The Cheating Machine

         I was in class 5. My school didn't have many rich kids with it, neither in money nor in education. So, it was very easy to spot out those somewhat-richer kids, who atleast managed to wear ironed uniform clothes and those somewhat-brighter kids, who atleast managed to score 80+ in Mathematics. 

          Tony was of the first kind. But when it came to learning, he could never compete with me. Not because I studied better, but that the kid was not of my class. He was 2 years younger to me. Class 3, section 'B'. His thatched roof classroom was exactly opposite to mine. Tony's parents were abroad, and the kid grew up with his grandmother and sister. There were always talks about Tony and his new stationery things, those he brought everyday to school. Tony was the favourite to almost every teacher in the school. He was as cute as those kids who talk non-sense and get most likes in Facebook funny videos. He brought Magic slates, Multi-colour pens, Car-like sharpeners, Magic erasers, pencils that never get small, etc., to classroom. My friends and I watched the kid with great envy. Unlike the kids now, who learn A,B,C,D on their own iPads, we were the 90's kids who kept our jaws open when teacher showed Magnetic Alphabets getting stick to the iron board.

         That was the time when computers started getting into Indian homes. We didn't know much about Computers. To be more frank, we had never heard of that word. I am pretty sure neither my teachers heard of that word before. Tony was the kid from whom we learnt that word first. 

Computer! 

          We all started dreaming about how big that machine would be, how good would it be to have the machine with us, even though we had no idea about what a computer could do. And one day, Tony said that his father was getting him a computer for his next birthday. Not only he who was excited, it was the entire school (both teachers and students), who became very much excited to see that machine. I hardly remember any other word that I spoke with my parents at home those days, except "Computer". During break time, lunch intervals, travel time and even in that 2 minute-gap between two classes, we started talking about the machine that Tony would be getting in a week. There were a lot of rumours about the machine. Some of them were like:

         Computers can cook food for you, Computers can find whether you say truth or lie, Computers can produce a new thing if you draw and feed the picture into it (Shaka Laka Boom Boom effect), etc.

         And the day came. Tony took a week leave after his birthday. And everyone were waiting for the kid to come back to school. After a week leave, he came back to school with a colorful cartoon printed backpack, a hanging water bottle with attached drinking cup, a new magnetic pencil box, color pens and a multiple tip pencil in which tips are stacked one over others (Wow!), a square shaped Tiffin box, and a lot more. Even though we were seniors to the kid, we didn't feel ashamed to go to him and see all those things. Why should we, when our teachers were on the queue before us to see all those things? 

         And then Tony slowly started talking about the magical machine in his home, that he had got as birthday gift from his dad. Teachers, along with us, were around him listening to how good that machine was. When Tony said the machine would reply to us, if we talk to it, we were listening to him with mouth wide open. 

       Days rolled on with our excitement for seeing that computer growing up everyday, by the daily-rumours about it. And then this incident happened one day, all of a sudden. We could see from our class, Tony getting punished by his class teacher very severely. We were surprised, as the teacher would never beat him for his small mistakes. But that day, the teacher was very furious that he broke the cane while punishing him. If the school's apple kid gets punished, every teacher should gather and inquire about it - Unwritten law of my school. The same happened. Almost every teacher went into the class, asked the class teacher what had happened, then exclaimed, became furious, slapped Tony and left away. We were in a shock, mixed with some cruel happiness (that basic human character) inside. 

         After an hour we came to know the reason why everyone trashed Tony to the floor. The reason was a complete shocker: "Tony had asked his computer machine to do all his home work and the computer had done all his work for him, and hence he was punished on charges of forgery and cheating." When Tony claimed that computer can't do homework on its own, nobody was ready to believe him.

          I still remember the question that my class teacher asked his class teacher, "Ma'am, when the computer can cook food everyday, why can it not do his homework? And this handwriting is not of Tony's. This is very legible. That computer machine should have done it."

            It went on so... And till last, nobody accepted that he did those assignments. 

         Years rolled on.. And now, Tony works for Apple Inc. as a Strategy consultant, iOS Systems Team, California. Am sure, he would be thinking about all these stupid things and would be laughing. And yes, we are not still so under-developed, but we do have atleast the basic knowledge that computers don't cook food :) 

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A full-stop after the Death.

'Amma' - It was a common noun till she took it for herself. Lot of oppositions and controversies over the name. Almost everyone criticized her for the name. When she announced welfare schemes under the name 'Amma', everyone went mad and called it an autocratic move. When she proclaimed that she knew what should be done to her children as an 'Amma', everyone made fun of her. But only on the day of her cremation, they understood that there were millions of people who believed Jayalalithaa as their 'Amma'. She was one such leader, who with her iron fist, protected the state against violence and Rowdyism. She was one such leader, who with her embracing voice, won a billion hearts.

