Prof. Dr. Arullapan - " Gentleman to the Core"

Prof. Dr. Arullapan - " Gentleman to the Core"

Another summer holidays came around, and a few of us had nothing to do. The only thing that seemed appealing was to go to the movies. I was coming back from the movie theater after watching “Ninaithaale Innikkum” for the 1000th time and was at a bookstore buying a copy of “Learn Malayalam in 30 days” book when a few of my classmates, Samson, Sathyaprasath, and Body Builder Harikumar walked past me. At first, I thought they didn't notice, but soon realized they were actually avoiding me. One thing I noticed was all three of them had toothpicks in their mouths, which hinted that they had just come back from a “Non-Vegetarian“ feast. “Guys, what's up? Where are you all coming from?” “Onnum illa, inga thaan, summaa vanthom, just like that,” one of them replied! “Vaayila enna toothpick?” Hari couldn't keep his mouth shut and spilled the beans. “Visu, we are coming back from Prof. Arulappan’s wedding!” “What, Prof. Arulappan got married today, and you guys were invited and I wasn't?” "Well, you see,” they were looking for excuses, and we parted ways! My mind went on a roller coaster. Boy, I thought I was one of his favorite students, and he didn't invite me to his wedding. It would have been fine if none of the students were invited, but these guys went, and I was left out, and I really felt bad. Prof. Arulappan! Having come from a well-reputed Christian private school, BCom first-year subjects were pretty much a cakewalk for me, and I managed to clear all six subjects with first class. We moved on to the second year and the second floor of the commerce department building, and we were no more “First year Students,” which was a relief. Our subjects and timetables came by, and one of the subjects was “Marketing.” When the bell rang for our Marketing classes, we were all waiting for the professor to come by. A young guy walked in, and I really thought he was one of the students who probably got transferred from the Evening college. He walked in and instead of sitting amongst us, went straight to the blackboard and wrote, “What is marketing?” And introduced himself. "Students, my name is Arullapan, and I am known as AA. This year I would be teaching you marketing. This subject might look easy, but you all need to attend classes and make sure to pay attention to my lectures." He then taught us the definition of Marketing. “Marketing is getting the right product at the right price to the right people at the right time.” I understood marketing very well immediately and made my own definition. It was Prof. Arulappan’s first year as a Lecturer, and I could sense he was more nervous than most of the students during his first year. Prof. Arullappan was gracious and never showed his anger or upset with anyone at any time. He was no-nonsense, came to classes well-prepared, a man who lived by the “Seiyum tholilae Deivam” concept. He was well-dressed with nicely polished shoes, had a contagious smile, and was ever willing to help anyone. He was also a good Violinist but was too shy to display his musical talents. Like all the other lecturers, I had a love-hate relationship with Prof. Arullapan, and the relationship was mutual. Many a time he made me a scapegoat to teach others a lesson by pointing out my mistakes. But it was all done with a good motive. We went on a college tour all the way to Kashmir, and he was our escort. It was a great time as we got to see the Taj Mahal, Delhi Fort, Kashmir, Golden temple in Punjab, Bombay, and Bangalore. It was one of the finest tours of my life, and Prof. Arulappan was a part of it. I clearly remember that when the results for marketing came out, only four or five of us passed the exam out of the fifty-plus students. I think that really surprised him and he thought I had the potential. He taught us many other subjects, and I was blessed to have him as a professor. He was a Christian devout, a good, and humble human being. I later realized he became the HOD and, in fact, became the College Principal. No one deserved that position better. Many years later, I had a chance to visit him. As I rang the bell and waited, he answered the door and immediately recognized me. Thank you, Prof. Arulappan, you did indeed impact me! PS: Please take some time to let me know why I wasn't invited to your wedding (if you remember).