I Wish I was with you on all my sunny mornings and rainy evenings since childhood, So that i could have had lots of memories about you than I have now.
Suppose if we were together I imagine that we could have fought for all simple and silly things to make our relationship stronger little by little.
I feel bad that I missed to see all your beautiful smiles since childhood. Also I feel that I was not the reason for at least one of them.
To have found one of your kind I would have to spend one more life time here, Which I would not do without you.
Showing posts with label friend. Show all posts
Showing posts with label friend. Show all posts
Saturday, December 19, 2009
The Wavelength
Late at night , In the month of December 2005 , When the weather was icy chill cold and when it was drizzling after heavy rain as if it was going to stop , I and 4 of my friends were talking about the ‘Wavelength’. There was no power at home , the darkness and the climate was a perfect combination and allowed us to talk some unusual things like the one , I mentioned earlier – ‘the wavelength’.The topic suddenly came when one of my friends started talking about interpersonal communication and friendship. We talked about factors which would bind people together in a relationship – friendship , love or marriage. In the natural conversation , amongst the arguments , One of my friends said,’Its all the wavelength that decides’. You wouldn’t be surprised if I were to tell you that we spoke about wavelength rest of the night , until we slept thinking about it over and again and fell asleep.
He said , “Every man exhibits or emits invisible waves which either repel or attract with other such invisible waves from the fellow humans”.He asked us, ” Have you ever realized or asked Why you like a person and Why you don’t like few people at first sight ? Why you think you will end up in friendship when you see few people and Why you want to avoid a few ? Why you suddenly turn back or look around as if someone had hit you on your back or pinched you on your hand ? – to see someone or to find someone you know with whom you can easily put up a conversation or happily smile along with or to pass on some sincere ‘hi’ through eyes ?”. He then explained,”Its not you but your waves , your own waves that makes you do all such things”. Even when he was saying and even after he said , there was a silence , we all submitted ourselves to his words , his waves attracted the waves we emitted.
He was right. It was true that i wanted to establish friendship with few and I intentionally avoided a few and It will go on for the rest of my life. May be thats why the philosophers had said ,” Tell me who your friend is , i tell you who you are”.
So what is “Wavelength”? Simply the wavelength of the waves we emit or in common terms , the unique term that we use to describe what kind of a person some one is!. People with somewhat similar wavelengths have similar interests so they get so many things in common to talk about or argue about or even laugh about.
Some of us emit waves of bigger wavelength , i know of a person , whom i very much respect and love , had such a great wavelength. No wonder I realized his presence even when i was 100 feet away from him. People with such a great wavelength attracts most of them around them.Every one around them will look up to him / her as sunflowers look up to the sun – to have a glimpse of the person’s eyes, to have a conversation , to share thoughts , to discuss ideas and so on. and yes , There is a serene happiness and pleasure in meeting people with similar wavelength. If you don’t believe any of this – watch for it consciously in your daily walks of life or watch ‘George Bailey’ in ‘Its a Wonderful life’.
You know what ? I have this feeling that every person’s dreams are also emitted as invisible waves and they converse with the entire universe , When the wish or dream is truly felt , the entire universe conspires to make it true. hmm… Do not let go off your wishes and dreams.
Oh yeah , forgot to tell you , there is no correct or wrong wavelength , Its just the uniqueness of it that makes it special. I did not contradict when i said uniqueness of the wavelength – every one’s wavelength is unique – they make friends with similar wavelengths and always, there will be difference in wavelengths between any two individuals.
He said , “Every man exhibits or emits invisible waves which either repel or attract with other such invisible waves from the fellow humans”.He asked us, ” Have you ever realized or asked Why you like a person and Why you don’t like few people at first sight ? Why you think you will end up in friendship when you see few people and Why you want to avoid a few ? Why you suddenly turn back or look around as if someone had hit you on your back or pinched you on your hand ? – to see someone or to find someone you know with whom you can easily put up a conversation or happily smile along with or to pass on some sincere ‘hi’ through eyes ?”. He then explained,”Its not you but your waves , your own waves that makes you do all such things”. Even when he was saying and even after he said , there was a silence , we all submitted ourselves to his words , his waves attracted the waves we emitted.
He was right. It was true that i wanted to establish friendship with few and I intentionally avoided a few and It will go on for the rest of my life. May be thats why the philosophers had said ,” Tell me who your friend is , i tell you who you are”.
