"It was the best of times, it was the worst of
times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the
epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light,
it was the season of Darkness…”
Charles Darnay is about to be guillotined owing to his
direct lineage to the Marquis of a French estate. Is he responsible for the
torment and the repression inflicted on the French peasants by the former
Marquis who is now dead?
No.
But who will explain this to the angry mob of
France which is baying for blood? Years of torture has brought out this evil
and madness in the French mob that has now the potential to feed innocents to
the guillotine.
When you read ‘A Tale of Two Cities’ by Dickens, you unequivocally
sympathize with the protagonist and the lead of the story. You must be rooting
for Darnay all through the book, lamenting his incarceration and desperately
wanting him to be set free.
Cut to 2015. The clouds of the 1993 Mumbai blasts
hover over this man spelling death for him. The brother of a mafia don (who is the prime suspect and seen as the mastermind behind the attacks), this man comes to India to clear his name uncannily like Darnay believing in the power of truth and justice (although the current blast convict is no saint; there is evidence of him being involved in smuggling; however he may not be a mass murderer as per the journalists, who made it their business to look deep into the matter, found). And now he stands on the threshold of being hanged. (Did Dickens get a premonition of the entire thing?!)
These are the best
of times; these are the worst of times...
Sydney Carter’s good Samaritanism saved
the day in Dickens' novel. But what will be the fate of this man who is part of a world of not fiction, but facts?
Has the Dickens of our
world’s story cooked up something for him?
Or is our world way too real and unforgiving
to have any of the drama and clemency that’s prevalent in the world of
fiction?
This is NOT a comment, although the larger heading says so. Like everyone else, I wanted to pay a humble tribute to the man of the stars and the man of the people.
I don’t know how to start this. I wanted to write something
the moment my phone pinged and I read the newsflash. No title and no opening
lines seem to befit the man - the national icon - the trailblazer - the rock star of science. I knew the moment the
news of the demise reached us, social media would be fraught with messages,
condolences and eulogies by one and all. And not one individual would have a
bitter thing to say about the Missile Man, the Students' Ideal, the People's President, the man who
revamped Indian astronomy.
Could we call him the
Carl Sagan of India? Perhaps. But Mr. Kalam was in a class of his own. He had
his characteristic coiffure, his simple and high ideals, his untiring efforts
and dedication towards his domain of work. He was the quintessential Indian
scientist. Of the likes of CV Raman, Susruta and JC Bose. He wore many hats- those of a thinker, philosopher, teacher, author and many such, elegantly and admirably so. When the name is APJ Abdul Kalam, one, whoever that
one be, can’t help feeling a tinge of pride and a surge of inspiration. No
barriers of caste, class or religion come to mind. Only the inspiring man with
a humble background and an illustrious life. The son of a fisherman, who ferried Hindu pilgrims ashore, Mr. Kalam's life story is more surreal and beautiful than a carefully written piece of fiction. It seems as if each detail of his
life had been intricately carved so as to inspire millions with
its simplicity and greatness.
The 11th President of India, the Padma Bhushan, Padma Vibhushan and the Bharat
Ratna awardee, Mr. Kalam is forever alive via his views, quotes, ideas and messages.In 2005, Switzerland declared May 26 as 'Science Day' to commemorate Dr Kalam’s visit to the European country. With his ardent
devotion and his vision for ‘India 2020’, he took the country on space missions
and missile launches, on unprecedented advancements in technology and on projects
of the skies and the heavens. We are proud to have had a scientist president.
How many countries can boast of that?
Mr. Kalam’s recent
publication- ‘Transcendence…’ had barely hit the book stands; he was
elucidating the concept of a ‘pure planet’ to the students of IIM - Shillong when
a massive cardiac arrest struck him and cut short his worldly voyage. The loss couldn't be greater and couldn't be more greatly felt. The man had a lot of life left in him. As I closed my eyes during the minutes of silence observed at my workplace on the death of the great man, I wondered that this man of the stars has reached his stars today. When Oct 15 dawns this year as the sixth World Students’ Day and the first one sans his presence, we hope that many such
Kalams are born. It’s a fitting tribute to the man with 'wings of
fire'.
