Wikiflicks

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This morning I had a surprise phone call from an unknown landline number of KGP.

It turned out to be Professor B K Mathur, Dean (Planning), IIT KGP.

It felt great to hear his voice...we have known each other for 30 years at Phy Dept at KGP. Both of us were fixtures in the 4th Year Lab, where I was largely a Guest Artist and he the innovator. He was responsible for setting up most of the Electronic Experiments and upgrading them constantly. I am most indebted to him for suggesting the Text Books by Malvino that revolutionized Electronics Teaching. We also collaborated in writing up one Note in AJP.

Prof BKM said that he is now in-charge of compiling write-ups for the Commemoratory Volume for the upcoming Diamond Jubilee Celebrations.

And he started saying that he is asked to collect brief write-ups on 'Eminent Teachers of IIT KGP' (does it ring a bell?).

I was almost on the point of demurring like Eddington and asking: "Who is the third?" {;-}

However he said SDM is a good candidate and could I supply a brief write-up on SDM (he had seen SDM...perhaps the only surviving soul among the Faculty of KGP to do so).

I then told him that Saswat, Aniket & Co have recently launched a Wiki-Article on SDM.

He felt happy that his job is now reduced to copy-paste.

And I was relieved, like RKN, that I don't have to write a 'few' words on SDM after writing thousands of them:

http://gpsastry.blogspot.com/2011/03/precise-precis.html

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Talking of Bizarre Coincidences:

http://gpsastry.blogspot.com/2011/03/bizarre-coincidences.html

here is the most bizarre that happened yesterday and remains an unsolved puzzle worth Sherlock Holmes or even his dada.

My wife's Airtel mobile phone rang and when she picked it up, a female voice asked: "Is it Prabhakara Sastry?"

My wife passed on her phone to me and the excited female said: "Hullo! You have forgotten your cell phone here".

On pressing for details she said that she is Mrs Madhav Rao and that I can pick up my phone from her residence on my return trip from the Spectacle Shop.

And I could only say that it seemed a wrong call and that my cell phone is very much with me, I am innocent of any Mrs Madhav Rao (my wife was getting curiouser and curiouser) and that I didn't need to change my spectacles (cataract can't be cured by a change of specs).

She put her phone down.

We were mystified: one can understand that Hyderbad (unlike IIT KGP) is replete with all sorts of Prabhakara Sastrys, but that this Mrs Madhav Rao's friend should have a phone number matching my wife's Airtel Number is unthinkable (aren't cell phone numbers unique?).

The only possibility is that that Prabhakara Sastry's phone number must be similar to my wife's, except for a digit or two which she punched wrongly and got me cold.

Say, what are the odds? Looks like it is spooky.

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Reading the post Bizarre Coincidences, Aniket wrote:

"What are the chances of me running into you on the Calcutta Metro? Today, a gentleman with a close resemblance to you sat opposite to me on my way back home from work."

I had to reply:

"Fairly high. I have a commonplace face and was accosted by dozens of strangers: "Hey! How are you?" only to be met with a wan smile.

But a friend of mine in the Faculty Hostel in 1970, Priyabrata Ghoshdastidar, left KGP and when he stepped into my Qrs after 30 years he looked such a spitting image of Buddhadeb Bhattacharya that I was startled".

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And Varun wrote:

"Oh god, the mistaken look: happens much too often with me".

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In my third year Degree at AU, Waltair, a few of us appeared for Interview for the coveted BARC Training School Pre-Selection with a whopping Scholarship of Rs 100 a month. The Principal was one of the Selection Committee Members (ex-officio).

As I was in dire need of money (as ever), I met our Principal the next day in his Office with great trepidation asking if I was selected.

He beamed and said: "Yes, yes"

And a moment later: "Are you not Kameswara Rao?"

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Last Laugh

Iron Curtain days of USSR: Midnight:

This chap was woken up by the hefty regulation boots of the dreaded KGB kicking his front door...(that got typed as KGP)...

He opens with his heart in his throat and peers.

"Dobrovskey?"

"Upstairs...upstairs"


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