Sampath-Musings

FROM SAMPATH’S DESK:         RAMASWAMY R. IYER (October 1929-9 September 2015) A VISIONARY IN WATER RESOURCES   Born in Thakkalai in Kanyakumari District of Tamil Nadu in South India, Ramaswamy R Iyer was a visionary and expert in water resources and their management in India, who wrote extensively on the subject and saw rivers as inextricable parts of the lives of communities.   He was an honorary research professor at the Centre for Policy Research (CPR). As an officer of the Indian Audit and Accounts Service, he served as Secretary of Water Resources of Government of India, in which capacity he was the initiator and principal draftsman of India's first National Water Policy in 1987. Since his retirement from government, he was keeping himself engaged on water-related issues, and in particular, cooperation on river waters by India, Nepal, and Bangladesh. A 2014 Padma Shri awardee, he had also served on many high-level government committe...

FROM SAMPATH’S DESK:   CHEW SOMEONE OUT (BAWL SOMEONE OUT) and THROUGH THE GRAPEVINE:   CHEW SOMEONE OUT (BAWL SOMEONE OUT):   Origin of the idiom:   Did you ever watch someone’s mouth and lips moving furiously when they were harshly scolding you? Perhaps it reminded a writer years ago of fast chewing, and that’s how the expression was born.   Meaning:   To scold severely, rudely, or roughly – reprimand someone harshly – to criticize someone angrily – to talk heatedly and furiously to someone in order to show them that you disapprove of what they have said/done -     Example sentences:   When Geetha’s parents saw her report card, they really CHEWED HER OUT.   The coach has already CHEWED OUT TWO OF HIS SWIMMERS for arriving late to practice.   Mary CHEWED HER HUSBAND OUT for hours last evening because he had forgotten to buy a birthday gift for her.   My parents are always CHEWING M...

FROM SAMPATH'S DESK:   PEACE AND HAPPINESS   Just like a coin that has two sides, everything is at least bi-faceted. Both happiness and sorrow are part of the mundane life and invariably, they come in a cyclical order. Just as a candle gives light to anyone who can study well in it and even become a genius, it can also be used to torch a book or house and destroy it. Again, while a knife can be used for cutting a fruit into pieces to enjoy it, the same can also be used to injure or kill a person. Further, whereas minimally enriched uranium can help produce the much-needed electricity for constructive purposes, highly-enriched uranium can be utilized to produce nuclear arsenal, a possible source of mass destruction. There is thus a chain of two self-contrasting realities in a single thing.   Wealth can help bring comfort and/or luxury, but can’t guarantee happiness, as it is a state of mind, squarely dependent on an individual’s psyche. Ironically, the most w...

FROM SAMPATH’S DESK:           AN INTERESTING BRAINSTORMING CLASSROOM SESSION   In a school classroom during the last period before a week-end, a brain-stormy and thought-provoking session started with the teacher asking a student to tell him which, according to him, was a great invention/discovery. Pat came the reply, “It is a bicycle, Sir.” The teacher questioned the student, “When there are myriad contraptions, inventions and discoveries, how come your choice is a bicycle?” The student confidently declared, “When you are riding on a bicycle, you sit pretty well in comfort on it and the moment you stop pedaling  bringing the cycle to a halt, you simply lose balance and fall; isn't it? That comes amaze me. A marvelous  phenomenon, Sir?” Another boy affirmed with a nod, “Yes Sir, it is true. The same is the case when I play with my tyre (of a bicycle/two-wheeler) rolling it by prodding and guiding with a stick.” Both students joine...

  From Sampath’s Desk TRUE TAMIL TRANSLATION OF ENGLISH WORDS:       English words   தமிழ் மொழிபெயர்ப்பு     1)   Breakfast            :::        வேகமாக உடை     2)   Lockdown           :::   பூட்டு கீழே     3)   Water-proof        :::       நீர் ஆதாரம்     4)   Rest of the world :::   உலகம் எடுக்கும் ஓய்வு     5)   Breakdown            :::   கீழே உடை   ...