I got the statement that follows from a post in Tomorrow's professor :

Education is irreversible. Once you've tasted the pleasure and hard work of
learning, the joy of knowledge, you cannot thereafter imagine yourself without
it

It's all me!

வலை தளத்தில் மேய்ந்த போது கிடைத்தது:

நீ என்னிடம் பேசியதைவிட எனக்காகப் பேசியதில்தான் உணர்ந்தேன் நமக்கான நட்பை. -அறிவுமதி

அற்புதமான வாக்கியம்!

நண்பர்களுக்கிடையே நன்றி நவில்வதா? சர்ச்சைக்குரிய கேள்வி! நண்பர்களுக்கிடையே இது சண்டையை மூட்டி விட்டுவிடுமோ? :-D

The two faces of a coin problem!

We either see the good or the bad of a person. Not all get a chance to see both faces of a person/colleague. And even when we see both faces, it is difficult to stop ourselves from getting out of our prejudices! The best option, as it seems to me, is to live in an isolated world!! But that again is not possible... The practical solution could be not to judge anyone...but just accept. But the human brain always tends to infer based on the information passed on to it. This nature has indeed led mankind to question things around him resulting in advances in technology! Phew! How different things form a web of complexities!

Please hear what I am not saying

Don't be fooled by me
Don't be fooled by the face I wear
For I wear a mask, a thousand masks,
masks that I'm afraid to take off,
and none of them is me.
Pretending is an art that's second nature to me
but don't be fooled.
For God's sake don't be fooled.
I give you the impression that I'm secure,
that confidence is my name and coolness is my game,
that the water's calm and I'm in command,
and that I need no one.
But don't believe me.
My surface may seem smooth but my surface
is my mask, ever-varying and ever-concelaing.
Beneath lies no complacence.
Beneeath lies confusion and fear and aloneness.
But I hide this. I don't want anybody to know it.

I panic at the thought of my weakness and fear being exposed.
That's why I frantically create a mask to hide behind,
a nonchalant sophisticated facade to help me pretend,
to shield me from the glance that knows.
But such a glance is precisely my salvation
My only hope , and I know it.
That is, if it's followed by acceptance,
if it's followed by love.
It's the only thing that can liberate me from myself,
from my own self-built prison walls,
from the barriers I so painstakingly erect.
It's the only that will assure me
of what I can't assure myself
that I' really worth something
I don't like to hide.
I dont't like to play superficial phony games.
I want to be genuine and spontaneous and me,
but you've got to help me.
You've got to hold out your hand
even when that's the last think I seem to want,
only you can wipe away from my eyes
the bland stare of the breathing dead.
Only you can call me in aliveness.

Each time you're kind and gentle and encouraging,
each time you try to understand because you really care,
my heart begins to grow wings, very small winds,
very feeble wings,
but wings!
With your power to touch me into feeling you can breathe life into me.
I want you to know that.

Who am I , you may wonder.
I am someone you know very well,
for I am every man you meet,
and I am every man you meet!

--Charles Finn

About Me

I just thought will catalogue whatever I had in the 'about me' section in my orkut profile...

The Truth is just out there to be experienced, not analysed. ;)

Indeed it is tough to give a short description about me...still, in the pursuit, I have collected some quotes, which reflect some of the dimensions in me...and here they are!

============================================
karmaNi Eva adhikArah mE mA phalEshhu kadAchana
mA karma-phala hEtuh bhavAmi mA mE sangah astu akarmaNi

I have a right only to my duties, never to their fruits / results.
I shall neither manipulate my results nor fall a victim to inactivity / laziness.

--Bhagawad Gita
===========================================
நகுதற் பொருட்ட‌ன்று ந‌ட்டல் மிகுதிக்க‌ண்
மேற்சென்று இடித்தற் பொருட்டு.

Friendship is to be practised not for the purpose of laughing but for that of being beforehand in giving one another sharp rebukes in case of transgression

--Thirukkural

===========================================
u either choose to remain in denial or accept that this is ur destiny..btw.,.PhD is not the end of the world...whatever u do..u will get ur PhD...its just the beginning of an endless journey of multiple saturations, frustations and nonchalance! thats how it is!

--Suhasni, my Senior!
===========================================

I am, the facts I can't deny.

--Shmilona,NCBS
=========================================

Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high

Where knowledge is free

Where the world has not been broken up into fragments by narrow domestic walls

Where words come out from the depth of truth

Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection

Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way Into the dreary desert sand of dead habit

Where the mind is led forward by thee into ever-widening thought and action

Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake

-- Rabindranath Tagore (Gitanjali, 1913)=========================================================

Words and Hearts should be handled with care. Words when spoken and hearts when broken are the hardest thing to repair

--somebody

-----------------------------------------------------

If somehow my expectations and experience dont match with others' it doesnt mean I am on the road to perdition or paving way for someone else's. Excusez moi! Thats why these are part of life's choices and not laws.

--Suhasni (My senior)================================================================================================

வெள்ளத் தனைய மலர்நீட்டம் மாந்தர்தம்

உள்ளத் தனையது உயர்வு.

