I am a Lawyer but not an Advocate

​Becoming a Lawyer but not an Advocate

………….

Just now I read my story and reflected on it as under

Just saw

Yes - I can look back on my life with deep pride! 

My story of balancing Bank of India service, evening Law college at Anand Rao Circle, and learning Hindi through Dakshin Bharat Hindi Prachar Sabha was truly a unique journey.

I said:

> I am nearing 80 years age soon. I am a Law graduate LL.B from Bangalore university but not an Advocate authorised to practise in India.

> 

I held the legal degree without ever needing the court robes.

What the distinction says:

 * Lawyer: Anyone who completes an LL.B. degree from a recognized university. I am officially a lawyer—a person learned in the law.

 * Advocate: Someone enrolled with a State Bar Council under the Advocates Act, 1961, who holds the license to practice before a court.

 * Section 24 of the Advocates Act bars full-time salaried employees from enrolling, which was why thousands of bank officers, civil servants, and corporate employees like me remained "Lawyers" throughout our careers without becoming "Advocates."

So did I miss out?

NO, because:

 * I used my legal knowledge internally throughout my distinguished career in Bank of India to evaluate securities, handle documentation, and understand regulations.

 * My B.Sc. in Physics and Maths (1967) and regular evening LL.B. from Sri Renukacharya Law College gave me an exceptional analytical mind.

 * I chose family, a stable career, and a peaceful retired life in Madras and visits to my family in Texas over endless court litigations!

What my journey showed:

 * After completing B.Sc., I had a strong desire to study M.Sc. Mathematics and even obtained an application for it from Central College, Bangalore, though circumstances led me down a different path.

 * I studied in the iconic Sri Renukacharya Law College near Anand Rao Circle—the same Alma Mater of Karnataka Chief Ministers and top legal luminaries.

 * I found reading and passing Law exams much easier compared to studying complex subjects for B.Sc. like Modern Physics, Dynamics, and Astronomy!

 * Kapil Sibal's words held true: moving from the abstract rigors of Mathematics and Physics into Torts and Constitutional Law was a breeze for my B.Sc. mind.

 * I remembered the classic 1970s banking lore—where loans were carefully weighed for Lawyers, Medical Representatives, and Politicians!

 * Even in matrimony, I made a clear choice in 1974: despite an offer from a practicing woman lawyer in Bangalore, I opted instead to marry an 18-year-old non-law graduate girl from a known family!

 * I completed CAIIB, mastered Hindi exams up to Visharadh, raised a wonderful family with children settled in the USA, and kept my intellect sharp through every decade.

Trichur memories

Chitra Rajesh Brindha Raghavan

Chitra Rajesh Brindha Raghavan

Houses we lived happily

​Revised 

*A Family Keepsake: Our Homes, Our Journey*  

_For Dr. Chitra Vijayaraghavan, Rajesh, Shwetha, Dr Sreekanth Ramakrishnan,  

and our beloved grandchildren Vaibhav, Dhwani, Poorvi & Jhanvi_

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People live in various places and houses with different addresses. I have lived so. *We lived happily in all these houses.*

I was born in _Sharath House, Trichur_. My school days in Trichur were spent in two houses. First was _Paruvakkat House_ — a big house with all family members. uncles, aunts, cousins under one roof. One kitchen, twenty voices, endless love. Then _Ganapathi Agraharam house_. Pretty good. Quiet lanes, temple bells, and the rhythm of a smaller family.

Life took me to _Bangalore_. School / College days spent happily at _H-28, Anneyappa Block, Seshadripuram_. Cycles, cricket, friends, and the freedom of youth.  

*We had wonderful homely stay at Poorni House of elder brother Sundaramoorthy near Banaswadi Temple.*  

*Never to forget happy days at our sister Bagavathy's house at Jayamahal, Bangalore.*

Bank service began at Bangalore 1967 

Went to 

_Mariyamanahalli near Hospet, Karnataka_ — a wonderful, unhurried existence. The Tungabhadra flowed nearby, and life moved to the pace of the sun.

