Thursday, March 4, 2021
Wednesday, March 3, 2021
Monday, April 11, 2016
Some Amazing Quotations and their Relevance
Quote 1: It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.
--My Institute is an example of unity in diversity not just in terms of different cultural backgrounds of the teachers and students, but here every innovative thought is appreciated and nurtured. Difference is accepted. Hence, there is a steady growth in the intellectual fervour of the student community in this Institute.
Quote 2: It is possible to store the mind with a million facts and still be entirely uneducated.
--Students are given the opportunity to turn information into knowledge through hands-on experiences in the form of tech fest projects, internships, presenting papers in various national and international seminars and conferences.
The Humanities’ PowerPoint Presentation project brings forth the ability of the students to work in groups, prepare innovative presentation of their choice, take group decisions, build confidence, develop their English speaking skills and their personalities.
Quote 3: Education is a method whereby one acquires a higher grade of prejudices.
--These are the words of the learned U.S. educator and writer Laurence J. Peter where he satirizes the basic concept of education. In my Institute the students are rather encouraged to question whatever they are taught from books or otherwise and not accept anything passively. They are motivated to analyse the information and only then acquire it as knowledge and implement it. This assists in the overall development of the student.
Tuesday, May 21, 2013
Just for you
7:52 pm
I have feelings for you
More intense
Than I ever felt
For anyone in this lifetime
Or ever would.
Don’t ask for logic
As this is beyond it.
Love does not have reason
If it does
‘tis not love
But lust,
for money,
for beauty
for fame.
I need none of it
in lieu of love.
in lieu of love.
I have all
And seen the
Transience of them all
It is that deeper feeling I’m after,
That will not wither with time,
Does not have the ebb and flow
Of the tides,
That which always withstands the
Test of time.
When life is at its prime
Let’s journey together
To seek that permanence
There’ll be change of weather
But that change is not for us
Change of nature
But that change is not for us
In our finite love
For each other
Let us
Seek and find
That Infinite.
Come let’s
Start the journey
Let us not apprehend disaster
We are strong enough to
Surmount
Whatever befalls us
Provided we are together.
Saturday, May 18, 2013
Friday, May 17, 2013
Exams are Over!!!
Practical examinations are over. Had to evaluate about 200 B.Tech students (technical/ non-technical powerpoint presentations) in the course of the last three days. Luckily the fourth year examination took place last week. Pheeew it's over!!!! But I enjoyed the phase thoroughly. Such is life!
At any given semester I handle around 550 students. But that doesn't mean that I am alienated from the other 550.
The previous two weeks just flew by with students coming to deliver mock ppt presentations before me. My feedback session was longer than the duration of the presentations themselves. Everything had to be monitored. At college I was completely surrounded by my student teams. It was great fun.
My students keep me on my toes. When they are around energy levels are bound to be high. So, throughout the day, even when I'm at home I'm full of energy. I try to make the best out of every situation in life and that is what I 'preach' too. Hence, I'm highly optimistic.
Now is the time to add up marks and fill up the tabulation sheets when they arrive from the university.
Awaiting the next session and new batch of students.
Auf wie der zein.
At any given semester I handle around 550 students. But that doesn't mean that I am alienated from the other 550.
The previous two weeks just flew by with students coming to deliver mock ppt presentations before me. My feedback session was longer than the duration of the presentations themselves. Everything had to be monitored. At college I was completely surrounded by my student teams. It was great fun.
My students keep me on my toes. When they are around energy levels are bound to be high. So, throughout the day, even when I'm at home I'm full of energy. I try to make the best out of every situation in life and that is what I 'preach' too. Hence, I'm highly optimistic.
Now is the time to add up marks and fill up the tabulation sheets when they arrive from the university.
Awaiting the next session and new batch of students.
Auf wie der zein.
