 |
|
 |
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
bio.graph
A journal-style biography in progress
Updated June 2004
.....................................................................................................
The Lord is good. What else can I say? I thought of various ways of putting this across, but none
as powerful and none as effective as a simple statement - the Lord is good.
In less than fifteen days, I will be married to Sheeya. What greater joy than to find the companion
made for you by God Himself? Indeed, I am blessed.
.....................................................................................................
The Early Years
Gauhati, Assam, India - July 7, 1975.
A funny-looking baby tries hard to open its eyes, lets out a high-pitched cry, smiles the weirdest smile for a brief moment, and goes right back to its basic function, more high-pitched crying. Shri.Dr.Immanuel gently squeezes Smti.Esther Immanuel's hand. They just had a son - me.
 Dhaligaon, Assam, India (1975-1983)
My dad worked at a local petrochemical refinery (BRPL) and mom stayed home as a house-wife taking care of my elder sister Blossom, and mischievous me. My academic education started at the 'Kendriya Vidyalaya' school in the BRPL township, and continued there till we moved south to Kuzhithurai, a small town in the state of Tamil Nadu. My dad had found a job abroad and wanted my sister and me to live at my aunt's home at Kuzhithurai.
Kuzhithurai, Tamil Nadu, India (1984-1985)
My period of stay at my aunt's home in Kuzhithurai was probably what laid the foundation for my future  education, discipline and direction. My uncle, who was retired from the military, had quite a positive influence in my life. It was here that I first developed an interest in electronics and electrical systems. I was 9 years old when I learned through trial and error that you could increase the effective voltage by connecting batteries in a serial fashion. Had it not been for my uncle, I would've taken apart every electronic appliance in the house to perform my experiments on; however, bless his soul, I did have my share of secret successes though! ;-)
Ras Lanuf, Libya (1986,87)
I remember I was very excited when I boarded my first international flight with my parents from the Bombay (now Mumbai) international airport in 1986. We were flying into Ras Lanuf, Libya, to be with dad who was now working at the Ras Lanuf Oil & Gas Processing Company (RASCO). Libya is a beautiful place, as far as nature goes. The Mediterranean Sea is a deep beautiful blue but equally scary especially on the rugged coastline near our school at Ras Lanuf. Tripoli is very beautiful at night, and has a unique vintage charm; Sitting on the rows of the massive theater at Leptis Magna, the old Roman city near Al Khums (about 75 miles from Tripoli), it is almost possible to hear the crowds cheering and the city bustling with Roman soldiers and residents.
My sister and I went to a very unique school  at Ras Lanuf, the Oil Companies School where I developed wonderful friendships with other students from various countries, including Bangladesh, Pakistan, Yugoslavia, Palestine, Germany and others. Today, I wish I could get in touch with my teachers Mr.Paul Chandler, who was Irish and his wife, Mrs.Janan Chandler, who I believe was from New York. I hope Mr.Chandler still enjoys Indian food today as he did back then!
Dohnavur, Tamil Nadu, India (1988)
One of the most amazing schools I've been to, albeit the fact that I was there for only a year - the Santhosha Vidhyalaya. This is where I first learnt to play the guitar (Thank you Mr.Edison). Few know that I represented the school and the district of Tirunelveli at the state-level athletic meet in the city of Chennai in 1988, covering 4.5 meters (approx 14.76 feet) in the long jump event; however, unfortunately not enough to qualify for the nationals. It was also here that amidst my rigorous training that I clocked my best time at the 100 meter sprint - 13 seconds flat (WR 9.78s). The school thought that was pretty cool considering I was only 13 at that time.
Nagercoil, Tamil Nadu, India (1989-1993)
Nagercoil is my town. This is where my home is. This is where I bought my first bicycle, met my (rest his soul)  best friend, learnt to ride the Yamaha Rx100 motorcycle, photographed my first film roll, wrote my first poem, met with a motorcycle accident, sang in the choir at the local church, exhibited my first home-built electronic device at a national science exhibition, and gosh, a million other things that I can't even recall right now! By this time, I was reading electronic magazines and had also experimented with designing my own PCBs (printed circuit board) for homemade electronic devices. All that changed when a family friend presented me 'Digital Principles and Applications', a book by Malvino & Leach. I was so very fascinated by the world of digital electronics that I would sneak-read the book at night when I was supposed to be preparing for my secondary school exams! ;-) I was also fascinated by computers (although I would lay my hands on a computer only years later) and wondered how long it would take to build computers the size of the palm. Little did I know then that I would end up working with the person who designed and wrote the email system for the Palm VII...!
Kumaracoil, Tamil Nadu, India (1993-1997)
Kumaracoil is a little town in southern Tamil Nadu that is the proud home to one of the fastest growing centers of engineering education in Tamil Nadu - the N.I.College of Engineering. This is where I earned my bachelors degree majoring in Computer Science. This is where I first laid my hands on a computer - a PC-XT to be exact. This is also where I submitted papers on parallel computing, grew to love programming interrupt-driven programs in C and C++, submitted an academic project developed in Java 1.0-beta2, among other 'interesting' techie endeavors. Although my home wasn't very far from the college, I chose to stay with a few friends in an individual rented house. Kumaracoil, being set in a picturesque setting, provided plenty of opportunities for nature hikes and swimming (My friends were hell-bent upon and finally succeeded in teaching me to swim at the local lake).
Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India (1997-1999)
Chennai - A city that is no different from any other city around the world that draws to it people who dare to dream of opportunities, promises of pompous lifestyles, influence and power. In all honesty, my reasons of venturing out into Chennai were fairly simpler - get out of my hometown and find a means of self-sustenance. Chennai is where my career began. This is where I flew out to Boston from. As for life in Chennai, all I can say is this:
Everybody has a history; portions of which we all sometimes wish we could conveniently forget and write-off as 'the learning phase'. I'm sure everyone can relate to that. I know I do.
USA (1999-today)
What a country! Freedom is the keyword. We all cherish it for the opportunities, the choices. Sometimes there is nothing better; and sometimes... it reminds me of Elton John's '...that the twisting kaleidoscope moves us all in turn'. I've met some wonderful people here and I'm blessed to have met those who've stood by me, stood up for me, kept me sane by saying "Just remember not to lose sight that you have your health, a wealth of good friends and family, and a whole lot of future still to come", and probably most of all, taught me 'to be, and want to be' a better man.
Thank you, for everything!
March 2003
This is quite a juncture in my life. Uncertainty is
a new friend. The yardstick that measures the mettle
of a man seems threateningly large. A dot com portfolio
would outperform my esteem graph. However, a flicker of
faith still endures. I keep telling myself "this is a
phase... this is only a phase...". Life, with its occasional
irony can indeed be funny at times, should we choose to see it.
Someone dear to my heart once said to me, "life is funny
sometimes...". Well, she knew what she was talking about.
.......................
Well, that's about it for now. Please remember that "bio.graph" is a living document. It will be continually updated, edited and repackaged. Years down the line, I hope to mold this section into a real self-biography.
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
