Golden Picketian- Ramanujapuram Krishna (XI-1968)

Been there, done that.!!He passed out of K.V Picket in 1968 and "loved going to school".Meet Ramanujapuram Krishna,a banking and insurance consultant,a role model for Picketians,one of the first few Picketians to give back to the school-a place where he learnt the basics of life.


(Ramanujapuram Krishna with his wife Chandrika and sons -Arun and Adethya.)

Could you please tell us something about yourself, your childhood days and places where you have done your schooling?
I am the second of three children of my parents. My father was an engineer in All India Radio and we kept moving all over the country. I did my schooling in Bombay, which incidentally is my birth place, Delhi, Bangalore, Madras and Secunderabad. We had a good family life and the usual fights with brother and sister. However, there was closeness within the family. Summers used to be spent in Bangalore with my paternal uncles, aunts, cousins and my maternal grandparents. We had a huge clan and there was lots of fun. I remember that in my uncle's (Dad's eldest brother)place, there would sometimes be 40 people eating at one meal!


For how many years were you in Picket and for which all grades?
I was in Picket from the 9th grade to the 11th. We came to Hyderabad, mid term, in November 1965 and we (my brother, sister and I) studied in KVP from December 1965 till we completed schooling. I passed out in 1968.

Did you like going to school then? Why or why not
I loved going to school. OK maybe some days, not too much. Overall however, the school had nice teachers, a spirit of cordiality and affection that I had not seen in most other schools I studied in, and I had very good friends. Being one of the better students in my class helped, I suppose.


Can you name a few teachers who taught you? Any favorites?
Mr A.L.N.Rao, Mrs Sarojini Naidu, Mr Aswathanarayana, Mr Aslam Alvi, Mr Kistaiah, Mrs Premlatha Reddy, Mr Sankara Sarma, Mr Khandelwal, Mr Mohandas. Difficult to pinpoint favourites as all the teachers treated us very well and scolded us whenever we transgressed the limits of good behaviour. This applies even to teachers who did not teach me such as Mrs Padmaja, who taught Biology, which I had not taken and who can forget Mrs Premilla Venugopal or Mrs Marian David as I knew her then, who egged me on into all the extra curricular activities. Also one who was not a teacher but makes my honours list any day, Ms Maya Srinivas, our cheerful librarian who issued as many books as I wanted. What struck me about them was the support and encouragement they gave us. Like indulgent parents they always made us feel we were the best!


What were the subjects you liked the most?
Mostly Chemistry and Maths. I also liked Physics and was a greatly enthusiastic reader devouring any books that came my way.


Did you participate in the extra-curricular activities at school. Do you think all that has had any influence in the way your personality has shaped up.
Yes. I was there in quiz competitions, GK, debates, elocution and of course Cricket. These have shaped my personality for the better giving me more confidence in life and also making me drive my wife nuts when I switch on sports channels on the TV!

Any memorable incident that happened to you during school that you’d like to share with us?
Wow! There are so many. However, the one thing which stands out even now is the pep talk that Mr. Sukumaran gave me about five months before the final XI Std. Exams. This was the defining moment when I got really serious about my studies! Then there were the cricket matches where we invariably got thrashed. However, this gave me the gumption to face anything that life threw at me and keeps throwing at me!


How would have the teachers in school described you.
Tall, awkward, studious, mischevious, playful, curious, bossy. Maybe but just maybe intelligent!

Did you hold any leadership position at school? Any sports medals that you won.
We did not to my knowledge have a school leader, but I was definitely the School Dada in Class XI. Before that it was my brother Sridhar

What did you do after your XIIth? From where did you graduate?
I passed out of school in the XI. There was no 12th those days. After passing out from KVP, I did B.Sc (Hons.) in Chemistry from Bangalore and then M.Sc. from Delhi.

When did you move outside Hyderabad? And how has the experience been.?
I moved out of Hyderabad immediately after school. However, my Dad was still in Hyderabad till end 1970. So I kept visiting, and would pop into school periodically, until they moved to Delhi. My sister completed school while staying with one of her classmates and good friend, Jayashree, whose mother Mrs Rama Srinivasan was one of the very best teachers of the school. Life outside Hyderabad is different but not too much for one who has spent almost his entire life travelling. Further, there was an unhurried pace about Hyderabad (and Bangalore) that is not there today. I spent a good part of my working life in Madhya Pradesh where there is a difference in the attitudes of people towards life. The cities I worked in such as Mumbai have their own good points and are the pits in some ways. However, the takeaway from every place is the good one sees rather than the negative aspects.


