The Tree of Knowledge

(Photo courtesy : Wikimedia)

I first saw it from the first floor of Main Building ( on the corridor to the Cash Section to be precise) , nearly an year ago when I came to pay the first year fees.
At that time , I was over-awed with everything here @ IITB and didn't give it a second glance. But during the year, every time I saw it, I wondered and stared and then wondered some more :-P ... but try as I might, its meaning eluded me...
In this past one month, I walked past it nearly twice every day... and I was still clueless as to why it was there or what it stood for...
Finally, curiosity got the better of me and I decided to ask my enlightened friend (you guessed it right - Google :-) ).
Well, all I could gather at first, was this wiki page, which said that this was a wrought iron sculpture and was called the "Tree of Knowledge".
hmmm... I could now see light at last! The tree of knowledge depicted the various "branches" (and quite literally at that! ;-) ) of knowledge @ IITB. And it blended just perfectly with the IITB motto "Dnyanam Paramam Dhyeyam" (Knowledge is the Ultimate Goal) .

My friend also came up with yet another pic of a similar sculpture (and by the same name too) at the University of Vermont, USA and another one at Yellow Springs Public Library, Ohio, USA.

IITB is indeed a forest of knowledge and this is just ONE tree in that vast forest (and it took me more than a year to grasp its meaning!! ) ... hoping to discover and understand many more by the end of two years here ... :-)

A cool drink and a warm gesture ...

       "Aaaee...Bottle wapas karneka...idharich baithneka...bottle leke door janeka nahi...." the woman gruntled, handing over the bottle of cold-drink to him. But he was oblivious to her words and to the look of deep distrust she gave him. He went and sat royally at the table - as if holding a rare gem in his hands... it was a gem - nothing short of a treasure to him.

       As he watched the dew drops slide down the bottle's surface, he felt a cold shower wash down over his body...He clasped it tightly...then released it and caressed it lovingly...He wanted to savour every drop, every moment of owning this drink...He had chosen the drink of his choice - the nice lady who had bought him this drink had taken him to the shop and asked him what he wanted - it was the first time in his life that he had been asked what he wanted- when he had been offered a choice - and he chose - he chose this sugary sweet and sour liquid soda - housed in an emerald green bottle - afterall it was the drink which Dhoni - his fav cricketer - drank.He had seen him on the big poster above the traffic signal...smiling down at him and telling him how wonderful it tasted ...asking him to " BUY ONE NOW...IT TASTES SUPERB!! " ...and he did have one now! He smiled to himself at this thought.

       He had the bottle all to himself..no one to share it with...none of his friends to grab it and ask for their share...

       He sat there..the proud owner of a bottle of cold drink...free to enjoy it as he pleased. He drank a mouthful...his tongue tingled at the sweet and sour taste of soda, he smacked his lips in contentment...and closed his eyes in pure bliss.

PS: This is an incident I recently witnessed at an exhibition. A lady bought a cold drink for a street-urchin who helped her carry her shopping bags. A really warm gesture and a cool drink too!

"No Excess Baggage"

The other day I was helping my cousin who was going abroad on a business trip, to pack her bags...as usual there were many things to pack and not much space...The baggage limit kept by the airline was just 20 kgs, so my cousin was saying a firm "NO" to all excess stuff (we did have a tough time deciding which ones were to be left out, but my cousin knew exactly what she wanted to leave behind, so that was not much of an issue) ...

How good would it be if we could set a similar "limit" on the amount of our thoughts ... No excess baggage!!!
Life would be so uncluttered, so much lighter... so much simpler...
We would then be able to devote time wholeheartedly to things that are most important to us, and the unwanted things would have to wait... because there would be no room for them...
Our "mind's weighing scale" would go beep beep every time we tried to overload it with "excess baggage" - a signal to stop, think and simplify...

Not so routine...!

It had been five months since I joined IIT - and to say that my routine had changed, would be an understatement- a new life at hostel - away from home , new friends, new courses... so much so I didn't even have time to reflect on how much my life had changed in the past few months...till now...it was vacation time...a respite from the hectic schedule , and although I had some R.A duties to fulfill, I could easily commute daily to IIT and back home...

It was a long time since I was commuting by a local train in the afternoon....it was not so crowded and there was the usual afternoon crowd - teenage collegians busy listening to their MP3s or FMs, mothers with bawling children, the chiku-wali haggling with some adamant lady, the artificial-jewellery seller with her fancy,shiny, coloured, plastic and metal assortment of ear-rings, bangles, hair-clips etc. ...