I was about to crash out one night last week
when I saw an unread email in my inbox. I wanted to postpone its checking to
the following day when I spotted the sender’s name. I clicked on the mail
immediately and in a few minutes had sent out a reply. Quite expectedly, I got
another reply and it all felt just like old times. That was Meera ma’am and
Shivani ma’am mailing from their joint email account. The outcome of our
exchange was that I stood in the conference room of SFS last Thursday
(16/7/2015) doing what was expected of me as an ex-Summerite. I gave a pep
talk.
Dear Summerite,
I am writing this letter
to you because I had promised to pen everything down in a coherent form.
I don’t know what I told
you in that room that day. Because I have a tendency to ramble and digress when
I am speaking, not to mention forget and lose thread. Still I hope it was all
good and useful. Since I am more balanced when I write or rather I’m a different
person when my trap is shut, I would like you to hear out both my selves. You
met one last Thursday. You meet the other one today.
This post is mostly
addressed to the XIIthees, since I had a chat with the XII batch when I was in
school and since it is the final year of their school life and kind of a
defining moment, after which they will be beset with mainly two questions- ‘what
was your percentage’ and ‘where did you secure admission’. For the sole aim of
preparing satisfactory answers to these two questions, the students (at least
some of them) leave no stone unturned in putting up their best, studying more
this year than in any of their previous years combined.
I will try and combine
all my experiences and ‘wisdom’ (more like lessons) in as concise a manner as
possible ‘cause the ones for whom this post is meant for hardly have time to
listen to ramblings.
How to study
I won’t tell you how to
study. Because I really don’t know. I told you how my study cycle used to begin with
working at my desk for a meagre 10-15 minutes and end at the bed with the
book lying flat on my face. Clearly, I’m no study guru. But I have some don’ts
for you. You know enough ‘Do’s to actually want to 'do' them. So, here goes:
DON’T – >refrain from asking if
you don’t understand. You have a right to ask. That’s why we have RTI. That’s
why we have teachers and that’s why you are paying tuition fees. > expect teachers to feed the knowledge directly
into your brain. That technology hasn’t been invented yet. Maybe you could invent
it? As of now, it’s a two-way process. Much like ‘God gives every bird its food
but does not throw it into its nest’.
>compare. Even twins turn
out differently. So, if one (or more) of your classmates gets into IIT or St.
Stephens, don’t beat yourself up.
>tell yourself to study.
You never will. It’s a human tendency to do things averse to those someone
tells you to do. Use reverse psychology.
>live ‘half lives’. By
half lives, I mean half of you is studying while the other half doing
everything to keep the first half from doing so.
>be aware of the posture
you are in while studying. For if that happens, you are not as much into it as
you would like to be.
>let the past bog you
down. Whether you have been a bum student or a star performer in the past, it
really doesn’t matter. Simply because the past is, sadly or gladly, over.
>let the others drag you
down. Whether it’s their expectations from you or disenchantment with you, let
the ‘others’ (whoever they are, for God’s sake! I never seem to find them!) go
to Mars for all you care. Ignorance is bliss sometimes.
>worship each and every
rule people tell you to follow (including my DON’Ts). One person’s food is another
person’s poison. So, if something doesn’t work for you, don’t do it. Listen to
yourself and carve out a path accordingly. It’s a lot like praying. The
destination is the same but we have different ways of reaching it. As long
as it works for you, nothing matters.
>let the stress of it all
bog you down. Easy to say, hard to put it into practice. Well, I am still
trying! All the best to you too!
Myths
There are some myths
that people come up with and readily swear by. Sorry guys, but I am here to
burst your bubbles and bust your myths. >This myth is exclusively
for Science students- Myth: Stuff that is taught in my coaching class
and whatever is taught at the school are poles apart. Truth: Newton’s laws of gravitation are
universal. So they work as well in the Milky Way galaxy as much as in the
Andromeda galaxy. Your coaching classes are in this very galaxy right? Myth busted. >Myth: I just never seem
to score marks. Since I landed in XIth, my life just took a U- turn.’ Truth: Don’t despair fellow humans! I was there
too. All I have for you is 'this too shall pass'.
>Myth: There are
multitudinous books, endless tests, a million xeroxes and zero time to prepare. Truth: All you need to solve questions is understanding of the
concept and a little pressure on your gray cells. Whether you solve one
assignment or a hundred, study one hour or a ten, if you can get those
questions right, if you know how physics, chem, bio and math run the world
(including IT, English, Eco or any other subject you may have), you are good to
go.
