To you , my mother!

Maa!! It’s really an arduous task to write for you as many poets, writers and artists have already described you in all the possible ways that some well framed sentences originated directly from my heart would be a plagiarism. But I would write! For you have taught me to see the hardness as opportune, for, decades ago, my these words had the origin from you.

When the infancy giggled in me, you had told that long long ago ruled a Mighty King and he rescued the superfluously beautiful queen from the black demons. I wondered at the turtle’s cleverness for winning the race and laughed at the rabbit. I had jumped with joy when that witty topiwala got his caps back from the imitative fool monkeys. I mocked the Lion for jumping into the well to attack his shadow. Poor girl! , I cried when that dirty wolf had eaten your grandma. Every nerve of mine had danced with those rhymes. All the curious, comical questions were being answered.

When I crossed that tiny milestone and stepped into the world of minds, I knew that there was a man named Ghandhi who led the world of his times, struggled and fought to save the humanity in his own terms. My infancy hadn’t let me question and contradict your views. World was beautiful then! When electricity went off and I screamed restlessly, I learnt that how a little boy Abrahim, a farmer’s son, lived and studied in the shine of streetlights and got the way to president of United States. When night rested on our sky, lying beside you under the roof of countless tiny stars and alone yet powerful moon, I appreciated the reality that a sole individual can light the world. When the sun rose to the sky, you were there standing to tell me,” Rise above your horizons until the darkness fades away!”

When puberty nourished, I was been gradually cognized with the pragmatic world in your shadow. I was traumatised for the humanity had changed its definition through time. I had started reckoning the masks on the faces.   As I moved to make my own space, you warned, “Beware! Mankind is not so Kind. You may be mocked, cheated, faked, devastated, looted, raped or even killed by them. Move through the evil groom and shape yours and people’s destiny.” I pretended to be fearless and walked in. Maturity was about to come.

I grew up! My sentiments and intellections had taken their shape. The gap, within us, was now visible to me. Still! You cared and taught. And I negated! As I read through the worldly book and played the game, you yelled, “ Don’t chase the world  and rest to contend, follow your course, follow your dreams!” How the majestic youngness could hear you then?. I looked through my window and heard the sounds of people outside and adjoined my ways with them. It looked a wonderful journey!

When my ways separated again, moving ahead alone, I paused to look back once. You were there looking at me, smiling, in the darkness where no one bothered to be visible, your aura filled the lightness and said, “See! My child, The Sun is rising”.  As I know, when I’ll move to the further stages to find my ways, When the world will show its back and laugh at me, you’ll pour your motherhood and renovate me, I cherished and walked ahead, fearless!!

Kolkata : The city of Joy!

Indeed! The air is flowing outside inheriting in it the dampness as the nature perspires out the sweat. And I amused at my influenced senses for making the music out of it, carving out a lovely portrait on my psychic canvas, igniting the writer in me and reasoning the events around me. Yes! The air has all of them- Music, Art, Literature, and ... The Science!

 No, I don’t belong to here. But I destined to be here for the time is enough for me to grasp the essence, to observe what I always wanted to, in this city of joy! As I walk down the alleys, I see the elevated abodes standing proudly, manifesting the enthralling creativity. I see people, mostly short heighted and dark skinned, smiling , singing ,tattling, working  , smoking  and  walking to their terminus.  From Somewhere distant, beyond the sight, as I recollect the scenes around me, a voice came...

“ Jodi tor dak shune keu na ashe tobe ekla cholo re,

Tobe ekla cholo, ekla cholo , ekla cholo, ekla cholo re....”

If they answer not to thy call walk alone , walk alone!

Scene 1 University of Calcutta, Ballygunge science college...

This place where I was going to expend most of my two months, was one of the prangans (Campuses) of Calcutta university, called Taraknath Siksha Prangan. They say it’s the university established in 1857, the first institution in south Asia as a multidisciplinary and secular western style university. “Time is powerful”, I thought as the sight of that 8 floor building cramped my neck. As I entered, all I could see and hear was ‘ bengali’.  Posters, neatly drawn sketches of some renowned individuals, quotes, advertisements,were all poured with Bengali. People were all forcing their throat out to many long Bengali sentences in a breath.  Sometimes,I fear the strangeness, sometimes it annoys me and then there are times when I love it, I was different here.

After I met the professor and had the gratification with work, my first day enthusiastic mind quickly got focused to the work, until the inquisitive part of it couldn’t resist for long and I had to bow to it. I headed to the uppermost floor and here was a canteen. For me, Canteen ,which is actually a hall with a cornered  tiny stall  and benches all around, is the best part of this old withered building. I could see almost one fourth part of the city through those big open windows. It drives me to realise the miserable part we as a human contribute to this world. Nonetheless, my eyes can never deny the beauty of the scene outside.

