Free The Best I Could by Subhas Anandan Page B

schoolchildren, this had to be stated categorically in their advertisements. The manager continued to argue with us. I got fed up. I told him that by the next day all Shaw Brothers cinemas, including Lido, would be picketed and we would make sure that no one went to his cinema. He looked worried and went to the next room to make a phone call. After the call, he told us we could see the movie with the tickets we had. I said that it was too late for us to view the movie and that he had to give us a refund and complimentary tickets for the next day. He agreed, but I told him that we needed more than four tickets as it was only fair to be compensated for all the trouble. I asked for about 30 tickets which he gave in to reluctantly. We went back to Union House and gave the extra tickets to our friends.
    There were other times in university when I had to deal with situations on my own. As president of the Non-Hostelites Organisation (NHO), I had to attend inter-hostel meetings. Everyone else in those meetings was part of the academic staff. As a student, I was immediately disadvantaged. In one such meeting chaired by Peter Lim to ensure that the university sports meet was well attended, Professor Jansen of Dunearn Road Hostel called the NHO a dead-loss organisation. I responded by saying that it was a case of the pot calling the kettle black. The professor told me not to be funny, to which I replied I couldn’t care less. Hearing my response, Dr Nalla Tan, the mistress of Eusoff College, an all-girl residential hostel, who was sitting beside me, shouted that I was showing a lack of respect to all the academic staff present. I lit up a cigarette and blew smoke into her face. This infuriated her even more and she looked at the chairman for help. He promptly called off the meeting.
    Professor Jansen and Dr Tan reported me to Reginald Quahe, the deputy vice-chancellor. I was also banned from Eusoff College. The resident students were told that they would face disciplinary action and possible expulsion from the hostel if they invited me there. I contacted the student leaders to tell them about the incident and that I would most probably be reported for disciplinary action. After a few days when there was no follow-up, I decided to see Mr Quahe myself. He offered me a cup of coffee and asked what I wanted to see him about. I told him I believed a report had been made against me and if that was so, what was he going to do about it.
    He laughed and said, “Yes, a report has been made but I’m not going to act on it.”
    I was very surprised. “Why?” I asked.
    This time he laughed even louder. It was almost a guffaw. “I have decided not to make you a martyr,” he said.
    Mr Quahe was a wise old man. He told me that to avoid such situations in future, he was instead going to appoint a master for the NHO who would be of equal status to the others at the meetings. He knew that if action was taken against me, there could be huge problems. It would have been a situation where no one would win but everyone could lose.
    After graduation, I was advised by Norman Knight, a business administration lecturer who was also a chartered accountant, to pursue a second degree in chartered accountancy. He said to me, “Your law degree isn’t very good. Why don’t you consider going to London to do chartered accountancy to support your degree?” He was kind enough to offer to connect me with Coopers Brothers to do articleship. With that in mind, I toyed with the idea of going to London.
    My elder sister was always very supportive of further education. She advised me to go. My mother, however, was not so keen on it as she knew that I would not be able to live on my own without her cooking. I believe that deep inside she was also concerned that I would return with an English girl. Anyway, as I still had friends at university, I continued to frequent the campus. One day I met Professor S Jayakumar, dean of the Law faculty then and the present Deputy