Unknown Destination - 15

I do not know whether it is my eagerness to narrate earlier than I promised or the telepathy of all of you asking me to continue, here I am starting where I left off on my attempt on a new venture,speculation on buying and selling flats. Before I go any further as to the progress or my achievements or debacles in that endeavour I thought of taking you all back to the college days, yes my days at new college where I completed and graduated my educational pursuit.

Well many have wanted to know about my health routines and how I keep fit to this day. It is no secret , conscious effort and understanding of your own being in this universe, the purpose that you have been placed in this beautiful place called earth, where you exist, it is not without a reason and the reason is to live well and to live well you have to be healthy and that was the reason of me taking care of my existence which depended on good health and that thought was deeply etched in my programmed brain by my dad. I thank him for instilling in me the value of good living and health .

It was this my friends that pushed me to taking care of myself and exercising became a part of my life and habit. It was sports and games in school, foot ball in particular where fitness was tested and during college more concentration on looking good, may be the the changes that were taking place in me and different attractions added urged me to look better than my friends.

It was no easy task I worked out at the Kannan's Gym at the Gandhi nagar club adyar almost 2 hours in the morning and three hours in the evening with I would say primitive equipments compared to the modern and latest equipments of today. Dedication, effort and hard work payed when I was adjudged "Mr Madras University" and there was no looking back from that day to this date as exercise has been my major habit . This I wanted to share with all of you specifically because your visions and ambitions can only be achieved with good health and good health leads to a healthy mind.

Now getting back to the bangalore days and my new business endeavour , well meeting Subash Chandra balan at southern investments was the starting point which gave me the initial taste to investment and economic growth. My prime job in the newspaper continued and this new avenue fetched me enough and more to buy my first car a Fiat which remains as my initial enhancement to prosperity though it was materialistic in nature.

Was that venture sailing smooth or was it rough and if it wasn't sailing well what could have gone wrong? Did something go wrong? Will be back with you all sooner than you expect........

Unknown Destination - 14

You may all wonder why five months have gone by without me continuing to write the journey of my life. I am not willing to start by saying that time did not permit me and I was involved in various activities which occupied my time, Well the truth is that I did not make time to accommodate time to continue where I left off and I have realized that henceforth there should be no cessation or even a pause to take you to the end of my ,no to the end of the Unknown Destination.

I am eager to share, to kindle your curiosity to know more about how I moved forward in my life after my education and my first job as a newspaper delivery boy. I would say the days in bangalore, working in the early morning cold weather, way back in 1977,the year that I started working are still etched in my memories and can never be erased from my mind. You have to enjoy and love whatever you are doing, goes the saying , well I did that , I was a workaholic and the fire within me to achieve greater heights was pushing me to my limits.From a delivery boy to a reporter and then a marketing person selling space for the newspaper that I was working for gave me a larger scope to interact with people from different walks of life .

This gave me the experience and exposure which I would say chiseled me to be a complete grown up man. Starting my days at I think it was " Rubin House"near commercial street spending my evenings walking the streets of bangalore the then most visited brigades and commercial street was the only pass time and the new found friends more specifically vinny and myself both health conscious exercise freaks were always together and he a hard working chap working at honey well coolers. The days went by my friendship circle grew and the spare time that was available to me I joined my friends prem hariram and surya Prakash nagpal assisting them in selling cycles.

The now famous hero cycles was the cycle that I was selling in my friends shop and when Om Prakash and the owners of hero cycles introduced hero mopeds I was handling sales. Little did I know that the Munjals that I met in the year 1977 would grow in stature in business and hero would become one of the top most motorcycle manufacturers in the country . I would like to make a visit to their factory someday to share the experiences selling their very first product "the hero mopeds"

My experiences and hard work introduced me to the real estate markets and my financial strength helped me to speculate in the first ever flat promotion company the Southern Investment property development. How did I fare in the business and what did I achieve from there on, you definitely have to wait for a couple of days, I assure you this time that I will be back in a week sharing more .................

