The girth of Education!

The expectation of every human being is to be successful. From a very young age, we (at least the indian students) are nurtured to become successful picking up a profession that s widely regarded and gives fast track success. So what is education really for? To get a job with a fat pay? I wont be a saint and say no. To a certain extent the answer is yes. I have njoyed being a student for the last 18 years with zero responsibility. We are in a materialistic world and in this modern world we need to sell ourselves. So going into a school/college are we really educated?

Education is a life long process. You keep learning new things every second. The schooling and college education helps us to streamline ourselves to keep the learning process going till we perish. As a novice, a raw diamond we enter school. Its one of the most beautiful and essential part of the development of ones' personality. Every time I cross the road I still remember the lessons that I learnt in my II Std. "Look to your right, then left and again to your right, make sure there are no vehicles and then cross the road". Also you get you learn most of your social sense there. All the subjects equally equip you to become a strong individual. I have had fascinating debates with my friends about the why we are studying history or civics. I agree that we want only science and math for getting into a good college and subsequently to get a good job if you take science stream. (I am specifically ignoring other streams because most of the people want engineering/medicine. For others you surely need history and civics. So I am taking about science/math stream people.) Wihout knowing basics like Habeus Corpus, one cannot be a socially conscious person. Knowledge is wealth and we should never limit ourselves.

Next I come to the important point of MARKS, the nemesis for most of us leaving a small percentage of toppers. The number game that is as important as salt is to the food. Our percentages in 10th, 12th and college act as a stepping stone to our success. That dosent mean that those who score less will have a dearth of opportunities. It is just a measure of how you thrive in a system. How you respond to a particular type of competitive framework. Many just use this to do a basic profiling on you. Rather it helps in creating a good first impression. Again the first step in education is to understand that every person in this world is unique and will thrive in a particular environment. When we educate ourselves to be versatile in multitude of challenging situations we become successful. Again Let us not become philosophical and say success varies from person to person and it depends on how they understand that. I am talking about an ordinary common man and not about extraordinaries. And if some one says he is not behind success (other than kung suk wangudu) he is either insane or has a huge ancestral wealth that he is unable to burn out.

Education is much more than the technical prowess that we attain. It helps us change the outlook towards life. It helps us understand our strengths and not to rood over our weaknesses. A truly educated man is fearless, humble, sees both success and failure in the same light, earns respect of friends and foes alike, respects other people, and many more awesome virtues. So nobody is truely learned. Perhaps Lord Ram from the mythology is an example. So do we really get such virtues by going through the grueling process of the indian education system? We have some brilliant colleges, some of the best schools in the world, still our litracy level is not inversely proportional to the crime rate or to put it in a better way the summation of not so good things happening in the society. Education has failed to eradicate superstitions, social evils etc, etc. Educated people hardly come for voting. And a fresh graduate is not ready for anything but attend some company's training.

So other than helping us get fat pays and to a certain extent meaning less degrees, education should help us face all the tricky situations with a stoic mind. As william Durant says

Education is a progressive discovery of our own ignorance.

So let us strive continuously to learn, use what ever education system we have to improve our personality. After all things in the pages of real life is more important and teach us more than the knowledge in the books.

Sivaji Ganesan - The colossus of Tamil Cinema

Having seen the Tamil conference being conducted, I want to write my thoughts about the person who made the best impression on me about tamil. With out any doubt he has the best dialogue delivery among all the actors I have seen. Prob Morgan Free man will come close. He is my father's favorite actor and was one the main reason I was attracted to cinema. His portrayal of 9 different characters in Navarathri was some thing special. I have grown up seeing many of his movies. Its none other than Legend Siavji Ganesan.

I am most careful when I mention "the best actor in Tamil film". Though it would be Sivaji in my book, I can't decide for anyone else who it was, or will ever be. Fans are torn between the realistic portrayal of Kamal and his peers, and Sivaji and performers at the time of his peak. There are those who dismiss the stage-like exaggerated performance so abundant in Tamil cinema before the eighties, while there are just as many (probably more) who revere it. The latter will appreciate Sivaji (unless they are still two bickering blocks, another being the backers of MGR), while the former are quite in unity (some grudgingly so) in admitting about Kamal Hassan's superior performance.

