16th of June 1982 was a very happy day for all of us who had studied science stream at Sathya Sai College because most of us had done very well.I got 83 in Chemistry which I think should have been 90 even today in which case I would have got seat to study Electronics at KREC Suratkal but this did not happen. Many of my class mates we were all together; Shailendra Khare, Santosh, Bhaskar, Sanjay Dawar, Ramprasad and few others.
It must have been around 10 AM.For all practical purposes there are no buses during these times from Kadugodi to K R Puram railway station ; so all of us decided to walk to Hope Farm which we did.Waiting for bus at Hope Farm Santosh mildly made a comment at me. Didnt you apply for seat in REC in inter-state quota. I said NO. He told me 18th is the last date to apply to KREC Suratkal for inter-state quota and all you need is to submit a postal order of Rs.15.I did not know where this place Suratkal is and he told me it is in Mangalore and post will only take one day to reach this place. On a BMTC bus from Hope Farm to K R Puram Station I decided to do something about applying to KREC for inter-state quota.
The time must be around 12 noon and I hurried from the Railway Station bus stop towards my house and on the way picked up a cycle for rent and told my mother that I have to apply for inter state quota and I need Rs.15/-..and she readily complied with a rare scent of optimism in her face.
I rode the cycle to the post office writing a covering letter and making the Rs.15/- postal order. The time must have been 2:00PM 16th of June 1982. The mail exits from Dooravaninagar at 2:30pm and it was a close shave.
To Mangalore the mail would reach the day after if there was no postal delay which is 18th June 1982 and the last day to apply for out-station REC seats.If everything goes well the return mail with prospectus and the forms must reach on 20th June 1982.I spent sleep less nights from the 16th to the 20th.On the 20th morning around 10 AM I hired a cycle again and decided to ride towards the post office and as fortune would have it I met the postman infront of the Murugan temple in Vijanapura and asked if there was any mail for me and ...............LO.............. he removed a large parcel and handed it over to me and it was from KREC Suratkal with the application forms.My joy knew no bounds. It was as-if I already got a seat at REC. Miraculous last moment gamble which paid off. Sometimes optimism pays rich dividends.
The rest is history....with the confluence of other factors I got a seat at REC Calicut .My missing a seat in the first instance at KREC Suratkal had largely been compensated through the inter state quota.
I was destined to meet S V Giri, Srinath Shetty, Jerald Harry Dsouza, Gayathri Bhat and Arvind Poal Masaji and many others at REC NIT Calicut and live for more than four years in the hills of the Western Ghats where this institute is situated.
