Celebration of Untouchable Scientific Spirit

This happened at IIT Kanpur. On 15 June 2017 at about 8.30 am IST.

I stay on campus at SBRA (Single Bed Room Apartment) provided for married scholars of Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur (IIT Kanpur). The campus was all set to receive the President of India, and dignitaries like PT Usha, MS swaminathan, Mriganka Sur, and Ajay K Sood. The spirit of scientific scholarship was tied to trees in the form of led bulbs and illumination chains. Humble proclamations scientific knowledge was proclaimed on large posters on all walls. We printed huge flux boards to celebrate invention of new eco-friendly initiatives in our laboratories. We were about to consecrate knowledge, education and scientific spirit. Hundreds of youngsters would be awarded their degrees the following days. They will move to different parts of the world holding the tricolour, singing glory to the nation and its high intellectual range and amplitude.

Meanwhile, I needed to drink some water- a petty human need. You see, we all have such needs irrespective of our status, knowledge, number of degrees and amount of power wielded on others. So I went to collect some 'purified' drinking water at the SBRA. There are only two taps for drinking water for SBRA residents. People from around SBRA also collect water from these taps- including maids, construction workers, vendors and passers by. 

I was walking to the drinking water taps. There are two taps that give 'purified' drinking water. I saw that a worker from the construction site of Girls Hostel-2 was collecting water from one of the taps. He must have been working. There is dust on him. The other tap was idle. There was another woman-saree clad-waiting a few feet away from the taps, with an 'I-don't-care' attitude on her face. I wondered, why she was waiting while one tap was free. Since the other tap was free, I started collecting water from that one. I thought, may be she wants water from that specific tap! Some people have very specific choices. This pipe. ONLY. I was mistaken. It became clear when the labourer left, carrying his filled bottles and specks of dust back to the construction site.

When he left, she came up, carefully opened the tap with the tips of her fingers, collected some water in an empty steel mug, and began washing the tap thoroughly. When the ablution was over, she began filling her big Milton cooling flask! I hope you understood what the disease was! I pitied the saree-clad woman with an 'I-don't-care' expression. She needs education, I thought. What is wrong with her? What is so polluted about the construction worker? After all, she is collecting water from the tap installed by people like him. And she stays in a building constructed by people like him! Baah! And the campus was filled with ribbons (many of them saffron in colour) and posters and flux boards talking about scientific spirit and state-of-the-art inventions!

This is not the end of the story. I was thinking it was the 'labourer' status that made her wash the polluted pipes. I was mistaken. AGAIN! When I left with my bottles, I turned and saw that she was washing the tap I used! Wha...! Yes. She washed the tap I used, carefully opening the tap with the tips of her fingers. Then she began collecting water from that tap too! Oh no, I was mistaken. She was not particular about collecting water from the other tap! So, I am also untouchable. I too pollute what I touch (I am glad that water could remove the pollution caused by untouchables though). Good. I turned and walked feeling happy that I became one with the construction worker. After all, I am also an untouchable black South Indian!

Meanwhile, somewhere in the universe, so-called gods, angels, deities, holy spirits and their minions were being burned on stakes erected by people who worshiped their images in their holy buildings on Earth!

പിതൃവന്ധ്യം

മകളേ, നീ വരുമെന്നോര്‍ത്ത്
ഞാന്‍ കാത്തിരുന്ന വഴിയമ്പലങ്ങളില്‍
ദേവതകള്‍ പുലരിയായുദിക്കുന്നു ദിവസവും.
നിന്‍റെ കൈപിടിച്ചുലാത്താന്‍ കൊതിച്ച വഴികളില്‍
സ്വപ്നമായ് പിതൃത്വം ചുവന്നസ്തമിക്കുന്നു.
     എന്‍റെ കാത്തിരിപ്പാണ് നിന്‍റെ പുലരികള്‍,
     എന്‍റെ വാത്സല്യം നിന്‍റെ സന്ധ്യകളും.
     നീയെന്നിലൂടെയാണ് മകളാകുന്നതും
     ഞാന്‍ നിന്നിലൂടെയാണച്ഛനാകുന്നതും.
വരിക, ഒരിക്കലെങ്കിലും നീ നിന്‍റെ റാന്തലുമേന്തി,
ഈ സന്ധ്യയിലെന്‍റെയിരുട്ടിലൊരു മിന്നാമിന്നിയായ്.

What is true in every Advertisement you see

Is there anything true in the advertisements you see? Doubtful, isn't it? Before you make up your judgement, let me tell you something. There is truth in all sensible advertisements. But only part of it is true. I will show you how.

