munbe vaa

"What a teacher means to me"

This will be a long read.. Sorry for that. But it was my entry to an essay competition.

It has been eons since the first humans stepped on our earth. Right from the first day, we've been a race which showed an insatiable passion to learn from our surroundings. In the beginning it was mother earth who taught us how to live. Slowly but steadily humans started understanding the nuances of life and started to carve a niche for himself.

As Edmund Burke told - "The first and simplest emotion which we discover in the human mind is curiosity". To satisfy his curiosity soon became his primary need in life once his basic needs were met with. And thus, he started learning and in turn teaching his fellow mates. Thus arose the first teacher in the way we today know a teacher to be. From Aristotle to Plato to Feynman, we have had many great teachers who taught their fellow mates and juniors. But is it that only the ones who teach in a classroom are teachers?

According to popular belief today, a teacher has become one who teaches by profession. But if we really ponder about it, we'll clearly stumble upon the fact that a teacher is much more than what he is in a classroom. After all, what does the word teacher mean? Simply put, it means one who teaches. And the first ones who teach a human are his parents. My parents have been my first and foremost teachers and they've been the ones who have taught me how to live, what to expect of life and what to give back to life. They showed me the various paths in life and at times when there was more than one path ahead of me, they told me the merits and demerits of both. More importantly, they left the freedom of decision unto me. So as days went by and as the weight of experience increased day by day, I learnt what life is. And now, I've learnt how to play with it and to live it in fervour and happiness. And till this day, this has been the most valuable education in my life. Not to forget my sister who has had an equal share in my life.

Then comes my friends. All what you can learn about yourself comes through your friends. They are the ones who live by your side and help you around forever. It is with them that you enjoy the fun, thrill and excitement in your life. It is they who stand by you at times of happiness and grief. It is from them and your siblings that you learn how to share things. Let me quote some events from my life which will seem completely normal but yet were ones from which I learnt a lot.

I had attended an NTSE camp in Trivandrum during my 10th vacations. We all used to stay together in a hostel for those 10 days. Now as the Profs came and taught us the materials required for the exam, we suddenly realized our inadequacy and comprehended the fact that we knew practically nothing. Till that point, my world of knowledge was limited to my course books. Once I was done with them, I thought that I've mastered the world! But alas! I was proven gravely wrong by my teachers and friends in those 10 days. So in this way, I learnt that books contributed only a trifle fraction to our knowledge base. What we acquire through discussions with our friends and teachers has much more value than what we learn from books.

There was a bunch of people in the camp whom I knew beforehand. And we used to have lots of fun. All of us had food together. We spent our evenings roaming around and playing. And thus, we started to interact with more people. We started getting to know anyone who interacted with even one amongst us and soon, our social circle improved a lot. In this process we started to share our feelings about the camp and education and food and what not. Thus we all came to realize that everyone amongst us had similar feelings about some issues like food which somehow was horribly bad. We decided that we'll rebel against this and thus, about 4-5 of us wrote a poem about the food and the general state of things in the camp. To quote some lines of the same- "Milk milked when the cow's tail was on fire", "recycled sambar", "Devil's paradise",” Mess- workers who forgot the time! "(Because the sambar served for lunch had a vada in it!!!) etc. The poem was presented on the cultural night allotted to our group and it was hailed by all students equally. Right from the next day, we began to see changes in the chores of the camp. The food quality improved drastically. So what did I learn from all this? It was that even a small group of four or five people could make a huge difference to the society in which we live. This again was possible only due to my friends.

So we see that for almost all of us, parents and friends are the most important teachers in our life.

All said and done, I must not forget my teachers who taught me at school and college. They have played almost an equal role in shaping me as my friends and parents have. A famous quote comes to my mind when I think about my teachers- “The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires." I hold this as a yardstick for judging who is a better teacher. I was inspired by many and it's because of them that I am what I am. Let me make myself clearer. During an internship in the Raman Research Institute which I had the fortune of doing, I had a doubt about something. I thought for quite a while about that point and derived an expression for the corresponding physical quantity. The derivation stretched to about 2 pages long. I wanted to verify my result and went to my guide, Prof. Dipankar Bhattacharya. I showed him my result and he said- "Ah! Your result seems fine but I see that you have held your nose in the proverbial fashion. You see, this can be derived intuitively like this" And he showed me how to derive my result in 2 lines! And this is what I call as “inspire”! He inspired me to learn physics. He showed me the beauty in the subject. He ignited my imagination. He showed me that the complexity of a problem disappears in the simplicity of its solution. It was great. The feeling I had at that moment was inexplicable. That is how a teacher must be according to me. He must inspire hope, ignite the imagination and instill a love of learning. He is one who makes himself progressively unnecessary. To quote Thomas Szaz- "A teacher should have maximal authority and minimal power". These are all just some things which make a teacher great.

