second year it was steel;

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fortunately the the gentleman in charge of steel allotments

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was a friend of mine from the IAS.

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So, I could always get that extra bit done

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by running up to Delhi and meeting him. I see.

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And there will be special allotments

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of steel inputs steel for our project.

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These were the things and the the students;

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if one must say that the students were exemplary,

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they wanted to be as part of the challenge.

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In the first year 120 students were there taken. 120 students.

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Taken and interviews were held by two selection committees

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formed at that time.

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In that connection sir, how was the faculty

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recruited right in the beginning, what was the procedure?

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The first for the first two years,

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the Dr. A. L. Mudaliar was the Chairman of the committee. Yeah.

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And we always chose professors for outward from other IIT.

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So, that we could have a and a need not have an

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insure approach towards selection;

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for example, Professor Balgaonkar of the IIT Kharagpur, Yes.

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we used to invite him for the interviews on Mechanical Engineering.

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He was head of the Department of Mechanical Engineering later. Yeah,

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Professor Balgaonkar has always be there;

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he will be happy to know who that we held

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some of our interviews in Bangalore. I see.

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At Dooravani Nagar. Ok, what prompted that?

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And that because number one, so many we found that

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so many candidates were applying from the

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Indian Institute of Science at those places. I see.

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And after all Bangladesh, this Bangalore was the hub

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in those days. Yes.

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The Indian Institute of Science. Yes.

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And that was the pride of Bangalore. Yeah.

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And so, we felt that so many people came from

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in and around Bangalore,

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we could as well have it in Bangalore. I see.

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And there you will have the pleasure of the climate also helping.

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Absolutely. Ok. In those days.

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And after that the IIT be- we framed rules of selection,

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by which the Director

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became the Chairman of the selection committee. I see.

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We did not want to trouble Dr. A. L. Mudaliar. Yes.

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So, Dr. Professor Sengupto used to preside. Ok.

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And then there the Deputy Director will be there, I will be there. Ok.

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And the outside- Outside experts.

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from Indian Institute of Science or from Kharagpur. Yes.

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In fact, the man who manned the birth of this IIT

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was a professor from the IIT Kharagpur, Dr. Kraus.

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I was about to ask you about him and

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how well did you know him and what was his role

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in the initial state? He was a representative of

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Garvi in Germany and he was asked

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to he was already there in the IIT Kharagpur. Kharagpur.

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As Professor of Civil Engineering. Civil Engineering. Civil Engineering.

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Then he came out to he was asked to coordinate,

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well he used to go come to the institute,

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the departments were planned

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by mutual consultation with the German experts.

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And so, we had the whole thing nicely laid out,

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there was no problem at all.

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Professor Kraus was also- Dr. Koch.

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Koch was from Physics Department.

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Professor Physics Department. Yeah.

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Then there was Dr. Kengan

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and then there was Dr. Werner Haugh for

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Applied Mechanics. Professor Scheer.

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Wolfgang Scheer was for Mechanical Engineering. Mechanical Engineering

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and I do not know by that time whether Dr. Rouve had come.

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Dr. Rouve, yes have come very much come

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and he and Hilda Rouve were our particular friends. I see.

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Personally. Ok.

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In addition to Professor Nikolaus Klein. Klein,

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Professor Klein, yes.

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He was very well known to us,

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Rouve and he was very well known to us,

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he used to come home. I see

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And Klein named his two children.

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Pradeep his son and Sita his daughter. I see I see,

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this is is very interesting.

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Profesor Klein also started the Campastimes.

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Not in the Campastimes, the students themselves you know- Yeah.

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Dr. Venkateswarlu. Yes.

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And then I told them that and the the nice way,

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you must have a students campus

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news to know what you have achieved. Yes.

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And what has to be achieved later on. Yeah.

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And then for giving them a a talking point in the OAT

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or around the Gajendra Circle

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to discuss the misused news of the day. Ok,

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sir when you were there those five, six years. A six and a half year.

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Yes, six and a half year.

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Sir you actually you left IIT on 6th April 1965. Yeah.

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So, it is all almost 50 years to the day today

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today we are 9th, three days back it was 50 years,

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I was just going through the books.

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One- 6th April 1965,

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just before that there was a farewell party for you at that time. Yeah,

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it was a very touching party given to me by IIT. Yes.

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Dr. Mudaliar was present. Yes.

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Sengupto was present. Yes.

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The faculty and the students,

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it was a very touching moment moment for me;

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in fact I quoted the great Black Singer Barbara,

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who was given a farewell function

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when she said and she was requested to sing one song

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from her earlier days,

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she said that would be very making me very emotional.

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She said of course, like said like this;

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I cannot sing the old songs

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that I sang a long time ago,

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for heart and voice would fill me

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and foolish tears would flow.

00:21:49

Sir, what I have read about you

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were your command over English language was highly

00:21:55

recognized and respected by everybody. Yeah.

00:21:58

And your articles in the Annual Numbers about cricket. yeah cricket.

00:22:02

And other aspects also.

00:22:04

In fact, my first article was by team to Mars. Mars

00:22:09

with Richie Benaud as the captain. Yeah and then

00:22:12

then I had written about our balmy days at Brisbane. Yes yes.

00:22:18

All it Yeah it carried a an article.

00:22:21

Were you were you playing cricket as a student,

00:22:24

therefore you got very much interested? I used.

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Or were you a theoretician? No.

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I used to play, I was not very great in cricket;

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but I lead the staff team against the students team for 5 years.

00:22:39

Oh, I see ok. I was, I was made the captain.

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And we used to beat them. You win.

00:22:45

Because there were three faculty members who were very good. I see.

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There was Shobanadrachari a very fast bowler,

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then there Kasturi who was related to- no

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what was his name, that Physics

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he was a relative of the Indian fast bowler

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Kasturi Rangan. Kastudi Rangan from Bangalore.

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So, he was an off spinner. I see.

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We had him Shobanadrachari to open, Ok.

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and one or two others who were were who had played college cricket.

00:23:18

So, for I was particularly interested in three

00:23:24

forming a band for the IIT a cricket team and tennis.

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And? Tennis.

00:23:30

Tennis, ok.

00:23:31

For we had a wonderful tennis player Lionel Paul. Lionel Paul, yes.

00:23:37

Who was the son of a former Director of the

00:23:41

Madras Engineering College. yes.

00:23:44

His son Lionel Paul, Yes.

00:23:46

who later went to Holland,

00:23:49

he was our champion.

00:23:50

So, as soon as you mentioned the IIT,

00:23:54

in the tennis circles they will say oh

00:23:58

Lionel Paul is a student. Ok.

00:24:01

And who do you think was his main opponent?

00:24:06

I do not know. None other then N. Srinivasan,

00:24:09

the Chairman of the IIT the ICC. Oh I see.

00:24:14

Who was head of the BCCI. Yeah,

00:24:16

N. Srinivasan. A very good tennis player.

00:24:20

I see from from another college in the-

00:24:23

And every match was watched by all of our students,

00:24:26

engineering college students

00:24:28

and at most of the time

00:24:32

Lionel Paul used to beat Srinivasan, who was a very good player.

00:24:38

Sir you were also there. In cricket-

00:24:41

Yes, I am sorry. you were asking me how was I interested in cricket.

00:24:45

Yes. My own nephew was a test player

00:24:49

V. V. Kumar. Oh I see

00:24:51

Vaman Vaman Kumar. Slow leg spin bowler. Yes yes.

00:24:54

In fact, I went for the match between India and Pakistan

00:24:59

and Kumar took 5 wickets in the first innings

00:25:01

and 3 wickets in the second innings. Yes.

00:25:03

He and Desai fast bowler. Ramakant Desai from Bombay.

00:25:06

Yeah. Yeah yeah.

00:25:07

So, our interest is- Ok very nice,

00:25:11

sir during that time, there were no big computers.

00:25:17

No. It came in 1973.

00:25:19

But we read about two small computers.

00:25:22

One German and one from IBM I think. American. America.

00:25:29

What can you give us some information about?

00:25:31

These small setups at that time.

00:25:34

And continuous beyond my camp.

00:25:36

So, because in our computer history we start from there. Yeah.

00:25:40

And finally 1973 only we got the IBM 370. Exactly.

00:25:44

When Professor A. Ramachandran. Yeah.

00:25:47

Sir what kind of memories you have about the visit of

00:25:50

three Germans who came here, one and ex president, President Hayse,

00:25:54

he came in 60.

00:25:55

Then in-office President Professor Luebke came in 62. Yeah.

00:26:00

And a future President Walter Scheel came in 63

00:26:03

and you were here at that time.

00:26:04

Absolutely I received them,

00:26:08

attended of them and they left very happy. Ok.

00:26:13

Dr. Luebke second. Yes.

00:26:17

Then he when the when Hayse

00:26:20

came, and Dr. Hayse came as former president. yes.

00:26:24

Yes. Dr. Hayes and Dr. Walter Scheel

00:26:27

was Economics Minister earlier. yes.

00:26:30

And he came also as visited later on as President.

00:26:34

Yes. In fact, Dr. Walter Scheel when we had all gathered at the

00:26:40

at the guesthouse, Taramani Guesthouse,

00:26:43

and we had our TV staff,

00:26:46

who were who were participating in that shoot, TV shoot.

00:26:53

And we served- I told Professor Sengupto

00:26:57

there is no point in giving them Coca Cola and

00:27:02

and German that those drinks

00:27:05

and- Yes.

00:27:08

And so, then I said what do you think we should give?

00:27:11

We should serve them tender coconut water

00:27:15

in the Yes. make a hole and give that put a straw in. Yes.

00:27:21

And it so fired the imagination of the

00:27:24

of Dr. Walter Scheel and all that, he said

00:27:27

he called the German TV crew and he said

00:27:30

please take photographs as we are drinking Yes.

00:27:34

the tender coconut water.

00:27:36

We have a very nice photograph of that.

00:27:39

This is one of the most valued photographs in my collection. Yeah, yeah.

00:27:42

A very interesting and another photograph where

00:27:45

he is standing near that fork Bonn Avenue and

00:27:50

Delhi Avenue fork we have taken a picture.

00:27:52

So, actually I thought at that time he came to name those two roads,

00:27:58

that is what those two roads;

00:28:00

it was not so obviously, it was already named earlier, yeah. Not at all.

00:28:03

Nothing to do. Yeah that is a

00:28:05

how the photograph that is what I was actually. No,

00:28:07

it was purely a I mean I shouldn't be saying it myself

00:28:11

and that was my concoction. Yes,

00:28:14

sir, how about I heard Professor Rukke when he came,

00:28:18

that was the also almost the inauguration of the OAT. Yeah.

00:28:23

That was the first function. Yeah.

00:28:24

It seems there was a big rain at that time and they had to clean it up. Yes,

00:28:27

what we had to do was,

00:28:30

we had the substitute indoor arrangement also ready. I see.

00:28:35

If the rain came, we wouldn't be handicapped;

00:28:41

but the rain got. Ok.

00:28:44

We did not have the rain.

00:28:45

Oh, you did not have the rain. No and the

00:28:47

stop gap arrangement we did not have to resort. Ok.

00:28:52

also you were there when the

00:28:55

stadium was inaugurated almost the first IIT meted Yeah.

00:28:59

but now Nawab of Pataudi on whom you have written an article.

00:29:03

I. On the. I. He was there.

00:29:05

I invited the Nawab of Pataudi to precide over first inter IIT sports meet,

00:29:11

because he was a good friend of mine. Oh I see.

00:29:16

So, and Pataudi himself became quite a good friend of mine.

00:29:23

Nice. After 3 days stay in our guest house.

00:29:26

Ok. We visited a Hollywood film at his request.

00:29:32

I see. Said Mr. Natarajan let us have a

00:29:34

visit a film and so, we went.

00:29:39

And the a at the end of the three visit as he was winding up his,

00:29:44

he was very happy with the visit.

00:29:47

And I told him, I think you must stay for two more days,

00:29:52

you have a hectic schedule awaiting you and in this

00:29:57

cool cathedral of greenery

00:30:00

and this will be the place to spend.

00:30:05

He said I would have gladly agreed,

00:30:08

but for the fact that your institute guesthouse

00:30:12

butler Gopal will completely

00:30:16

spoil my cricket career if I stay for two more days,

00:30:20

because the food is so good.

00:30:23

Very interesting.

00:30:24

And we chose Gopal personally. Ok.

00:30:27

Professor Sengupto and his friend went through all those

00:30:32

information about them

00:30:35

and then we went through the history and

00:30:36

Gopal was indeed a fine cook. Ok,

00:30:41

sir how about Gerhard Fischer who was the council- Professor Gerhard.

00:30:46

What were your interactions with him? Very very close

00:30:51

with a result; Dr. Gerhard Fischer

00:30:56

who was the Consul General for Germany there- Yes.

00:30:59

used to visit my house for dinner. Ok.

00:31:03

When he was Ambassador to Ireland. Oh ok.

00:31:07

That was the closeness of our association. Very close. Ok.

00:31:11

And then he was a great person in the sense

00:31:15

somehow causes used to excite him;

00:31:19

he will form trusts in Germany and divert those resource,

00:31:26

especially for leprosy patients. Yes.

00:31:29

He did a lot of work,

00:31:31

in fact in a place near my wife's town,

00:31:38

there is Fischer Block. Oh I see.

00:31:42

Which he donated. I see.

00:31:44

It was started by a an engineer,

00:31:50

who who had a paraplegic in an accident. I see.

00:31:55

Then he said I must do something,

00:31:58

I am an engineer who cannot be an engineer. Ok.

00:32:02

So, he opened that and it was a popular institution.

00:32:06

Sir, actually when Heritage Centre was being planned,

00:32:09

I wrote to him requesting him to give me some information.

00:32:15

And he said all the information photographs have handed

00:32:19

them over to the German government,

00:32:21

it may be very difficult to get it.

00:32:22

And I think soon after that he passed away.

00:32:25

No, not soon after that.

00:32:28

Sir 2008 or something. Yes.

00:32:30

That is what when the IIT centre was being planned. Yes.

00:32:32

That was. 2009 around the way,

00:32:35

he used to tell me about his troops to,

00:32:39

he died in Norway. I see he went there.

00:32:43

Sir, can you tell us a little bit more about Professor Sengupto?

00:32:46

We do not have much information about him, he is-

00:32:50

Professor Sengupto was a very good Mechanical Engineer,

00:32:55

he was King's Prize winner in Mechanical Engineering

00:32:58

and he was the Principal of VTI

00:33:03

Victoria Technical Institute of Bombay's, Yes.

00:33:06

which benefit benefited greatly from his rich experience.

00:33:11

And so, the Government of India rightly thought

00:33:15

that Professor Sengupto should head the IIT Madras;

00:33:22

remembering that Sudi Ranjan Sengupto,

00:33:25

not a relation of his was already the

00:33:28

Director of the IIT. IISc Bangalore.

00:33:31

Kharagpur. Oh I am sorry Kharahpur, ok.

00:33:33

Kharagpur. Sudi Ranjan.

00:33:34

And Brigadier Bose was the third of the Bengals of Bombay. S. K. Bose. Yes

00:33:41

Professor Brigadier Bose was the Director of IIT Kharagpur,

00:33:44

when I went there as a postgraduate student in 1969. In Bombay.

00:33:49

No, he was an in IIT Kharagpur.

00:33:50

IIT Kharagpur. He is from there he came.

00:33:54

Sir how about Mrs. Shanthi the-

00:33:57

Mrs. Shanthi. the first lady of the campus.

00:33:59

Mrs. Shanthi was a gift to us,

00:34:05

because as the first lady of the campus, Yeah.

00:34:08

she was very social,

00:34:11

she did not have any airs about her

00:34:15

and she was a particularly good friend of my wife. Ok.

00:34:19

They used to get along famously Shanthi Sengupto;

00:34:24

in fact years after years retired from the IIT,

00:34:28

Shanthi Sengupto and Professor Sengupto

00:34:33

wanted to go to the Thirupati temple.

00:34:37

So, I said no problem at all, come over

00:34:40

and we took them- I see.

00:34:43

to Thirupati and then after prayers and all that,

00:34:47

I told them on one condition

00:34:50

we must, you must visit and stay in my wife's place,

00:34:54

because Kutralam is there. Kutralam.

00:34:56

Waterfalls and Shenkottai is only 3 miles from. Ok.

00:35:01

So, that balmy climate we have at Shenkottai

00:35:04

and of course it was very- he knew it after having

00:35:10

spent 5 and half years with me,

00:35:12

that he could not look forward to a fish meal,

00:35:16

because we were pure vegetarian. Ok.

00:35:20

And with this connection I want to

00:35:23

relate to you a very funny situation. Yes.

00:35:27

When I visited the IIT Kharagpur,

00:35:31

he asked me what will you have?

00:35:38

I said any vegetarian meal,

00:35:41

I can give you the best of fish, freshwater fish.

00:35:46

Then I told him I can't take fish,

00:35:51

but he said I am a Brahmin,

00:35:54

I take fish that is the custom there. Yes.

00:35:59

But we I can not take fish.

00:36:01

So, when he came to Madras,

00:36:04

I took him to Quality Restaurant- Ok.

00:36:07

which was the very good place and then I asked him

00:36:13

and I had not known that fine distinction,

00:36:18

because when I asked him you must have tandoori chicken

00:36:25

which is the best that you can have they say.

00:36:29

So, you must have tandoori chicken.

00:36:32

He said sir I am a Brahmin, I cannot take chicken. Ok.

00:36:38

Then I told him you were taking fish there.

00:36:42

So, I thought you take it no problem.

00:36:47

I think they are called Matsya Brahmanas. Yes.

00:36:50

They are entitled to- Matsya.

00:36:51

Because which-

00:36:52

They are allowed. Other.

00:36:53

And in fact, you will be surprised to know

00:36:58

that in Bihari thread ceremony,

00:37:04

they have to serve a meat. I see.

00:37:08

Bihari. Yeah local custom tradition.

00:37:11

I knew because,

00:37:13

he was my sister’s tenant. Ok.

00:37:16

So, he invited all for every thing was vegetarian, but this

00:37:21

he then he told me this is not for you. Ok.

00:37:24

But then it is a custom here for the Bihari.

00:37:27

Sir when you joined then,

00:37:29

where you staying; there were no buildings yet,

00:37:32

they started coming up later BSB first came up,

00:37:34

then the quarters? I had my own bunglow,

00:37:37

my 11 grounds bungalow built by my father 30 years earlier.

00:37:44

Where was it? On the Royapettah High Road.

00:37:46

I see. Where you now have 3,

00:37:50

3 level grounds I see, they have this

00:37:53

Murali Nursing Home, Ok.

00:37:55

Bank of Baroda and Mali Motors. Ok.

00:38:01

Nice green place.

00:38:03

So, all all during your entire tenure you were only living there,

00:38:06

you did not come into the campus at all?

00:38:07

I did not come in come to the campus, because there was no need. Ok,

00:38:12

how about Professor Sengupto and others?

00:38:14

And if I take a place, I will be depriving somebody of a place. Ok

00:38:18

and you were driving your black Fiat.

00:38:21

Originally blue Fiat and

00:38:27

then the black Fiat and then the Ambassador,

00:38:31

but I always had a driver. Ok

00:38:34

the very- I would not drive.

00:38:36

You. The IIT gave me a driver.

00:38:39

Oh I see. But in government, they gave both the driver and the car.

00:38:44

Ok as an IAS officer.

00:38:46

And and yeah at the IIT, I had my car with an IIT driver.

00:38:52

Sir in that connection can I ask you,

00:38:55

what do you think looking back and now what is happening?

00:39:00

IITs should they have or what are the advantages of having an IAS

00:39:05

trained person as a Registrar or head of the administration unit?

00:39:09

Are there any specific advantages?

00:39:13

Kindly repeat the question.

00:39:16

In IIT Madras and many other IITs, Registrars

00:39:20

as administrative heads are not necessarily IAS officers. No no.

00:39:24

But do you think you are the first IAS officer, first Registrar;

00:39:28

so there were certain advantages or?

00:39:31

I think it was many advantageous not only to the IIT,

00:39:35

but also to me. To you also.

00:39:38

It expanded my mental horizon. Ok.

00:39:43

And as far as administration was concerned,

00:39:46

recruiting the best personnel and all that.

00:39:51

And my previous administrative experience, I hope

00:39:54

was was a great advantage to the IIT.

00:39:59

After you Mr. C. V. Sethunathan came. Was there for one year.

00:40:04

As the Registrar. And then he was transferred to some other duties.

00:40:07

Oh I see he did not continue.

00:40:09

He did not continue as Registrar,

00:40:11

I think he was there for one and a half years. Oh I see.

00:40:13

And then he was shifted.

00:40:16

Sir there are several articles in our Annual Numbers,

00:40:22

you have been you were very popular with

00:40:24

almost everybody in the campus.

00:40:27

So, they said you are very popular especially with the students,

00:40:30

you had a great sense of humor

00:40:33

and felicity with your English language, the command over the language,

00:40:38

this is how you are described I mean, youthful appearance,

00:40:42

shock up hair, boyish smile,

00:40:45

a bridge between head of the institution

00:40:48

and the other working elements of the institute,

00:40:52

of course you also coined that sentence IITM is a tale of three cities.

00:40:58

So, how did this happen that,

00:41:01

what according to you what qualities characteristics of yours

00:41:05

made you so popular among all the sections of the institute?

00:41:08

You see all this is a compound result. Yeah.

00:41:14

You see they judge you by your intentions and actions.

00:41:23

Yes. I got I was only 30. Yes.

00:41:26

So, I got into this spirit of things

00:41:29

and I garnered a lot of experience in administration.

00:41:35

See so it was easy for me to glide into

00:41:40

and I am a basically a happy person. Ok.

00:41:46

So, it reflected its self in my relations with the teacher,

00:41:51

the faculty, with the students;

00:41:55

in fact I would when I wanted them to- if the students ask me,

00:42:02

how should we name our first band,

00:42:06

I suggested Rhythm Rascals.

00:42:09

Rhythm rascals. Rhythm rascals,

00:42:12

but finally, then we decided later on we would not have that. Ok,

00:42:17

actually sir here in one of the introductions to you it says,

00:42:23

Mr. Natarajan’s popularity can be gauged

00:42:26

from the fact that he is almost triumphantly carried

00:42:30

on the shoulders of the students,

00:42:32

who have nothing to gain from him from the point of view of

00:42:35

periodicals or leave,

00:42:37

whenever he comes into the institute, this is the kind of

00:42:41

admiration respect love that students- Love.

00:42:45

that students had. Because they knew that I was a

00:42:48

I was for them, I was for the faculty,

00:42:52

I was for the students and I had a great association with

00:42:56

Professor Sengupto and engineering staff;

00:43:00

because ultimately you have to be transparent. Yes.

00:43:06

You have to be transparent in your actions and

00:43:10

I wanted to do the best for all of them.

00:43:14

You see it is only anything can be achieved in life with kindness,

00:43:21

detachment and giving.

00:43:26

Absolutely. And take a positive approach. Yes,

00:43:30

you have done that in abundance, therefore you were remembered

00:43:33

Yeah. by those students and we always remember you

00:43:36

after going through- You see even now you will always come,

00:43:39

invite me and all that. Yes that,

00:43:41

in fact Mr. Kumaran wanted that thing,

00:43:43

even after retired you have had

00:43:45

continuous association with IIT Madras. Exactly that I came

00:43:48

from Shenkottai to preside over the hostel day. Ok.

00:43:56

At Cauvery I had arrived in the morning,

00:44:00

just for this and I was invited to preside over the

00:44:05

Cauvery Hostel day and then I told them,

00:44:12

what is the difference between Einstein

00:44:18

and another famous politician here. Ok.

00:44:23

What is the difference?

00:44:26

Then then I told them myself,

00:44:31

to Einstein everything was relative,

00:44:36

but for this politician for relatives were everything.

00:44:48

They had a hearty laugh. Very nice you have putting it.

00:44:53

Ok, go ahead.

00:44:55

Welcome to. Because I have some more.

00:44:56

I really like know what were your most

00:44:59

cherished memories of IITs,

00:45:01

because I know you enjoyed your tenure.

00:45:04

I completely enjoyed.

00:45:05

Anything specific you tell. There was some funny instances.

00:45:10

Yes. One example, in the at the dinner Dr. Koch

00:45:17

from the IIT had joined as the Professor of Physics about Yes.

00:45:21

8 months earlier,

00:45:23

there was a dinner at the IIT

00:45:26

and there was a Assistant Professor Ram Mohan Rao,

00:45:30

who was an Andhra gentleman,

00:45:33

who used to give me always every year

00:45:38

that royal rajahmundry avakai pickle. Ok.

00:45:44

Before which even a Napoleon will quail.

00:45:49

So, for not that dinner must be on a small thing that red thing.

00:46:00

Koch asked me what is it that you are going to have,

00:46:05

but you are not giving me,

00:46:07

said I am doing it wantedly,

00:46:10

because that will set you on fire. Yes.

00:46:15

It is too hot. Yes.

00:46:16

You can not manage it.

00:46:19

He said what an Indian can manage,

00:46:22

cannot a German manage too? Ok.

00:46:26

Then would you like to, seriously would you like to test it?

00:46:30

I gave it to him, he took it;

00:46:33

he is very fair person you know

00:46:36

and his eye had big eyes,

00:46:39

the whole him became a definition of redness.

00:46:44

He could not spit it out or send it in.

00:46:47

To be very embarrassed. Red and all that,

00:46:50

then I doused it you;

00:46:53

say take that gave him ice water

00:46:57

and then I hope I told him,

00:46:59

you have another 4 years to go,

00:47:01

never go near that.

00:47:06

He was the first.

00:47:07

Very funny moments with them. First time.

00:47:10

And a Dr. was Dr. Werner Haug that Applies Mechanics man,

00:47:17

he he was a always a grumpy individual,

00:47:22

unlike Nicholas Klein or Koch. Koch. Or Dr. Haan,

00:47:27

he he would everything no no this is not good,

00:47:31

that is not good you know in Germany;

00:47:35

this would be I had visited Germany thrice,

00:47:38

I knew what Germany was.

00:47:41

And I told him that is why you are here.

00:47:47

Why are you being sent to the India by

00:47:51

the German government? Government.

00:47:53

To help us in setting up a nice place.

00:47:57

And so, there are some differences here,

00:48:01

that is why we had invited you over.

00:48:05

One of it is this Haug met me

00:48:12

and told me,

00:48:17

your your sanction has not come from the Indian Government

00:48:23

as, so there is been extraordinary delay,

00:48:27

this will never happen in a place like Germany.

00:48:32

I told him I am not that sure, because governments are governments,

00:48:38

governments and- usually they take a longer time

00:48:41

and others in doing the same thing.

00:48:45

And to me I suppose I mean no offence when I tell you

00:48:50

that, your government also must be

00:48:54

having occasions when they have delayed.

00:48:56

No no no it will never happen in Germany.

00:49:01

Then after a month and half,

00:49:04

he came to me with proposals for that

00:49:07

Applied Mechanics Laboratory

00:49:12

and he said I want to discuss it with the Professor Sengupto.

00:49:18

So, when do we meet?

00:49:22

I asked him,

00:49:25

you have not been accredited to the IIT Madras.

00:49:30

I see. You see your term,

00:49:33

you have already extended your term of deputation by a month.

00:49:39

So, I will be talking only as Mr. Natarajan

00:49:45

to Dr. Werner Haug,

00:49:48

because your accreditation has not come.

00:49:53

And you said the German government

00:49:55

was the paragon of virtue and good grace,

00:50:00

this is with regard to your accreditation itself.

00:50:04

I can't deal with you.

00:50:07

Then he say yes I agree that all governments delay.

00:50:14

Sir overall how was this German professors who came with their families,

00:50:18

how did they integrate into?

00:50:21

They were very good, there was not too much of reaction,

00:50:24

but we had our funny moments,

00:50:27

for example, Ebert. Yeah yeah

00:50:30

Who set up the workshop? Who set up the workshop,

00:50:34

we had attended a party

00:50:37

given by the German Consul General.

00:50:41

Ebert was there, that was a very affable

00:50:44

person along with Ebert, Hassenbein.

00:50:49

Willi Hassenbein. Hassenbein. Yes.

00:50:52

Then Heinz Sohre.

00:50:54

And Ebert and I we have gone for and for the party.

00:51:05

Of course how can we expect the German party

00:51:09

without the whiskey flowing all the time. Yes.

00:51:15

And Ebert was with me,

00:51:18

then I used to take orange juice first,

00:51:23

then after some time,

00:51:24

because the dinner will be at 10:30 or later. Yes.

00:51:28

Because they were binging.

00:51:30

And I was killing my appetite,

00:51:34

because after half an hour with them I will be taking pineapple

00:51:39

juice and another half an hour later another a grape juice.

00:51:46

So, it was yeah it was really, I was I knew I was getting into trouble.

00:51:54

And Ebert was going on merrily,

00:51:58

all the people German professors and all.

00:52:00

And then I excused myself from the dinner,

00:52:07

because you have already tit bits cheese

00:52:10

things and all. Even now the same- Cutlets.

00:52:13

So, I told Fischer

00:52:16

I already had my dinner,

00:52:18

it was a wonderful party.

00:52:20

So, I must have your permission,

00:52:24

he said certainly and then the next day

00:52:30

a bleary eyed Ebert came into my room.

00:52:37

I said- asked Ebert straightaway

00:52:41

when did you return home?

00:52:45

Yeah that the question is not phrased properly sir,

00:52:51

you must ask me when was I returned home.

00:52:56

I did't return home,

00:52:58

I was returned home.

00:53:02

Such was the binge. Ok.

00:53:05

It was fun, Dr. Wolfgang Scheer. Scheer.

00:53:09

He they all thought he was queer.

00:53:12

Scheer was queer.

00:53:14

No, he was a very warm person.

00:53:17

Ok, we had occasion to interview him

00:53:19

when he came for the golden jubilee and also Mr. Ebert.

00:53:22

He married again, Ethiopian wife. I see.

00:53:26

[Inaudible]

00:53:28

Sir, how about Mr. C. Subramaniam?

00:53:32

We understand from what we have said probably,

00:53:35

when the question of starting the IIT came up,

00:53:38

first of all where north, south, east, west was one thing.

00:53:41

Kamaraj. Then it was south,

00:53:42

then Madras and then Kamaraj.

00:53:44

So, what we have read is that Mr. C. Subramaniam

00:53:47

and may be Professor Mr. R. Venkataraman

00:53:50

they kind of filled up with Mr. Kamaraj. No no no no.

00:53:53

And said it is a good idea, we should get into IIT Madras. C. Subramaniam

00:53:58

was more involved with it. Yeah.

00:54:00

And he used to be guide,

00:54:02

he was the Education Minister. Yes.

00:54:05

Venkataraman was industry.

00:54:06

He was not in the position. Subramanian,

00:54:09

Subramanian was a very dynamic minister,

00:54:13

he was always thinking of the country

00:54:15

and the state and what he can do,

00:54:17

even after retirement. Yes.

00:54:19

I knew him personally. Yes.

00:54:21

And C. Subramaniam worked actively

00:54:27

and Dr. Mudaliar. Mudaliar.

00:54:29

And Mudaliar had got good connections with government,

00:54:32

incidentally how was the IIT Kharagpur born?

00:54:38

Yes sir, please let us know what is your,

00:54:41

what is your information on that.

00:54:44

Because Dr. B. C. Roy the Chief Minister of West Bengal

00:54:49

was very close to Pandit Nehru. Yes.

00:54:52

And soon as the Sarkar Committee report and all that was accepted,

00:54:57

he met the met Prime Minister Nehru

00:55:00

and told him Kharagpur must having the first priority.

00:55:06

So, he said it shall be there, it was Kharagpur.

00:55:11

And IIT we took we were the quickest in reaction,

00:55:16

we set 640 acres are there. yes sir yes sir

00:55:22

We were quicker than the others who were all going about- Yes.

00:55:27

looking for land and all that,

00:55:30

but IIT say here is the place.

00:55:34

Was there some kind of opposition in Madras

00:55:37

either government circles or civil society about having IIT

00:55:42

in this beautiful wooded area,

00:55:45

was was there? There was no objection at all.

00:55:49

Because they were being disturbed, their flora and fauna

00:55:52

would be disturbed. No, it was a it was a detached from the Raj Bhavan.

00:55:58

It was not any public land of found reserve forest area,

00:56:03

it was part of forest attached to the Raj Bhavan.

00:56:09

Yeah. So, there was not that objection,

00:56:11

then the IIT was a big bonus to Madras. Yes.

00:56:16

Yes. But there was not any objection.

00:56:18

Because what we did is some other cities in South India were trying,

00:56:22

as you said Mr. Kamaraj was the first one to offer.

00:56:25

Now, as you know Karnataka is going to have an IIT this year,

00:56:29

now. Yeah.

00:56:30

So, 60 years back we were we understand that somehow in Bangalore

00:56:35

they did not want IIT, because IISc was there.

00:56:38

Indian yeah IISc was there.

00:56:39

Now, they are planning one for Karnataka. And then Delhi got it.

00:56:43

Yes Delhi got it.

00:56:44

Sir this is sir there there were this Annual Numbers,

00:56:48

every year this were and your articles appeared.

00:56:51

So, I just wanted to show you, do you.

00:56:55

This was the farewell. Yes.

00:56:57

So, I just thought I do not know

00:56:59

whether you have those photographs with you.

00:57:02

I do not have that,

00:57:04

but you have given me the Campaschimes. Yeah Campaschimes.

00:57:08

Yes, yes, yes.

00:57:11

In the next page also there are couple of photographs.

00:57:18

Yes. And think in fact your speech your speech also is there called

00:57:24

A Garland of Memories.

00:57:28

So, I just thought I would show it to you

00:57:31

and ask you how how do you feel about now when you are-

00:57:36

this almost 50 years back,

00:57:39

I think your farewell was on the last week of March I think. Yeah.

00:57:43

And there you said in the next few days

00:57:44

I do not know how I go back to my, you know-

00:57:47

I can not get it back into my office,

00:57:49

I will be a visitor here rather than occupying chair.

00:57:52

That was very very touching memory that actually.

00:58:02

Also here is

00:58:05

so, about you in these two consecutive Numbers,

00:58:10

there are references to you.

00:58:13

This is actually the the gift is handed over to my daughter Priya.

00:58:20

That is oh yeah- The Child.

00:58:23

And I had my first child born when I was in IIT. Ok,

00:58:29

very nice, one minute.

00:58:41

Sampath, Professor Krishna Murthy, engineer-

00:58:44

Yes sir there are many photographs with you;

00:58:47

see this is Nawab Nawab of Pataudi inaugurating.

00:58:51

Yes. And actually I would like to;

00:58:55

if you do not mind, I will take this. Yeah.

00:59:05

What happened to that?

00:59:18

Sir would you tell us about the first convocation,

00:59:22

you were there at that time, Professor Radhakrishnan.

00:59:25

That was the first batch of students who were graduating,

00:59:28

so how how was the atmosphere, how were the ambience

00:59:30

how were you involved?

00:59:33

The atmosphere was very serious since then.

00:59:40

There were sombre thing on the first convocation ever.

00:59:46

And so, there was a certain mystical element about it

00:59:52

and it went through very efficiently without a hitch,

00:59:56

because Professor Sengupto and I

00:59:58

had been in IIT Kharagpur

01:00:01

to watch a convocation. I see.

01:00:06

So, we came fully fortified.

01:00:09

With the purpose of finding how this is done. How it is done.

01:00:14

2 years earlier.

01:00:15

Yes sir. And we then interacted with the Russian professors there,

01:00:20

the actual mechanics of the convocation.

01:00:25

So, we were not daunted.

01:00:28

And here was a president, philosopher, statesman. Great.

01:00:32

Obviously, sir you are also at the time of inauguration when you here?

01:00:37

You joined in June of 1959. Of course,

01:00:40

I will right there. So, where was it actually held?

01:00:44

That was held in a shamiyana.

01:00:50

In CLRI. Not in the CLRI,

01:00:52

in the campus. In the campus itself.

01:00:55

Unfortunately we do not have photographs of that also.

01:00:58

But you have got that foundation stone. Foundation stone we have,

01:01:02

so you had already joined in June of 59?

01:01:07

I joined in July 59. July ok.

01:01:11

So, the hostels were inaugurated by L. S. Chandrakanth on 28th.

01:01:16

Classes started on 22nd July. Yeah.

01:01:19

In A.C. College of Technology. A.C. College.

01:01:21

But the offices were in CLRI. And also in the Highways Research.

01:01:24

Highways Research also. Also.

01:01:27

And then the inauguartion was actually on 31st July 19-

01:01:30

I was very much there.

01:01:31

And Professor Humayun Kabir. Humayun Kabir.

01:01:34

For reasons best known to him,

01:01:37

he would always stay at the Hotel Oceanic.

01:01:41

Oh Santhome High Road. Santhome. Ok,

01:01:46

Professor Humayun Kabir actually is

01:01:48

later later related to George Fernandez.

01:01:51

His daughter married George Fernandez. Yeah I think so.

01:01:54

I do not know. Like of man this.

01:01:58

We do not have much information of especially

01:02:01

photographs of the inauguration,

01:02:04

so I was just wondering how that was.

01:02:13

Yes, by in large we have tried to cover,

01:02:19

here the first convocation.

01:02:20

Second convocation you were there and

01:02:22

immediately after that you,

01:02:24

it was third April 1960, M. C. Chagla.

01:02:27

Yeah. And I think you left on 6th April.

01:02:30

So, you participated in. Second of convocation. Second convocation also.

01:02:34

Very nice sir.

01:02:36

Sir since retirement, so what have you been doing,

01:02:40

how are you otherwise engaged?

01:02:43

I have been, I have been member of several boards

01:02:47

of institutions and then I live like there is no

01:02:54

Rotary Club or Lions Club which I have not visited, ok.

01:03:00

They I used to go there

01:03:02

and the member of the Board of Directors for two institutions

01:03:09

and then my three of my grand children are here.

01:03:14

I see. My daughter was in the USA for 18 years,

01:03:18

I made her come down here. Oh I see.

01:03:21

They built a house, rise house there and

01:03:24

so, nothing great,

01:03:30

no stronger sense of happiness

01:03:34

than being with your grand children.

01:03:36

In fact, I told my daughter and son-in-law

01:03:40

they may be your children,

01:03:43

but the priority always goes to the grand parents.

01:03:47

Absolutely. So, you must shift from the USA and come here.

01:03:52

Sir now you look back, you have

01:03:54

you you made made the beginnings for IIT Madras for 6 years;

01:04:00

almost most of the infrastructure was developed at that time.

01:04:04

Sharawati sorry Sarayu had not come up,

01:04:06

it came up slightly- slightly later. Which?

01:04:08

The ladies hostel.

01:04:10

That Mandakini. 60s no sir, I think Mandakini-

01:04:12

Professor Mandakini was the hostel for the first year students.

01:04:15

Sarayu was the girl’s hostel.

01:04:18

And there were very few girl students in the beginning

01:04:21

so, yeah maybe they came from outside.

01:04:23

And later the Sarayu hostel started.

01:04:26

So, the post office was there,

01:04:29

the bank everything was done by almost by the time tenural. Bank everything we have introduced.

01:04:32

the faculty had moved in. Not only that,

01:04:35

I had requested Reverend Father Murphy.

01:04:40

And told him I want your help for starting the Vanavani School. Ok.

01:04:47

So, Father Murphy very kindly-

01:04:50

Excuse me who was Father Murphy at that time?

01:04:52

He was at Professor of Loyola of college. I see.

01:04:56

And later professor or principle of Loyola for instance.

01:05:00

He taught French.

01:05:03

He though French at Loyola.

01:05:05

No, you mean French language. Yes.

01:05:08

He taught French.

01:05:10

He no, he taught English.

01:05:13

English. Yeah.

01:05:14

He was an Irish. I see.

01:05:17

Who taught the English Father Murphy. Right.

01:05:19

And there were many french men too,

01:05:23

there was Father Sauliere,

01:05:25

there was Father [inaudible].

01:05:27

In the Loyola College. And in Loyola College

01:05:29

and that well known mathematician

01:05:33

he was there and I studied in Loyola College for the intern.

01:05:40

I see. I stayed at the Loyola hostel. Ok.

01:05:43

Done my intermediate examination.

01:05:46

So, I knew all this to Father Murphy and all that,

01:05:51

and I had this I must say,

01:05:55

I had stood first in our history

01:05:59

and so Father D'Souza and Murphy said

01:06:03

why should you leave Loyola,

01:06:06

you can take up economics honors.

01:06:09

Then I said no, because we by I have put our heads together

01:06:15

and said the balance of advantage for writing the IAS examination

01:06:20

is with the history honors.

01:06:22

Oh you have already decided you will go for IAS?

01:06:24

Then go for IAS,

01:06:27

but that was the Holy Grail in those days. I see.

01:06:31

And in fact, we have got some doctors in the IAS,

01:06:37

so many engineers in the IAS.

01:06:39

Sir now in the past few years, IITians are also going IAS. IITians are going into-

01:06:44

You think that is a good thing.

01:06:45

That is a I will call it a waste.

01:06:49

Waste of talent,

01:06:52

because you have denied some person a seat in the medical college

01:06:59

and then you joined the IAS,

01:07:01

you have deprived the person of a seat.

01:07:04

He would have at least been an engineer or a doctor.

01:07:08

Ok, I am sorry continue you are saying something.

01:07:12

So, like this I do not subscribe to.

01:07:19

Well, ok. Yeah.

01:07:21

Anything more about the Vana Vani you were mentioning?

01:07:23

Yeah and he was Dr. Father Murphy was very helpful;

01:07:29

he went around and then we had the Vana Vani School started

01:07:36

and he got the first headmistress too.

01:07:42

And she was very dedicated to the work

01:07:47

and the Vanavani is almost as famous as the IIT now.

01:07:51

By association. Yes right.

01:07:56

Sir, so now, you look back what do you think,

01:07:59

what is your perception

01:08:01

about IIT Madras in particular, the IIT system,

01:08:04

have they achieved their goal?

01:08:06

Certainly, otherwise you won't be having

01:08:10

institutes splitting up as if by magic.

01:08:15

See if if it was a bad concept,

01:08:18

it would have gone, disappeared.

01:08:22

But now there is a clamour for IITs for all over,

01:08:27

Narendra Modi our prime minister is very particular.

01:08:32

More IITs. And you remember our first Prime Minister Nehru said

01:08:38

that, we have had enough and more of tempos,

01:08:42

the new tempo should be higher education institutions. Education.

01:08:48

And science.

01:08:50

So, we want more and more of the IITs,

01:08:55

but the trouble, the point is we should concentrate

01:09:00

more on the application. Absolutely.

01:09:05

It is a Indians as such a very theoretical view. Yes.

01:09:10

Some of the best concepts;

01:09:12

when we have no computers and all that,

01:09:16

we found out,

01:09:19

we discovered zero. Zero.

01:09:22

And then the Arabs took credit for it,

01:09:25

because they came for trade here. Yes.

01:09:28

Learn the zero and passed on as if it was theirs. Yes.

01:09:32

So, ours says always been a little theoretical

01:09:37

and that way this IIT

01:09:43

has become a very good place

01:09:47

for the engineer, for our engineers.

01:09:49

And our engineers from the IITs have won their spot in USA.

01:09:57

I know one multi millionaire

01:10:01

there in New York was an IIT student,

01:10:04

he got a patent for something and

01:10:08

so, these innovation and invention

01:10:12

I don't know the same Indian students are going to the US,

01:10:17

it is this atmosphere. Atmosphere system and the-

01:10:20

System and Ph.D. thesis are plagiarized,

01:10:29

the there the Ph.D. degree is a set of holiness.

01:10:36

IITs of course are still at the most

01:10:39

looked up to institutions in the country. No doubt.

01:10:44

Where the it is very well accepted the

01:10:45

highest quality of education, technical in the country,

01:10:50

more and more IITs are coming up.

01:10:51

It is a way of life, it is major technical institution.

01:10:56

Some people have expressed,

01:10:58

very similar to what you said theoretical things.

01:11:02

So, they were called IITs technology, not science

01:11:07

because they expected them to develop technology possibly.

01:11:12

But as you said rightly

01:11:15

lot of theatrical work is going on and also some applied.

01:11:19

So, there was a suggestion one point in time

01:11:21

that they should be named as Indian Institute of

01:11:23

Engineering Sciences.

01:11:25

Not a very serious session just just-

01:11:29

That was a an interview with Shri Natarajan our first registrar.

01:11:34

He has given us glimpses of his experience

01:11:39

from those times right from the

01:11:42

day he came into IIT Madras as the Registrar here,

01:11:45

a young IAS officer at that time.

01:11:48

And he was there for 6 and a half years;

01:11:50

he left IIT Madras on 6th April 1965,

01:11:54

after a glorious service to the institute

01:11:57

along with the Chairman Board of Governors Professor A. L. Mudaliar,

01:12:04

first Director Professor Sengupto,

01:12:06

he planned the entire campus

01:12:11

and saw to it that majority of the work

01:12:14

was implemented by the time he left.

01:12:16

The- most of the hostels were built,

01:12:19

the departments were built, laboratories had started.

01:12:23

The teachers quarters had been built,

01:12:25

schools had started, roads were laid of course,

01:12:29

they were named as he said Bonn and

01:12:34

Delhi and Madras the tale of three cities as he talks about it,

01:12:37

the Gajendra Circle had come into existence,

01:12:40

the hostels had were there, the bank, the post office.

01:12:44

So, the entire infrastructure that was needed to

01:12:49

start this great institution was in place by the time he left.

01:12:54

And the students and the faculty and the staff of IIT Madras

01:12:59

would ever be grateful to him

01:13:01

for all that he has done to the institute.

01:13:05

It was not a very easy job to start a institute of

01:13:10

what everybody thought of is going to be

01:13:12

of great national and international importance,

01:13:13

which has come true today.

01:13:15

These were all the approach of this trio,

01:13:21

the second trinity as we like to call

01:13:23

and in which Shri Natarajan played a very significant role.

01:13:28

And myself Ajith Kolar and my colleague

01:13:32

Mr. Kumaran, we would like to place on record our

01:13:36

deep sense of appreciation and thanks to Shri Natarajan for this.

01:13:40

Thank you.

Oral History Project

< Back

Mr S.Thangavelu (1964) in conversation with Mr V. Sekhar (1965)

Oral History Project

< Back

Discussion of 1964 First Batch -Alumni, Mr. Srinivasan Mr. Mahadevan and Mr. Amudhachari

Oral History Project

< Back

Prof. S. Srinivasan in conversation with Prof. C.Vijayan and Ms Gayathri R.

00:00:12

We have with us today Professor S. Srinivasan,

00:00:15

Professor Subramanian Srinivasan,

00:00:18

who retired from the Physics Department a couple of years back.

00:00:23

I was a student here, at that time of the MSc programme

00:00:27

that was something like 35, 40 years back

00:00:31

and one thing which the students were very much interested is that,

00:00:35

there were several people by name Srinivasan

00:00:38

and we had other professors also by name Srinivasan

00:00:41

apart from staff members and others.

00:00:44

So, we used to call him S. Srinivasan, Professor S. Srinivasan.

00:00:50

Professor Srinivasan had a very successful career in our department,

00:00:55

Department of Physics, IIT Madras.

00:00:57

But... his personality is very interesting;

00:01:00

he has many other activities which are highly intellectual

00:01:04

which we will get into later.

00:01:07

So, we would like to start with

00:01:10

how... start with how Professor Srinivasan

00:01:14

came here and what was the situation at that time,

00:01:19

from there we will take over.

00:01:21

So, sir, I would like you to tell us

00:01:25

how you happened to come here.

00:01:27

Yes, yes, yes. And, how was -

00:01:29

what was the motivation and how you... Yes, I will tell you,

00:01:33

see I passed out of

00:01:36

Presidency College, Madras

00:01:38

in 1957 with a

00:01:42

B.Sc. honours degree,

00:01:44

that B.Sc. honours was a 3-year course after

00:01:49

... After school there used to be something called Intermediate in

00:01:53

Arts and Science.

00:01:55

Equivalent to the pre-degree. Equivalent to the pre-degree.

00:01:58

And that course is a 3-year course with only 1 attempt.

00:02:04

If you - either it is, it was binary, either you get the degree

00:02:09

or you get back to the ground level.

00:02:11

Something - it was - actually Indian education

00:02:15

was patterned on the London University.

00:02:18

We were all following that pattern

00:02:22

and in that, this particular course. And it became extinct

00:02:26

some 3 years after I

00:02:28

completed the course.

00:02:30

They switched over to the system of a school

00:02:33

and undergraduate degree and then postgraduate degree,

00:02:38

what is called our graduate degrees in US now;

00:02:41

that is - the - you get a Master’s degree.

00:02:47

So, I got a job and immediately joined it,

00:02:54

it was a job connected with Science of course,

00:02:58

but it was not a scientific job.

00:03:01

So, in the sense I was with the Government of India,

00:03:05

they...there was something called the

00:03:07

Ministry of Scientific Research and Cultural Affairs,

00:03:10

under which this IIT scheme came, that is what they were they saying.

00:03:16

I joined as a senior technical assistant there

00:03:22

and to the same post I came here with my own degree,

00:03:28

they ... first to the Physics Department Physics Department.

00:03:31

Department.

00:03:33

There the ladder would have been different,

00:03:38

within ... I was to become an assistant education officer, technical.

00:03:45

At that time I just decided; somebody said

00:03:49

the one person who was ... my senior,

00:03:52

that is, who was a very senior person

00:03:55

and he started this IIT actually.

00:03:57

He said there you will get some salary and all that,

00:04:02

here you will get

00:04:04

something of Lakshmi and also a lot of Saraswati that is what he said;

00:04:09

why don’t you join?

00:04:10

They are supposed to be mutually exclusive.

00:04:15

So, I joined here

00:04:18

and only when I had to register for Ph.D.,

00:04:22

they told me that my

00:04:25

degree is not sufficient,

00:04:27

you will have to

00:04:29

do 1 year, 1 more year I think.

00:04:34

So, they gave me what I - they felt was a concession - what

00:04:41

I felt was a burden,

00:04:42

in the sense I had to take all the examinations

00:04:46

that is the thing.

00:04:47

I took all the examinations. Of the -?

00:04:49

Yes, yes, here. MSc programme?

00:04:50

Yes, in IIT.

00:04:51

So, my MSc was technically from the IIT Madras

00:04:56

and in the first convocation

00:04:58

I got my MSc degree.

00:05:03

The senate passed a resolution saying that they are

00:05:06

kind enough to permit me to do this

00:05:09

and the kindness was from their side, but I did it.

00:05:15

Some of the things I had not - subjects

00:05:17

they had - even in that short span of a few years when

00:05:21

India was not advancing its science curriculum,

00:05:26

even then it was different.

00:05:28

So, here it was different,

00:05:30

the ... we never had a paper called Quantum Mechanics,

00:05:34

Classical Mechanics 1,

00:05:35

2, like this and all those things.

00:05:37

But it was not a burden because the

00:05:41

teaching load; there are practically no teaching

00:05:44

load only a teaching assistant load,

00:05:46

that’s the thing, they were doing.

00:05:48

We had to take tutorial classes,

00:05:50

only one person used to take the classes

00:05:53

when I joined, that is the ... Professor Koch, you may see.

00:05:58

He was the German professor

00:06:01

and his Physics was very good,

00:06:05

but we had difficulty in understanding his English.

00:06:09

But he felt the other way- that is, he had learnt

00:06:12

English from - by listening to BBC radio and so his accent,

00:06:19

everything, his expressions used to be correct,

00:06:22

have, ought to be correct;

00:06:24

of course, he was okay.

00:06:26

The one thing is when it comes to speaking,

00:06:29

he used to speak Germanized English - that is, in

00:06:32

German, you know, we must all have ...

00:06:35

you know, undergone this, some German language courses.

00:06:39

The verb comes always in this second place

00:06:44

and English is a flexible language,

00:06:46

it was not German - is not that flexible.

00:06:50

So, he used to correct our English

00:06:52

that is what I am telling.

00:06:55

All of us were subject to it including Professor

00:06:58

Ramasastry who was heading the department

00:07:02

he was fairly good at writing English,

00:07:05

but this is the thing.

00:07:07

So, we had to prepare tutorial questions.

00:07:12

For which class, sir?

00:07:14

That time what - which classes were you teaching, B.Tech. or - I guess

00:07:17

... everyone, there was only -

00:07:19

when I joined, M.Sc. was not there Right.

00:07:23

M.Sc. was started only later,

00:07:25

when you joined, M.Sc. came?

00:07:27

[Prof. C. S. Swamy, offscreen:]'62, '62. '62.

00:07:31

So, '62 was the first batch for ... M.Sc. And year - joining

00:07:34

year of joining - Eh? Year of joining the institute

00:07:37

Where? You were, you were

00:07:39

1960 end, sometime in the end I joined, ok.

00:07:44

I remember it was a Saturday,

00:07:46

Saturday was a working day.

00:07:48

So, you were doing tutorials for the B.Tech. students. B.Tech.

00:07:51

all people... everyone including the

00:07:55

Head of the Department was only doing tutorial classes.

00:07:59

Only, the German system was

00:08:01

one professor used to take the lecture.

00:08:05

There, system was like that

00:08:08

and all others including the people who

00:08:11

later became Nobel laureates in Germany,

00:08:15

they were called [inaudible] or something, they will-

00:08:18

even they had to attend the classes

00:08:21

and then help the students.

00:08:24

But...that was...implemented properly

00:08:28

that’s a very good system because we learnt a lot.

00:08:33

So, we - they didn’t - there was no -

00:08:36

he used to...he used to take only

00:08:40

4 hours per week, lectures, and - and

00:08:44

he used to demonstrate experiments.

00:08:46

Oh, he himself used to do that. Yes, yes.

00:08:48

and we got a very good set of demonstration experiments

00:08:54

which was designed and built by

00:08:57

his own Professor Robert Pohl,

00:09:00

P-O-H-L, Pohl.

00:09:02

He was a great teacher and when the...

00:09:06

one job which we had to do, all of us had to do...

00:09:11

some 3 or 4 of us were there,

00:09:14

Professor Ramasastry was the Head of the Department,

00:09:16

he was an assistant professor and Head of the Department.

00:09:20

Dr. Ramanamurthi and

00:09:21

Dr. Sivaramakrishnan- they were lecturers.

00:09:25

There was one [inaudible] Khadkikar

00:09:27

who stayed for some time and left.

00:09:30

He was also a lecturer,

00:09:32

he had an M.Tech. in...this one,

00:09:35

Technical Physics from Kharagpur IIT.

00:09:38

Then the other people who later rose to

00:09:44

great fame starting with

00:09:48

his professor, Professor Y. V. G. S. Murthi,

00:09:52

then Professor Bheema Shankara Shastry,

00:09:57

Professor B. S. V. Gopalam and I had joined,

00:10:05

that is, we were the 4.

00:10:07

We were the junior-most,

00:10:10

we were 20,

00:10:10

22, like that maximum ages

00:10:13

only Bheema Shankara Shastry was a little older because

00:10:16

he had served for some time in some college

00:10:20

for 2 or 3 years and then came here.

00:10:24

So, our job was to prepare a lot of numerical examples.

00:10:31

In the subjects that Professor Koch taught.

00:10:34

He would teach,

00:10:36

he would demonstrate the experiments,

00:10:38

the fundamentals should be strong.

00:10:39

The experiments should be - they are all classic,

00:10:42

really, it - it was a actually for - it was an

00:10:46

experience for us and even if we have to

00:10:49

pay for it, it was worth doing.

00:10:53

So, at that time all this...he brought some 2 or 3

00:10:57

other things came by this thing - ship.

00:11:01

So, our job was besides all those things

00:11:04

to open out all those things,

00:11:07

then take stock, assemble the apparatus,

00:11:13

do the experiments according to the instructions,

00:11:16

some of them would be only in German.

00:11:18

So...Professor Koch used to translate it for us,

00:11:22

but we also had...that is, we were kept...

00:11:28

engaged throughout. When we don’t have classes,

00:11:31

evening there used to be some German

00:11:33

classes were held by the one Dr. Klein,

00:11:36

he is - he's also there.

00:11:39

He was the Head of the Humanities Department

00:11:42

that is, the German counterpart of

00:11:44

Humanities Department.

00:11:45

He was...he had a Ph.D. in Sanskrit. Ok.

00:11:50

But he was teaching German,

00:11:51

he was [inaudible] in Sanskrit from Bonn University in his country.

00:11:55

And, for about 150-200 years

00:11:58

before we joined, that is, in 1800s,

00:12:01

the German Universities had Sanskrit Departments

00:12:04

and they were having Sanskrit research

00:12:06

at that time. Then he - he used to take

00:12:10

classes for elementary German,

00:12:13

that German for foreigners

00:12:15

deutsche sprachlehre für ausländer, that is, German language for foreigners.

00:12:24

So, we studied that and we also took examinations

00:12:28

with the Max Mueller Bhavan here

00:12:31

and got some diploma certificates.

00:12:34

So, we had some smattering of German.

00:12:37

So, those days - I mean, most of the

00:12:38

professors of IIT were Germans?

00:12:41

All. All. All the professors in the first batch

00:12:46

for the first batch, the lectures were taken by the Germans,

00:12:50

that was the...this is - this was called Technische

00:12:54

Hochschule that is Technical University in their terminology.

00:13:00

[Inaudible] ...system,

00:13:02

this was corresponding, it was a Technische Hochschule Madras;

00:13:07

it was this city was called Madras at that time

00:13:10

Madras...Indian like this.

00:13:14

There, the system - German system was followed.

00:13:18

So, some of the people who joined here

00:13:22

they were sent to training for [inaudible] to Germany,

00:13:25

they were, that was in the engineering departments.

00:13:28

One such one, metallurgy

00:13:30

professor - Professor Vasudevan and Parameshwaran,

00:13:34

some of those people they went to...straight away

00:13:37

recruited and then put by boat to Germany.

00:13:41

So, they came back later after

00:13:43

getting trained and they came back.

00:13:45

And, for the Science Departments they did not want

00:13:49

such a training and this gentleman was available,

00:13:54

they...that was the situation.

00:13:58

How many departments were there during

00:13:59

Yes, I will tell you all the departments I can list.

00:14:03

All the department which we have now-

00:14:04

Yes, yes the department is

00:14:08

this size one department would be there

00:14:12

that is all that is the space available for one department.

00:14:15

The staff would sit,

00:14:17

The Head would sit at one corner,

00:14:21

the other the - all the others, the

00:14:24

underlings would sit around

00:14:26

somewhere at a respectable distance,

00:14:29

a small curtain would separate.

00:14:32

Where was the main building, was it

00:14:34

This one?

00:14:36

Main building was at that time

00:14:39

you are - you know the Civil Engineering building. Yeah.

00:14:41

BSB BSB.

00:14:43

Building Sciences Block,

00:14:44

it was called. That BSB.

00:14:46

That was the only- Only

00:14:48

Only building, not- Building but

00:14:50

it has no 2 floors,

00:14:52

it had ground floor and 1st floor

00:14:55

that was all built.

00:14:56

So, the remaining was - And, and - and when

00:14:59

when it is raining of course,

00:15:01

it was under construction, also.

00:15:04

So, you will find

00:15:05

all those...iron rods bringing out

00:15:10

and people working there.

00:15:11

So, you have to go and wade your way and go like that.

00:15:15

So, the remaining campus was like

00:15:17

forest -? No, everything else - everything was only

00:15:21

actually they were all kept to lintel level

00:15:24

something would have come.

00:15:25

Some [inaudible] this thing

00:15:27

and there were 2 hostels.

00:15:29

One was completely ready

00:15:31

that was called the Cauvery hostel,

00:15:35

Then there was another one called Krishna hostel.

00:15:39

They - we were - we - the institute used to

00:15:41

start at 7:30 in the morning,

00:15:45

at 7 o’ clock there would be a - small jeep would

00:15:50

leave; 2 trips or 3 trips they would make. Ok.

00:15:53

And in that if you find your...definitely you

00:15:56

have to be present here at 7:30

00:16:00

and afterwards you can go and

00:16:02

have breakfast in the hostel.

00:16:05

So, they would deduct from our -this one- wages,

00:16:09

a monthly salary

00:16:11

I think ... food used to be very good.

00:16:16

Very healthy and all those things; then

00:16:19

lunch also we take there,

00:16:21

lunch also used to be good,

00:16:23

that went that went on for 2 to 3 years,

00:16:26

even you might have taken lunch here.

00:16:28

So, that was the life at that time.

00:16:32

So, you won’t starve and later there was a canteen

00:16:36

which was started in a - a sort of a temporary structure

00:16:41

on the - in between what is now the...what is it,

00:16:48

Materials Centre and the Civil Engineering

00:16:52

that is BSB. In between that place,

00:16:55

I think even now we can find the ruins

00:16:57

of that. That’s my feeling, ok,

00:16:59

that one. I - I can check.

00:17:02

Sir, how did people come to the campus from outside?

00:17:04

Come to the campus - they have to come to the gate.

00:17:07

Somehow gate.

00:17:09

In Adyar, after 6 o’ clock in the evening.

00:17:13

The nearest bus stand is the Adyar bus stand,

00:17:16

where near the grand snacks and those things, that one.

00:17:20

You have to walk to that.

00:17:21

And you can walk on the road without any... Safe.

00:17:26

No vehicle would come.

00:17:29

You can walk,

00:17:29

it was very - this one - silent nothing.

00:17:36

People would have use cycles or anything?

00:17:38

Cycles. Cycles.

00:17:40

Bicycles, the local those who live in Adyar,

00:17:44

they used to do it.

00:17:46

One...some people, that some people took

00:17:54

there is an apartments near what is now the cancer hospital;

00:17:59

at that place some very thoughtful person

00:18:02

by name Guntur Narasimha Rao.

00:18:04

Had built a small apartments

00:18:08

meant for 1 bedroom,

00:18:10

1 kitchen and - this thing - bath attached, everything,

00:18:14

probably anticipated IIT.

00:18:16

He might have anticipated only

00:18:19

cancer institute at that time.

00:18:20

So, he had built.

00:18:22

That was there at the time?

00:18:23

Cancer Institute? That was there.

00:18:24

So, some people used to...this one...rent that. And also,

00:18:32

the rent was not much in that area at that time.

00:18:38

I remember very well one ground floor

00:18:40

part of a bungalow, our floor - Professor Ramasastry

00:18:46

was living near there in [?],

00:18:49

he was paying only 110 rupees or so rent.

00:18:53

Of course,

00:18:54

the salary of an assistant professor was

00:18:57

700 rupees at that time,

00:18:59

that he would used to get some subsidy from

00:19:02

the institute as rent allowance.

00:19:05

So, 100 rupees, 110 like that,

00:19:07

only problem at that time was schooling of children

00:19:10

for them. That was the thing.

00:19:13

Those who were not married, problem was not there.

00:19:16

So, this is - life was like this.

00:19:19

And there were one or two

00:19:22

that is, people who had entered at the professor,

00:19:24

professor's level they had either a house in Chennai,

00:19:31

Madras at that time, by some chance

00:19:35

or they could put their children in schools,

00:19:39

their schools in Adyar;

00:19:41

they used to put their children in.

00:19:43

So, there were no college-going children

00:19:45

for a anyone at that time

00:19:47

to to my memory.

00:19:48

If it there there was no problem;

00:19:50

colleges were there and there was no problem.

00:19:54

So that was the personal life,

00:19:57

when one is in the campus when you get

00:19:59

some guests in order to

00:20:01

entertain them with a tea or something,

00:20:03

this canteen was serving the purpose.

00:20:05

It was okay;

00:20:07

it was monitored by

00:20:11

by the professor of English,

00:20:13

he was also the principal of...

00:20:15

he was retired as the principal of a college

00:20:18

Pachaiyappa's college principal Professor R. Krishnamurthy,

00:20:21

he was...he used to monitor the quality.

00:20:25

And...the advantage for the people who

00:20:29

open a restaurant here is they get free electricity.

00:20:33

Free, this thing, For encouraging

00:20:35

free water.

00:20:36

So, the rate could be would be less for this,

00:20:40

it was subsidized and the quality

00:20:43

used to be maintained for quite a long time.

00:20:47

There was no problem.

00:20:49

The photo which we are showing

00:20:51

maybe just taken along around-

00:20:53

-That time Yes. Actually,

00:20:54

activities as far as the activities were concerned,

00:21:00

the tennis court and other things came

00:21:04

only after the houses came.

00:21:09

Because unless the...there are people to People started living here.

00:21:12

stay here and...they came later.

00:21:15

Things were well planned of course.

00:21:17

Then the staff club, came along with the staff quarters

00:21:23

right. and announced...the main activity of

00:21:30

staff in the staff club used to be

00:21:34

this one, training for bridge and...others. Bridge

00:21:36

used to be very popular

00:21:38

[Inaudible] there were some people who were good at it;

00:21:41

in this photo itself, actually.

00:21:44

From the Chemistry Department

00:21:46

Dr. R. R. Madan was a good...

00:21:49

this one, chess player and also a...

00:21:56

this thing, bridge player.

00:21:58

He used to participate in the bridge

00:22:01

tournaments and all those things. So, Then-

00:22:03

those days it was only the B.Tech. tutorials.

00:22:06

Yes. B.Tech. Only the IITs which was going on in Academic [inaudible]

00:22:08

started with B.Tech. Yeah

00:22:11

And, till 1963 - '63, I think 63 only - 62 only they

00:22:19

started the M.Tech. programme.

00:22:22

And...the senior staff who joined the engineering

00:22:25

departments had...they were from Indian Institute of Science

00:22:31

or IIT Kharagpur, like that

00:22:33

some of them; Professor Varghese from Civil Engineering,

00:22:36

he came from Kharagpur.

00:22:38

Professor - I am talking about engineering departments -

00:22:41

Professor Narayan Murthy was the

00:22:44

professor of Mechanical Engineering,

00:22:45

he came from Indian Institute of Science.

00:22:49

And...some, like that some people came.

00:22:52

Chemical Engineering, Professor Venkateswarlu,

00:22:54

he came from Kharagpur IIT.

