ಕಾಲಗರ್ಭ ಸೇರಿದ ಎಚ್‌ಎಂಟಿ

ಕಾಲಗರ್ಭ ಸೇರಿದ ಎಚ್‌ಎಂಟಿ ಎಂಬ ಪತ್ರಿಕಾ ವರದಿ ಓದಿದಾಗ ನೆನಪಾಗಿದ್ದು.

hmt ಫಿನಿಶ್! hmt ವಾಚುಗಳು ಇನ್ನು ಇತಿಹಾಸ ಮಾತ್ರ.

hmt ಅಂದ್ರೆ ಹಿಂದೆ ಮುಂದೆ ಟೈಮ್, ಹೆಗಲ ಮೇಲೆ ಟವೆಲ್ ಅಂತೆಲ್ಲ ಏನೇ ಗೇಲಿ ಮಾಡಿದರೂ ನಮ್ಮ ಕಾಲದ ಮಂದಿ ವಾಚ್ ಕಟ್ಟಲು ಕಲಿತಾಗ ಸಿಕ್ಕಿದ್ದು, ಮನೆ ಮಂದಿ ಕೊಡಿಸಿದ್ದು ಇವೇ hmt ವಾಚುಗಳು.

ನನ್ನ ಮೊದಲ hmt ವಾಚ್ ಕೊಹಿನೂರ್. ಅದು actually ಅಣ್ಣನಿಗೆ ಏಳನೇ ಕ್ಲಾಸಿನ ಮುಲ್ಕಿ ಪರೀಕ್ಷೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಇಡೀ ಧಾರವಾಡ ಜಿಲ್ಲೆಗೆ ಮೊದಲ ಸ್ಥಾನ ಪಡೆದಾಗ hmt ಬೆಂಗಳೂರಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಕೆಲಸ ಮಾಡುವ ಯಾರನ್ನೋ ಖುದ್ದಾಗಿ ಹಿಡಿದು, ಡಿಸ್ಕೌಂಟ್ ನಲ್ಲಿ ಖರೀದಿ ಮಾಡಿ ಕೊಡಿಸಿದ್ದರು. ಆ ಪುಣ್ಯಾತ್ಮ ಪ್ರತಿ ಪರೀಕ್ಷೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಮೊದಲ ರಾಂಕ್ ಬಂದು ಪಿಯುಸಿ ಮುಗಿಯುವವರೆಗೆ ಅರ್ಧ ಡಜನ್ ವಾಚುಗಳ ಸರ್ದಾರನಾಗಿಬಿಟ್ಟ. ಹೆಚ್ಚಿನವು ಕೊಹಿನೂರ್ ಅಥವಾ ಸೋನಾ ಮಾಡೆಲ್ hmt ವಾಚುಗಳು. ಜನತಾ ಮಾಡೆಲ್ಲಿನ hmt ವಾಚ್ ಅವನು ಕಟ್ಟುತ್ತಿದ್ದ. ಹೀಗಾಗಿ ಮೊತ್ತ ಮೊದಲ ವಾಚ್ ಕೊಹಿನೂರ್ ವಾಚ್ ನನಗೆ ಕೊಟ್ಟರು. ಅದೂ ವಿಶೇಷ ಸಮಾರಂಭಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಧರಿಸಲು ಮಾತ್ರ. ಬಾಕಿ ದಿನ ಅಲ್ಲಿ ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಕಟ್ಟಿಕೊಳ್ಳಲು ಬೇಕೆಂದರೆ ಇದ್ದವಲ್ಲ, ಅವೇ, ಬಿಂಗಲಾಟಿ ಐವತ್ತು, ನೂರು ರೂಪಾಯಿಯ ಇಲೆಕ್ಟ್ರಾನಿಕ್ ವಾಚುಗಳು. :)

SSLC, PUC ಟೈಮಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಕೊಹಿನೂರ್ ವಾಚ್ ಕಟ್ಟಿಕೊಂಡು ಸ್ಟೈಲ್ ಹೊಡೆಯೋಣ ಅಂದರೆ ಕಿಡಿಗೇಡಿ ಉಡಾಳ ಗೆಳೆಯರೆಲ್ಲ ಪೆಕಪೆಕಾ ಅಂತ ಕಿರುಚಾಡಿ, ಉಳ್ಳಾಡಿ ಉಳ್ಳಾಡಿ ನಕ್ಕರು. ರೇಗಿಸಿದರು. 'ಯಾಕ್ರಿಲೇ, ಏನಾತು? ನನ್ನ ವಾಚ್ ಮಸ್ತಿಲ್ಲಾ? ಯಾಕ ನಗ್ತೀರಿ?' ಅಂತ ಕೇಳಿದರೆ, 'ಮಹೇಶಾ, ಕೊಹಿನೂರ್ ಗಲತ್ ಜಾಗಾದಾಗ ಹಾಕ್ಕೊಂಡಿಯಲ್ಲೋ! ಹೋಗ್ಗೋ!' ಅಂತ ಹೇಳಿ ಕೆಟ್ಟಾ ಕೊಳಕಾಗಿ ಅಂಡು ತಟ್ಟಿಕೊಂಡು ನಕ್ಕವ ಒಬ್ಬ ಕ್ಲೋಸ್ ದೋಸ್ತ. ಏನು ಅಂತ ನನಗೆ ಏಕ್ದಂ ಹೊಳೆಯಲೇ ಇಲ್ಲ. ಮುಂದುವರೆದು ಅವನೇ ಹೇಳಿದ, 'ಮಹೇಶಾ, ಕೊಹಿನೂರ್ ಅಂದ್ರ ಇಂಪೋರ್ಟೆಡ್ ನಿರೋಧ ಮಾರಾಯಾ. ಆ ಹೆಸರಿನ ವಾಚ್ ಕಟ್ಟಿಯಲ್ಲೋ! ಹೋಗ್ಗೋ!' ಅಂದವನೇ ಬಿದ್ದು ಬಿದ್ದು ನಕ್ಕ. ತಿಪ್ಪೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ನೋಡಿದ್ದ ಉಪಯೋಗಿಸಿ ಬಿಸಾಡಿದ್ದ ಕಾಂಡೊಮ್ ಕೈಗೆ ಬಂದಂತಾಗಿ, ಹೇಸಿಗೆ ಫೀಲಿಂಗ್ ಬಂದು ಆವತ್ತಿನಿಂದ ಆ ಕೊಹಿನೂರ್ ಕಟ್ಟಲಿಲ್ಲ. ಮುಂದೆ ಯಾರೋ ದುಬೈನಿಂದ ದುಬಾರಿ ವಾಚ್ ತಂದು ಅಪ್ಪನಿಗೆ ಉಡುಗೊರೆ ಕೊಟ್ಟರು. 'ಯಪ್ಪಾ, ನೀ ಬೇಕಾದರೆ ಈ ಕೊಹಿನೂರ್ ಇಟ್ಟುಕೋ. ನಮಗೆ ದುಬೈ ವಾಚ್ ಕೊಡು!' ಅಂತ ಹೇಳಿ ಅದನ್ನು ಲಪಟಾಯಿಸಿಬಿಟ್ಟೆ. ಕೊಹಿನೂರ್ ಎಂಬ ನಿರೋಧ ಬ್ರಾಂಡಿನ ವಾಚಿನಿಂದ ಹೀಗೆ ಬಿಡುಗಡೆ ಪಡೆದೆ.

