Live in PEACE

In Bruges

2011-11-19T21:40:00.009+05:30

This post has nothing Collin Farrell's movie. I always devote significant time in thinking for an apt title for my posts, but this one came pretty easily. Apart from the fact that I actually went to Bruges, the article is likely to have more hits with this title.

So it all began with I getting a nice deal for the company, and to my delight, the project kick-off meeting was scheduled in Brussels. Thus, I got respite from the dusty plains of Middle East countries, and was totally looking forward to visit Europe... yeah.

The only problem was that the temperatures in the first week of November have traditionally always been in single digits (deg celsius). But thanks to global warming, even at 11 in the night, the temperature never went below 14 deg celsius.

The famous Belgian lace work

I went with my colleague, and we were determined to finish our meeting as soon as possible. We successfully concluded the meeting in 1.5 days, and secured 2.5 days for bhraman. Work wise, this was an excellent learning experience. The project consultants admitted that they were not in favour of working with Indian suppliers, as they have not heard of good experiences. But, they were quite happy (at least they said so) to see our preparation and clarity on the project. My 'french' also played a major role in getting really good terms with them. The unofficial minutes of meeting finally had the names of 6 brands of beer which one must taste in Brussels.

KWAK in the KWAK glass. They have different serving glasses for different brands of beer.

In Brussels, I experienced the rich European culture. It was so good. The climate itself had a very fresh feel to itself. My friend Srideep told me of US, "if you plan something in US, things will work, you will never have to worry about a plan B". I experienced something similar in Brussels.

Automium in background of a model structure in Mini-Europe

Even with my broken french, I could swiftly negotiate with people, get to stations, travel in buses / trams / metros, without getting lost. It was all so smooth. In Brussels, we saw the Grand Place, Manneken Pis, Grand Place, Mini-Europe, Automium, and Casino Viage. I tasted almost more than 10 brands of beer, and KWAK and BELLE-VUE stand out of the lot. The restaurants were all so warm, with excellent ambiance.

The last day, I was determined to go out of Brussels, on my own. I did not want a guided tour. I visited a local vegetable / cheese / meat / fish market in the morning, and then started off to Bruges. We reached there in about a couple of hours. No inconvenience at all. Bruges is known as the Venice of north. I have not seen Venice, but Bruges was impressive in it's own spirit. Not so big town, great restaurants, plenty of tourists, canals and boating... and yes musicians. In my four days in Bressels, I saw a violinist play mozart, a guitarist playing the nylon strings at the Grand Place, a group performing in a corner in Bruges, and a couple playing harp and guitar on the banks of canals in Bruges. I had never heard harp playing, but the sweetness of sound was magical.

Couple playing harp and guitar

The most outstanding thing to drink in case you have cold - Vin Chaud (Hot Wine)

For details, you can call me up, because I don't think I will ever be bored of telling in detail about this trip of mine to people. I am glad I had this opportunity, and look forward to a better and stronger European connection in the future... fingers crossed.

My trip to the countryside

2011-08-01T19:53:00.008+05:30

Well, for a change, I was in Pipavav for a day.

I started from Vadodara on Saturday evening, to reach Bhavnagar late in the night, to find Mamme waiting for me. My flatmate Anil remarked that this seems to be some sort of a meeting of estranged lovers, meeting each other in a place totally unknown and renting a room for the night to catch up with each other's lives. It was all pretty much true, except the lovers part.

We stayed in a hotel, spoke about a lot of stuff going on in our lives. The next morning, we left for Pipavav at 6, to reach there at 11. The weather was awesome, the greenery was soothing, the breeze was refreshing. We ate at the punjabi dhaba, popularly known as the "Container" because of its location. I went to Mamme's office, and the best part... I was given a guided tour of the ship, the first one to be launched from the Pipavav port.

The tea stall of the Dhaba, hidden behind the stack of containers

Rudder of the ship, and notice the size of people on the yellow bridge

Chains used to anchor the ship

You can never imagine how big these cargo ships are... you have to actually see one to believe it. Most of us see the floating mammoths. Being science students, most of us know that anything that floats, has a lot of volume submerged... but again the point is, you have to see to actually believe it. THE THING WAS MASSIVE. In fact, there were 2 ships, The Golder Bull, and The Golder Suek. Both were equally big, more than 200m long. The process of floating the ship started on Sunday, at 3 in afternoon.. and I and Mamme watched the process start, standing on the deck of the Suek.

After the whole ship experience, where I felt very proud to be an engineer, and actually got inspired to remain in core sector, we marched on to the "city center" tea stall. The whole day, it was drizzling, and we enjoyed getting wet slowly. The shoes I was wearing did not fit my big feet, and after the whole experience, returning back to the dorms, a drink seemed to be a perfect way to conclude the fine proceedings of the day. Me, Mamme, and a senior from our insti sat down and asked the question.. "Have I made it large". The answer almost always was NO.

We rode our way to Rajula, on a pulsar. I rode swiftly.. under influence. It was mesmerizing. The evening was still fresh from the day's rains, the roads still damp. Herds of cows passed us, mud splashed all around our feet, riding on the road with green fields on the sides, made me feel as if I was riding in some fairy land. Some more talks at the bus stop, and it was time for me to say good bye to Mamme, but I am sure the bugger will be there at my place sooner than I begin to miss him.

Finally, i was thinking of a way to end this post.. when I got the message from Mamme, "It's floating".

The third visit

2011-06-15T01:45:00.003+05:30

Kuwait feels like home. I know the airport. I know the person who is going to be at the counter to book my cab for the hotel. I know the hotel location where I am going to stay. My computer remembers the network to access the internet. Even my android knows that. The receptionist and the restaurant lady are familiar. I know the best thing on the menu in the hotel cafe is hot chocolate. The room layout is always exactly the same. Hard rock cafe is always visible from my room window. I know what I will be eating in the morning breakfast. I know what to expect in lunch. I know the people whom I am going to deal with all through the day.

Kuwait is not exactly the place where one could be surprised. The same boring weather, the same boring people, no noise on the roads (except that of the vehicles). I probably find the perfect order of the things a bit disturbing. So I thought of making the evening a bit unusual. After speaking to my family back home, I decided to make the most of the evening, which could be the last evening in Kuwait for a long time to come. At around 8, I started off from the hotel in search of a local sweets shop. I had no vehicle at my disposal, hence I started the walk. One hour after intense walking through unknown streets, I gave up on the search. I decided to turn towards the ocean, where I saw people play in the sand and in the sea... and I made up my mind. By 10, I was done with my dinner (one plate grilled salmon with cheese, and one cranberry juice). I walked back to my room (10 min walk from the beach), kept my wallet and phone inside. With only the hotel card (used to open the door), I set out towards the beach. My love for the sea water made the proposition of a night swim irresistible. I took off my clothes (expect for the shorts) and dived into the chilled waters. There is nothing better in the world than to be absorbed by the immense power of the sea, to feel the waves against your body, and to be humbled by the sheer potential of the water.

I walked by to my room with my underwear drenched, and my soul soaked.

Harley Davidson at the HRC

The Great Depression

2011-05-03T22:06:00.001+05:30

No, this is not an article on economics, and has nothing to do with America. It is solely based on the experiences of a person who came near, very near to the place where they have HUGE reserves of the precious liquid, oil.

I got into the plane; I looked around, all working class people, I got depressed. The air hostess asked me for my drinks preference, I asked for red wine, got it in a plastic glass, I got depressed. My legs ached due to cramped space in the Jet airways plane Boeing 737, I got depressed. None of the passengers had dedicated screens for entertainment on the way, I got depressed. I got down at the airport, walked through the immigration and stuff. On my way out, I saw no duty free liquor shops, I got depressed. I found the taxi driver, got into the taxi, it was a Mercedes, I got depressed.

I saw the wide 8 lane roads, cars moving at 120kmph, I got depressed. I saw no 2 wheelers on the road, I got depressed. I went to the avenues mall, soon to be the largest in Middle East, I got depressed. I saw the flawless beauty of the gulf, but most of them in veils, I got depressed. I saw teenagers, almost kids, driving SUVs I got depressed.

I went to the hard rock cafe, no alcohol was being served, another Gujrat, I got depressed. I was roaming around near the beach, right next to a sea side hotel, and a Kuwaiti lady comes and asks whether I work at the hotel. I got depressed. She considered me as one of the thousands of drivers, waiters, labours, from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, who speak hindi.

Still, the assault was not over. Sridhar, the guy who accompanied me to various clients told me that on the Kuwait’s 50th independence day, the locals (only the citizens) got 1000 KD each, as gift from the government. Well, that is equivalent to almost 1.8 lacs INR... for free! If that was not enough, they gave away 14 month’s ration free to all the citizens. I got very depressed.

The journey continued, and as soon as I was getting accustomed to the infinite wealth around me, Sridhar drove his car (Honda Accord) to the petrol pump, asked for a full tank. He paid 4.8 KD (approx 850 INR) for 65 litres of petrol, I got super depressed. That was like 13rs./litre, against the 62rs./litre, which I get in India.

I got back to Mumbai, the familiar cacophony of the vehicles and people. The auto drivers, the congested roads, the liquor shops, the normal looking people, Katrina Kaif on the bill boards (the only flawless beauty), no AC, the noise of horns, the indiscipline of the traffic, and all of a sudden I find myself smiling. The gloom was lifted, the cheer was back. I was home. There is an enjoyment in the deliberateness of life, which I could now feel, and I was happy again.

I got Leh-ed

2010-06-25T23:03:00.014+05:30

Yeah, I am back with a bang.

Last week, I went to Ladakh, with Doodh, Dedh, Mayur, Bachha. I have had many outings with my friends during my four years of college, but this one was special in many ways:

One has time in the student life, now I have money, god knows when will be the time, when I have both.
This trip was impeccably planned, and yet, every plan failed.
It will be long before I meet Dedh again, he is flying to US shortly.
I missed a lot of people, who should have been on the trip.
We had beautiful locations for photographs and videos.

Anyways, I will be putting a detailed description of my trip, and I promise a video compilations by the year end, of all the moments we have captured on this trip. For now, I will leave some snaps!

Biker gang (we plan to conquer the Himalayas on Enfields)

Ek atoot rishta

Dharmachakra at the hind

The Gompa pose

The way forward

Football fever at Kargil

Abstract!

CSK, the happening!

2010-04-25T19:14:00.004+05:30

When I wrote the the last post, Chennai was the second last team in the heap. Now, its one of the top 2. Miracles can happen, and one is very evident here.

In the second half of the tournament, thanks to the emergence of Ashwin, Bollinger, and Vijay, we are again in the finals, claiming our stake for the championship. Also the consistency of Raina, Badri's patient play, Dhoni 's resurgence, have facilitated the cause. And I wish, the team wins tonight.

