My Passion

I don t know whether the title of this post is apt or not, may be I should say " The Dream 'Unpursued' "

I always postponed writing this post blaming it on time. Today, I felt, "There is never a wrong time"..........


In my life I had different ambitions at different points of time, till my 8 th grade I wanted to be a scientist or an architect, then in 9 th a doctor, in 10 th an engineer. At present doing B.Tech in Naval Architecture and Ocean Engineering at IITMadras, I believe I am pursuing my "architect" and "engineer" dream.

There is a little(a very little) chance at present to pursue my cherished "scientist" dream of inventing or discovering something.

A few days back I saw a notice about a lecture by "Dr. MS Swaminathan", a celebrated agricultural scientist and the father of Green Revolution in India.Seeing his name I recollected my school days when our biology teacher lectured about his contributions to the field of Agriculture.He was one of my inspirations from then. I rejoiced when I heard that he is coming here for a lecture. Later that night when we were discussing some thing some of my friends asked who "MS Swaminathan" is. This question stunned me. Then I felt pity. I don't know whom I pitied, Is it my friends, who asked me the question, for being so ignorant?(No, I don't think so. Cause many asked this question. I don't think it is their mistake not hearing the name of an eminent scientist). May be I pitied MS Swaminathan himself for not being known to some of the bright minds of the country. May be I pitied myself knowing that one of my role model is a person who is not so famous even after being called as the "Father of Green Revolution in India" and also as one of the most influential Asians of the century. Anyways I will talk about this in more detail later if possible.

Coming back to my dreams I always had this dream of becoming a lawyer, which I never revealed to anyone. I never even tried to pursue it. For me it is a profession in which one can actually stand up to his own ideals and even express his awe in front of anyone.
Where you can be the twilight in the desert, a ray of hope in the darkness. I always had a feeling that this is one of the noblest professions. May be one of the few professions where you get the chance to change the system. Where your voice will be heard. Where people value your opinion.

Recently, I had a feeling that may be I should have studied law. This feeling may be from watching some characters like Gregory Peck as Atticus finch in "To kill a mocking bird",Kevin Costner as Jim Garrison in "JFK", Joe Pesci in "My cousin Vinny", Richard Gere in "Primal Fear", Tom Cruise in "A few Good Men" etc. Not to mention many characters especially James Spader and Willian Shatner in "Boston Legal". May be it is just a feeling from those scenes and dialogues.
Here I mention one of those hundreds

Primal Fear:

I am your attorney which means I am your mother, your father, your teacher and your priest by Richard Gerry to Edward Norton

LET MY COUNTRY AWAKE

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 the 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

25 things to do before you are 25.

1. Fall in Love.  

2. Ride a bicycle.  

3. Swim.  

4. Kiss someone.  

5. Drive a motorcycle.  

6. Have a night out with your friends Ò just talking.  

7. Try alcohol (and realize that getting drunk is just not worth it.)  

8. Learn to play a musical instrument Ò at least try÷  

9. Play your favorite game for a whole day.  

10. Read ÏThe GodfatherÓ and ÏLove StoryÓ.  

11. Learn to cook.  

12. Skydive.  

13. Watch the sunrise.  

14. Resist ÏtryingÓ smokingÒyou will thank yourself for the rest of your life.  

15. Go to a rock show.  

16. Trek Ò Climb a mountain.  

17. Smell a Rose.  

18. Shave your head or grow your hair extra long.  

19. Write a poem/song.  

20. Drench yourself in the rain.  

21. Eat the cheapest meal you can find.  

22. Gate-crash into a party.  

23. Go regularly to the gym for at least three months.  

24. Learn your favourite song by heart.  

25. Walk a mile  alone.