Finally what matters is that the teacher must try and inspire the child to learn the subject, develop a love for it and feel the beauty in it. This arguably enough, is very difficult for many. The minimum I expect from a teacher is that he should not dictate but suggest. He shouldn't project himself as having more knowledge than what he actually possesses. He should come down (or go up) to the level of students. He should be more of a friend to his pupil than a dictator. It is only in an environment of love that real learning takes place. That learning which happens in fear or coercion is short lived and false. He must, as far as possible, try to teach the truth and not just what is written in the course text book. But of course all this depends on the students as well. They must be responsible and sincere and must show an unquenchable passion for the subject being taught. Only then will a teacher be successful. I guess this just summarizes what a teacher means to me. I finish my essay quoting the famous Sanskrit shloka –

“Guru Brahma, Gurur Vishnu, Guru Devo Maheshwara!

Guru Sakshat Para Brahma, Tasmai Sree Gurave Namaha!!”

The Zahir

It begins with a glimpse or a passing thought. It ends in obsession.

The term above- The Zahir, refers to a myriad of things in different cultures. But the one which I found the most powerful and the one which spreads the whole of us, thriving in the depths of our mind(or heart?) appealed to me a lot.

As some would have realized by now, I've read the book by Paulo Coelho. I haven't read 'The Alchemist' yet. But this one was simply amazing and awesome.

I copy the meaning of Zahir directly from Abhilash's blog:

The title comes from a tale by Jorge Luis Borges, published in his book The Aleph.
In Arabic Zahir means 'visible, present and unable to go unnoticed.' It refers to something or someone that ends up being the only thing we can think of. This state of 'possession' can be understood as saintliness or insanity, with a fine line between the two.

Luis Borges goes on to say in one of his short stories titled 'El Zahir':

Others will dream that I am mad, and I [will dream] of the Zahir. When all men on earth think day and night of the Zahir, which one will be a dream and which a reality, the earth or the Zahir?

If we ponder the profoundness of the term mentioned above, we'll realize that all of us have an idea which could become a potential Zahir. We are interlaced in its reaches; we live for it. But when it goes to the extent that 'the feeling' is the only thing in our life, then it becomes the Zahir.

The highly autobiographical story is that of the author's 4th wife who becomes his Zahir and finally how he manages to escape from its hold. It's then that he realizes the true meaning of Love. That it is not something which prevents you from thinking about anything else, but it is that which is always present in everything you do, though unknowingly.

The above ideas are also depicted in the book by Swami Vivekananda on Yoga. He says that in bhakti yoga, you have a divine worship towards something or someone. This is what is Bhakti. When bhakti is the only thing which you can ever think of, then it becomes the Zahir and then, the true meaning of Bhakti ceases to exist. Bhakti is like the air which we always breathe, it exists though we are not in constant wonder of the same. It's when we are reclined from the world that Bhakti attains its true meaning. Mind you, this is not madness. The true meaning and scope of what he says is much more than what it appears on its surface. (After all, here I can be sure that none might actually go to the extent of calling Swami a lunatic!)

Some of the quotes and examples given in the book are just truly amazing. Let me quote Coelho when he writes that in the words of a Persian sage,

"Love is a disease. No one wants to get rid of it. Those who catch it never wish to be better. Those who suffer it, do not crave to be cured !!!!"

The next is when he gives an example of two hunters who do not know each other and go into a forest. They finish their mission and come out of the forest to see a river. One of their faces is completely covered by mud whereas the other's is without a spot. He questions Marie, his then- girlfriend (the readers too!)- Who will wash their face first?

The answer to this is truly awe-inspiring. He says that the one with the clear face will wash his face first because he sees the other's face with mud and expects his to be similar. But the one with mud, sees a clear face in his partner and doesnt wash his face.

This is exactly what happens in relationships. When we do not share our emotions with each other completely, we expect to see a reflection of ourselves in the other and hence land up in trouble. The story above is not to be explained more, but to be felt by repeated ponderings.

In short, this book is truly a masterpiece. For those who feel that the ending was a bit sad, realize that their relation is so strong at that point that the happenings in the last page do not have any effect at all. Their love is by then true because by that time they've ended up understanding not just the other, but themselves too!!

