Ustad Bismillah Khan Sahib – a tribute !

One of the musicians I remember having seen very  frequently on TV and also on all national occasions, Independence day, Republic day etc.. more than anybody else  is none other than Ustad Bismillah Khan. Born in 1916, his death yesterday in Varanasi at age 90, has created a huge void which cannot be filled by anyone else.

He was a very tender and simple person. Led a very spartan life, preferring to travel by cycle rickshaw and train than aeroplanes, except when it was a  trip abroad. He belongs to the class of Pandit Ravi Shankar as a true proponent of Shehnai. He was solely responsible for bringing the temple instrument Shehnai to the forefront of the classical instruments in the country. There was no greater shehnai player than him.
He is also one of the most travelled musicians from India,
having performed at all major cities and capitals of the
world on more than one occasion.  Coming from a musical
family, his ancestors were court musicians from Bihar.

He is one of the only living musicians other than Pandit
Ravi Shankar to have been decorated by the Govt of India
with all the national civilian honours starting right from Bharat Ratna, Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri besides the Sangeet Natak Academy award.

A simple man, the newspapers had brought out his plight
towards the end of his life. A Bharat Ratna having
to  live and die in poor conditions, reflects not only on
the apathy of the establishment to such great masters, but also his steadfast belief in simplicity in life and holding
steadfastly onto values he held close to his heart and not
willing to compromise on them. He very strongly believed
that a musician is to be heard not to be seen !!

Ustad, your loss is irrepairable ! your loss is for ever !
You will be remembered for steadfastly holding to values
and simplicity in life more than your gigantic contribution
to the field of music, which is beyond words to comprehend !!

May your soul find everlasting peace ….
george..

Do not pollute this world ..

A pastoral letter by the Archbishop of the Syro malabar church in Kerala Varkey Vithayathil exhorts believers to move away from the material and polluting lifestyleto a more saner style.
A very valid point is being raised here. A reminder to our
materially inclined co-inhabitants of the earth. Eventhough
the idea could be bent to any extent by the reader, the
underlying message is very clear !

As a tool to wean away Kerala church believers from the
western material, wasteful, criminal, selfish,
environmentally polluting, childless pleasure-seeking,
sinful, market oriented mentality, the catholic church has
exhorted it’s believers to  move from selfishness to
non-selfishness.

Let us not confuse this by quoting out of context. The
propensity for a sinful, wasteful, socially,
environmentally and spiritually polluting life increases
with material comforts in a material world.

The national stress is on population stabilisation and
“sustainable development” and not population control which is violative of human rights.

Sexuality is the exodus of man from the prison of
selfishness to a state of deliverance through self-giving
and by practicing it one is moving from a state of
selfishness to non-selfishness.

It is getting more difficult these days to lead a simple,
austere lifestyle working against the pressures of a
material world, where the success of a man or community is judged by the car you drive for work or the gadgets at home to make your living more complicated and sophisticated.

People are being weaned from the pleasures of simplicity
and are encouraged to being a burden on the environment and planet earth.

We always seem to forget that we have not inherited this
planet from our ancestors but have borrowed it from our
children !

Read on ..

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1874589.cms

george..

What makes me put my best to work ?

When I was in college, I was fascinated by self-help books like by Dale Carnegie etc. I thought I had low self esteem about myself. But by reading self help books / articles, slowly I was able to understand that this is a natural phenomenon among adolescents and that over time people get over it.

After I got through a very tough academic field and entered the College of Engineering Trivandrum for doing BTech in Mechanical Engineering, I kept a low profile throughout college life as I wanted to do well in studies and not be distracted. After the final year getting out of college in 1986, I inched to work in Industry and entered the Cochin Shipyard for marine training which I left and joined MRF Arakkonam, Tamil Nadu as a Mechanical Engineer trainee in Jan 87.

The MRF stint got me in MRF Goa and after being here for two years I quit Industry to join academics in 1989. I also got a chance to do PG in Industrial Engg at the Govt College of Engg. Goa and later on completed PhD from IIT Bombay in 2004 after taking study leave from GEC.

Even at a very young age, I had a deep desire that I am no les than anybody else and should make the best of my life like become someone great. I used to dream that one day I would get the Nobel Prize. I do not rule out that possibility even now !

But being more realistic I wanted to be a director at a very prestigious business school in the country doing institution building and teaching students (as teaching has always been my forte and business and industry have been of interest to me more than engineering and technology) or to be member of the Planning Commission of the Govt of India deciding the policies and strategies to make India an economic and industrial super power of the world.

