Learning in Science College

I was a PUC Science student in 1970. I walked to my classroom after a satisfactory meals. It was chemistry period. As soon as the class commenced, after ten minutes , I was feeling sleepy. My head started hanging back and forth. The professor Mr. Desai, happened to see my state and he called and asked me to stand up for a while. I was ashamed of this instance.

The subject was new and interesting, yet satisfied meals and a long walk more than a kilometer made me sleepy. How-ever, I did not opt for chemistry in my degree course. Instead I chose Mathematics as major subject and Physics as minor one.

It was the only college in Bidar city. The gold rate was Rs 200/- per 10 gram. Admission fee was also Rs 200/- for science course. It was a problem for poor people like me. My in-laws had given me one gold ring [10g] in my marriage which was held in 1969 summer. This I sold for Rs 180/- and secured admission to science college at Bidar. It was a private college. No government college was opened yet in Bidar district.

My brother in law was a B.A. final year student in the same college. We became roommates for one year period. For the next year I applied for Government loan scholarship on merit basis and I was sanctioned the said scholarship for my science degree which I completed in 1973.

My father lost his life in a land acquisition process. He was cheated by the land vender himself. After his death, the village elders transferred the rights of that land in my name. The land registration was written in Urdu language in Bidar sub registrar office.It was very costly affair. At the cost of valuable life of my young father Mr, Gundappa Kumbar Hochakanalli, who was about 42 years old and a bread earning member of our family.

Mother was suffering from TB. After loss of father, I went for labour work for a day in a sugar making Khandsari factory. I worked all the night as waste disposer without a rest. By morning 8 o’clock my duty was over and I was offered Rs. two only as my wages. This made me to continue my study, as I hoped that I may get better job after my education.

I was struggling to arrange for SSLC exam fee of Rs.25/- and my aunt Ratnamma helped me at this critical time by selling half quintal jawar. This help I never forgot in my future life.

Things were not that much easy. Spent six months of PUC Science without reference books of basic physics. Yet I stood second to my college in final PUC exam. Of the total 300 students strength, only 90 had cleared the exam. One fellow got first class [Mr.Basuth Ali, whose brother was a teacher]. Twelve got second class and I was topper in that list of 12 students.

I was offered free ship and the fee I gave to the institute was returned [Rs 300/-]. I use this money for next year admission fee. Thus the story goes.

When I applied for loan scholarship, which was sanctioned for complete degree course [four years], the college clerk deceived me and took my acknowledgement of receipt and gulped Rs.720/- completely. The person wanted to hold my final year scholarship also and deliberately told me that it was not received the amount for that academic year. I was kept in darkness. Several repeated enquiry did not yield the result. It was famine those days and i told my story to my brother in law Mr, Veerappa. I also said him that, if the term fee was not paid, i would not qualify for appearing in the final year examination.

He took me to a relative’s village who was a petty shopkeeper, called Mukund Sultanpur. This man arranged for the money I was in need and thus I paid the fee and could appear for the final degree exam. Meanwhile my grandmother Narasamma happened to visit my rented room and she saw my hardship and offered me her nose ring [4gram gold] which I sold to get my food needs till the final year examination was completed.

After the exam, I was working as literate mazdoor in PWD Division office Bidar, in famine relief works fund, for a couple of months. One of my close friends, Mr. Swami appeared near my rented shelter and announced that the college notice board had a message, to collect the final instalment of loan scholarship amount of Rs 720/-. This time the clerk’s trick did not work. The internal audit might have asked the management, why the payment was not made to me.

Thus I earned my science degree which was very costly. However it yielded results ,as I was selected to Post and telegraph department in 1974 summer. This was a turning point of my life and service.The last instalment of scholorship money which I collected, I used it to stay at Gulbarga during my two months induction course period. It was the initial course, for a Telephone Operator post in manual telephony.

After an initial five years service, I appeared for a departmental competitive examination for the post of ‘Phone inspector’. The exam was held in polytechnic collage Gulbarga. There were about 75 participants who came from different districts of Gulbarga division to take part in the examination. In the exam, only two candidates were selected from this center. I was one of the two. My hard work done during degree ,fetched me a promotion. I was elated with new hope for better life. It was 1980, and I was trained in Hyderabad RTTC for the new post for a period of six months. I was posted to Sandur Telephone exchange as in-charge officer. After working for one year, I again appeared for competitive examination for the post of junior engineer; this time from Bellary division. Among 70 candidates who participated from Bellary division, only three were successful. I was one among the three. Thus I had entered the executive service as Junior Engineer.

After 1999, again chemistry fascinated me. It all started from Photo synthesis and the break down of water molecule and liberation of energized electron and formation of ATP molecule. I went on reading chemistry and the property of elements and formation of natural minerals. Formation of sedimentary rocks like lime stones, the sail formation attracted my attention. The early history of chemistry and discovery of hydrogen ,oxygen ,the carbon dioxide is interesting. Establishment of The law of conservation of mass, by Lavoisier opened the new thought of building blocks ,the atoms and elements.