Rewind and Play

                       R E W I N D      A N D      P L A Y

  Reminiscences   of   Life :          KRISHNA   M.  GUTALA

        

  Normally, after a day’s hard work, one would return home, have a wash, take some tea or coffee, just relax and switch on TV, and watch whatever channel one likes. This is what most commonly occurs. But, have you ever tried watching TV with eyes closed?  Yes. I have tried and found it just wonderful!  Even a dark room does not matter. I would be dissociating myself totally from my surrounding environment, and let my mind zoom back to my hoary past, to my ‘bachpan’, my younger days. The mind just needs some tuning. That’s all. The video would be on. Even if the house current goes off, due to power-cut, no problem. My internal current would be ever on!  I would be vividly seeing my entire past with full clarity. It would be very amusing. In my case, I wish to see how things were, how life was, what limitations we had, and how we faced them in our own way, some eight decades back.

         “ In my younger days, there was no electricity. We only had kerosene lamps. Everyday cleaning its chimney, trimming the wick, or, putting a new one, and check the kerosene oil in the lamp. For cooking, let alone current, there was not even LPG. We had to use firewood. Varieties of firewood. We had to be careful in choice, while buying it. It should be preferably of some type of tree, and quite dry.  Then, for boiling water for bath, we had to use either firewood chulla, or railway coal (used in engines) for boilers, or even big copper vessels.

         You would wonder at the transport facilities. Going by bullock-cart was common. Rickshaws came much later. Later on tongas and cycle-rickshaws came. Much later came regular bus service. Well, that’s enuf  regarding the standard of living.

          I was from a middle class family (not upper class). My father worked in Railway as Inspector of Works ( maintenance of rail-track) in the Nizam State. After retirement, settled in Hyderabad. My father could not afford my higher studies. I would not even have gone to College, but for my Gokhale Scholarship, by virtue of my topping in Matric exam in the entire state.  A four year scholarship for studies in Nizam College, from where I did my B.Sc. in 1947. Then came political crisis, and  Razakar problem. I had to go in for a job, with my B.Sc qualification. Lucky to get into Engineering Research Labs, where I worked for ten years. Being frustrated with no prospects, I took the bold step of joining  Osmania Univ Engineering College, even with loss of pay leave from my job. Could work in summer holidays and earn salary. However, by topping in first year, I could get Merit scholarship from my College. Fortunately I got two Gold Medals in my Final year of B.E.  That helped me to get entry into Faculty of Engineering in the same College I studied, in the same year I passed B.E.  It was funny. Till May I was a final year student, and, by September same year, a Lecturer taking classes, in the same College. For the next twenty eight years I was in the Faculty of the College. Another stint of seven years in a Private Engg College (MVSR).

          To rewind a little my memory-video, and going back to my joining the College as a Faculty Member, a year later, I went to IIT Bombay for Master’s course. Again loss of pay leave, but with PG scholarship. I liked Bombay for many things. For its electric trains and its electric rains!  Rain coming and going with a switch on and off. I liked the Queen’s Necklace, the Marine Drive at night. I liked the Gateway of India, and Sivaji’s statue. I liked the ocean of crowd at Victoria Terminus. The crowd pushes you out of the Station. Everywhere hurry and tension, as though Heavens are going to fall the very next moment! Well, it is the New York (financial capital) of India, the richest city. With M.Tech in pocket, went back to my native College in Hyderabad.  Then in 1966 fortune smiled on me, when I learnt that I was awarded the prestigious  UNESCO Fellowship (awarded for 12 persons in India after every two years). I was sent in 1967 to Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland USA. On September 12^th 1967, my flight started from Hyderabad. With two night-halts, it went thru Bombay, Teheran, Amsterdam, London, and finally to New York. It was amusing to think that I who in childhood was travelling in bullock carts, was that day flying in sky, at 30,000 feet height! At Case Western Reserve University, I did my Doctoral studies in Structures, and returned back to Hyderabad and my College in 1970. Busy life for the next eighteen years, before I bid goodbye to the College.  

              Well, again some rewind in my mind’s memory, to IIT Bombay. It was 1962. The Head of the Civil Engineering Department was one Sri. R. P. Mhatre who had come over to IIT Bombay, after retirement as a Chief Engineer in Central PWD. Before retirement he was the General Manager of the Hindustan Housing Factory (a Prefabricated Housing Company in Public Sector), in Jangpura, Delhi. He then had some plans to effect economy in the manufacture of the pre-fab elements used for house construction. He had a notion that addition of finely ground Jumna sand (containing silica), may reduce the cement component to some extent, thereby effecting economy. It was just a notion, but there was no experimental verification or data, nor any publications to substantiate it. He was my Advisor, and wanted me to take up the experimental investigations for my Thesis work. I accepted. This meant I had to go to Delhi, to that Housing Factory, and conduct the experiments, as the Factory would have the needed infrastructure. I was allotted a two room portion in the Factory itself, for my stay.

