My day today began in a very lethargic fashion. I woke up at 8.30am, which was an hour late from any other day, and reached my office cubicle at 10.30am. Till then I did not know that 07th of July 2010 would turn out to be one of my most special days of my life. Today I had the honour of donating blood for the first time ever. It was a special feeling. The Rotary Club was organizing a Blood Donation Camp in our campus for the past two days, and such events have taken place previously too, but today, something within me was urging me to go ahead. I always used to feel that such events are just like any other mass gathering where people just go to spend time. Today, I was destined to have a realization of bliss. It was God’s gift to me on this day. I am proud I did it.
As I entered the camp, there were volunteers who asked me to fill up a bio-data form, which basically asked about previous illnesses. A sticker with a serial number was attached on my left wrist, just as a mark of identification. My BP was checked (it turned out to be normal!!) followed by my pulse rate (it was 56 only; probably my heart was not beating as fast today!). Some slide tests were also performed on my blood for haemoglobin. After everything was hunky dory, I was led to an easy chair, reminiscent of the one that I have seen my grandfather use. It was a half laid-back half sitting position for me. The blood collection started.
There were quite a few people around me who had joined this noble gesture to save precious lives. It was a privilege for me to make an effort to help thousands of patients cursed with diseases like Thalassemia and Leukaemia for whom blood transfusions are the only source of relief, albeit temporary ones. My father, in his last days, required 5 bottles of blood every day to make up for all bleeding that he experienced due to a blood clot in the brain. Although we could not save him, there are so many other lives that are waiting to be saved, and so many smiles that are waiting to be back at the faces of thousands. I was cursing myself that in spite of being a universal donor (O positive blood group) I had never donated blood and hence deprived myself from this ineffable feeling. For the first time, I felt I was doing something for which God has given me life.
At the end of it all, 450 gm of blood was sucked out of my body, but I felt even stronger than before just because I had made an attempt to save lives. I was awarded a certificate of appreciation for the act, but I had no words to express my gratification to the organizers for giving me such a wonderful opportunity to experience joy and bliss.
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
My first day at IIT Delhi…..
It was the month of June in 2005. After months of hard work, sacrifice and dedication, I had finally managed to receive the offer letter from one of the leading engineering institutes in Asia – Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi. After completing B.Tech in Chemical Engineering, I had always dreamt of getting into an IIT to complete my Masters. The day had finally arrived when I would arrive at my dream institute.
On July 21st, 2005, I got down from Poorva Express at New Delhi railway station at 9.50 in the morning with loads of luggage including bedding. Before leaving Kolkata I had caught viral fever, and had to take 2 Crocin tablets a day throughout my journey. I hired a coolie and somehow managed to reach the auto stand with my body temperature soaring high. The auto-wallah dropped me inside the IIT campus at Jwalamukhi Hostel where all new entrants were supposed to report. There were seven boys’ hostels and the eighth was being constructed at that time. I was dying to get into my room and just lie down. I did not even have the physical strength to carry my luggage into my room.
Guess what!! The hostel coordinator informed that currently there were no hostel rooms available and we have to stay in an apartment within the campus, known as Indraprastha (IP) Apartment for 2 weeks. IP was about a kilometer away from Jwalamukhi at the opposite corner, and I had to take an auto to go there!! I was just not able to even stand on my feet, forget carrying luggage. When I reached IP, I found that 2 people had already reached the apartment that was allotted to me. It was a 2-room apartment of about 800 sq ft, and 4 people were supposed to stay in there. Finally I received a cot for myself and just lied down for 1 hour without even speaking a word.
At lunch I met my first friend at IIT Delhi – Sharad, who was from Gwalior. My fever was slowly starting to recede, although the weakness was still there. I had taken one more Crocin after lunch. In the evening, the Department of Chemical Engineering had hosted a small tea party for all freshers, where all professors and students were supposed to know each other, at least by face. Besides Sharad, I also met my other classmates, from different parts of India, who eventually turned out to be outstanding buddies. We introduced ourselves to the professors, and the HOD at that time, Prof Barun Guha, was very warm to all of us. It was here that we received the schedule of events, including Orientation Ceremony and Course Registration, which was supposed to be followed before classes began 2 days later.
