In-flight Lectures

Mr.Diwedi, the Law School Head, the man who was known for his sternness, had an altogether different side as well and I had just discovered it. He asked me questions ranging from life at the law school, why did I take up law, what did I want to become and so on. He told me about his story which goes as: He was a child prodigy and had done his Master of Science in Physics by the time he was nineteen. He could not write the civil services exam(which his father wanted him to write) till he was twenty one as the rules required him to attain that age. He cracked the exam in the very first attempt and joined the services at the age of twenty two. He has never visited a foreign country in his life in spite of a legion of opportunities. He says that he never felt the urge for that. I asked him questions on surnames people have and how can the lineages be traced from them. He had all the answers. He then gave a long lecture on Indian Philosophy, much of which ceased to make much sense to me...on Shankaracharya, etc. He gave an illustration to show how Maya (knowledge) removes Fear:

A's friend enters his room (which does not have any light) with a rope in his hand and tells A that he is carrying a snake. He drops the rope down and goes out of the room.A trembles in fear believing the rope to be a snake. After sometime, the friend re-enters the room and puts on the light. A sees the rope and all his fear goes away. Light helped A to augment his knowledge and thereby remove his fear........was it too much?

As the flight touched down at the Delhi Airport, I realized that I had just received around seventy minutes of in-flight education and my fear for flying had not bothered me much. There ended my rendezvous with a great man and after getting my note pad autographed by Md.Azharuddin, I headed for the Indian Law Institute hostel.