The ancient town of Tiruchy, in the center of Tamil Nadu has a very interesting past with the cultural lourish on the banks of the placid river Cauvery. The town has witnessed a series of occupations for the last twenty centuries, by a variety of rulers who left a legacy to mark their stamp in some form or the other which is the cultural identity of the people who live here today. The incredible mark of it’s religiosity is virtual in the landmarks of the town from temples, churches and mosques, which speak volumes of it’s tolerant attitude that encouraged every visitor to acknowledge this great inbuilt quality that has been handed down through the ages to this day.

The ancient Tamil cultural in luence that was a foundation of this tolerance emanates from the times of sangam literature which preached and practiced the brotherhood of man in the most poignant lines recalled even today “Yaathum Voorea Yavarum Kealeer”. The true democratic sprit of a race is re lected in it’s fearlessness and con idence that no alien invasion, physical or cultural could jeopardize the native language, culture or religion that is so strongly entrenched in the collective consciousness of the people of the soil. The British raj, introduced a system of education with the implementation of Lord Macaulay’s treatise on education in India, in the 19th Century, with a caution not to interfere in the teaching on the native predominant languages like Tamil, Sanskrit and Urudu. His rather methodical approach to recognize the excellent human resources with the advantage of the local language is a clear indicator that he acknowledged and accepted the cultural heritage of this land. The growth in higher education in Tiruchirappalli began with the shifting of the St. Jospeh’s College from Nagapattinam to Tiruchirappalli followed by the Railway work shop, which added luster to the exciting business in the town. Tiruchirappalli became the destination for education and offered a whole gamut of a facilities from schools to colleges for the people all over the state and even the neighboring states (then the inclusive province of Madras).

Urumu Seshachalam Chettiar a modest man, who hailed from the village called Urumu situated in Nellore District in Andhra Pradesh, shifted his business to Trichy to share the commercial advantage that any keen entrepreneur would choose, given the potential for growth on one side and neglect of the downtrodden on the other side, gnawed him succeed in his business and ponder on the social role destined for him. The human squalor disease and natural calamities orphaned many children who would have died of starvation unnoticed or ignored by the then British authorities who had no apathy for the inherent poverty of the masses. It was at this juncture that Sri. Seshachalam Chettiar launched his orphanage in 1942, which became a primary school to house and feed the most underprivileged children who had no parents and no other means of livelihood.

Mothi S. Rajagopal was one of the founding members who joined Urumu Seshschalam Chettiar in the noble venture with a burning ire to further the cause of education in the city of Tiruchirappalli by expanding the school into a Higher secondary
School and later in 1970 to launch the irst co-education Arts & Science College in Trichy in Kattur a semi urban area in the periphery of the town. He left school due to the sudden demise of his father who had great plans for his higher education. His desire for knowledge was so
persistent that he exploited all possible avenues to keep himself informed. He was a self learnt scholar, he read all popular, ancient, current literature and his understanding always manifested itself when he interacted with the celebrated Literary minds of the day in the Tamil language like the novelist Dr. Jayakanthan, Dr. Irai Anbu IAS and Nanjil Nadan to mention those close to him.

I met him on many occasions, as an educationist and as secretary of the college (UDC), in various capacities and was very impressed with his grasp of higher education and the ground reality, where the people lacked basic economic security for a living but still needed to liberate them from their poverty through higher education. It was his approach that was admirable to the whole idea of higher education that projected UDC as one of the premier institutions for the most marginalized sections of society. I had the honour of working in UDC for a decade and I retired from Collegiate Education, when Mothi S. Rajagopal was the Secretary of the college.

He was a voracious reader of all type of books, though he always enjoyed iction and poetry. He participated in every meeting of the Book Club of Tiruchy, where he acted many a time as a moderator in initiating discussions and giving a sense of direction to the whole review without a prejudice or partisan opinion which was very scholarly and mature. Every member of the book club had very high regards for Mothi S. Rajagopal and his suave approach that endeared him as a scholar impartial in his utterances however controversial the book or the review may be. In one of his meetings he acknowledged that much of what he speaks is the knowledge he gathered from the Book club and from books. His knowledge of History Education and Current Affairs was greatly admired by teachers like me and even the dominant powers of higher education like Vice Chancellors, Registrars, Directors of Education and Men of Caliber. He was very modest in the midst of educationalist; but always scored a valid point to prove himself-learnt scholarship that was more practically acceptable than book acquired knowledge of the trainer scholar.

He was a Charismatic person on the Campus, he was endeared by the members of the faculty very affectionately, he knew the happening of every department and role that each one played in the college. His bondage with the staff was so, that he would take time of from business activities and call on the teachers at their homes to assure them of his good will and support. This gesture built a very strong bond, and motivated every teacher to put in his best for the college.

