Bomb blasts and aftermath:


The frequency with which bombs are going off has gone up by a factor of 100 it seems. Every other day brings news of bombs and deaths right here. It is as if we are living in a war zone. Just that we don't know who is warring with us.

I have not yet figured out what the guys who plant the bombs get out of the blasts. What is to be achieved by killing innocent people? What is to be achieved by destabilising the lives of people in any place?

I was planning to go to Guwahati on Monday. I got it cancelled. No markets open there. Curfew. What is the point. Just go to Kolkatta and do the work.

Delhi. Indore. Jaipur. Bangalore. Hyderabad. Coimbatore - long back. And now, Guwahati.

The lives of people there have changed forever. Irrevocably. Lives lost. Plans gone awry. Dreams shattered.

I often wonder why God let it go on. But God remains a witness. Has remained a witness for a long time. Even from Mahabharat times.

I also wonder why the muslim clergy men don't get their people united and come down heavily on the people who are fundamentalists? Who become terrorists?

Where have we gone wrong? where has everybody gone wrong?

What is to be done about this?

More on Teachers:

Dwelling more on teachers.

Teachers need not be those who are actually teachers in a school.

The Great 'Periyava', who was called 'JagatGuru' was once asked why is that he is called JagatGuru. He calmly replied : The whole world teaches me. I am learning from everyone. From everything. That is why the 'Jagat' is 'Guru' to me. Hence, JagatGuru.

If the Great sage of Kanchi, the great 'Periyava' said the whole world is a teacher to him, it is a teacher to us all.

Who else has taught me? Well, actually the question should be who else has not taught me.

My Mom : She taught me all the stories. Ramayan, Mahabharat, the works. Whatever taste I have developed in sprituality is because of her. The taste for carnatic music is because of her. She taught me to give. To share. To persevere. To work on things tirelessly till I get it.

My dad : My love for cricket and Table tennis and Tennis is because of him. My love for English is because he took pains to teach me. By example. He would read The Hindu from top to bottom. Everyday. He still does. The interest I have in politics, in economics, in various subjects is purely because of his inspiration. His teaching.

My periyappa : I learnt how to be curious. How to ask questions. My decision to become engineer is because of him. My love for science is due to him. My interest in languages - especially sanskrit is because of his teaching. He taught me to think big. He taught me to take risks. He taught me to give and give without expecting. He taught me to enjoy the meaning of what I read. He taught me to read. Read widely. "Read whatever you can lay your hands. Then, slowly, you will learn to read only the good things. But, get into the habit of reading" was his advice. He tught me astrology - not that I learnt much...but whatever little I know, is since he took pains to teach me. He taught me to appreciate everything in life. He taught me so much..though I could not learn much...my own limitations...

Mani mama : I learnt how to be simple from him. How to take life as it comes. How to smile in spite of difficulties. How to enjoy music. His life itself is inspiration !!

My sister Gowri : I learnt to laugh at jokes - even if I am weeping inside. To enjoy the moments of life. To be in the present...

My brother Sriram : I learnt how to be myself. How to be relaxed. Whatever be the circumstances. To be aware of all that is happening around me. To be informed. To cultivate friends. Of all kinds . And still be myself.

so many people. So much of learnings. Not all the learnings are complete. Not all the learnings are fully imbibed. But there are sparks of learnings.

The world is full of teachers. If only we can learn...

My Teachers & Gurus:

In the Muthuswamy Dikshidhar's krithis, Dikshidhar leaves his marks with a "GuruGuha" phrase in each and every single song. I have often wondered about this. His ishta deivam is of course lord Muruga. However, there are so many names for the lord to choose from. That being the case, why 'GuruGuha'?

I got my answer when I came across this Tirupughaz :

"Uruvai aruvai uladhai iladhai, maruvai malarai maniyai oliyai, karuvai uyirai kadhiyai vidhiyai, guruvai varuvai arulvai guhane"

He is not asking the Lord to come as his mother or his father. Or as his friend. He is asking the Lord to come as his teacher.

And so does Dikshidhar. Guhan = the one who resides in the cave of the heart. Guru = teacher. The teacher who resides in this heart - which is the cave.

