The Bell

May 31st 2012. After 31 years I was rendered jobless on this day.

Today it's June 4th 2012. I woke up in my bed. The sun was rising in the east. The singing birds were as busy as ever in the morning. The CMS college stood as romantically as ever on the Annan Kunnu (translated as  Squirrel Mount). Nothing has changed. I remained idle in my bed. In nearly two decades ,for the first time, I felt no urgency to rise up. Did my eyes wet? I don't know. At 8 in the morning apart from the morning walkers, one could find only Physics PG students in the CMS college campus. Today they wont be there, I thought.  I shuddered at the thought of the best time of the day for learning  Physics going waste. I remained in my bed with my eyes closed (and welled up too??). This was when I realized that one can see with ones eyes closed. I think I was transcended into the past. Did I fall into a slumber and was I dreaming? I saw the faces of most of my PG students.Did someone sob?? Did someone look wanting to tell me something?? Did someone say "Thank You"?? Did the odd one snub?? Did I hear someone humming.... "Kabhi alvida na kehena...."??

The faces and expressions turned obscure and it was all music and dance suddenly. Yes, the annual tours. I found myself in the Mysore palace with Oomman, Sakthi and Mon (Mohan). In one flash the scene shifts to Kodaikanal. I joined Durga,Joji and Jerry in drumming on the old imperial table of Kenley House which produced the "Nadam" of a Mridangam with the loudness of a "Chenta". Those beats still reverberate in my ears. But I am crest fallen. It is 8 years now......since Durga left for his heavenly abode. The "why " or "how" of it......we are none to question. But I still have a drop of tear for this highly talented boy.

At Kenley House the feasting was like never before with Christina bringing dozens bottles of variety pickles. (Her father Mr George Isaac, an Oxford M.A in Economics owned the prestigious "PALAT" brand of pickles, jams and soft drinks). The talent nights, camp fires, boating in Kodai lake, the jovial Mohan Kurien Sar, homely stay at Alex Achayan's Danny Guest House in Kodai, Songs with Rajagopal and Mathew C Mathew where shruthi and thalam were the only casualties!!!!......    I had turned a vegetarian in 1993. During the 2003 PG tour at Hotel Ambadi in Thekkady I decided to break my lent. I prepared myself mentally to consume some meat and even ordered some chicken dish. Seeing this chicken preparation  beside me this stupid girl called Meera screamed "Sir you eat this?" I couldn't and till this day I remain vegetarian !! The most musical of all the tours was the 1994 one with Durga reciting Hamsadwani, Hindolam and all that and Christina and Liby on the" Top Of  The World" with "Carpenters". All these things of the past.....?? I shudder. Yet it was a cool, sweet thing with these scenes parading through my mind.

From the world of music, dance and ecstasy I am brought to reality by the unmusical 8 o'clock siren of the municipality.

8 o'clock!!! The PG class room in the Woods behind the main Physics block will remain closed on this (early) morning for the first time in so many  years. Shall I christen this room a PG Woodhouse???!!! No class room in any college I have seen is like this one. Simple yet elegant, standing there in the woods like a small canoe in a green ocean.....with the symphony created by a variety of birds always there in the background....

I always considered this room the perfect setting for learning something. All that......

 I sit there in my bed not knowing what to do. Now there are no faces before me. No scenes parading before my closed eyes. Have I gone numb? Or, am I in a meditation?? Or, am I waiting??? Ending my wait, came the 10 o'clock bell from CMS college, sliding down the Squirrel Mount with an unusual ferocity. The Bell that was not for me.......

Green's Function turned Red !!!

