My College - Ramakrishna Mission , Vivekananda College , Madras

 My College - Ramakrishna Mission , Vivekananda College , Madras

I would like to share my teen days   college life spent in Vivekananda College , Madras , run by Sri Ramakrishna Mission, Madras.

Ramakrisna Mission Vivekananda College, named after Swami Vivekananda, was inaugurated on 21 June 1946 by professor, philosopher, and politician, Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan. It is in Mylapore, the centre of Chennai, India on 20 acres (81,000 m²).

My entry into Vivekananda College  is something  special. In the year 1968 , soon after passing out P.U.C from New College, Royapettah in Madras, I have applied for three colleges. One is Presidency College near Marina , Govt. Arts College for Men, in Mount Road and Vivekananda College. Viveka is in the close proximity  to my residence and a very good college than  the other two government colleges, which were famous for student and busmen clashes often and petty agitations.

My father was worried and would like me to join in Vivekananda. But the admission there is not so easy for the average scorer . I got only a second class . So my dad took me to a Chemistry Head of Presidency, who was a daughter of my dad’s colleague in Richardson & Cruddas, where  he was working for long years. But when she saw me , a  small boy of 15 ½ year  young , she advised my dad to avoid admission in her college , as I look too timid and soft and bad company will spoil my academic career.

Next my uncle ( Periappa , Raghunathan , fondly called Dhoppa by all ) took me to a govt. employee for getting a seat in Govt.Arts College. Myself and my uncle met a person in Walltax Road , Jai Shanker’s Lodge , which belongs to my dad’s aunt’s son. The person  whom we approached is known to  Mr. Karunakaran, Partner of the lodge. He assured me a seat  in Govt.Arts.

The very next day I was called by my next door neighbor ,  Head of Botany Dept. in Vivekananda. He was a doctorate from an US University and  they are our family friend also. His eldest son , Murali, suddenly disappeared a few months before after his SSLC results came,  and he has scored very  low marks and failed in all subjects. Professors all children were very much afraid of their dad, as he is a  strict and disciplined person. He will not talk to anyone unnecessarily and even I never had a long talk with him.  But after  lose of  his eldest son, whose whereabouts was not at all known and all the efforts failed in tracing him ( even today we do not know his whereabouts ! ) , he  has changed a lot and he wanted to help me  to get admitted in Viveka. He asked  my interest in taking the major B.Sc., subject and I told him , Physics Main. But he advised me to take Mathematics , and asked me to report the very next day to meet Prof.S.Narayanan, Head of Mathematics in that college. A formal interview only  I had as my application was signed by him in red pencil and on seeing that I got an admit card to pay fee of Rs.90 per term of three months. As for me this was a miracle to enter the Temple of Learning. My gratitude to him is for ever I remember him in my life. My dad thanked him and family.

A day in college life , I prefer to share here. Every week starts with Monday and our college working hours starts with Monday Morning Religion class.  Tamil Professor and Head of the Dept. starts with a Tamil prayer followed by Sanskrit slogam, then a small lecture on moral and ethics and so on. This is a ritual practiced for years and make all the students nearer to God and discipline. This was the culture of the Sri Ramakrishna Mission in those days to ensure that all the students coming out of the institution should have a bright future with moral thoughts and deeds.

Then we move to our respective class rooms. Seniors will spend the religion class in their class rooms and listen the proceedings through the speakers fixed in the class room wall. Punctuality was given utmost importance equal to discipline. So all the class hours goes well with the prompt attendance of teachers and students.

Tamil Prof. Mr.S.Y.Srinivasan  keeps the boys stunned with his narration of Sivaga Chinthamani.

English Prof.Sreenivasan makes us literally cry in the scene of Cleopatra’s death from Shakespear’s  tragedy drama.

Mathematics professors , Mr. P.R.Vittal, Mr.Azhagar , Mr.Raghunatha rao , M.rP.V.Ranganathan, Mr. K.V.Parthasarathy , Mr.Gokulnath Babu ( an young Professor ) joined in the same year of my admission ) , Mr.Karthikeyan ( another young Professor ) and HOD Mr.S.Narayanan keeps us fixed in the seat  without any distraction by their skill of taking classes. Some characteristic actions were remembered. Prof.K.V.Parthasarathy ( KVP ) used to write sums with solutions on the black board and often says “ idhu Kattayam Varum Paritchaikku – shortened by us as KVP ).

For lunch session I used to come home and go back to college. Near by my college there is a Corporation Reading Room closer to the Dhobi khana . I was a regular visitor to that library in the evening, while return back home. Our College also opened a new library block and designed with mezzanine floor racks.

Birthday celebrations of Sri Ramakrishna , Swami Vivekananda , Srimati Sarada Deviji and senior saints of the Sri Ramakrishna  Mission order  , always be celebrated in a grand manner and sweets will be distributed in all the class rooms.

In annual day , prizes will be distributed for the winners in Religion Class test also along with other event prizes. Annual sports used to be conducted in college ground and my relative , Jayabalan anna always get a prize for sprint running in old boys association. We enjoy watching him in the running race.

In Mylapore there is still an old temple in the Ramakrishna math and later an Universal Temple came up in the adjacent plot.

We were taught not only subjects in academic but also culture, duty , dignity and discipline , faith in God, basic etiquette , good manners , respect to elders , helping the needy , sharing knowledge , passion towards learning , punctuality , speaking truth always and how to handle all the good things and hard times in life to be faced after college. My daughter and son, when they were kids , I used to take them to Universal temple for Vishnu Sahasranaman chanting.

I was blessed by the three holy persons , Sri Ramakrishna , Swamy Vivekananda and Srimati Sarada Devi to visit their holy places in Kolkata – Dhakshineswar kali Temple and Belur Math , during my visits to Schwing Stetter’s branch offices on official trips.

Any person who studied in Sri Ramakrishna Mission , will have an identity of his own among others.

I  am so happy that I was a product of Sri Ramakrishna Mission. My college days in Vivekananda and association with the Madras Students Gandhi Forum organized by (Late) Mr.V.R.Radhakrishnan, a freedom fighter , shaped me well to lead a simple life throughout my life till date and wish to be so in the years to come.

Notable alumni of my college :

 Cho Ramaswamy ,MP and Journalist

Jai Shanker ,  Late Tamil actor

P.Unni Krishnan , Award winning playback singer

Harish Raghavendra , Singer in Tamil & Telugu films

Mani Ratnam , Film Director

S.Gurumurthy , Columnist  & Charted  Accountant

M.A.M.Ramaswamy, Industrialist

T.M.Krishna , Karnatic Singer

Krishnamachary Srikanth , CrickterLakshmipathy Balaji , CricketerCrazy Mohan  , Dramatist & Script WriterMaadhu Balaji , Theater Personality

And many others famous personalities.