Tuesday, June 23, 2009

The Tree of Knowledge

The Tree of Knowledge @ IITB Lawns near Main Building (Photo courtesy : Wikimedia)
(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 ... :-)

Tuesday, June 2, 2009

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!