Unknown Destination - 13

Quiet a while continuing the narrations of my life , I feel I am repeating myself ,yes my pressures of my varied activities has taken away my time to relax and my habits of reading and writing at leisure has eluded me, nevertheless here I am in the new year starting to shelve the pressures aside to take you on my path.

The rags to success story.

New college,my friends, the theatres nearby, fun and frolic came to an end as I neared the final year to complete my degree in mathematics.

THE Journey from the schooling in Delhi to schooling at chennai to loyola college to new college came to an end leaving me clueless about my future.

This is where as always my dad stepped in and guided me into the IAS and IPS coaching classes which I had narrated earlier and the lack of enthusiasm in class and the persuasion of my bro in law landed me in bangalore for my first job. The job wasn't anything connected to the mathematics degree and had nothing to do with my basic qualification of a degree. I did not let my mind to weaken my thoughts of the nature of the job but opened up the challenges ahead of me.

The job was a newspaper delivery boy at bangalore. The job sure was challenging as I had to brave the cold of the then bangalore weather which was colder than what it is today. It sure was hard to start with and when I got the feel of the job I was charged to break the stipulated targets in circulation that was given to me.It was here that I realised that life wasn't easy and nothing comes easy but the fruit of hard work was juicy.

The hardships ,my transformation ,my exposure, my new friends made the days in bangalore the most memorable days of my life.I am sure you are eager to know the path of that part of my life, well even I am eager to share it with all of you...

Sooner than you think...

Unknown Destination -12

It sure has been quite a while since I continued writing the path of my Unknown Destination.

The past six months have been an eventful, challenging period of my life which will surely be penned in the future as we travel along this narration.

More than the challenges,the unprecedented rains which lashed Chennai shocked one and all and I would say, caught us unaware against the nature’s onslaught. Help from every human being was most gratifying, the togetherness, unity, rising to the occasion in relief work was appreciable and I bow to all the good souls who gave a helping hand. Though the grief continues, Chennai is slowly limping back to normalcy. We can find many reasons to point fingers that would of course need an elaborate debate, hence, I move on to narrate from where I reminded you of my days at Loyola and experiences at Central School, IIT.

The days at New College after Loyola College, my Mathematics Degree, friends, professors, football, strikes and finally responsibility to study, to face challenges saw me through my college life. I cannot forget sitting by the mosque, sharing food at lunch, watching movies in Satyam and Safire the YadgaarLassi shop, Woodlands Drive-in, love life that I spoke about earlier, brings back fond memories. I also registered the challenges, responsibilities and debacles that would be faced if we were irresponsible.

I would like to mention one interesting event which I cherish till date is the responsibility that I had as a person in public life. You may wonder what involvement could have been there in public life during college. Me leading a strike peacefully involved responsibility, hence the narration.

I was one of the leaders of an inter-collegiate strike moving in a procession to the Commissioner’s office. The gathering of students was really large and the Law Enforcement Officers were alert and worried for any small mishaps. It was during the procession that a sudden outburst and disturbance occurred; some students became violent and wanted to pelt stones and damage the State Government buses. My reflexes and responsibility to lead a peaceful rally urged me to remove my shirt and stand on top of the bus and said I quote “May the first stone hit me then the bus” unquote.

Thankfully that spur of the moment reaction of mine brought the situation under control and my friends from college days still remember that incident and mention the leadership quality that started from there on.

Interesting……?

The Unknown Destination continues….

Unknown Destination -11

My days in Loyola, I wouldn't say was very eventful though the exposure of freedom and not being watched or reported gave a sense of liberation from school days. The unfortunate exit from Loyola at the very end of closure of admissions sent me on to a panic mode, I went from pillar to post jumping in and out of colleges for admission and finally the New college gave me the asylum that I wanted.I would say admitting me to take up B.Sc Mathematics, a subject many students dread and mine was complicated as my ancillaries were all maths with mathematical statistics astronomy ,the subjects which i had absolutely no knowledge .