I am getting very sentimental about IPL being over. I don't care about the controversies, they are side shows. But, the tournament has been fun. The discussions with my friends, the fellow supporters, and also with die hard opponents of CSK, have been electric. From tomorrow, there will surely be a void in our lives. With this, I wish to see a fighting contest tonight, and may the best team win.

CSK, whats happening

2010-03-31T00:38:00.005+05:30

I am a die hard CSK fan. This can be attributed to my being in Chennai for 4 of the formative years of my life. Moreover, I was overwhelmed by their performance in previous versions of IPL. In addition to all this, there is this feeling of either totally supporting a team, or not being involved at all in the tournament. After reading all this, one would pretty well understand my feelings, CSK being in the 7th position among the total of 8.

In every sport, teams do go down, they do have rough patches. I initially thought that something similar would be happening to CSK as well. But here we are, 7 matches done, CSK won only 2 (KKR and DD). They lost the first match against DC, went down against KPXI in a superover, lost to RCB royally, gave away the match to MI, and succumbed under the average play of RR last sunday, in front of my eyes. Yes, I was the unfortunate fan, sitting in the stadium full of RR supporters, watching CSK screw themselves.

I have a few complaints. I dont understand the fact that when your team is doing bad, why dont you show some faith in your players. CSK won against KKR because of a miracle performance by Dhoni. Against DD, even after the havoc created by Hayden, Raina had to be extra careful not to let things fall apart. KPXI was a total heartbreak, CSK lost in its homeground, players lacked application. Then came the selector screwup. They get George Bailey in the team against RCB, and Raina asks him to come in number 3 in the chase of a massive total. Bailey, slows the runrate to an extent which makes it impossible for us to win. Next match, MI, we post an excellent total (180) without any fuss, and with MI being in the danger zone, give the ball to Pererra, who bowls 5 full toss balls in one over, and concedes 19 runs, making the end an anticlimax. Chennai went into this match with 3 new faces. Then comes RR (in their home), CSK gets rid of Balaji (!), and gets Thushara in. There was also an A.Karthik in the team, and in the end I was wondering whether he was a bowler, batsman, whether even he fielded or not, and as the trend was, we lost.

All this while, where was Makhaya Ntini, I still wonder when would CSK realize that they have a pretty weak bowling attack. This seems to be a communist team, with no relevance to performance. They just want to give a chance to every guy they have signed up, so that their wont be any complaints from anyone. This reminds me of the gully cricket when we were kids(even then non-performers were asked to sit out in crucial times). Badrinath has decided not to exceed his strike rate beyond 100. Hayden just wants to show off his small mongoose (whats the need to change, when he has had all the success with the bigger willow). Bowlers are not applying themselves (with the exception of Murali). M.Vijay is kind of taking his place for granted. Morkel, Dhoni, Raina are yet to get to their match-winning streak. When an amatuer like me can think of all such things, wonder what Kris Sreekanth would be capable of!

The way forward, CSK still has the firepower required to force their way into the semis. Its just a matter of selectors picking the team sensibly, and the players having self-belief. IPL can fluctuate big-time. CSK has 5 of the 7 matches left, in their homeground, Chennai. I am sure the crowd will go in the stadium to cheer for their team, and see them win. We require to win at least 5 out of 7 matches, which is not unachieavable, and if CSK fans believe, if CSK believes in itself, I am sure this team has the capability to thrash the opposition.

Come on CSK, we can do it!!!

My friends ran together…. FIKARNOT!!!

2010-02-12T08:09:00.005+05:30

My status message stated the above for the whole day. Maximum posts I write will surely have this essence of friendship, and especially that of this species known as Fikarnot.

It was December 2007, 5 of us went to a disputed territory in Arunachal Pradesh, India. We came across a landmark, an army base camp, named Fikarnot. Probably this was the word which kept up the spirit of Indian army during wars with China. Fikarnot was embedded in our memories, and the aura of an unbreakable bond, perseverance, trust, respect, affection... blanketed this feeling.

We started identifying ourselves as the Fikarnot. To define what Fikarnot means to us is beyond my writing capabilities. Our activities varied from drinking together, traveling together, leg-pulling, making short films, writing songs, performing in front of a live audience, winning inter-wing footer tournaments, visiting hospital when someone was ill, cheering during matches, night outs on beach sides, birthday bumps... well, the list is endless.

THE LINEUP

Something similar happened yesterday. IITM annual inter-hostel long distance running competition was held... in short, the road race. Moli Kamki was the top seed. But few knew, that he will deliberately not be the first one to finish. Sitting here in Vadodara, I could only imagine the sequence of actions taking place there. The plan was, that 8 of the fikarnot members will be running together, with the letters on their chests.

I reached home and singed in Gtalk. Doodh buzzed me... “FIKARNOT was not enough”. I was perplexed, thought people did not turn up for the event. I asked him to elaborate... to which he replied “we had to have 3 excalamation marks ... FIKARNOT!!! , :)”. I was relieved. My faith reinstated, my belief secured. Then the phone calls started, Moli, Doodh, Mamme, Ante, and also my gmail inbox was flooded with mails.

I am so happy, even now. I feel a sense of achievement. As I said, I can never explain this feeling in words. But I know, there are a few out there, who will know exactly what I mean.

Any comments!!!

2010-02-09T18:56:00.003+05:30

I am always delighted to see any new comments in response to my posts. I just love it. The whole feeling of satisfaction one gets, knowing what he has written can actually be worth a read and also make the readers post a comment, is great. It is true that so any times I ask Mamme, Shruti, and many others to leave a comment on the blog rather than telling me what they feel on chat. I am a sort of obsessed with documentation. I find the idea of referring to stuff such as photographs, blogs, music compositions etc, later on in life, a very attractive one. I have read my own posts many a times, and best part is reading the comments.

This makes me think of a very basic human attribute. All humans are suckers for appreciation. A child is motivated when you pat his/her back after his/her performance. An employee might agree to stay late in the office, if he/she is getting due recognition for his/her work. A singer might consider staying longer on the stage in response to audience cheers, and the list goes on. It’s important to appreciate all the small and big involvements, achievements, etc. for the society to progress. Otherwise, the recession will be hard to counter.

So, I want to be thankful to my readers (who have left their mark), for having read my posts and commented on them. I would urge those who read, but don’t comment, to please do so (for reasons cited in paragraphs above). And last, but not the least, the very rare breed of Anonymous comments, which makes me puzzle who he/SHE is, to be gracious enough to leave a response, and not expecting me to even know him/HER. Please, don’t make me just wonder who you are. Even a false name would do, (in case you don’t want to disclose your identity, as the one having read the stupid text and even commented on it!)

Koi deewana kehta hai...

2010-02-07T21:16:00.002+05:30

After a lazy uneventful Sunday... I had to do something to refresh myself, and what better thing to do than recording songs.

I had this poem (by Kumar Vishwas) in mind, since a long time. I had tried a rock version, but attempts to record it were unsuccessful. Today, with a very humble apparatus (my laptop mic, audacity recording software, and an acoustic guitar) we recorded this song. After many re-takes, and a superimposition of some guitar leads, I finally converted it to mp3. On laptop speakers, it sounded pretty ordinary. But when I connected the output to my 10W amplifier, the result was amazing. Not a trace of noise, and recording was impeccable.

I have embedded the audio with this post. Comments are welcome!

Ishq..kiya?

2010-02-02T02:19:00.002+05:30

Just wondering what the title "Ishqiya" actually meant!

Anyways, we watched Ishqiya today, and were pretty happy to leave the theater after a small length (by bollywood standards) entertaining film. After seeing the promos, hearing about Vidya again flaunting her great Indian body... and the cherry on the cake, both lead male actors shown to be from Bhopal (also the well carried accent), the build-up for the movie was brilliant.

Post movie, we found ourselves (me, Pingle, Rahul, Dash) sitting in Coffee Culture. Best part about watching a movie with people like Rahul (by profession a lawyer in ONGC, Pingle's cousin) is the post movie talks we have. A lot did happen over the coffee. We had an intellectually stimulating game of chess (after so long), extending for about 2 hours, paused by phone calls etc. We had a long talk about the movie and few of the things came out as a result of the discussion:

1. Kareena & Katrina are like burgers and pizzas... in the end the Indians want to taste something more earthy like Vidya Balan!

2. Vidya Balan and Arshad Warsi, beat every single bollywood kissing scene. I think Emraan Hashmi should take some lessons.

3. Where did the policemen go after the fire broke out in the final scene.

4. Vermaji must be gay (to leave Vidya for weapons!).

5. Both Arshad and Naseer approach love from different directions, the former goes from physical to emotional while later gets emotional first, then, but for the age...

6. Abhishek Chaubey is surely someone to lookout for in the future. With such a nice debut, I hope to see ever better directorial ventures from him.

7. BHOPALI ROCKS !!!

Che is dead, get over it

2010-02-01T06:34:00.003+05:30

I remember having read this caption on Mamme's T-shirt, hence the title. Anyways, I finished reading Che Guevara's Motorcycle Diaries yesterday. A small book to read, and rightly mentioned in the opening chapter by his daughter that knowing that this man would be a hero of the Cuban revolution a decade later, changes the way you interpret the events documented in detail, in his daily journal.

Talking of details, the book is full of them. As I stand here (I am writing this post, standing in my kitchen alongside boiling eggs for breakfast), the names of many of the places, people, etc. mentioned in the book, are already hazy in my mind. Especially the unfamiliar spanish names are particularly hard to connect to. Details did make it a bit boring sometimes. But when he wrote about his insights, his feelings, it was remarkable. The way Ernesto and Alberto fought for the basic necessities of survival (food, shelter, cold) and enjoyed the most natural pleasures known to mankind, good food, a swim in river, traveling by raft, fishing etc. were a delight to read.

The last two chapters, where his journey has come to an end, and he is kind of intro and retrospecting, will be read by me a few more time, for its sheer purity and honesty.

The part where he explains the technique they use to get free food and booze form fellow travelers/natives was so humorous. Leaving out the leprosy part, which I could not relate to much, the feelings he expresses about the journey, make it a must read for avid travelers.

Happening, but down

2010-01-27T21:40:00.007+05:30

I left Vadodara on 20th night, to reach Anil's place on 21st morning. Had a gr8 time at his place, very near to Nariman point in South Mumbai. After reaching to elecrama in the afternoon, and meeting old friends (co-joinees at Areva), was time to get drunk in the evening, which we did with full dedication. Next day, after waking up to a hangover at Ankit's place, again I went to elecrama, only to end up in a late chinese lunch. Now, was the time to relive old memories, met Rishab, Pallav, Neha, Namita, her mom, and 2 of her friends at IIT Powai, followed by a sumptuous dinner.

