The day before was the experience of my life. Driving on a scooter through a Bangalore bundh, getting stoned, and then finally reaching the TOEFL exam center only to learn that the exam was cancelled. I don’t remember all the details of that night, what I discussed with Usha, but I remember her encouraging me saying that I will be able to write the GRE exam the next day and it won’t be cancelled. At the TOEFL exam center we were told to start early in the morning around 5-6am and reach the test center early so that the bundh would not effect us. I woke up early the next day, got on my scooter and set off for the GRE test center. I was obsessed of going to USA in those days (In Hindi: USA jaane ka bhoot sarpe savaar tha..), and this obsession sprung from the thought that I was not rich enough for Usha. She came from a wealthy family and was a darling of their extended family. I felt my ISRO scientist job was not good enough at that time and I am not sure at this time if that was the right thing. When I met Dad a few weeks back after his surgery at the hospital in Vizag, he expressed his concern of me trying to go to USA. He strongly believed that I should not quit ISRO, but I was adamant. Dad did not have much of savings execpt for the house in Vizag and his pension. With the Rs. 3500/month salary, and the high cost of living in Bangalore (just the rent of a small 2-bedroom house was Rs. 1000/month), I could not financially help him, and this emboldended my thoughts of going to USA. In those days it took almost a day by train to reach Vizag from Bangalore as there were not direct trains and you had to change trains in Chennai (Madras). So even if I stayed back in Bangalore, I was literally as far as USA.
The GRE exam hall (I can’t remember the center name or address, but I found my GRE hall ticket and the center number is 10760) was quite far off from our house in Jagadishnagar and I remember if have reached the place about 2 hours early. There were no mobile phones, so I just spent the couple of hours with tension that the exam might be interrupted by the rioters. At the same time I was also excited with the thoughts about a bright future in America. I was full of optimism that I would simply not bother about quitting a stable public sector job in one of highly respected institutions and set sail to an unknown land looking for better opportunities. I can recall glimpses of myself in the test center sitting on a wooden chair that had an attached desk wasting no time in picking up the GRE question paper and going about it diligently. Little did I know that my friend Mithun and everyone back at the house was trying to reach me and nobody knew the test center name or location. They were calling all the test centers but could not locate me. I guess it was destined for me to finish the GRE exam on that day. If they were able to contact me during the exam, I would have stopped writing and left the test center immediately. I am not sure if that would have been the put an end to my endeavor of going to the USA.
I drove back with caution as there was still a lot of angry mobs on the roads, and I reached home safely. Nirmala Aunty (Mithun’s Mom) was at the gate and she quietly told me that they got a phone call about my Dad being in serious conditions and we need to immediately leave for Vizag. From her voice and tearful eyes, I could immediately understand that Dad was no more. He had passed away in his sleep the night before at the hospital. Doctors declared that he had a stroke during his sleep.
Dad was born in Kokatta in the state of West Bengal. His Dad Poosarla Jagannadham was posted there as Head Postmaster in those times. Dad was named after the famous poet Rabindranath Tagore. I don’t know much about his childhood, but he used to tell me about his college days in Vizianagaram. Grandpa served in the British Army for postal services during the 2nd World War and was a POW in Japanese. I heard many horror stories about his prison experiences from Dad. Unfortunately Grandapa passed away before me or sister were born. Grandpa passed away when Mom was six months pregnant, and Dad passed away when his daughter-in-law was six months into her pregnancy.
Later Grandpa was transferred from Kolkata to Vizianagaram and that’s where Dad went to school and then the Maharaja College. Dad was not only an excellent cricket player and played for his college, but his was a district champion in carroms and an accomplished player of Chess. He was very good at cards too. I learnt cricket, carroms and chess from him. He used to buy me books of chess (Spassky vs Fischer) and I enjoyed practicing from those books. Dad and I always enjoyed playing chess and he never liked to lose, and he used to behave like a child and wipe the chess pieces off the board when he lost sometimes.
We played carroms too, and it was a family pastime. When Dad was posted in Khurda Rd (Orissa), I had to stay at my Uncle’s house in Vizag to continue my studies. I was in 4th grade then and went to Khurda Rd during summer and winter holidays. We had the best times during his stay there, and had a lot of family time together.