My dear Harikrishnan,

Did you frown?? I never called you Harikrishnan. But then , today on May 4th, 2012, suddenly everything is different. On this day my PG classes started early in the morning. "So what, you been doing that for decades now. I remember our classes at 8 a.m". I hear you saying this. Wait man, Today is May 4th 2012.  I started discussing partial differential equations in the morning and at about 11.30 I wrote on the board- "Green's Functions" and suddenly I saw Red. Yes , I realized that when I walk out of the class at 1 p.m that will be for the last time from that class which I loved so dearly. You too had loved that class in the midst of "lovely, dark and deep woods".  I remember your father once coming to that class to meet me. And his purpose... to thank me for your success in GATE 2002 !!! I felt humbled before that great man. I don't remember most of the things he spoke that day. But two things still linger in my mind. These two things I have narrated to 10 batches of my PG students after you left. On that day while teaching in our Santhiniketan type of class I felt somebody standing at the door. It was your father. But I could not move for a while.  He was there with folded hands in the "Namaskaram" posture. Before and after that day many people including students and their parents have said namaskaram to me. (In fact this is something any teacher gets in abundance). But this posture was the perfect one. Perfect One?? Yes , when you pick up something from nature, there is only one perfect representation for it.  Not everybody realizes that. Not everybody even knows that. But to the extraordinary, it comes so naturally. I was reminded of a few statements by Dr Padma Subramanyam, the Bharatha Natyam exponent. Sometime during the nineties I had attended a workshop cum demonstration by her. Then she said the following, " Whenever I have a doubt regarding a posture, I go to the temples where these are sculptured. These form our library". So Hari, the representation of a feeling or an emotion in nature is unique !! Your father knew it. Then he told me the following. After Harikrishnan's BSc results were out I started from Kollam buying application forms from colleges offering MSc Physics course. (You guys make the lives of parents miserable. Renjan also believes  that  one's intellectual faculties are in inverse proportion to one's performance in conventional examinations - and at CMI he worked hard to keep his scores as low as possible !! He goes to the extent of saying that the students shall learn only and never be examined !! Fortunately for me he is yet to say that there shall be no teachers). Your father continued. " Sir, reaching CMS college I felt like being in a very romantic ambience. Seeing these old structures and in particular these poetic pillars I decided that Harikrishnan will study here only and nowhere else !!!" Oh God, here is a man telling me what I always had in my mind and what I dared not to speak lest I be branded a lunatic for yet another reason !!! Did I hear a Sreeragam flowing out of the woods.....Endoro Mahanubhavulu......  Yes Man you have to go a long way to reach your father.

A father like him does just one thing. Inspires. The onus to get inspired lies with the son. And you are a "faithful" son indeed !!!

I had started off writing about my last day in CMS but it drifted to unplanned terrains. Yet I am happy that a random drift took such a beautiful course.

And Hari, in my case I am trying to be a "faithful father" !!! Yes, I am hugely inspired by Renjan. These days I learn a lot of Physics from him. I wish I were at least ten years younger so that I could have passed on to my students whatever I learn from him. I have a long long way to go and yet never reach him !!! This makes my joy unbounded when I retire. God has put him on the track I had always dreamt for him.

With love,

Your Rajan Saar.

I forgot to write this:

How it was curtains on May 4th. It was yet another 8 to 1 class on 4th May. Yes, yet another when it started at 8 a.m but not when it ended. At 1 p.m I stopped and was planning my steps out. I thought I will talk to the students for a while, cool down and retire with grace. As I was about to talk something Harsha (she was my student for her BSc too) uttered this without any "provocation" - Sir, this is your last class??

Oh God, now I should leave lest my feigned valour fail me, I told myself and left the class in a haste.

Left the class??

Yes, I left the class room taking with me  in my mind the facsimile of 31 batches of MSc students. Of course not in chronological order. 

Yes, there was some sort of an order. Some pictures were very bright. Some have started fading.

Three very bright pictures were those of Sakthi (Toyo University, Japan), Mon (Mohan) (James Cook University, Australia), and Oomman (Pensylvania State University, USA).                                                Tell you one more? Yes of course Meera (PDF at JNCASR, Bangalore).