Next day onwards was nothing but gr8. After reaching Chennai by flight the next afternoon, I geared up for the concert I had missed in my first year. Yes, Shankar Ehsaan Loy (SEL) were back, and I was ready. With all my friends (even Ankur and Hemant from Areva joined me), I attended one of the best shows ever in my life. Leaving Ankur and Hemant to the main gate after the show, I walked back through the campus alone... to reach just in time for P3's bday celebrations. I slept late, after waiting long enough for Doodh and Bachha to comeback from their trek.

The next day began late, and after a heavy lunch at Tandoor, almost everyone was just ready to sleep, jeopardizing the whole plan for the night. But one man rose to the occasion (he has done it far too many times now), and it was Mamme. He worked through every detail of the plan, arranged for a bus for 12 of us, arranged for booze (procured by Anna and Tattu), biryani (procured by Bachha), and cake etc. (procured by Doodh and Fkd).

With the arrangements done, 14 of us (Bhale, bachha, Mamme, Doodh, Moli, Tattu, Dilli, Danda, Shruti, Amar, Fkd, Baba, Anna, Bhondu) went to Kovalam beach (25 km from insti). On a rooftop by the beachside (we had to sweep away the dust and lay down mattresses to sit), and just one bulb lightening the surroundings, the evening was poised for some exceptional activity. We played cards, ate biryani, celebrated Bhondu's birthday, drank patiyala pegs (perfectly made by Bhondu, quite in comfort with the US timings). Almost everyone slept only for a few hours.

I took this pic by mistake, but junta seem to be more lively caught unaware

Morning time was to go to the beach. Last time I took a bath in the sea was while returning from dinner at Sreeni's place at night. It was amazing. Submitting yourself to the vastness of the sea, and experiencing the persisting force of the salt water against your body. This was something I had missed for a long time.

We came back, crashed till evening, met Rajat.... after which everything was pretty ordinary.

Now, I had expected myself to be on top of the world after all this. But today, the whole day, I was exceptionally down. Probably for reasons I know, but don't want to acknowledge. One moment, I am trying to gather all the strength to face the situation, the next, I try to evade it all. Hope to get out of it soon though!

Ganga Mata Ki JAI

2009-09-09T01:06:00.004+05:30

View from the Boat

My association with Ganga has been very emotional… well not the river though! I love my hostel in IIT Madras, which is named Ganga. But last weekend, I came to respect the legendary river too.

Frustrated by spending our weekends uselessly loitering around in the malls of Delhi, I had this urge to get out of this place very desperately. And so 5 of us – me, Amal, Shahid, Gaurav, Bharadwaj - planned a trip to Rishikesh, with the sole purpose of doing rafting. We started on Friday night, after a week of boring training sessions at the company.

Excitement before Rafting

Somehow, we are finding it very hard to shed the student mentality of minimizing expenditure by cutting down the spending on luxury buses, lavish accommodation, etc. and hence we found ourselves forgoing the deluxe bus, and traveled in a rickety Sarkaari bus from ISBT in Delhi. We reached Rishikesh in the morning at 6. As advised by our friends from IITR, we went straight to the Laxman jhoola, around 6 km from the bus stand. As expected, we could find only devotees going to temples and foreigners going for early morning Yoga sessions. No shops or hotels were open. Its at a height of 1700ft, and adding to it was a slight drizzle, which made it extremely chilly in the morning. We bought ourselves raincoats (Rs10 per piece), and started off to the famous iron-rope suspension bridge Laxman Jhoola. Here we got the first glimpse of the Ganga standing over a bridge. It was majestic, to say the least.

Listening to the calmness of River at Laxman Jhoola

After talking to a couple of adventure sports companies (there are 109 companies who offer rafting, rappling, camping etc.), we finally landed to the RED CHILLY adventure. The rafting season in Rishikesh is open round the year, expect for the rain drenched months of July and August. It was only a few days ago the season had started, and because of the increased water levels, most of the companies were not offering the longer rafting packages. But Red Chilly had an offer of a 36 km trip from Kaudiyala to Ram Jhoola. We went for it and paid Rs.1300/- for the day long rafting, with transportation and lunch on the river bank included.

Jump at Shivpuri (Left to Right: Amal, Shahid, Gaurav, Arpan, photographed by Bharadwaj)

The safety equipment supplied is of excellent quality, and thus the risk associated with rafting is very less. The only thing is that one should not panic. We went through a total of 18 rapids, and each one had its name. I will list all of them here: Daniel’s deep, Sanjay, The Wall, Butterfly, Hus & Kisses, Black Money, Three Blind Mice, Crossfire, Shivpuri rapid, Return to Sander, Roller Coaster, T-off, Golf Course, Club House, Cash Flow, Initiation, Double trouble, Hilton. Out of these, some were very mild, in which we stood on the boat, or got down in the water holding the boat and enjoyed the turbulence. Some were highly violent eg. Three Blind Mice, Roller coaster, Daniel’s Deep etc. We were a good team. We were disciplined rowers, enthusiastic all through and most importantly, fearless. This helped us a lot when we had a Clean-out (when all the members fall out of the boat, but the boat does not float upside down). The key is not to panic and to follow the instructions given by your guide. We had our lunch at the scenic Shivpuri beach. There was also a cliff jump after lunch. I was reminded of Moli’s video which he made in Arunachal. All in all, it was an awesome experience. I should also mention the crew which guided us through the day, Sunil Singh Bhandari guided our boat, while Bheem Singh Chauhan took care of the other boat. Harish, Deepak and Baalam accompanied us on their kayaks for the safety of the amateur adventurers.

After the rafting, it was time to explore other things in the town. No, we did not go to the temple. One of my prime motivations in going to a new place is to taste different flavors, and Rishikesh had a lot to offer. We ate fruits like Raamfal and Nagu in the morning.

Raamfal

In the evening, we went to the Oasis restaurant and had excellent continental dishes at really low prices. They tasted delicious, thanks to the population of foreigners who come and stay here for meditation, yoga, adventure sports, doping, spiritual experiences (Beatles came here in 1968 and stayed for a long time, and composed 48 songs when they were here). Don’t miss the German Bakery situated just at the entrance of the Laxman Jhoola.

In the end of it all, I have now immense respect for the river Ganga. This was a very short, but extremely memorable trip. I had great company, great adventure, great food… what else could I ask for, a perfect escape from the monotonous life.

My Inspiration

2009-09-09T00:02:00.000+05:30

Be Born Everyday,
Aaj Rockstar, Kal Pilot and who knows what the day after
Kabhi kissi Anjaan station par utar kar dekho, kabhi kissi gumnaam shahar ka ticket katao
Doosron ki galtiyon se kya seekhna, Make your own mistakes yaar
And never resemble your passport photo for more than 3 months
Har subah, shock your reflection
Explore… Bachpan me to kya kuchh nahi banna chahte the, why not today?
Be Born Everyday
Be More

-Aamir Khan's Titan Advertisement

Unity in Diversity

2009-08-27T00:23:00.003+05:30

Now I am an employee! I am officially inducted in Areva T&D, and have completed 1 month and 6 days of training here in Noida. The whole idea of recruiting over 200 fresh college graduates, and honaouring the commitments in these times of lay-offs and bankrupcies itself seems to be unbelievable in these times. But, Areva has done exactly that. Finally, 157 of us joined the company. The recruitment done from around 20 colleges from different parts of the country, and all of us reported to the Atrium in Faridabad.

Now, I cannot imagine any better way of inducting such a diverse group of individuals. One month in a 4 star hotel, with a packed schedule of sessions and acticities thrown at us, culturally involving such a varied bunch.... it ended up in nothing but friendship and bonding.

Currently, I am staying in a guest house in Noida. Four of us from IITs, are on an extended training schedule, and the rest have come back from from factory visits, and party again. A lot of friends have gone to and joined at several different places, some have come back to Noida for their department specific training.

Today, as we were going to the 'Southern Treat' for our dinner, I noticed that our group had one guy Tamil, two Mallus, one Assamese, one Bhopali etc. Who could have imagined 2 months back that I will be in such diverse company, and enjoying it so thoroughly.

Re-affirming my conviction of finding like-minded people wherever one go's, I hope for all friends starting new journeys in their lives.

P.S. One of the senior HR in the company is taking some of us out to a pub this weekend.

Harry Potter reminded

2009-06-26T08:36:00.004+05:30

I downloaded the songs from the movie New York, along with which i also got a few wallpapers. I saw this one, and it instantly reminded of Harry, Hermione and Ron!

The acoustic version of 'Hai Junoon' is really nice. Looking forward to watch the movie.

Remembrance

2009-06-02T01:10:00.003+05:30

I never wrote a post regarding my separation from the institute. I always thought, the time has not yet come. Just before the date of vacating my hostel and leaving Chennai (20th May 2009), I was so much occupied with the formalities of getting out of institute, packing my stuff, and spending those quality moments with my pals, that I never thought it worth spending time to write a post on how sentimental I was getting. I came back,and the journey was equally engaging with 9 of us traveling together in a single bay.

I came here to Bhopal, again occupied myself with meeting friends and relatives, and spending time with family. So of much work is going on in my house, that I almost never get bored. Internet gives a great way to stay connected, and watching Wonder Years, I make the days even more eventful. Most of all, I am so excited that so many of my friends will be here in a couple of days. I am sure, we will have a blast together.

But, all this is illusion, or say, making up for what I am leaving behind. Remembering those days when teasing Dhamki used to be a routine, talking about rock songs and bands with Danda enthused me to listen and acquire more knowledge about them, admiring Bulla's social networking adventures, talking about mess food with Sreeni, seeing Tattu watch those waterpolo videos over and over, watching Doodh toiling day and night over those CS assignments, S9 babu listening to those old, forgotten, retro hindi songs, galling Baba for spending most of the time out of the hostel, laughing at Bhondu for loosing against the forces of nature which gave him his tummy, the lost Antenna, searching for someone to agree to his arguments, seeing Bachha play footer, listening to the same song again & again from Moli's room, sleeping Dilli and the music he played at the loudest volume levels, studious Chola bhai, working for more number of hours than most of cannot even imagine, calling Mamme for coffee at the most odd hours, waking up Dedh in the morning for class, switching off the lights at night in Hulla's room, and myself & Fkd paining junta with our musical endeavors.

There is so much more I will be reminded of in years to come, but I wish these are not the only memories with these people.... and there is more to come. I had this sudden motivation to write this article because I just watched the second last episode of third season from Wonder Years, wherein, Carren turns 18. Two quotes from those:

"Some things are deeper than time and distance", hope this friendship is one of those things.

I will keep remembering those unforgettable moments. I will keep watching those videos, those photographs, in a false attempt to relive those days. I will keep in touch..... till then, goodbye!

