I don’t remember when I wrote these lines. There was no farewell, as my friend V.Gopala Krishnan (V.G) got voluntary retirement. He is something special among my workmates all through my academic life. He is one of the scholarly and hardworking professors in Economics that the Union Territory of Puducherry has ever produced.
A short stature, humble and very much involved in subject is now at Madras. He has his eye and knee problems, but cannot delink from Economics. I miss him very much in Puducherry.
Today you retire from your
Daily, active, routine teaching life
Officially, sorry prematurely,
But certainly not a ‘Voluntary Retirement’
Like all paradoxes in life,
Your exit from the long span of academic Tapas
Will be also termed as a voluntary retreat
Unable and unwilling to tolerate the chaos.
I know the amount of anguished anger,
Sorrow, sadness, swelling in your
Heart,
About your helplessness,
In repairing and cleansing the system,
Independent of the sears left into the
Layers of your heart
By a series of personal tragedies of life
The crude absurdities of life.
People of our academic character and tribe have been
Always tossed and turned
By the cruel hands of fate,
Aided and abetted by crooks,
Rascalised criminals/ politicized animals.
The supreme has allowed it.
Being a victim of systematic chaos,
And having suffered at the hands of fate
And tasted the existence and operation of
Gresham’s law-
The bad driving out the good
From circulation
For a longish period,
You have chosen to say Goodbye
Even before the arrival of the official D-Day
The date of Academic Destiny,
Your actual retirement date.
On this day, of your voluntary retirement
In an involuntary fashion ,
I would like to move down the
Memory lane and recollect a few episodes
In order that I could take
Some snap shot pictures,
And showcase it to a broader audience.
You were far senior to me
In the college while studying
And yet, an inexplicable bond,
A pleasant chemistry,
Through Economics discipline and
Prof.Sasankan brought you to my marriage
In my native village
Even before our appointment
Came as Assistant Professor in Economics.
We were lucky to get selected
By sheer merit, and divine grace
God and Sasankan were the
Facilitators of our journey into
The world of Academics.
We have lived up to the reputation and
Faith reposed in us by them .
In one of the letters written to me
Prof.Sasankan observed :
“ I treat you and V.G as one”
And also he profusely thanked us
For having given company, care
And showering concern on him
During those dark and turbulent days
When many treated him as
Untouchable, and avoided his company
Lest they will be marked by authorities.
In the fishing village of Karaikal
There was no cost benefit calculus,
In our association with our
Beloved professor.
We shall be proud to say,
We belonged to an era of
Prof.Sasankan and Palani .G.Periasamy
And that we were both students at Tagore Arts College.
And teachers, in Economics department,
Thereafter in the Union Territory.
Our nine to nine stay at
Anna Arts College, Karaikal,
Must have been a role model
To many, as to how
One should not abandon family
For rendering work ethics.
Intoxicated with reading and teaching
At a young impressionable
Formative period we forgot time and family.
Thank God, we had understanding life partners, then.
I had the pleasant privilege
To work more closely with you, again
At the newly established
P.G.Centre, ably presided over by
A chemistrty professor from Chennai
A real professor and able administrator
Not a policeman variety
But a real gentleman
And a great academician
Ushering in a golden age of higher education,
Providing us a perfect academic ambience
That was our second
Academic Honey Moon
With a competent and competitive team
And with their core competence
There was always summer time
In our department and also in the institute
Your anger in not allowing me
To encroach upon your
Lecture time was more rational
And healthy
But I made that mistake again and again
Unmindful of your feelings.
I made you angry many a time
By extending my lecture time.
As I had always taken
Full liberty with you.
I had more degree of freedom with you.
I didn’t sever my emotional tie
Even after stepping into an exalted
Bigger Academic Corridor,
Our work places were apart
But the environment was the same
The only problem is
We couldn’t change our workstyle
The sheer quantum and extent of
Teaching must have irritated many
And made them look very small.
I have already summed up my
Experiences, frustrations and irritations
With many stupid Heads,
In a more eloquent and poetic way:
“A silent soliloquy on campus politics,”
Will see the light of the day
And echo your feelings too.
“It’s worth paying some money
To students, make them
Sit in the class and teach them
Even after retirement,”
Said our professor, once.
While he was active at work
With eye and knee problem,
You may not have the
“ Necessary and sufficient conditions”
For a streneous second innings
In the academic arena
And yet,
Subject to a variety of constraints,
You must continue to romance
With our lovely and lively subject
By doing meditation,
This involuntary retirement
Is meant for that.