I have been thinking about my teachers. Those who have made me. Those who have sculpted me. Who had given shape to the person who is now Vishy.

I remember Vijaya teacher. In my 5th standard. In the Susilabai Boys school in Pondicherry. Taking the entire class to Chennai and showing the Valluvar kottam and on return the next day, asking the students to write about what they saw there. And, delighting in my little note and asking the entire class to clap for me. Asking me to tell Ramayana to the whole class - simply because I could tell the story. Asking me to write about freedom fighters and when I wrote about Vanchinathan, reading out the 2 page note to the class and making me feel so very proud. Instilling in me the confidence which is going to remain with me that I can write and write very very well. What a teacher! When I went to see her after my State first rank in 10th, she proudly told her neighbours : "Didn't I tell you? I told you that Visu would come. Here he is".

Krishnaraj sir. My tamil teacher in my 8th standard. VOC School Pondicherry. Teaching me the nuances of tamil grammar. Getting me to participate in some hundreds of elocution constests. "You can read the books. But, this is a much higher order learning. You have to read many books and understand and prepare if you have to speak for a few minutes. You will grow in confidence". So I did. How many contests and competitions he had taken me to. Endlessly listening to my speaches. Correcting them. Telling me how to prepare. Telling me to prepare all that stuff for the competitions on my own. "I can prepare and give you. But that would be the worst thing I do for you". Whenever I stand up and speak in a meeting, I think of him.

Mohana teacher in my 9th standard science. VOC school Pondicherry. I began to love science because of her. Physics and Chemistry and Biology. What is possible with science. What is a lab and how people discover and invent things.

Balasubramaniam sir in my 10th Std Maths. Who changed my hatred towards maths into pure love for maths. What an alchemist! He taught me how to befriend the numbers. How to visualize maths. Where all the mathematical principles get applied and why it is important to understand all this. When I got the marksheet and came and showed him with lots of pride, he was not proud. "So, you have scored only 98 in maths. What Visu. You should have got 100". Every time I do anything towards maths, I think of him.

Natesan sir in my 12th standard Maths. Jeevanandam HSC school, Pondicherry. "Vishvanathan, you are good. But, the 12th standard syllabus is nothing. You should be preparing for your IIT by now and I will tell you how to prepare for IIT maths". I had never heard of IIT till then. He used to select a few of us and give us problems from IIT papers. Matrix and calculus. I still remember getting just 2 out of the 20 problems right in that special class that he ran for us. Absolutely punctual. With Vibhuti covering his forehead. Explaining maths in a simple fashion. Explaining where all this maths gets applied. "You should be able to solve a problem in at least 5 different ways. It is fun. It would also help you if you ever get stuck in the exam". That lesson applies not only to maths but to all things in life. The teacher who made me acutely aware of how much more is there to learn beyond our textbooks.

EKR sir. My principal in 12th standard - Jeevanandam HSC, Pondicherry. He took English for us. I remember the special care he took for the entire class. Running special classes for the English 2nd paper and teaching English grammar. I remember the 12th public exam. I finished the exam abot 30 minutes before and made the mistake of coming out immediately. EKR caught me. "Visu! Come with me." He took me to his cabin. "Why did you come out so early?" I told him I had done well and written all the answers and also revised the entire thing at least twice. He nodded. And, promptly proceeded to ask the whole set of questions one by one. I ended answering the whole paper once more!

Vishwakumar sir. My tuition teacher. Worked in Petitseminar school. Took Physics and Chemistry classes. Explained physics and chemistry in the simplest of terms. Explained with anectodes, stories and examples. It was an experience to just sit in his class and listen to him. His 30 marks tests were famous. When my final exam marks came and I had scored just about 85% in physics and chemistry, he camly told me to face the facts. He told me that life is not just about the marks. And he was absolutely right.

Diwakar sir and Manohar Jesudoss sir. My Farm Mechanics and Tractor teachers in Agri engineering, TNAU. The kind of devotion they had to the subjects and their mastery was something to be seen to be believed.