Tell us something more about your family?
I have been married for 27+ years and have two sons. My wife Chandrika is 47 going on 25 and looks about the latter age. My elder son, Arun, is 26 and a purchase engineer working in General Motors India in Bangalore. My younger, Adethya, who is 17, is in the process of completing his schooling from Vidya Niketan in Bangalore. Each of them is unique in their own way. Chandrika never stops learning. She is completing her Diplome Superieur in French from Alliance Francaise in Bangalore. She is also learning Tai Chi. All of us have completed Reiki 2nd Stage and Chandrika has done the third stage as well. Arun is a Linux enthusiast and knows quite a bit of programming. Adethya is learning the Tabla in addition to doing a course in animation. We love dogs and have two, Dennis and Rex, who are the spoilt kids in the house! All of us have been reasonably active in the Art of Living movement, even my dogs who put their barking on hold whenever we have programmes in our home! Would recommend that everyone does the basic course of AOL for health and happiness reasons. Best thousand rupees I have spent!

What is your current profession? How did you get into it? Do you like it ?
I am now a consultant for banking and an insurance agent advisor for Max New York Life. Am giving this a shot as I got rather tired of working for others. Some of the good things I did as a consultant is the entire process manual for a private sector bank, encompassing everything including the Credit Manual, the forms, the layout of office for the retail assets section, processes to be followed for enrolling third party service providers, checklists and so on. Prior to this I was in banking and have been through employment in SBI as well as two private sector banks, Centurion Bank and ING Vysya Bank. Not many banks can come close to SBI in terms of professionalism and quality of processes and personnel despite its seemingly slow ways. All I can say is SBI has provided me the best learnings of my life over a 25+ year period.


Would you be willing to guide any enthusiastic Picketians who wish to pursue a similar profession as yours?
I can guide someone once I become succesful in this profession, as a consultant, which I am still to become. Am however, quite knowledgeable about banking and have achieved reasonable success there. Would be delighted to guide anyone on the finer aspects of a banking career.

Thinking about it now, what do you think was the biggest learning/lesson you learnt at Picket?
Three things. One never underestimate yourself, second never give up and third if you do not know it cannot be done, it can be done!


Did you have crushes on any one back then?
Some things are best kept hidden from the world! However, to tell the truth, there were no crushes during my Picketian days.

Had you been in India and in Secunderabad, would you have sent your children to KV Picket? Why or why not?
No question! I certainly would have. After seeing the school and the kind of alumni we have, this question is a no brainer!


Do you think there is anything that the school/education system desperately needs?
As far as the school is concerned, the infrastructure, especially the bathrooms could be a little better. It could also do with better maintenance. I do not blame the school authorities who I am sure are giving it their best shot. It is the bureaucracy and remember that I have worked 25 years in the public sector. It is a brave person who can take on the establishment for getting more funds and improve matters. We Picketians need to rally round the Alma Mater to do the needful. If the alumni from the IITs can do it so can we. We have very well to do people amongst us and can easily translate love for the school into action. As far as the education system is concerned, I remember hearing Narayan Murthy speaking about how we are high on facts but low on problem solving skills. This is apparent when we see performance in tests such as GRE, TOEFL and so on. I recollect that many of my classmates in M.Sc. scored poorly in GRE Advanced which consisted of questions that required analytical application of academic knowledge, although they performed quite creditably in the Univ exams. This is one area that needs to be addressed urgently.


Did you attend the first Picket reunion? How was the experience?
Fantastic! I have expressed myself in my mails on this subject. It was way beyond my expectations. I enjoyed myself thoroughly and was delighted to meet my old friends and several teachers of yore who had a hugely positive impact on my life. Had a tear in my eye for all those who are no more and who helped. Also to see the enthusiastic younger generation, most of whom were born long after I passed out of school, made me mentally and even spiritually rejuvenated.


Is there anything more that you would like to add?
Sure. I bow my head in sheer gratitude to the organisers of Pratibimb and those who started the Alumni Association. Also to technology that makes all this possible. Having got acquainted with the prime movers of both association ansd event, I saw amazingly constructive and creative thinking at work. Makes me feel that the values taught by the school are intact and there is a lot of good in this world!

(KRISHNA'S KORNER - is a financial advice forum at www.kvpalumni.net where Mr Krishna posts informative pieces on finances and investments. Picketians can address their queries/clarifications to him.)