I could feel the trembling floor underneath due to the loud piercing voices of students, arguing (or may be  discussing ) with each other. It seemed a parliament house to me where no one wanted to refrain oneself from speaking and was trying their highest pitch of voice ever in support of their arguments. Supporting this imagination were the numerous posters, with political slogans and citations, hiding all the walls. Of course! They were all in Bengali, Hindi was an alienated language here. Something I was able to read was SFI or TMC. Politics! They have it in their blood. It had its roots here and produced their buds and branches here. The present one is only an old dried out, unproductive tree all over the country and no one bothers to water it. Anyways! I loved the part that some very close friends can be seen here of different parties. At least in the college, this beautiful relationship is being protected from politics, I thought.

 Now let’s have some food talk!

Even though I had always known that they eat rice, bhat and fish in lunch and dinner both, I couldn’t stop myself amazing at their digestion system. It’s impossible at least to me eating 1 kg of rice with eggs at a time. A tough time was waiting for me!  With all the strange names like luuchi  , veg chow    , ...falling onto my ears,  I picked one of them I liked and said confidently, “ I want Lucchi and also chai!.  He, with an obscured face, asked,” Chaaa? 

“ ohh! Only four rupees! Okay!’  Kolkata is really the cheapest place in India, I amazed.  

He asked again irritatingly , “ chaa??” and blabbered something in Bengali. After a few seconds of exchanging blank expressions with him , I realised that they call ‘chaa’ to ‘chaai’. I was the newborn baby in this world who is not even familiar with the accent of those strangers. I strained my eyes to see the people around letting the smoke out of their lungs, even the girls proudly boasting the action. “This state is probably the largest consumer of tea and cigarette” I concluded.

Rushing back to work, I had the fortune to have an eye contact with those comforting determined eyes in a portrait and I smiled and chuckled and hummed,

“Jodi alo na dhore ,ore ore o..ovaga, alo na dhore..

Jodi jhor badole adhar rate, duar dey ghore..

Tobe bojranole...Apon buker pajor jaliye niye,

Ekla jolo re,....”

“ if they do not hold up the light when the night is troubled with storm,

O thou unlucky one,

With the thunder flame of pain ignite thy own heart,

And let it burn alone!”

The Dynamic Inner Me!!!

The far flung Rays of the setting sun were depicting the singularity of the phenomenon. “Perhaps the only Event loath to ever changing dynamism of the world”, I thought.  This Evening was not at all different from the previous ones. What had changed was the Ambience around me, Sentiments that were of my own as of late, Impulses which had driven me up to here and indeed The Inner me. I was alike everyone drifting by the flux of life.

On the course, I was being captive by the moments pertinent to time so much that stories kept taking form somewhere back in my nous. The stories that stroke the chords of present and portrayed it in its own notion. What if I was merely an observer? The course should have been the different one then.

Life is a dream, a Star Gazing indeed.  And I was mistaken perceiving its realness. Like a protagonist in the Tale, I thoroughly embraced its Fictiveness as Realism and acted what was scripted by others. Time moved, I conceived. Nay, time was still, it was me who proceeded here. Like an explorer who left his shack to find the treasures of the world and in the voyage he nullified the real treasures of life for which he had to forgo the virtual treasures he had acquired till then. I was being persuaded. Persuaded by the lullabies of world which induced me for the nap, not for long though!

And now that I am awake I can sense the every mo I respire, is steadily blending with the Past, opening doors for the Time to come. I can feel the changing me. Now I’ll be sitting behind and quietly observe forthwith the good and the bad fortunes life will discover and maneuver the protagonist, theMe, in the Self Scripted Tale.

The sun has not yet set wholly and I have started looking as far as I can, beyond the horizon. Continually attenuating rays are still pretending the dynamism of Time.

But I’ll see the Truth, The Dynamic Me!!!!

A Worthy Flight..

Thou, the wave of reverie in my head,

Take me back in the yard of infancy.

Vistas of those streets have faded away,

Where devils, kings and fairies play.

Where cognizance questions the existence of world,

And incognizant of its human norms.

When flurries had done the treaty with years

To meet on the ripening of fruits ,life bears.

Perhaps ,those kites might still be flying in the sky,

I had allowed them to blend with untrodden heights.

Perhaps ,they have loosen the course , I fear,

 Waiting for me to come up with the nerve to steer.

Take me back in  the yard of infancy, ‘o’ reverie,

For I could play that game again ,

To knit the fabric of dreams so tight

and begin the journey of life in a worthy flight.

And begin the journey of life in a worthy flight.

THE SLEEPING BEAUTY OF MIND

Having insight of the excursion hereafter

I must be geared up for the ruthless storm,

As the slumbering diva is longing to be awake,

To dwell in a terpsichore and amusing warm.

