My favorite professor

Famous Sanskrit proverb says –asatoma sadgmaya, tamasoma jyotirgamaya, mruthyorma amruthamgaya ! Lead me from darkness to light, unreality to reality and from mortality to immortality. That’s what a great teacher does! I felt this when I met my favorite professor, Prof. Bhavanishankar Rao.

When I opted for Kannada literature, I didn’t realize its impact on me. But today, I feel proud and happy that I made that choice. We were all quite curious about this professor, who always defied the orthodox perception that a student had about literature professors. You know we all have that imagination about literature professors, kurtas, pajamas, black framed glasses, sling bag hanging on the shoulder, bearded man with a book on his left hand. He defied all of them; neither his look, nor his attitude was like a literature professor.

It was our fifth Kannada literature class. The question was about caste system. Do you agree to the caste system? Well, I wasn’t very sure then, what’s my stand on caste system? But I answered – sir, a tiger would prefer to be with tiger and not a cat! Well, that day he just smiled at my answer. Eventually, he just enlightened me about how foolish I was and today I laugh at that answer of my own as I understand the menace of entire caste system and its repercussions on the society. He totally believed that - ‘knowledge will not come from teaching but from questioning. The Kannada literature class was like – Plato’s debate society. Not even a single student would bunk Kannada class. Kannada class was like a mirror to outer world. It was our window to the external world that we were afraid and curious about. Questions, answers, debates, arguments, analysis and further more debates on current affairs, politics, science, environment, technology, corporate, criminal law, society etc etc. it was limitless.

One day I complained in the class that – ‘sir, you are targeting me! Why you ask questions only to me?’ He just asked me – ‘do you agree to democracy’. My answer was yes. Then, let’s go for majority opinion, he said. I was wondering, what he is going to do next. He just asked the entire class to vote. Raise your hands if you want me not to ask her any questions. For my surprise no one raised their hand. Later he explained- look – I don’t want to ask questions to totally a stupid person, because they would never answer. I won’t ask questions to totally a smart person like you, because I know I get the perfect answer. However, I want to ask questions who are sitting on the wall. If I don’t get a satisfactory answer from them, then yes- you’re my last resort in this class. Well, though I wasn’t convinced with his method, it made me proud.

My favorite professor changed my perception about the world outside. He didn’t feed the thoughts in my mind. He just gave me books and asked me to read and then summarize it him the next day. This continued for years and only after my graduation I realized, how these viewpoints made me think and think. He not only respected student’s diverse opinion, but encouraged to reason them out and also develop them. He is an enthusiast photographer, amazing video-film maker, an educationist, a humanist, a great writer, blogger, social activist, computer programmer, an eternal writer, who has written more than 50 books on various topics like computer, law, mythology, education, car driving, politics, religion, economics, share market, trading, photography, agriculture, gardening, logic and reasoning etc,. He was jack of all trades and master of literature. The entire college titled him as ‘walking encyclopedia’. He was the pioneer of progressive thoughts and modern approach. A rare blend that’s hard to find!

This professor, who really is the sculptor of my personality who shaped my thoughts, vision, dreams, aspiration, righteousness, He introduced me to - atheism, existentialism, nihilism, feminism, humanism, logic, reasoning, he opened my doors to reading to traveling, exploring to researching; who gave me the writers like Nietzsche to Bertrand Russell, Franz Kafka to Masanobu Fukuoka, Kant to Dostoevsky, Darwin to Hawking, Ananthamurthy to Rahamat Tarikere, Ranna to Kuvempu to Tejaswi, and put in my mind that “eternal greed” for knowledge and an everlasting zeal! A right teacher at the right time at the right place is the greatest asset one can have!!

He is someone who gleamed optimism, glimmered imagination and galvanized a love for learning – the ones who shaped the person who I am today. His memory sways in my mind for he has brought in the best out of me, which I admire about myself. Great teachers are the sculptors of a great nation, and a good world, truly believe in that!! I wish that every student is blessed with such a gifted teacher. 

Those Three Words

Those three words!