Sunday, May 12, 2013
Friday, May 10, 2013
Do not Bid Adieu
It's
that time of the year when our hearts are heavy--it's the 8th semester
and one after the other I have to wish my students well and bid adieu to
them, and continue with life as if everything is normal. But this phase
is a difficult one. For 4 years to share their hopes and fears, trials
and tribulations, joy and success, both personal and official, and then a
time comes and you know it's time to
let go and to smile and be happy for them. Today was one such day. It
was the 'Bolonaa Bidaai' ['Do not bid adieu'] party for our ECE 4th year
(2009-2013) batch. I'll miss the batch like I'll miss all the other 4th
year B. Tech and 3rd year MCA students of our college. They said certain things
about some of us [profs]. Regarding me the student representative of the class said
that as a person I'm extremely supportive, helpful and am a
problem-solver. He said that no matter how critical or diverse the
nature of problem/ issue was, I always had solutions to them, that I
encouraged students to come to me for any assistance they needed, etc. I
feel blessed that I have such students. The first class I had with them
officially was on 14 February, 2011. Perhaps that made it more special.
I had taken the IT 4th year examination on Wednesday (8 May 2013) after their examination they came and shook my hands and touched my feet, I was so moved. Some of them chatted with me and we cracked jokes and shared past experiences. They were so happy to see that I remembered what they did when they were in 1st year. In fact, they didn't want to leave the Language Lab where I arranged to conduct the examination solely for them as that would be the last time they would be sitting there. They wanted to stay more. With the completion of that examination the official ties with them were severed.
My students have made me more caring, patient, persevering, calm, dependable and responsible. They are one of the greatest gifts life has given to me. And being with them I have learnt a lot and will go on learning.
May they all fare well in life.
I had taken the IT 4th year examination on Wednesday (8 May 2013) after their examination they came and shook my hands and touched my feet, I was so moved. Some of them chatted with me and we cracked jokes and shared past experiences. They were so happy to see that I remembered what they did when they were in 1st year. In fact, they didn't want to leave the Language Lab where I arranged to conduct the examination solely for them as that would be the last time they would be sitting there. They wanted to stay more. With the completion of that examination the official ties with them were severed.
My students have made me more caring, patient, persevering, calm, dependable and responsible. They are one of the greatest gifts life has given to me. And being with them I have learnt a lot and will go on learning.
May they all fare well in life.
Friday, February 15, 2013
Ouote for the soul!
One should always try to bring out the element of fun in every situation in life.
Life is too short to spend it in worrying about tomorrow. Trust your heart and leave the rest to destiny.
Life is too short to spend it in worrying about tomorrow. Trust your heart and leave the rest to destiny.
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Journey
Everything happens for the best. When misfortune befalls us it is for our best , if we achieve something that too is for our good. We should accept both the pleasant and the unpleasant happenings in the same vein and remain unperturbed. We are going through a journey and only the calm and serene, the pure and unadulterated can reach its end. The rest loiter around on the way falling away here and there never to resume the journey and reach the destination.
(Wrote this on 9/1/09 but did not post it.)
A Date with Myself
In this busy life we have lost the opportunity to keep our date with ourselves. People laugh at the thought of having a me-time. 'But I am always with myself, what's the point of wasting extra time?'--they say. One needs time to keep in touch with one's inner self, independent of every worldly aspect of life--independent of one's profession, religion, nationality, race, caste, class, etc, and that is when we realize we are one. We make wrong decisions when we lose track of our true self. We are restless and angry when we fail to control any situation. Our private lives are something some of us would like to run away from.
If we meditate deeply for the shortest possible time we realize that our inner core will never be a part of the flux of the ever changing world. It is that inner core which helps us to accept the blows of life with a smiling countenance. It is that force within us which awakens the potent power in us to be supra humans.
So, it is necessary to keep that date with ourselves.
If we meditate deeply for the shortest possible time we realize that our inner core will never be a part of the flux of the ever changing world. It is that inner core which helps us to accept the blows of life with a smiling countenance. It is that force within us which awakens the potent power in us to be supra humans.
So, it is necessary to keep that date with ourselves.
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
My First-car-feel: A Love Story with a Difference
Bought my first car in the first week of this month. It’s not the model which is unique but our relationship—my car and I. I am not here to show off but to share my feelings. These feelings are extremely private and I might even delete this story altogether but as of now I simply can’t help myself but capture the feelings as much as I can with the help of pc keyboard. I want to get better of my inhibitions.
