Photograph by: Rajendra Thakurathi
The free chicken wings emails hit my mail box last Tuesday. I was instinctively drawn to Mercator Common room for them. I was happy to see only a small bunch of crowd waiting for the program to begin. It would mean more chicken wings for me.
A small video on the golden rule was shown to initiate the event. The speakers then went on to present Buddhist, Christian, literary and the Psychological perspective on the golden rule of living. Buddhist perceived the world as extension of oneself. They believed the golden rule of life was treating others as we treat ourselves. The Christian perspective had other mystical interpretation of the golden rule. This perspective believed in treating other people with love and care even if they are harsh and cruel to us. The literary perspective argued for the romantic version of the golden rule. The literature professor argued on the nineteenth century romantic portrayal of love. So for him the romantic love was the golden rule for life. The psychological perspective focused on the need of an individual to survive. And in order to survive best, the psychological perspective argued, the individuals have to maintain harmony and love between themselves. This process of coexisting was the golden rule of living for this perspective.
The discussion took me by complete surprise. I had nothing but chicken wings and Cola in my mind before I entered for the room. But the intellectual depth of the discussion slowly caught my attention. I slowly began to understand the intriguing perspectives of the golden rules.
Humans are simple by nature. They want to be loved and cared for. They want to live peacefully and want to ensure their future generations also have the same privileges. The social norms and sanctions evolve in such a process. The society is then governed by the fundamental understanding or golden rules. Each and every society has a unique understanding of this golden rule. But it’s very much striking, how similar they are and what they actually aim for. Each and every perspectives aim for love and compassion between the human beings. The minimal understanding required for another human being is also reflected in each and every of them. This understanding of the golden rule I obtained from the program was really worthwhile.
The chicken wings after the program did taste good. The Cola was also superb.
Just as I was taking the last bite of the wings a thought crossed my mind, “What would these chickens in our plate say about our love, compassion and the golden rule?” Another thought crossed my mind, “We are nothing but double standard hypocrites pretending to care.” A sad smile flashed across my face.
Tilak KC
To say goodbye ...
One month left here and then we would all be off - to different corners of the world. Well, at least, all the final year students. The others stay. University's still here, not going anywhere, so where would they disappear?
If someone asks me how the three years have been, I wouldn't be able to say much. It is quite difficult to explain. In many aspects, it has been quite a unique experience. The charm of seeing so many different people around you might wear off after the first year, but the freshness does not. And trust me, it is only when you are away from this place (Internships, holidays, etc.) do you realize that you like it and miss it. More than the academics (way more), I will carry with me the memories of the wonderful people that I have met here.
Not to make the post soppy, I would try to list some unexpected experiences that I have had, or some nice "sound bytes/bloopers".
"You are going to use a water scale to make sure that small picture is straight on the wall" - me to Alex (facility student). Reaction -> raucous laughter.
I never thought that I would be cooking, I was quite confident in Aramark. Forget cooking, I now even experiment with the stuff that Aramark come up with. Frying salad and cooking rice with it - one of my successful experiments.
The reaction that I always get when people see me eating watermelon with salt - I think it tastes wonderfully well.
OK, time to get back to my guided research. One of the main reasons of writing this post was our esteemed webmaster and friend, Ango. He was experiencing some bugs in the Mercator Website while fetching the latest feed contents from the blog and he wanted me to write something so that he could test. If he figures it out, well and good for all us. Otherwise, be prepared to endure some more posts from me.
Cheers
Rahul
Yesterday I went to the market. It was a busy place. People were busily buying the necessities. The vehicles were randomly moving. The passersby were hurrying towards their destination.
Then amidst all crowd, I saw a face froze time.
She had the eyes of deep blue sea. She had the color of the fair snow. Her smile was freezing everyone on their way. I could not stop myself from praising her.
“Oh, the fair one, oh angel, your incomparable beauty has in captivated me. My heart has fallen for you, oh, maiden I love you.” I said
She turned back. I saw a smile flash across her face. She soon left the market place.
I moved on.
After few more steps I saw another of the god’s masterpiece.
She was angelic. She had the heavenly beauty. She had the juvenile walk. She had the childish grace. Every passer by was turning back to glance at her. Yet, she was oddly oblivious of it. Dimples flashed across cheeks with those smile. She was a diamond oblivious of her own shine.
I couldn’t stop myself.
“Oh, the master creation of the god, thy creator must be very proud of you. I have never seen such an innocent beauty. You are the living angel. Oh, my love, I can’t tell you how much my heart longs for you.” I said.
She came to a sudden halt. I saw her rosy cheeks turn red. She turned and curiously gazed at me. She then too departed.
I moved on.
It was my lucky day. I saw another of the mesmerizing beauty ahead of me. She was the perfect imagination of an artist, perfect poem of a poet. Her dark oval face had searching brown eyes. She had perfect symmetrical nose. Her rosy lips were dry and oddly tempting. The two lines of white teeth flashed as she smiled about. She was searching for something in the shop.
I couldn’t stop myself.
“Oh god, thy heaven must be joyless for your angel is here in the earth. Oh, dear maiden, your grace is infinite. I can not tell you how much I wish to love you.”
She stared me with those brown eyes. There was neither compassion nor hatred in them. They were oddly calm. Soon, she too departed.
Today, I came back to the market.
There came the first angel.
