We are Virginia Tech !

I am putting down some of my thoughts here regarding the unfortunate incident at Virginia Tech. As a Hokie myself, I am very sad for what happened. These may appear like ramblings to you ... please bear with me.

Monday was a sad day in the history of any educational institution. Such maniacal massacre is not what a place of learning and education should witness. More than the number of people affected, I was struck senseless by the manner in which they were affected and the inexplicable rage of the killer.

We, as Indians, have lost two of our fellow countrymen in Monday's massacre. Prof. G.V. Loganathan was called the "Master of measurements" and the "Father of Fluids" by some of his students in one of the facebook sites. I have always felt that a professor is worth much more than his/her life - he/she is worth the lives of all the students who have learnt something or have got inspiration from him/her. Minal Panchal, even though I didnt know her personally very well, was a very sweet person with a smile on her face always. I had observed her to be a reticent but fun loving person. As a student, I cant imagine what she should have gone through in the final moments of her life. I pray to the Almighty to bless their souls and keep them close with Him. Oh God .. please give their families the necessary mental strength and support to tide through these difficult times.


I know that these incidents are not something which can be explained by any mortal. Its something which is so deeply psychological that it can never be prevented. The media has been talking about how this incident could have been avoided - my own personal opinion is that this incident could never have been avoided with any sort of security measures/checks in place. One of the sites I was browsing had explained that there are different ways by which our thoughts can be kept to ourselves and not expressed outside. I believe, in this case, that the killer had been very thorough in his preparations and was very much determined to make his mission succeed. If only his determination had been funnelled into more constructive means ....

I am at a loss with relating to the killer on his motives for the executions he has performed. I have never considered VT to be a place where there is a huge economic disparity between the students. Its not a place where one observes any glaring difference in lifestyles.

I have not taken any pictures of the tragedy or the aftermaths out of respect for all the individuals affected by the incident in any form. I agree that the world needs to know what has happened and how. But the media is already doing their job (to the point of being obtrusive even). I feel that people would like to keep such moments close at heart and its not something for publicity.

As they say : "Time is the best healer". As time passes on, we will come to terms with what has happened and continue our life's journey. As Nikki Giovanni said : "We are sad today, and we will be sad for quite a while. We are not moving on, we are embracing our mourning." But the human spirit is something which is unstoppable. Even in the face of any adversity, it will continue its journey and do everything it can to prevail itself upon the face of the planet !

"We will continue to invent the future through our blood and tears and
through all our sadness ... We will prevail. We will prevail. We will
prevail. WE ARE VIRGINIA TECH !!"

I would like to sincerely request all of you reading this post to put in their comments and views on what has happened. It will be of great help to know of others feelings and share our views.