IPL Season 2

2009-05-25T00:32:00.003+05:30

In the end... IPL T20 episode 2 was awesome. Right to the final 3 balls to spare, both teams had a chance. I had no favorites today, just enjoyed cricket. But their was one moment in those 3.5 hours, where I truly wanted Deccans to win. I don't know how many of you saw Gilly during the break (just before RCB started to bat), when they were in a huddle. He was so charged up giving that pep talk to his team mates. I know he was not very satisfied with the target they had posted, but the fighting spirit remained. The enthusiasm was visible from his body language. His eyes were telling, that its not yet over.

The way things proceeded for Deccans were magical. Ojha and Harmeet came to the party, supported by Symonds and RP can only be done by a spirited group of individuals. Never in a cricket match before I have heard (or rather seen the player's lip-movement) players saying Fuck so many times. I remember it being done twice by Ojha, twice by Harmeet, and endless number of times by the Australian badger Symonds. The pressure was so very evident on the players, still they all maintained the highest standards while fielding.

Another person who impresses me at the end of it all (or rather I should say the beginning of a big phenomenon) is Lalit Modi. At the start of IPL season 2, or rather I should say that even in the process of getting the IPL season 2 started, the kind of leadership, vision, execution, presentation, flexibility this guy has shown, are highly admirable. He made a statement around a month ago saying that IPL season 2 will be a Sports marketting case, which will be studied by students around the world, and I think he was right. Not only in India, the kind of publicity it has got in SA has been phenomenal. The packging of the music bands performing during the breaks, the fly-cam showing the never before view of the game, the spectacular opening and closing ceremonies, all will be etched in my memories. On the other hand, when I was searching for information on Modi, I found the following:

Lalit Modi was charged and pleaded guilty to possession of 400 grams of cocaine, assault and kidnapping in 1985 while he was a student at Duke University, USA. He pleaded guilty on all charges and was sentenced to two years in prison. However, he did not serve any prison time and came back to India in 1986 after being released on probation.

In 2007 a PIL was filed in Mumbai High court challenging his position in BCCI on pretext of his criminal history. Though the court refused to unseat Modi, it asked the BCCI "to implement stringent regulatory measures so that those involved in criminal cases, not just illegal drugs but other serious charges have no place in administration".

Interesting what this man has done in all these years. Another intersting observation, Modi came up to the podium during the closing ceremony wearing a PINK tie and with a PINK hankerchief in his coat pocket. Interesting choice of color Mr.Chairman.

Looking forward to the T20 world cup, and IPL 2010 !

Move on!

2009-05-12T15:34:00.001+05:30

Yesterday night, we laughed, we ate, we drank, we spoke, we cried, we stumbled, we puked, and finally crashed... but in the morning, the music continued.

Mujhe Dilli ho gaya

2009-04-04T06:21:00.002+05:30

Its 6:30 in the morning, and in the past 24 hours I have had around 5 hours of music, 2 hours of academic work, 7-8 hours of chatting with friends, 3-4 hours into basic biological activities like eating, shitting etc. and only around 5 hours of sleep.

Above all might not be very amusing, but all of this coming after 2 night outs and an absolute sleep deprived state is a rare feat for me. I was also exposed to a new place to hangout, the sandwich shop in front of Ascendas, at 4 in the morning. The sandwiches taste all the more delicious at that hour. In my last month of the final semester at IIT Madras, I have found something new to try out. With all the hostel nights scheduled in coming 10 days, there are going to be many such sleepless nights. I wonder how I am going to do all the BTP work (with my prof himself showing so much enthu in the project).

I think the title of the post requires some explaination. Next to my room, lives Ravikant Karan, aka Dilli, who has this peculiar habit of putting night outs watching videos, TV series, etc. and then sleeping all the day long (he was awake last night also, even accompanied me to Ascendas). So, we have named this condition of sleeping in broad daylight, and becoming active in the dark hours as the 'Dilli Syndrome'. I guess I am a victim.

Ok then, I will go to sleep now, please wake me up 2 hours before the road race. Till then, please dont disurb.

Please give me some coffee!

2009-03-25T03:03:00.002+05:30

Its 3 o'clock in the night. I am writing this post sitting in the DCF (Departmental Computing Facility) of DoMS (Department of Management Studies). Mamme came to my room half an hour back, and asked if I would like some coffee. With my intentions of putting a night out, this seemed to be an irrefutable proposition. Hence there we were, myself, Mamme and Moli, walking at this odd hour to the DoMS building.

On our way, Mamme tells me that he is not sure if he can get us coffee. Thats when I realized that this is could be one of those so called 'adventurous' and absolutely idiotic missions, where we all claim to have had fun, or do something 'out of the box'. But essentially, we make a complete fool of ourselves. But still, its fun!

And what I was afraid of, did happen. The DCF in-charge dennied access to the coffee vending machine, even after Mamme's painful pleeing. But still, I have made something out of this, as I am writing this post well after the hours of LAN cut in the hostel. Now its time for 3 of us to walk back to the hostel in this sleepy, coffee-less night.

B.Tech. photographs

2009-03-21T13:11:00.004+05:30

It was in the sixth (Jan-May 2008) semester that the whole of mechanical batch (that joined in 2005) had their last course together. Since then, I saw all mechies together in the Industrial Lecture exam sometime in the end of Sept 2008. Though I never really participated in academics with full enthusiasm, but classes were usually fun, with all these friends around.

It was today after that exam, when almost around 30 mechies came together for the BTech photograph session i front of SAC. Though I sorely missed the presence of some of my close friens in mech, but still it was nice for us to get together.

The session also had naval arch. students gathering. I was involved with them so much for the last 4 years (thanks to 3 naval students in my wing), that I almost felt like a family with them, and they too embraced me with equal warmth.

I think now the next stop will be convocation on 31st July 2009.

Thats all folks!

2009-03-21T12:54:00.004+05:30

With the end of WM groups event on 19th March 2009, I completed my final participation in inter-hostel activities/institute events at IIT Madras. 4 years of sports, music, Shaastra, Saarang, C-TIDES and what not. Now for remaining time here, it will mostly be about BTP, hostel nights, wing senti, and downloading stuff from DC++.

from left: Wazeem, Arjun, Nikhil, Akshay, Bhale, Shiva, Rishab

I don't think I will get such a great experience anywhere else in life, so I got kind of emotional the day it all ended. The remarkable thing was, that I was the only 4th year student in our hostel music band, along with 4 freshies, 4 2nd years, and a third year student. I have never done this much practice in my earlier years. This can mostly be attributed to the freshie enthu, and my own joblessness :) . Developing the own composition was the most unforgettable experience. The effort it took was tremendous, and it came off really well on stage too.

We did not win any position in the competition. I never expected us to win WM, still it was a realistic possibility in LM. But we screwed it up on the stage. I hope that next year we take things forward from where we have left, and put up a performance that can get us on top in music events. All the best guys for the future... that was all from my side, hope you all will remember me!

Music all the way

2009-03-15T23:38:00.002+05:30

Past one week has been really amazing for me. After last Saturday's hockey match against Jamuna hostel (which we drew, and thus had to settle on the last spot in the leagues of 4), I received a send off from all the hockey junta. I was the only final year playing in the team. Then started the preparation for the final commitment I had in the institute, inter-hostel LM/WM. It has been only music practice since then.

We have got 4 freshies in hostel, Nikhil (keyboards), Akshay (vocals), Rishab (drums), Siva (mridangam), and not to forget Aashish (Shayar), who wrote the lyrics for the own composition we are going to play(not to forget Arjun (Chuchu), who has shown great interest in spite of his involvement in the hostel elections). I dont know about the lyrics, but the music has come up really well for the new song. Its a great fusion with guitar, keyboards, drums, flute, mridangam etc. in it. I hope it really comes off well live. The other songs are Sayonee, wherein I am attempting guitar lead for the first time, and 'Ab ke saawan' by Shubha Mudgal, where I am singing (on popular demand).

After much deliberation on the selection of songs for WM, we have finally settled on 'wish you were here' by Pink Floyd, '7 nation army' by the White Strips, and 'clocks' by Coldplay. We have not practiced the later 2 yet, but they seem to be pretty simple.

I hope my final event in insti comes of well. Well, whatever the case, I will forever be glad to meet such a good lot of freshies (both great knowledge and skills too!).

Albino Deer

2009-03-04T22:06:00.004+05:30

IIT Madras is quite famous for all the species it is home to, which include deers, monkeys, snakes, various birds, squirrels, mongoose, profs, students, and other human beings too! It especially boasts of the large population of Black Bucks it provides shelter to.

It has been a while since we started spotting this white 'black buck'(albino). I thought of taking a picture so many times, but it is so rarely seen, that having a camera with you at the same time is very unlikely. Once I saw it in dark, and had camera too. But, no success due to improper lighting. Finally, today when I stepped out in the afternoon to go to the laboratory for my BTP with my camera in my bag, I saw it. I was lucky to get its picture.

I am still not sure whether its a black buck or a deer. But I searched net for similar news reports, and now I think it is indeed an ironic, white coloured Black Buck. Following is the citation of a few news items and photos from the internet.

http://www.hindu.com/2008/07/11/stories/2008071152790300.htm

http://www.hindu.com/yw/2008/08/26/images/2008082650440601.jpg

Rahman will be back

2009-02-26T22:45:00.002+05:30

This is probably the first post which I am writing, within seconds of getting an idea to do it. I am watching the recording of the 81st Annual Academy Awards, The Oscars 2009 (I have paused it to write this down), and I have a feeling that Rahman will be back on that stage sooner or later. Primarily because 'Jai Ho!' doesnt seem to be the best Rahaman creation. Back in India, people who have been hearing his music since years, Jai Ho was just OK. Probably The Academy never got an exposure to this genius before.

There was an interesting cartoon on this same topic on this link, please go through:

http://www.vatsap.com/?p=1993

All the best Rahman, hope you do it soon.

Tennis

2009-02-01T21:05:00.002+05:30

I never saw a tennis match with such seriousness before. Its only the spirit and the build up for the match (add to it my total joblessness these days), that I thought of giving it a try. It was indeed a very well contested match. The sheer energy of the game gave me so much pleasure. It was pure coincidence that I chose to support Nadal, who eventually won.

I agree that having never followed tennis till date, I am no match to the statistically backed arguments put forth by the likes of Doodh (Ajinkya) or Dedh (Rakesh). But my views are solely based on today's match. As said by Federar's supporters, he is elegant. It is evident from the way he comes close to the net every now and then, and wins the point against his opponent. But, he looked scratchy in the final set. The number of unforced errors he committed seemed higher than Nadal. The service faults (almost every time) must have been noted by everyone who watched the game. On the other hand, Nadal had power and perseverance. First, he physically outplayed Roger, which led to the eventual mental defeat of the later.