It was here when I met my friend Sunderesan who continues to be my friend and is currently the treasurer of my political party and I met as I had already mentioned in my earlier writing that I was attracted to a well dressed and immaculately attractive girl.My initial days in New college, I would say was mostly outside college than inside. I had taken you along that journey of my life. All these and more events still bring back memories.Memories that I cherish in silence.

It was in the second year of college that I got interested in my studies as fear gripped me as to what my life would be once I am out of this institution into a highly competitive world, a world full of challenges, the realization hit me hard and I got my acts together to study hard to receive my mathematics degree, the knowledge of which or the very application of the qualification had no value in my pursuit of my economic development.Once again confusion and pain gripped me and my future looked bleak.

Did I make the right decision, if I did ,did I progress in the right direction , anxious as you are I am ready to write soon........

Unknown Destination-10

I missed writing for a long time , Of course for obvious reasons which kept me occupied. My entry into Loyola College, the train journey to Nungambakkam was an experience in itself, the freedom of independence was different from the guidance and care of my parents taking personal care during school days. New friends,new surroundings ,new exposure , the atmosphere totally changed to that of an excitement in the beginning.

My initial days was more on watching movies, sitting at kutty'sbunk , that was a petty shop where all the students used to while away their precious time in front of the college campus, and I was no different from the others in the beginning and later I realized that this wasn't going to help me in the very purpose of me being in the college. The days in Loyola was a learning process ,getting involved in a strike which I remember to this date , the act for which I had to leave the college and join new college for my mathematics degree.

The days in new college is still etched in my memories and would say was both fun and moulded me for the future years to come .....

Unknown Destination-9

Before I go further I felt I should go back to my school days and my years in college.The little details that still lingers in my mind. After my stint at kendriyavidhyalayaIIT ,I moved on to St Patrick's high school Gandhi Nagar in the banks of adyar river . It was an Anglo indian high school ,the place that moulded my sporting talents .I loved playing foot ball ,basket ball ,volley ball, cricket and hockey.It would sound like i was jack of all trades and master of none, but I sure was an exception playing well in all of them specialising in foot ball and winning the interschool championship was a feather in my cap.

I remember my friends Erol Sullivan, Barnett, Neslin Prim, Fuller, Govindaraj, Saleem ,Balaji, Farook to name a few , I still remember the knockout punch of Barnett in the school boxing match which I would say encouraged me to pursue body building. I should thank Barnett for being the reason for me to stay fit even today.

Those were such wonderful days.Oops! I missed to narrate being selected to represent our state at the Republic day parade as an air wing cadet from the school in 1970 , it sure was a proud moment walking along with the armed forces of our country at New Delhi.St Patrick's high school brings back wonderful memories and leaving the friends behind was sure painful and the pain receded the moment i heard that I got a seat in Loyola for my pre-university, the prestigious college, new friends travelling by train from saidapet to Nungambakkam was an experience that I love to share .Did I attend my classes ???did I study well???? a big question.

Unknown Destination-8

The years that were spent in my school and my colleges were experiences that I wanted to share. The right and the wrong ,The confusion between love and infatuation, the responsibilities and the irresponsibilities, all that I experienced in a span of fifteen years of my life in educational institutions. What did I gain,what did I loose,what went on in my mind about the life ahead,frankly to tell you the truth I had no clue as to what I wanted to become and what was waiting for me outside in the competitive world of which I knew nothing at all.All I knew at that time was I had to become a graduate and I felt that is what my dad wanted me to become and that is when I felt a pain somewhere within me that i was not on the right track to achieve anything though there was nothing in my mind at that time to achieve.I felt miserable,helpless not knowing what to do with myself.Friends I don't want you to even think of you being in that unpredictable situation of mine, no one to blame but myself.

