The story of my watches (3)

Nelson Quartz:

When I was in 11th standard, Appa got me this watch. Appa took me to Mainguardgate with an idea to get a watch for me. We went through many watch shops, but I didn't like any of them. When we went to a shop in Super Bazaar, I liked one watch, which had a day-date feature and a dual tone dual tone dial - white and gold. It had the name "Nelson" written on it. It was a bit costly in those days, costing about Rs. 450. But still Appa went ahead and bought it for me. I wore this watch from 12th standard until I completed my UG. It was used almost daily. I still remember the day it received its first scratch on the crystal, the evening before my 12th chemistry public exam, when I was wearing it and studying for the exams. After that it received many scratches, but served loyally. Later on I gave it to my father, who changed its case, strap and used it for some more time. Eventually it was destroyed.

TIMES:

This was a quartz watch bought by my sister from Vizag. It had a black case, black resin strap and a gold face. The needles of this watch was especially cute. Once when I banged the door of "Rockfort Express" in an attempt to open it, it received an impact on its crystal and the crystal cracked. I moved the machine of this watch to my another watch and this watch was eventually destroyed.

Casio DB-36:

My younger sister got this watch from US. This was a wrist watch that had many features and it is one of my favorites, since my watch wearing habit started with digital watches. It also had the ability to store 30 phone numbers which came handy whenever I forgot to take my mobile phone to office. "10 year battery" is written on its face-plate, meaning that its battery will last for 10 years. Bought in 2010, it still keeps perfect time, and didn't required a battery replacement.

[pic: my casio DB-36]

Casio DB-36

The power of memorizing

Today morning while waking up, before getting up from the bed, all of a sudden I tried to recall the concepts, definitions and formulas that I studied in school, for no special reason. I was happy that I still remember and was able to recall some of what I have studied in school. While in school, I was notorious for my memorizing skills. Some used to make fun of me saying that I just memorize without understanding, and that they study by understanding. But in my experience, the converse is true. When we start memorizing a concept, even if we do not understand anything, slowly we will start understanding and once we memorize and understand, it will never go out of our mind. Me still remembering and recalling some of what I studied in school two decades back is an example.

Some of the definitions that I was able to recall are:
(Note: I am giving here as I recalled, and it may be wrong. Readers are advised to refer to the net for verification.)

Pascal's law: "An increase in pressure at any point in a liquid at rest is transmitted equally to every other point within the same liquid."

When I studied this definition, I was amazed by this simple discovery by Pascal. This law is the basis for the hydralic brakes (oil brakes) used in the cars and other vehicles and also in the hydralic jacks, that is used to lift the cars in the car service centers.

Archemedes principle: "When a solid is immersed in a liquid either totally or partially, it suffers an apparent loss of weight. This loss of weight is due to the upthrust it experiences and it is equivalent to the amount of liquid it displaces."

This is the guiding principle on which ship floats in water. I vaguely remember that Archemedes discovered this principle when he was given the task of identifying the quality of originality of Gold.

Allotrophy: "Allotrophy is the property by virtue of which an element exhibits the same chemical property, but different physical properties."
This law talks about an element changing its shape (physical shape), while retaining its chemical property, when subject to certain external stimuli.

I also remember the Newton's first, second and third laws, laws of thermodynamics, Faraday's law and a few more.

I was also able to recall some of the mathematical formula, but due to formatting issues, I am unable to write them here.

This power of memorizing also helped me when I selected software development as my profession. This moved me away from being a Google (copy-paste) programmer. I know almost all the syntax of Java and other programming languages that I use in my day-to-day work, by-heart. I memorized them, which eliminated the need to refer to the net for their syntax or examples. I also know the design-patterns and enterprise-integration patterns by-heart. I memorized them too, which totally altered my approach in solving the issues in the software that I develop or maintain.

- PAVALA G SUBRAMANIAN.

The story of my watches (2)

While I was in 10th standard, Appa bought a digital watch from a Burma Bazaar shop, which was near the Armoury gate ration shop. This was a Burma Bazaar shop selling electronic items that existed in those days, prior to the roadside Burma Bazaar shops. It was a black colored resin-strapped number watch. It had an analog face around the digital screen, purely for aesthetic reasons. I wore this watch for the whole of 10th standard and this was the watch I wore for my 10th standard public exams. Prior to this Appa got me another rectangular number watch, a model famous in those days. But unfortunately this watch was short lived.