There used to be a time when Sivaji's name was associated with overacting. Here was his reaction to it:

"What is acting? It means doing something that is not natural. So then where is the question of overacting? When your mother dies, what do you do? You shout Amma and cry, don't you? Your instant reaction is to cry out loud. Not sit quietly covering your eyes with your hands. That's exactly what I do in my films."

Overacting has been one thing that the legend of Tamil cinema has been often accused of. Even you might have heard such a thing from someone or might have even thought so yourself. It is not really surprising that many of today’s youngsters and those accustomed to new age cinema find Sivaji Ganesan as one who went overboard with his expressions. It is a classical example of the generation gap, the present not being able to digest or accept what was considered great in the past. There can be no two opinions about the fact that Chevalier Sivaji Ganesan is a legend. But there are many who see chinks in that legacy. I believe it is a case of not being able to understand the great man and the times that he was part of.

Coming from a theater background (he acquired the title Sivaji from theater), expressing in a very pronounced manner came naturally to him. Being subtle was not the flavor of those days and if you watch cinema of the early Sivaji era, you will see that what many call overacting now was the norm in those days. Cinema had not evolved enough to accommodate subtle expressions.

The greatness of Sivaji Ganesan comes to light when we look at the range of roles that he has done in his career and the range of styles that he adopted in each of his movies. Not many actors of our times have shown the courage that he has. To do a full fledged hateful negative role while you are still a leading hero takes a lot of confidence and Sivaji Ganesan showed that in Andha Naal. Actors of our times have shown a liking to the negative role, but not the totally despicable type. Even if they have, they have also chosen to have the security of playing a double role with one character being a do-gooder. Andha Naal had Sivaji Ganesan as a completely unscrupulous person who would not even stop short of treason to make money. His detractors (though few and oblivious of his greatness) should take a look at this performance. They also should take a look at Uthama Puthiran where one can see upon close observation, a striking similarity to Rajnikanth’s famous brisk walk.

And if any of you still doubt whether the great man was overdoing it, then take a look at some of his films in the 90s. Cinema had evolved and he had understood the change. His performance in Thevar Magan must count as one of the finest in Tamil cinema, please go back and see the scene where he and Kamal Haasan talk in the courtyard, discussing about the hotel that Kamal proposes to build in the city. Such performances can come only from an actor of brilliance of the highest order, only a true genius can adjust to changing times and Sivaji Ganesan was one. Kamal Had stated With out Sivaji it would have been just Magan and not Devar Magan.

Once the famous journalist and cartoonist Madan was asked, ‘Who is the better actor, Marlon Brando or Sivaji Ganesan?’ He said, ‘Marlon Brando is an actor who delivers to perfection what the director asks of him but Sivaji Ganesan used to do more than just that, he used to analyze and add to the character and performance. So, Sivaji is greater.' Do we need to say more? Another interesting fact is that in a survey conducted long back it was found that Sivaji Ganesan had a greater female fan following than the great M.G.R. Not because he always did emotional family subjects, but because they liked his style. If anyone still feels that the great man did more than what was required of him, then they are in the clutches of ignorance. Perceptions change with time. What was right then need not necessarily be right now and what we celebrate as acts of genius today may be ridiculed upon tomorrow. Wonder how youngsters thirty years from now will react to the patent star mannerisms, intro songs and one liners that we enjoy so much at present. The greatness of Sivaji Ganesan must never be subject to scrutiny. Seldom do men like him grace the screen.