00:22:57

The next set, that is, the younger

00:23:00

people they needed lecturers and others also, isn't it?

00:23:04

Unfortunately there was no M.Tech. programme,

00:23:08

they were there only in the IIT - IIT Kharagpur.

00:23:12

And Kharagpur was the first IIT;

00:23:15

the other IITs were started almost simultaneously.

00:23:19

So, they had a problem of ...

00:23:23

Teachers. People with M.Tech. qualification. Ah, M.Tech. qualification.

00:23:26

So, most of the people who joined

00:23:29

at that time as lecturers

00:23:32

they did not have an M.Tech. degree,

00:23:35

they had teaching experience with their Bachelor’s degree.

00:23:39

So, they were all asked to join

00:23:44

this in the... M.Tech. classes. Oh Ok...but who -

00:23:47

Half time teaching and half time this thing.

00:23:50

All the people that is even the great figures

00:23:53

that you'll find in the...this thing - Civil Engineering,

00:23:56

Mechanical Engineering,

00:23:57

many people who are 75-plus and all that

00:24:02

they all did their...this thing.

00:24:04

There were some - there were, some other programme was there

00:24:08

that is, what was called the...this thing

00:24:13

after their BE for 3 years,

00:24:17

they will be provided with a stipend.

00:24:20

And..they would be...they, they have to

00:24:24

give out bond that they would become teachers,

00:24:26

they won’t go for any other job after this thing.

00:24:30

They were...that - that one...that programme

00:24:32

some people were there,

00:24:33

whereas all the M.Tech. classes

00:24:36

were full of only people

00:24:38

who were teaching in IIT;

00:24:40

almost everyone excepting a

00:24:42

few who are younger, that,

00:24:44

so, the gap would be that the

00:24:47

28-plus something would be 1, one half of the class.

00:24:52

So, they were sitting on both sides of the table actually. Both, both,

00:24:54

yes, they will - they learn here and teach somewhere

00:24:58

[inaudible] that was the situation at that time

00:25:01

because they wanted teachers.

00:25:02

These are the best method of...this thing,

00:25:05

it was planned well, actually.

00:25:08

In that one, ... I also

00:25:12

had the privilege of mounting the platform

00:25:15

as an assistant to one person who was Materials

00:25:19

Science teacher; he was Professor Ramasheshan.

00:25:22

So, they used to have,

00:25:24

that is, there used to be very busy professors at that time also,

00:25:28

they won’t - they won’t be able to come to the

00:25:30

classes - they would be out of station. something,

00:25:33

At that time they would send.

00:25:34

So, the person has to be prepared for that.

00:25:37

So, many...so, you have to take classes

00:25:41

but in one way it was a good experience in the sense

00:25:46

you would not - you would not learn

00:25:48

you would not read some books at all,

00:25:51

no...this thing.

00:25:51

And, when you have to tell somebody something

00:25:54

you should...be more, much more

00:25:57

sure than what you would do to when you tell to yourself.

00:26:01

So, we swallow some doubts and then go...that-

00:26:04

that you can’t do because you have to answer.

00:26:07

I think some of the tutorial problems which you

00:26:09

and your colleagues at that time prepared,

00:26:11

they are available even today

00:26:13

in the shopping centre and all that.

00:26:15

These people use them...old handwritten.

00:26:18

tutorials in Physics.

00:26:20

I don’t know this thing. So,

00:26:24

how we spent time in the Physics Department

00:26:26

some of us, is...is also there.

00:26:30

That is, we used to have our own seminars

00:26:33

that is, sometimes we used to prepare

00:26:35

question papers to assist our Professor Koch for some time.

00:26:40

And, afterwards that continued.

00:26:44

We used to prepare question papers then tutorial

00:26:47

sheets for the students and we should be prepared

00:26:52

to answer...that they - they used to -tutorial classes,

00:26:55

only 10 students would be there in the - in a class.

00:26:59

We have to take those 10 students,

00:27:02

teach in the sense, don’t go and lecture or anything.

00:27:05

You go there with...you give a problem sheet.

00:27:09

You have the solution manual, everything with you

00:27:12

and they can ask some questions.

00:27:14

They will be the [inaudible] Yes. They can ask questions

00:27:17

which are not there in this.

00:27:19

So, we should be prepared to answer.

00:27:21

And we were monitored

00:27:24

by none other than the then director of the institute,

00:27:28

Professor Sengupto.

00:27:31

And, you will be - he will be

00:27:36

we don’t know whether he would...he's there,

00:27:39

the...there used to be only one telephone for the entire

00:27:45

set of people, that is the landline,

00:27:48

this one receiver that used to be in a common place.

00:27:52

There would be a watchman and he will take the phone

00:27:55

and come and tell "there is a phone call for you"; you have to go there,

00:27:59

that - that was the...technology was

00:28:02

only that much at that time.

00:28:04

And it was very difficult to get many lines also.

00:28:08

So, he would be sitting in that

00:28:14

watchman’s chair and listening to the class which is going on.

00:28:20

So, such - some students used to ask, "See, in this - today’s lecture,

00:28:25

yesterday’s lecture, I didn’t follow this. Can you explain?"

00:28:31

So, we should be prepared for that.

00:28:33

That kind of teaching is nowadays called

00:28:35

the flipped class method,

00:28:37

where the lecture is given upfront

00:28:39

and the - in the class the teacher will only

00:28:40

help to work out the problems and all that, so...

00:28:43

We were working out problems.

00:28:45

I mean, teacher need not work out,

00:28:46

they can make them work out.

00:28:47

Make them work out. Oh, like that

00:28:48

So, we have to answer.

00:28:52

We have to answer patiently and they can ask

00:28:55

questions and they, they were told that

00:28:59

don’t spare the teacher you ask the questions.

00:29:01

Even then they were the best students.

00:29:03

Like that.

00:29:04

I don’t follow this and all, that used to watch,

00:29:08

he used to listen.

00:29:09

We don’t know when he is doing it,

00:29:12

how he is doing it and all that, he...this thing.

00:29:16

And it was good; we were on

00:29:20

tenterhooks - not out of fear,

00:29:23

but we learnt and we used to work out problems, one thing.

00:29:29

And then, some topic

00:29:32

Professor Ramasastry used to say you choose

00:29:35

you - you choose a topic and

00:29:38

you prepare, you give a seminar talk,

00:29:40

just to keep people engaged otherwise

00:29:42

they would gossip or read

00:29:45

this one, fiction and all those things. Like that...so.

00:29:50

But at that time people were not registered for Ph.D. also.

00:29:53

No, the programme was not that - they had

00:29:55

not framed any rules at that time

00:29:58

See, initial years it was only like that,

00:30:01

we did not know what is the future for us

00:30:04

excepting that every month we will get a

00:30:07

salary and even the promotion

00:30:09

was not based on your

00:30:12

qualifications or anything.

00:30:14

That is, they did not - that

00:30:15

formal this thing had not come,

00:30:18

it was an informal system.

00:30:20

So, we did not know because

00:30:22

actually what were we...we were

00:30:24

thinking is that we would get our wages,

00:30:28

we can live - this one - in a secure way.

00:30:31

And, outside we can’t get this much,

00:30:34

any job means

00:30:36

transfer at any... it is not like that;

00:30:39

we did not think about all those things.

00:30:41

I did not even look at any

00:30:44

advertisements from elsewhere and all those things,

00:30:47

it was like that...we were peaceful.

00:30:50

Within a few years people would have started

00:30:52

registering for Ph.D. Yes.

00:30:54

Doing these things. Those things, rules were framed

00:30:56

And, then things came

00:30:59

that in the first phase it was only a foundation.

00:31:03

...good teaching.

00:31:06

That is, the teacher should Know the subject because,

00:31:09

there actually the condition of the universities

00:31:13

teaching and learning,

00:31:16

it was not very good even at that time.

00:31:19

The students may be good,

00:31:20

but that was not very good

00:31:24

but - some individual students were good,

00:31:27

they were - they did not depend on the...this one - teaching;

00:31:31

whether it was Central College Bangalore,

00:31:34

where he was doing or Madras Christian College,

00:31:37

Presidency College or any of those things.

00:31:39

The students on their own they would study,

00:31:42

they did not depend on the...the teachers like that.

00:31:47

So, when you... decided to register for Ph.D.,

00:31:51

how was it - the support from your family

00:31:52

and...because the salary won’t be the same right?

00:31:57

No, But it is a part of

00:31:58

the... I think you were on the job

00:31:59

and then doing Ph.D., right?

00:32:01

Oh. Part of- With the salary

00:32:02

Yes, yes yes yes

00:32:03

you don’t have to... It's an [Inaudible] registration.

00:32:05

I'll tell you - see, there are

00:32:08

every - even today in many places,

00:32:12

I will tell you the situation before our time.

00:32:17

So, many, very few people would go for research.

00:32:22

The...the thing is when they have spare time,

00:32:26

they used to take - if it is a Mathematics teacher in a college,

00:32:30

he used to take private tuitions and

00:32:32

make much more money.

00:32:34

Getting a Ph.D. did not mean anything for them right.

00:32:40

But they would know... know the subject,

00:32:42

they would have interest, everything

00:32:44

it's something like

00:32:49

[inaudible] doubt...who own the interest they used to work

00:32:51

problems and all that...some people are publishing also.

00:32:54

That is, working in...portress Ramanujam published his papers.

00:33:02

He did not have any idea of - what to do with

00:33:06

his knowledge, everything that,

00:33:08

...it was like that, society was like that.

00:33:11

There may not be too many people with Ph.D. degrees. Yes.

00:33:14

That doctor would Doctor yes, yes, normally

00:33:17

when somebody gets a doctor they have to say

00:33:20

...he has got a ... doctor's degree in the Mathematics or something;

00:33:26

what use is it?

00:33:27

He can’t treat a patient.

00:33:29

That was the society at that time,

00:33:32

the science this thing came only later.

00:33:36

Actually, for that, one has to

00:33:40

thank Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru for inculcating that

00:33:45

this one, scientific temper and

00:33:48

science education and all those things.

00:33:50

In the highest level

00:33:52

and many others...very - people you

00:33:57

professor... you went to India Institute of Sciences,

00:33:59

isn’t it? IISC for your Ph.D., right?

00:34:03

So, because it happened to be in Bangalore -

00:34:07

in some other places people wouldn’t...

00:34:11

It - it was different in Northern India,

00:34:14

Allahabad some centres were there,

00:34:16

Calcutta. Calcutta Calcutta, everything it was there,

00:34:20

that - they were a bit, little bit

00:34:24

a few years in advance, ahead of the other places.

00:34:29

So, in our department Professor Ramasastry

00:34:31

used to be the guide for many of the people.

00:34:33

Yes, the thing is at that time...

00:34:38

but...the...there were not - Professor Ramana Murthy.

00:34:42

Actually, I was to...only

00:34:46

I was associated only with ... Ramana Murthy

00:34:49

that is thing, Ramana Murthy,

00:34:51

that is, Professor Ramasha - Professor Ramana Murthy

00:34:54

got his Ph.D. from Allahabad University with ...

00:35:00

one of Satyendra Nath Bose’s students that...

00:35:05

it is S. N. Bose’s students.

00:35:09

Then, actually I ... this one

00:35:13

I went over only to Professor Ramana Murthy.

00:35:16

And, that is how it became... it got into X-ray diffraction. Ok.

00:35:20

So, something we had to do.

00:35:22

Professor Ramasastri had some 3 or 4 people

00:35:26

including one person who was in the...

00:35:32

what was that - control systems. Oh.

00:35:34

Automatic controls.

00:35:36

Oh, he guided in that area also...?

00:35:38

Did he guide Ph.D. in that? No, no,

00:35:40

he actually registered for a Ph.D.

00:35:43

but the thing is how that was a totally different area.

00:35:47

So he went to Bangalore.

00:35:49

one I. S. N. Murthy - I. Surya Narayan Murthy,

00:35:52

he became a professor of Electrical Engineering there.

00:35:55

And he is no more now,

00:35:56

but he ... he came for selecting

00:36:00

IIT Electrical Engineering professors.

00:36:03

So, so, we had Professor Ramasastri and

00:36:07

Professor Ramana Murthy as guides. Ramana Murthy, Shivaramakrishnan

00:36:10

Oh Sivaramakrishnan, these three people were guides -that day. These three people were eligible

00:36:14

to guide and ... Ramana Murthy...

00:36:20

could not take - by that because

00:36:24

by that time, others had joined,

00:36:26

1962, onwards others had joined.

00:36:29

'62 there was a large recruitment

00:36:34

in the institute because

00:36:36

1959 was the first batch,

00:36:40

they passed out in '64,

00:36:42

1960 was the second batch.

00:36:44

When I joined it was a small thing

00:36:46

and suddenly then 1961 was the first

00:36:50

Joint Entrance Examination.

00:36:53

First Joint Entrance Examination,

00:36:54

the very first batch that entered through

00:36:56

the all-India entrance examination was from 1961.

00:37:02

At that time also we have some interesting experience,

00:37:06

we did not know what it was, we heard about it.

00:37:09

About what? About the entrance examination.

00:37:12

We have not heard about IIT Kharagpur

00:37:15

when we were students.

00:37:18

...so ... this joint entrance examination one

00:37:21

thing, with that only they were talking about it

00:37:24

and one day we were given some question paper,

00:37:29

JEE paper and asked to work out because,

00:37:34

it was for the school standard so.

00:37:38

Who set the paper?

00:37:40

Some, who... Set actually,

00:37:42

it was a joint Kharagpur IIT. IIT

00:37:46

And from the other IITs at that

00:37:48

time when Madras IIT -

00:37:49

Madras was the 3rd IIT -

00:37:51

Bombay IIT had come.

00:37:53

So, 3 IITs were there,

00:37:55

1961, Kanpur had come and also Delhi.

00:38:01

There were 5 IITs and 5 people were setting the paper

00:38:09

Professor Ramasastri should have gone.

00:38:12

But Professor Koch wanted to set the paper,

00:38:15

he [inaudible] this thing.

00:38:17

So, he went for a- He has [inaudible]

00:38:19

that paper which had come.

00:38:21

So, the English they might have

00:38:23

done; all of them joined together thing

00:38:26

and there were only about

00:38:30

7 - 600 or 700 scripts

00:38:33

that came from this southern region

00:38:36

for the entrance examination. 600

00:38:40

Or 700 for all these Southern states together.

00:38:44

That was all.

00:38:46

So, we were given the question paper,

00:38:50

we didn’t know that Joint Entrance Examination had taken place.

00:38:54

This paper we tried to - then when we found

00:38:58

this is the paper that people have answered,

00:39:01

school students have answered.

00:39:04

So, you work it out.

00:39:06

We didn’t know what purpose it was.

00:39:09

So, fortunately because we had

00:39:11

workload problems in the

00:39:13

from the - say, there you - books were in our days

00:39:17

when we were students

00:39:19

books were also very few.

00:39:20

And, only you can prepare some 5, 50,

00:39:24

60 problems and feel that you have learnt Physics.

00:39:29

So, this books from America had come,

00:39:32

US books had come,

00:39:34

there is one called Sears and Zemansky

00:39:37

that was a university Physics -

00:39:38

And, then this - they saw a very famous Resnick and

00:39:41

Halliday book that came,

00:39:44

they were all American publications

00:39:46

using foot-pound-second systems: fps systems.

00:39:51

So... that we worked the problems from that

00:39:55

and...in the - in the first edition of

00:39:58

Resnick and Halliday,

00:40:00

So, many answers were wrong

00:40:04

that is the thing...some thing.

00:40:06

So, we were feeling that we have committed a mistake,

00:40:09

those problems we used to check

00:40:11

and again and again and satisfy that we were right.

00:40:14

So, we thought they are all printing mistakes, like that.

00:40:17

So, we had some training.

00:40:19

So, all of us scored more than 80 percent.

00:40:24

the teachers are examined first.

00:40:26

So ... Ramasastri was very happy.

00:40:32

So, then he said this is the reason why I have asked you all to our problems.

00:40:39

It was correct because -

00:40:42

Yeah, yeah, I think that would have given you a

00:40:43

right kind of training because

00:40:45

you were involved in setting the JEE paper several times

00:40:48

during your career. So... but JEE papers also went through

00:40:52

so many modifications.

00:40:54

So, that - that paper was very

00:40:56

easy compared to...anyone taking the examination now

00:41:00

would score 100 percent in those paper I think.

00:41:02

So, we...but that was novel at that time.

00:41:06

So, then they said they wanted

00:41:09

4 people to value the papers,

00:41:12

then only the system of valuation also we came to know

00:41:17

they had prepared model answers.

00:41:19

They said you can work out,

00:41:21

by an alternate method you will have to do,

00:41:24

the - the - fee that we - we used to get per script is 1 rupee

00:41:31

at that time.

00:41:33

So, we used to handed over

00:41:36

1 bundle of 20 answer scripts,

00:41:40

we have to sit in a room, all in a room,

00:41:45

we won’t be - we won’t have to go out,

00:41:47

we will be served a coffee,

00:41:49

tea like all those things that would come out periodically.

00:41:52

So, and... to some 3 hours

00:41:55

we used...we have to work and

00:41:57

more than that you should not work,

00:41:58

mental fatigue would come.

00:42:00

So, 3, 4 days we finished this thing,

00:42:03

each person valued about 140,

00:42:06

150 scripts this thing and that was the first experience

00:42:11

of how an examination is set up and all that.

00:42:15

otherwise, the...in other places it will be...

00:42:19

whether it is a Physics paper or a

00:42:22

Mathematics exam paper, every thing,

00:42:25

it was all memory-based, you can...this one -

00:42:30

But when somebody hears this they will have a confusion because

00:42:34

today it is only machine valuation.

00:42:36

JEE is completely

00:42:38

what we call multiple choice kind of short questions and all that.

00:42:41

Yes. So, this kind of valuation is not being done now.

00:42:44

Yes, yes, that is true The JEE system's

00:42:47

But changed very much

00:42:50

Even...what about fast food?

00:42:57

It's a question of necessity, that is your - So,

00:43:00

there used to be problems and - Yes.

00:43:02

Yeah, when I joined the... Yes, we have to work

00:43:04

I was valuing the ... And the method of working the...

00:43:06

but we can practice it

00:43:08

here also during a course

00:43:10

you give an assignment

00:43:13

and call the person who has taken the assignment

00:43:17

to come and work it out for others,

00:43:21

that is what we were doing;

00:43:23

though we were a given a

00:43:24

glorious title as a teacher,

00:43:26

we were doing it, only that, that.

00:43:30

So, here when we joined as ...

00:43:34

what are called senior technical assistant only,

00:43:37

we were told we were senior to none.

00:43:42

But assistant to all. All.

00:43:46

That is department. That is the technicality of the [inaudible].

00:43:48

That is the - the technical is common.

00:43:52

So, you are this thing

00:43:54

you should be prepared to do any work.

00:43:58

So that the team moves on.

00:44:01

But the academic life would have

00:44:02

changed when you started Ph.D. right.

00:44:05

No, that...even You would have started your own experiments

00:44:07

That is, changes also, that is

00:44:10

many changes take place,

00:44:12

they come to know of them only

00:44:14

by after some time and when you look

00:44:16

back how things were there, that is the thing.

00:44:19

So the ... as it happens When you

00:44:21

because initially this - it looks like the career was

00:44:26

fully engaged for question-paper-making and

00:44:28

correction and things like that. Yes.

00:44:30

So, when you started your experiments

00:44:32

for research, that would have - No, no,

00:44:33

we have to...we have to do; that is the reason

00:44:35

Why it takes more time for - Ah, right, right, right. - when you do Ph.D.

00:44:40

And, another problem is that is

00:44:44

my personal view now is

00:44:47

now, when you do something do it full-time,

00:44:51

never half-half.

00:44:53

It is, that is half plus half doesn’t add to 1,

00:44:58

when you do it half-time, that is ...

00:45:02

the time may be linked with the space,

00:45:06

but not in the non-realistic world

00:45:12

that is - that is what happens right

00:45:15

So, it took time.

00:45:16

and yes - and another Yeah

00:45:18

thing is when you are working with one of your

00:45:23

senior colleagues as your supervisor,

00:45:26

there are some constraints;

00:45:28

depends on how things go.

00:45:30

Either you move very fast -

00:45:32

faster than you normally can

00:45:34

if ... it's all in phase.

00:45:38

If it is - if there is a

00:45:39

phase difference, it is a problem - some...

00:45:42

it happens, like in service anywhere.

00:45:47

Ultimately, every service is servitude

00:45:50

at any level everywhere, that thing, any country also.

00:45:54

So, we can’t is it...it takes time and this thing.

00:46:00

But the thing is what now

00:46:04

you are all full-time students, isn’t it?

00:46:06

Full time is the best actually,

00:46:08

you finish and go and

00:46:11

when you are doing as much as possible,

00:46:14

you should learn

00:46:14

because you never get an opportunity

00:46:18

anywhere else that is IITs or in a different situation

00:46:22

from other research laboratories;

00:46:25

if it - if you join the Tata Institute of

00:46:29

Fundamental Research or full-time this thing - that is,

00:46:32

practically no teaching for the staff there,

00:46:36

professors that they give lectures,

00:46:39

but only seminar type of lectures.

00:46:41

Bhabha Atomic Research Centre

00:46:43

in the training school, it is something military training.

00:46:49

So, many subjects they are thrust and you are ranked and

00:46:53

your career depends on

00:46:55

what rank you get in the school

00:46:58

but some people have been successful - because of that

00:47:01

there have been some failures like this and.

00:47:06

But here, when you are -

00:47:09

you are all half-time teaching assistants, isn’t it? Yes.

00:47:12

That is, there you take the teaching part also

00:47:16

as an opportunity to learn things which you will never

00:47:20

be able to do anywhere else.

00:47:22

Here you have very good stuff

00:47:24

to which you can deliver,

00:47:25

your customers or capable that is

00:47:28

they will be able to appreciate it

00:47:30

and all those things,

00:47:31

you will do it well.

00:47:32

And... it will also give you confidence.

00:47:35

Self-confidence in teaching is very important,

00:47:38

it should not be some sort of an overconfidence,

00:47:42

superciliousness such things should not be there,

00:47:45

but it should be well honed-up talent.

00:47:53

That you should get, that is. So

00:47:55

after getting your Ph.D. you might

00:47:58

started teaching in M.Sc.

00:47:59

M.Sc. we can teach even without a...

00:48:04

this thing, Ph.D. So what were

00:48:05

the topics you were teaching? Topics is...

00:48:07

yes, topics also came

00:48:10

it was like this - initially

00:48:15

whenever there was some the ...

00:48:18

I have taught different subjects

00:48:21

in - I have taught some for M.Sc. Chemistry,

00:48:25

there was some Physics.

00:48:27

I was teaching those courses,

00:48:29

there were some students in the

00:48:32

earlier batches,

00:48:32

for M.Sc. Mathematics also they had Physics.

00:48:36

At that - at one time;

00:48:38

those courses also I have taught.

00:48:40

Of course, they are at a slightly

00:48:45

different level from for that of M.Sc. Physics,

00:48:49

but good enough for

00:48:53

this thing and they had taken for B.Tech.,

00:48:57

some, we have to design some courses.

00:49:00

as per elective courses and then

00:49:04

take those courses and also teach them.

00:49:07

Among the courses that

00:49:09

I designed and ... also took, were

00:49:14

Quantum Mechanics for engineers

00:49:17

that course was -

00:49:18

for the Electrical That is still going on -

00:49:20

that course is still an elective for B.Tech.

00:49:22

Electrical - Electrical - for Electrical Engineering B.Tech. students

00:49:27

it was there and it was very successful

00:49:30

because the applications that - that we did

00:49:34

all happened to be in the semiconductor physics

00:49:38

and lasers and such things only,

00:49:41

which was also new in the - '60s and '70s.

00:49:44

1970s. Yeah, yeah.

00:49:46

Actually, I designed that course at that time.

00:49:50

So, the quantum mech - and

00:49:52

till then of the quantum mechanics that we used to learn

00:49:56

used to be only perturbation method

00:49:58

and such things only,

00:50:00

nothing of the applications into the, this one:

00:50:05

solid state and

00:50:06

Experimental side.

00:50:08

For example,

00:50:09

to know that when an - a - a charged particle

00:50:14

its behaviour depends on the environment in which it is in

00:50:19

a free electron is this, not free

00:50:22

in this - this sense when it is inside some other medium.

00:50:26

So, many things happen,

00:50:28

how it happens like that,

00:50:31

then courses... that one.

00:50:36

There is one course on X-rays...structure analysis - X-rays. No, that

00:50:40

was for our own

00:50:42

M.Sc. students, that is the thing and also for Ph.D. students

00:50:46

and Chemistry also taught.

00:50:49

There was another course

00:50:52

which we had to do at the request of the

00:50:54

Metallurgy and Mechanical Engineering

00:50:56

Departments: reactor physics.

00:51:03

That course was...I was asked to

00:51:06

take that paper of Professor Sobhanadri.

00:51:09

He said you design a course like

00:51:11

that. In the first year

00:51:13

there were only 2 students

00:51:15

who had opted for that course

00:51:17

because he - he said that you take it in your room.

00:51:21

What I did was I taught that,

00:51:25

and fortunately we have a reactor in Kalpakkam.

00:51:29

I took them to the research reactor

00:51:32

that is the one that is used

00:51:34

for research. There are two,

00:51:37

this one - units there;

00:51:38

one for power generation.

00:51:40

The other is for this one-

00:51:43

[Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam, off-screen]Sir, which year was this?

00:51:44

[Mr. Sathasivam] Which year was this?

00:51:45

It was in 1982 or so,

00:51:49

1982. [Mr. Sathasivam] Can I ask the question about the ?? '60s - joined

00:51:54

[Mr. Sathasivam] There were supposed to be classes being held in AC

00:51:56

Tech College because the campus -

00:51:58

Oh, that one - when I joined. [Mr. Sathasivam] Did you have that experience?

00:52:00

No, no. When I joined, the classes

00:52:02

were...had begun here. [Mr. Sathasivam] In '60 itself?

00:52:06

Here ... '60, when I joined - '60 itself, it was there,

00:52:09

only in '59 they had classes in the AC College. Yes.

00:52:15

And, they used the

00:52:18

workshop of the Guindy Engineering

00:52:21

College in the very first year

00:52:23

because the things had not arrived.

00:52:25

When I came, the first

00:52:27

thing they built - first this thing they built - was the workshop

00:52:31

worksho - this, all those...that was the - at

00:52:35

that time it was the first - the largest non-production workshop

00:52:42

non-production, the... Yeah

00:52:44

[Mr. Sathasivam] ... the Physics lab - Not in the technical sense

00:52:46

[Mr. Sathasivam] Was there a Physics lab in the early days or -

00:52:48

... No, no; we had a Physics lab - it is

00:52:51

For the B.Techs. It is easy to set up

00:52:53

because the Physics that we were having for the

00:52:58

B.Tech. students,

00:53:00

we were sufficient - that is, we could have

00:53:03

we could purchase equipment from the city, Madras city;

00:53:06

no problem at all. I see

00:53:07

We had new Michelson interferometer,

00:53:10

everything we purchased and we

00:53:12

yes, the Physics lab and many experiments we could -

00:53:17

this one - we built the apparatus itself from here.

00:53:21

Glass blowing section was there and so,

00:53:24

we had barometers, everything we did here.

00:53:28

All those things we did.

00:53:31

We were engaged in all those things.

00:53:34

and teaching was only part;

00:53:38

we were actually learning and working problems, that’s all.

00:53:42

And sitting in the, that process class did not

00:53:46

teach us any great Physics - in the sense,

00:53:48

that Physics we knew.

00:53:50

And we knew it also in the right way, all of us.

00:53:54

In fact, Professor Murthy,

00:53:57

S. B. s. Shastry and Gopalam they did a

00:53:59

course on applied physics in Andhra University

00:54:02

where they had to do so much of Engineering also.

00:54:06

So, they were well equipped actually.

00:54:10

So, suddenly after 19 - the B.Tech. teaching,

00:54:16

they had...the student, the...Professor Sengupto

00:54:19

insisted on all the 5 years they will have

00:54:22

Physics - B.Tech. students.

00:54:25

Core courses, directive cames only later.

00:54:29

In his period,

00:54:30

all these students have to take Physics for 5 years.

00:54:34

Mathematics for 5 years. Yes.

00:54:36

All those things.

00:54:38

So, the - the Mathematics

00:54:40

level of the B.Techs graduates

00:54:44

was quite high in those days

00:54:48

and some of them became mathematicians later.

00:54:51

Out of the interest.

00:54:53

That reminds me

00:54:54

the Dr. Sudarshan of Kottayam

00:54:57

Mahatma Gandhi University was your student... No, no,

00:55:00

he was a Srinivasan’s classmate actually

00:55:03

No, no, I am talking of a younger person

00:55:07

who worked in X-rays

00:55:09

His name is Sudarshan. Oh, oh, that is my - That - that's what I've been -

00:55:11

Professor Sudarshan Kumar. Ha Yeah yeah yeah

00:55:13

Yeah, yeah, Sudarshan Kumar. He did in '90s, actually.

00:55:15

He did Ph.D. with you, right? With me

00:55:17

I remember that. Yeah.

00:55:19

I met him several times. He is doing very well Yeah, he is doing very well.

00:55:21

I met him when he was a director of the... I went to his

00:55:23

house; I stayed for sometime. Department.

00:55:25

Oh I see, ok.

00:55:28

This is in Mahatma Gandhi University, Kottayam. University is the.

00:55:32

Kottayam; he's the Head of the Department.

00:55:35

Now knowing there is some gain and

00:55:36

something he would have got, He was a - they have

00:55:38

they have the school of science, he was Director of that.

00:55:41

He was the Director.

00:55:42

I have gone - visited there a couple of times.

00:55:44

He did a postdoctoral at Ohio State University

00:55:49

so... So, he was your - your own Ph.D. student.

00:55:55

Then he did post Ph.D. in IASC

00:55:59

in molecular biophysics and then went to

00:56:02

Ohio State University for ... Columbus

00:56:06

where my son studied actually.

00:56:09

So, he did - did well.

00:56:14

And then came back,

00:56:15

he - he has guided a number of students.

00:56:18

And he is a flourishing - my, one of my students.

00:56:21

Professor Sudarshan Kumar - see, Sudarshan Kumar,

00:56:24

he is the first university entrant from his family.

00:56:31

Oh. In his surroundings

00:56:34

First generation learner we call. First generation you can say and

00:56:40

his father doesn’t know any English,

00:56:43

only Malayalam he knows.

00:56:45

I went to his house also,

00:56:46

he was in - this thing

00:56:50

he was - some Kollam isn't it?

00:56:52

So, then Dr. Babu Varghese.

00:56:56

Yes

00:56:56

I don’t know whether you have heard of him,

00:56:58

have you - no, you've not heard - of course he's retired now.

00:57:02

He was my first He is in - he was in SAIF - working in SAIF.

00:57:04

Our X-ray.

00:57:05

He was a central XRD,

00:57:08

that one - he was in charge of it,

00:57:10

he was a scientist.

00:57:11

He is also very interesting personality.

00:57:14

You - you know he Actually

00:57:17

when he joined.

00:57:18

Of course, students also will tell,

00:57:21

students are also of different kinds; you learn to

00:57:25

manage them, human management also is necessary.

00:57:28

Otherwise, you are a failure,

00:57:31

the student is a failure, the system is a failure.

00:57:33

Nowadays it is called the management of human resources.

00:57:38

It was ... he was allotted to me

00:57:43

saying that he may be a problem if

00:57:47

he is allotted to somebody else,

00:57:49

there was a choice for another person.

00:57:52

So, there was a - what is the

00:57:57

something - something doesn’t commute or something what - with.

00:58:01

One scientist by name Gell-Mann.

00:58:04

He was - Quark

00:58:05

Quark - Quark -

00:58:08

He had a ...

00:58:11

He wanted to get admission in one university,

00:58:14

otherwise he may - did not want to live at all.

00:58:19

So, the choice was this,

00:58:23

then he said that - he got.

00:58:28

And, Harvard I think he got in Harvard or

00:58:31

something I don’t remember many this thing;

00:58:34

Feynman only went to MIT, but this thing.

00:58:37

So, he either suicide or this thing - he got.

00:58:44

So, I could not and choose

00:58:50

which one first I have to choose

00:58:54

was a problem for me.

00:58:56

And, then because these two things don’t commute

00:59:00

The decision in case one thing you make a mathematical operation.

00:59:04

One first, the other next - the result

00:59:07

should be the same if it commutes.

00:59:10

[inaudible] suicide you can’t do it.

00:59:12

Suicide you can do only last, not first.

00:59:15

Like that - like that - this.

00:59:18

[Mr. Sathasivam] but you're known for your personal skills.

00:59:23

[Mr. Sathasivam] For your - you said your student was selected for you.

00:59:26

Because student - student - [inaudible].

00:59:28

Suicide was not the problem,

00:59:30

he was eccentric enough.

00:59:31

Yeah. That was the thing.

00:59:33

But he had a very successful career- He is a very bright person;

00:59:37

his interests were wide.

00:59:39

First he told me sir I am solve - trying

00:59:42

to solve Fermat’s last theorem.

00:59:45

Right, for 1 year please don’t disturb me.

00:59:49

When it is a highly - though much of price is there

00:59:53

when given at the price,

00:59:55

I will share the proceeds - half with you, 50 percent I will get.

01:00:02

So, that was the thing.

01:00:04

So, I thought I didn’t know what to do

01:00:10

because somebody ... I was ...

01:00:13

at that time I had read some other joke,

01:00:16

two lunatics where they - they

01:00:19

escaped from a mental asylum,

01:00:22

they were sitting in a park opposite to that and were talking.

01:00:26

See, I want to buy that house,

01:00:29

they thought it is a house and all that thing -

01:00:31

they were mentally -

01:00:33

The other man said: you can’t, I am not going to sell it to you.

01:00:39

Something like that.

01:00:40

Yeah, this kind of research would have been of that order

01:00:44

... something. He was In that time.

01:00:45

He was a little bit and -

01:00:49

So, I let him and the result

01:00:53

he has been telling everybody that

01:00:55

he’s solving Fermat’s Theorem, last theorem.

01:00:58

So, in the hostel he was called Fermat.

01:01:03

So, then he had to take the courses,

01:01:07

but he did something,

01:01:08

but very good, extremely bright person,

01:01:11

high originality - this thing,

01:01:15

but even today he is a little bit crazy

01:01:20

like that. He is - [Mr. Sathasivam] So,

01:01:22

does it mean that that was both both experimental and

01:01:24

theoretical work like that... Yes

01:01:25

he had to do - he had to do. Actually

01:01:28

I can’t guide him in. Fermat Theoretical work.

01:01:31

He didn’t do that for Ph.D. My knowledge is zero

01:01:32

almost 0 in the sense the thing,

01:01:35

but he - he did this thing,

01:01:41

he solved a crystal structures, everything he did.

01:01:44

He would write programs

01:01:46

by looking at the book

01:01:49

one by one he used to see - it's something like

01:01:53

looking at a dictionary and writing an article

01:01:56

in a foreign language like that -

01:01:59

that originality he had [inaudible]. He was very

01:02:01

successful, his career as -

01:02:03

the manager XR - X-ray. X-ray,

01:02:05

Central X-ray facility in the institute. he became this thing.

01:02:08

And, he used to work in fits and starts,

01:02:13

you will have to admit it, what to say,

01:02:17

but he was good.

01:02:20

We got on very well,

01:02:21

he didn’t quarrel with me or do anything -

01:02:24

I didn’t - because I know he is good.

01:02:28

And he was...

01:02:30

So, people used to ask me how are you managing with him

01:02:33

and they thought that ... he was my first student,

01:02:38

both are, that’s all gone - like that.

01:02:41

Then one or two advised me

01:02:44

why did you take him, you should have

01:02:46

this thing - he was not - he is good, this thing.

01:02:49

So, the first paper came out in Acta Crystallographica

01:02:54

the other some 2 or 3, 4.

01:02:56

So, in the 4th year

01:02:58

he finished everything

01:03:00

then I said you can start writing your the-

01:03:03

What is there to write,

01:03:04

these are the structures,

01:03:05

you just say this is

01:03:07

the result, you give the tables that’s all.

01:03:10

What is there to write?

01:03:12

Then ... that is, he could talk like that,

01:03:16

he did not mean anything,

01:03:18

he could talk like that.

01:03:19

He used to talk very frankly.

01:03:21

Very frankly. Very frankly.

01:03:24

So, brutally frankly that you may get

01:03:26

embarrassed sometimes, something.

01:03:28

So, he was to get married also,

01:03:31

he married ... oh Loyola College professor’s daughter

01:03:35

a Mathematics professor’s daughter.

01:03:38

They ... he asked me that the professor asked me

01:03:43

will he get his degree,

01:03:46

he - he seems to be ... he - and he is talking

01:03:50

I don’t - that is - he is not talking now.

01:03:53

Properly - he is a very normal person.

01:03:56

He will get his degree, he has done very good work, this thing

01:03:59

but what I did was

01:04:01

I could gather - I would write,

01:04:04

but ... the ... that thing one material is

01:04:08

there even the papers only is -

01:04:11

Will be edited into - Not that he is -

01:04:13

good at English, everything.

01:04:15

He is a peculiar type of person that is the thing,

01:04:20

but the thesis came out well - both the reports

01:04:26

were very good, everything is in,

01:04:28

and the marriage took place.

01:04:31

He has a son and a daughter,

01:04:35

daughter is married and she is in US with her husband.

01:04:41

The son is doing Ph.D. in Tata

01:04:44

Institute of Fundamental Research. He was a

01:04:45

student of our M.Sc. one ... Yes, yes [inaudible]

01:04:49

This thing, he is good, Unni - that is his name ... I think.

01:04:52

This man is also very good

01:04:55

and here, his mind you - Professor Manoharan,

01:04:59

you know Professor P. T. Manoharan.

01:05:01

P. T. Manoharan was waiting

01:05:03

for him to submit his thesis,

01:05:06

when we were going for binding it

01:05:09

he - he got down from his car.

01:05:11

So, it is his thesis that is in.

01:05:13

Then, 1 week later,

01:05:18

he advertised for scientific offices.

01:05:20

So his job was ready.

01:05:22

Job was ready. When he -

01:05:23

He wanted a person

01:05:25

to look after the X-ray diffraction,

01:05:27

even ... it has a diffractometer,

01:05:30

right from the collection of data to solution

01:05:34

which are needed for Chemistry people

01:05:36

[inaudible] he was waiting for him.

01:05:39

So, the job was waiting.

01:05:41

How was setting up the XRD department?

01:05:43

Setting up the XRD.

01:05:45

No, yes they this is a single crystal diffractometer

01:05:49

which is there in the special instruments laboratory,

01:05:52

in the - when you go there opposite the

01:05:55

electron micro -- that experiment - that -when.

01:05:59

There is a single crystal diffractometer,

01:06:02

I think one lady from the

01:06:04

Chemistry Department is -

01:06:06

Is - Metallurgy Department.

01:06:07

Metallurgy Department - not Metallurgy I think,

01:06:09

she is from Chemistry, must be,

01:06:12

this Metallurgy this thing will be powder -

01:06:15

Oh, that’s a different X-ray.

01:06:17

Dr. Keshavan Nair was. Yes, Keshavan Nair was

01:06:19

in charge of it. in charge of it.

01:06:21

So, he stayed here,

01:06:26

unfortunately his - this one - ambition was

01:06:30

not fulfilled in the institute.

01:06:33

He was very good,

01:06:36

...he would have been a very good guide,

01:06:38

research guide - because he has lot of originality,

01:06:41

he would have solved some good problems for students.

01:06:45

He could not get a faculty position,

01:06:49

it - it was a - something sometimes in a prosperous institute

01:06:56

with very broad-minded people sometimes

01:06:59

things don’t work for some people.

01:07:01

It happened at - that was - in one

01:07:04

sense - I knew one Director - one of the,

01:07:07

I was the secretary of the faculty association.

01:07:11

The 1980s and '90s also,

01:07:14

I was the - I was the secretary of the faculty association

01:07:17

on pay commission on two pay commissions

01:07:20

came in that period.

01:07:22

So, we had to negotiate and all those things.

01:07:24

I used to be called by the -

01:07:26

for the- this thing - in that

01:07:27

sense I could know the two Directors,

01:07:31

one Professor Srinath

01:07:32

and other was Professor R. Natarajan,

01:07:35

he was a ... Mechanical Engineering man.

01:07:40

So, I met Natarajan.

01:07:43

[Inaudible] at that time, he is - one Professor

01:07:45

S. P. Venkateshan you know? Have you heard

01:07:48

Mechanical - Yes, Mechanical Engineering.

01:07:50

He was the Head of the special instruments laboratory.

01:07:54

So, in spite of all those things somehow

01:07:57

our department and Physics Department,

01:08:01

they are somehow not

01:08:03

willing to give him - that is the ... thing.

01:08:07

This interview with Professor Srinivasan

01:08:09

is very different from the other interviews which we had here,

01:08:12

in the sense I wanted to bring out some

01:08:14

other interesting aspects of your personality.

01:08:17

Oh, thank you. Like your -

01:08:18

now for Sanskrit and - I'll keep quiet, I'll keep quiet ... but it was

01:08:22

you know we heard that you have

01:08:24

translated a book on

01:08:26

General Theory of Relativity by Lifshitz and Landau,

01:08:29

No, Landau and Rumer. Landau and Rumer.

01:08:32

into Sanskrit language. Into Sanskrit.

01:08:35

Both are difficult - general theory of relativity is the

01:08:37

most difficult theorem if it is- No, no, it was a very

01:08:39

popular book; it was not a - I didn’t

01:08:41

do the Science part at all.

01:08:42

No, no, that’s okay,

01:08:43

but my point is that is the

01:08:45

most difficult thing in Science and

01:08:47

Sanskrit is supposed to be the most difficult language.

01:08:51

I also wrote a - So how did you manage to - I published

01:08:53

a book on - there is a

01:08:57

lyric which describes only

01:09:01

this thing, seasons and such thing that is a -

01:09:03

Muthusamy Meghadūtam,

01:09:05

Meghadūtam. Meghadūtam, that is a cloud -

01:09:07

somebody sends a cloud as a messenger.

01:09:10

He's talking about Kalidasa's ...

01:09:11

Kalidasa's Book

01:09:13

That I wrote in prose form,

01:09:16

treating it as a travelogue, that is,

01:09:19

it starts from this thing - a place in - presently in Maharashtra

01:09:26

Ramtek, where, say Rama is - is said to have

01:09:32

spent some time, - in during his exile.

01:09:37

And, from there yaksha goes and

01:09:39

then goes to the Himalayas like that,

01:09:41

in that process he traverses different places.

01:09:44

The importance of those places

01:09:46

and all those things of those days

01:09:49

that - I - it was published actually.

01:09:53

Then I took some after my retirement,

01:09:56

I took some interest in

01:09:58

Sanskrit and during this service here

01:10:02

for the IIT library,

01:10:04

I have translated scientific papers from German into English.

01:10:09

Those days in - many papers were

01:10:10

used to be in German and German

01:10:12

somebody needed to translate it to ... German into English

01:10:13

I used to...

01:10:14

Research scholars needed that kind of service. At that time.

01:10:17

At the request, the central library was doing that service;

01:10:21

I have done something.

01:10:23

Only thing is after, for last 20 years

01:10:26

I totally lost touch with that language

01:10:29

with the result I have to start at 0,

01:10:33

that is that - unless you are in touch with a language

01:10:37

you just forget about it, forget it.

01:10:39

But your talents range from

01:10:41

relativity and Sanskrit to teaching undergraduate

01:10:44

students about quantum physics

01:10:46

and that is your latest contribution. That is because of -

01:10:48

I happened to be in this place by an accident. Yeah.

01:10:52

That’s all. Nothing else.

01:10:54

But ... in a career if you

01:10:58

look at, when you get your position

01:11:01

and all those things, if you look back

01:11:03

and all those things,

01:11:04

you may feel that you have been

01:11:06

deprived of things at the right

01:11:08

time and all those thing -

01:11:09

that happens to everybody.

01:11:11

Actually ... as one of my professor - my colleague

01:11:15

late Gopalam used to say, see,

01:11:18

"I am," about himself "I am rotting as a lecturer;

01:11:22

when I go and tell the deputy director" -

01:11:26

the ... Professor Sampath there was a deputy director by (name of)

01:11:29

Professor Sampath of Electrical Engineering,

01:11:31

he also became - later, he became director

01:11:33

IIT Kanpur like that -

01:11:36

he told him, "See, I am also rotting."

01:11:40

He said "Sir, you are rotting as

01:11:42

Deputy Director, I am -"

01:11:44

There is a difference between rotting as deputy director and as a professor Like that.

01:11:49

But anyway, he felt he did not get his due.

01:11:53

So, he was [inaudible]

01:11:54

not feeling [inaudible] rotting, that is this thing;

01:11:57

So, but anyway life is like that. So

01:12:00

what is your vision about this book on quantum physics?

01:12:03

Whom it will benefit? Right now

01:12:05

thanks to the encouragement, I wrote - I used to

01:12:09

spend some 4 or 5 months every

01:12:12

2 years with my son’s family in US.

01:12:17

He is there since ... last 17 years or so,

01:12:21

he is there. After -

01:12:22

So, when he was in Virginia,

01:12:25

he was - till 3 years ago he was in Virginia,

01:12:29

now he is in Texas.

01:12:30

So, that those places you have -

01:12:33

the county libraries are very good.

01:12:36

We can, this thing - I didn’t know anything about

01:12:40

how to spend time I did not know,

01:12:41

you can’t go out and all that

01:12:44

in US unless you are very familiar

01:12:47

with things and all those.

01:12:48

So, I thought I might read something,

01:12:51

even that Meghadūtam I did

01:12:53

only when I was there.

01:12:55

Then, the, why not do something in Physics because

01:12:58

I found a number of Physics books

01:13:01

which I can’t get even in the IIT library,

01:13:04

general books like that.

01:13:05

So, I started writing something, that is

01:13:10

how quantum physics developed

01:13:16

like any river which starts as a pond,

01:13:20

the Planck’s theory also was a,

01:13:23

for a specific problem it was a solution.

01:13:26

Planck himself said it was curved fitting

01:13:29

that’s what he himself very hesitatingly

01:13:33

hesitantly he presented it and it remained like that.

01:13:37

The person who digged it up and

01:13:41

made it ... great was Einstein,

01:13:44

when he solved the photoelectricity problem.

01:13:47

So, you will have to - would have had to

01:13:49

read up lot of non-technical books to get this Yes.

01:13:52

historical perspectives Yes, yes but generally, I

01:13:54

used to read almost 1

01:13:57

fiction every week.

01:13:59

In - in the service when I was here

01:14:03

any new book which comes ... R. K. Narayan’s

01:14:06

The Guide came only when I was in

01:14:08

IIT in the - in the earlier years,

01:14:11

made it [inaudible],

01:14:13

then all - the all the books of R. K. Narayan

01:14:16

English teacher.

01:14:17

So and then, there his foreign

01:14:22

US experience, something he had written so

01:14:25

many things I read them and also

01:14:27

Somerset Maugham,

01:14:28

there was an author of the

01:14:31

20th century considered to be the greatest

01:14:34

living author when he lived,

01:14:36

his stories also;

01:14:38

all those things I used to read

01:14:40

right and left something are that

01:14:41

just - just like that.

01:14:43

But, when we read the available books and quantum

01:14:45

mechanics and all that you don’t get those [inaudible] these

01:14:48

No, actually, yes, yes, yes, episodes which you have mentioned in that.

01:14:52

The quantum mechanics ...

01:14:54

when I read I thought it is all quantum jumps, everything was,

01:14:58

suddenly somebody that is

01:15:03

what is it, our bond approximation,

01:15:06

scattering like that.

01:15:08

The books used to present things as topics,

01:15:12

how is it that they get into their problems

01:15:15

because it can’t be all on a -

01:15:17

The human angle. Yes

01:15:18

So, then Social

01:15:19

one - one - why did it develop only in certain places,

01:15:23

all those things.

01:15:25

When I ... went through

01:15:27

I found that there is a link.

01:15:30

See, only when an atmosphere or an

01:15:33

environment is important for you

01:15:35

to do research in a particular area,

01:15:38

that’s what I felt.

01:15:41

I had one experience - somebody said

01:15:44

that this thermoelectric cooling is there - thermo - some compounds Yeah.

01:15:53

are used for thermoelectric cooling,

01:15:55

bismuth telluride and intermetallic compound.

01:15:58

At that, when I saw that I tried it,

01:16:01

I grew a bismuth telluride sample,

01:16:05

heated it at one end and

01:16:09

thought that I would get ice at the other end

01:16:11

or at least very poorly...

01:16:14

But it was very hot.

01:16:17

So, nothing happened; it was a good conductor also,

01:16:20

almost a good conductor.

01:16:22

So, I - I didn’t believe the experimental

01:16:25

results and all those thing,

01:16:26

I dropped it.

01:16:27

So, I thought -

01:16:29

It's too hot you have to drop it.

01:16:31

I dropped it and dropped the topic also.

01:16:35

So, what is the present status of the book?

01:16:38

What is the present status of the book? Yes

01:16:39

Yes, it will come out. When will it come out?

01:16:42

because I am doing the correction of the draft.

01:16:47

Now, I - what I find is

01:16:49

if you want, first you have to understand

01:16:53

one important thing about the refrigerator,

01:16:56

it maintains a difference in temperature unless

01:16:59

you keep the hot side

01:17:01

at the constant room temperature

01:17:03

you won’t get the cold pot cooler

01:17:06

it's an elementary thing.

01:17:09

I did not know, we knew only

01:17:12

the thermal - what is thermodynamic cycle for the - this thing.

01:17:17

But we did not know the -

01:17:19

I - at least I did not know

01:17:20

this thing, that is why I had to burn my finger.

01:17:24

Literally. Burning finger on research.

01:17:26

Only a few days ago something when I was writing it,

01:17:29

I remembered that.

01:17:31

So, I added a sentence

01:17:33

you have to ... the hottest element should be

01:17:36

maintained at the ambient temperature.

01:17:38

That is a connection with the book,

01:17:39

I was wondering why you are talking about

01:17:40

when you are talking the book. you were...

01:17:42

Yes ...talking about that.

01:17:43

Ambient temperature - I have written it.

01:17:45

Because ... the other person -

01:17:48

there may be others who may burn their fingers.

01:17:50

No, but it is necessary

01:17:54

that is, certain things we learn only when we

01:17:58

this thing - and better, this thing - what you have felt,

01:18:02

you should have, should have learnt - this thing.

01:18:04

The person who suggested it to me also

01:18:07

did not know that there is something

01:18:11

immediately what he said was

01:18:13

you check up whether it is a pure sample, like that only,

01:18:18

you don’t think about it - this thing

01:18:21

[Mr. Sathasivam] Sir, can you tell us about the

01:18:23

about the experimental facilities that have

01:18:26

come up in the department? Department,

01:18:28

actually, it was almost nothing when I joined.

01:18:33

Excepting the teaching the demonstration experiments -

01:18:37

they could be converted into good experiments also -

01:18:41

but

01:18:42

that was nothing.

01:18:44

When once the question of research came,

01:18:48

that is formal research came

01:18:52

people took up ... what

01:18:55

what are the measuring instruments that we have to buy;

01:18:58

depends on what you are going to measure.

01:19:01

The first - one of the things that was first bought was

01:19:05

a spectrophotometer -

01:19:07

a Hewlett Packard spectrophotometer -

01:19:11

which was installed when we were in the

01:19:13

Civil Engineering building itself.

01:19:15

That - That was tested

01:19:17

by Professor Ramasastri,

01:19:19

he used to sit late in the night and all those

01:19:22

things and take readings and all because he

01:19:25

meant to use it for - by himself,

01:19:28

that is the best way of learning.

01:19:30

And a Hewlett Packard had if and -

01:19:33

when I went back recently when a - thing,

01:19:36

it was started in a car shed

01:19:41

at the time when they exported it to our country,

01:19:46

this thing; it was as usual for a commercial thing

01:19:49

they have to make a box, everything ready,

01:19:52

that is design of a ...

01:19:54

this one, experimental equipment for sale

01:19:58

is different from something

01:20:00

that you [unclear] for your experimental this thing.

01:20:03

So, it was this thing.

01:20:04

And at that time it was vacuum tube technology.

01:20:09

I think it was done

01:20:11

well, it was good.

01:20:13

Yeah, readings you have to do only manually,

01:20:16

take manually like that.

01:20:17

Afterwards, other things came,

01:20:20

then, the other important thing that we bought was

01:20:23

an X-ray generator.

01:20:25

And at that time the diffractometer that is

01:20:30

what is it - computer controlled accesses and all

01:20:32

those things were not there.

01:20:33

So, you have to use photographic methods,

01:20:36

it's photographic, then take the thing.

01:20:39

So one - solving one small crystal structure

01:20:42

molecular structure it would take one and a half years.

01:20:46

Now, it is done you put it and in

01:20:48

about half an hour your thing is given,

01:20:51

these are the bond distances,

01:20:53

this is the thing and all those things it comes.

01:20:56

So, technology has a - 19 -

01:21:00

the - the earlier - till 1970s,

01:21:04

we did not notice any advancement in

01:21:07

technology of accessing experimental results.

01:21:12

So, we have to do everything and then also learn

01:21:16

how to do the - supposing there will be a background

01:21:19

everything, nothing, that is is no experiment is perfect.

01:21:22

It is not a ... you will have to

01:21:26

account for some errors and all those inevitable things.

01:21:30

So the - the experiment the physics of the experimental method

01:21:35

involves a knowledge of the errors, that can arise.

01:21:38

And, how to account for them

01:21:40

to make the - your result credible

01:21:44

that is fitted with the theory

01:21:47

that is what you do is between the- this one - theory

01:21:51

and the theory and the expected result from the theory

01:21:54

and the experimental result that you get

01:21:57

stands in the way,

01:21:58

there some of the errors that are

01:22:00

very likely instrumental errors,

01:22:02

our own errors and all those things;

01:22:05

error this thing - knowledge of these things with necessary,

01:22:09

you unless you correct for that - the thing.

01:22:14

So, we should ... now those things are all programmed.

01:22:18

So, you don’t have to learn,

01:22:20

you can spend your time on other

01:22:22

things - that is the difference.

01:22:25

Till 1970,

01:22:27

'75 and all that, even '80;

01:22:30

only in 1980, only, the integrated circuits came

01:22:34

gates, logic gates everything they came only in 1980s,

01:22:39

prior to that the only integrated device

01:22:42

that was used was the operational amplifier,

01:22:44

it was an analogue device.

01:22:46

The digital electronics came in the 19s 80s,

01:22:50

In that time we had ...

01:22:53

we had to design a course

01:22:55

for the defense scientists.

01:22:59

They were sent from the DRDO,

01:23:02

they were doing part of their course in Electrical Engineering

01:23:05

department and part of the course in Physics,

01:23:09

I taught digital electronics for them.

01:23:12

That would have in a very new subject at that time.

01:23:14

Yes, at that time. Coming up -

01:23:15

So, I learnt it.

01:23:16

So, the digital ICs - by that time the breadboard had

01:23:23

come or a printed circuit board - do - learnt all those things.

01:23:27

So, every time we have to,

01:23:29

but advantage here is - advantage - an opportunity

01:23:34

and challenge are inter - interlinked

01:23:38

and I was asked to take that.

01:23:42

So, I - I took that course,

01:23:45

worked in the evenings and all those thing and then finally,

01:23:51

we designed the course.

01:23:52

The thing is they were all in their middle age 30 plus 35,

01:23:56

30 to 35 years old.

01:23:59

So - you can’t design a examination

01:24:02

they have to undergo examination.

01:24:04

So, we have to - this thing.

01:24:05

But you can’t expect them to write 4 pages,

01:24:10

5 pages for every question.

01:24:12

So what I did was, that is, I used to

01:24:17

prepare a working circuit

01:24:19

this thing, then this - a white eraser

01:24:24

that one was there: typewrite eraser,

01:24:27

white this thing, put it in some places

01:24:32

so that the circuit is different.

01:24:36

So, input this thing, it's some two or three different places

01:24:40

what would be the output?

01:24:41

They should know only the function of that particular

01:24:45

IC that goes there, this thing.

01:24:47

So, the question paper would be some 10 to 12 sheets.

01:24:51

All they have to do is at the bottom a testing, b testing;

01:24:55

they don’t have to write

01:24:58

that is the thing; that ... we had, that is the advantage in IIT is

01:25:03

you can design your questions in your own way,

01:25:05

there is no interference from the top people;

01:25:10

that is the thing,

01:25:10

they don’t interfere with you.

01:25:12

So that the course they felt it is good.

01:25:16

So, if - if you want to test a person

01:25:19

you should consider his ... plus and -

01:25:22

Yeah. minus points beyond his control

01:25:26

that is this thing. Yeah, teaching

01:25:27

JEE students who came through JEE and

01:25:30

teaching DRDO scientists with

01:25:32

age group of 30 is very very different. Yes, yes.

01:25:34

- age, they were all married they had

01:25:36

their own families everything;

01:25:38

so that I did - I - of course,

01:25:40

I took permission, due permission

01:25:43

Professor Sobhanadri was there,

01:25:44

he said it’s a good idea and you do it like this.

01:25:49

Then, suddenly one day

01:25:53

it happened Y. V. J. S. was the Head of the Department as guide,

01:25:58

he said he brought one book: Numerical Methods...

01:26:05

Numerical Methods and Science

01:26:08

in - in - one Scarborough,

01:26:11

it was 1926 - when computers were not there.

01:26:17

Yes, yes At that time one person had written a book

01:26:20

one Harvard professor by name Scarborough had written a book,

01:26:23

saying that this is numerical methods

01:26:26

and science interpolation formula,

01:26:29

then [unclear] and all those things.

01:26:33

So we had a numerical methods and -

01:26:36

programming was the course,

01:26:38

the computer programming had come,

01:26:41

the numerical methods were not there.

01:26:45

So, that course we offered

01:26:50

it was an elective further M.Sc.

01:26:53

It also must be very new.

01:26:54

Because computers were coming in at that time.

01:26:56

that also learn with new course At that time

01:26:58

it was his idea.

01:26:59

Professor Y. V. J. S.' idea we will combine this and then

01:27:03

put it - why don’t to take the course,

01:27:05

this is the book, you can do it well.

01:27:08

Then, at that time I was familiar only with

01:27:12

Fortran 2 programming,

01:27:15

very old one - and also when you get things done,

01:27:19

there is always lethargy not to learn.

01:27:22

I did not learn anything,

01:27:24

even today, I don’t know C language or anything.

01:27:28

So he said, don’t bother, it

01:27:31

it ... there was a response, some

01:27:36

some 6 students from our M.Sc.

01:27:38

they opted for the course.

01:27:41

But, from the other departments

01:27:44

something like 25 people -

01:27:47

person - including some people who are doing Ph.D.

01:27:52

So, they were all familiar with

01:27:56

other languages,

01:27:58

I cannot teach programming to that assembly.

01:28:03

So, what I did was - I will do the numerical part

01:28:07

and gave them questions.

01:28:09

So you solve these things using your program. Any language

01:28:12

numerical methods is different

01:28:14

from programming - beyond programme - language.

01:28:17

So, all the ...this thing questions I gave

01:28:21

I ask them can I give any

01:28:23

you answer as much, you submit assignment,

01:28:26

that was all the work that I - only assignments were there,

01:28:29

examination system;

01:28:30

that flexibility also was

01:28:33

there in - because of IIT - in any other place one cannot do,

01:28:37

you will be questioned. Computer facility was there

01:28:39

in IIT during those days?

01:28:40

Computer facility.

01:28:42

They all had, the better - see, the thing is by that time

01:28:47

the Hewlett Packard computers had come, desktop had come.

01:28:52

In the desktop for particular purposes there were

01:28:56

many systems dedicated to some - this thing it was there.

01:29:01

We still had only at that time

01:29:04

when I was teaching the course at the end

01:29:08

in the present - present computer centre,

01:29:11

1 Siemens computer was...

01:29:14

That was a big computer.

01:29:15

That was a big computer,

01:29:17

that was a centralized system was there.

01:29:20

You have to, all the

01:29:23

this one monitors you have to operate only within that building

01:29:27

and later only they gave some

01:29:30

this one LAN: Local Area Network, this thing they gave

01:29:34

in X-ray diffraction laboratory,

01:29:36

I got one for our use, for students' use.

01:29:39

But there this thing;

01:29:42

so the students they had the

01:29:44

facility in their own way,

01:29:46

some people had C programme,

01:29:49

say C and even C plus had come and all those things.

01:29:53

So many things had come

01:29:55

you do by your own method,

01:29:57

but give me the - the - I want

01:29:59

I wanted it in different steps,

01:30:02

whether they have been able to get it

01:30:05

and most of them were C programming this thing.

01:30:09

So so, please explain how you have done.

01:30:12

So I used to sit as a student in that class

01:30:16

they used to do.

01:30:17

And ... they all did well.

01:30:21

Thing is when the grading came,

01:30:25

there is - there use to be a class committee

01:30:29

I gave S grade to all the people.

01:30:33

S grade. S - superior grade,

01:30:36

they all did well.

01:30:38

Some 20 this thing.

01:30:41

So, for ... there were ... I had to attend 4 class committees.

01:30:46

But, same subject it -, it used to be headed by some.

01:30:51

Different departments.

01:30:52

headed by each department. People

01:30:54

from different departments came. It was not.

01:30:56

So, Physics it would, it would go through,

01:31:00

then, the students who took it

01:31:02

also happen to be good at the other subjects.

01:31:05

In one department the chief objected,

01:31:10

I think this man is not a very good student. That is correct.

01:31:16

Then I had to

01:31:20

well, he was - he was a good friend of mine,

01:31:22

he was a good person.

01:31:25

So, see one can be good at some subjects

01:31:29

may not be good at some other subjects.

01:31:33

So, probably in the subjects that

01:31:37

your department has handled,

01:31:39

you might have found him to be not the best.

01:31:44

He - he is good,

01:31:45

but not this good that’s what I was saying

01:31:48

We do in the class committees when there is a - I mean

01:31:51

when there is a difference of opinion whether S

01:31:53

should be given for some number like 80 percent or 85 percent,

01:31:57

then we look at the performance in other

01:31:58

courses and see whether there is a correlation.

01:32:01

One thing.

01:32:02

So, it has its own peculiarities.

01:32:05

But you should not hurt the... Right.

01:32:08

ego of the other person.

01:32:11

When you want to get things done,

01:32:12

one has to stoop to concur.

01:32:14

That's it ... Thank you.

01:32:17

Probably I have bored you a lot.

01:32:19

[Mr. Sathasivam] Not at all. Not at all.

01:32:21

Definitely not.

01:32:22

Before concluding, anything else you would like to...

01:32:25

Some message or anything you would like to... No, no.

01:32:27

[Inaudible] for the researchers. Nothing, actually,

01:32:29

they ... my this thing is today

01:32:33

at the end of - I am in the declining years,

01:32:35

in the sense, I have most of the ... I have no future,

01:32:38

it is only the present and the past.

01:32:40

But you are producing a book on quantum physics which is - No, no,

01:32:43

that is okay, that is different. What I am telling is

01:32:46

that is, I don’t expect anything ... there is

01:32:48

nothing that I expect to do further and

01:32:53

achieve and then get something,

01:32:55

if there is no particular aim;

01:32:58

having seen, times will change,

01:33:03

attitudes may change, everything may change.

01:33:06

But the thing is the

01:33:09

human relationship and the lasting friendship and affection.

01:33:17

That is, it gives much more satisfaction

01:33:21

than anything that you do,

01:33:23

that is, this often ... does ornateness go with greatness.

01:33:31

But, more often felicity with simplicity.

01:33:36

It’s a ...an old proverb that’s what, this thing,

01:33:41

anything ... that is supposing one feels like coming -

01:33:45

And supposing when you go back

01:33:49

to the department and you see people,

01:33:52

they should feel ... welcome you,

01:33:55

they should have some sweet memories

01:33:57

about you, that is important.

01:34:00

But those who are in position of command

01:34:03

they should elicit some -

01:34:05

but one has to be strict,

01:34:08

because the institution is more important than any

01:34:11

individual friendship or anything, laxity [inaudible],

01:34:14

but it should be good.

01:34:16

Because the - what I have found is

01:34:19

in many times the guide and the student,

01:34:23

they don’t get on well after the

01:34:26

thing is over anywhere.

01:34:31

That should not happen because I ...

01:34:34

I have not achieved much in science,

01:34:36

I have done only some routine work.

01:34:39

And the students whom I have taken, they have all got the degrees,

01:34:44

I had a student also who was mentally affected;

01:34:48

he knows - he knows about it.

01:34:51

He was a very bright fellow,

01:34:53

he got the degree, I - sort it,

01:34:57

I wrote the thesis and he did some -

01:35:01

so many things that -

01:35:02

He was good

01:35:03

but he had this problem because of that he could not Problem with the -

01:35:05

sit and write the thesis also. No.

01:35:07

That was the thing, very bright fellow.

01:35:10

Within 2 months, he published the first paper.

01:35:14

When you look at all those things,

01:35:19

God has been kind to - such thing.

01:35:23

Thank you, sir

01:35:23

Thank you sir, thank you. Thank you very much, sir.

Oral History Project

< Back

Prof. J. Sobhanadri in conversation with Prof. Vijayan and Ms M. Mayarani

00:00:21

Today, we have Professor J. Sobhanadri with us,

00:00:24

who has been a very active faculty member

00:00:27

in the Department of Physics, IIT Madras

00:00:29

for a long duration - 1962 to 1995.

00:00:35

During this time, he has taught several courses,

00:00:38

developed several laboratories; in particular,

00:00:41

the microwave laboratory,

00:00:44

and he has published several papers and guided

00:00:47

many students who have come…

00:00:49

who have later become academicians,

00:00:52

Professors and scientists all over the world.

00:00:55

Professor Sobhanadri was also the Head of the Department

00:00:58

for 4 years in our department.