When in Nigeria my family and I used to travel a lot. We had two cars allotted to my father by his company
with license plate numbers—KW 1859 R and KW 604 AD. I loved those two cars. Weekends and holidays meant long drives in them. There was even a time when we drove for 21 hours (we started at 5 am sharp and reached our destination at 2 am the following day) at a stretch and paused for a few minutes at some filling station to fill up the gas tank and refresh ourselves but, that was it. Our driver used to drive at the speed of 160 km/hr on those roads—no, he wasn’t reckless, he was pretty cautious and that’s why my father selected him. The roads were fantastic (I can even feel the smoothness and speed as I write this)—smooth, even and so broad that six cars could compete or keep up with each other on an even footing. And on both sides of the road were extremely dense forests with tall trees—one could get lost in the wilderness and never want to return. That’s how I came to love forests and to be precise—nature. Our house was on a hilltop from where we could see the River Niger. It was a wonderful sight. Hope I don’t sound too romantic. Enough of my nostalgia here--may be some other time. Anyway, let me return to the present—my new car.
Its colour is silky silver—a colour I was not too keen on choosing in the first place. My favourite is black but a car I saw of the same model on road made me change my decision. I thought of beige but eventually settled for silky silver pondering on the traffic conditions in Kolkata roads (If you drive in Kolkata roads you’ll get what I mean—the dirt and grime, splash of mud on a rainy day).
We were apprehensive of rain (had to get the Teflon coating done on it) on the date of delivery as it has been raining cats and dogs for days, but luckily on that day in spite of early morning clouds it turned out to be bright and sunny.
We reached the showroom at 10:45 am. Got the keys to my car at 3 pm. I couldn’t believe my luck when we managed to get a driver for a drive to Dakshineshwar to offer our prayers. It has been ages since I went there. We could have taken the shortest route but we took the longest one instead—through the Rajarhat-New Town expressway, etc. The driver was a bit reckless at times and had to be cautioned at times—he drove at 120 km/hr and had the habit of applying the brakes all too suddenly. But the drive was wonderful. I even took photographs from my car on our way back. The sky looked so photogenic at 5:50 pm that I couldn’t have the power to resist. The feeling of ‘my very own first car’ still didn’t sink in. Nevertheless, I loved its speed.
Got a driver from some agency--started driving it to college. I just loved the feel but it still didn’t feel my own even on the second day but I became extremely protective of it. My driver thought it right to take the short cut route to college, I did not object as I had a lot of time on my hands and didn’t mind experimenting. Actually, I badly wanted that romantic-first-car feel to sink in. Eventually the inevitable happened—we lost our way. We asked our way out to the highway that led to the college in which I teach. In a subdued tone I informed the driver where to park the car. I didn’t tell anyone in college about the car yet. It felt wonderful to keep a secret like that. There was this feeling that I have a friend waiting patiently outside for me. A relationship with the car had started building up.
A few minutes later a colleague entered the faculty room one thing led to the other, and I had to mention about my friend who was patiently waiting outside for me (it is the norm at college to reveal everything, privacy is not welcomed—in fact, it is scorned upon. I am a private person but here I had no choice but to comply with the norms). Then followed several interviews regarding the valuation, etc of the car and another series of questions regarding garage, driver, etc--to which I reluctantly obliged--my sense of privacy was bruised to a certain extent.
From the third day it felt as if it was this very car that was protecting me from the outside world. I never felt like this all my life. It felt like my very own sanctuary—surprisingly it was as if the driver did not exist. It was only my car and me. We had developed a strong bond.
Today is the sixth day--I felt that it had become an intrinsic part of my life. My college has two buildings—I used to take the college car to go to the other building but today I took my car and the whole experience was a beautiful one—that feeling I waited for had sunk in.
I was now really in love with my car.
See you in another post.
.
When in Nigeria my family and I used to travel a lot. We had two cars allotted to my father by his company
with license plate numbers—KW 1859 R and KW 604 AD. I loved those two cars. Weekends and holidays meant long drives in them. There was even a time when we drove for 21 hours (we started at 5 am sharp and reached our destination at 2 am the following day) at a stretch and paused for a few minutes at some filling station to fill up the gas tank and refresh ourselves but, that was it. Our driver used to drive at the speed of 160 km/hr on those roads—no, he wasn’t reckless, he was pretty cautious and that’s why my father selected him. The roads were fantastic (I can even feel the smoothness and speed as I write this)—smooth, even and so broad that six cars could compete or keep up with each other on an even footing. And on both sides of the road were extremely dense forests with tall trees—one could get lost in the wilderness and never want to return. That’s how I came to love forests and to be precise—nature. Our house was on a hilltop from where we could see the River Niger. It was a wonderful sight. Hope I don’t sound too romantic. Enough of my nostalgia here--may be some other time. Anyway, let me return to the present—my new car.
