Remembering Mr Rajesh

On Monday i received a WhatsApp informing that Mr Rajeshwaran or Mr Rajesh as he is commonly known amongst his students had passed away. He was my Civil Trial and Advocacy (CTA) lecturer back during my LLB days. He was 87 years of age.

Even then he was a gentleman of advanced age. Slight of build and soft in his speech. He’d have all the classes at the Moot Court on the account that the Moot Court was at the ground floor of the shared Business and Law Faculty Building. Less stairs to climb you see. The Civil Trials video he would have us watch as I recall dates back from the 1970’s, replete with the statics and lines from the VHS conversion. Before joining the academia he was with one of the old established firms in KL. He told us no old war stories though I think he’s had his fair share of it. He taught us the correct and the stylish way to put on one’s suit and how to hold a folded one in arm.

I remembered that during our mock trials he was no docile judge dozing on the bench. Comments and questions came in steady barrages for both Plaintiff and Defendant counsels. That is, until the day a classmate brought a digital camera to document the sessions for his own edification and to our surprise Mr Rajesh clammed up and sat there on the bench looking very dignified. Comments are reserved for after the end of each session. From then on, we struck a deal with the camera guy to be present, camera in hand and pictures every 10 seconds for all sessions. And Mr Rajesh sat there, the very face of Justice, calm and dignified leaving us, little shits that we were then, rejoicing for the uninterrupted sessions.

Once while calling out attendance he caught me sitting behind one of the mock Grecian pillars they had in the Moot Court. Well, to be fair, the silly pillars were blocking the view from some of the long comfy benches they had for the public gallery. I just happened to be seating behind one of the pillars typing up some assignment or other like crazy on my laptop. Ok fine, I chose to sit there to do my work. I did not want to be seen not paying attention in his class. When he called up my name only an arm and my voice shot out from behind the pillar. So he asked me in his gentle voice: Why are you sitting behind that pillar? I thought of some witty reply but decided against it so I grinned sheepishly as i slid away from the pillar, slightly and still typing like crazy.

One little nugget of wisdom he shared with us was that no sane lawyer ever worked without a precedent and he is right. Drafting from scratch is an exercise in insanity. Sane people crack open their copy of Bullen & Leake or begged for precedents from friends or colleagues. There is bound to be one or something similar, which just serves to show that nothing is really new under the sun. Just like our lot in life; to live and to die. Leaving only memories both good and bad until that too is swallowed by passage of time.

Goodbye now Sir. It has been a privilege.