“We are not living in a private world of our own. Everything we say and do and think has its effect on everything around us.” ― John Galsworthy
A.M. Thomas—Tommy, as many would fondly call him—turned 60 today. For me, it’s a long journey with him, spanning over four decades (and, for our families, the journey is almost nearing three decades). It all began in the University College, Thiruvananthapuram—way back in 1978. Since then, our relationship has seen many facets of life—personal, academic and official.
Human beings as gregarious entities seek proximity. For the most part, a need to be loved, appreciated and cared for is shared by friends and colleagues, which is why we also strove so relentlessly to make relationships work and enduring. It, however, does not mean that there was smooth sailing all-along. This must be the experience of all human beings. We may yet feel a warm admiration for the mutuality of relationship, and a simultaneous sense of delight. We may also long for a deep satisfaction to be valued by someone we held in such high regard: happy, reassured and energised through it all. There are bonds that fill our souls, and reinforce and shape our characters and life-lanes. Yet, even the easiest and finest friendships can be confounded with strains and clashes, as are most human relationships. There are occasions when relationships lose a bit of their magic, or even peter out altogether for some strange reasons, or perhaps for no reason at all. It all happens in life, everywhere.
We also appreciated and loved each other. We also fought and struggled many times. In our life-world conditions, the factors that determine whom we remain friendly with and whom we let go can be baffling. The chemistry of relationships is strange and unpredictable in life. Yet, the IR School unwittingly set a platform for negotiation, conciliation and reconciliation. Our family relationships also provided the much-needed warmth and leeway—Teresa Joseph and Mini, on the one hand, and our ‘kids’ on the other, sought to ensure the track smooth, all along.
Thomas has been a dedicated teacher throughout—uncompromising on academic punctuality, even ‘conservative’ on ‘class’ issues in IR School. We used to call ourselves a ‘gang of four’—with our own ‘methods of madness.’ Raju K. Thadikkaran (RKT) and A.K. Ramakrishnan (AKR) were the other associates during the initial years. Those were the best of times in IR School, with each of us pulling together to build up an institution with a stature. The late C.V. Cheriyan (CVC), K.N. Harilal (KNH), H. Srikanth, the late GP Ramachandra (GPR) were also with us in this journey. Later, the track was set in the right direction with more scholarly faces—R. Girish Kumar, C. Vinodan, M.V. Bijulal, P. Lirar and Mathew Varghese. Harilal joined the CDS faculty a decade and a half before, AKR left the School in 2007 to take up professorship in JMI, and subsequently in JNU. RKT retired in 2016 and myself this year. Sadly, we are also missing GPR and CVC—who left this world during the last two years.
AMT is set to step down in March 2021 after his superannuation—having served as the Dean of Social Sciences, Professor and Director of the IR School, Director of Research, and several other positions. He travelled across continents and published research papers, book chapters and other works. By March 2021, the IR School is set to enter a new phase in its academic journey with the last in the first generation stepping down. The mantle of leadership is now with a group of dedicated scholars who are more enthusiastic and committed in their endeavours.
We wish Thomas an active and vibrant life in the years to come.