00:01:02

So, we are very happy

00:01:04

that Professor Sobhanadri could visit us and talk to us…

00:01:07

he will…and he is willing to talk to us about

00:01:10

his experiences and the

00:01:13

important aspects of the history of the Department of Physics.

00:01:19

Sir, we are very happy to have you here,

00:01:23

we have…I am Professor Vijayan from the Department of Physics,

00:01:27

your old student.

00:01:29

Prof. Sobhanadri: Yeah. Prof. Vijayan: He was also my Ph.D….M.Sc.

00:01:32

project supervisor for the M.Sc. dissertation.

00:01:36

I had done M.Sc. and Ph.D. in our depart…in the Physics Department.

00:01:40

We also have Mayarani,

00:01:41

who is a student,

00:01:43

who did…who was an M.Sc. student here and later she continued

00:01:47

as a research scholar, she is continuing as a research scholar here,

00:01:50

probably because she liked the department very much

00:01:53

and she would like to know how the department has

00:01:55

become so likeable and what

00:01:58

is the contribution of Professor Sobhanadri in that.

00:02:01

So we will be having an informal conversation with Professor Sobhanadri.

00:02:05

Yeah, I am very happy to be here, being interviewed by old student.

00:02:11

And also, another M.Sc. student to the old students.

00:02:16

We have in the audience also some of my friends here.

00:02:19

I am glad that I have been associated with IIT for so many years.

00:02:24

In those days,

00:02:26

we didn’t have the mental set up to move to

00:02:28

another place after joining IIT

00:02:31

so with that thing I joined IIT,

00:02:33

I wanted to develop IIT

00:02:35

and I continued like that till I retired in 1995.

00:02:40

I am here to tell you anything

00:02:42

starting from my childhood, which I can share with you also.

00:02:46

We are curious how you came to know about IIT

00:02:50

and what was your educational background

00:02:51

before that, and how you came here.

00:02:56

Before knowing about IITs,

00:02:58

I had a school education that…at that point,

00:03:01

I didn’t know that there are IITs.

00:03:03

At that time, we were only thinking that

00:03:05

I should complete my schooling and college education,

00:03:08

and go to a university for higher studies

00:03:11

and Andhra University was my…in my mind.

00:03:14

After I completed Andhra University,

00:03:16

I also joined there as a lecturer.

00:03:19

And when I was working in Andhra University,

00:03:22

this advertisement about IITs has come.

00:03:25

Earlier some IITs were started, probably

00:03:27

Kharagpur, Kanpur were there,

00:03:30

but Madras IIT advertisement came at that time.

00:03:33

And we were happy to choose that.

00:03:36

Luckily, I got the selection in the first trial,

00:03:40

that is how I have come here.

00:03:41

Ms. Mayarani: Sir, you were…you were a faculty member here in 1962. Prof. Sobhanadri: ‘62.

00:03:49

Yeah, So that time,

00:03:51

when you look back and when you see the new infrastructure

00:03:55

and the new instruments that we have bought

00:03:57

to the department and things like that,

00:04:00

what is the…the change that you see actually,

00:04:03

I have been here for…now for five and half years

00:04:06

and in this five and half year time itself,

00:04:08

I can see lot of differences

00:04:10

that happened in terms of infrastructure

00:04:12

and so…and the number of faculties and so on.

00:04:14

So what is the difference that you see, and how happy

00:04:16

you are to see this differences in this campus?

00:04:19

During last 5 years, we have a lot of money in the country,

00:04:24

and so, we are buying a lot of instruments also

00:04:27

and some of the instruments we don’t even know how to operate also.

00:04:31

In the earlier days when I was a student,

00:04:34

there were not so much money,

00:04:35

so many instruments also there,

00:04:37

so we have to grow the instruments,

00:04:39

we have to make the instruments ourselves.

00:04:42

So that way, we have interest in assembling instruments,

00:04:46

knowing what they are, how they work, the background is different.

00:04:50

Ms. Mayarani: Yes, yes, yes. Prof. Sobhanadri: You are now in a

00:04:51

Prof. Sobhanadri: a affluent society. Ms. Mayarani: Yes,

00:04:53

Prof. Sobhanadri: You are a…thing is different Ms. Mayarani: Yeah.

00:04:55

We are curious to know what kind of

00:04:57

major equipment was there when you joined here?

00:05:02

When I joined here, maybe if you go to the beginning,

00:05:06

there was only one building;

00:05:07

the Civil Engineering Department that we have even now,

00:05:10

that was the building which was available when I joined.

00:05:14

The Director was sitting there,

00:05:16

all the faculty…few departments were working there,

00:05:19

Physics Department also worked there.

00:05:21

So when I joined there, that was the thing.

00:05:23

Next couple of years,

00:05:25

the other buildings were constructed, and after that,

00:05:28

instruments started coming.

00:05:30

In the Physics Department,

00:05:31

what were the major instruments at that time?

00:05:35

Prof. Vijayan: In ‘60s. Prof. Sobhanadri: All the instruments were unpacked only after I joined.

00:05:40

Instruments started coming because the German aid has come,

00:05:43

as part of the German aid,

00:05:45

they started sending the equipment,

00:05:47

and one by one faculty members

00:05:49

have to open it and make it function.

00:05:52

So, faculty were also recruited around that time.

00:05:56

’59 IIT Madras was started, 1962 I joined.

00:06:01

And along with me, several of other faculty members also joined.

00:06:05

Professor Sivaramakrishnan joined at that time,

00:06:08

Professor R. Srinivasan joined at that time,

00:06:11

only Professor Ramasastry was there…before at that time.

00:06:15

So we all joined in…around 1961-62 time; that is when

00:06:19

we started the construction of the department.

00:06:23

What is the...like, these days we know the working style is

00:06:27

different from earlier style…that like…we saw that

00:06:30

you have been able to publish lot of research papers

00:06:34

and conduct very good research work even that time,

00:06:37

when we didn’t have many instrumental facilities and all that.

00:06:40

So what was the working style back then?

00:06:45

Working style was, for example,

00:06:47

I think sometime later I will go to my Andhra University life also.

00:06:51

At that time, for example, when I joined,

00:06:53

I was interested in electron spin resonance.

00:06:56

We didn’t have any equipment here.

00:06:58

Kanpur IIT got an equipment,

00:07:00

they got it also from America.

00:07:03

But they opened it, we have not done it here.

00:07:05

So what I did was, Hariharan was our first student.

00:07:09

Hariharan was also an old M.Sc. student,

00:07:12

the first batch M.Sc. student who joined for Ph.D..

00:07:15

So, we used to go to IIT Kanpur, conduct the experiments,

00:07:19

couple of times I went, later on,

00:07:22

Hariharan stayed there for a couple of months.

00:07:25

After coming back,

00:07:26

we analysed the experimental result

00:07:29

and started publishing the papers and the thesis.

00:07:31

So to start with, the equipment was not there,

00:07:35

we started a research by going to IIT Kanpur in the ESR [indistinct]

00:07:40

that is the first experiment we have done.

00:07:43

And do you remember sir,

00:07:45

when was the first publication that happened?

00:07:48

First publication…M.Sc. students used to do some projects at at that time,

00:07:56

after I joined in ’62,

00:07:59

first batch came in ‘64 I think, ‘64 yes.

00:08:04

Then…the M.Sc. students used to do some project with me.

00:08:09

One…one lady by the name Meera, she has become a Distinguished Alumni of

00:08:14

our department also and I [indistinct] she is in Missouri,

00:08:18

the public…first publication was with her, along with Hariharan.

00:08:22

Prof. Sobhanadri: Hariharan, myself and Meera Ms. Mayarani: Okay.

00:08:25

published the first paper in Current Science, sometime in ‘66. I think.

00:08:31

You were mentioning about the publication in ’67,

00:08:35

with several colleagues,

00:08:37

is it this publication?

00:08:39

That is Professor Ramasastry when he joined the department,

00:08:44

he was interested in developing magnetic resonance;

00:08:46

Electron spin resonance particularly.

00:08:48

So around that time only,

00:08:50

some of my friends in Andhra University also joined here as faculty.

00:08:55

Not faculty, demonstrators in those days it is called.

00:08:58

Professor S. B. S. Sastry joined,

00:09:00

Professor Y. V. G. S. Murthi joined.

00:09:02

So, myself, Professor Sastry and Professor Murthi;

00:09:05

We three…we three of us

00:09:07

got some data, Professor Ramasastry collected somewhere,

00:09:11

And [indistinct] though we three together analysed the data

00:09:16

and published the paper. That was the first paper

00:09:19

published by all the four of us.

00:09:21

1966, I think.

00:09:26

And so also, the way faculty and students interact;

00:09:31

Do you think there are much changes in the interaction between

00:09:34

a faculty and student from the time when you were working and then

00:09:38

the time…like the present time…

00:09:40

Very much, very much, very very much.

00:09:42

See those days, we were all interacting as a one family,

00:09:46

the whole department was a family,

00:09:49

we were not thinking whose laboratory you belong to.

00:09:52

Also, my tuning is…when I go back to Andhra University,

00:09:55

I will tell you those stories also.

00:09:58

My tuning also was to see that it is as a whole, a family.

00:10:02

So Professor Ramasastry was a leader at that time.

00:10:07

Myself, Professor S. B. S. Sastry, Y. V. G. S. Murthi,

00:10:09

we were all working together.

00:10:11

All the three of us working as research scholars only,

00:10:15

trying to do what…at a whatever data we have used to analyse,

00:10:19

then, we also think about how to teach the students,

00:10:22

because we also started getting the classes;

00:10:25

Laboratory and other things.

00:10:27

So we were working as a team.

00:10:28

So there is no thing.

00:10:30

Apart from our people,

00:10:32

Professor B. V. Ramanamurthi was there, another senior member.

00:10:35

He was looking after the X-ray Laboratory.

00:10:38

So he was also interacting with us.

00:10:40

So…which was like a family only,

00:10:42

Prof. Sobhanadri: because it is a smaller number also. Ms. Mayarani: Yes.

00:10:44

Now, we have several laboratories which are doing very well,

00:10:48

do you remember the early laboratories

00:10:51

which were started in those days?

00:10:53

Yeah, those days there was only two laboratories:

00:10:57

one is organized by Professor Ramasastry,

00:11:00

that is, he wanted to do defect solid state.

00:11:04

The other one is X-ray Laboratory,

00:11:06

which Professor Ramanamurthi wanted

00:11:08

to initiate, though they are the two senior people,

00:11:11

and also some equipment was there in the X-ray Laboratory at that time.

00:11:16

But the initial stages the growth was very slow,

00:11:19

until it was 1962-63.

00:11:22

When did Professor Srinivasan, R. Srinivasan join?

00:11:25

Myself, Professor Srinivasan, we all joined about the same time: 1962.

00:11:30

Prof. Sobhanadri: He joined as Assistant Professor, I joined as a Lecturer. Prof. Vijayan: Okay.

00:11:35

So, he joined the…there and he started thinking of…

00:11:38

he was joining originally as a theoretical physicist,

00:11:41

because at the IISc, he was doing some theoretical work.

00:11:46

Then later on, of course, Low Temperature Lab came after several years.

00:11:50

Part of German aid.

00:11:52

Sir also, could you talk about your other role in the department,

00:11:56

other than teaching or a researcher,

00:11:58

you were also the Head of the Department for 4 years;

00:12:01

during 1980 to ‘84.

00:12:03

Before he answers,

00:12:04

Ms. Mayarani: Yes. Prof. Vijayan: I would like to say that

00:12:06

he was a very good active participant and supporter for all…all activities.

00:12:10

It so happened that there is an award given to him

00:12:13

which was signed by me,

00:12:15

because we were…we had a Research Scholars Association,

00:12:18

and even in that faculty members participated,

00:12:20

including senior people like

00:12:22

Professor Sobhanadri.

00:12:23

Sir, you can elaborate on…

00:12:24

Yeah, we used to have some quiz programmes,

00:12:27

and sometimes, lectures by students or research scholars also.

00:12:31

Even if it is half an hour,

00:12:32

they used to come and say

00:12:34

what they want to do and things like that.

00:12:36

So, one year, we had a competition,

00:12:41

in that competition,

00:12:42

even B.Tech. students from the other departments came and participated.

00:12:47

Professor R. Srinivasan was very active as a quizmaster.

00:12:50

Many of the research scholars including Vijayan,

00:12:52

was there at that time. It was interesting.

00:12:55

But it did not continue for several years you know.

00:12:58

As Head of the Department, I had some interest in such things,

00:13:02

so I allowed it, I encouraged it rather, not then,

00:13:05

Prof. Sobhanadri: everybody will allow, only thing is if you encourage, there may... Ms. Mayarani: Yes.

00:13:08

Prof. Sobhanadri: people like Vijayan who will come forward to do such things. Ms. Mayarani: Yes.

00:13:11

So it is sustained for only few years

00:13:13

I think. After that now,

00:13:14

they…you don’t have any vibrations or any such things.

00:13:17

Prof. Vijayan: Other activities and there…yeah, Ms. Mayarani: There were…

00:13:18

this is the one of those…that old certificate.

00:13:21

Prof. Vijayan: That is Prof. Sobhanadri: That was in ‘84.

00:13:23

Senior Professor in Head of the Department

00:13:25

Prof. Vijayan: getting a certificate from a research scholar…that is the situation. Prof. Sobhanadri: That is what I am [indistinct]

00:13:29

That shows how the senior faculty members also participated

00:13:32

Prof. Sobhanadri: Participated. Prof. Vijayan: in these activities, interesting activities,

00:13:35

extracurricular activities in the department, with the enthusiasm.

00:13:39

No, I…I think the…that trend continued until the ‘90s also.

00:13:44

Only after the ‘90s, some change has

00:13:47

started coming in…like competition and things like that,

00:13:51

and once the 2000 year has come, it even more difficult.

00:13:57

Before 2000, it was different, before ‘95 it was different,

00:14:01

before 1960, it was even different.

00:14:07

Also, could you please tell your other experiences in the campus,

00:14:11

like we have a very nice campus and

00:14:13

what are the…like, other than teaching and research,

00:14:17

Ms. Mayarani: can you tell some good memories Prof. Sobhanadri: Yeah,

00:14:20

or good experiences that you have had in the

00:14:22

Ms. Mayarani: department. Prof. Sobhanadri: See and…those interests vary

00:14:23

Prof. Sobhanadri: from person to person; Ms. Mayarani: Yes.

00:14:25

Prof. Sobhanadri: There were some people who are interested to be wardens, Ms. Mayarani: Yes.

00:14:28

Prof. Sobhanadri: some people who are interested in games and sports. Ms. Mayarani: Yes.

00:14:31

Like that it varies you know,

00:14:33

I was not associated with wardenship

00:14:35

or any of those activities.

00:14:37

I used to take interest in sports;

00:14:40

outdoor games or indoor games, like that.

00:14:43

Prof. Vijayan: You have stayed… Prof. Sobhanadri: We…we used to have a staff club also,

00:14:45

even now it is there.

00:14:46

Prof. Vijayan: You had stayed in the campus with family for a number of years. Prof. Sobhanadri: Yeah.

00:14:48

I think probably your children were born and brought up here?

00:14:52

Right, right, all the children were educated in IIT only.

00:14:56

We had two schools at that time: Vanvani School was there,

00:14:59

even now, Vanvani School there, Central School is there, CBSE

00:15:02

even now it is there.

00:15:04

So all my daughters got educated in campus only.

00:15:07

Then for colleges, they went to city.

00:15:09

We had good colleges also.

00:15:12

And then, two of them studied in IIT also.

00:15:17

All…all of them worked in IIT, two of them studied M.Sc..

00:15:19

Prof. Vijayan: Oh, I see. Prof. Sobhanadri: One M.Sc. Chemistry,

00:15:21

and one M.Sc. Mathematics.

00:15:23

My eldest daughter Nirmala studied M.Sc. Mathematics.

00:15:26

Prof. Vijayan: Oh, I see.

00:15:27

She did M…actually, she worked in the Computer Centre also.

00:15:31

The Computer Centre I think 19…

00:15:35

What time? ‘80s.

00:15:38

Around that time, they got…

00:15:39

Prof. Sobhanadri: they got the IBM mainframe system. Prof. Vijayan: Yes, yes.

00:15:42

She just completed her M.Sc. and joined the Computer Centre.

00:15:45

She worked with the IBM mainframe, at that time.

00:15:49

Prof. Sobhanadri: The eldest daughter. Prof. Vijayan: Nice.

00:15:51

So…nowadays you may not be using the mainframe,

00:15:54

Prof. Sobhanadri: you may not know Prof. Vijayan: Yeah yeah.

00:15:55

also, what a mainframe is also.

00:15:57

That was the time when mainframe was there in the Computer Centre.

00:16:00

How was social life at that time with your family and other members?

00:16:04

Social life was much better because,

00:16:06

number was much less,

00:16:07

so, we know each other personally,

00:16:09

Ms. Mayarani: Yes. Prof. Sobhanadri: Even families,

00:16:10

they used to meet quite often also.

00:16:13

So, life is not very fast at that time.

00:16:16

So we had time to spare in the evening, sometimes meeting.

00:16:20

In their house, or in clubhouse, like that.

00:16:24

The buses, campus buses used to take people up to Adyar those days.

00:16:28

Prof. Sobhanadri: Correct. Prof. Vijayan: Some people used to go for shopping.

00:16:30

That is true.

00:16:31

Actually, in the beginning, I didn’t get the quarters.

00:16:34

We used to…we have a house in Adyar,

00:16:36

We used to stay there.

00:16:38

And once the quarters got ready, then I moved there.

00:16:42

That was ‘70s I think, ‘70s.

00:16:47

The first quarters I stayed was…now

00:16:50

you call it as a ‘doctor’s quarters’ I think, opposite Central School.

00:16:54

Prof. Sobhanadri: They have some quarters. Prof. Vijayan: Yes, yes.

00:16:55

In that, I stayed C1-10-20 I think that’s the number.

00:17:00

Sir, could you remember different projects that you were involved

00:17:03

with during your career…like different research projects.

00:17:10

We have a…I…there is a

00:17:11

Prof. Vijayan: Yeah, there is a list. Prof. Sobhanadri: There is a project,

00:17:12

Professor Subramaniam gave a project projection.

00:17:15

Prof. Sobhanadri: The…the project. Prof. Vijayan: The general outline of

00:17:17

Prof. Vijayan: major work. Ms. Mayarani: Outline… Prof. Sobhanadri: Yeah, yeah, the major project.

00:17:20

The…the project culture was not there in the beginning in IIT,

00:17:23

because it was newly started.

00:17:25

But somehow, I got this idea of

00:17:28

applying for projects and getting it.

00:17:30

I was the first person for the entire IIT to get projects.

00:17:33

Prof. Vijayan: Oh, I see. Prof. Sobhanadri: To think of projects.

00:17:35

Then the Director was also thinking, what to do with this project?

00:17:38

Who will organize them? Who will manage them?

00:17:41

So, they…they identified a Deputy Director,

00:17:43

there was no ICSR at that time.

00:17:45

So Professor Sampath was the Deputy Director.

00:17:48

He took part in,

00:17:50

and he also interested in…both of us have some common interests

00:17:54

also; microwaves, electronics and things like that.

00:17:57

So he was in charge of the project.

00:17:58

The first project was a CSIR project,

00:18:02

to develop the nuclear quadrupole resonance:

00:18:04

NQR. And that was a big success.

00:18:08

Then, I got another defence project,

00:18:10

that was for microwave…development of the microwave range.

00:18:15

That started the Microwave Laboratory actually.

00:18:18

So these two projects

00:18:19

were the first projects which were organized by the

00:18:24

department, and they were good.

00:18:27

The people have done very well,

00:18:29

they are doing very well.

00:18:31

You had colleagues like Professor Murthi and Professor Rama Rao,

00:18:36

Prof. Vijayan: you might have interacted with them at that time... Prof. Sobhanadri: Yeah, yeah.

00:18:39

Professor Rama Rao has joined when

00:18:40

Prof. Sobhanadri: the department has grown sufficiently well. Prof. Vijayan: Oh okay.

00:18:43

So he joined as a Assistant Professor

00:18:45

and he got…with some experience in US also,

00:18:49

Before coming here.

00:18:51

And I was working NQR till then, but his field was NQR,

00:18:55

so I didn’t take any other students after that on NQR.

00:18:59

NQR was completely developed by

00:19:01

Professor Rama Rao.

00:19:02

You can say that in those days,

00:19:05

myself, Professor S. B. S. Sastry,

00:19:07

Professor Y. V. G. S. Murthi,

00:19:09

Rama Rao…K. V. S. Rama Rao;

00:19:11

they were the young and active people in the department,

00:19:13

trying to take it forward.

00:19:22

Prof. Vijayan: What were your main hobbies apart from… Prof. Sobhanadri: Main hobbies

00:19:25

Prof. Sobhanadri: is playing indoor games like carroms and chess, Prof. Vijayan: Oh, oh I see.

00:19:29

Outdoor games like badminton, cricket, mainly.

00:19:35

Ms. Mayarani: Could you share some

00:19:40

Prof. Vijayan: Anecdotes, Ms. Mayarani: Yeah.

00:19:41

Prof. Vijayan: incidents. Ms. Mayarani: Yes, yes, incidents.

00:19:42

Yeah, yeah, I…I want to start from my childhood,

00:19:45

Prof. Sobhanadri: probably that is better. Ms. Mayarani: Yes, yeah,

00:19:46

See I was born and brought up in a small place

00:19:49

called Vijayawada. Now it is a big place.

00:19:51

It was Bezawada on those days.

00:19:53

I was born and brought up in Vijayawada.

00:19:56

I studied in the school…in those days,

00:19:58

we don’t have elementary school.

00:20:00

I went to the school first time in…for the 5th class.

00:20:04

So 5th to 10th class, we were in the school.

00:20:07

Then, that was a municipal high school.

00:20:09

Not any convent like what you have these days.

00:20:12

Telugu medium…Telugu medium.

00:20:14

But then, afterwards, I went to a college.

00:20:17

Private college; intermediate that is called…plus 2 is intermediate those days.

00:20:21

SRR and CVR College in Vijayawada.

00:20:25

So, that was the first 15 years of my life

00:20:29

staying in Vijayawada only,

00:20:31

studying in the school and the college and after that 1952,

00:20:36

I moved to Andhra University.

00:20:38

Andhra University ‘52 to ’62: 10 years.

00:20:41

At that time, it was a leading university…even now,

00:20:44

Prof. Vijayan: it is a…it has its name. Prof. Sobhanadri: Yeah, yeah,

00:20:45

it is…even now it is university.

00:20:49

About the main problem over the years is

00:20:52

IITs have developed as a cosmopolitan institute.

00:20:55

There you don’t think whether you belong to

00:20:57

Prof. Sobhanadri: Andhra or whether you belong to Prof. Vijayan: Yes, yes.

00:21:00

Tamil Nadu or…like that.

00:21:01

Whereas in the university, that culture has not gone fully.

00:21:07

Then there was one more thing that I noticed in the university,

00:21:13

the…there is a competition between people,

00:21:16

which was somehow very strong in those days.

00:21:21

I didn’t like it,

00:21:22

and that is why I have grown differently

00:21:24

when I joined IIT, see,

00:21:25

I never encouraged that in IIT.

00:21:28

See, for example, in those days,

00:21:30

Professor C. V. Raman was a big scientist.

00:21:32

If there is a student of Professor C. V. Raman,

00:21:35

he will control the whole country.

00:21:38

Professor Bhagavantam was his student.

00:21:41

My teacher was Professor Rangadhama Rao.

00:21:44

I have a photo also here.

00:21:50

I think I have given it to you.

00:21:54

Professor K. Rangadhama Rao.

00:21:56

He is the…he was a Principal,

00:21:59

Head of the Physics Department,

00:22:01

he is a well-known spectroscopist,

00:22:03

And he…he worked there until 1972.

00:22:07

So, Professor Bhagavantam,

00:22:10

Professor…I want to tell you olden time politics,

00:22:13

so that you also try to avoid those things these days.

00:22:16

When I come to the present day, I want to ins…

00:22:19

I want to suggest at least, that competition…

00:22:23

we are competing with the world around.

00:22:25

Prof. Sobhanadri: Not between the Vijayan and Subramanian. Prof. Vijayan: Yeah.

00:22:29

So, we must have that type of a [indistinct] whereas, in those days,

00:22:33

he is Professor C. V. Raman’s student

00:22:36

so all the students were taken by him.

00:22:38

So then he doesn’t have students to

00:22:40

even work with him.

00:22:42

So slowly the trend started…stopped.

00:22:45

Then, when he became Professor,

00:22:48

the trend also continued,

00:22:49

but we joined about that time…research scholar.

00:22:52

Then, I noticed and we also heard about this,

00:22:55

So we all made a decision that we should not behave like this.

00:23:00

There was no talking between two research scholars.

00:23:03

If you are working with [indistinct] Vijayan

00:23:05

and he is working with me, you don’t talk at all.

00:23:07

So that used to be the culture in the earlier days,

00:23:11

Prof. Sobhanadri: and that should be avoided even now. Prof. Vijayan: Yes.

00:23:13

Prof. Sobhanadri: See if it is there, Prof. Vijayan: Yeah.

00:23:15

you must take care of that.

00:23:16

It is not a bad…good thing…it is not a good thing.

00:23:19

So that is how he has been a good Professor, we liked him.

00:23:22

He continued only in spectroscopy

00:23:25

and then he started the Microwave Laboratory himself

00:23:29

in Andhra University, Microwave Laboratory was first started

00:23:32

in the country in Andhra University.

00:23:34

About that time, there was a…in North India, M. N. Saha and others

00:23:39

were there…these age group only.

00:23:41

They also thought of doing…Krishnaji, there are other Professors

00:23:44

also, but Microwave Lab idea came in Andhra University,

00:23:49

as a development of the spectroscopy.

00:23:52

Sir, it might have been very difficult as you earlier pointed out,

00:23:56

that, if you had to do a simple measurement,

00:23:58

you had to take your sample and go to another place

00:24:01

and do the measurement and come back.

00:24:03

So, what was the driving force which kept you

00:24:08

going with all the difficulties; whenever these kind of difficulties came?

00:24:12

That was only in the first 2 years, okay.

00:24:15

Prof. Sobhanadri: That is not…not the rest of the 30 years. Ms. Mayarani: Yes.

00:24:17

Only first 2 years,

00:24:19

when we were developing in IIT Madras,

00:24:21

Prof. Sobhanadri: buildings were not ready, what to do? Ms. Mayarani: Yes.

00:24:23

See, as he was telling,

00:24:25

M.Sc. Physics was started in 1964. ‘64 only,

00:24:31

Because ’62, the buildings have started construction,

00:24:34

the HSB block came only around ’63 -‘64.

00:24:38

Then, Electro…M.Sc. was started,

00:24:41

that is how I get the credit for doing the M.Sc. Electronics part.

00:24:45

First 2-3 years, I didn’t learn myself M.Sc. Electronics, as a student.

00:24:50

But, when the first batch came,

00:24:52

Prof. Sobhanadri: I was ready to take M.Sc. Electronics course. Prof. Vijayan: Okay.

00:24:55

It was started like that,

00:24:57

then in the HSB block 2nd floor, I think even now,

00:25:00

you have the Electronics Lab there probably.

00:25:03

I don’t know with the changes now,

00:25:05

we have the M.Sc. Electronics…M.Sc. Physics

00:25:08

course started at that time.

00:25:10

And so we were all the faculty members: myself,

00:25:13

S. B. S, Y. V. G. S., Professor Ramasastry was there,

00:25:16

Professor Ramaseshan also joined,

00:25:17

he was also taking the courses.

00:25:19

So it went on well,

00:25:21

so, since the equipment was not ready,

00:25:24

I got some data collected earlier.

00:25:27

That we used with the M.Sc. students also.

00:25:30

And for Ph.D., Hariharan who belongs to the first batch has to go to Kanpur.

00:25:35

Subsequently we have done in Madras itself.

00:25:42

We have an ESR Lab even now, you know,

00:25:44

Prof. Sobhanadri: with the AEG instruments is there, in Physics Department. Prof Vijayan: Physics.

00:25:48

Before that, the Special Instrument Lab was started.

00:25:52

That is by…RSIC. Now it has a different name

00:25:56

Prof. Sobhanadri: I think, Sophisticated Instrumental Lab. Prof. Vijayan: Yes.

00:25:58

There we got [indistinct] equipment.

00:26:00

Prof. Sobhanadri: Lot of equipment has come. Prof. Vijayan: Yes.

00:26:02

And we were the first people

00:26:04

Prof. Sobhanadri: to use that also, because of my experience in ESR, Prof. Vijayan: Yeah.

00:26:07

Prof. Sobhanadri: I was the person who used that instrument. Prof. Vijayan: Yeah.

00:26:10

In RSIC, in the Chemistry Department.

00:26:12

And Suryanarayana, Kumaraswamy,

00:26:15

they were the people who did ESR work.

00:26:17

When I was a student, we used to have lot of conferences here,

00:26:21

this is…this photo is from one of those conferences.

00:26:24

Both at national level and international level.

00:26:27

Prof. Vijayan: You may be remembering the first few conferences Prof. Sobhanadri: Yeah.

00:26:30

which were held.

00:26:31

See. in the first, we wanted to do a solid state physics conference,

00:26:39

by inviting people in the southern region

00:26:42

who are interested in develop solid-state physics.

00:26:45

So that was a small conference,

00:26:48

Professor Ramasastry took lot of interest in that.

00:26:50

People from Andhra University area came,

00:26:54

IISc also some people came,

00:26:56

Madras University people also came.

00:26:59

It was a good success,

00:27:01

because the number was less,

00:27:03

the people are really interested to learn

00:27:05

Prof. Vijayan: Yes yes. Prof. Sobhanadri: something and develop their own departments.

00:27:07

So it was a success,

00:27:09

and that is how it…the activities slowly improved.

00:27:12

The research scholars also would be inspired by hearing

00:27:15

Prof. Sobhanadri: Yeah, yeah that is right. Prof. Vijayan: these presentations and all.

00:27:17

Even M.Sc. students; we were volunteers in those

00:27:20

Prof. Sobhanadri: Correct, correct, correct. Prof. Vijayan: conferences.

00:27:21

We also were benefited by

00:27:23

being exposed to lectures by many participants,

00:27:27

junior scientists and senior professors and all that.

00:27:30

That is true.

00:27:31

Many of the M.Sc. students who were interested in these projects,

00:27:34

they were willing to develop the equipment also

00:27:37

Prof. Vijayan: Yeah, yeah. Prof. Sobhanadri: in those days, and so some

00:27:39

electronic computer is another…

00:27:42

the computer programming

00:27:43

has also developed very fast in the department.

00:27:46

I can say in ‘70s itself it started.

00:27:48

When Kumaraswamy was one of the research scholars,

00:27:52

He…he did in ESR,

00:27:54

Peof. Sobhanadri: he did M.Sc. also here. Prof. Vijayan: Oh.

00:27:56

He is senior to you.

00:27:57

Then, he developed a good a control of the computer software,

00:28:02

when the IBM instrument was there at the time.

00:28:05

That was the time when people from other department used to come here

00:28:09

Prof. Vijayan: Oh. Prof. Sobhanadri: and ask him,

00:28:10

Prof. Vijayan: Oh. Prof. Sobhanadri: Not the faculty.

00:28:11

Research scholar Kumaraswamy.

00:28:13

He used to tell them lot of things about how to do that.

00:28:17

In fact, he only helped in our Microwave Laboratory,

00:28:20

to construct, to convert the instrumentation

00:28:23

automatically to electronics.

00:28:26

Earlier, we were taking readings and doing it,

00:28:28

he developed some instrument.

00:28:29

He didn’t work on the microwave bench as such,

00:28:32

Prof. Sobhanadri: but the computer part he has developed. Prof. Vijayan: Okay.

00:28:34

So that is why, in the other laboratories also, these things have developed,

00:28:38

and some chemistry people use to come and interact also.

00:28:43

Chemistry has become a bigger department now,

00:28:45

but those days, they were also interacting with [indistinct].

00:28:48

Talking of the incidents and anecdotes,

00:28:51

you may be remembering the open house was which was

00:28:54

conducted when I was a student.

00:28:55

Yeah, yeah.

00:28:56

Prof. Vijayan: We also had put up something in the lab. Prof. Sobhanadri: Yeah, correct.

00:28:59

Thomas Thundat, who is a

00:29:01

renowned scientist now, Thomas Thundat and myself,

00:29:04

we were your students, project students.

00:29:06

Prof. Vijayan: And we had set up some antenna system, Prof. Sobhanadri: Correct.

00:29:10

Prof. Vijayan: where we sent the… Prof. Sobhanadri: That is correct, yes.

00:29:11

Prof. Vijayan: use microwaves as a modulating wave. Prof. Sobhanadri: Yes, yeah, yeah.

00:29:14

Yes, the…I think that it was close to the silver jubilee year

00:29:18

I think. You were here

00:29:18

Prof. Vijayan: Yes, yes, yes. Prof. Sobhanadri: at the time of silver jubilee,

00:29:20

Prof. Sobhanadri: you know. Prof. Vijayan: Yeah yeah

00:29:21

Close to the silver jubilee year, we wanted to have an open house,

00:29:24

in which developments in the department

00:29:28

were shown there.

00:29:29

Prof. Sobhanadri: One of the things is the parabolic antenna. Prof. Vijayan: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

00:29:31

Prof. Sobhanadri: See, now you see Prof. Vijayan: We were assistants

00:29:32

Prof. Sobhanadri: everywhere parabolas, but those days it was a new thing. Prof. Vijayan: Yeah, yeah.

00:29:35

So we somewhere got a parabolic

00:29:37

Prof. Sobhanadri: antenna, put a microwave in, Prof. Vijayan: Yeah, yeah.

00:29:39

somebody who is speaking here,

00:29:41

somebody who is able to hear elsewhere.

00:29:44

Prof. Sobhanadri: There is no connection in the air also. Prof. Vijayan: Yes, yes, yes, yes.

00:29:46

Prof. Sobhanadri: I mean the direct connection is not there. Prof. Vijayan: Yeah, yeah.

00:29:49

So that was an exciting experiment.

00:29:51

Prof. Vijayan: Microwave propagation through atmosphere. Prof. Sobhanadri: Propagation through atmosphere, yes.

00:29:54

Prof. Vijayan: And we used to block it and show

00:29:55

Prof. Sobhanadri: Yeah, yeah. Prof. Vijayan: that…we used to play a song and the music stops when we

00:29:58

Prof. Sobhanadri: right, right that is correct. Prof. Vijayan: stop the

00:30:00

Prof. Vijayan: that was…that attracted lot of people in the open house. Prof. Sobhanadri: Yes, yes, yes.

00:30:03

That was the time when this parabolic antenna

00:30:05

concept was introduced. Of course it was a…extended.

00:30:09

Prof. Vijayan: Some of the people in this photo are here. Prof. Sobhanadri: Yeah

00:30:12

that is Kumaraswamy on the left side there.

00:30:15

He is Kumaraswamy, next is Jeyaraj,

00:30:18

next is Khanna…

00:30:19

That is our Hariharan, the first student,

00:30:22

next is myself.

00:30:24

The others are participants.

00:30:27

This lady was very helpful in the technical development of the…

00:30:30

Oh, oh, oh.

00:30:31

Mrs. Bharthi, she must be somewhere here, she is retired now.

00:30:34

Yes, yes, she was there, she work in the department for several years.

00:30:38

Jayashree was there, our T. S. Natarajan is there, you can see there.

00:30:42

Oh, this…this last.

00:30:44

Next to him…T. S. Natarajan, yes.

00:30:47

Prof. Vijayan: He is now Registrar of IIT Tirupathi after retirement from here. Prof. Sobhanadri: Yeah, yeah, correct.

00:30:54

This is another photo.

00:30:58

Prof. Sobhanadri: You can recognise. Prof. Vijayan: Professor Subramanian I can see, Professor Subramanian.

00:31:01

Prof. Sobhanadri: Professor V. R. K. Murthy, Professor Subramanyam, Prof. Vijayan: Yeah.

00:31:03

Professor Murugavel, Sivasubramaniam.

00:31:06

Prof. Sobhanadri: K. M. Prof. Vijayan: There is Professor V. R. K. Murthy at the middle,

00:31:08

Prof. Sobhanadri: Yeah, next to him is James. Prof. Vijayan: next is Professor Sivasubramaniam.

00:31:11

James is a Professor in the Central University Hyderabad now.

00:31:13

And he is in the Hyderabad University right.

00:31:15

Hyderabad University.

00:31:15

He is in Hyderabad University.

00:31:17

The two ladies are in TCS,

00:31:20

Prof. Sobhanadri: Madhurima is also here, he is the daughter of our V. S. Murthy. Prof. Vijayan: V. S. Murthy.

00:31:23

V. S. Murthy.

00:31:24

And Madhurima is now an Assistant Professor

00:31:26

in the…the Central University of Tamil Nadu.

00:31:29

Central University of Tamil Nadu, yes.

00:31:30

Next to Professor Sobhanadri.

00:31:33

So that was a good photo.

00:31:36

Long, long back.

00:31:37

Yeah, yeah this has got many people.

00:31:46

Sir, what do you think about the vision for future?

00:31:50

What kind of courses we should have for M.Sc.s,

00:31:53

should we change the classical style of teaching physics…

00:31:58

M.Sc. physics course, or the some electives should be there,

00:32:01

how…what is your view?

00:32:03

Now, first thing is, basics must be there,

00:32:07

so M.Sc. physics course by itself should be there.

00:32:10

And second year only the project part can be started.

00:32:14

Now you have so many areas.

00:32:16

Even vacation time, students are willing to

00:32:18

Prof. Vijayan: Yeah that is, Prof. Sobhanadri: work and learn it,

00:32:19

so they must use an extra time to learn that.

00:32:22

Not at the expense of the coursework.

00:32:24

Yes of course.

00:32:24

Coursework…unless you have a solid base,

00:32:27

you cannot, it takes a lot of readings,

00:32:29

Prof. Sobhanadri: you don’t know what is the meaning of the readings. Ms. Mayarani: Yes

00:32:31

That is how things are going.

00:32:33

So it is important

00:32:35

to give basic stuff.

00:32:36

For example, the five-year integrated course:

00:32:39

B.Tech. Engineering in Physics, has come.

00:32:42

It is an important course.

00:32:44

The many students are taking interest in that.

00:32:47

There are many students who are coming up very well also

00:32:49

in that, because they are learning

00:32:52

the subject first one or two years,

00:32:54

then, going into the physics and applications side.

00:32:57

So…academics should be always there you know,

00:33:00

that is important.

00:33:02

Do you have any other remembrances,

00:33:04

anecdotes or incidents which you would like to share?

00:33:10

So, we…we use to have a departmental seminar where

00:33:15

Prof. Sobhanadri: research scholars in…for the laboratory used to come and talk. Prof. Vijayan: Oh, yes yes yes.

00:33:19

All the others also used to

00:33:20

hear those lectures. That way, you will have advantage

00:33:25

for improving and interacting.

00:33:29

Nowadays, it is…you have to

00:33:31

Prof. Sobhanadri: have a good expression of what you have done. Prof. Vijayan: Yes.

00:33:34

If you just do silently, it is not advantage,

00:33:36

you must also express it clearly to others,

00:33:40

so that they will appreciate what you are doing it.

00:33:42

So a seminar is a very important thing that

00:33:45

should be encouraged.

00:33:48

What are the things the new students or

00:33:51

the newcomer here and new students here,

00:33:53

new generation won’t under…

00:33:55

we won’t remember is that we had lot of

00:33:57

collaboration and support from Germany.

00:33:59

For example, we have a visitor from Germany,

00:34:02

Prof. Vijayan: I am sure during your time also Prof. Sobhanadri: Yes, yes.

00:34:04

Prof. Vijayan: here a lot of people would have visited from Germany. Prof. Sobhanadri: We also used to have a lot of visitors from Germany,

00:34:09

And the…that also,

00:34:14

see, I think if I go back into the old thing,

00:34:18

there are two types of visits.

00:34:21

Some people who used to join IIT,

00:34:23

they look for a trip to Germany.

00:34:25

Because those days,

00:34:27

Prof. Sobhanadri: they used to give a DAAD Fellowship, Ms. Mayarani: Yes.

00:34:29

Prof. Sobhanadri: and they send you, one 3 months trip they used to send, Prof. Vijayan: Still some students...

00:34:33

so that you can learn something and do it here.

00:34:36

People used to go there…

00:34:39

3 months are over.

00:34:40

Not many have spent

00:34:42

Prof. Sobhanadri: usefully here. Prof. Vijayan: Successfully, yeah.

00:34:44

I…I have a small theory, whether this is correct or not…

00:34:49

whatever investment you do,

00:34:51

the benefit you see is out of 20 percent.

00:34:54

The rest of it…we have lot of population in the country.

00:34:57

Are you getting the benefit of all the people in the country? No.

00:35:01

If 20 percent of the people are good,

00:35:03

we are happy.

00:35:05

We can improve.

00:35:06

So the same thing continues with this also;

00:35:09

with the faculty also.

00:35:10

I mean I…I am not saying I am a very good faculty member,

00:35:14

there are many people much better than me also,

00:35:17

but you must always have a motivation

00:35:20

to do something that you can do to

00:35:22

grow the department, rather than spend the time here,

00:35:26

morning 10 to 4, and then go back.

00:35:29

That type of attitude if this 20 percent

00:35:32

can be made at 30 percent,

00:35:34

Prof. Sobhanadri: we may be better at least in the Asian part. South Asia is a... Prof. Vijayan: Yeah.

00:35:37

We are now competing with

00:35:38

Prof. Vijayan: Now we are… Prof. Sobhanadri: China, Japan

00:35:40

Korea. Korea is what…smaller than even Tamil Nadu.

00:35:45

But still, we use Korean cars.

00:35:47

We don’t use our own cars.

00:35:49

So this has to come out.

00:35:51

I have written an article long long back. See,

00:35:54

I think I gave it. It was pub...

00:35:57

‘Education in Universities.’

00:35:59

1984 or ’85; 30 years have gone.

00:36:02

Is there any improvement?

00:36:05

We have to see whether that improvement is there or not. Otherwise,

00:36:08

we have not progressed, you see.

00:36:10

‘Education environment in the universities.’

00:36:14

Universities is the place where you have more number of students.

00:36:18

IITs 5 are there, now 15 or 20

00:36:20

maybe there, but many of these students come out

00:36:24

from the universities. unless you have a good base in the

00:36:27

universities. Your population will not be good enough.

00:36:30

We hear about…

00:36:32

elections are over, people fight,

00:36:35

that type of a thing should be there only for improving the

00:36:39

country as a whole, not for “I should get it,

00:36:42

you should get it.” It is not for a personal interest.

00:36:44

That type of a culture should grow in the mind.

00:36:47

Then only, the country as a whole can improve.

00:36:52

Maybe…you have experience, like you have been to outside India and then,

00:36:58

you have seen different work culture and

00:37:00

Ms. Mayarani: you have worked outside India also. Prof. Sobhanadri: Yeah.

00:37:03

So, sir, what kind of difference did you feel from

00:37:07

working in IIT like…a system like IIT and outside India and

00:37:12

Prof. Sobhanadri: No, all said and done, Ms. Mayarani:Yeah.

00:37:14

Madras IIT has a cultural background which is still maintained.

00:37:20

Ms. Mayarani: Yes. Prof. Sobhanadri: If you go to other places,

00:37:22

some of the negative things that I am pointing out,

00:37:25

you see more prominently there.

00:37:27

So, we must be able to see that those things will not infiltrate into our

00:37:31

cultural atmosphere.

00:37:33

So, I don’t say that there is another place which is

00:37:37

very, very good and ours is very very bad.

00:37:39

The people inside must have the strong feeling

00:37:43

to improve upon that. See, in the earlier days,

00:37:46

We used to have some visitors from Germany.

00:37:50

They used to come, spend 3 months or 4 months,

00:37:52

after that they go away. Subsequently,

00:37:55

development is to be done by ourselves only,

00:37:57

Prof. Sobhanadri: we have to do that. Ms. Mayarani: (softly) Yes, yes.

00:37:59

For example, if I go back to my old association,

00:38:04

when I was in the department,

00:38:06

I used to interact with Chemistry Department,

00:38:09

very much.

00:38:10

I used to interact with the Electrical Engineering Department very much.

00:38:13

Because, we need chemicals for doing

00:38:15

Prof. Sobhanadri: the experiments. Ms. Mayarani: Yes.

00:38:17

They are the better people than us.

00:38:19

Electrical Engineering, they have some equipment, better than…

00:38:21

for example, this microwave bench,

00:38:23

when I joined, it was already existing

00:38:26

in Electrical Engineering Department.

00:38:27

They didn’t know how to open it.

00:38:28

Professor Sampath asked me to come there

00:38:32

and initiate the work. That is how we both have become

00:38:34

good interactions. He is [indistinct]

00:38:37

and he used to encourage me a lot.

00:38:39

So the first microwave experiment

00:38:40

I have done in Electrical Engineering Department.

00:38:43

Similarly, a few years later,

00:38:46

they used to have a set up called molecular beam epitaxy.

00:38:52

That was obtained by Professor Kakati.

00:38:55

And for some reason, he would not manage it,

00:38:57

and he left.

00:38:59

He came to me and requested me to take care of that project.

00:39:03

It was all in the boxes only at that stage.

00:39:06

Professor Indiresan was the Director of that time.

00:39:09

He somehow had a good impression about me,

00:39:12

and we have not met before

00:39:13

that, but the way our department was going on

00:39:16

and people are also interacting with me without quarrels,

00:39:20

he thought I may be able to do that.

00:39:22

So he advised me to take up that project.

00:39:25

So I was associated with the molecular beam epitaxy;

00:39:29

which is growing a thin film,

00:39:31

single crystal.

00:39:33

Prof. Vijayan: Okay. Prof. Sobhanadri: Single crystal thin films.

00:39:35

MBA, you must be all familiar

00:39:37

Prof. Vijayan: Yeah, yeah yes. Prof. Sobhanadri: now, you are all experts in this area.

00:39:39

At those time, we didn’t know what is MBA also.

00:39:42

I…I took the credit…not that I know MBA,

00:39:45

I went there, I learnt it, I took the help of

00:39:48

research scholars like you, [Indistinct]

00:39:50

was there.

00:39:51

Then, Suresh Babu was there.

00:39:54

I…we took the help of the research scholars,

00:39:56

myself, and worked hard.

00:39:58

and made the system work.

00:40:00

That was the credit

00:40:01

because that was the first time MBA was growing in the country.

00:40:06

Country as a whole.

00:40:08

Then, the person who worked in that,

00:40:10

he is now working in SSPL: Srinivasan.

00:40:13

Yes, yes, yes.

00:40:15

So, many of your students later become a good scientist all over.

00:40:20

The NPL administration…

00:40:23

Are you in touch with them still, now?

00:40:24

Oh, yes.

00:40:26

I am in touch with everybody.

00:40:28

Yeah, they had a get together last time,

00:40:31

Prof. Vijayan: a few years back with you remember that? Prof. Sobhanadri: Correct correct.

00:40:36

Yeah…Professor Subramanian and…yes…

00:40:41

Prof. Vijayan: Sir, this is the same Prof. Sobhanadri: What we have seen there,

00:40:43

Prof. Sobhanadri: Subramanian setting up the laboratory there, Prof. Vijayan: Yeah, yeah.

00:40:47

I…and I didn’t tell me…tell you that I have been abroad also, you know.

00:40:51

I have not told you.

00:40:53

I…I Doctor A. Ramachandran,

00:40:57

who built this Heritage building…

00:41:00

who advised, not that he…

00:41:02

Prof. Sobhanadri: he was behind this idea, you know. Prof. Vijayan: I see, yeah

00:41:04

He was the Director of IIT.

00:41:07

He called me one day,

00:41:08

everybody is going to Germany, DAAD Fellowship

00:41:11

and like that, “Why are you not going?”

00:41:14

Then I told him

00:41:15

“I want to develop my base here first,

00:41:18

then I want to go as a Humboldt fellow,

00:41:20

rather than a DAAD fellow.”

00:41:22

Prof. Sobhanadri: Humboldt is a prestigious. Prof. Vijayan: Yeah, it is more prestigious.

00:41:25

And then, after this first 3 years the laboratory has developed,

00:41:30

I applied for the Humboldt Fellowship, I got it.

00:41:33

I was the first to get in the science departments.

00:41:36

Engineering departments,

00:41:37

again, I am always critical about the engineering department,

00:41:41

not many engineers

00:41:42

are here. They used to go to DAAD Fellowship,

00:41:45

make a friend with the local German fellow,

00:41:47

Then after 1 year or so,

00:41:49

also ask for the Humboldt Fellowship.

00:41:51

Go there, they come back,

00:41:53

then they think oh

00:41:54

there are some dean vacancies or

00:41:56

something…Head of the Department vacancies,

00:41:58

let us go there.

00:41:59

So, there was no development in the laboratory,

00:42:02

there are many people like that.

00:42:03

I used to tell them directly, not that I am telling here today.

00:42:06

I used to tell them, “You must develop this here

00:42:09

rather than going there and coming back.”

00:42:12

So, coming back,

00:42:15

when Doctor Ramachandran was the Director,

00:42:17

I told him that I will not go

00:42:19

unless…I will develop these two labs,

00:42:21

I will go by Humboldt Fellowship.

00:42:23

I went to Humboldt Fellowship to Germany.

00:42:25

That Professor is not shown here, Professor [indistinct]

00:42:28

is the name. I worked there in NQR,

00:42:31

because I just finished Ramamohan’s work here,

00:42:34

I went there, worked on NQR...that was bromine.

00:42:37

Here we did chlorine, there we did bromine, NQR.

00:42:41

So it was the next step.

00:42:42

Chlorine is a 30 megahertz; this is 100 - 150 megahertz.

00:42:48

Prof. Sobhanadri: Electronics is very difficult. Ms. Mayarani: Yes yes.

00:42:50

Prof. Sobhanadri: It is…in those days. Prof. Vijayan: Yes, yes.

00:42:52

So, I worked there and came back, but then,

00:42:54

by the time, Rama Rao, K. V. S. Rama Rao has joined here.

00:42:57

So I thought NQR let him do, and I concentrated on…this…

00:43:02

Prof. Vijayan: Magnetic resonance. Prof. Sobhanadri: Magnetic resonance and Microwave Laboratory,

00:43:04

mostly Microwave Laboratory.

00:43:06

Subsequently also, I went there.

00:43:08

That was when I developed this molecular dynamics

00:43:12

Prof. Sobhanadri: involving polymers. Prof. Vijayan: Yes.

00:43:14

In the subsequent visit to Germany, I went there

00:43:18

Prof. Sobhanadri: and molecular dynamics part was developed, Prof. Vijayan: Yeah.

00:43:21

both, there were some students who worked on that.

00:43:23

Many others in the department also got interested; K. Srinivasan,

00:43:27

he also got interested in that.

00:43:29

So it was developed in a very big way in the department.

00:43:33

Prof. Vijayan: It became a very important branch of study. Prof. Sobhanadri: Branches yeah.

00:43:36

Whatever we see there,

00:43:38

we should also keep…think of developing here,

00:43:41

Prof. Sobhanadri: and then, when our areas increase, Prof. Vijayan: Yes, yes.

00:43:44

now, today you can think of many people…nanoparticles you have come.

00:43:48

Prof. Vijayan: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

00:43:49

Nanoparticles was not there at that time,

00:43:51

but slowly one molecule,

00:43:53

small particle, nanoparticle, we have gone in steps.

00:43:57

Like that we have gone.

00:43:58

Similarly, when I went to Germ…US,

00:44:01

Prof. Sobhanadri: that was after I completed my headship…‘85 I think. Prof. Vijayan: Yes.

00:44:05

I went…sabbatical was there in those times.

00:44:08

One year I can go, with salary being paid here.

00:44:11

I went to Notre Dame, University of Notre Dame.

00:44:14

That is where we developed this idea of semiconductors and microwaves

00:44:18

combining together.

00:44:20

That idea was there earlier even in India,

00:44:24

And DSA has given me a project for that.

00:44:26

Vaidynathan, was the person who started that work.

00:44:30

Then, when I got this opportunity, you go to Notre Dame,

00:44:33

I went there, you see an equipment there.

00:44:36

Prof. Sobhanadri: Subramanian was starting…standing there. Prof. Vijayan: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

00:44:42

Yeah. That was the equipment that we have developed.

00:44:45

I think I have given a photograph also

00:44:47

where I actually worked in USA.

00:44:50

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

00:44:52

Prof. Sobhanadri: This is the one. Prof. Vijayan: Yeah.

00:44:55

Prof. Sobhanadri: This is the one, Prof. Vijayan: Yeah

00:44:56

Prof. Vijayan: Yeah, yeah. Prof. Sobhanadri: this is not in India, that was in US.

00:45:01

Prof. Sobhanadri: Notre Dame Laboratory. Prof. Vijayan: Oh, oh.

00:45:03

That is where the microwave wing…they use to develop a cavity,

00:45:09

and the cavity…they are chemistry people.

00:45:11

They worked on organic liquids:

00:45:13

The excited state of the organic liquids.

00:45:16

Since I was already thinking of the semiconductor and exciting it,

00:45:20

Prof. Sobhanadri: we have developed the cavity technique also in… Prof. Vijayan: Yes.

00:45:22

Madras also. I say…I told them, “Let me try with semiconductors.”

00:45:28

Those people were thinking what semiconductors and this,

00:45:30

they don’t go together.

00:45:32

But somehow, they had some confidence in me,

00:45:34

and allowed me to work on that.

00:45:36

This same technique I used by semiconductors.

00:45:40

Zn3P2 zinc phosphide, that is what Suresh Babu developed here,

00:45:44

while working in CSD.

00:45:45

The molecular beam epitaxy and hot wall epitaxy,

00:45:48

two techniques were used for developing thin films.

00:45:51

Zn3P2 was developed here.

00:45:54

Some of the films I took there, and with that,

00:45:57

we did work and of course,

00:45:58

we check on silicon other things, it worked.

00:46:01

Then I wanted to do with the one we have developed here,

00:46:04

it worked very well.

00:46:06

And that was the thing which Subramanian developed in subsequent 5 years.

00:46:10

Oh oh.

00:46:11

There was only 5 years left

00:46:12

before I retire, and he developed that year.

00:46:15

The other thing is,

00:46:18

these liquid part also we have done here.

00:46:21

Before retirement,

00:46:23

I got an excimer laser to the department.

00:46:25

I don’t know whether it is there or not.

00:46:27

Prof. Vijayan: Ah, it’s there.

00:46:27

Excimer laser; that is meant for organic liquids, excited state.

00:46:33

Arathi Rani was working on that.

00:46:36

So we excited the chemical fluorenone was a liquid that we used.

00:46:40

Excited it, we studied both microwave part and also the optical part.

00:46:45

Optical part is also another area that we have developed

00:46:48

by that Notre Dame,

00:46:50

that is copied here also.

00:46:51

He was able to do it here also.

00:46:53

Optical absorption…

00:46:55

for…you…you must be also understanding it very well, say.

00:46:59

Optical absorption as you do from one end to the other end,

00:47:02

Prof. Sobhanadri: you also do the excitement. Prof. Vijayan: Okay.

00:47:04

Laser pulse, you use.

00:47:06

Prof. Sobhanadri: And then, you find out how the time decay is. Prof. Vijayan: Okay okay.

00:47:10

So that part we have done here also.

00:47:12

So that was another thing which is going anywhere,

00:47:15

now coming to what is going on

00:47:17

Prof. Sobhanadri: at the moment here is, this lasers has come very fast Prof. Vijayan: Yes.

00:47:22

In IIT, after my first use of that one.

00:47:25

Chemistry people have overtaken us today.

00:47:28

The reason is chemicals are in their hands.

00:47:31

Prof. Vijayan: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

00:47:32

All the new chemicals, they…they can make it,

00:47:36

do the experiment.

00:47:37

Earlier days, when I was a student,

00:47:39

chemistry people used to come to us.

00:47:41

For taking a spectrum, they don’t know how to take the spectrum,

00:47:45

they used to bring a molecule and do this one,

00:47:47

now, they know both.

00:47:48

If you take our Subramaniam or Manoharan,

00:47:51

Prof. Sobhanadri: They know chemistry as well as instrumentations, Prof. Vijayan: Yes, yes.

00:47:53

Prof. Sobhanadri: They don’t have to depend on the physics people. Prof. Vijayan: Right, right.

00:47:56

Whereas physics people don’t know the chemistry part much.

00:47:59

So as the years passed,

00:48:00

In IIT also, chemistry has become a better department

00:48:04

than physics as far as spectroscopy is concerned.

00:48:07

Spectroscopy, I will say.

00:48:08

Now, situation is changing slowly,

00:48:10

Prof. Vijayan: we have an ultra-fast spectroscopy setup now, Prof. Sobhanadri: Right.

00:48:13

Prof. Vijayan: with an ultra-fast femtosecond laser and all. Prof. Sobhanadri: Right.

00:48:15

Prof. Vijayan: So chemists are coming here to do their samples and all Prof. Sobhanadri: Chemists are coming to help.

00:48:19

Yeah, in other words,

00:48:20

it goes to the first thing that I am saying;

00:48:22

Prof. Sobhanadri: it has to be interdisciplinary only. Prof. Vijayan: Yeah

00:48:24

Prof. Vijayan: that is what I was coming to, yeah, yeah. Prof. Sobhanadri: You are strong in one point,

00:48:26

they are strong in another point, if you all combine together,

00:48:29

something great will come out.

00:48:30

Prof. Vijayan: You will be happy to hear that Prof. Sobhanadri: I will.

00:48:32

Prof. Vijayan: now, we have our interdisciplinary research there. Prof. Sobhanadri: Yes, yes.

00:48:34

The institute has introduced…

00:48:36

they…they take students to interdisciplinary research directly,

00:48:39

not through the department

00:48:40

Prof. Sobhanadri: Very good, very good. Prof. Vijayan: and then…anything like that.

00:48:42

Prof. Vijayan: So two guides from different departments can come together, offer a project Prof. Sobhanadri: Department yeah, yes yes.

00:48:46

Prof. Sobhanadri: Very good, very good, very good.. Prof. Vijayan: and the students is directly admitted to that.

00:48:48

So there is a strong interdisciplinary research component nowadays.

00:48:53

That’s very good, that’s very good.

00:48:56

Is there any other general advice you would like to give to researchers,

00:49:00

research scholars, teachers?

00:49:02

No…that is what I have been telling you every time

00:49:05

you know, that don’t quarrel among yourselves, that is the first thing.

00:49:10

Research scholars also by talking with other group of the research scholars,

00:49:13

they will learn what they are doing. The subject is a very broad,

00:49:16

you can’t read yourself and learn; time is short.

00:49:19

Nowadays, you are not having enough time to sleep also.

00:49:22

That is the next problem you see,

00:49:25

you must have good sleep also but

00:49:27

people are sleeping at 12 O’clock,

00:49:29

getting up at 6 O’clock. That type of thing is too much,

00:49:32

Prof. Sobhanadri: the…there must be a balanced way of doing it. Prof. Vijayan: Yes yes.

00:49:35

Prof. Vijayan: Balanced mind could be. Prof. Sobhanadri: Balance is very very important.

00:49:37

We…I…you are asking me whether I used to play games?

00:49:41

I used to think of going to the club and play after 5 or 6.

00:49:44

Nowadays, you don’t have time for that,

00:49:47

you say you want to be always before the computer,

00:49:49

you do something or other. So…

00:49:52

I will just make a note on the thing which you had

00:49:54

just mentioned, that you will be

00:49:57

very happy to know that now in our department,

00:49:59

we have a research scholars open seminar series

00:50:03

where only the research scholars

00:50:05

come together and every once in a month,

00:50:08

Ms. Mayarani: we discuss what to first do. Prof. Sobhanadri: Good good.

00:50:10

If it is going on, I am happy.

00:50:12

Ms. Mayarani: Yes, yes, yes, yeah, so it is like…yeah Prof. Sobhanadri: See I didn’t know that it is, should be active.

00:50:14

last…this semester we have started this.

00:50:17

Very good that is very good, very good.

00:50:19

Now, we…he…Professor Sobhanadri continues

00:50:21

his association with the department even now,

00:50:24

and the latest very happy incident is that he would like to give

00:50:30

an award to one of the students,

00:50:31

Prof. Vijayan: can you please tell us about the thought behind it and yes start. Prof. Sobhanadri: Yeah.

00:50:36

See at the…at the time of the golden jubilee,

00:50:40

that was when some money was collected,

00:50:44

Prof. Sobhanadri: they have instituted a prize. Prof. Vijayan: Yes.

00:50:47

Prof. Sobhanadri: That is for the integrated course you know, integrated course. Prof. Vijayan: Yeah, yeah.

00:50:51

Which is 5-year…

00:50:54

Prof. Vijayan: Yeah. Prof. Sobhanadri: they are JEE students; the 3 students have come out of it already,

00:50:58

I am in touch with those 3 students also.

00:51:00

They are all doing Ph.D.,

00:51:02

they are academically coming up very well.

00:51:05

All of them from IIT Madras,

00:51:08

they are doing…IISc one is there, one is in USA,

00:51:11

another is also in IIT Hyderabad, I think.

00:51:15

They are coming up very nicely.

00:51:18

Prof. Vijayan: That is the recent one.

00:51:19

The recent one is…you see…I…I…say well…

00:51:24

if I have come up like this,

00:51:27

it is only because of my parents.

00:51:30

When I was studying in…my father studied B.Sc. with B. Ed.

00:51:37

That means you are good to be a teacher.

00:51:39

Then, he joined a Municipal High School in Vijayawada.

00:51:43

He became a teacher.

00:51:45

While studying, he was a…Professor Bhagavantam

00:51:48

and himself, were doing together.

00:51:51

They studied B.Sc. and B. Ed. together, they worked in a to…school,

00:51:55

then he wanted to do MA also.

00:51:59

After marriage, they came to Madras,

00:52:03

Prof. Sobhanadri: Studied in Madras Christian College, finished MA, Prof. Vijayan: Oh.

00:52:06

Again came back to Vijayawada,

00:52:08

and continued as a teacher only.

00:52:10

Those days, the family wanted to be together, there were 4 brothers,

00:52:13

all the 4 brothers were in Vijayawada, they continued there.

00:52:17

But when it came to us,

00:52:19

he wanted that I should do beyond that.

00:52:21

So, when I finish my…intermediate,

00:52:25

he encouraged me to go to Andhra University,

00:52:28

complete up to doctorate.

00:52:30

I didn’t get the fellowship like what you people get in the…

00:52:34

I took some 6 months before I got my…they call it “demonstrator.”

00:52:38

I became a demonstrator after 6 months,

00:52:41

but until then, my father only supported me.

00:52:44

That’s how I could do my doctorate.

00:52:46

Later on I got government of…some scholarships I got and it continued.

00:52:50

So, initial stages, the parents’ support is very very important.

00:52:56

And that has motivated me to see that even other students,

00:53:01

there may be different types of people,

00:53:03

So we should try to encourage, support, motivate others also.

00:53:08

So I never had any quarrel with whoever is working with me.

00:53:13

If I…when I…when I was doing my doctorate,

00:53:15

I completed my work in first 2 years itself.

00:53:19

My friend has to still complete another 6 months.

00:53:23

But I was acting I…I was doing something else or other,

00:53:27

Prof. Sobhanadri: both of us completed and submitted together. Prof. Vijayan: I see.

00:53:31

So that is how I developed the interaction of a good relationship.

00:53:35

Human relationship, you see. He joined Defence Laboratories.

00:53:39

I joined IITs. He has become Deputy Director,

00:53:42

I have become equally good here, so…

00:53:45

Prof. Vijayan: Sir, this award is in…in remembrance of your father. Prof. Sobhanadri: This award is in remembrance of my father and mother

00:53:52

who encouraged me to study well,

00:53:54

and continue up to doctorate.

00:53:56

Then I…when I told my father I was working as a lecturer in Andhra University…

00:54:01

the basic was 210 at the time.

00:54:04

I got a UGC fellowship that was 500.

00:54:07

So, they relieved me from the lectureship,

00:54:10

and I joined as UGC fellow…500.

00:54:13

When I came to interview for IIT, IIT also is 210 only for Lecturer.

00:54:18

210 was the basic at that time.

00:54:20

Then I told them I am getting 500 already,

00:54:23

so they said…they didn’t argue anything at all,

00:54:24

they said we will pick your basic higher.

00:54:28

That is what they put the basic higher.

00:54:30

That is a different thing you see, you feel happy to say that.

00:54:34

So my father felt very happy that I got in IIT Madras

00:54:38

because, he also studied in Madras Oh.

00:54:41

Christian College. When we were in Madras, parents came here,

00:54:46

he took me to Christian College area,

00:54:49

and then…Triplicane; where they stayed there,

00:54:52

showed me the place, so that was something exciting is there.

00:54:57

It is old experiences.

00:54:58

Prof. Vijayan: [indistinct]…students. Prof. Sobhanadri: That is the reason why

00:55:00

Prof. Sobhanadri: I wanted to institute a prize. Prof. Vijayan: Yes.

00:55:02

See I…I will tell you one more thing; I am a pensioner,

00:55:07

many people even in Adyar asking me if I go to IIT they ask me,

00:55:11

“What sir are you getting still some pension?”

00:55:14

Because they…those people know that

00:55:16

I am getting some money…otherwise,

00:55:17

I do…how do I go in an auto or something like that?

00:55:20

That type of thing they used to…they…they…they realization now.

00:55:25

Maybe hereafter pensions may not be there,

00:55:27

by the time, rules may change.

00:55:30

So, because of…I am getting a lot of money from the pension,

00:55:34

I always feel like contributing. That is why I ask all of these

00:55:37

people, “What are you doing?” Not because I want to know it,

00:55:40

I feel that I…then I can say that, “Oh, I am doing something in IIT.”

00:55:44

I ask you, “What are you doing in your lab?” That is the idea of that.

00:55:47

So, with that idea, this fellowship was…

00:55:50

Prof. Vijayan: It is actually a very nice gesture,

00:55:52

I am sure it will encourage a lot of students.