Bottomline, Roger might be having class, elegance, and a lot of records to boast of, but Nadal's youth, agility, energy, physical fitness..... and in IITM lingo, the fight he put... just outplayed Roger in Australian Open 2009 finals.

Luck by Chance

2009-01-31T01:11:00.002+05:30

Its a good one to watch, it wont bore you for a single moment. Especially don't miss the start of the movie. The way they have shown the unknown faces, which work to show us the glamorous and beautiful on screen dream, is really touching.

And don't be mistaken that its a film about Farhan Akhtar, as his struggle to become an actor. On the contrary, its more about Konkana Sen, and her understanding of her capabilities. There is a scene where Konkana is rejected by one of the directors. He says that the only heroines those can succeed in the Hindi film industry are the participants of beauty pageants, or supermodels. This really shows the way today's society has stereotyped beauty. I hope people have a broader mind towards such things. I feel someone like Konkana Sen is equally beautiful and sexy as Katrina, or any other contemporary actress for that matter. In fact the later looks more like a dumbo to me.

I love the final part between Farhan and Konkana. So nicely Zoya (director) has depicted the human nature. A person really cannot change his intrinsic character, no matter how badly he hates it, or how bad he feels about himself for having done something. In a way, I have experienced such things myself. I think, the only remedy is to be as understanding as Konkana is shown to be in the film.

Footer Debut

2009-01-11T22:05:00.005+05:30

After today morning's Hockey match, I was totally exhausted. I slept after taking bath, and missed my lunch, had tomatoes, chicken pickle (thanks to Moli), and slices of bread instead. After this, I was chatting with Moli in his room, when I came to know about our goalkeeper's absence in today's practice match against Saraswati Hostel. I volunteered to be a replacement, and to my surprise, I was given a chance. I wore my shoes, and reached to the institute footer field.

As we went on the field, I saw that there was a fresher whom the second year's had called in as replacement. I always believe in giving chance to the younger fellas, and hence I just sat outside, while all the other players were demonstrating him the general techniques. His kicks were really poor, and hence, Moli gave me a chance to show my skills. I kicked the ball better than the fresher, and hence I was called in. I was so happy to be playing in the institute footer field for the first time in my stay at IITM.

The match was one-sided, and we dominated it fully. Only on a few occasions I had the ball coming to me. Overall it was a satisfying first (and probably my last) game on the big field.

I am not an ardent fan of footer. Its my friends who introduced me to it, and I am thankful to them. More than the game, I like to be with them on the field. After today's game, it was me, the debutant, who treated all others at the Taramani tea shop. I love the discussions, the energy, and I love to see guys so passionate for the game around me. Even as I write this post, I can hear the loud screams of fans watching some club football match in the common room.

Thanks Bacha, Danda, Moli, Dedh, Doodh. It felt really good with you all on the footer field today. Give me another chance, and i assure a similar flawless performance from my side :)

Be a sport!

2009-01-11T21:47:00.002+05:30

It was the first Hockey practice match for my final Schroeter(inter-hostel tournament) in IITM. Over last three years, I have been a constant for the defense line up. I have always found it difficult to crack the ball very hard (one of the pre-requisites for a good Hockey defender), and also, because of evident lack of practice, my general ball maneuvering skills are very scratchy. Still, I am there. Today morning was no different, although we won comprehensively.

Till last year Himanshu Chopra (a.k.a. Talli), who was also in the institute Hockey team for defense, used to be my mentor. I was always playing a support role to him. This year, with him not being there, things will be different. It wont be for the first time that we will be playing a match without him. Even last year, against Mandakini hostel(who looked to be the best team), we went in without Talli, and managed a draw. I can never forget the way me and Harshit (Danda) pushed and made Thamdu fall inside the D.

Talli has taught me one very important lesson. Failures are inevitable, but the way one puts them behind, and comes back in the field is what really matters. Its always what's next to come, which is important. With this in my mind, I play on.

In my second year, we won Gold, last year Silver. Hope it is a good Schoeter this year too. A gold again will be our aim.

To be continued... !

2008-12-06T21:42:00.002+05:30

Two days gone by, still the scene is same. I have not had a chance to wear my formal clothes. No company has shortlisted me for any GD or interview.

After the initial hiccups (which I mentioned in the last post), the companies that followed suit are Irevna Research, Deloitte, KPMG. Today, sitting in the test hall for Deloitte, me and Raghav were wondering about the 250 odd students that have come to take the test, evidence of the strength that has still not got placed. To be very practical, chances are bleak for something miraculous to happen in coming days. I expect, Infosys takes a chunk of people on 15th (thats one company I believe will still be a mass recruiter at IITM, of course at the cost of the students in local colleges, for whom it is probably the only hope).

Tomorrow there is a hope for me with Sabre Travel coming to recruit junta having OR (Operations Research) fundes. Again, there is a test tomorrow morning. I hope the test blues go away this time. I am pretty confident of doing well in OR, just that I should keep my cool.

Hope, this doesnt continue.(FULL STOP)

All the Best!

2008-12-05T09:46:00.003+05:30

Its placement season 2008, and it is going very bad for me.

It started of right from the first day. I was not shortlisted for Schlumberger (either profiles), next came companies like Scope International, and a few others, again not shortlisted for. I had high hopes for Caterpillar (which is recruiting today), but again I screwed up the test, thus once again, not shortlisted. irunway shortlisted some 90 odd students, and i was not there, again.

Some of the above could be understood given my average CGPA. But others are annoying. I am feeling so helpless, and hopeless... I hardly can find anything to engage myself into. The toughest part is when I talk to my parents, friends and well wishers. They all have expectations, and I feel guilty of not living up to them. I saw the list of companies lined up in the next few days, just to see that I don't have many options left.

Still, I am trying to believe that whatever is happening, is happening for good. This is the only belief i am clinging to. I hope things get better... not just for me, but for everyone involved with placements.

All the Best!

Optimism

2008-12-05T09:09:00.003+05:30

I was going through google image search for the keyword 'optimism'. And i found this beautiful, energetic, youthful picture

Wonder Years!

2008-11-11T22:36:00.003+05:30

Moli has always been an escape point for me. Whenever I am feeling anxious, or down in energy, having the blues, it invariably ends after a talk with Moli, and because of the whole lot collection of unknown videos, music, TV series collections that he has. And today, it was Wonder Years. Its a delight to watch. I agree that the setting is all western and many of the situation the boy encounters are not exactly what we went through during our school years, but his mind works in probably the same way our minds used to work. Similar confusions, flow of thoughts. The good thing is that none of the episodes are too flashy, they are just ordinary incidents.

Then there came the long discussion with Moli about life, and future. Moli does a lot of introspection and comes up with really simple questions. So today, he asked me, "What will your one wish be?, if it were to be granted", "Dont answer generally that I want to be happy and all, be specific and to the point"...... and then, I don't why, I hesitated. Probably the first thing that came to my mind, i wasn't really very sure of it, and so i didn't say it. It was the other thing I answered. I am still wondering why something else struck me first, and why did i hesitate... I am confused, probably someone can make a Wonder Years episode on this experience of mine.

Trade-Offs in life

2008-10-21T22:25:00.005+05:30

Me and Srideep practicing before my turn in Saarang 2006 LM performance

Final Year... Every event happening for the last time. I witnessed my last shaastra, last WM performance, last 15th Aug trip, last inter-wing footer match... the list is endless. But the one event that used to stand out for the past three years, was LM (Light Music) solo event.

Its Diwali time, and I have had my tickets for home, booked since August. Diwali is on 28th (in Bhopal, here in Chennai on 27th) October, and this year LM is scheduled on 29th October. So there is absolutely no chance of me going to perform this time. Dilli was especially hurt to know this (I would acknowledge here that Dilli is the most selflessly supportive friend I have ever had, and I thank god for that).

I still remember the first time I went for the hostel selections for LM. It was open for all the interested freshies to come. With all the ragging going on, I was not too keen to go ahead and meet a new set of seniors. But, something compelled me to go there. I still remember Bala listening to me, and complimenting me. I was selected from hostel, I sang Neele Neele Ambar Pe. Quite obviously, guitar was played by Srideep. I got selected for the finals, a moment I will cherish forever. In second year LM, I sang Maeri by Euphoria (a very special song for me), but because of the dried throat (constant practicing), I could not pull off the higher notes of the song, so again a disaster. Nevertheless, I enjoyed it thoroughly. In third year, I remember being very confused as to what to sing, and we (Srideep and me) deicided to go the unconventional way. We took up the song Aye udi udi udi from Saathiya, with Srideep playing bass guitar. But the highlight was the non-comp performance I put up, again sang Maeri, and this time, it came wonderfully perfect (when it came to the actual performance, it was so late, that I was told to pack mid-way my performance). But the non-comp was awesome.

This year I had planned to sing Yaaron by KK, but I guess it will have to be on a separate platform..... I will miss LM.....

Laser show: messages

2008-10-12T14:45:00.003+05:30

While I was watching the laser show, sitting 15 ft away from speaker system of around 20k watt capacity, people kept messaging me their reactions on the the magical show they were watching. I had to delete a lot of them because of insufficient storage space in my mobile phone, but there are a few still left. Listing the ones left in my inbox (in the order of receiving)

Mamme: So much of kard work culminates today. Enjoy your efforts tonight

Hulla: Only two words... God Show..

Hulla: Dude this is making me cry... never saw anything like this...

Dilli: Congrats Bhale... Its a hit

Swami: Gates are closed please come and help me come in

Hulla: Its fuckin awesome

Tattu: God bhale!! Congrats

Rathee: God levell yaar

Tool: The show is rocking

Dilli: Real good... You made it

Bachha: Too much

Sumedh: Neta bhai, awesome work.. Mind blowing.. keep it up

Anonymous1: Congratz! ABSOLUTELY FANTASTIC.

Bhondu: Phod mara dost

Shruti: Too good man. Too good. At a loss of words.:)awesome

Parw: Awesome show:):):):) wish once more was possible

Anonymous2: The second night rocks too.. Can't find words enough to express myself.

Dhruv: Dude it was awesome you rock

Ankit(dada): Congrats. U hav no idea how proud i m feelin f u right now. Carry on, and remembr that it may not turn out 2 b so always. Dont let this get to your head. Bless u.
(this was by far the best response i have got)

Phew!! Now I can clear my inbox

That was something unforgettable: the Laser story

2008-10-07T21:18:00.007+05:30

I have failed to put so many events that have happened in last 6-8 months: Tawang trip, elections, Konkan trip, core work, Caterpillar internship, Coorg trip, China trip, someone's chennai trip etc. They all truly deserve to have a post each. But somehow, by the time I got access to internet after the trips, the enthusiasm to write had all gone. But not this time. I want to tell the laser story to everyone.. loud and clear.

