Enakkaaga

இந்த blog entry to bring in some cheer. I've simply made one big list of the names of all my teachers this far at school and college. பள்ளிக்கூடத்தில் ஒண்ணாங்கிலாஸ்-லேர்ந்து கல்லூரி நாட்கள் வரை... பின்னணியில் எங்கேயோ ஒரு குரல் "ஞாபகம் வருதே ஞாபகம் வருதே" என்று இழுக்கிறதா?

இந்த list-இல் உங்களுக்கு எதுவும் புரிய வாய்ப்பில்லை -unless you, like me, at some coinciding period, were a student of one or more of the following: CSI Ewart Matriculation and Higher Secondary School, The Ethiraj College for Women, Stella Maris College, Cleveland State University. 

Mrs. Ragland - Standard I - C. Our English text had pictures and phrases to match, for example: "Bess is six; she can go to school." "There is no use crying over spilt milk."
Mrs. Ebenezer - Standard II - C. No memories here.
Mrs. Chelladurai - Standard III - C. Taught us the meaning of synonyms and antonyms. "The antonym of bachelor is spinster."
Miss. Agnes Samuel - Standard IV - C - her classes on moral science were more fun than the Physics.
Miss. Nalini Sampath - Standard V - A - said she would come home one evening to meet my parents, leading to anticipation fraught with worry.
Mrs. Vedanayagam - Standard VI - A - taught Chemistry. I hated it.
Mrs. Davidson - Standard X - A.
Mrs. Shyamala Suresh - Standards XI & XII A - I remember her second daughter was born when I was in high school, her name is Julia. Mrs. Suresh taught geography. In one of her classes, she explained how the fold mountains formed. For analogy of the earth's crust rising up due to tectonic forces, she used her handkerchief on the teacher's writing table.
Mrs. Ponraj - Tamil from grades VI to XII. என் தமிழ் குரு, என் ஆசான்.
Mrs. Phoebe GnaanaOlivu - History.  Made us see the fascination in dwelling on some glorious past.
Miss. Purnima - History.Spoke of Tripithaka with much animation. She loved History, I could tell.
Mrs. Chandrashekar - Civics. "Children, let me tell you an interesting story." I was fooled the first time.
Mrs. Mary Balan - English. She was disgusted when I once wrote gruesome friend instead of bosom friend. I guess I don't know the difference even now.
Mrs. Paul - Vice Principal, Economics teacher.
Mrs. Doss - Games - Standards I to V.
Mrs. Chellaiah - Games - Standards VI to XII. Apart from kho-kho and ball badminton group games, we played softball at Ewart's.
Mrs. Howie - Music - school choir upto grade XII. Told the class there are no curves in English music, meaning gamaka. Taught us songs of laughing kookaburras, the king and queen dilly dillies, and somewhere o'er the rainbows.
Mrs. C Chelladurai - Principal, with special Monday morning prayers.
Mrs. E M Victor - pianist for morning prayers, grades VI to XII. Later, Principal. Never fails to remind me of the phrase "thumping on the cold piano."
Mrs. James - School Librarian - Standard IV to XII, Gayathri's friend :-) -the only librarian to date I remember with a wooden ruler ready for disciplining.
Mrs. Edwards - Bookstore Manager since when I could count change. Mother of my classmate Shelomi Tamara and her younger sister Maryann Shehara.

Mrs. S. Rajalakshmi - BA - Environmental Economics. - Introduced me to Kipling among many other peoples, concepts, practices. I was 'taken!'
Mrs. S. Malini - BA - Class Teacher - years I to III, Micro Economics. - Am I confusing her with the real class teacher?!
Dr. S. Radha - Economic Thought. A sincere student even as a teacher.
Dr. Mrs. Gowharjhan - Indian Economy, wore the loveliest cotton sarees with the headiest of perfumes.  
Mrs. K. Kalaiyarasi - Monetary Economics, would say "frankly speaking, let me tell you something about India's monetary policy."
Dr. Mrs. V. Renuka Devi - Macro Economics, glared us into silence with two huge eyes.

