January 28, 2011
Coimbatore Campus
 

Dr. N. Radhika teaches at the Amrita School of Engineering in Coimbatore. She has been profiled in the prestigious directory, Who’s Who in Science and Engineering.
 

As a reviewer of papers published in the International Journal CIIT and the Indian Journal of Engineering, Science and Technology, Dr. Radhika keeps very busy.
 

This month of January, however, saw Dr. Radhika participate in an activity very different from those in the academic world of computer networking and software engineering.
 

For one hour every evening, on certain days, she joined her colleagues as well as several students to listen to an exposition of the Bhagavatam on campus.
 

This Bhagavata Saptaham was organized by the Department of Cultural Education for all those interested in participating.
 

“I felt really refreshed after listening to the Bhagavatam discourse,” shared Dr. Radhika. “Usually, while going back from campus by bus everyday, I would think about a lot of mundane things. But on these days, even my routine bus journey back home seemed much more meaningful and I felt enlightened about the higher purpose and goal of life.”
 

Familiar to many Indians, the Srimad Bhagavatam can perhaps be referred to as a national epic of faith and devotion. A Sanskrit scripture that details the incarnations of Sri Vishnu, particularly Sri Krishna, the book contains 18,000 verses.
 

The Greatness of Veda Vyasa, The Curse of Parikshit and His Attitude to Death, The Concept of God in Sanatana Dharma, and The Bhakta or the Ideal Devotee – these were several themes of the voluminous text that the Amrita students and faculty learned more about, during the course of the week.
 

Dr. K. Subramanyam, retired principal of the Vivekananda Gurukulam Institute, Madurai, and a renowned exponent of the Ramayana, Mahabharata, Bhagavad Gita and the Srimad Bhagavatam, delivered the talks.
 

Explaining at length the great sage Veda Vyasa’s contribution to Sanatana Dharma through his phenomenal work of compiling the Vedas, the Itihasas and the Puranas, he stated that Srimad Bhagavatam was a gift that he composed for the welfare of humanity.
 

“We rarely come across a person of such excellent communication skills as Dr. Subramanyam,” stated Sivakumar, final-year student of B.Tech. (Aerospace Engineering), who attended all the talks. “His style of teaching and explaining the profound concepts of Srimad Bhagavatam was very inspiring.”
 

“We hope that such discourses will be organized at regular intervals for the benefit of the students,” he added.
 

And they will be. The lecture series will continue in the month of February.
 

“Dr. Subramanyam was able to enthrall the audience with his inspiring narration that brought alive the characters and the culture of Sanatana Dharma,” stated Mr. Pramod Kumar, Coordinator, Department of Cultural Education.
 

“Our Amrita fraternity is sure to benefit from listening to the continued elevating exposition of this sacred scripture,” he added.