Indigenous
Arun da was never interested in his studies. He used to boast that he did not read any subjects other than General Science. This fact used to be reflected every year when results came out.He fared well only in General Science. Starting from perhaps 1957 onwards,Arun da religiously appeared at the school final examination and came out unsuccessful.Ultimately,Arun da passed school final perhaps in 1964 when the board decided to do away with school final and switch over to higher secondary.His friends opined that that year board did not have other option but to push him through.
My intention here is not to make fun with his unsuccessful attempts. Arun da was one of the close friends of our elder brothers.As was the custom in those days in the middle class localities, we used to receive lot of affection and attention from the friends of our elder brothers. Sometime, they seemed to be more dependable than our own brothers.The question of making fun,therefore,does not arise.But the backdrop is necessary for me to go ahead on this topic.
After all,school final was never an easy examination in those early years. Moreover, most of known heads of the middle class families had to follow rigorous austerity to make both ends meet.They used to go to the daily markets much late in the morning to find cheaper vegetables.They were not affluent enough to buy books for their kids and pay for tutors.In most cases those boys were the first generation school goers in their families. So no guidance was available for the mediocre or the less privileged ones.So passing the examination was really an achievement.
Fact is,the absence of more than adequate formal education could not deter Arun da to express his excellence in so many other areas which called for genuine creativity.As far as Arun da was concerned, his non-attainment of academic excellence helped us,the youngsters , immensely. He was not a distant elder like most others as he never considered himself an achiever. He was always accessible to us.
He was and perhaps still is a multi-talented person in the true sense of the term.He was quite good with musical instruments.He could play any tunes with his mouth organ.He was a reasonably good artist. He could easily make a portrait from some photograph.He was a fine craftsman and could turn wasteful things like bamboo sticks,jute threads or waste papers into some work of art.He could easily understand the functioning of gadgets, instruments and even machinery.This made him an excellent mechanic and innovator too.
I wrote in this blog of Arun da's participation in our initial Saraswati Puja. We requested Arun da to decorate our place of worship.Arun da could find time only much late in the night.He came with a brush , paints and some pots of indoor plants.He quickly painted some Alpanas on the floor and arranged the pots nicely around. Within minutes the decoration was finished.His sense of artistry could turn the small place beautiful.
Once Arun da started making scratches by fingernails on some pieces of white hand made papers and through impression generated bunches of flowers or a simple landscapes on them.We were really amazed to see. I am not sure whether he imitated some one else or it was his idea. Even to-day, I am yet to find some one else to do same .Much later we found greeting cards in stalls with images embossed with machines.
While in highest class in our school,me and one of my school pals had an assignment to make a prototype of an electric motor.This was to be displayed and demonstrated in an inter school science exhibition.Our teachers gave us a Bengali book which provided some broad guidelines.We proceeded accordingly but our motor did not turn while connected to the battery pack.Arun da offered to volunteer.He understood the principles from us , took the book and went home with the model.We did not hope much as this, to our knowledge, was more difficult a task which Arun da normally encountered.But he proved us wrong the next day. Through out the night he tried and ultimately took the clue from a DC ceiling fan.He spotted that we did not provide a proper commutator needed to run a motor with DC supply.He made a commutator cutting a copper coin into segments and fixed them as a commutator.He did not need to understand Faraday's principles of Electro-magnetism to accomplish his task.That motor was exhibited and praised in the exhibition.
He made some table lamps using bamboo sticks and papers and put his best efforts to sell the items in the fest organised during Rathajatra (Rather mela) every year.He made quite an impression among the visitors but could not find business.Rather mela was too humble a market to appreciate his works but he could afford nothing more.
Arun da was not qualified enough to get a regular job.For years, he earned his living by fixing radios , tape recorders and copiers.Over the years he developed a number of gadgets.One among them was meant to control the consumption of petrol in the IC engines.I saw his untiring efforts to find a find a financiar but he could make no headway in absence of proper reference and contacts.Last time, while we talked I came to know that he made and installed a machine to prepare and laminate identity cards.He found few regular schools and institutions to feed him with orders.He is in his mid sixties now but I am sure that his eyes shall still blink and he would proceed with the same enthusiasm and confidence if he finds a challenging assignment with machinery.
With much hesitation, I shall take reference of a great man leading the long queue of inventors in World History.He was born in this month of February one hundred and sixty two years back in the United States of America.He too came from a middle class back ground and had only three months of formal schooling.He had the similar habit of experimenting with tit bits since his childhood. He ultimately became an inventor to be remembered over the ages and had 1093 patents to his credit while he died at the age of 84.His name, you all must have rightly guessed, by now ,legendary Thomas Alva Edison.
I am not here to draw a comparison.It is not possible to compare Edison with some one else on earth.He is one among the Greatests.But I can not help but wonder what would happen to Edison if he were born and brought up in Kalighat instead of .Milan,Ohio,USA in 1847? Could he even learn how to go for patents?
I just do not have an answer.
