Classes during those years: Std 1F/1C (1960), Std 2A (1961), Std 3A (1962), Std 4A (1963), Std 5A (1964), Std 6 Blue (1965)
House: Wolfe (brown)
Road resided in during the WPS years: Ayer Itam Road (government quarters)
Current residence: Batu Ferringhi
Current status: Semi-retired
Journey through time since WPS:
- Kumar described his post-WPS journey as “a voyage on stormy waters with a few interesting ports of call”. However, before the storm, he spent seven quiet years at Penang Free School and then a few more at Citibank.
- Later, when the storm had approached, his first port of call was Mumbai (then Bombay) and from there to Pune (then Poona) where he spent three plus years at the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) — “wonderful formative years as a film maker”. India, he says, seems like a madhouse with snakes, dragons and demons lurking at the gate. “But once inside you'll be sucked into a world of beauty, love and passion”.
- At the second port of call, Kuala Lumpur, he had a “snake and ladder experience” much of which he prefers to forget. The best thing that happened in KL, however, was a “God-gifted friendship” with Utam Singh, whose first name he now uses as a prefix to his. The man died in 2005.
- Other ports of call: Hongkong, Bangkok & Singapore were merely places where work took him for short stints. However, Greece (first trip in 2008 for 1½ months) was a “wonderful world.” He went again in 2010 and 2012, learnt to speak some Greek and make souvlakis, yemiste and Greek salad. His other paradise is Croatia with Dubrovnik and Split making his experience unforgettable!
