Chapter 4

My first job

When I returned from Madras my only ambition was to pass the examination. In those days, passing S.S.L.C. was a great hurdle. Students have to score the required minimum marks for all subjects, if one fails in one paper by one mark, the students will fail the whole examination. We could not expect any moderation or leniency then.

I appeared for the exam once again with full self-confidence. Though I had a sense of loss when I saw my friends studying in colleges, I had great hopes to reclaim everything once the results appeared.

My decision was not to continue studies if I pass the exam. I had a feeling that it was not good to pursue higher studies with my juniors when my former class mates were in higher classes. My idea was to get a job somehow. Once the customers are done with their reading of the newspapers in the teashop, I would start searching for job opportunities.

We were not getting the newspapers when we started the teashop. When I was a student of primary class I would go to Dr Murthy's residence at Kuravankonam to see the paper. That was the only house in the area to get a newspaper. I also had freedom to read newspaper there. In course of time, the doctor's siblings became my friends. I used to go with them to play. The reading of newspaper was restricted to the cartoon columns and my favourites were Tim and Spud in Desabandhu and Mandrake the magician in Malayala Manorama.

All my despair vanished when the results were announced. I passed the exam with marks better than expected. I scanned the job opportunity column with great care. Thus I wrote a Government of India test for the first time in 1963. When I passed the Post and Telegraph Department test, I was asked to join for a six-month training program in Madras.

Madras was not unfamiliar to me. Like Tagore used to claim that he had a house anywhere in the vast and wide world, I could also boast of a house in Madras. I have a father 10 and mother there. Their two sons were like brothers to me. Uncle Srinivasan and his wife Rachel received me whole-heartedly. They were happy that I could land safe in their arms without straying into bad hands. The ecstasy was quite visible on their faces when they came to know that I was going to be a government servant. I had sought their blessings before I started for the telecom training centre.

I used to often skip classes at the training centre to taste the delicious food prepared by Rachel Aunty who was a nurse in a hospital at Egmore. The frequent visits to their house was the only relief for me from the monotony of the training schedule. I had carried food for her when she used to have night duties. They were never strangers to me. I never forgot them at any stage in my life.

We were living close to the training centre. It was Mr Menon who controlled the whole training program. Another pastime was to go for the delicacies of Vada and Sambar with other trainees from Kerala.

I was just 18 when I was appointed a telephone mechanic in Post and Telegraph Department at Kollam in March 1965. The scale of pay was Rs 110-240. Though I had some relief having a secure life once I got a job, I did not sport great dreams in life. Maybe, I was not old enough to think of it. Anybody would start thinking of a happy life, once he finds the means for it and it would be quite natural for anyone who did not possess a house of his own. It might be due to a disgust with life or the strained relationship with the family that prevented a government official drawing Rs 128 a month salary from dreaming it big in life.

I was living in a lodge in Kollam town. Almost all my colleagues were older than me. When I had the freedom and earnings in my hand I was like a loose kite. To admit openly, I was misusing that freedom. A young man would not have maturity at the age of 18. It is quite common among the teenagers to spend lavishly when they have money. I was too young to be called a man at that time. I never thought of helping my family or visiting them when I was indulging in drinks at the Xavier's Hotel or gambling with friends. If at all I went home once in a while, I might give something there.

After two years I was transferred from Kollam to Thiruvanthapuram. Now, I was very active in labour union activities. I had new friends. Mannarkkayam Baby was the closest among them.

Once in Thiruvananthapuram I visited the hostels where my school mates were staying. When I, who failed in the school final exam, got a job before my friends who were still continuing their studies, I could stand before them with great pride. I was there to spend for them when they went to the cinema or to the canteen. Mostly I used to sleep in their hostel 11 rooms more often in the medical college hostel. My friends were only happy to associate with me as I was a government employee. My gain in this was that I could foster a number of good friendly relationships. These friendships have helped me a lot in each turning point of my future life.

In the meantime, the first marriage in my family took place � of my sister who was one-and half years younger to me. The groom was our father's selection. Our friends and relatives advised him against his choice, but it was of no use. This wedlock was a great curse to my sister. In six months, she got separated and escaped from him to return home. Like a symbol of martyrdom of his stubbornness she still lives with me in my house.