Dr. Ms. Geetha Sridharan - MA - Macro Economics, I tested her patience sorely. 
Ms. Mary Abraham - MA - Micro Economics, brought the difficult Koutsoyiannis alive.
Ms. Pearl Paul - MA - Indian Economy, at times would exclaim இல்லா! in the middle of a lecture.
Ms. Raihana Sabir - MA - Indian Economy, asked me the current GDP of the nation, during the entrance interview.
Ms. Regi Manimegalai - MA - Computer Lab, Research Methods, my guide for dissertation.

Dr. Vijay Mathur - International Trade, Micro Economics.  Welcomed me to Cleveland State without once laughing at my *somewhat odd* blue man's overcoat handed down by well-meaning sis to keep me warm in cold Cleveland. Special days. I used to run around like a fidgety cousin of Sherlock Holmes.
Dr. Jim Nieberding - Micro Economics, Mathematical Methods for Economists. Was first confused, then annoyed, then plain irritated when I kept addressing him "Sir" - first lesson in grad school USA.
Dr. Sheldon Stein - Macro Economics.  "Some people take this stuff seriously" ... Mizak are you listening?!
Dr. Allan Taub - Econometrics, told us to question every axiom. Question it.
Dr. Myong Chang - I remember his lecture on Game Theory.

Dr. Jackie Woldering - Intro to C programming; Assembly Language.  Assembly was a summer term class. It was also the only one then, to conclude with pizza and coke on the last day. I paid $5.
Dr. Timothy Arndt - Computer Architecture; Introduction to DBMS. "PowerPoint dude."
Dr. McIntyre of the green pants - RDBMS. Yes, green, no exaggeration.
Dr. Howard Pu - a cross listed class I took to fill credits for the semester. Called me Pry-ah.
Dr. Toshinori Munakata - Data Structures in C - told us his was the weeding semester. If some of us were supposedly weeds, then what is he?!
Dr. Alan Benander - Intro to Java programming; Intro to Operating Systems. Better in O/s!
Dr. James D Schoeffler - C++, Visual C++, COM DCOM.  My best semesters of the CIS program.
Dr. Janche Sang - Comparative O/s Interfaces. Fan of the NY Yankees. Taught tough, graded easy.
Dr. Santosh Misra - E-commerce. Hated our guts if we presumed to go unprepared to class.

Memories. கண் காது மூக்கு வரையாமல்  can we remember them -கொஞ்சம் சந்தேகம் தான்.  Unless, like Dumbledore, one could create silvery wisps of memory threads and put them into a special pensieve. Then one can load or unload whenever needed, without disturbing accuracy. கற்பனை உலகின் அசாத்தியம்.

Special Announcement for India Subscribers to WorldSpace Satellite Radio

On December 31, 2009, the WorldSpace satellite radio broadcast service will be terminated for all customers serviced from India.

This action is an outgrowth of the financial difficulties facing WorldSpace India’s parent company, WorldSpace, Inc., which has been under bankruptcy protection since October 2008. The potential buyer of much of WorldSpace’s global assets has decided not to buy the WorldSpace assets relating to and supporting WorldSpace’s subscription business in India. As a consequence, WorldSpace, Inc. must discontinue its subscriber business in India. Your subscription contract is with WorldSpace, Inc., a US company that is in a bankruptcy proceeding in the United States. The company recognizes that you may have paid for services to be rendered beyond the termination date, but is not in a position to offer a refund for any unused portion of your subscription.

You may have a potential remedy under the U.S. bankruptcy law. You may file a claim under the claims procedure that is intended to protect creditors of the bankrupt company. Sometime early next year, a claim servicing company will send notice to all creditors listed by the company. In order to ensure that you receive timely notice, we would request that you send the following information by mail or email to Rakesh Raghavan at WorldSpace, Inc. headquarters in the United States.

1. Name
2. Address
3. Email
4. Subscription Account Number
5. Date of Subscription
6. Length of Subscription
7. Amount paid for your current subscription

Send this information to: By email -- CustomerServiceUS@worldspace.com or by regular mail – Rakesh Raghavan, WorldSpace, Inc. 8515 Georgia AV, Silver Spring, MD 20910 USA.

