Tamil Nadu - Coimbatore   

Curiosity leads them on

Staff Reporter

COIMBATORE: They don't believe in compartmentalising knowledge. It is not confined to the rigid contours of their school syllabus. From wildlife to sports, history, science or current affairs, their interest spans a wide range of areas.

S.M. Lokeshwaren and C.K. Vishnu Das, Plus Two students of Perks Matriculation Higher Secondary School, are driven by an unending passion to acquire knowledge. Experts in quiz, they have mastered the art of constantly enriching their repertoire of knowledge.

"We read a lot and watch television," they say. Television and books are storehouses of knowledge, which should be utilised in the right manner, they add. Even cartoons on television could be informative.

Having participated in several interschool and district level quiz competitions and won prizes, they will attend the State level quiz competition to be organised by the Directorate of School Education in Vellore on January 18 and 19.

According to them, there are some questions, which make quizzing interesting, such as these, "Who are the professionals who can use only ball-point pens?" The answer is pilots. This is because ink pens will start leaking in high altitudes. "Why do rats keep gnawing?" They gnaw because, otherwise, their teeth grow too long and they may get killed. "Which is the substance that we use daily that contains poison? The answer is salt (it contains sodium, which is poisonous).

While Lokeshwaren plans to explore research possibilities after a course in engineering, Vishnu wants to pursue his passion - automobile engineering.

They are against the Government's decision to scrap the common entrance test. This move will lead to unhealthy competition. Plus Two examination marks are not really a determinant of students' capabilities. The one thing they are not very enchanted by is politics. "The politics in the country is not transparent. Nobody knows what happens in the corridors of power," says Lokeshwaran.

Nevertheless, students can do their part by joining in their schools' social service activities, says Vishnu. "We do not want communal riots or wars and we need the country to be secular," they say.

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