Sunday 22 May 2011

Student unions, elections and college in the 70's

So you have all survived! Could the reason for not being Raptured be any of these?

I was reading the Lyngdoh committee report and was remembering student union elections in my student days.
There are many people who decry the violence in today's world and talk of "good old days". They have not seen student union elections in the 70's

As far as student union activities are concerned, I don't know if anyone recalls the disturbances in DU during Arun Jaitley's days as DUSU president.
Does anyone recall that every September, between 1971-1974, Bangalore University would be closed due to student disturbances. The students of Central College would come in huge groups to visit other colleges and force students to join the crowd.
Or the violence in Osmania campus in the 70's..George Reddy was chased and murdered in the campus in full public view.
I finished my schooling in a sleepy hill town which had one motorable road. In this town, there was one college and during this college election, there was violence.
One day as I was walking along the lakeshore, I saw some commotion and out of curiosity, went to find out what was going on. They were fishing out a body, swollen and green....the murdered college union presidential candidate.
Violence and disturbances still go on in all the University campuses, but I think it is considerably reduced. Perhaps students are no longer willing to lose an academic year and the political bosses know this. In fact I was surprised that the Telengana movement in the last two academic years, did not get intensive enough for the students to lose the year. The University juggled with the exams holding third sem exams during fourth sem on Sundays and so on.
Being in college in the 70's was a high risk venture what with all this violence, the all pervasive drug culture and the Naxalbari movement that attracted many intellectual students.

Friday 20 May 2011

childbirth

The writer of one of the blogs I follow is soon to be a mother.
Till I was maybe 25 or so, I thought of motherhood as a big impediment to my career(I was right). I definitely did not want to have a baby. There was also a great fear of the pain involved in childbirth (true).
Yet why did I or any woman who has a choice, choose to have a baby?... it's not rational at all.
The experience of motherhood is very rewarding...that sounds ridiculous...motherhood and apple pie........but it is true.... the feeling is really unique and fulfilling.
After 29 years, I still regret the loss of a research career, but if it was an either/ or situation, my vote is for my kids.
But I still don't know why anyone would choose to have a baby before she knows this. I don't know why I did. Instinct I guess.

cbi

The recent goof up by CBI will lead to a lot of embarassment and gives an opportunity to Pak to say categorically that none of the people on the list is in Pak.
However, that may blow over eventually. What is more worrying is that if even such obvious info is not shared between the police and CBI , then how do they perform any kind of investigation at all?

Wednesday 18 May 2011

Chemistry for a five year old.

It's wonderful to be back home. But I did enjoy myself with my 5 year old nephew in Bangalore and my 5 month old grandnephew in Chennai.
The nephew and I made chocolate cake out of Marie biscuits and he was thrilled. His interests range from dinosaurs to nebulae. He can distinguish between different dinosaurs...some 50 of them.
He asked me if I knew about atoms and molecules (his father told him I did). Then, if you cannot see them even with a microscope, how do you study them and get to know about them?
I am not sure if I answered that to his satisfaction.

Ceiling fan

 I read somewhere that as a solution for student suicides, IISc has decided to remove fans from hostel rooms. No fan, no suicide. This shoul...