Our sincere apologies for this circumstance.

Lemon in India is lime in the U.S.  A lemon in U.S. is நம்ம ஊரு டுபாகுர். [சரி தான்!] 

அம்மா at times சொல்லும் வார்த்தை about the power of வடு மாங்காய் baby mango[?] pickle: "மாதா ஊட்டாத சோற்றை மாங்காய் ஊட்டும்."   My take: மாதா ஊட்டாத சோற்றை மாதாவின் ஊறுகாய் ஊட்டிவிடும் - it is true for me and many people I know.  அம்மாவின் சுவையான எலுமிச்சங்காய் ஊறுகாயை செய்யும் முறை, இதோ, and it is her version of the ஆவக்காய் method for this pickle. I tried it today.

1. Wash and dry the lemons. Cut them into small pieces. (If juice seeps out, collect and store to add to the pickle).
   
2. Mix red chili powder, powdered mustard and powdered turmeric in the ratio 4 : 1 : 1/2.  Add salt to taste, a tsp. of வெந்தயம் fenugreek seeds and a tsp. of பெருங்காயம் asafoetida to the dried mix. 
3. In a clean dry vessel, spread one layer of lemon pieces and the stored juice from step 1.  Take a ladle full of the mix from step 2 and spread it evenly on top of the layer of lemon pieces. Pour gingelly oil to coat this layer well.  Repeat process until you exhaust all the cut pieces.
4. குலுக்கல் or the full toss: carefully toss the contents inside the vessel so everything is evenly spread top to bottom and side to side. Cover with lid.
   
5. Allow this pickle to soak undisturbed, for one day. Then mix it well with a large dry spoon, and taste the ஊறுகாய்ச்சார் gravy.  Add salt and/or காரம் spice powder from step 2, as desired. Make sure there is sufficient oil in the pickle jar, and you can see a heavy layer of oil on top.
   
6. This pickle is ready to eat when the lemon has soaked well enough to become soft. That takes about a week to ten days.  Stores well in the fridge, or at room temperature.

Jersey cow - yes, கேள்விப்பட்டிருக்கோம், what about Jersey plow? See this photo taken somewhere near my friend Subha's place in New Jersey & sent by her via this morning's e-mail.  சுடச்சுட ஒரு snowfield photo! எப்படி :-) Speaking of states, did you know that Q is the only letter that doesn't appear in the name of any U.S. state?  Well, now you do, and you can be smarter than a fifth grader to boot, if you watch Jeff Foxworthy's show for timepass.

இன்று நான் படித்தது:

You write to communicate to the hearts and minds of others what's burning inside you. And we edit to let the fire show through the smoke. -Arthur Plotnik, editor and author (b. 1937)  Mr. Plotnik should know, because he is someone who writes on writing.

Well, நம்ம ஊர்-ல Crazy Mohan சொல்வது போல், at times in bloggers too there is the All-in-all Anantharaman and the After-all Narayanan.  Former where editor, author, and at times solitary reader அந்த ஒரு ஜீவன் தானே ஆகிறது!  Latter, when no matter what may burn or smoke inside him, gets sidelined by one powerful word.  Jazz.  One word. The real intent of which is not only context-based but also varied, and contradicts its other definition(s). See http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/jazz,  definitions 4 and 5 of 15 for example.

Perhaps that's the (in)convenience of this blogging idea wave?  It has spread smoothly and evenly across the cyber world much like oil on sofa. It has become firmly rooted like - say what you will - can't add a slick simile here. By the way, is slick one of jazz's confounding cousins..   Bah. What drivel.

Boring account first - இன்றைக்கு road test எடுத்து முடிச்சாச்சு.

இங்கு இன்று இந்த சீசனுடைய முதல் பனி மழை. மெதுவான மல்லிப்பூக்கள் சரம் சரமாய் வானிலிருந்து தூவப்பட்டன. வீட்டுக்குள்ளே இருந்து ரசித்த அழகான காட்சி. விழுந்த உடனேயே கரைந்த மெல்லிய பனி மழை. மெல்லிய பனி, மெல்லிய இசை, இரண்டும் இன்றைக்கு உதித்தன! The latter continues really from http://thiruppavai.etemples.net/ a website I landed on yesterday. நினைவுகளைத் தூண்டும் site.

