'Green card' Raju comes to Mysore

The last time I got in touch with him, my wife's cousin Raju was awaiting his 'green card'. He phoned us from his daughter's place in Philadelphia. Son Ashwin is also in the US. "They want us (me and my wife) to move to the US," he had said. Nearly four years after this call, Raju and his wife Meena paid us a visit in Mysore the other day. They stay in the US nowadays, and visit India once a year.
Raju's wife, who was a bank official in Bomaby, took voluntary retirement to be able to join her daughter with a growing child. And the Rajus are doing their bit as grand-parents in bringing up their daughter's child. They are so fond of her that the Rajus plan to shop in Chennai a Kanchi silk dress stitched for their grand-daughter's arangetram in Philadelphia.

Raju briefed my wife and Baby, his other cousin in Mysore, on his life in the US, his grand-daughter's dance training, his daughter's flair for navarathri kollu and her volunteer role in an NRI-run temple. Raju spoke with pride, of his music-minded son-in-law, who takes part in concerts NRIs organise in their US town. He can handle a variety of instruments; was part of a students band in his IIT days.

When Philadelphia winter gets harsh Raju and his wife move to Mountain View. Where their son Ashwin gives them as warm a welcome as the California weather. Presumably, because,like most bachelors living abroad, Ashwin misses mom's sambar-rasam.
Raju went on a flash-back mode. On arrival at Mysore railway station, he said, he took a walk with his wife to Devaraja Market, to get a feel of the Mysore that was Raju's entertainment Mecca during his school days in Nanjangud. He spoke of the cinema house they frequented, of the tasty set-dosa he used to have at the Raju's cafe in Vanivilas market - 'I used to walk to that place, from Chamarajapuram railway station'.

On a visit to Nanjangud Raju looked up his school friend Mahadev, to catch up with the decades of absence from Nanjangud, during which much water had flown through the Kabini. Raju left Nanjangud soon after his schooling,to appear in RBI recruitment examination in Nagpur. Raju's father, Sethumadhavan of Nanjangud, had been a bank official.

His son Raju flunked the bank exam, only to be persuaded by his cousin Balu to stay with him at a chawl (in Dadar?),and look for a job. He also got Raju his first job that paid him a rupee a day. Weeks later, when he got a better job Raju moved to his own room paying a monthly rent of Rs.45. Bombay, which first gave Raju a footing ,enabled him in later life not merely to advance his career, but also help his parents back in Nanjangud, and educate his brothers,notably Krishnan.

Raju recalled with gratitude the support he had from Balu (known among cousins as 'Nigeria' Balu). But for him, Raju wouldn't have made it to Bombay. 'Nigeria' Balu had made it big, starting out in life as a newspaper delivery boy. He graduated in textile technology, and moved on to make his life abroad. A life that started at a Bombay chawl was tragically cut short in California. Balu died in a swim-pool accident in his son's Los Angeles mansion.

Balu had been Raju's role model. If it hadn't been for Balu's prodding and support in the late 50s, Raju said he would have, perhaps, gone back to Nanjangud; and, presumably, ended up as a municipal school-teacher. Which was what his father had in mind for Krishnan when he passed out (was it in 70s,Raju?) of the Nanjangud corporation school with distinction.

Raju,who was then in Bombay, learned of his brother's exam result from a newspaper that carried the names of the top ten rank holders in SSLC. Krishnamurthy Sethumadhavan figured in the list. It was due to Raju's insistence ('I wanted at least one of us to get into IIT'),and financial support that Krishnan could make it to IIT Bombay, and then go on to the US for higher studies.

Krishnan, with a doctoral degree in metellurgy, has over a hundred published research papers to his credit. With his wife Girija (a leading Kannada social figure and civic activist in Pheonix, Ariz.),and their two college-going sons, Krish Krishnamurthy is settled in Chandlers, Ariz.

Raju spoke of his brother Krishnan and his family with justifiable pride and a sense of personal fulfilment,for having been instrumental in changing the course of life for a rank-holding school-leaver from Nanjangud. His humble beginning didn't deter Raju from reaching out to help his brothers. His regret is that he failed to persuade his other brothers to take advantage of his presence in Bombay and the support he was willing to give them, even though Raju was then a man of modest means.

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