Sweet Memories and Dream Thoughts

Since the publication of my autobiography in 2009 which was inspired by a talk by Mr.S.Muthiah on `Biography as History` ,I have been carrying his message to every senior citizen I come across to write their memoirs for posterity. I am glad to say over a dozen have already responded with published books or in the process of writing their memoirs. The latest to respond is my friend Rtn K. Viswakumar, also a Dignitarian. I was delighted when he asked me to write a Forward for his book titled `Sweet Memories and Dream Thoughts. He has fruitfully used the compulsory confinement at home thanks to Covid 19 and the Lockdown. Given below is an extract from my Foreword to the book: Viswakumar`s professional career is as varied as it is colourful. After graduating with a degree in Engineering, he started his career with the Railways, a Public sector undertaking where he spent the first 24 years of his illustrious career. It was followed by a stint with Simpsons group, a company in the Private sector. He later shifted to Academics & Consultancy. I am happy to note that he has left his indelible mark in every institution he has been associated with. The book is divided into two parts. In the first part he has shared some of his interesting life experiences in the form of anecdotes. In the second part he records his thoughts on a variety of topics relevant to day to day lives of people based on his own and many based on his observations of life & people. His experiences in the Railways where he quickly rose to higher positions and the strategies he adopted to face challenging situations make for interesting reading. Particularly the anecdote dealing with the way he tackled an unruly Loco driver is a lesson in the use of empathy in dealing with staff. I was also impressed with the way he faced a major crisis involving some students when he was working with the SRM Institutions where he was in charge of administration after initially doing teaching assignments. Similarly the lessons he learnt in Japan where he went to attend an Electric Traction training in Japanese National Railways in 1984 are note worthy. Viswakumar was very impressed with the total dedication and commitment of the Japanese to their jobs. There are also interesting anecdotes related to his association with Rotary, where his acting talent came to limelight. I was quite amused to read about the incident where he had to don the role of a lady in a play- – a look alike of Kamal Hasan in the Tamil film Avvai Shanmuki. . The second part contains his random thoughts not only based on real life experiences but also thoughts which appeared in his `Dreams`, as he claims. They cover God, Religion, Astrology, Politics, Society, Investments, Health, Nature and Life in general The book ends with an interesting couplet in Tamil written by his sister Mrs. Uma Sundaram who has been conducting music classes mainly to the elderly for the past 30+years in which she also teaches her own compositions. I am sure that the book will appeal to all age groups. The youngsters particularly can benefit from the author`s insights on a variety of subjects related to various aspects of life. This well designed book by Compuprint is Published by `Creative Workshop` - a specialist in Digital Printing based in Chennai.. Those interested in getting a copy of the book can contact the author on 9840021575.