The stalks of water-flowers are proportionate to the depth of water;

so is men's greatness proportionate to their minds.

--Thirukural

A Successful Life

I came across some tips my supervisor (Prof. Raj Rajagopalan) had offered to the graduating students of our department, and here they go:

• Never underestimate your own potential. Never give up.
• Aim high and set the highest standards in whatever you do.
• Never be afraid of failure, but do learn from any failure.
• Be compassionate towards others, but be very demanding on yourself.
• Always ask yourself what you can do to improve the lives of others around you.
• Be a leader – and lead by example.
• Remember that no one can be too generous or too humble.

I felt that each and every sentence has profound meaning and following them will definitely lead to a successful and a happier life. Each and every advise has come out treasures of experience over the years. Not all experienced people reach out to others and share their rich treasure in the form advises (at the right moment!).
I am truly glad that I have Prof. Raj in my life!

Rethinking the notion of Leadership

I recently came across an article in Times of India, Mumbai (Lack of Values)

The article clearly brings out how people in India lack fundamental values! India was supposed to be a nation of rich culture, from whom the world can learn! But now it is in a pitiable state! Who cares for the people around thems? Who cares for a common property? People, if not all, have come more selfish! They think, as the writer says, "that rules are made to discipline the uncivilised common man; and that people higher up in society need not be inconvenienced by these rules".

Here is one incident quoted by the writer:

Who knows whose time is most precious? For whose convenience are others to wait? Many years ago, a senior executive of a Tata company rushed to Santa Cruz airport at the last minute, his bags having been sent ahead and checked in beforehand. The flight to Delhi was held up for him. When he entered the plane he found an irritated J R D Tata who had checked in with other passengers asking the steward, “Who is this VIP for whom we all had to wait ?”

Time is precious for every human...and no one can deprive the fellow men owing to his alleged superior status!

The writer then gives his perspective on Leaders and integrity. He stresses that we define leadership based on fundamental values rather than attributing to their 'star status'. The following is the paragraph by the writer:

We yearn for more integrity in our leaders. Integrity is a composite of two qualities. On one hand, integrity is the quality of being honest and uncompromising of values and principles. Many leaders of our times, in business and government in India and elsewhere, fail this test. On the other, integrity also means the quality of being integrated, of being in tune with and connected with wider society, which is something business leaders in India and elsewhere need to think about.

In my view, this kind of leadership with integrity defined in the above two perspectives applies to any kind..be it leader of the nation or the leader of a small social group or simply a teacher and his class of students.
In all the cases, the leader is expected to have uncompromising values and principles and is also necessary that he/she reaches out to the 'wider society' in an appealing way. There is no point in having high standards of values and not being able to reach out the 'wider society'!! And such a person will not set an example for anything!

I strongly encourage you to read the article: Lack of Values

"The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing. One cannot help but be in awe when one contemplates the mysteries of eternity... Never lose a holy curiosity."

I have been thinking that it was only my behaviour to get a feedback volunteerily to know about my performance in something..but alas! it seems to be the desire for anyone...some take it constructively and some otherwise!

I have observed this in myself..that I would like to present myself well and get GOOD feedbacks from seniors in acknowledgement...but it is the attitude of certain superiors, though they note the excellence, do not acknowledge it so easily!
but though this is just to get the best out, and i too understand it...it still gives a longing to get the admonition and acknowledgement!

But does this longing/yearning quench after one?? NO!!
May be that is the cause for us to keep going on and on! :-)

Sometimes I wonder, if this is what is called "research". Trying to be recognised among peers, by way of doing new things...and "discovering" new things!
I am really convinced now that, after reading an article on Einstein in the recent TIME magazine (July 2006), that there is nothing called a true passion towards science...but just the inherent desire to be getting recognised!

On the basis of this, i find that there can be two categories of scientists/researchers...
Those who aim at a recognition on a global scale...and the others who are satisfied with a recognition locally!

Society prepares the crime: The criminal commits it --Something to think about???

Transport phenomena and life!

today i was reading a blog by one of my seniors, wherein she said ppl belong to differnet co-ordinate systems and they shift their frame of reference so often. (http://do-angels-sleep.blogspot.com/)

after reading it, i just lied down on my bed thinking of it...

i see that there is a dynamic shift in the frame of reference...and the frequency of it is sometimes the order of which we cannot even imagine nor predict!

Suddenly some similarity striked between solving problems in transport phenomena and life....dont think i am a nerd...i am studying for my exams and i think thats why my cerebrum correlated like this now!

well...coming to the similarity...

While we are going wrong in solving the problems what happens most of the time is that...

we tend to overlook certain terms in the NS equations or other standard equations...making robust assumptions...and cling on to certain other terms, tying to solve the equations with those terms...but the answer willbe vice versa! we should have actually neglected the terms that we are cling on to and use the terms we neglected to arrive at the solution!!

In life too, sometimes we do the same. We overlook certain issues which might have to be given utmost attention and cling on, brood, lament, frustrate on issues which have to be overlooked!!

