The Guardian of Dogs

Scribbles from Rakesh Shanmugam


Few situations and happenings are always rememberable and it impacts us in a positive way. Those experiences change a person partially/completely, the way he views life. Like "A Hungry Stomach and Empty Pocket" some happenings make you learn the life. That day, there happened an incident which impacted my life.

It was, as usual, a pleasant morning. But something was different. I just woke up wondering where I am. Oh, I was in my cousin's room in Chennai. This was my second time visiting Chennai, after my Anna University counsellings. This time I came here to attend a workshop. My cousin told me - it's 6.40 now.

Err., It's getting late. Few mins let me get ready. I took a quick shower and found my way out dressed in a short span of time, around 20 mins. The session starts around 9.30 a.m. But my cousin has a different plan and he mentioned a travel for about an hour. We took breakfast on the way at a hotel. He dropped me in Tharamani in front of the spot where I wanted to go. I viewed my watch, long hand striking at 8 while small hand moves past 8. I was too early there!!

I thought of waiting for my juniors to join me instead moving in. So I found a small corner on the side road to rest and started surfing the internet. As it was Sunday, I just saw two or three vehicles passed by. After few minutes, I saw an auto stopped near me around 10 meters gap.  The auto driver parked his vehicle nearby and got busy with his phone.

A lady dropped out from the auto. She had tangled hair and a normal attire. I can't go through her face clearly. But I assume she is one of the most beautiful souls in the world. She carried two bowl-like plates and a big carry bag. She moved near an empty space at the road corner and unpacked the items in the carry bag.

She kept the plates on the ground and started pouring milk on both. The street dogs around came near her and started having their breakfast. There were around 7 to 8 dogs and she fed all. As soon as they gathered, she unpacked a few packs of rusks from that carry bag and started distributing them to. She also poured some water after the milk vanished from the plates. Among those people, who see street dogs with fear and as enemies, she was very different. She caressed them and fed them.

From their condition, I can say, those dogs won't get food properly, maybe a one-time meal per day. But that day, they were blessed to have a great breakfast because of her. I saw the happiness and love she showed towards those dogs.

Then she carried on her journey from the same auto. That big carry bag had some more stuff inside. I am sure she was going to another place where these kinds of dogs are left uncared.

Life has many things to teach. The people around you teach you everything. Your environment makes you grow what you are. My mother has said once, "don't show grace to unknown people these days. they may cheat you". But I don't think so!!

She, her kindness towards animals made that day. Yes, she is the Guardian of Dogs. An unforgettable incident in my life, that made me think. May God bless her :)


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(I wanted to go and talk to her that day, but I don't want to interrupt her. So I took a photo of her for my memory. Whenever I see, few thoughts plunge into my head about humanism and charity. Here is that pic for you. If you know her/came to meet her do say thanks in regards to me)



Way you are bound to drown

Rakesh Shanmugam

There is a common myth among students. I thought it's just familiar to students. But this is a myth which has wide spread among many people of different categories. Even educated also have been a prey to this. Yes! This is almost familiar with everyone!!

"ENGINEERING"

This is not the thing which everyone falls for but for the lie that after completing engineering, students are almost going to be unemployed or they are going to work on non-core. Do you believe this? As an engineer, I thought it's time to break this myth with those unspoken truths. 

Being graduated as a mechanical engineer, I was found lucky to have the dream job of me - Design Engineer at a reputable organization. But the real truth is I am also the one who certainly fell to those myths in my final year of college. The self-belief and motivation I had at my initial days have been ruled out and destroyed by the energies of people around me. I started believing it's hard to find the right job. But that's not true. As soon as I came out of that cat race among those, I started analyzing what destroyed my belief, what made me get my dream job and what hinders others from that.

Still, I can see many of my friends, close friends searching for a job everywhere, site to site, person to person, whatever and wherever they see. Even though they attend interviews they are casually rejected. Why this is so?

Do engineering lost its scope? Whether the world needs no more engineers? Is engineering a piece of shit? Err., No!.

To be true, Engineers are not those people, who join engineering and get that degree after 4 years. Engineers are those who with passion and love for knowledge to create, invent and modify things for the betterment of others. Yes, the interest and knowledge they possess make them the good engineers.

In the current scenario, the number of colleges and the students at engineering has raised, but the quality has not. We are moving towards marks instead of knowledge. Most of the colleges are preferably concentrating students to get high marks and pass percentages instead of measuring what knowledge they acquired. In many institutes, the quality of teaching is also very poor.

So, this engineering is currently a place of garbages, a stinky one. But there are also mines in those garbages. They have laid a way to follow. But it's not mandatory that you should approach the education in the same way they approach. 

 It depends on you, whether you move out with mines from those garbages or just get off from those stinky ones or fall permanently in those garbages. Every year there is a minimum of 70% placements at IIT's and the students placed has a minimum salary package of 6 L.P.A.  If they can, why not we? We are blessed with the same commonly. It only depends on your hard work. 

So wake up. Don't blame engineering. Don't drown by the way they bound. Be passionate to learn, explore and innovate. Get up, ask, read and understand. Your mines are in your hands. All the best.

- By an Optimistic Engineer!!!