SN writes ... My Thoughts

I register here some of my thoughts, both partial and complete, when I think about Sengottai ...

• Name cannot be erased from my memory till my last breath.
• Place from where I started seeing the world as a child.
• Lived near the railway station (Viswanathapuram or Thachchan kudiyiruppu - a small quiet village) while growing up.
• Started my schooling step at the famous A G English School with ever-caring, humble and respectful teachers. Excellent coaching. My English today is due to this school. Gave me a bunch of true friends and I am continuing the friendship even today.
• Vanchinathan Bus stand and the beautiful park I passed through daily on my way to school. Big siren inside the park used to remind us every hour of passing time.
• Every day journey to school from my house was very pleasant.
• One day (1973), I got Rs. 50 as a treasure near a water pipe at Toll gate junction.
• I cannot forget a day before Deepavali. I gambled my savings Rs. 5 thinking that I could win and buy more crackers. Lost all in "Vettu Cheetu" near Chatram rice mill... Sad, is it not?
• Finished my primary schooling and joined SMSS Govt. High school. There opened a new horizon in my life. Got into new environment, new friends, new teachers - Totally new. I felt grown as a boy.
• Cannot forget that day, as a sixth standard boy, when I got the first prize in singing competition defeating all my seniors.
• Only here, at SMSS, I entered into the world of fascinating game of Cricket. Thanks to my friend, Ravi Ganesh, who explained to me what's that all about. Got selected to school team with a sixer shot which landed in the adjacent Chatram building. PT master Sri. Jaganathan Sir told me, "you are selected." I was on cloud nine.
• From that day I breathe, eat and live cricket, even today at the age of 45+. In one class match, I scored 204 runs not out with my partner Laxmanan scoring 65 runs.
• Occasional cane beatings from Balu sir for coming late, scolding from other teachers for not doing assignment and not answering their questions. Class rooms changed every year - enjoyed the days as a school boy thoroughly ...
• Then came the year 1983 and we moved to X 'C' class near the entrance of our school. My final year in the school! Came March - Wrote exam and became SSLC PASSED WITH 86%!!
• Time came when I had to leave this wonderful place to make a new journey to take the next level of my education.
• These are just a few wonderful moments from Sengottai, which I will cherish for the rest of my life ...
• I will keep registering my thoughts.

-SN

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Chandran Sir (by RH)

I never knew that an image of a classroom sent by RGK would lead to a blog post. 

A Classroom!

No, The Classroom!! Where we flew once!!

The classroom on the left of a black board above.

SN wrote immediately, "Hey! Our tenth ‘C’ class."

That opened up the floodgates of memory.  The next room to our class was HM’s (Head Master) room. I am gazing through my window. It is quite cloudy and looks like sky would open up anytime. The cool breeze combines with nostalgic memory to evoke a pleasant presence around me. The random shapes of clouds create nice patterns on the dark sky. The mind sees mountains, flowers, faces, alphabets, etc. in patterns and is comfortable in the order it perceives. When I think about orderly patterns, my thoughts bring Chandran Sir to the foreground.

Chandran Sir wanted everything written in order; in a nice aesthetically pleasing manner. He was our mathematics teacher. The algebraic equations should be written in a methodical manner. The graphs should be drawn with sharp lines. Never forget the units. Never forget the scale. He would make sure you would not forget. I am wrong. He would make your ears and hands remind you all those niceties. It depends on his mood whether he would take a cane or ‘scale’, or hold the ear. It must be paining a lot. I do not remember the lesson taught to my ear. But I still remember the hit on my knuckles with the ‘scale’ – only once, I think.

You do not get his expected aesthetics unless an example is given. You might not see anything wrong in the following steps:

Wait! Notice the position of the horizontal line (fraction line that differentiates numerator from denominator) on the right side with respect to the ‘equal’ sign. It has lowered a bit down. There is no alignment between ‘=’ and the horizontal line. See how the misalignment is pronounced in the last step. You have just got a taste of Chandran Sir’s orderly patterns! On seeing this he would do immediately the following:

Okay, let’s correct our mistake. Now we write as follows:

Things are improving. That was one of the things he expected. Watch carefully how ‘=’ sign has strayed towards the right. He put an oval around ‘=’ signs to prevent them going wayward.

You correct that too. 

All these things would happen after getting the math right. We might feel, "Why the hell he is making our lives difficult when I get the answers right?" But do not forget patterns, order, and aesthetics. Chandran Sir never uttered these words but only meant implicitly.

Years later, a math professor said, “Math is beauty. Beauty is aesthetics. Aesthetics is in finer details. How you think is as important as what you think. How you write is as important as what you write. Do not take anything granted. You will then see the line between art and science disappears. What remains is a human who knows how to wonder and explore.”  

Thank you, Chandran Sir, for sowing the seed.

I am seeing lazy drizzles outside. The leaves are greener than green. The flowers acquire more color. The sky is dark and has opened up. It is just about to pour.

I was wrong again when I wrote this, “I never knew that an image of a classroom sent by RGK would lead to a blog post.” It would perhaps lead to multiple blog posts.

-RH
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