Friday, November 27, 2015

SSSSSSSSSS --- A NOSTALGIC JOURNEY - SSSSSSSSSS




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A COLUMN BY 
PROF. V. SRINIVASAN



Occasionally I get lost in my thoughts of the good old days and I feel like putting down my thoughts and sharing with friends. My recent thoughts were on the variouss (S's) at PG Physics department of America College. The write up could be of interest to many.

Letter (initial) S and P G Physics:


1. It was SJS (Principal Savarirayan) who was responsible for the ceration  of the PGP the first S

2. Dr. Riesz's arrival confirmed the starting of PGP. The South Indian tongue could not pronounce the soft z and so he was called Riess and he becomes the second S

3. Prof. E.S. Moses the Head of UG Physics at that time did not wish to associate with PGP decided to stay with UG and offer all help and support to PGP is the third S.

4. Prof. A J Harris  with strong S in his name becomes the fourth S 

5. My self known as VS became the fifth S

6. P. S. Srinivasan of UG Physics though he remained as the full back for a long time occupied the Chair as Head of PG Physics before his retirement and is the sixthS

7G. Srinivasan who joined the PG during the second year of PG Physics and later became an internationally well known astrophysicist is the seventh S 

8. When GS left for USA and he was replaced by S. Srinivasan also from Madurai College the eighth S

9. Along with SS came T S Subramamyan also from Madurai College. Though his work was mostly in UG he spent all his spare time in PG with his friend SS and worked on odd projects of Prof. RPR and is the ninth S 

10. There was a fresh recruitment after advertisement in news papers. Dr. K. Srinivasan from Annamalai University, a second Ph.D in the department next to Dr. Riesz. at the time if his recruitment became the tenth S

11. Prof. S L Dart of Claremont Colleges, Claremont, California was in Madurai on two occasions for about one year each as head of PGP when Dr Riesz was away on 
 leave/furlough. Though no one knew what his initial S meant he is the eleventh S

12. K. Santosh  Rajkuma, an old student was made an exclusive demonstrator in PGP and later served the Department of Applied Sciences becomes the twelfth S  

13. I left for USA a K.S. Srinivasan, our old student, was appointed and he became the thirteenth S

14. There was a n expansion in the department, M.Phil was introduced. J. Sethuraman who later became Dr. JS through a faculty improvement program (FIP) of UGC became the fourteenth 

15. R. Simon another old student of PGP who later became Dr. Simon through UGC FIP is the fifteenth S

16. Sudhavadani another old student joined the Department of Applied Sciences under the umbrella of PGP became the sixteenth S

17. A.S.K. Moses another old student of PGP, son of Prof. E S Moses is the seventeenth with initial in his name.

18. S. Sowmianarayanan, another old student UGP and of Madurai College was with DAS for a short time is the eighteenth S.

Looking at this one could take a bet that if one has the initial S he or she had a good chance of serving PGP in those days.

M A Samy was the only exception to this rule. It was his choice.

DPJ, CMD, JJP, GB, KSN, KVK (K V Krishnan), AN (Arulraj Navamani). JD (J.  Danrita) and few others I might  have missed are exception to the S rule. They are less than 50% of those in PGP who were covered by the S rile.


How is this study without any record in my hand? Is my memory good? With kind regards. If any name is left please forgive me.