Anjaneyulu T

My journey from 7th Class to 12th Class in HPS were some of the most memorable years of my life. I still remember, Mr. Krishnan trying to teach that hens lay fertilized eggs and I kept asking him how fertilization occurs. He evaded answering but I was introduced to these secrets by Ananda later. The concept of “dignity of labor” imbibed by Mr. Kuruvilla Jacob, the Dewey Decimal System taught by our Librarian, the, “when in doubt – THINK” mantra of Mr. Raman and not to forget “you will learn Hindi only when you think in Hindi” by Mr. Tiwari are some of my defining memories. It would be incomplete not to remember Mr. Chandrasekhar’s passionate rendering of Julius Caesar, where we saw vivid images of Rome in our minds when he read out “Yond Cassius has a lean and hungry look”. I still remember the assemblies but most of all I remember that we all groaned when we had to sing “Sare Jahan Se Accha” and to think that this is only morning ritual I remember. I would be doing great injustice to the long list of memories if I did not admit that eating sambar with bread and bananas with bread are some rituals that I follow every once in a while, even today.

The time spent with various friends and the many discussions with Raghav, Nilotpal, Ananda and many others as well as going to Nitin’s house for lunch (I remember the long drive way rather than the lunch menu), visiting Sunil at his house behind Green Park and many others, are sealed in my memory.

I went to BITS where, Sunil, PLN, Krishna and myself met and forged a strong relationship. I completed my Chemical Engineering and started my career in 1977.

I worked in ASCI, which had a great Bar, lots of good-looking girls and mostly fun. In 1980, I joined a start-up Hyderabad Batteries. Had a very successful run developing different types of Secondary Batteries for military applications. In1986 I along with some friends established a start-up to make solar products. It was a roller coaster ride and while the ‘up’ was heady, the downs were at first nerve-racking but I learned a lot about insolvency matters, settlement negotiations, criminal cases- bounced cheques, dealing with BIFR. With persistence and support, we have continued to be in the solar business albeit on a steady path. We also produce batteries for most of India’s missile programs.