Good morning to honorable President and other dignitaries present here. I P.K.

Saravanan hail
from a village named Ponpathi which is in Viluppuram district of Tamilnadu. Professor. Amartya
sen calls, India as a 'Country of First Boys'. Those with best education, opportunities, privileges
excel. I belong to the 'clan of last boys'. There were no literate persons in my family before my
father. Though he went on to earn a B.Com degree, he even now works as a gas stove
mechanic. Public Transport remains as a distant dream for my village Ponpathi. Amidst all
uncertainities of life, my father emphasised on the permanence of knowledge. He used to get
books and magazines from old bookshops. After I finished reading a book, we used to discuss
what I've read while going to school and returning to Home.

That is how the joy of reading became known to me. Having read only tamil books, I struggled
to understand english lectures in my engineering college. With brimming negativity and
inferiority complex, I had shut down myself and even found it hard to clear semester papers.
Then, having determined to undo the damage, I enrolled myself as a member of prestigious
connemara library. I took only english books every week. I became comfortable with the
language, but, proper pronunciation evaded me. From feeling like a person lost in tower of
babel, I started translating works from english to tamil.

When engineering courses were started in Tamil, I translated engineering books into Tamil.
Then I entered journalism and got selected as outstanding reporter. After graduating, I opted to
prepare for civil services In second attempt, I was able to make the cut into this illustrious
service. During the training at NACIN the public speaking classes taught me the nuances and
intricacies of communication. It helped us to transcend barriers of reluctance to exchange ideas
enthusiastically.

After getting the first independent charge, I rang my father to inform about the same. He
inquired about the place where my office is situated. I replied, 'it is periyar maaligai appa'. He
replied with a sense of nostalgia, 'It is the same place where I started my life as a part-time
worker to pay my college fees.' I got reminded of the couplet from Thirukkural, 'ஊைழ உ ப க
கா ப உைலவி றி தாழா உஞ பவ ' which roughly translated, 'By relentless effort, one can
even overcome their fate'. With unmatchable support from family, teachers and friends I stand
as a humble testimony for this couplet. NANDRI. VANAKKAM!