My intention here is not to make fun with his unsuccessful attempts. Arun da was one of the close friends of our elder brothers.As was the custom in those days in the middle class localities, we used to receive lot of affection and attention from the friends of our elder brothers. Sometime, they seemed to be more dependable than our own brothers.The question of making fun,therefore,does not arise.But the backdrop is necessary for me to go ahead on this topic.
After all,school final was never an easy examination in those early years. Moreover, most of known heads of the middle class families had to follow rigorous austerity to make both ends meet.They used to go to the daily markets much late in the morning to find cheaper vegetables.They were not affluent enough to buy books for their kids and pay for tutors.In most cases those boys were the first generation school goers in their families. So no guidance was available for the mediocre or the less privileged ones.So passing the examination was really an achievement.
Fact is,the absence of more than adequate formal education could not deter Arun da to express his excellence in so many other areas which called for genuine creativity.As far as Arun da was concerned, his non-attainment of academic excellence helped us,the youngsters , immensely. He was not a distant elder like most others as he never considered himself an achiever. He was always accessible to us.
He was and perhaps still is a multi-talented person in the true sense of the term.He was quite good with musical instruments.He could play any tunes with his mouth organ.He was a reasonably good artist. He could easily make a portrait from some photograph.He was a fine craftsman and could turn wasteful things like bamboo sticks,jute threads or waste papers into some work of art.He could easily understand the functioning of gadgets, instruments and even machinery.This made him an excellent mechanic and innovator too.
I wrote in this blog of Arun da's participation in our initial Saraswati Puja. We requested Arun da to decorate our place of worship.Arun da could find time only much late in the night.He came with a brush , paints and some pots of indoor plants.He quickly painted some Alpanas on the floor and arranged the pots nicely around. Within minutes the decoration was finished.His sense of artistry could turn the small place beautiful.
Once Arun da started making scratches by fingernails on some pieces of white hand made papers and through impression generated bunches of flowers or a simple landscapes on them.We were really amazed to see. I am not sure whether he imitated some one else or it was his idea. Even to-day, I am yet to find some one else to do same .Much later we found greeting cards in stalls with images embossed with machines.
While in highest class in our school,me and one of my school pals had an assignment to make a prototype of an electric motor.This was to be displayed and demonstrated in an inter school science exhibition.Our teachers gave us a Bengali book which provided some broad guidelines.We proceeded accordingly but our motor did not turn while connected to the battery pack.Arun da offered to volunteer.He understood the principles from us , took the book and went home with the model.We did not hope much as this, to our knowledge, was more difficult a task which Arun da normally encountered.But he proved us wrong the next day. Through out the night he tried and ultimately took the clue from a DC ceiling fan.He spotted that we did not provide a proper commutator needed to run a motor with DC supply.He made a commutator cutting a copper coin into segments and fixed them as a commutator.He did not need to understand Faraday's principles of Electro-magnetism to accomplish his task.That motor was exhibited and praised in the exhibition.
He made some table lamps using bamboo sticks and papers and put his best efforts to sell the items in the fest organised during Rathajatra (Rather mela) every year.He made quite an impression among the visitors but could not find business.Rather mela was too humble a market to appreciate his works but he could afford nothing more.
Arun da was not qualified enough to get a regular job.For years, he earned his living by fixing radios , tape recorders and copiers.Over the years he developed a number of gadgets.One among them was meant to control the consumption of petrol in the IC engines.I saw his untiring efforts to find a find a financiar but he could make no headway in absence of proper reference and contacts.Last time, while we talked I came to know that he made and installed a machine to prepare and laminate identity cards.He found few regular schools and institutions to feed him with orders.He is in his mid sixties now but I am sure that his eyes shall still blink and he would proceed with the same enthusiasm and confidence if he finds a challenging assignment with machinery.
With much hesitation, I shall take reference of a great man leading the long queue of inventors in World History.He was born in this month of February one hundred and sixty two years back in the United States of America.He too came from a middle class back ground and had only three months of formal schooling.He had the similar habit of experimenting with tit bits since his childhood. He ultimately became an inventor to be remembered over the ages and had 1093 patents to his credit while he died at the age of 84.His name, you all must have rightly guessed, by now ,legendary Thomas Alva Edison.
I am not here to draw a comparison.It is not possible to compare Edison with some one else on earth.He is one among the Greatests.But I can not help but wonder what would happen to Edison if he were born and brought up in Kalighat instead of .Milan,Ohio,USA in 1847? Could he even learn how to go for patents?
I just do not have an answer.
Comments
You didin't mention about the rudimentary acrobatic skills which Arun and I practised and competed in as children.Nothing creative about it but I am mentioning this just to indicate the diversity of his interests.
You didn't know perhaps that some of us friends who were regulars in my adda those days, were salesmen in Arun's Rath stall one year.We did manage to push through some of his innovative products.I am sure it didn't amount to much monetarily, but it was a labour of for all of us including Arun.
The last I know Arun uses a computer and imaging software to design his cards and also greeting cards.So his creative talents and technology still go hand in hand.
Me and Sona da were also present at the stall at Rather Mela though we were not in a position to do much then.
To-day morning I talked to Arun da and took his permission before publishing the post.