Most advertisements have three parts. The first part will be true. The second part will be false. The third part will be nonsense.

Example 1:
Part 1: Ad tells you that brushing your teeth is a good habit- truth.
Part 2: Ad tells you brand X has magical powers to attract handsome boys/beautiful girls- false.
Part 3: As shows you that brand X attracts six-pack-men or half naked shapely beautiful girls- nonsense.

Example 2:
Part 1: Ad tells you that wearing a deodorant reduces body order- truth.
Part 2: Ad shows you that brand Y has magical powers to seduce opposite gender- false and nonsense.
Part 3: Ad shows you that someone wearing brand Y deo attracts dozens of people like a magnet- NONSENSE.

Example 3:
Part 1: Ad tells you that a clean toilet is healthy, that it keeps the family's health ok- truth.
Part 2: Ad tells you that brand Z has magical powers to chase spooky germs and funny bacteria from under your WC, and is superior to every other toilet cleaner in the world- false.
Part 3: Ad shows you that brand Z chases spooky germs and funny bacteria from the WC- funny and nonsense.

When we watch an advertisement, we need to lock our intelligence away in a locker. We can't be told everyday that a fairness cream can make an Indian look like a European, or an ordinary person like superman! Aren't the ads indirectly telling you that you are not beautiful, handsome, intelligent, smart and strong? Yes. the ads are telling you on your face that you are a fool. They also tell you that using their product will make you someone else, who you should aspire to become. What farce! Who are these companies to tell me what I should become? What right do they have to tell me on my face that I am not good? No self-respecting individual can stand an ad that tells you that you are not good!

But ads do not tell you that directly. They will make it look like they are saying something sweet, good, for your improvement. But whatever they say, they are bluffing. Otherwise, what does a cricketer know about the quality of batteries? What does an actress know about the quality of a shoe brand? What does a singer know about the benefits of a mobile service provider? They take money, and parrot a script. And we believe! Yes. We are fools. Advertisement industry knows that we are fools. That we can be manipulated. That we can be easily trapped.

What I want to tell you is that we need to be cautious. Tomorrow when an ad tells you that your neighbour is a terrorist, and you need to 'kill your neigbour' with 'ABC' brand ax, you should not rush to buy that ax. The advertiser wants you to listen only to the 'ABC' part, and make you do the 'kill your neighbour' part of the ad. How clever! How ideological! How propagandist!

Next time you listen to an ad, listen to what it tells you. Think if there is truth in it. Never be tricked into doing what a stranger wants you to do.

The man who influenced me the most

Here. This is the man who influenced me the most.

A man of letters who loved to read everyday.
A man who made it a point to celebrate every occasion at home.
A man who loved his wife so much.
A man who made sure that his children had the education they desired.
A man who sent his children to music classes.
A man who put his reputation at risk for his family.
A man who turned poor for the love of his firstborn.
A man who sat silently in a police station for the happiness of his daughter.
A man who paid every bit he owed not by begging, but by selling everything he had.
A man who loved to travel, but stayed put for he had to feed his family.
A man who took the lead in computerizing the organization he worked for.
A man who secretly wrote and read poetry.
A man who romanced, loved and cared always.

My hero. My ideal. My father.

O. M. Mathews (09.09.1948 - 31.12.2013)

What you lose by deactivating your Facebook account?

I was under the impression that Facebook was an integral part of my life. I used to log in to the account every morning before I began my work, and had a peep at it every now and then. I thought it was important to see what goes on around me in terms of people and events. Facebook was the window.

But on a foggy day in 2016, I sat at home without being connected to internet, and reflected about what I gain by being on Facebook. It was then that I realised that I don't gain anything, but lose my time. Without being aware of it, I spend a lot of time on Facebook looking at images, videos and events in strangers' lives. Some inspiration may come my way. But in the end, I don't gain anything from being on those pages.

The artificial feeling of community that Facebook creates is just a facade that hides the business behind it. There is pretense and cheating in it. It was on Facebook that a real-life friend of mine asked me to help him with some money to pay his University fees. Me being of the same predicament, I helped on condition that he returns the amount later. Later when time came, this real-life friend deleted his Facebook account, destroyed his SIM card (phone number), and vanished into thin air. You could do that on Facebook, because there is no genuineness on it. It is a space artificially created for business in the name of friendship. In which world can you 'friend' someone and later 'unfriend' the same person with one click? Its all a farce, it is!

I don't mind others using it. I have decided to take leave. If my life demands my presence on Facebook, I can do it again (sigh)!

