Ramachandran Somasundaram was a devout Hindu. His earliest memories were of his mother waking up at the crack of dawn while the roosters were still crowing, having a quick bath, then lighting fragrant agarbattis and singing short verses of praise to God in front of their mini temple at home. Most of the household was still asleep. If the morning newspaper that was flung by the paperwala hit their front door, the dull thud would wake up Ram; his mother would catch him peeking out from underneath his blanket and beckon him to join her in the lighting of the agarbattis and teach him to recite some of the Sanskrit verses. It seemed to him that Amma was most at peace and happy during this ritual -- a kind of an unearthly glow surrounded her as she went through the motions. Much later, when Ram was all grown up and married, when Sudha happened to light the same agarbatti that Amma used to, the smell instantly transported him to his childhood.
Sundays were special. After her morning ritual she made preparations for the Sunday special lunch. Their day-to-day meals were very simple: tempered rice with sambhar or idlis with chutney or dosai with chutney and sambhar. On Sunday, there would be dosa and idli or rice and sambar and korma; then, a delicious dessert all homemade with a generous heaping of Amma's love! After making the preparations for the lunch but before cooking it, the family --- Appa, Amma, and Ram --- would head to the local temple.
Their local temple was actually an ashram. The ashram had a permanent body of holy men and a few holy women who called it their home but also many visiting ascetics who might stay a day or a week before moving to another ashram. Students joined when they were quite young aspiring to become sadhus a part of the permanent body. They were required to study a rigorous curriculum of religious texts and had to pass a bunch of exams before they were allowed to wear the saffron-colored robes that signified them as sadhus. As students, they would also be encouraged to participate in the administrative and outreach activities of the ashram. Some would display a talent for the kitchen where they could help prepare the meals, but more likely administer the affairs of the kitchen: the buying of supplies, the hiring and firing of kitchen help, the creation of the daily menus, and so on. Others would be interested in becoming teachers and they would receive the proper training. Still others would be interested in outreach. They were encouraged to deliver the evening lectures on days when the attendance was thin --- the popular days were always reserved for the higher-ups.
Most temples were devoted to a particular deity. The ashram, however, embraced "Sanatana dharma" -- all deities were equal. The main building of the ashram where devotees spent the most time was in the shape of a large airy square. The front of the square was open with a large staircase that extended almost all the way across the width in a way that seemed to welcomed the devotees with open arms. All along the three sides of the square there were 15' x 15' rooms each dedicated to a particular Hindu god. Inside each room was some sculptor's conception of how that deity should appear. (The governing body of the ashram being a large organization there was no doubt that sculptors' concepts were revised many times by committees and administrators before they became a reality). Devotees would walk the passage that was made along the periphery and stop at as many of the rooms to pray as they wished. The central area served as a gathering place where devotees would sit while lectures on various religious texts were delivered every evening. During the daytime, however, children engaged in spontaneous play in that cavernous space.
Amma, Appa and Ram would diligently walk the periphery and stop at most deities offering their prayers and --- depending on their devotion to that deity --- drop a few rupees in the collection box that was strategically placed in front of every room. At the center of the passage on the far side of the square, there was a Nandi bull sculpture that guarded the entrance of the 15' x 15' room in front of it -- that was Lord Shiva's abode and the bull was the guardian to its entrance. The time spent by the family at the other deities varied every week, but they always spent time at Lord Shiva's abode. And Appa made sure that both he and Ram received a "vibhuti" (three wide horizontal ash marks) on their forehead. Being rather dark skinned, the vibhuti really stood out on their foreheads.
Ram's favorite activity, though, was to visit the "gaushala" -- the collection of cows that the ashram kept for their daily supply of milk. For a few rupees one could buy freshly-cut grass and feed the cows. He would invariably seek out the youngest calves he could find and feed them. While eating, the calves would gaze at him with their big dark eyes -- Ram could feel their warmth and the gentleness as he looked into their eyes. Later, as an adult he could never understand how people could consume beef --- how anyone who had looked into the eyes of these gentle creatures could possibly kill and eat them. Millions of Hindus just blindly accepted the cow as a sacred animal but for Ram that connection was much more organic and intimate --- he felt like he really knew why the cow was considered so sacred in Hinduism.
Apart from this exposure to religion, Ram demonstrated an interest and a special facility in science and mathematics. Every day, Appa spent an hour or so in the evening attempting to solve the chess problem posed in The Times' chess column. When he was little, Ram used to jump into Appa's lap while Appa attempted to solve it. As soon as he could understand the basic ideas of playing and winning, Appa taught him chess. Ram quickly loved to appreciate and embrace the logical approach to thinking that chess required.
