The Ballad of Dr. Malaiperuman

Despite the difficulties he succeeded
And was awarded his Ph.D
And chatted up Marjorie Luetscher
And invited her over for tea

She was so impressed with his brewing
And the mystical side of his thesis
That off to the east she sailed with him
And she became his missus

Upon his return to old India
Swartz was greeted at the Port
By Mr Mclelland of the Y
who offered him a job at the Fort

Now let it be said of his courage
The war proved he had great gut
When Japanese bombed Madras harbour
He brazenly stod by the hut

When the war was ended and over
The "Y" sent out their apostle
To London to build a landmark
The YMCA Indian Students Hostel.

The students there all loved him
In his devotion to the cause
WAnd the highlight came at Christmas
When he was their Santa Claus

In the end he became quite famous , As the general secretary of the YMCA
He hob nobbed with prime ministers and princes
And the Queen and of course,Chou en Lai

Now there are lots of Malaiperumans around And they're all in this room as you see And another is due any minute So hurry up Doc and finish your tea We are all delighted to congratulate you On an occasion as spelendid as this For 80 years is no mean age WE salute you and give you a kiss As the poem finished being read, he was garlanded by his eldest grand daughter and saluted by his two youngest grandsons. Poem written by John Malaiperuman Page created January, 2000 Karen's Early Life | Slater Family Website | Karen Slater's Website back to poem page one