I first heard of and saw A.K. Subbaiah when I was in the first year BA at Madikeri First Grade College (Kodagu). I was staying in the upper hostel close to the College and I guess he too was in the hostel doing his BSc. He was a senior student in age compared to others like me. He had come to the College after quitting his job as a Second Division clerk in the Department (Health) where he served for a few years. We students learnt that he had lost his father, when he was an infant, due to a fall from a tree and despite hardship he pursued education.