Those three words! Those three words that fascinated mankind for centuries. Those three words, that humanity tried to seek an answer. Those three words that differentiates a human from an animal. Those three words, that’s an eternal enigma. What are those three words? When I asked this question - The answer I got from few married people is – I am sorry; few toastmasters answered – table topic session, and then few others mentioned –let’s get married! Few lovers said – those three words are - ‘we should talk’!

While pondering the answer for this eternal enigmatic question, a childhood incident crossed my mind. I am an ardent admirer of nature. I was fortunate to own my ‘tiny little’ garden that we cousins named as ‘suchi’s garden’. There were petite hands playing in the slush and rainy water, planting the colorful flowers that they found beautiful. The garden was their empire and workshop, everything there was their life, every plant was their baby. Months passed by thus with these little children and their suchi garden. One day, a neighbor boy ajay came and stole a beautiful plant from suchi’s garden. The very act of their neighbor boy got those little children angry, annoyed and furious. The next day, all over their fence they wrote that ‘ajay is a thief’. Well, suchi and suchi’s cousin gang stopped talking to that thief ajay. Even till date we don’t talk to each other. Today it sounds silly to me- but, once that was the right thing to do.

As I grew older, this incident intrigued my life. Why it mattered to me. It was just a plant? Was that plant part of me? Even to date, I feel he is a wrongdoer. Is it against my principle? Who taught me that? What constitutes me, what constitutes my thoughts, what constitutes my morals, Final question was – who am I? What is life? Why am I here?

These three words have sent poets to the blank page, philosophers to the agora and seekers to the oracles.

When asked, why are we here, a great philosopher said - we are here to die a heroic death for the sake of the collective, we are here to produce off-springs, we are here to prepare them for life and we are here to provide for them, is that it? Or are we our thoughts and ideas. We should be seeking immortality for our ideas and thoughts and not our physical body.

Our belief that we are here for a purpose shows that we are so engrossed in ourselves that we feel, our existence has a purpose. We are the same species that feel animals, insects, flora, fauna and everything around us is purposeless and they are here to accommodate our existence.

We are so deeply wired to find patterns that we never accept that many things are just random. A moth is so deeply wired to fly towards the light that it may never accept that the light bulb is not the moon. And we sympathize that moth. We should have the same sympathy for our faulty wiring as we do for the moth. Give us some dots and a line, and we’ll see a face. A carrot from my garden looks like god, a mere cloud formation looks like a sign. What does it mean? A black cat crossed my path. What does it mean? An old friend calls just a minute after I was thinking about them. What does it mean? What does it mean when someone likes your fb posts and pictures, and someone doesn’t? What does it mean when someone laughs at every sentence you speak? What does it mean when you get a loud applause and when you don’t?

The answer my dear friends – is Nothing! Nothing at all. Nothing has inherent meaning. Everything is only what it is and that’s it.

The great music band Talking Heads, was popular for their redolent and mysterious lyrics. Their lyrics made you wonder what they were really about. In an interview about their lyrics, they said many of their lyrics were random. They would write random phrases on pieces of paper, then throw them into a bowl, and shuffle them up. Then they’d pull them out, and put them into the song in that order. They did this because they liked how the listener creates meaning that wasn’t intended. We assume that if someone writes a song, and sings it on the stage, it must have a meaning. Nope. It was random. Any meaning you think it contains was put there by you, and it’s yours not the writers.

Let’s get back to our original question. Who am I? Why am I here? Recently I joined yoga class. At the end of each session, the instructor asks all of us to do something that was so enlightening and refreshing. Please follow me.  Kindly close your eyes. Imagine you are sitting in your favorite place with calm and quietness! Forget everything around and focus on you. Ask yourself - who am I? Why am I here? We may not find an answer, we may not have an answer, and the answer may differ to each one. But for this moment, let’s leave it there and live a life that’s meaningful to you.

The runner !

When life sings – ‘this is the end’ and you are holding your breath and counting ten’ when all your efforts are going futile, what brings you back? – a friend, family, movie, a speech, or it’s never too late to dream or I see something in you? May be a book, alcohol? When mind sets in melancholy – there is an inner voice, call it your subconscious or soul that brings you back- that’s the song of one’s life.