After food, all of my friends and me went and sat in the garden till 10.30 pm, had a lot of laughter and shared past experiences, and hence got to know and understand each other even better. The day, which had started disastrously, starting from not getting a room in the hostel, to travelling to IP with all luggage and 102-degree fever, ended in a grand fashion. IIT Delhi was slowly putting its arms around me and telling that “Hey buddy, do not get bogged down by so little physical pain….the toughest times are yet to come…the toughest professors are yet to be encountered….and life’s toughest lessons are yet to be learnt… .” I smiled and absorbed every word.
On July 21st, 2005, I got down from Poorva Express at New Delhi railway station at 9.50 in the morning with loads of luggage including bedding. Before leaving Kolkata I had caught viral fever, and had to take 2 Crocin tablets a day throughout my journey. I hired a coolie and somehow managed to reach the auto stand with my body temperature soaring high. The auto-wallah dropped me inside the IIT campus at Jwalamukhi Hostel where all new entrants were supposed to report. There were seven boys’ hostels and the eighth was being constructed at that time. I was dying to get into my room and just lie down. I did not even have the physical strength to carry my luggage into my room.
Guess what!! The hostel coordinator informed that currently there were no hostel rooms available and we have to stay in an apartment within the campus, known as Indraprastha (IP) Apartment for 2 weeks. IP was about a kilometer away from Jwalamukhi at the opposite corner, and I had to take an auto to go there!! I was just not able to even stand on my feet, forget carrying luggage. When I reached IP, I found that 2 people had already reached the apartment that was allotted to me. It was a 2-room apartment of about 800 sq ft, and 4 people were supposed to stay in there. Finally I received a cot for myself and just lied down for 1 hour without even speaking a word.
At lunch I met my first friend at IIT Delhi – Sharad, who was from Gwalior. My fever was slowly starting to recede, although the weakness was still there. I had taken one more Crocin after lunch. In the evening, the Department of Chemical Engineering had hosted a small tea party for all freshers, where all professors and students were supposed to know each other, at least by face. Besides Sharad, I also met my other classmates, from different parts of India, who eventually turned out to be outstanding buddies. We introduced ourselves to the professors, and the HOD at that time, Prof Barun Guha, was very warm to all of us. It was here that we received the schedule of events, including Orientation Ceremony and Course Registration, which was supposed to be followed before classes began 2 days later.
After food, all of my friends and me went and sat in the garden till 10.30 pm, had a lot of laughter and shared past experiences, and hence got to know and understand each other even better. The day, which had started disastrously, starting from not getting a room in the hostel, to travelling to IP with all luggage and 102-degree fever, ended in a grand fashion. IIT Delhi was slowly putting its arms around me and telling that “Hey buddy, do not get bogged down by so little physical pain….the toughest times are yet to come…the toughest professors are yet to be encountered….and life’s toughest lessons are yet to be learnt… .” I smiled and absorbed every word.
Monday, July 5, 2010
Bengal should look to retain its best talents…
Being a Bengali staying in Kolkata, or in any other town in Bengal, how many times have you seen your neighbour’s son, your colleague’s daughter, one or more of your nephews or nieces travel outside their state for studies or a job? I am sure such instances are countless.
Since I was born in Kolkata and spent 25 years of my life here before shifting base, I can elaborate the situation particularly prevalent in the capital city with authenticity. Let us start with the schools. Parents are spoilt for choices when they have to choose a school for their kids – you have Don Bosco Park Circus, La Martinere, St Thomas, St James, Calcutta Boys, St Xaviers Collegiate School, Ashok Hall, Prat Memorial, Loreto House, Gokhale Memorial, South Point High School, Carmel High School, Mahadevi Birla Girls High School Modern High School for Girls, Bethune Collegiate, Hindu School, Bagbazar Multipurpose, and Narendrapur Ramakrishna Mission Collegiate school among the traditional powerhouses. Then you also have DPS and Heritage School who have set up campuses recently in the city and offer the state-of –the-art education facilities to the children. Hence parents cannot even think of sending their kids outside Kolkata for their scholastic education because they have faith in all schools above.