The self initiation which I have been exhibiting all throughout my life has come from strict, value based, spiritual up-bringing at home and a strict self-disciplined life. Whatever I do, be it for my betterment or others, do the best possible, give it my best shot and then leave the rest to God. I never used to be worried about the rewards, it will come in different forms or may not come too. Initially concentrate on the job you are doing. Give the best you can on the job.

Always put your goals far ahead, aim for the stars. you are sure to hit the moon !

When you aim for the stars,your whole thought processes, actions etc are aimed at the high goals and not at the rewards for the earthly job you are doing. Even if you do not get immediate results / benefits from the present job, you are very much aware of your superior goals and aims and are trying with full vigour to attain them. The small earthly hiccups and roadblocks do not trouble you as much as the major ones which you see staring at you way ahead.

It is this thought that one day I will conquer the tallest peak and attain my best goals which keeps me going. I am not prepared to give up soon. I will be at it till I attain it ! That is my life motto. And I will work till my last breath to achieve it. I owe a lot to my loving wife Anila
who has been with me through all the troubles. Nothing in life would have been possible without her and our loving parents and brothers and sisters. Not to forget our son Jobin and daughter Susan.

george..

GEC gets NBA accreditation ..

Goa Engg College has been given the NBA accreditation by AICTE as of 27 July 06.

It was a good news to hear that last evening when Prof Amonkar gave me the news. Mech, Civil and Electronics gets the accreditation.

I still remember on the last day when we got together at Hotel Nova Goa to hear what the  NBA Committee had to say reg the positive and negative points of each department, they made special mention and was appreciative of the Moodle e-learning set up in the Mechanical Engineering Dept.

Also they made a special mention by name of ‘yours faithfully’  with a generous clapping of hands.

A special mention of Institution building which I am doing in my limited sphere of action !!

george..

The Linux evangelisation in Goa Engineering College ..

An Engineering College is a place of higher learning. There we find people of different intellectual capabilities. To motivate such a group of young computer users and enthusiasts to switch over from one Computer Operating system to another computer operating system is a difficult task. It was against this background that I first started the evangelism programme of getting Linux enthusiasts way back in 2001. That was the year I returned from IIT Bombay ( had not finished the PhD by then..) after the study leave from GEC got over.

There was a general overawaed impression about Linux that it was for the real techies and not for ordinary mortal men on earth. Except for a few professors with the exception of Rayadu, nobody knew much about Linux.

At that moment for me trying to teach the basics of Linux and giving umpteen talks to the students and faculty from GEC and the nearby colleges was an apt thing to do, as I was sure to get enough audience. Later I have been noticing that the audience has gone down, perhaps the novelty of Linux had gone by then, eventhough the users had not increased proportionately..

Arranging short two hour or three hour lectures for staff and students alike, highlighting the salient points of Linux and then holding their hands through another three hour workshop sessions, practicals was the right thing to do. In my own humble way I could spread awareness of Linux among many students. If not giving them fully, the spark for knowing and learning Linux was generated.

The Linux User Group was another way to spread Linux. We used to discuss at the different meetings regarding one of the millions of Linux applications and at times regarding Linux administration.. Also conducting day long lecture cum practicals for Latex – the document preparation system, Magic point – the presentation package, Gnu/Linux tools to help in editing your digital images, Basics of Unix/Linux to help textually navigate through the computer were some of the methods by which we kept motivating people and users.

The Software Lab in the Mechanical Engineering Dept was available from 9 to 5 for anyone wishing to work or play with Linux. And anyone who had doubts could also get some primitive or sometimes useful advice to solve their problem. Or some pointers to who would be the right people who could help them out within Goa.

The teaching community at GEC is yet to wholeheartedly accept Linux, except for some new and young faculty members. The students have always been receptive and have acquired the most, but they leave the institution after four years and so whatever they gain flies out with them, eventhough they gain respect and recognition wherever they go as their know\ledge of Linux is not just basic!

I feel this job I have to continue. Installing Moodle and getting the students to work on it was a great exercise which helped the students see the real potential of Linux in action. Apache webserver, MySQL RDBMS and Php scrioting !

The Linux bandwagon has to roll on and I am hopeful that it will coninue to roll with greater vigour and momentum in the coming years. I wish all Linux users, newbies and would be users in GEC all good wishes and good luck !

Dr. George Easaw, Dept of Mech Engg., College of Engneering Goa, India.

Finally a place to unload my thoughts and feelings ..

I have finally found a place to unload my thoughts and feelings.  And it is for everyone to see.

Shall write more later..

george..

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