When he was in the mood, Appa would also relate stories to Ram. Some were from the Mahabharata or the Ramyana. Others from Arabian Nights or Aesop's Fables. But, Appa was most animated when he spoke of the backstories of the famous Indian (and particularly Tamilian) scientists and mathematicians. Ram learnt about the humble beginnings of Ramnujan, his facility with numbers and number theory, and how he was discovered by the British and spent time in the UK, but ultimately experienced health issues and passed away at a very young age. Or about C. V. Raman and his work on physics and ultimately becoming the first Indian and Asian to win the Nobel Prize. Whether it was his exposure to the logical thought process of chess or these stories about scientists that made a strong impression on Ram, it was clear that Ram was talented in science and mathematics.
Ram's rank on the joint entrance exam for engineering colleges was sufficiently high for him to enroll at the best IIT campus, and that too in Chemical Engineering -- a highly sought-after degree in those days. IIT was a whole new world for Ram. Initially, Ram struggled to fit into the culture. Students came from all parts of the country and from all classes of society. There was a culture of eating meat, drinking and drugs that was completely alien to Ram. His devotion to his religion and particularly the vibhuti he applied on his forehead every morning was a source of connection to his family and his culture for him but also for amusement among students on campus and even some bullying.
As the semester progressed it was clear than Ram was not only a stellar student but he patiently made himself available to fellow students to help them with their academic difficulties. Many a student --- not only in the first year, but many senior students --- could point to Ram's help on passing their exams. Ultimately, the students just accepted Ram for what he was and he made many friends across all walks of life. And even though he didn't eat meat or drink alcohol or took any recreational drugs he was invited and even hung out at all the "cool" parties. At home and in the neighborhood he was called "Ram" but in college he fondly came to be known as "Soma".
Before graduation, Soma or Ram --- take your pick --- was offered several well-paying jobs by all the top corporations that recruited at IIT. There was one that really appealed to him even though it wasn't the most prestigious or the best paying: an offer from a British multinational that would allow him to apply his skills in chemical engineering to make soap for the Indian market. The Indian middle class was getting larger and acquiring more buying power every month it seemed. As they acquired buying power it also gained an awareness of luxury goods that were cleverly marketed on all the TV channels. And ordinary everyday items like soap also had a segment that was marketed and perceived as a luxury item. While Ram didn't care for the aura of luxury that some soaps acquired, the low and middle segment of the market gave him an opportunity to make a real difference on the public health in India. After all, the country always struggled with tropical diseases that took countless lives. Something simple like developing good hygiene would have a significant positive impact on reducing infectious diseases. And the easiest way to develop good hygiene was to get good affordable soap into people's homes and get them to use it. The recruiter from the British firm was particularly clever at understanding what made someone tick and that he really played up this is the aspect of the job to recruit Ram.
Ram quickly made a difference at the firm with his knowledge of chemical engineering. He didn't know about the practical aspects of manufacturing, but he was a quick and devoted learner and impressed his superiors. On the technical side, he rose rapidly through the ranks. His personal life also progressed it seemed hand-in-hand with his professional life. Since he was making a substantial salary and making good upward progress in a multinational firm, he was a great catch. Through family connections they found Sudha -- a young, pretty, very well educated woman, but also one who would "fit" into their family easily. They were married in a simple Hindu ceremony and in due time Ram bought a house next door to Amma and Appa's so he and Sudha could easily find a balance between having their own place and being close enough to Amma and Appa.
The firm's main manufacturing facility was located in Bhopal. For some unknown reason the production ran into quality issues. The higher ups in firm identified Ram as someone who had the technical chops to troubleshoot whatever it was that was causing the issues. That's how Ram came to visit that Bhopal and that facility. Making soap involves mixing fats and oils with lye, then stirring and cooking the mixture, and when the mixture is cool, adding colors and perfumes and finally cutting and packaging the solid soap that emerges. It's a simple process but when it is scaled to the level where enough soap is being made to wash a country's population, many things can go wrong. Ram's knowledge of chemistry, his engineer's aptitude for solving practical problems, and the experience he had gained so far plus a certain amount of naivete to the ways of the world were the perfect combination of skills and experience to solve these issues. Ram's family of course was very proud that he had been called upon to address such an important issue and Amma didn't hesitate to proudly broadcast Ram's upcoming trip to her neighbors.
Ram reached Bhopal late in the evening on a Wednesday. He was fetched from the airport by a company car and driver who whisked him away to the company "guest house" that housed any visiting employees above a certain rank. The driver explained to Ram that Mr. Howell -- the plant manager -- felt it was a bit late in the evening to have Ram visit the plant, but that he was looking forward to seeing Ram at the plant right after breakfast.