Uma Chandrasekaran Mam, School of Management, Pondicherry University. She took Marketing Communications and Advertising. What a teacher. Not only the way she taught, but also the way she prepared the students for all kinds of management competitions was awesome. And the kind of insights she came up with for every single one of her students was truly amazing.

Teachers. Every one of them. Who had taken the time and trouble - out of their way - to sculpt me and a thousand other students. Without ever asking for 'what is in it for me'. Passionately telling the students how they need to figure out things. What they should do to become somebody in life. Always ready to help out. Always going that extra 100 miles for their students.

No wonder Dikshidhar wanted Lord Muruga to come as a teacher. To come as 'GuruGuha'. No wonder Arunagirinathar wanted Lord Murugan to come as his 'Guru'. No wonder Avvaiyar wanted Lord Ganesh to come as 'Guru' : ("Guruvai vandhu kuvalayam thannil tiruvadi vaithu thiram idhu porul ena"). No wonder Lord Krishna had to become a teacher to guide Arjuna even during the heat of the battle.

Yesterday I and my wife Vandana participated in a "Made for each other couple" contest - run by the Lakshmi Nagar association. The interesting thing was the format of the contest.

It followed exactly what the telly channels do:

1st round : quiz the wife; get answer and then quiz the husband - see whether the answers match. When the wife gets quizzed, hubbies must leave the hall!

2nd round : Mime and communicate the film titles given to you.

3rd round : some GK questions - which the hubby & wife can discuss and answer

In spite of the fact that most of the couples have come prepared, it was apparent how much they did not know about each other. One person was saying : "Even if you were to live 1000 years together, it is still difficult to know everything about the other person".

May be true. But the point is whether we even take the effort to understand. I was wondering what effort I have taken. Looks like it has been pretty little.

If 2 people living together cannot figure out each others' tastes and likes and dislikes, what chance do we have of understanding consumers at large? What probability do I have of figuring out exactly what my consumers need and package and give it to them?

Just tells me how gigantic the task is.

And, the tastes and preferences do get modified and do change a lot more rapidly since so much exposure is available for all of us.

My mom went to the same shop and bought her groceries. I remember going to the shop in Pondy situated within the market and bringing the goceries every month on my cycle along with my mother. Now, we buy groceries from 3 to 4 different shops.

My dad would not use any toilet soap other than Lifebuoy. He still uses Lifebuoy and regrets that the soap now is not the same as the one before. He is in love with that red brick that Lifebuoy was! I don't remember what brand I use. I buy a different brand every time. I try out different things.

When I was in school, I remember dad's colleagues coming into our place at around 6.30 p.m. and chatting till about 7.30 or 8.00 p.m. Nowadays, people don't seem to have time for all these chats...they sit in front of their telly and consume the soaps!!

Telephone was a novelty to my parents. It still kind of a novelty to them. But my son and daughter treat my mobile as thier play thing. Their exposure levels are very different.

Now, how would it all impact how the next generation is going to consume? How they communicate? How to understand this? That is the big question.

It is ironic to see that while people don't seem to have the time to visit each other and talk to each other in person, they find it more and more comfortable talking on the phone; chatting on the net and having a life on orkut or facebook or whichever social site that they frequent.

The more computers that enter the homes and the more the internet penetration, this issue is only going to deepen. There are reports from other countries on people living completely on the net centres - in absolute social isolation, having a totally different life in the net.

What are going to be the social impacts of this? How should companies address this? How will you ever reach out to a consumer if she lives her lif on the net? Frequently this is going to become the most prominent question.

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We are used to thinking about India as a chaotic country and the european countries as icons of order and discipline.

I got to know that there are many more 'indias' outside India.

Just check out this and enjoy!! Italy seems to be as good as India !!!

http://tcc.itc.it/people/rocchi/fun/europe.html

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I found some interesting sites on the net yesterday while browsing.

There are sites which pay you for helping with the home work of students. They pay you (or at least promise to pay you) if you even upload your own detailed homework. Provided somebody buys the same. Almost all transactions there were from the US.

Given the reach of the net, given the availability of text books and so on, I was wondering why would anyone pay to get 'home work' explained. It still beats me. May be they need an absolute spoon feed.

Would this work in India? Would students pay for their homework to be explained / solved to them? I doubt...!