Dawn would drizzle to persuade I know,

Waves would steer the course to sway,

Merely to heed the stillness of the dark

But,intended aurora does not stay.

And how far will she unfold the nightmare ,

In the distant palace amid heavy woods?

I can’t await for the demon to come

And satiate her domain with brutal falsehoods.

 Thou , the diety of immortal divineness

Emanated the irresistible impulse of this voyage.

Also devote thine devotee, the asset of valor

To furbish the covering and halt the ravage.

So that I can adjoin her to the radiant sight,

And take her out to the tiny hole.

But ahead of it, let her visualize the divine

And acknowledge Me, ‘Her Soul’.

LET THE TRUE STAKEHOLDERS DECIDE!!!

With the MHRD, coming up with a common entrance test and new ranking procedure for undergraduate engineering courses , a wind of conflict have once again entangled the students, professors ,directors and senates of IITs ,Ministry and the concerned ones after two and a half years of considering the issue at first. IIT council is claiming that the intention behind the decision is to lessen the stress on the students because of multiple exams. Should a student not be asked about it first?

In fact it’ll even worsen the situation, as the student will have the pressure of performing in all the three; board exams, JEE main and JEE advanced to secure a rank which should be competitive enough for entering in any prestigious college of the country. As per the present system, if a brilliant student could not perform well in JEE by chance, he or she can get admission in NITs or in any reputable centrally funded institutes by fetching good marks in AIEEE or other engineering entrance exams.

Secondly, the members of councils with the opinion that the importance of the schooling system has to be revived in larger public interest by giving due weightage to the performance of students in Class XII Board examinations and at the same time maintain the credibility and integrity of admissions to higher institutes of technical education, should know that both conditions cannot be achieved simultaneously unless the standard of the school education in India is meliorated through  sustained efforts..

The most stunning facts which impelled me to write this article are:  

•   Mr Kapil Sibbal and many more from the council, the ‘self-proclaimed stakeholders’ of improving education quality in colleges, consider inclusion of board marks in screening to be a solution for putting a halt on large number of coaching centres emerging everywhere.
•   According to them, It’ll also make students more concerned towards board exams, which is essential for a good academic curriculum.
•   The statement by IIT kgp director, prof. Damodar Acharya that he is agree with the proposal of council as students with better Board performance will now get a chance to get into IITs. These students shall perform better than students who have cracked the JEE with poorer school performance. ( how?)
•   HRD Minister Kapil Sibbal claimed on TV that he is proud that the proposals have been passed without dissent.

How the people living with their own pre-assumptions can decide the fate of lakhs of aspirants and prestigious technological institutes?                                                                                      

Considering the first three points I must say that any student who has taken coaching for JEE at an average coaching institute will easily tell the story. People mulling over the number of students clearing JEE through coaching should be aware of the fact that coaching institutes not only sharpen the concepts which are essential to attempt JEE questions but also provide a competitive environment which makes students capable of passing any engineering entrance exam. They also measure the performance of students by conducting periodic evaluation tests and through these tests students also get to know their mistakes. Some of them even provide IITian and or NITian teachers  who can guide the students in a best possible way.

On the other hand, good marks can easily be attained in board exams, simply by mugging some repetitive questions coming in the exams over the years or learning an artistic way of writing the answer. Neither the teachers in the school give stress on the conceptual learning nor the books provided by council of board exams are so advanced which enable students to cope with the JEE standard. I have a friend of mine who had topped the state in board and couldn’t even get a seat in an average college in my hometown through AIEEE.

The inclusion of 40% weightage of boards in the screening process too will be a malpractice because of huge amount of disparity in state board exams which cannot be covered even after the normalisation. For eg. Some areas within the state are known for rampant copying and some are not. Practical exams are travesty in some schools of the states. Obviously, these schools will become crowded with the students, for getting marks, as high as possible leading to further deterioration of the education system.

 As far as coaching centres are concerned even after giving weightage to the board marks, students will approach the coaching centres which can provide them coaching for both in boards as well as in JEE main and JEE advanced. At last, the ones who will pay the cost, will be the students preparing hard for JEE and the IITs who have been maintaining their status for a very long time through a credible and efficient system of producing brilliant minds of the country. So instead of lowering the standard of institutes, Mr. Sibbal should shift his concern to the wretched condition of government schools of India which is the root cause of the issue.

Coming to the last point, perhaps 5 out of the 7 IIT senates contending for maintaining their status quo, IIT Kanpur having determined to go with its own exam, IIT- Delhi Alumni Association’s decision to file a PIL petition against the new JEE and All India IIT faculty federation virtually rejecting the common test, don’t count as dissent for the Union minister. He can be a good lawyer and can boast his decision with the support of 5 directors of IITs out of the 7 but the authenticity lies in letting the true stakeholders, who are students, alumni, senate, faculty and future aspirants, take the decision through mutual agreement.