By Savita Bhave Translation Nandu Dange

eturned home his wife informed him that his brother was waiting to meet him:it turned out to be Menon. He had come to Pune to meet the Director ofMERADO – Mechanical Engineering Research and DevelopmentOrganization, and tracked down Dr. Ravindranath. The scientist recallsMenon’s assertion: “I am not as lucky as you to have had advancededucation. Mine has been extremely perfunctory. But people seem to beunder the impression that I am highly qualified. Dr. Basu of MERADO is aclose friend and keeps summoning me for technical advice.”Realizing that the future of oil engines was limited, Menon had kept his eyeout for alternative lines of manufacture. He decided to enter the field ofautomotive castings. He developed manufacturing lines in housings,gearboxes, cylinder blocks and engine heads. It was from this business thathe really took off. It was necessary to expand the foundry and Menon huntedand found experts in foundry sciences. He realized that a large market existsfor tractor castings: he undertook a countrywide study tour to gauge theprospects and launched new products in that line. His fondness for state-of–the-art technology drew him into newer and newer areas. He always said: “Aman is limited by his mind – a man who dares to dream and puts in therequisite effort would definitely see the fruition of his dreams. Later, however,he may realize that he did not dream big enough.” Menon had a rare talent ofabsorbing and emulating anything new that he saw.. According to PundiParameswaran, once Menon had taken up a new field, he never looked back.He would be engrossed in understanding the ramifications of this newtechnology.•