However once the kid passes out of school, a gamut of possibilities arise. The first consideration for further studies in Bengal is the WBJEE. Besides Jadavpur University (JU), which has an All-India rank of about 15 (In our days it was in the top 10), the parents have no faith in any other engineering college. BESU (earlier famously known as Shibpur BE College) is more engrossed in a perpetual mesh of student politics and internal strife. Among the rest, not too many inspire confidence.
Hence if a student fails to get into JU, parents start thinking of sending the child either to Bangalore, or Manipal Institute of Technology, or BHU, or to the numerous reputed engineering colleges in Maharashtra. The situation in General streams is a little better because you have colleges like Presidency, St Xaviers, Lady Brabourne, Bethune, North City, Surendranath College, and Deenbandhu Andrews which command respect. However the irony is that most students who do well in their Class 12 board exams, especially in Science Stream, do not want to study general subjects.
The situation goes from bad to worse for post graduate studies. There is not even a single institute, apart from selected streams in University of Calcutta, in which students dream of completing their Masters. The job situation is not any better either. Besides Sector V in Salt lake City, which is a bastion for software professionals hired from almost any background, you do not have too much to look forward to. People like me, who want to work in their area of expertise of core engineering, have very few opportunities in Kolkata. That is the saddest part of it all.
The number of talented Bengali students who work or do a Masters in Kolkata is only a minor percentage of the number of good students who pass out of Kolkata’s schools. If we have 20 outstanding schools, we have only 7-8 good colleges, 2 good engineering colleges and 1 good university. The numbers do tell a story. Its time the administration wakes up to this menace, set up some good universities and invest in industries in Bengal, so that we do not just keep losing talent so cheaply.
Since I was born in Kolkata and spent 25 years of my life here before shifting base, I can elaborate the situation particularly prevalent in the capital city with authenticity. Let us start with the schools. Parents are spoilt for choices when they have to choose a school for their kids – you have Don Bosco Park Circus, La Martinere, St Thomas, St James, Calcutta Boys, St Xaviers Collegiate School, Ashok Hall, Prat Memorial, Loreto House, Gokhale Memorial, South Point High School, Carmel High School, Mahadevi Birla Girls High School Modern High School for Girls, Bethune Collegiate, Hindu School, Bagbazar Multipurpose, and Narendrapur Ramakrishna Mission Collegiate school among the traditional powerhouses. Then you also have DPS and Heritage School who have set up campuses recently in the city and offer the state-of –the-art education facilities to the children. Hence parents cannot even think of sending their kids outside Kolkata for their scholastic education because they have faith in all schools above.
However once the kid passes out of school, a gamut of possibilities arise. The first consideration for further studies in Bengal is the WBJEE. Besides Jadavpur University (JU), which has an All-India rank of about 15 (In our days it was in the top 10), the parents have no faith in any other engineering college. BESU (earlier famously known as Shibpur BE College) is more engrossed in a perpetual mesh of student politics and internal strife. Among the rest, not too many inspire confidence.
Hence if a student fails to get into JU, parents start thinking of sending the child either to Bangalore, or Manipal Institute of Technology, or BHU, or to the numerous reputed engineering colleges in Maharashtra. The situation in General streams is a little better because you have colleges like Presidency, St Xaviers, Lady Brabourne, Bethune, North City, Surendranath College, and Deenbandhu Andrews which command respect. However the irony is that most students who do well in their Class 12 board exams, especially in Science Stream, do not want to study general subjects.
The situation goes from bad to worse for post graduate studies. There is not even a single institute, apart from selected streams in University of Calcutta, in which students dream of completing their Masters. The job situation is not any better either. Besides Sector V in Salt lake City, which is a bastion for software professionals hired from almost any background, you do not have too much to look forward to. People like me, who want to work in their area of expertise of core engineering, have very few opportunities in Kolkata. That is the saddest part of it all.