00:55:54

Prof. Sobhanadri: I hope this year it will come…2018 competition… Prof. Vijayan: Yeah.

00:55:57

I hope it will come. I have written both the names of my parents.

00:56:01

Prof. Vijayan: Yes, yes, yes, yes.

00:56:02

Prof. Vijayan: There is a committee which looks after that,

00:56:04

Prof. Sobhanadri: Yeah. Prof. Vijayan: they will do the needful to do that.

00:56:07

Thank you all very much for listening to me, you see,

00:56:09

Prof. Vijayan: It is a [indistinct] Prof. Sobhanadri: you have given me some idea to go back to history.

00:56:13

I can talk like this for some more time probably,

00:56:15

but we have to say enough for now.

00:56:17

Prof. Vijayan: So overall you are happy to see the progress. Prof. Sobhanadri: [Indistinct]…also you are there to take care.

00:56:21

Yes, yes, yes.

00:56:24

Prof. Vijayan: So overall I…I hope that you are very happy to see the developments Prof. Sobhanadri: [coughs]

00:56:28

in your lab and the department

00:56:29

Prof. Vijayan: and institute also. Prof. Sobhanadri: In the department…department here.

00:56:32

Prof. Sobhanadri: If the department grows only IIT also grows, Prof. Vijayan: Yes.

00:56:35

this is not just one lab.

00:56:36

Right, right, right, right, okay.

00:56:39

Now, theoretical people also are there.

00:56:41

There is a big group,

00:56:42

Professor Balakrishnan joined when I was Head of the Department,

00:56:46

then, Professor Balakrishna took charge of the

00:56:48

development of the theoretical group.

00:56:50

Prof. Sobhanadri: There is a big theoretical group also. Prof. Vijayan: Yes, yes.

00:56:53

I only wish there is a good interaction between the

00:56:55

Prof. Sobhanadri: theoretical group and the experimental group also. Prof. Vijayan: It is there now, it is there now,

00:56:57

Prof. Sobhanadri: It should be there, I am happy about it. Prof. Vijayan: people are interacting together.

00:57:01

That was the thing, when Professor Balakrishnan joined,

00:57:03

it was continued there.

00:57:05

See this is an interesting thing,

00:57:07

the…I was telling you about my American visit, in ‘94-‘95.

00:57:13

I have…microwaves we have started several things:

00:57:16

dielectrics, polymers…

00:57:18

Prof. Vijayan: Yes, semiconductors. Prof. Sobhanadri: Only microwave spectroscopy would not succeed.

00:57:21

So, one of the Indo-American projects is on microwave spectroscopy.

00:57:26

I did…I went there, did some experiments, collected data.

00:57:30

But I told the person there that I am retiring so, keep the data with you.

00:57:36

He kept all the data with him,

00:57:39

and published a paper recently, where is that?

00:57:45

Prof. Vijayan: Oh. Prof. Sobhanadri: First page:

00:57:49

that is the work that I have done in ‘95

00:57:52

Prof. Vijayan: Microwave rotational spectroscopy. Prof. Sobhanadri: before retirement, published in 2011.

00:57:57

Prof. Vijayan: Lovas and Sobhanadri, hmm.

00:58:01

That is…see, some people will say you have gone,

00:58:03

I will publish myself, he didn’t do that.

00:58:06

Prof. Vijayan: Yeah, he has given you credit for your work. Ms. Mayarani: Given yeah.

00:58:08

He…he asked for Subramaniam, I think.

00:58:11

Where is this gentleman who retired from your IIT?

00:58:14

Then he got my ID,

00:58:16

he took it, then we were corresponding for 1 year.

00:58:19

Prof. Vijayan: Oh, this is 2015. Prof. Sobhanadri: ‘15.

00:58:21

Prof. Vijayan: Oh, you have published a paper in 2015, Prof. Sobhanadri: ‘15, yes.

00:58:23

oh, that is nice to see that.

00:58:25

Of the work done before retirement.

00:58:28

And in this context,

00:58:29

you maybe be remembering my small project with you

00:58:31

Prof. Vijayan: on microwave spectroscopy. Prof. Sobhanadri: Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes.

00:58:34

Prof. Vijayan: Tried to build a microwave spectrometer. Prof. Sobhanadri: That is right. It was published…

00:58:37

it was there in…I have seen it in…

00:58:42

Prof. Vijayan: Yeah, it is here, inside the journal:

00:58:46

Prof. Vijayan: Journal of Molecular Spectroscopy, 2015.

00:58:50

Yeah, yeah.

00:58:51

Prof. Vijayan: F. J. Lovas and J. Sobhanadri.

00:58:52

Right, right.

00:58:53

What you require is also…I also gave you something

00:58:55

Prof. Sobhanadri: about vibrations in the…in that I have noted down. Prof. Vijayan: Yes, yes, yes…yeah, yeah, yeah, okay okay.

00:58:58

Prof. Sobhanadri: Your…your thing. Prof. Vijayan: Yeah.

00:59:01

Okay. thank you,

00:59:03

many old memories are coming now.

00:59:05

If you keep talking like this, some more memories also will come.

00:59:09

One of the students, he is now the Chief Secretary of Tamil Nadu,

00:59:15

Prof. Vijayan: Yes, yes M.Sc. student…no. Prof. Sobhanadri: Girija, Girija, she did M.Sc. here.

00:59:18

Prof. Vijayan: Chief Secretary…chief secretary. Prof. Sobhanadri: She did M.Sc. here.

00:59:19

When I was the Head of the Department,

00:59:21

I used to have every year interaction with the M.Sc. students,

00:59:25

at the end of the year, at the time of the convocation.

00:59:29

3…3-4 years.

00:59:30

So there all the students also remember me.

00:59:34

I…I used to have this weakness even the earlier days,

00:59:36

even if they don’t belong to my laboratory,

00:59:38

like Vijayan was telling, I used to interact with them.

00:59:42

So those…they have gone…

00:59:45

IAS…she has selected to IAS,

00:59:48

Prof. Sobhanadri: then, she is the Chief Secretary of Tamil Nadu. Prof. Vijayan: Yes,

00:59:50

Prof. Vijayan: now she is. Prof. Sobhanadri: She could not come of course, this…there.

00:59:53

Okay, so there are many people who went to police also.

00:59:57

One of the Police Secretary…retired as Secretary of Andhra Pradesh.

01:00:02

He did M.Sc. here, M.Sc. Physics.

01:00:05

Anyway, it has been a very encouraging session for all of us.

01:00:08

So as a student and researcher,

01:00:10

Prof. Vijayan: I hope you have been inspired by this session. Ms. Mayarani: Yeah, yeah, yes, yes.

01:00:12

But do you have anything more to add?

01:00:14

So, no I…in fact, I was much inspired by the fact that

01:00:19

he was very much keen on interacting with other people in the department,

01:00:24

Yeah, yeah.

01:00:25

and, in fact, yeah, like I pointed out, we are still following it sir, like

01:00:28

Prof. Sobhanadri: Yeah. Ms. Mayarani: We still have interaction groups

01:00:30

Ms. Mayarani: where research scholars interact. Prof. Sobhanadri: Yes yes,

01:00:31

that is easiest way of learning also.

01:00:33

Ms. Mayarani: Yes, yes. Prof. Vijayan: Yeah, yeah.

01:00:34

And that was like…that actually

01:00:36

give us insight into the fact that it is not just your work or your

01:00:40

Ms. Mayarani: research, it is…it’s about all… Prof. Sobhanadri: Right right.

01:00:42

Ms. Mayarani: everybody’s work and research and growing as a team, Prof. Sobhanadri: All yes, yes, yes, yes.

01:00:45

Ms. Mayarani: or as a department, or as an institute Prof. Sobhanadri: Right.

01:00:48

Ms. Mayarani: is the take home message which…yeah. Prof. Sobhanadri: Very important thing. Yeah.

01:00:50

Yeah, that is self…that is actually a very good

01:00:52

take home message from Professor Sobhanadri’s interaction with us.

Oral History Project

< Back

Prof. M.A. Veluswamy in conversation with Prof. M.S. Shunmugam

00:00:10

On behalf of Heritage Centre

00:00:13

let me welcome Professor Veluswami

00:00:16

for this programme Oral History

00:00:18

and welcome professor.

00:00:20

Thank you Professor Shunmugam.

00:00:22

You you joined this-

00:00:24

since you are one of the senior most

00:00:26

professor’s of this institute.

00:00:29

When you joined this institute

00:00:32

where was this institute located?

00:00:34

Was it in this present campus

00:00:36

or it was in a different campus?

00:00:38

The campus on record belong to the institution

00:00:43

but it was not possible at that time to do any

00:00:47

office or classes anything, so,

00:00:51

it started in the CLRI building adjacent.

00:00:55

our Director’s Office, Register’s office.

00:00:57

the entire administrative offices

00:00:59

were all in CLRI auditorium.

00:01:02

And the stage was given to the faculty.

00:01:05

There is a faculty room

00:01:06

that is how it was started.

00:01:09

The inauguration if I remember,

00:01:11

I understand that the inauguration stone was 31st July of 1959

00:01:18

but I was in the campus on where the inauguration took place

00:01:23

on 17th August 1959 maybe

00:01:26

that was again a formal inauguration, I do not know.

00:01:29

That was done by Professor L. S. Chandrakant

00:01:32

who was the special officer to Government of India

00:01:35

very specifically for IIT Madras

00:01:38

who happened to be the elder brother

00:01:41

of L. S. Srinath who happened to be the Director later.

00:01:45

Right sir you are do you remember the

00:01:48

interview in which you were selected

00:01:51

because you you are working elsewhere-

00:01:53

Yeah. before coming here. Right.

00:01:55

If I memory goes right.

00:01:57

Right. You are in the state government.

00:01:59

Yeah. At that time. Ok. I will.

00:02:00

Can you tell how you now came up. Came ok. Yeah.

00:02:04

Immediately after my B.E.

00:02:05

in those days before even you get the degree the

00:02:09

offer of appointment was available.

00:02:13

But B.E. you did in PSG College of Technology.

00:02:16

PSG College of Technology. Right sir.

00:02:17

Because in those days.

00:02:19

I belonged to Salem district old Salem district.

00:02:22

Right. I was put in Kakinada.

00:02:24

My parents were not willing to send me to Kakinada.

00:02:26

So,I joined

00:02:27

PSG College of Technology that was the first college in the country

00:02:31

as a private college. Right.

00:02:32

Almost it started in 59.

00:02:35

It started in 51.

00:02:36

51 ok right. It is actually

00:02:38

first batch entered in 51.

00:02:41

they graduated in the year 1955.

00:02:43

Right sir.

00:02:44

I belong to the second batch.

00:02:46

Entered into 52 then graduated in the year 1956.

00:02:51

Earlier I was a student in Loyola College in intermediate.

00:02:54

Intermediate. Loyola College of-

00:02:56

Loyola College. of Nungambakkam Chennai. Chennai.

00:02:58

ok right right. Nungambakkam.

00:03:00

There it was only intermediate in those day.

00:03:02

there wasn’t anything like PUC or plus 2 or any such thing.

00:03:05

That was the system continued

00:03:08

ever since the British started that way.

00:03:10

Somehow still I feel that system is far better

00:03:14

it is that my opinion

00:03:15

because if you. Right want me to

00:03:17

to give opinion. Things, things change right anyway yeah.

00:03:20

After that I joined PSG College of Technology.

00:03:24

graduated in the year 1956.

00:03:27

Then when we were writing the final exam

00:03:31

the offer of appointment when the government PWD came

00:03:35

because I was a mechanical engineering.

00:03:37

I mean I I just did the

00:03:39

work in mechanical engineering discipline

00:03:42

So, there wasn’t any Department

00:03:44

for Mechanical Engineering in those days.

00:03:46

Civil engineering and electrical engineering

00:03:47

had their own departments for work.

00:03:49

There were only 3 branches available at that time:

00:03:53

civil, mechanical, electrical engineering.

00:03:55

So, mechanical engineers

00:03:57

didn’t have any department from the government

00:03:59

for them to have the employment

00:04:00

So, PWD or electrical department

00:04:02

depending upon their necessities,

00:04:04

they absorbed them.

00:04:06

So, I was given a job in

00:04:08

civil engineering background in PWD.

00:04:11

I was posted in public health area.

00:04:14

I was posted in Sivakasi in Ramnad district

00:04:19

where the flood came

00:04:21

like what we found in Kanyakumari now.

00:04:24

It was a very very bad flood

00:04:26

which made a lot of damages.

00:04:29

Even the actor and actresses like

00:04:31

Gemini Ganesan and Savitri were

00:04:33

not known whether they were alive or not even

00:04:35

in Rameshwaram.

00:04:36

There was a bad condition. Is it Ariyalur-

00:04:38

something to do with Ariyalur. Right. Train accident. Right.

00:04:40

Around that time. Right. right

00:04:42

So, 55. 55

00:04:44

So, 56 is my graduation so, I was posted.

00:04:46

Earlier, there were some

00:04:48

people the Revenue Department

00:04:49

who took care of that sort of thing.

00:04:51

So, there was no technical person

00:04:53

was available I was the first technical person

00:04:55

employed in public health engineering.

00:04:57

Our main work was in the rural villages.

00:05:00

the scheme was it is

00:05:02

called a Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Scheme.

00:05:05

There the protected water supply

00:05:07

should be given to the village people

00:05:10

instead of making their own vessels to go into the-

00:05:12

directly to the well and then take it

00:05:15

and make the water to be infected,

00:05:17

the water the well should be covered.

00:05:20

Water should be pumped to the overhead tank

00:05:22

and from the overhead tank.

00:05:23

Through the distributed pipes.

00:05:26

the water should be taken in the taps

00:05:27

that is how the scheme was.

00:05:29

I did about 450 such works.

00:05:32

In the district of Ramanathapuram,

00:05:35

at that time Ramanathapuram

00:05:36

that got split into many districts now.

00:05:38

But. So, that was the period

00:05:41

from 1959 sorry 56 to 59.

00:05:46

59, 3 years almost

00:05:47

3 years 3 years. You worked in. 3 years.

00:05:49

And then the- Then,

00:05:50

I I I enjoyed the work

00:05:52

simply because of the fact

00:05:54

a lot of learning was there.

00:05:56

Being a mechanical engineer,

00:05:57

I had the opportunity to select

00:05:59

the machineries for pumping chlorinator.

00:06:02

How to give tender

00:06:05

and then how to choose the machine,

00:06:07

such opportunities were available

00:06:08

so, I enjoyed that.

00:06:09

You must have been very thorough with the-

00:06:11

Yeah. procedures.

00:06:12

Right. More than anything-

00:06:13

Right.

00:06:14

and besides. How- how it occurred that you came to IIT?

00:06:17

I will tell you. Yeah.

00:06:18

Cogently if I tell you. Right sir. It would be. Right. Understand.

00:06:21

So, how to design the foundation,

00:06:23

how to even choose the soil

00:06:26

for getting the foundation

00:06:27

for the overhead tank pump house and all that was my job.

00:06:30

So, you prepare the estimate,

00:06:33

get it sanctioned

00:06:34

execute it yourself.

00:06:36

It is the enjoyment was your own estimate.

00:06:38

you finally, see that

00:06:40

it is working that was a joy.

00:06:42

So, that made me to continue

00:06:44

without even worrying about going elsewhere.

00:06:46

So, in during that period.

00:06:48

I had some difficulties in the sense

00:06:51

there was an interference from the revenue department.

00:06:53

They were technically interfering.

00:06:55

One example I will try to give if-

00:06:57

if you think it is necessary. Yeah, please please sir.

00:06:59

There was a village where in

00:07:02

we had to put about 2 HP motor

00:07:04

for pumping water to the overhead tank from the well

00:07:08

and the Panchayath Board President who was

00:07:10

a very qualified person he asked me

00:07:13

would this be alright sir? I said yes.

00:07:15

Then, he said, can we do that?

00:07:19

I told him there is a 3 HP motor available, English make

00:07:23

which has already been bought by my predecessors

00:07:27

so, the government regulation is to install that first

00:07:30

before buying elsewhere because

00:07:32

government contributed to that cost

00:07:35

and besides that was a higher horse power.

00:07:39

The power is more,

00:07:40

it was cheaper

00:07:42

because the money has to be divided.

00:07:44

25 percent by the villagers,

00:07:46

25 percent by the state government

00:07:48

and 50 percent by the government.

00:07:49

So, the 2HP motor was

00:07:51

costlier than the existing 3HP motor.

00:07:53

So, we erected

00:07:54

and everybody was happy.

00:07:56

Then later on

00:07:57

some villagers induced the

00:07:59

Panchayat Board President and he said

00:08:01

it was wrongly installed

00:08:04

because the consumption of electricity will be more

00:08:06

because it is 3 HP motor.

00:08:09

I explained to him it is not.

00:08:11

Then, this was challenged

00:08:13

and then, there was a Sub-Collector

00:08:15

who said I am a Physics honors man, don’t tell me.

00:08:19

I was very much angry.

00:08:21

I was very young

00:08:22

and somebody challenged when all these things are there.

00:08:25

I was interested in learning.

00:08:27

So, I said if Physics honors can manage.

00:08:30

My job is unnecessarily given here.

00:08:34

Then, immediately I wrote to the chief engineer saying that

00:08:37

this is what has happened

00:08:38

so, I would like to

00:08:39

make me go you kindly make me go elsewhere.

00:08:43

I like to learn,

00:08:44

because I was just about 23 years 24 years old.

00:08:47

Then, this was known to the Collector.

00:08:49

He he knew what exactly was the difficulty.

00:08:51

C. V. R. Panikar

00:08:52

and then, he interfered and pacified me.

00:08:56

But that started me

00:08:58

to think of leaving the department.

00:09:00

There was also another incidence.

00:09:02

There was a certificate holder engineer,

00:09:04

a work was very well be

00:09:07

doing it for 2 years.

00:09:08

After the completion of the work

00:09:10

it was beautiful, there was

00:09:12

any problem at all.

00:09:13

He inspected

00:09:15

and then said that it is a colossal waste

00:09:18

which pricked me a lot.

00:09:19

Then please ask the villagers was any problem?

00:09:22

Villagers were very happy

00:09:24

that was a diesel engine run pump

00:09:26

because there wasn't any electricity there at that time.

00:09:29

So, I asked him why is that colossal waste.

00:09:31

Then he said I am an executive engineer

00:09:34

say do what I say.

00:09:35

With the certificate asserted holder- Holder yeah.

00:09:38

He he was- became executive engineer. By promotion came. Ok.

00:09:40

So, these were such a some other things

00:09:43

which made me to feel that I cannot grow there.

00:09:47

So, I felt that earliest opportunity is better to go.

00:09:52

So, I had already applied for Bhilai Steel Plant.

00:09:56

At that time

00:09:57

he steel plants were very popular.

00:09:59

I was asked to come for an interview at Delhi

00:10:02

for making me to go to Russia.

00:10:07

Then, when I went there

00:10:09

the department did not give me the permission

00:10:13

to leave the department.

00:10:15

But orally they said if you want to attend the interview,

00:10:17

please attend.

00:10:18

So, I attended.

00:10:19

Everybody was even filling up the

00:10:22

forms for passport and all that.

00:10:24

I was a alone fellow,

00:10:26

was very much disappointed because

00:10:28

I was not even interviewed

00:10:30

simply because they didn’t carry the letter from the

00:10:32

department permission. No objection. No normally they expect

00:10:34

no objection certificate. Right.

00:10:35

So, I came all the way

00:10:36

from Delhi to Chennai

00:10:38

with a very big disappointment.

00:10:40

Straight went to the PWD office,

00:10:41

told them this is what is my future

00:10:44

going to be barred

00:10:45

could you not help me?

00:10:47

He said if that is the case

00:10:48

we will give you the permission.

00:10:51

You can again appear

00:10:52

next time whenever an interview takes place.

00:10:55

So, the permission letter was given

00:10:56

but no such interview immediately was taking place.

00:11:01

So, while they were preparing that letter of permission

00:11:05

I came to Engineering College Guindy

00:11:08

just because I had time.

00:11:10

I met that in the morning met the officer in the morning

00:11:14

and they said that you collect it in the evening.

00:11:16

So, during that time

00:11:17

being a bachelor didn’t have any other work

00:11:19

and Chennai was not this big at that time

00:11:22

So, I just came to College of Engineering in Guindy.

00:11:25

There there was an advertisement

00:11:27

we are going to start post-graduate course

00:11:29

in Internal Combustion Engineering.

00:11:32

So, that attracted me because

00:11:34

when I was working there in the Rural Water Supply Scheme

00:11:37

there were lot of internal combustion engineering

00:11:39

problems I faced

00:11:40

Particularly vibrations and

00:11:43

the life of engine and all that.

00:11:45

So, that was also challenged by

00:11:47

some other people who were above me.

00:11:49

So, that attracted me.

00:11:51

I immediately was willing to join the course

00:11:54

and I forgot about the Bhilai Steel Plant.

00:11:56

I decided

00:11:57

not to go to Bhilai Steel Plant even if

00:11:59

there is an interview that is going to come later.

00:12:02

So, fortunately I was given admission

00:12:05

Professor A. P. Jambulingam was the

00:12:07

professor in charge of the Internal Combustion Engineering

00:12:10

and that was very much well monitored by

00:12:14

our Professor Ramachandran

00:12:16

who happened to be in

00:12:18

Indian Institute of Science at that time.

00:12:20

So, that was a very happy thing.

00:12:21

We did not know

00:12:23

later that he himself would become a Director to us.

00:12:26

So, it was a very well monitored course.

00:12:29

I attended, I was the first batch student.

00:12:32

There is a gentleman called-

00:12:34

there was a gentleman called Professor Ramani

00:12:37

who happened to be my classmate.

00:12:38

Later on he became also a colleague of mine.

00:12:42

We both attended interview

00:12:44

at that time in Vice Chancellor’s office.

00:12:46

The interview normally used to

00:12:48

take place only in the Vice Chancellor’s office where

00:12:50

Professor Lakshmanaswami Mudaliar was the Vice Chancellor.

00:12:53

He happened to be the Chairman of this institute also,

00:12:55

That is how Professor Sengupto was a member.

00:12:58

Professor Lakshmanaswami Mudaliar was the Chairman.

00:13:00

So, we got the interview.

00:13:02

first interview was for the Department of Applied Mechanics.

00:13:05

There wasn’t any

00:13:07

faculty at all. So, after completing the

00:13:09

IC engine programme to-

00:13:10

No first there there were series of interviews.

00:13:13

A few interviews taken place of each department. But you are still pursuing

00:13:16

your post-graduate programme in IC engines.

00:13:19

No. I was by that time-

00:13:21

ok before even

00:13:22

I had a career, I forgot to mention that.

00:13:24

Immediately after the PWD, I joined the

00:13:28

Internal Internal Engineering Department,

00:13:30

Internal engineering. Combustion internal- Internal engineering

00:13:32

PG. But then, I was a student.

00:13:35

Full time since by that time

00:13:37

I resigned the PWD. It used to be a 2-year programme?

00:13:39

2-year programme. 2-year programme.

00:13:40

During the time.

00:13:42

while I was about to write the dissertation

00:13:47

I was recruited

00:13:48

in Regional Engineering College, Warangal.

00:13:50

Oh. As a lecturer.

00:13:52

So, Professor Jambulingam felt happy

00:13:55

that you please accept it.

00:13:56

Then he got the permission

00:13:58

that I could join the college later

00:14:01

after I finished my dissertation.

00:14:03

The college also accepted after all

00:14:05

when a person gets a degree it is good to the college.

00:14:07

So, after finishing the course,

00:14:10

I joined

00:14:12

Warangal Regional Engineering College

00:14:14

in the Department of Mechanical Engineering as a lecturer,

00:14:17

then I was very happy there.

00:14:19

People cooperated,

00:14:20

excellent institution.

00:14:23

Then, about 6 months later,

00:14:26

during the period of 6 months,

00:14:28

I was feeling a little uneasy simply because

00:14:34

what is the further development for me.

00:14:37

That was a newly started college,

00:14:39

there wasn’t any programme further.

00:14:41

So, I wasn’t sure

00:14:43

whether it is good for me to continue there.

00:14:45

So, I met the principal.

00:14:47

The principal felt sorry that I I should not leave the

00:14:51

institution immediately because

00:14:52

you just joined only 6 months back.

00:14:55

then I met Professor C. V. R. Murty

00:14:58

who happened to be the Director of Technical Education.

00:15:00

I told him whose son only

00:15:02

died in a aeroplane crash.

00:15:04

Who was at at Adyar.

00:15:09

You might have probably recollected.

00:15:11

A very nice gentleman and he said

00:15:14

well, if you don't mind

00:15:17

you would like to resign

00:15:18

because we can’t forward your application

00:15:21

to apply elsewhere if you want to go.

00:15:24

I I resigned.

00:15:25

Then I was jobless for about a month till

00:15:28

an the interview was given for we arrange for IIT Madras.

00:15:32

So, I stayed in Chennai.

00:15:35

The interview was at Vice Chancellor’s office Chennai.

00:15:40

Professor Ramani who happened to my classmate

00:15:44

and I we both applied

00:15:46

and Professor Ramani applied to the

00:15:48

Department of Mechanical Engineering

00:15:50

whereas, I applied to both applied mechanics

00:15:53

and mechanical engineering on the fear

00:15:55

I was jobless

00:15:56

because Professor Ramani had a job already in MIT.

00:15:59

So, he didn’t mind

00:16:01

only restricting himself to mechanical engineering.

00:16:04

So, I didnt want to take a risk

00:16:05

So, I applied to both the departments.

00:16:07

The first trip- interview was

00:16:09

for the Applied Mechanics Department

00:16:11

on on one particular day.

00:16:13

Then, the interview was over.

00:16:15

I didn’t know the results and all that.

00:16:17

Professor Natarajan was the Registrar at that time.

00:16:20

R. Natarajan who passed away recently.

00:16:22

Then, I came out

00:16:24

there wasn’t any news about the selection or so.

00:16:28

Next day was the

00:16:30

interview for the Department of Mechanical Engineering lecturer.

00:16:33

Both Ramani and myself applied.

00:16:35

I mean went off for the interview.

00:16:37

We were only praying that both of us should be taken

00:16:40

because we both were very dear colleagues.

00:16:43

We didn’t want to miss each other.

00:16:45

So, both attended the interview,

00:16:47

for a long time we did not know the results.

00:16:50

Then, I went home to the village.

00:16:53

One fine morning, I

00:16:55

got the letter saying that you are selected

00:16:57

the applied mechanics.

00:16:58

The second day when I went for the

00:17:00

interview for the mechanical engineering,

00:17:03

Ramani was interviewed.

00:17:04

When I went inside

00:17:06

there were some sort of talk within the members.

00:17:10

Then there wasn't any question asked at all for me

00:17:13

during the mechanical engineering interview.

00:17:14

I was sent out.

00:17:16

So, I decided that I was not qualified.

00:17:18

I was not selected.

00:17:20

So, with a disappointment instead of

00:17:22

remaining at Chennai,

00:17:23

I went to my village.

00:17:25

I was thinking of

00:17:26

making some sort of entrepreneurship

00:17:28

or something like that of that kind.

00:17:29

So, I didn’t want to idle

00:17:31

because being young

00:17:32

I was interested to know what should I do.

00:17:35

So, when that was the thought

00:17:38

all of a sudden there was a turning point.

00:17:40

The appointment order straight away came.

00:17:42

Then later on I asked Professor Natarajan,

00:17:44

why is that that

00:17:46

I was not interviewed on the next day in mechanical engineering?

00:17:49

He smiled and told

00:17:51

we had selected you already in the

00:17:53

applied- Department of Applied Mechanics in the previous day. Yeah.

00:17:56

We did not want to have the confusion.

00:17:57

we did not want you to have the choice.

00:17:59

We wanted to have the choice ourselves.

00:18:02

So, that is what he- Was Professor- told me.

00:18:04

Ramani selected for mechanical?

00:18:05

Professor Ramani was selected.

00:18:06

I was also happy because

00:18:08

both of us being classmates we came to the institution.

00:18:10

The same grade.

00:18:11

And he went to the internal combustion engineering because

00:18:14

we both studied industrial combustion engineering

00:18:16

in the same college. PG.

00:18:18

So, I joined Department of Applied Mechanics.

00:18:20

he joined the Mechanical Engineering Department

00:18:22

in the industrial-

00:18:23

in Internal Combustion Engineering Laboratory. Yes.

00:18:26

It is very interesting sir because

00:18:28

I graduated from College of Engineering, Guindy.

00:18:31

And did my Master’s in PSG College of Technology. I see reverse-

00:18:34

Exactly reverse of- Ok.

00:18:35

what you have gone through. Right.

00:18:37

Right. It is very interesting. Right right.

00:18:38

Then, when when you joined applied mechanics- Yeah.

00:18:41

I was I became a faculty member and- Was the building-

00:18:43

was the building here in this campus. Nothing.

00:18:45

Oh. There wasn’t training at all.

00:18:46

And Professor Kraus called me.

00:18:48

Can we have a look at Professor Kraus.

00:18:51

Can you have the photograph of Kraus

00:18:53

and- Yeah sure. Probably you can identify him. Sure. sure.

00:18:57

Because not many people will be able to identify him, Yeah.

00:19:00

He looked more like De Gaulle of France. Right.

00:19:05

Professor. No. he is not here. No.

00:19:08

Yeah. That is Professor Kraus the tallest person.

00:19:10

Ok on the left.

00:19:11

Left most. On to my left, left most left most

00:19:13

and can you at the rightmost is professor?

00:19:17

I think this is Mr. Venkataraman.

00:19:18

I am not sure about that. Right sir.

00:19:20

He is minister; Minister of Industrialization industrial.

00:19:22

This is Professor Sengupto

00:19:24

and professor and Professor Kraus.

00:19:27

Sengupto was our former Director;

00:19:29

he was the first Director. First Director; first Director.

00:19:31

And he, L. S. was the-

00:19:33

was not called the Director but was called as Special Officer.

00:19:37

Special Officer.

00:19:38

He took care of all the works of the Director,

00:19:41

Registrar. Do you remembers where from Professor Sengupto came?

00:19:44

Sengupto was VJTI of Bombay Bombay IIT.

00:19:47

Nice sir you are able to recollect and all. Right right.

00:19:50

So, anything you want to say about you know-

00:19:52

Professor Kraus. Nothing.

00:19:53

I think probably they must be having some discussion there.

00:19:56

No. no.

00:19:56

He was the Chairman of the institution, Professor Lakshmanaswami Mudaliar

00:19:59

and it is his effort

00:20:02

which made us to come to this campus. Right.

00:20:05

Originally,

00:20:07

he was very much interested in

00:20:08

trying to make this campus go to Bangalore.

00:20:11

But it is not only his efforts

00:20:14

it is the effort of Mr. C. Subramaniam

00:20:17

who happened to be the Minister of Education at that time.

00:20:20

If I- And if I am, if I am correct. The the-

00:20:22

Kamaraj was the Chief Minister. Kamaraj was the Chief Minister

00:20:25

and C. Subramaniam was the Education Minister.

00:20:27

Kakkan no sir. It is the effort of Kakkan also was there.

00:20:29

But he was in a different portfolio.

00:20:32

So, these two people were very particular

00:20:34

to choose Madras should be the place.

00:20:37

At the time there wasn’t any Chennai.

00:20:39

It was only Madras. Madras.

00:20:40

Madras should be the place for starting the institution,

00:20:43

IIT Madras.

00:20:44

because they were arguing

00:20:45

in South, there wasn’t any institution.

00:20:48

Bangalore already

00:20:49

Indian Institute of Science is there.

00:20:50

Science is there. Why do you want to take it again there.

00:20:53

So, the pressure

00:20:54

with both Mr. Kamaraj and C. Subramaniam

00:20:58

was very heavy and

00:21:00

they immediately said

00:21:01

there wasn’t any problem for the land because

00:21:03

the Raj Bhavan. Yeah, the Governor’s palace

00:21:07

has quite a lot of land unused.

00:21:10

So, that could be the place where it could be started

00:21:12

and moreover

00:21:13

this should be developed as an education centre

00:21:16

because Guindy Engineering College was already there.

00:21:19

So, if this is also going to be here

00:21:21

it would be a very good gesture because

00:21:23

education centre would be at this particular place like they

00:21:26

argued, and nobody could deny that.

00:21:29

So, it started.

00:21:30

That is how it was on 30th;

00:21:32

31st July 1959,

00:21:35

it foundation stone was officially made.

00:21:39

But formally

00:21:40

it was on 17th August 1959

00:21:42

at CLRI complex

00:21:44

which I happened to attend

00:21:45

if I remember that will correctly the date.

00:21:47

Sir, when you joined- I was a student at that time.

00:21:49

in Guindy Engineering College.

00:21:51

I was fascinated the way in which

00:21:54

we- the there was going to be a

00:21:56

thought of starting at a higher institution.

00:21:59

So, I came to attend the

00:22:01

the foundation ceremony.

00:22:03

So, I was a student at that time.

00:22:05

I never imagined that I would be a faculty later,

00:22:07

2 years later.

00:22:08

So, after I completed

00:22:10

the internal combustion engineering course I

00:22:12

went to Warangal I told you.

00:22:14

Then, after Warangal simply because

00:22:16

of the general,

00:22:17

I mean generous attitude of Professor C. V. R. Murty,

00:22:21

I was a relieved.

00:22:22

Then I was appointed here.

00:22:24

then on my appointment.

00:22:27

First person whom I met was a Registrar

00:22:29

Professor R. Natarajan who handed over the appointment

00:22:32

officially even though it came in post.

00:22:34

Then immediately, he requested me

00:22:36

to meet Professor Kraus.

00:22:38

Professor Kraus.

00:22:39

He was the architect of the entire institution.

00:22:42

He only planned everything was planned

00:22:44

and in applied mechanics

00:22:46

he was very much concentrating on

00:22:47

Fluid Mechanics Laboratory because he had already

00:22:50

developed what sort of laboratory it should be and all that.

00:22:53

Whether any other person in applied mechanics

00:22:55

when you- when you joined sir?

00:22:57

You are the first person? I was the first member.

00:22:58

And then, all other?

00:23:00

Later on. Ok. Professor B. V. Rao and then, No.

00:23:02

after me joined Professor D. V. Reddy.

00:23:04

D. V. Reddy. Yes. He is- he is from which specialization?

00:23:07

D. V. Reddy was

00:23:09

he took his Ph.D. in Liverpool

00:23:12

and he directly joined here.

00:23:13

As I mean which lab? As assistant professor.

00:23:15

in which? At that time.

00:23:16

Ph.D.’s were very rare. Right sir.

00:23:18

but- So, he was a Ph.D. from abroad

00:23:20

and people felt that

00:23:22

he should be at least given an assistant professor’s post.

00:23:24

Yeah. So, he was an assistant professor.

00:23:26

I was a lecturer.

00:23:27

Right. So, we both were the

00:23:29

people who originally there-

00:23:30

there used to be. He belongs to fluid mechanics or- No.

00:23:32

He is a structural man.

00:23:33

Structural. Mechanics mechanics. Ok. He is a civil engineer.

00:23:36

Structural engineering background.

00:23:37

He did his Ph.D. in structural engineering. Very good.

00:23:40

Then, there used to be a joke everybody used to say

00:23:42

he had a car

00:23:44

and we both used to sit in the car, go for lunch and all that.

00:23:46

So, people used to make. The entire department is in the car.

00:23:50

So, Ok.

00:23:51

you two were there. There.

00:23:53

Very nice.

00:23:54

And Then, there was also a joke

00:23:55

which I don’t know whether it is connected here.

00:23:57

He took me to his house

00:23:58

and he secretly told me

00:24:01

saying my father is no more, my mother only is there.

00:24:04

So, I will pretend as if I am junior to you.

00:24:08

So, I would tell my mother.

00:24:11

So, keep quiet, don’t say anything.

00:24:13

Then, we went there.

00:24:14

Immediately he told his mother

00:24:16

that I was his boss.

00:24:18

Then, his mother began

00:24:20

making a very big show

00:24:22

saying my is a very nice person.

00:24:25

be careful.

00:24:26

don’t punish him all that.

00:24:28

Ok. Very innocent lady. So, the story was different.

00:24:31

Innocent lady.

00:24:32

So, that Professor D. V. Reddy was to enjoying.

00:24:36

So, after that he told clearly that I just made a fun.

00:24:39

So, It was like very enjoyable company

00:24:42

and then, later on one Mr. A. C. Gangadharan joined.

00:24:45

he was also a civil engineer.

00:24:47

He belonged to the same discipline as Professor D. V. Reddy.

00:24:51

Then, there wasn’t any mechanical engineering for quite some time.

00:24:53

Then, after Professor A. C. Gangadharan joined.

00:24:57

Professor Narasimha Muthy joined

00:24:59

and Professor Narasimha Murthy was interested in

00:25:01

fluid mechanic side.

00:25:03

Right. So, that's how he was recruited.

00:25:05

So, there was structural engineering side.

00:25:07

Fluid mechanics. Fluid mechanic side.

00:25:08

There wasn’t anything on the

00:25:10

mechanical engineering side accepting me.

00:25:12

Because the courses like theory of machines.

00:25:14

kinematics and dynamics of machinery vibrations.

00:25:17

Everything belonged at that time to applied mechanics.

00:25:20

So, there was a necessity for

00:25:23

certain mechanical engineering people to be there.

00:25:25

So, I happened to be the first fellow.

00:25:27

I was offering the courses like

00:25:28

theory machines, vibrations and all that.

00:25:31

During the time.

00:25:32

Professor Haug joined. H A U G.

00:25:38

He was recruited by Professor Kraus from Germany.

00:25:43

All the professors from Germany

00:25:45

were through Professor Kraus only.

00:25:48

On his recommendation only.

00:25:49

the Government of Germany would send.

00:25:51

So, he was sent here

00:25:53

to develop the laboratory

00:25:55

of Applied Mechanics Department.

00:25:57

He being a vibrations man,

00:25:59

so, he took some classes and all that

00:26:02

and we both were there originally that's all.

00:26:05

Then after some time

00:26:06

when the students move to the upper classes

00:26:10

more faculty were necessary.

00:26:12

Then B. V. A. Rao was recruited.

00:26:15

Along with me, Professor Chandrashekar Swamy also was recruited

00:26:18

which I forgot to tell you.

00:26:19

He joined much later.

00:26:21

I I joined

00:26:23

D. V. Reddy joined later.

00:26:24

A. C. Gangadharan third as a third person.

00:26:27

Narasimha Murthy was he joined as the fourth person.

00:26:30

Fifth person was Professor N. V. C. Swamy.

00:26:33

He- He was also director of our IIT for some. Later on;

00:26:36

later on. Later on. right sir. Right.

00:26:37

he he was doing his Ph.D.;

00:26:40

he was in the middle of the work.

00:26:42

So, the institution gave permission to him.

00:26:45

you were selected.

00:26:47

but join after you complete it.

00:26:49

Conditional offer. Conditional offer.

00:26:51

He was;

00:26:52

he was Professor Gundu Rao of IISC was the

00:26:56

guide for him.

00:26:57

He joined

00:26:59

and he was the first senior person in fluid mechanics because

00:27:03

assistant professor was the senior most position at that time.

00:27:06

Narasimha Murthy was a lecturer.

00:27:07

So, two people in the fluid mechanics

00:27:10

and two people already there in the

00:27:13

Structure- Structural side.

00:27:14

I was the only fellow in mechanical side.

00:27:17

So, later on

00:27:19

Professor B. V. A. Rao

00:27:20

who was working in Indian Institute of Technology Bombay.

00:27:24

He was recruited

00:27:26

in mechanical engineering.

00:27:28

So, in mechanical side were two,

00:27:30

in fluid mechanics side two

00:27:32

and structural engineering side two.

00:27:34

So, six people were there

00:27:35

and there were three department three laboratories.

00:27:40

We ourselves made that sort of division

00:27:43

for convenience even though

00:27:45

Can you name- there was no. Can you name; Big demarcation.

00:27:47

Can you name those laboratories?

00:27:49

Yeah the

00:27:50

fluid mechanic laboratory was already established

00:27:55

in concept in paper by Professor Kraus.

00:27:58

So, area was marked everything was there

00:28:00

and he had already been

00:28:02

making plans for

00:28:03

tunnel, wind tunnel and things like that for Germany.

00:28:06

So, that remained as it is.

00:28:08

Then, P. S. Srinivasan joined later I will tell you about that.

00:28:12

Then, the

00:28:14

Vibrations Laboratory or Machine Dynamics Laboratory

00:28:17

or Elasticity Laboratory, Structural Laboratory,

00:28:20

how to name was a confusion.

00:28:23

So, that was left for ourselves.

00:28:26

So, Professor D. V. Reddy

00:28:29

named the structural part

00:28:32

as Elasticity Section.

00:28:34

So, Elasticity Laboratory

00:28:37

Fluid Mechanics Laboratory.

00:28:39

Then, for the mechanical engineering side

00:28:41

we were not knowing how to do it.

00:28:43

So, originally, we named that as Vibration Laboratory.

00:28:47

Then, later on

00:28:48

the subjects like theory of machines, the dynamics of

00:28:51

machinery, kinematics all these also came.

00:28:54

Then the name vibrations may not be proper.

00:28:58

So, that that was changed to

00:28:59

Machine Dynamics Laboratory subsequently.

00:29:02

Yeah. So, that continued.

00:29:03

Right. Machine Dynamics Laboratory.

00:29:05

Elasticity Section they called instead of laboratory.

00:29:08

Elasticity Section, Machine Dynamics Section

00:29:11

and then, a Fluid Mechanics Section.

00:29:13

Then, after some time.

00:29:15

that section name

00:29:16

was taken off and then, put as laboratory. Laboratory.

00:29:18

And by that time

00:29:20

there was a gentleman called Professor P. S. Srinivasan

00:29:23

who was recruited as the first faculty

00:29:26

in mechanical engineering in our institution

00:29:29

before even we joined.

00:29:31

He was much senior to me in joining.

00:29:34

Even though we were classmates.

00:29:35

We belonged to the same batch

00:29:37

and we were in classmates

00:29:38

for some time in PSG College of Technology.

00:29:41

Later on he moved to

00:29:42

Government College of Technology at Coimbatore.

00:29:46

So, it was a pleasure again

00:29:48

to see Professor P. S. Srinivasan another classmate like

00:29:51

Professor Ramani.

00:29:52

He joined fluid mechanics,

00:29:53

why he joined later was

00:29:55

he was recruited along with one Mr. Padmanabhan.

00:29:59

These two were that together

00:30:01

to offer course for the engineering drawing.

00:30:05

At that time it was called a geometric drawing.

00:30:08

So, very specifically these were

00:30:10

trained to teach drawing.

00:30:13

So, they were sent to Germany

00:30:14

for making efforts,

00:30:16

for getting them trained in drawing

00:30:19

And while they were in Germany

00:30:21

Professor Kraus felt

00:30:22

that specializing in drawing alone is not going to be of any use

00:30:26

so, he diverted them

00:30:28

when they were staying there

00:30:30

that Professor Srinivasan should be

00:30:32

more trained towards fluid mechanics

00:30:35

because we are going to start the fluid mechanics laboratory here.

00:30:37

It was his architecture.

00:30:39

Very beautiful architecture

00:30:40

that is why I say that

00:30:42

Professor Kraus should be very much highlighted

00:30:44

in every place.

00:30:46

In fact, Professor Sengupto himself used to take the advice

00:30:49

of Professor Kraus for every; every now and then.

00:30:52

Then, Professor P. A. Srinivasan after his training in Germany.

00:30:57

Oh. there wasn’t any degree, it was only a training.

00:30:59

So, after the training

00:31:01

he was posted to department of applied mechanics

00:31:03

in the fluid mechanics side.

00:31:05

Then, Professor Padmanaban

00:31:07

basically electrical engineering person.

00:31:10

He was even though

00:31:12

both were offering drawing courses;

00:31:15

Professor Padmanabhan was posted to mechanical engineering

00:31:18

on the precision engineering side.

00:31:20

Actually, it was known as Fine Techniques Lab. Fine.

00:31:22

Later on it became

00:31:23

Fine Techniques Laboratory at that time

00:31:25

it was precision engineering to start with.

00:31:27

Sir. Later only it became- Right maybe.

00:31:29

I I forgot. At that time. it was fine techniques. Fine techniques fine techniques.

00:31:32

I I remember. You are right you are right. Fine techniques. Yes sir.

00:31:34

So, he he was the first fellow

00:31:36

in Fine Techniques Laboratory. Very good. Like

00:31:39

P. A. Srinivasan even though he was only second

00:31:42

but he was more a dominating person

00:31:44

because he trained in Germany

00:31:45

and for everything P. A. Srinivsan was

00:31:48

asked to reply

00:31:50

and fluid mechanic side, Professor Kraus directly used to call him.

00:31:53

And similarly,

00:31:53

Professor Padmanaban used to be directly called by Professor Kraus

00:31:57

and he he was a centre of a any decision.

00:32:01

That's how the applied mechanics got started.

00:32:03

we were more getting divided

00:32:07

So, I belonged to the mechanical engineering side

00:32:09

with Professor B. V. A. Rao,

00:32:11

myself. Sir. Later on some more faculty joined

00:32:13

and the department became became little bigger.

00:32:16

Just at that time only, Professor Wagner joined.

00:32:19

Hans Wagner,

00:32:21

when after B. V. A. Rao joined. Can you remember

00:32:23

the time he joined or may be

00:32:25

68 or so. I I am unable to recollect

00:32:28

any- doesn’t matter. Late 60’s I think.

00:32:29

Professor B. V. A. Rao was already a doctorate degree holder?

00:32:32

Yeah. he was East German. He after joining. East German doctorate.

00:32:36

So, when he joined he was a doctorate

00:32:38

already. Yeah, East German doctorate.

00:32:39

it was not recognized by the Government of Chennai.

00:32:42

But his designation was-

00:32:43

Yeah, yeah there was a fight actually.

00:32:45

Professor Lakshmanaswami Mudaliar fought

00:32:46

saying that this is German collaborated institution.

00:32:49

How how can we refuse,

00:32:51

you know same Lakshmanaswami Mudaliar

00:32:53

refused to accept it in in University of Madras.

00:32:57

I see. That is a controversy. Oh.

00:32:59

So, he was recruited

00:33:00

and he felt comfortable because

00:33:03

it is a recognized place for his degree he joined here. Ok.

00:33:06

So, subsequently,

00:33:09

some more faculty junior members and all that joined

00:33:12

and each each laboratory recruited

00:33:14

its own people qualified for them. Same

00:33:17

specializations. Right and much later only

00:33:19

the fourth section called biomechanics started

00:33:22

with Professor Radhakrishnan

00:33:24

and Professor Patel. S. Radhakrishnan.

00:33:27

S. Rakrishnan. Patel. Patel.

00:33:28

Patel happened to be my student-

00:33:29

Oh I see. in our own institution IIT Madras. Very good.

00:33:32

And then one gentleman who passed away,

00:33:34

Patel’s senior I forget his name.

00:33:38

it used to be in the letter G started.

00:33:40

Gisa. Yeah. Professor Gisa. He yeah right.

00:33:42

Ok. He- he.

00:33:44

Because about Professor Gisa I have heard about him. Right.

00:33:47

right. And- He joined.

00:33:48

he- Because in Senate he was asked to explain. Right.

00:33:50

Right. What is biomechanics?

00:33:51

Right. And he jumped into the bowl.

00:33:53

I don't know how far it is sure. Yeah true true.

00:33:56

He was the advisor for Professor Patel.

00:33:59

Right sir. So, when Patel was recruited he also was recruited.

00:34:02

Both of them joined the biomechanic section

00:34:04

Right. of the fourth section of- Now.

00:34:06

Department of Applied Mechanics. Now sir,

00:34:08

now people with the doctorate joining,

00:34:11

you would have also been tempted to acquire-

00:34:13

Yeah yeah, highest degree naturally. So

00:34:15

what was your effort in- Ok ok.

00:34:17

trying to get that. So, when I joined there Ph.D.-

00:34:19

Joined there. Did you register for,

00:34:22

Sure yes yes yes yes- Ph.D. here itself? Or elsewhere?

00:34:24

registered I will tell you that. Right sir.

00:34:26

And after having, after having that joined there- Yeah.

00:34:29

I was interested in trying to register for a Ph.D. Sir,

00:34:32

he is Professor Wagner. Professor Wagner right.

00:34:34

Wagner or. Wagner Wagner. Wagner.

00:34:36

Because a in German language is 'aa'

00:34:39

Not 'A'. Right. E is 'A'.

00:34:41

And German no Russia na American say Wag.

00:34:46

No even our our car

00:34:48

Waganer it should not be Weganor. Ok. ok.

00:34:51

It is Waganer but people you say Weganor. Right right.

00:34:55

Anyway. So, please say about your program. Ok

00:34:58

then I I had the ambition after having joined because

00:35:00

I was more interested in my growth.

00:35:02

That is how I remind

00:35:03

I mean resigned PWD and all that anyway.

00:35:05

So, when that was the case.

00:35:07

I asked Professor B. V. A. Rao.

00:35:10

whether it would be possible for him to guide me

00:35:12

and register me.

00:35:14

He said yes.

00:35:16

But there were some technical problems

00:35:20

and then, Professor D. V. Reddy advised me

00:35:23

it would be better that you registered with somebody else in

00:35:25

mechanical engineering,

00:35:27

you being basically mechanical engineering.

00:35:30

So, at that time

00:35:30

there wasn’t much of doctorate people available

00:35:33

excepting Professor V. C. Venkatesh

00:35:35

who was in manufacturing side.

00:35:38

Then I didn’t have any choice,

00:35:39

so, I registered with the Professor V. C. Venkatesh

00:35:42

to have the wear in gears.

00:35:46

We started building up

00:35:47

testing and all that

00:35:49

initially, some drawings were made and things like that.

00:35:51

not much of progress could go

00:35:53

because I belong to two departments there.

00:35:55

There was a conflict.

00:35:56

I I also happened to be taking the responsibility of an

00:35:59

assistant wardenship.

00:36:01

There was a very big

00:36:02

difficulty to coordinate

00:36:04

because the hostels were- Can you-

00:36:06

do you remember the hostel name sir,

00:36:08

where you were? It is Cauvery.

00:36:09

Cauvery. Cauvery was the first hostel. Ok.

00:36:10

Later on was the next one was- Krishna?

00:36:13

What was the next one next next to? Krishna-

00:36:15

Krishna. Just one.

00:36:17

Krishna hostel. Krishna hostel right no.

00:36:19

Memory goes off.

00:36:20

No don’t worry sir I can- Krishna. Yeah Yes.

00:36:21

Cauvery was fully developed.

00:36:23

Right. Krishna was half done.

00:36:24

Used to be yeah. Right. I am, I am losing memory.

00:36:26

Yeah. If you. No no I am here to help you out.

00:36:29

Right thank you. Yeah.

00:36:30

Thank you. No. I I am able to find out I should accept it

00:36:33

that my age

00:36:35

makes me forget. No. no many things. But you have,

00:36:37

you have wealth of information.

00:36:39

That is more than anything. That is ok.

00:36:41

So, joined.

00:36:43

the very first day itself I joined as an assistant warden

00:36:46

in Cauvery hostel. Oh

00:36:48

right from. Right very

00:36:50

Cauvery Hostel was existing.

00:36:53

and the hostel was elsewhere functioning.

00:36:56

The building Cauvery Hostel after it was built here,

00:36:59

I happened to be the first assistant warden. Ok right.

00:37:01

That is all. right.

00:37:02

but the hostels were existing even earlier

00:37:04

at Saidapet and all that. Right.

00:37:05

Right. The building was ready only here. Right.

00:37:07

Then, being an assistant warden.

00:37:10

being in the department of applied mechanics.

00:37:12

Doing Ph.D. Doing Ph.D. there.

00:37:13

In mechanical engineering. At that time was difficult because

00:37:16

a lot of administrative works were there.

00:37:18

In fact to be frank.

00:37:20

if I don't go to the hostel in time

00:37:22

some tins of oil will go off.

00:37:26

And I may had to periodically visit to

00:37:28

see that everything is alright because

00:37:30

it is student’s money

00:37:32

and Professor Swamy was

00:37:34

our friend we we both lived in the same hostel

00:37:37

by that time of course, he joined us a little bit better developed

00:37:39

than what it was earlier.

00:37:41

So, very frequently silently used to go.

00:37:44

I used to make the Director know that

00:37:46

Professor Sengupto know, knew

00:37:47

and he used to periodically visit.

00:37:50

He was also liking the way which in which we did.

00:37:54

It was also an interesting point in the hostel.

00:37:55

If you think that is necessary. I will tell you here. Please please sir.

00:37:58

In the hostel.

00:38:00

there were two

00:38:01

different section vegetarian non-vegetarian.

00:38:04

Everything was separate.

00:38:06

Excepting the dining hall was not partitioned.

00:38:09

So, I asked Professor

00:38:11

Sengupto- I think we had two kitchens also,

00:38:13

non-vegetarian. Two kitchens. Yeah. Two; two

00:38:15

places where you can display things,

00:38:17

take things everything is separate.

00:38:19

Even cooks were the separate.

00:38:20

Everything separate vessels were separate

00:38:22

excepting for the partition in the dining hall.

00:38:25

So, being an assistant warden

00:38:28

I was just interested in trying to know

00:38:30

why it was not done.

00:38:31

Professor Sengupto periodically used to visit

00:38:34

very much interested in developing the hostel.

00:38:38

So, he came there and I asked him

00:38:40

why is that there wasn’t any partition?

00:38:42

He smiled.

00:38:43

Then for some time, he didn’t reply.

00:38:46

In in those days.

00:38:47

we had the liberty to ask very freely Professor Sengupto.

00:38:50

he won’t mistake.

00:38:51

He was the Director also. He was the one the Director.

00:38:52

he didn’t have any I mean we didn’t have any fear

00:38:55

that he is the Director how can we talk to him and things like that,

00:38:57

very frank.

00:38:58

Then, I asked him if you are silent

00:39:00

how do I know what the answer is.

00:39:03

So, for which again he smile.

00:39:04

Smile is not the answer. That is what was.

00:39:08

Then, he he said

00:39:10

I will ask a, I will ask a question to you he has said.

00:39:13

Our students are going to be very bright

00:39:16

and they are going to study in abroad

00:39:18

and a lot of development is expected from them

00:39:21

by their own studies to our country.

00:39:23

When they go in a flight,

00:39:26

they are seated

00:39:28

by the side there was a non-vegetarian, our boy is a vegetarian.

00:39:32

Will he jump off the flight

00:39:34

just because he could not tolerate a non-vegetarian is by the side.

00:39:39

If so, is it not our duty

00:39:41

to train our own students to tolerate anything?

00:39:45

Whether he is a vegetarian non-vegetarian

00:39:47

to see that a vegetarian should tolerate

00:39:50

a non-vegetarian sitting by their side and eating.

00:39:53

Very nice idea. Right.

00:39:54

That was the lesson I understood.

00:39:56

Then, never asked the question.

00:39:58

Have I answered? He asked me.

00:40:00

Very much I said.

00:40:01

Then, no hostel here we had any partition.

00:40:05

Right sir.

00:40:06

As he imagined later on,

00:40:08

friends vegetarian non-vegetarian.

00:40:12

they used to mix with each other,

00:40:14

eat side by side.

00:40:15

There wasn’t any necessity for us to even think

00:40:18

of putting a partition.

00:40:20

So, that was a very interesting thing

00:40:22

which I learnt from Professor Sengupto.

00:40:24

Then, because of the difficulty of

00:40:28

time factor for me,

00:40:30

even though I I could register-

00:40:32

Sir. Were you married at that time or so? No I was not married.

00:40:35

Ok. If I would have been married there nobody-

00:40:36

would have given me the assistant warden’s position. Right.

00:40:39

I see. Right that was in the year 61 to-

00:40:43

I was there only for a very short period.

00:40:45

Later on I moved outside,

00:40:48

living with the cook

00:40:49

because my parents had threatened me

00:40:52

that anytime I might get married.

00:40:54

So, if that is the case,

00:40:56

then if I am the hostel at those days

00:40:57

very difficult to get a house if I get married

00:41:00

to make my family live.

00:41:01

So, I I

00:41:03

out of necessity, I moved out

00:41:05

not because I did not like the hostel life.

00:41:07

Which place you stay? Adyar.

00:41:08

Adyar. I took an independent small house

00:41:10

fortunately, there was a cook

00:41:12

who happened to know me right from my childhood

00:41:14

and he came there to help me.

00:41:16

So, he was a cook. I was enjoying his cook

00:41:19

I mean enjoying the stay.

00:41:20

I was living there for some time.

00:41:22

But he is a cook, he didn’t know anything about

00:41:25

counting money and numbers and nothing.

00:41:28

If you give him some 2 rupees to buy something

00:41:30

he doesn’t know

00:41:31

what is the balance and how much

00:41:33

he paid and all that

00:41:34

I mean 2 rupees a very big money at the time.

00:41:37

So, for some time he was working there and

00:41:40

he was a very good cook.

00:41:41

He couldn’t remain there idle.

00:41:44

So, silently one day he left and when I went there,

00:41:46

he wasn’t there.

00:41:47

So, I felt what to do?

00:41:50

My marriage also was getting postponed.

00:41:52

Joined back the hostel.

00:41:54

Joined back the hostel again in Cauvery.

00:41:57

I was wanted actually

00:41:58

to join the hostel.

00:42:00

Professor Venkata Rao

00:42:02

first professor

00:42:04

chemical chemical engineering professor yeah, chemical engineering.

00:42:07

Venkateswaralu. Venkateswaralu. Venkateswaralu was my warden. Chemical engineering.

00:42:10

Professor Venkata Rao became the warden second time.

00:42:13

I was there for some some time.

00:42:16

Then again there was a temptation,

00:42:20

then I might get married.

00:42:22

Then, on the fear that I may not even get a house,

00:42:24

I went back.

00:42:26

Now is there remaining, then

00:42:28

I took a a decision not to come to the hostel at all

00:42:30

because this dilly dallying is not at all possible.

00:42:33

Then, the marriage somehow got delayed

00:42:37

and then Professor Sankaran became the warden

00:42:40

of Tapti hostel.

00:42:41

P. Sankaran of electrical engineer? No.

00:42:43

K. S. Sankaran of civil engineering. K. S civil engineering.

00:42:45

Right he became the warden. But there were

00:42:47

two Sankaran’s. Right K. S. Sankaran.

00:42:49

Some how he was very fond of me.

00:42:51

He said I want you to be the assistant warden otherwise,

00:42:54

I would not be a warden.

00:42:55

What do you say he said.

00:42:57

It was a very embarrassing situation for me.

00:42:59

I said fine.

00:43:00

Then, fortunately for me to relieve,

00:43:02

get myself relieved from the assistant wardenship,

00:43:05

got married.

00:43:06

The lady joined me.

00:43:08

The very day of marriage

00:43:10

we moved in here

00:43:11

and it was fortunate. You had a on on

00:43:13

campus you got an accommodation? Yes, I was

00:43:15

fortunate to get the campus allotment

00:43:17

Yeah, D-flat; D-type flat was a allotted.

00:43:20

Earlier to that in the campus.

00:43:22

Now the campus in is very much in a

00:43:26

sort of a rush to move.

00:43:27

First movement of the campus was funny.

00:43:31

Professor Physics professor

00:43:35

I don’t know I forget every time their name. F. B. I. Sastry.

00:43:38

F. B. I. Sastry.

00:43:40

Professor Sastry right.

00:43:42

he was the person first moving.

00:43:44

Professor Sengupto put an order

00:43:46

because nobody was willing to move

00:43:48

and quarters were built what to do?

00:43:50

So, those who don’t move into the quarters.

00:43:54

I am going to cut the house rent allowance

00:43:56

and there will be a lot of punishment

00:43:59

and they would not get the priority when the allotment comes

00:44:02

once you refuse.

00:44:04

So, that order threatened everybody.

00:44:06

Then, Professor Sastry willingly joined and he was very happy

00:44:09

and Professor Sengupto congratulated him.

00:44:12

There after of course, the

00:44:13

campus became very popular

00:44:15

and it was very nice.

00:44:17

A word about Professor Sengupto.

00:44:19

Professor Sengupto was living in Adyar

00:44:21

and used to come by an Ambassador car, red in colour.

00:44:24

When he enter into the gate normally

00:44:28

the campus was not occupied by anybody

00:44:30

excepting snakes.

00:44:32

So, there are lot of people waiting to move into the campus.

00:44:35

At that time the vehicle comfortable and all that was not there.

00:44:38

So, he never behaved like a Director

00:44:42

he dumped as many people as possible in his car

00:44:45

even though, Ambassador car can

00:44:47

accommodate maximum 4.

00:44:49

6, 7 are all very common

00:44:51

and used to drive through.

00:44:53

That was the generosity with which

00:44:55

the first Director was here in this campus.

00:44:59

Another interesting thing about Professor Sengupto which I

00:45:01

would like to share here if I am permitted,

00:45:04

he took care aerially to view the campus,

00:45:09

To find out how to make the roads

00:45:12

that was also the advice of Professor Kraus.

00:45:15

Then, he found

00:45:17

the path in such a way

00:45:19

the minimum number of plantations should be cut

00:45:23

that is how our roads are curvy

00:45:26

and he was also happy

00:45:27

the roads are curvy

00:45:29

because it is a natural

00:45:32

way of what you call the- [Speaking Tamil]

00:45:38

Yeah. you know finding a path. Yeah,

00:45:40

naturally

00:45:41

there wasn’t necessary for us to build in an artificial thing.

00:45:44

Right. It was natural.

00:45:45

In fact Professor V. C. Kulandaiswamy

00:45:47

who happened to be the

00:45:49

Vice-Chancellor later

00:45:52

he was a Director of Technical Education.

00:45:54

Any Director of Technical Education ex officio is a member;

00:45:57

member in the board.

00:45:58

He asked a question in the board

00:46:00

saying that we did a mistake of roads should be curvy,

00:46:03

we should have been straight it would have been beautiful

00:46:06

for which Professor Sengupto answered beautifully

00:46:08

this is the reason

00:46:09

and then he couldn’t say any word.

00:46:11

And Professor Kraus also appreciated that.

00:46:13

That is how the campus became

00:46:15

with the very good

00:46:17

plantations remaining as they are right now.

00:46:19

And that credit goes to Professor Sengupto.

00:46:22

Sir, you you know we were

00:46:23

dwelling upon your Ph.D. programme- Right.

00:46:25

then you know- I I deviated I am sorry. Yeah.

00:46:27

doesn’t matter but- Taken you too much time. No. no. no.

00:46:30

What happened to you? Then, then after sometime.

00:46:32

Professor Venkatesan and I were

00:46:34

guide and students like.

00:46:35

Things didn't go very well.

00:46:37

Then there was an offer to go to Germany.

00:46:41

I was the only person

00:46:44

recommended by the Department of Applied Mechanics

00:46:46

by Professor Reddy was very happy

00:46:48

that I I was proposed

00:46:50

and there wasn’t any competition.

00:46:52

Like that

00:46:53

many people also were proposed in their respective departments.

00:46:57

When everything went on,

00:46:59

we were instructed

00:47:00

to see that you vacate the quarters

00:47:02

and dump whatever that is

00:47:04

available in your own home and after you

00:47:06

you return back, you bring all that.

00:47:08

The quarters would be re-allotted to you.

00:47:10

So, I did everything.

00:47:12

But there was a big shock,

00:47:14

four of us,

00:47:15

four did not get any information later

00:47:19

while others got.

00:47:21

It was a surprise.

00:47:23

Sunderesan of metallurgy,

00:47:24

Oh. myself, Bhimshankar Sastry of Physics

00:47:27

and A. K. Narayanan of electrical.

00:47:29

These four were not there

00:47:31

that is because of some political reason.

00:47:33

Let me not explain that here- No. Yeah.

00:47:35

because it was not good also.

00:47:36

So, later on I was upset.

00:47:38

I had the liberty of saying Professor Sengupto

00:47:41

to see Professor Sengupto.

00:47:43

I directly went into Professor Sengupto’s house,

00:47:46

asked him what is the matter?

00:47:48

He somehow

00:47:49

didn’t answer properly, then he said

00:47:51

well, Germany is not the only country.

00:47:53

You have other countries why do you bother about it.

00:47:55

So, later on, it was very embarrassing for me to ask.

00:47:57

So, little disappointed

00:47:59

just at that time only out of challenge

00:48:02

I began applying abroad.

00:48:04

I didn’t want to remain here

00:48:06

because I felt as if I was insulted.

00:48:08

Yeah. Then, I I Professor Sengupto knew.

00:48:11

I used to talk to him very frankly. But,

00:48:13

you know if I am correct you went to the

00:48:15

most famous prestigious. Yeah right right. Institution in USA.

00:48:18

Right. MIT.

00:48:19

Right. In fact one way guide was a very excellent man. Yeah.

00:48:22

And he was a very well-known man

00:48:23

and because of that work

00:48:25

I was given an honor,

00:48:27

a very good award was presented to me

00:48:31

in New York October 74

00:48:33

and the work was

00:48:34

very much respected in Japan

00:48:37

in UK and also, USA for railroad constructions.

00:48:40

they were interested using this work to calculate the wear

00:48:43

and then, trying to design

00:48:45

that the work was concentrating on that.

00:48:47

Professor Enrich Hertz

00:48:49

was making certain spring constant on contacts.

00:48:52

Contact mechanics.

00:48:54

My work was more on contact mechanics vibrations.

00:48:57

I had the possibility of finding out that damping coefficient

00:49:00

instead of spring.

00:49:01

So, that contribution they felt as if

00:49:03

is very good.

00:49:04

So, that that later on made me- You

00:49:07

return back in 73 if I. 73.

00:49:09

Right. 70 to 73 I was a student,

00:49:11

returned back in 73.

00:49:13

Did you go back to- I joined back the Department of

00:49:15

Applied Mechanics. Applied mechanics. Right.

00:49:16

73 then

00:49:18

when I I was given the elevation

00:49:20

as an assistant professor simply because I had the

00:49:23

Ph.D. degree.