Out of the grain

Another eon has passed.. And my life has taken almost a perpendicular turn. Everything's fun now. Remember the last semester, a ******* hectic sem. But still, I have to say I enjoyed it even though for academic pressure and stress. The wonderful treats and all those little funny things that keep on happening time and again in our wing.
But now, it's fun. It's great. I mean, it's just great! Now I understand one of the major advantages of being an IITian. You simply can NOT complain about life being hectic anywhere else- you are completely trained to take the challenge with all your spirits sky-high. Th life here is a lot different- on the academic side, do what you want and what you like and on the other, have a blast. It's as cool as cool can be.
I jut remember the day in the liby- that was just simply great. After a nice relaxed read of a book, I went to the mess to have the lunch. If asked what the quality of the food is, I'd say- awesome. The taste per cost ratio is infinite. I mean, I get the food for free :D . After having those so-called parathas and rice with curd(yummy), I had a stroll around the campus, called up some friends and finally came back to my office- the small liby cabin. Getting thoroughly bored with the previous book, I started reading a book on High energy astrophysics by M.S.Longair. I remember - the radiative transfer equation, the rosseland approximation, the eddington app................................................
Suddenly, I come back to my senses. Oh! where am I? I start looking around- books! oh! am in a library. Oh yes, I was reading.. But wheres my book? I get up and look around to find it lying down on the floor!!! Then I realized, my god! I was sleeping, mouth wide open, that too on the common chair at the entrance of the liby. Then I checked out my watch. I was shocked!!! The time is 4:30!!!!! That means by a simple subtraction that I was in a slumber for the past 3 hours!!! Now that was real fun! I just simply loved it :p ..
And, I've to add that my brains have finally reached their functional level. I mean, Bangalore is just so inspirational that your creativity and ingenuity just mushroom like a spring bloom. More examples of this, later. But now, lemme get back to orkutting..:D

Parting of ways

It's valfi time and everyone of the council members are putting in their best efforts to make it a success. As always there is a bunch of disinterested people who are not at all aware of when the valfi is(even some who don't know what valfi is!!!!! hats off to them!!) and on the other side are the people who make it a point to give the best sent off ever to those seniors, those who believe in " We are here because they were there " philosophy.

But I just thought how difficult it would be for the seniors themselves. I for one had this experience once and I can say for a fact that I was seriously sad around the month of March after we had our school sent-off. People with whom you have spent around 12 years of your life and more importantly people who have created and shaped the 'you' in you. I was so deeply involved with my friends that I just couldn't see how I could be happy anywhere else.

When I still remember those days which I had in my school, especially my 11th and 12th, a small smile(sometimes even a laugh) spreads across my face and people around wonder whether it's birdshit on their clothes or the streak of ink on their face that is making this chap laugh all of a sudden.

The days when I used to wait for half an hour at times just to catch a glimpse of my secret crush who would be passing by in an auto. The days in which I used to give fundaes to my friends on how to approach a girl. The days in which I used to go to school just because of the fact that there was a games period and of course for some other reason too ;) The days in which I used to fight with my parents just to get their permission to stay back for playing cricket in school. The days in which we used to pour all sorts of chemicals into each other's test-tubes in the chemistry lab expecting something great to happen. The days in which I used to HATE biology. The days in which we would plead for someone to treat me at the canteen without any reason at all. The days in which I used to be bashed by my bio teacher because I had bunked her class to conduct a session of the math club after the morning assembly and just after this class I remember the satisfaction I had when the Math club teacher in-charge came to me and said - "Vijay! Thanks a lot! This couldn't have been but for you!!" And then I had felt so elated that I just couldn't wait to do it another time. The days in which a bunch of us would go chalk-fighting with another bunch and were all taken to the Principal. The days in which a bunch of us would work for the upcoming Annual day or the Sports Day and on that behalf, bunk some classes. The days in which even though you were the House captain of a particular house, you wouldn't at all mind to go help the other house with their Pookkalam design or their group song. The time when you would say that "Life's just about perfect!!"

I wonder that even though I have grown up a bit into a not-so-innocent chap, the life inside IIT has almost been a similar experience. With all those wonderful treats we have had (sometimes upto 8-10 in a month! ), with those li'l hangouts at the shack or the lakeside, with the regular bunking of classes, with the occasional tours and festivals like Onam and holi, IIT life could be easily called the cherry in the life-pudding of anyone. Oh! and of course the glorious mess food with specialities like recycled sambhar and dal and tea apparently made of milk milked when the cow's tail was on fire add spice to everyone's life.

And then all of a sudden, all this was to vanish! I still can't imagine how I had passed that situation then and how I will pass it when it comes to me again.

