An unprecedented honor

It was around 10.30 in the night and I was working seriously on my course assignments. The phone rang and it was my mother from India. I could immediately sense the tremble in her voice due to some surprise or shock, and became concerned. But then, after what I heard form her, it was my turn to be surprised. She said my picture with a profile was just published in the local newspaper that morning (it was morning there in India when she called). My mind went blank for a split second; then it quickly ran through all the wildest possible reasons how in the world
that could happen !!! The funniest thought that came to my mind was whether someone made some mistake in advertising about the missing persons !!!! But then I thought who will even try to publish about me as missing, when everyone in my family knows where and how to reach me in two seconds in this age of technology!! It sometimes fascinates me how fast the brain can process numerous permutations and combinations of information within a split second.

It turned out, my alma mater National Institute of Technology - Warangal (NITW - formerly Regional Engineering College or RECW) ran an article in the newspaper on the distinguished alumni of the institution and they profiled me among the twenty or so such graduates in the last 50 years. NITW is celebrating its Golden Jubilee this year and ran the article with the title "Apoorva Medhavulu" which means "Unprecedented Laureates" (see below the article).

I could not but contain my thrill for a moment on such a rarest of rare honor. I could realize that if I felt that way, how much my parents must be on the top of the clouds. My mother told me that she cried out of joy when my father first noticed and showed the article to her. Next day, as I flew to Dallas just in time for the arrival of our baby, Neelima and her mother looked up the publication on the Internet and were very excited. And, what a thrill as this happened just the day before our daughter Aadya (means "Unprecedented" in Sanskrit) was born. In the past week, as things settled down and I returned to Chicago, I wrote to the Dean of NITW how much I was elated and equally humbled at the honor. I feel I do not yet deserve such a distinction to be placed among stalwarts, as I have so much more to accomplish. Every institution and gathering that I went so far to explore, I always found great minds and inspiring personalities; compared to them I am just a midget.

But, now that the words have been spoken and the recognition has inadvertently been granted, it has become my responsibility to live up to the expectations and show the path to the future
alumni. It is such a heavy burden to carry and its weight can be felt by only those who earn it!!!