00:49:24

It took some time anyway

00:49:25

immediately not joining

00:49:26

but after some time

00:49:29

I I was asked whether

00:49:31

I would be comfortable here.

00:49:33

I said I am comfortable anywhere doesn’t matter

00:49:35

because vibration laboratory is also then.

00:49:37

Then, there was a necessity

00:49:39

for a

00:49:42

a person to be recruited for the Engineering Design Centre.

00:49:46

Professor Ramchandran by that time had started

00:49:48

Engineering Design Centre.

00:49:49

Professor Channabasavan was the first man

00:49:52

recruited the Engineering Design Centre as a man in charge.

00:49:55

Then, I was interviewed.

00:49:58

I was selected.

00:50:00

Then won’t you be interested in going to

00:50:02

Engineering Design Centre?

00:50:04

I accepted that

00:50:06

then within about few months

00:50:10

there was an offer from US

00:50:12

for a post doctoral work.

00:50:14

The same place

00:50:15

where professor was very much in interested

00:50:18

so, it was a very embarrassing situation to ask leave.

00:50:21

Professor Narayana Murthy was the Director.

00:50:23

He felt it is not advisable for you to go

00:50:26

So, be here.

00:50:27

74. That was 70; 70. 74. 77;

00:50:30

77. 77 much later. 77. Yeah. Right.

00:50:33

No I was there after 73 for 4 years. Sir

00:50:35

how did you move into ME and MH in-

00:50:37

after the Engineering Design Centre

00:50:39

the Professor Naryana Murthy himself said.

00:50:42

It is better that you go to ME much.

00:50:44

Because he was

00:50:45

incharge of mechanical engineering professor.

00:50:47

So, I went there.

00:50:49

Again there was my own classmate sitting there.

00:50:51

Professor Raidu.

00:50:53

Like Ramani Raidu and many other people classmates were.

00:50:56

So,I joined my MEMH.

00:50:57

After some time only this offer came

00:50:59

and the Engineering Design Centre also was born

00:51:02

then it was difficult for me

00:51:04

to convince Professor Narayana Murthy to

00:51:07

to- Yeah. Time up? No this a no this is the ME and MH. Already

00:51:10

ok. In fact now the name has been changed sir.

00:51:13

Yeah, If you see that,

00:51:14

it is a machine elements. Yeah and mechanical handling.

00:51:17

Yeah. Laboratory now, it is called Machine Design.

00:51:19

Right I I knew that. Right sir. I knew that

00:51:21

because mechanically machine this is the mechanical

00:51:24

what is that the the the other side mechanical handling,

00:51:26

there was there isn’t anybody.

00:51:28

Mechanical handling is closed. Nobody is there? No.

00:51:29

closed. All the three are. And

00:51:32

for your information

00:51:33

That machine dynamics group in applied mechanics,

00:51:36

joined our department. Yeah I know that.

00:51:38

So, they have the thrust now. Professor

00:51:39

Ramamurti was so, Very much insisting on that. If you had

00:51:41

continued in mechanics.

00:51:43

Yeah. That machine dynamics.

00:51:44

I would have moved out automatically. You would have moved out automatically. It is ok Yeah,

00:51:46

Can you recognize somehow these people?

00:51:48

Professor Ramachandran

00:51:50

and Professor Sampath Desai.

00:51:52

And. I think half. That gentleman is

00:51:55

I I know him I forget his name.

00:51:57

his name would start with the letter B.

00:51:59

I forget that That gentleman with the-

00:52:01

Yeah, I I forget his name.

00:52:02

the man with spectator is a German.

00:52:04

Right. A nice gentleman I forget-

00:52:05

Professor Narayana Murthy at the back of

00:52:07

Professor Ramachandran.

00:52:08

right right. Just behind him of course.

00:52:10

These are workers

00:52:11

and he is the person who was inaugurated.

00:52:13

Kerckhoff.

00:52:14

Ok. So, all these people I know.

00:52:16

I am able to recollect. Very very.

00:52:17

And there was a

00:52:18

this person also I know I forget that

00:52:20

the the a person between

00:52:22

Professor- yeah, that is Sampath right.

00:52:24

Yeah. Sampath.

00:52:25

So, and and he he I knew very well, but

00:52:28

he is a bit handicapped person.

00:52:30

Do you remember?

00:52:31

No. He used to walk a little-

00:52:33

Herbert. No no Herbert is.

00:52:36

Workshop; workshop. Yeah yeah. Ebert; Ebert sorry. Yeah. Ebert.

00:52:40

I I forget his name.

00:52:41

I forget that now.

00:52:41

anyway it doesn’t matter. So, very interesting sir,

00:52:44

you moved into

00:52:46

mechanical ME and MH in 77.

00:52:49

Yeah. From Engineering Design Centre.

00:52:51

I joined MEMH in 74.

00:52:54

Ok. As a

00:52:55

technical senior Right right. Technical assistant Right. right.

00:52:57

Only to teach drawing.

00:52:59

Ok. Ok. Ok. I was also doing Ph.D. at that time.

00:53:03

So, just for you know. Fine. Remembrance. Very good.

00:53:05

So, then sir what happen you know in MEMH

00:53:08

you know can you. Even Ramaiyan. Yeah.

00:53:10

yeah. Ramaiyan and others also joined at that time.

00:53:12

Right right. They were all faculty in Anna University.

00:53:14

Then, you were developing a set up

00:53:16

in ME and MH. Yeah.

00:53:17

ME and MH the first Ph.D. student was Professor Balaveera Reddy.

00:53:20

And he was a very dynamic person,

00:53:22

this was set up. Do you remember yes. This was set up

00:53:24

and very much respect I must give to this

00:53:28

because he worked night and day

00:53:29

leaving his family at the other coast

00:53:32

and he built in is already

00:53:34

a man with four daughters and a son

00:53:36

and they were all in this set

00:53:38

and he came there

00:53:40

very much concentrating on Ph.D. work.

00:53:42

He did this equipment.

00:53:44

Can you say anything special

00:53:46

about this equipment because- Sure the special

00:53:48

feature is there is a slot there

00:53:50

where when the

00:53:53

slot is not there because of the metal,

00:53:56

when a conductor go goes

00:53:58

just in between a magnet

00:53:59

there will be a generation of current.

00:54:01

So, there is an Eddy current.

00:54:03

The moment the slot comes

00:54:05

the Eddy current will disappear.

00:54:07

So, a current.

00:54:09

slot, a current, a slot.

00:54:12

that will give an electric break.

00:54:14

So, this break was utilized

00:54:16

on a gear shaft

00:54:18

to see the two gears when they mesh,

00:54:21

one gear will be running,

00:54:23

the other gear will be preventing Yeah,

00:54:25

Just because of intermit breaking.

00:54:27

So, when there is a hit,

00:54:29

since I did already on contact mechanics,

00:54:31

I was interested in making this

00:54:32

contact mechanics applied on gears.

00:54:34

That was the work.

00:54:35

the for that only this was built.

00:54:37

Later on, by changing parameters.

00:54:39

many other works could also be done.

00:54:41

This Sir- if I am correct

00:54:42

it is also a non-conduct sensing arrangement. Yeah right.

00:54:45

Whereas, you know there is no conduct sensor here. Yeah right.

00:54:48

So, you can

00:54:50

remotely, Right right yeah. Collect the signal.

00:54:52

That is right. That is another advantage of this.

00:54:53

Damping. Subsequently

00:54:55

many people worked on this if I am correct.

00:54:57

Yeah yeah. Not only Balaveera Reddy.

00:54:59

if I am correct Venkataraman. 7; 7 people did. 7 people. Did work on that

00:55:02

Yeah, So, one set up.

00:55:04

7 people I think. People did that work

00:55:05

yeah and this was also wanted in some of the

00:55:08

this self-financing engineering colleges.

00:55:10

Right. To build up to take it because IIT did not

00:55:13

after some time wanted.

00:55:14

but later on

00:55:16

there were a hesitating move and all that.

00:55:18

But there wasn’t anybody

00:55:20

to use it properly

00:55:22

that is how it got diminished.

00:55:24

I don't know what happened for subsequently.

00:55:26

I didn't go to the laboratory further.

00:55:28

But that that the set up is continuing there or I don't know.

00:55:30

Now, lot of revamping has been done. Yeah Ok

00:55:33

So, new equipments have come in. No. it is too old.

00:55:35

Probably, some more

00:55:36

better concepts should have come now and

00:55:38

too old Yeah, So,

00:55:40

I am sorry; I have taken a lot of time. No. no. no. no.

00:55:41

it was very interesting to- Ok. talk to you.

00:55:43

So, you retired. Then, after you just asked me the career.

00:55:47

Then, I moved Engineering Design Centre.

00:55:50

then I was given an offer

00:55:52

you be in the Mechanical Engineering Department as a faculty.

00:55:55

at the time,

00:55:56

at the same time, do be in the Engineering Design Centre.

00:55:58

So, faculty in mechanical engineering

00:56:00

and chief design engineer in

00:56:03

Engineering Design Centre.

00:56:05

This sort of thing again

00:56:07

disturbed me very much.

00:56:08

Then, after some time Professor

00:56:10

L. S. Srinath felt

00:56:12

the Engineering Design Centre was

00:56:15

the concept was made by Professor Ramachandran.

00:56:17

Professor L. S. Srinath felt-

00:56:19

Sir. before that,

00:56:20

do you remember one work done by us jointly

00:56:24

in the feed mixing unit yes yeah.

00:56:26

in Nandanam. I I remember. I remember that; I remember that.

00:56:28

Yeah it is a point we should be.

00:56:30

So, very very much highlighted.

00:56:32

I am happy that you you mentioned. Because you are-

00:56:33

you are doing many projects.

00:56:35

Right. In one project.

00:56:36

you know we joined together. Yeah right.

00:56:38

And that is a Nandanam

00:56:40

feed mixing unit. I understand.

00:56:41

I understand. Where we had to. Sure sure. Do.

00:56:44

Sure. we we had that work

00:56:45

and Engineering Design Centre

00:56:47

did go to very many places for consultancy

00:56:51

on the design particularly.

00:56:52

One example I will try to give

00:56:54

the people

00:56:56

for taking the feather off from the chicken

00:57:01

they were finding it difficult.

00:57:03

They were asking me whether it would be possible for a machine,

00:57:06

machine to be designed.

00:57:07

So, it will be very quick and all that.

00:57:09

We tried, but

00:57:10

by the time Engineering Design Centre itself did not exist.

00:57:12

Yeah. So, it it couldn’t continue.

00:57:14

There were lots of projects we were interested

00:57:17

but the only thing is

00:57:19

manpower was not there

00:57:20

and there wasn’t automation;

00:57:22

there wasn’t any automation.

00:57:23

By that time there wasn’t any software development

00:57:26

which we could be using it for design.

00:57:28

Such developments were not there.

00:57:30

So, but that itself is a different field.

00:57:32

Development of a software design is a different field.

00:57:35

So, these were all put forth to

00:57:38

Professor Srinath and he felt

00:57:40

that it is wise that we dissolve that

00:57:43

and he made me to perfectly permanently join

00:57:46

in MEMH laboratory.

00:57:48

That is how I- One more person

00:57:49

you have forgotten Engineering Design Centre,

00:57:51

Professor. Professor Kalander Saheb.

00:57:53

Kalander Saheb also, yeah, Kalandar Saheb also Yeah,

00:57:54

He also joined in the manufacturing side.

00:57:57

I went to the MEMH. After that

00:57:58

you know Channabasavan. And Professor Channabasavan

00:57:59

went to precision engineering.

00:58:01

After the centre was closed.

00:58:02

Yeah. People were distributed. We were distributed right.

00:58:04

Kalandar Saheb came to our lab. Then, there was Sharma.

00:58:07

Sharma also was there in the

00:58:08

engineer design centre he also went to the precision engineering.

00:58:10

D. K. Sharma.

00:58:11

And Kotial.

00:58:13

Kotial also was there.

00:58:14

Right. Shirohi also was there.

00:58:16

all we were all there in the Engineering Design Centre.

00:58:18

they were transferred to precision engineering

00:58:21

while I was transferred to MEMH.

00:58:23

Kalandar Saheb went to manufacturing.

00:58:25

Channabasavan also went to precision engineering. Right sir.

00:58:27

Malhotra

00:58:28

my? Malhotra was in the FRP. FRP Centre.

00:58:32

He was already there in the FRP. Right sir.

00:58:34

He didn’t come to the Engineering Design Centre. Right.

00:58:35

right sir. So, how was your you know

00:58:39

your work in ME and MH because

00:58:41

I left MEMH you know in 77.

00:58:46

Ok. I went to IIT Bombay.

00:58:47

Yeah. I know. When I came back.

00:58:49

I came back to manufacturing engineering. Engineering section.

00:58:52

Yeah. And not did not come.

00:58:53

Right. To MEMH. You went to Bombay I went to USA.

00:58:55

That is how it is. It is right.

00:58:57

So, anything that you can recollect

00:59:00

in your- No. MEMH was a very

00:59:02

lovable place to work with because

00:59:04

all our colleagues were excellent,

00:59:06

it was a beautiful place and

00:59:07

big workshop and all that.

00:59:09

Professor M. A. Parameshwaran. M. A. Parame that is

00:59:12

MEMH Machine Elements Mechanical Handling.

00:59:16

That is how it was named as MEMH

00:59:18

and machine elements.

00:59:20

We were rotating ourselves who is the head and all that.

00:59:23

For a longer time

00:59:24

there was a professor called Raidu

00:59:26

who happened to be my classmate.

00:59:27

He was there as a head for a long time

00:59:30

and then, Professor Parameshwaran permanently

00:59:33

head for mechanically handling.

00:59:34

There were only three people

00:59:35

Professor Parameshwaram, Professor Ram. Ramakoteswara Rao.

00:59:38

Ramakoteswara Rao

00:59:39

and Then, Madhusudan Rao Madhusudan Rao

00:59:41

who unfortunately passed away.

00:59:42

Excepting Parameshwaram the other two don’t exist now.

00:59:44

So, when these things were going on

00:59:48

there was a lot of exchange between

00:59:50

mechanical handling and machine elements.

00:59:51

There wasn't any big demarcation.

00:59:54

Even though separate laboratories exist.

00:59:56

They were in the in the same building.

00:59:57

So, we never had any difficulty

00:59:59

in exchanging mechanics or

01:00:01

manpower and all that even materials.

01:00:03

So, went on for a long time.

01:00:04

I think before that was dissolved

01:00:08

I left the institution.

01:00:10

So, later on I do not know

01:00:11

what happened. Did not get dissolved sir.

01:00:13

Actually after Parameshwaran,

01:00:15

we couldn’t continue the program.

01:00:16

Ok. Madhusudan Rao also went to. Could not.

01:00:18

Malaysia

01:00:19

So, we were finding it difficult to offer that.

01:00:22

Understand Programme.

01:00:23

we had PG programme.

01:00:24

Yeah yeah. In machine elements alone.

01:00:26

Yeah yeah And a mechanical handling. Right and

01:00:27

later on Balasubramaniam joined I think. So, mechanical handling had

01:00:29

to be closed. Yeah yeah natural.

01:00:31

So, that is how it happened. Yeah.

01:00:32

yeah. Still its a very hot field sir.

01:00:34

you know if some. True.

01:00:35

Somewhere because no other institution in India has it.

01:00:38

no that was a. Does it.

01:00:39

except Kharagpur. Crane and all that were very well-developed.

01:00:41

Well-developed.

01:00:42

And I I think the credit again goes to Professor Kraus.

01:00:45

He was the architect for all the laboratories.

01:00:47

the departments were all laboratory oriented.

01:00:50

That concept was brought by

01:00:53

Kraus because in Germany it was the case.

01:00:55

Sir did you come for our Golden Jubilee Celebration

01:00:57

were you- I don’t think I came.

01:00:59

Ok 2000. I don’t-

01:01:01

9 if I am correct.

01:01:03

No I don’t think so, I didnt come.

01:01:05

Invitation was sent. 2009 I

01:01:07

I already had move to Perundurai.

01:01:10

Perundurai. So, I couldn’t make the trip.

01:01:12

Ok. Because was an employee there

01:01:15

I didn’t take leave and come.

01:01:18

Because I know that is the time, I was also a HOD.

01:01:21

I see. So, then,

01:01:22

many of the professors retired professor came

01:01:24

including German professors. No I could have come

01:01:26

had I been free so,

01:01:27

but I was employed

01:01:28

somewhere. Probably some other time we can you know

01:01:30

talk about. I will I show you the- Sure sure.

01:01:32

photographs also. With pleasure with pleasure.

01:01:33

Then, anything you can recollect which is

01:01:36

something at the top of your mind

01:01:38

about you are stay in IIT. Ok

01:01:40

as far as the department is concerned,

01:01:43

irrespective which department do you belong,

01:01:46

excellent friendship

01:01:48

and people were very much

01:01:51

helping each other even though

01:01:54

some minor personal animosities

01:01:55

might be there out of competition or something like that.

01:01:58

Professional competition is there everywhere.

01:02:00

So, excepting that

01:02:01

I atleast feel

01:02:03

that there was a beautiful coordination.

01:02:05

To make that coordination better

01:02:06

we used to have the Saturday movies where

01:02:08

people again

01:02:09

used to mix with families and things like that.

01:02:11

it was a wonderful life

01:02:12

and for making that sort of movies

01:02:14

very good Open Air Theatre was there.

01:02:16

There is also a credit

01:02:17

regarding the Open Air Theatre

01:02:18

probably, many people may not know.

01:02:20

If time permits I might say that also, Please Yeah,

01:02:23

There was a very big pit there.

01:02:25

The present place where there is Open Air Theatre

01:02:27

a very big pit.

01:02:29

Superintending Engineer Ramaswamy was

01:02:32

the engineer there at that time.

01:02:34

Professor Sengupto was

01:02:36

trying to do things for the institution.

01:02:40

They both inspected the site very big pit.

01:02:42

Sengupto was asking Ramaswamy what to do.

01:02:45

Then, he said with the

01:02:48

idea of building some building there,

01:02:49

he said no problem sir,

01:02:51

without any difficulty, we could dump earth and then,

01:02:53

make it better.

01:02:55

Then, he again smiled, it is usual style of smiling.

01:02:58

When he smiles,

01:02:59

there is something which others have to watch

01:03:02

that that this is the meaning.

01:03:03

He is smiling. He is basically a civil engineer.

01:03:06

He is a mechanical engineer.

01:03:07

excellent handwriting. Professor Sengupto.

01:03:08

Beautiful. Professor Sengupto? Yeah.

01:03:10

Excellent teacher.

01:03:10

Somebody said civil engineer.

01:03:12

No. no. no. He is he took classes for applied mechanics. Oh.

01:03:14

I attended also. I see I see.

01:03:16

He was fond of taking classes

01:03:18

but there wasn’t any time as a Director

01:03:20

and there were some funds I mean lot of

01:03:22

in fact for the whole day I can tell,

01:03:24

but there is not much of time.

01:03:26

Beautiful things one can enjoy

01:03:27

but that there is no time. Anyway that pit he smiled

01:03:32

then Mr. Ramaswamy I didn’t ask you

01:03:35

whether we are going to make the building

01:03:37

or any other thing.

01:03:38

I was just trying to think what can we do that.

01:03:41

Then, Ramaswamy was keeping quiet.

01:03:43

Then he said why don’t we make this as an Open Air Theatre.

01:03:46

That is how the Open Air Theatre came.

01:03:48

Without much of expenditure

01:03:51

the the existing pit itself

01:03:53

was made in such a way,

01:03:56

it is a beautiful gallery, we enjoy today.

01:03:58

then Open Air Theatre

01:04:00

and in Open Air Theatre

01:04:02

there was a difficulty by the time of course, Sengupto left

01:04:05

when our-

01:04:08

Professor Ramachandran. Ramachandran came.

01:04:11

Whenever we used to have function

01:04:14

we had to wait for the sun

01:04:16

to go down because

01:04:18

suns rays were harming we were not in a position to

01:04:20

listen to it.

01:04:21

So, this sort of

01:04:22

situation in a big institution is not good

01:04:25

they thought that only made a

01:04:27

a very big auditorium to to be developed now

01:04:30

which is now called a Student Activity;

01:04:32

Activity Centre.

01:04:34

Now, the original concept again was

01:04:36

to make the stage common

01:04:39

and this is the Open Air Theatre

01:04:41

the other end will be closed theater.

01:04:43

So, the stage can be rotated

01:04:45

without any difficulty of additional expenditure.

01:04:48

But subsequent directors changed that.

01:04:50

So, so the student activity centre became an independent one.

01:04:54

Independent one. This became an independent one.

01:04:55

That is how it was.

01:04:56

I said thank you very much sir. Oh it’s a pleasure sir.

01:04:59

On behalf of center. Sorry if I have unnecessary taken. No. no.

01:05:01

Unnecessary information. Yeah.

01:05:03

So, maybe I didn’t know where to cut where to enter.

01:05:05

So, professor- I want to ask one question. Sure.

01:05:07

One Professor Haug was there in applied mechanics.

01:05:10

Yes. what is the year?

01:05:12

In 60’s. Yes.

01:05:14

Professor Haug I told you.

01:05:15

he was there.

01:05:16

Which; which.

01:05:18

He took a vibrations. vibration class.

01:05:20

Vibration class. Ok.

01:05:22

Because his daughter used to work as a- Yeah yeah.

01:05:25

Assistant. His daughter in Chemistry Department. In Chemistry Department.

01:05:27

Yeah I know that. And Then, how.

01:05:29

Yeah Right. Yeah he

01:05:30

her name used to start with the E I forget the full name anyway.

01:05:33

Ok. ok. Yeah.

01:05:34

and he remained there only a for few years.

01:05:37

He very old, he couldn’t.

01:05:39

in his place only Wagner came.

01:05:42

Originally-

01:05:43

Right. Originally. he was the person recruited for a vibrations.

01:05:46

Professor Wagner replaced him.

01:05:48

Ok So,

01:05:50

Thank you sir.

Oral History Project

< Back

Prof. T. T. Narendran in conversation with Prof. V.R. Muraleedharan

00:00:06

Well my name is Muraleedharan,

00:00:09

I teach at IIT Madras in the Department

00:00:10

of Humanities and Social Sciences.

00:00:13

I have been teaching since 1988 here,

00:00:17

but my entry into this campus was on...

00:00:22

if I recollect 12th August 1983,

00:00:25

when I joined here as a Ph. D. student in

00:00:27

the same Department of Humanities and Social Sciences.

00:00:31

So, right from then I have been living inside

00:00:36

the campus except for a period of 4 months.

00:00:39

So today I am here to listen to Professor T. T. Narendran,

00:00:45

who has lived here even much longer period

00:00:48

from 1971 as a Research Scholar and later on as a faculty.

00:00:53

And, he was with the Department of Humanities

00:00:57

and Social Sciences initially as part of the

00:00:59

Industrial Management and Industrial Engineering division.

00:01:03

Later on he became a professor

00:01:05

and he was with the Department of Management.

00:01:09

So, this particular conversation or...conversation with

00:01:15

him, is part of a larger project of the Heritage Centre

00:01:24

called the Oral History of the Institute

00:01:27

as seen through the lives of many people

00:01:29

who have lived here as a student,

00:01:31

as a faculty in the campus or otherwise.

00:01:36

So, today we are going to listen to Professor T. T. Narendran.

00:01:39

I am delighted to be part of this

00:01:41

Heritage Project on the Oral History of IIT.

00:01:49

We would like to listen to you...your journey in IIT,

00:01:54

your story shall we say of your life over

00:02:00

the last 40 years. Could you tell us something about

00:02:04

what led you to enter into IIT life and how it progressed?

00:02:14

Perhaps begin with a brief background about myself.

00:02:22

I reluctantly went for Engineering at

00:02:24

the College of Engineering Guindy which was

00:02:26

then affiliated to Madras University.

00:02:31

And, those were days when we had 5 years of Engineering,

00:02:36

where the branch was decided after the first 2 years.

00:02:39

Ok.

00:02:40

Based on our academic performance.

00:02:42

I got into Mechanical Engineering as I wanted,

00:02:47

but most of the time my heart was really not in it.

00:02:54

Surprisingly, my final year I

00:02:57

chose an elective Industrial Engineering.

00:03:00

And that appealed to me a lot more.

00:03:03

So I got interested in Industrial Engineering

00:03:05

and started looking for opportunities to

00:03:08

study further, and that is when

00:03:12

I found the Industrial Engineering Programme,

00:03:14

I was a little late I think.

00:03:15

So I didn’t even apply for M. Tech.,

00:03:18

I got into M .S. As it turned out I was the first ever

00:03:22

M. S. student in the Department of Humanities.

00:03:25

Nice, in Industrial Engineering.

00:03:26

And the subject was Industrial Engineering.

00:03:32

The industry management came later?

00:03:34

No both of them existed. Ok.

00:03:36

They were parallel...because the history is that

00:03:39

somewhere in the mid-'60s there was a diploma IIT

00:03:42

in Industrial Engineering, later it

00:03:45

became two full fledged programmes,

00:03:47

M. Tech. in Industrial Management

00:03:49

and M. Tech. in Industrial Engineering.

00:03:51

That continued for about 10 years or more.

00:03:55

And...this somewhere after 1979

00:03:58

or so that it became one programme.

00:04:00

One programme.

00:04:04

Yeah. So...what...

00:04:07

Which year was it when you joined? '71.

00:04:10

'71. To be precise August 1971, I think 18th August

00:04:14

if I remember the date, was when I checked in to IIT.

00:04:22

The...I was asked to go to Cauvery Hostel

00:04:25

where the the central office of the chairman council

00:04:27

of wardens office or whatever.

00:04:29

And, they gave me Cauvery hostel itself,

00:04:31

room number 52 ground floor, that also I remember,

00:04:35

and it was only a few months after which I got

00:04:37

a second floor room and I stayed there for

00:04:40

the rest of my tenure as a student in IIT,

00:04:46

through M. S. and part of my Ph. D.

00:04:51

And, one of the accessories that came

00:04:55

with me to my room was the veena. Ok.

00:04:59

And, there used to be this inter-hostel cultural

00:05:04

event of course, it was a very different format

00:05:08

where each hostel would be given a 45 minute slot,

00:05:13

the event would be spread over 3 days,

00:05:15

the same set of judges would come and sit.

00:05:17

Every hostel would put together

00:05:19

a package of whatever talent it has.

00:05:21

It is a annual feature.

00:05:22

Yes. Hostel day or something.

00:05:25

So, whoever is the student secretary, came in search

00:05:31

of me seeing that I play the veena. You have a...

00:05:34

And it began...it was also interesting that in those days, '70s,

00:05:39

before the advent of TV and all that

00:05:42

these events would attract a full OAT crowd. Oh.

00:05:49

And, it possibly helped me, let’s say develop contacts

00:05:56

with the student population, be recognized et cetera.

00:05:59

So, that was, on that side, academically of course,

00:06:07

I must say that those were the early days

00:06:10

when including my guide in the department,

00:06:14

people were not very sure as to

00:06:16

what an M. S. student is supposed to do.

00:06:19

So, there was a little bit of let’s say.

00:06:24

Experimenting with you. In the way.

00:06:28

The other interesting part was...

00:06:31

there was no central computing facility

00:06:33

and...what existed then is

00:06:37

bullock cart age is what you can say.

00:06:39

But, I think they had this 360 even then.

00:06:42

Nothing. Oh. Nothing was there. In '71...

00:06:45

So, all that we had was some kind of understanding

00:06:49

with the College of Engineering Guindy campus,

00:06:52

where there was an IBM 1620 machine

00:06:55

32 K memory ok...and that was the only.

00:07:03

That’s also because of the way in

00:07:04

which the computer industry itself. Through through my guide’s contacts

00:07:08

and all of that I was be able to use that, believe it

00:07:12

or not you can run the programme

00:07:15

and get an output once in a week,

00:07:18

I would have to cycle to all the way there.

00:07:21

But, if you had to use the computer then.

00:07:23

Yeah.

00:07:23

Ok.

00:07:24

Then...the turning point was by about 1973 October

00:07:29

I think, the IIT computer got installed IBM 370 bar 155

00:07:36

I think...512 K memory, which was

00:07:40

a grade higher than what existed

00:07:42

in IISc Bangalore, that had 256 K memory.

00:07:46

So after that things improved, my research.

00:07:49

speeded up a little more. Yeah.

00:07:51

I mean you didn't have to move across the campus. Yes.

00:07:54

And that facility existed through my Ph. D. days

00:07:57

also that’s what I worked with.

00:07:59

The PC in all the the next generation fast computing

00:08:04

came much much later,

00:08:06

so I had to also content with that.

00:08:10

So today I am not surprised that my M. S. took 3 years.

00:08:14

At that time because...

00:08:16

Well, even now it takes roughly about 3 years.

00:08:19

So you are ahead of time.

00:08:21

To be fair, the amount of work that

00:08:24

you can do is much more in the same 3 years.

00:08:27

Right.

00:08:28

At that time I...we could not have been

00:08:30

so productive given the conditions then. Fine that was...so...

00:08:38

What about your... The interesting part is,

00:08:43

between my undergrad and

00:08:45

my M. S. for a couple of months I had gone

00:08:48

to Wheels India Factory as an intern.

00:08:52

I wasn’t too comfortable with the factory environment,

00:08:57

but I put that behind me I started doing my M. S.

00:09:00

Towards the...as I neared completion of my M. S.,

00:09:05

I had fallen in love with this place

00:09:07

I guess, I didn’t want to leave.

00:09:11

So, I told my guide that I want to do a Ph. D.

00:09:14

and I also want to be a faculty member here.

00:09:16

In those days inbreeding was not an issue

00:09:18

because there are hardly any institutions within

00:09:20

the country which could award a Ph. D. degree. Right.

00:09:25

And...so that was made known to the other professors also.

00:09:31

I...I still remember Professor R. K. Gupta advising me

00:09:34

"Why don’t you take a break, work in the industry

00:09:36

and come, that exposure is important."

00:09:38

Who was your master’s supervisor?

00:09:40

Ramani, Professor Ramani was my supervisor

00:09:43

both for M. S. and for Ph. D.

00:09:47

So, the Ph. D. interview was mere formality and...

00:09:54

That time how many were recruited

00:09:57

for Ph. D. along with you? Along with me there was

00:10:00

Just 2 3. Ramji Sampath.

00:10:03

Who also joined with me. Even during my M. S.,

00:10:08

there was one more lady who joined, Mira Sivaram.

00:10:12

So...yeah...so my...let’s say decision to join Ph. D.

00:10:21

was more because I wanted to stay

00:10:23

here permanently and by then I made up

00:10:24

my mind that I want to be in the academic line.

00:10:29

And then, what happened was...in those

00:10:33

days Master’s degree was the minimum qualification

00:10:37

for becoming a faculty, and the post was lecturer.

00:10:42

So, 2 years into my Ph. D. my guide said

00:10:49

"There is an advertisement, why don’t you apply?"

00:10:51

Ok.

00:10:52

He also said, "Who knows...when you finish

00:10:55

your Ph. D. whether there will be a vacancy or not."

00:10:57

Right.

00:10:58

So I applied, I got in.

00:11:00

So I started teaching from let’s say November '76

00:11:03

or...in fact in between for 2 months I was even

00:11:06

a Research Associate with the project of my guide.

00:11:11

The result was, once I got into teaching,

00:11:14

preparation took a long time.

00:11:15

Right.

00:11:16

And, my Ph. D. also look...took a long time,

00:11:19

and there were quite a few in my age group

00:11:21

in various departments, all of us have

00:11:24

this record of notoriously delayed

00:11:26

Have a...

00:11:27

Ph. Ds. We have all taken 10 years in that range. 10 years.

00:11:30

Yeah, '74 to '84, because we weren’t

00:11:34

doing research all the time.

00:11:36

Luckily there is no deadline for like

00:11:39

we have now, 7 years or 8 years.

00:11:42

Today things are far more streamlined.

00:11:44

So...see we have also... And I think you require that flexibility. Yeah.

00:11:50

We have grown with time,

00:11:52

we have learnt, we have evolved

00:11:53

we have become far more professional.

00:11:56

But...this was the situation prevailing at that time.

00:12:02

But fine, the...the other interesting thing was

00:12:06

it was almost like yesterday I was a student

00:12:08

and today I was a teacher suddenly

00:12:12

Just a curiosity about your thesis evaluation,

00:12:16

Was it the same as we had now synopsis and its...

00:12:19

Yes yes. Sent out to three.

00:12:21

The same formalities. Examiners to. The

00:12:24

During my M. S. seminar talk was not a formality,

00:12:28

but I...I had given a seminar talk, not here.

00:12:33

At the OR conference at IIT Kharagpur.

00:12:37

So, I did make one visit there.

00:12:39

Any...any thoughts on the reports

00:12:41

you have received on your dissertation,

00:12:44

what was it...can you...

00:12:45

Don’t remember.

00:12:46

Ok, it was on OR.

00:12:48

But, yeah today going back, we would all

00:12:55

be embarrassed to show our thesis.

00:12:56

Ok. Because the knowledge level is... That's always the case

00:12:58

With anyone.

00:13:00

Gone up so much that, how did somebody might ask today,

00:13:04

"How did you award a degree for this?"

00:13:07

Absolutely. That’s how it...that is how knowledge evolves,

00:13:10

Yes, yes. that's how knowledge grows.

00:13:11

Yes, yes. Fine yeah, so.

00:13:17

Early experience in teaching. The early years of teaching.

00:13:19

Yes. Yeah,

00:13:22

No...as soon as I became a lecturer I went out

00:13:25

of campus, and then within my very first semester,

00:13:30

the students in my class...to use their language,

00:13:34

They started putting line, "Sir there is an Assistant Warden

00:13:37

vacancy in our hostel, why don’t you come?"

00:13:39

Ok.

00:13:40

So, some of the students who are keen on that,

00:13:45

they spoke to the authorities concerned,

00:13:47

and made sure that I became their Assistant Warden,

00:13:50

Tapti Hostel was where I went in.

00:13:52

So for 2 years...

00:13:54

You were there.

00:13:54

I was Assistant Warden in Tapti Hostel, and it was fun,

00:13:59

lot of interactions with students. You would eat there?

00:14:01

You would eat in Tapti?

00:14:03

Yes yes. Ok.

00:14:05

I have eaten in Cauvery Hostel also.

00:14:06

In fact, food was much...this was another...

00:14:09

Given your food preferences...

00:14:11

All those were never a problem...

00:14:13

Then.

00:14:17

And, this is also must be said, the first mess bill

00:14:23

I paid in Cauvery Hostel was 110 rupees.

00:14:27

Today possibly the daily rate would

00:14:29

be of that order or more

00:14:32

Yes, but I think its 90 rupees or something.

00:14:36

So, cost service...and a Master's student

00:14:42

got a stipend of 250 rupees, a Doctoral student

00:14:45

would get a stipend of 400 rupees. 400 rupees.

00:14:48

So, and for a 110 rupees mess bill, 250 stipend was...

00:14:54

Absolutely. More than fine, times have changed.

00:15:00

And, then also there was water scarcity...I mean off

00:15:05

and on, I remember one year when monsoon

00:15:07

failed totally, you had all those... What about the department then, composition

00:15:12

of department, how big was it?

00:15:15

This mix of Industrial Management

00:15:18

along with the Humanities.

00:15:21

When I... Sort of the culture.

00:15:22

Joined it is possibly, about two-thirds in the Humanities

00:15:28

and Social Sciences and one-third of the...

00:15:30

Out of 15...15...

00:15:31

Maybe about 20-24 somewhere in that range. 20 faculty.

00:15:35

Around 20.

00:15:39

And, the north wing was mostly Humanities,

00:15:44

the south wing part was where primarily

00:15:47

Industrial Engineering faculty were located.

00:15:51

There were few who were in the Industrial Management

00:15:53

side who also sat with the...sat with the

00:15:55

Humanities people. For the Industrial Engineering part,

00:15:58

did you have any lab or workshop?

00:16:00

There was a lab, there was an Industrial Engineering lab. That was also on the southern side.

00:16:03

Yeah, that was the last room. Ok.

00:16:05

It is probably now gone to Physics.

00:16:07

Physics ok. Yes.

00:16:11

So, those were there.

00:16:14

So, how many M. Tech. intakes used be there?

00:16:17

It used to be 20 and 20 Industrial Engineering

00:16:20

and Industrial Management. Ok.

00:16:22

And when they merge with, they said 40

00:16:25

and over the next 20 years it went on,

00:16:29

but gradually we realized that

00:16:34

we weren’t getting the best talent, and...

00:16:38

Which year it got wound up...the M. Tech.?

00:16:41

When we decided to start the MBA,

00:16:43

that was as late as 2001.

00:16:46

Oh, it was running till then.

00:16:47

Yeah. Oh.

00:16:49

In fact, the first batch of MBA, when they were

00:16:52

being interviewed, some of the outgoing M. Tech. students

00:16:55

Fine. Were around to help us conduct the interviews.

00:16:58

Ok ok. That also happened.

00:17:02

So about your teaching in particular,

00:17:07

you have I have personally struggled a lot,

00:17:11

how about your experience,

00:17:13

was it that natural to you...or you had to...

00:17:18

It is... Work...

00:17:19

It is actually a mix.

00:17:22

It varied with each subject.

00:17:26

They asked me to teach a subject

00:17:27

called 'Principles of Management.'

00:17:32

Not a subject that I was comfortable with,

00:17:36

but I would prepare with the books,

00:17:38

take notes and then go to the class,

00:17:40

but I seem to manage quite...

00:17:43

Managed I managed well.

00:17:45

The management. That...that went well.

00:17:49

I wanted to teach Operations Research,

00:17:52

but the senior faculty were...already taken that. Already in that.

00:17:55

So it didn’t come to me the first year.

00:17:58

Was it the course for the M. Tech. or the B. Tech.?

00:18:00

For the B. Techs. For the B. Techs.

00:18:04

Then...also I remember, there was nothing

00:18:08

like a plan in those days.

00:18:10

So unlike now, there was no announcement that

00:18:15

these are the courses, these are the slots,

00:18:16

there was no slot system,

00:18:18

timetable would be after reopening.

00:18:20

Right. Teachers would be assigned after reopening.

00:18:23

So, you can be taken by surprise.

00:18:28

So, I was suddenly asked to take

00:18:31

a subject called Computer Simulation.

00:18:34

And, at short notice I was absolutely unprepared,

00:18:39

and my first class was a disaster.

00:18:42

And this student sitting... You had a you had a formal

00:18:44

introduction to that course in your...

00:18:46

I had...

00:18:47

You know. I have done the subject.

00:18:48

But not as a teaching...yeah.

00:18:52

Yeah, and the students sitting in front

00:18:53

of me were my friends earlier.

00:18:55

Ok.

00:18:56

ok, I have been with them in the

00:18:58

same hostel, they were my juniors.

00:19:01

So they also felt very sorry for me.

00:19:04

But, by the end of the semester they said.

00:19:07

Managed.

00:19:08

You have.

00:19:09

Ok.

00:19:10

In fact, only the first class I had difficulty,

00:19:12

after that I think I came through.

00:19:16

But this is not all. Couple of years down

00:19:20

the...in those days we had only one Economics teacher,

00:19:26

but Economics was compulsory for

00:19:28

all the undergrads in the second year.

00:19:30

So we used to get a guest faculty member,

00:19:33

and suddenly one of the Directors said,

00:19:35

"No guest faculty member,

00:19:36

ask your internal people to teach."

00:19:38

And this course was forced on me.

00:19:41

Was was it the same 420?

00:19:44

HS 420, the number was different.

00:19:46

Number was different.

00:19:47

Ok.

00:19:49

Was there a number at that time, I am not

00:19:51

even sure I don’t remember now,

00:19:54

but all that I remember is this.

00:19:56

I picked up this book 'Microeconomics'

00:19:59

by Henderson and Quandt.

00:20:01

Oh that’s a tough one.

00:20:04

But, maths was the background I had, so I tried

00:20:07

to learn Economics through Mathematics.

00:20:10

That’s a good book.

00:20:13

So what happened was, I took notes,

00:20:17

I took the class, my students did not discover

00:20:19

my ignorance of Economics.

00:20:22

And it went like that for a couple of years by

00:20:25

which time I think we got more faculty

00:20:30

and I mercifully got out of it.

00:20:33

Meanwhile I got into Operations Research,

00:20:35

Industrial Engineering or Production Management

00:20:38

was the name of the subject, but fine I was

00:20:41

comfortably settled in the subject area,

00:20:44

that I knew and thereafter it was quite comfortable.

00:20:50

But, the early years, all these turmoils was there,

00:20:53

and you must remember that as a result of

00:20:55

which, I had no time to think of research and my Ph. D.

00:20:59

Yeah, with all these things... was completely in the backburner.

00:21:01

Definitely.

00:21:03

So, thankfully there is no pressure

00:21:04

from the supervisor also on that...on that front.

00:21:07

Now and then there was...it's not

00:21:09

that...the questions were asked,

00:21:14

but fine, thankfully I got out of all of that.

00:21:17

What was the evaluation pattern, teaching what a...was it...

00:21:22

Those were the days when So much in your...lot in your

00:21:24

hands. Every subject would have three periodical tests.

00:21:29

They used to be three cycles of periodicals,

00:21:32

the best two of them would be taken, absolute marking

00:21:36

and then there will be a final semester examination.

00:21:39

So periodical I mean in class, you give some problems

00:21:44

and they solve individually.

00:21:45

Yeah, I mean its not very different

00:21:48

from the quizzes that you have now. The same which is same ok,

00:21:50

just a ok a longer its longer period.

00:21:54

and it always was...Monday, Wednesday,

00:21:58

Friday like that. 8...8 to 8:50.

00:22:01

Those slots were reserved for conducting

00:22:04

the periodical tests. And when I was Assistant Warden,

00:22:11

this also used to happen.

00:22:13

I was teaching my wards in class, and if there

00:22:19

was a periodical test in my subject the next day,

00:22:22

I would hardly get to sleep.

00:22:24

Students would come in 1s and 2s

00:22:26

and keep asking doubts, some of them only ask doubts,

00:22:31

some of them also tried to see

00:22:33

if I...they could get any clues on what will come

00:22:35

in the question paper the next day.

00:22:37

So I had to be extra smart, not to let any of that happen.

00:22:43

At the end of the semester one of the students confessed,

00:22:47

"Sir, we found that by not asking you anything about

00:22:50

that test we will have a better idea as to what is coming,

00:22:54

if we ask you you completely mislead us."

00:22:58

But anyhow, being approachable

00:23:01

and being able to help the students was good experience.

00:23:06

When you joined, who were the faculty members,

00:23:13

you said about 20 people were there,

00:23:14

but some of the prominent ones both

00:23:16

in Humanities and Social Sciences. Yeah yeah.

00:23:19

And the related question later on, the Department

00:23:23

of Management was created I think around 2006. Yeah.

00:23:27

4...5 or 6. A brief history into what led to its formation,

00:23:33

could you throw some light on that?

00:23:35

Ok, when I joined, Professor R. K. Gupta

00:23:42

was the Head of the Department

00:23:45

and then if I remember right,

00:23:48

he was the only professor, then

00:23:52

Dr. Anantharaman, V. Anantharaman, was

00:23:54

the Associate Professor, he is no more,

00:23:57

there was one more Professor, N. K. Dutta

00:23:59

was the other Professor.

00:24:01

He was a Professor of Industrial Engineering.

00:24:04

Unfortunately within 6 months of

00:24:06

my joining, he passed away; Professor N. K. Dutta

00:24:09

died of heart attack on...in January,

00:24:11

I had joined in August.

00:24:13

In fact, he had started teaching a subject

00:24:16

for us in January that semester,

00:24:19

unfortunately died prematurely.

00:24:22

So.

00:24:23

Ramani.

00:24:24

Professor Gupta and Dutta were

00:24:26

the professors at that time. Professor V. Anathraman

00:24:29

was the associate professor, Ramani

00:24:31

was Assistant Professor, and then we had

00:24:36

I think Arumugam was there in Industrial Engineering.

00:24:42

Jayashankar.

00:24:44

No no, they...all of them came later.

00:24:47

And the Professor L. V. L. N. Sarma was there,

00:24:52

there used to be a gentleman called Asthana

00:24:58

Psychology Behavioral Sciences.

00:25:00

He also died young, at the age of 33, he died of

00:25:03

a heart attack. And then...V. S. Kumar

00:25:12

Yes. Was there, Professor Krishna Rao was there.

00:25:15

Ok.

00:25:15

Hamsa Leelavathi was the Economics faculty member

00:25:18

at that time, Elizabeth Kurian

00:25:22

was already there. Yeah, Durga Prasad Rao.

00:25:28

Durga Prasad Rao. Durga Prasad Rao...

00:25:31

And then C. Ramachandran.

00:25:32

C. Ramachandran was there of course, History.

00:25:35

So, that’s...

00:25:37

Yeah.

00:25:38

I think all of whom were there

00:25:40

by certainly mid '80s when I was...

00:25:42

Yeah.

00:25:43

Except Ramani...

00:25:46

Some light on formation of the Management Department.

00:25:51

Yeah, somewhere towards the late '90s,

00:25:58

the discussion had started. It was more

00:26:01

about whether we should start an MBA programme.

00:26:06

And in a very different thinking from today’s,

00:26:16

what I had heard was that the MHRD had said

00:26:20

there is a large demand for MBAs in the country,

00:26:25

but it is terribly expensive for us to start

00:26:28

so many IIMs, IITs have the infrastructure.

00:26:32

So why don’t IITs get you...get into MBA education.

00:26:37

And by then a few IITs had started. Kanpur

00:26:39

and Madras IIT were the late entrants into MBA programme.

00:26:46

So by about 2001, we had decided...they decided

00:26:53

that we would close down the M. Tech.

00:26:54

Industrial Management Programme

00:26:56

and launch the MBA programme.

00:26:58

I think August 2001 or so in fact, that year also we had a water scarcity

00:27:03

and late reopening, the inaugural of the programme

00:27:07

happened in the ICSR auditorium.

00:27:09

2004.

00:27:10

2001...1 was when the MBA programme is launched.

00:27:13

Right.

00:27:15

And then, then we made the case for formation of

00:27:18

a department which was unanimously I think

00:27:22

supported by the Senate, but then, a department

00:27:28

has to be created by an act of the parliament,

00:27:30

it required parliamentary clearance.

00:27:32

So all that happened around 2004,

00:27:34

I think Management Studies and Biotechnology happened

00:27:38

approximately around the same time,

00:27:40

these two departments were created.

00:27:43

So any special role played by any individual, could

00:27:47

be Director or others who enabled this formation to happen, would you...

00:27:54

The...the commence its a. Attribute any...

00:27:57

The starting of the MBA

00:27:58

programme had the full support of the

00:28:00

then Director Professor Natarajan. Natarajan.

00:28:03

And, the creation of the department

00:28:06

and all of that had the support of Professor Ananth and...

00:28:12

and initially, we still continued to exist

00:28:15

in the HSB only, same building.

00:28:18

After that by then the new library building was coming up,

00:28:21

the old library was being abandoned.

00:28:23

So there was also the proposal to convert

00:28:25

the old library building to a Department of Management Sciences Block

00:28:29

So one thought since we have talked about

00:28:31

the management department creation, now in building

00:28:36

the department, particularly from adding faculty,

00:28:43

how difficult was it to get good faculty

00:28:48

who would have otherwise gone to better institutions.

00:28:51

This should have really you know worried you,

00:28:56

or..or whoever at the helm of affairs.

00:28:59

See I think all through, the pull factor

00:29:04

was the brand name of IIT.

00:29:09

Then additional pull factor could...it was some of

00:29:12

the colleagues could have been the city of Chennai,

00:29:16

or Madras whichever, that need not

00:29:21

have motivated everybody to come here,

00:29:22

but IIT had some attraction.

00:29:27

Joining a Department of Humanities and Social Sciences,

00:29:30

there would have been a reluctance, starting of

00:29:34

an MBA programme would have

00:29:36

given a little more motivation, okay

00:29:38

I will have a meaningful role to play,

00:29:40

people were willing to join.

00:29:42

Once a department was created, I think...

00:29:45

These were...

00:29:46

Yeah. Less of a problem. Yeah.

00:29:49

The other problem was, there was a time

00:29:55

when let us say every department faculty

00:29:58

strength was strictly legislated upon.

00:30:01

And so whether it is taking research scholars

00:30:04

or taking faculty members, it was also about, will

00:30:09

everybody get an equal share of the cake?

00:30:11

Right.

00:30:12

So we also had to worry about balancing

00:30:16

the requirements of the Humanities sections,

00:30:18

the Social Sciences section, the Management section.

00:30:21

Right.

00:30:22

Some of which was not always

00:30:23

pleasant, and you know about this. Right right right

00:30:27

but now things are...that sharing problem,

00:30:32

is not so much a problem, because

00:30:36

as long as you feel someone can be taken. Yeah.

00:30:40

So, anyway.

00:30:41

The constraints have largely gone off. Gone off.

00:30:44

A lot of the financial constraints have moved out,

00:30:46

infrastructural constraints have gone off.

00:30:49

I think the overall health of

00:30:53

the institute is is much better today.

00:30:58

If anything, interaction amongst people might

00:31:04

have come down over the years and the reasons

00:31:06

are obvious, it's happen...it's a worldwide phenomenon.

00:31:08

So, you don’t have to particularly blame IIT for that.

00:31:14

Two things come to my mind,

00:31:17

one is which largely persists even today,

00:31:21

but the kind of interaction you may have had

00:31:27

with faculty in other departments.

00:31:30

Was there...opportunities for that, nowadays we go for JEE

00:31:39

No, JEE. At least it gives an opportunity to interact with others.

00:31:42

JEE existed even then, there was some other system

00:31:46

which caused this interaction.

00:31:49

Centralized invigilation, entire seating

00:31:52

and invigilation of the semester exams in particular. Right so you meet more often.

00:31:55

Centralized.

00:31:56

So, I would end up in a department,

00:32:01

in a branch and with another colleague

00:32:04

whom I have not met at all. And then

00:32:07

we get to talk and...that is how it was.

00:32:11

But what about sitting in doctoral committee

00:32:14

of other departments, or vice versa?

00:32:15

It was there. So it was there so there. The system was there.

00:32:17

So there is...that was there to give that opportunity. Yes yes.

00:32:21

Right from the beginning, it was...as far as

00:32:23

I know, it was 6 members in the doctoral committee,

00:32:26

which had Head of the Department, Guide,

00:32:29

2 from the... 2 from the department, and 2 from outside the department.

00:32:32

That composition I think remained the same.

00:32:38

Very good.

00:32:39

So, the other thing that we all know about

00:32:42

you, is your closeness with students.

00:32:46

It doesn’t happen with everybody,

00:32:48

you know even with good teachers, popular teachers, but...

00:32:52

I think. Your relationship with the student...

00:32:54

It probably had to do with the fact that,

00:32:59

when I was a PG student, I already had

00:33:02

a lot of undergraduate friends,

00:33:05

I was moving with them freely.

00:33:08

So when I went to class, suddenly I could not

00:33:10

change my role and start acting different.

00:33:15

So I was just my natural self.

00:33:18

So, the friend continued to remain the friend that’s

00:33:22

all, I couldn’t be any different.

00:33:25

So that way almost throughout my service,

00:33:29

I have not felt uncomfortable interacting with students.

00:33:34

Subsequently, that’s what I was Assistant Warden,

00:33:37

so I interacted with the students a lot.

00:33:39

Then somewhere in the mid '80s, I was head of

00:33:42

the guidance and counselling, and '80s was when the GCU

00:33:46

Got formed.

00:33:47

Yes, was formed. A lot of discussions again,

00:33:51

and that also I have went through,

00:33:53

let us say iterations, trial and

00:33:56

errors, some costly also.

00:34:00

You have had, you have had very large number of Masters

00:34:04

and Ph. D. students you have had,

00:34:07

As a supervisor.

00:34:09

So, can you tell something about the composition...

00:34:12

anything...how, just the numbers part of it,

00:34:16

how many you have guided so far,

00:34:18

and you want to say something about

00:34:20

your...your experience with...as a guide,

00:34:25

any outstanding thing you want to mention? I had

00:34:28

about yeah exactly 20 Ph. D. students,

00:34:33

and the 20 happened after I retired,

00:34:36

3 or 4 of them finished after...

00:34:38

Ok. my retirement.

00:34:39

About 17. I...I had to come and finish.

00:34:40

Before you finished. Yeah.

00:34:42

That’s a big number. And

00:34:43

Yeah. M. S. was probably around 15

00:34:45

or so, because in later years what happened,

00:34:48

a student would join for M. S.

00:34:50

and then convert to Ph. D.,

00:34:52

that also happened a couple of cases.

00:34:54

I have had the pleasure of having

00:34:56

one student along with you Ganesh. Yeah.

00:34:58

Correct.

00:34:59

You have had co-supervision with others?

00:35:02

Yeah, yeah I had co-supervision other... Other departments.

00:35:05

Mechanical Engineering with Professor Shanmugam. Shanmugam, Shanmugam ok.

00:35:08

Doctoral student, yes.

00:35:11

So. And all your students are in mostly in universities

00:35:15

or industry because they could go either way

00:35:17

I think more on the academic side.

00:35:21

Some are...would be something like 60-40,

00:35:24

60 percent academics and 40 percent corporate. And

00:35:32

Mostly on the same production,

00:35:35

or you have had any diversity?

00:35:37

There has been diversity.

00:35:39

Because we have worked on drugs.

00:35:41

See my research was on a subject called inventory control,

00:35:51

I didn’t have much faith in the subject itself

00:35:54

and its relevance as I moved into...

00:35:58

Faculty and started guiding.

00:36:01

If I almost have no student who worked on

00:36:04

the same subject that I did my Ph. D. in.

00:36:08

Early years it was largely on manufacturing systems,

00:36:12

cellular manufacturing system flexible. Right, right I remember.

00:36:14

Manufacturing system and all that

00:36:18

and after the '90s that also changed,

00:36:21

there was a period in between where...yeah '95

00:36:26

or so, I got to become Professor,

00:36:30

I thought I must help my younger colleagues.

00:36:32

We were in the Humanities Department

00:36:33

and a very few students who were

00:36:35

coming in for doctoral programme.

00:36:38

So, for the next 4-5 years I did not take any. Take any.

00:36:42

Doctoral students, I took masters students,

00:36:44

but not for Ph. D. Then it revived in about 2001

00:36:48

or so, thereafter I had a regular flow

00:36:50

of doctoral students again.

00:36:54

And, by then, again I shifted to vehicle routing problems.

00:36:59

Right.

00:37:00

And the last 15 years or so, it was largely

00:37:06

in the area of logistics, vehicle routing then...

00:37:11

Supply chain. Freight train

00:37:14

Scheduling, convoy movement problem,

00:37:17

supply chain management broadly is...

00:37:20

The only common thing to most of these topics would

00:37:24

have been, they were combinatorial optimization problems,

00:37:27

a few went out of that also.

00:37:29

There was one the very classical industrial

00:37:32

Engineering Ergonomics kind of area also,

00:37:35

One or two went in that direction.

00:37:38

And then there was one where I had a marketing

00:37:41

co-guide Professor Vijaya Raghavan.

00:37:44

Yes.

00:37:45

This is one student right in fact,

00:37:47

two students under our joint guidance.

00:37:49

But I think the other topics you mentioned are also the

00:37:52

topics on which larger number of people are working in. Yes.

00:37:55

Correct.

00:37:56

So, that’s a good...

00:37:56

Yeah. Group kind of thing mostly. Yeah.

00:38:01

So, I would like to now ship the direction

00:38:07

of the conversation into something that

00:38:09

on which you would...you you can talk

00:38:13

a lot, that’s about the music.

00:38:16

So, can you tell us about the story of the Music Club

00:38:22

here, of which you were the founder and integral part? No, I was not the founder.

00:38:26

Ok. So, you tell the...tell the story, yeah.

00:38:28

See, I came in...in August 1971. What I got to know was

00:38:34

the Music Club started in October 1970

00:38:38

or so, and the early members who were actively associated

00:38:43

with the Music Club, were Professor M. Venugopal,

00:38:48

Professor Sampath, Professor Narayan Rao,

00:38:53

and then there was Professor V. S. Raju.

00:38:55

Yes. Professor Raju was the first treasurer of the Music Club,

00:38:58

Professor Narayan Rao was the Secretary.

00:39:00

I see.

00:39:02

And, it's also important to record that

00:39:05

Professor Narayan Rao had a Technical Assistant,

00:39:07

an STA by name Balasubramanium, R. Balasubramanium.

00:39:11

He was the person who did most of the contacting

00:39:14

of musicians and fixing up of concerts and all that.

00:39:18

For some time, CLT was under renovation

00:39:21

or it was taken over for air conditioning,

00:39:23

it was not available to us.

00:39:25

And, they gave us a venue on the first floor of BSB,

00:39:30

where subsequently the IBM 370

00:39:33

mainframe computer was located. I see, I see.

00:39:37

So, I have attended a couple of concerts there also.

00:39:42

And even before I got...yeah associated with the Music Club,

00:39:47

I think I got an invitation to perform in the Music Club

00:39:51

and that was at CLT, I remember that.

00:39:55

And then gradually got into the committee,

00:39:57

and became a volunteer, and my association

00:40:01

with Music Club has been from grassroots level.

00:40:04

So I have gone around distributing circulars,

00:40:07

spreading carpets on the floor,

00:40:08

all kinds of odd jobs that I have done.

00:40:12

Subsequently, went on to become

00:40:15

Joint Secretary, Secretary later on

00:40:16

President. So, this would be like a seasonal.

00:40:18

Yeah. Like we have even now.

00:40:20

Not so regular every month or something.

00:40:22

No...at all times what we use to do is this,

00:40:27

we keep track of the academic calendar.

00:40:29

So at the end of a. Space.

00:40:30

Periodical cycle,

00:40:31

When there is a break, we try to have concerts.

00:40:35

So, that students will be able to attend,

00:40:37

and the student membership was much higher in those days.

00:40:40

I see.

00:40:42

A concert by M. D. Ramanathan would

00:40:44

have at least half the CLT full.

00:40:46

Has M. D. Ramanathan come here?

00:40:48

I see.

00:40:50

Amongst the stalwarts who have come into this

00:40:53

I think the very first concert was Ramnath Krishnan.

00:40:55

The second was Lalgudi Jayaram, these happened

00:40:57

before I came in, and then we have brought

00:41:00

in Chembai Vaidyanatha Bhagavathar,

00:41:02

I remembered twice I got Alathur Srinivasa Iyer.

00:41:05

With Palghat Mani Iyer on the mridangam.

00:41:09

And then Semmangudi has sung here once with.

00:41:12

K. V. N. T. N. Krishnan and Palghat Raghu.

00:41:14

K. V. N. many times.

00:41:16

Many times I see. Yeah.

00:41:18

M. S.?

00:41:20

M. S. we couldn’t get, D. K. Pattammal has sung

00:41:22

quite a few times, so has M. L. V.

00:41:25

So M. S. Subbulakshmi was the only person.

00:41:28

These are all '70s. Yeah.

00:41:29

Balamuralikrishna we have brought in,

00:41:31

Chitti Babu, Balachander we got him once. So all the. Yeah.

00:41:34

Mandolin Srinivas.

00:41:36

Ok.

00:41:37

I still...still remember somewhere in 1988,

00:41:39

when Mandolin Srinivas played.

00:41:41

Mandolin I remember, I was...'88,

00:41:43

I was very much here.

00:41:44

The CLT was so packed.

00:41:46

Yes.

00:41:46

That except the place where the artists sat,

00:41:49

there were people everywhere on the field, jam packed.

00:41:56

So you are of course, you are...even otherwise had

00:42:00

a network of you know relationship with many musicians.

00:42:03

Yeah, actually I would say that working for

00:42:06

that Music Club also helped me network with musicians. Yeah

00:42:09

So that was what...I am going to ask. Yeah.

00:42:12

So that helped me build contacts, rapport with

00:42:16

the musicians, and that came handy during How did you.

00:42:21

Difficult times

00:42:22

For example, when I went off campus, see...'79 to '88

00:42:29

I was not on campus, I was coming from outside.

00:42:32

So at that time I was not so actively associated

00:42:35

with music because, there were others

00:42:36

who were living on campus who could run it.

00:42:39

When I came back in '88, then...there was this talk,

00:42:45

and Music Club they said was not in

00:42:47

good shape, it was struggling and so on.

00:42:50

Financially or?

00:42:52

Yeah, financially also. I was...I was just going to ask

00:42:54

all these big personalities you

00:42:57

brought, then sanmanam for them.

00:43:01

Yeah.

00:43:01

What’s the kind of scale... See the renumeration,

00:43:04

I...again if you look at

00:43:07

value of money, in the '70s, the membership

00:43:13

was the order of 2 rupees per head,

00:43:15

3 rupees per head, something like that.

00:43:18

And I could finish a senior concert in 300 rupees.

00:43:23

Of all...

00:43:25

All to...

00:43:25

All together except the transport.

00:43:28

Yeah, I mean if I pay 300 to the main artist,

00:43:31

he would distribute it amongst the accompanying artists

00:43:35

and that was all that was required because,

00:43:37

as I said the value of money. That's a...that's a 3...3 hour concert.

00:43:40

3 hour concerts, those were not problems then.

00:43:44

And yes we have lived through the inflation and

00:43:47

Fine. Then

00:43:48

periodically raising the subscription rates, raising the remunerations

00:43:52

Its gives an idea of.

00:43:53

Yeah.

00:43:54

Kind of budget you have to manage...

00:43:57

There were times when we had to plead with

00:43:59

the musicians saying, "We can’t afford so much,

00:44:01

so please accept what we have to offer" and so on.

00:44:05

And, I still remember '88 when I took over,

00:44:10

and by then remunerations had gone up, I phoned up

00:44:16

the famous flautist

00:44:18

Sri Ramani.

00:44:21

And, said "Sir, Sharanagathi."

00:44:23

He understood.

00:44:24

My club is..."I can pay you only this much,

00:44:29

but please don’t say no", and he accepted.

00:44:32

I still remember, T. Rukmini was the violin accompaniment.

00:44:36

And after that we gradually...within about 6 months

00:44:39

I was able to get Mandolin Srinivas.

00:44:43

So when you say... The significant change was, after that, the role

00:44:49

of student volunteers increased significantly.

00:44:52

From that point of time, and I gave them a free hand,

00:44:55

we...the discussion was only whom to invite, so up

00:44:59

to that point, I would be there, part of the discussion.

00:45:03

I gradually encouraged them to contact

00:45:05

musicians, fix up dates, coordinate et cetera.

00:45:09

What happened as a result was, see, the students

00:45:12

were a floating population, year after year,

00:45:14

the office bearers would change.

00:45:15

So get them in the second year.

00:45:16

Depending on the student capability, attitude et cetera,

00:45:19

the performance of the Music Club also would fluctuate.

00:45:22

Year to year.

00:45:25

But most of the years I think I had a good bunch of students.

00:45:28

So, and...

00:45:31

Any...any unusual thing happened? Like,

00:45:37

with musician not turning up, but turn...or CLT power going off.

00:45:43

We...we have had for example...we fixed the concert,

00:45:49

and had to call it off because of a heavy downpour,

00:45:52

that’s happened more than once.

00:45:54

One concert I remember was Vedavalli

00:45:56

I think we ourself would not come in

00:45:57

so in...in the light of it, you might

00:45:59

Yeah. You would call them and say not...

00:46:02

They pleaded, "Let’s not have the concert"

00:46:05

Fine. "Its raining too heavily."

00:46:07

So, those kind of things have happened.

00:46:11

Are you recording everything, even with then? No.

00:46:14

When did the recording idea start?

00:46:16

Recording. I think we can have good archives

00:46:18

of that, even for the last 10 years.

00:46:20

It was only late Professor Swaminathan of

00:46:22

Physics Department who took

00:46:23

an active interest in recording.

00:46:25

So...at...during his period, concerts were recorded,

00:46:29

but unfortunately since he died a bachelor,

00:46:34

we don’t know where those recordings are What about from late

00:46:37

'80s onwards, when you were...

00:46:39

We had not recorded because...

00:46:41

Since, the last 10 years? Even then, oh!

00:46:44

See, recording was not a practice

00:46:46

because artists could object to it.

00:46:48

I...I know some unauthorized recordings have happened,

00:46:52

but we did generally did not encourage recording.

00:46:56

I see.

00:46:57

In fact, there was an another interesting...

00:47:00

we also did not encourage the sudden request in,

00:47:03

slips coming and accepted the fag end of the concert. Right, right.

00:47:06

And some of them were irrelevant, untimely

00:47:09

and embarrassing also.

00:47:12

For example, somebody towards the end

00:47:14

of the concert will say, "Can you sing Entharomahaanubhaavulu, or Vatapi Ganapathim."

00:47:19

Ok.

00:47:21

So...I...these were the kind of requests which...

00:47:24

if the slips come to me, I would sit in the first row...just squeeze

00:47:27

the paper, not pass it on at all. Right, right.

00:47:30

It happens, I mean I...I don’t blame a member of the

00:47:35

audience for being ignorant, but I also request...

00:47:39

You somebody has to take control of the...

00:47:41

That member understand that all requests. Yes.

00:47:42

cannot be forwarded indiscriminately.

00:47:48

What about your sports interests,

00:47:52

have you played been part of any team of...

00:47:56

Yeah yeah. Cricket or.

00:47:57

The only time I think within the hostel

00:47:59

some intra-hostel a little bit of cricket.

00:48:00

6 side or something?

00:48:02

Little bit of cricket within the hostel, just once.

00:48:08

Otherwise largely inactive in sports.

00:48:13

Other...as a result of being part of this campus,

00:48:17

is...you are...any specific music

00:48:22

you would have anyway pursued.

00:48:24

But, as a result of being in this campus, other

00:48:27

than music, any special interest that grew

00:48:31

out of being in the campus?

00:48:33

I would say there has been a lot of learning about...

00:48:39

its a...political systems, economics and the left view

00:48:47

and the right view and all of those

00:48:50

and within the hostel we would have these arguments.

00:48:54

Views.

00:48:55

And, I still remember what I...a friend and my confessed.