My dad sensing may be my predicament suggested that I appear for IAS or IPS exam and I joined the IAS cochin class near Mowbray's road Iyer'sacdemy, the best class which had hundred percent pass outs and placements. My mind still was not clear as to what I wanted to become and blindly following my dad's suggestions was not getting me anywhere , my friends from college friends moved away, left without friends my classmates in the coaching class became my friends, studious bookworm types who were seriously focused on becoming officers of the highest repute in that coeducational coching class. Once again perplexed with the situation, I just went through the routine of attending classes undecided within myself. My friends Shobha and Deepa were the only friends I remember who entertained my company on coffee outings and were wondering what I was doing there though they never vented out there opinions in our conversations and kept our friendship on a platform of pure admiration and affection for each other. It was at that time that I was offered a job at the Tamil language newspaper Dinakaran and I was trained to become a delivery boy to take care of the circulation of the newspaper which got me interested and I clinched my first job as a newspaper delivery boy and headed to Bangalore on my assignment. Was it easy ?? did I enjoy the work??

 was I prepared to live away from home for the first time??.Wait to hear it.By the way ,my friend Deepa Gopalan went on to become the Indian Ambassador at Doha . She retired recently after her last assignment as the Indian Ambassador at Japan. Missed opportunities would you say wait till I narrate further......

Unknown Destination-7

Well I can understand your anxiousness to know further and how the first love blossomed . It all started as I told you in bus route number 23 adyar to egmore, I noticed the distinct difference in the draping of the saree and the nirma washed whiteness ,starched look, my first impression of her was that she was different ,conscious of herself and knew that many eyes were drawn towards her. It is familiarity of seeing each other everyday and may be my physical appearance which in the course of time got our eyes locked, smiles followed words spelt out , the result attraction of a different kind from that of my friend Sylvia.

Our friendship was the talk of college and it was no secret that we became fond of each other. The time needed to go out on dates created lack of concentration and my attention shifted to my dressing coffee outings and movies in Blu Diamond theatre at Safire complex . I really could not ascertain if that was love or infatuation for I did not know the difference. I realised that I was thinking about our meeting everyday than my studies or examinations to pass. Did I do the right thing was it right was it responsible of me ,i had no clue , the thought of my dad's struggle to educate me never passed my mind , I was careless and would say reckless and a behaviour that was uncalled for a student coming from not so affluent a family. Before I could realise this the divine intervention in the form of my dad who spotted me on a bike with her and the panchayat scene that followed at home on the night of his sighting both of us . It is not the harshness of his words but the pain behind it to see me succeed which were not needed during my college days and would have its space after I get settled in life. I would say it sure was an eye opener though the good byes were difficult it was a well guided decision that I don't regret even today as we parted as friends . To my surprise a couple of years back when I read an article about how successful a person she has turned out to be brought happiness and memories to cherish. I wished her well within my mind from the bottom of my heart.
What has these relationships or events in my life taught me is for you to evaluate and understand , I understood that my responsibilities to my parents should have taken top priority knowing the monetary situations at home , struggles of my dad and the emotional disturbance that i would have caused to my mother.

Schooling at St Patrick's High School PUC at Loyola College to a mathematics degree from New College is sure is nostalgic to think back, my days on the football field ,me winning the Mr Madras University title and not being able to attend the national meet at Patiala due to lack of funds to send me from the university which is not the scenario now as wide opportunities are there for you to grab ,thrown open to all of you, take them and make the best use of it to move forward to achieve your aims and goals....