ಮತ್ತೊಂದು hmt ವಾಚಿನ ಮಾಡೆಲ್ ಅಂದರೆ ಸೋನಾ. ನಮ್ಮ ಧಾರವಾಡದ ಮಾಳಮಡ್ಡಿ ಏರಿಯಾದಲ್ಲಿ ಸೋನಾ ಉರ್ಫ್ ಹುಚ್ಚ ಸೋನ್ಯಾ ಅಂದರೆ ಹುಚ್ಚು ಜೋಗತಿ ಸೋನಾ. ಸವದತ್ತಿ ಎಲ್ಲಮ್ಮನಿಗೆ ಅರ್ಪಿಸಲ್ಪಟ್ಟಿದ್ದ ದೇವದಾಸಿ. ಅವಳ ತಲೆ ಸ್ವಲ್ಪ ಕೆಟ್ಟಿತ್ತು. ಹೀಗಿರುವಾಗ ಸೋನಾ ಎಂಬ ಹೆಸರಿನ hmt ವಾಚ್ ಕಟ್ಟಿಕೊಂಡರೆ ಅಷ್ಟೇ ಮತ್ತೆ ಅಂತ ವಿಚಾರ ಮಾಡಿ ಸೋನಾ ಎಂಬ ವಾಚ್ ಇದ್ದರೂ ಅದರ ಸುದ್ದಿಗೆ ಹೋಗಲಿಲ್ಲ. ಕೊಹಿನೂರ್ ಕಟ್ಟಿಕೊಂಡಾಗ, 'ಬ್ಯಾರೆ ಎಲ್ಲೋ ಹಾಕಿಕೊಳ್ಳಬೇಕಾಗಿದ್ದ ಕೊಹಿನೂರ್ ಕೈಯಾಗ ಬಂದೈತಲ್ಲೋ!' ಅಂತ ರೇಗಿಸಿ ಕಾಡಿದ್ದರು. ಇನ್ನು ಹುಚ್ಚು ಜೋಗವ್ವನ ಹೆಸರಿನ ಸೋನಾ ವಾಚ್ ಕಟ್ಟಿಕೊಂಡರೆ 'ಆ ಹುಚ್ಚಿ ನಿನ್ನ ಗರ್ಲ್ ಫ್ರೆಂಡ್ ಏನಪಾ ದೋಸ್ತ?' ಅಂತ ಕಾಡಿಸಿ ಕಾಡಿಸಿ ಜೀವಾನೇ ತಿಂದುಬಿಡುತ್ತಿದ್ದರು. ಹಾಗಾಗಿ hmt ಸೋನಾ ಸಹಿತ ಕಟ್ಟಲಿಲ್ಲ.

hmt ಬಂದಾಯಿತು ಅಂದಾಗ ಇದೆಲ್ಲ ನೆನಪಾಯಿತು.

HRD minister Smriti Irani pays surprise visit to IIT Delhi hostels....and finds they are not what they should be!

This post is related to a new item - HRD minister Smriti Irani pays surprise visit to IIT Delhi hostels

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At Shivalik, students complained to the minister about a single water cooler catering to all in the hostel, which currently has 375 students.

"There are four wings and four floors and all of us have to come to the ground-floor to get water," said a student.

"We should be allowed to use small coolers in our rooms during the summer," demanded civil-engineering student Puneet Kumar.

The students also complained about the quality of food served to them. "You should try the roti here," said a student to the minister. The students also complained about the dirt in the hostel's kitchen.

Irani asked the throng of over 50 students crowding around her if their "loos stinked."

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Disgusting. What's the point even if IITs are the number 1 or 2 or 3 among the best engineering schools if students have to put up with this kind of crap!!???

Hello IIT and other govt. institutions! Making students put up with such crap might have been ok in the past when the education was almost 100% subsidized. But now you are making them pay almost or more than private colleges. So you must provide comparable facilities. Just academic excellence won't suffice.

May be Smriti Irani should send this IIT staff to BITS, Pilani for a study tour. There they will get to see clean hostels, bathrooms/toilets scrubbed and cleaned everyday, rooms and hostels whitewashed every year in summer, hot water via solar heaters, clean and sumptuous food in hostel mess (tasty or not. clean and healthy yes), all help/assistance rendered at the hostel door steps. Many many things other institutions can learn and incorporate. When it comes to running a tight ship, nobody can come anywhere close to top private schools like BITS.

Bottom line - govt. institutions got a lot to learn from how private institutions are run and how they squeeze last bit of value from every penny put into the system. Tatas and Birlas are the best examples.

(Copied from my Facebook status.)

What kind of academic madness is this!

IIT - JEE (main and advanced), CET, Comedy-X, BITSAT, AIEEE, NEET, so on and so forth. How many exams 12th class students have to write these days!!?? Sheer torture. Why does not anybody think of adopting the international model? Standardized tests (like SAT, GRE, GMAT) to assess the relative capability and an application process which includes essays, recommendations and which gives credit to projects done by students out of their own interest, extracurricular etc. Just shifting to standardized tests is a good start.

Making students write these many exams on top of grueling but mostly meaningless 12th board exam plus the perennial pressure cooker environment is not healthy at all.

It's funny that children of NRIs are admitted into Indian colleges almost in the same manner via SAT, GMAT etc. It's only the students in India have to go through this torture.

Standardized tests are pretty good. Those of us who have taken them know that after a few weeks of prep your score hits a stable value. Additional prep does not help much. What you score on your last practice test is close to what you can expect to score in the actual test. So they are reasonably effective for relative ranking of academic ability.

Problem with so many exams and unbearable pressure cooker environment is - the most important thing, that is actual learning takes the back seat when everyone's focus is on how to game and beat the system.

Some of my friends who returned to India after a few years in the US have started sending their US born kids back to the US for the college education. I highly recommend that approach. Please spare them from this madness. Just let them study for the unavoidable stupidity called 12th board exam, let them prepare for SAT and focus on the application process to decent schools in the US than to be part of this multiple exam madness. Even for others I recommend the same. When the cost of education has gone up so much in India, probably US is not that expensive and it is definitely worth it. At least the system is better and certainly not a pressure cooker. Please do this for your kids and they will surely be grateful to you for sparing them from being cooked alive in this madness.

(Copied from my Facebook status)

ಅಂದು ಊಟವನ್ನು ತ್ಯಜಿಸಿದವ ನಿನ್ನೆ ಲೋಕವನ್ನೇ ತ್ಯಜಿಸಿದ...

'ಒಂದ ವಾರ ಊಟ ಬಿಟ್ಟಿದ್ದ ಆಂವಾ! ಗೊತ್ತದ ಏನ?' ಅಂದರು ಕಾತ್ರಾಳೆ ಸರ್. ೧೯೮೧ ಜೂನ್. ಆಗ ಮಾತ್ರ ಮೂರನೆಯ ಕ್ಲಾಸ್ ಮುಗಿಸಿ ದೂರ್ವಾಸ ಮುನಿಯ ಪ್ರತಿರೂಪದಂತಿದ್ದ ಕಾತ್ರಾಳೆ ಸರ್ ಅವರ ನಾಲ್ಕನೆಯ ಕ್ಲಾಸಿಗೆ ಎಂಟ್ರಿ ಕೊಟ್ಟಿದ್ದೆವು. ಅವತ್ತೇ ಮೊದಲನೇ ದಿನ. ಬೆಳಗಿಂದ ಒಬ್ಬರ ನಂತರ ಒಬ್ಬರನ್ನು ಬರೋಬ್ಬರಿ ರುಬ್ಬಿದ್ದರು ಸರ್. ಬೈದಿದ್ದರು. ಹೊಡೆದಿದ್ದರು. ಕಪ್ಕಪಾಳಕ್ಕೆ ರಪ್ ರಪ್ ಅಂತ ಬಾರಿಸಿದ್ದರು. ಅವರ ಭರ್ಜರಿ ಹೊಡೆತ ಬಡಿತದ ಕಹಾನಿ ಕೇಳಿದ್ದೆವು. ಈಗ ಖುದ್ ನೋಡುವ 'ಸೌಭಾಗ್ಯ'. ಅದು ಅವರ ಪದ್ಧತಿ. ಸುಖಾಸುಮ್ಮನೆ ಮಾತಾಡಿದ್ದೇ ಇಲ್ಲ. ನಾಲ್ಕು ಕೊಟ್ಟೇ ಮುಂದಿನ ಮಾತು. ಆದರೆ ಅದ್ಭುತ ಶಿಕ್ಷಕರು. ಮತ್ತೆ ಕನ್ನಡ ಸಾಹಿತಿ ಬೇರೆ.

'ಒಂದ ವಾರ ಊಟ ಬಿಟ್ಟಿದ್ದ ಆಂವಾ!' ಅಂತ ಮತ್ತೊಮ್ಮೆ ಹೇಳಿದರು ಸರ್. ನಮಗೇನೂ ಗೊತ್ತಾಗಲಿಲ್ಲ. ಸರ್ ತಮ್ಮ ಹಿಂದಿನ ವರ್ಷದ ನಾಲ್ಕನೆಯ ವರ್ಗದ ಬ್ಯಾಚಿನ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ಹೇಳುತ್ತಿದ್ದರು. ಅಂದರೆ ನಮಗಿಂತ ಒಂದು ವರ್ಷದ ಹಿರಿಯ ವಿದ್ಯಾರ್ಥಿಗಳ ಬಗ್ಗೆ. ನಾವು ನಾಲ್ಕನೆಯ ಕ್ಲಾಸಿಗೆ ಬಂದವರಾಗಿದ್ದರೆ, ಸರ್ ಅವರ ಕೈಯಲ್ಲಿ ಬರೋಬ್ಬರಿ ತಯಾರಾಗಿ ನಾಲ್ಕನೆಯ ಕ್ಲಾಸ್ ಮುಗಿಸಿ ಐದನೆಯ ಕ್ಲಾಸಿಗೆ ಹೋದ ವಿದ್ಯಾರ್ಥಿಗಳ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ಮಾತಾಡುತ್ತಿದ್ದರು.