Jaya was born into a very affluent family of Karnataka. With a strong desire to enter Cinema, she came to Tamil Nadu and with her will power, she became a lead actress. As a gift to her loyalty to Ex-CM M.G.R., she was given an entry card to politics. After MGR's death, Jaya declared herself as his political heir. She is truly an inspiration for women who wants to be independent and to succeed in career.

Such a wonderful leader, core politician and a pride woman, did not know how to deal with life and friends. May be, because of her bitter past experiences, she had always kept a very small circle around her. She never believed anybody around her. She had always been rude and strict to even her devotees. She failed to understand that people around her prayed her feet not because of love and affection they had on her, but only because of the fear that they had on her. Despite having no family for her, she stashed a lot of assets for her. She failed to understand that humans are mortal and assets won't come along. Her innumerable assets and fame made everyone around her cast eyes on her position. She as a politician, has destroyed the careers of many other politicians. But she failed to understand that the people around her were learning the same Tantra to use it on her. Even though she was a good leader, she was an ultimate failure in life.

Those who were around her during her cremation didn't cry out of pain. Just a publicity stunt that she would have done if her leader had died. You reap what you sow!

Yes indeed, as 'Amma', you have left a lot to your children to learn.

When ten rupee notes were thrown inside the sandal casket in which Jaya was kept at last, I remembered the dialogue from Tamil Movie Sivaji, "Idha kooda unnala eduthutu poga mudiadhu!".

Good Bye Jaya!

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Kolar - A day-out from Bangalore

When I searched for a good place to roam around Bangalore, I found Kolar as one such. I have always wanted to visit historical places and temples around the place where I stay. So, 'Kolar google search' fascinated me that I decided to visit the place at least once.

One fine day, we got that chance. We started from Bangalore at around 6 o'clock in the morning. For breakfast, we stopped at Nandi Grand Restaurant which is located 7 kms after the Hoskote Toll gate. I have marked the location below.

This is an average rated restaurant with variety of foods, and its open from 6:30AM - 11:45 PM. You will get a decent food here. 

We planned for a very short trip as our parents came along with us. So, we directly went to Sri Someshwara Temple in Kolar. This temple is a very ancient one, dating back to 14th century. It is well-maintained and has a mind-blowing architecture. The sculptures in the temple are mind-blowing. The temple has a Kalyana Mandapa, Vasantha Mandapa and a Goddess Parvathi Shrine inside. The Kalyana mandapa (Marriage Hall) has a number of pillars engraved with beautiful stone carvings and sculptures. They depict men riding horses, elephants, etc. The temple's tall tower clearly conveys that it was constructed by the Cholas who ruled these places since 11th century, who were then dethroned by Chalukyas. The temple was then expanded by the Vijayanagara empire who later ruled these places. 

 I took a few photographs of them :

...

Then, we headed to Kolaramma Temple which is very nearer to Sri Someshwara temple. Kolaramma temple is a very small temple but a beautiful one. This was built by Rajendra Chola I in 1012-1045 A.D. You can still see ancient Tamil letters inscribed in the walls around the temple. It is believed that the Chamundi Devi (Goddess Durga) killed Asura Mahisasura in Kolar and the deity in the temple is in furious state. Thats the reason why we are allowed to worship the Goddess only through a mirror. And there is a Hundi in the temple in scorpion style, which is believed to be good if you drop a coin into the hole, everytime you visit the temple. I will update more about this Hundi after my next visit to the temple. There are a few more stories about the temple, which I will research and update after my next visit. This temple is maintained by Archaeological Survey of India (ASI). 

Although Someshwara temple was bigger than this, there is something that made me love the Kolaramma temple a lot. 

Then we headed to the Kotilingeswara temple, which is 30KM away from Kolaramma temple. Do not take the road that the Google Maps show, as it is not maintained well. You can take the Bangaparpet road which is far better than the one suggested by G-Maps (Just 2 Kms more)

Kotilingeswara temple doesnt have any ancient sculptures, but the small shrines inside are well maintained. The temple looks modern, and has nearly 90 Lakh Lingams inside. The main Lingam and the Nandi statue are so huge that you will definitely get nice Cover Photos. This has a lot of tourist attractions, unlike the other two temples I had mentioned.

I have shared the locations of these temples below.

On the way back to Bangalore, we went to a Non-Veg restaurant 'Delicious'. The food was really delicious. I have shared the location below. The restaurant is open from 12 PM to 12AM.

If you know more stories about these temples, please do leave them in comments. 

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