I think I should stop that antihistamine pill. The first day when the suffering was most, it worked wonders...just a blackout for 7 hours. The next day it was oh, ok. But today has been funny. It was not sleep, nor waking, nor dream, nor samadhi, nor euphoric high, nor oceanic low, nor anything classifiable. Mind just hanging fire. And unable to latch on to any bloggable topic; till this mail (see below) arrived. Clutching at straws.
It all started with a delicious phone call from my student-turned HoD of the Phy Dept at IIT KGP, Samit, wishing me a Happy Teachers Day. It turned out that is only pourparlers. He then mentioned that a Diamond Jubilee Alumni Meet of KGPhians will be held on December 3. And, among others, I am invited. With wife. Airfare and Hospitality for both. And a Souvenir celebrating the Occasion is in the offing. And I am invited to contribute. And Pratik is in-charge of the entire Do including acting as the CPU of the Coffee Table Memento. And no excuses will be allowed.
Well, Samit, in spite of sitting in my classes as a student, and thereafter as a Co-Lab-in-Charge of the 4th year lab, hasn't read the dark side of my lunar personality. I am so shy of people that I wanted to skip my marriage ceremony, but my bride protested and put her foot down...and there it stays.
And moreover, she and I had been to KGP on an auld lang syne trip a couple of years back. And there are certain things you should not do twice...like attending the funeral of your M-i-L. It is never the same. So, I thanked him from the bottom of my heavy heart and made eminently valid excuses and alibis for skipping the Diamond Event.
As for my Contribution to the Souvenir, I called up Pratik (whose nonchalance in taking up such an onerous responsibility I admired) and told him that there are about a couple of lakh words in my 850 blogposts as my KGP memorabilia and he is most welcome to lift any of them he likes...only don't ask me to write afresh for the Occasion. Hoping that he will take one on SDM.
He ended up lifting 5...At the last count.
I haven't seen the thing in cold print, but I guess that others have at most one each under their byline (as us journos call it). So, I wrote to them that this disproportionately large number of items of mine make me feel like the Item Girl of the Phy Dept. Which I sort of always was...whenever someone goes on planned (or even mat or pat) Leave in the Phy Dept and wanted someone as a standby for taking their classes, the cry used to go out: "Where is that gps?...he doesn't do anything else worthwhile for the Dept."
And I was also scared that other esteemed colleagues and contributors may be offended...you see, in our academic world, the number of publications count, from womb to tomb.
So, as I was lying on my back with Ishani on my belly, she trying to make me sing those fun songs from Missmma again and again, while I was trying to get a topic for the day's blog, and checking my In-Box on my Nokia, I got this wonderful mail, smothering all my worries, blogwise and otherwise.
It made my day.
I paste it below.
The idea is that Aniket & Co will tease out who the author is, whose signature I encrypted with enough hints...
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Dear Sastry,
It is more than a decade we had met last in IIT. Your writings in the souvenir are the excellent ones. Perhaps you don't know that I happen to be one of your admirers because of your caliber, simplicity, aloofness and helpful attitude towards all. I understand that you are now staying at Hyderabad.
How are your wife and your son? Regards and best wishes for all of you,
Yours sincerely,
YXY
YXY
P. S. Please respond. I like to keep contact with you.
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