'ಆಂವಾ ಒಂದು ಮಾರ್ಕಿನಿಂದ ಫಸ್ಟ್ ರಾಂಕ್ ತಪ್ಪಿಸಿಕೊಂಡ. ಒಂದೇ ಮಾರ್ಕ್. ಅದಕs ಫುಲ್ ಒಂದು ವಾರ ಊಟ ಬಿಟ್ಟಿದ್ದ. ಅವನೇ ಬಸವರಾಜ! ಗೊತ್ತದ ಏನ?' ಅಂದರು ಸರ್. ಆವಾಗ ಏನೋ ಗೊತ್ತಾಯಿತು. ಬಸವರಾಜ ಅಪರಿಚಿತನೇನೂ ಅಲ್ಲ. ಮುಖ ಪರಿಚಯವಿತ್ತು. ಹಲೋ, ಹಾಯ್, ಬಾಯ್ ಮಟ್ಟದ ದುವಾ ಸಲಾಮಿ ಇತ್ತು. ಒಂದೇ ವರ್ಷಕ್ಕೆ ಹಿರಿಯನಾಗಿದ್ದರಿಂದ ಅಲ್ಲಿಲ್ಲಿ ಕಾಣುತ್ತಿದ್ದ. ಆದರೆ ಬಸವರಾಜ ಒಂದನೇ ರಾಂಕ್, ಅದೂ ಯಕಶ್ಚಿತ ನಾಲ್ಕನೆಯ ಕ್ಲಾಸಿನಲ್ಲಿ, ಒಂದು ಮಾರ್ಕಿನಿಂದ ತಪ್ಪಿಸಿಕೊಂಡಿದ್ದಕ್ಕೆ ಒಂದು ವಾರ ಊಟ ಬಿಟ್ಟಿದ್ದ ಅಂತ ಕೇಳಿ ಒಂದು ತರಹದ ಆಶ್ಚರ್ಯವಾಗಿತ್ತು. ಕಾತ್ರಾಳೆ ಸರ್ ಸ್ವಲ್ಪ ಮಸಾಲೆ ಹಾಕಿ ಹೇಳಿರಬಹುದು ಬಿಡಿ. ಆದರೂ ಆ ವಯಸ್ಸಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಊಟ ಬಿಡೋದು ಅಂದರೆ.....ಗ್ರೇಟ್!

ಬಸವರಾಜ ಬಾರಿಸುತ್ತಿದ್ದ. ಮಸ್ತಾಗಿ ಬಾರಿಸುತ್ತಿದ್ದ. ಅಂದರೆ ದೈಹಿಕ ಶಿಕ್ಷಣ (physical education) ತರಗತಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ವ್ಯಾಯಾಮ ಮಾಡುತ್ತಿದ್ದಾಗ ಶಾಲೆಯ ಬ್ಯಾಂಡಿನಲ್ಲಿ ದೊಡ್ಡ ಡ್ರಮ್ ಬಾರಿಸುತ್ತಿದ್ದ. ಒಂದು ವರ್ಷದ ಹಿಂದೆ ನಮ್ಮ ಪ್ರಾಥಮಿಕ ಶಾಲೆ ವ್ಯಾಯಾಮ ಮಾಡುವ ಸ್ಪರ್ಧೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಮೂರನೆಯ ಸ್ಥಾನ ಪಡೆದಿತ್ತು. ಮೊದಲನೆಯ, ಎರಡೆನೆಯ ಸ್ಥಾನ ತಪ್ಪಿಹೋಗಲು ನಾನು ಮತ್ತು ಈ ಬಸವರಾಜನೇ ಕಾರಣ ಅಂತ ಕಾತ್ರಾಳೆ ಸರ್ ಅಭಿಪ್ರಾಯ. ತಿಂಗಳಾನುಗಟ್ಟಲೆ ಸಿಕ್ಕಾಪಟ್ಟೆ ಪ್ರಾಕ್ಟೀಸ್ ಮಾಡಿದ್ದರೂ, ಅದೇನು ಕಾರಣವೋ, ಬ್ಯಾಂಡ್ ಬಾರಿಸುತ್ತಿದ್ದ ಬಸವರಾಜ ಅಂದು ಮಾತ್ರ ಒಮ್ಮೆ ತಾಳ ತಪ್ಪಿ ಬ್ಯಾಂಡ್ ಬಾರಿಸಿಬಿಟ್ಟಿದ್ದ. ಒಳ್ಳೆ ಸರ್ಕಸ್ ಮಂಗಗಳ ಹಾಗೆ ತರಬೇತಾಗಿ, ಬ್ಯಾಂಡಿನ rhythmic ಢಮ್ ಢಮ್ ಶಬ್ದಕ್ಕೆ ವ್ಯಾಯಾಮ ಮಾಡುತ್ತಿದ್ದ ನಾವೆಲ್ಲ ಒಂದು ಕ್ಷಣ ಕಕ್ಕಾಬಿಕ್ಕಿಯಾಗಿ ಸುತ್ತ ಮುತ್ತ ನಿಂತಿದ್ದ ಮಾಸ್ತರು, ಟೀಚರುಗಳನ್ನು ನೋಡಿದ್ದೆವು. ಹಣೆ ಹಣೆ ಚಚ್ಚಿಕೊಂಡಿದ್ದ ಅವರು ಏನೇನೋ ಸನ್ನೆ ಮಾಡಿದ್ದರು. ಹೇಗೋ ಮಾಡಿ ಸುಧಾರಿಸಿಕೊಂಡು ಮೊದಲಿನ rhythm ಗೆ ಬಂದು ವ್ಯಾಯಾಮ ಮುಂದುವರೆಸಿದ್ದೆವು. ಎಲ್ಲೋ ಏನೋ ಪೊರಪಾಟಾಗಿ ಒಮ್ಮೆ ತಾಳ ತಪ್ಪಿ ಬಾರಿಸಿಬಿಟ್ಟಿದ್ದ ಬಸವರಾಜ ಸಹ ಸುಧಾರಿಸಿಕೊಂಡು ಮುಂದೆ ಹುರುಪಿನಿಂದ ಭರ್ಜರಿ ಬಾರಿಸಿದ್ದ. ಢಮ್! ಢಮ್!

