“I consider this an esteemed opportunity to be writing about my father, Sri A. R. Subramania Iyer, in tribute to his achievements in life.

“Daddy” as he is fondly called by most in the family was born in Kozhikode in the year 1931 as the eldest son of a family of six. Being of a vibrant and creative nature, most of his childhood years were spent in mischief and frolic and also many artistic pursuits. Over the years he discovered another gift which would go with him a long way and that was his natural flair for writing.

It was during his turbulent adolescent years that this urge for writing gained momentum. From being a mere hobby, it turned into a burning passion, which flourished with time. This was when his first articles started getting published in magazines and newspapers. At one stage he almost took up writing as a career but as it did not have as much recognition then as it has today he resigned himself to taking on the next best option close to his heart which was in the banking industry.

He joined the State Bank of India, the then Imperial Bank of India on July 1st 1955. Rather than merely being a hardcore workaholic in the bank, he explored divergent areas and set out to start the leisure club and the sports club in the bank - an area that nobody had explored earlier, to encourage the bank staff to put in their resplendent creative interests into more productive channels. He took the initiative of forming the cricket team in the bank and helped bloom the budding talents of young cricketers working in the bank who went on to play for our country and made a mark in the annals of cricket history.

Coming to his other side, Daddy is a very family oriented person as well. He brought all his six children up with the utmost love care and affection. He gave us all a wonderful upbringing and instilled in us the best of qualities which went on to help us go a long way in life. Each one of us owe whatever we are today to this magnificent personality.

And on an ending note I would say that it is my most innate desire to hold high the glory of my role model, my father …..

Indeed…the man who made dreams come true….”

Ambika Subramaniam