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The last and final paper of B.A (honors), Mathematics must have been completed by the students of St.Joseph’s College, Tiruchirappalli, as evident from the stream of students rushing towards Rock Fort entrance of the famous GANESH temple. Are they in thanks giving mood to the DEITY for an easy paper? Certainly not. Actually they are rushing towards the sloppy rock of the temple’s wall where CALCULUS BADRINATH who is also fondly called as CRACK BADRI was busy in scripting the answers of that day’s higher MATHEMATICS paper of the above examination that comprised of INTEGRATED CALCULAS, NUMBER THEORY, INFINITE FRACTIONS and so on.

If you split the crowd and peep inside you may see a thin man of about 5’6” in height hastily writing the correct answers with charcoal piece to the benefit of the candidates so that they might ascertain the probable marks they were likely to get. There where occasional cheers when their answers were correct and sighing and moaning when they had gone wrong. BADRI was in his typical dress of full hand shirt and dhoti of spotless white and made out of KHADI. He must be nearing 40 with an unruly crop of hair pointing to various directions of the sky. His fore head was decorated with 3 stripes of Vibhuthi and with Kumkum at the center. Out of his bushy eye brows the two sparkling but small eyes where probing in all directions to get the identity of the students’ even while his writing was gliding over the rock. Why he is doing this thankless job? Are they his students? Does he get any payment for this hard work in that scorching sun? The answers are it has become his hobby and he has become mentally sick after that fateful day to do this free service. He considers every body in this mother EARTH as his student of MATHEMATICS. He is least bothered to get even a cup of water from anybody let alone teaching fees. You may see him again at the same place writing answers for mathematics exam of CLASS-10, INTERMEDIATE, even CLASS-9, 8 and so on. Let us come back to that fateful day of 20th APRIL 1955 on which Mr.BADRINATH wrote his last paper in the final exam of B.A (honors) in MATHEMATICS. When he got the answer sheet he found lot of anomalies, errors and even correct questions were very easy and below the standard for the highest exam of that university in that subject.

So far Mr. Badri had scored centum in all mathematics papers from class-I up to this stage. He loved his subject better than any living or dead objects in this world and also propagated his knowledge selflessly to his mates and at some times even to his teachers. Teachers were not ashamed to take his guidance to solve knotty problems. Even at the age of 15 he mastered the nuances of INTEGRATED CALCULUS in depth to be called as CALCULUS BADRINATH by his friends and admirers. It won’t be an exaggeration to say that another SRINIVASA RAMANUJAM was in the making after a lapse of about 35 years. On seeing such a worthless paper given to the final year of Mathematics he was much annoyed, disgusted and also irritated beyond words that instead of answering the questions he made a heavy criticism of the authorities in that answer sheet itself then and there and also left the hall.

All the professors of that reputed St.Joseph’s College in TIRUCHIRAPPALLI visited his house and also requested him in chorus to come back and answer the paper before the closure of the time so that he was qualified to pass. But CRACK BADRI vehemently refused the offer resulting in his plucking. That incidence created in him a mental misbalance from which he could never recover. But the genius in him was indisputable that he went on mastering the highest in MATHEMATICS with the books available in his college library. The PRINCIPAL of the college was a French man and also FATHER of the CHRISTIAN MISSION who had a soft corner for this perverted genius. Mr. Badri lost his father at an early age with a few houses and cultivable land on which he and his mother could sustain honorable living. It is a common sight in his locality that even from far off places students of all age groups and classes visit his house to learn this ever dreaded subject. It was unfortunate that he lost his mother who died only on seeing the plight of his son with out leading a normal life and also at times teased by her neighbors for his lunacy.

At one stage he became a nuisance in that locality as he was forcibly calling students of all classes and examining their mathematics note books. As the years advanced his physical appearance was also slowly degenerating with an early stoop and eccentric looks that any body was scarred of him. It has been told that of late he has taken the habit of solving problems in chess appearing in leading journals to cater his intellectual thirst. He is also collecting all papers to solve SUDOKU with regularity. Unless and until he solves all SUDOKU problems appearing in all dailies he wont go to sleep. Though he is in his seventies he is walking with a stick to reach the rocky wall of the famous GANESH MANDIR to give answers for that day’s mathematics questions. But there are also grateful students who are in enviable posts at famous research centers at UK and US and get the pleasure of corresponding with him. To be more precise our ex-president Dr.Abdul Kalam who was also a student of St.Joseph’s College around that time used to enquire about his well being. I am sure some of the readers might be interested to at least see this perverted genius. My advice is to visit TIRUCHIRAPPALI during ANNUAL EXAM time and look for an old man with a stick scribbling on the rocky walls of famous PILLAIYAR KOIL. N.B.—NAME AND FEW OTHER THINGS HAVE BEEN SLIGHTLY CHANGED.

BY J.PANCHAPAGESAN FLAT-11,130 GILL NAGAR EXTN STREET CHOOLAIMEDU CHENNAI PH-044 23744963 EMAIL id- jpanchapagesan@yahoo.co.in