A Recollection Triggered by a Passing

The first posting in 2026

Reading Sir Mark Tully’s obituary in the London Times, several things occurred to me. First, that he was ten years older. than I am currently. My father and grandfather both passed away at about the same age, so maybe I may have another ten years to spend with you all. Second, that Sir Mark’s father worked for Gillanders. That firm was the trigger to recollect happenings in late 1965.

In 1965, after my miserable performance in the graduation examinations, my father decided that I should look for a job. I was 20 then. Armed with a BA Honours degree in Mathematics. Thanks to my schooling, I was reasonably fluent in English, reasonably well-read, could play a fair game of tennis and table tennis, and had an active interest in sports. What job could I get? Word was spread among my extended family about my attempt at entry into the job market. My mother and grandfather were not too happy about this change in my status. But two possibilities were open at that very moment. And I tried for both.

The first was at Gillanders and Arbuthnot. I heard from the family grapevine that I should put on a clean shirt and a tie and on an appointed date land up at the HeadOffice, the famous Gillander House, in what used to be called Dalhousie Square, to be interviewed by the Managing Director and I was told that this was a pucca sahib. That didn’t sound too menacing since our school had been run by American Jesuits and some of them had been quite strong personalities. So I was used to conversing with foreigners. Maybe the accent would be a problem, I thought. I was interviewed by the big boss; he asked me whether I liked outdoor life; I did. Sports? I could play all but Tennis and Table tennis were the ones I excelled in. Bridge? I had to admit that I did not play cards. I was kind of wondering where this was going. He probably sensed my queries and explained that I would have a fair bit of time on my hands, so it was nice to know that I would be able to participate in sports, life in the Tea Gardens would otherwise be a problem. So I was being considered for a position in the Tea Gardens! Then he lifted the phone, and he talked to someone, keeping his voice so low, I couldn’t pick up a single word. He then rang a bell and a peon came in who was asked to take me to another person. In parting, he said that he would get in touch soon. The next man again another sahib, appeared more friendly. Asked me whether I could use a slide rule. No I said but should be able to learn how to use one. Good at Calculations he queried. I did try to tell him that I would be conscientious in calculations. He said, we will see. He hinted that they would like me to take up the job immediately and I realised that I would have to give up my studying for the MA in Pure Maths. I must have looked crestfallen. He asked me when I would complete my studies, I said in another 6 months. He shook hands and that was it. Now it seems that the first person who interviewed me must have been the Managing Partner. And on checking, I find that it was Sir Mark’s father who was Managing Partner in the mid-60’s. That was why the name Gillanders rang a bell.

I later learnt, once again from the grapevine which had set up the interview, that I got that job in the tea gardens but the Government of India threw a spanner in the works. They found that the firm had done some illegal transactions and were fined a huge sum. And Gillanders and Arbuthnot decided not to expand operations and the job disappeared. I was relieved. Happiest was my mother. She wanted that I complete my studies.

The second job was in the West Bengal Forest Service. I had to appear in another interview. The interview proceeded smoothly till some one asked me how to convert ordinary logarithms to Napierian logarithms. I asked whether ordinary logs meant logarithms (logs) to base 10 and Napierian meant logs to base e. I had to ask since I thought that logarithms to base e were called Napierian logarithms and also natural logarithms. The gentleman asked sarcastically why I had to ask, and looked at me with disbelief when I told him that the terms were new to me. I decided not to tell him about my confusion. But I gave him the formula, alright; to get logarithms to base 10, we need to multiply the Napierian logarithms by log e to base 10, I said. But he wouldn’t let go. He wanted a number, and I said I didn’t know. What do they teach you he said in disgust. I wanted to tell him that this was not taught, but I kept my mouth shut. The gentleman was a well-known Professor of Chemistry. Why he was there selecting candidates for the Forest Service, it was not clear. Nor was it clear how this conversion formula would come in useful in the forests of West Bengal. But I realised I would not be getting this job either. My father would not let me go, and he said alright, my next aim should be to study for the UPSC examination. I kept quiet, knowing that since I found it difficult to do well in examinations, I had very little chance of getting through.

Meanwhile, a friend who was studying in Cambridge for the Mathematics Tripos examination sent me a problem his tutor had assigned, and he was still unable to solve it. After some days, I thought I had managed to solve it and wrote out the solution in one of those areogrammes and sent it. My friend’s tutor advised my friend that I should consider applying for admission, since the solution I had sent contained an error but showed promise! I went to my parents, and to my great amazement, discovered that it cost money to study in Cambridge, and my parents did not have that kind of money. I had also discovered that while scholarships were available but only to those who had a first class at the BA level. So I was ruled out. That was the first time I realized that there was a point to doing well in the examinations. Analysis of my performance led me to realize that while I did well in the more foundational areas, in many applied areas, where other students found it easy to score, I fared miserably

During my MA days, I came across a classmate with whom I would discuss many things, and while I had never discussed my failings at examinations with anyone, I talked to him. He helped me greatly and we studied together preparing for the final examinations. His tips helped greatly and I did quite well in the final examinations, scoring well in all the papers. And my performance was adequate in that it helped me to take the first step towards studying economics. I have written about subsequent events earlier.