Beginning

It all began back in April. The core team Shaastra 2008 was formed, and I got the new dept of Technical Exhibitions. There were a lot of deliberations on the name (its too long), but everyone settled for this, as no other could be thought of. Then began the search for the various possibilities for Shaastra Nights. Everyone thought it would be requiring most of our budget, but finally something else came up!

Shaastra Nights team: Micheal, Melon, Item, Nachi, BJ, Plastic, Cocod

GA coords: Gayab and Lipstick

My coordinators worked beautifully in the vacation. At the end of May, we had a list of around 30 quotations, to choose from. The shows varied in there types, and prices (which are not be revealed). There was a lot of discussion on the content, feasibility, potential, etc. of various suggested shows. But, it wasn't really a great time to finalize them, as we still did not have any idea of the amount of sponsorship money we would be getting.

As things were finalized, the NUS show, and the Johny Lee show were confirmed (because of relatively low costs). What remained to be confirmed was the big one. For which we narrowed down to two companies: LaserShowIndia from Bangalore and Thriller SFX Fireworks Mumbai. Our finance cores, Doodh and JDP, were in Bangalore and Mumbai respectively, and so they went ahead to personally meet the company people. Depending upon the feedback from these two, and the past record of these two companies, it was decided to go with the seemingly more experienced SFX.

Proceedings (Uncertainty)

It was 14th August, when JDP shook me up. He saw things going very wrong. We were negotiating over the final costing of the show with SFX guys, and on the back end, we were not yet ready with our final script, music anything. JDP saw that some steps should be taken as soon as possible. All of a sudden, deadlines were decided, plan of action was laid down, etc. The problem was, communicating with the SFX guy was not really easy, as he talked on a totally different level. In entertainment business, things are very subjective, and non-quantifiable, which gave us a really tough time in doing our negotiations.

This was the time, when I was really unsure of how things are going to unfold, and thus very afraid. I had no idea how I am going to convey the script that was being decided by us, how the music is going to be done, what arrangements are to be made by us at the institute, in short, I knew nothing. Then slowly, things started happening.

Conceptualization and Getting the creative work done

I sat for around three meetings with Mamme's (Creative Club team) copywriters (supposed to be the most creative cell in institute). We decided the whole idea, and the animation would be, and finally Kirtika and JJ came up wit hthe finalized script, which was after quiz 1 (12th Sept). It was a 8 page long text. I personally never went through all the details, but had a rough idea of it, and it looked great.

Before this final script, I had only a very brief outline of about 1 page length, before quiz 1 (in late Aug). That was the time when I caught hold of Chaitanya (Chaitu) and asked him to do the background music for this. Now this task was the most difficult one. I expected him to make music, for something which he had no idea about (expect that 1 page brief summary). Of course, no work could be done during quiz 1, hence they started working on it on 7th Sept.

There was a big problem. SFX wanted the music to be given soon for them to do the animation in accordance with the highs and lows of the music. On the other hand, Chaitu found it very difficult to proceed with so limited knowledge of the subject

Finally, the music was ready on 22^nd Sept morning, and it was magical. I just cannot imagine someone doing such a great job, with such less time and so few resources. All credits to Chaitu, Lollypop, Orchestra, Sirisha, Inch, Shiva, Glucon and Aswathi.

Mumbai trip
Meanwhile, in one of the talks with Mehboob (SFX person), he casually suggested that someone could come to his studio and see the final work he had done for the show. This seemed to be like a totally impossible thing. But then it was a decision I will be proud of all my life. I planned to go to Mumbai on the 19th Sept. The date was then postponed due to some personal reasons and Mehboob’s request to come a bit late.

Now the stage was set, SFX had prepared the initial draft of the show when I arrived in Mumbai. I was there for one full day in his office, discussing all possible details of the show, starting from content to the execution (arrangements etc.). For next 2 days (in Pune) I was almost constantly in talks with Jhopdi and Nachi, regarding the screen requirements etc. Now that I had met SFX people in person, and talked about everything at length, I was much more confident.

Execution

Then comes the actual execution. 9 people arrived from SFX on 1^st by train, 3 late that night with equipment by road. Mehboob, Swaroop, and Shantanu came by flight on 2^nd afternoon. Everything seemed under control. The screen was being put up, the sound system being installed, everything seemed fine. Then things began to go wrong.

We had the first Shaastra Night on 2^nd Oct, wherein Johny Chung Lee from CMU had come to demonstrate his research work etc. I was in this show (which was getting affected adversely due to bad sound quality, and non-functional AC), when I got a call from Mehboob, saying there is fault wit the laser equipment. After the show, I immediately rushed to his room with Prof.TSN to have a look at the situation. Two IC’s had burnt off due to faulty wiring in the electricity socket where laser equipment was plugged in. Mehboob had already ordered one extra laser machine from Mumbai, and we decided to go to Richie Street in the morning. Overall, there was threat that there might not be any animation during the show.

The next day was when things worked. Morning, we went to Richie Street, where we got the IC’s by 11am. The equipment also came by 12 in the institute. So now we were in full position to have the show, all preparations were well and good, and everything went on smoothly.

Fireworks

This is one chapter, which I thought would be unfair to add to the above timeline. This was the most exciting one, and also the most unexpected.

On 19^th Sept, I got a call from Sayan saying that we have got permission to have fireworks during the laser show, but only for about 2 minutes. This was a really great opportunity. I remember from the first year, we have been complaining of not having anything like this, some fireworks etc., and now that I had the chance, it had to be done at any cost.

I gave a call to SFX right away. But, the prices he demanded were exorbitant. I tried to explain him our constraints. But what I got was only negative outcome. So, we left it to that point, and that we will have our final chance when I talk to him personally in Mumbai. For all those 5 days, I had only one discussion with JDP, the amount to be spent for fireworks.

In Mumbai, the whole day passed by, with me discussing the details of the content (animation) and music track, and thereafter the arrangements to be made. There was no mention of fireworks. Then, in the afternoon, when Mehboobji met me for a long time, I brought up the topic again. The negotiation was interesting (meet me personally to know those details). Finally again, there was no finality to the deal, but one thing was clear to me, fireworks are going to happen for sure.

I came back to Chennai on Sunday night (28th Sept). Jhopdi, Nachi, Melon, and BJ had taken care of all the security arrangements as well as the negotiations for the screen to be put up. Now, my talks with SFX were very brief, and seldom had I mentioned anything about fireworks. The deal was stuck at the agreement of final cost of the fireworks, and hence we both were delaying (because as such both knew each others expectations and capabilities).

Finally, SFX guys came to IITM on 2^nd afternoon. After the JC Lee show, when the laser equipment was screwed up, we discussed all the facilities required on 3rd midnight. I made assurances for some requirements, but few others were just not possible in the short time available. Then, after discussing all this, again came the discussion of the cost for fireworks. I called JDP, and to take it from there. I went to bed, as I had a long day ahead. Next morning I was told, JDP and Jhopdi sat for 2 hours (till morning 4:30am) and finalized the deal.. again I will refrain from quoting figures.

But there was one requirement mandatory for doing fireworks. He wanted the area where the fireworks were going to be done from, to be surrounded by corrugated tin sheets of 12 ft height so that he can assured of the security aspects. The next morning passed by getting the ICs for the laser equipment. We talked to the supplier for the sheets at around 3 in the afternoon. As expected, the costs were exorbitant, because of the scarcity of time, there was a lot of deliberation on the cost. The final arrangements were completed only at 8:20pm in the evening (and the show was to start at 8:30pm)… but all’s well that ends well.

Ankit

2008-07-09T17:58:00.005+05:30

Ankit-Arpan

Every time I sit in front of my computer, I think of the title first. My belief is, that its the title that compels reader to actually go through the post. I did the same for this one too. I thought for a long time, but I could not have put anything other than this.

My elder brother, Ankit Bhalerao, is 4 years elder to me. He did his schooling in Campion school, Bhopal, did Petroleum engineering from ISM Dhanbad, and then got a job at Cognizant Technology Solutions in Kolkata.

Well, enough of the facts. The most important thing for me is that he is my best friend. He knows everything about me. I am completely open to him. He knows all the secrets, just everything. Its him whom I call when I am high. We talk for so long over the phone. I call him just anytime, midnight, just after a night out at 5 in the morning, and thus I get a good listener. One of my friends asked me once: ' Do you have a girlfriend'
Me: 'No'
Friend:'Then who is it you keep talking to so late in the night, and for so long?'
Me: 'Its my brother dude'

There is an interesting information. My mom tells me when I was born, and came home the first time, my brother offered me chips to eat.

But there was an event last Saturday. My brother went to Germany on company work. Its only the 5th day since I talked with him over the phone, and have been in constant touch over gtalk. But still, I feel so empty.

I tried to occupy myself by calling friends, relatives, watching movies, etc. But brother, you are irreplaceable.

Tamil Marriage

2008-07-09T00:17:00.003+05:30

Today was a really long and exhausting day, starting at 5 in the morning, till 12:30 (when I plan to sleep). I came back to my room at 12 midnight. The reason being, well, I had to attend a marriage. One of the employees in the company where I am doing my industrial training, Caterpillar, got married today. He invited me and Chandu (my partner in the training) last week. It was not a casual verbal invitation, but he gave an exclusive invitation card to us. Anyways, we don't have much to do during evenings, and such personal attention gave us even stronger motivation to attend the marriage, and so we did. The only problem was, it was in Vellore, a town 130km away from the Chennai city.

We started off at 4:30, reached at around 7:45 to the destination, met the couple. Then there is this photograph, in all the marriages (whether its Tamil or any other in India), of the visitor with the couple, feels as if its like a proof of your attendance.

The travel, though was long and uneventful, we had a good gathering of all the Caterpillar employees at the place, which was a delightful scene.

This is a must read for bachha... I remember last year, after our second quiz, in September, I took Bachha along with me to the marriage of father's friend's daughter. We had anticipated a feast, with all kind of curries, noodles, etc., just like any other reception in our cities. But to our dissapointment, we were served with vareity of rice dishes, on banana leaf. Today, I was prepared for it, and unlike the last time, the rice dishes were delicious. Its great to attend marriages in different cultures, and especially, taste their food.

Missed it

2008-06-15T00:02:00.002+05:30

Today, me and Moli bhai went to Bikes & Barrels. By mistake, we ordered, we ordered premium scotch, which cost us dearly. And, after a large peg of vodka, we almost felt good.

Above all is superficial, the point is, while sitting in that crowded pub, we saw a group of some 8 guys enjoying themselves. For those who don't belong to our wing, almost always whenever we have gone to pubs and bars, we have gone in groups of at least 5. I was reminded of last year 14th August (I do remember some very important and memorable dates in my life) when I was giving my birthday party, along with some other guys, and as usual we were in a group of around 8.