“Oh dear poet, your courage has caught my heart. Your praising has given me a sleepless night. So, my dear poet, I am in love with you.”
She departed. Soon the second angel arrived.
“Oh dear boy, you have stolen something from me. I have never felt this before. I feel my heart longing for something, something beautiful. My heart longs for you my dear, you have stolen that from me, for that I am madly in love with you.
She departed. And the third angel arrived.
“Oh dear, your words have caught me, yet life isn’t just about words. The words shall be lost in happiness and sorrows of life. They shall be forgotten and buried. Love isn’t just about words. So, my dear, forgive me but I can not love you.”
Soon she too departed.
For some reason I was deeply in love with the third angel.
-Tilak KC
Sometimes you see your thoughts expressed in some one else's words ...
03.01.2009
Bremen 28759
Hi everybody,
I'm really sorry we could not meet during my short stay on campus. I hope the office team (CMs, RAs, etc. included :-)) is doing well and wish you all very happy, academically light, party-time heavy, immensely enjoyable semester ahead. I have not forgotten you and I hope I will see you some time in the foreseeable future (for the Graduation for example ...).
I like to treat myself with the though that the world would end without me to support it, but actually I am glad Mercator is still in place and running even without my service :-). No, but, seriously, congratulations on your work here (now from the perspective of an outsider) and keep up the blue spirit ...
Have a blast!
Yours
Ivan St.
I do not what made me go and check the suggestion box. I was certainly not looking for suggestions, we never seem to get any ways. The only previous message in the "inbox" was from our very Aiste - another former member of the college office team. However, I sure wasn't experiencing another pleasant surprise but thanks for it Ivan! We might off some four months but we still managed to get your wonderful message.
And I find it ironic how your thoughts mirror mine exactly. It was only yesterday when I was wondering what it would be like to leave this place. And when you do not know what the future holds for you, these frequency of these thoughts increases multi-fold. I was about to write something, but could not find the words to express myself. Your message does the job wonderfully. I now know what I will feel like when the time for me to go comes as well. It is not that far away, but your message makes me realize that I should concentrate on cherishing what remains rather than dwell on what is yet unknown.
Thanks Ivan, thanks a lot!
The wonderful weather, the fresh air, the radiant sky and the colours all around ... did you notice them?
Ladies and gents, spring is here!
Yesterday, I was out on the balcony. I was looking down the road. There was a little boot polisher with his small crate of brushes and polishes on one side of it. On the other side, there was a sage in yellow clothes seated in the tiger skin.
A customer and a worshiper came to the polisher and the sage respectively.
The polisher began his job. He placed his customer’s foot on the high hedge and started shining his shoes. He brushed off the shoe with the hard brush to remove the dust. After it was done, he took a soft brush and relentlessly brushed it across the shoe. He then applied some polish and then again went on with brushing. After five minute, one shoe was done. He then politely asked for the other shoe.
The shoes were all done. The customer took a five rupees note and handed it over to the polisher. He happily took it and put it in one of his inside pockets. He sincerely smiled at his customer and thanked him for his generosity.
The sage was also busy. He was moving his hands around and uttering incantations and mantras. He was trying to chase away the dark spirits.
The worshiper took a fifty rupees note and placed it in front of the sage. The sage threw a dirty look at money.
He reluctantly took the note and put it in his inside pocket. He then chained his pocket and double-checked it to make sure it was safely done.
The worshipper stood up and headed away. The sage did not bother to look up and give him final blessings.
Another customer and a female prayer came to the polisher and the sage respectively. The boy sincerely started his job. The priest was eyeing his client maliciously. He was trying to peek over the loose blouse of the female prayer.
After the job was done the boy got another five rupees note and the priest got a new crackling five hundred rupees note.
-Tilak KC
The sketch for the story is by Shreekrishna Sharma. You could find his works in http://www.ckizna.bravehost.com
Hopefully a break from work, a break from boredom and a break from all things academic. Break from university? I don't think so! Half the university is heading to Mallorca and the other half to Barcelona (the BRIMUN gang remains at the uni), so the chances that we all still manage to run into "people of 80 different nationalities as we walk around" (so wanted to use the brilliant catch phrase of our university) remain quite high. If I were into statistics, I might have given you a more accurate answer but being a computer scientist I shall remain with the tried and tested methods of probability.
Wondering why I titled it as deadwood? Look at the blog, last post was over a month ago! Highly disappointing for a college with 190 sets of grey cells floating around. Hard to imagine that not even 10 of them would be interested in sharing their experiences with everyone. Or have we turned so mundane, so monotonous that there is nothing to talk about? Hard to believe that considering the number of interesting events we have had over the past month. There was St. Patrick's with the dance and the Guinness, there was the Mercator Art Competition which featured nearly 30 diverse submissions and there was the Theatre Play thrown in between as well. And of course, not to forget the cheery cheer ups which, if the turnouts and the testimonials from members of the other colleges are anything to go by, are simply the best in the whole university! (need to brag a little, don't I :) ).
So guys, pick up your pens (or should I say fingers?) and start blogging. It's not that hard, it's not that tedious. We know you are out there itching to write and if you don't come here, we will come and get you!
Hope you all enjoy the spring break (which was apparently cancelled in an acrimonious decision on the historic day of 1st April :P).
Cheers
Rahul "I want you to blog" Jain :)