My association with Dr.MS.Swaminathan - a noble soul!

It is a belief in our society that whenever you hear the news of the demise of some known person, it will be followed by news of two more people known to you passing away within a couple of days. The latest news of Dr.M.S.Swaminathan passing away at the ripe old age of 98 is the third news of the death of a person known to me this week.

Before I explain my connection with Dr.MSS, I must briefly narrate the story behind my involvement with an NGO which provided me an opportunity to work briefly with Dr.MSS.

It was in the early 80s that I became a member of the Asian Media Information and Communication Centre (AMIC, for short), an NGO headquartered in Singapore set up to promote the cause of mass communication in the Asia-Pacific region. Through a force of circumstances in 1984 I took over as the Country Representative of AMIC in India.

As the country representative, I was actively involved in promoting AMIC’s membership among the advertising and public relations fraternity, besides academics. When the Indian chapter steadily grew to be a formidable national organization, we appointed honorary Area Representatives to extend its reach to all parts of the country. To cope with this development, I persuaded AMIC headquarters to let me establish a Secretariat for AMIC India with a full-time Manager to help run its activities on a more professional footing. I had earned a good name, making India numero uno among AMIC’s national chapters. This also led to my being inducted to the board of AMIC in Singapore when (late) K. Kurien of Radius Advertising retired after completing his term of six years on the board. It was a great honour.

After my stepping down as a Board member, my recommendation to form a Trust in the name of AMIC to further boost the activities of AMIC India was accepted. AMIC India Trust was registered in Chennai, with Dr. M.S. Swaminathan, as the Chairman, and me as the Founder Secretary.

Working with Dr. Swaminathan, a busy man traveling 20 days a month was a pleasure. But he always found time to respond to any communication from us immediately. I remember visiting him once, just before the annual meeting of the Trust to brief him on the meeting’s agenda. He was hospitality and humility personified! After our meeting during which he asked relevant questions, he invited me and Suresh the manager of Amic India, to the canteen for a cup of coffee. There he waited in queue like every other staff to get our coffee and after consuming the same, dropped the empty cups at the designated place and then walked with us to the entrance to see us off. For a great man, highly revered by the world, he was such a humble person. He would chair the meetings as if he was totally involved with it the whole year and make everybody feel happy with the outcome. During this period, AMIC India also organized a successful international conference in Chennai..

A few years later, for strategic reasons, it was decided to wind up the Amic India Trust, and my association with AMIC and Dr.MSS was seized. In later years when I had an opportunity to meet him at a seminar, thinking that he may not remember me, I introduced myself before wishing him. He smiled and said, “ I know you. You don`t have to introduce yourself to me". I was happy that he had not forgotten me!

Though it was only a brief association of six years with Dr.MSS it was a memorable experience. May his soul attain Sadgati!

Another wicket down!

Another friend passed away on Monday morning after fighting a losing battle with Cancer for over two years. He was 74. Ramani was one of the founding members of a Seenager group called the Elliot Group which meets every morning at Bessy to gossip and have fun. I have been a member of this group for the last 11 years and had the privilege of becoming one of Ramani`s good friends. Every morning Ramani could be seen bursting with his trademark laughter at every joke anyone cracked. Otherwise, he was a serious person. A soft-spoken and caring gentleman he was very popular in the group. He and his wife were regular walkers at the Bessy.  As a man who was involved in the computer business all his life, he was a tech-savvy person. A go-to person for anyone with problems with their mobile. While he was an avid cricket buff, he was also good at creating caricatures of friends using Photoshop. I think I was one of his favourite subjects. He had done seven caricatures of me over the years. I am attaching one sample where he made me look like Kamalahasan in Avvai Shanmughi. Obviously, there was a creative streak in him, and creating caricatures was his hobby. While one is sorry for losing a good friend, in a way it is good that he will not have to go through the sheer agony he went through during the last two years. While offering my heartfelt condolences to his wife Girija and his two sons, I pray to God to bestow Sadgati on Ramani. Om Sairam!

My writing process-How do I get ideas for writing

 The other day I was going through the folder containing the list of my published articles since the publication of my first article in the April 2011 issue of Eves Touch. I was happy to note that more than 350 of my articles have appeared in 27 newspapers and magazines, both national and local, including a few e-magazines. Taking into account the articles that were published only on my blog and shared on my FB page the number exceeds 400.

