My Two Minutes with Mike, an RHCVA
It was two months back; I met with Mr. Michael Joel Parin, Australian national who works in Prague. After having been in close conversation with us since the beginning of 2013, he reached Kerala, India for training requirements. During his time with us, he underwent training and certification in Cisco Networking – CCNA, Red Hat Certified Virtualization – RHCVA and RH 436 – Clustering and Storage Management. More than a trainee who just get involved in the course and studies, Mike was more of a kind with an urge to observe and learn from everything and anything which came on his way of expedition – very keen about culture and history. He, who has traveled through many parts of India in the past, reached Kerala for the first time.
One day when I had set out of the IPSR international campus, Mike came by. We had a chit-chat for a few minutes and to my amusement, he made me realize the fact that how well a foreigner knew about India; the language and culture. As everyone, Mike was also skeptical to hear my name.
He asked what my name stands for and I said it means ‘beloved’ in Hindi – our national language and ‘knee’ in Malayalam, the local language. “Which meaning do you prefer, Janu? – The one in Malayalam or Hindi” Mike queried. I said “Knee, because it gives strength to the whole body to stand and walk.” Mike found that to be interesting and asked how the Malayalam language originated. As a student of Language and Culture, I found it as a great opportunity to showcase my knowledge to a foreigner.
I replied – “Malayalam is a language which originated from Tamil, the language spoken by people of Tamil Nadu, which is an Aryan language.”
Michael said – “I believe the southern part of India speaks Dravidian language.”
”Oh Yes, but when the Aryans invaded….” For a moment, I forgot the fact that he is a foreigner and I’m the native.. “I’m sorry; I have to go through the books again. I need to refer”.
Mike said he will be waiting to know my findings, and explained he is hugely interested in building up his cultural intelligence.
However, I had been working from IPSR headquarters in Kottayam, Kerala the following week. So, by the time, I arrived Cochin with my answers for Mike, I found he had already traveled back to Prague. My finding left untold.
But, I am sure he will be visiting our blog. So, here is the answer, Mike – Yes, the Dravidian languages are a family of languages spoken mainly in the south of India and in some parts of east and central India as well. Some parts of Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Malaysia and Singapore also have its presence. The most populous Dravidian languages are Tamil (Tamil Nadu), Telugu (Andhra Pradesh), Kannada (Karnataka) and Malayalam (Kerala).
After that incidence, I understood a fact. The lessons you learn at one point has to be carried out till the end of your life. Somewhere or the other, the skills or knowledge we imbibed during our childhood days can harness our thoughts and actions.
Every single thing on earth has a lot to teach. Whatever or whoever we are, we never find self actualization once our thoughts are stuck in between the walls surrounding us. It’s better to be a kite than being a balloon which bursts with a prick.