Jobless writing

I woke up in the morning and went for a jog. My tryst with the nature is very minimal, only time I enjoy the lush green surrounding (NITT was pretty much barren!!!!!!!!!! Though Neyveli is very green I dont go out that much) is when I used to go home from trichy. So seeing how a cow goes about doing its chores can teach us a lot. Its hardly bothered about what the surrounding thinks of it. It goes about doing it work!! But I believe most of us dont loose our peace of mind thinking about how the people would react to our behavior and actions.

So getting back to the basic question of what helps a living thing so trivial and paradoxically powerful like a human being become successful in his own right? Can someone crib that deep was not successful as he could not afford palatial extravagance? SO one’s own perspective determines what success or failure is! But unlike our good friend cow, we tend to forget what our perspective and need is, anxious to sate the hackneyed perception of people around us.

To do what you love to is a virtue. A life insurance ad puts it very nicely. You think about your parents in the ur first 20 years, then about ur spouse and children and its around 60+ when a person is actually free to do what he wants, but by then his body fails to respond to him. But then we cant take them outta our life also. So getting a fine balance between satisfaction and responsibility is very important. Our education system should aim at achieving this.

Doing simple things the right way gives you immense satisfaction, not vicarious. Again the simple things’ definition varies from person to person. For me learning to tie a Tie gave great satisfaction. This passage could be haphazard in construction but has the heart at the right place. It is a belief that as a person you mature a lot as time goes by. But according to me with age you lose the instinct to experiment and try to put in obsolete logic to petty situations. Youth is not in your physic but in your mind. I have seen very young people at 60 and old retards at 20.

Also simple belief that you can do things irrespective of circumstances and not worrying about failure can make a big difference. Its my personal experience. In the past 2 weeks I have learnt a lot. I went thru two ordeals one very well prepared, but had a lingering doubt in my mind about myself and was planning for failure. Second with minimal preparation, but confident, wanting savour the moment and jus enjoy. The difference in approach made an immense difference. I could hardly believe that I had talents in me that I never knew. Many say best in you comes out when you have nothing to lose. Odds could be stacked against you, you could be clouded with fear. If you are self confident, and be true to your heart, you can achieve anything and everything. I need not quote many examples for this.

Then, coming to things like competition and peer pressure, the only person you need to compete with is you. A classroom/society is a cocktail of versatile people each one with a unique skill that he/she could or couldn have realised. Competing with others would give you false apprehension or satisfaction. Competing with yourself gives you a benchmark that you are sure to meet and with a bit more effort emulate.

And finally dont pollute your mind reading too much and pondering about what i have written… I am a jobless idiot writing to kill time. Life s ter to live and just enjoy it… :P

Whose Line is it anyway?

Past few days I have seen the Modi-Niteesh Saga Going out of proportion! Is it good or bad for the country? Come on you cant say if it s good for Bihar if Niteesh was with congress or BJP. He has done a great job there. But I want to look at the picture hidden. The lines drawn out between the different linguistic regions. In other words the 28 states our mighty country has been divided into. In the past 60 yrs we have seen many new states formed and many ethnic groups fighting for the creation of new ones. So what motivates them?

I have followed the telengana issue very closely! I have few frds from Andhra also. From what I have heard the smoke screen of development being neglected is partially true. But for me it seems that a selfish politician is trying to make his ends meet. But over the course of time the boundaries that we created to reduce the administrative problems and make life easier has resulted in creating more non sense than we had ever imagined.
Here is a counter point of a supporter of GORKHALAND that I lifted from the comments section of another blog :
"It is easy 2 say when someone is not involved in it, but if one looks through our perspective then u shall actually realize why such demand?u know what, we are not been treated as indian,whenever some other sees they believe that we r from nepal.it hurts badly,after so much of sacrifices given 2 our homeland still they belive we r outsider.we want our identity thats it.if madras regiment can hve chennai,punjab regiment can have punjab,assam regiment can have assam,then why not gorkha regiment shall have gorkhaland.we r not saying that we shall get dived frm indian,we just want our own room in such a big land."