So what is “Wavelength”? Simply the wavelength of the waves we emit or in common terms , the unique term that we use to describe what kind of a person some one is!. People with somewhat similar wavelengths have similar interests so they get so many things in common to talk about or argue about or even laugh about.
Some of us emit waves of bigger wavelength , i know of a person , whom i very much respect and love , had such a great wavelength. No wonder I realized his presence even when i was 100 feet away from him. People with such a great wavelength attracts most of them around them.Every one around them will look up to him / her as sunflowers look up to the sun – to have a glimpse of the person’s eyes, to have a conversation , to share thoughts , to discuss ideas and so on. and yes , There is a serene happiness and pleasure in meeting people with similar wavelength. If you don’t believe any of this – watch for it consciously in your daily walks of life or watch ‘George Bailey’ in ‘Its a Wonderful life’.
You know what ? I have this feeling that every person’s dreams are also emitted as invisible waves and they converse with the entire universe , When the wish or dream is truly felt , the entire universe conspires to make it true. hmm… Do not let go off your wishes and dreams.
Oh yeah , forgot to tell you , there is no correct or wrong wavelength , Its just the uniqueness of it that makes it special. I did not contradict when i said uniqueness of the wavelength – every one’s wavelength is unique – they make friends with similar wavelengths and always, there will be difference in wavelengths between any two individuals.
Job Seeker
Arjun was traveling,standing, in a bus , in one of the most crowded cities of India. He looked at all the people sitting at the window seats of the bus expecting that some one will get down from the bus, so that he can occupy a window seat.He looked at the eyes of all the people who catches an eye contact with his eyes. He understands a man or a woman by just looking at their eyes. He believes that eyes speak of Life. Eyes speak of Happiness, Melancholiness , Expectations, Dreams, Hope , Mercy , Pity , Admiration and so on. That evening , many pairs of eyes , said to him that the people of that city are in a hurry and are lost in thoughts. He told himself , may be because it is a Friday and they are just planning for their week ends. Week end was never there in his dictionary.Days were same to him – except for one reason that the companies were closed on the week ends. He hoped that he would get a window seat before he gets down from the bus, though his right brain told him that he’ll have to get down in another 2 kilometers. It seemed , It will rain. He thought he should have borrowed an umbrella from his friend. He didn’t like the fact that he has to walk for about 500 meters from the bus-stop to his home.He realized , the fellow travelers would have also thought , that he is also lost in thoughts. He said to himself , “People are lost in thoughts when they have none to speak too”.
It started drizzling, When he started walking back to his home.It was refreshing, he thought.He remembered few good movies he watched, when few drops of rain fell on his cheek. The direction of the rain was slanting , making the drops of rain to fall only on his left cheek.He thought , How many days would it take to get a job in this world? Its been a month, since he came to this city searching for a job. He thought : the money he had would only last for couple of more months. He did not know what he would do , When he reaches home.He looked at the sky for an answer, more drops of rain fell on this forehead , but there was no answer.He reached his home. The books were scattered all over the hall. He wanted to look at a particular book and check whether he answered an interview question correctly – but later, felt it doesn’t matter. He stood at the balcony of his home, looking at the eyes of the people, and How their gait was!. He thought , “everyone has a unique gait and that also tells me something about that person. What would my interviewers thought : when i walked to their desk ?”. It was few minutes after the rain had stopped, He thought he wanted to have a tea.He waited for his friend to come. He forgot it after he waited for about 30 minutes. He started reading , again.
He and his friend , went for supper in a cheap hotel near by. They did not talk much. His friend said: It was a refreshing rain this evening.Arjun just nodded yes. He didn’t like the hotel for they had hurt them many times by just asking the cheapest food to serve, even when they don’t ask for it.Arjun thought several times why and How they cannot have food in other hotels.
At night, He did not sleep for a long time. He looked at the air planes in the sky – dreaming that he would one day travel in one of those planes.He did not cry but the tears rolled on in his cheeks. He reached for a blanket to cover him completely so that he can cry without worrying that his friend would see him.He questioned himself, Why none of his friends calls him? may be they are afraid that he would expect some help from them. He asked What friendship was that?