Its colour is silky silver—a colour I was not too keen on choosing in the first place. My favourite is black but a car I saw of the same model on road made me change my decision. I thought of beige but eventually settled for silky silver pondering on the traffic conditions in Kolkata roads (If you drive in Kolkata roads you’ll get what I mean—the dirt and grime, splash of mud on a rainy day).
We were apprehensive of rain (had to get the Teflon coating done on it) on the date of delivery as it has been raining cats and dogs for days, but luckily on that day in spite of early morning clouds it turned out to be bright and sunny.
We reached the showroom at 10:45 am. Got the keys to my car at 3 pm. I couldn’t believe my luck when we managed to get a driver for a drive to Dakshineshwar to offer our prayers. It has been ages since I went there. We could have taken the shortest route but we took the longest one instead—through the Rajarhat-New Town expressway, etc. The driver was a bit reckless at times and had to be cautioned at times—he drove at 120 km/hr and had the habit of applying the brakes all too suddenly. But the drive was wonderful. I even took photographs from my car on our way back. The sky looked so photogenic at 5:50 pm that I couldn’t have the power to resist. The feeling of ‘my very own first car’ still didn’t sink in. Nevertheless, I loved its speed.
Got a driver from some agency--started driving it to college. I just loved the feel but it still didn’t feel my own even on the second day but I became extremely protective of it. My driver thought it right to take the short cut route to college, I did not object as I had a lot of time on my hands and didn’t mind experimenting. Actually, I badly wanted that romantic-first-car feel to sink in. Eventually the inevitable happened—we lost our way. We asked our way out to the highway that led to the college in which I teach. In a subdued tone I informed the driver where to park the car. I didn’t tell anyone in college about the car yet. It felt wonderful to keep a secret like that. There was this feeling that I have a friend waiting patiently outside for me. A relationship with the car had started building up.
A few minutes later a colleague entered the faculty room one thing led to the other, and I had to mention about my friend who was patiently waiting outside for me (it is the norm at college to reveal everything, privacy is not welcomed—in fact, it is scorned upon. I am a private person but here I had no choice but to comply with the norms). Then followed several interviews regarding the valuation, etc of the car and another series of questions regarding garage, driver, etc--to which I reluctantly obliged--my sense of privacy was bruised to a certain extent.
From the third day it felt as if it was this very car that was protecting me from the outside world. I never felt like this all my life. It felt like my very own sanctuary—surprisingly it was as if the driver did not exist. It was only my car and me. We had developed a strong bond.
Today is the sixth day--I felt that it had become an intrinsic part of my life. My college has two buildings—I used to take the college car to go to the other building but today I took my car and the whole experience was a beautiful one—that feeling I waited for had sunk in.
I was now really in love with my car.
See you in another post.
.
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Sweetmeat
Each festival has its own kind of sweetmeats and every province in India has its own variety of a particular sweetmeat.
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Life is a tale well told. It is deeply philosophical. Life is the most precious gift God has given us. Let''s utilize it to the fullest by transcending the narrow bonds of the ego and reaching out to our loved ones to communicate that you care for them more than you care for the superficial garb of your ego.
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
WHAT IS HAPPINESS?
It's very easy and difficult to define happiness. We look at a colourful flower and that makes us happy for a fraction of a second, we taste something delicious that too makes us happy, we perceive a flavour that makes us happy--yet we always want something more. When we ask a person of any age all he can do or say is to grumble for some more, about grievances. We are never satisfie, we go on craving for that which we think will yield happiness in our life but whatever we get is never enough.
So, the best option we have is to give, let go of all our bonds of attachment and be ever powerful--for everything is within and we are intrinsically linked with even the minutest particle of the creation.
So, the best option we have is to give, let go of all our bonds of attachment and be ever powerful--for everything is within and we are intrinsically linked with even the minutest particle of the creation.
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