So, the first day in the year 2017, I called it quits. Let me see what happens. Let me see if the sky falls down on my head. In short, what do you lose by deactivating your Facebook account? Nothing. The answer is Nothing. In its stead, you gain time. Time for genuine face to face friendship, genuine relationships, and smiles that emanate from real lips, to real eyes. You get time for life. Time to live and love.

By the Riverside

His name was Kim. Eternally going around with a fishing stick, a roll of string, hooks and bate, Kim was destined to be himself. He was determined too. For him, to live was to fish. Kim woke up to fish. He slept to wake up the next morning to fish by the riverside.

One day, while fishing in the woods, he saw a girl. He knew it had to be her. The girl for her. His girl. She was fishing too. Alone in the woods. Jumping into the river to swim, throwing her fishing line far, catching big ones with ease. He knew she was his.

But he had no courage to talk to her. He hid himself in the woods by the riverside, just to watch her. He moved from one tree to another to see her better. Then she left with her catch. He sat around for some more time and left with a swollen heart. He couldn't forget her. He was fallen. Fallen flat for her. So flat, he forgot his fishing stick in the woods.

Then he made inquiries to find out about her. Not many knew. But the fishing gears store guy knew this much- She used to come around to fish. Was from far. Came there just to fish by the riverside.

What he heard made him happy. She loved fishing. He smiled to himself. But he didn't get to meet her again. She remained a dream within his heart. A patch of hope and love. An oasis.

He wrote an advertisement in the local newspaper for his missing fishing-stick. Hoping to get it back. May be someone found it in the woods.

Then, one afternoon, he found the fishing girl at the door of his cabin by the riverside. She held the newspaper advertisement in her left hand, and the fishing stick in her right. The same old beaten fishing stick. His fishing stick. And a smile- a knowing smile.

*****

This is the story of my parents. A mother who knew she was being watched while in the woods, and a father who knew that the girl in the woods was his. The story of my parents. A story by the riverside.

ജീവിതം നമ്മെ പഠിപ്പിക്കുന്നത്

ഒമ്പത് വര്‍ഷങ്ങള്‍ക്കുമുമ്പ് ഒരു മെയ് മാസം.

അമ്മ ഉമ്മറത്ത് കസേരയില്‍ രണ്ടുകാലും കയറ്റിവച്ച് കൈകള്‍ മടിയില്‍ വച്ച് കൂപ്പി എന്തോ ചിന്തിച്ചിരിക്കുകയായിരുന്നു. യാത്ര പറയാന്‍ പോയതാണ് ഞാന്‍. പഠനം കഴിഞ്ഞ്, അടുത്ത കോഴ്സിനായി ഞാന്‍ ചെന്നൈക്ക് പോകുന്നു. പതിവുപോലെ അമ്മ ചായയും പലഹാരവും തന്നു. ചിരിച്ചു. എന്‍റെ സുഖവിവരങ്ങള്‍ അന്വേഷിച്ചു. സുഖമാണോ എന്ന് ചോദിച്ചപ്പോള്‍ മങ്ങിയ ഒരു പുഞ്ചിരി മാത്രമേ എനിക്കുതന്നുള്ളു. ഒരുപക്ഷേ ഉള്ളില്‍ നീറിയ കനലിന്റെ ഒരു തരിയായിരിക്കാം ആ കണ്ണുകളില്‍ വിഷാദത്തിന്റെ നേര്‍ത്ത നിഴല്‍ വീഴ്ത്തിയത്.

നിശബ്ദത നീണ്ടുപോയപ്പോള്‍ യാത്ര പറഞ്ഞ് ഞാന്‍ ഇറങ്ങി. വാതില്‍ക്കല്‍ നിന്ന് അമ്മ എനിക്ക് എല്ലാ നന്മകളും ആശംസിച്ചു. എന്തോ ഒരു നൊമ്പരത്തോടെ ഞാന്‍ നടന്നകന്നു. എന്‍റെ സുഹൃത്തിന്റെ അമ്മ എന്‍റെ അമ്മയെപ്പോലെയായിരുന്നു. അടുത്തൊരമ്മ.

