Inspiration

There was a time when I admired his academic proficiency and excellent teaching skills, but towards the end of my schooling days AO sir (as we lovingly and often fearfully call him) became much more than that for many of us.. a true inspiration. Today we went to visit him again and could just sit with awe at what he said.

My pals, Ram, Appu, Gokul, Somu and I used to sit nearest to sir during the classes, in the side bench. He would sit down at a chair beside me to rest after solving problems on the board. The whole class would still be pondering over whether to try doing the questions by themselves or just take down what's written on the board. We, the ones nearest to him knew his eyes would be on what we did. That must be the time our brain worked to it's fullest capacity till now. Physics stopped becoming a subject to study. It became our passion.

I don't know how to explain the change in our minds towards AO through the two years. What was one fear, turned gradually into respect and finally admiration. His persona must have been the inspiration of so many students, students about whom he still talks in abundance even with his failing strength. Cheers to my greatest teacher. Thank you sir and we'll try to make the best of the faith you put in us..

Quotes over the ages

There was a time when I used to study from my notebooks more than any text. All that became a thing of the past when in college. Notebooks became more of a symbol of expression during the lectures (often monotonous). One habit that I caught up was writing down a quote on the first page and omit writing down my name. Due to the fact that I didn't have many notebooks during the four years and cuz I might have lost one or two, I could recover only 4 of them:

S5:
Science is an ongoing process. It never ends. There is no single ultimate truth to be achieved, after which scientists can retire. And because this is so, the world is far more interesting, both for scientists and for millions of people in every nation who, while not professional scientists, are deeply interested in the methods and findings of science.
- Cosmos, Carl Sagan

S5-S6, Still one of my favourite quotes:
It's so easy to run to others. It's hard to stand on one's on record. You can't fake virtue in your own eyes. Your ego is the strictest judge. It's simple to seek substitutes for competence - love, kindness... But there isn't substitute for competence. That precisely is the deadliness of second handers.
- The Fountainhead, Ayn Rand

S6-S7, Very meaningful at that time:
My past life seemed floated away to an immeasurable distance, the present was vague and strange, and for the future I could form no conjecture.
- Jane Eyre, Charlotte Bronte. ( The irony is that I never completed that book)

S7-S8:
I yearn to define my life
Placing faith in chance to meet me in halfway
Back row to the left, a little to the side,
Slightly out of place
Look beyond the light, where you least expect
There's someone special.
- From the song Someone Special, Poets of the Fall

2 days

Finally done with the TC and course certificate formalities. Sadly we've to surrender our ID cards. I wonder why we are not allowed to keep it even after being punched brutally through the middle. I went around the department and college and took photos of the classes we sat in the 4 years.

First year: we were on top of everything, including the Principal. Spacious enough to play cricket. And the fact that there were always the S8 comscis to drop blame on any noise we made helped a lot.


Second year: This is for me the best class in the whole college. With a great view into paths to Archi, Civil and Electrical departments, the class had windows to three directions. It also had a natural seating place outside where we used to sit chatting, listening to music or just have a look outside.


Third year: Got to say, horrible class to sit in.. with birds for company (the real ones). That resulted in us sitting out most of the time.


Final year: Lots of beautiful memories to cherish in this class.


Now that I've told about today, here's something about which I planned to write yesterday. I'd been cleaning the room some time yesterday. Still haven't given the room any name. It's like some place where everything gets dumped and seldom comes out. Once in a year I'm allotted to perform the ritual of arranging things in it. 2-3 hours into the job I've not gotten anywhere. This is the progress:

Work Done ................................................................Work Undone


The best part of cleaning up the room is there's so much stuff in there that could tell a story. I found my relics from school and college.. The Loyolite, the magi memento, the candle we held on our school farewell, slam book, stuff from LaFest.. Entering college, the pieces of glass from the last day incident of our first year tour, the piece of wire that held our mini project together, robotics (too much stuff to name any), my notes (few and far between), and the precious few gifts and cards I got through my school and college years. Always gets a feel that I've moved on after spending some time there..

Update from 2 more days later:
The room has assumed a better situation now. I've managed to pack/dump robotics stuff into boxes. The large box below holds irrecoverable junk and those smaller ones atop contains useful things. The irrecoverable junk holds more value in our hearts than the other one.