Unknown Destination - 6

First love , I know the curiosity that all of you have at this point , who could it have been, who could my kind of girl at that phase of my life be? Sorry my friends you sure have to wait before I reveal my love to you, it is not that I want to keep you waiting or hesitate to reveal, it is just to take you through my dad my mom my bro and sister, we were a small little family and living within our means and enjoying every little gestures of affection from both my parents, I was actually the spoiled brat that but adored by all. I remember the Sundays which was the special day when I hop to my dad's rajdoot bike to buy mutton ,fish the favourites of all of us, the only day in the week that my dad could afford to make non vegetarian food at home but never did we once complain or regret but the wait was always made worthy by the greatest cook on earth my sweet mom, hmm the very thought even now brings the senses alive to the taste of my mother's cooking.

I miss both my parents , I miss the morals that they taught, I miss the affection and love the encouragements and care that they took to mould us to what we are today.friends sometimes we do not realise when they are around taking care of every need of us but when gone , the very thought of their non existence around me pains me and their loving memories urges me on to carry on with life and leave behind a mark when I am gone to tread my path.sorry I had to take you away a little into the warmth of my parents and the protection that I enjoyed in there hands around me ,parents are divine let us always respect them and treat them with love unconditionally for they love us unconditionally too.

Well coming back to the excitement that you are waiting for and that I am going to share , my first love, she was from ethiraj college an english literature student dressed immaculately and attractive. We travelled in the same bus route number 23 I used to get in at the adyar depot and she from abiramapuram near mandeveli. Our journey started here and my concentration improved- not in my studies but in my dressing, I took care that I looked presentable but how was she attracted to me, was it because I was looking presentable or was it that we saw each other almost everyday or was there some deeper reasons, let us find out soon........

Unknown Destination-5

Loyola a dream of many , Father Kuriyakose , a small made disciplinarian etched in my journey as an unforgettable human being who taught me the values of life, values of time and money and his harsh decision in showing the way out in spite of me being a good sportsman helped in building my character, the very foundation of my future years to follow. An uneventful pre university course with a carefree and careless life, lmmaturebehaviour in getting involved in a strike lead me to join New College ,Royapettah.

This journey may sound very normal in a young man's life, but it shouldn't have been so coming from a home where the monthly earning of my dad was Rs 5000 and my mother a housewife to run within a budget , more was expected out of me ,poverty lesser opportunity should have made me more responsible than to get involved in fights strikes spending most of the time at safire theatre sathyam complex, drive in woodlands ogling at girls from Stella and travelling in a bus crowded with girls from ethiraj college and finally to add spice my first love , charming, intelligent well readwell dressed the cynosure of many eyes, drawing me further away from the academic elevation -the dream of my dad, was it shattered , was it justified? I know more than anything else at this point your minds are focusing to the first love, what happened ???? wait to hear it bye for now

unknown destination -4

Well I understand your anxiousness to know what Sylvia told me, nothing exciting as all of you would have expected she was a little amused and i could clearly see that she was little confused too, regaining herself she said why not and allowed me to ride her cycle, the cycle exchange programme blossomed into a friendship , a strange friendship in the initial few weeks it was an hide and seek game during the lunch break . She would drop a crushed paper for me to pick up and move away and as I picked up the paper it would have drawings of a place in the school compound and I had to find the place and when I did there would be another paper guiding me and it was like a treasure hunt and we would end up in the class room without meeting and smile at each other.
When I think of the way our relationship bloomed it seems funny but the very thought brings a smile in my face. Thus started my relationship and we became close going for rides after school and talking to each other parking our cycles under the abundant trees and little did I realise that we were becoming close friends when one fine day Sylvia's dad spotted us chatting near a bus stand and brought an abrupt end to our relationship. I was neither sad nor heartbroken as my first infatuation as I call it now came to an end. Sylvia returned to germany not without giving me a letter that she would be in touch which she did for a couple of months and then the letters stopped. That is when I felt the first pang of missing someone. Well I moved on and I am sure Sylvia woukd also be thinking the beautiful innocent friendship that we shared.
My concentration shifted to my studies and my sporting activities and as sanskrit was difficult I left IIT and moved on to St Patrick's high school Gandhi Nagar adyar and completed my high school examination and came out with flying colours making my teachers and my parents proud not without school pranks fun and punishments.Those were great memories which I still cherish in my life from the teachers to friends brother Francis, friends in Sullivan, Barnett, Salim and many more. I learnt the art of balancing education sports relationships respect and started learning the values of life as I moved on to join one of the best institutions in Madras the "Loyola College" the fun excitement total freedom from the supervision of parents. How did I use that freedom ??????????