It was then that I heard her familiar voice coming from a distance (nothing extraordinary about the voice, so can't even add any adjectives...) - before I saw her making way through the melee - stepping aside tactfully to avoid tripping over the toes of people on the 4th seat(the 4th seat is a classic "second class local compartment seat" - actually the seat is meant for three people but people usually say "jara shift ho jayiye please ..." and manage to balance themselves on the edge of the seat with such grace that is seen only in "2nd class compartments" ... in the "1st class" you will be glared at even if you dare think of asking for a "fourth seat" ... will write all about that sometime later) .
She was the silent and unknown witness of my college "semester exam days" - days when I caught the afternoon train (in fact, the same train by which I was travelling this time...) - tensed, balancing books and bag...trying to mug up last minute "notes and important questions", sms-ing friends about what I had left for "option" and was mostly late for the exam .... she would be there- every paper-every semester -the same train - the same voice -the same person selling "khaman dhokla", chakli, samosa and ladoos in her characteristic voice and tone , her face a web of wrinkles, an old cotton saree draped gracefully around her; with blue slippers to cover her tired feet .... - she didn't (she doesn't in fact) even know me - I had never even bought anything from her. For her, I was just another familiar face - a face which must have faded from her memory by now... over these past 5-6 months ...
But that day after such a long gap, when I saw her again, she reminded me of all things @ VESIT - my friends, my college... I didn't realise that I had been missing those days so much...but more specifically, she reminded me of my life - my routine of four years....(which had changed drastically these past months) and I suddenly felt at peace knowing that, her routine (at least it seemed...) had not changed....her life seemed the same;... it was mid-December - the time when Mumbai was still reeling under the blow of terrorism, a time when the air was rife with rumours of Indo-Pak war, recession, pink-slips and all things dark and depressing....

There was so much "security" in knowing that at least her life, her routine, was unchanged - she was still there; standing solid and strong - still going about her routine; like an anchor - steady amidst all chaos of life...symbolising that the ship is safe and firmly anchored amidst the storm of changing times....

How soothing and refreshing can the mere fact, that someone's routine is unchanged, be!

The SLS formula

I recently came across an article on "same language sub-titling" (SLS) and was totally impressed by its sheer simplicity and effectiveness...

It is all as simple as adding subtitles in the same language (as opposed to Hindi subtitles to an English movie, have English subtitles instead!) to a movie/ a T.V programme....the project "Planetread" involves using this as a method of mass education. In India, more than 500 million people have access to TV , yet 40 percent of these viewers are poor and have low literacy levels - they can "understand" and "read" but have poor "writing" skills.

Putting subtitles on popular T.V programmes will enable them to learn the alphabet better - all at the mere cost of just ONE U.S. dollar per 10,000 people – for a year!!!!

Do read this google-blog and visit the Planetread website for more details.

Slices of Life....

"Aamir plays a man who loses his memory every 15 mins..."

"Hamas is very cruel! Poor Palestinian common man is the the one who suffers..."

"...I used to run 3 rounds per day...but post my knee injury, I just walk ..."

"How was Ramalinga Raju able to fool so many people for such a long time remains a mystery!"

"...actress Asin is quite good considering its her Hindi debut...."

"....Israel is fighting back too...don't know when this will end...."

"Yes, the doctor has advised massage and walking exercises"

"...but its the shareholders who have to bear the brunt now..."

Scene: A ground where people usually come for an evening stroll...some for exercising, some for gossiping ,others to catch up on friends and yet others to merely pass the time when the "electric power cut" strikes...)

As I walk past the ground , I hear a multitude of people and their multitude ways... varied people and their equally varied conversations, its like a whirlpool of thoughts and like getting a slice of their life as you pass along them...a tiny thought here, or a distant word there is enough to give an insight into their lives...(by no intention of purposeful eavesdropping of course! It's mere overhearing, which one can't help!!!) ...round and round , over and over again...and the pace increases as I increase my walking speed..until all the conversations tend to blur into a single sound..that of Humanity...of Life...

Different people, different problems, and every round takes me through a kaleidoscope of people , giving slices of many lives - intertwined , yet each one having its very own , unique tale ...making me remember..."रंगूनी रंगात सार्या रंग माज्हा वेगला , गुन्तुन्नी गुंत्यात सार्या पाय मज्हा मोकला ..." (Coloured in varied hues, yet I retain my own unique colour, Trapped in bondage...yet I am free)...true for every soul! An ode to individuality....

Of mirrors shadows and reflections.....

A new year, a new blog and the first post!
A happy, peaceful and prosperous 2009 to all!!!


Of mirrors, shadows and reflections...
All of the above are an extension of our personality-they depict the same person but each one of them is so different...like many faces of the same soul-each one having its own identity!!!

A mirror image is an exact replica of who we are -but where "right" is not "right" (of course there's nothing "wrong" with "right" being "left", but its not just "right"!!!) and many a people do mistake us for who we aren't or rather for someone exactly the opposite of who we are( may be they look at "mirror" images...?)

A shadow is like our true self , an eternal companion which is always with us but becomes prominent when we are subjected to light and is closest to us when the sun is at his harshest, over our heads....

Reflections are subtle, dynamic, rippled(wonder if its even a word, but thought it fits here just perfectly)...even a slight touch or wind generates thousands of ripples on calm waters ,just like a single thought or incident or even a word can spark off innumerable thoughts in our mind...

So, all in all, this blog is all about the shadows, reflections & mirrors that I have come across ...all those things that caused ripples of thoughts in my mind's reflection and all those events/incidents when the shadow was closest ...