A Vice Chancellor Recalls B31 pial of his house, where he would teach, even feeding them, when they felt hungry, Mr. Sundaravadivelu speaks with respect and warmth. He had been a model student of model teachers. The pen portraits of his teachers who have influenced him are remarkable for their sensitivity. What advice they gave him on a particular day, how they reacted when students misbehaved is tellingly told in these pages. It is indeed a memory feat. The history of his school life has sidelights on many little incidents and customs which reveal the social trends then. It is painful to note that separate cans were used for drinking water by the students of backward classes and the students of forward classes. The young boy could not feel at ease in a situation when the can meant for backward classes was considered defiled. It was when a Brahmin sweet-vendor scolded him one night at a village festival for having innocently put his finger on a sweet-meat, just to indicate the variety he liked most, he got wild, and began to think seriously of the age-old evil of casteism. It matters little that the sweet-vendor who happened to know his father, profusely apologised to lim later for his short temper. From that day onwards, Mr. Sundaravadivelu began to identify himself not as belonging to this community or that sect but to the race of humanity. While at college, Mr. Sundaravadivelu took part in social activities. He along with his friends like Mr. C. Subramaniam, who later became Union Finance Minister and Periasamy Thooran, the Tamil scholar, founded a magazine called “Vanamalar*. Mr. Sundaravadivelu contributed many articles to the magazine which reflected his passion for a social change. “Pithan”, another magazine, which featured fiery writings had a role in giving an impetus to the ideologies of the DK.
