What if? and whose fault is it anyway?...... Vol 2

I was back in college, collecting my transfer certificate etc… when I met a really old friend, a classmate from my UG years. I use to rate him as a guy who was kinda like me- Goofy, cuts class and likes being obnoxious. But wait he was talking on the phone to someone and talking about how he is waiting for his Visa. I remember how Friedsman (yes that’s his name) pursued chemistry for his PG as well and I joked how his brain must have gone numb from eating in the Loyola college canteen and sniffing chemicals in the in the lab. Friedsman laughed with me and told me how he got a kick out of pulling professor legs. But now here he was talking about getting a Visa (probably to some strange nation). He was going to do a Ph.D. in some material engineering blah blah in some Japanese college where he will be getting a fully paid fellowship (whatever that was, but the words fully paid registered well). He said it with some pride. Apparently some eminent scientist Ramakrishna (or something) inspired him and due to lack of facilities in India he chooses Japan. My head was spinning- ‘I will be going to German for a post doctoral fellowship’ wow!

Friedsman stood 1st in his class and I was wondering why very few such students got so damn inspired. I hated chemistry. Hated the fact that I had to remember so much and so barely passed Organic chemistry, Physical chemistry and Advanced (gasp) Organic and physical chemistry. Hated how the professors themselves knew little or nothing (except for a few inspired ones of course) and so had to read out notes and dictate them so we as faithful ‘Banks’ redeposit these notes in our exam sheets.

A few really inspired students (3 out of 99 in my class) already came from scientist backgrounds so had it easy according to Frieds, while he himself had to wait for inspiration later on. And I wonder, surely I could have been like Frieds, pursuing pathetically complex concepts in modern chemistry and spending hours even days waiting for results in a chemistry lab. I remember those days in my final year when I used to break test tubes when my error registered more than 1% for an experiment that took 4 hours to complete. Why would anyone put themselves through all that? Inspiration? Well I am an inspired youth now in another field. And I’ve realized that I should stop blaming everything around me if I were to go anywhere. But surely our education system needs a sea change. Our education system is currently like a castrated bull, very depressed but keeps pulling millions of dead weight to another location.

What if? and whose fault is it anyway?...... Vol 1

I was back in college for receiving my degree. It had been a while and I was realise I've come a long way. I studied in Chennai till my 5th Std and in Delhi till my 10th. By the time I left Delhi I was this insecure 'Christian' Kid who felt guilty about his sexuality (I am straight but I was guilty yes) had doubts about his looks and thought cracking nasty jokes about people and myself somehow redeemed me from my miserable existence. Then I reached Pune where I learnt that not all girls treat odd looking guys like me badly. Not only did they brush aside my nonsense and accept me as I was but they also played a major role in edifying my personality. Then there was the traumatic 12th std experience which every kid in India goes through, at least those which scrape through high school. Back to Chennai again for my degree in BSc. Chemistry in India's best college (so the India Today magazine proclaims). Alas it was an extension of my high school nightmare. But I enjoyed the show. Came late in the morning, left early, played snooker, watched movies and did everything that young people all over the world do (being discreet) except maybe have sex. Proudly finishing with a first class I applied for a Post graduate degree in subjects like philosophy and Visual communication (I will explain why later). After nearly breaking down in my 1st year and nearly leaving to get myself a BPO job I somehow stuck on and actually had various enriching experiences in my second year. And here I am receiving my degree my life still meandering like a river on steroids and growing rapidly and in monstrous proportions like India's population. No condom will stop this explosion (pardon me).

And I would like to trace and put into a Blog my aggressive expansion in the fields of psychology, philosophy and sheer intellect. I will be painfully honest and will use many disgusting metaphors to describe my exploits and what I learnt from them. Some might be obvious and irritating. For instance I had this Eureka moment when I realised I could lust after a woman without loving her and such a luminous moment occurred in my high school days. Back then I thought I had graduated to the level of the great philosophers like Plato and Nietzsche, but was later shocked when I realise everyone including girls knew of the fact. Damn it. But I read somewhere that 'the author is dead' and so I realised I could say and write what ever I want, add the spices of my experiences throw, in a few condiments of philosophical mumbo jumbo and then call my work- Truly Original.

Education, sex, parenting, culture, organizations (included NGO's), International conflicts (Yes I will solve the problems in the Middle East) and other such thought provoking and mairu(meaning hair in Tamil) raising topics.

Volume 1 is just the intro. In volume 2 I will discuss how the Indian education system has ruined me and transformed my life into a mere cog that fits in a combine. I will also discuss how I escaped the matrix. Watch this space (for your own good, I guarantee enlightenment)