He decided:” If one day , If I am of help to someone , I would never deny a help for – If a person comes and asks you for anything , He or She might have thought about it several times -No body gives up their self-respect so soon , When he realizes that he has no way out – He selects a very few friends whom he can ask and asks for help in a low,timid voice hoping that his friend would comfort him or her”.
He spent most of his time in preparing for the interviews.At times, He remembered his family and remembered How they cannot help him anymore.He wanted to be alone , alone. He thought: “Every man wants to be alone when he thinks that he is either inferior or not doing good and so he avoids meeting people – Every one is alone especially when they are lost”.Loneliness , sometimes gives him strength and sometimes, It teaches him what pain is?!.Sometimes, he cries at heart thinking that all this would never end and sometimes he hopes for a good future.
On Monday, when he walked on the road for an interview , a poor old man , asked for help – asking if Arjun can help him with money or food?. Arjun gave the old man a 2 rupee coin. The old man chuckled at him. Old man’s eyes spoke of How his self-esteem was respected by Arjun. Arjun looked at the sky to confirm if that was true ,there was no answer, no rain either.
Serenity & Harmony.
It started drizzling, When he started walking back to his home.It was refreshing, he thought.He remembered few good movies he watched, when few drops of rain fell on his cheek. The direction of the rain was slanting , making the drops of rain to fall only on his left cheek.He thought , How many days would it take to get a job in this world? Its been a month, since he came to this city searching for a job. He thought : the money he had would only last for couple of more months. He did not know what he would do , When he reaches home.He looked at the sky for an answer, more drops of rain fell on this forehead , but there was no answer.He reached his home. The books were scattered all over the hall. He wanted to look at a particular book and check whether he answered an interview question correctly – but later, felt it doesn’t matter. He stood at the balcony of his home, looking at the eyes of the people, and How their gait was!. He thought , “everyone has a unique gait and that also tells me something about that person. What would my interviewers thought : when i walked to their desk ?”. It was few minutes after the rain had stopped, He thought he wanted to have a tea.He waited for his friend to come. He forgot it after he waited for about 30 minutes. He started reading , again.
He and his friend , went for supper in a cheap hotel near by. They did not talk much. His friend said: It was a refreshing rain this evening.Arjun just nodded yes. He didn’t like the hotel for they had hurt them many times by just asking the cheapest food to serve, even when they don’t ask for it.Arjun thought several times why and How they cannot have food in other hotels.
At night, He did not sleep for a long time. He looked at the air planes in the sky – dreaming that he would one day travel in one of those planes.He did not cry but the tears rolled on in his cheeks. He reached for a blanket to cover him completely so that he can cry without worrying that his friend would see him.He questioned himself, Why none of his friends calls him? may be they are afraid that he would expect some help from them. He asked What friendship was that?
He decided:” If one day , If I am of help to someone , I would never deny a help for – If a person comes and asks you for anything , He or She might have thought about it several times -No body gives up their self-respect so soon , When he realizes that he has no way out – He selects a very few friends whom he can ask and asks for help in a low,timid voice hoping that his friend would comfort him or her”.
He spent most of his time in preparing for the interviews.At times, He remembered his family and remembered How they cannot help him anymore.He wanted to be alone , alone. He thought: “Every man wants to be alone when he thinks that he is either inferior or not doing good and so he avoids meeting people – Every one is alone especially when they are lost”.Loneliness , sometimes gives him strength and sometimes, It teaches him what pain is?!.Sometimes, he cries at heart thinking that all this would never end and sometimes he hopes for a good future.
On Monday, when he walked on the road for an interview , a poor old man , asked for help – asking if Arjun can help him with money or food?. Arjun gave the old man a 2 rupee coin. The old man chuckled at him. Old man’s eyes spoke of How his self-esteem was respected by Arjun. Arjun looked at the sky to confirm if that was true ,there was no answer, no rain either.
Serenity & Harmony.
The Shawshank Redemption
I was not busy that afternoon, I and my friend had gone for a tea to an outside shop.We could feel the Spring breeze on us when we sat under a tree where the tea was being served.We spoke about few things that were close to us.He told that ‘The Shawshank Redemption’ will be screened in the office that evening and told me to watch it.That was the time when i had just started watching English movies for I never understood What were spoken in the movies.I always needed English sub titles to watch the movies.I was reluctant for 2 reasons : The title was not so impressive and I didn’t know any actors in the movie as if i had known many English actors!!! When i decided to watch the movie , I walked to the theater where the movie was being screened.To my surprise, It was crowded more than any other day. I could only get 2*2 feet space to stand and watch the movie. I never felt bad about it – that i stood for about two and half hours to watch a movie. Even now , I preserve this movie in my personal collection , if I am outside , I always have – Youtube.