                                                                                                                                                       Pradeep, Priyamvada, Thulasidharan, Sreedevi, Nampoothiri, Reji, Sherine...... oh no, I stop...lest I should end up writing all the names.....each was so dear to me.....dearer than what they would have ever thought to be......I always knew that my love for you all was very unrealistic.....but then for each person what is real is what one thinks to be real.....

Christina, should I tell these people that you are there in my heart as brilliantly as ever???

A JUBILEE GRAPPLE

AWESOME TROIKA

Sakthi Kumar told me this story some twenty five years ago. Sakthi was one of the TRIO of Oomman,  Mohan and Sakthi folded into one. They were my MSc students of the '91 batch. Undoubtedly the three have the most prominent place in my heart. Before telling you this story I tell you about this AWESOME TROIKA.

The three were very special in many ways. While here in CMS college they were the last to leave the campus. But man, you guessed it wrong. You might have guessed 5 o'clock or 6? No. Even by nine they might be still be lying idle under one of those numerous trees or in the soft cool moonlight. So, 10 o'clock was a reasonable time to leave..........of course on days they left!

The boys cannot be blamed. I myself had often been mesmerized by the beauty of this campus in the moonlight. Recently my son Renjan exclaimed about its beauty and said that this is the most beautiful campus he has seen anywhere in India In the night the campus is simply irresistible .Standing in the moonlight trickling through the woods of the campus, I often feel divine swaras falling from a height from Usthad Amjad Ali Khan's Sarod; falling on those thick canopies and percolating down filling the whole place with aesthetic, surreal, dreamlike joy.. Standing in the open in front of the Great Hall at times past mid-night I have experienced Hari Prasad Chaurasaia's Bamboo pouring out some divine fluid that flowed all over with no viscosity. These feelings are so romantic that one has to experience it to believe. But then, I think not every one might get it. You or your soul has to be in perfect resonance with that of the campus...its music...its charm....its spirituality....its mission.....

The trio sincerely believed that they were the emotional custodians of CMS college. They had a lot to look after! Now, during their MSc days Prof Mohan Kurien announced his candidature for the Zilla Panchayat election. The pack of three started door to door campaigning on their own. One fine after noon. They knocked at the doors of a palatial residence and out came a stunningly beautiful girl. GULP!! The one who was leading the pack of three at that time fell head over heels and even as he was falling managed to say this much,..."We are students MSc college of CMS course"........ Tongue of a slip! Despite their sincere efforts Prof Mohan Kurien won the election by a thumping margin!

Now even after their MSc they did not leave the CMS any time soon. The umbilical cord was so strong to sever. Eventually Oomman went to IIT Delhi (Now at Houston University, US). Mohan to Delhi University (Now at James Cook University, Australia). Sakthi took his Doctoral degree working at the Geroge Sudarshan Centre CMS college (Now at Toyo University, Japan). It was their common character to indulge in everything in CMS college as if it was their own personal matter and work for it with all sincerity and put in all hard work unmindful of any reward. God Almighty has richly rewarded them.

Returning to the promised story........

The boys used to leave the MSc lab only very late. One day, late from the lab the three were lazily walking through the campus. About 8 pm. They were near the Askwith hostel. From far they saw two persons grappling on the ground. I have told you, the three will take charge of any situation in CMS college. They ran up to the scene and found that they were two old men in their seventies. They rose from the ground, stood blushed with drooping heads. In a low tone one of them tried to explain the situation. Both were old students of CMS and were inmates of the Askwith hostel. 50 years ago on the same date on the same spot they had fought a ferocious battle and had threatened to destroy each other. But later they became good friends in life. This day they were commemorating the GOLDEN JUBILEE of the fight. The two men in their sweet seventies never thought that someone would come there at that time to disturb their Jubilee celebrations.

If the two are alive now, they must be in their sweet ninetees! WISH THEM A CENTURY GRAPPLE WITH NONE TO DISTURB. The trio that spoiled their Jubilee engagement is busy elsewhere, in fact at three corners of the Globe. 

BEYOND PERFECT TEN !!!