M L Vasantakumari அவர்களின் மெல்லிய குரலில் திருப்பாவை பாடல்கள். மார்கழி மாதத்தில் அப்பா தினமும் காலை அன்றைய பாட்டை எங்கள் ரூமிலிருக்கும் ரேடியோ-வில் சப்தமாக ஒலிக்கச் செய்து எங்களை எழுப்ப முயல்வார். எங்களை = my sister and me. (Our younger brother is the early riser and light coffee lover among the three of us).

அது சரி, சங்கீத அலாரம் வேலை செய்ததா? அம்மாவின் சுவையான வெண்பொங்கல் வாசனை சொடக்கு போட்டது போல் எழுப்பியதா? சாலமன் பாப்பையா or திண்டுக்கல் லியோனி வந்து பட்டி மன்றம் நடத்தப் போறாங்களா என்ன ;-) சிறு வயதில் இரவு நேரங்களில் எல்லாருமா சேர்ந்து சாப்பிட்ட பின்னர் அம்மாவைத் தொணப்பி எடுத்து ஒக்கார்ந்து பார்த்த அந்த கிழிந்த புத்தகத்திலிருந்த same to same திருப்பாவை சித்திரங்கள். More about பெரிய
எழுத்து விக்ரமாதித்யன் later.

திருப்பாவை songs and sights are in this website...only no வெண்பொங்கல் :-) and here's a sample sight.

This is a painting that does not fail to fascinate ... God is the dark, thunderous, life-giving rain. In the book too, this painting accompanies the song ஆழி மழைக்கண்ணா.

Sri Anjaneya is believed to have been born in the month of மார்கழி in the constellation of மூலம் and on the Amavasya day. This is also believed to be the birthday of another Rama Bhakta, Bhadrachala Ramadasa. Sri Sita praises Hanuman as the only one endowed with all eight characteristics of an intelligent person. These eight characteristics are:
i) Understanding what others say
ii) Remembering what was thus understood
iii) Retrieving that information when required
iv) Explaining its meaning to others, using appropriate words
v) Comprehending views of others (at times by intelligent guesses!)
vi) Providing ready responses to such view points
vii) Understanding subtleties implied in the expression of some people
viii) Grasping the real interpretation of what is being conveyed
If you have access to a copy of the Valmiki Ramayana, see Yuddha Khaandam Sargam 116 verse 27 for the original verse.

A PRAYER
Buddhir Bhalam Yaso Dhairyam Nirbhayatvam Arogathaam |
Ajaatyam Vaak Padutvam Cha Hanumat Smaranaath Bhavet ||
Meaning: Wisdom, strength, fame, valour, fearlessness, health, determination, oratorical skills - all that one can wish for can be achieved by anyone meditating on Hanuman.

ABOUT HANUMAN'S POWERS
One day, Anjaneya's mother Anjana stepped out to gather some fruits for her sleeping child. Quite unexpectedly, Anjaneya woke up feeling very hungry. He got out of his bed and searched for something to eat. In the distance Anjaneya spotted the Sun rising up like a red apple. Desiring to pluck it, the baby pounced over the skies to reach the Sun. That was about the time when Rahu was to catch the Sun, it being the day of the solar eclipse. Finding a new rival in Anjaneya, Rahu complained to Indra. On receiving Rahu's call for help, Indra rushed to the spot mounted on Airavata. To Anjaneya's eyes, Rahu now appeared more attractive than the Sun and soon Airavata even more so! Giving up his hot pursuit of the Sun, Anjaneya now turned instead to Airavata. Enraged, Indra struck Anjaneya down with his Vajrayudha. Anjaneya's cheeks were disfigured as he fell. "Hanu" means cheek and because of this incident, Anjaneya came to be known as Hanuman.