ಬಸೂ ಮಾಡಿದ ಲಫಡಾ ಅದಾದರೆ ಮೊದಲ ಸ್ಥಾನ ತಪ್ಪಿ, ಎರಡನೆಯ ಸ್ಥಾನ ಕೂಡ ತಪ್ಪಿಹೋಗುವಂತಹ ಲಫಡಾ ನಾನೇನು ಮಾಡಿದ್ದೆ? ಜಾಸ್ತಿ ಏನಿಲ್ಲ. ನಿಂತು ಮಾಡುವ ವ್ಯಾಯಾಮಗಳು ಮುಗಿದು ಕುಳಿತು ಮಾಡುವ ವ್ಯಾಯಾಮ ಶುರುವಾಗಲಿತ್ತು. ಚಕ್ಕನೆ ನೆಲಕ್ಕೆ ಕುಳಿತು ತಕ್ಷಣ ಶುರುಮಾಡಬೇಕಿತ್ತು. ಬಿಳಿ ಚೊಣ್ಣ (nicker, shorts) ಹಾಕಿದ್ದೆವು. ಆವತ್ತು ನಮ್ಮ ತಲೆಗೆ ಏನೆನ್ನಿಸಿತೋ ಏನೋ. ಮಣ್ಣಿನ ನೆಲದ ಮೇಲೆ ಕೂಡುವ ಮೊದಲು ಚೊಣ್ಣ ಮಣ್ಣಾಗದಿರಲಿ ಅಂತ ಉಧೋ ಅಂತ ಕರ್ಚೀಪ್ ಹಾಸಲು ಮುಂದಾಗಿಬಿಟ್ಟೆ. ಬಾಕಿ ಎಲ್ಲರೂ ಕೂತು, ಬಸವರಾಜನ ಬ್ಯಾಂಡಿನ ತಾಳಕ್ಕೆ ಏಕ್, ದೋ, ತೀನ್, ಚಾರ್ ಅಂತ ವ್ಯಾಯಾಮ ಶುರು ಮಾಡಿದ್ದರು. ನಾನು ಮಾತ್ರ ಪಾಂಗಿತವಾಗಿ ಕರ್ಚೀಪ್ ಹಾಸಿಕೊಳ್ಳುತ್ತಿದ್ದೆ. ನಮ್ಮ ಕ್ಲಾಸ್ ಟೀಚರ್ ಆಗಿದ್ದ ಗ್ರಾಮಪುರೋಹಿತ ಸರ್, 'ಎಲ್ಲಾ ಕೆಲಸ ಕೆಡಿಸಿಬಿಟ್ಟಿಯಲ್ಲೋ ಪುಣ್ಯಾತ್ಮ! ರಾಡಿ ಎಬ್ಬಿಸಿಬಿಟ್ಟಿಯಲ್ಲೋ!' ಅನ್ನುವ ಮಾದರಿಯಲ್ಲಿ, ಒಂದು ತರಹದ ಅವಮಾನದಿಂದ ಮುಖದ ಮೇಲೆ ಕರ್ಚೀಪ್ ಮುಚ್ಚಿಕೊಳ್ಳುತ್ತಿದ್ದರೆ (ಅಲ್ಲಿ ತುರ್ತಾಗಿ ಟಾವೆಲ್ ಇರಲಿಲ್ಲ ಅವರ ಹತ್ತಿರ), ನನ್ನ ಉಪದ್ವ್ಯಾಪಿತನದಿಂದ ಉರಿದುಹೋಗಿದ್ದ ಕಾತ್ರಾಳೆ ಸರ್ ಹಲ್ಲು ಕಡಿಯುತ್ತ, ಚಿತ್ರ ವಿಚಿತ್ರ ಹಾವಭಾವ ತೋರಿಸುತ್ತ, 'ಮುಗಿಸಿ ಬಾ! ನಿನಗ ಐತಿ! ಮಾಡ್ತೇನಿ!' ಅನ್ನುವ ಖತರ್ನಾಕ್ ಲುಕ್ ಕೊಟ್ಟಿದ್ದರು.

ಹೀಗೆ ಬಸವರಾಜ ಒಮ್ಮೆ ತಾಳ ತಪ್ಪಿ ಬಾರಿಸಿದ್ದಕ್ಕೆ ಮತ್ತು ನಾನು ದೊಡ್ಡ ಮನುಷ್ಯನ ಹಾಗೆ ಕರ್ಚೀಪ್ ಹಾಕಿಕೊಂಡು ಕೂಡಲು ಹೋಗಿದ್ದಕ್ಕೆ ತೀರ್ಪುಗಾರರು ಒಂದೆರೆಡು ಅಂಕ ಕಟ್ ಮಾಡಿ ನಮ್ಮ ಶಾಲೆಗೆ ಮೂರನೆಯ ಸ್ಥಾನ ಬಂದಿತ್ತು. ಹಾಗಂತ ಶಿಕ್ಷಕರೆಲ್ಲರ ಅಭಿಪ್ರಾಯ.

ಸ್ಪರ್ಧೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಪ್ರದರ್ಶನ ನೀಡಿ ವಾಪಸ್ ಬಂದೆವು. ಕಾತ್ರಾಳೆ ಸರ್ ತಮ್ಮ ಪ್ರಿಯ ಶಿಷ್ಯ ಬಸವರಾಜನ ತಲೆ ಸವರುತ್ತ, 'ಏನಪಾ ಬಸೂ, ತಪ್ಪು ಮಾಡಿಬಿಟ್ಟಿಯಲ್ಲೋ!? ಎಷ್ಟು ಪ್ರಾಕ್ಟೀಸ್ ಮಾಡಿಸಿದ್ದಿವಿ. ಯಾವಾಗಲೂ ಅಷ್ಟು ಮಸ್ತ ಬಾರಿಸವ ಇವತ್ಯಾಕ ತಪ್ಪು ಮಾಡಿದೆಯೋ!? ಅದೂ ಇವತ್ತು ಫೈನಲ್ ಇತ್ತು. ಛೇ!' ಅಂದು, ಮೊದಲ ಪ್ರೈಜ್ ತಪ್ಪಿಹೋಗಿದ್ದಕ್ಕೆ ಹುಳಿಹುಳಿ ಫೀಲಿಂಗ್ ಮಾಡಿಕೊಂಡರು. ಸರಿಯಾಗಿ ಬೈದು, ತಪ್ಪಾಗಿ ಬ್ಯಾಂಡ್ ಬಾರಿಸಿದವನಿಗೆ ತಮ್ಮ ಶೈಲಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ರಪಾರಪಾ ಬ್ಯಾಂಡ್ ಬಾರಿಸಿಬಿಡೋಣ ಅಂದುಕೊಂಡರೆ ಬಸೂ ಅವರ ಪ್ರೀತಿಯ ಶಿಷ್ಯ. ಹೇಗೆ ಬಾರಿಸಿಯಾರು??

ಆಗ ನಾನು ಎಂಟ್ರಿ ಕೊಟ್ಟೆ. ನನ್ನ ನೋಡಿದವರೇ ಕಾತ್ರಾಳೆ ಸರ್ ರೌದ್ರಾವತಾರ ತಾಳಿ, 'ಏ, ಬೇವಕೂಫ್! ನೀ ಏನು ದೊಡ್ಡ ಗವರ್ನರ್ ಏನಲೇ? ದೊಡ್ಡ ಕರ್ಚೀಪ್ ಹಾಸಿಗೋತ್ತ ಟೈಮ್ ಖೋಟಿ ಮಾಡಿದಿ. ಸುಮ್ಮ ನೆಲದ ಮೇಲೆ ಕೂಡಲಿಕ್ಕೆ ಏನು ಧಾಡಿಯಾಗಿತ್ತು ನಿನಗ? ಎಲ್ಲಾ ನಿನ್ನಿಂದಲೇ ಹಾಳಾತು. ನೋಡು ಫಸ್ಟ್ ಬರಬೇಕಾಗಿದ್ದವರು ಥರ್ಡ್ ಬಂದೇವಿ. ಗವರ್ನರ್ ಗವರ್ನರ್ ಆಗ್ಯಾನ ಮಂಗ್ಯಾನಿಕೆ. ಡೌಲ್! ಡೌಲ್ ನೋಡು!' ಅನ್ನುತ್ತ ನನ್ನ ಕಡೆ ಧಾವಿಸಿ ಬಂದರು. ಅವರಿಗೆ ಬಂದ ಕೋಪಕ್ಕೆ ನನಗೆ ಬಾರಿಸಿಯೇ ಬಿಡುತ್ತಿದ್ದರೇನೋ. ಆದರೆ ನಾನು ನಮ್ಮ ಶಿಕ್ಷಕರಾಗಿದ್ದ ಗ್ರಾಮಪುರೋಹಿತ ಸರ್ ಪಕ್ಕ ಹೊಕ್ಕೊಂಡು ನಿಂತಿದ್ದೆ. ಹಿರಣ್ಯಕಶಿಪುವನ್ನು ನೋಡಿ, ಹೆದರಿ ನರಸಿಂಹನ ಪಕ್ಕ ನಿಂತ ಪ್ರಹಲ್ಲಾದನ ಮಾದರಿಯಲ್ಲಿ. ಮತ್ತೆ ನಾನು ಗ್ರಾಮಪುರೋಹಿತ ಸರ್ ಅವರ ಪಟ್ಟದ ಶಿಷ್ಯ. ಗ್ರಾಮಪುರೋಹಿತ ಸರ್ ಮತ್ತು ಕಾತ್ರಾಳೆ ಸರ್ ಬಹಳ ಕ್ಲೋಸ್ ಫ್ರೆಂಡ್ಸ್. ತಮ್ಮ ಮಿತ್ರ ಗ್ರಾಮಪುರೋಹಿತ ಸರ್ ಮುಖ ನೋಡಿ ಬಿಟ್ಟರೋ ಅಥವಾ ತಮ್ಮ ಥರ್ಡ್ ಡಿಗ್ರಿ ಶಿಕ್ಷೆ ಕೊಟ್ಟರೆ ಆವಾಗ ಡೆಲಿಕೇಟ್ ಡಾರ್ಲಿಂಗ್ ಮಾದರಿಯಲ್ಲಿದ್ದ ನಾನು ತಡೆದುಕೊಳ್ಳಲಾಗದೆ ಸತ್ತು ಗಿತ್ತು ಹೋದರೆ ಕಷ್ಟ ಅಂತ ಬಿಟ್ಟರೋ ಗೊತ್ತಿಲ್ಲ. ಒಟ್ಟಿನಲ್ಲಿ ನನಗೆ ಕೇವಲ ಬೈದು, ಹಲ್ಲು ಕಡಿದು ಅಷ್ಟಕ್ಕೇ ಬಿಟ್ಟರು. ನಮ್ಮ ಪುಣ್ಯ. ಕಾತ್ರಾಳೆ ಸರ್ ಅವರ ಹೊಡೆತ ತಡೆದುಕೊಳ್ಳುವ ದೈಹಿಕ ಶಕ್ತಿ, ಅವಮಾನವನ್ನು ಭರಿಸಲು ಬೇಕಾಗುವ ಮಾನಸಿಕ toughness ಅಂದು ಇರಲ್ಲಿಲ್ಲ. ಇವತ್ತು ಬಿಡಿ. ಫುಲ್ ಕೋಣದ ದಪ್ಪ ಚರ್ಮ ಬೆಳೆಸಿಕೊಂಡು ಆರಾಮಿದ್ದೇವೆ. ಯಾರೇ ಕೂಗಾಡಲಿ, ಯಾರೇ ಹಾರಾಡಲಿ ನಮಗೆ ಏನೂ ಫರಕ್ ಇಲ್ಲ. ಆವತ್ತಿನ ಮಾತು ಬೇರೆ.

