Retired professor V. Arasu spends Rs. 15 lakh to create library for research students - Hats of you Sirji

Creating a library out of retirement benefits

The library has 15,000 Tamil books and 5,000 English books, particularly books on Tamil literature and culture- Photo: Special Arrangement

It is common for a person to invest retirement benefits for a secure future. However, V. Arasu, former head of the Tamil Department of University of Madras, has spent Rs. 15 lakh to create an academic library for the benefit of research students at his residence in Perungudi in Chennai.

The library has 15,000 Tamil books and 5,000 English books, particularly books on Tamil literature and culture.

“Keeping the collection in good condition has always been a challenge, especially when you live in a rented house and shift frequently. We used to keep them under the cot. Now they have found a safe place,” said Mr. Arasu, who started collecting books since his college days in the 1970s.

He has all the dictionaries published in Tamil, over a thousand books on Eelam literature, 3,000 literary magazines that created new trends in Tamil literature, souvenirs on great Tamil scholars, including U.V. Swaminatha Iyer, R.P. Sethu Pillai and theatre personality Pammal Sambanda Mudaliar.

Mr. Arasu acknowledged the help rendered by architect Mahesh Radhakrishnan who designed the library on the second floor of the house with adequate aeration.

The racks were created with wood used for packing materials, treated in chemicals to keep away insects.

“The library is open to all serious and committed students.

They can even stay there and work. They can share the food we prepare.

Even while I was teaching in the university, we had always had one student or the other staying with us,” said Mr. Arasu, who has created a separate room for students in the library.

Retired professor V. Arasu spends Rs. 15 lakh to create library for research students

Source | The Hindu | 22 December 2015

MY BAD - There's a reason this column is called My Bad





In which Aakar Patel locates his 'humerus'

Last night I dreamt I went today?“ to Mahatmaji again.He looked up from over his glasses, still working on his charkha and said: “You're back?
What do you want to do I said, “Let's do a quiz so that we can do timepass and learn something also.“
He said, “All right. US presidents from Obama to Washington?
Sallu's filmography? Countries and capitals and currencies?“ I said that was too difficult and we should do some new stuff.Something less trivial. He gave that a thought and said: “Tell me, who do you think is the biggest double dholki?“ I said, “You mean someone who plays two tunes on the same drum.Saying one thing and doing another?“ Yes, he said, who was the worst of them all?
That's too easy, I said, it's our modern netas. He paused and said, “All right. But why are they double dholkis?“ I explained to Bapu that times were different now. There was no sense of service and leaders were vile. They made sweet talk but acted otherwise. They shouted on about protecting farmers but helped their Jijaji in his land grab.They spoke soothingly of only development but rewarded those who spewed poison. They talked of probity but kept returning to office even after being convicted! “Can you believe it, Bapu?“ Bapu nodded. “That sounds bad. Anyone else?“ Popular figures, I said, our screen stars, who do a dance and song about being human but are most inhuman to victims and the weak.They are villains pretending to be heroes.
Bapu rubbed his palm over his pate and said, “Really? It's difficult to be a bigger double dholki than that, I would say“.
“It gets worse!“ I said, fully charged now. “The biggest double dholkis are the grassroots movements that promise Swaraj but become dictatorial. Their slogan should be, `Hum AAP ke hain con',“ I said, adding “Ha ha,“ delighted that in one joke I had managed to insert the two frauds Kejri and Sallu.
Bapu did not understand so he just looked at me while fingering the wheel. I was on a roll so I carried on. “Then there are the cricket wallahs. Operating in a field that requires sporting spirit but are actually all sold out and totally lacking in integrity.“
Bapu stopped his work and looked down. “So who is the worst of these? The one most responsible.“
I said they were all equally bad and I couldn't judge.
“Let me put it another way,“ he said. “Who facilitates these people? Who gives them agency?“ I didn't understand what that meant. He said, “Do you know why our public toilets are so dirty?“ That's easy, I said, because the workers don't clean them. “No,“ he said, “they are dirty because they are left that way. Do you know by whom?“ Now I was unsure but I told it was all those bad people.But who were they? I couldn't name anyone specific. Was it my neighbour Kanu?
My brow furrowed in confusion.
Bapu said, “You see, the biggest double dholki is the one who is complicit in all the things you have named.Whether in getting a hypocritical leader elected, or in patronising the work of a criminal star, or in supporting a corrupt enterprise that hosts the biggest tournament. It is obvious to me that the biggest double dholki in all this is...“
At this point the Mirror vendor rang the bell, and I woke up.Dammit! Just when Bapu was about to name the main culprit.
Anyway, I must remember to ask him next time. Oh, and also maybe we'll do the Sallu quiz. Or IPL winners.

