Chennai: Devaki Muthiah, 70 wife of eminent industrialist A.C. Muthiah, was delighted and excited to receive her Ph.D degree in Tamil Literature. After struggling with it for the 25 years, she was one of over 400 students who proudly walked up on stage Monday to receive their degrees at the Madras University convocation.
A series of health issues delayed her degree but didn’t deter her from pursuing it. “I had been suffering from a knee joint problem for several years and eventually had to go in for a knee replacement. This in turn delayed my research on the subject,” she said, holding on to her degree with pride.
Her guide and former Head of the Tamil Literature department, late Dr. C. Balasubramanian both motivated and helped her in completing her paper titled ‘Abirami Andhadhi’. When asked about the energy and motivation she got at this age to complete her research paper, she said, “Tamil literature as a subject interests me. Despite the illness and sufferings I was determined to finish this paper. Also my guide Late Balasubramanian motivated me to a great extent. So he was an inspiration too.”
Earlier she completed her M.Phil in Tamil literature from the same university. Like Devaki, there were many 50 plus PhD degree awardees at the convocation. Dr J.D Sharma (58), a senior manager in IOB as well as President of IOB officers’ association, was ecstatic about getting his Ph.D degree and also the first generation learner.
“It took me five years to complete my PhD. I started in 2009 and completed in 2014,” he said. His research title was on ‘Study on post globalization motivational dimensions among the officers of Indian public sector banks’. He said he was very passionate about this subject. “This paper helped me to learn about the skill gaps and how it is affecting the level of job satisfaction, motivation and career orientation,” he said. He added saying, “age is not at all a matter when it comes to passion and determination.”
‘Chennai can act as a good teacher for India’
Former Governor of West Bengal Gopal Krishna Gandhi, who presided over the 158th convocation of Madras University, said Chennai could act as a teacher for India because of its honesty in which they take pride but at the same time he pointed out that this ‘pride becomes conceit if it is un-accompanied by honesty.’
Highlights of his speech
Praising Chennai:
Chennai does not fake or pretend. It is a real city, people are real, problems are real, and their misery is real as well as their joys and sense of fun. “You can say India is like that and so it is but in being true to itself, Chennai can be said to be India’s teacher…” Look at the expressions of the people of Chennai: “When they are happy they laugh out loud as the roar of thunder, when they are angry, their faces will show rage or contempt in a flash.” Chennai is a metropolis with a mind of its own, it can, alongside Kolkata, be described as an intellectual metro.
Chennai is a city with the most extraordinary cultural resources. No other place in the world has as many music halls that double up as meeting halls. Each one of them is booked day after day, night after night with some form of high or trying to be high performance.
The loopholes:
Chennai’s civic sense is an affront to the senses. Of what self-purifying or uplifting use or what earthly or heavenly use can the temple at every possible step be, if the Chennai male spits and urinates at every corner, crevice and culvert? “ It is utterly hypocritical on our part to blame the civic authorities or corporation, of not keeping the city clean, if we maltreat our surroundings.”
Other cities may be bad or worse, but the problem is not lessened by that comparative fact. No one is above the law, except the motorcyclist. Chennai is overlooking some human tragedies being enacted right under its gaze. It is utterly wrong that sky scrapping buildings should rise in our city both for residential and professional purposes that will put out ground water.
