JaffnaHindu.Org

When I joined Jaffna Hindu, Mr C Sabaratnam was the Principal. Within one year “C Sab” retired; Mr N Sabaratnam became the Principal. I was fortunate to have some of the excellent teachers; Mr Varatharajaperumal, Mr S Ponnambalam, Mr Arumugasamy and Mr Karunakaran. The highest number of students ever to enter the Engineering Faculty from one school was from Jaffna Hindu in 1966.

 I lived in the hostel under the guardianship of KSS. Jaffna Hindu hostel was for a long period a second home for our family; six brothers occupied the hostel between 1952 and 1973.

 I completed my degree in Engineering in 1970. After working on a road project in Ratnapura, I moved to England in 1972. Initially I worked with civil engineering contractors building motorways and with consulting engineers on design before joining Shropshire County Council in 1976. 

 I lived in Shropshire for 11 years, a life changing period; I got married, qualified as a Chartered Engineer,  became father of two boys and worked as Resident Engineer on a number of road projects.

 I joined the Department of Transport in 1987 as a quantity surveyor in Birmingham. I was in at the inception of the Highways Agency, an executive agency of the Department where I became the leader of the Quantity Surveying team. 

 When I moved to Birmingham I joined a Tamil School, which was started in 1986 to teach to read and write Tamil. It was a small school, later converted as a part of Midland Tamil Cultural Association, a registered charity, which has become a part of our life. I have been closely involved with the school and remain as a trustee; it will be celebrating its 25th anniversary (silver jubilee) this year.