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grandson has after all cleared the IAS and Allied Examination!

The influence of my maternal grandfather on my character,
piety, tolerance ,compassion towards all is something
remarkable and unmatched by any one in the family. Until I
finished SSLC examination I was his regular disciple and
learned Tiruppavai,Kanninum siruthambu,Sri Vishnu Sahasra
namam, Suprabatham,etc works of Sri Vaishnava texts. He
inculcated in me the spirit of quest for knowledge in Sri

Vaishnavism by taking me with him to listen to discourses on
Tiruppavai,Aditya hridhayam,select verses from Nalayira Divya
Prabandham,etc.I developed interest in listening to discourses
of Sri Annangrachariar, Sri Varadachariyar Swami and Sri
Embar Vijaya raghavachariyar.

Whenever I visited Egmore and stayed with my grandparents
and sister and uncle it was an undeclared duty of mine to assist
my grandfather and work the handpump after getting up from
sleep at four o’clock to collect water issued by \Corporation of
Chennai. During pongal holidays I would be totally engrossed
in watching basketball and volleyball tournaments conducted in
the Corporation grounds. A variety of teams from all over
Tamil nadu and even neighbouring states would participate and
show their skill so that the best team could be awarded trophy. I
would miss my lunch and snacks so that I was present at the
grounds when the deserving teams were at play

My father ,it seemed, had great prescience in the matter of my
career advancement. He had easy access to the successive AGs
by virtue of his expertise in the matter of selection of diamonds.
He helped his bosses to buy flawless diamonds for the wedding
of their dughters.That was why he used to confidently say to his
superiors like the AG that one day his son would rise in his
career and occupy the chair the latter occupied! I finished my
training in Mussorie successfully and was at my home town
awaiting allotment to the service from among several Group A
services under the Government.

th
In retrospect I feel how the risk, I took in my 24 year which

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