Through some strange coincidence, the cook at the guest house -- Prabhakar -- was from a village in Tamil Nadu and made excellent idli and sambhar in the morning which Ram feasted on before heading off to the plant. Mr. Howell received him warmly and introduced him to the vital members of the team that were to work with Ram. The next item on the agenda was of course to receive a tour of the plant. Mr. Howell personally conducted a thorough tour of the facility for Ram: beginning with the receiving docks where the raw materials were received, the incoming quality control, in-plant transportation, the main manufacturing floor, cooling, coloring and perfuming, outgoing quality control and finally, packaging and shipping.
The most interesting part of the tour for Ram was the main manufacturing floor. The center of the floor was dominated by a large square vat -- the size of a large swimming pool -- where the fats and oils were mixed with the lye, stirred and cooked to perfection before being transported to the cooling chambers. On one side of the square vat were wide steps leading up to the rim of the vat. The rim was deliberately made wide enough to accommodate a passageway where the workers could walk around the perimeter of the vat. On both sides of the passageway railings were erected to prevent anyone from accidently falling off the rim onto the floor (a simple fracture or concussion) or into the boiling mixture of fats, oils, and lye (a certain and horrible death). Every few meters of the passageway a small platform jutted out onto the floor where some tools and testing instruments were permanently stored to sample and the test the soapy broth. At the far side of the square, the passageway had a perpendicular connection that extended into the center of the vat so that samples of the broth could be retrieved from the center. That passageway was supported by steel columns underneath that emerged from the vat. The firm as well as Mr. Howell believed firmly in employee safety, so that the passageway floor was cleaned regularly to prevent anyone from slipping and the railings were designed to prevent anyone from accidently falling off the passageway and were inspected on a regular basis to ensure their integrity. More importantly, the idea that safety is the number one priority was emphasized in all aspects of the operation of the plant.
The vat reminded Ram of his ashram: beginning with its square shape, and the wide steps on one side leading up to the passageway that covered the whole perimeter of the vat --- all of that were like the ashram. While walking around the vat accompanied by Mr. Howell he almost felt like he was walking around his ashram. Mr. Howell stopped every few meters to discuss this or that minutae of how the vat operated -- that was like stopping at every deity at his ashram and paying his respects. It was clear that Ram belonged here. The only difference was that he was wearing his chappals while walking the periphery of the vat; at the temple of course, all devotees were required to remove their chappals before they entered the square hall.
To fulfill his mission in Bhopal, Ram began to apply himself that afternoon itself. After being amply reassured by Mr. Howell that the quality of the raw materials was not the source of the problem, it was clear to Ram that whatever it was that needed to the fixed it was at the vat. He started talking to the foreman and the workers of the team that operated the vat. Initially, of course, the team was suspicious and wary of his presence. But, over the next few days they felt reassured that he was here to address the issue and not to identify who it was who would lose the job. Ram's simple and forthright manner won the team over easily.
Every evening he would call Sudha from the guest house phone (paid for by the firm -- no questions asked) and have long conversations with her. The other guests at the house went out to dinner after having a session of drinks at the house, then played cards with small stakes until bedtime. Ram --- being a teetotaler and a strict vegetarian --- joined the gang the first evening just to be polite, but excused himself every day thereafter. And Prabhakar was always eager to please Ram with his culinary skills particularly because here was a fellow from his home state. Ram's entertainment was talking to Sudha, then turning in early for an early-morning start the next day. Several days passed this way. It wasn't clear to Sudha whether Ram was making any progress, but Ram did mention that his presence there was clearly reassuring to Mr. Howell that the best engineering brain in the firm had been dispatched by the top brass to fix this problem.
When one evening Ram didn't call, Sudha knew something was amiss. Late that day she received a call from Mr. Howell with the bad news. She ran screaming to Amma and Appa's and shared the terrible news with them. Ram's dead body was found in the vat by one of the workers after the 5:00 pm shift had ended.
"It must've been an accident!", Amma said between her sobs.
"Why can't these English people design their fancy plants to take care of the workers?!", moaned Appa.
"It wasn't an accident", Sudha said.
"How do you know?", Appa asked.
"Ram had removed his chappals and neatly laid them aside before jumping into the vat, Mr. Howell said", Sudha replied.
"Why oh why would my Ram ever do such a thing?!", Amma cried.
Sudha spoke hesitantly and in such a low voice that Amma and Appa could barely hear, "Mr. Howell said Ram found out today for the first time that the fat used by the firm for making soap was beef tallow."
(Note: My father worked for a large multinational that made soap. He related a story like this to me when I was little. Not sure whether it's true -- he was a great story teller.)