The number of talented Bengali students who work or do a Masters in Kolkata is only a minor percentage of the number of good students who pass out of Kolkata’s schools. If we have 20 outstanding schools, we have only 7-8 good colleges, 2 good engineering colleges and 1 good university. The numbers do tell a story. Its time the administration wakes up to this menace, set up some good universities and invest in industries in Bengal, so that we do not just keep losing talent so cheaply.
Sunday, July 4, 2010
Give direction to your Anger – It can propel you…….
For centuries we have been hearing the adage that anger can cause nothing but destruction – to families, to relationships, to business deals, to friendship and other spheres of life. Protracted feelings of anger is said to spoil years of hard work. In the Vedas, anger is listed as one of six “Ripus” (enemies to human beings) along with lust, greed, alcohol, jealousy and attachment. Too much anger is also known to increase the risk of heart diseases and shoot up your BP levels. In the Bhagwad Gita, Lord Krishna says that anger leads the human mind and brain to the path of self-destruction and affliction, so man should never let anger take control of him.
I, however, have an antithesis on this common human emotion. Whatever I have said thus far about the ill-effects of anger is absolutely true, but can we as human beings really get rid of anger completely? If yes, then we would become yogis, but if not, we should find out a way for ourselves so that anger does not harm us.
From life, I have learnt that anger is not always fiendish. Whenever somebody has said something or done something that I have not liked, I have tried not to revile on his face by expressing anger. I have tried not to be virulent either. However, I have strived to achieve excellence in my work and respond to that person through my achievements, and not through words. I have tried to convert my anger into will-power, determination and the hunger to succeed.
I have always felt that if I had not been angry, I would not have been a 1st class Honours graduate from University of Calcutta; I would not have entered into an IIT, passed out of an IIT with 9.0 CGPA, and also I would not have filed two patents for my company. I had a point to prove to many people because they had angered me over a period of many years, and it was this anger that propelled me to give that extra 10% effort every time. Now it gives me immense pleasure to see that those same people do not have the guts to look straight into my eyes.
To me, anger is like nuclear energy – if you cannot control it, it can destroy a continent, but if you can use it productively, then it can provide electricity and power to billions. So, from now on, if somebody berates you, avoid a riposte, just smile and walk away, and return to the same guy 2 years later with a bag full of achievements in life, which he must not have even dreamt of.
I, however, have an antithesis on this common human emotion. Whatever I have said thus far about the ill-effects of anger is absolutely true, but can we as human beings really get rid of anger completely? If yes, then we would become yogis, but if not, we should find out a way for ourselves so that anger does not harm us.
From life, I have learnt that anger is not always fiendish. Whenever somebody has said something or done something that I have not liked, I have tried not to revile on his face by expressing anger. I have tried not to be virulent either. However, I have strived to achieve excellence in my work and respond to that person through my achievements, and not through words. I have tried to convert my anger into will-power, determination and the hunger to succeed.
I have always felt that if I had not been angry, I would not have been a 1st class Honours graduate from University of Calcutta; I would not have entered into an IIT, passed out of an IIT with 9.0 CGPA, and also I would not have filed two patents for my company. I had a point to prove to many people because they had angered me over a period of many years, and it was this anger that propelled me to give that extra 10% effort every time. Now it gives me immense pleasure to see that those same people do not have the guts to look straight into my eyes.
To me, anger is like nuclear energy – if you cannot control it, it can destroy a continent, but if you can use it productively, then it can provide electricity and power to billions. So, from now on, if somebody berates you, avoid a riposte, just smile and walk away, and return to the same guy 2 years later with a bag full of achievements in life, which he must not have even dreamt of.
Saturday, July 3, 2010
A loving wife is God’s most precious gift…..
The ultimate aim for any man, whether he is a billionaire industrialist, a sportsperson, a film personality or a lesser mortal like me, is to have a loving and understanding wife. There would be innumerable opinions about the advantages of being single, about the infidelities of women, about their tantrums, but at the end of it all, it is the wife who fills up all the void spaces in a man’s life. If a mother brings up a child and cares for him till he is established as a young man, the wife sustains and augments that state for the rest of the man’s life with her love, sympathy, affection and understanding. She makes her man a better human being, a wonderful and caring father, an achiever in the professional field, and of course, a sweet husband.
