Late Running Train: An Autobiography

Ravisankar P R — Author of LATE RUNNING TRAIN

Ravisankar P R was born on February 24, 1979 on a Saturday afternoon at the General Hospital, Trivandrum.

He was born and raised in a traditional joint family home named Pavoor, near Neyyattinkara — a town famous for its Lord Krishna Temple — under the matriarchal care of his great-grandmother Saraswathy Amma, a traditional Nair woman. His grandfathers, Pavoor Madhavan Nair (renowned astrologer & Sanskrit poet) and Pavoor Krishnan Nair (dedicated agriculturalist), were well-known figures in the village.

His father is an Ayurvedic physician (BAMS) who ran a pharmacy in Neyyattinkara, and his mother is known for her immaculate care and quiet strength. He grew up with two younger brothers, Jayasankar and Udayasankar, whom he affectionately compares to Lakshmana and Bharata.

Education & Art:

- Schooling in Neyyattinkara (fourth standard onwards)

- Disciple of Mridangam Vidwan Sri T. P. A. Ganesan, introduced by Swami Bhajrananda of Abheda Ashram who first discovered his innate Laya Gnanam (sense of rhythm)

- Performed his Arangettam (debut) at the local Shiva Temple festival

- Passionate stamp and coin collector — collection of 250+ countries and 150+ rare coins including gold coins

Professional Journey:

- A core Java Software Engineer, author of a technical book on Java Programming published by Notion Press

- Started career in a Trivandrum IT firm, learned SDLC deeply, studied James Gosling's Java Bible

- Faced a tough phase of nearly 100 job interviews and unemployment, during which he pursued MBA and worked as Computer Science teacher at Navodaya Vidyalaya, Kottayam

- Later worked for 4 years at a multinational firm in Technopark, Trivandrum, then 7 years in a major technology enterprise in Hyderabad, and currently works as a Senior Engineer in a global logistics software company

Personal Life:

- Married to Anitha, a contract college lecturer

- Father of two daughters, elder Anunima Sankar and a younger daughter

- Lives by the principle "Anbe Sivam — Love is God" and the Subhashitans: Speak with love, speak sweetly, speak truthfully.

Late Running Train is his autobiography, where he compares life to a long-distance Indian train — we may start standing in the crowded general compartment, but with discipline, learning and faith, we eventually find our seat in the executive carriage.