For my first degree, I chose Physics as Main subject along with Mathematics and Chemistry. English and Syriac were the other subjects. During the English lesson, all the students from different groups would converge in a hall for the lecture. There were about 100 students in an English class. It was the first time I heard the word 'proxy' - the authority to represent someone else. Some students skived off the English class and their friends acted as a proxy when the attendance was taken, without being noticed by the lecturer because of a large number of students. Sometimes catcall and mimicking by the students disturbed the class. But the lecturers took it positively and carried on. We were only 17 students, offering Syriac and Fr. Chavara was the lecturer. It was a close-knit class and the interaction was more personal. Main specialized subjects like physics had fixed a number of seats as per University specification.

The University had re-organized B.Sc. Program in 1966 and introduced B.Sc. (Special) and B.Sc. (General), an erroneous, fallacious, flawed program. The selection was based on the marks obtained by the students at the Pre-Degree level, but the B.Sc. (Special) students had an advantage of getting admission into M.Sc. Program over the general students even if they got higher marks than Special students. I chose B.Sc. (General). We realized the problems faced by the General students only in 1969 when the first batch of students was graduated. The situation was graver than everybody had thought. A student strike was called for, about this issue. B.Sc. (Special) students were gheraoed (encircled), and their classes were disturbed, police were called to the campus to maintain law and order. The various students' union took up the cause. Finally, the University had decided to increase the number of seats for M.Sc. Course and eventually abolished the B.Sc. (Special) Program in 1969.

I stood out in Mathematics mostly scoring 100% on all exams. I loved Math and Math teachers. But Chemistry was alien to me as it was for my father. I struggled day and night to get the concepts correct, but still it was a riddle. Several times I burned my fingers with acid while doing practical in the laboratory. I also developed an apathy towards Chemistry. My closest friends in my college life were, Lal, Abu, and Chacko. We moved together during free time, visited the library, college canteen and took part in most of the activities. We also had a common friend called Lakshmanan who owned the cafe 'Best Bakery' adjacent to the college. During free lessons, we moved to his cafe for discussions along with coffee. He was very supportive during college days. (Abu, Chacko, and Lakshmanan passed away. May their souls rest in perfect peace). In 1970 during our third year of B.Sc., we staged a drama called 'father, see rocket' for the College youth festival under my direction. It was a satire-drama highlighting the problems among students. The drama was well received by the students with cheers, laughter and catcall.

Physics classes were very challenging and thought provoking. Under the guidance of Prof. S.L. Thomas (Head of Dept.) the teachers were at their best in delivering topics. They solved the puzzles behind each topic and made Physics a lovable subject. They ignited curiosity, invoked passion, raised expectations, building confidence and set stars as the limit.

After three years of intensive coaching, we were ready for the final examination and the course ended in March. It was a tradition that students organize a farewell sumptuous dinner for the professors and their spouses, along with the administration to show the appreciation and thanksgiving. I was given the task of giving the farewell speech.