Tuesday, June 20, 2017

Workshop on National Digital Library.

I'd got up at a quarter to 4, recited my prayers and turned off to sleep all over again. Maman and I'd gone to the Foundation by a quarter to 8 and soon after, fetched up at the auditorium of the Priyadarshini Planetarium which was the venue of the first session of the workshop. It was then that a change in plan was decided.

The both of us left for the Government Girls' High School at Manacaud, to attend the Reading Day celebrations organised by the State Library Council, for which we'd been invited. On getting off from the car, I'd my first tryst with its secretary, Advocate Appukuttan who was the cause for this year's initial confusion over the celebration of the event and an anti-PN Panicker man. I'd decided, earlier, to ask him as to why he hated my grandfather so virulently even after 22 years of his passing away.

But the opportunity never came, because he spoke eloquently about the legend and his contribution to the library movement. Maman was called upon to speak, in which, he proceeded to explain the differences that had existed, threaded through the evolution of the Foundation and set the record straight without offending the organisers. We returned, after about an hour, to the planetarium where the public programme had just finished and the technical workshop on the National Digital Library was underway under the stewardship of Prof PP Das of the IIT, Kharagpur.

The afternoon session comprised of two events viz. the second part of the technical interaction with Dr. Banerjee of the IIT, Kharagpur in the IT lab of the Barton Hill Engineering College, nearby and the workshop for the users at the Priyadarshini auditorium immediately, after a short public meeting. Prof Das delivered his lecture in English while I did the transliteration, which was widely acclaimed.....Dunno whether they're boosting my ego? In the process, I got a hang of the hooking up with the National Digital Library.

Back in the Foundation, there was a sad episode concerning the drivers. Came to know that there was a misbehaviour on the part of one of the guests who smoked inside the vehicle despite the driver asking him not to do so. Syam of the JSS and Alex, the one on hire - He's a great driver, I'd always thought him to be a level headed guy and had nurtured him during the 'yatra' - refused to run an errand in taking the guests around town.......and that was a a big letdown!



Tailpiece.

I suppose disappointments are bound to happen and once again, it's been proved that one should not get too emotionally attached to anyone.      

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