ನಂತರ ಬಸವರಾಜ ಸಿಕ್ಕ. ಅವನ ಮುಖವೂ ಮಳ್ಳ ಮುಖವಾಗಿತ್ತು. ಯಾರು ಬೈಯ್ಯದಿದ್ದರೂ ಬ್ಯಾಂಡ್ ಬಾರಿಸುವಾಗ ತಪ್ಪು ಮಾಡಿದ್ದು ಅವನಿಗೇ ಗೊತ್ತಿತ್ತು. ನಾನಂತೂ ಬಿಡಿ. ದೊಡ್ಡ ಲಫಡಾ ಮಾಡಿಕೊಂಡು, ಕಾತ್ರಾಳೆ ಸರ್ ಹತ್ತಿರ ರಪಾರಪಾ ಬೈಸಿಕೊಂಡು, ದೊಡ್ಡ ಕೆಂಪ ಮಂಗ್ಯಾನ ಮುಖ ಮಾಡಿಕೊಂಡು ನಿಂತಿದ್ದೆ. ನಾನೇ ಬಸವರಾಜನ ಹತ್ತಿರ ಹೋಗಿ, 'ಬಸೂ, ನೀನೂ ತಪ್ಪು ಮಾಡಿದಿ. ನಾನೂ ತಪ್ಪು ಮಾಡಿದೆ. ನಾವಿಬ್ಬರು ತಪ್ಪು ಮಾಡದೇ ಇದ್ದಿದ್ದರೆ ನಾವೇ ಫಸ್ಟ್ ಬರಿತ್ತಿದ್ದಿವಿ ನೋಡಪಾ,' ಅಂದೆ. ಸಣ್ಣ ಪ್ರಮಾಣದ ಸ್ವಾಂತನ ಹೇಳಿದೆ. ಬಸೂ ಹೂಂ ಹೂಂ ಅಂತ ಹೂಂಕರಿಸಿದ್ದ ಅಂತ ನೆನಪು.

So ಅಂದು, ಬರೋಬ್ಬರಿ ಮೂವತ್ತನಾಲ್ಕು ವರ್ಷಗಳ ಹಿಂದೆ, ನಾಲ್ಕನೆಯ ತರಗತಿಗೆ ಬಂದಾಗ ಕಾತ್ರಾಳೆ ಸರ್ ಅವರ ಪೆಟ್ ಶಿಷ್ಯ ಬಸವರಾಜನ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ಹೇಳುತ್ತ, 'ಒಂದು ವಾರ ಊಟ ಬಿಟ್ಟಿದ್ದ,' ಅಂದಾಗ ಒಂದು ವರ್ಷದ ಹಿಂದೆ ಆಗಿದ್ದ ಇದೆಲ್ಲ ನೆನಪಾಯಿತು.

ಇಂತಹ ಬಸವರಾಜನಿಗೆ ಬಸೂ ಅಥವಾ ರಾಜಾ ಅಥವಾ ರಾಜ್ಯಾ ಅಂದರೆ ಓಕೆ. ಎಲ್ಲಾದರೂ ಬಸ್ಯಾ ಅಂದಿರೋ, ಅದೂ ಕುಹಕವಾಡಿದಂತೆ ಬಸ್ಯಾ ಅಂದಿರೋ ಎಲ್ಲಿಲ್ಲದ ಕೋಪ ಬಂದುಬಿಡುತ್ತಿತ್ತು. ನಾನು ಹಾಗೆಂದೂ ಅನ್ನಲಿಲ್ಲ ಬಿಡಿ. ಆದರೆ ಯಾವಾಗಲೋ ಒಮ್ಮೆ ಅವರ ಏರಿಯಾದೊಂದಿಗೆ ಕ್ರಿಕೆಟ್ ಮ್ಯಾಚ್ ಇತ್ತು. ನಮ್ಮ ತಂಡ ಸೋಲುತ್ತಿದ್ದಾಗ, ನಮ್ಮ ಕಡೆಯವರ್ಯಾರೋ ಆಗಾಗ, 'ಏ, ಬಸ್ಯಾ! ಏ, ಬಸ್ಯಾ!' ಅಂತ ಕೂಗಿ ಅವನನ್ನು irritate ಮಾಡುತ್ತಿದ್ದುದು ನೆನಪಿದೆ. ಅದೂ ಈ ಬಸವರಾಜನೆಂಬ ಪುಣ್ಯಾತ್ಮ ಬಾಲಿಂಗ್ ಮಾಡಲೆಂದು ಓಡಲು ಶುರುಮಾಡಬೇಕು. ಆಗಲೇ ನಮ್ಮ ಕಡೆಯ ಯಾರೋ ಕಿತಾಪತಿ, 'ಏ, ಬಸ್ಯಾ!' ಅಂತ ಕೂಗಬೇಕು. 'ಯಾಕ್ರಿಲೇ ನಿಮ್ಮೌರಾ! ಮೈಯಾಗಿನ ಸೊಕ್ಕೇನು?' ಅಂತ ತೋಳು ಏರಿಸುತ್ತ, ಮಾಡುತ್ತಿದ್ದ ಬಾಲಿಂಗ್ ಬಿಟ್ಟು ನಮ್ಮ ಕಡೆಯವರನ್ನು ವಿಚಾರಿಸಿಕೊಳ್ಳಲು ಬಂದರೆ ನಮ್ಮ ಕಡೆಯವರು ಫುಲ್ ಗಪ್ ಚುಪ್! ಯಾರಿಗೆ ಅಂತ ರೋಪ್ ಹಾಕುತ್ತಾನೆ? ಏನೋ ಬೈದು ಮತ್ತೆ ಬಾಲಿಂಗ್ ಮಾಡಲು ಹೋದರೆ ಮತ್ತೆ ಬಸ್ಯಾ, ಬಸ್ಯಾ ಅಂತ ರಗಳೆ. ಒಂದೊಂದು ಓವರ್ ಮುಗಿಯಲು ಒಂದು ತಾಸು. ಅಂತೂ ಕೊನೆಗೊಮ್ಮೆ ಮ್ಯಾಚ್ ಮುಗಿದು, ನಾವು ಸೋತು, ತಲೆಗೆ ಎಂಟಾಣೆ ಅಂತ ಇಟ್ಟಿದ್ದ ಶೀಲ್ಡ್ ರೊಕ್ಕ ಅವರಿಗೆ ಕೊಟ್ಟು ಬರುವಷ್ಟರಲ್ಲಿ ನಮ್ಮ ತಲೆ ಹನ್ನೆರಡಾಣೆ ಆಗಿತ್ತು.

ಇದೆಲ್ಲ ಇವತ್ತು ಯಾಕೆ ನೆನಪಾಯಿತು ಅಂದರೆ ಇಂತಹ ಬಸವರಾಜ ನಿನ್ನೆ ತೀರಿಹೋದನಂತೆ. ಪಾಪ. ನಮಗೆ ಒಂದು ವರ್ಷಕ್ಕೆ ಹಿರಿಯ ಅಂದರೆ ಇನ್ನೂ ನಲವತ್ತೈದು ವರ್ಷ ಅಷ್ಟೇ. ಧಾರವಾಡದಲ್ಲಿ ಆರಾಮಿದ್ದ. ಅವನ ತಮ್ಮ ನಮ್ಮ ಕ್ಲಾಸ್ಮೇಟ್. ಅಣ್ಣ, ತಮ್ಮ ಎಲ್ಲಾ ಒಳ್ಳೆ ರೀತಿಯಿಂದ ಸೆಟಲ್ ಆಗಿದ್ದರು. ಆದರೆ ಅನಾರೋಗ್ಯದಿಂದ ಬಸವರಾಜ ಹೋಗಿಬಿಟ್ಟ ಅಂತ ದೋಸ್ತರು ಸುದ್ದಿ ಹೇಳಿದರು. ಕೇಳಿ ಬೇಸರವಾಯಿತು.

