From Nowhere , To …………

………… it’s exactly 2 A.M. of 29^th of September 2008…. Its usual time for me to be awake till... internet is always a problem in my room at NIT Calicut, where I am doing my M.Tech currently. I was fortunate enough to connect, and what my messenger showed is a pool of around 40 unread mails, most of them from the Madhumalancha Group. I remembered I requested to join the group recently and eventually was approved, but I forgot to check back if it was.

What is relevant is the thrill that is passing in my spine for the very idea of attending the School Day, the mails I went through added further fuel, and to quench the fire and get some sleep, I thought of penning down my flow of thoughts. I am leaving for Bodhan at 7 A.M today and a good night sleep is quite essential. But then every mail I read is sending a series of current to brain. The very idea that I am going to see all those who moulded me, into what I am today, sitting in a hostel room of one of the most prestigious institution in India. And what flashes in mind is the other hundreds like me, at various places covering the whole globe, and some in highest post of ones career , and some other’s who would be moulding another hundreds following the lines of the ones who designed them.

Yet the thrill continues. I still can feel a shivering from with in for the very idea of attending ……… chain of reactions has already started… a flow of thoughts ,rather a chaos ,I should say is building up. Memories fighting among themselves to get typed first. I can feel the heat. It’s in the thrill that’s passing in my spine.

I am going to see all those who moulded me into what I am today. The best of the GURU ‘S one can get. THE BEST mind it. The math teachers, who said “understand the problem; the solution will come flying all by itself”.

The English teachers, but for them, we would not be what we are. They gave us the tongue, not just to present ourselves in front of the world, but to WIN over it. BUT FOR THEM. this day would not have been a reality for me

The science teachers who taught the basics that govern our existence altogether and the laws that the whole world revolves around in the best way possible. A foundation was laid. The strongest. and here we are, standing high, erect, and confident.

The language teachers ,who made learning a fun, keeping every class as jolly as possible.

The thrill…………

I never appreciate the way our education system works on. Less of creative thinking and more of getting things BYHEART. From INTER onward I was told to know things, never to understand them. What was important was to grab as many marks as possible. (Unfortunately even at post-graduate level, people count the marks that a person gets and not the essence he gathered.). The only way out is to create a photocopy of the whole question and answers from previous year papers, that are available in the form of bound volumes (JNTU Bibles as they call in engineering these days) , least bothering of the concept hidden in what is being read.

I wondered why my teachers at school did not have previous paper sets prepared with them. I wondered why they took time in preparing the question paper again and again, year after year. Anyway they knew that they have to do it again, and they could have very well given the same paper, every year, then why, WHY?

………………. The VISION……….. yes, they had the vision. They knew they were moulding leaders, and not followers. they knew spoon feeding will only make us dumb heads. They knew, leaders need creative thinking and incomparable courage to fight an unforeseen disaster. They knew, even a sample question would break one step of our way to the heights of success. They knew, they were laying foundations, and a foundation needs to be flawless for the building to be strong. And knowing this ,they would spend hundreds of hours in preparing the assessment papers, correcting the scripts and then giving feedbacks (of course in the form of beating, but “No pain No gain”)

I worked with an engineering college for quite some time and I came to know how hard it is to prepare a genuine paper, and further correct the answer sheets , particularly the scripts of average(like me) and below average students (like I once was), who ,in trying not to loose marks , create their own theories and laws under the name of Ohm, Faraday , Ampere and Lyapnov. And was afraid to take the same subject again and teach the same thing ,and prepare a paper much similar and again correct another such set.(it’s a reason I quit the job ) Yet they corrected the scripts patiently , mostly precisely. Giving no chance ever to go back for re-correction (some times it does happen).

Now the feedback part….ya the beating for imperfection.(make note of the word please) No one would have questioned them for the poor performance of any of the student. Many of the parents were either uneducated or were least bothered. Yet , they never gave up in making the student realize and improve. Not a single occasion did I see anyone of the teachers , uninterested or less concerned about anyone .( but for some of us who were very stubborn ,I can be counted one among such). Now I feel ,the punishment was for not being perfect and not for failing to succeed. Do revive the previous statement , am 90% sure you would have simple read it as just another statement. But it means “a world lot “to ME( an average student, who had had a very nice and scheduled dose ).

Yet the thrill …….

Am afraid I’ll end up writing a book if I continue any further. Still the fight in my brain is on (my memories boss, they are still many ). Its 3.45 A.M. I’ll try to gather some sleep ,calming the thoughts.(which is highly impossible).