00:49:01

As a result of all these endless arguments,

00:49:03

I had, he was not as hard a leftist

00:49:07

as he was in the beginning

00:49:08

and I was not as hard a rightist

00:49:10

As you were.

00:49:12

All of us kind of opened up. And by the time

00:49:16

I left the place I have come to the conclusion

00:49:19

that there is nothing like right or wrong.

00:49:23

And, value judgment itself has become

00:49:26

a big question mark, it...we...each of us have our

00:49:31

own baggage, with that we try to judge.

00:49:35

What about your experience as a resident of this campus?

00:49:42

I mean you have lived there in the campus for nearly. Yeah.

00:49:44

25 years.

00:49:45

Yeah.

00:49:47

Both the hostel sector and

00:49:49

Yes.

00:49:49

Later outside.

00:49:50

No, I am...I am talking as a faculty

00:49:52

Yeah.

00:49:52

And, the residential section.

00:49:54

No, the one point which I must mention here,

00:49:59

at all times I have noticed that if

00:50:03

there were maintenance issues in the hostel,

00:50:06

the Engineering Unit did not respond well,

00:50:09

I am sorry to say this, for leaking taps

00:50:13

or let’s say lighting not working, whatever.

00:50:19

The repairs or the replacements did not happen

00:50:22

quick enough and I think this...quite a few wardens of

00:50:25

later years also would testify to. That was always...

00:50:29

This was in the '80s, '90s? Yeah.

00:50:31

And things...

00:50:31

Yeah, see it is...it is like this, attitudinally

00:50:35

we have this problem, and couple of times

00:50:38

I have told the staff also, not just

00:50:40

Engineering Unit staff that, you all think

00:50:43

students are a burden, students are a nuisance,

00:50:45

but remember we won’t exist here

00:50:47

if the students did not come. Right, right.

00:50:50

Right.

00:50:51

So, why don’t you...

00:50:52

I think this is the point you made in the...

00:50:54

My farewell speech.

00:50:55

Farewell speech as well.

00:50:57

Now, coming to the resident side. I spent about

00:51:02

8 years on Adyar Avenue, D-30, it was a new block.

00:51:06

I was your neighbor. Yeah

00:51:08

and then we move to Lake View Road

00:51:13

and there were some interesting wildlife scenes also,

00:51:19

its a...and the...its a more crowded Adyar Avenue itself.

00:51:28

There was a bird which I have never seen,

00:51:30

but the early morning it would sing

00:51:32

and it would sing to tune, and that was far more musical

00:51:36

than the much more...let’s say the popular cuckoo.

00:51:41

This was the early morning 4 o’ clock you know. Yes.

00:51:43

Right.

00:51:46

I...I even remember sometimes, the bird would go out

00:51:49

of tune, correct itself and then sing again.

00:51:51

I see.

00:51:52

But, I still don’t know what the bird looks like

00:51:55

and I don’t know the bird still goes around.

00:51:58

Another bird which I have seen which in those days

00:52:01

and subsequently I never got to see was a white bird

00:52:05

with a long tail it shaped like a 'W.'

00:52:08

And, the tail would, let’s say

00:52:11

Huge.

00:52:11

Move beautifully when the bird flew,

00:52:14

and that bird again I could never see.

00:52:17

A third interesting wildlife experience,

00:52:20

there were cockroaches in my house.

00:52:25

I pushed them out of the balcony

00:52:28

and as the cockroach was falling, it was still alive,

00:52:32

a kingfisher swooped down

00:52:35

and caught the cockroach mid air and ate it.

00:52:38

Ok. So, that’s what they are good at.

00:52:43

Scenes which we could not film then.

00:52:47

So, quite a few interesting experiences.

00:52:49

After moving into Lake View Road, the interesting

00:52:52

thing is, quite a few instances of snakes

00:52:57

coming into the house, once when I had gone out

00:53:00

there was a snake sitting inside my veena.

00:53:03

Oh. And my wife noticed it, she called the security,

00:53:07

and by then we had become so friendly with snakes,

00:53:10

that her fervent plea was "Please do not kill the snake."

00:53:17

Just enable them to

00:53:18

Yeah. get out.

00:53:19

I...I remember another day, early morning,

00:53:21

I got up, opened the front door

00:53:23

and there was a snake, it saw me and quickly

00:53:26

Went away.

00:53:26

Crossed the road and went to the other side.

00:53:28

I think you had the you had the lake...

00:53:32

Yeah.

00:53:32

nearby though you suffered I think, one...a few times

00:53:35

The flooding has happened quite a few times. I think the

00:53:38

lakes presence near your home. Yeah,

00:53:40

it was great. Something unique.

00:53:41

And sometimes we used to go stand near the lake

00:53:43

and there would be a gentle breeze blowing,

00:53:46

pleasant viewing, and there were interesting

00:53:50

birds which come to the lake also.

00:53:52

The black cormorant, I have seen a painted stork.

00:53:55

More interesting than the lake is the swamp in front of my house,

00:54:00

which would be filled with water during the rainy season.

00:54:03

Yeah. Some of the birds

00:54:04

Will come there. Would nest during that season, by that time

00:54:07

the water dries up, the chicks would have flown off.

00:54:10

So they were safe. And another instance

00:54:15

I remember was, we saw a snake, which had caught a

00:54:21

kingfisher, the...this kingfisher was still in its mouth,

00:54:26

and my neighbor Dr. Maha Seshsayee says, "Can’t

00:54:28

we do something to save the poor bird?" Nothing...

00:54:32

You have witnessed

00:54:33

Yeah. it happen.

00:54:37

So, these are all part of living with the wild.

00:54:39

In fact...my early years I have seen this also,

00:54:43

monkey plucking some fruit and throwing

00:54:46

it down for the deer to eat. The deer

00:54:48

looked up, the monkey responded,

00:54:51

they had also lived in harmony.

00:54:53

I don’t know how often we get to see that,

00:54:56

but consequently I could see that the black buck

00:55:01

population was much higher in the early years,

00:55:05

and I have seen them hop around,

00:55:07

fantastic sight, that did not happen.

00:55:10

Somewhere in between that there was an obsession

00:55:12

for fencing all the departments that caused... Most of it was removed now.

00:55:15

Yeah, subsequently the fences have gone,

00:55:18

but, there is still, let us say, a nostalgic recall of

00:55:26

a campus which had fewer buildings, fewer people,

00:55:29

fewer cars, hardly 5 cars on the campus

00:55:34

Yes.

00:55:34

In the '70s when I came in, and there were more

00:55:40

bird species. Many of the birds, I mean I did not know

00:55:45

the name, I can’t identify them.

00:55:46

Right. But, a lot of those birds have vanish...vanished,

00:55:49

and of course, one of the wildlife expert...see it

00:55:52

was less wooded then, so what Mr.

00:55:55

Ranjit Daniel apparently has said is, that "As

00:55:59

the true...tree grew up and formed a canopy,

00:56:03

the monkeys could dart across over the trees,

00:56:06

and they did a lot of damage to the birds' nests.

00:56:10

The birds lost their comfort zone. So isolated trees

00:56:14

are better than the canopy formation is what seems

00:56:18

to be the lesson. Of course, it is too late.

00:56:22

So, one question I want to pose, sort of counterfactual

00:56:27

now, we still follow broadly 8 to...classes begin by 8 o’ clock.

00:56:34

Yeah. And, finish for the students, and I personally even

00:56:39

now prefer early the class the better.

00:56:42

Of course, the...from the students'

00:56:43

point of view its all the changing.

00:56:45

Yeah. They would like to see even at least 10 o’ clock.

00:56:48

Not 9 o’ clock, 8 o’ clock or later, what would

00:56:55

be your reaction today, you know seeing

00:56:58

the class 8 o’ clock half of whom not had a bath,

00:57:03

not had breakfast, not had slept,

00:57:06

would you have enough enthusiasm? I think...

00:57:09

This is a

00:57:10

See morning bath was a casualty even in those days. Right.

00:57:14

The moment you get the freedom of

00:57:16

a hostel life, bath is your option, ok.

00:57:20

Yeah.

00:57:21

So, or how often you wash your clothes et cetera.

00:57:25

That’s ok.

00:57:25

Right. Second is about...

00:57:27

Personal hygiene.

00:57:29

Skipping the breakfast and not having had sleep.

00:57:32

So, its really a...you need enormous

00:57:34

motivation yourself, to front, to motivate.

00:57:39

How would you respond to the situation? See

00:57:41

what I would say is this, the...the

00:57:47

the student attitudes have also changed,

00:57:51

there possibly more students were a little more serious

00:57:56

about Engineering, than there are now.

00:57:59

Today it is simply a social pressure which puts

00:58:02

a lot...pushes a lot of reluctant students into the IIT system.

00:58:06

So as a teacher how would you handle an 8 o’ clock

00:58:09

class in this kind of ambience?

00:58:12

See. To that’s the...

00:58:15

I...I would go by. So as a...as a lesson for others.

00:58:17

I would go by what our former Director Professor Ananth

00:58:21

used to say, "There are a few front benchers

00:58:25

who are motivated and who listen to you,

00:58:27

you lecture to them and come out

00:58:29

don’t worry about the rest."

00:58:31

And I have seen a clear three way classification:

00:58:36

front benchers who are interested, motivated,

00:58:39

will listen to you, will not sleep,

00:58:42

and then there was a middle row, which is ok.

00:58:45

And then there is a last one third,

00:58:49

they won’t come with notebooks,

00:58:51

they will just come there and...there is a...put their heads down

00:58:55

and sleep, they are there only for

00:58:58

the attendance, nothing else, they're not bothered.

00:59:01

And, in a class of 80,

00:59:04

it doesn’t make sense for me to bother.

00:59:08

Only if they bother others.

00:59:10

See...it...yeah that’s...one thing is, I have never had

00:59:14

this problem of indiscipline in

00:59:17

the form of student shouting or chatting or

00:59:20

That rarely. Disrupting my class.

00:59:21

Yes. That doesn’t happen in IIT.

00:59:23

Yes, yes.

00:59:23

I have heard that that also used to happen in the '60s.

00:59:29

So student indiscipline of that kind has not been

00:59:32

there, student indifference, plenty.

00:59:34

That’s true. Right.

00:59:35

So, indifference you have to put up with

00:59:40

because, India, we still don’t have a society

00:59:45

which allows every kid to choose

00:59:47

what he/she wants to do, right?

00:59:52

It is still pushed by society, status, prestige and so on.

00:59:59

So, anything else you would like to talk about as part

01:00:06

of your journey, that that would otherwise not reach others?

01:00:19

Yeah, on the culture side, '70 was a time

01:00:25

when student competitions at an inter-hostel level

01:00:32

would bring full crowds to OAT or CLT,

01:00:36

wherever that was. '74 was when...yeah before '74

01:00:43

it was the inter-collegiate stuff was...

01:00:46

there was no Mardi Gras.

01:00:48

Local colleges would be invited to participate, there would

01:00:51

be about 10 or 12 colleges, and in the same format

01:00:55

as inter-hostel, you were given 45 minutes,

01:00:58

you do whatever you want, with your talent.

01:01:02

And, this is...this incident I have narrated before,

01:01:08

Madras Medical College was on stage,

01:01:12

and their MC announced that somebody is going

01:01:17

to play western classical music on the violin.

01:01:21

The moment they said classical a lot of

01:01:23

the students started walking out.

01:01:27

This person came and started playing, the people

01:01:29

who walked out came back, you know

01:01:32

who the violin player was? L. Subramaniam Oh!

01:01:41

They didn’t know who was L. Subramaniam. No.

01:01:43

They just heard and. Yes.

01:01:44

That’s it.

01:01:44

L. Subramaniam was not known.

01:01:46

Right.

01:01:46

But after he played...

01:01:50

He had not become such a big then,

01:01:53

they were playing as a trio, Carnatic concerts,

01:01:56

he and his brothers but...

01:01:59

But, the power of his music. Yeah.

01:02:03

Fantastic.

01:02:03

So, that was an interesting incident,

01:02:06

then after Mardi Gras started and we classified

01:02:11

You. The events into, let’s say there was a

01:02:13

separate competitions for classical music, light music, western

01:02:15

music, debate everything...

01:02:17

So, you were actively involved in that part of the Mardi Gras.

01:02:21

Mardi Gras couple of years as coordinator and all that.

01:02:26

No, but you would actively engage

01:02:28

Yes.

01:02:29

Being you know. That’s what.

01:02:30

Part of Mardi Gras.

01:02:32

Classical music shows at least have been coordinated,

01:02:34

even light music one year I think I was the coordinator.

01:02:38

And, interesting thing was, through the '70s

01:02:44

the audience turnout was good.

01:02:47

Later years I found that even in a small classroom,

01:02:50

you don’t get anybody other than the participants and

01:02:52

people who come with them.

01:02:53

The interests have completely changed, of course,

01:02:58

TV came somewhere in the late '70s, it was black

01:03:01

and white TV and then it was color TV

01:03:03

and afterwards that time nobody stop

01:03:05

let’s say watches TV also now.

01:03:07

TV has come in and gone out,

01:03:10

TVs exists in common rooms possibly, except

01:03:13

for some interesting cricket matches or

01:03:14

so, I go doubt if people watch

01:03:16

the TV in the common room.

01:03:18

So, lot of things have changed.

01:03:21

Ok. So, several of your students particularly

01:03:23

the B. Techs who are now abroad,

01:03:26

are you...I am sure you are in touch with many people,

01:03:31

but would you say you...you are still in

01:03:34

in contact with a large number of them?

01:03:36

No, no, its only a small number,

01:03:38

social media has helped, Facebook

01:03:41

Through the social. Through Facebook.

01:03:45

How many of them are in academics?

01:03:49

I think amongst those who went to US, a fairly good number.

01:03:55

30-40 of would be in academics. Yeah yeah.

01:03:57

And they had passed through the either the

01:04:00

Management Department or IIM department?

01:04:02

No, no. Or not necessarily.

01:04:03

Mostly undergrads. Undergrads.

01:04:05

Whom I taught.

01:04:06

Yes ok. Yeah,

01:04:09

And couple of them have gone on record saying,

01:04:12

I was inspired to pursue operations research

01:04:15

because of Professor so and so. Yeah.

01:04:21

So, thank you very much for sharing with us your Thank you

01:04:26

long journey, I am sure those who have

01:04:29

an opportunity to listen and watch the video later

01:04:33

on, will have much insights into the campus life

01:04:38

of...through you, the campus and the institution.

Oral History Project

< Back

Prof. P.V. Subrahmanyam in conversation with Prof. Vetrivel

00:00:11

It’s my pleasure to invite Professor P. V. Subrahmanyam. He is a

00:00:16

retired…from IIT…Department of Mathematics, IIT Madras

00:00:20

to this Oral History Interview, on behalf of Heritage Centre IIT Madras.

00:00:27

And I…Professor P. V. Subrahmanyam

00:00:29

been here for more than 3 decades here in IIT Madras,

00:00:34

and I am…I am so happy to interview him on behalf of the Heritage Centre.

00:00:38

Sir, welcome, sir,

00:00:39

Thank you.

00:00:40

to the Heritage Centre, and

00:00:43

I know…I don’t know whether you remember,

00:00:47

I have been associated with you for more than 30 years.

00:00:51

In fact How can I forget that you were a student here initially,

00:00:56

Yes sir, yes sir, yes sir. And then you were my colleague.

00:00:58

Yes, yes sir, as a student Even a fortnight back you conducted a symposium

00:01:03

for which I was an invited speaker.

00:01:06

Yes, sir. So, how can I forget?

00:01:08

Yes, yes, yes, sir.

00:01:09

Still I…I remember those days, when I came here for…as a Ph.D. student,

00:01:14

you were in the interview committee,

00:01:15

and, afterwards, you were…in…for my core course,

00:01:19

you were the teacher for my course on functional analysis.

00:01:22

Ok. Still I can remember, whatever I know in function analysis, is mainly

00:01:26

what you have taught during that period for our batch.

00:01:30

Especially, I still remember the…what you taught about

00:01:34

reflexive spaces and their properties,

00:01:36

still I remember what you taught from G. F. Simmons topology.

00:01:40

Well, I don’t know all the details…and

00:01:48

thank you for your kind words about my course.

00:01:52

That is what I can tell at this moment.

00:01:55

I cannot recall whatever details you are conveying.

00:02:00

Of course, functional analysis has become one of the

00:02:04

most important branches of mathematics,

00:02:08

both from a theory point of view, as well as applications.

00:02:13

Yeah, and sir, I just want to know I…I know when I

00:02:19

joined here, you were Associate Professor or something

00:02:22

and afterwards I…I…I don’t know much about your previous…I

00:02:26

I know that you have done Ph.D. here, IIT Madras

00:02:28

under Professor P. V. Subbarao.

00:02:31

And then before…I…I just want to know about your

00:02:34

education background before you joined IIT Madras.

00:02:36

Well, I did my…I was born and brought up in Chennai only.

00:02:48

My father lived for a couple of years in the CLRI quarters,

00:02:54

he was a scientist from Central Leather Research Institute.

00:02:59

And I studied in a school in Adyar

00:03:07

called at that time called Rani Meyyammai High School,

00:03:11

later on it had become into Kumara Raja Muthiah Chetti School or something.

00:03:17

Prof. Vetrivel: Yes sir, yes sir.

00:03:18

Muthiah Chettiar was the patron of the school.

00:03:23

When we studied, it was a co-educational school and

00:03:29

though the infrastructure was not very impressive, we had fine teachers.

00:03:36

Mention must be made of one Ms. L. K. Ganga Bai,

00:03:41

who taught us English as well as geography.

00:03:47

She used to live just opposite to the school, and

00:03:52

took great interest in educating us.

00:03:56

She used to bring issues of National Geographic,

00:04:00

encyclopaedia and teach us various subjects.

00:04:03

She was herself a women’s champion in chess

00:04:08

Prof. Subrahmanyam: in the city for several years. Prof. Vetrivel: Okay.

00:04:12

And all that gave a good academic background for many of us.

00:04:18

Prof. Vetrivel: I see.

00:04:18

Later on, I joined the Vivekananda College in Mylapore,

00:04:24

which had a an excellent tradition in mathematics.

00:04:28

Prof. Vetrivel: Yes.

00:04:28

I did my Pre-University, and then moved on to do B.Sc.,

00:04:32

Prof. Subrahmanyam: although many of my uncles on the paternal side were chemists. Prof. Vetrivel: Okay.

00:04:38

And on my maternal side, they were into humanities.

00:04:41

Prof. Vetrivel: Okay.

00:04:42

So I was the first deviant opting for mathematics.

00:04:46

Prof. Vetrivel: Okay.

00:04:47

I thought, if you learn mathematics,

00:04:49

Prof. Subrahmanyam: you will know…most of the sciences you can understand. Prof. Vetrivel: Okay.

00:04:53

That's how I ventured into mathematics.

00:04:56

Prof. Vetrivel: Okay.

00:04:56

I must confess, mathematics is not my cup of tea how…

00:05:01

however, over the years, I cultivated a special liking for mathematics,

00:05:07

despite my…my handicaps.

00:05:12

Prof. Vetrivel: Okay.

00:05:13

And, in Vivekananda College we had excellent teachers,

00:05:17

and after finishing my B.Sc. there,

00:05:20

I didn’t join the engineering courses, etc.

00:05:23

My father also encouraged me to pursue my own,

00:05:28

I mean my line of thinking.

00:05:30

After finishing my B.Sc., I could have joined the MIT,

00:05:35

Madras Institute of Technology.

00:05:37

Yes, there used to be a programme.

00:05:38

At that time, they had a 3 year programme in engineering. Yes.

00:05:42

I also join…I mean could have joined the M.Sc. programme

00:05:46

in Vivekananda College in Mathematics Department.

00:05:50

But then, one of our family friends from my maternal side,

00:05:56

one Professor K. N. Venkataraman, who was later

00:06:00

the Head of the Department of Statistics in Madras University.

00:06:04

He said, “IIT Madras Mathematics Department is rated

00:06:10

the best in South India, why don’t you join there?”

00:06:14

And then I joined, after I took the entrance exam,

00:06:19

they conducted an entrance exam, it was

00:06:23

Okay.

00:06:24

locally done at that time, unlike the JAM and other exam.

00:06:29

Which year it was sir?

00:06:29

I think it was in the year 1969.

00:06:32

’69, okay.

00:06:33

’69. I did M.Sc. here during ’69-‘71.

00:06:37

’71, okay.

00:06:38

Prof. Subrahmanyam: So, at that time Professor Nigam was the Head of the Department. Prof. Vetrivel: Okay.

00:06:43

Professor S. K. Srinivasan was another Professor, the…

00:06:47

but there were no more Professors in the department,

00:06:49

we had a…a young Assistant Professor by the name Dr. K. M. Das,

00:06:55

Prof. Vetrivel: Das, yes sir.

00:06:55

who was a student of Zeev Nehari from the Carnegie Institute of Technology,

00:07:00

and then we had other Assistant Professors like Dr. K. R. Parthasarathy,

00:07:08

well known graph theoretician,

00:07:10

Dr. R Subramaniam who was into operations research.

00:07:15

Prof. Vetrivel: Yes sir.

00:07:16

Then Dr. K. N….U. N. Srivastava who was at that time, an Associate Lecturer

00:07:22

or Lecturer or something, and they had at that time,

00:07:26

when I joined, revised the syllabi.

00:07:29

Prof. Subrahmanyam: So, every semester we used to have 4 subjects. Prof. Vetrivel: Okay.

00:07:35

The lectures were from 8 to 12 in the morning,

00:07:39

Prof. Subrahmanyam: and after 12, after our lunch in the hostel, Prof. Vetrivel: Okay.

00:07:43

We are…we were let free to spend the rest of the day in the library.

00:07:48

Prof. Vetrivel: Library, okay.

00:07:49

Working out problems, looking up books and so on.

00:07:53

Prof. Vetrivel: Okay, okay.

00:07:54

So, at that time the syllabi were equipoise between

00:07:59

pure mathematics and applied mathematics.

00:08:02

So in the first semester we had real analysis, complex analysis,

00:08:07

Prof. Subrahmanyam: then tensor analysis and then linear algebra. Prof. Vetrivel: Okay.

00:08:12

In the second semester, one Dr. Jyoti Chaudhuri at that time,

00:08:18

Prof. Vetrivel: Okay, we don’t know.

00:08:19

subsequently she was…she became Jyoti Das.

00:08:23

Prof. Subrahmanyam: She was a student of Titchmarsh? Prof. Vetrivel: Okay.

00:08:27

And then she worked in differential equation,

00:08:31

but then later on she moved to University of Calcutta.

00:08:36

I also met her couple of years back.

00:08:40

She was teaching…she taught us differential equation,

00:08:44

ordinary differential equations.

00:08:46

Prof. Vetrivel: Okay.

00:08:47

So in the second semester we had ordinary differential equations,

00:08:51

then measure theory, algebraic structures and

00:08:57

Prof. Subrahmanyam: then Hamiltonian mechanics. Prof. Vetrivel: Okay.

00:09:04

Prof. Subrahmanyam: So we had the book by Goldstein, Prof. Vetrivel: Yeah.

00:09:08

which used to be rated very highly by physicists

00:09:12

and others, and in the third semester we had topology,

00:09:17

Prof. Subrahmanyam: then continuum mechanics. Prof. Vetrivel: Yeah okay.

00:09:20

And then…continuum mechanics,

00:09:28

Prof. Subrahmanyam: partial differential equations, Prof. Vetrivel: Okay.

00:09:32

Prof. Subrahmanyam: and numerical analysis. Prof. Vetrivel: Okay.

00:09:34

And in the fourth semester, fluid mechanics,

00:09:38

Prof. Subrahmanyam: then one elective we…I was again guided by Professor… Prof. Vetrivel: Professor Das.

00:09:44

Professor Venkataraman of Madras University, he said, “Take stochastic processes.”

00:09:49

And then I took stochastic processes and then electromagnetic theory.

00:09:57

Prof. Subrahmanyam: And then functional analysis. Prof. Vetrivel: Okay.

00:10:00

So, at that time, the teachers; most of them were

00:10:04

not specialists in pure mathematics

00:10:07

like the topics in topology, functional analysis, algebra et cetera.

00:10:13

Most of them were Applied Mathematicians.

00:10:16

Like fluid mechanics, operations research and so on.

00:10:21

But they read on their own and then delivered the goods

00:10:26

so and the process was a little difficult

00:10:30

for both the teacher and the student, nevertheless,

00:10:34

they rose up to the occasion,

00:10:36

we also hopefully did justice by satisfying their tough questions

00:10:44

Prof. Subrahmanyam: In the exams and so on. Prof. Vetri: Examination.

00:10:46

About the stochastic process,

00:10:49

Professor Srinivasan who was deemed an authority on applied

00:10:53

Prof. Vetrivel: Stochastic. Prof. Subrahmanyam: stochastic processes and probability theory,

00:10:56

originally did not want to give that course.

00:11:00

Prof. Subrahmanyam: Although, many research scholars were eager to take that course. Prof. Vetrivel: Okay.

00:11:05

And then, I went and represented to him, because there are only 3 students

00:11:10

Prof. Subrahmanyam: who would opt for stochastic. Prof. Vetri: Stochastic processes.

00:11:13

Prof. Subrahmanyam: So he agreed and they gave that course. Prof. Vetrivel: Okay okay.

00:11:16

See at that time, the department approach was different.

00:11:24

So, they used to set up…set a question paper

00:11:28

Prof. Subrahmanyam: and it was all absolute grading, you have to get 50 marks Prof. Vetrivel: Oh.

00:11:32

Prof. Subrahmanyam: to pass the course. Prof. Vetrivel: Ok.

00:11:33

Otherwise, you will be finished,

00:11:36

Prof. Subrahmanyam: you will have to repeat the course. Prof. Vetrivel: Okay.

00:11:38

I mean, you have to rewrite the course,

00:11:40

if you fail in that you will have to repeat the course.

00:11:43

Repeat.

00:11:44

It was so tough. And then, there were a number of elective subjects

00:11:50

offered in the fourth semester, including graph theory,

00:11:54

topological dynamics, a specialization of Professor Das, and so on.

00:12:00

Here, I must mention about the method of teaching

00:12:04

or lecturing in the department at that time.

00:12:09

See, there was no…what should I say…we don’t…

00:12:17

we didn’t expect the kind of teaching we were exposed to in the colleges.

00:12:22

There, the approach was different.

00:12:25

They used to describe a theorem and go on working out riders and problems,

00:12:30

a number of problems to illustrate the point.

00:12:34

Here, we were all bombarded with concepts and so many theorems.

00:12:38

You imagine, the whole of Bartle, real analysis

00:12:42

Prof. Subrahmanyam: was covered in one semester. Prof. Vetrivel: Okay.

00:12:44

Plus, Fourier series from Rudin’s Principles

00:12:48

Prof. Subrahmanyam: of Mathematical Analysis. Prof. Vetrivel: Mathematical Analysis.

00:12:51

It was really tough, and we do not know how we could

00:12:56

understand the intricacies of various proofs.

00:12:59

Because, they were all classical theorems

00:13:02

proved by eminent mathematicians like Heine, Borel , Cantor and so on.

00:13:09

Anyway, we have managed to survive,

00:13:13

that is what I would put it, and the teachers,

00:13:15

they used to refer to several books.

00:13:18

So, for…for instance, let Professor K. R. Parthasarathy,

00:13:21

when he taught measure theory,

00:13:24

Prof. Subrahmanyam: he initially started with Berberian, then from Halmos. Prof. Vetrivel: Halmos.

00:13:33

Then from Taylor, then from Kingman and so on,

00:13:38

it was really very difficult for us to cope with the development of the subject

00:13:46

because their notations, their approaches were all different anyway,

00:13:50

that's how probably that is the reason why we were asked

00:13:54

to spend the rest of the day in the library.

00:13:57

In the library okay, okay. And I…I am sure, I mean you have a great memories and…

00:14:02

So it was an…I mean unforgettable programme in my life.

00:14:08

Okay, okay, okay.

00:14:09

Because I…I…as I told you, I am not really a mathematically oriented person.

00:14:16

Okay, okay.

00:14:17

And in order to understand the abstract ideas of topology and all that,

00:14:21

Prof. Subrahmanyam: I had to work throughout the day after my lunch. Prof. Vetrivel: Okay.

00:14:27

In my own way, and I avoided going to various…

00:14:31

yeah, I mean I didn’t go…go for entertainments,

00:14:35

say, films and all that, of course,

00:14:38

Prof. Vetrivel: So it was a drastic difference from the B.Sc. time to. Prof. Subrahmanyam: Yeah, B.Sc. to

00:14:41

Prof. Vetrivel: M.Sc. Prof. Subrahmanyam: M.Sc. was. Prof. Vetrivel: Okay, okay.

00:14:43

Total…I mean it’s a kind of cataclysmic change, I should say.

00:14:49

I see, okay, okay. How about now nowadays for our

00:14:52

M.Sc. programme, we have a project at the fourth year…

00:14:55

at the second year, fourth semester.

00:14:56

No, at that time what happened was,

00:14:58

every semester, we had to appear for a viva voce.

00:15:02

Viva voce, oh okay.

00:15:03

And, they used to ask questions from all the topics we had studied.

00:15:06

It was really nightmarish, so…so to say.

00:15:11

Okay, okay.

00:15:11

But fortunately, the teachers were also considerate,

00:15:16

they understood our limitations,

00:15:18

and didn’t inflict the pain which was more…

00:15:26

Prof. Subrahmanyam: more unbearable than we could take. Prof. Vetrivel: Okay.

00:15:31

So, after your M.Sc., in 1971 you…

00:15:35

Yeah, what I did was, I thought this type of mathematics

00:15:39

which I got exposed to, was

00:15:42

too much for me, and I thought of going for other places to do Ph.D. and so on.

00:15:50

I was selected for an M.Phil. programme in Madurai University.

00:15:54

I didn’t want to go for M.Phil.,

00:15:56

at that time, Matscience which…which was a

00:16:00

a neighbouring institute, they were entertaining Ph.D. students.

00:16:05

So, nearly 12 of us, not all from IIT,

00:16:08

from various places joined.

00:16:11

Unfortunately, the Matscience was funded on a

00:16:18

quarterly basis by the state government

00:16:21

and the Department of Atomic Energy.

00:16:24

So, they didn’t expect the…

00:16:26

they were expecting a huge chunk of funds,

00:16:30

which unfortunately didn’t materialize.

00:16:34

So, most of us except one girl in pure mathematics,

00:16:37

Prof. Vetrivel: They got in.

00:16:38

they were all…I mean turned down.

00:16:41

We had to go…and unfortunately,

00:16:45

that was the end of August, and in no other place you would be…

00:16:52

they would be calling for application and so on.

00:16:55

For Ph.D. position and so…

00:16:57

anyway, I was studying at home for some time.

00:17:02

And then, in the meanwhile, I used to…

00:17:05

I cultivated some people in the Ramanujan Institute

00:17:09

which was the University of Madras, Mathematics Department

00:17:13

and I used to discuss with some people

00:17:16

and, even while at Matscience,

00:17:17

I had got some ideas about fixed point theorems I developed,

00:17:21

and in the December of ‘71,

00:17:25

I…’72 I should say,

00:17:28

I presented a paper in the Indian Mathematical Society Conference at Bhopal.

00:17:33

Prof. Vetrivel: Bhopal, okay.

00:17:34

And then, I…there I came into contact with

00:17:37

the well-known probabilist Professor K. R. Parthasarathy,

00:17:41

who was at that time in University of Bombay.

00:17:45

Prof. Vetrivel: Oh okay.

00:17:46

So he asked me to come to Bombay and join him,

00:17:50

but then, it was the time of Telangana agitation and so on.

00:17:56

I had narrowly escaped being stranded in the

00:18:00

Bhopal station while travelling to

00:18:04

To Chennai.

00:18:04

Chennai…and then somehow came back,

00:18:07

and meanwhile, after encouraging me to apply

00:18:11

to University of Bombay and all that,

00:18:13

Professor K. R. Parthasarathy had moved to IIT Delhi.

00:18:16

IIT Delhi.

00:18:17

So I looked at all these things,

00:18:19

I thought my alma mater should be the better place and I applied here.

00:18:25

Prof. Vetrivel: Your IIT Madras. Prof. Subrahmanyam: And I was entertained here.

00:18:27

At that time also,

00:18:28

it was not cakewalk…there were many

00:18:31

Prof. Vetrivel: Many candidates. Prof. Subrahmanyam: Competitors, there we had to be interviewed, and I was selected.

00:18:35

Okay.

00:18:36

Though I was not placed in the top rank,

00:18:38

I got the 4th rank or 5th rank, something like that.

00:18:41

Kesavan was also selected at that time.

00:18:44

Oh, okay.

00:18:45

He was 2 years junior to me in…

00:18:47

Okay.

00:18:48

IIT Madras.

00:18:49

Okay, okay and…

00:18:50

And then, I…I was assigned Professor U. Subb…V. Subbarao,

00:18:57

who wanted me to work in numerical analysis

00:18:59

Prof. Vetrivel: Yeah.

00:19:00

and so on. But he gave me a book to present lectures from,

00:19:06

that was a nice book by Ortega and Rheinboldt

00:19:11

on non-linear equations and iterative methods or something like that.

00:19:16

Other members in the group were one

00:19:20

Dr. Jain who then left for IIT Delhi, numerical analysis man,

00:19:26

Dr. R. P. Agarwal who was a post-doc at that time,

00:19:30

He later on moved to Italy,

00:19:32

from there he moved to…

00:19:33

Prof. Vetrivel: UK.

00:19:34

US.

00:19:35

Prof. Vetrivel: Yeah.

00:19:35

He is active still.

00:19:38

So, we started discussing on these topics,

00:19:43

every alternate day, I used to present from that book.

00:19:49

It was going on for a couple of weeks,

00:19:51

then, the great strike took place here.

00:19:54

Prof. Vetrivel: I see. Prof. Subrahmanyam: The hostel staff and the

00:19:59

Prof. Vetrivel: Okay. Prof. Subrahmanyam: administrative staff had lot of grievances,

00:20:02

and every day they were shouting slogans,

00:20:05

and, one day it happened that they even broke the

00:20:10

water mains and water was stopped in the hostel until a crisis

00:20:17

blew over and we had to stop the classes, lectures.

00:20:23

Finally, it all…it was all sorted out.

00:20:27

So, in the meanwhile, I was discuss…considering

00:20:31

some more aspects of my own problem

00:20:33

and Subbarao was a nice gentleman.

00:20:36

He encouraged me to pursue my own line of

00:20:39

Prof. Vetrivel: Okay.

00:20:40

thinking and research, but all the time,

00:20:42

he was insisting on…look for applications.

00:20:46

I was also happy that I could get a paper

00:20:49

published in the Journal of Approximation Theory and so on.

00:20:53

At that time, the concept of Ph.D. courses was different.

00:20:57

Prof. Vetrivel: Okay. Prof. Subrahmanyam: We had one or two courses from the department.

00:20:59

One was done by Professor Nigam,

00:21:02

it was from Stakgold’s book on Boundary Value Problems.

00:21:07

That was the…a monograph which discussed weak solutions,

00:21:14

Prof. Vetrivel: Okay. distributional solutions of differential equations.

00:21:17

Prof. Vetrivel: Okay.

00:21:18

And then another course; it was a specialized course

00:21:22

for M.Sc., which some teacher used to give.

00:21:25

Then we were also asked to do one course from a sister department.

00:21:32

Prof. Vetrivel: Okay.

00:21:32

So, they were even at that time thinking of interdisciplinarity.

00:21:36

So I took a course on singular perturbations from Aeronautics Department.

00:21:44

Prof. Vetrivel: Okay. Prof. Subrahmanyam: One Professor Rajappa gave that course,

00:21:47

they were talking about Poincaré series and all that.

00:21:51

Somehow I also scraped through that course and

00:21:55

submitted my…my thesis in November ‘76

00:22:00

and then got the degree in ‘77.

00:22:02

’77, okay.

00:22:04

So…so with a couple of paper publications.

00:22:06

Prof. Vetrivel: Okay.

00:22:07

And then, at that time, the…the…the concept was either to go for

00:22:12

Prof. Vetrivel: Post-doctoral. Prof. Subrahmanyam: post-doctoral fellow or to seek a job.

00:22:16

I didn’t want to go for a post-doctoral fellow

00:22:20

because I feared that it might be a kind of a…a

00:22:25

postponing your career, and so on.

00:22:29

I…at that time, I also had an offer of a research associateship

00:22:34

or something like that from TIFR,

00:22:36

but I thought taking a lectureship was far better,

00:22:40

because you gain teaching experience,

00:22:42

everywhere they are asking for teaching experience.

00:22:45

At that time, in the Madras University and other places,

00:22:50

senior teachers in the colleges were encouraged to do Ph.D.,

00:22:55

so under that scheme, some lecturers were sent to IIT,

00:23:00

some to the Ramanujan Institute.

00:23:02

So there…there were leave vacancies as they were called.

00:23:06

So, I applied for that and then joined the Loyola College of

00:23:12

Prof. Vetrivel: Okay.

00:23:13

at Nungambakkam.

00:23:14

It was a very interesting experience,

00:23:17

I taught the undergraduate students, large classes,

00:23:21

I also taught the M.Sc. students functional analysis

00:23:26

Prof. Vetrivel: Okay.

00:23:26

from Sobolev and Lusternik.

00:23:28

Prof. Vetrivel: Okay. Prof. Subrahmanyam: That was a different textbook. Prof. Vetrivel: Lusternik.

00:23:30

Different from…the Simmons, and

00:23:34

then, meanwhile, I had applied to various places,

00:23:38

I got selected in the Madras University postgraduate centre at Tiruchi.

00:23:45

Probably, I was the first person to have been

00:23:48

appointed to a Madras University Maths Department,

00:23:51

because, Madras University Maths Department

00:23:54

was considered a citadel of pure mathematics.

00:23:58

Prof. Vetrivel: Okay.

00:23:58

And then from there, I moved over to Hyderabad Central University,

00:24:03

which was expected to become…like become

00:24:08

a great centre for sciences, humanities and so on.

00:24:13

And you know, that university was created to appease the Telangana

00:24:19

agitationists and so on,

00:24:21

somehow it also didn’t…it…it had lot of problems in the beginning.

00:24:27

Prof. Subrahmanyam: So again I felt, my alma mater is the best place. Prof. Vetrivel: Correct, correct.

00:24:32

And so, so I applied and got back here.

00:24:35

Okay, which…which year you joined here?

00:24:36

I remember the date 21 5 1981.

00:24:40

Prof. Vetrivel: Okay, fine, fine, fine.

00:24:41

So I joined and then I taught B.Tech., M.Sc.

00:24:47

And, just want to ask you, when you joined…

00:24:51

so the dominating subjects were like…as you said,

00:24:54

fluid dynamics and stochastic process.

00:24:56

And of course, Professor B. V. Subbarao in numerical analysis…

00:25:00

how you found yourself in that community, like?

00:25:04

Prof. Subrahmanyam: You see. Prof. Vetrivel: If you are totally a pure mathematics person.

00:25:07

Although the research of the department was focused on two streams,

00:25:13

Prof. Vetrivel: Yes sir. Prof. Subrahmanyam: Mainly

00:25:16

Fluid.

00:25:17

Fluid mechanics and stochastic process,

00:25:21

Prof. Subrahmanyam: already Bhattacharya had joined the department. Prof. Vetrivel: Okay.

00:25:24

Prof. Subrahmanyam: He was a complex analyst, and already Professor Das was there. Prof. Vetrivel: Das okay, Das was there.

00:25:29

Though he was a concerned with differential equations,

00:25:33

he was handling the bulk of the pure subjects like

00:25:37

Prof. Vetrivel: Okay. Prof. Subrahmanyam: Topology, functional analysis and so on.

00:25:41

So, they had need for people to do

00:25:47

teaching at the M.Sc. level and so on,

00:25:50

so, I won’t say it was…yeah it was not a very,

00:25:59

what should I say, it was not a very nice situation.

00:26:03

You…you see in the department,

00:26:06

the…you were all left to…I mean people were left to themselves.

00:26:10

Prof. Vetrivel: Yeah independence, independence. Prof. Subrahmanyam: You evolve on your own

00:26:12

Prof. Vetrivel: Yeah, that independence. Prof. Subrahmanyam: and they don’t interfere and they gave you lot of freedom.

00:26:16

I…I could I in fact,

00:26:19

I mean formulated two courses which were accepted.

00:26:22

Okay.

00:26:23

And, it was an elective on fixed point theory, probably

00:26:25

Prof. Subrahmanyam: that was the first course on fixed point theory which must have been Prof. Vetrivel: Yes sir, still continuing.

00:26:29

Prof. Vetrivel: Still continuing. Prof. Subrahmanyam: formulated in the M.Sc. syllabus anywhere in India.

00:26:34

Correct.

00:26:35

So we had formulated and when I joined, already

00:26:39

graph theory was being taught,

00:26:41

already probability theory was being taught as a core course.

00:26:45

Prof. Vetrivel: Okay, so many subjects were there. Prof. Subrahmanyam: So, some such

00:26:48

developments have taken place and I was, I mean

00:26:52

nobody stood in the way of my proposing other courses

00:26:56

in non-linear analysis and so on.

00:26:58

Already, Professor Subbarao has given a course on approximation theory.

00:27:03

So the concept at that time was, you do pure mathematics

00:27:08

so that the develo…it could help the development

00:27:12

in applied mathematics, fluid mechanics,

00:27:14

Prof. Vetrivel: Correct. Prof. Subrahmanyam: stochastics and so on.

00:27:16

In fact, I remember, Professor S. K. Srinivasan had invited Professor Athreya

00:27:22

an expert in probability and stochastic process for…as a visiting professor;

00:27:29

so that they could interact, and so on.

00:27:32

So, it I mean it was not as if the department

00:27:35

was only pursuing applied mathematics in an exclusive way,

00:27:41

they were open to suggestions and you know, developments.

00:27:47

But, there the initial period, the developments

00:27:52

were in fluid mechanics and

00:27:56

Prof. Vetrivel: Okay. Prof. Subrahmanyam: stochastic process.

00:27:58

How was the selection procedure, sir, those times?

00:28:01

Now we…you know that

00:28:02

since you were head of the department in the recent times,

00:28:06

our selection procedure is like one interview,

00:28:08

one presentation, then oral interview…all that.

00:28:12

So that…

00:28:12

Prof. Subrahmanyam: For the faculty or the student? Prof. Vetrivel: For a faculty…faculty.

00:28:15

No no it had by then, become stabilized, I should say.

00:28:20

Prof. Vetrivel: Okay, okay.

00:28:21

Because when I joined,

00:28:22

Prof. Subrahmanyam: I was asked to give a presentation for Prof. Vetrivel: Presentation.

00:28:25

10 or 15 minutes on my research topic.

00:28:28

Prof. Vetrivel: Okay. And then, I was interviewed in the Director’s Office.

00:28:31

The same…same procedure.

00:28:32

So, same procedure.

00:28:33

Prof. Vetrivel: Okay. Prof. Subrahmanyam: And, probably later on

00:28:36

they have added the faculty giving marks this and that,

00:28:40

maybe at that time also it was there,

00:28:43

but I didn’t know, because I was not a faculty member at that time.

00:28:46

Prof. Vetrivel: Okay.

00:28:46

I was giving the presentation and all the…all were sitting in that presentation.

00:28:52

Prof. Vetrivel: Okay. Prof. Subrahmanyam: All the faculty members, and maybe even other participants

00:28:56

other interview…persons who had

00:28:59

been invited for the interview.

00:29:01

Okay, okay. And regarding…I have heard of your…

00:29:05

after you joined here, I have heard of your

00:29:07

your conference, what you organized in the department,

00:29:10

which is a mega conference, I would say…

00:29:13

Prof. Vetrivel: on non-linear analysis, on analysis…non-linear analysis. Prof. Subrahmanyam: Yeah.

00:29:17

So, you see, my thinking was that,

00:29:21

already there was interview…the…there was interaction with

00:29:26

Matscience, especially Professor Vasudevan,

00:29:30

Professor Ranganathan and others

00:29:32

were interacting with Professor Srinivasan and so on.

00:29:36

There was also a cosmologist

00:29:38

at that time, by name Prasanna and so on.

00:29:41

So on the applied mathematics side, there was interaction.

00:29:45

So, analysis side, I thought I would initiate some symposium

00:29:51

Prof. Subrahmanyam: and Professor Unni at that time, a professor in the Matscience. Prof. Vetrivel: K. R. Unni, K. R. Unni.

00:29:55

He…I invited him, gave a talk and the venue was in one of the

00:30:01

Prof. Subrahmanyam: seminar halls of the Chemistry Lecture Theatre. Prof. Vetrivel: Okay, okay.

00:30:05

Prof. Subrahmanyam: I think it was in ‘83 or ‘84 Prof. Vetrivel: 4…’84.

00:30:08

And the proceedings were published in our journal,

00:30:12

at that time the department was running a journal:

00:30:14

Prof. Vetrivel: Journal of Mathematical Physical Sciences, yes sir. Prof. Subrahmanyam: The Journal of Mathematical and Physical Sciences.

00:30:18

It had a very illustrious editorial board.

00:30:22

Prof. Vetrivel: Okay.

00:30:22

Professor Lakshmikantham, Kichenassamy…many others.

00:30:26

Somehow, it has faded over the years.

00:30:32

Okay. And…I just want to know about your Ph.D. guidance, sir.

00:30:36

Like, your students.

00:30:38

One paper…you…you one of your students Dr. Chitra,

00:30:42

when you have done something on

00:30:44

a non-linear complementarity problem,

00:30:47

but I don’t see many papers on this direction,

00:30:50

though linear complementarity problem has

00:30:53

been well studied in the last 4-5 decades.

00:30:57

But this something…still people are referring whoever works on this.

00:31:01

I have seen this…and also your recent work with your…

00:31:05

your later students…like on functional equations.

00:31:10

See, I was specializing in fixed point theorems;

00:31:16

fixed point theory, you cannot say is a branch…

00:31:20

I mean, it is an independent branch of mathematics,

00:31:23

Prof. Subrahmanyam: in…in the sense that it has…it borrows techniques and tools from Prof. Vetrivel: Tools, yes.

00:31:28

several areas of mathematics.

00:31:32

So, since its applications are vast,

00:31:36

I naturally took interest in functional equations and optimization.

00:31:43

One part of optimization theory heavily

00:31:46

relies on fixed point theorems of the Kakutani type,

00:31:51

Brouwer’s fixed point theory theorem and so on.

00:31:54

So in that sense I entered

00:31:56

a non-linear complementarity problem.

00:31:59

In fact, what I feel is, the department should offer a…a course,

00:32:05

core course on optimization which is an important

00:32:08

Prof. Vetrivel: Yes sir, yes sir.

00:32:10

subject.

00:32:11

Now it is being considered,

00:32:11

Prof. Vetrivel: now we have even proposed that. Prof. Subrahmanyam: I think this is a must.

00:32:14

Prof. Vetrivel: Yes. Prof. Subrahmanyam: And you have to also look at the current trends

00:32:17

and accordingly reorient the syllabi.

00:32:20

In fact, Professor Subbarao conducted a seminar,

00:32:24

involving all the other departments, asking them to present

00:32:29

their views on mathematics and application,

00:32:32

if you have such a seminar, then.

00:32:34

Prof. Vetrivel: Okay. Prof. Subrahmanyam: There will be brainstorming

00:32:36

and new ideas may emerge,

00:32:38

and also you should look at the trends in top universities of the world,

00:32:44

for example: Oxford, Cambridge,

00:32:47

they are thinking of mathematical engineering…

00:32:50

Stanford for example, is thinking of mathematical

00:32:53

engineering course and so on.

00:32:55

So, there are also courses on mathematics education.

00:33:00

See, IIT is a premier institute and mathematics education programme

00:33:07

helps people learn how to teach mathematics

00:33:11

even at the school level and so on.

00:33:14

Now our country is facing a dearth of good teachers,

00:33:19

even at the school level.

00:33:21

So, if we can think of such a programme, it will help

00:33:25

our basic education in the country,

00:33:28

Prof. Vetrivel: Okay. Prof. Subrahmanyam: in the long run.

00:33:30

Prof. Subrahmanyam: So, your collegium of Professors should think along these lines Prof. Vetrivel: Sure, sure.

00:33:36

and come up with such novel ideas.

00:33:39

Of course, we have a nice programme on

00:33:41

Prof. Subrahmanyam: industrial mathematics. Prof. Vetrivel: Mathematics sciences, yeah.

00:33:43

But then the syllabi have to be revised

00:33:46

and see the…get the feedback of the students and reorient and so on.

00:33:52

Prof. Vetrivel: Okay.

00:33:52

If I…whole thing depends on the initiative of the faculty members and so on.

00:33:58

See, I would also like to add that

00:34:02

I had conducted a number of conferences,

00:34:05

when I joined in ’81, Professor Das himself organized

00:34:10

a big international conference on non-linear analysis,

00:34:13

Prof. Subrahmanyam: for which eminent mathematicians like [indistinct], Ambrosetti had come. Prof. Vetrivel: Ambrosetti, yes.

00:34:18

And then I organized a national symposium on analysis.

00:34:22

Subsequently in 2007 or so, I organized…2005

00:34:29

I think, I don’t remember, I organized a conference on

00:34:34

Prof. Vetrivel: Optimization [indistinct]

00:34:35

FIA…FIM IIT conference.

00:34:38

Prof. Vetrivel: Yes sir. Prof. Subrahmanyam: Then I tried to have a collaborative conference

00:34:42

with University of Madras on fuzzy sets.

00:34:45

So I tried to involve other departments, other institutions also.

00:34:50

In fact, when some Professors like Avudainayagam

00:34:54

others were heading the department,

00:34:57

I told them that I would like to have a one day workshop

00:35:01

on calculus for our school teachers.

00:35:05

And it was readily agreed, and

00:35:07

when I was the Executive Chairman of Association

00:35:10

of Mathematics Teachers in India, I conducted it here.

00:35:13

Prof. Vetrivel: Okay, okay.

00:35:13

So, such programmes you have to do and

00:35:16

already IIT has given you great

00:35:19

opportunity to organize teacher training programmes.

00:35:23

I organized 3 teacher training programmes:

00:35:25

one on non non-linear analysis, another on fuzzy sets

00:35:29

and another on Fourier analysis.

00:35:32

Prof. Subrahmanyam: I think you were also associated with Fourier analysis. Prof. Vetrivel: Yes sir, yes sir, yes sir, yes.

00:35:35

So these are all important

00:35:37

Prof. Vetrivel: Yes sir.

00:35:37

aspects. And see, mathematics being a very tough subject,

00:35:43

often repulsive for the student,

00:35:45

you should encourage all kinds of students to take to mathematics,

00:35:49

and you should not have very harshly evaluate students

00:35:54

Prof. Subrahmanyam: and allow them to grow Prof. Vetrivel: Okay.

00:35:57

in their own way,

00:35:58

so that their interest and enthusiasm for mathematics is not stifled.

00:36:06

See, what is more important now is

00:36:08

that people should have a liking for mathematics,

00:36:12

they should not abhor mathematics.

00:36:14

So, that being the approach, you should be able to attract

00:36:20

many students at several levels.

00:36:22

Several…I understand, sir.

00:36:24

Sir, and one…one I just ask you one difficult question, sir,

00:36:27

like, you have served in IIT Madras for more than 35-36 years,

00:36:32

and in that if you divide the whole service period into three parts,

00:36:36

which you are…how do you compare your…the growth of the department

00:36:41

and your experience, for example, 12 years, 12 years, the next 12 years.

00:36:46

How do you compare?

00:36:52

See, when I joined as a research scholar,

00:36:57

at that…at that time we had a a big conference,

00:37:01

national conference, they called it ISTAM, Indian Society for

00:37:05

Prof. Subrahmanyam: Theoretical and Applied Mechanics it was huge conference. Prof. Vetrivel: Theoretical and Applied Mechanics,

00:37:09

Yes, sir.

00:37:09

Prof. Subrahmanyam: A kind of Kumbha Mela type conference. Prof. Vetrivel: Yes, yes, yes.

00:37:13

So, we were all asked to bring the…we were all asked to

00:37:16

volunteer; get the delegates from the railway station, airport and so on.

00:37:21

Prof. Vetrivel: Okay. Prof. Subrahmanyam: So we are trained that way.

00:37:23

Prof. Vetrivel: Okay.

00:37:24

So, that kind of thing, whether it is being done,

00:37:28

and we enjoyed it actually, we didn’t resent such responsibilities,

00:37:34

and at that time, the Head of the Department was powerful.

00:37:38

And, I mean over the years, the…due to the

00:37:43

the trickling of democratization process,

00:37:47

people have become more demanding at the lower level,

00:37:55

and you have to take everybody together,

00:37:57

Prof. Subrahmanyam: otherwise growth will not be possible. Prof. Vetrivel: Correct, correct.

00:38:01

So, you cannot do it in a very a brusque way and put down opposition.

00:38:07

If it is a good suggestion, you have to take it. And a

00:38:12

lot of…I mean…afterwards, what…what should I say,

00:38:17

I mean the first 12 years, the

00:38:20

domination of the Head of the Department,

00:38:22

Professors was more, and then the power was

00:38:25

trickling down and so on, but at the…at no stage,

00:38:31

I mean, you were blocked to

00:38:33

Prof. Vetrivel: For anything. Yeah, so Prof. Subrahmanyam: pursue your research.

00:38:35

That independence is something.

00:38:36

Prof. Subrahmanyam: Yes, yes. See, you were not, Prof. Vetrivel: Yeah.

00:38:39

Prof. Subrahmanyam: I mean troubled to do this type of research or that type. Prof. Vetrivel: Correct, correct.

00:38:44

There were suggestions, because

00:38:46

IIT being an institute of technology,

00:38:49

it is natural to expect that what you do

00:38:51

has some relevance for engineering and technology; nothing wrong in that,

00:38:55

but they never imposed such views, only… I mean implicit…

00:39:00

I mean…only made indirect suggestions.

00:39:03

Prof. Vetrivel: Fine.

00:39:03

Which will act, in due course, in your subconscious.

00:39:06

Actually, I…Professor Subbarao

00:39:11

was asking me to concentrate on numerical method.

00:39:14

Now, I mean my…one of the…my latest students Vijaya,

00:39:20

she was working on Newton methods.

00:39:22

Prof. Vetrivel: Okay. Prof. Subrahmanyam: It was a very…

00:39:24

it was in the heart of numerical method, so to say.

00:39:28

So, that suggestion was in my subconscious

00:39:32

for quite some time, and it bloomed.

00:39:35

Okay, fine.

00:39:36

So, it’s a good suggestion, I should say.

00:39:40

Sir, and myself and my other colleagues,

00:39:43

we really enjoyed your headship time, that period…

00:39:48

what is your experience about

00:39:51

Well…

00:39:52

that period especially? I should say it was not a…

00:39:56

What are the new things you brought…something?

00:39:58

Okay, at that time, I also had to head the IIT Hyderabad…

00:40:03

As a mentor.

00:40:04

Prof. Subrahmanyam: Mathematics Department. Prof. Vetrivel: Yes, yes.

00:40:06

I was not living in the campus,

00:40:10

Prof. Vetrivel: Okay. Prof. Subrahmanyam: which would have been convenient,

00:40:11

but due to personal problems, I had to stay outside the campus.

00:40:17

So I had to avoid going outside Chennai too many times.

00:40:23

So what I did was, thanks to our studio,

00:40:26

I arranged lot of seminars for those students.

00:40:29

Prof. Vetrivel: Okay.

00:40:29

In fact, when Pro…Dr. Sivakumar from Texas

00:40:33

A&M University gave a course here,

00:40:36

Prof. Subrahmanyam: I had it telecast over there. Prof. Vetrivel: Yeah, yeah, telecasted there yes, yes.

00:40:40

They attended those courses and they also

00:40:43

Prof. Vetrivel: Okay.

00:40:44

I mean, took the exam.

00:40:46

Prof. Vetrivel: Okay, okay exam was… Prof. Subrahmanyam: When the exam was going on here simultaneously

00:40:49

it was conducted there, and they enjoyed it,

00:40:52

lot of mathematicians who were in the city

00:40:55

were invited to give lectures; not only here, and the lecture

00:41:00

Prof. Subrahmanyam: was immediately telecast there. Prof. Vetrivel: Telecasted there.

00:41:03

So all these things were the…done and

00:41:06

see, we have to take uh suggestions from all the colleagues,

00:41:12

whether he is a junior colleague or a senior colleague.

00:41:15

See that the mathematics is promoted

00:41:20

in the best possible way. And regarding students,

00:41:25

You see, you cannot experiment with the undergraduate students.

00:41:29

That is my thinking. You see, if somebody is

00:41:33

teaching a particular topic, let us say probability

00:41:37

and statistics in the best possible way,

00:41:40

do not unnecessarily disturb that arrangement and

00:41:45

put a raw hand to do that course

00:41:50

Prof. Subrahmanyam: and make a miserable situation of a nice…nicely going programme. Prof. Vetrivel: Correct.

00:41:58

Of course, people also have to be trained.

00:42:01

So, how to do that?

00:42:03

So, what I did was, I associated with each teacher,

00:42:07

a senior teacher who has taught the

00:42:09

subject several times, a young faculty

00:42:13

Prof. Vetrivel: Faculty. Prof. Subrahmanyam: who has not taught it.

00:42:15

So that he gains confidence, and there is interaction,

00:42:19

so that subsequently he can take over.

00:42:21

But, I am not sure whether that worked out all that…

00:42:24

because it was becoming like this; you split the course into two halves,

00:42:32

Prof. Vetrivel: Okay.

00:42:33

the easier half was given to the raw faculty,

00:42:38

Prof. Subrahmanyam: while the tougher one was. Prof. Vetrivel: Tougher one.

00:42:42

taken care of by the more experienced faculty.

00:42:45

But unfortunately, people thought half plus half plus half is more than 2,

00:42:52

and this kind of problem led naturally to the

00:42:58

collapse of the programme.

00:42:59

So that experiment didn’t succeed.

00:43:02

Okay. Sir, and one more thing

00:43:04

I just wanted to ask you…you…you

00:43:06

you were the last person who used to consider something like

00:43:09

the classical analysis like summability theory

00:43:13

and all the…used to refer the books of Blumenthal and all that,

00:43:18

now nobody is using or talking about those topics.

00:43:24

See, like every subject, mathematics also has its fashions and so on.

00:43:30

Prof. Vetrivel: Fine, fine.

00:43:30

So, if people are interested in such topics,

00:43:34

Prof. Vetrivel: Welcome.

00:43:34

there must be journals to publish,

00:43:36

if there are no journals, what to do?

00:43:38

In my time, it all clicked,

00:43:40

now I cannot say that you study distance geometry or some other topic.

00:43:46

Prof. Vetrivel: Correct. Prof. Subrahmanyam: Of course, you can pursue it as a…a passion and so on,

00:43:50

but we cannot inflict it on others.

00:43:54

Prof. Vetrivel: Okay.

00:43:54

who are especially

00:43:55

Prof. Vetrivel: Correct. Prof. Subrahmanyam: growing up in a career and all that.

00:43:58

Prof. Vetrivel: Okay.

00:43:58

So, it all changes.

00:44:00

See, nowadays, even departments like…I mean institutes like Oxford,

00:44:06

they are thinking of industrial mathematics, mathematical engineering

00:44:12

Prof. Vetrivel: Correct. Prof. Subrahmanyam: and things like that,

00:44:14

they are thinking of a programme in which actuarial mathematics,

00:44:20

a bit of statistics; all these things are clubbed together…data analytics,

00:44:25

all those things.

00:44:26

So, you have to be alive to the changes

00:44:29

in the academic world and also, I mean

00:44:32

train our students accordingly.

00:44:35

After all, globalization cannot be wished away now.

00:44:39

So, you have to train the students not only for the local consumption,

00:44:45

but also for the global requirement.

00:44:48

So, it’s a tough problem,

00:44:49

I don’t think the problems have become easy now,

00:44:53

it…they have become more complex.

00:44:55

Thank God that I have come out of it.

00:44:58

Prof. Vetrivel: Okay.

00:44:58

And you are facing all these complicated things.

00:45:01

Prof. C. S. Swamy: I have one question to both of you,

00:45:04

Prof. Swamy: you mentioned about the journal

00:45:06

Prof. Swamy: which was started by the Mathematics Department,

00:45:08

Prof. Swamy: is it continuing now?

00:45:10

It is with Aerospace Department,

00:45:12

Prof. Vetrivel: it went to Aerospace Department. Prof. Swamy: Pardon.

00:45:14

It is…went to Aerospace Department.

00:45:16

Prof. Swamy: Oh that journal is there

00:45:18

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

00:45:19

Prof. Swamy: I see.

00:45:19

Now, there is a committee which is managing that…

00:45:22

Prof. Vetrivel: not regular…like what used to be. Prof. Swamy: I know that Professor Subramaniam

00:45:26

Prof. Swamy: of Aeronautics. Prof. Vetrivel: Yes, yes and Swaminathan was

00:45:28

Prof. Subrahmanyam: Yeah that… Prof. Swamy: I see. Now Subramaniam

00:45:30

Prof. Subrahmanyam: Yes, yes, yeah…that was Prof. Vetrivel: Oh DS.

00:45:32

Prof. Subrahmanyam: 20 years back or something like that. Prof. Swamy: Yeah, yeah.

00:45:35

Yes, yes.

00:45:35

Prof. Swamy: Now the…is the journal still coming?

00:45:38

It’s not…yeah it is still there,

00:45:40

Prof. Vetrivel: but not on the regular issues. Prof. Subrahmanyam: Sir

00:45:42

Prof. Swamy: Mathematics [indistinct]. Prof. Subrahmanyam: No no, we do…I do not know because

00:45:45

I am no longer associated.

00:45:47

Prof. Swamy: I know, you know, I am asking

00:45:49

Yes, yes sir, it is…the journal is still there.

00:45:51

But not the regular issues, like in

00:45:54

the number of issues per year is reduced.

00:45:56

Prof. Swamy: I see.

00:45:57

Prof. Vetrivel: And, it is managed by the Engineering Departments. yes. Prof. Swamy: Committee, committee.

00:46:00

There is a committee managing that.

00:46:02

Prof. Swamy: Another thing is, since you have joined very early,

00:46:06

Prof. Swamy: you know, in the initial stages

00:46:08

Prof. Swamy: when those who were working in differential equation all that,

00:46:12

Prof. Swamy: they used to say they had to manage all the calculations.

00:46:15

Facet machines.

00:46:16

Prof. Swamy: Facet calculator,

00:46:18

Prof. Swamy: do you have any facet calculators in your department?

00:46:21

No, we don’t have, you know…

00:46:22

Prof. Swamy: Can you find out? Because,

00:46:24

Prof. Vetrivel: Yes, yes. Prof. Swamy: We wanted this as…its being a Heritage Centre.

00:46:27

Prof. Vetrivel: Heritage Centre okay, okay, okay. Prof. Swamy: We want to have

00:46:28

Prof. Swamy: one model of facet calculator. Prof. Vetrivel: Okay.

00:46:31

Prof. Swamy: We have asked various departments.

00:46:33

I…I don’t think

00:46:34

Prof. Swamy: Engineering Department also we have to use this. Pof. Vetrivel: even in your period also there was no such.

00:46:36

Prof. Swamy: before the computers came in, you know.

00:46:38

In fact, for our numerical analysis course,

00:46:41

Prof. Swamy: Yeah.

00:46:42

We were use…we were taught how to use a slide rule

00:46:45

Prof. Swamy: Okay, okay Prof. Subrahmanyam: and, also a facet

00:46:49

Prof. Subrahmanyam: calculator yes. Prof. Swamy: Facet calculator.

00:46:50

Prof. Swamy: Slide rule, maybe somebody might be having,

00:46:54

Prof. Swamy: but facet calculator is what we were interested in.

00:46:57

I am told that the facet calculator company itself

00:47:01

Prof. Subrahmanyam: modified it into a typewriter. Prof. Swamy: I know, I know. That is the reason

00:47:04

Prof. Swamy: why we are looking for Prof. Vetrivel: That one, okay.

00:47:06

Prof. Swamy: looking for any model

00:47:07

Prof. Swamy: somewhere in. Prof. Vetrivel: Oh, that okay, for Heritage Centre.

00:47:08

Even in my tenure here,

00:47:10

maybe even by early ‘90s,

00:47:13

the machine was completely…

00:47:16

Prof. Swamy: Yeah, I know. Prof. Subrahmanyam: I mean it was not there in the department,

00:47:18

they must have condemned it;

00:47:19

Prof. Subrahmanyam: you have a condemnation committee in the department. Prof. Swamy: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

00:47:22

So it is all gone.

00:47:24

Prof. Swamy: Another thing you said that,

00:47:27

Prof. Swamy: you worked or you applied for the Institute of

00:47:30

Prof. Swamy: Advanced Mathematics, Madras University.

00:47:33

Ramanujan Institute, no no, I used to interact.

00:47:36

Prof. Swamy: Who was the Director then?

00:47:38

At that time,

00:47:39

Prof. Swamy: Bhanumurthy?

00:47:40

Prof. Subrahmanyam: Yeah, Bhanumurthy was the Director. Prof. Swamy: Okay, now, Bhanumurthy’s brother is working

00:47:45

Prof. Subrahmanyam: Yeah, he was in Shankara, Dr. Shankara. Prof. Swamy: Shankara.

00:47:48

Prof. Swamy: Okay, how many years did he serve here?

00:47:50

I think he was…I should say, when I joined, he was there

00:47:55

when I was a research scholar.

00:47:56

Prof. Swamy: I see.

00:47:57

So…

00:47:58

Prof. Swamy: What was…what was his field?

00:48:00

He was doing relativity.

00:48:02

Prof. Swamy: I see…I see. And of course, later he took science and all that Prof. Subrahmanyam: Yeah, right.

00:48:06

Prof. Swamy: Yeah I know about that one.

00:48:07

Prof. Swamy: So…and, another thing I wanted to ask.

00:48:12

In 5 minutes.