K in a nutshell

Didn't get time to jot down anything on the first day of the trip due to busy schedule. But one thing I've got to mention - It was unbearably hot and humid. The climate in TVM is heaven. So to the second day when mom bought half a dozen handbags and a score of sarees.. I'm not exaggerating. I got plenty of time observing and here goes somethings I wrote down:

Morning:
I realise I'm walking through a city which was once the capital of British India. It seems like the city never arose from the shock of losing the status of capital. Here even the newest buildings are made in 19th century style. In the heart of the city it still breathes the Victorian era. Most of the metros have given up on it's traditions, but you can see Kolkata in 19th, 20th and 21st century side by side. Where else would you find street hawkers, a huge 'new' market housing all types of garments in shops having century old tradition and KFC in the same road. Another example would be cycle rickshaws, the only working tram network in India and the modern metro rail ploughing along the same area.

Noon:
Noe to some interesting news. I found most of the gals in Kolkata are naturally pretty and fashionable. :-) This requires special mention 'cuz the same cannot be said about southern states. And the best thing is they can be found everywhere, not just in top notch shopping malls.

Afternoon:
I would've died of boredom today hadn't it been for the iPod. My ever faithful music companion always helps in finding better perspectives in times like these. Thank you sis.

Evening:
Parents left me at a saree shop with lots of stuff that we bought and went on to buy some more (Saree count around 15 by that time). The shopkeeper was a hospitable man. His son did B.E & M.Tech in Bangalore, married a Kannada girl and is working at GE, Bangalore now. He seemed very happy to know that I'm going to do M.Tech in Bangalore. He bought us free fountain Fantas too - Yippee!

With clouds between my knees

It is my first time flying. Though slightly apprehensive at lifting my feet off the firm earth beneath, I knew it should be worth the money. So began my maiden flight on a plane. I craned to look out of the window as it took off. My eyes fell on how green Trivandrum is! Few hundred feet above my homeland, you can see nothing but a sea of coconut trees. We kept going higher until I noticed the clouds were getting closer. "Surely" I thought, "we weren't gonna fly alongside them". But we did.. The plane slowly went though the cloud level with some turbulence and rose above it. That is truly a sight to behold. Just like they show in the movies, you feel like sailing on an ocean of clouds. There were more beautiful views which you would see only through the window of a plane... the shadow of clouds on the ground.. the shadow of plane on the clouds.. and the beautiful coastline where the sea meets land. But the best was reserved for the last. We landed in Kolkata at night. Viewing the city lights from above, you feel like travelling through space.. with stars above and below.. just loved it.

Kolkata - A Photo Blog

Kolkata

I'm off to Kolkata today. It would be my first time on a plane. Exciting..

Few words for the Chairman and VC

Politics in Kerala should be a matter of intense study in the field of human pschology and University of Kerala should be a chapter in it. How else could you explain this rescheduling of labs, which is very common but due to a reason not so common.

Just a small peek into the history of Kerala. There was a time when Bandh were rampant in the state. That's when the court ruled that they were banned. Then came the hartals, which was the same old wine packaged in a new name. And now what - Kari Dinam. Doesn't make much difference but it's a step in the right direction as far as malayamisation of names goes. I do not claim to know much about politics but the current situation seems absurd even to any layman due to:

1. The government is going against the ruling of the judiciary. The whole point of having an independent judiciary is to be not influenced by any governing body. As the saying goes the ruling of the judge is final and it should be accepted.

2. Kerala University has supported the decision of government extending both hands. The exams due to be held on two days have been shifted. It was the same people who refused to delay the exams for the students who had to attend interviews for higher studies selection. This is the part of the story where I realised the system has indeed broken down and left to dogs.

Sorry for using such harsh words. I have always been a supporter of constuctive politics in college and is still a fan of the syllabus and scheme. But the same cannot be said about it's working. Lets all hope for a better future when KU is truly independent and makes decisions only for the betterment of it's student community.

You Complete Me

There are some times when you just wanna lie down and let the pain creep in.. with wet eyes and heavy heart you just let the helpless slowly intoxicating. My friend recently accused me of being a vishadakamukan even before falling in love. Maybe I am. There comes few times when something beyond our control takes us away from the ones we love. Due to those I've even considered not loving something/someone so much that you cud never say goodbye. No. This is not a farewell message to any gal. This one's for my dear friend without whom I'm nobody.

It's so easy to cry off your sadness. That was the case when I encountered such a scenario in school. But this is a different kind.. We've been laughing off our sadness. Any hint of nostalgia is washed away in a bursts of jokes which leave us gasping for air. It's more the harder cuz everyday you've got to return home and realize you never said how much you would miss him/her. That has left me spiraling down and down and finally drowning in this pool of tears.

Even through all this, the faith that keep me going is my belief - you never leave your loved ones behind. They are always with you. Right there watching the world through your eyes from that little corner in your heart. The corner that never stops beating.

This one's for none other than you. Each and everyone of you. Like the Joker says, You complete me.

:-) Remember the days we used to think Samson sir is the original Joker.