What would you do if you are punished for a crime that you didn’t do? Very few brave people do not cry in such situations. Most of the world would blame and curse but Andy Dufresne(The Protagonist ) did not cry , didn’t blame , didn’t curse. He just faced it though he might have felt guilty-conscious that he was part of the reason for the crime to happen.The biggest punishment was not being in prison,or in solitude , It was to continue the life with guilty-consciousness. What would you do if you are in a prison and if you know that you will never be able to come out and to see the world. When you do not have loving and caring people around ? When you cannot have any interesting hobbies in such a locked up world ? When you are commanded to do things and not at your free will ? When you cannot be yourself and be a slave to others’ words ? would you resist such moments and will you continue to go on with your Life ? …If there is a silence in you ,then you may not. Andy Dufresne did.
I liked everything about Andy Dufresne , The way he talks , the way he strolls , the twinkle in his eyes when he could get beer for his friends , when he establishes a big library in the prison , when he helps a fellow prisoner to pass his exams and …so on. I never understood his reaction to all the cruel moments he had in the prison until he escapes from it nearly after two decades.The reaction , the resistance to all the cruel moments , later revealed that he had something positive inside.Hope.
‘The Shawshank Redemption’ portrays a beautiful friendship between Red and Andy Dufresne , a disgusting and cruel prison Life , and the one thing that mankind needs in every moment, “Resistance and Hope” , and a serene and joyous Life at the Beach.
If you are reading this, you have come to a stage where only few people have come , the joy of exploring everything around – And if you have come this far, may be you’re willing to go little further, and you know what it is – watch the movie.
Sincere thanks to the friend of mine, who told me to watch this movie.
Sincere thanks to Wikiquote
The quotes I liked :
* The funny thing is, on the outside, I was an honest man, straight as an arrow. I had to come to prison to be a crook
* Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies
* Some birds aren’t meant to be caged. Their feathers are just too bright and when they fly away, the part of you that knows it was a sin to lock them up does rejoice, but still, the place you live in is that much more drab and empty that they’re gone. I guess I just miss my friend.
* Get busy livin’ or get busy dyin’
* You know what the Mexicans say about the Pacific? They say it has no memory. That’s where I want to live the rest of my life. A warm place with no memory. Open up a little hotel right on the beach. Buy some worthless old boat and fix it up new. Take my guests out charter fishing.
The street of poor and happiness
It was a night in the early 1990’s , When i had just started going to school , When i did not know What ‘poor’ and ‘happiness’ meant , When I had just begun to understand What ‘friendship’ and ‘love’ are.
We had come to this place 2 years ago , my dad had rented a 2bhk house and my school was a kilometer away from my home.Every morning was a serene & pleasant smile of a new day , I would wake up early in the morning to hear few religious songs (I guess my parents did it that way to make me to fear about ‘God’ , Which I realized a few years later) and a cup of hot tea.The Radio will be turned on just as soon as the waves of the Sun forcefully entered into the House , making the house, a beautiful photograph. I amazed radio very much at first, and even searched for people in and around it,to find the voices which came from radio , I wonder now Why I did not ask many questions about Radio to my parents then.I asked most of my questions only to myself, even in school, i did not ask questions. I will have breakfast in a hurry because i was always afraid that I will be severely punished and my parents will be penalized if I do not attend school on time.
I hated the oil that my mom applied on my head every morning before I started to school, She called it ‘coconut’ oil. The ‘Why’ I hated it is because , When i walk the distance to my school , the oil from my head will slowly come down to my face ,and the oil would make me to itch my head often.I don’t remember when i stopped bothering about it. I don’t remember What my mind thought when i walked to school. I never took anything from school to my home, not even the homework. I liked to play in the streets in the evenings after coming home. That was the everything i would have mostly thought then.
At School, I listened to What the teachers had to say. Then, We called everyone ‘teacher’ , with no special distinction to their gender. I was more afraid of the female teachers than the male teachers.Female teachers, I thought was ‘rude’ and ‘harsh’. I liked the classes under the trees than under the roof. I liked the fresh air and the opportunity to watch the world , to watch the other kids play , to rush to home in short time.Trees were nearer.There were questions of ‘Life’ at times when i walked back to home.I used to think – will i just hang as clouds in the sky after i die ? If so, Why am i not seeing people at the sky now ? I thought they were at a very high distance and were invisible.
