Of Dementors and Patronuses

Considering the craze and hype that the boy-who-lived has managed to generate, I'm sure u kno wat are dementors and patronuses. For the uninitiated Muggles, "Dementors are those magical creatures that guard the wizard prison Azakaban" - so quotes Aunt Petunia. And patronuses? "They are something like an anti-dementor that help to drive away dementors - so quotes Prof. Lupin.

Well if ur thinking this is an attempt to start building a HP Encyclopaedia, you are totally off-track. The reason I mention them here is very different. To quote from HP-5 book again, Muggles can't see dementors but they suck all happiness from their surroundings and in their presence u feel as if u'd never be happy again.

So have u experienced that ever? The feeling that life's lost its zing? the feeling that theres defeat and disappointment all around? The feeling that a lot of things u liked aren't happening anymore? I felt that some days back in my vacations. They were the longest boringest vacations ever with nothing exciting happening and no sight of admits, results, anything! Besides them, lots of other gloomy thoughts to bog me down!! Perhaps this means theres a dementor lurking around u sumwhere!

How to beat it all? Just think of pleasant thoughts, things u enjoy doing...do them if u can, think of the happier times to come. In short conjure a Patronus! Its nt sumthing u can succeed at in one go...conjuring a corporeal patronus (one with a definite form) is very very advanced NEWT level magic! Bt its nt all tht hard too...and yea my patronus? well a blog is hardly a place to discuss the form it takes...thats a personal question! And hey if all tht effort to conjure a patronus doesn't work for u...well a big bar of chocolate always drives them away!!

So folks...all those inspired, convinced, fascinated, entranced, motivated...ok u get the pt...by the post, pick up ur wands, concentrate on ur best memory and say EXPECTO PATRONUM!!!

Learning a new Paradigm

Being a lecturer is hard-work...and not the least bcos the job is taxing but more bcos u actually dunno wat to do in the lot of free time in between lectures and pracs. We still aren't allowed the liberty of chit-chatting on phone anywhere anytime!

So it was one such evening at about 4.45 p.m. with 15 mins more to kill b4 i could punch my way out of the college (that refered to the time card i need to punch b4 i leave! sheesh! dont take everything i say so literally!!). Even as I wondered what I could do in those 15 mins without making them seem like eons (remember Einstein's theory of relativity?), theres Poonam ma'am to the rescue!

She walks in the lab, chides me for being so free, cautions me that idling away is a crime for someone as active as me, and whisks me off to a session of Paradigm of Life. My initial reaction? "Er...maam...i aint very interested in Yoga and Meditation!" Second thoughts? Heck if it helps pass 15 mins count me in! So here I am sitting in the very first row in the presentation hall, wondering how I got there and also enjoying being called "ma'am" by the students so busily preparing for the session.

Which is when I get my first, second, third...nth hand info about POL as its members call it! Its a club in college that a group of students have come together to form. Their objective? grooming and educating themselves and others in the finer mannerisms and interpersonal skills of life. I hope I've defined it correctly since that is what I gathered it to be! What impressed me the most what the finesse and co-ordination with which the session was conducted...and coming from a fest veteran like me its a very big compliment!!

They put up a new word every session, with its pronunciation and background. Also perhaps its usage (ofcourse going by Ajay's template usage any word fits in the sentence "Poonam ma'am told me to use ________ word in a sentence"). Each session has some session leaders who take charge of ensuring that the session runs smoothly. And I clap for their punctuality that is correct to the minute. Most appreciated strategy in the club's management would be having an elaborate selection procedure for its members...reason? they get only dedicated members and not defaulters and the "not-very-enthusiastic" variety!

Coming back to the session I attended, it was very informative regarding non-verbal communication, gestures, personality, etiquette and mannerisms and a host of other tips and tricks. To say it was interesting would be more of an insult than a compliment for there was never once a moment when any of the audience dozed off!!

All in all, I ended up leaving college at 7.00 p.m. and was firmly convinced that I'd do so every Thursday bcos I cudnt possibly miss it. Hope to pour in some suggestions for the mgmt next time and hope they are considered too. Blogs too will carry quite a lot about POL sessions frm now on i guess (i wont refrain from criticism when i feel like it ppl!!) Three cheers for all those who are a part of POL!! And ofcourse looking fwd to the next session!!!

Docendo Discimus

That tagline has been on my GTalk for sometime nw. Fetched me the same question from many curious readers..."What does it mean?" Felt that I wasn't doing full justice to it by casually explaining its meaning so decided to blog it out!!

"Docendo Discimus" is a Latin phrase that means "We learn by teaching". Having made the transition from being a student to a lecturer in a span of just about 2 months, that too in my own college, the taste of the other side of the classroom is rather difficult to put in words. On one side it feels great to have even more power than I did as CSI chair or student council member. Not to mention that various restrictions now no longer hold true...like surfing the net in the labs and going right inside the library to find books for urself!!

Ofcourse uneasy lies the head that wears a crown and so I have to pick up added responsibility as well. I can no longer bunk college and run home at anytime I wish! No more loitering on the stairs and no more participation in fests (oh hw i miss GD/PI, debate, creative writing, etc. etc.!!). Even more than these, I never knew that wielding the red pen would be so much harder than the blue or black pen!

To repeat the same thing over and over again to different batches of students, to remember that all students have different learning levels and to teach so that the fast learners stay interested and the slow learners understand, to teach not for a semester but for a lifetime, to understand and make it understood that education is the kindling of a flame and not the filling of a vessel. Teachers sure don't need anything like the Hippocrates oath, they practise something akin to it everyday!!

And what do I get out of all this? We come back to the topic title to answer that question. Ofcourse the job-satisfaction that a job with attentive listeners, strict 9-5 schedule, weekends off and quite a lot of free time brings. But more than that, uninhibited learning without the tension of completing assignments, meeting submission deadlines or worrying about exams and marks. I have never learnt as much before as I am learning now! As the GTalk status says, 'Docendo Discimus'!!!