But then, I'm still here writing this entry now for my blog even after all that mental pain you undergo when you know that the only times in the future when you'd meet all your friends is in the possible vacations. I just hope that all those who are leaving this wonderful college of theirs are happy in the thought that life can still be good in the future. And even for us, who will miss the wonderful company and insightful fundaes of our seniors.

Let all of us still be as close ever as we are now. =)

Mother!!!!

Thought I'll post my only worth poem here.. Feels bad to see that the clock is ticking without any activity in this blog.. I wrote this when I was in my 10th standard and it got published in The Hindu, April 19, 2003..

Mother

The rays of the sun
With a flavour of pun
Unite the earth
And give light.
In the night, the white
Moonshine, carving its way
And blanketing the whole world
And, of course, the wind
The breeze as soft as a feather
Caressing the living.
Then the rain so charming
As showers of knowledge
The pearls of life come true.
And again the ocean
Full of life and freedom
With a whole new world inside.
Birds so elated, fish so lush
Fruits so luscious and trees like emeralds;
And Man at the top.
Each has a story to tell
So great;
Then imagine their merry unison
It's not there in words
It's beyond the human
But there's a truth.
The world around us
About which our thoughts go less
Is its bodily essence —
This is the creation of God.
All are unified and everything lively
This is his masterpiece
But, what did he call her?
Is it nature?
Is it earth?
Or is it heaven?
Perhaps, it is mother!

they say..

Aphrodite/Eros


?? Which Of The Greek Gods Are You ??
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Rang De Basanti

I believe every decent film has a message to say.. Be it 'Swades' or 'DCH' or '4 the ppl' or 'dhoom'... Each has a story to say.. Yes I agree that on the face value, some may seem unreal and impractical or boring and vapid at times.. But yet, if you think even a bit, you can see elements of it in your own life.. What I do is that I imagine myself in the garb of the hero(:) ) and imagine how I'd have proceeded with the situations in his life.. And then I feel that yes! life is tough at times...

The same held true for RDB.. But then once the story kick-started, I was so deeply engrossed that I forgot that I'm watching a movie.. The story was told with such a great effect and charisma that one cannot possibly be left untouched by the sheer simplicity and openness of the scenes .. The narration went in such a pace as never to let the story to lag but yet slow enough to allow the viewers to apprehend the scenes..

Take for instance Ameer- DJ... He says-" Main university se paas hoke 5 saal ho gaya, par abhi bhi main yahan hi hoon.. kyonki yahan DJ ko sab jaante hain yyaar..uska koi aukaat hain, par baahar hazaar DJ benaam hain..." I don't think there'll be many among us who wouldn't have passed by this situation. But then, when the time comes, he arises and reacts, takes up responsibility... But more important is that he manages to make a change- a change, imminent and inevitable- in his friends and ultimately in the hearts of the viewers...

Ameer was still the same guy- the aura of mischief surrounding him and the childishness and spontaneity of a pathless youth, but yet the vigour and manhood of a man.. The sparks in his eyes when he is Azad and the innocence when he calls Sue- gulaabi... His character could easily reach the depths of the minds of the viewers..

And then the others, disillusioned and alive in a coccoon world, running away from life and change.. But then, everyone realises, comprehends that change has to come from within and that life is not a bed of roses and that we are ultimately responsible for the world around us..

An equally interesting aspect is that every character is equally important in the movie.. The movie is incomplete without each of the characters as they are shown- sukhi - a child for ever, karan- a rich and disillusioned youth, aslam- who values friends more than religion, sonia- the voice of womanhood, DJ- the anchor, Sue- the reason, and Ajay- the messenger.... All show different perspectives of life in a straightforward and simple way...

And then comes one of the most important aspects-the songs were excellent.. Music and sound effects were awesome.. The timing and contemporariness of the rhythm and bass were quite effective..

Love and friendship has been shown as it must be.. The depths of the relationships are so deep that one could easily take it for granted in the pre-interval period but they create their effect in the post-interval period..

And as always- the comedy was ultimate.. Dialogues like- "hamaare ek pair past mein hain aur ek future mein, isiliye to hum aaj mut rahe hain" were awesomely true yet the delivery was awesome..

But finally the movie manages to convey the idea that change has to come from within..It's not about killing corruption by blowing off the politicians. These are about joining the system and making a difference. Each of us will and must have our own approaches to the problems so that ultimately we can lead ourselves and others around us and our country to a better future.. The movie is NOT to be taken at the face-value. There's much more to RDB than violence or mislead youth. It's one which tells a story of responsibility,passion and love. Let us all try to do as much as we can do..Jai Hind!