Feb 07 2015 : The Times of India (Delhi)

After 19-month hunt, man finds wife lost in Kedarnath deluge

Ashish Mehta & Rajendra Sharma

Alwar TNN





In an awe-inspiring story of human grit in the face of adversity , a 45-year-old travel company employee kept up the search for his wife who went missing in the Uttarakhand flash floods of June 2013 for a year-and-a-half, though she was officially declared dead and relatives had given up hope. Far away from home and their five children, Vijendra Singh found Leela in a remote village in the Himalayas on January 27, alive but too traumatized to speak or recall her past.“On June 12, 2013, my wife and I had left for the Char Dham yatra. I had taken 30 passengers in the bus of the travel company I worked for. I had last spoken to her on June 16 when the floods struck Kedarnath and devastated the region,“ said Vijendra of Alwar's Bhikampura village.
“Since that day , I stayed in Uttarakhand and must have gone to a thousand villages in the hope of finding her. I had faith in God and in destiny that I would meet her again and that she was alive,“ said Vijendra. “All I had was her picture that I showed villagers. On January 27, some people of Gongoli village told me they had seen a mentally unstable woman who resembled my wife.“ The ravages of time had made her unrecognizable but he knew it was Leela. The one-and-a-half year search was painful.
“Even my family members urged me to return, but I didn't give up. Many people thought that I had lost my mind,“ said Vijendra. “Officially , she was declared dead and our family even got a compensation of Rs 9 lakh.“
The 45-year-old spent several nights on roads when there was no hotel or village home to turn to. The reunion has been joyful but there's still a tinge of sorrow.
Sagar wept on seeing his mother. “Maa ne mujhe pehchaan liya (mother recognized me),“ he said. But Lee la's condition remains a worry as she isn't talking to anybody since she has reached home on Wednesday .
“She's unable to recall anything, but when my sister and her son-in-law were leaving, she applied `tilak' on her forehead and performed `vidayee' (a send-off ritual). We are hopeful,“ said Sagar.
Vijendra and his daughters, Raj Lakshmi, Pinki, Pushpa, and Seema Devi, and son Sagar, are all praying for her recovery . “We're not talking to her about what happened, but trying to make things normal,“ said Vijendra.

Jun 24 2014 : The Times of India (Delhi)

