Preethi's Corner

Sunday, July 27, 2014

The 4th seat….

I am sure all my Mumbaikar ladies friends who travel by the local train will understand and relate to what I am going to be writing.

It was a Friday evening and I was in a happy weekend mood. I usually take the bus to reach home, which is definitely an ordeal of 1.5 hours. After the metro has come, it has definitely improved commutation within Mumbai. So, of late I have been using the swanky metro to commute from office to home. Well, talking about the metro, it is definitely a “paisa vasool service”. The nice seats, air conditioned environment, the type of crowd-everything about it has a feel good factor to it. But, after the 8 minute metro ride, comes the difficult part – the awfully crowded amchi local trains.

So, coming back to what happened on Friday. As usual after the metro ride, I got out at Ghatkopar station and was rushing to get the local train. I realized that all the fast locals are getting delayed due to the rain. I decided to board the slow train, which goes to Thane, assuming that it wouldn’t be that crowded. Lo Behold! I managed to get into the Thane local.

This particular journey was one of a kind and that is why I decided, I will definitely write about it. I have to get down at Mulund which is the 5^th station from Ghatkopar ( hardly a 20 minute journey in a slow local).I usually prefer to stand ( preferably by the door). But, on Friday I was pushed inside. With my heavy bag and a wet umbrella, pushing through people managed to reach inside.

Rules of Mumbai local (second class ladies compartment):

1. Be careful whenever you are in a ladies compartment. However crowded the train is, you are not supposed to push or stamp someone. In case you do, be prepared for the shower of wonderful words.

2. However small your hair is, never leave it untied or uncovered. You will often get to hear comments like “ baal bandna nahi tha, to first class main chali jaati..”

3. Seat reservation is very common, if you are part of train group.( same set of people whom you travel with every day, in the same train and then you start celebrating occasions, you begin to have your own group)

4. Make sure to ask for a seat, in case you are standing.

5. Seating rules- It is a shift system. Ideally, three people can sit comfortably and a 4^th person,sits rather fits in quarter of their butt and sits sideways. The next person who gets a seat, will have to sit in the 4^th seat and others will shift in one place.

I have been in Mumbai for the last 7 and a half years and I have now mastered the rules of travelling by the local train. While in the Thane slow local, I was barely managing to stand on one feet. I had not booked my seat, but when it was Kanjurmarg station, 3 ladies got up. 3 others had already blocked their seats and there was nobody for the 4^th seat. But, it was awfully crowded. Until the train halted at Bhandup, though the 4^th seat was available, could not get to sit. Finally after all this, I managed to sit, actually fitted small part of myself. It was wonderful feeling. More than getting to sit, the feeling of “ I managed atleast the 4^th seat” is wonderful, especially for me, cause, I don’t dare to sit usually. I don’t know why but kept feeling a great sense of achievement.

Now why this story and what I learnt from it:-

Often, in life, we stay in that comfort zone for too long and don’t dare to take the risks when we ought to. After we grow old, we feel, we should have done this, done that. No point repenting. I am a kind of person who believes “Live each day and take life by the stride”. You achieve, only when you dare to dream. In case on seeing the crowded local train, I had backed out- I would have reached home late and I would have not got the honoured opportunity to sit. Like many others I could say “ ye gayi to doosri aayegi”.. but for how long? How long will we keep missing opportunities, keep waiting? I dared to take the risk of getting into the train and I also managed to get a seat. Similarly, in life, never let go of golden opportunities. Grasp them as they come and perform to your best. You never know.. where you will land up someday!!

Saturday, March 23, 2013

Student to a teacher - the transformation!

Well it is not teacher's day, it is not student's day but a day of realization for me which I wanted to share with the whole world!I am a learner and will always be one!

I just realized that it has been close to year since I blogged... too long a gap.. but many things have kept me really really busy.. my M.Sc theory exams and sister's wedding, freelance projects.. but that does not mean I stop writing.. does it?? Sudden realization ;)..

Well this blog is just to tell the story of how I transformed from a student to a teacher and how it feels. After my son's birth, I have always been taking up only part time assignments.. I have been into technical writing, creating technical presentations, done diet counselling, conducted corporate workshops but teaching was something I had never ventured into..

My first teaching assignment was given to me by my mentor- Dr. Dharini Krishnan. Dharini ma'am has created one of the most exquisite diet softwares called E-digest. It helps you to do all your diet calculations within minutes right upto the micronutrient value. I was thrilled when one fine day she called me and asked me if I could train a group of students in Mumbai. It had been long since I had used the software but I was the topper in my batch and it didn't take me long to get back to my basics. This is where I became "Preethi Ma'am" to a few students.

Then the next path breaker came when Anuradha ma'am gave me the opportunity as a guest lecturer. I am indeed so very grateful to her. She has made me realize what is the value of a teacher and how influential can a teacher be. I love Anu ma'am's enthusiasm and charisma and she will surely be a source of inspiration to me! Well this has made me think deep and once my M.Sc is done, I might just think about giving the UGC NET exam so that I can officially qualify as a teacher. Well those are long distance dreams.

How could I forget to mention Renuka ma'am? If there is something called discipline, punctuality, ethics you need to learn from Renuka ma'am. She is a fountain of knowledge and an ever ready dynamo to learn and teach.

As of now I am glad to be a teacher. It has really been a path of transformation and made me more mature. I have come to realize that my field is an ocean and I can swim into any part of the ocean. Learning is a beautiful process but what you learn, how you learn and what you want to give back is what ultimately matters!