1976 Montreal Olympics is remembered as the Olympics of the 14 year old Romanian girl Nadia Comaneci. In gymnastics she created history by scoring the first ever Perfect Ten. The electronic score boards were not equipped to display a score of 10.0 . Thus the first ever perfect 10 was displayed as 1.00 !!!
That was long back. Come 2010. No gymnastics. No Nadia. Some down to the earth students at the George Sudarshan Centre (GSC), CMS college produced some marvelous results at the GATE 2010. Hold your breath. 9 students from GSC got qualified in the GATE 10 in Physics. Stupendous by any yard stick. But I was not excited. This time I had dreamt of a perfect 10. I had even designed a poster in my mind: "PERFECT 10 @ GATE 10".
Now a little statistics. ( History I shall elaborate in another post). Starting from2002 till 2010, 43 students qualified in GATE from GSC. 15 students were selected for UGC-lectureship and UGC-JRF. Of the 43, Prashanth Narayanan had a percentile score of 99.36 and an All India Rank (AIR) of 22. That was in 2005. And last year Rajany was among the top 25 of the UGC-JRF winners. Currently our students are there in the top academic and scientific centres in India like IIT, IISc, BARC, DRDO and IGCAR. Six of our former students are in various European Universities. (Surprisingly these victories are not celebrated in the college)

Coming back. With only 9 successes, the caption in my mind, ie, PERFECT 10 @ GATE 10" remained in my mind as a soft copy. But suddenly three girls from the final year BSc class sprang a surprise. They qualified in some national level examinations. Veena passed the JAM and joined IIT Madras. Roshni joined Pondicherry Central University and Devi got selected for the PG programme of the University of Hyderabad.

A Teacher's Dilemma: So from one short of a Perfect 10, it is now 9+3 = 12.
What shall I call it?

A "DAZZLING DOZEN"??

HOWZAAT ???

Prof E.C.G Sudarshan in CMS College-Part III

The Acharya finds no reason
Come 2007. Prof. Sudarshan was in CMS college once again. After 1986 he had visited the college on quite a few occasions, but this one turned out to be very special for me. Prof Sudarshan and Prof Bhamathi reached Kottyam on a harthal day. I was appointed the "teacher-in-waiting" by the then principal Prof Korulla Isaac. We received the honourable guests at the Kottayam railway station and drove to hotel Pearl Regency with police escort. Before leaving, Prof Sudarshan enquired about my family. He was greatly impressed when I told him that my son Renjan was an undergraduate student at the Chennai Mathematical Institute (CMI). The next day I had the good fortune of driving them to CMS college in my car. Prof Sudarshan gave a lecture and he was felicitated by the college community on his being awarded the Padmavibhushan, a national honour. They spent the whole day in the college. The next day morning I went to hotel Pearl Regency to officially see them off. They were going to Kumarakom and were to stay at the "Golden Waters" resort. Just when the taxi was about to start, Prof Sudarshan waved to me.I went near him and he said "I want to talk to your son. He can meet me at Kumarokam in the evening". I stood breathless. Just when I was thinking of freedom from the brunt of being with this greatest Physicist over the globe, I am asked to be with him in the evening too!
Renjan refused to come and I had a tough time convincing him. Finally by seven in the evening Renjan, Anna (my daughter) and I were in Prof Sudarshan's room in "Golden Waters". Prof Sudarshan said to Anna "Anna you come here and sit between me any wife. You and my wife look very pretty". Then he turned to Renjan and said "Let us settle down to business. Tell me what did you find most interesting while learning Physics?" I had a mild shock hearing this. I wondered what this first year undergraduate student will say. But he said he could enjoy Quantum Mechanics more once he read Group Theory. For the next half an hour Prof Sudarshan talked on Quantum Mechanics and Group Theory, all looking at Renjan. I was still wondering why we were invited at all. Just when we were to take leave of them the Professor proclaimed "you will have dinner with us". I felt a terrible shock. I was sure that food will not go down my throat in this great man's presence. But I was left with no option but to oblige.
The restaurant was in the midst of a garden beside a beautiful pond. Very close to where we were seated was a goose crying aloud. Yes, it was crying. I could feel it. There was scare and grief in its eyes. Its sound had a heart breaking tone. Then Prof Sudarshan told me that a python had devoured its gander in the evening and since then the goose was crying like that.I was astonished by Prof Sudarshan's pain and sympathy for the goose. He kept talking about the hapless goose.
The dinner was served and finally when the desserts came, Prof Bhamathi told Prof Sudarshan, a chronic diabetic, to share the ice cream with Anna. After having a detailed look at the ice cream, without raising his head, he murmured like a child " There isn't much to be shared"!
Now I summoned all the courage at my command and asked the Professor "Sir, it was a great honour for us when you asked us to be with you in the evening. Then you further honoured us by inviting us for dinner with you. How come Sir"?
Pat came the answer:
"For certain things there are no reasons"I was dumb-founded. Who can question the Acharya?