00:48:13

Prof. Swamy: You wrote

00:48:16

Prof. Swamy: an article or something about Subbarao in… Prof. Vetrivel: 5 minutes

00:48:20

Prof. Swamy: that actor is demised.

00:48:22

Yeah, yeah I mailed.

00:48:23

Prof. Swamy: Yeah, the…I saw it in our retirees…[indistinct]

00:48:26

Mail.

00:48:30

Prof. Swamy: So, you please… Prof. Subrahmanyam: Yeah.

00:48:31

No, if you want, I can show…

00:48:34

I had collected some photographs.

00:48:37

Prof. Swamy: Yeah, it looked very interesting.

00:48:39

So, I conducted…see, the on the…I mean

00:48:43

I am not trying to advertise myself.

00:48:46

Prof. Swamy: No, no, no. Prof. Subrahmanyam: I wanted to give some aspects of our activity.

00:48:50

So…as I told, I was interested in organizing many

00:48:55

conferences, workshops and so on.

00:48:57

Prof. Swamy: Definitely.

00:48:57

So, I organized an analysis worksh…I mean…con…

00:49:03

symposium on the teaching of analysis, because

00:49:06

it should be interesting not only for students,

00:49:08

but also for teachers who may not be

00:49:11

analysts themselves, but may be teaching.

00:49:13

So I invited people from Ramanujan Institute,

00:49:16

Matscience and they all gave the

00:49:20

Prof. Swamy: Professor.

00:49:21

talks, and I even brought out the proceedings,

00:49:24

and I had got some snaps.

00:49:28

Prof. Subrahmanyam: So these are the…some snaps.

00:49:30

Prof. Swamy: Oh wonderful.

00:49:46

Some our…our…we have…

00:49:48

I organized a symposium,

00:49:50

Prof. Vetrivel: Yeah. Prof. Subrahmanyam: on teaching of analysis.

00:49:52

I had even brought out the

00:49:53

Off screen voice: Dates on…[indistinct]

00:49:54

I think it was the time when Avudainayagam

00:49:57

was the Head of the Department.

00:50:00

I think…it should have been around 2006,

00:50:11

7 or 8 or something like that.

00:50:15

So you also have a photograph of Professor Nigam,

00:50:18

Parthasarthy and others.

00:50:19

Prof. Swamy: Yeah, yeah that also [indistinct].

00:50:20

So that's how I…maybe you can keep them.

00:50:23

Prof. Swamy: Oh oh, thank you.

00:50:24

And, these are the books.

00:50:26

See…for the QAP short term,

00:50:35

(softly) I don’t know it’s some…

00:50:41

This was in the year,

00:50:46

I think it was in 1997.

00:50:50

Prof. Swamy: Yeah.

00:50:50

So, we conducted a short term course.

00:50:54

Prof. Vetrivel: (reads) Non-linear.

00:50:56

Prof. Swamy: [Indistinct]

00:50:58

This is the collaborative conference.

00:51:02

Prof. Subrahmanyam: Inter-departmental, I collaborated with

00:51:05

Prof. Subrahmanyam: Dr. Mohan of Civil Engineering on fuzzy sets.

00:51:09

Prof. Subrahmanyam: Along with Madras University.

00:51:11

Prof. Vetrivel: Okay.

00:51:12

Ande this is the first mathematical symposium

00:51:15

which was brought out by…our…that journal.

00:51:19

Prof. Vetrivel: [Indistinct]

00:51:20

Yeah, 1984.

00:51:22

Prof. Vetrivel: Yeah, this is what you were talking about.

00:51:24

Prof. Subrahmanyam: And then this was about 2008 something.

00:51:29

Prof. Subrahmanyam: I organized the Ramanujan Mathematical Society,

00:51:33

Prof. Subrahmanyam: I mean Ramanujan Day celebrations were already going on.

00:51:38

Prof. Subrahmanyam: So, we brought out the lectures

00:51:43

as a booklet after referring and so on.

00:51:48

Prof. Swamy: I want to ask one more

00:51:50

This is an international conference

00:51:53

Prof. Swamy: Yeah.

00:51:54

held in IIT Madras with the forum

00:51:57

Prof. Subrahmanyam: for inter-disciplinary mathematics Prof. Vetrivel: Yeah.

00:51:59

at Stella Maris College.

00:52:01

Prof. Vetrivel: Okay. Sir, I wanted to… Prof. Swamy: I wanted to know whether the Nobel laureate

00:52:04

Prof. Swamy: Professor Chandrasekhar; astrophysicist have visited your department?

00:52:09

Yes yes.

00:52:10

Prof. Swamy: Here visited.

00:52:11

Prof. Swamy: When was it?

00:52:12

‘87.

00:52:13

Prof. Swamy: Do you have photographs of that?

00:52:16

We have to ask Professor Majhi.

00:52:18

Prof. Swamy: Oh Majhi, is it?

00:52:20

Yeah, yeah, Majhi must be having…

00:52:21

Prof. Swamy: Oh, we will find out.

00:52:22

He was the organizer.

00:52:23

No, no we had the centenary celebrations

00:52:27

Prof. Subrahmanyam: of Srinivasa Ramanujan. Prof. Vetrivel: Srinivasa Ramanujan.

00:52:29

Prof. Vetrivel: So, he visited at that time. Prof. Swamy: Yeah. Prof. Subrahmanyam: So at that time he had come.

00:52:31

Prof. Swamy: Professor Chandrasekhar.

00:52:32

Prof. Vetrivel: Yes, yes. Prof. Subrahmanyam: Chandrasekhar had come and given a talk in the

00:52:35

Prof. Vetrivel: In the CLT.

00:52:35

auditorium of Madras University,

00:52:39

I do not know whether he had come here.

00:52:41

Prof. Vetrivel: He had come here. Prof. Subrahmanyam: Many eminent mathematicians had come.

00:52:43

Prof. Swamy: I was told he came only to Mathematics Department.

00:52:46

Prof. Vetrivel: Yes yes. Prof. Swamy: He

00:52:46

Prof. Swamy: didn’t gave any lecture in CLT.

00:52:48

Yeah.

00:52:49

Prof. Swamy: And, much…very much like before

00:52:52

Prof. Swamy: became, got a Nobel Prize, I had heard in AC College, that was in ‘60s. Prof. Vetrivel: Okay, correct.

00:52:58

Prof. Swamy: So, he never visited.

00:52:59

Prof. Swamy: So, I came to know that he used to visit Mathematics Department,

00:53:03

Prof. Swamy: that's why I asked you.

00:53:04

Prof. Swamy: And, another thing I want to know was

00:53:07

Prof. Swamy: number of monographs were produced from

00:53:10

Prof. Swamy: your department, say published by

00:53:14

Different.

00:53:15

famous…the German publishers [indistinct]

00:53:18

Springer.

00:53:18

Yes sir.

00:53:20

Prof. Swamy: Do you have copies of that?

00:53:21

Yes sir, every faculty they have copies

00:53:24

Prof. Swamy: So, if anything,

00:53:25

Yes sir.

00:53:26

Prof. Swamy: before it is lost,

00:53:27

Yes, yes.

00:53:28

Prof. Swamy: So we very much wish that you send it to the Heritage Centre

00:53:30

Prof. Vetrivel: Sure, sure, sure, sure, I will. Prof. Swamy: We would like to preserve it.

00:53:33

Okay, yeah.

00:53:33

Prof. Swamy: Okay?

00:53:34

Sure sure.

00:53:34

Prof. Swamy: Thank you very much. Prof. Vetrivel: Yeah.

00:53:36

Prof. Swamy: [Indistinct] So, you can carry on.

00:53:36

I just…finally, I end this with a couple of questions that I wanted to ask.

00:53:41

What is your interaction with this forum

00:53:44

that is interdisciplinary Forum for…you are active still I think

00:53:47

you are still active, you are

00:53:49

Prof. Vetrivel: you were a President of that society? Prof. Subrahmanyam: Yeah, I was president for two terms.

00:53:54

Okay.

00:53:55

See, Forum for Interdisciplinary Mathematics is a…

00:53:59

an organization which is registered at Delhi,

00:54:02

it was started by a couple of Delhi University Professors.

00:54:05

And, many eminent mathematicians

00:54:08

had been associated with it,

00:54:09

including the great statistician Professor C. R. Rao.

00:54:13

In fact, some IIT Directors had also been Presidents,

00:54:17

especially in Electrical Engineering, I don’t remember.

00:54:21

We have recently started a series;

00:54:24

Springer FIM Series for promoting publications

00:54:30

approved by Forum for Interdisciplinary Mathematics and so on.

00:54:34

So, 3 volumes have come.

00:54:36

In fact, one volume just arrived today at my home address,

00:54:40

because I am the chief editor.

00:54:42

Prof. Vetrivel: Okay. Prof. Subrahmanyam: They are sending copies to me.

00:54:44

Prof. Swamy: Okay.

00:54:44

So I just received a copy on game theory proceedings

00:54:48

conducted by one Dr. Lalita and somebody.

00:54:52

So, we have brought out about 4 monographs,

00:54:57

and 2 or 3 more are in the pipeline.

00:55:00

And, this forum is doing…promoting interdisciplinary mathematics;

00:55:07

it is concentrating on operations research,

00:55:12

graph theory, combinatorics, decision sciences and so on.

00:55:16

The only problem is mathematics has developed so vast,

00:55:21

any…any beginning student will be…I mean, will be puzzled

00:55:27

how to get into research level mathematics

00:55:30

in the least time, this is a big problem.

00:55:33

Because, methods are…so many methods have developed,

00:55:37

which method he has to concentrate on

00:55:39

so that the problem can be tackled and so on.

00:55:43

So, forming the right syllabi and

00:55:47

taking him to the research level in the shortest possible time,

00:55:51

these are all challenging problems.

00:55:54

I am told that in the US, it just takes 3 or 4 years

00:55:59

for a student to gain his Ph.D., but whether we can do it here,

00:56:06

so that that this Ph.D. student…thesis is of a decent level, these are all questions.

00:56:14

Of course, basic mathematical education

00:56:18

must be strengthened, otherwise you will not be able to attract people

00:56:23

for this subject which has become invasively persuasive.

00:56:31

Sir, and finally I just ask you one question:

00:56:34

You said you have lived very short period in the campus.

00:56:37

Yes.

00:56:38

What is your experience about IIT campus?

00:56:42

We, as faculty, we are enjoying the present B-type quarters all that.

00:56:51

Well, campus life was excellent, no doubt about it.

00:56:54

Prof. Vetrivel: Okay.

00:56:55

But I had built a house in the outskirts of the

00:56:58

city, and the tenants will not pay me the rent,

00:57:03

and there became a situation when I would lose the house itself.

00:57:07

So I had to frantically get out and stay there.

00:57:11

Another problem is, the campus…you have…the people here are prone

00:57:19

to…more prone to bronchial infections,

00:57:24

because of the pollen in the air and so on.

00:57:28

One of the Chief Medical Officers has told me that

00:57:31

the bronchial infection rate here is 100 percent more than in the city.

00:57:37

I think a couple of years or months back,

00:57:41

I saw some research from a Biotechnology Department

00:57:44

Professor saying that certain type of fungi

00:57:47

are present in the atmosphere due to trees or something like that,

00:57:52

I don’t…don’t remember the details.

00:57:55

So, my daughter developed wheezing problems and so on.

00:57:59

So, I thought that was another reason for me

00:58:02

to get out from the campus, and

00:58:05

so on. Campus life is excellent, no doubt about it because,

00:58:09

any time you can go to the department and work, and so on.

00:58:12

But of course, with the availability of laptop and so on,

00:58:20

it…it should not be a problem for…for a mathematician

00:58:24

to live outside and pursue his research.

00:58:28

So with this, I say I will…once again

00:58:31

I thank you for your visit here, sir.

00:58:34

And…I thank the organizer of Heritage Centre

00:58:37

for giving me this opportunity to interview Professor P. V. Subrahmanyam.

00:58:42

Thank you very much, sir.

00:58:42

Prof. Subrahmanyam: You’re welcome, and it’s my pleasure to have participated here. Prof. Vetrivel: Okay.

00:58:46

Thank you, sir.

Oral History Project

< Back

Mr. Ramachandra R. Iyer (First batch alumnus) in conversation with Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam

00:00:11

Good afternoon, Mr. Ramachandra,

00:00:12

welcome to the Heritage Centre

00:00:14

[Mr. Ramachandra] Thank you. [Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] and to this

00:00:14

Oral History programme.

00:00:15

[Mr. Ramachandra] Thank you.

00:00:16

Thank you for joining us.

00:00:18

My pleasure.

00:00:20

So, it’s very exciting that

00:00:23

a student from the first batch of B.Tech. students

00:00:25

at IIT Madras can participate in this.

00:00:28

So, can you tell us

00:00:30

how you came to know about IIT

00:00:34

when you were joining here?

00:00:35

Yeah, sure sure.

00:00:36

Well, actually what happened there was

00:00:38

small advertisement in Times Of India,

00:00:40

it seems, "it seems" I said because

00:00:43

I - I don’t remember having seen it,

00:00:45

but my brother had seen it -

00:00:46

my elder brother who is 2 years and a few months older

00:00:49

Yes.

00:00:49

and he was in Ahmedabad -

00:00:51

I grew up in Ahmedabad -

00:00:52

he was going to an engineering college in Ahmedabad.

00:00:54

Yes.

00:00:55

And he said

00:00:56

well, why don’t you apply to IIT Madras?

00:00:59

I said: okay,

00:00:59

I mean I - I told him at that time

00:01:01

most probably

00:01:01

I won’t get admitted anyway,

00:01:04

because you know

00:01:05

in those days there were

00:01:06

IIT Kharagpur and Bombay.

00:01:07

Yes.

00:01:08

And there was a perception

00:01:10

that, I mean,

00:01:11

it's very difficult to get into it,

00:01:13

though I was,

00:01:14

you know, fairly a good student

00:01:15

and I used to get good marks in

00:01:17

pre-university and all those places,

00:01:18

but one doesn’t know actually.

00:01:20

[Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Yes. [Mr. Ramachandra] What is required

00:01:21

[Mr. Ramachandra] to get into IIT. [Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] That’s right, that’s right.

00:01:22

So, I was just - made a joke

00:01:23

at him, ok,

00:01:24

I will - I'll send my papers,

00:01:26

application,

00:01:26

but don’t expect much out of it -

00:01:29

I told him that.

00:01:30

So, that’s how it happened,

00:01:31

he told me and …

00:01:34

and - and the truth is actually

00:01:35

I had already been admitted

00:01:37

to another engineering college

00:01:38

[Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Yeah. [Mr. Ramachandra] in a place called Anand.

00:01:39

Yes.

00:01:39

That’s where Amul Dairy is.

00:01:41

That’s right.

00:01:42

That’s not very far from Ahmedabad.

00:01:43

But there was some

00:01:44

problem there.

00:01:45

So, because of that problem

00:01:47

I - I mean that that’s a -

00:01:49

a story by itself.

00:01:50

And the students went on -

00:01:52

it's something was wrong

00:01:53

in the mess, in the food.

00:01:55

So, the - the students there

00:01:56

went on strike

00:01:58

and we didn’t know,

00:01:58

suddenly we came to know

00:01:59

there was strike,

00:02:00

we came home.

00:02:02

We had already

00:02:02

joined the college,

00:02:03

'we' means

00:02:04

another person was -

00:02:05

a cousin of mine and myself -

00:02:06

and then it turned out that

00:02:08

this college was closed,

00:02:10

campus

00:02:10

everybody was asked to go home.

00:02:12

So, we came home.

00:02:13

And, when we came home

00:02:14

after a couple - couple of days,

00:02:16

I got this invitation

00:02:17

Yes.

00:02:18

to come to IIT Madras.

00:02:19

And you know,

00:02:20

appear for an interview.

00:02:21

Yes.

00:02:22

Because, before that we had

00:02:23

I had already sent the mark sheet

00:02:24

of PUC, you know, Pre-University and

00:02:27

high school and all of that.

00:02:28

Yes.

00:02:29

So, that’s how it happened

00:02:30

and then after the interview,

00:02:31

the interview went very well,

00:02:33

they were very happy

00:02:34

with my interview

00:02:35

and I got the admission, yeah.

00:02:36

[Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Alright. [Mr. Ramachandra] Yeah.

00:02:37

So, you actually visited Chennai

00:02:40

to participate in the interview?

00:02:42

Right, right, yeah, yeah,

00:02:43

from Ahmedabad,

00:02:43

[Mr. Ramachandra] yeah, yeah. [Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Yeah.

00:02:44

That’s correct, yeah,

00:02:45

though I have visited

00:02:46

Chennai many times

00:02:47

because, I have relatives here.

00:02:48

Right.

00:02:49

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

00:02:50

So, what was the

00:02:51

interview process like?

00:02:52

Who was there on the interview panel?

00:02:54

Can you recall - recollect anyone

00:02:56

[Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] was there? [Mr. Ramachandra] I can’t remember the names

00:02:57

of - of the people

00:02:58

but there were certainly

00:02:59

3 people minimum

00:03:00

that much I remember.

00:03:01

And the content of the interview

00:03:04

that I remember

00:03:05

because there again

00:03:07

what happened is

00:03:07

they were asking me

00:03:09

why do you - I mean,

00:03:10

what is your fa - In those days

00:03:11

I don’t know how it is today,

00:03:13

it was very common to ask

00:03:14

what is your father doing?

00:03:16

You know

00:03:16

because very often the children

00:03:19

followed the profession of the father.

00:03:20

Yes.

00:03:20

That was

00:03:21

or at least they want to find out

00:03:22

it's just doctor’s family

00:03:24

or lawyer’s family whatever.

00:03:26

Yes.

00:03:26

So, now, my - I told them

00:03:28

my father is in the textiles mills

00:03:29

because

00:03:30

he was an executive in a textile mills

00:03:32

Yes.

00:03:32

in Ahmedabad.

00:03:33

Ahmedabad was full of textile mills

00:03:35

in those days.

00:03:36

So,

00:03:37

then they immediately

00:03:38

asked me: do you know how

00:03:40

to - how a cloth is made?

00:03:42

You know,

00:03:43

if you start from cotton,

00:03:44

how a cloth is made.

00:03:46

Yes.

00:03:46

Now it so happens that

00:03:48

I had - I have visited

00:03:50

my father’s textile mills.

00:03:52

You know, he was working

00:03:53

in a group of textile mills,

00:03:55

very big ones

00:03:56

where they had 7 textile mills.

00:03:58

And my dad was responsible

00:04:00

for the what is known as

00:04:00

spinning department.

00:04:02

You must be familiar with the

00:04:03

different departments in -

00:04:05

So, he was responsible for the spinning department

00:04:08

for 2 textile mills and

00:04:10

whenever we had guests

00:04:12

in our house from any place,

00:04:13

he would take them to this

00:04:15

textile mills to - just to show them

00:04:17

Yes.

00:04:17

what a textile mills looks like.

00:04:18

That’s right.

00:04:19

So, there was somebody

00:04:21

who had come to our family,

00:04:22

my - actually my uncle,

00:04:23

my mother’s younger brother

00:04:25

from Chennai.

00:04:26

So, he - he was taken -

00:04:27

asked - he - he wanted to see

00:04:29

the textile mills.

00:04:29

So, I went along with him.

00:04:31

So, my dad explained everything

00:04:33

and I was listening.

00:04:35

So, carefully we listened to everything

00:04:36

I understood everything because

00:04:37

it was

00:04:38

I mean, he - he explained very well,

00:04:40

clearly.

00:04:41

So, when I came for the interview,

00:04:43

they asked this question:

00:04:44

"How do you go from raw cotton

00:04:47

o cloth

00:04:48

and then the final product

00:04:50

which is sold in the - in a shop?"

00:04:52

So, I explained to them

00:04:53

all the steps,

00:04:54

they were actually very amazed

00:04:56

that I went into such level of detail

00:04:58

and I think that had to do with

00:05:01

the fact that I had visited

00:05:02

the textile mills

00:05:04

just about a month earlier or so

00:05:06

and maybe it is destiny

00:05:08

[Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Yes. [Mr. Ramachandra] that helped.

00:05:08

Yes yes.

00:05:10

Yeah,

00:05:10

they were very impressed actually

00:05:12

that somebody like 16 year old

00:05:14

Yes.

00:05:15

could tell

00:05:16

that - that level of detail:

00:05:18

how you go from cotton,

00:05:19

raw cotton

00:05:20

you know, which you get from the fields

00:05:22

[Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] That’s right. [Mr. Ramachandra] and then you

00:05:22

have to clean it

00:05:23

and then you have to spin it

00:05:25

and you name it, you know,

00:05:26

until you get the cloth,

00:05:27

you bleach it and then you dye it.

00:05:29

Right.

00:05:29

… So,

00:05:31

I mean - I think that

00:05:33

that actually did the trick.

00:05:35

Because my marks were anyway

00:05:36

good you know,

00:05:36

I was I was a top ranker

00:05:39

in - in the college

00:05:41

along with the my cousin;

00:05:42

both of us were first and second

00:05:43

all the time, you know, so …

00:05:45

And the university

00:05:46

marks were also good,

00:05:48

I mean - apart from the fact in the

00:05:50

college marks we had good marks.

00:05:51

So, the - the marks were

00:05:52

not an issue because,

00:05:53

they I suppose in - in - in that

00:05:56

year they took from each university

00:05:58

students who were kind of top

00:06:00

students

00:06:01

because there was no other

00:06:01

common exam.

00:06:02

[Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Yes. [Mr. Ramachandra] So, whether it is

00:06:03

Tamil Nadu or Calcutta

00:06:05

or wherever,

00:06:06

[Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Yes. [Mr. Ramachandra] they had to get

00:06:07

students from the

00:06:09

good universities and

00:06:10

those who had the top marks

00:06:11

and

00:06:12

certainly I was one of them.

00:06:14

And then, that helped

00:06:15

plus the interview, yeah, so.

00:06:17

That’s how it happened.

00:06:18

Right,

00:06:19

and you

00:06:20

once you joined here,

00:06:22

Yeah.

00:06:22

it was before the inauguration

00:06:24

of the institute is what I understand

00:06:26

[Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] from the records [Mr. Ramachandra] Yeah,

00:06:27

[Mr. Ramachandra] yeah. [Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] because

00:06:28

the official inauguration

00:06:29

[Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] was on 31st July. [Mr. Ramachandra] Happened later -

00:06:30

[Mr. Ramachandra] happened. [Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] but you joined here for earlier

00:06:32

[Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] to … [Mr. Ramachandra] Yeah.

00:06:33

[Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] enter the hostel and classes.

00:06:34

Yeah, we went to Saidapet Hostel,

00:06:36

of course.

00:06:36

Yes, you were - were - you were in Saidapet Hostel.

00:06:38

Because

00:06:39

the first two years as you said,

00:06:40

Yes.

00:06:40

of the first batch, we were there.

00:06:42

Yes.

00:06:43

Yeah.

00:06:43

Do you have any recollections

00:06:44

of that hostel and that

00:06:46

days you spent there?

00:06:47

Well, me - most

00:06:48

the important recollections

00:06:50

I have is that we had to walk

00:06:51

a long distance to come here …

00:06:54

and then of course, that

00:06:57

it was a - it was a canteen

00:06:59

where we could make easily friends.

00:07:00

Yeah.

00:07:01

And people always try to interact

00:07:04

and find out who you are,

00:07:05

where are you coming from.

00:07:07

So, it was a very

00:07:10

cosy hostel.

00:07:13

So that rooms were close to each other

00:07:15

and people tended to

00:07:17

you know, after they come -

00:07:18

we had classes

00:07:19

we - excuse me -

00:07:20

we came home

00:07:22

or we came back to the hostel,

00:07:24

we had snacks

00:07:25

usually there were some snacks

00:07:26

and then, you know, you don’t

00:07:28

start studying immediately.

00:07:29

[Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] That’s right. [Mr. Ramachandra] Usually you take a

00:07:30

shower also,

00:07:31

but about 10, 15 minutes

00:07:33

or half an hour we chitchat with

00:07:34

[Mr. Ramachandra] with people on that corridor. [Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Yes.

00:07:35

And the whole str -

00:07:37

layout of the hostel

00:07:38

that facilitated

00:07:40

this interaction.

00:07:41

I see.

00:07:42

Yeah and then of course,

00:07:43

there was also a table tennis …

00:07:45

table and - and - and - and

00:07:47

I don’t know,

00:07:47

maybe there was also carrom.

00:07:49

So, there were some places

00:07:50

where you could make friends.

00:07:52

So, it - it was actually a nice hostel

00:07:54

except of course,

00:07:55

there were 2 persons in each room.

00:07:57

[Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Yes. [Mr. Ramachandra] Yeah,

00:07:57

which is not a bad thing

00:07:58

but we were …

00:08:01

later when we came to Cauvery hostel,

00:08:04

each one was given a separate room.

00:08:05

Separate room.

00:08:06

Yeah, yeah.

00:08:06

So, and -

00:08:08

yeah, I had a nice roommate,

00:08:10

he was from Madurai also

00:08:11

your town.

00:08:11

Oh, I see.

00:08:12

Yeah, yeah

00:08:13

[Mr. Ramachandra] yeah. [Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Not Mr. Amudachari.

00:08:14

Not Amudachari, but another person

00:08:15

called Venkata Pattabhi Raman.

00:08:17

[Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] I see. [Mr. Ramachandra] He was in metallurgy.

00:08:18

I see.

00:08:19

L. Venkata Pattabhi Raman.

00:08:20

Metallurgy student.

00:08:22

And he and - he knew Amudachari

00:08:23

before coming here.

00:08:25

[Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Yes. [Mr. Ramachandra] They knew each other.

00:08:26

[Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] I see. [Mr. Ramachandra] Yeah,

00:08:26

yeah yeah.

00:08:27

So, Amudachari is also top student

00:08:28

from Madurai

00:08:30

when he came, yeah.

00:08:30

Right,

00:08:31

you mentioned that

00:08:33

you actually walked from Saidapet to

00:08:35

IIT.

00:08:36

Yeah.

00:08:36

Well, classes would have been in

00:08:38

the A.C. Tech College,

00:08:39

weren't they in the beginning?

00:08:40

Yeah, yeah.

00:08:41

So, that was

00:08:43

quite some time that you walked.

00:08:45

Yeah, yeah.

00:08:45

[Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] in the sun and the - [Mr. Ramachandra] Probably. I can’t even remember, it might have been

00:08:47

25-30 minutes.

00:08:48

Yes.

00:08:48

Yeah, yeah

00:08:49

and I think we had to cross

00:08:51

the Adyar river

00:08:52

[Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Yes. [Mr. Ramachandra] somewhere - it’s a

00:08:53

small bridge - walking bridge

00:08:54

is also there.

00:08:55

Yeah, I haven’t been there recently,

00:08:57

incidentally,

00:08:57

but that’s what I think

00:08:59

there is one.

00:09:00

Is it true

00:09:00

that you also walked back for lunch

00:09:02

and then returned for classes -

00:09:04

is that how it worked?

00:09:07

I can’t remember

00:09:08

that part, I can’t remember.

00:09:10

Right.

00:09:11

But - I - what I do know is

00:09:13

there was more than 1 hour

00:09:14

of lunch break;

00:09:19

I think about 1 and half hours.

00:09:21

Yes.

00:09:22

If I don’t remember,

00:09:23

if I - if I am recollect correct,

00:09:25

certainly after coming to

00:09:27

Cauvery hostel,

00:09:28

Yes.

00:09:28

it was - the classes were from

00:09:30

7:30 to 11:30 or

00:09:32

11:45, and afterwards

00:09:34

it would start at 1:15

00:09:35

or 1:30

00:09:36

to 4:30.

00:09:37

Yes.

00:09:38

Therefore, there was more than

00:09:39

1 hour gap

00:09:40

[Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Yes. [Mr. Ramachandra] for the lunch

00:09:41

[Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Yes. [Mr. Ramachandra] and maybe we did go

00:09:42

because otherwise

00:09:44

we would not have had lunch.

00:09:45

Eh, your -

00:09:46

[Mr. Ramachandra] I mean we did not. [Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Yes.

00:09:46

Oh, yeah it must have

00:09:48

happened that way

00:09:49

now that you are -

00:09:49

because we were not given any

00:09:51

lunch boxes or anything.

00:09:52

Yes.

00:09:53

So, we had to go back

00:09:54

you know, yeah.

00:09:55

Because there was no lunch boxes

00:09:56

packed or anything like that.

00:09:58

Right.

00:10:00

Who were your instructors then

00:10:02

and what classes did you have

00:10:03

in the first year and - and

00:10:05

[Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] the second year? [Mr. Ramachandra] First year we had maths.

00:10:06

Yes.

00:10:07

I think we had physics,

00:10:13

there was a Workshop

00:10:15

you know fitting.

00:10:16

[Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Yes, yes. [Mr. Ramachandra] And, I didn’t

00:10:18

like it at all, incidentally.

00:10:20

Most people didn’t,

00:10:21

if you're not a mechanic,

00:10:22

if you didn’t want to take

00:10:23

mechanical engineering.

00:10:24

Yes.

00:10:25

I always already, then

00:10:26

I thought it was a waste of my time

00:10:27

Yes, yes.

00:10:29

because I used to also get blisters.

00:10:31

That’s right.

00:10:32

See, my hand is very soft even today

00:10:34

and at that time, even softer.

00:10:36

So, whenever you do that.

00:10:37

Yes.

00:10:38

I was a very

00:10:39

lean person.

00:10:40

You know, I

00:10:41

I didn’t have the strength

00:10:42

to do those things.

00:10:43

Yes.

00:10:44

And there is no allowance made

00:10:46

for a weak student or a

00:10:47

good - strong student.

00:10:48

Right.

00:10:49

You have to do it

00:10:50

Everyone does it.

00:10:51

Everybody has to.

00:10:51

That’s right

00:10:52

And I was not - actually

00:10:53

I was unfit for that

00:10:54

kind of a thing,

00:10:55

to be very honest,

00:10:57

yeah. So, there was this

00:10:59

fitting workshop

00:10:59

and then there was - I think

00:11:01

I think -

00:11:01

there was a drafting class.

00:11:04

I don’t know if it is in the first year

00:11:06

or second year

00:11:06

[Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Yes. [Mr. Ramachandra] but certainly

00:11:07

it was in one of the 2 years.

00:11:08

Drafting, fitting,

00:11:12

I think English also was there,

00:11:13

if I'm not mistaken.

00:11:14

Yes.

00:11:15

Maths was there,

00:11:16

physics was there.

00:11:17

Yes.

00:11:17

I think chemistry also.

00:11:21

There were no

00:11:22

engineering courses;

00:11:23

it had not yet started.

00:11:24

Right.

00:11:25

Yeah, that started from the

00:11:26

second year - to -

00:11:27

to the best of my

00:11:28

recollection,

00:11:29

[Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Right. [Mr. Ramachandra] memory,

00:11:30

I - I think no engineering courses

00:11:32

were offered at that time,

00:11:33

yet.

00:11:34

Did - did you have practical sessions

00:11:36

in laboratories

00:11:37

[Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] in chemistry and physics? [Mr. Ramachandra] I think in physics and -

00:11:39

physics and chemistry we did.

00:11:40

Yes.

00:11:40

Yeah, yeah.

00:11:43

Those were labs also in

00:11:44

A.C. College of technology.

00:11:45

Yeah,

00:11:46

I remember that yeah,

00:11:47

they were - I am sure they were.

00:11:50

That's because - because

00:11:52

we had physics and chemistry,

00:11:53

I am kind of inferring

00:11:54

[Mr. Ramachandra] I'm - [Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Yes.

00:11:55

But - and I also know that

00:11:56

I was - I now remember

00:11:59

where - which lab

00:12:00

I was standing and all that.

00:12:01

But, I - I'm not 100 percent sure

00:12:03

whether it was first year or second year,

00:12:04

but I think it was in the first year.

00:12:09

And your classmates

00:12:10

you … who were they and

00:12:12

who were your closest friends?

00:12:14

Well, even now it is

00:12:16

the same friends,

00:12:16

which I had now

00:12:18

were also my closest friends then.

00:12:19

Yes.

00:12:19

So, Koteeswaran

00:12:20

[Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Yes. [Mr. Ramachandra] is one of them,

00:12:21

then Mahadevan,

00:12:25

Srinivasan,

00:12:26

Amudacharya, I knew a little bit,

00:12:28

but at that time he was not

00:12:29

one of my closest friends.

00:12:31

There is another person called

00:12:32

P. K. Prabhakaran.

00:12:33

Have you done an interview with him?

00:12:35

[Mr. Ramachandra] No? [Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] No.

00:12:36

He is a - he is also in Civil engineering.

00:12:38

He was a Civil engineer

00:12:39

but he was later in Cauvery hostel

00:12:41

on - on my same corridor,

00:12:43

some 3 rooms further away.

00:12:44

So, he became a

00:12:45

good friend of mine.

00:12:46

Yes.

00:12:47

But the closest were

00:12:48

Koteeswaran,

00:12:50

Mahadevan,

00:12:50

Srinivasan, another person called

00:12:52

Mohan.

00:12:53

I think he's now in France.

00:12:57

There was another person

00:12:58

no, at that - not in the first year -

00:13:00

in the first year, I was not

00:13:01

very close to another person called

00:13:03

Eswaran.

00:13:04

He - he - he is also an

00:13:05

Electrical engineering student

00:13:07

but in the first year

00:13:09

I didn’t know him so well.

00:13:10

[Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Yes. [Mr. Ramachandra] Because

00:13:10

when we joined

00:13:11

Electrical engineering together

00:13:12

in the third year,

00:13:13

since then - from that time

00:13:15

onwards he was also a close friend.

00:13:16

First year like

00:13:17

I'm just trying to think

00:13:18

who was, who else was there,

00:13:22

these were very close:

00:13:23

Mohan, Koteeswaran,

00:13:25

Srinivasan, Mahadevan

00:13:29

yeah, of course,

00:13:29

Pattabhiraman,

00:13:30

who was my roommate.

00:13:32

Your roommate.

00:13:32

Roommate.

00:13:36

I can’t remember now, this.

00:13:39

Another point is

00:13:40

I was

00:13:42

I was a little bit of an introvert,

00:13:43

I was a shy person.

00:13:44

I was not like you know

00:13:46

some people are, you know,

00:13:48

bursting with, you know, energy

00:13:51

and they will start talking

00:13:51

and interacting,

00:13:53

that I do now, today.

00:13:54

Today I interact with

00:13:55

A child of 5 - 200.

00:13:57

But, in those days I was

00:13:59

I was an introvert.

00:14:00

So, I didn’t have that many friends

00:14:02

in the first year.

00:14:03

Yes.

00:14:03

There might have been another

00:14:04

couple of - or 2 or 3,

00:14:06

but now

00:14:06

I can’t remember the names.

00:14:08

But these were definitely closest

00:14:10

what I mentioned here.

00:14:11

Yes,

00:14:13

and so, this went on for 2 years

00:14:14

this system of classes

00:14:15

[Mr. Ramachandra] Yeah. [Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] in A.C. Tech

00:14:17

[Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Workshop, nearby. [Mr. Ramachandra] Yeah,

00:14:18

yeah.

00:14:19

Now, do you have

00:14:21

recollections of

00:14:22

Professor Sengupto

00:14:24

from those days?

00:14:24

Yeah.

00:14:27

The Director.

00:14:28

We didn’t have too many interactions

00:14:31

that was my regret, actually.

00:14:33

He did not have too many interactions

00:14:36

with the students like

00:14:37

every 3 months or any such thing,

00:14:38

what we do now is …

00:14:40

he - he came with a reputation

00:14:42

that he is a very systematic person

00:14:44

and he is a good administrator.

00:14:46

Yes.

00:14:47

And … he is also very strict

00:14:49

coming from the, you know,

00:14:50

services, army, I think,

00:14:51

I don’t know

00:14:51

whether there was an army or air force,

00:14:53

but he is from the services.

00:14:54

Actually, we have very little information about his -

00:14:58

Is that so?

00:14:59

Yes.

00:15:00

[Mr. Ramachandra] Ok. [Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] His career before he

00:15:01

But, he is -

00:15:02

joined the VJTI at Bombay.

00:15:04

But he was from the services,

00:15:06

he has worked in the services.

00:15:09

He - he made speeches which were

00:15:13

to the point, you know,

00:15:16

but … I - if I may be honest,

00:15:19

the speeches which inspired all of us

00:15:21

was that of Natarajan.

00:15:23

Natarajan, the registrar.

00:15:25

I mean, he was just too good.

00:15:27

So, this - their speeches

00:15:28

which always stayed with us

00:15:30

Yes.

00:15:30

were those of R. Natarajan.

00:15:32

And Mr. Sengupto

00:15:33

he was all to the point,

00:15:34

business-like, whatever

00:15:36

[Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Yes. [Mr. Ramachandra] needed to be said,

00:15:37

[Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Yes. [Mr. Ramachandra] he would say it

00:15:38

whereas

00:15:39

Natarajan would digress a little bit,

00:15:41

make a story.

00:15:42

Yes.

00:15:42

And it'll be a humorous one.

00:15:44

Yeah.

00:15:44

[Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Yes. [Mr. Ramachandra] So, it was always great

00:15:45

to listen to him.

00:15:46

Right.

00:15:47

Yeah, and his command of the English language

00:15:49

I have -

00:15:49

I have met few people like him

00:15:51

in my life

00:15:52

who can speak so well.

00:15:53

Yeah, yeah

00:15:55

Mr. - Mr. Natarajan was the registrar.

00:15:57

Yeah.

00:15:58

So, which is really an administrative

00:16:00

post.

00:16:01

Yeah.

00:16:01

But still he knew number of students

00:16:03

[Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] and [Mr. Ramachandra] Yeah.

00:16:04

met with them.

00:16:04

So, what did he

00:16:06

how did this happen, how -

00:16:07

did he come out to your hostel

00:16:08

to talk with you or -

00:16:10

Actually, it didn’t happen

00:16:11

too much with me.

00:16:12

Yes.

00:16:13

I don’t know with - with

00:16:14

how many students he talked -maybe

00:16:15

the ones who were, you know,

00:16:17

I was in the kind of third or

00:16:19

in my - in the first two years,

00:16:20

I was not one of the better students

00:16:22

let’s say,

00:16:23

I was a average to above slightly;

00:16:25

from third, I started doing very well because,

00:16:27

I final - I - I finished with the first class.

00:16:30

So, from third year onwards

00:16:32

I started doing much better because,

00:16:34

there is a more focus

00:16:35

on my own field of studies.

00:16:37

I don’t know whether he spoke

00:16:39

with many students -

00:16:40

maybe he might have

00:16:42

or maybe also that,

00:16:44

he did it at a time when

00:16:45

I - I was gone

00:16:46

either I was playing

00:16:48

somewhere.

00:16:48

So, I have seen him maybe

00:16:50

1 or 2 times in the hostel,

00:16:51

but he never had a chat with me -

00:16:54

let’s put it that way.

00:16:56

So …

00:16:57

maybe he has had a chat

00:16:58

with people like Koteeswaran or

00:16:59

Srinivasan,

00:17:00

it might have been.

00:17:00

[Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Yes, yes. [Mr. Ramachandra] Yeah, yeah.

00:17:02

You - you had a - a - a warden

00:17:04

for your hostel.

00:17:05

Yes, yes.

00:17:06

Do you know …

00:17:07

[Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] what? [Mr. Ramachandra] think

00:17:08

for Cauvery it was.

00:17:09

Yeah.

00:17:10

At least the first year,

00:17:11

Yes.

00:17:12

the Head of the Department of

00:17:14

Chemical - Chemical Engineering.

00:17:15

Venkateswarlu.

00:17:16

Yes.

00:17:16

D. Venkateswarlu.

00:17:17

Professor Venkateswarlu,

00:17:18

[Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] yes. [Mr. Ramachandra] Professor Venkateswarlu.

00:17:19

Yes.

00:17:20

Am I correct?

00:17:21

Yes,

00:17:21

because, in my yes

00:17:23

he was a warden for the first year

00:17:25

of the Cauvery hostel.

00:17:27

Whether he was for all the years

00:17:28

that I studied, I can’t remember,

00:17:30

but certainly first year

00:17:31

maybe even - maybe in 2 years.

00:17:34

Because we finished 2 years in

00:17:35

in Saidapet.

00:17:36

[Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Saidapet, yes. [Mr. Ramachandra] And, then we

00:17:37

came here.

00:17:37

Yes.

00:17:38

So, in the - in my third year of study,

00:17:40

he was the warden.

00:17:41

Yeah.

00:17:41

And whether he was also

00:17:42

in the fourth year of study,

00:17:43

I don’t remember.

00:17:45

What was

00:17:47

the academic pressure like -

00:17:49

what - how many exams

00:17:51

did you have to write and … ?

00:17:53

I think there were about -

00:17:55

we didn’t have a semester system,

00:17:56

I think you must be knowing that.

00:17:57

Yes, for

00:17:58

for you it was the

00:17:59

[Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] annual year system. [Mr. Ramachandra] Full year

00:17:59

[Mr. Ramachandra] annual year. [Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Yes.

00:18:01

And from beginning.

00:18:02

So, like, say from like July till

00:18:04

the next May or June

00:18:05

when the year ended,

00:18:08

probably, we had 2 or 3 in between

00:18:09

and then a final exam

00:18:11

and …

00:18:14

There - there was a

00:18:16

system of surprise periodicals

00:18:18

at some point.

00:18:19

Yeah, yeah sometimes

00:18:21

but there were not

00:18:22

too many of those.

00:18:23

There were some

00:18:24

and not in all subjects;

00:18:25

in some subjects.

00:18:27

What I remember about exams is

00:18:33

because there were 2 or 3 tests

00:18:35

in between,

00:18:36

so, the material was not for

00:18:37

the whole year,

00:18:38

[Mr. Ramachandra] but it was lesson, you know, [Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Yeah.

00:18:40

just like in the semester system also

00:18:42

yeah,

00:18:42

you have only half the material

00:18:43

Yes.

00:18:44

if you take a full course

00:18:45

for 2 semester.

00:18:46

So, I - I didn’t find the material

00:18:49

as a - as such too much or anythingm

00:18:52

but you find sometimes a topic

00:18:54

which you don’t understand so well.

00:18:56

So, I can’t remember

00:19:00

specifically

00:19:01

that there was a excessive pressure

00:19:03

because of the material,

00:19:04

but sometimes a

00:19:06

a certain topic in a subject

00:19:07

was difficult

00:19:08

and that required

00:19:09

additional study or consultation

00:19:12

with either another

00:19:14

peer

00:19:14

another student or

00:19:15

you have to go to the

00:19:17

professor

00:19:18

or lecture and then,

00:19:19

you know, have a separate

00:19:20

discussion on that.

00:19:21

Yes.

00:19:21

But I -

00:19:23

I don’t particularly remember

00:19:24

that I had a problem with

00:19:26

the amount - volume of study

00:19:27

that had to be done.

00:19:29

Anyway,

00:19:30

I used to wake up very early,

00:19:31

I should wake up at 4 o’ clock or

00:19:32

so 4, 4:30

00:19:33

Yes.

00:19:34

to study for

00:19:34

[Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] I see. [Mr. Ramachandra] exams yeah.

00:19:35

I see.

00:19:36

And then 1 week or 2 weeks

00:19:37

in advance,

00:19:38

I would start

00:19:39

waking up early

00:19:41

so that - it - some extra hours

00:19:43

were made available,

00:19:43

yeah, yeah.

00:19:45

But I was - compared to

00:19:47

some other students

00:19:48

in one of my -

00:19:50

one of the students

00:19:50

in my corridor made a

00:19:52

joke actually,

00:19:53

when I came -

00:19:54

when we came

00:19:55

for the golden jubilee celebration.

00:19:56

Yes.

00:19:58

I didn’t know

00:19:59

tha - that I was doing it

00:20:00

but he noticed it

00:20:01

that I was one of those

00:20:02

who slept very early

00:20:04

by 10, 10:30

00:20:05

my - there were no lights

00:20:06

in my room.

00:20:07

But he also knew that

00:20:08

I was an early riser by 4, 4:30

00:20:10

whereas the other students

00:20:11

woke up a bit late

00:20:12

and studied till midnight.

00:20:13

Yes.

00:20:14

And,

00:20:15

yeah it's a question of

00:20:16

choice what you do,

00:20:17

I was trained at home

00:20:18

you know

00:20:19

in - by my parents to wake up early.

00:20:20

Yes.

00:20:21

Because that’s when the

00:20:21

brain is fresh

00:20:23

after some rest, so.

00:20:24

Yes.

00:20:24

But, there are others

00:20:25

who were night -

00:20:26

they like to study

00:20:29

more at night,

00:20:30

they - it's - it's very

00:20:31

person-dependent.

00:20:32

That’s right.

00:20:32

And that man who made a joke

00:20:33

that student -

00:20:35

"Oh, Ramachandran

00:20:36

you are the great guy

00:20:37

who slept at 10 o’ clock.

00:20:39

I said what is so great about -

00:20:40

I should wake up early,

00:20:41

Yes.

00:20:41

I compensated.

00:20:43

That’s right.

00:20:44

Yeah,

00:20:44

when I was in the golden jubilee

00:20:46

[Mr. Ramachandra] I was - [Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Yeah.

00:20:46

He was - he was always a

00:20:47

humorous person.

00:20:48

[inaudible] 2, 3 rooms away

00:20:50

[Mr. Ramachandra] yeah. [Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Yes,

00:20:52

going on a different tack,

00:20:53

[Mr. Ramachandra] Yeah. [Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] what was the

00:20:54

kind of fees

00:20:55

that students had to pay

00:20:56

[Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] in those days? [Mr. Ramachandra] 300

00:20:57

300 for -

00:20:57

Per year.

00:20:59

Very -

00:20:59

Yes.

00:21:00

Peanuts

00:21:00

for the kind of study

00:21:01

we get - it -

00:21:02

That’s it. Yeah.

00:21:03

300 in all.

00:21:05

That’s it, yeah.

00:21:05

Right.

00:21:06

Yeah.

00:21:06

Did you have to

00:21:07

have hostel fees to be paid

00:21:10

do you know

00:21:10

how much that was

00:21:12

above this?

00:21:13

Tuition was 300 rupees.

00:21:15

Yes.

00:21:17

Whether the 300 became more

00:21:19

in the fifth year,

00:21:19

I can’t remember.

00:21:20

Yes.

00:21:20

It might have slightly increased,

00:21:22

but nothing dramatic.

00:21:24

It was really very very economical.

00:21:26

That’s right.

00:21:26

And …

00:21:27

hostel

00:21:30

what I remember is

00:21:31

my dad is to send

00:21:32

the first 1 or 2 years

00:21:33

50 rupees a month.

00:21:34

Yes.

00:21:35

And, later

00:21:36

I was getting 75 rupees per month

00:21:38

and I can’t remember that

00:21:40

I paid anything for the hostel.

00:21:44

Those were - that

00:21:45

money was meant for

00:21:46

you know mess,

00:21:47

canteen

00:21:48

and little bit of pocket money

00:21:49

to go to movie or going out

00:21:51

[Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Yes. [Mr. Ramachandra] and

00:21:51

take eat in a restaurant or something.

00:21:53

Yeah.

00:21:53

But I can’t remember that

00:21:54

there was any hostel fees.

00:21:56

Maybe, maybe

00:21:57

you know, also.

00:21:58

Well, it subsequently

00:21:59

[Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] be - in my - in my period in the '80s, [Mr. Ramachandra] Yeah.

00:22:01

we did have a separate

00:22:02

[Mr. Ramachandra] Yeah. [Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] hostel bill.

00:22:04

Ok.

00:22:05

and that was based on a

00:22:07

a daily rate.

00:22:08

Ok.

00:22:09

For per day would be …

00:22:11

I - I -

00:22:12

5 rupees or so.

00:22:13

In my time by the '80s,

00:22:14

it was 12 rupees or so.

00:22:16

Sorry,

00:22:17

you know, you're right

00:22:18

it was about 8 rupees.

00:22:20

But I - I - I begin to

00:22:21

I don’t believe

00:22:21

I paid any hostel fees.

00:22:23

You know.

00:22:24

[Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] And, it's [Mr. Ramachandra] But maybe

00:22:25

some of my classmates will

00:22:26

[Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Yes. [Mr. Ramachandra] confirm

00:22:27

[Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Yes. [Mr. Ramachandra] whether

00:22:28

I am right or wrong.

00:22:29

Yes,

00:22:29

[Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] yeah. [Mr. Ramachandra] In so far as I remember,

00:22:31

I have not paid any hostel fees.

00:22:32

I see.

00:22:33

Ok.

00:22:33

You know, at - the - the whole thing

00:22:35

was very very economical, studies

00:22:37

yeah.

00:22:37

I think it's all

00:22:38

Government Of India money.

00:22:40

That’s true,

00:22:40

[Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] yes. [Mr. Ramachandra] Taxpayers' money.

00:22:41

Yes.

00:22:41

Yeah, yeah.

00:22:43

So,

00:22:45

do you have recollections of the

00:22:47

the inaugural - inauguration

00:22:49

of the institute

00:22:50

the 31st July,

00:22:51

when it was formally

00:22:54

started?

00:22:55

Regretfully, no.

00:22:57

I can’t remember, no,

00:23:00

I don't have, you know, the slightest idea

00:23:01

what happened at that time.

00:23:03

[Mr. Ramachandra] It’s more than 55 years ago. [Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Yes.

00:23:05

That’s right.

00:23:05

You know, you know, some people might have remembered

00:23:07

but I didn’t.

00:23:09

I don’t even remember who did it actually,

00:23:12

Lal Bahadur Shastri had come?

00:23:13

Humayun Kabir.

00:23:16

I'm sorry?

00:23:17

Humayun Kabir.

00:23:18

Humayun Kabir okay, yeah, yeah, yeah, Humayun Kabir.

00:23:20

Yes, yeah.

00:23:21

Yesterday, I had seen it in the photos.

00:23:22

Yes.

00:23:23

Now, maybe I remember Humayun Kabir,

00:23:27

but I can’t remember anything of that event.

00:23:31

[Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Apparently, a foundation stone was laid. [Mr. Ramachandra] Yeah.

00:23:33

We have that stone now at the Heritage Centre.

00:23:35

[Mr. Ramachandra] Ok. [Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] On - on display here.

00:23:37

Now, once you mentioned Humayun Kabir,

00:23:39

I - I - I kind of remember that something like that

00:23:41

I have attended

00:23:43

but what I can’t remember is what exactly happened.

00:23:45

[Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Yes. [Mr. Ramachandra] You know the the rest of the proceedings

00:23:48

I don’t remember.

00:23:48

[Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] So, then in 1961, according to our records,

00:23:56

[Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] the first buildings on campus were opened [Mr. Ramachandra] Right.

00:24:00

for - you know, for teaching or for staying in.

00:24:03

[Mr. Ramachandra] Yeah. [Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] So, you went to Cauvery Hostel.

00:24:05

Cauvery hostel.

00:24:06

[Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Yes. [Mr. Ramachandra] Yeah.

00:24:07

And that of course,

00:24:11

made moving to classes

00:24:12

[Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] and back much easier. [Mr. Ramachandra] Very easy - much easier.

00:24:14

[Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Yes. [Mr. Ramachandra] Very comfortable.

00:24:15

[Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Yes. [Mr. Ramachandra] Yeah, yeah.

00:24:16

So, according to what we know, the first classes

00:24:19

[Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] were all held in the Building Sciences Block. [Mr. Ramachandra] Yes,

00:24:21

[Mr. Ramachandra] correct. [Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] What is today the

00:24:22

[Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] BSB. [Mr. Ramachandra] Civil engineering.

00:24:23

[Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Yes, the [Mr. Ramachandra] Yeah.

00:24:23

[Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Civil Engineering Department. [Mr. Ramachandra] Yeah, yeah, yeah,

00:24:25

that’s true.

00:24:26

But very soon thereafter

00:24:28

electrical engineering department was also ready

00:24:30

whether it is 3 months, 6 months or 1 year I don’t know.

00:24:32

[Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Yes. [Mr. Ramachandra] But I don’t believe it's more than a year.

00:24:35

[Mr. Ramachandra] Yes. [Mr. Ramachandra] Within a year or so, electrical engineering department -

00:24:37

that’s where my classes were -

00:24:38

that came up, yeah.

00:24:40

Were there any signs of plenty of construction going on

00:24:43

because everything was trying to be built

00:24:46

[Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] in a short period. [Mr. Ramachandra] Yeah … Yeah, yeah.

00:24:47

D'you have - do you remember that?

00:24:50

The - the impression I carried then and even now

00:24:53

is it could have been faster,

00:24:55

let’s put it that way.

00:24:57

I - I had that impression

00:24:59

and I don’t know what the - what the constraints were,

00:25:02

what the limitations were,

00:25:03

but the - the impression I did

00:25:05

get is that it could have been faster.

00:25:07

But I am sure there were reasons

00:25:10

you know, there were some constraints and

00:25:11

I am not familiar with them.

00:25:13

I - I recollect seeing there was a

00:25:15

shortage of cement possibly or

00:25:17

[Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] is it steel?. [Mr. Ramachandra] Could have been. Yeah, yeah. In those days, that is.

00:25:18

At some point yes.

00:25:19

[Mr. Ramachandra] In those days, oh yeah, [Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Yes.

00:25:20

now that you mention, everything was in shortage.

00:25:22

And, cement was allocated literally

00:25:25

[Mr. Ramachandra] you know, [Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] I see.

00:25:26

yeah, by the government you know

00:25:27

and that might have been a reason.

00:25:29

Yeah and I might have remembered

00:25:32

[Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] I might have known that at that time [Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Yes.

00:25:34

but now I have forgotten.

00:25:35

But … I still felt how long is it going to take, you know.

00:25:39

[Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Yes. [Mr. Ramachandra] Yeah, like that yeah.

00:25:42

But as I said, you know, the reason it

00:25:44

tooks some more time

00:25:45

there must have been good reasons for it.

00:25:48

We just as students didn’t know them, all of them

00:25:50

Yes, that’s right.

00:25:52

Well, we have … we see what it was to be

00:25:57

a student from writings that your colleagues have,

00:26:01

your batch mates have written in the Annual Number

00:26:04

which you see in front of you and

00:26:05

[Mr. Ramachandra] Yeah. [Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Campastimes and so on.

00:26:07

So, we understand that there was a

00:26:10

strong emphasis on extracurricular activities …

00:26:13

Yeah, I mean.

00:26:14

[Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] from day 1. [Mr. Ramachandra] There were facilities provided.

00:26:15

From day 1. Yeah

00:26:16

[Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Yeah. [Mr. Ramachandra] There were good facilities provided.

00:26:18

[Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Yes. [Mr. Ramachandra] I mean like you know table tennis

00:26:21

[Mr. Ramachandra] and then tennikoit. [Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Yes.

00:26:23

Tennikoit is something very unique to

00:26:25

Tamil Nadu actually.

00:26:26

[Mr. Ramachandra] I never played it, I came from Gujarat. [Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Yes.

00:26:29

And, then ball badminton,

00:26:30

ball badminton is also very unique to Tamil Nadu.

00:26:32

[Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] I see. [Mr. Ramachandra] I have never played it before

00:26:35

and even here I didn’t play after coming

00:26:37

because that ball is coming at such a high speed;

00:26:39

you have to have a - you know, you should play it for

00:26:41

a long time before you get the hang of it

00:26:43

but I was playing shuttle.

00:26:45

Shuttlecock I could play,

00:26:46

I could play table tennis, I even played cricket.

00:26:49

I played carrom.

00:26:53

[Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Yes. [Mr. Ramachandra] I think chess if I am not mistaken,

00:26:56

what are … now I - we were actually quite busy with games.

00:27:02

So, after we came, it -

00:27:04

there was more opportunities for relaxation.

00:27:07

So, I mean if you don’t like

00:27:09

[Mr. Ramachandra] let’s say badminton but you like tennikoit. [Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Yes

00:27:12

There they were called courts for tennikoit

00:27:15

and I - I - I think there were later even courts for tennis,

00:27:21

but when they came, I don’t remember.

00:27:23

I was never, I never played tennis,

00:27:26

but cricket ground was there

00:27:28

and we played cricket, Koti used to play

00:27:31

[Mr. Ramachandra] everywhere. [Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Were these located around the Cauvery hostel?

00:27:33

Not too far away; no, not Cauvery hostel

00:27:35

but not too far away from where we are staying,

00:27:37

[Mr. Ramachandra] exactly where I forgot now. [Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Yes.

00:27:39

In fact, I - very many evenings

00:27:43

[Mr. Ramachandra] I played tennikoit with Srinivasan, [Mr. Ramachandra] Yes.

00:27:45

with Mahadevan, that’s also way of making friends.

00:27:48

[Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] That’s right. [Mr. Ramachandra] Oh, there is another person called B. Gopalakrishnan.

00:27:50

He is from Civil Engineering,

00:27:52

he was a very close friend of mine.

00:27:53

Yeah.

00:27:54

Even he might have become friend even in the first year.

00:27:57

Very nice person, very decent gentleman

00:27:59

even in those days also.

00:28:02

One of the most decent persons I met, yeah.

00:28:05

There - there was more competitive sports as well

00:28:09

in the sense that there were inter IIT sports

00:28:12

coming up. [Mr. Ramachandra] Right, right.

00:28:13

So, did you represent the institute?

00:28:15

I was not good in any any of them to be able to do that,

00:28:19

[Mr. Ramachandra] you know, like table tennis I played for fun. [Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Yes.

00:28:22

But the real good ones were others

00:28:24

[Mr. Ramachandra] like Srinivas Nageswar. [Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Yes.

00:28:26

And - and also S. Gopalakrishnan.

00:28:28

[Mr. Ramachandra] They were good in table tennis. [Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] yes.

00:28:30

In cricket I was

00:28:32

I have played a match: inter-class match.

00:28:34

[Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Yes. [Mr. Ramachandra] I think my class against another class.

00:28:36

[Mr. Ramachandra] Yes. [Mr. Ramachandra] But, nothing against an another IIT.

00:28:38

Because, you know, for to play against another IIT

00:28:43

you have to choose everybody who is already

00:28:45

[Mr. Ramachandra] available in the all the classes of IIT. [Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Yes.

00:28:47

[Mr. Ramachandra] Not just my class [Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Yes.

00:28:48

[Mr. Ramachandra] but all the years. [Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] That’s right.

00:28:50

And then you get maybe about 5 - 600 students

00:28:52

or more

00:28:53

and they are much better players you know.

00:28:56

Then there was a sportsman by name Dominic.

00:28:59

[Mr. Ramachandra] Yeah, he was very good. [Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Jacob Dominic.

00:29:00

[Mr. Ramachandra] He was very good at hockey. [Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Yes, right.

00:29:03

I think he was good in hockey and also in

00:29:05

ball badminton, he was an amazing player.

00:29:08

Ball badminton.

00:29:09

[Mr. Ramachandra] He is right now in the US, yeah. [Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Ok.

00:29:12

Also, again a very nice person, you know.

00:29:14

We - we understand he was a

00:29:16

an all rounder as sportsman.

00:29:18

[Mr. Ramachandra] Yeah, yeah he - [Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] I think.

00:29:19

[Mr. Ramachandra] ball badminton, what else he played,

00:29:22

[Mr. Ramachandra] maybe the normal badminton also. [Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Yes.

00:29:25

But I can’t remember if he played cricket,

00:29:27

[Mr. Ramachandra] that I don’t know hockey, yes he played. [Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Hockey.

00:29:29

[Mr. Ramachandra] I think so, yeah. [Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Yes, right.

00:29:32

There was a hockey team.

00:29:35

There was another person called Chandy, Chandy.

00:29:37

[Mr. Ramachandra] But, he is a one class, one batch lower. [Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Yes.

00:29:40

He was very good in hockey.

00:29:42

Yeah, hockey.

00:29:45

And IIT Madras of course, was

00:29:49

[Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] started with German assistance. [Mr. Ramachandra] Yeah.

00:29:51

So, we know that there were

00:29:53

[Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] German technicians and professors. [Mr. Ramachandra] Professors yeah.

00:29:56

here … on campus.

00:29:59

So, do you have recollections of their

00:30:01

classes or interacting with them?

00:30:03

Well of course, nobody forgets Dr. Koch.

00:30:07

[Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Yes. [Mr. Ramachandra] K-o-c-h.

00:30:09

[Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Yes. Yes. [Mr. Ramachandra] Koch.

00:30:10

Now, I have to be - if I will be very frank and honest about it,

00:30:14

I had difficulty in following every German professor.

00:30:17

And the reason was

00:30:20

it may sound as if I'm blaming somebody else

00:30:22

but they they were not be - able to express

00:30:25

that - their thoughts -

00:30:27

in English in a proper way.

00:30:29

And … because I had - I did very well in nearly

00:30:34

all courses taught by Indian professors.

00:30:38

but I had difficulty in following the German professors.

00:30:40

[Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Right. [Mr. Ramachandra] I was - I had difficulty also to take notes.

00:30:44

And they did not have a - a specific textbook

00:30:48

which they say ok,

00:30:50

this is what you will find in that textbook

00:30:51

go and take it.

00:30:53

So, they would sometimes give a handout

00:30:55

you know, and even those handouts should be also crisp

00:30:57

and sort of paraphrasing or summarizing,

00:31:01

not explaining in detail.

00:31:03

So, I was one of those - maybe there were more students like me

00:31:06

but I certainly had problem with any subject

00:31:12

where I cannot have a proper textbook.

00:31:15

and where you have to learn only from the professor

00:31:18

and if he himself doesn’t explain very well,

00:31:21

and you cannot take very good notes -

00:31:23

I was not able to take good notes also.

00:31:25

So, in that - in that area, Srinivasan, Mahadevan - they helped me.

00:31:28

You know, for - I would go to them and

00:31:30

[Mr. Ramachandra] and take the notes from them - [Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Yes.

00:31:31

they helped me.

00:31:33

Without those - that help, I would have had great difficulty.

00:31:36

But the - the difficulty I had was also that

00:31:38

there were no textbooks which were say, ok,

00:31:40

now you go and read this material in that particular textbook.

00:31:43

So, I had … I was kind of and I - I - I think in

00:31:48

one of those courses offered by them, I got an A or

00:31:51

… I'm not sure if I got an S,

00:31:53

I might have got an A,

00:31:54

but in the others, I got a B, I think mainly

00:31:56

and from third year onwards,

00:31:58

I got almost all subjects A and S.

00:32:00

[Mr. Ramachandra] But these were these professors were mainly. [Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] The S being the top grade.

00:32:03

[Mr. Ramachandra] S being the top grade yeah. [Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Yes.

00:32:05

S was super or

00:32:06

something like that

00:32:07

and … now I don’t know what it is

00:32:08

the system is different, is it, today?

00:32:10

[Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] System is changed. [Mr. Ramachandra] Yeah.

00:32:13

[Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Yes, little, yes. [Mr. Ramachandra] A there was.

00:32:14

[Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Yes. [Mr. Ramachandra] A, B there was A, S, A, B, C.

00:32:16

[Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Yeah. [Mr. Ramachandra] S was the highest,

00:32:19

but from third year onwards, I think

00:32:21

I got almost no Bs or very few.

00:32:23

But, in the first two years I had a couple

00:32:25

and that were also in - in the courses

00:32:28

offered by the German professors,

00:32:30

certainly in those I think, maybe

00:32:31

in one I got - might have got anybody,

00:32:33

I am not - I don’t remember; so, a long time.

00:32:35

So, another thing is there is another aspect to it.

00:32:39

We were all children actually,

00:32:41

I mean we are - 17 year old is not really an adult.

00:32:44

When I joined, I was 16 years or 6 months or something.

00:32:48

So, what happens is boys or girls of that

00:32:52

age some of them are already mature

00:32:55

[Mr. Ramachandra] to the point where they can they come here to study. [Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Yes.

00:32:59

They know their duty as a student

00:33:02

and the - and the promise they made to their parents,

00:33:04

that they will do their best and they are able to keep it

00:33:07

and they were able to focus no matter

00:33:10

how a professor presents the material.

00:33:13

There are others who are little bit more childlike.

00:33:17

[Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Yes. [Mr. Ramachandra] Do you understand what I mean?

00:33:18

[Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Yes. [Mr. Ramachandra] Little bit more like children.

00:33:20

You mean they need guidance,

00:33:22

[Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] more guidance? [Mr. Ramachandra] No, they their mind starts wandering.

00:33:24

[Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Ah, yes. [Mr. Ramachandra] Because.

00:33:26

[Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Yes. [Mr. Ramachandra] The material is at the - at not being explained

00:33:29

in the manner that they can appreciate

00:33:31

and then the mind starts wandering

00:33:33

and they are not able to control it,

00:33:34

they're not able to focus on what’s going on -

00:33:36

I was one of them.

00:33:39

Because, my mind would start wandering

00:33:42

if the material presented was not clear

00:33:44

and not in a manner that I would have liked.

00:33:47

It did not hold your attention.

00:33:49

[Mr. Ramachandra] It did not hold my attention. [Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Yes.

00:33:50

So, that was my problem.

00:33:53

So, it could have been …

00:33:55

and the combination of both -

00:33:56

the way the material was -

00:33:58

I was not mature maybe, at that age.

00:34:01

Because, if I look at my career later

00:34:04

you know, I think if I look back,

00:34:07

I might have understood it better

00:34:08

if I'd focused on it more, if I'd concentrated,

00:34:11

but I was unable to do it, yeah.

00:34:13

So, but I am nothing

00:34:16

I mean I - I got through those - that period,

00:34:19

but those were the subjects which

00:34:21

[Mr. Ramachandra] presented the maximum challenges for me. [Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Yes.

00:34:24

Not those taught by Indian professors,

00:34:26

they were all for me straightforward.

00:34:28

Were you involved in the NCC activities

00:34:32

[Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] in - on campus? [Mr. Ramachandra] No, no, I was not.

00:34:33

And, the campus itself was of course,

00:34:40

a different kind of campus because

00:34:41

[Mr. Ramachandra] It was still big. [Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] so much of it was forest and

00:34:44

[Mr. Ramachandra] Yeah. [Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] it had not been built upon.

00:34:45

[Mr. Ramachandra] Yeah. [Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] So, what do you recollect of that campus?

00:34:50

Exactly what you said: lot of forest,

00:34:53

[Mr. Ramachandra] hardly any buildings. [Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Yes.

00:34:54

[Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] And we had to walk a long distance to the main gate [Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Yes.

00:34:58

to catch a bus or a or a taxi or whatever.