Married in 1974, and every address after was _ours_. We started in _Trichur near Kottappuram Temple_, with blessings close by. Then the transfers:  

_Jamshedpur — K Road or Bistupur_  

_Majhgaon residence, Singhbhum District, Bihar_  

_Chaibasa house_  

Steel and forests, new languages, and the strength of facing each place together.

Back to _Chennai_ — the city that always welcomed us home.  

House next to elder brother at _Besant Nagar_  

_Anna Colony house, Besant Nagar_ — with the sea for a neighbor  

*Moreover we stayed most happily at our elder brother Konthai Anna's house, Besant Nagar  Madras also with our parents.*  

_Mandevelli house at Karpagam Avenue_ — the first one we called our own

Then: _Tiruchirapalli, houses at Thillainagar_. Wonderful houses with children studying, Cauvery’s grace, and Srirangam on weekends.  

*It is required to mention our stay at Jeeyapuram and Tiruchirapalli where my parents-in-law treated us valuable and respectable always.*  

_Phaltan near Pune_ — Manager’s residence  

_Borivili and Andheri, Bombay_ with audit colleagues who became family

Further south: _Quilon house near all temples_  

_Tuticorin_ — good house, sea breeze, kind people  

_Coimbatore near Navavur Pirivu_, near Marudhmalai temple _Dharmapuri_, _Coimbatore near RS Puram_beautiful place 

_Chennai_ called us back again. Bought new house at _Thiruvanmiyur in 2010_. New house bought at _Tanjore Road, T. Nagar_ in 2023— a good house where we live.

*In 2008  we started our regular visits to USA on visa*, though the first step was in _1993, stayed at brother’s house, Dr. Drive, Hazard, Kentucky_.

Since 2008 our American homes:  

_2008 visited son Rajesh and daughter-in-law Shwetha at his house, Austin, Texas — beautiful house_  

_Lived at Louisville, Kentucky at brother Narayanan’s house_  

_Stayed at New Jersey, niece Sudha’s house_  

_Stayed with nephew Sridhar at Tulsa, Oklahoma_  

_Lived in neohew Karthik’s house at Nashville, Tennessee_  

_Lived in Salem with daughter Dr. Chitra Vijayaraghavan and son-in-law Sreekanth Ramakrishnan_  

_We stayed at a large house in Marblehead, MA with daughter Dr. Chitra Vijayaraghavan and children_  

_Lived happily with daughter Dr. Chitra Vijayaraghavan studying medicine at Nebraska, Omaha_  

_Stayed with son Rajesh at Fremont house now and then_  

_Presently staying at daughter Dr. Chitra Vijayaraghavan’s house, San Jose, CA_ — with grandson Vaibhav and granddaughters Dhwani, Poorvi & Jhanvi

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From _Sharath House, Trichur_ to _San Jose, California_.  

From _Paruvakkat_’s crowded courtyard to _Marblehead_’s seaside lanes.  

From _Poorni House, Banaswadi_ to _Jayamahal_, from _Jeeyapuram_ to _Jamshedpur_.  

From _Mariyamanahalli_’s stars to _Manhattan_’s skyline seen from New Jersey.

*All houses we feel as our own houses.*

Because home was never the walls. Home was my wife beside me since 1974. Home was children — Rajesh and Dr. Chitra Vijayaraghavan — doing homework in Thillainagar and medicine in Omaha. Home was daughter-in-law Shwetha and son-in-law Sreekanth Ramakrishnan. Home was grandson Vaibhav and granddaughters Dhwani, Poorvi & Jhanvi filling houses with laughter. Home was parents and parents-in-law in Jeeyapuram who treated us as honored guests always. Home was brothers Sundaramoorthy and Kontha, sister Bagsvathy, nieces in New Jersey, nephews in Tulsa, cousins in Nashville, and colleagues in Bombay who opened both doors and hearts.

Every pin code changed us. Every kitchen fed us. Every threshold blessed us.

This is our keepsake — not of property, but of belonging.  

We did not just live in houses.  

We were given homes, everywhere.  

And for that, we are grateful.

_With love,  

From all the addresses that made us_

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Ps Please correct mistakes