ഒരാഴ്ച കഴിഞ്ഞ് ചെന്നൈയില്‍ വച്ച് ഒരു സുഹൃത്ത് ആ അമ്മയുടെ മരണവിവരം വിളിച്ചുപറഞ്ഞപ്പോള്‍ ഹൃദയമിടിപ്പിനൊപ്പം ശ്വാസമെടുക്കാന്‍ ബുദ്ധിമുട്ടിയപ്പോള്‍, ഓരോരോ ഓര്‍മകളില്‍ അമ്മ തന്ന പലഹാരങ്ങളുടെ രുചിപോലെ അവരുടെ പുഞ്ചിരികളും വാക്കുകളും നിറഞ്ഞപ്പോള്‍ ആയിരം മൈല്‍ ദൂരം ഒരു നിമിഷം കൊണ്ടില്ലാതായിരുന്നെങ്കില്‍ എന്ന് ഞാനാശിച്ചു. അപ്പോഴും എന്‍റെ കൂട്ടുകാരന്‍റെ നൊമ്പരത്തിന്റെ ആഴം എനിക്ക് അളക്കാന്‍ കഴിഞ്ഞില്ല. അവന് കരയാന്‍ ഒരു തോള്‍ കൊടുക്കാന്‍ എനിക്ക് കഴിഞ്ഞില്ല. അവനെ കെട്ടിപ്പിടിച്ച് അവന്‍റെ കരച്ചിലടക്കാന്‍ എനിക്ക് കഴിഞ്ഞില്ല.

ജീവിതം അങ്ങനെയാണ് അല്ലേ? ആഗ്രഹങ്ങള്‍ ആഗ്രഹങ്ങളായി അവശേഷിക്കുന്ന ഒരു പ്രതിഭാസം?

പക്ഷേ, അങ്ങനെയല്ല ജീവിതം എന്ന് തെളിയിക്കുന്നതാണ് അനുഭവങ്ങള്‍. രണ്ട് വര്‍ഷങ്ങള്‍ക്ക് മുമ്പ്, വേദന നിറഞ്ഞ ഒരു ഡിസംബര്‍ മാസത്തില്‍ എന്‍റെ ചാച്ചന്റെ വേദന നിറഞ്ഞ നിശബ്ദതകൊണ്ട് ഞങ്ങളുടെ വീട്‌ നിറഞ്ഞു.  മരുന്നുകളുടെ ഗന്ധം നിറഞ്ഞ ആശുപത്രിപ്പുലര്‍ച്ചകളും സന്ധ്യകളും കടന്ന്, കണ്ണുനീരൊലിക്കുന്ന പ്രിയപ്പെട്ട മുഖങ്ങളുടെ മങ്ങിയ കാഴ്ചകല്‍ക്കപ്പുറത്തു വച്ച്, എന്‍റെ ചാച്ചനും വിട പറഞ്ഞു. ഇനി വരില്ല എന്ന് പറഞ്ഞ്, ഇനിയും ഒത്തിരി സ്നേഹം തരാന്‍ ബാക്കിവച്ച് ചാച്ചന്‍ പോയി. ജീവിതം നിറഞ്ഞ ശൂന്യതയില്‍ എനിക്ക് കരയാന്‍ ഒരു തോള്‍ അവനാണ് അന്ന് കൊണ്ടുവന്നത്.

ഓര്‍മ്മകളുടെ ചില്ലുകൂടയില്‍ ഒരിക്കലും മായാത്ത ഒന്നായി ഞാനത് സൂക്ഷിക്കും. കുന്തിരിക്കത്തിന്റെയും ദുഖത്തിന്റെയും ഗന്ധം നിറഞ്ഞ സെമിത്തേരിയില്‍, ചാച്ചന് അവസാനമായി ഒരു മുത്തം കൊടുത്ത് യാത്രപറഞ്ഞപ്പോള്‍ എനിക്ക് തലചായ്ച്ച് കരയാന്‍ അവന്‍റെ തോള്‍ അവിടെയുണ്ടായിരുന്നു. ബലമുള്ള ഒരു താങ്ങായി. ഒരു ജന്മത്തിന്റെ കടം ഒരു നിമിഷം കൊണ്ടെനിക്കുണ്ടായി. പിന്നീട് ഒരുവാക്കുപോലും പറയാതെ പഴയൊരു അമ്മപ്പുഞ്ചിരിയെ ഓര്‍മ്മിപ്പിച്ച് അവന്‍ മടങ്ങിപ്പോയി. പക്ഷേ ആ അഞ്ചുനിമിഷത്തെ കടം ഒരുജന്മം കൊണ്ടും വീട്ടാന്‍ എനിക്കാവില്ല.

ജീവിതം ഇങ്ങനെയാണ്. ഇങ്ങനെയൊക്കെയാണ് ജീവിതം നമ്മെ പഠിപ്പിക്കുന്നത്. ജീവിക്കാനും, മനുഷ്യനാവാനും.

ചിത്രം ഇവിടെ നിന്ന്