'ಸರ್ರಾ, ಆವಾಗ ಊಟ ಬಿಟ್ಟಿದ್ದ ಬಸೂ ಈಗ ಲೋಕವನ್ನೇ ಬಿಟ್ಟುಹೋದ ನೋಡ್ರಿ ಸರ್,' ಅಂತ ಕಾತ್ರಾಳೆ ಸರ್ ಅವರಿಗೆ ಹೇಳೋಣ ಅಂದರೆ ಅವರೇ ದಿವಂಗತರಾಗಿ ಎಂಟು ಹತ್ತು ವರ್ಷಗಳ ಮೇಲಾಗಿಹೋಯಿತು.

ಬಸವರಾಜನ ಆತ್ಮಕ್ಕೆ ಆ ಭಗವಂತ ಶಾಂತಿ ಕರುಣಿಸಲಿ. ಅವನ ಕುಟುಂಬಕ್ಕೆ ದುಃಖ ಭರಿಸುವ ಶಕ್ತಿ ಕೊಡಲಿ. ಬಸವರಾಜನ ತಂದೆ ೧೯೫೦-೬೦ ರ ದಶಕದಲ್ಲಿ ನಮ್ಮ ತಂದೆಯವರ ಸಮಕಾಲೀನರು. ಕೆಲಕಾಲ ಒಂದೇ ಹಾಸ್ಟೆಲ್ಲಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಇದ್ದವರು ಅಂತೆ ಕೇಳಿದ್ದೆ. ಅವರಿಗೆಲ್ಲ ಪುತ್ರಶೋಕ ಸಹಿಸಿಕೊಳ್ಳುವ ಶಕ್ತಿಯನ್ನು ದೇವರು ಕೊಡಲಿ.

Stop complaining...

Note to self

"It is said that a human individual is born crying, lives complaining, and dies disappointed."

For heaven's sake, stop complaining - at least for a day, for an hour, for a minute minute or for a second. Please. It's so draining and debilitating, not only for you but also to the person you are complaining to. There is a big difference between simply stating your concern and complaining. The nagging, defeating attitude that is part of complaining is unbearable.

There is a simple self-help technique to reduce complaining. Take a nice stiff rubber band and wear it around your wrist. Every time you complain, stretch it back nice and far and let it go. The sting from the rubber band will remind you to stop complaining. Do it a few times and next time you feel like complaining, you will automatically look at the rubber band and tell yourself not to complain. It works!

Inspired by: http://www.jongordon.com/thenocomplainingrule.html

(Copied from my Facebook status.)

'ಭಕ್ತ ಸಿರಿಯಾಳ' 'ಭಟ್ಟ ಹಳಿಯಾಳ' ಆಗಿಹೋಗಿದ್ದು!

ನಮ್ಮ ನಾಡಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಸಿಕ್ಕಾಪಟ್ಟೆ ಬಿಸಿಲು. ಧಗೆ. ತಾಪ. ಅದೂ ಉರಿಯುವ ತಾಪ. ಈ ಎಲ್ಲದಕ್ಕೆ ಸರಿಯಾದ ಗೀತೆ!

ಏಕೋ ಈ ಕೋಪ ಶಂಕರ ಶಿವಶಂಕರ
ಏಕೋ ಈ 'ತಾಪ' ಶಂಕರ ಶಿವಶಂಕರ

ಭಕ್ತ ಸಿರಿಯಾಳ - ನಾವಿದನ್ನು ೧೯೮೦ ರಲ್ಲಿ ನೋಡಿದ್ದು.  ಎರಡನೇ ಕ್ಲಾಸ್. ಮರುದಿನ ಶಾಲೆಯ ಗೆಳೆಯನೊಬ್ಬನಿಗೆ, 'ಲೇ, ನಾ ನಿನ್ನೆ ಸಿನೆಮಾ ನೋಡಿದೆ ಲೇ!' ಅಂದೆ.

'ಯಾವ ಸಿನೆಮಾ??' ಅಂದ.

'ಭಕ್ತ ಸಿರಿಯಾಳ' ಅಂದೆ.

ಅವನ ಮುಖದ ಮೇಲೆ ದೊಡ್ಡ ??? ಚಿನ್ಹೆ.

ಇವನಿಗೆ ತಿಳಿಯಲಿಲ್ಲ ಅಂತ ಗೊತ್ತಾಗಿ 'ಭಕ್ತ ಸಿರಿಯಾಳ' ಅಂತ ಮತ್ತೊಮ್ಮೆ ಹೇಳಿದೆ.

ಕಡೆಗೂ ಆ ಪುಣ್ಯಾತ್ಮ ಕೇಳಿದ್ದು ಮಾತ್ರ legendary!

'ಅದೆಂತಾ ಸಿನೆಮಾನೋ?? ಭಟ್ಟ ಹಳಿಯಾಳ!?'

ಶಿವನೇ ಶಂಭುಲಿಂಗ! ನಾವು 'ಭಕ್ತ ಸಿರಿಯಾಳ' ಅಂದಿದ್ದು ಅವನಿಗೆ ಅದೆಂಗೆ 'ಭಟ್ಟ ಹಳಿಯಾಳ' ಅಂತ ಕೇಳಿಸಿತು ಅನ್ನುವದು ಈವರೆಗೂ ತಿಳಿದಿಲ್ಲ.

'ಭಕ್ತ' ಅನ್ನುವದು ಉತ್ತರ ಭಾರತದಲ್ಲಿ 'ಭಗತ್' ಆಗಿಬಿಡುತ್ತದೆ. ಆದರೆ ಭಕ್ತ ಭಟ್ಟ ಆಗುವದು ಮಾತ್ರ ನಮ್ಮ ಧಾರವಾಡದಲ್ಲೇ ಇರಬೇಕು. ಸಿರಿಯಾಳ ಹಳಿಯಾಳವಾಗಿದ್ದು ದೊಡ್ಡ ಮಾತಲ್ಲ ಬಿಡಿ. ಹಳಿಯಾಳ ನಮ್ಮ ಪಕ್ಕದ ಊರೇ.

Shakuntala Devi....the human computer

Today saw some posts mentioning that today is the death anniversary of the 'human computer' Shakuntala Devi. She was aptly called 'human computer' for her extraordinary ability to perform mathematical calculations of any magnitude like a flash, all in her mind.

Brought back some old memories. She had visited Dharwad, my hometown in India, in early eighties (81 or 82). The Dharwad All India Radio station had conducted an interview of her. My father was one of the panelists. I think there was one more gentleman.

My father (US Hegde​) had a particular task assigned to him. That was to come up with a few questions of very large calculations and answers to them so that those questions could be posed to Shakuntala Devi in the radio interview.

In hindsight, it appears to me there was a reason why my father was selected for that part of the interview. At that time, he was probably one of the very few people, if any, in and around our town, who had an advanced scientific calculator. Back then, even scientific calculators had not become common let alone computers. Many people did not even know about computers let alone see one. Scientific calculators were very slowly making their entry but engineering colleges, science faculties still did most of the advanced calculations using slide rulers, logarithm books and other traditional methods. But to come up with some really large calculations to test Shakuntala Devi, they were not going to be adequate.

The then director of AIR, Dharwad (Ms. Nayak or Ms. Murthy) knew that my father had the most advanced scientific calculator, a Texas Instruments product, a gift from his closest friend Dr. Koliwad (Krishna Koliwad​) who worked at TI, USA back then. The same Dr. Koliwad finally retired as an eminent scientist from NASA.

Using his TI scientific calculator and some custom programs, my father prepared a few questions involving large calculations and answers. It was very very important to make doubly sure that answers were correct. Otherwise in some other interviews, the people asking the questions were embarrassed when they themselves had wrong answers. When the answer given by Shakuntala Devi did not match the wrong answers they had gone with, the 'human computer' had mocked them and had challenged them to go back and redo their calculations. :)

I do not remember if the interview was live or recorded. But it was kind fun to hear it and the human computer spit out answers like a machine gun. Hats off to her extraordinary skills.