Karthik was studying second class and I was studying third class. We will walk together to get back home in the evening.He was strong and little fat ,had a very white teeth and a charming face. He was my first friend. We played together in the evening after coming home. I felt bad and depressed every time i lost a game of any kind we played.Thats when i started comparing me with others.We only compare,Only when we lose .
I liked everything about Karthik,I liked his home , his parents, his Sister “Poorni’ Who was 2 years old , I never saw her cry and that changed my notion of “Babies and small kids cry often”. She never cried for anything. Poorni will always make me smile and her smile always made me happy.The things that used to keep me to walk fast to home are : Food at home , Poorni. I , Karthik , Poorni were friends.We played together every evening.
The particular night , I described in the opening of this thought , is What i remember as a pleasant and beautiful memory.It was a friday evening and we played for a long time that evening.The street that was separating our houses was just 2 meters wide, and about 30 meters in length. Thats where we spent most of our evenings. I would rank that street as number 1 ,If i have to rank the things that made me happy in Life.
We were playing that friday even after the sun was set, The street lights were working that season , So it was helpful to play even without sunlight. The Housewives met at the corners of the streets and exchanged words often.Few old men sat and watched us playing.We used to carry Poorni on our shoulders and run, she will laugh. Whoever carries her and runs will make her laugh more and louder. I and Karthik tried to make her laugh more. We measured the length of the street many times. Whoever walked on the streets did not yell or shout at us though we disturbed them.They just gave way for us to play this game. I think , everybody liked Poorni’s smile and everybody kept quiet to hear that loud laugh.
That was the last time, We played together.Karthik died on a sunday.I don’t remember when exactly he died.Was it on the sunday following that friday? Or was it few weeks after ?I don’t know.Why I don’t remember anything between that friday and the sunday he died?
I wish I never grew up , I wish I can ask Poorni who won on that friday and to hear that it was Karthik.
We had come to this place 2 years ago , my dad had rented a 2bhk house and my school was a kilometer away from my home.Every morning was a serene & pleasant smile of a new day , I would wake up early in the morning to hear few religious songs (I guess my parents did it that way to make me to fear about ‘God’ , Which I realized a few years later) and a cup of hot tea.The Radio will be turned on just as soon as the waves of the Sun forcefully entered into the House , making the house, a beautiful photograph. I amazed radio very much at first, and even searched for people in and around it,to find the voices which came from radio , I wonder now Why I did not ask many questions about Radio to my parents then.I asked most of my questions only to myself, even in school, i did not ask questions. I will have breakfast in a hurry because i was always afraid that I will be severely punished and my parents will be penalized if I do not attend school on time.
I hated the oil that my mom applied on my head every morning before I started to school, She called it ‘coconut’ oil. The ‘Why’ I hated it is because , When i walk the distance to my school , the oil from my head will slowly come down to my face ,and the oil would make me to itch my head often.I don’t remember when i stopped bothering about it. I don’t remember What my mind thought when i walked to school. I never took anything from school to my home, not even the homework. I liked to play in the streets in the evenings after coming home. That was the everything i would have mostly thought then.
At School, I listened to What the teachers had to say. Then, We called everyone ‘teacher’ , with no special distinction to their gender. I was more afraid of the female teachers than the male teachers.Female teachers, I thought was ‘rude’ and ‘harsh’. I liked the classes under the trees than under the roof. I liked the fresh air and the opportunity to watch the world , to watch the other kids play , to rush to home in short time.Trees were nearer.There were questions of ‘Life’ at times when i walked back to home.I used to think – will i just hang as clouds in the sky after i die ? If so, Why am i not seeing people at the sky now ? I thought they were at a very high distance and were invisible.
Karthik was studying second class and I was studying third class. We will walk together to get back home in the evening.He was strong and little fat ,had a very white teeth and a charming face. He was my first friend. We played together in the evening after coming home. I felt bad and depressed every time i lost a game of any kind we played.Thats when i started comparing me with others.We only compare,Only when we lose .
