Word of the day that was..

This is a new type of post im trying out. This is a regular feature in the Times Of India Sunday edition which tries to explain some of the words that have been apperaring frequently in the news for the past week. I shall try the same and try to highlight some of the words i have heard and will try to extrapolate them.

Today's Word: Thirupathi ladu

This word was used extremely well by my maths teacher H.S.Mahadevaiah to explain the concept of small increment in x (dx) while teaching differential calculus.

He said that many of his relatives and friends are frequenters of the Thirupathi temple in Thirupathi. Almost everyone who goes there invariably buys the prasadam i.e. the very delicious and one of its kind, thirupathi ladu. Many people who go to thirupathi dreading to stand in long queues to get only a glimpse of the Lord Venkateshwara often come back satiated at the sweet taste of these ladus. Many athiests also lust for these ladus.

Coming back to my maths class, my teacher explained that due to the restriction imposed on the number of ladus one devotee can buy, and owing to the large number of people amongst whom it has to be distributed, one ends up getting only a very small piece of the prasadam. "x" is the ladu and "dx" is the piece u ultimately get to eat.

Now that is an amazing comparison. No wonder he has been such a good teacher and also very successful in his teaching career.

Alas! if only i had a Thirupathi ladu......