How I ended up taking up Engineering ? - Thanks to my maths teacher.!!!

I grew up in a very picturesque village called Devapur, in Adilabad District of Andhra Pradesh, India which is surrounded by hills on every side. During the reason season with clouds touching the peaks of the hills, it will be just amazing. Just around our colony, if we walk for some distance we will go in to the hills and the picture below is one of the entry into those forests on the hill. I and some friends of mine used to just around in the hills in the evenings of summers. 

One of the routes into the forests 

I love being in nature. We had a big vegetable garden behind our house. Every year before the start of rainy season, I would gather seeds of bottle gourd, ridge gourd, bitter gourd, beans,tindora, spinach etc and wait for the first rains to plant them. I used to have an amazing feeling seeing them germinate, grow. After some days we used to build supports for the creepers to grow and wait for them to bear fruits. Then I used to pluck them with pride after they grow sufficiently. To stop from cows or pigs from eating all these, I, my brother, my father and mother worked hard before the start of rainy season to build a fence around our house. To this day I remember the memories of those days. It used to be hard work and  we had a lemon tree in the backyard, sometimes we got pricked by the thorns but at the end of the day it felt so satisfactory. Also, we had a very big playground in our village and I used to enjoy a lot sitting on the grass in the big ground with wind blowing on my face. Everyone would have had memories of playing the ground, but I was very bad at games - that is another story though.  We had all sorts of fruit trees in our house. Guava, Pomegranate, custard-apple, mango, berries, banana trees around our house. I used to be very proud of our garden and I loved being in nature. When I learned of photosynthesis, plant propogation etc, i was naturally interested. Botany interested me. So I kind of decided that I would be mostly studying botany later. 

A view from my backyard

But all of this changed after seventh standard. We got one teacher named Shailaja, for mathematics.  I was a not up to the mark in mathematics. In the sixth standard, I didn't understand half of the syllabus especially geometry and got just 60% marks in the annual exams. So I was not that interested in mathematics. But Shailaja madam was very passionate about maths.More than what she taught, how she taught was very much instrumental in making me lose my fear of mathematics. She used to tell us about Shakuntala Devi. That year we had equations and in-equations in our syllabus. So she used to give us puzzles on solving equations which were very much fun to solve. She also told me to solve all the example problems in the text book. All these went a long way in increasing my interest in mathematics. We again had the same teacher again in our X standard. By this time, I was very much confident in my ability in mathematics.

One day, madam told us her own story of how she always wanted to be an engineer and told the story of Ramanujam and his mathematical prowess. We were floored at the story. She increased the profile of maths over other subjects and she romanticized engineering which in turn increased my interest in mathematics more 

And I ended up getting 99% in mathematics.!!! 

So now I was equally open to going mpc way or bipc way. After coming to know that medical education takes a lot of time, I finally ended up taking MPC and going on to become an engineer.  

So thank you Shailaja mam if I have successfully completed my engineering and working here in the US, it is because of you.. 

Of all my school teachers, my English teacher and Maths teacher have influenced my life very much. Though I couldn't know the importance then, I can appreciate them better now. I always wanted to thank them personally but due to various reasons I couldn't express that. So here are my thanks to them. My thanks to my English teacher is here.

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The Story of how my - 'Pride went before a fall'

I have written the story of my grammar and handwriting here. Now I will write about one more incident concerning my English teacher.

I was pretty good at academics in my class. My ma'm was aware of that. But she was aware of one thing I was not aware of. One day we were having a refresher of previous days class. I was asked a question. I was not able to answer. And I was standing there with head seeing the ground, unable to face her. And that was when I heard the line "Pride goes before a fall". I didn't understand what she was trying to say. What was I proud? No I never spoke condescendingly of anyone. I always gave everyone respect. So I ignored it. This was in II standard.

Then in my V standard, one day I didn't do my homework. And again she made me stand with a head looking into the ground. My class teacher came into the room to make some announcement. I felt very bad standing like that in front of my class teacher and suddenly I started crying. Then I heard the dreaded words again - "Pride goes before a fall"

After that I again had the same analysis done and concluded that I was not to take it seriously.

And the final time I heard it the last time was in my X standard, one day when she was questioning everyone and most of the class was standing for not being able to answer the question. I was able to answer the question asked to me and I was sitting. I looked at one of my friend Biswajit and started smiling. My expression was one of concern - like I am sorry that you are not able to answer the question. But I couldn't say the words - I just smiled at him. He too smiled back. My teacher watched him and started scolding him. He told that I was laughing and she started scolding me. I tried to explain that I was just concerned about him. But she wouldn't have any of that. She continued scolding me and I started crying. And then she let out the dreaded sentence - "Pride goes before a fall".

And I was reminded of all those events where I was being chastised with this line used on me and I always that I was unfairly being scolded all these times. But this time I couldn't ignore it. But I couldn't understand it.


Ten years have passed since and now I feel I understand it. What she was trying to tell me was - not to get so caught up in the fact that you study well so much that you cannot handle failure with grace. You would do well to remember your roots. 

It is very easy to get all wrapped up and identifying ourselves with the work we are doing, company we are in etc. But we should never forget the fact that everything is ephemeral in the world and hence we should live with humility. 

Point taken ma'm.

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The story of my Grammar and Handwriting

I was in my second standard when a teacher looking grim-faced walked into our classroom and started teaching us. She was called 'Madam' or just M'am and looked terrifying with chicken pox scars all over her face. She was very strict and disciplined and when she shouted on top of her voice, there used to be pin-drop silence in the class. Didn't bring the book - Kneel down, Didn't answer a question- Kneel down - kneel down, kneel down, kneel down those were the words that rang in the first few English classes.

I will recollect two incidents which were incidental in learning Grammar and improving my handwriting skills. Thanks to you M'am for without you I would never have learnt those.

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Mam: Why did you not do the homework?

Student: Yesterday, we went to temple means I didnt do my homework

Mam: What - You going to temple means you didn't do the homework??

This was the way we students who translated from our native tongue, Telugu, to English talked. All our conjunctions were 'means'. I just don't understand how we talked like that but that was how we talked until our Mam made us learn that a sentence consisted of a subject, and a predicate part. Next few classes were spent teaching nouns, verbs, prepositions and conjunctions but those classes were some of the most productive classes I ever attended.

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It was fourth standard and we were huddled outside the staff room of our school where our teacher was returning our copyrighting books where we had to write something in the whole page, which were said to improve our handwriting skills.

Before I got my book, lot of my friends got their books and had a 'Rewrite' written on the page. After each person who saw it started getting it, it looked like everyone got 'Rewrite' but luckily few people didn't get it and I was one among them.

The happiness that my handwriting was passable didn't stay long. She complete one lesson and gave question and answers for that lesson. I wrote them and gave them for correction. Though my writing was bad, I expected to be passed on as usual. When she came the next day to give the books, everybody got books except me. I was worried. Finally my chance came, she called me and told me that mine was the worst book she has seen. I got a big 'Rewrite' in my notebook when others got it in their copywriting books :( So I learnt the lesson to write neatly the hard way. So many rewrites followed before we were consistently given books without any remarks. And by that time, all students in our class could write reasonably well.

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Thank you Maureen ma'm, if I got selected in campus interview, if I am able to take onsite calls without any fear, give presentations without stuttering, and if I am able to write this blog without mistakes it is because of you. I'm eternally grateful to you mam.