The one quality which I feel separates all women from that ONE special woman in your life is chastity. Chastity will be the first virtue that you would notice in a loving wife. Any man, who however he may have strayed in life, can be brought back to the right path by a gentle, loving and chaste wife. As Lord Krishna had rightly pointed out in the Mahabharata, that Pandavas should be held completely responsible for the disrobing of Draupadi in an open court, because it was they who had treated their wife Draupadi as a commodity and gambled with her, against the trickery of Shakuni. A wife can never be a chattel, but she is a life-partner, and hence should never be gambled with.
It is this loving wife who can hold a family together; it is the wife who can possess the gravity and maturity that any husband would be proud of. If she leaves you, you will disintegrate mentally and emotionally very quickly before even realising it. So do not be rude to her, do not insult her, do not make her cry but respect her as you would do the same for a goddess, because in reality, she is God’s most treasured gift to you, because of all your good deeds in life.
I am indeed proud to say that my mother was such a wife, and my love, my would-be wife, Kuhu, has every possibility to become the ideal loving wife that every man dreams for. I trust both of them immensely, and I am really lucky to have both of them, especially Kuhu, since she has come so close to me in just over two months, in my life right now.
The one quality which I feel separates all women from that ONE special woman in your life is chastity. Chastity will be the first virtue that you would notice in a loving wife. Any man, who however he may have strayed in life, can be brought back to the right path by a gentle, loving and chaste wife. As Lord Krishna had rightly pointed out in the Mahabharata, that Pandavas should be held completely responsible for the disrobing of Draupadi in an open court, because it was they who had treated their wife Draupadi as a commodity and gambled with her, against the trickery of Shakuni. A wife can never be a chattel, but she is a life-partner, and hence should never be gambled with.
It is this loving wife who can hold a family together; it is the wife who can possess the gravity and maturity that any husband would be proud of. If she leaves you, you will disintegrate mentally and emotionally very quickly before even realising it. So do not be rude to her, do not insult her, do not make her cry but respect her as you would do the same for a goddess, because in reality, she is God’s most treasured gift to you, because of all your good deeds in life.
I am indeed proud to say that my mother was such a wife, and my love, my would-be wife, Kuhu, has every possibility to become the ideal loving wife that every man dreams for. I trust both of them immensely, and I am really lucky to have both of them, especially Kuhu, since she has come so close to me in just over two months, in my life right now.
Friday, July 2, 2010
Search for Happiness…
Most of us foolishly feel that somebody else or something else can make us happy. We search for voluptuous girlfriends, loving wives, lucrative jobs, the latest car model and plush apartments. However after years of struggle we find out that true happiness consists in killing selfishness and that no one can make us happy except ourselves.
Happiness presents itself before man, wearing the crown of sorrow on its head. They are really two sides of the same coin. You cannot have one and leave out the other. If a man is rich, he has no children or he is a repository of multiple diseases. If he is hungry and poor, he has a whole regiment of children and does not know what to do with them. If he has plenty to eat, his digestion is out of order and he cannot eat. If his digestion is good, he does not have enough food to put into his mouth. Our problem is that we feel we can have happiness without misery.
As long as there is desire, no real happiness can come. I am saying this from my own experiences. Do not depend on others to give you happiness. Be independent, search for your own happiness from within you. Be spiritually strong and educated, have faith in God and you will be free of all misery. Having said that, it is not easy to do. You have to train your mind day in and day out to achieve this, but that is THE only way to flush out all misery out of your life. So dig deep within yourself….happiness is waiting to be explored!!
Happiness presents itself before man, wearing the crown of sorrow on its head. They are really two sides of the same coin. You cannot have one and leave out the other. If a man is rich, he has no children or he is a repository of multiple diseases. If he is hungry and poor, he has a whole regiment of children and does not know what to do with them. If he has plenty to eat, his digestion is out of order and he cannot eat. If his digestion is good, he does not have enough food to put into his mouth. Our problem is that we feel we can have happiness without misery.