Today, that group in front of us got high, and started dancing to the music being played, and that was the moment when I almost felt like crying. Me & Moli were the only one's from our group, and we know that after this final year, we will almost never get a chance to relive those moments. I am still in a good state (you know what I mean), but feeling miserable. This is the first time I am regretting not being a dual degree student.

Songs I love

2008-06-14T18:43:00.003+05:30

I have been seeing some many performances in past few days on youtube from the shows, Britain got talent, America got talent, and finally American idol. And there were two songs which I loved, will keep loving. They are a must to hear for anyone who truly loves music. And co-incidentally, both are sung by the same singer Jason Castro, from the American idol.

The first one is 'Somewhere over the rainbow (has got two versions, I will put the one I liked the most). This song has a history behind it. It was written for the movie The wizard of Oz, sung by Judy Garland. And it eventually became Judy Garland's signature song. But there was another guy who posted a different version of it on the net with lovely strumming of guitar in the background. Castro improvised upon the new version, to give a stunning performance. I am also writing down the lyrics:

Somewhere over the rainbow
Way up high
There's a land that I heard of
Once in a lullaby

Somewhere over the rainbow
Skies are blue
And the dreams that you dare to dream
Really do come true

Some day I'll wish upon a star
And wake up where the clouds are far behind me
Where troubles melt like lemondrops
Away above the chimney tops
That's where you'll find me

Somewhere over the rainbow
Bluebirds fly
Birds fly over the rainbow
Why then, oh why can't I?
Some day I'll wish upon a star
And wake up where the clouds are far behind me
Where troubles melt like lemondrops
Away above the chimney tops
That's where you'll find me

Somewhere over the rainbow
Bluebirds fly
Birds fly over the rainbow
Why then, oh why can't I?

If happy little bluebirds fly
Beyond the rainbow
Why, oh why can't I?

The second one has a beautiful rhythm, and a wonderful feel to it. The song name is Clumsy and I promise, you will love it. Could not find the lyrics for this one

Hope you all enjoy the songs.

Shantaram: truely Indian

2008-06-09T05:06:00.003+05:30

Well, it does get late in night, when you sit down to write a blog. Normally 1 o'clock at night is not that late, but because I have to get up early in the morning(5) to get to my company where I am doing my summer intern, that I must sleep at least by 12.

But something kept me engaged today, not allowing me to see the face of the clock all the way, before the magic was over. Well, its not over yet, it will remain with me for years to come, but for now, its a comma. I finished the book 'Shantaram' today (10 min. back). This is surely the most thick of the novels (933 pages) I have ever read, after those by Dan Brown I guess. And I did it in 3 weeks. Well thats an indication of the free time I get during my internship.

Its a damn cool book, a must read for any person who loves India. If he is not sure he loves it or not, he will definitely make up his mind to do so after reading this masterpiece.

I also came back from Bangalore to Chennai a couple of hours ago. I have had so good experiences on both my trips (that is the one which I made two weeks back, and the one I made today). Any person who has traveled enough in Indian railways, knows the amount of crowd that gets into even the reserved compartments, and nothing much is really done about it. Well I got too such good experiences.

15 days back, when I myself was traveling on a wait list ticket from Bangalore to Chennai in Brindavan Express, I was one of the culprits in the big crowd. It was annoying with all the smell of human sweat, mogra flowers eatables like dosai, coffee, and adding to it the fact that I was sitting just a step away from the toilet door. Still I was glad that the journey was only 6 hours long, and with that, I sat down in the passage (as an obstacle for the vendors) with Shantaram in my hands. Only about an hour in the journey, a foreigner (whom I had noticed seated in one of the seats in the bogie) came in front of me. I was getting real bored, thus instinctively I asked about his native country, and started the conversation. I talked to him for the rest 5 hours of my journey. He was a real cool guy, and we had a good discussion. Of the many things we talked about (mainly about India) the one I would like to mention here is his admiration for the adjusting, friendly, informally cordial nature of ours. He was so very impressed by it. He even gave me instances.Similar thing happened today. A couple of stations after the train left Bangalore, there was some noise made regarding the unreserved people getting into the compartment. As a change in circumstances, I had a seat reserved for myself. A man pulled the emegency brakes chain, in protest to the unreserved passengers getting into reserved compartments. There was a lot of argument (mostly in kannad, and hence I don't know the details) but things remained they were, and train moved on. After about 3.5 hours of journey, a swarm of people raided in. There were two ladies, with four kids, who came adjacent to our seats. An elderly man let the children sit between the leg space of the two sets of chairs that were facing each other. Now, this was a second seating chair car, and it was hell. It was even worse than the last journey where I came all the way standing because of unreserved ticket. At the beginning, I was not happy at all. But slowly, got used to the compactness around me. Everybody was so affected by the crowding, and they were all normal.

Then i realized, in a country with so less resources available per capita, it is impossible to go by the rules. There are unwritten rules everywhere. Even a wait list passenger is required to pay a fine (if caught!) if he boards the train. But, in real, even the ones without ticket are spared. And thats when it stuck me what that French was so fascinated about. People understand the limitations and accept the shortcomings whole heartedly. Thats what is reiterated so many times in Shantaram too. Thats what fascinates people round the globe about us.

This article might not cover my true feelings, because after all, i am not a very good writer. Still, I would advice you to read Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts, to get a true feel.

I will end with a line which I like very much from the book I just read:

Everyone in the whole world, was Indian in at least one past life

Uncertainty

2008-04-29T00:10:00.004+05:30

A few years ago, I didnt have to worry about what next. The path was laid, the signboards guided me to the destination. I programmed myself accordingly. Doing the appropriate things, just enough to follow the path. Then the change came, I had to move out of my home, to reside in a place totally different. I was expecting so much, and so did I get. Now again the times of change have come, but the paths are uncertain, destination unknown.

I will be starting my internship at Caterpillar India Private Limited on 12th of May 2008. I am looking forward to the work. I really liked the profile told to me during the interview, but have to see how it is similar or dissimilar to my expectations.

Next is the work for Shaastra 2008. I have got the opportunity of being the core member for the newly introduced department Technical Exhibitions. Its going to be a very unorthodox thing to do, and I will leave no stone unturned to take it to a really great level. (more on this, will be there on the Shaastra 2008 blog).

Then comes the real uncertainty factor. Next year is my final year in IIT Madras. This December, my fate (as to where i will be headed next) will be decided. Also, I will be appearing for CAT this November (for which my preparations are yet to start in a big way).

So, most of the preparations are to start this summer. The outcome of all the above, depends upon what I do in these 3 months vacation. But before I start the perspiration, I have a holiday awaiting me in Pune from 3rd to 11th of May. I will try to update the blog as frequently as I could.

Talli's testimonial for me

2008-04-11T09:25:00.002+05:30

This year I have posted only once, and that too not on a very happy note. But its THAT TIME OF THE YEAR AGAIN. Its time to bid adieu to another batch of our very close seniors. Yesterday we celebrated our hostel night, and in style. Everything was just perfect. Starting from theme (Mafia), ambiance, arrangements for dinner, food, senior's videos, RG's and other things which need not be mentioned.

This time almost every hostel saw final people wear plain white shirt, and friends and well wishers scribbling lines of the memories they had of them.

But as always, Ganga did something out of league. Talli asked third year guys too to white shirts. For their info who don't know about Talli, he is a final year dual degree Biotech student, heading to Market RX in Gurgaon. Previous Shaastra core, hostel gen sec, institute hockey defender, and many more things. He belongs to a batch of seniors who have affected our lives so deeply, that I could not even think of my life in institute without them.

So Talli single handedly (quite literally), filled full T-shirts of around ten of my wing mates. I am just quoting what he wrote on mine (He wrote till there was no more space left). The ink of the marker may fade away, distances may take us to unknown places, and many more experiences are yet to be imprinted on my memory, but these words, and the tears I shed after reading them would be eternally inscribed.

"ONE THING IS TRUE - Every Bhopali has a defect. So does this Bhopali. We named this guy NETA. But his name is ironic according to his personality
- Guy so down to earth, my last minute & best coordinator, enthu level and spirit as vast as ocean. I trusted him more than myself as a defender. It is neta (Ganga wall) because of whom Ganga ended in Gold and Silver.
- He is among those few third yearites to whom I admire more than myself, whom I trust more than myself, from whom I will take an opinion whenever needed. And Neta will be first one and last one to call.
First one because he enjoys the first position of that list
Last one because to ensure that my opinion is right

I would like to take opportunity to stay in touch with this great guy & I bet so does he.
OUR FRIENDSHIP IS FOREVER DEAR BROTHER. I LOVE YOU....... -TALLI"

All the best Talli, and all the passing out seniors for all their future endeavors.
Will post a snapshot very soon

Imperfect

2008-02-10T02:19:00.000+05:30

I wrote this one a few days ago.... forgot to post..

Hi all. I know, not everyone of you care if I had not been posting regularly. But in case you do, sorry for the delay. Its been a wonderful time spent since my last post. The most remarkable one being my trip to Arunachal Pradesh, Saarang 2008, Know Innovation workshop, CFI work.. there are so many of them. But none of them (except the first one, I regret having not written about it) were stimulating enough to get me into writing them down.

As of now, I fully understand one thing; it’s more inspiring to share your sore emotions than the pleasant ones. It may probably be because it gets you such relief once you are making your grief public. And here I am, doing the same.

Well, I am going to keep it short, not getting into the details. In past few days, I have shown high degree of indecisiveness, which has highly offended one of closest friends. I may never know if he understood my turmoil or not (I never expect him to).

I am taking these experiences deep in my conscience, and hopefully not repeat the same in the future.

Indian Genii

2007-12-13T23:16:00.000+05:30

I am not the kind of spontaneous blogger. As you all might have noticed, all my entries are put after I have much deliberation over them(except the one poem I wrote). But here I am posting the fresh thoughts in my mind, which were ignited by a TV show I just saw.

NatGeo has started a series of analysis of brain structure, and exploration whether genius people are god gifted or is it practice what makes them so admirable. Today was the first episode I saw in that series, and fortunately, it was aimed at Indian talent. Till date I have seen many videos featuring child prodigies showcasing their extraordinary capabilities, but all of foreign origin. But here I was, watching a show hosted by Konkana Sen, talking to th 4 chosen one's.

Fisrt: Siddharth (from Chennai) started playing percussion instrument at a tender age of 2 (has 1000 concerts to his credit till date). He is undergoing train under Shivamani.

Second: Nischal is the youngest Indian to have his name in the Guiness book of world record by memorizing 225 random objects. He has already published 6 books on mathematics principles.

Third: Tathagat is on the youngest PhD student, on the path to become the youngest doctorate. He is doing some really good stuff in area of quantum computing.