THE SPEAKING TREE - Learn To Empty The Cup Within

Talk: Swami Sukhabodhananda





We are often insensitive to the poetry of living life wisely. We are caught in the prose of what we want rather than what is truly wise. It is said, “God has given us two ears and one mouth, to listen more and talk less“. Have we learnt the art of wise listening? We go to listen to lectures. Why? Have you asked this question of your self ? We collect more words, more concepts and they become our memory bank.Next time you listen to some other lec ture, your memory bank becomes a kind of obstacle without your knowing it, for you have invested in what you know. Hence our knowledge of the past becomes our block. Is it not?
Are you reading this article more to confirm what you know or are you searching for something new? Listening or reading to find out something is very different from confirming what you know already . If you are listening more to confirm rather than to find out, then your listening has no significance, is it not? How can one's listening be anchored in “finding out“ rather than as confirmation of what one knows?
Try this out next time. When you listen to a lecture, be sensitive to the beginning and ending of any concept that is spoken and get the whole picture. See the “newness“ of what the speaker is saying; see what is it that you can practise from what the speaker is saying, can you be alert to be “open“ to what the speaker is saying and not allow your knowledge to interfere in your understand ing? Try this out and then you will learn how to find out.
To find out something, one has to be open and fluid. If you have observed a river, how it flows, you will notice sometimes on the backwaters of the river, there are small ponds. Water stagnates in a pond, there are no fish. But the river water is fresh, vibrant and flowing. If you become like a pond, you become stagnant to what you know, to your positionality , to your opinion, to your dogmas and so will end up missing the quality of freshness of the flowing river.
Our listening, when it is caught in our opinion, in our dogmas, in our likes and dislikes, we miss the freshness and open ness of listening. When you are listening, learn to be open and flowing. Give space to the speaker, give space to your doubts, giving inner space, in being open. And from that openness when one listens, there is a different quality of understanding.
Next time your boss is talking to you, don't be caught in your disagreement, give space to your preferences and give space to what he is saying, then you can intuit what he is saying.
Next time your spouse scolds you, just be open, don't get lost in what you want, give space for your spouse to say and from that openness listen to your spouse's scolding. You will understand better and not be bitter.
Once you are bitter, you get isolated and in that isolation, you can't connect to your spouse. Isolation creates conflict and when\ in conflict, you get filled with\ frustration and your inner cup is filled with restlessness. Learn to empty your inner cup. Follow Swami Sukhabodhananda of Prasanna Trust at speakingtree.in and post your comments there.

Jun 09 2014 : The Times of India (Delhi)

KICK-START LIFE

ANUPA BARIK |

TNN





From the bylanes of the city's red-light area to the mecca of soccer lovers, Old Trafford, this is the tale of a 16 year-old's near-impossible journey that finally ended in his dream coming true. Today, the teenager, Rajib Roy, is happy to spread the mantra of his life -try and try until you succeed -among his peers at Rahul Vidya Niketan, a school for sex workers' children at Baruipur on the fringes of Kolkata. Rajib is almost a messiah for these children as he shares with them his experiences from a six day football training under Manchester United and gives them a reason to live and dream.Being the son of a sex worker and living off the bare minimum essentials of life, Rajib went through a lot of struggle to reach the top of the ladder. Today, he boasts of being the first under-16 footballer in India to have a two-year contract with a FIFA-approved agent who will train and promote him globally.
Rajib now has a mission in life -to be a model for change in his society. His urge to incorporate his practice lessons from Manchester to the fields of Rabindra Kanan is slowly taking shape.
While his hard work and determination saw him reap rich dividends, it was his `godfather' Biswajit Mojumdar, for mer footballer and coach of Rajib's football academy, who led him ball academy, who led him through the rough journey.
Members of Rahul Vidya Niketan, a school set up by the Durbar Mahila Samanwaya Committee, and its founder, Samarjit Jana, believe that sport is one of the best ways to integrate these children into mainstream society.
Rajib's dream began materialising when he represented the school for the 2013 Airtel U-16 school football tournament which took place in seven cities in India. Though the team lost in the quarter-finals, Rajib was unani mously chosen by Airtel and the Indian Football Association (IFA) as one of the top 30 players of the tour nament. The list included Rajib's friend Arko along with 28 players from various parts of India. The sub sequent camp was held in Goa where ManU coaches scooped up the top 11 to travel to the city of the Red Devils for training. raining.
The UK experience and training have made Rajib an inspi ration and a real-life story that many in his area want to repliate. This right winger is sure to strike a goal at changing his underprivi leged community as he gets to coach and train the children of the area while reaching for the stars himself.