As long as there is desire, no real happiness can come. I am saying this from my own experiences. Do not depend on others to give you happiness. Be independent, search for your own happiness from within you. Be spiritually strong and educated, have faith in God and you will be free of all misery. Having said that, it is not easy to do. You have to train your mind day in and day out to achieve this, but that is THE only way to flush out all misery out of your life. So dig deep within yourself….happiness is waiting to be explored!!
Thursday, July 1, 2010
My walk to office everyday…..
From March 2009, I had started walking to my office everyday. The reason was to reduce the flab that had begun to accumulate around my sweet big belly due to lack of physical activity. I found a short cut, through a small colony (“BASTI” in colloquial terms), which turned out to be just short of 2 km.
As days passed, I began observing the people living in that colony, their habits and their daily activities. I dare say that all families belong to lower income brackets. I could not help but adore them and enjoy their smiles and grievances day after day.
When I went past them at round about 8.30 am in the morning, all their children gathered near the small school that is the only centre of education in that small locality. There are approximately 200 children of ages 6-12, who chirp away outside the school building with their innocent smiles, eyes filled with dreams and blue uniforms. The mothers wash their utensils in a common tap on the street corner, having intermittent chats amongst themselves, the fathers take out their bicycles to leave for another long day’s work, and the grandmothers pour all their love and affection to the cows and calves. In fact I have also seen them bath the animals in the morning, clean them and provide them with lots of fodder, and believe me, be it animals or human beings, when you love them really well, tears come out from their eyes. Some kids are naughty too and don’t want to go to school and mothers start scolding them. The stray dogs are also part of their families and give an expression as if they also want the kid to go to school and learn. The tail just keeps wagging with a childish effervescence.
When I come back around 6.30 pm, darkness still does not set in here and its time for the children to have a ball with friends. There is not enough space to play cricket or football, but they just have a lot of fun. They run around with the dogs, run 30m sprints and the winner gets some extra milk from his mom. There is a big banyan tree under the shades of which the elderly sit for an evening conversation. Some children just run to their fathers and urge them to come home. That is also a very special sight. Sometimes I return at around 8.30 pm also, and at those times the picture is somewhat different. Everybody retires to their shanties and spend time with their families. There is just so much peace and happiness around, both among human beings and animals.
Sometimes I wish that I could also live a life like that, where you don’t just join the rat race to chase money and fame but be possessive towards peace and happiness, for they say, that it is in such places that God resides.
As days passed, I began observing the people living in that colony, their habits and their daily activities. I dare say that all families belong to lower income brackets. I could not help but adore them and enjoy their smiles and grievances day after day.
When I went past them at round about 8.30 am in the morning, all their children gathered near the small school that is the only centre of education in that small locality. There are approximately 200 children of ages 6-12, who chirp away outside the school building with their innocent smiles, eyes filled with dreams and blue uniforms. The mothers wash their utensils in a common tap on the street corner, having intermittent chats amongst themselves, the fathers take out their bicycles to leave for another long day’s work, and the grandmothers pour all their love and affection to the cows and calves. In fact I have also seen them bath the animals in the morning, clean them and provide them with lots of fodder, and believe me, be it animals or human beings, when you love them really well, tears come out from their eyes. Some kids are naughty too and don’t want to go to school and mothers start scolding them. The stray dogs are also part of their families and give an expression as if they also want the kid to go to school and learn. The tail just keeps wagging with a childish effervescence.
When I come back around 6.30 pm, darkness still does not set in here and its time for the children to have a ball with friends. There is not enough space to play cricket or football, but they just have a lot of fun. They run around with the dogs, run 30m sprints and the winner gets some extra milk from his mom. There is a big banyan tree under the shades of which the elderly sit for an evening conversation. Some children just run to their fathers and urge them to come home. That is also a very special sight. Sometimes I return at around 8.30 pm also, and at those times the picture is somewhat different. Everybody retires to their shanties and spend time with their families. There is just so much peace and happiness around, both among human beings and animals.
Sometimes I wish that I could also live a life like that, where you don’t just join the rat race to chase money and fame but be possessive towards peace and happiness, for they say, that it is in such places that God resides.
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