Mothi S. Rajagopal was instrumental in improving the infrastructure of the college especially in the last ten years of his life to keep the college abreast with the developments in higher education in Tiruchy. He would often remark that the man power was the resource that needed immediate attention, followed by physical developments like infrastructure. He would casually drop into the college and informally elicit information on the events that are taking place on the campus. It was his earnest desire to see that everyone who entered the portals of this college, succeed in a be itting manner. As the mission of the College and the founder was to the most marginalized, he was very particular that whatever possible within the parameters of academics should be done to ensure success and libration of poverty through education. His empathy for the needy was so deep that as long as he was secretary, of the College, he deliberately kept the fee structure within the reach of the downtrodden. When he was questioned by detractors from other neighboring colleges, on this ‘unviable’ fee structure as they called it, he would simply quote the founder’s mission and staunchly defend the cause for which this college was instituted. His love for the growth of education among the poor was so close to his heart that he would permit un-mandated educational concessions from his own pocket without announcing it or making it public. He practiced the charity advocated by Christ in the holy Bible. His convictions were strong that he never, minced words on playing his role as the pivot of the institution, when he would declare his belief in the philosophy of the Bhagavat Gita-do his duty irrespective of the outcome. He was always happy with the results of the college, and urged the teachers and students to strive for better results. His capacity as business personnel was proven, but his business instinct never in luenced his role as an educationalist and administrator. I had many a personal experience while interacting with him, in my capacity as teacher of the department of English, where he would endorse every positive initiative to make our student community competitive. When pointed out by the Dept of English, that the language skills of students could be maintained only through effective composition writing, which was not a part of the of icial work. The welfare and progress of the students were close to his heart that he would walk the extra mile to ensure their success. TheDepartment of English took stock of the situation in the year 2000 and organized remedial coaching classes to enhance the results, which was noticed by the secretary who rewarded those who volunteered with a remuneration which was totally unexpected, as the whole program was voluntary. He was so grateful and modest to us that he said that his compensation was nothing in comparison to our dedicated service which he constantly repeated in all meetings to boost the morale of the teachers and bring out the best in them for the most-needy students. His intentions were genuine and he was thrilled when the college and the student succeeded. He honoured the department by the treating us a party and he con idently declared that his connection of these irst generation students were potentially endowed if they were given the right guidance. He attended the GCP book club meetings regularly in the college, and interacted with the club members at every meeting, where the rarest books were reviewed by the students. He took a keen interest in the Newspaper (English) readings session, when he actively negotiated with the New Indian express championed the cause of the students and obtained a 67 percent concession in the cost for students to involve them in the program. His dedication to all the genuine causes of promoting real education among the under privileged students, to make them employable and productive to the nation was what he held, closest to his heart. He requested the alumini who were members, to share their personal experience of success to inspire the present generation of students. Perhaps I consider myself lucky to have been a close friend and employee who enjoyed the maximum rapport with Mothi during my dedicated long tenure in Urumu Dhanalakshmi College. The little I have known of him I have rendered here in the most humble fashion. He was a true achiever in his one way. He achieved many titles from different sources. He empathized with the needy, practiced austerity in his personal life, broke away from the past, challenged the illogical echelons of power in the corridors of education to build a niche for himself. He was a great admirer Rabindranath Tagore the lives that inspired him most he used to quote often on many occasion, “my mind has the wings of freedom and I know that I shall cross in the dark”. He always considered his thirst for knowledge as ‘wings of freedom’ and illiteracy as the dark which he crossed with such a self-styled craftsmanship with absolute accuracy that won the college a B++ grade by the NAAC in 2007. He was never hostile to anyone, his suave behavior, his pleasing demeanor and his approach to higher education made him the beacon light to those most in need of higher education to liberate then from the bondage of poverty which impressed me the most. Though I had the privilege of lending my services to about ive colleges, innings at UDC was the most satisfying and my acquaintances with Mothi is remembered everyday when I often recall the most suitable lines of Tagore the national bird of India, that keeps ringing in my ears when I think of the inimitable Mothi S. Rajagopal, 

“When my days are done, my leave taking hushed
In a final silence,
My voice will linger in the autumn light
And rain-laden clouds
With the message that we had met”.

This is a tribute to Mothi S.Rajagopal’s contribution to higher education. He will go down in the annals of the history of Trichirappalli, as an outstanding doyen and he is in the club of the illustrious sons of this great historic city which produced so many leaders like the late R.Venktraman, and Dr.A.P.J. Abdul Kalam who owe their education to Tiruchy.