May 23 2014 : The Economic Times (Delhi)

Avatar is no Superhero





Expansion of capability transforms the hero into superhero, says Devdutt Pattanaik

There is a fundamental dif ference between the words `superhero' and `avatar' and it is critical to understand this if one hopes to be a good leader.
Unfortunately, today, no thanks to videogames and Hollywood, the two words are used synonymously. The inability of those who understand Hinduism to explain the difference has further contributed to this miscommunication.In the beginning, in Europe, there were no superheroes. There were masked crusaders though, like Zorro and Scarlet Pimpernel, men who pretended to be ordinary but secretly displayed their extraordinary talents only to help the helpless. Hiding their talent was necessary so that they could mingle with ordinary folk, and unsuspecting villains. In other words, they were skilled and clever.
The extraordinary became the fantastic in an America spellbound by outer space, radioactivity and modern technology. There was Superman who came from outerspace and so had X-ray vision and superhuman strength.
There was Spiderman who was bitten by a mutant bug that enabled him to create spider webs. And there was Batman who used his wealth to create fantastic gadgets like the Batmobile. All of them hid their true capabilities and lived unremarkable lives as Clark Kent, Peter Parker and Bruce Wayne.
Both the European and the Amercian characters were like Greek heroes standing up against cruel authority (the supervillains) on behalf of ordinary folk.
But that is not an avatar. The word avatar is derived from another word `avatarana' ­ to come down. This word is commonly associated with Vishnu, the preserver of the cosmos. From his abode, Vaikuntha, Vishnu watches over the world. And from time to time he descends either as animal or human to set things right.
At face value, it seems exactly the same. So what is the difference?
Both help the helpless. But in the case of the superhero, the hero has to secretly unleash his extraordinariness to solve the problem. But in case of the avatar, Vishnu has to make himself less divine, more mortal, to solve the problem.
Expansion of capability transforms the hero into superhero. Compression of capability transforms Vishnu into avatar.
Vishnu `comes down' in not to save people from supervillains as many cartoon versions of Krishna seems to suggest; he `comes down' to uplift or do `uddhar'.
Ram may fight Ravana, but he does not seek to destroy Ravan; he seeks to enable Ravan to discover his divine potential, his ability to outgrow the animal instinct to grab and dominate.
In the superhero's story, the people around him stay the same. In the avatar's story, the people around him are hope fully transformed. In the superhero's story, the world becomes a bet ter place thanks to the superhero's intervention. In the avatar's story, the world remains as it was ­ hurtling to wards pralaya, the end of the world, which is unavoidable ­ but hopefully people are wiser and see the world dif ferently. The superhero's world is physical, tangible, measurable. The avatar's world is psychological, intangible, notmeasurable. Superheros save the world.
Avatar seeks to provoke wisdom about the nature of the world and humanity, knowing fully well he may not succeed.
At work, leaders often exhort their teams to become superheroes, solve problems that no one else can by discovering latent extraordinariness. That is the purpose of motivational speeches and pep talks and role models and success stories.
The burden of transformation rests with the followers. If the leader takes the burden of transformation upon himself, he then becomes the innovator, the saviour who tides over a crisis.
But to be avatar means working with people who are not as capable or skilled as you are, but who you know can be much better, within their parameters, if they try. It is about being able to go down to their level and helping them break free from their limitations. The trick is not to intimidate them or make them feel insecure for not being as smart as you are. It is about making them comfortable with who they are and creating an ecosystem where everyone feels they matter. This is not easy, for the temptation to be condescending is difficult to resist.
The superhero hides his extraordinariness so that those around him do not feel threatened. An avatar who is aware of his divine potential strives hard as fish, turtle, priest, king and cowherd to reveal the divine potential in those around him. The superhero seeks to solve the problems of the world. The avatar seeks to help people appreciate dharma, their human potential to cope with a world that resists all attempts to control it. The superhero gaze is on that elusive target. The avatar's gaze is on the happiness of the employee. The former does not include the latter; the latter includes the former. CD The word avatar is derived from another word `avatarana' ­ to come down. This word is commonly associated with Vishnu, the preserver of the cosmos An avatar who is aware of his divine potential strives hard as fish, turtle, priest, king and cowherd to reveal the divine potential in those around him le The superhero's world is physical, tangible, measurable. The avatar's world is psychological, e intangible, not-measurable