Vayu was overwhelmed with grief on seeing the plight of his dear son mercilessly hit by Indra unmindful of the fact that Anjaneya was a baby. He gathered up his son and hid within a cave. With the movement of air coming to a standstill, the world began to suffocate. The Devas reported the matter to Brahma who rushed to the spot with all the Devas. He gently massaged Hanuman. At the touch of Brahma, Anjaneya regained normalcy. Brahma told all the Devas that Anjaneya had a mission to accomplish in assisting Rama in his Avatara. Brahma ordered the Devas to shower their blessings on Anjaneya.

The Devas vied with each other in blessing the child. Indra was the first to declare that Anjaneya would never again be bothered by his Vajraayudha; Varuna vowed that Anjaneya would never be troubled by his Varuna Paasam or by any water related accidents. Yama declared that he would be free from the noose of death, would ever be victorious in war and free from all diseases. The Sun God blessed him with supreme valour and his own brilliance. Viswakarma agreed that none of the warheads in his arsenal would ever torment Anjaneya. Rudra offered him immunity from his own Trishula, Pasupathaastra and other weapons. Finally, Brahma guaranteed Anjaneya protection against his own most powerful Brahmaastram.

HANUMAN'S OTHER NAMES
Anjaneya has several names. He is known as Hanuman in Tamil, Hanumanthaiah and Mukhya Praana Devaru in Kannada, Hanumanthudu in Telugu. As one moves North beyond the Vindhyas, he is called Maruti and in Maharashtra they call him Mahaveer. Do you know that besides being called Vayuputra, Anjaneya and Siriya Tiruvadi, Hanuman has yet another name?

The story goes that sage Valmiki wrote the epic after Sri Rama's coronation. After completing Aaranya Khaanda, he desired to name the next canto after Anjaneya. But Anjaneya appeared before him pleading that he need not be given such an importance for after all he was only a servant of Sri Rama.The sage took Anjaneya's consent in naming the canto Sundara Khaandam. Later, Anjaneya narrated the incident to his mother. Even as he was approaching her, Anjana greeted him with the name "Sundara" for that was the name she had given him at birth! Not knowing what to do, Anjaneya rushed back to the Sage to request him to drop this title also. But the Sage said that it was too late for the chapter had already been completed with Sundara as its hero.

CROSSING THE OCEAN
Consider the extraordinary feat of Hanuman in that high and long jump across the ocean in search of Sri Sita. Lord Rama had to build a bridge with the help of the battallion of Vaanara-s and squirrels too! Duly guided by the engineering skills of the technical experts in his entourage, he could walk his army across to Lanka. But what did Hanuman do? He simply recited the name of Rama and he could fly over the high seas to land accurately on his destination! Anjaneya proves the power of chanting Rama Nama.

PRESENCE
It is believed that Hanuman attends every discourse of Srimad Ramayana. Even to this day, a special seat is provided exclusively for Hanuman in every hall where a discourse on Srimad Ramayana is delivered. Hanuman is believed to listen with undivided attention to the glory of Rama's name, hands folded in respect and eyes brimming with tears of joy:

Yathra Yathra Raghunaatha Keertanam
Thathra Thathra Kritham Hasthaka Anjalim |
Bhaashpa Vaari Paripoorna Lochanam
Maarutim Namatha Raakshasa Anthakam ||

Stoicism is a school of philosophy. The Stoics considered destructive emotions to be the result of errors in judgment. They presented their philosophy as a way of life. According to them, the best indication of an individual's philosophy was not what a person said, but, how he behaved. Marcus Aurelius was a Stoic philosopher.  This Roman writer and emperor lived about 1900 years ago. Here's something he said:

"If there are gods and they are just, they will not care how devout you have been, but will welcome you based on the virtues you have lived by. If there are gods, but unjust, then you should not want to worship them. If there are no gods, then you will be gone, but will have lived a noble life that will live on in the memories of your loved ones."

