I grew up in Small Kasbah of Bihar. I did spend lots of good time
with grandpa which is “The Best” thing I have received at this place. Those
days are my lessons of attachment and humanities. My Dadaji spent his last days
in feeding birds, keeping waters in a rock pot for their bath and scolding me
and my siblings if there is no water in that rocky pot.
The greenery of growing wheat plant, orchard and the holy Ganga
was the circumference of my childhood and I feel proud to be associated with
this rural part of Bihar where I have spent my half of childhood with divinity.
Getting up early in the morning to pluck the flowers from others
garden during Dasahra, eating kacha-aam (green-mango) during mango season, playing cricket in hot summers
were the part of amazing childhood.
Peace, pure air, farmers, small traders, mukhiya (the headman) and
others are the feature of the place I was born.
Leanings from My School Principal, Slap from History Teacher as
partiality became my thought process in latter part of my life.
For better education I was sent to a Patna. (However I didn’t do
anything better) .Parents shifted to Deoghar where papa was in active business.
After my primary and secondary education I wrote IIT Exam, and
failure in IIT exam launched me in Karnataka to pursue my so called
engineering.
I enrolled at the Visvesvaraya
Technological University in 2007 for my undergraduate in Computer Science
& Engineering.
Engineering Taught me a lots of things in life. Transformation of
a boy to a man has taken place on those four years .A shy boy to aggressive
hostel representative who became talking point for some point of time in college.
Challenging seniors for paper presentation and winning the same
was my way to make place at director’s desk.
Ethics in life got a special place in my life during these days.
Small but very selective juniors gave me the small push in heights
of life. Life during engineering days guided me to adopt certain values.
Adaptation and latter liking South Indian food is an awesome
experience of my engineering days, I would quote a line from a south Indian
friend “itna shamhar tu khata hai ki mujhe sharm lagta hai ki mai south indian
hun ya tum (you eat so much Sāmbhar that I doubt my south indian-lity )” Taking
out all the green vegetable from Sāmbhar was my way of getting healthy food.
Eating south Indian foods at friend’s place, learning and talking
to them in Kannada , make them to think positive about the Aryans that they
will not destroy the culture of Dravidian used to be my debate points. I shared
classroom table with south Indians friends for 3(out of 4) years of
engineering. I don’t know why I made list of south Indian friends whereas north
Indian classmates were on some distance from heart. However I was very much
connected to my juniors.
I had a good rapport with them and they use to be very personal
while sharing their background and asking for guidance.
Searching for a good girl to fall in love with is always an
instinct of Engineers and I was not an exception.
Moving from Bellary (college location) to Bangalore for job was a
new chapter of life.
Working with different people has given me more exposer and
confidence.
Meeting Venketesh for ‘School
for India’ vision gave me energy and motive to move always on right path of
life.
Signing Off :
Saket Pandey
