Let’s start from the very beginning. If you ask me the question, how do I know Sandeep, I will have to say that he was my senior in college. But that wouldn't be a proper justification to the question. I came to know him only after joining Model Engineering College, that’s true, but he was more than a mere senior to me. My first encounter with Sandeep, was on my second day in college. I had my apprehensions about ragging and hence I was scared of my seniors. Sandeep was amongst the first people who ragged me in college. I clearly remember the day because the next day was ordained to be our Onam celebrations and he was really good at faking anger and actually made me do a couple of funny and awkward dance steps. I was embarrassed to the core, and next time I saw to it that I kept myself away from his path. Sometimes, the more you try to evade something, the more you end up confronting it. My case with Sandeep was similar and the first impression I had about him was not something worth mentioning. This very incident proves that first impressions are not the tools to judge a person.
After my brief ragging session, came our Fresher’s Day, and suddenly, the masks disappeared and the seniors became our best of friends. Then came the best inter college event I had attended in my life, Raagam 2004. Lots of students, including Menon and myself boarded the train to NITC Calicut to take part in this fabulous event and whenever I think about Raagam, the thought that conjures up in my mind is how we all used to dance to the Tamil hit song "ManmadaRasa". The very dance was initiated by Sandeep and when we were all bored or even idle for a minute, he would hum the song and we would put on our dancing shoes and display our pathetic dance moves AGAIN!!! Those days definitely are amongst the best in my life. Apart from his dancing moves (well our pathetic dancing moves), I noticed another talent in this guy. The ability to crack pjs(pathetic/poor jokes). No one could beat Sandeep at that. I was like, from where did this guy get to know so many of them. It’s as if he had a new one always in stock to entertain the crowd and make us all erupt into convulsions of laughter.
Sandeep Menon was the Placement Cell Students Chairman of his batch. Sandeep Menon, the placement cell member, was a completely different person. Even though the pressure of the entire batch was on his shoulders (and his team), he amazed everyone with his ability to tackle problems and make quick and solid decisions. Even before the placement cell of our batch was formed I used to work with him as a volunteer and he inspired juniors like me to be a part of it. Many times in life, you would want to follow the path undertaken by the people who inspired you. In fact, he was the sole reason; I became a placement cell member. I became a placement cell member because I wanted to be like him. He was my mentor and everything I learned about the placement cell, I learnt it from him. Under his guidance, I became the student's placement cell chairman of my batch. He was there at every step, guiding me, monitoring my actions, imparting all the knowledge he had assimilated from the placement cell to me and I was trying to emulate his success, imbibe the knowledge imparted by him and carry out the task assigned to me.
During my 2-year long career as a placement cell member, I have fought with Sandeep a lot. I can undoubtedly say that I would top the list of people getting the maximum scolding from him in college (definitely number one in my batch and a very likely contender for that spot in the entire college as well). Our ideas, point of views, methods of implementation of views, etc. have clashed many times. Both of us never really agreed on anything in first go, unless it was reasoned with properly. And the more we clashed, the much better friends we became. The more we understood each other and the more we complimented each other and my respect and adoration for him only grew, as he epitomized the role of a mentor in every way. On behalf of my batch mates, I wish to use this opportunity to thank him for his incessant support and commitment to the placement cell.
I remember the day in college, he was preparing for his series exam in the afternoon, and a company was coming sometime soon. We were discussing on the same but he kept complaining about a bad headache and after he finished the series, headed back home. The next thing, I got to know was that he was undergoing an operation the next day as he was diagnosed with brain tumor. It was a huge shock. I remember going to meet him after he got back home, and the same impish smile effused from his face, as if nothing had happened. I have seen him face all the hurdles that life threw at him with that same smile. Even if it was something small like a quiz (correction: quizzing was no small matter for him), the challenge of bringing a new company, or battling tumor on the front lines, that smile never vanished and he always gave it his very best at everything he did. I have never ever seen him settle for mediocrity.
I could cite umpteen examples about how he had inspired us to never give up when it comes to getting everyone in our batch placed. Even when he was taking rest, because of the tumor, he used to mail us, to the placement cell group, with valuable insights about new companies, urging us to go for the big shot companies and to never stop trying. I know he has had good as well as bad experiences after being in the placement cell. Not once, had he let his bad experiences cast a shadow on himself but always looked at it as an opportunity to learn something from, more importantly, he always saw to it that the mistakes which were once committed, were never repeated by us.
Those who know Sandeep well will tell you that he gets angry very soon and regrets about that immediately after he cools off. Once, I too was in a bad mood, and I retorted to something which he said in his anger and we both were in a state of compunction and remorse after the incident. We both felt terribly bad after the incident and an hour later, when we spoke on the phone, we were back to our old selves in no time. None of us apologized but things were as if nothing had happened at all. He was back to cracking his jokes and I was back to my old self.
Sandeep was one person who actually advised me on my various decisions and hes one person whose advice has really influenced my life. We used to discuss about a lot about the placement cell and companies, but we also used to discuss about crushes and girls and would end up laughing. I do not remember a single incident, when his presence had not left a smile on my face and on the face of people around us, for that is the kind of spirit which he possessed. He had an uncanny knack to brighten up any situation.
