Chennai to Atlanta in 30 Years
7. First Quarter - Stay at 2121 Sheridan (The Seminary)
It is Monday January 3, 1977.
I go and meet Dr. Peterson. Tell him I lost my money. He helps by arranging for an advance from my assistantship. He also suggests that I report to the police.
I discuss with him about my course selection. End up signing up for 12 hours (4 courses), which is full load. I sign up for Regional Economics, Multivariate Statistics, Operations Research and Special Project.
I need to mail my letter to my wife. I am not able to find a mail box. I ask Dr. Peterson. He walks out of his office and shows me the mailbox just outside the window. No wonder I did not see it - It is blue coloured and I have been looking for a red coloured box as in India!
Then I go to the Seminary next door with Mr. Mohamed and get our room allotted in Loder Hall. We move up and I jump to the bed near the telephone. Soon I find out the telephone is not connected and I need to arrange for my own connection.... Decide not to do that.
Loder Hall
Click here to see the NU Campus Map
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It is interesting to see how things move smoothly and efficiently. I am given a key to the main door and Graduate Students' Office of Tech Institute so that I can come in anytime and study or do research or use the computer centre! I got my picture taken for my identity card (Pic ID) .
Muthu in 1977
Quarter is progressing and I am feeling the burden of the workload. Every night before sleeping I think of my parents and family and feel the separation more every night. It takes 2 weeks for my letter to reach home and 2 more weeks before I receive the reply! Most of my time is spent in the Tech Institute. Most of the research work assigned to me is card punching and duplicating papers.
My meal these days is two slices of bread from the Students Cafeteria downstairs, supplemented by oatmeal cookies from the vending machine in the 5th floor of Tech Institute.
Regional Economics is all mathematical modelling. The professor is an Afro-American. The standard is high and most of it is over my head. Multivariate Statistics is taught by Dr. Peterson. He is about my age. When I started as the Head of the Town Planning Department at the Central Polytechnic, Adayar, in 1965, I had students several years older than me. Now I am finding most professors are much younger than I!
Multivariate Statistics was taught with the manual for the computer program Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) as the text. All the assignments involve using this package.
There are 8 students in Dr. Peterson's Multivariate Statistics class. In the beginning I used to be at the class by 12:55. Usually there will be no one for the class and I would wonder if I have made a mistake in the class room or meeting place; but I will suddenly find all the students and the Prof. in the class at 1:00 pm sharp!
I am fascinated by Operations Research. I had attended a couple of short courses at Guindy and IIT-M on linear programming and operations research. But, it was tough to do it as a full course with homeworks and frequent tests and quizzes.
I should have signed up for courses where I had some background. As Prof. P. Sankaran advised before I left Chennai, I perhaps would have been better off signing up for courses which I have taught! But, Town Planning as it was taught in India then was all qualitative - essays and descriptions - and drawing.
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In response to Anantha Sundaram's comment: Muthu Muthusubramanyam
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Anantha Sundaram மெய்வருத்தம் பாரார் பசிநோக்கார் கண்துஞ்சார்
எவ்வெவர் தீமையும் மேற்கொள்ளார் - செவ்வி
அருமையும் பாரார் அவமதிப்புங் கொள்ளார்
கருமமே கண்ணாயி னார்
(பொ-ள்.) கருமமே கண்ணாயினார்- (தாம் தொடங்கிய) காரியத்தை முடிப்பதிலேயே கருத்துக்கொண்டவர், மெய் வருத்தம் பாரார் - (தம்) உடம்பின் வருத்தத்தைக் கவனியார், பசி நோக்கார் - பசியையும் கவனியார், கண் துஞ்சார் - உறங்கார்,எவ்வெவர் தீமையும் மேற்கொள்ளார் - யார் தீங்கு செய்தாலும் அதைப்பொருட்படுத்தார், செவ்வி-காலத்தின்; அருமையும் பாரார் - அருமையையும் நோக்கார்,அவமதிப்புங் கொள்ளார் - (பிறர் செய்யும்)அவமதிப்பையும் கருதார்.
(வி-ம்.) கண் துஞ்சார்; உயர்திணையொடு சார்ந்த அ ஃறிணைப் பெயர் உயர்திணை முடிபேற்று ஒரு சொன்னீர்மைத்தாய் நின்றது. எவ்வெவர் - எவர்; பன்மைப் பொருள்களில் வந்த அடுக்குத் தொடர்,ஏ: பிரிநிலை. துருவன், இருண்ட காட்டில் வெயில், பனி, மழை முதலியவற்றால்உடலுக்கு ஏற்பட்ட மெய்வருத்தம் பாராமலும், பசி நோக்காமலும், கண் துஞ்சாமலும், கொடிய காட்டு விலங்குகளின்தீமையை மேற்கொள்ளாமலும்தன்கருமமே கண்ணாகித்திருமாலினிடம் பதவி பெற்ற வரலாறு இதற்குச் சான்றாகும்.
(க-து.) ஒரு தொழிலைச் செய்து முடிக்க முன்னிற்போர்தமக்கு வரும் எவ்வகை இடையூறுகளையும் பொருட்படுத்தார். (53)
Anantha Sundaram said:
ReplyDeleteThe gift of graduate school in the US was deferring on meeting a proper meal let alone eating one. But two slices of bread and oatmeal cookies sound impoverished even compared to my early grad. existence (1991).