00:35:01

So, but all those things it never bothered us

00:35:04

you know, at that age

00:35:05

[Mr. Ramachandra] we sort of took it all in our stride. [Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Yes.

00:35:08

That we said: :Okay,

00:35:09

we've to walk for 40 minutes or 30 minutes,

00:35:11

what is there?" like that. [Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Right.

00:35:12

And, most of the thing is - of course,

00:35:15

we saw lot of deer even those days,

00:35:17

you know, spotted deer and all of that

00:35:19

and sometimes of course, we would feel: oh

00:35:22

if the tranfortation was bit better,

00:35:24

like you know, more buses came or things like that.

00:35:26

[Mr. Ramachandra] Buses started coming actually. [Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Yeah.

00:35:28

But … because for the weekend

00:35:31

we would always stay inside,

00:35:33

the (campus); I never went out of the campus

00:35:34

in - except on weekends

00:35:36

[Mr. Ramachandra] and also not all weekends [Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Yes.

00:35:38

[Mr. Ramachandra] because I have a lot of relatives in Chennai. [Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Yes.

00:35:41

So, I used to go maybe once in 2 weekends

00:35:43

[Mr. Ramachandra] or so, to stay with them. [Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Yes.

00:35:45

On Friday night or so, I would go,

00:35:47

but some people went every weekend

00:35:49

[Mr. Ramachandra] because like Koteeswaran, his family is here. [Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Yes.

00:35:52

You know he is from Chennai.

00:35:53

So, his parents are also here.

00:35:54

So, he went every weekend

00:35:55

whereas, in my case uncle, aunt, like that.

00:35:58

So, I didn’t go every weekend.

00:36:00

So, you know the main thing about the campus was

00:36:02

it was very nice in terms of greenery,

00:36:05

very quiet,

00:36:07

the roads were kind of still kutcha roads,

00:36:11

not all roads were still, you know, paved the way they are.

00:36:16

[Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Yes. [Mr. Ramachandra] They are - they are now fantastic here.

00:36:18

Everything is kept very well now, so.

00:36:20

[Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Yes. [Mr. Ramachandra] Quality of maintenance is tip-top

00:36:23

right now, yeah.

00:36:24

[Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Were there actually just tracks there, mud tracks, [Mr. Ramachandra] Yeah.

00:36:27

[Mr. Ramachandra] in those days? [Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] I mean, mud tracks;

00:36:28

[Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Yes. [Mr. Ramachandra] basically, majority … at least

00:36:30

half of them were mud tracks

00:36:31

[Mr. Ramachandra] and so, when there was rain, [Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Yeah.

00:36:33

it was slushy, it was kind of, yeah.

00:36:35

Your trousers would get dirty

00:36:36

[Mr. Ramachandra] and things like that. [Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Yes, that’s right.

00:36:38

Yeah, but at - in that age

00:36:40

[Mr. Ramachandra] we don’t bother about those things. [Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] That’s right.

00:36:42

Sometimes you will get annoyed but mostly not.

00:36:44

And, during the monsoons, it can rain quite heavily.

00:36:46

[Mr. Ramachandra] Yeah, yeah, yeah. [Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Yes, yes.

00:36:48

[Mr. Ramachandra] Sure yeah. [Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] That’s right.

00:36:52

But yeah, I mean, we - we still loved to be here

00:36:55

let’s put it that way,

00:36:56

[Mr. Ramachandra] we enjoyed being here. [Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] That’s right, yes.

00:36:58

Was the city also remote in that sense

00:37:01

[Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] in those days, because it has grown a lot now. [Mr. Ramachandra] Yeah.

00:37:04

[Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] So, to reach - [Mr. Ramachandra] It was a -

00:37:05

go from here to where your relatives were,

00:37:08

[Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Well,- [Mr. Ramachandra] did it take time?

00:37:09

I would - I would - I had - until the - I know the buses came

00:37:13

when I was staying in the hostel -

00:37:15

whether it was the fourth or fifth year I can’t remember -

00:37:17

but at least for 1 or 2 - 1 year minimum, maybe one and half,

00:37:20

2 years I should walk to the gate

00:37:22

and from there, I would take either an auto or a … or a taxi;

00:37:27

[Mr. Ramachandra] those days Madras taxis were also there, I mean, [Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Yes.

00:37:31

I'm not talking about Uber or Ola,

00:37:34

but the normal taxis,

00:37:36

[Mr. Ramachandra] like in Bombay there are there yellow-top taxis. [Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Yes.

00:37:39

So, here also we had those kind of taxis,

00:37:41

but they were mostly Ambassadors here.

00:37:43

And while coming back also I had come home,

00:37:46

I had come right up to the hostel by taking a taxi.

00:37:50

So, I mean, the - the accessibility was bit of a problem,

00:37:56

but you have to plan it that’s all, I mean, that means

00:37:58

if you want to reach somewhere, you've to plan minimum 1 hour

00:38:00

[Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Yes. [Mr. Ramachandra] or 1 hour, 20 minutes.

00:38:02

[Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] That’s right. [Mr. Ramachandra] That’s - I mean -

00:38:03

so, apart from that I mean it’s just a 30 minutes walk,

00:38:07

[Mr. Ramachandra] I mean, in that age, you know, walk - [Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Yes.

00:38:10

[Mr. Ramachandra] nobody bothers about [Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Yes.

00:38:11

30 minutes walk, yeah.

00:38:14

And of course, telephones were -

00:38:16

[Mr. Ramachandra] Not there. [Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] far fewer, practically not there.

00:38:18

No, no, not there.

00:38:18

They were not there.

00:38:19

There was actually in the - in the warden’s -

00:38:21

[Mr. Ramachandra] there was a warden’s office [Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Yes.

00:38:23

in the ground floor of Cauvery.

00:38:24

There was a telephone there,

00:38:26

[Mr. Ramachandra] so … I hardly meet made use of it. [Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Yeah.

00:38:29

Some people, maybe you know, made use of it to call their parents

00:38:31

or if they were not going to come or they were delayed -

00:38:33

I never made use of it

00:38:35

[Mr. Ramachandra] but I know there was a telephone there. [Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Right.

00:38:39

[Mr. Ramachandra] Assistant warden’s office, I think that was. [Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Yes.

00:38:42

There were also person who was there kind of 24 hours,

00:38:45

a caretaker or whatever; of course, Venkateswarlu -

00:38:48

Dr. Venkateswarlu was not there all the time,

00:38:50

but there was somebody else.

00:38:52

[Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Yeah. [Mr. Ramachandra] Yes … in 1962,

00:38:56

[Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] apparently the Open Air Theatre was inaugurated. [Mr. Ramachandra] Yes, yes.

00:39:00

And, the first use it was made of was to receive the

00:39:04

the German president, President Lübke.

00:39:08

Yeah, yeah.

00:39:09

And was that an - an incident that you remember?

00:39:13

Very vaguely, very vaguely.

00:39:15

I can’t give too many details of that,

00:39:17

but what you say, yeah, that part I remember,

00:39:20

[Mr. Ramachandra] but not much more, [Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Yes.

00:39:22

[Mr. Ramachandra] no, no. [Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Yeah.

00:39:24

What I do remember about the Open Air

00:39:26

[Mr. Ramachandra] Theatre is we used to go there for movies. [Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Yes, yes.

00:39:28

[Mr. Ramachandra] They were screened [Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Yes.

00:39:29

I think, once a week or something like that.

00:39:32

So, we used to go there for that.

00:39:33

[Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Right. [Mr. Ramachandra] But since I was not a very good sportsman,

00:39:39

[Mr. Ramachandra] so, I haven’t played there inside the stadium or anything - [Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Yes.

00:39:42

any game or something like that.

00:39:47

And once you came to your departmental courses,

00:39:50

[Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] was it in the Electrical Sciences Building that you had [Mr. Ramachandra] Yeah.

00:39:54

[Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] your classes, all your classes? [Mr. Ramachandra] Yeah,

00:39:55

all of them in the Electrical, yeah,

00:39:57

[Mr. Ramachandra] I mean, the electrical engineering courses were there [Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Yes.

00:40:00

but even then, at that time we had some maths course I think

00:40:03

and then we had to go to some other building

00:40:06

but all the electrical engineering courses

00:40:08

were in that building only.

00:40:10

[Mr. Ramachandra] Yes. [Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] So, were the German test equipment and so on

00:40:14

[Mr. Ramachandra] Those were all fine. [Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] installed right

00:40:16

there in the beginning? Yeah.

00:40:17

I mean, they came in, you know, in - in - in a certain speed.

00:40:21

Whether they were all available

00:40:23

when we needed them, I can’t remember

00:40:26

but they were coming at - at regular intervals,

00:40:30

the equipment.

00:40:31

[Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] I remember, there is a … High Voltage Lab [Mr. Ramachandra] Yes.

00:40:36

in which there you could have a electrical discharge by

00:40:40

[Mr. Ramachandra] Yes, yes. [Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] just raising the voltage.

00:40:41

[Mr. Ramachandra] Yeah, yeah. [Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Was that an early piece of equipment,

00:40:45

was it there in your time?

00:40:49

I think it was,

00:40:54

because there was a course on that

00:40:56

I mean, related to high voltage,

00:41:00

but 100 percent I am not sure.

00:41:03

[Mr. Ramachandra] Yeah, most probably it was but [Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Right.

00:41:06

I can’t remember.

00:41:07

Who - who were your teachers from your department,

00:41:10

[Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] can you name some of them? [Mr. Ramachandra] Professor Sampath.

00:41:12

[Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Yes. [Mr. Ramachandra] He - as a matter of fact, I took

00:41:15

I was in Heavy Current

00:41:17

where, you know, these transformers, high voltage

00:41:19

[Mr. Ramachandra] and then this electric distribution - transmission - [Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Yeah.

00:41:23

distribution transformers, motors, electrical generation

00:41:26

all of that was taught,

00:41:27

I will - unfortunately I made the wrong choice;

00:41:30

I should have taken electronics

00:41:32

[Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] that is what - it used to be called LC - [Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] LC.

00:41:34

but Professor Sampath taught a course

00:41:36

in third year on electronics

00:41:39

and that inspired me to move, get out of my

00:41:42

whatever field I was in

00:41:44

[Mr. Ramachandra] to the field that I wanted to go [Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Yes.

00:41:46

[Mr. Ramachandra] because his presentation was superb. [Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Yes.

00:41:48

And the same of V. G. K. Murti,

00:41:51

[Mr. Ramachandra] Professor V. G. K. Murti. [Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Yes.

00:41:53

P. Venkat Rao, very - I mean

00:41:55

P. Venkat Rao tended to be very fast.

00:41:57

You have to be you can’t even -

00:41:59

you can’t let your eye even blink.

00:42:04

I see.

00:42:05

The speed at which he was talking

00:42:08

was amazing

00:42:08

but still it was presented in a manner that, no problem,

00:42:14

I mean it was enjoyable to

00:42:16

[Mr. Ramachandra] learn from him. [Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Yes.

00:42:17

V. G. K. Murti was top class,

00:42:20

Sampath also.

00:42:21

And, then Professor Sampath and then, of course,

00:42:24

there was Mr. Ramaswamy.

00:42:25

[Mr. Ramachandra] He was also - [Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] B. Ramaswamy.

00:42:27

[Mr. Ramachandra] B. Ramaswamy. [Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Yes.

00:42:28

He was a good lec - he was - at that time was a lecturer

00:42:32

and then he became assistant professor,

00:42:33

I - I believe he even became a head of the department

00:42:35

at some point

00:42:36

but his presentation of the material was very good

00:42:40

but it was not like - he was not an inspiring teacher -

00:42:43

but he was good, he would give the technical details nicely,

00:42:48

whereas, Sampath - Mr. Sampath - Professor Sampath

00:42:51

and V. G. K. Murti and P. Venkata Rao,

00:42:53

they are inspiring speakers.

00:42:54

[Mr. Ramachandra] I think they had that skill [Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Yes.

00:42:57

which not everybody has.

00:42:58

[Mr. Ramachandra] They were gifted. [Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Right.

00:43:01

Yeah, yeah, and therefore, everybody enjoyed then,

00:43:04

there is not a single person who will have a different opinion

00:43:07

you know, on these

00:43:07

on these professors, across the board, you know.

00:43:11

Yes, yes.

00:43:12

I didn’t have of course, courses of Professor Achuthan

00:43:15

because that was in LC -

00:43:17

electronics -so, I can’t say anything about it

00:43:19

but these three I loved them actually, yeah, yeah.

00:43:23

[Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] So ... [Mr. Ramachandra] It’s a pity I didn’t keep in

00:43:25

[Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Yeah. [Mr. Ramachandra] touch with them, yeah.

00:43:28

So, you ... did you receive your degree here - to -

00:43:33

[Mr. Ramachandra] Yeah, yeah. [Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] did you come here to collect

00:43:34

[Mr. Ramachandra] I came. I came to - [Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] to collect your degree?

00:43:35

Yeah, yeah, I came - came -

00:43:36

because when, you know, it was said that

00:43:39

[Mr. Ramachandra] Dr. Radhakrishnan is going to come [Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Yes.

00:43:41

So, I said that is a lifetime - once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

00:43:44

So, I did come, yeah -

00:43:45

only I came, my parents didn’t come.

00:43:47

[Mr. Ramachandra] I think in some cases some - the parents also came. [Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Yes.

00:43:50

[Mr. Ramachandra] But in my case, only [Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Right.

00:43:51

I came, yeah, yeah.

00:43:53

So, what happened after IIT, what did you do ? What -

00:43:58

Well, actually I had no plans to go abroad or anything.

00:44:01

I just took a job in with Siemens in - actually there

00:44:07

there was a job, a very short job I took before

00:44:10

I joined Siemens in a company

00:44:12

which makes transformers in Bombay

00:44:15

but it - it was having a factory in the place

00:44:18

where there's a lot of flooding at the time of rains.

00:44:21

I worked in that company for 2 weeks

00:44:23

[Mr. Ramachandra] and then I got an interview call from Siemens [Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Yes.

00:44:26

and I was selected by Siemens,

00:44:28

so, I quit after 2 weeks.

00:44:30

So, my first job is actually of 2 weeks

00:44:32

and the next one at Siemens a bit more than 1 year,

00:44:36

the idea was - I was - I was [inaudible] between

00:44:39

marketing people and the factory.

00:44:42

So, I had to deal with customers:

00:44:46

their questions related to the factory.

00:44:48

So, I had worked for 1 year in that Siemens company,

00:44:52

[Mr. Ramachandra] you know that is a German company, [Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Yes.

00:44:54

you know, but I was not happy

00:44:56

because that - it did not require any of my

00:44:58

technical knowledge to be applied.

00:45:01

I did talk to my boss after 3 months or 6 months

00:45:04

that I would like to go into - into another department,

00:45:08

where they do some design work

00:45:10

[Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Yes. [Mr. Ramachandra] where there's more engineering -

00:45:12

my engineering knowledge can be applied

00:45:14

and - he said yeah we will do it.

00:45:16

But you know, somewhere at that around that time

00:45:21

my brother and I - my brother was very keen to go abroad

00:45:24

so, he also stimulated me to the U.S. - to go to U.S.

00:45:29

and study there.

00:45:30

So, I started applying for the - for going to the U.S.

00:45:33

and so, see I - I started working maybe

00:45:37

in the beginning of '64 March, April, May -

00:45:40

I can’t remember anymore -

00:45:41

but then, by the end of - by October, November '64,

00:45:46

I was already busy applying for - you know, to go abroad

00:45:49

to - only to the U.S.,

00:45:50

[Mr. Ramachandra] I did not apply to any other country [Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Yes.

00:45:52

[Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] like UK or so. [Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Yes.

00:45:54

And ... and that, the reason was also because

00:45:58

most of my professors in Electrical Engineering Department

00:46:01

they were all from the U.S.,

00:46:03

[Mr. Ramachandra] Professor Sampath had studied in Stanford. [Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Yes.

00:46:06

V. G. K. Murti in University of Illinois,

00:46:09

so ... and ... I felt - I also felt that

00:46:13

that might suit my, you know, character,

00:46:16

[Mr. Ramachandra] the - that type of courses offered there. [Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Yes.

00:46:21

UK ... also, UK takes longer to get a masters,

00:46:25

U.S. is - you know, you can do it in 1 year

00:46:27

or 1 year and 3, 4 months like that,

00:46:29

[Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Yes. [Mr. Ramachandra] UK usually 2 years.

00:46:31

So, so I applied in the - at the end of 2000 -

00:46:35

beginning of '65 or maybe around by April,

00:46:38

May, I had applied to several universities,

00:46:41

3 of them and I got admission in 2.

00:46:45

one of them I think they didn’t give me because

00:46:49

there was the - at that time

00:46:50

they were asking us to take a GRE test.

00:46:54

[Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Yes. [Mr. Ramachandra] G - and also English language test.

00:46:56

And somehow, I was - I may be the

00:47:00

only student who did that,

00:47:02

I - I wrote to them that I feel that I - I'm

00:47:04

from a very good institution, premier institution,

00:47:07

IIT Madras and I explained to them

00:47:09

[Mr. Ramachandra] because Americans might not know [Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Yes.

00:47:11

[Mr. Ramachandra] what IIT is. [Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Yes.

00:47:13

And, in those days '65,

00:47:14

I explained to them how, you know, this is a Government Of India

00:47:16

initiative with the German government blah blah blah.

00:47:20

So, my explanation of the IIT was probably 1 full page

00:47:23

and then I also said: look I have a -

00:47:26

these are the my grades and I feel that

00:47:30

there is no reason for me to be tested again with the GRE.

00:47:34

So, I think the University of Illinois,

00:47:36

they didn’t accept my argument

00:47:38

but Berkeley accepted it.

00:47:39

[Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Yeah, yes. Alright. [Mr. Ramachandra] University of California, Berkeley.

00:47:41

So, I didn’t do any GRE

00:47:43

and similarly the English language test

00:47:46

that was compulsory.

00:47:48

Now, there also what I did is I got-

00:47:52

see I have studied everything in English

00:47:54

even from my KG in - in Christian school

00:47:57

[Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Yes. Yes. [Mr. Ramachandra] in Ahmedabad.

00:47:59

And then a 1 year of college pre-university

00:48:02

in - in Ahmedabad that was also, everything in English,

00:48:04

then IIT was in English.

00:48:06

So, what I did is I wrote to my

00:48:10

principal of the school and the principal of the Saint Xavier's

00:48:15

College where I did my PUC

00:48:17

asking them for a testimonial,

00:48:19

a certificate saying that I can understand English,

00:48:21

I can speak English and I am very - I'm fluent in English

00:48:24

[Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Yes. [Mr. Ramachandra] and that I can follow a course in the U.S.

00:48:27

without any difficulty.

00:48:29

I - I send a request also to

00:48:32

the head of the Department of Humanities here, IIT.

00:48:36

[Mr. Ramachandra] There was a Krishnamurthy I think, one Mr. Krishnamurthy. [Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Yes.

00:48:39

[Mr. Ramachandra] Am I correct? [Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Yes.

00:48:40

Krishnamurthy, he was also very good in English,

00:48:43

I think it was Professor Mr. Krishnamurthy in my time.

00:48:46

I - I remember the name but -

00:48:48

[Mr. Ramachandra] You know, head of the department. [Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Yes. Yes. I do not know if it was ...

00:48:49

I - I requested him saying, I even

00:48:51

actually, told him what he has to write.

00:48:53

I said: please mention these things

00:48:55

in the testimonial that I have

00:48:57

studied everything in IIT in English

00:49:00

and my fluency is good enough

00:49:04

to take - to follow any course in any

00:49:06

in any American university.

00:49:08

He gave me a nice testimonial

00:49:10

and from Ahmedabad I got out of two places

00:49:12

that I requested, I got one

00:49:14

the other one I don’t know they didn’t reply, respond.

00:49:17

I - I sent those two to Berkeley

00:49:22

to all the three universities which I applied,

00:49:24

Berkeley accepted it.

00:49:26

So, I didn’t take any an English language

00:49:28

[Mr. Ramachandra] test which everybody else did. [Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Yes.

00:49:30

[Mr. Ramachandra] I didn’t. [Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Yeah. Take the GRE also.

00:49:32

So, that was a very - it - it was a kind of a

00:49:35

what I thought is in case they insist on it,

00:49:38

I will still take i but let me try it

00:49:40

[Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Yes. [Mr. Ramachandra] yeah, and if they insist, I can always take it.

00:49:43

[Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Right. [Mr. Ramachandra] So, then I went abroad to the U.S., studied,

00:49:46

I worked for one ... I did my M.S. in Electrical Engineering

00:49:51

[Mr. Ramachandra] and then I ... started working the chips industry. [Mr. Ramachandra] Yes.

00:49:56

[Mr. Ramachandra] You're familiar with the chips industry, I'm sure. [Mr. Ramachandra] Yes.

00:49:59

It so happened that one of the courses that I was taking

00:50:02

in Berkeley was taught by a visiting lecturer

00:50:06

from the East Coast

00:50:08

[Mr. Ramachandra] from Maryland. [Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Yes.

00:50:10

[Mr. Ramachandra] and Berkeley is in the - in California, West Coast. [Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Yes.

00:50:12

So, that gentleman a - a - a Chinese actually.,

00:50:16

he - when he finished the course,

00:50:17

he asked all of us if - those who want to

00:50:22

come and work in that company on the East Coast

00:50:25

please come and see me. So, I went there and - and

00:50:27

two other Indians also went

00:50:29

and he gave us an application form and he signed it

00:50:32

saying, so that he can recognize

00:50:34

[Mr. Ramachandra] when the application form comes there. [Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Yes.

00:50:36

That it has been given to his student by him.

00:50:39

So, I fill it and send it and then

00:50:41

I got - he asked me to come for an interview and I took a job,

00:50:45

when I had a job in California also

00:50:48

and most of my Berkeley friends, Indian friends,

00:50:51

they chose not to get out of California.

00:50:54

They felt California is the - the best place to live

00:50:57

[Mr. Ramachandra] and in Maryland the winters can be severe. [Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Yes.

00:51:00

So, he said- they even asked me: why are you going there?

00:51:03

I was the only person who left,

00:51:04

I said no, because I like this man,

00:51:07

the gentleman is a very experienced person

00:51:10

so, I I think I can learn more from him,

00:51:13

whereas, in California my

00:51:15

when I - I got a job with - in - in one company

00:51:18

and my - the person who might have been my boss

00:51:21

or who would have been boss

00:51:22

was probably 3, 4 years older than me.

00:51:24

So, he certainly was more knowledgeable in that field,

00:51:27

but the one in the other company where I went to

00:51:30

[Mr. Ramachandra] he was at least 20 years more older than me [Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Yes.

00:51:32

and he is extremely experienced,

00:51:35

[inaudible] later I found out - I didn’t know it;

00:51:36

when I took the job I didn’t know,

00:51:38

that he had already published 25 newspaper - papers

00:51:41

in - in different journals on chips.

00:51:45

He had 25 patents also, U.S. patents.

00:51:48

[Mr. Ramachandra] So, you know, I was lucky to go and work for somebody [Mr. Ramachandra] Yes.

00:51:50

[Mr. Ramachandra] who is so knowledgeable. [Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Yes.

00:51:51

So, for me, it - it was not important to stay in California

00:51:55

but it was more important to go to somebody

00:51:57

[Mr. Ramachandra] from whom I can learn. [Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Yes, yes.

00:52:01

So, while I was working there then I went to

00:52:03

Johns Hopkins University,

00:52:04

there is a university called Johns Hopkins

00:52:06

in - and there I took ... I did evening course

00:52:10

and took a second master's in management science

00:52:12

because from a very young age

00:52:14

I wanted to go get into management

00:52:16

not into - into research.

00:52:18

I wanted to start in research,

00:52:19

do some development work,

00:52:21

but my aim was to go into senior executive position

00:52:24

because my dad was a senior executive

00:52:26

in textile mills and I - I was sort of

00:52:30

[Mr. Ramachandra] wanted to emulate him. [Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] You wanted to follow him. [Mr. Ramachandra] Follow his

00:52:32

[Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Yes. [Mr. Ramachandra] footsteps. Yeah.

00:52:33

So, I said a management degree would help,

00:52:36

an MBA might also have helped

00:52:38

but this was slightly different

00:52:39

but it was still a management degree.

00:52:41

So, and that helped me also

00:52:43

later when I worked for Philips.

00:52:45

So, so, I went - I worked in the U.S. for about 3 and half years,

00:52:49

then I came back to India

00:52:50

[Mr. Ramachandra] with the intention to settle down [Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Yes.

00:52:52

but it didn’t- I got married at that time ...

00:52:56

I didn’t - after a few months in Ahmedabad

00:53:00

because that’s where my parents were living -

00:53:02

I got a job in Pune.

00:53:04

A very short - I mean

00:53:06

a job in a very small company,

00:53:08

but they were assembling chips

00:53:10

[Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Yes. [Mr. Ramachandra] in transistors. Not chips mostly transistors

00:53:12

and they said they will start making chips

00:53:15

sometime in the future

00:53:17

but they didn’t know what they were talking about

00:53:19

because to make chips you need a lot of investment

00:53:22

[Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Yes. [Mr. Ramachandra] which that company was not capable of doing

00:53:25

but I took the job and because I had nothing else to do

00:53:28

and I didn’t want to sit at home.

00:53:30

And I said: okay, as a first job I'll take it

00:53:32

and then I will see further;

00:53:35

I was also offered an opportunity by

00:53:37

one gentleman to start a company in Ahmedabad.

00:53:40

In fact, he was the managing director

00:53:44

of the company where my father was working.

00:53:46

So, and he said that I would like you to start a company,

00:53:50

I'll do all the negotiations with the Gujarat government

00:53:54

or central government for the licenses and everything else,

00:53:57

so, you don’t - you won’t be bothered about

00:53:59

all those bureaucratic matters,

00:54:01

you just develop a product and then, you know.

00:54:05

But somehow I was not very comfortable

00:54:07

being an entrepreneur, I don’t think I'm an

00:54:10

I didn’t feel I was an entrepreneur.

00:54:11

I was more like a person who worked for a big company.

00:54:15

So, I didn’t take that opportunity.

00:54:18

And then, actually, when I was working

00:54:20

in that small company in Pune,

00:54:22

I read ... article in a - in a trade magazine

00:54:27

that Philips is going to start manufacturing chips

00:54:30

in India. In India.

00:54:32

And so, I sent my application to that

00:54:35

managing director of Philips India.

00:54:37

So, he is the biggest boss in Philips India

00:54:39

and then he called me for interview.

00:54:41

And after the interview, I was - I was told that well,

00:54:45

you seem to have the qualifications

00:54:47

and you could - you will be the first employee,

00:54:49

but ... you need to go to Holland for an interview

00:54:53

because we cannot judge,

00:54:55

they are not - they had no exposure to chips

00:54:57

[Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Yes. [Mr. Ramachandra] technology. Yes.

00:54:59

So, I went to Holland for 1 week

00:55:01

for interview and they selected me

00:55:04

and they said that - actually they told me

00:55:07

the management of Philips India is saying that

00:55:10

they want you to be here for 4 years

00:55:12

and then they want you back,

00:55:14

but we want you to be here in Holland forever

00:55:17

because we - your background is very suited

00:55:19

for the work which we are doing here.

00:55:22

So, we would like you to be in Holland

00:55:24

but if you choose to go back after 4 years

00:55:26

that’s your decision.

00:55:28

So, so, I - what I did is I - I did

00:55:33

decide to come back to India,

00:55:34

because my - my goal was to settle in India.

00:55:37

So, after three and a half years

00:55:41

I decided, in - in Holland, I decided

00:55:43

I was working in the chips industry there with Philips

00:55:46

I want to go back to India. So, I told them to give me

00:55:49

a job and then Philips India -

00:55:51

I wrote to the management of Philips India -

00:55:54

they offered me a job in Pune

00:55:56

as a development manager,

00:55:58

but in a different environment, not in the chips industry

00:56:01

but in an electronics equipment industry

00:56:05

[Mr. Ramachandra] where, you know, you must be knowing oscilloscopes right? [Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Yes.

00:56:07

[Mr. Ramachandra] And digital multimeters. [Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Yes.

00:56:09

So, if you want to measure voltage or current

00:56:11

instead of analog, with those needle,

00:56:13

[Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Yes. [Mr. Ramachandra] there are digital multimeter.

00:56:14

[Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Yes. [Mr. Ramachandra] And then audio systems

00:56:17

if you want to have a - a big conference hall,

00:56:20

and there you have to install a big audio system,

00:56:22

professional type of thing - all those things

00:56:25

were being done in Pune

00:56:26

and they wanted an R and D manager.

00:56:29

So, Philips in India they said we are offering you that job,

00:56:33

we cannot offer you anything in chips

00:56:35

because the chips industry

00:56:36

[Mr. Ramachandra] the license did not come. [Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Yes.

00:56:38

The Government Of India was putting

00:56:40

so many conditions on Philips,

00:56:42

that Philips said: We will not start up for chips factory,

00:56:45

your conditions are not acceptable -

00:56:47

but I wanted to come back to India.

00:56:49

So, I decided that even if I don’t want

00:56:51

if I don’t get a job in chips in India,

00:56:53

I want to be in India.

00:56:55

So, I came back and so,

00:56:57

I came after four and half years or

00:56:59

[Mr. Ramachandra] 4 years and some months in Holland. [Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Holland.

00:57:01

I came back to India in Pune

00:57:03

and I worked for 5 years

00:57:06

and then then the story changes a bit.

00:57:08

After 3 years I got, got very disappointed with India.

00:57:12

At that time there was ... emergency, there's all

00:57:16

kinds of unrest in India.

00:57:18

It was not a pleasant time of ... in India

00:57:20

from '75 to '80.

00:57:23

and - and you know, I was also not very happy in the job

00:57:28

[Mr. Ramachandra] because chips was my passion. [Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Yes.

00:57:30

[Mr. Ramachandra] And, you have to work in a field [Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Yes.

00:57:32

where you have a passion, and that equipment was okay,

00:57:35

but you know it is just a job, you know.

00:57:38

You don’t work only for a salary,

00:57:40

you work for something more than a salary.

00:57:42

[Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Yes. [Mr. Ramachandra] And I could not ...

00:57:45

my father was also very highly technically professional.

00:57:48

So, he saw that I was not doing the right thing.

00:57:51

So, he said: No, you go back to Holland or to the U.S.,

00:57:54

[Mr. Ramachandra] you also worked in the US, but don’t stay here. [Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Yes.

00:57:58

And I had a technical director in Philips,

00:58:00

also a Tamilian, very nice person.

00:58:02

He knew me because he had -

00:58:04

during my stay in Holland,

00:58:06

he was also there, before he became a director

00:58:10

on the board of Philips India

00:58:12

his - his name is Venkatraman, S. Venkatraman.

00:58:14

He lives in Chennai, he is - he must be 87 now.

00:58:17

Venkatraman said, Mr. Venkatraman said:

00:58:21

Ram you have done work in chips,

00:58:24

even though I was under him;

00:58:26

of course, there was one manager between me and him

00:58:28

he said you don’t stay here,

00:58:30

you go - go to - go back to Holland.

00:58:32

He even said that and when my father

00:58:35

said and he also said,

00:58:36

I went back for my parents actually

00:58:37

you know, because they were getting old.

00:58:39

Then my father said: No, no, don’t stay for us,

00:58:42

you know, because you have to think about

00:58:44

yourself and your children.

00:58:46

So, it was not an easy decision

00:58:48

to leave the country at that time because I'm

00:58:50

first, I was there for 1 year between

00:58:53

U.S. and Holland, I was in India for 1 year

00:58:56

and then after going to Holland

00:58:58

[Mr. Ramachandra] I came back to India for 5 years. [Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Yes.

00:59:00

with very clear intent to stay in India

00:59:03

[Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Ok. [Mr. Ramachandra] but it didn’t work out

00:59:04

and maybe I could - if I had still

00:59:07

[Mr. Ramachandra] put up with all the inconveniences, [Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Yes.

00:59:10

I might have continued, but I felt that

00:59:13

it was not worth it.

00:59:15

In my perception, it was not worth it.

00:59:17

So, because I didn’t know

00:59:19

[Mr. Ramachandra] when things would get better. [Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Yes.

00:59:20

At that time it was looking so bleak,

00:59:23

it ... maybe it'd have been better in 3 years' time.

00:59:25

Maybe, you know, in 10 years' time - you don’t know

00:59:27

and the actual fact after I left

00:59:29

you know what happened,

00:59:30

Indira Gandhi was assassinated, you know,

00:59:32

many things happened which were not very nice in India,

00:59:34

unfortunate things happened.

00:59:36

And ... but anyway it is also destiny, you know, somewhere I felt

00:59:41

my mind - my thought process said that

00:59:44

if I have to worry about my future, the - my children’s future

00:59:48

and if things are so uncertain -

00:59:51

today, things are much better

00:59:53

you know, young and many IIT students don’t even go abroad.

00:59:56

They don’t go to the U.S. for studies.

00:59:58

But in - in 1975 to '80 when I was living in Pune,

01:00:01

[Mr. Ramachandra] things were not like that. [Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Yes.

01:00:03

Pretty bleak, actually.

01:00:04

Yes, there was a lot of migration to the U.S.

01:00:06

during my student days.

01:00:08

[Mr. Ramachandra] Yeah, yeah. [Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Practically everyone.

01:00:10

[Mr. Ramachandra] Yeah. In my time not much. [Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] went to study or work in the U.S.

01:00:12

[Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Yes. [Mr. Ramachandra] I - I mean because, it was very early

01:00:15

[Mr. Ramachandra] going to the US. But, yes [Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Yes.

01:00:17

you are right in your time almost 90 percent

01:00:19

[Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] went to - or 80 percent left. [Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Yes.

01:00:22

So, then in 1978, '79, I started looking

01:00:25

for a job in Holland or in the U.S.

01:00:27

and the management of Philips, you know,

01:00:29

they were kind enough because,

01:00:30

they'd seen my work in the previous

01:00:32

three and half - four years.

01:00:34

So, "You come back," they said. So, I got a job.

01:00:36

[Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Right. [Mr. Ramachandra] So, that was.

01:00:38

So, you have been in Holland ever since.

01:00:40

[Mr. Ramachandra] Since 1980 uninterruptedly we have been in Holland. [Mr. Ramachandra] I see.

01:00:43

And we like that country,

01:00:45

[Mr. Ramachandra] it’s a small country. [Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Yes.

01:00:47

It’s a well managed -

01:00:48

it’s - it’s a kind of a democratic socialism.

01:00:51

And the - the ... what I like about democratic socialist countries is

01:00:56

that the income inequality is less

01:00:58

and the - there is income support for people

01:01:01

who cannot find good jobs.

01:01:03

So, if somebody, because of whatever reason

01:01:05

you know, if there are 100 people,

01:01:07

there might be 20 people in society - in any society -

01:01:11

who are unable to get proper jobs.

01:01:13

Now, we cannot leave them

01:01:15

with such a state of poverty

01:01:17

because that is - in a in a developed

01:01:19

country with a high level of per

01:01:21

capita income like in Holland,

01:01:23

they don’t tolerate poverty.

01:01:25

So, they say: well we had to do something.

01:01:27

So, the whole tax structure - structure -

01:01:30

everything else is such that

01:01:32

on the one hand there is capitalism,

01:01:34

there is a market economy with proper regulations,

01:01:37

at the same time there is income support for people who are not

01:01:39

[Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Yes. Yeah. [Mr. Ramachandra] doing well.

01:01:41

And then there is a skill training, reskillling.

01:01:43

of the people so that they get some job eventually

01:01:47

and that reskilling can take 6 months,

01:01:49

[Mr. Ramachandra] 1 year, even 3 years. [Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Yeah, oh.

01:01:51

So, the - the purpose is that

01:01:53

there is no poverty. Of course, I don’t say

01:01:55

that that goal has been achieved,

01:01:57

there is maybe still about 3, 4 percent of the people who are poor

01:02:01

but relative to other countries

01:02:03

including the U.S., especially the US,

01:02:05

we have much less poverty.

01:02:08

We have better health care system

01:02:10

and ... there are many things

01:02:12

about it which - you cannot make plenty of money in Holland.

01:02:15

You can make decent money

01:02:17

but you can’t make as much money as in the US.

01:02:20

So, if you have somebody who's very talented

01:02:22

and the main thing was to do is

01:02:24

become a millionaire, multi-millionaire,

01:02:26

make a lot of money, then

01:02:28

Holland is not the place

01:02:30

but you can earn enough to have a good life.

01:02:32

Have you been in touch with IIT since going to Holland?

01:02:36

Unfortunately, not enough

01:02:39

now I regret it, but I did come in there

01:02:43

[Mr. Ramachandra] for the golden jubilee. [Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Yes.

01:02:45

And that was a very good experience, I - I loved it.

01:02:48

Those 2 days were well-organized

01:02:50

you know all, I mean, how I should say

01:02:53

all kudos or you know, applause to

01:02:55

everybody who who did that.

01:02:57

[Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Yes, sure. [Mr. Ramachandra] It’s a fantastic job.

01:02:58

Plus, in addition, I have

01:03:00

the opportunity to meet all my friends

01:03:03

[Mr. Ramachandra] who came back. [Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Yes.

01:03:04

And some of them I met only after ...

01:03:07

[Mr. Ramachandra] I mean, that was the only time I met after we left the IIT. [Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Yes.

01:03:10

[Mr. Ramachandra] So, it was a great day, [Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] That is 50 years, yes.

01:03:12

great fun, yeah, yeah.

01:03:14

So - and I should have come on that - for that 25th anniversary

01:03:18

because I was informed about it.

01:03:20

Mahadevan or Srinivasan one of them had informed

01:03:22

and for some reason I didn’t come, I can’t remember

01:03:25

but if I'd come I would have - I would have felt better,

01:03:28

yeah, yeah, sometimes you make mistakes

01:03:32

and then you regret it. Yeah, so, yeah.

01:03:36

But it would have been fun if I had come, really, yeah. So,

01:03:38

[Mr. Ramachandra] so am I - have I taken too much time? [Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Yeah,

01:03:40

[Mr. Ramachandra] that is just fine. Thank you very much, sir, [Mr. Ramachandra] Yeah, yeah.

01:03:42

[Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] for having participated. [Mr. Ramachandra] Sure, sure sure.

01:03:45

No, I loved it and maybe I

01:03:47

talked a little bit too much.

01:03:48

No, it was just fine.

01:03:50

[Mr. Ramachandra] Thank you again. [Mr. Kumaran Sathasivam] Again, sure thank you.

01:03:53

I would like to first thank Mrs. Mamata Dash

01:03:57

and Mr. Kumaran, head of the

01:04:00

Heritage Centre for making it possible

01:04:03

for me to add a few things

01:04:06

to the interview which was taken of me

01:04:09

at the Heritage Centre, a few months back.

01:04:14

The reason I am doing this is because

01:04:17

I forgot to say a few things

01:04:19

and I would like to complete the interview by

01:04:21

saying these few things.

01:04:25

As far as my career in Holland is concerned,

01:04:28

starting from 1980,

01:04:31

I started as a manager of a small group of 6 engineers

01:04:35

and then moved up

01:04:37

as the general manager of a large

01:04:40

chip-manufacturing facility.

01:04:43

In fact, the 2nd largest

01:04:45

within Philips worldwide in Holland.

01:04:48

And, then I was further promoted as a

01:04:52

vice president of industrial strategy

01:04:55

and operations within the

01:04:57

semiconductor division of Philips.

01:04:59

At the time I had gone to Holland in 1980,

01:05:05

there were not too many Indians

01:05:08

and so, I did - did need to break the glass ceiling.

01:05:14

Since, the Dutch management of Philips

01:05:18

were - were not familiar with ... Indians

01:05:22

to that extent as they are now.

01:05:25

In the meantime, there are many Indians

01:05:28

who have come to Holland,

01:05:30

they are all highly qualified professionals

01:05:33

in different disciplines as engineers,

01:05:36

IT professionals, finance and accounting professionals,

01:05:39

programme managers and you name it.

01:05:42

And, you now have

01:05:45

no glass ceiling up to a very high level.

01:05:48

In fact, the chief financial officer

01:05:52

of Philips electronics at this moment

01:05:54

is of Indian origin

01:05:57

and his background is Chartered Accountancy.

01:06:00

Also the Chartered Accountancy degree, a qualification

01:06:03

which was not very much recognized

01:06:05

when I first went to Holland

01:06:08

is now very much appreciated

01:06:10

as one of the best accounting qualifications in the world.

01:06:14

And there are many many Chartered Accountants

01:06:16

in Holland, besides of course,

01:06:18

many engineers and IT professionals.

01:06:20

There are also all - all the universities in - in Holland

01:06:27

offer Master’s degree

01:06:29

and Ph.D. programmes in the English language

01:06:32

so, much so, that

01:06:34

some of the top universities have

01:06:36

500 to 800 Indian students

01:06:38

doing Master’s degrees and Ph.D. degrees

01:06:41

in engineering, in maths, physics,

01:06:44

and in different other disciplines.

01:06:46

There are also many universities which offer

01:06:48

high quality business programmes like

01:06:53

MBA and doctor of business management.

01:06:57

In all these universities, the programmes are

01:07:00

are all in English and in some universities

01:07:02

and quite a few of them

01:07:04

there are also bachelor’s degree programmes in engineering

01:07:07

and in business administration.

01:07:09

The tuition fees in Holland are a lot lot less

01:07:14

than in the U.S., though the quality of education within

01:07:18

every university in Holland is comparable to the

01:07:21

top 20 universities in the U.S.

01:07:24

As a consequence, I - I do notice that there are many

01:07:28

students who are now coming to Holland

01:07:32

for their further studies

01:07:34

and I hope that this will continue

01:07:37

in so, so far as social life is concerned

01:07:40

there are Indians of - coming from all the states

01:07:43

and that has made it also very interesting to live in Holland.

01:07:48

Finally, the work-life

01:07:50

balance in Holland is much better than in most countries,

01:07:54

the health insurance is of

01:07:58

the world-class quality

01:08:00

and the overall quality of life

01:08:02

is one of the best in the world.

01:08:05

The happiness index measured by the United Nations

01:08:08

in - for people living in different countries

01:08:12

has resulted in the conclusion

01:08:14

that the Scandinavian countries and some other countries plus

01:08:19

Netherlands, Netherlands are the best countries as far as

01:08:24

the happiness level with which people are living there.

01:08:28

These were the things which I wanted to say to -

01:08:30

because, it is not always known to

01:08:34

many Indians who are living in different parts of the world, especially in India.

01:08:40

The opportunities for top-quality professionals who have

01:08:43

already worked in India are very good there,

01:08:47

the company sponsors the these people who

01:08:50

who have good qualifications under

01:08:53

special visa considerations

01:08:55

and these visas are such that

01:08:59

within 5 years after arriving in Holland,

01:09:01

if they perform well as

01:09:04

top professional, can get permanent residence in Holland

01:09:07

and if he chooses to get the - the citizenship of Holland,

01:09:11

he can also get the citizenship

01:09:13

after 5 years of stay in Holland.

01:09:16

The only requirement is

01:09:18

before he gets the citizenship, he has to pass - he or she -

01:09:22

has to pass a simple Dutch language test.

01:09:24

Majority of the - the young people in Holland speak English,

01:09:29

in my time, the people of my generation

01:09:32

understood English but not all of them could speak it fluently.

01:09:36

Today, everybody is learning English

01:09:39

in high school and majority of them

01:09:42

are watching English language programmes

01:09:44

and all the younger people who are people

01:09:47

let’s say below 50, can speak and

01:09:51

understand English very very fluently.

01:09:54

These are the things which make life in Holland very interesting.

01:09:57

I thought I would add this

01:09:59

for the benefit of those who may not know these things.

01:10:02

Thank you very much.

Oral History Project

< Back

A talk by Mr. Mallik Putcha, first batch alumnus (1964)

00:00:11

And then, my roll number is 1.04/59

00:00:16

and then the way that we have

00:00:17

come to know of IIT Madras was I think

00:00:22

my elder brothers they were in the academic field.

00:00:25

And so, because of that we knew the importance of the IITs

00:00:29

compared to the other state colleges like

00:00:33

Guindy or other PSG College of Technology

00:00:37

or Kakinada and all of that.

00:00:39

So, if I remember right, the advertisements

00:00:42

came in Hindu and Indian Express

00:00:46

and other local papers, sometime in

00:00:48

May-ish kind of a time frame.

00:00:51

So, I applied for the for the admission and I think

00:00:55

we had the interview call sometime around maybe

00:01:01

1st week in June or maybe end of May, end of May or so.

00:01:05

And so, we had the interviews and then the selection process

00:01:10

was based upon our marks in the pre-university and then

00:01:16

we had an extended interview by about 6 to 8 IIT professors

00:01:21

as well as the German professors.

00:01:24

And I think they had two selection committee

00:01:27

interviews were going on simultaneously.

00:01:30

So, I think they have done it in a matter of a day or 2 at best.

00:01:34

And so, I think after the interviews were over,

00:01:39

we were we we got the selection notice saying that

00:01:42

you have been selected.

00:01:44

And our first batch was about 120 people.

00:01:48

The one thing that I wanted to mention about it was

00:01:52

because they are designated as the

00:01:55

Indian Institutes of Technology

00:01:58

based upon Prime Minister Nehru’s desires,

00:02:02

we had representation all the way from Kashmir to Kerala,

00:02:09

Assam to now at that time Bombay.

00:02:15

So, we are 120 of us and then there the students represented

00:02:20

the entire cross section of India

00:02:23

and we had our first day of classes on June 22nd 1959.

00:02:32

At that time they they call they our classes were conducted

00:02:38

at the AC College of Technology in various rooms

00:02:42

as well as in the Chemistry labs and then Physics lab.

00:02:46

And then the workshop used to be in the back back area

00:02:51

and then the Administration Buildings used to be

00:02:55

at CLRI that’s where the registrars and then the

00:03:00

administration buildings used to be.

00:03:02

One thing that I wanted to mention is

00:03:05

when we came to our first day of classes on June 22nd 1950. July.

00:03:14

July. No, no. June, June, it was June 22nd in 1959,

00:03:21

the entire faculty of IIT Madras approximately

00:03:26

about 25; 20 to 25 people including the German professors

00:03:32

were there on the steps of

00:03:34

AC College of Technology to welcome us.

00:03:37

And I don’t think any anyone, any one of the colleges

00:03:42

at that time would have that kind of an honor

00:03:45

by the by the faculty members of the of any institute

00:03:50

and that’s why it was a really a great privilege to have that.

00:03:54

And then we used to have our classes

00:03:57

Monday through Friday and then Saturday used to be a half day.

00:04:01

And then so, we have 4 sections: A, B, C, D

00:04:06

And then we as we call it, we had a of the sandwich sessions,

00:04:12

A and B used to be in the academic and C and D

00:04:17

used to be in in the workshop.

00:04:19

So, that means, for 40 hours a week

00:04:23

we used to be in the work, I mean the

00:04:25

academic area depending upon the designation.

00:04:28

And then the other people used to be in the workshop,

00:04:31

then they reverse it the following week.

00:04:34

So, the one the the emphasis that Germans

00:04:38

did as as all know, the West German Government

00:04:43

is the one that provided the support,

00:04:45

technical support to IIT Madras.

00:04:48

So, their notion was that you are going to be an engineer.

00:04:54

So, what they wanted to make sure is

00:04:56

when you will be provided with an engineering drawing

00:05:00

and if you are provided with an engineering drawing

00:05:03

you should be in a position to manufacture it.

00:05:07

And then you should be able to read the drawing

00:05:10

and then get the the item manufactured.

00:05:15

You have some small pieces of our workshop products.

00:05:19

We had carpentry, we had smithy and then

00:05:23

we had the lathe work, sometime in 61-62ish,

00:05:27

kind of a time frame when the workshops

00:05:31

were built around not too far from this building.

00:05:34

And I think later on I believe they were

00:05:37

demolished and then all of that.

00:05:39

And so the first one was used to be from,

00:05:44

our classes used to be from 7:30 to 11:30 and then 1 to 4.

00:05:52

And the hostels were at Saidapet Hostels and that

00:05:57

used to be at behind the the Teachers College Campus

00:06:04

and it was actually previously, before we occupied

00:06:09

it was previously a girls hostel with Madras University.

00:06:14

And then so, we were about 80 of us in the Saidapet Hostel

00:06:19

for the vegetarian people and then for the non-vegetarian

00:06:23

people about 40, it used to be at Guindy Hostel.

00:06:29

So, from those that hostel we used to come around

00:06:34

I think leave the hostel after the breakfast

00:06:36

and all of that and come over to the classes around

00:06:39

7:30, with a bicycle; most of us used to come by bicycles.

00:06:43

And of course, you know we used to have some

00:06:46

buses used to be there, but I think

00:06:49

because of the vagaries of the Madras bus transportation

00:06:54

we prefer to come by bus.

00:06:57

And then sometimes I think some people used to come,

00:07:02

you can come across from the little Adyar river over there,

00:07:06

from the back side of the our Saidapet Hostel,

00:07:09

you could come across, but that was only in the

00:07:13

evening kind of a time frame, but morning time frame

00:07:15

generally we used to come by bus.

00:07:18

So, it was not too bad, around the traffic

00:07:20

was not too bad compared to what it is right now.

00:07:23

And so, the classes used to be held

00:07:25

in the AC College of Technology and then the

00:07:28

first class used to be in English, Professor Krishnan

00:07:32

used to be teaching us and he used to teach

00:07:37

teach Hamlet at that time.

00:07:39

So, I think he used to be the Principal at the A.M.

00:07:43

Jain College at Meenambakkam at that time,

00:07:46

and so since he he was teaching us the Hamlet.

00:07:52

So, he used to come with a nice [FL] paan and all of that,

00:07:57

so with the red lips and all of that.

00:07:59

So, when he used to enter the thing in the auditorium

00:08:02

the lecture hall kind of an auditorium

00:08:05

we used to say “enter ghost”.

00:08:08

And so and then when he leaves we used to say,

00:08:11

around classes used to be about 1 hour duration.

00:08:14

And when he leaves around 8:30,

00:08:17

we used to call him “exeunt ghost”,

00:08:20

just to get a little bit of kick out of our classes and all of that.

00:08:25

And then of course, we had Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry.

00:08:30

And Maths professor was used to be the Professor Hahn

00:08:34

and so, when Professor Hahn and then they in the

00:08:39

Mathematics and then Professor Koch Koch in Physics,

00:08:44

the entire faculty of the department

00:08:47

used to be in the back row.

00:08:49

And one comment that I wanted to make a mention

00:08:52

if that as you know after 60 years plus,

00:08:55

generally the German Professor used to teach

00:08:59

in the early stages of our instructions.

00:09:04

And then Sir Professor Hahn used to teach us Mathematics

00:09:07

and then he used to teach the Algebra at that time.

00:09:10

And then Schaum series were very form

00:09:13

for I think they just came into vogue at that time.

00:09:16

So, he used to teach the Schaum series and then in the

00:09:20

the the the algebra from the Schaum series.

00:09:23

So, once in a while Professor S. K. Srinivasan the, at that time

00:09:31

he was the Assistant Professor at

00:09:35

in the Maths Department.

00:09:37

And then so, when he had we made a mistake

00:09:41

or something was incorrect, Professor Hahn used to

00:09:46

have a little habit of putting his finger like this.

00:09:52

And then the moment he puts that finger like this

00:09:55

then Srinivasan used to get very nervous

00:09:58

saying that he made a mistake and then

00:10:00

he used to be little bit jumping

00:10:03

little bit on the platform over there.

00:10:05

So, when he used to do that we knew that Professor Hahn

00:10:09

was putting his finger like this.

00:10:11

So, anyway that was a little bit of a

00:10:15

fun fun factor of the various teachers.

00:10:19

And then the of course, the we had the tutorial classes.

00:10:25

And so, when we had tutorial classes

00:10:27

I think particularly on Saturdays I think,

00:10:30

they used to have various tutorial classes to help us out

00:10:34

with the understanding of the concept to make sure

00:10:38

that we understood the principles behind what they were

00:10:41

talking about in Math, Physics, Chemistry and all of that.

00:10:45

And then we had the Chemistry labs as well as

00:10:48

the Physics labs in the AC College of Technology.

00:10:51

Initially Dr. Venkateswarlu he was actually the professor

00:10:55

in the Chemical Engineering, but he used to be the one

00:10:59

and I think his one of the other names that

00:11:02

I remember was Ram Sharma and then I forget the names,

00:11:09

but there are not that many people in each department

00:11:13

we had about less than 4 to 5 people.

00:11:15

And then Rama Sastry used to be in the Physics Department.

00:11:21

And then I think BHV,

00:11:26

I am not getting I am not getting the name

00:11:29

that few of the people were there.

00:11:31

So, we had a wonderful lab experience and

00:11:35

we used to do the the U-tube principles thing.

00:11:40

And one thing that I wanted to mention,

00:11:44

when we were doing the U-tube

00:11:46

experiment in the Physics lab

00:11:49

that is where the we will have to determine the the

00:11:54

the purpose of the experiment was to determine

00:11:59

the frequency of the tuning fork.

00:12:03

If I remember right there is a standard used to be

00:12:06

around 600 or 650 cycles or whatever.

00:12:12

So, you have the U-tube and then so what you do is

00:12:15

you need to get a resonance when you and then strike the thing

00:12:22

with a rubber mallet and then put it on the top of the thing

00:12:25

and then you get the minimum or the maximum and

00:12:29

all of that based upon the the column of water

00:12:33

you could determine the the tuning fork frequency.

00:12:39

And one of the comments that Professor Rama Sastry

00:12:43

used to make is you need to have a musical ear

00:12:48

to figure out when is the maximum volume and

00:12:53

then when is the minimum volume depending upon the

00:12:57

column of water, but anyway we used to have

00:13:01

lot of fun with the experience.

00:13:04

One thing that I also wanted to mention is most of these

00:13:08

faculty members were around 25 to 35 ish kind of a range

00:13:16

compared to the Director who were maybe 40 plus and all of that.

00:13:21

So, for them in the first few years when we were there,

00:13:25

because we were all around 16 plus 17 in the beginning

00:13:29

and then so were essentially by the time we graduated in 64,

00:13:34

we were about 21, 22 ish kind of a thing.

00:13:38

So, they really the affections that they had for us

00:13:44

in the first batch on their subsequently in the second batches

00:13:48

and third batches were, we were they treated us

00:13:51

more like their younger brothers.

00:13:54

And so we were only 120 you know I think in the

00:13:57

first batch and then similarly in the second

00:13:59

batch also only 120 plus.

00:14:02

So, we had such a close knit kind of a relationship

00:14:08

on a one on one kind of a thing.

00:14:10

So, they know all of our names by first name

00:14:13

and even sometimes our pet names

00:14:16

that our all of us had in some fashion or other.

00:14:20

And then of course, my name was where they my nickname

00:14:23

was PMV my initials and all of that.

00:14:26

Similarly, the other people had some different names

00:14:30

and then so, we had that kind of a close relationship

00:14:34

compared to what it is right now because obviously,

00:14:39

now I was told I think today is the first day of class

00:14:43

I think first I think there are about 850 or 900 people

00:14:47

in the first day or the first I mean first year batch.

00:14:50

There is no way you could have the personal relationship

00:14:55

with the each of the individual ones.

00:14:57

The first two years we were in Saidapet Hostel and

00:15:02

then the the third year beginning of third year

00:15:06

that is June of 1961, we came onto the campus.

00:15:11

We we lived in Krishna and Cauvery

00:15:15

are the first hostel that were built.

00:15:18

Actually Krishna was the first one.

00:15:20

So, the second batch of people actually

00:15:22

came onto the campus first time

00:15:25

they occupied the hostels in 1960.

00:15:29

At that time it was called the Taramani Taramani Hostel

00:15:32

then later on they changed into the

00:15:34

Krishna and Cauvery and all of that.

00:15:36

So, the so basically my room number was

00:15:44

Room 107 Cauvery Hostel

00:15:47

and now I think it is now Room 207.

00:15:50

And we had wonderful time at

00:15:53

because all of us used to be in the hostels.

00:15:57

And one thing that Sengupto

00:16:01

our first Director insisted was that

00:16:05

everybody in the in the in the IIT

00:16:11

has to be resident in a hostel.

00:16:15

There are few of few of our classmates

00:16:18

they had their houses

00:16:19

their parents houses in Saidapet and Adyar and

00:16:23

all of that and they wanted to take a get an exemption,

00:16:27

but he said no, he will not allow that.

00:16:29

So, basically he said ok, if you want to do that that’s fine,

00:16:33

you have to pay your room rent irrespective

00:16:36

whether you stay or not, but finally, anyway

00:16:38

they have to stay and all of that.

00:16:41

So, I think the the thing that I really like in that

00:16:44

one is by staying in the hostels

00:16:48

we developed our soft skills.

00:16:52

And so, because as I was mentioning in the first batch

00:16:56

we had representation across the whole

00:16:58

cross section of the country,

00:17:00

we know the idiosyncrasies of the various people

00:17:03

from the various states their cultural

00:17:06

and then food habits and the idiosyncrasies.

00:17:10

And so by the time that we got to final year in 64,

00:17:17

all our idiosyncrasies and then

00:17:19

sharp corners have been rounded off.

00:17:23

So, that really helped us to whenever we go

00:17:28

and get a job in some other locations across

00:17:31

the country or even for that matter across the world,

00:17:35

we know how to conduct ourselves in the various

00:17:39

social situations as well as in professional situations

00:17:43

with people that are different either Indian or the foreigners or

00:17:50

something of that American and Britishers or something.

00:17:53

So, that helped us to have the different soft skills

00:17:58

and that really helped us out.

00:18:00

And then after the our first day classes

00:18:03

in on campus used to be in 1960, the first building

00:18:09

we had was in the Building Sciences Building and

00:18:13

then the classes used to be held in Room 105

00:18:17

and that’s where most of our classes used to be held.

00:18:20

And then of course, then later on we had the

00:18:23

Mechanical Engineering, Electrical and then I am from Electrical.

00:18:28

And then they had they used to have the

00:18:30

light current designation for the Electronics,

00:18:35

and then the heavy current for the

00:18:37

heavy heavy currents for the Power people.

00:18:40

And so we had our classes in Electrical Engineering Building

00:18:46

I think sometime in 1961.

00:18:49

And then of course, we had the Humanities Building

00:18:55

and then the other workshops and all of that.

00:18:58

And then so I think that’s that was the setup.

00:19:01

And then we had we graduated on on July 11th, 1964.

00:19:09

And then the previous day one fun fact was

00:19:13

the faculty gave the graduand class of 92 plus

00:19:21

and then from B.Tech, and then 15 from the M.Tech people

00:19:26

and a dinner with Hema Malini providing the dance number.

00:19:33

At that time Hema Malini was about 15, 16 years old or something.

00:19:38

And so her family requested our first Registrar R. Natarajan.

00:19:43

And then so through through her,

00:19:45

so she had the dance performance and

00:19:49

so that that was a very memorial memorable kind of a event.

00:19:55

And then of course, our first convocation was on July 11th, 1964

00:20:03

and President Radhakrishnan was our guest speaker.

00:20:07

And then of course, the the thing was held

00:20:09

in the Open Air Theater and so I think that was the thing.

00:20:13

And then also the other thing is

00:20:16

I did my M.Tech also over here in 64 to 66.

00:20:22

And so I was here on campus almost for about 7 years

00:20:27

that’s the on the the actual actual campus was 5

00:20:31

because considering the 2 years we were at Saidapet Hostel.

00:20:36

So, the way that I feel is because of the the love of learning

00:20:42

and then the critical thinking skills that our professors

00:20:49

have inculcated in us that stood us in a very strong fashion,

00:20:56

when we are in a professional career anywhere in the world.

00:21:02

So, soon after my my graduation from in from IIT Madras,

00:21:11

I started working at Bharat Electronics in the Special Projects Team

00:21:17

and then I was there for about 5 and half years

00:21:21

and then I went to US to do my Masters.

00:21:25

And then after the Masters and the MBA

00:21:29

and all of that I started working at NASA

00:21:33

Johnson Space Center in the Space Shuttle Program

00:21:36

and then the Space Station Program Constellation

00:21:40

and then the Mission Control Center.

00:21:42

And then I retired in 2012 from the service.

00:21:47

And so I lived I still live in Houston and then

00:21:51

it is really a great honor for us that

00:21:54

we had the honored Director and the other people

00:21:59

have done last night at the at the event

00:22:03

in the Science Activities Building.

00:22:05

One thing that I wanted to make a little appeal

00:22:09

for all the people is number 1 is right now

00:22:18

there are about 48000 of us who graduated from IIT Madras.

00:22:24

First batch they we were 92 B.Tech and then 15 M.Tech.

00:22:28

So, first graduating class on July 11th 1964 was 107 people.

00:22:35

Now we are total of about 48000, from the figures that

00:22:40

I heard from our the Dean of International Alumni and

00:22:45

International and Alumni Relations Mahesh Panchagnula

00:22:49

approximately about 10 percent about 5000 people

00:22:53

have given and I wanted to give give back

00:22:56

to the IIT Madras in some fashion.

00:23:00

Some people have given enormously like Kris and Deshpande

00:23:06

and others, but whereas, others I think

00:23:09

quite a few of the people have not really

00:23:11

contributed to the IIT Madras.

00:23:14

I would really urge all of you to just to consider

00:23:19

a fact of life how IIT Madras contributions

00:23:24

stack up against the world class institutions like

00:23:28

MIT, Stanford not more than other.

00:23:33

Our numbers are around 10 percent less than 10 percent.

00:23:39

The numbers for MIT it is about I now sure MIT

00:23:43

was about 150 years plus they cut the the alumni of MIT,

00:23:50

30 percent of the people give back to MIT.

00:23:54

Dartmouth, the numbers when I checked last

00:23:56

was about 36 percent.

00:23:58

So, right now if you really compare

00:24:01

if you want to be the world class institution

00:24:04

competing against the Stanwood, Stanfords,

00:24:08

MITs and Hogwarts, we really need to increase our

00:24:13

contributions to give back to the institution for the various purpose.

00:24:18

And I think they have multiple purposes that

00:24:23

the office has created in in order to give back to the institution.

00:24:28

So, please contribute whatever you could, 1 dollar or 1 rupee.

00:24:34

Sure you may have various reasons

00:24:37

why you cannot do it because of the

00:24:39

family considerations and other consideration.

00:24:43

But every one of us can give a 1 dollar or 1 rupee,

00:24:49

you are what can do do remember you are

00:24:53

what you are in your life thanks to the

00:24:57

education you got from IIT Madras.

00:25:01

Think about it, contemplate on it.

00:25:06

Please contribute in whatever way you could

00:25:09

over a period of time or whatever you could do or one time or

00:25:13

work with the so the International Alumni Relations

00:25:20

and then as well as with MAA and then

00:25:22

so give something back to the to the institution because

00:25:27

it is for us the 48,000 of us to improve

00:25:32

the world standing of IIT Madras.

00:25:36

Along those lines I wanted to make an appeal

00:25:40

for the Founding Professors Endowment Chairs.

00:25:47

Professor Sampath, he was our first Director,

00:25:52

Deputy Director and then later on he was also

00:25:56

our first our Professor of Electronics and then

00:26:01

because he made a profound impact on me

00:26:04

and so basically the thought came to us sometime in 2011.

00:26:09

And finally, in 2016 we were able to establish

00:26:17

Professor Sampath’s Endowment Chair in December of 2016.

00:26:22

Based upon the success of it, even though

00:26:25

we had some little difficulty to raise the money

00:26:28

and all of that, we made it happen.

00:26:30

What I wanted to emphasize in this appeal is

00:26:35

we wanted to establish the endowment chairs

00:26:39

for all of the founding professors over there from the

00:26:44

beginning of times from 59 through approximately

00:26:48

64 or 65ish kind of a time frame.

00:26:51

It is for us these 64 to 69 graduates

00:26:58

approximately 1200 of us to contribute towards these

00:27:04

48 professors, 36 Indians and 12 Germans.

00:27:10

And we, I got a thing on the website and then

00:27:13

I will be sending out a note out shortly that the

00:27:17

thing was announced yesterday for the Professor Sengupto’s

00:27:22

Chair and then Professor Natarajan’s endowment lecture series

00:27:26

was also announced yesterday.

00:27:28

So, what I would urge you is to the extent that

00:27:33

you could these 1200 of of us the alumni both from

00:27:39

B.Tech, M.Tech and then 3 year, 3 by 3 or a 5 by 5

00:27:45

or a M.Sc or M.Tech or Ph.D,

00:27:49

please do contribute whatever we could to get these

00:27:55

48 professors money raised.

00:28:00

And I am going to be asking the apart

00:28:04

from the alumni, I will be I will be seeking

00:28:07

the help from the our professors family

00:28:11

and their their children non-profit organizations

00:28:15

as well as the corporations plus some of the philanthropists

00:28:18

that are there across like Azim Premji

00:28:21

or with TATAs and all of that.

00:28:23

And yesterday at the meeting I was able to meet

00:28:26

with our Director the previous Director Natarajan,

00:28:31

yeah Natarajan as well as the Kris Gopalakrishnan

00:28:34

and other people and I said ok, hey,

00:28:37

I will come and meet you. So, I am meeting some of them

00:28:39

on 16th to help us out to raise the money.

00:28:43

Total money is what I need is about 500 dollars.

00:28:47

I mean 5 5 million dollars not 500 sorry 5 million dollar

00:28:51

and I think just to get a little kick out of it

00:28:54

you know the people in our generation knew

00:28:57

about the Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi that

00:29:00

was released in about 57, 58 kind of a time frame

00:29:04

and then I think Kishore Kumar and Madhubala

00:29:07

were the the hero and heroines at that time

00:29:10

and so, Kishore Kumar song was

00:29:13

Paanch Rupaiya Baara Aana and all of that.

00:29:15

So, what I need is about 5 million dollars folks.

00:29:19

Let us try to contribute in whatever way

00:29:22

we could to fund all of the 48 Endowment Chairs.

00:29:28

Yesterday I was also talking with the

00:29:31

German Consulate General for the Madras

00:29:34

and then she said she would like to help.

00:29:36

So, what I would really urge you

00:29:39

the purpose of this message is

00:29:42

give back to the to the institutions in whatever

00:29:45

way you could; 1 rupee, 1 dollar.

00:29:49

Please honor your commitment to the institute

00:29:55

Indian Institute of Technology, Madras [FL] Siddhirbhavati Karmaja.

00:30:02

Thank you.

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