My father's passion for Texas Instruments calculators still continues. He is probably one of the most advanced power users of their products. He has a large library of custom programs that run on TI products and perform all sorts of calculations. He probably has 8-10 TI scientific calculators, successive generations of the original TI product he got in mid 70s. Latest one probably is TI-89 with graphing capabilities.

TI calculators, especially the programmable ones, are delights to professionals as well as hobbyists. According my father, once you get hooked with TI calculators and learn how to program them you won't like anything else. Casio, HP etc. come nowhere near. Who knows!

Scientific calculators became somewhat common for engineering students from mid 80s. That too some average Casio types. That was all that was needed. Highly specialized TI kind of calculators were not required. By the time we started engineering in 90s calculators were also being slowly phased out as PCs started becoming common.

Oh well,  good old fond memories.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shakuntala_Devi

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Sri Ramakrishna's wisdom about addictions.....

Surendra (a disciple) stood near Sri Ramakrishna. He was in the habit of drinking and often went to excess. This had worried the Master greatly, but he had not asked Surendra to give up drinking altogether. He had said to him: “Look here, Surendra! Whenever you drink wine, offer it beforehand to the Divine Mother. See that your brain doesn’t become clouded and that you don’t reel. The more you think of the Divine Mother, the less you will like to drink. The Mother is the Giver of the bliss of divine inebriation. Realizing Her, one feels a natural bliss."

-- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna by Swami Nikhilananda

Sane and sagely advice to people who ask how to give up or manage addictions (alcoholism, tobacco, workaholism, anger, hatred and so on). Without divine intervention and blessings, nobody can give up addictions. Addictions are said to be results of deep rooted 'samskaras' (modern genetics) and overcoming them is a gradual process. Some things can help speed it up like the advice given above. Even in Gita, the Lord says ,'make everything an offering to me whether it is a flower, water or whatever...' Same logic. Say cheers to the Lord and then consume the alcohol :) This is also the rationale behind one of the points of 'Alcoholic anonymous' where the members admit that they are powerless over alcohol and need help from a "higher power".

Best advice: Drink to celebrate and not to get intoxicated. That too only if you must drink. If not, celebrate with water. That works too.

Be more spiritual and less 'spirit'ual.

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Greatefulness

When you look back – as I do – at various stages of your life, whether professional or otherwise, you will invariably find that there is someone who has quite gratuitously, without expecting anything at all in return, helped you along the way. I have had the experience on several occasions, and can name all the people who have, without much active effort, helped me along life’s path. It is as if you are climbing a steep hill; you slip on some cobblestones, and someone (out of the blue) offers you a hand. And you take it.

-- Before Memory Fades: An Autobiography by Fali S. Nariman

I have been very fortunate in this aspect. Helpful people show up from nowhere and help me out even without asking. I remember all of them but need to make it a point let them know how grateful I am to all those who helped me along the way. Many times such good Samaritans were total strangers. I believe it is just the inherent goodness in humans that made them help me. There is no way I can pay them back and even if I try they won't need the help. As somebody said, best way to return goodwill is to pass it along to others. All of us can try to do that.

FYI:  Fali S. Nariman is an eminent Indian lawyer. He is credited to be the one and the only one civil servant (i.e. government employee) to have resigned from his government service in protest when Indira Gandhi imposed illegal emergency in 1975. He was the assistant attorney general of India back then. Can you believe it, only one civil servant had the guts and mortal strength to resign in protest? Hats off. In private, Indira Gandhi reportedly made fun of how quiet the so called intelligentsia was and how timidly the whole country put up with emergency without much protest. She was apparently very surprised as she had not expected such an easy going!

Part of this post copied from my Facebook status.

1000 non-Kashmiri students leave NIT, Srinagar campus

This is related to - http://www.hindustantimes.com/india/we-feel-suffocated-1000-nit-srinagar-students-leave-campus/story-fyeI6EjdkDMPZl7rShOjBM.html

Back in my days (1990s), two of my seniors from Dharwad were studying here which was then known as REC, Srinagar. Things got really bad due to Pak supported insurgency during that time and the college was closed for really long time. After waiting for 1-1.5 years for college to reopen and academics to resume, all the students from Karnataka studying at NIT, Srinagar were given seats in KREC, Surthkal. Since the syllabus was different and due to other administrative reasons, they had to spend additional time to complete their engineering course. So 1-1.5 years that got wasted due to militancy and plus additional time at KREC, I think it took 5-7 years for them to complete their degrees. But, it all ended well. At least my seniors appear to be doing well. I don't know who the CM of Karnataka was back then (either Virendra Patil or Bangarappa or Moily) but he must be thanked for responding to the pleas of the Karnataka students studying at REC, Srinagar and accommodating them in KREC. Not a small thing considering how hard it is to make and push such one-of-a-kind decision through the lethargic bureaucracy.

Moral: Don't join colleges where things are expected to flare up and cause disruption to academics. You want to join colleges where things go super smooth and finish degree in 4 years or less (yes possible to finish in < 4 years at BITS, Pilani if you are super smart. Know a few people who finished in 3.5 years. A great achievement.)

During our time 3 RECs were a no no. Srinagar, Kurukshetra (due to Khalistan militancy. In 1989, a few students had been killed in a random shooting at Patiala) and Silchar, Assam (due to BODO, ULFA related violence). Now I think Kurukshetra and Silchar are fine.

(Copied from my Facebook status)

Paradoxes of duality....

This is based on the information at this link - http://isha.sadhguru.org/blog/lifestyle/the-dangers-of-thinking-positive/

"So there is no need to be positive. There is no need to be negative, either. Just be aware. If you are aware, you will perceive a situation just the way it is. When you perceive a situation the way it is, you can act to the best of your intelligence and capability. It is as simple as that. Don’t get into prejudiced action."

Very timely post. When events such as the recent firecracker accident that killed 100+ in Kerala or Brussels bombing or Paris attacks take place, many people say / post things like, 'where is God? If there is God, why does He allow such BAD things to happen? Why there is so much EVIL in this world?' and so on.

It may seem contrary to commonsense and somewhat heartless also but the problem is with labeling events as good or bad, evil or good, success or failure, moral or immoral and so on. They are all relative. People may challenge you as 'what good can you really see in the firecracker accident or Paris attack or something similar?' Of course many of us can not see any 'good' because of our preconceived notions about the absolute good or bad. Just for the sake of argument one can say there indeed is good here also. Hospitals get more patients and business, drug companies get more business, cops get overtime pay, arms manufactures make roaring business and so on. However perverse and unappealing they may seem one can definitely find some positives from the perspective of others. What is bad for you is good for them.

Best quote I came up with was - if we find our realities alike, it is because we are similarly deluded. (Delusion = labeling things and events)

Labeling leads duality and once in that realm you have to accept both. There can not be only good or only bad. I think it was Swami Vivekanada who said - goodness grows linearly while evil grows geometrically but still at the end good triumphs over the evil. (I think he came up with this just to explain away the things and not really meant it as it does not make sense when you acquire more knowledge of 'real' type. When there is no REAL good or bad, where is the question of one increasing wrt the other??)

Why is it hard to stop labeling everything as good or bad or similar other opposites? Primordial ignorance or avidya or maya. Advaita philosophy deals with such conundrums very nicely while accepting pair of opposites (good, bad) as legitimate in the realm of duality which certainly is not the REAL reality but only a small part. (Not an expert on Advaita. So, can't provide intricate details.)

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Self help tip to manage marketing e-mails

Many of us get a large number of e-mails on our personal e-mail addresses. Many such e-mails are not spams but sent by some marketers who somehow got our e-mail address. Built-in spam filters don't catch them as they are not spam e-mails. Nevertheless they clutter the inbox.

One way to deal with this problem is to write a simple rule to filter these e-mails. The simple rule can look for the word 'unsubscribe' in the body of the e-mail and store such e-mails in a separate folder named, say, 'unsubscribe'. Once in a while you an scan the e-mails in that folder and hit unsubscribe for each such e-mail and you will not get anymore such e-mails from that particular marketer.

Of course, you can check every e-mail as it comes and then immediately 'unsubscribe' but I prefer to process a few at a time in a batch.

Found this tip on the internet and put it into practice by writing a simple rule in Gmail and results are excellent. After following these steps for a few months now, I hardly get any marketing e-mails these days. May be one or two per week. Marketers are required by law to respect and act on your unsubscribe requests.