 

Many of my readers ask me how I choose the subject of my articles, which are general and deal with daily happenings in life. I get ideas any time of the day. While walking, attending a function, reading a newspaper or magazine, talking to friends, an unforgettable incident, and sometimes even the death of a person I have known closely. Very often I also get ideas early in the morning when I am awake but roll in the bed before I get up and get started with my morning chores. Whenever an idea comes to my mind, I immediately record a catchword or a line that will trigger my memory, in the `Evernote` app on my mobile. Anytime the Evernote reminder section on my mobile has nearly 15 topics on which I can write articles. I don`t write every day. Whenever I feel like writing a new article I go through the Evernote list and choose the topic for writing.

 

Until I got invited to write my column `Rajan`s Random Reflections` in Adyar Times my articles used to exceed 1000 words. However, the 600-word restriction imposed by Adyar Times helped me master the art of writing shorter articles that a reader can read in less than 5 minutes. This word discipline has certainly helped me get more readers over the years.

 

I am a person who believes in the `Early to bed, early to rise `policy. I get up at 4. a.m. and I am at my work desk by 4.30 a.m. I find that I am at my creative best during 4.30-6.00 am considered the ‘Brahma muhurtham’ time. I go for my morning walk only after this.

 

Until I got used to keying my articles directly on my PC/laptop I was writing the articles by hand and then typing them on the PC. It was a painful process because very often I could not decipher my own handwriting. As long as I was employed and had a secretary who could decipher 90% of my handwriting I had no problem. She would give me the typed article as a Word document on which I would make my corrections. Even after I retired, the secretary was kind enough to type from the scanned copy of my handwritten articles which I would send her.

 

I must confess that since I started keying my articles directly on my PC, I have been able to make corrections as I am typing, resulting in a reasonably well-written draft. The draft then goes through several revisions before I am sure that it meets the expectations of my readers. I consult Google Knowledge whenever I have doubts. Since I have never been confident in my grammar, I would share the draft with my brother and daughter whose knowledge of English grammar is better than mine. These days I use an app called `Grammarly` to correct my draft. It is good at pointing out not only grammatical mistakes but also punctuation marks, spacing, use of caps, etc. It is really a boon for any writer in English who is not confident in his English.

 

I believe everyone has a writer in him/her. Whenever a friend tells me that he cannot write I ask `Did you not write essays in your school/college days?” It is only a question of discovering one`s hidden talents. Start with going down memory lane and record interesting anecdotes from your life. I assure you it is a fascinating experience and therapeutic. Age is no barrier to starting writing. Don`t forget I started writing only after my retirement at the age of 65. If I can do it, you can too!

A Junior School Day to remember!

The first time I attended a Junior School Day (JSD) function was when my first child Kavitha was studying in LKG in Sishya school in Chennai, in 1977.  All my three children and Kavitha`s two children studied in Sishya. As an Air Force officer`s children Sowmya`s two kids attended Kendriya Vidyalaya School, mostly in Bangalore. The last time I attended a Junior day School event at Sishya was in 2006 when Kavitha`s daughter Nila was performing on the stage. After 17 years I had the opportunity to attend a JSD at Sishya to see my resident grandson, Balaji`s son Thavam, studying in UKG, performing on the stage. What a performance it was! He danced with grace and total focus not faltering even one step. God bless him.

Junior School Day functions are events looked forward to by families with small kids. Because that would be the day when their child- a boy or a girl - would be going on the stage for the first time. The whole family including the thathas , pattis, uncles , aunts and cousins would be there at the function to cheer the child.  To see their ward positioned in one corner or the other of a group of at least 20 kids from his/her class.  While the seniors would shout with excitement “ there.. there… he is third from left on the second row”, it was not unusual for the kid to stop in the middle of his act looking for his parents in the crowd. The excitement in the audience was palpable judging by the screams, catcalls, whistling that reverberated   when ever children of a particular class entered the stage.  

Those days it was not unusual  to see the exit of families from the auditorium as soon as their ward`s performance was  over. The auditorium which would be overflowing with families of performing kids in the beginning  would be half empty by the time the kids from  the 4^th or 5^th standard in the junior school were performing.