Yesterday was a day of learnings.

I learnt how people make money writing on the blogs (not that I have made any money!); writing, teaching and basically creating some content on the net...

'Net' seems like an appropriate word for what happens when one gets hooked onto the net. I know - myself onwards - a lot of people who seem to be spending more and more time on the net..

There are people who live on the net...play games, download content, create content...

Short of eating out of the net.

What is the price we pay for this? Everything has a price right?

What is the price I have paid for this? Lower time on TV; inability to sleep till about midnight; the urge to write down everything that I see or hear or observe; less and less time spent on reading books (normal books!); a bit of stooped posture since I sit hunched up in front ot the comp...there must be a lot more..

I promised I would talk about 'Ponniyin Selvan' . Kalki's masterpiece, it is not only a historic novel but also a novel which I enjoy whenever I read. The characters are etched in Gold.

Vandiyathevan riding on the horse on the banks of cauvery; Azvarkadiyan bailing out Vandiyathevan out of difficulty every time; the characterization and the puzzle that was Nandini...great story and fantastic characters. The language! If tamil was english, probably Ponniyin selval might have got the nobel prize!

SendanAmudan is a character. The calm quite person who is in love with Poonguzhali, who collects flowers who is actually the heir to the throne...

I was amazed to see that name being used in that poem I talked about yesterday in the blog.

Here is a small poem that I wrote this morning - I think I got it in my sleep :

" I wish I know..
That
I know
I ...."

The poem that I read yesterday is still haunting me...!! That much is clear!

Looking at the world outside, I see interesting developments. One woman (Hillary Clinton) loses the race to a man (Obama) in the presidential election in the US. Another man appoints a woman as the deputy. Both hog the limelite and both are talked positively by the press.

One woman stalls the Tatas in Singur.

One woman seems to be holding together the Cogress party.

One woman who was so much in the news when AIADMK was in power seems to have disappeared into wilderness..

One more blog has arrived. There is no particular purpose except to share my thoughts. Ideas. Opinions. Insights. If I may call them.

'Insights' - now that I have said the M word (M word = management jargon!!), let me spend a few sentences on this. Perhaps the most abused word. I have heard guys argue on what is an issight and what is a mere observation. There are arguments on what is an 'understanding' and what is an 'insight'.

To my mind, insight is that which somebody can see - which most others would be able to see only with hindsight! Now, this might seem as playing with words but then all thought process is inextricably linked to play of words.

Philosophers and liguists have often seem to have wondered on what came first. Thought ? or Word? It look obvious : thought must have come first. Only when thought comes first, one tries to find a 'word' for it. Right? But then when you look at babies, this great 'understanding' gets blown away. The babies seem to babble away to glory. Lots of words. They might seem mere babble to us but to babies they must be words right?

Abirami andhadhi says " Sollum porulum ena nadamadum thunaivarudan pullum parimala poongodiye". It means, "The Goddess Abirami is in a devine embrace with the dancing Shiva - and you cannot see them apart - just like words and their meanings are".

The great sanskrit poet Kalidasa also has said something to this effect - which I just am unable to recall right now.

Talking of poems, I saw a cute tamil poem as I was coming to office this morning :

" Netru Tholaitha ennai
Indru nan thedikondirukiren
Nalai kidaithu viduven enra nambikkail" (By "SendanAmudan")

Roughly translating:

" I was lost yesterday
Trying to find that 'I' today
In the hope of finding it tomorrow"

It is very difficult to translate poems. Poetry takes many short cuts and uses language a lot more succinctly than prose does. Translating that without losing the soul of the poem requires an acute understanding of the poet's thoughts, mastery of both the languages and then some...

The great poet Bharathi talks about this : "Aazndhirukkum kaviyulam karkilar..." : "you guys learn so many things. But you don't know how to understand the depths of the poetic heart"...

In this poem I saw this morning, I see lots of depth. Lots of sorrow. Lots of faith. Lots of pain but lots of optimism too.

Not sure whether I translated properly.

The name of the poet : SendanAmudan - that is an interesting touch. I remembered Kalki and Ponniyin Selvan by that name. That has to wait till tomorrow!