The watches I wore in my childhood will not be complete without writing about the "shoba watch". In 7th standard my parents told me that they will get me a watch if I take good rank in the half-yearly examination. That was the time when I started showing good interest in my studies and I think I got 2nd rank in that exam. One evening when parents returned from town(in TVS 50), they bought a new "shoba watch". It was a HMT ladies model winding watch. They gave the watch to me. It didn't fit my wrist, but still I wore to school for a couple of days, and also wore it for the exams. After that my mother started using it. The watch still works and in my last visit to my native, I keyed it and it immediately started ticking.

[Pic: HMT Shoba]

HMT Shoba

- PAVALA G SUBRAMANIAN

The story of my watches (1)

I do not know when my obsession for wrist-watches started. I am neither punctual nor understand the importance of time. Recently when my sister asked why I have the obsession for watches, after a long thinking, I said "May be they were the first sophisticated devices I ever had in my life."

The earliest memories of me having a watch dates back to my childhood when I wore digital watches, more popularly known as number watches in those days. These wrist watches were bought by Appa during his "line duty" to Delhi. Those were the "ladies model digital watches" and were initially used by Amma.

I still remember the look, feel and color of two such watches. Once dark blue(the Casio blue) and another golden-yellow. They had a stainless steel case, back cover and chain. They were cute little watches with a simple machine inside. I continued to use one among - on and off - till I was in 9th standard. They were also the prey of my early inquisition to know about the internal workings of a watch. Two decades later, I realized that those watches were the imitations of the famous Casio-Mini ladies model watches.

Those watches were eventually destroyed by me. Now I sadly remember hitting one of them with a hard stone in an attempt to open it, which destroyed it. Also in that watch, I discovered that the screen(the LCD one) is made up of multiple thin layers. Yes, I peeled the layers of the screen one-by-one.

Had I preserved them, those would have been my invaluable collectives now. But unfortunately, they continue to exist - only in my memory.

[Pictures of Casio Mini below]

- PAVALA G SUBRAMANIAN.

The story of my bicycle

I started riding bicycle when I was studying in second standard. Appa, and at times Sathi mama painstakingly used to run behind the cycle holding the seat. I still remember the way Appa used to run behind the cycle. In those days, I used to rent small cycle from cycle shops, which was the norm in those days. Soon I learnt to ride my Dad's Raleigh cycle in monkey pedaling and also in bar pedaling.

The moment Appa comes back from work, I used to take his cycle and go out for rounds, mostly in monkey pedaling. One day I was riding cycle along the Jesintha Akka street and came back home to have a short break and have some water. I saw a beautiful new light-blue colored cycle in front of our home.  When I went inside I saw Alukkuli Thatha (my maternal grandfather) inside, as usual in his beautiful smile. I was filled with immense joy when I got to know that he has bought and brought that cycle for me from native. I immediately took it and went for cycling again. All my friends watched it with jealousy :-).

That was a "Hercules Captain" cycle, which became my companion for the next 25 years. I went to school on it, took my sisters to school on it, went to the passport office to apply for a passport on it, and I used it to go to all the places, until my marriage. At times I have rode it for more than 14 kilometers in one stretch. I have spent lots and lots of joyful evenings with it, going for long "rounds" around our area.

Even driving a car didn't give me the pleasure and happiness that I used to get when I rode my bicycle. I started using a bike only after my marriage. Because of my personal bonding with my cycle and the memories of my grandfather associated with it and that of the happy moments I spent with it, I refused to give my cycle to anyone even when I no more needed it.

I also had a similar bonding with my small tri-cycle, which I used in my childhood. But unfortunately  it was given away and it went out of my possession. Years later I saw that tri-cycle in someone else's home, parked in front of that home. My heart became heavy and I became very sad. But there was no possibility of retrieving it again.

I definitely cannot even imagine someone else having my Hercules Captain cycle. It is still preserved in my native. Hoping to relive the happy moments with it again in the later part of my life.

My Captain Cycle

My Captain Cycle

- PAVALA G SUBRAMANIAN.