SUPERMAN'S MESS ! We all called in 'Subramani’s Mess'. No, it was not a mess he created. It was what the staff canteen was known as, a rather colloquial expression - the place where you got the most delicious food made with loving care by Subramani. He was about 15 when he came to RTU, sometime in 1986. He was an orphan. His mother was his father’s second wife. They lived near Kodaikanal, in the hills. They barely eked out a living from a small plot of land which they cultivated. When Subramani’s father died, his elder step brother, who was then in his early twenties, drove away Subramani and his mother. He was barely a couple of years old – or so he believes. His mother came down to Batlagundu, a small town on the foothills of the Kodai hills and took up odd jobs to keep themselves alive. There, she befriended a Muslim family, who helped her from time to time when she did not find work. Eventually, they became very attached to the family. When Subramani was just about four, his mother too died, possibly, of tuberculosis. Years passed by. While the kind Muslim family fed him, Subramani took up small jobs, sometimes in a shop, sometimes in a restaurant. One fine day, someone who claimed to be his uncle, came from Kodaikanal, looking for him. He took Subramani with him, who went along happily on finding someone from his own family. But his delight was short lived. The so-called uncle did not send Subramani to school as promised. Instead, he asked Subramani to work on his farm, tend his cattle and generally, provide cheap labour. All he got in return was some measly food, and that too very inadequate, and a place to sleep. One day, he decided enough was enough. He got on to a truck that was coming down to Vathalagundu ( small town, about 50 kms from the famed temple town, Madurai, in Tamil Nadu), paying Rs. 2 to the driver. That was all the money he had. He had heard of a village for orphaned boys from someone who came to visit his so-called uncle. He didn’t find the orphanage. Instead, he landed up, tired, hungry and malnourished, at the Leonard Hospital a hospital run by the sisters of the Presentation Convent (a Catholic order 0f missionaries), who in turn, asked him to meet Bro. Kimpton in Kallupatti, 10 kms away. He spent the night on the verandah of the hospital. Fortunately, the sisters there fed him a simple meal. The next day, early in the morning, he reached Kallupatti. The medical clinic had not yet opened. He was the first to reach there. Tired as he was and nervous, he lay on one of the benches in front of the clinic. He could barely sit up. The long hours of work, the travel, the hunger and the mental stress had all taken a toll on him. He looked pale and was very weak Soon, the medical clinic staff came and on hearing his story, he was taken to meet Bro. Kimpton. “Feed him first, get him a decent set of clothes and then we will see”, Bro. Kimpton instructed. Since he was about 14 then, he was too old for the foster homes. He seemed too old for the boys’ hostel too and moreover, he was a non-school going child. But then that’s where Bro. Kimpton decided to put him. Meanwhile, Sister Sandra who supervised the clinic, took a personal interest in nursing him back, treating him like her own brother. Since Subramani could not go to school, he spent most of his time in the clinic. In a short period, he had befriended the clinic staff and even some of the regular patients. He was always there to help around with various errands – making paper envelopes for medicines, bandages for the poor patients, serving meals to the old aged in their homes, cleaning the clinic after working hours and even taking care of the plants which Sister Sandra had fondly planted behind the clinic. Almost a year passed. Subramani regained his health and became a popular person around - with his infectiously dazzling smile and positive attitude. It was at that time that a need for an assistant cook was felt since there were more staff using the staff 'mess'. Subramani was delighted when he was asked if he could assist the cook in the mess, because it meant learning new skills (he was always interested in cooking) and also a princely salary of Rs. 150 with free food ! As a fifteen year old, he was a quick learner and a very hard worker. He scrubbed the vessels, cleaned the floors and set the meal in the mess. Initially, he started with less important tasks like cutting and cleaning vegetables. Soon, he had graduated to making fish fry and chicken curry – and didn’t he do it well ? Even before Subramani had turned 18, he had become The Cook. It was a delight going to Subramani’s mess. It used to be spotlessly clean. Each person was greeted with a warm smile and a naughty comment. “Check you waistline, annai (elder brother in Tamil)” ! he would shout out to Manoba and Philip, the two rotund brothers with an insatiable apetite, who worked in RTU and who always bullied Subramani, in a good-natured way, to let them taste his delightful food and that too, without paying for it ! Subramani would shoo them away and guard his 'mess' fiercely. Only those who paid and was eligible to eat in his mess as per RTU's criteria, would be served - and Manoba and Philip obviously did not qualify! But he never forgot his own past. As and when new children, mostly orphans, were admitted to RTU’s foster homes, Subramani would go and meet them, make friends with the new children and assure them that they would be happy in their new homes. He was extremely caring, going out to meet people who were unwell or in needed help. On days when visitors were expected, he felt doubly responsible to maintain high degree of hospitality. The food that day would be doubly delicious ! One of his fond recollections was about the time when a BBC team came visiting from London in 1990. The team of about 6 journalists and technicians who had come down to make a film on Bro. Kimpton’s work were so touched by Subramani’s hospitality that each day after their shoot, they would come and spend a few minutes with him, asking him questions which of course, he could not understand well. All that he understood was that they had named him ‘Superman’, partly because he worked so hard and partly because it was difficult for them to pronounce his name ! And that name came to stay for a long time. He was ‘Superman’ to many of his friends on the campus from then on. But life moved on. Subramani, as was his nature, wanted to learn yet another skill. Three years in the mess and he was moved to the batik section where he learnt how to make lovely batik printed wall hangings and bed linen. He was even more delighted, for now, he had a provident fund account, was eligible to staff loan and was a member of the workers’ association. But all these days, in spite of his heavy work load, he had taken time out in the evenings to go to Raghavan, a school teacher, who had agreed to make him functionally literate. By the time Subramani moved to the batik unit, he had learnt basic reading and writing. He would try to read the newspaper headlines and even some simple story books and magazines. He had opened a bank account and was keen on savings. When he had saved enough, he bought 3 cents (100 cents make an acre) of land and with RTU’s support, he built a small, one-bedroom house. The little Subramani, just stepping into his twenties now, was a proud home-owner and had taken his first step onto the property ladder ! It was indeed a proud day for him when most of his friends, staff of RTU, came for his housewarming. A couple of months later, he was married to Mallika, one of the children from the foster homes (her mother was a foster mother). Subramani had come up in life with his hard work and was often quoted as an example, especially to the boys in the boys’ hostel, on how one needed to learn to face up to life’s challenges. Subramani and Mallika now have a son, Mohan. And after all that Subramani has been through, one can be rest assured that life for Mohan will be very very different - and compared to that of his father, he will have a very privileged life, full of love, care and support !