இனி பாக்கி இருப்பது road test மட்டும் தான். இங்கு குளிர் காலம் ஆரம்பிச்சாச்சு ...  வீட்டுக்குள்ளேயே socks sweater சகிதம் அணிவகுப்பு. Pro bono publico, a few questions from the NC DMV exam [choice 'a' is the correct response in each q you see below]

1. Which of the foll is true of speed limits in NC:

• Outside city limits - 55mph
• On the interstate - 75 mph
• Within city limits - 25 mph
• One more incorrect choice

2. When is driving slow a danger:

• On the downward slope of a hill past the crest
• Inside the city limits
• Within a school zone
• One more obviously incorrect choice

3. What is most advisable while driving in heavily packed snow:

• Use chains on your tires or use snow tires
• Drive slower than the speed limit
• Increase your following distance
• Keep applying short brakes at regular intervals

4. The state has the right to revoke your driving licence for a period of _________ if you refuse to comply to an alcohol test when stopped for driving under the influence of alcohol:

• 12 months
• 6 months with a penalty of $50
• 3 months with a penalty of $100
• 45 days

5. A warning not to be in the 'no zone' of a vehicle means

• You take care not to drive in the blind spot of another vehicle
• Three irrelevant choices

6. You can request that you be re-issued your license when you accumulate 7 points within 3 years by:

• Visiting the nearest DMV office, paying a fine, and filling out an application form
• Appealing to the traffic police officer
• Appealing to the clerk of courts
• Writing to the NCDOT

7. A broken yellow line on your side of a two lane road indicates that:

• It is okay to pass another vehicle after checking sure it is safe to do so
• It is not okay to pass
• You are required to yield to oncoming vehicles
• No left turns are allowed

8. When you reach a traffic circle, which of the following is true:

• Vehicle entering the circle yields to vehicles within the circle
• Vehicles within the circle yield to an entering vehicle
• Vehicles within the circle must wait for vehicles leaving the circle
• Vehicle within the circle must wait for another vehicle that wants to make a right turn

9. If your vehicle suddenly runs off to the shoulder, you must:

• Release your foot from the gas pedal and allow the vehicle to slow down gradually, without braking
• Jam your brakes instantly and try to reach a grinding halt
• Increase acceleration and try to return to the road
• Return to the lane after making a left turn signal

10. When you want to make a right turn, you:

• Watch for traffic from the left, indicate well ahead, and drive close to the right kerb
• Three irrelevant choices

11. What is true of cyclists in the state:

• They also follow the same rules of the road as a motor vehicle driver does
• They are more seriously hurt when involved in a crash with a car
• They need to ride their bicycle facing oncoming traffic
• They need to wear neon jackets

12. If you need to drive after taking some medication, then:

• Make sure you know the effects of the medicine before you begin to drive
• Three other irrelevant choices

13. About ____ % of crashes and vehicle accidents each year result due to drunken driving:

• 38%
• 45%
• 55%
• 60%

14. The most common type of vehicle accidents on the freeway is the:

• Rear end collision
• Side swipe
• Face on collision
• Something else

15. If involved in a car crash, the first thing you should do is:

• Report to the nearest law enforcement officer with details
• Move the vehicle onto the shoulder to prevent further accidents
• Two other choices

The booklet is about 128 pages long and half as wide as a standard paperback. Some space is taken up by images and highlighted text. Read all highlighted content, and the chapter on laws for penalties / points / how to apply for re-issual of licence privilege. Read driving skills to better understand familiar and unfamiliar scenarios. This test is not timed. If you answer 19 questions right from the 25, you pass. It is a computerized exam with touch screen responses for every multiple choice question. Questions about driving skills are accompanied by a relevant image each, to clarify the meaning.

படிக்க சோம்பேறித்தனம், அதனால் Driver's Licence வாங்குவது ஒரு கடி வேலையாக மாறி வருகிறது. வண்டி ஓட்டும் போது தன்னிச்சையாய் செய்யும் செயல்களைப்பற்றி 25 கேள்விகள். எந்த சமயத்தில் அவர்கள் நம்மோட licence-ஐ revoke பண்ணலாம் என்பது பற்றி ஒரு ஆராய்ச்சி. மொத்தத்தில் படிக்காமல் செல்வது டைரக்டர் KB சொல்வது போல, தவறில்லை, ஆனால் சரி என்று சொல்ல முடியாது.  Alien என்று திரும்பின பக்கமெல்லாம் label செய்கிறார்களே , நிஜமாவே alien-ஆ மாறி இவங்க தரும் இந்த டெஸ்ட்-ஐ எடுக்க சென்றா எப்படி இருக்கும்...