Do you have song of your life?

In a certain African tribe, when a woman gets pregnant, she dwells into the wilds with people and they meditate until they hear the song of the child. They believe that every human has its own tremor that reflects an essence. When the woman attune to the song, they sing it out loud.  When they return they teach it to everyone.

They sing that song during child's birth, during child’s study, its adulthood and marriage. Lastly, when the soul is about to rest, they sing the person to next life. If ever, during one’s lifetime, the person commits a crime, they are asked to come to the village’s center and the community sings their song. The tribe trusts that refinement for crime is love and rumination of one’s own identity. When one recognizes their song, they will never hurt another.

Long back, a young child’s family approached astrologers to check child’s future prospects. 10 astrologers said that child is going to be eternally illiterate and a billionaire. That’s an offer hard to refuse. But those parents were petrified and appalled. All they did was asking the child to focus only on studies, no sports and no eloping. So no running or running away. But, they also taught that child, a song of life that had 5 words  – never never never give up that resonated in child’s mind forever.

The child grew up and completed 12^th, graduation and the law school, all with gold medal and rank. Today that child is here. Did I become a billionaire? Being literate I might have waived off that billionaire bucket. 

Did I run away? No. Did I ever run? During 10^th standard, I desired to be an all-rounder, both in studies and sports. Secretly, I registered for 100 meters race. The race day came. I was all set with energy drinks, bars, sprays and warm ups. They called – on your marks, ready set go….I hardly ran 30 meters I felt chest pain. I didn’t give up. But, by the time I reached 50 meters I was almost down and with great difficulty I reached 80 meters and crawled towards 100 meters mark.

That day I decided No Running. It was set and settled in my mind that No running. However, that song never faded. But I never ran.

Future had its own spell. In 2010, I decided to trek Everest base camp. I was so enthusiastic to climb that glorious path. The fitness test for the climb was - run 5 km every day. My devastating running history was haunting. However the Everest Base was so enticing that I started off with 100 meter run, within a week 500 meters, within a month 2 kms and within 3 months….I was able to run 5 km with enough breaks and hydration. I completed Everest Base trekking. But, I continued running and in 2012 – completed my first 10k run, then second and third and continued. 2014, I completed my first 21k. It was tough, strenuous, agonizing. But I never never never gave up. Then I started preparing myself for 42k. My run began at around 5 am. I was one among the 18 women in Bangalore who were running 42 km. A thought of giving up in between flashed in my mind several times. Then I sang for myself – ‘never never never give up’ and in 2015 - I completed my two full marathons.

We don’t have an African tribe that sings our song to us. At times, we cannot wait for someone else to sing that song for us, we have to sing our own life song to encourage our own self. We are the one who know our song and the one who can sing it for us. We might be solitary reapers in the field of our own life, and so, we have to recall our beauty when we feel ugly; our entirety when we are wrecked; our strength when we feel weak, our dreams when we are confused our virtue when we feel guilty and sing for our own self – the song of our life. 

Tadiandamol Revisited

 That’s not the first time! That won’t be the last time! Though, as a rule, I don’t like to visit the same place twice – since life is too short to do that, at times – you bend those rules – just to go with few near and dear ones.


One such trip took me to Coorg! Coorg has always been a beautiful memory for me in many ways! My first trek was to that beautiful and picturesque Tadiandamol Hill. First time when I visited Tadiandamol, never I imagined that – I would lead a couple of souls(soles) brimming with adrenaline to the same peak once again ! Time has its own pleasant surprises. With a group of fitness freaks, runners, yoga warriors, on a Friday noon, we headed towards Coorg. Tea, coffee, snacks, cakes, mafia, songs, unending talks and debates – it was almost 11.30pm when we reached Honey Valley! I must appreciate the zeal of the gang that stayed up till 2 am – indulging in ceaseless deliberations instead of resting for the next day journey.

