N. Jose Chander
The author, former Dean, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Kerala, and colleague of Prof K Raman Pillai—who passed away on 9 April—recollects their joint travel to Europe in mid 1980s. Dr. Jose Chander, who officiated as Director of the Institute of Distance Education, University of Kerala also held the position, Director of Academic Staff College as well as visiting professor at the School of International Relations and Politics, Mahatma Gandhi University, like Prof Raman Pillai.
It is a pleasure to recall our joint trip across Western Europe in 1985. I went to UK under a Commonwealth fellowship and stayed in London and Milton Keynes to study the working of the Open University of UK, the first Open University in the world. It was somewhat at that time that Prof. Raman Pillai had been selected under an exchange program to visit France and work in Paris. We planned to visit some of the European countries together and made early arrangements with a few distance learning centres to make the trip an academic one.
After two-three days’ stay with the family of a former student of mine, living in London, and moving around for sightseeing there, we left for Paris. I stayed with Raman Pillai in a comfortable hostel meant for accommodating foreign students including Indians. I stayed with him for about a week when we went to the Eiffel Tower, Versailles Palace, and many other spots. Then we decided to move out of Germany by using the Eurail pass which we had already procured from Indian travel agents. We spent about two weeks in Europe visiting various spots in Germany, Switzerland, Belgium, and the Netherlands.
On the way back to Paris we had an unforgettable experience in Belgium. When we reached Antwerp, an important railway station, we were told that we could not proceed further as there was a strike by employees. So we got out of the station and got on a bus to get to the nearest railway on the French border. It was almost nighttime. We were happy when the bus started moving. But after half an hour the bus came to a stop, and we were told that the bus would not go further and that no other vehicle was available. So we started walking toward the French station.
We were a group of five people—two Indians, two Americans, and an African. After a while, the two white men disappeared. So the three coloured foreigners were left alone. We moved forward led by the African who appeared to be familiar with the place. He warned us that there would be a police station and some police checking. Alas! The policemen were waiting for us. The African fellow traveler showed his papers and walked forward without caring for us. We, the poor professors from India, could not convince them of our genuineness very easily. They examined us in detail. I had a visa issued by the French embassy at Pondicherry. They had no idea about Pondicherry. At last by God’s grace, we were left free. Even today I shudder at the thought of the French police who could have kept us in lock up at least for a night. We had walked for about three hours when we reached the nearest railway station and got on a train which was apparently waiting for us. The next morning, we reached Paris and went to Mr. Pillai’s room. After one more day’s stay in Paris, I went back to London.
