At the MIT, Madhav was in for a disappointment. The Co-operative Course in Electrical Engineering, he was informed, was meant exclusively for citizens of the USA, and he, as an alien, could not be admitted to this; however, as a B.Sc in Physics and Chemistry of Bombay University, MIT allowed him to study for the B.Sc degree in Electrical Engineering.

The rest of my ill-fated cousin's story is soon told. With his intelligence and capacity for hard work he was all set for a triumphant career. And then he was found to be suffering from advanced tuberculosis. Admitted to a sanatorium in 1924, he received specialist attention, but the disease had progressed too far. I wanted to send him back to the warm climate of India but the doctors forbade him to travel. Before the year ended, this brilliant young man had passed away.

Meanwhile I had my own difficulty. The Dean of the MIT told me that I would not be admitted unless I could produce a certificate of having passed the Matriculation Examination. I explained that I had failed in a subject which was not relevant to my study course in Mechanical Engineering and produced my mark-sheet to convince him that in all the relevant subjects I had secured high marks. The Dean assured me that he was personally convinced of my good showing in he required subjects, but he had no authority to make an exception to the Rules of Admission. I could secure admission, he suggested, by passing an Entrance Examination which the College Entrance Examination Board conducted in USA.