I think that many of us are misled by people whom we trust as good friends. In 1983, when I got admission into the M.Sc. Physics Education Degree Course of the University of Reading in the UK, I applied for scholarship, but didn't succeed. My father asked me to apply for a bank loan by pledging our house (built by hard earned and saved money by my beloved parents). Though I was reluctant to place the symbol of my parents' sacrifices as collateral for the bank loan, after some contemplation and discussion with my parents, I accepted my dad's advice. Soon I visited the local branch of Indian Overseas Bank (Vellore) and met the Branch Manager. He was my neighbour, classmate and a close friend by name V Pandurangan. When I explained the purpose of my visit, he told me that the bank would provide a loan but on one condition that the amount should be repayed within three years, failing which the house would be confiscated by the bank. As I was not sure as to whether I would be able to satisfy this condition, I abandoned the idea. I asked my brother in law (my sister's husband) who was employed in the State Bank of India, as to the rules and regulations for bank loan. He replied that he had no idea about bank loan rules and regulations. Many years later I came to know that what my 'friend' told me was not correct. A few days after I wrote about this episode in this blog a few years back, I received an email from Pandurangan saying how happy he was to know about me from my blog after many years and that he liked to renew our friendship. He also denied what he told me at the bank and asked me to remove the post. I removed the post thinking that it was ethics. But now I think on the contrary. I think that if some one does any thing evil deliberately, his/her action deserves exposure so that others can learn a lesson. Hence I am writing about the incidence now in this post. When he sent his email to me, I didn't reply. I think that he understood the meaning that I was not interested in renewing our friendship.
About Me
- Guruprasad Panamalai
- Chennai, Tamilnadu, India
- I am a retired K-12 Education Management Professional. I have worked at different levels in K-12 school systems, textbook publishing, elearning and Education NGOs. I have held memberships in The Association for Science Education (UK), American Association of Physics Teachers and The Malaysian Institute of Physics. I hold a 1st class B Sc Degree in Physics followed by B Ed [English and Physical Science] and M A [Childcare and Education] degrees. My published works include 59 articles in teacher development magazines in India and the US and a book entitled `Creative Classrooms and Child Friendly Schools' (listed in Amazon). This book is almost an anecdotal account of my professional experience in six countries (including Cambodia where I worked as Technical Adviser to the Ministry of Education, Youth And Sports). I served as mentor in the Certificate of Teaching Mastery Program offered by Teachers Without Borders.
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