After good mornings, packing our day-pack, breakfast – we started off at 8.45am towards Tadiandamol, taking the longer route. That black dog became self-driven guide for this hike. Morning walk in the honey valley route was amazing – since early morning sun rays cast a beautiful misty pattern as it rises through the trees in the woods amidst misty land. We made our walk through the coffee estates, forests, dry-grassy land, and some slippery narrow stretches. The route was filled with elephant dung, evidencing that elephants often roam around in this forest land.

It was almost 2.30 we reached the peak and were welcomed with loud applaud and that black dog was ahead of us while we were reaching the peak! :P The view on the peak is worth walking that stretch. For our surprise, it suddenly became foggy, misty and turned to be pretty cloudy. Slight drizzle added to the lovely weather. The photo session, selfie session,  groupie session, videos, all done to everyone’s satisfaction. The day-pack lunch tasted the best ever in that peak hour hunger. Tadiandamol never disappoints you – be it rainy, winter or summer. The greenery around, mist, fog always peps you up and makes you feel happy once you reach the peak.

Way-back was pretty nice and easy munching loads of chocolates, singing songs, photo sessions again. Before even we could realise, we almost reached the base and it was getting bit darker. It was fun to watch few groups going up with water cans, food vessels and camping gears, etc., Stopped at a shady place for ‘chai’ break amidst ‘mixed opinion’ and finally got back to our abode with that bumpy ride! Ride back had a short ‘vote of thanks/ tell something about someone’ – that revealed interesting things about everyone in the gang. Of course, the black little champ followed us back to the base.

Post yoga stretches lead by Yogini Suchi (‘my Suchi’), all barged in for dinner. Salad, chicken, vegetables, sambal, rice, roti, kheer, papad, - it was a sumptuous dinner. On request, we had our own camp-fire; well, followed by amazing dance performance by Karthik, Satlaj, Niharika, Anjula, Lata! Night was supposed to ending with the dance and camp-fire. But again, as talkative as we are, it continued with ‘insane talks’, debates with the most ‘believe it or not revelations’ (prime mention – Leju) :P

Next morning- started off with small morning walk, yoga session and breakfast and visited Chingara Falls (within 1 km distance) and then Bylakuppe, savoring the momos.  By this time, almost everyone got familiar and comfortable with everyone in the group. It didn’t seem like – these folks just met each other’s a day before. Masala dosa and tea at Adigas was the last pit-stop before reaching Bangalore.

Few trips don’t require much planning, they just need like-minded souls. Coorg looked more beautiful even in the peak summer with these amazing bunch of enthusiasts…;)

P.S. :P – The added flavor was – Lata’s killer smile; My Suchi’s ‘unfastened hair’; PD’s ‘world famous nose ring’; ‘Anjula’s adorable beauty’; Satlaj’s ‘everlasting charm’; Karthik’s ‘smartness’ and unexplainable mafia bravery; Leju’s ‘unending flattery and punchlines’; Niharika’s ‘timely comebacks and songs’; Nihit’s ‘humbleness and helpfulness’ ! made it a ‘full-fledged gang’ :P :P