1994-ஆம் வருடம்.  நான் சென்னையில் ஸ்டெல்லா மாரிஸ்-இல் சேர்ந்த புதிது.  Government funded காலேஜ்-லேர்ந்து ஸ்டெல்லா சென்றது ஒரு புதிய இனிய அனுபவமா இருந்தது. ஸ்டெல்லா-வில் எட்டு மணிக்கெல்லாம் கல்லூரியில் classroom-இல் seat-இல்  இருக்க வேண்டும். இல்லையென்றால் என் போல ஆமைகள் Receptionist இடமிருந்து ஒரு token வாங்கினால் தான் உள்ளே செல்ல அனுமதி.  விலை ஒரு ரூபா.  நான் late fees கட்டாத நாள் ரொம்ப கம்மி.  சரி, அப்படி பணம் கட்டி classroom சென்றால் அங்கு முதலில் பாடம் நடக்காது - இறை வணக்கம் loudspeaker மூலம் ஒலிபரப்பாகிக்கொண்டிருக்கும்.  தூக்கமே கலையாதே நேரத்தில் கடவுளைப்பற்றி அமைதியாக சிந்திக்க சொன்னால் கொஞ்சம் கஷ்டம் தான். பேராசிரியை நம்மை திருத்த நினைத்தாலோ அல்லது வேற கடுப்பில் இருந்தாலோ வெளியே நில் என்று நமக்கு உத்தரவு பறக்கும்.  மானம் மெதுவாக ஆமைக்கப்பல் ஏறும். ஏறினாலும் அடுத்த நாள் மீண்டும் ஒரு ரூபாய் டோக்கனுக்காக அலையும்  இனிமையான நாட்கள். 

ஸ்டெல்லா-வில் என் உயிர்த்தோழி Neetha George.  நாங்கள் இருவரும் ஒன்றாக BA & MA Economics படித்தோம்.  எங்களுக்கு வேப்பங்காயாக இருந்த ஒரு subject Indian Economy. Perhaps the need to remember all the details from each Five Year Plan is to blame.  Not the shift in the pattern of industrial investment to build domestic consumption, PL-480, our lecturer, or the author of our textbook. That makes one wonder how else can this subject be taught. 

MA-வில் சில நாட்கள் பாடம் நடக்கும் நேரம் கேன்டீனிலோ லைப்ரரி research section-இலோ O.B. அடித்தது  உண்டு. சில சமயம் கடைசி பெஞ்சில் சோகமாக மனதை அலைய விட்டதும்  உண்டு.  "திடீர்-என frog leap செய்து இந்த classroom -ஐ விட்டு வெளியேறினால் என்ன?" என்பது போன்ற அசட்டு கற்பனைகளில் அந்த ஒரு மணி நேரத்தை போக்குவோம்.  காரணம் கேட்காமல் சிரிக்க தொடங்குவது தொத்து வியாதியைப்போல் பரவி வந்த நாட்கள்! 

MA படிக்கும் நாட்களிலே Neetha திருமணம்  முடித்து தாய்மை ஸ்தானத்தையும் பெற்றுவிட்டாள். என்னைப்போல் இருந்த Neetha மாறி ஒரு  புதிய பெண் அவளிடத்திற்கு வந்துவிட்டாள் என்று நினைத்தேன். பேச்சு  கம்மி ஆனது.  Her son's name is a palindrome: Nitin.  I remember meeting him with some printed mittens and a bib, he was about a month or so old then. இன்று Neetha Kinder Garten Teacher-ஆக வேலை பார்க்கிறாள்.

Stella's continuous assessment pattern was both new and varied to us then: that was the time we first experienced pop quizzes, a seminar component and a term paper apart from attendance and written examinations that counted towards the grade. I'm grateful for Mrs. Geetha Sridharan's patience with me through the two years @ SMC. I somehow ended up crossing her frequently, in exaggerated tele-serial like war-of-will moments.  Must have been one plain annoyance.

Memories from Stella Maris to continue.