Another Rant

Current Mood: + (will be *2 in sometime)

Finished reading Rendezvous with Rama by Arthur C. Clarke. Title made me inquisitive and read the book. Worth a read, nice book with a great deal of imagination into it. Guess Clarke is a man of vision for advancements in Space Study. Thought of bunking work today but didn't though I did nothing much here. Waiting for the dusk to take over. I have my train scheduled at 8.15 PM today; will be going to my hometown for 10 days (no Internet activity from my side for the next 10 days). And I'm very much excited about it, but at the same time something is bothering me. Whatever be it, hope I'll get over it very quickly.

Sweet Memories...

It was around 2 years since I had been to a 3-day holiday along with MSRI folks to Masinagudi and Ooty, and I remember each and every moment of the 'lab retreat' (as we call it) even today. Those early morning safari rides and long treks in the Mudumalai forest where the famous Veerappan troubled police people for years, cricket in the scorching sun, dumping Suri into the pool, Jonathan's injury while playing with Frisbee, sun burns after playing water polo for hours, early morning kick boxing classes by Kentaro with very few faithful students, unlimited booze and the late night boozing, Joseph's team topping the skit competition, dancing around the camp fire with live music played by Anandan & co, gals ditching Nimmy while playing Trust, the resort fella's prank to scare Sushma with a devil's mask, Pothi's prank on Adi, Pradeep getting high and dancing around the camp fire, yummy snacks cooked by Jasmit and Sushma late in the night, forming the human chain and occasional falling down of people while crossing Pykara Water Falls in Ooty, Jasmit's motivational speech (with an F word) to beat the other team while boating, Hari becoming Hari Sadu after the famous Naukri.com ad, Pothi's boasting about seeing a fresh tiger's poop after going for early morning trek, electrifying sessions of fuse ball, peeing from the peak of Doddabetta and many more. The list goes on and on and on. What an experience it was, I enjoyed every bit of it.

Know what, during my five and half month internship there, the work fun balance was not maintained. It was more fun, less work. Less work is because I didn't and I regret now. :P It was all great fun - the basket ball and cricket matches in the ground near by, those kick-boxing classes by Kentaro (Kentaro is God, in anything and everything), late night XBox-ing in the conference hall, and the most enjoyed carroms. Miss those days!

The picture speaks for itself

This one is for all my fellow MSRI interns. :-)

That Night

It was a pleasant night with cool breeze and full moon up above, the silence occasionally broken by the whistles of the patrolling watchman; a pleasant sight of the ever busy city. Dressed in his usual khaki shorts and black sleeveless tee Sireesh was on the terrace of his 11-storeyed apartment with the iPod plugged to his ears. But he was not his usual self that night. He was restless. Damn restless.

It was his usual routine to party hard on a Saturday night, and without any exception he followed his Saturday routine on that day too. With all the enthusiasm he danced in the Eleventh Cloud pub till 11 in the night along with his friends and then had some gala time at his friend's place. It was 12.30 AM by the time he reached his apartment and Sireesh was really tired. He tried to sleep, but couldn't. Something was bothering him. He then plugged his iPod, headed towards the elevator and went to the terrace.


Despite the stunning view of the city with all the sky scrappers surrounded by roads flashing with the street lights, Sireesh was deep occupied with his own thoughts. Suddenly Sireesh felt the iPod was not singing anymore, the sky pitch dark without any moon and the entire city dark without even a spot of light. Next morning, Sireesh was found unconscious near the terrace wall in a very awkward position. His face leaning, his hands clenching, finger nails scratching the wall as if resisting himself to jump from the top of the apartment. When rushed to the hospital, the doctors after many hours declared Sireesh to be trapped in permanent vegetate state, that is permanent coma.


Next - 'Pitiful State'

Harekal Hajabba, the HERO in the dark

Harekal is not another Rajinikanth. He is a 50 year old uneducated Mangalorean who makes his living by selling oranges in the bus-stop of Mangalore. Knowing the importance of education, he started a school in Newpadpu, a town 30 kms away from Mangalore. And this modest hero, who fights his financial crisis by selling oranges, also serves the school in an unpaid President post. The least we can do is know about him. Please read about him here: Harekal Hajabba

With all credits to the Sattva team I post the article here for all those who are not able to open the link above.

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"Neil Amstrong once compared his small step on the moon to a giant leap for mankind. But these impossibly large small-steps occur here too. A humble uneducated orange-seller starts a school in Newpadpu, Harekal, unmindful of what a giant leap of hope and inspiration his story is for the rest of mankind.

The interview unfortunately must take place over phone, denying us a glimpse into the world Harekal Hajabba lives in. In his musical, Mangalorean dialect, he starts by telling us about selling oranges at the Mangalore Bus Depot for 35 years. And of tourists conversing with him in English, a language he doesn’t speak or follow. He tells us how these incidents made him aware of his own uneducated status and opened his eyes to the state of the school in his town, Newpadu, 30 kms from Mangalore.

The Zilla Panchayat-run school was about to be shut down for lack of building space. This was in 1998, when Hajabba, empty-handed but optimistic, approached the Panchayat for permission to re-open the school. With nothing to lose, they agreed. A couple of members even gave him some seed money to set him off.

In the year that followed, Hajabba managed to collect one lakh rupees and a 1 1/2 acre plot from the government. In 2000, the Zilla Panchayat High School re-opened in its new building. Dharmastala provided the school with teachers, somebody bought in the benches, the people in Newpadu began enrolling their children and the numbers grew. From a tiny group of 28, the school grew to accommodate 208 students.

Fortune smiled on the school when newspapers in Bangalore got a whiff of the story and began to write about Hajabba. From 2004, funds from various philanthropists began to trickle in. A company in Kormangala donated 20 computers, while Canara Bank built them an auditorium. The State recognised Hajabba with awards and Kannada Prabha, a Bangalore daily, chose him for their ‘Man of the Year’ award.

Today the oldest students are in the eighth standard, which includes, Harekal tells us with unblemished pride, his wife. Permission has been procured to start the 9th and 10th standard as well.

Despite the honour and attention showered on him, life has not changed much for this 50-year-old man. He worries over his wife’s sickness and daughter’s pregnancy complications. In between visits to the doctor, he makes time to scrounge around for funds to run the school.

But he is yet to miss a day at school. He overlooks the administration in his capacity as the President, every morning from 8 to 10. Since the post is non-salaried, the measly rupees he earns as an orange-seller is what feeds 5 mouths at home. When asked if the number we call on is his neighbour’s, discomfort enters his voice as he says yes. He doesn’t want to speak of his financial troubles anymore.

His gratitude at being featured is overwhelming. He wishes and blesses us profusely, before he hangs up, embarrassing us that he should even consider this act worthy of praise. For he is giant among us mortals, who gives away twice of what he has and takes half of what he needs. The pleasure, gratitude and honour, has been all ours."

Contact: School Development Committee, between
8 to 10.30am: 0824-2235964,
Evenings (neighbour): 0824 – 2235827