ಮರಳಿ ಹಾಡಿದ ಹಕ್ಕಿ

 ಅಗೋ ಅಲ್ಲಿ ಆ ಹಕ್ಕಿ
ಮರಳಿ ಹಾರುತಿದೆ

 ತೆನೆ ಪೈರುಗಳ ಲೋಕದಲಿ
 ತಣ್ಣನೆ ತೇಲಾಡುತಿದೆ

ಒಲುಮೆಯ ಒನರು ವಯ್ಯಾರದಿ
ಮತ್ತೊದು ನವ ಹಾಡ ಹಾಡುತಿದೆ

ಹೊಸದೊಂದು ಗೂಡನು ನೆಯ್ಯುಥಿದೆ
ಹೊಸ ಆಶಯ ಹೊಸ ಕನಸನು ಕಾಣುತಿದೆ

ಆಗಸದಿ ಕಂಡ ಕೆಂಪು ನೀಲಿ
ನವಿರಾದ ಬಾವನೆಯ ಚಿಮ್ಮುತಿದೆ

ಕಣ್ಣಲ್ಲಿ ಸವಿ ನೆನಪು
ಹೃದಯದಲಿ ಮಂಜೊಂದು ಹನಿಯುತಿದೆ

ಮತ್ತೆ ತನ್ನೊಳವಿನ ಅಂಗಣಕೆ
ಪಯಣವನು ಮಾಡುತಿದೆ

5. The woman who tried to change India

Confucius says – our glory is not in ever falling, but in rising every time we fall. India has been made by such great glorious people. We are enlightened by great luminaries. These Indians have not only influenced the Indian people, but have also left a cherished mark on the world. Indians like Gandhiji, Tagore, Kalam, Bose shaped this nation. Industrialists like Tata and Ambani lead this nation towards legacy. These are all great names. How about a commoner who contributed greatly to this nation? Any names? Dear Toastmasters and Guess good afternoon. Her name is Bhanwari Devi from Rajasthan. Anyone who heard of her name? She was born in a low-caste kumhar (potter) family in Rajasthan. The village was prominently filled with the upper caste Gurjars. In the 1980s, child marriages were rampant and the caste system was dominant. Bhanwari was a saathin, who was part of the Women's Development Project. She took up issues related to land, water, literacy, rape, health etc. She had the support of the villagers. In 1992, the Rajasthan government decided to launch a campaign against child marriage during a festival. Bhanwari was tasked with convincing local villagers not to conduct child marriages. The campaign was largely ignored by the villagers and faced disapproval from everywhere. However, one Mr. Ram Karan Gurjar had planned to marry off his one-year-old daughter. Bhanwari made attempts to persuade the family to stop the wedding. Even the police went to the village to stop the marriage. While they succeeded in preventing the marriage happening on that day, the marriage took place the next day. No police action was taken against this. However, the villagers associated the police visits with Bhanwari. The village boycotted Bhanwari and her family. The villagers stopped selling milk to the family or buying pots they made. On 22 September 1992, while Bhanwari and her husband were working in their field, five men Ram Karan, Ram Sukh, Gyarsa, Badri and Shravan Sharma attacked her husband, leaving him unconscious. When she came to her husband's rescue, Gyarsa and Badri raped her, while the other three pinned her down on the ground. When Bhanwari tried to lodge a FIR she faced lot of suspicion and indifference by the surmounting police. At the police station, Bhanwari was asked to deposit her "lehanga" (long skirt) as evidence. She had to cover herself with her husband's blood-stained turban and walk 3 km to the nearest village at about 1 am in the morning for medical examination. This indifference continued everywhere she went, one of the male doctor refused to medically examine, while no female doctor was present. One of the doctors wrote in his referral that she was being sent for a test "confirming her age and not rape. Another refused to conduct any tests without orders from a Magistrate; the Magistrate refused to give the orders until the next day, as it was past his working hours. As a result, the medical examination was done after 48 hours of the alleged rape, whereas law requires it within 24 hours. Police and physician’s acts damaged the evidence and resulted in the impediment of justice. Still she approached the court, but five judges were changed and the sixth judge ruled that the accused were not guilty, stating that Bhanwari's husband couldn't have passively watched his wife being gang-raped. Very unfortunately the court infamously ordered, “Since the offenders were upper-caste men and included a brahmin, the rape could not have taken place because Bhanwari was from a lower caste”. Bhanwari Devi was accused of fabricating the rape by the alleged rapists and their supporters, and faced public humiliation in her village. She refused monetary compensation to avoid allegations that she did this to get money. In 2007, 15 years later, the Rajasthan High Court on appeal, held only one hearing on the case and two of the accused were dead. Bhanwari Devi and her family were ostracized by villagers. When her mother died, her brothers and others did not allow her to participate in the funeral. We all know that Bhanwari didn’t get the justice she deserved. But, guess what happened? Her example encouraged several rape victims to prosecute their rapists. That lead several nationwide protests and campaigns. Also in some time, the average age of the first-time mother in Rajasthan had gone up to 17 years. An NGO Vishaka took her case up and a number of women's rights activists and lawyers filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) in the Supreme Court of India. As a result of the efforts of all of them today we have the famous - Vishakha Guidelines. One of the landmark judgments in the history of India to deal with sexual harassment at the workplace. It’s a victory to all men and women in India who want this nation to reach its zenith. A small woman made an enormous change. She stood up for justice, she stood up for what’s right, and she stood up for humanity. Its souls like her that makes India proud. As they say, Leader is not about titles, positions or flowcharts. It is about one life influencing another, and she really does.

