Skip to main content

Tsunami times . . .

Its been long since my last post; it was before the last examination. After examinations I got very busy in the placement process that started immediately - am still busy, but consciously decided to take a break today and do some studies (will get back to them in a while ;P) . Also a day after exams I went to Pune for a kinda Batch reunion of college-mates in Pune-Mumbai. The trip was fun - we went to a farmhouse in Marunji village near Pune. Since then in the campus we have had atleast 20 company visits for pre-placement talks and some pre-processes as well. Placements seem to be going well this year (touch wood!).
But while we have been busy with all this, the nation has been hit by one of the most disruptive natural disasters of my lifetime. The whole of East coast has been destroyed they say. I haven't dared to read any media reports in detail for the fear of aggravating tension in the already tensed mind of mine - but I can gauge this to be more than the Gujarat-Latur earthquakes combined.
Signing off here, my NITIE life is fast coming to an end - have achieved a lot in NITIE I believe - MastishK and now the Ethics commitee. What I have learnt in NITIE is that one should take initiative and not wait for the world - one should start; everything else will follow. I remember a Bengali poem by Gurudev Rabindra Nath Tagore - "Yadi tor dak shune keu na ase tabe ekla chalo re". Having had many Bengali friends around me all my life, I have been privy to this poem since childhood. Here's the translation of it in English. Its Adieu till I find a break again . .

If they answer not to thy call walk alone,
If they are afraid and cower mutely facing the wall,
O thou of evil luck,
open thy mind and speak out alone.

If they turn away,
and desert you when crossing the wilderness,
O thou of evil luck,
trample the thorns under thy tread,
and along the blood-lined track travel alone.

If they do not hold up the light when the night is troubled with storm,
O thou of evil luck,
with the thunder flame of pain ignite thy own heart and let it burn alone.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Ekla Chalo re

Watched "Bose- The forgotten Hero" on Saturday. Gem of a movie and probably the best of Shyam Benegal. Subhash Chandra Bose has always been an inspiring character in the history for the youth. This post however is not about the movie, its about the lead song 'Tanha Rahee' which is based on the poem 'Ekla Chalo Re' by Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore. I had pasted the English translation of this poem on my blog earlier. http://the-complete-man.blogspot.com/2004/12/tsunami-times_30.html However, yesterday I found the original bengali text of the poem and found that the meaning in the above translation was not exact. So I have endeavourer (with the help of Shubham ) to re-translate it into English and Hindi by myself. Here is the output of my work: Bengali Jodi Tor Dak Soone Keu Na Asse Tobe Ekla Chalo re Ekla Chalo Ekla Chalo Ekla Chalore Jodi Keu Katha Na Kai Ore Ore O Abhaga Jodi Sabai Thake Mukh Firae Sabai Kare Bhay Tabe Paran Khule O Tui Mukh Fute Tor Maner Kath...

Vikramaditya - Myth or Reality

  A statue of Vikramaditya at  Vikramaditya ka Tila / Vikramaditya's Singhasan Battisi On a recent visit to Ujjain, I found myself drawn to the city's extraordinary blend of history, mythology, and spirituality. As I stood before the Mahakaleshwar Jyotirlinga, I reflected on its significance as one of India’s most revered shrines. Yet, amidst these sacred surroundings, I encountered narratives of Vikramaditya - the legendary king of Ujjain, celebrated for his valor and wisdom, who's name resonates from the folklore of locals to every part of India. Every time we celebrate a festival in India, it is marked with a tithi i.e. date as per the Indian calendar - which is called the Vikram Samvat calendar, attributed to being founded by Vikramaditya of Ujjaini (the then name of Ujjain). What struck me, however, was the curious fact that despite Vikramaditya’s pivotal place in Indian cultural memory, his existence as a historical figure lacks definitive evidence. My exploration l...

A lakh! A Crore! ... then why not an Arab?

India is a true melting pot - and the language we speak are true representations of the same. In any given location, the way people speak (the dialect, the accent and vocabulary inclusive) is a wonderful mix of local, regional, national and even a bit of international influences. To take some examples: Bangalore lingo: "Enjoy Madi!" Mumbai lingo: "Its all over Akhha Mumbai yaar" Some International sprinkled in: "Dude! Hows life yaar?" All in all - India has been pretty successful in integrating its regional disparities with nationally pervasive trends and a bit of International lingo as well (thanks to its diaspora). The same has happened in terms of the numeral terminologies that we use. In India - even with the English media, we use terms like a 'lakh' (= hundred thousand) or a 'crore' (= ten million). But what is surprising is that beyond these, the media usually follows the international numeric term - billion. This is in spite of th...