I was a bad student and best actor of Andhra University during 1956-59, when I was a student of Mathematical physics faculty under the aegis of Prof. S. Meenakshisundaram. It happened in a peculiar way and for all wrong reasons.
When I was checking my result of Intermediate class, I found my name missing, not surprisingly. But to my shock, a friend of mine told me that I got first class! All because of my uncle who made me interested in mathematics since my IV form. I have, then decided that I belong to Mathematics faculty and joined Mrs. A.V.N. College in B.A.(Mathematics). But I was not comfortable there. Why? Something in my mind was goading me that I don’t belong here. But where should I go? The popularity of Andhra University Open Air Theatre and its activities under the guidance of Sri K.V. Gopalaswamy, who was the registrar then and who was the motive force for the activity, was my attraction. So, after three months of my stay at the college, I persuaded my father — who was a clerk with barely minimum resources, to put me into some department in Andhra University. I was the apple of his eye and he was only a matric failed student in his days and hence it must have tickled his ego that his son could be a postgraduate from an University. He took me to the University. The various faculties were full by then and I did not have many choices to make. One afternoon, we went to Prof. Meenakshisundaram’s house. There was another professor sitting with him over a cup of tea. He was Prof K.R. Srinivasa Iyengar, Head of the department of English. They received us very kindly — and both of them offered seats in their respective faculties, because I got good marks in Mathematics and English. I was a writer by then, doing some amateurish scribbling, with little or no popularity. A fool I was, I had a notion that a Telugu writer has no place in an English faculty as it is foreign to my pursuit. (as the irony goes, I was only studying English literature during the next three years — Priestly, Galsworthy, O’neill, Maugham, O.Henry, you name it — the second largest vocation other than theatre responsible for my bad degree!) I was totally misguided by my misplaced apprehension and my poor father was in no position to guide me. Hence I took the Mathematical Physics course.
It was a great subject and also early days for the faculty. We were only 9 students — it speaks of the remoteness of the subject then — but an ever-developing area in the field of education. I was easily the bad student in my class and right from the beginning everything went wrong for me. I always ended up in the library in the literature section of English and Telugu (in that order!) and all my teachers were unanimous about one truth — that I don’t belong to the faculty! Mr. Sambasivarao, a Reader in our department stands out as a single teacher, who never minced words in making me understand this fact. I was active during 1956-59 in the theatre activity — a favourite of Sri K.V.Gopalaswamy presenting any number of plays. The theatre festival that year was held at the open place before Coffee House as the Earskine Squire theatre was getting renovated. The play “Snanalagadi” (Bathroom) was directed by Gopalaswamy garu himself. I never looked back. I was selected for the 5th Inter-university Youth Festival, and my Radio play “Anantham” was adjudged as the Best Script in the Inter-University Competition held by All India Radio. I received the award from Dr.B.V. Keskar, Minister for Information and Broadcasting, while the Director General of All India Radio Mr J.C. Mathur presented me to him at Akashvani Bhawan in New Delhi. I was a volunteer to the Shakespearean Group festival of Jeffry Kendal who performed Shaw’s Pygmalion, Candida, Arms and the Man, Shakespeare’s Henry V and Macbeth.
There was a redeeming feature to all this activity of mine. Our Prof. Meenakshisundaram was a kind man with a malleable face and a deep, understanding smile. He was a chain smoker and I never saw him without a fag in between his fingers, except when he was in a class. I don’t remember many classes or the subjects he taught us. He was always there in the front row of the audience whenever I performed and always enjoyed my acting, as I could see a patronizing smile on his lips. Sri K.V. Gopalaswamy and Prof. Meenakshisundaram stayed in the opposite sheds behind Sashtipoorthi Mahal and I am sure they must have exchanged notes on me at sometime or other. I was a star in the campus in those days. I don’t remember- Prof. Meenakshisundarm- chastising me even once. He was like an understanding father of a prodigal. As the time went on I became more and more popular in theatre and more confident about my inability in pursuing my studies. I vividly remember a Zero in my mark sheets of my second year examinations! And something fantastic happened in the final year. Prof. Meenakshisundaram called me one day and asked me to shift my stay to his house! And I did! I don’t remember whether I was taking my meals there — I am sure I did not — but that was an honour normally extended to the brilliant student of the faculty. This made me more guilty and equally helpless. I knew, then, that I was going down the drain and there is no way I can get through the examinations. Even today, I get this nightmare in my dreams sometimes and I get up with a shock only to realize that I had outlived it long back. For three months before I shifted to Prof’s house, I was in a trance — taking to heart all that has to be taken, in a mechanical way. I remember Schrodinger Wave Equation (?) which runs for some 25 pages. I used to write it, with minutest detail, all by heart!
During my stay at Prof’s house, there was a Drama Competition at Vizianagaram (Bellary Raghava Memorial Parishad) for which we are supposed to give a preview. It has to be done during my examination day. It is B.Sc (Hons) final exams! I came out of Prof’s house to the out gate, got into a taxi, had my make up in the car and performed the play and came back to study for Mechanics-Paper. This was unpardonable and scandalous. But can you drill any sense into the mind of Bilvamangala who scaled the walls of his paramour Chintamani’s house on a rainy night holding a snake, mistaking it for a rope? I was literally living that role, the only difference being my paramour in those days was ‘theatre’.
Only 8 marks were needed for my degree, after all this rigmarole. Who helped me? K.V. Gopalaswamy, Prof. Meenakshisundaram or V.S.Krishna, the then Vice Chancellor. They were added to my hard earned marks and I was given the degree of B.Sc.(Hons). Only two persons were proud of this degree in my life. 1. My father, who laid many hopes on me and spent his savings for my qualification. 2. My first film producer Dukkipati Madhusuda Raogaru who was proud of presenting a post graduate as his writer for my first film, ‘Dr. Chakravarthi.’
Years after, I met Prof. Meenakshisundaram at Guntur, when there was some function of Affiliated university course. I was working as transmission Executive in All India Radio, Vijayawada then. He inquired about me very kindly. And I never met him afterwards.
I remember Prof. Meenakshisundaram as a profound scholar, a kind and understanding parent to his students and more importantly a warm human being who can accommodate mediocrity not as a vice but as a misplaced priority of an unfortunate student like me. It requires lot of objectivity to see through my misgivings in those days, and could ventilate one’s choices hoping for the best in his chosen field.
I am a celebrity to day, by my own right. I have 3 Doctoral degrees on my works and 3 M.Phil degrees on my writings. I am a Sahitya Academi winner twice — for my play ‘Kallu’ and my Novel ‘Sayankalamaindi’ and this list is endless.
But when I look back to those dark days, when I was isolated and alone in my combat in an area where my heart was not there — imagine my Professor standing by me, though not telling me in so many words. They were great teachers with a sense of objectivity and commitment and this country is poorer by lack of such beacon lights.
I am proud to be a student of Prof. Meenakshisundaran, though I am not sure whether he would have said this of me. But as Adi Sankara said to Devi, there can be an erring son but there can never be a parent who cannot pardon his offspring and Prof. Meenakshisundaram was a great parent to me.
(Originally published in SMS Society Inaugural Souvenir, National Institute of Technology, Warangal, 2010.)
