Over three decades ago, when Gandhipuram was less congested with only a few vehicles plying on its roads, you could have come across a man resembling the yesteryear popular Tamil writer Jayakanthan.
Over three decades ago, when Gandhipuram was less congested with only a few vehicles plying on its roads, you could have come across a man resembling the yesteryear popular Tamil writer Jayakanthan. As the no 5 bus halts at the traffic light for a little time and slowly turns right to reach Sivananda Colony you could see the man, standing on the terrace of an old building, puffing his Panama cigarette and enjoying the city's beauty on a sun-bathed evening. Above him on the wall reads ‘STC’ which may stand for either ‘Sargunam Tuition Centre’ or ‘Sargunam Tutorial,College
In contrast to the modern age, where parents strive hard to make their children doctors and engineers, the man named Sargunam,the principal of the ‘two-roomed’ tutorial college, was a solace topoor parents who wanted their children, who were mostly school dropouts, to continue studies. As the handful of private schools in the city drop their academically poor students of class IX to secure100% results the following year, these poor dropouts have no otheroption, but to enroll themselves as private candidates in the tutorial colleges and appear for the SSLC examinations.
“Please help my son pass his SSLC, sir,†a parent would requestSargunam, placing a monthly fee of €100 in his hand. The tutorial teacher, who earned only an honest penny out of his service, lived and died in a rented house on Gandhipuram II street. Contrary to the present age when educational institutions have become 'money minting industries', Sargunam refused to accept a meager monthly fees of £100 from a parent, for his son often bunked classes in histutorial college.
“Since your son attends only a few classes a month,my conscience does not allow me to accept your hard-earned money†Sargunam once told a parent and returned him the money.
His virtues were often admired by many of his students.His students were also intrigued by his typical hairstyle andmustache.Sargunam would say,
“You may not believe that popularTamil writer Jayakanthan and I were close friends in our studentdays, Many think that I imitate the writer's hairstyle. But, it is only Jayakanthan who copied it from me.â€
Despite being a Maths graduate, Sargunam was adept in handling English poetry and grammar. He is ever remembered for his interpretation of the emotional impact in Robert Browning's popular poem "The Incident of the French Camp’."
"Though Sargunam sir taught us the poem decades ago, the scenes from the verse depicting the French emperor Napoleon Bonaparte and his conversation with the dying young soldier still flash across the screen of my mind,†saysMuthuvel, a student of Sargunam.
Another pupil, who later authored a book of poems, poetically recalls in his preface:
"When Sargunam sir taught us “The Incident of the French Camp’,the young soldier who informed the French invasion of Ratisbon to Napoleon and died in front of him was none other than me!â€
In contrast to the modern age, where parents strive hard to make their children doctors and engineers, the man named Sargunam,the principal of the ‘two-roomed’ tutorial college, was a solace topoor parents who wanted their children, who were mostly school dropouts, to continue studies. As the handful of private schools in the city drop their academically poor students of class IX to secure100% results the following year, these poor dropouts have no otheroption, but to enroll themselves as private candidates in the tutorial colleges and appear for the SSLC examinations.
“Please help my son pass his SSLC, sir,†a parent would requestSargunam, placing a monthly fee of €100 in his hand. The tutorial teacher, who earned only an honest penny out of his service, lived and died in a rented house on Gandhipuram II street. Contrary to the present age when educational institutions have become 'money minting industries', Sargunam refused to accept a meager monthly fees of £100 from a parent, for his son often bunked classes in histutorial college.
“Since your son attends only a few classes a month,my conscience does not allow me to accept your hard-earned money†Sargunam once told a parent and returned him the money.
His virtues were often admired by many of his students.His students were also intrigued by his typical hairstyle andmustache.Sargunam would say,
“You may not believe that popularTamil writer Jayakanthan and I were close friends in our studentdays, Many think that I imitate the writer's hairstyle. But, it is only Jayakanthan who copied it from me.â€
Despite being a Maths graduate, Sargunam was adept in handling English poetry and grammar. He is ever remembered for his interpretation of the emotional impact in Robert Browning's popular poem "The Incident of the French Camp’."
"Though Sargunam sir taught us the poem decades ago, the scenes from the verse depicting the French emperor Napoleon Bonaparte and his conversation with the dying young soldier still flash across the screen of my mind,†saysMuthuvel, a student of Sargunam.
Another pupil, who later authored a book of poems, poetically recalls in his preface:
"When Sargunam sir taught us “The Incident of the French Camp’,the young soldier who informed the French invasion of Ratisbon to Napoleon and died in front of him was none other than me!â€