Breaking the barrier

How many you believe that human body has a limit? How many agree that human mind has restrictions? According to fable, mavens said for years that the human body was simply not proficient of running 4-minute a mile. It wasn’t mere hazardous; it was impossible. Further legends hold that people had tried for thousand years to break the barrier, even tying bulls behind them to surge the speed to do the incredible. In the 1940’s, the mile record was 4:01, where it stood for nine years, as runners struggled with the idea that, just maybe, the experts had it precise. Dear Toastmasters and Guests Good afternoon – in 1954, Roger Bannister broke the 4-minute barrier, running the expanse in 3:59. As part of his training, he obstinately envisioned the attainment in order to craft wisdom of breaking the barrier in his mind and body. Hardly a year after Bannister’s feat, 24 people ran a mile in below 4 minutes. Now, it’s almost a routine. It took a sense of breaking the barrier for Bannister to do what was considered un-doable. He alone was capable to create that certainty in himself without seeing any proof that it could be done. I’ve perceived firsthand what a tiny conviction can do. I was in 10th standard. Like everyone else I thought I need to be an all-rounder, not only in studies but I shall excel in sports too. And for all my enthusiasm and eagerness, I gave my name for 100 meters race. The race day came. I was all set to run with energy drinks, energy bars, sprays, warm ups and oomph. And they called – on your marks, ready set go….I hardly ran 30 meters I felt some pain in my chest. By the time I reached 50 meters I was almost down and with great difficulty I reached 80 meters and crawled towards 100 meters mark. That day I decided running is not meant for me and I am not meant for running. It was set and settled in my mind that I can’t run. My family consoled me saying its ok….running is only for those who want to run away. Future had its own spell. I decided to trek to the Everest base in 2011. I was so enthusiastic to climb that glorious path. But my lead said, I need to run 5 km every day in order to be fit for the climb. My devastating running coup was haunting. It took me days and weeks to gather courage and push myself, however the rigor of climb was so much that I started off with 100 meter run, within a week 500 meters, within a month 2 kms and within 3 months….I was able to run 5 km with enough breaks and hydration. I completed my Everest Base Camp trekking. But, even after my trekking I continued habit of running and in 2012 – completed my first 10k run, then second and then the third and then the fourth, saga continued. It was in 2014 when I completed my first 21k. It was tough, strenuous, agonizing. But I never wanted to give up. Then I started preparing myself for 42k. This time it’s twice the distance and I started off my run at around 5 in the morning. I was one among the 18 women in Bangalore who were running 42.2 k that day. A thought of giving up in between flashed in my mind many a times. But I took a look at the runners ahead me and behind me and then go forward, breaking that barrier of “I can’t run” and then I completed my two full marathons. When you become certain of something, when you focus on it every single day, something “magical” happens. Not New Age magical, but science magical. We have a system in our bodies called the reticular activating system (RAS) that helps our brains decide what information to focus on and what to delete. When you have a clearly-defined purpose, a mission, and when you live every moment in a state of certainty that you’ll achieve it, you influence what your RAS filters out and what lights it up. As a result, you pay special attention and that helps you achieve what you’re after. When I was trying to do my full marathon, I was certain that I’d do it. There was no reason for this certainty. But I found it somewhere in myself that I can do it. Dear All, it’s the same thing with toastmasters, all I had was conviction to complete my project speeches and here I am with my ACS. It’s cliché; but let us pledge today to be certain of ourselves and be what we want. Let’s break the barrier.