I know, it is easier said than done
But we shall honestly try.
A short stature, humble and very much involved in subject is now at Madras. He has his eye and knee problems, but cannot delink from Economics. I miss him very much in Puducherry.
Today you retire from your
Daily, active, routine teaching life
Officially, sorry prematurely,
But certainly not a ‘Voluntary Retirement’
Like all paradoxes in life,
Your exit from the long span of academic Tapas
Will be also termed as a voluntary retreat
Unable and unwilling to tolerate the chaos.
I know the amount of anguished anger,
Sorrow, sadness, swelling in your
Heart,
About your helplessness,
In repairing and cleansing the system,
Independent of the sears left into the
Layers of your heart
By a series of personal tragedies of life
The crude absurdities of life.
People of our academic character and tribe have been
Always tossed and turned
By the cruel hands of fate,
Aided and abetted by crooks,
Rascalised criminals/ politicized animals.
The supreme has allowed it.
Being a victim of systematic chaos,
And having suffered at the hands of fate
And tasted the existence and operation of
Gresham’s law-
The bad driving out the good
From circulation
For a longish period,
You have chosen to say Goodbye
Even before the arrival of the official D-Day
The date of Academic Destiny,
Your actual retirement date.
On this day, of your voluntary retirement
In an involuntary fashion ,
I would like to move down the
Memory lane and recollect a few episodes
In order that I could take
Some snap shot pictures,
And showcase it to a broader audience.
You were far senior to me
In the college while studying
And yet, an inexplicable bond,
A pleasant chemistry,
Through Economics discipline and
Prof.Sasankan brought you to my marriage
In my native village
Even before our appointment
Came as Assistant Professor in Economics.
We were lucky to get selected
By sheer merit, and divine grace
God and Sasankan were the
Facilitators of our journey into
The world of Academics.
We have lived up to the reputation and
Faith reposed in us by them .
In one of the letters written to me
Prof.Sasankan observed :
“ I treat you and V.G as one”
And also he profusely thanked us
For having given company, care
And showering concern on him
During those dark and turbulent days
When many treated him as
Untouchable, and avoided his company
Lest they will be marked by authorities.
In the fishing village of Karaikal
There was no cost benefit calculus,
In our association with our
Beloved professor.
We shall be proud to say,
We belonged to an era of
Prof.Sasankan and Palani .G.Periasamy
And that we were both students at Tagore Arts College.
And teachers, in Economics department,
Thereafter in the Union Territory.
Our nine to nine stay at
Anna Arts College, Karaikal,
Must have been a role model
To many, as to how
One should not abandon family
For rendering work ethics.
Intoxicated with reading and teaching
At a young impressionable
Formative period we forgot time and family.
Thank God, we had understanding life partners, then.
I had the pleasant privilege
To work more closely with you, again
At the newly established
P.G.Centre, ably presided over by
A chemistrty professor from Chennai
A real professor and able administrator
Not a policeman variety
But a real gentleman
And a great academician
Ushering in a golden age of higher education,
Providing us a perfect academic ambience
That was our second
Academic Honey Moon
With a competent and competitive team
And with their core competence
There was always summer time
In our department and also in the institute
Your anger in not allowing me
To encroach upon your
Lecture time was more rational
And healthy
But I made that mistake again and again
Unmindful of your feelings.
I made you angry many a time
By extending my lecture time.
As I had always taken
Full liberty with you.
I had more degree of freedom with you.
I didn’t sever my emotional tie
Even after stepping into an exalted
Bigger Academic Corridor,
Our work places were apart
But the environment was the same
The only problem is
We couldn’t change our workstyle
The sheer quantum and extent of
Teaching must have irritated many
And made them look very small.
I have already summed up my
Experiences, frustrations and irritations
With many stupid Heads,
In a more eloquent and poetic way:
“A silent soliloquy on campus politics,”
Will see the light of the day
And echo your feelings too.
“It’s worth paying some money
To students, make them
Sit in the class and teach them
Even after retirement,”
Said our professor, once.
While he was active at work
With eye and knee problem,
You may not have the
“ Necessary and sufficient conditions”
For a streneous second innings
In the academic arena
And yet,
Subject to a variety of constraints,
You must continue to romance
With our lovely and lively subject
By doing meditation,
This involuntary retirement
Is meant for that.
I know, it is easier said than done
But we shall honestly try.
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