If you are concerned that you may miss certain important e-mails by filtering all the e-mails with 'unsubscribe' in the message body, you can customize the rule by specifying the words to look for and override. For example, e-mail alerts from google also contain 'unsubscribe' but I do not want them to go to my 'unsubscribe' folder. So my rule looks for e-mails containing 'unsubscribe' and not containing 'google' in the message body. So google alert e-mails continue to come to my inbox while the other junk goes to the 'unsubscribe' folder for later processing.

This is working great for me. My inbox now gets only the e-mails that I want to see. All e-mails with 'unsubscribe' option are stored away for later processing.

In the initial days, it is good to check the 'unsubscribe' folder once a day so that you won't miss some important e-mails. Once the initial volume comes under control, you can check once in 2-3 days.

In Gmail, you can do this by going to Settings --> Filters & blocked addresses --> Create a new filter. Wizard like interface lets you create filters quickly.

Some screenshots of the rule to get you going.

Hope this tip may be useful for some people.

(When it comes to self help tips, I like Gandhiji's approach. When Gandhiji was the editor of the periodical 'Harijan', he used to invite self help tips from his readers. But he had one condition. He asked them, 'Please send me only those self help tips that you have personally tried over a period of time and found them really useful. Don't send me self help tips based on mere hearsay.' When we give and take self help tips if everyone followed Gandhiji's advice there will only be a handful of really useful self help tips. Most of the self help tips are mere hearsay that are passed from generation to generation without having been verified by anyone. I will make sure when I give self help tips like this I strictly meet Gandhiji's requirements. :) )Copied from my Facebook status.

National Institutional Ranking Framework, Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India

This is related to - National Institutional Ranking Framework

GOI’s MHRD has published the rankings of Indian educational institutions in four categories namely Universities, Engineering, Management and Pharmacy. It is probably the first time a GOI agency has attempted to rank the institutions across the nation. Normally the magazines like Outlook, Data Quest etc., publish the annual rankings in a special issue. Now the government has come out with the rankings as well. This is a good move.

I went to check the ranking of my Alma-mater BITS, Pilani. It was missing from the engineering list. That was surprising as it is consistently ranked in the top ten in the ranking surveys conducted by other agencies. Later found that it is listed in the universities section and ranked #9. It sort of made sense as BITS,Pilani, although very well known as a top engineering college, it offers education in lot more subjects than only in the engineering subjects. It offers UG, PG, PhD level education in pharmacy, pure sciences, humanities, English, Finance, MBA, interdisciplinary studies like Sci & Tech development, Engineering Tech, General Studies and also in Museum Studies. Probably the only one or one of the very few universities offering education in museum studies. BITS, Pilani also has four campuses (Pilani, Hyd, Goa, Duabi). It also offers excellent education and an array of degrees via distance education. So with all these offerings and specialties, it is not totally inappropriate that it was considered among universities and ranked there and not among engineering colleges. But, as it happened to me, most people will find something really missing when they check out the ranking list of engineering institutes and not find BITS, Pilani.

Glad to find BITS, Pilani ranked #9 among ALL universities in India. Congrats! Well deserved! Great accomplishment for a 100% private institution! 100% meritocracy! No reservation quotas! It’s the only private institution in the top 10.

It’s quite interesting to go through the ranking lists. Somewhat different from the rankings published by other sources. Some top business schools like Bajaj are missing. Some surprises - Vellore Institute of Technology, at #13, is ranked higher than most of the NITs. Looks it is a new institution which has done well in recent years. SJCE, Mysore is missing from the engineering list. But figures in the universities list at rank 35. NIE, Mysore is at #96.

Since it was voluntary,  it looks like some colleges and universities did not complete the application process and missed out on an opportunity to be ranked. Or they did not make into the top 100.

One thing that is disappointing is none of the colleges and universities from Dharwad, my hometown and a leading center of education, figure in any ranking list. I don’t know whether they did not participate or did not make the cut. Either way, very disappointing that none of the institutions from Dharwad, the town renowned for education, appear in any of the lists. For that matter no institution from North Karnataka (NK) is in top 100, except a Pharmacy college from Gulbarga. This is sad despite NK having some really good engineering colleges, MBA colleges and universities. Hope some of them will make into the top 100 in the future.

https://www.nirfindia.org/Ranking (scroll down to see the rankings)

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Court Dismisses Rape Charges Against Seer

Based on the news item at - http://goo.gl/UgyCA3

The judge has thrown out the rape case filed against Sri Raghaveshwara Bharati Swamiji. The judge did not even find it worthy of ordering a trial.

What intrigues me is, if a judge, just one person, could go through the charge-sheet as submitted and find it not worthy of a trial, how come the state machinery with a large legal cell lead by the attorney general recommended that such a weak charge-sheet be submitted in the first place?? Do they really like to lose, get humiliated, waste public money and bring down the overall conviction rate? Do two similarly trained legal entities (the judge and AG's office) think so drastically different?

Normally if the state is not convinced that it has a viable case, it submits B (or some other) report to the court stating that their investigation did not result in anything meaningful to charge the accused. This happens all the time because many times complaints are simply false or frivolous. Many times they are filed with malicious intentions. Cops can very easily find that out provided there is no interference and if some other higher officer does not force them to make a case when there is none. Filing B report is very routine. The state does not want to fight on behalf of the public any more than absolutely needed. That's common everywhere. There is only a limited money that any government can use to fight for its public. So a sensible government wants to make sure that if it is fighting on behalf of a citizen, the case better be credible and the complainant better be a genuinely impacted person seeking justice.

By not filing charge-sheets that get thrown out like this, the state/police achieve two things. 1) They are not humiliated like this. A case going for trial and then someone losing or winning is one thing. But a case getting thrown out like this is a hard slap on the state machinery. It is like saying, 'you did not do your job right!' 2) Most important thing is it saves taxpayer's money. When the state takes up the case of the complainant it is like the society putting some faith in the case of the complainant and going after the accused using taxpayer's money. Before doing so the state should be reasonably sure that the case is worth pursuing. If not it amounts to wasting taxpayers' money.

Right from the beginning this case appeared very flimsy even to a layman. Very flimsy at least in the way it was laid out. Highly unbelievable. The complainant saying that she was raped for '169' times, that she was raped under the influence of drugs mixed in the sacred special prasad etc. These all seemed highly implausible. The complainant herself along with her husband was accused of blackmailing by the religious institution. She later accused the head of the institution of raping her. Blackmailing charge on the complainant came first. The rape charge came later. It seemed like the rape charge was to counter the blackmailing charge. That added another strange twist. Was the rape charge made to counter the blackmailing charge? Blackmailing case is still under investigation.

There were news reports that even after a through investigation, the CID police and its legal cell were not very interested to file the charge-sheet. Why? Was it because they were not convinced by the veracity of the case? If so, would it have made sense to wrap up the case then itself and save taxpayer's money rather than only to see the case thrown out now?

Why submit the cases which get thrown out like this? Same thing happened with IPL spot fixing case. That was also summarily thrown out by the Delhi court saying it did not have anything substantial to order a trial.

Media can / must report on the progress of the case. That is fine. But how come the complainant was allowed to make her case before the media and thus influence the case? Why was not a gag order issued against her from discussing the case details which was still sub judice? Leave aside the court issuing a gag order, did it not occur to media that by giving so much coverage to the complainant they were unduly influencing the case? That defies all commonsense. If this were in a county (like USA) with the jury system, complainant or anyone related to complainant talking to media would have made them ineligible to seek justice for wrong behavior. There has to be some semblance of seriousness when you go and seek justice. Media trial seriously affects the jury trial. Must be stopped. Media also has to act responsibly by just reporting the progress of the case and not conducting media trial.

Anyway, one round of legal process is over. What's next? The state prosecutor said they will appeal against the current ruling in the high court. Not sure if it was his personal on-the-spur-of-the-momet opinion or if the state is serious about it. Do they seriously believe this case is worth wasting additional taxpayer's money? Only they know.

There is one more rape case pending against the same Swamiji. That has been filed by another complainant. That case is still in the investigation phase. We will have to wait and see if the state files charge-sheet in that case or takes a different action.

I believe the complainant is free to seek justice via civil litigation. That happens all the time. For example, famous basketball player OJ Simpson murdering his wife in 1995. He was acquitted in the criminal trial as not-guilty. But, he was found guilty in the civil trial and had to pay damages. The civil trial is directly between the complainant and the accused. There the complainant has to spend his/her own money. Taxpayer's money is not spent and if spent it is limited.

PS: If commenting on this post, please limit to legal aspects of the case and limit to the facts. Not interested in the personal views about the pontiff or speculations.

(Copied from my Facebook status.)