Guru Gyaan
These are some questions
that are often asked in interviews. I never knew they were so important to
one’s life. Ask yourself these. You will be amazed to find that these will be
the hardest questions to answer. But once you answer them, your life will
assume a much rosier tint than it had before.
Q1. What made you take
up this subject?
Q2. Where do you see
yourself 5 years from now?
Q3. What is that which
you will be happy doing for the next 40 years of your life?
There is a concept
called Maslow’s laws of hierarchy. It says that once you have fulfilled your
basic needs of food, clothing and shelter; you start looking for
self-actualization. In our words, once your career can be called a career and
once you have a steady job, you will start looking for meaning. In essence, the
above three questions are the keys to unlocking your life’s meaning. All the
best for finding your calling, people!
Despair not, worry not;
you will pass +2 with flying colors. Believe you me, give yourself a year and
you will be capable of taking such a session as I did, all geared up with
positivity ammo and study weapons. Keep calm and conquer +2. May the Force be
with you!
A whoosh and a sweep And the dust bunnies run for cover
Let me introduce you to the neatness nazi, the cleanliness freak, the
stain-hater of the family...she is the one who has given a whole new meaning to
the term 'spotless'. In her school classroom, she wields the duster on the
blackboard. At home, she wields it on the filth. She will scrub and re-scrub
even when the cleaning lady has done her job and left.
My mother has a thing
against untidy things. It irks her real bad, so much so that I think she is
probably on the verge of being an ablutomaniac. But Providence has sent me to
Earth to countervail her tendencies.
Mom sometimes calls me a
tramp in her rage. Like when she finds my bed sheet stretched up far back to
reveal the mattress beneath. Or when my laptop and I canoodle in bed right
before I shut down for the night (while the laptop stays on till it loses all
its charge and shuts down in its own time). Or when I decorate my bed with
foodstuffs of all kinds and refuse to remove the packet of unfinished biscuits
and the bottle of water from it. These and many more such instances justify her
sobriquet for me 'cause according to her, I behave like a hobo in my own home,
stacking everything on the bed and treating my room and the rest of the house
like a street. And so right before my cousins were to visit us after a really long
time, mom charged into my room and warned me to clear up my space and get
things in order.
"I am sick of doing
your room.” she began in her don’t-you-dare-mess-with-me voice. “They are
coming tomorrow. You better get this hole of yours to look decent. Like a part
of the rest of the house."
I know when it's a
harmless warning and I know when it's an order. It was the latter this time. I
could tell by her tone. So I did the only thing people of my generation are
capable of. And swift came Dr. Google to the rescue. I came across these 10
pointers on how to do a quick job of making one’s place look clean. I said
‘look’ because I only meant for it to 'look' presentable. I wasn’t about to
actually clean! Duh!
I know it's nothing to brag about but I did clean out each shelf myself. Phew!
As I looked at the pretty picture on the webpage and scrolled down the article, things began
to seem quite simple and not so arduous a task as I might have been led to
believe by my fears.
Gave my Aristotle and Plato (my dear goldfishes) some food for thought!
And so I began. I
decided to clear the bed and dust out my bed sheet. But looking at the food
stains and the crumpled state of the poor sheet, I decided to just chuck it in
the laundry basket and get a new one instead. When I got my bed a nice new red-white-black sheet, my eyes fell on the crumbs and bits lying about on the floor. They
looked out of place with the immaculate bed now. And so I got a broom to just
sweep them into a corner. Just a superficial sweep, you see. Then as I started
keeping the articles back into their respective places, I found some of the
places caked with dust. I thought it wouldn’t hurt to clear the area a bit. A
little wipe here and a little sponge there. By and by, I went from nook to
cranny and ended up covering the entire room, cleaning out corners and
unearthing clumps of hair, tissue papers, half broken pencils, old rubber bands
and suchlike.
So, you see what the
article was all about? Instead of a few quick cleaning tips, it was a recipe for spring
cleaning. Suave !
I so felt like jumping right onto the bed and messing it all up again
Mom came home from the
market, carrying a huge bag of vegetables and fruits. She entered my room and
doubled back. “Did elves visit the tramp?” she deadpanned. I rolled my eyes. Frankly,
though, I was surprised at my own efforts. I had done a pretty good job of
tidying up. My den looked like other rooms now, even better perhaps!
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