I realize Sishya has come a long way since then. The school has grown in size and numbers. They have also learnt lessons from every show. It was evident from the way the whole event this year had been meticulously planned and executed. The entire programme was divided into two parts. The first part of 60 minutes mainly  belonged to the children  from LKG & UKG. There was restriction on the number of people who could attend the programme- In addition to the parents only two extra passes per family were issued. There was different colored passes for families of LKG & UKG students and  for students of 1^st to 5^th class. Instead of families of small classes leaving in batches, the entire audience watching the programme of small kids had to leave the auditorium to make space for families of children performing after the  show by the kiddies. There was a big shamiana put up in the open space outside the auditorium where people could sit and watch the programme on a big digital screen. Even the music chosen for the dance numbers were good and helped keep up the tempo of the show. While the crowd management was brilliant, the management of incoming cars and parking facility ensured smooth flow of hundreds of cars coming into the school.

Kudos to the  Sishya  management and all the teachers and volunteers from Sishya PTA who were responsible for the well planned and executed event. It brought back memories of my own involvement with the school as a Past President of Sishya PTA in 1991-92. Mr.Kit Thomas, the founder of Sishya used to refer to me as the only `male gender` Past President of Sishya PTA. Before and after me only ladies have been Presidents of the PTA.

As one who  had the longest association  with Sishya as a parent first and grand  parent later I wish Sishya , which celebrated its golden Jubilee this year all the best in providing quality education and ensuring all round growth of its students, which is what Kit Thomas always  believed in!

 

New educational opportunities in India

The other day I was chatting with my grandson Keshav (20). He is doing his under graduation at Shiv Nadar Institute of Eminence in Noida studying for a degree in B.Sc (Research) Biotechnology. While the name of the University intrigued me the course that he was pursuing also made me think of the new educational opportunities that await young students today. In our days and for a long time the only popular courses were a degree in Arts, Commerce or Science leading to a career as a teacher, chartered accountant, engineer, or doctor. Students who had special talents in sports or any creative field were told that it is safer to have a degree in some subject before pursuing one`s passion because a degree can guarantee you a job if the passion does not help you earn a living.

 I was therefore surprised to see some creative work that Keshav has been doing as a part of his Biotechnology course. When I probed him about this he said,  “Our Coursework involves a lot of inter-departmental content. Doing courses in the Fine Arts department demanded a new creative outlook rarely encountered in the science field. For example, photography submissions asked us to get inventive with our submissions based on the assignment. The creative freedom given is virtually infinite and very exciting for everyone. In my art assignment, I took up the challenge of replicating photo edits using physical pieces of paper instead of using the software facilities available on the computer for such an assignment.  Though a  tricky & difficult process, it was fun!”

The results of such a  creative effort that he showed me were indeed fascinating.

He told me that the college also emphasizes the importance of doing internships during the summer and making sure students get a long enough break to support that. This vacation Keshav did an internship at the Indian Institute of science, Bangalore where he explored the field of ecology, working on the effect of climate change on birds in India.   He also did a design internship working with the marketing team at Seven Sarees, a business run by one of his cousins. I was impressed with the variety of promotional photos that Keshav had taken as a part of the assignment.

When I asked Keshav what he hopes  to do in the future he gave the following reply;

“My dream has and always will be to never compromise on my passion to explore and learn as much as I can and follow that wherever it takes me. Every step I have taken in life till now has shown that there is an infinite world out there and my goal is to simply experience everything I possibly can while fully investing every part of myself to help me grow”

 Very unusual and mature response. God bless him!

His sister Uthara who did a double graduation in Bsc and BEd in biology from Azim Premji University in Bangalore is doing her post-graduation in `Evolutionary genetics, evolution and systematics ` at the prestigious LMU University in Munich, Germany.  A subject I have never heard of! Azim Premji University is another institution that encourages the all-round development of a student.

Unlike our times,  today`s children, thanks to the internet, are exposed to all kinds of opportunities available to them. Parents are well advised to allow them to pursue what they want instead of forcing them to do what they think is right for them. Very often they try to realize their unfulfilled dreams through their children.

There are good institutions like Shiv Nadar & Azim Premji universities that are helping children realize their full potential. I am sure that there are many more about whom I am not aware of. I also understand that the New Education Policy of the government is trying to rectify the anomalies of the old system and introduce systems and courses that will ensure that children get holistic education which stands them in good stead in the careers they choose. Hope the NEP is effectively implemented by State Governments!