          My experimental work was to test specimens of autoclaved concrete, with and without the finely ground Jumna-sand admixture. Autoclaving implies high pressure steam curing of concrete. Concrete specimens were placed in a steam chamber, with steam under high pressure. It was an elaborate experimental work over a few months. In all, my stay in Delhi was for about six months.

          This stay in Delhi provided me some opportunities for visits to nearby places, and some special events. I was fortunate to visit Mathura Brindavan on Sri Krishna Janmashtami Day. I have no words to describe the overwhelming happy mood of citizens of Mathura who felt they were seeing and playing with young Lord Krishna, shouting ‘Nand Lal Ki Anand Hy’!   

      Another  memorable visit was Agra and the world famous Taj Mahal on a full moon day. The hazy, misty beauty cannot be adequately described. And, there were other monuments too, like Fatehpur Sikri.

       I was fortunate to have seen two celebrities during my stay in Delhi. In 1962 it was the time of Indo-China war. I learnt that those who donate gold or gold ornaments can meet Prime Minister Nehru in Teen-Murthi-Marg. I had a gold ring with me. I went to Teen-Murthi-Marg, and gave my ring, and had the unique opportunity of shaking hands with Pandit Nehru!

        The other opportunity was of seeing President Sir Sarvepalli Radha-Krishnan in Rashtrapati Bhavan, on his Birthday, September 05^th, along with the staff, a special privilege, to march past him seated on the dais, with folded hands.

        Now I will revert back to my experimental investigations with auto-claved concretes. As I said before, the concrete specimens were to be autoclaved. For this, in the Lab, which was a shed with wooden trusses and sheet roof, there was a small autoclave, heated by a big kerosene Primus stove, which had to be pumped, just like the domestic Primus stove. As the Lab would be busy with regular works during the day, I was given time only after nine in the night for exclusive use of lab, for autoclaving my test specimens. Every night, alone, I was doing this job. No other activity around, as the Factory would be closed.

          Now, keep your fingers crossed. You would shudder at what a ghastly thing happened! To heat the lab autoclave for generating steam under pressure, the big primus stove had to be pumped to get the kerosene flame. Normally, after pumping for a while, the blue flame would appear, and pumping would be stopped. On that day, in spite of pumping for quite some time, the flame did not appear. I must have continued pumping, to get the flame. And lo! Not only the flame appeared, but with a big jet of kerosene shooting up like a fountain, and bursting into fire, and spreading, as the kerosene jet continued to emit. It was a ghastly sight, with fire spreading non-stop. I was alone, and at my wits end. My waiting would fill the entire lab with fire which could rise and spread to the wooden trusses and the sheet roof. There was unbearable heat. Throwing water would not help. I could not leave the room, to see the entire shed gutted with fire. There were none at the midnight, available for help. To my good fortune, I saw bags of sand that I was using in the preparation of concrete. I quickly opened up the bags, and began dumping the sand on the stove, and all over the flames. Luckily there were enuf bags to quench the fire. After about a quarter-hour’s struggle, the fire could be quenched. If only the sand bags were not there, it would have ended up with the entire shed in flames, until noticed by the watchman, to take further action in calling up for fire-engines etc. It would have lead to considerable damage. Next morning, news would have flashed that an IIT student (so-and-so) caused fire in the Factory. It was terrible to think of the most ghastly incident in my life. My Flutist of Brindavan, at the nick of the time, directed my eyes towards the sand bags, and saved the situation. It was well past midnight. After the fire subsided, I had to clear up the mess at the earliest, so that none would have an inkling of what has happened. I had to sweep all the burnt sand, and throw it away, a little away from the Lab, so that none would notice anything abnormal. It took over an hour to bring the lab to normalcy. Luckily, as there were many sand bags, the loss of two bags was not particularly noticed. At about three or three-thirty early morning, I must have returned home with my thumping heart.” Thus ends my memory video, which I switched off, but from which I could learn some lessons, helpful in life.  

            Good things happen. Bad things happen. Anything can happen to anyone or anything, anytime, anywhere. We have to squarely face it, and do what we can. Life has its ups and downs, for, that’s the way it is! But listen, Faith is all you need to keep your life at ease!

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