Unknown destination-3

From a youngster to adulthood, well an interesting stage of my life, I think that would have been an exciting learning segment of growing up. I am sure all of you want to know what was exciting, well like all growing youngster understanding themselves and changes that take place happened to me too. I was studying in central school at the IIT Campus chennai, studying in the 6th standard--studious with the fear of non performance, wrath of my dad was hanging above my head, yet my first distraction or could I say attraction, don't laugh , I know you all would, there was a beautiful blonde a German girl, a girl many of my friends were attracted too, I wanted to get friendly with her ,get to know her talk to her and guess what I finally did, pulled myself to ask her what I wanted to since the time I saw her in school, I told you all not to laugh , I went next to her near the parking lot and she looked at me and gave me a knowing smile as I was known student, a sub junior champ in sports in school, I smiled back and finally asked " can I take a ride in your cycle as wanted to know the difference between my indian Hercules cycle to the German cycle she was riding, curious aren't you to know what she told me , i was anxious and curious too, any guesses to what she said, what Sylvia Bizanz said for that was her name, wait till tomorrow bye for now good night

Unknown destination-2

The very thought of narrating and sharing my journey so far and ahead of me is not without a purpose, it has experiences of my life , situations that we faced as a small family and the responsibilities that my dad shouldered to give us his best.
Starting his career as a news reader in All India Radio Delhi and known to the listener's world as "செய்திகள் வாசிப்பது ராமநாதன்" ( news read by Ramanathan) in the biting winter cold and the sweltering heat of summer, was clear that my brother my sister and me should be educated well and learn moral values and respect our elders.

I remember the day when my dad was transfered to Chennai flowers were strewn on our taxi and the people in the entire colony gave a tearful send off , for that was the respect that my dad had earned among our neighborhood. I vaguely remember the train journey and the tunnels that we had to cross during our travel to Chennai. My dad furthered his career at the Press Information Bureau chennai and we furthered our studies at the Raja Muthaiah School near Rajah Anna malai Puram, later move to central school IIT and as sanskrit was difficult to understand moved on to St Patrick's high school adyar where I finished my schooling.

My abilities in sports and games elevated my respect in school and I had the pride of being the school pupil leader and during which time was selected to participate in the Republic day parade at Delhi in the year 1970. My days in school were memorable and eventful in its own way, I would say exciting things happened and my transformation from a boy to my adulthood had its own awakenings of life ahead.........

Unknown destination-1

It sure has been an eventful year and a year which has kept me on the move. Sometimes when I sit back and think about the years that have gone by and the lives travel to the unknown destination at times confuses me and at times takes me on a wild adventure of imaginations.

I wonder why this existence? why this creation ? what is the purpose? what am I doing? I am sure many of us know not the answers and still move along the unknown path and destination.

In this travel though unknown we have likes, dislikes, hate love success failures birth and death. Does all this convey something .. I have been wondering finding reasons and frankly I have no answers.

Then why are we here or should I say why have we been placed here on a place called earth which revolves around the sun and we see daylight and darkness not knowing the reasons ( offcourse we do know why night and why day).

Born on July 14th 1954 I have seen life from rags to riches , success and failures sorrows and joy all in equal measures. What is that I wanted to be ,did I have an ambition, am I going towards it, for all these questions I have found some answers and the answers which I love to share with all of you , my travel so far , from Delhi the place of my birth to where I am today .

Good night friends , a transparent open narration of my life so far.....