It was the first class of Computer Programming in my 3rd semester Engineering. GV, the lecturer walks into the class, introduces himself and starts talking. I believe he said this in Tamil:
"நானும் பாலாஜியும் friends-a இருக்கணும்னா, நான் மட்டும் மனசு வச்சா முடியாது. பாலாஜியும் மனசு வைக்கணும்."
For those who don't understand Tamil, it roughly translates into "If I and Balaji are to become friends, it is not enough if I think about it. Balaji also has to think about it".
He was referring to a tussle we had in the exam in the first year when he came as the exam supervisor. I was really surprised that he had looked up my name then and remembered it almost a couple of months after that, when he came as a lecture to my class.
Every time when I run into an interpersonal issue, be it at work or outside, I remember this, see if I am at fault and try whatever I can do to fix it. I would have also repeated this quote a few hundred times to folks around when such issues arises. The academic education that I received from my college was very limited but this is the place which taught me how to survive. Every time I run into an issue, I think about a similar incident that I had in college, how I worked around it and I immediately discover a solution. It is more than 10 years since I graduated out of college but the memories are ever green. Those were the best days of my life!
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