Prof E.C.G Sudarshan in CMS College - Part II

ACHARYA DEVO BHAVA
Prof Sudarshan delivered the 1986 Benjamin Bailey lectures in the library hall. A few minutes into the speech I sat bewildered. Oh God! a human being can talk like this? The speech was a profusion of philosophic, esoteric thoughts supplemented lavishly with quotes from the scriptures, vedas and the world of literature. I lost track of the speech but was still keenly listening and enjoying the beauty of the language and the air of mysticism he had created. The lecture was over in an hour and I felt like floating in the thin air.
Now the question-answer session followed with Mr George Issac as the moderator. With a masters in economics from Oxford he once addressed himself as the only intellectual in Kottayam! (Arundhathi Roy is his niece). Mr Issac invited the audience to ask questions. The first man to come forward, questioned some of the remarks by Prof Sudarshan and even alleged blasphemy. He accused Prof Sudarshan of speaking against God. Prof Sudarshan answered very politely and was unusually humble. Probably emboldened by the polite answer another man came forward and made some scathing attacks for which too Prof Sudarshan gave gracious answers. When a third man walked up to ask a question I told myself: "If it is a question on similar lines then the man is walking to the gallows". The third man had hardly completed. Prof Sudarshan grabed the microphone (I could see the fire in his eyes) and made the following demolishing statement: "I am a Physicist. I am the ACHARYA of Physics. I cannot think and talk like ordinary people".
There weren't anymore questions and you could hear a pin drop.
I slowly stood up , bowed my head, folded my arms and could hear some inner voice telling me:
"Acharya Devo Bhava".

Prof E.C.G Sudarshan in CMS College - Part I

CHEMISTRY(Main), PHYSICS, MATHEMATICS(Subsidiary)

Prof. E.C.G Sudarshan is a name known all over the world with immense reverence. But we at the CMS college, Kottayam are a little extravagant in our pride and arrogance when we pronounce that name. Yes, we have every right to be so while talking about our "Old Boy". Prof Sudarshan and the former President of India Dr K.R Narayanan are the most illustrious sons of CMS College. Every time in CMS, Prof Sudarshan is very eloquent on how two teachers here shaped his future. He never tires talking about his Physics teacher Prof. George M Thomas and his Mathematics teacher Prof Eapen. A third teacher whom he remembers so fondly well is Prof C.I Raman Nair, his Malayalam teacher.
I had the good fortune of seeing Prof Sudarshan way back in 1986 when he was in CMS to deliver that year's Benjamin Bailey lecture. On the day before the lecture he and the then Principal Prof P.T Abraham were walking from the principal's bungalow, an imposing edifice, to the office and I was just following them, always keeping a safe distance. As they approached the "Great Hall" (that is the great name of the college auditorium) some boys and girls were sitting in the lawns chatting leisurely. In all probability a romantic interlude between boring classes. When the gentle Casuarina (Choolamaram in Malayalam) breeze with its accompanying soft music spreads over the idyllic campus, one gets transcended into a very sublime world of beautiful thoughts and images and often gets divorced from reality. But those students still had the wisdom to stand up in respect for this great Physicist. Seeing this Prof Sudarshan walked up to the group and asked:
"What do you learn here?"
The students in their innocence, but without any doubt answered:
"BSc . Chemistry(Main), Physics and Mathematics(Subsidiary)"
The Professor asked a very serious question in a lighter vein:
"How can Physics and Mathematics be the subsidiary of Chemistry?"
I am very sure that the students might have wondered: "Why Not??"