In the problems of transport phenomena we realise that what we do is wrong when we see the solution...but in life???

today we had the NUS-Indian Grad meet!
It ws simply wonderful...though it cud have still been made more lively and eventful...i hope it becomes so in the years to come!
basically it served as a platform to know that there is such a big community of Indians from all over the country doing their grad studies in singapore. The strength of this community is so assuring for the freshers like me!
And morever there were alumni of NUS too who had come for the meet!
That is again reassuring the freshers that jobs are available for the best minds of the world!
Oh...and I should not forget to say about th dinner!It was simply excellent! all the items...no exceptions at all!!! i wish we had a meet frequently atleast for this sake..!!
This is just to say that it is difficult to get good Indian foods in Singapore.
NUS canteens have Indian stalls, but they seem to have adapted some practices from here...and otherwise, some hotels like komala vilas etc...are bit too costly for a student to afford! but nevertheless, if one is a good cook, he can get all that he wants to and cook excellently as he would do in India.

i am waiting for a call from India...a friend promised me to call me this weekend...and i am still waiting...while the weekend for this week is about to end in another 7hrs!
I guess he tried to April fool me!
mm...
But the expectation of a call from an old friend of yours...particularly when you are out of your native land on a 'mission' is really taunting..
Apart from this friend, there are lots others who dont realise that people away from home long for mails/calls from friends and relatives.
It is true that they most of the time do not realise it...and very few cant do it!
In that the friend I am waiting to call, mails me and so he falls into the category who realises the expectations...but doesnt call due to variuos other reasons which I realise and understand :-)

Thermodynamics...I am sure that everyone who stepped into their college will have come across this word..
All the processes in this world are indeed governed by this 'Thermodynamics'.
So must it be interesting to learn thermodynamics for a person who actually doesnt know what people learn in what is called "Advanced Chemical Engineering Thermodynamics" with module code CN5030.
Its all about fugacity, fugacity coefficients, activity, activity coefficients and Gibbs energy. Whichever chatper you turn into, you will certainly find more than a word in the above lists.
If its all about these 5 words wahts difficult...could be a naive question!
how many equations..how many calculations! mm...i wonder how one can expect a student to learn whatever research has been done for over past 100 years in about 4 months of coursework!
Courseworks should be really banned throughout the world!

I am not sure if the professors realise of how a weekend goes for a student!
They keep tests on Mondays..and thats really sickening :(.
I couldnt do anything due to the fear of a test coming up on Monday..nevertheless did i study for it!!
It all seems so greek and latin as i read thru the book...and i hate to waste a sunday without lying lazily on my bed with my music system singing!

எல்லோரும் இப்படி தானோ?

அனைவருக்கும் தன்னை எல்லொரும் புரிந்து கொள்ள வேண்டும் என்று ஆசை...
ஆனால் ஏனோ இவர்கள் மற்றவரை புரிந்து கொள்ள வேண்டும் என்று நினைப்பது இல்லை?

தான் நினைப்பது போன்று தானே மற்றவரும் நினைப்பர்?

ஏனோ நிறைய மக்க்ள் இதனை புரிந்து கொள்வது இல்லை....ப்ரச்சனைகளுக்கு வழி வகுத்து விடுகின்றனர்! :-)

today i had the opportunity to attend a conference on the business of biomedical sciences. many sucessful entreprenurs had come and shared their views. i really feel and understand that there is a lot of oppurtunities for biotech ppl and it is they who dont realise it!

when i joined B.Tech Biotech i joined only with aspiration to do research...idealistic hopes to find solutions to diseases...then as the 4 years went by, i realised what is idealistic and what is practical....
i never had thought about copmpanies...jobs etc..but one thing i wanted to be was to be a leader rather than a follower...and that was what triggered me to attend this conference which was aimed at pulling students into the biomedical industry. but i never thought there were already pioneers in this field!!
from their experiences i learn that things are not that easy as we think...biotech venturing is full of risks! u never know if u will succeed or fail! but still what theseppl claim is that true passion wins! but i am sure they would have undergone such a lot of agony and pain. they have shifted fom one domain to another...and back to the same domain...i mean...from bio to business...and thru business to bio...the passion...and what else cud have kept them going?

one hard fact that i notice is that there are not many entrepreneurs in India and hence Indian students lack that motivation. Students will have to extend their horizons and look into the trends in their neighbouring countries too...though US would be a dream target.

Another thing that i noticed was the the Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports, Dr.Vivian Balakrishnan, who is also incharge of entrepreneurship is a trained optha surgeon! he really understands how it is to do science and how excting it is..at the same time, he strikes a perfect understanding of the economic grounds for a biotech industry..and the mind of a business man...understand these extremes, he has played an instrumental role in bringing these ppl together...and i guess thats the secret of success for Singapore!

I wish Indian students cross borders and tap the potential available....
and ofcurse i am one among them!

HOW FRIENDS BREAK?

Both Friends will think the other is busy and will not contact thinking it may be disturbing. As time passes both will think let the other contact. After that each will think why should I contact first. Here ur love will be converted to Hate. Finally without contact the memory becomes week. They forget each other. One fine Day they will meet n blame one another

I caught this from the net and I felt it was damn true!!