I liked everything about Karthik,I liked his home , his parents, his Sister “Poorni’ Who was 2 years old , I never saw her cry and that changed my notion of “Babies and small kids cry often”. She never cried for anything. Poorni will always make me smile and her smile always made me happy.The things that used to keep me to walk fast to home are : Food at home , Poorni. I , Karthik , Poorni were friends.We played together every evening.
The particular night , I described in the opening of this thought , is What i remember as a pleasant and beautiful memory.It was a friday evening and we played for a long time that evening.The street that was separating our houses was just 2 meters wide, and about 30 meters in length. Thats where we spent most of our evenings. I would rank that street as number 1 ,If i have to rank the things that made me happy in Life.
We were playing that friday even after the sun was set, The street lights were working that season , So it was helpful to play even without sunlight. The Housewives met at the corners of the streets and exchanged words often.Few old men sat and watched us playing.We used to carry Poorni on our shoulders and run, she will laugh. Whoever carries her and runs will make her laugh more and louder. I and Karthik tried to make her laugh more. We measured the length of the street many times. Whoever walked on the streets did not yell or shout at us though we disturbed them.They just gave way for us to play this game. I think , everybody liked Poorni’s smile and everybody kept quiet to hear that loud laugh.
That was the last time, We played together.Karthik died on a sunday.I don’t remember when exactly he died.Was it on the sunday following that friday? Or was it few weeks after ?I don’t know.Why I don’t remember anything between that friday and the sunday he died?
I wish I never grew up , I wish I can ask Poorni who won on that friday and to hear that it was Karthik.
Saravanan P
It was in the year 1993 , I was 10 years and 3 months old. I didn’t know What my age was , All I knew was that, “I am in sixth class , books will be big and the lessons will be tough and I am away from home”. I was in Hostel.It was just a few kilometers away from home but I felt as if it was thousand kilometers away. I felt so because I did not know how to return to home even If i was allowed to go. I remember , I have begged to the parents of all other school kids to take me home when they came and took their children to their respective homes. I cried in darkness, several nights.Sometimes ‘darkness’ is your friend – It does not reveal your weaknesses.The one thing I was happy about being in the hostel was , I can play anytime I want.
First time in my life , I failed in my subjects,including maths.The reason was everything was in English.I feared English very much. ‘very much’ conveys only a least fraction of my fear.Students who studied in a regional language before coming to this school, had the same problem and fear.I remember that I was slapped in front of the whole class for asking what ‘Simplify’ and ‘Evaluate’ meant. I was redirected to a dictionary but all I needed was my mother’s lap to sleep and cry. I remember I worried every second of my life then, for failing in subjects, for making my parents ashamed.
Saravanan was also a regional language student like How i was. We were like flourishing plants planted in a drought land.There was no sign of rain. It was in one of those periods in the seventh class that I was very attentive for the first time in that school. No – they were not telling stories. They were distributing progress report cards. I heard the Headmaster talking and he called upon Saravanan as the first rank holder.696/700 was his marks. 6 centums.I was glad, jealous, inferior and happy.That evening , I spoke to him for a longer time than I used to.Our friendship began.
Saravanan will not join us for the week end games. Later, I came to know that he was sitting and reading something in that ‘jungle like’ hostel environment.Once ,I saw him coming to the hostel with a dictionary.He learned to use a dictionary by himself. He had learned many words by then.
I failed in my subjects and he scored first rank in all the exams.I had even lost interest in my studies and started failing in maths too. The algebra that my teachers were teaching was very complex and was incomprehensible.I slept more in Geometry classes.The most hated word was ‘theorem’. I never understood any of them.
Once in the evening, after our classes,when I and Saravanan were walking, looking up to the tall, bamboo like trees on either side of my hostel road , I asked him “What are parallel lines?”, He said , ” Parallel lines never touch each other and the distance between them is always the same”. I liked the explanation very much.It was simple , more importantly, I understood it and I knew I will never forget in my life. That was the very first time that my mind thought about something in that school.He became my friend.My teacher.
He helped me to learn the basics again – Maths, Physics, Chemistry, English and even History and Geography.I once asked him foolishly – Why don’t the ceiling fan give Oxygen or Nitrogen or any such gas?He said , ” No it doesn’t, think of it – It just displaces the air around”. “The purpose of education is to make men think”. He made me think, not my teachers.Asking questions to him was my favorite thing.His answers would always enlighten me. He was like a ‘Hero’ to me. I stopped failing in my exams.