One of my biggest ordeals, during my years in the placement cell, was when Apache Design Solutions had come to college for the recruitment process. We had this policy of collecting the feedback from the XMECian and the officials from the visiting company after the recruitment process. Apache was the company Sandeep was working for, and when he came down to recruit students from our batch, I was adamant to get a good feedback from him. Sandeep was the most difficult person to please on the planet because he would settle for only the absolute best. So it was a huge challenge for us placement members. After the process, he had called me at night and told me that he was thoroughly satisfied with the proceedings in college. I still consider that remark, made by him, to be the best compliment I got as a placement cell member.
To cite a few humorous incidents I have had with Sandeep, one which strikes me now is the football team selection in our first year. As you all might know, Duleep, Sandeep's kid bro is a fabulous football player. Maybe he gained some sort of inspiration from him and that is the reason why he came for the tryouts. Unfortunately, the inspiration didn’t work in his favor that day. Myself, a hapless player, I couldn't help but laugh at his efforts to win the ball a couple of times. This was again during the ragging period, and it’s a sin to mock your seniors, and I had committed the ultimate sin. Sandeep called me nearby and asked me to do a few football tricks and asked me to head a very high ball. I failed miserably at all the tasks and both of us ended up laughing at our ineptitude on the football field. He stuck with me for a good portion of the day, and continued his ragging sessions, about which we used to talk even at a later point of time. During those days, I was dying to earn my freedom, eagerly awaiting the Fresher's day, the day on which our seniors would declare us to be their equals. After the ragging sessions ended, the fond memories of all those embarrassing incidents and comical tasks which I ended up doing remain to form the core of my globe of memories and Sandeep still lives on in many of them.
Again, whenever, I think about Raagam 04, Sandeep is the one who hogs all the limelight in all my memories. We were singing all the way to Calicut in the train and in the NITC campus, we were having one hell of a time. I got to understand that Sandeep was a party animal and the reserve of energy he had, in store, to keep the crowd entertained had no boundaries. Anyone and everyone would want to be with Sandeep Menon, for that is the kind of person that he was, and he was a celebrity to all of us. Some people have the ability to leave a lasting impression on you, even if you have met them just a couple of times or rather for only a few minutes. Sandeep was one such person and anyone who even barely knew him would agree with me on that.
Anyone who’s been in the remote vicinity of this quizzing genius, would have innumerable tales, most of them funny and others, usually about the glimpses about the brilliance connected with an answer, to tell about incidents which occurred during the quizzes or trips to these quizzes. Unlike, Sandeep, I couldn’t find time to continue with my quizzing, and I always ended up envying my batch mates when they said they had a hell of a time at a quiz. Sandeep always encouraged me continue with my quizzing. I just lost touch in between but I always missed the enjoyment which came through quizzing and I envied him for his ability to manage time so well. He would take up the pivotal role of entertaining the teams to the quizzing venues and even when he’s on stage attending the finals, he never failed to bring about an element of humor with his wild guesses.
Sandeep had this ardent desire to see MEC top the list of engineering colleges within Kerala. We always competed with colleges like NITC and CET and being a relatively new college and smaller one, as we had only 3 streams, we did have a few drawbacks but he never gave up believing in that dream and urged us to join him in the task to push MEC forward. The many initiatives which he undertook to promote MEC in this direction are aplenty. He wanted to start an entrepreneurship cell in the college to promote young entrepreneurs. The quiz club was another one. He always saw to it that we ended up publicizing the name of our college in every way possible. I remember an article regarding the ranking of colleges which came in Outlook in our final year. It was a huge blow to us as we didn’t feature anywhere in the top 100. The entire list seemed to be a mockery and couple of other colleges which definitely didn’t stand a chance made it to the list. This article only made him and, through him, us strengthen our efforts. Even though the fruition of our efforts were seen late, we did make it to the list of top 100 colleges in the country and we along with NITC and CET, were the only college within the state to do so. MEC was 34th in the list. When I saw the list, I couldn’t help myself, but feel incapacitated at the thought of not being able to share the joy of that achievement with him. Somehow, deep inside, I knew that he would be rejoicing, wherever he was, at the news of that achievement.
Sandeep Menon taught me a lot of things. He taught me to look at things from every possible angle, to never do anything without actually thinking over it, to never give up even when things look really bleak, to face even the most difficult of situations with a smile, to help others whenever possible and above all to enjoy life to the fullest . These days, I make use of those lessons in my everyday life. I am more than grateful to him for trusting in me, for teaching me the many valuable lessons of life.
During his last months, when we used to talk, I used to tell him that I will come to see him when I come down to Cochin. I used to get caught up with work and never ended up going to Cochin during those days. And finally when I did go to Cochin once, something or the other came up and I couldn't meet up with him. During his last days, I didn't get a chance to meet him. I guess I had taken it for granted that nothing is going to happen to him and the fighter that he is, he’s going to come out of this stronger than ever. I was wrong and I still feel terrible about the fact that I couldn't meet him one last time, even for his funeral (as I was out of India at that time).
I will always miss you Sandeep. I will miss your scolding, your pjs, your impish smile, those fights and clashes, your advice, your friendship but most of all I will miss your presence. The best teacher is the one who inspires, and you were really good at instilling and infusing inspiration in people like me. I never got to tell you that I consider you to be a gem of a person, the very best I have come across, and that I always wanted to be like you and I still strive to improve myself so that I can attain the standards which you have set. Thank you for everything you have taught me, thank you for all those wonderful and ever-lasting memories, and moreover, thank you for being there for me, always.
