T. Kandasamy: Intellectually A Giant, And As a Man Kind, Fatherly & Exemplary
By S. Ratnajeevan H. Hoole –March 18, 2016
Prof. S. Ratnajeevan H. Hoole
Many men walk the earth but few have accolades written of them. Often such accolades come after death, and are exaggerated and of little value. T. Kandasamy, former Government Analyst (GA), is a man who deserves accolades while he is alive. And with his real achievements, there is no need to exaggerate anything.
His early life was in Burma (Myanmar) where his father from Ceylon was a Station Master for Burma Railways. Given the nature of his father’s work, young Kandasamy was boarded at a Rangoon Catholic School, spending only 3 months a year at home. His schooling ended when the Japanese declared war on 7th December 1941 and he came to Ceylon in July 1942. It involved a long march to India that left many dead.
T. Kandasamy, B.Sc. Hons. Cey., M.Sc. London, D.I.C.
He went to Skanda Varodaya College Jan. 1943 – Dec. 1946. He did the school proud by being the first boy to gain university entrance. At the university, he was one of seven selected for the BSc Chemistry course after the first examination and graduated with 2nd class Honours in 1950. He was appointed to the GA’s in April 1951 from where he retired as GA in 1986.
Kandasamy went to England on a Colombo Plan Scholarship to specialise in Pharmaceutical Analysis. He earned his M.Sc. London and DIC in Food and Drugs at Imperial College of Science and Technology. He had training at the Quality Control Laboratories of Burroughs and Glaxo and at Government Chemist Laboratory, London. He followed evening classes on the Chemistry of Food and Drugs to take the Branch E Diploma examination conducted by the Royal Institute of Chemistry – a required qualification under the Food and Drugs Act to be appointed as Public Analyst in the UK.
These were amazing achievements on one scholarship for the MSc which was a rare degree in the 1950s. However, I see his values and example as far more important to posterity and that is what this article is about.
Kandasamy: The Person