Saravanan was a gem of a person , a thinker, a leader , a friend to everyone in that school. He explained things to fellow students in a simple way which the teachers could not do. He made friends in every class. The entire school knew him in a very short span of time. He started asking questions to every teacher – His doubts were unanswerable , For the first time in their life – Teachers prepared for their lectures – and still failed miserably in class when he stood up and asked a question.He spoke in English during school hours – nobody told him so – He learned logarithmic tables by himself – He learned Hindi by himself – He borrowed books from Library – The first one to do such a thing – Under his command , We even acted in an English drama – He changed the way we saw things.He was like a Sun , We were like Sunflowers. We always looked upto him.The ‘We’ in the last sentence includes the Head Master and the other lecturers.His patience is incomparable and his compassion is unmeasurable. He would explain the same thing or a same maths problem to 20 different students with no hesitation or regret.Sometimes, I think , I don’t even qualify to be his friend.
He changed everyone in the school. He gave them courage and hope.
To me, he gave my life back.
First time in my life , I failed in my subjects,including maths.The reason was everything was in English.I feared English very much. ‘very much’ conveys only a least fraction of my fear.Students who studied in a regional language before coming to this school, had the same problem and fear.I remember that I was slapped in front of the whole class for asking what ‘Simplify’ and ‘Evaluate’ meant. I was redirected to a dictionary but all I needed was my mother’s lap to sleep and cry. I remember I worried every second of my life then, for failing in subjects, for making my parents ashamed.
Saravanan was also a regional language student like How i was. We were like flourishing plants planted in a drought land.There was no sign of rain. It was in one of those periods in the seventh class that I was very attentive for the first time in that school. No – they were not telling stories. They were distributing progress report cards. I heard the Headmaster talking and he called upon Saravanan as the first rank holder.696/700 was his marks. 6 centums.I was glad, jealous, inferior and happy.That evening , I spoke to him for a longer time than I used to.Our friendship began.
Saravanan will not join us for the week end games. Later, I came to know that he was sitting and reading something in that ‘jungle like’ hostel environment.Once ,I saw him coming to the hostel with a dictionary.He learned to use a dictionary by himself. He had learned many words by then.
I failed in my subjects and he scored first rank in all the exams.I had even lost interest in my studies and started failing in maths too. The algebra that my teachers were teaching was very complex and was incomprehensible.I slept more in Geometry classes.The most hated word was ‘theorem’. I never understood any of them.
Once in the evening, after our classes,when I and Saravanan were walking, looking up to the tall, bamboo like trees on either side of my hostel road , I asked him “What are parallel lines?”, He said , ” Parallel lines never touch each other and the distance between them is always the same”. I liked the explanation very much.It was simple , more importantly, I understood it and I knew I will never forget in my life. That was the very first time that my mind thought about something in that school.He became my friend.My teacher.
He helped me to learn the basics again – Maths, Physics, Chemistry, English and even History and Geography.I once asked him foolishly – Why don’t the ceiling fan give Oxygen or Nitrogen or any such gas?He said , ” No it doesn’t, think of it – It just displaces the air around”. “The purpose of education is to make men think”. He made me think, not my teachers.Asking questions to him was my favorite thing.His answers would always enlighten me. He was like a ‘Hero’ to me. I stopped failing in my exams.
Saravanan was a gem of a person , a thinker, a leader , a friend to everyone in that school. He explained things to fellow students in a simple way which the teachers could not do. He made friends in every class. The entire school knew him in a very short span of time. He started asking questions to every teacher – His doubts were unanswerable , For the first time in their life – Teachers prepared for their lectures – and still failed miserably in class when he stood up and asked a question.He spoke in English during school hours – nobody told him so – He learned logarithmic tables by himself – He learned Hindi by himself – He borrowed books from Library – The first one to do such a thing – Under his command , We even acted in an English drama – He changed the way we saw things.He was like a Sun , We were like Sunflowers. We always looked upto him.The ‘We’ in the last sentence includes the Head Master and the other lecturers.His patience is incomparable and his compassion is unmeasurable. He would explain the same thing or a same maths problem to 20 different students with no hesitation or regret.Sometimes, I think , I don’t even qualify to be his friend.
He changed everyone in the school. He gave them courage and hope.
To me, he gave my life back.
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