He does have a valid point. But just becas they have a separate state means they wont be racially discriminated? I dont know. For all the peace and tranquility the Indian mind possesses, we are fundamentally racists. Not always in the wrong sense! We jovially keep nick names like Chinki, gult, kariaya etc. It dosent mean that we hate them. It just shows that we have fundamental seeds of racism in our mind. Its a deep rooted social apathy in our country.

Britishers were affirmative when they left India that it would never prosper as it is just a motley of different countries that were just connected by a petty string of being independent. To certain extent that could have been true but for the primitive Indian Legislators and in particular Sardar Vallabhai Patel. A very nice movie scene comes to my mind. Once hero who s a tamilian goes to Australia and he knows zilch English. For make the immigration easier and basically to find a translator he goes to the Indian embassy where the Indian officer is in no better condition as he s a sadar but a Srilankan officer jumps to his rescue. The irony in the above situation evokes quite a bit of laughter.

This situation highlights the question that bugs most of us. Would the Indian subcontinent prospered better if we India had been divided into 20 different countries? Its a rhetoric question that we cant answer but only speculate. Can we compromise on the concept of Unity in Diversity the rudiment foundation on which our federal system has been built! Having one unified state is is out of question as it would surely have Been a disaster. Through out the history able administrators like akbar, Alluddin Khilji were not able to do that. We have succesfully completed 62 years of Indian Federal system. There is only one inference! what ever system we are having has the capacity to sustain itself. So better not mess with it. Concentrate on bringing change at the grass roots. Thats a topic for another day.

So have these boundaries created divisions among the people? I have completed my under graduation of one of the most culturally and linguistically vibrant places and its my humble opinion that all the division noises is utter crap. Yes, accepted that we would like to have people who can speak our language with us. But this has not stopped the students from having a healthy interaction and work for mutual as well as individual benefit. The real education provided to the illiterate will develop tolerance in the minds of the people. If the entire nation has the cultural mix Bombay.. oops Mumbai has, the boundaries will serve the purpose of administration alone and we would be asking "WHOSE LINE IS IT ANYWAY???"

What do u do in ur spare time?

These are some of the most atrocious thoughts that came into my mind wen I had absolutely nothing to do in the past one month...
1) Go to a mallika kadai (sort of stationary shop here with lungied annas) and ask the price of each and every item available for sale and return without buying anything.
2) Stalk the profile page of every available gal in facebook:P...
3) Count the no of people counting the stars late nite :P
4) Make sure that I download all the movies of IMDB bottom 50.
5) Login to my orkut account.
6) Seriously thing! thinking how I ENDED UP WHERE I AM!!!!! and ofcourse not just thinking but also trying to find out an answer. And also monitor if I am finding out an answer... And make sure that I monitor so that I dont waste time.
7) Think of watching MEAGA SERIAL/ REALITY SHOWS with my mom.
8) Go to hollywood and meet up jennifer connolly and say to her u sucked in ur last movie...
9) Hoping to see Ash in the enthiran shoot and be confused why need CG wen u have the most beautiful robot here!!!!!
10) Hoping someone else will share this type of BUCKET LIST.
11) Score a perfect no 10 goal.... Record it and show it to DB 10.
12) Watch England play beautiful football.......
13) Wenger making a 25 mil signing :P
14) Of course write such an article in my blog.

Phew these are 14 of 14 million thoughts that came into my mind..
I wrote an algo to select wat all i needed to publish! The crux of this algo is:
It is possible to remove everything of significance from a cluster of thoughts based on the 30-min rule by Going thru the thoughts u had and leaving out :
a. A small number of secret desires.
b. A few thoughts which are part of still active thinking process.
c. Some correspondence lost in the brain death caused becas of watching english football team play.
d. Some records which went astray in the move to think something worthwhile.
e. Other thoughts which went astray when the brain was trying to organise it.
f. The normal withdrawal of thoughts whose publication could give grounds for an action for libel of breach of confidence or cause embarrassment to friends.

I have named this Sir Humphry's least selection algorithm. Njoy it.