BULLET PROOF

Recently Hari telephoned me. His voice told me that he was on cloud nine. "Naturally", I said unto myself.He has every right to be there. The previous day he had brilliantly cleared his last hurdle to his PhD from the prestigious Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore. Yes, he had a wonderful open defence appreciated by all who attended. He has just touched the tape after the last lap of a grueling seven years at the IISc. But I had a pleasant shock when I learned of the reason for his ecstacy. He took a blissful retreat from anything academic and was on his way to Pondicherry from Chennai with some of his friends. "So what", did you ask? He along with his friends was riding a Bullet-350 and he was on the "Top of the world", a la "Carpenters". He told me that riding the magic machine at 60km/h through the ticklish drizzle was the greatest experience of his life. I felt envy for his youth and his bullet ride. For a moment I forgot that Hari was still talking to me. Fortunately for me he was too busy to keep talking to me! Probably he was in a hurry to reach the 'fluidity' of Pondicherry!! I had a bullet ride down the memory lane. In 1983 when I decided to buy an Enfield, I was told by M/S Marickar Motors at Kottayam that I can book one and may get delivery after six months; a neat four less than the "expectation value". I talked to my friend George Varghese alias George Kutty (herein after called GK). He is usually one with a problem for any solution. But this time he came up with a solution to my problem. He suggested going to Tamilnadu and riding back on the back of a brand new bullet. We went to Thirunelveli, bought one for Rs 15000 and started our ride back. GK proclaimed that I being a novice at bullet shall be the pillion rider. Nobody says no to him. We started our ride one evening and reached Mavelikara on the early hours of 18 August 1983. On reaching home GK proclaimed that he was going to his place Kumbanad on the bullet and that he shall come back after a week. And a hapless Mr. I remained a meek spectator to GK riding off with the "For Registration" sticker on the back number plate. I wanted to say no, but then nobody says no to the mercurial GK. He kept his word and came back after a week of majestic ride through the streets of Kumbanad. And there after...... for 17 long years.......the four stroke Thermodynamics at it's romantic splendour remained mine and mine alone. In 17 years I rode it over 3 lakh kilometers and just once at 100km/h on the NH-47. Those days, whenever it was raining, I used to go out on my bullet with no rain coat and helmet. With the speedometer reading constant at 40 and with Kishore Kumar numbers like "Deevana Leke Aaya hai" or "Yeh Shaam Mastani" on my lips, it used to be a soft sweet sail over the road rather than a ride. The four stroke beats resonating with the falling rain drops used to be an experience beyond description.
It was during the mid eighties that the Indian roads were flooded with 100 cc buikes manufactured in India with Japanese collaboration. I remember the Hero Honda ad "Fill it. Shut it. Forget it". Yes, 80 km/litre was unbelievable those days. They offered very fast pick up, easy riding and a host of other new features. Then Enfield India came with a small ad "Toys are for children. Men need bullet". True indeed. That's why men like Hari ride only Bullet even 25 years after the first 100 cc onslaught. Many say that we Bullet community is prejudiced. Yes indeed, we are. But then, this is no ordinary prejudice. It is RIDE AND PREJUDICE !!! Proof of the Bullet is in the riding. No rhetoric this.














N

love all

Dear all,
I start it at love all and hope to remain at love all!!!
Because this is no competition to score over somebody.
It was Hari who suggested writing blogs. When Pradheesh and Renjan encouraged, I thought I should. I think I will post one very soon.
So, it is love all for now and for ever.