I was keen to get Tony sir (Prof. Antony Vellanikkaran) to the campus and interact with our Physics team - but, I sensed a reluctance, and didn't press it further. Tony sir learned, and taught Physics. I think, even at SH college for a short while, but basically at Cochin College. He was the principal of the college as well, I guess.
For our school anniversary in 1980, he was invited to be the chief guest. He was perhaps a young lecturer then. In spite of being a school boy, I found his speech witty and life-linked. He spoke about education, and the importance of experiential learning - when such terminologies were hardly familiar to anyone in the educational circle; he didn't use the terminology as such. At the best, they could speak about 'experiments' in the labs. He demostrated his point, by narrating how a teacher tried to explain the concept of centre of gravity - bhoogurutvaakarshana kendram. He takes a note book, and tries to balance it on his finger, and after a few attempts juggling with the finger and the notebook, he is able to keep it steady. And shouts out his eureka moment, 'eda, ithaanu bhoogurutvaakarshana kendram'. And he asks the students, so, what is the centre of gravity? And a smart boy, who was keenly observing the process, answered: 'kutti, kutti kandupidikkunnataanu, bhoogurutvaakarshana kendram'. I liked his speech and delivery.
Being the school leader, I too got an opportunity to come to the stage and propose the vote of thanks. No body had bothered to see if the speech was prepared, and if yes, what the content was. I referred to the guest having spoken well about our achievements at the cultural front especially through KCSL, and made a rejoinder that had the students been adequately supported, it would have been much better. This was planned by me, and I had arranged for a few of my class mates to clap when this point was made.
Again, nothing happened. No body appeared offfended, no body called me to rebuke. Perhaps, no body had listened or attended to what was said.
I met him much later, in his new avatar, post retirment, as a counsellor specialising on TA. I think I did call him to engage parents/students once or twice. I knew he could trigger off ideas and make students get to act, but due to various constraints could not make use of his vitality.
When I visited him in connection with the departure of his wife, I was fascinated by the way in which he had maintained his front yard, unusually spacious for a Konthuruthy-Thevara resident. What caught my attention was the reuse culture introduced artistically - plastic bottles, unusable helmets... all were put to use to make the garden attractive and generating curiosity.
This time, again, after almost 3 years, I stopped over to say hello.
He had his education at St. Albert's college, and after M. Sc from St. Thomas, Thrissur, taught at SH for a year or so. Once he got a permanent position at Cochin College, there was no turning back, and he retired as its Vice-Principal in 2020. Awards and recognitions galore have followed him by organisations like NCERT, KSSP, SB College, Common Wealth etc.
But in the course of his academic life, he developed several other interests - and counselling has become a second profession, now the primary one, for him. He uses insights from Transactional Analysis (TA), Gestalt Psychology and Neuro Linguistic Programme (NLP) to help individuals and groups to steer clear off problems in their lives, and make life more meaningful.
This time, I was captivated by his collections in his yard - diverse and unique plants like kidney plant, carnivorous pranipidiyan plant, varieties of snakeplant (with evidence of snake visiting them!), spanish moss (I had it, but lost it; got a tuft from him which now tries to live on my desk in this desert land) protected in plant-pots of his own design or re-design. They show another dimension of the ageless learner - his interest in design and application of technology. The cannon in the picture is his design and product. His garden has won the best home garden award of Horticultural Society several times.
In our casual conversation, when I asked him, if he had some old time pictures of Kochi and Thevara, he showed me the mapping of roads and buildings of Ernakulam he had done as a high school student, spotting 3 storey buildings of those times - they were just handful. To have done such a work, at such an age, postulates a genius behind it!! I hope to get a copy of that.
I would say, Prof. Dr. Antony is a rich human resource for the locality. The schools around should tap his potential and his experience. I would recommend the science teachers of middle or high school to bring their classes on a walking tour to his place (I hope he will not obejct) and just interact with him, and see his collection of plants and the way he has maintained them - I think that will be an outstanding lesson for them in their school life.
He has shared his 'adipoli' ideas for gardening on the youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCA2QKMBlhJGXCYVR9fQNG_g
Salutations to sir! Feel proud to know him and happy that he is in our Thevara.
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