But it was the last one whom I will always admire the most. I heard his name as the music composer for a recent bollywood film. I really liked the music, and so gathered some information about him. I was astonished by his capability. This guy has mastered 24 instruments (and must be playing many more time pass instruments). I liked him the most, because of my obvious bias towards music. Secondly, not only this guy was a prodigy, who started playing harmonica at 4, but he pursued music very seriously and dedicated himself fully to it. A very hard working fellow, got his degree from a degree from Australia, and came back to make a career in bollywood. This guy is Raghav Sachar, who gave music for Kabul Express.

I had given up on television. I get to spend time watching TV only when I come home in vacation. But it has been a trend of nonsense news, boring soaps, wildlife and history, talent hunt shows and cricket. I could still watch the last two, but life was getting miserable, before I saw today's program.
Excellence is what everyone must seek.... Success = Talent + perspiration.... my mantra

Castle of Dreams

2007-11-28T13:04:00.001+05:30

I got this folder named 'World famous paintings' from DC++. I was just browsing through the collection, when I came across this one, titled the Castle of Dreams. I don't know why, but it was so appealing to me.

I could instantly relate myself to the guy sitting in the serene beauty of nature, and nurturing his dreams. I don't have much time right now, but I will definitely write more about this.

Grow Up..

2007-11-23T13:01:00.000+05:30

I remember in my school, long back, there were some students who gave excuses to teachers for not bringing required stuff to the class. And the most annoying one for teacher definitely was "Ma'am, my mom forgot to put it in my bag, when she was keeping in the other stuff". Even a simple task like packing a school bag according to the following day's timetable was not done by kids. But still thats explainable, given that they was 'just kids'.

But something on the same lines happened today. It was around 8:20 when i had gone to take bath. I had an end semester examination at 9. The syllabus was so huge that I had slept only for about 2.5 hours in the night. Thus the frustration was inevitable. I came back to see that my calculator (which I had just 5 min. ago brought from Bhondu's room), was not to be found.

I searched every corner of my room, and was convinced that someone has taken it. It stuck me that when in bogs, i heard antenna screaming for a calci, so I called him up, and Bingo! it was with him. 25 min to exam, and I didn't have a calculator (yes, it was a big deal, 15-20 marks numerical were expected). I have not been so angry in last so many days. It was height of irresponsibility. I rushed to the mess (where I told antenna to wait for me). Fortunately, i found a second yearite who didn't require his calci, so I rushed to his room (3rd floor), searched in that messed up room, and finally got it.

I was so annoyed. Antenna did get a nice dosage from me (I hope its effective). Its high time that people should grow up, take responsibility. Next year we will be in some job, and a silly mistake there will cost much more. I don't know if I am over reacting, but this message is for all (including myself), please don't take things so lightly. Take responsibility for your actions. If you are old enough to booze and fag, then take care of these small things first.

Its that time... again

2007-11-18T01:55:00.000+05:30

Its that time of the year when we are supposed to sink in our notes, have endless brainstorming sessions to get the concepts right, to mug up the formulas, and do whatever it takes for you to crack the end semester examination. Its high time that we should keep aside all our temptations to indulge ourselves into any such activity which may cut our hours of study. Now the direct relation between the hours wasted to the marks lost in exams is clearly visible (doesn't necessarily imply that hours studied is proportional to scores in exams).

But this is also the time when the most philosophically challenging issues come up in mind. 'Is it necessary to mug up things?', 'Is it education?', 'aren't we turning ourselves into some kind of encyclopedia and loosing our human aspects?'. Mind wanders around these lines, especially when some concepts are hard to grasp.

And again blogging comes into the scene. I saw a scene in the movie Harry Potter, wherein Dumbledore stores his memories in some small pool of fluid (I don't know what exactly that was as I have not read the book). Blogging helps in a similar way. I don't want all these vague thoughts to come and haunt me at a time when they can affect me academically. but at the same time, I don't want to forget them completely. I have just put them aside for the time being and will definitely pick them up at some appropriate time.

Well.. all the best to all CAT aspirants (today is the D Day). And all the best for end sems (please keep aside the temptations, its just a matter of 2 weeks now)

Nefarious behaviour !

2007-11-11T20:15:00.000+05:30

I revisited the question today: Why do I blog?
Well was is just to get me out of a shell, and make a start to write and express my views. Or just to make announcements to a group of friends (who regularly visit your blog) about my creative writings or exciting happenings in my life. I think, it should solve a greater purpose.

If something very remorseful happens in my life, my brain is blocked. A time consuming cycle of introspection begins, which eventually leads to no where. Its just a burden, which fades off with time. It definitely leaves some effect on me subconsciously, on my character, on my decisions, on my instincts. But to learn from these happenings is what I desire, and for this, I got to put it somewhere in a tangible form, and this is where blogging comes in.

Maintaining journals in a hostel is tough, and scary also, because there have been incidents of breach of privacy, leading to disclosure of not so pleasant thoughts. So I have resorted to a safer means, to express myself into public, with disclosure of least sensitive information.

So now I should get to the point. On Friday, we had to fill forms for our free elective courses, and myself and Tattu (Varun Gupta), decided to fill in the same options, and so we filled the options in following priority order:
1.Economics for Industrial Organizations
2.Economics of Social Issues
3.Financial Economics

But then I returned back to hostel, and after discussing with friends, realized that I have done a big mistake by filling in the second option. The course is just too boring. I came to know this pretty late, so I reached the Humanities department office at 16:55 (five minutes before office closes) and pleaded for my option to be struck off. I made up some story, and fortunately, the HOD agreed to it. End of story I thought.

But then today, Tattu very casually came up to me and said all what was within him. Basically we both decided to go in with the same options, and I ditched him. Whatever the circumstances, what I did was wrong. Either I should have done the same what I did for myself, for tattu also, or at least should have told him before going, but I did neither.

Well, now this can't be undone. Thanks to tattu for making me realize my selfish act. Next time onwards I hope I will be more considerate about others, and also would try to clean up the mess I have already done.

Please junta.. tell whats within, at least to close friends. Kuchh cheezon ko keh dena hi sabke liye achha hota hai...

My first.....

2007-10-28T07:06:00.000+05:30

Well, the quizzes are over, and I spent the weekend the way I like the most.
But yesterday night was awkward, as the water supply from the sky, never ceased. This inspired me to write another poem (yeah I have written before, but never had courage to show then publicly). Please this one, and I would appreciate your critical comments:

The Rains never stopped that night

The sun shone bright
Thought the day was right
I walked out then
with my spirits high

But who new then
what the destiny decides
As I went on to see
my sad demise

I didn't see it coming
I was not prepared
As the clouds spread out
To bring off the shining light

It was then that moment
the first drop fell on me
Came from right through heart
of the now cloudy sky

I was shaken, thought I had lost
One by one, drops aimed at me
Ghosts of losing all came back
To push me into a dreadful track

I started to soak
I started to run
To find a shelter
but there were none

The downpour was severe
which I couldn't escape
It started washing away
all my goodwill again

All my thoughts, all my dreams
began to wash away, in water streams
But still i thought, it would all come back
Once its over, my soul will be intact

I hoped for the sunshine,
I hoped for the light
Wished the clouds will scatter away
But the rains never stopped that night

- Arpan H Bhalerao

'Scrub' it off

2007-10-14T02:13:00.000+05:30

I know its too early for my next post.. but thing is so parallel to my mood, that I could not wait. I just finished an episode of Scrubs (google it if you dont know). There are these wonderful, thought provoking, soul touching, one liners at the end.. and this one was really in the context of what I have written in my recent 2 posts:

You can never truely capture the past.... You still have to try it though.. Because a recently reincarnated doctor once said.. nothing worth having comes easy

The Love Story

2007-10-13T23:50:00.000+05:30

This is one love story, which most of us can relate to:

Once upon a time, there was boy, named X. He used to go daily to the school, do his studies, play with friends. He led a cool life. One day he met a girl, named Y. It was all in the first sight. He saw her walking down the corridor. Her fragrance freshened the air around. Her beauty was impeccable. The depth of her eyes, the juicy lips, her smooth skin, all were just flawless.

X started dreaming about her, he was deeply in love. He told his friends, who made fun of him, but he was in his own world. He took his chance and started talking to her. His first conversations were dull and studies related, but that was just the beginning.

It was the night, when Y was leaving the town, and X will not be able to meet her at for a long time. It was high time, that he should express his feelings now. It was raining that evening, but there's nothing that can stop a true lover. He went on his scooter to her house, grabbing a rose on the way. He accumulated all his strength and courage, and told her everything.

Y was patient enough to listen through what X had in store. After he was through, he stood there, in the silence, which seemed never ending. As if time had stopped, he stood as a statue, to hear the response. Y rejected his proposal..... and then they lived happily ever after.

This concept was given by Mamme (he had in turn got it from somewhere), and the variables X and Y are unrestricted, non-integral and the readers can put any values in them (all values will satisfy the conditions)...

The Lost World...

2007-10-13T23:00:00.000+05:30

Our 11th Standard Class photograph

Its not about the Dinosaur fiction (as the title may suggest). But its my own past I am talking of, barely 3 years back. Yet it seems so distant, so faded and attenuated.

Today I got a mail, one of my classmates got a job in Mckinsey. It made me extremely happy. All of sudden it 'all' came back, I started recollecting memories which were lying around in some neglected corner of my mind.

Its because I have got such a great friend circle here, or it may have to do something with Srideep and Rajat (they are my friends who have been with me since my prep school, and now in my college). We have always made it a point, that we three definitely hang-out once in a while, irrespective of our hostels being different, and the very hectic schedule of ours in IITM. But somehow, I feel that lately, we have not been talking of our school days very much. It feels like I have been here in Madras for so long.

And this is when I browsed through my old photographs, and I was indeed relieved. But there is this bitter truth, even these golden days in IITM will soon be past....

I don't want to end this post in a sad note. I am still not able to stop reminisce about those days. So I will go back to my thoughts leaving you with this poem by Wiliam Wordsworth:

Ye that through your hearts to-day
Feel the gladness of the May!
What though the radiance which was once so bright
Be now for ever taken from my sight,
Though nothing can bring back the hour
Of splendour in the grass, of glory in the flower;
We will grieve not, rather find
Strength in what remains behind

We.. The Invincibles!

2007-09-23T01:16:00.000+05:30

There is a saying in India "Bhagwan deta hai, to Chhappar phad ke deta hai" (when god gives, he gives so much that its tough to bear it). Hope I have correctly translated it. Its definitely a cliche, but highly applicable to a couple of recent developments.

First of all, its apparent from the timings of new posts, by me and also my blogger friends, that there is no regular spacing in our posts. There are times, when we post thrice a week, and then suddenly dormant for the next 2 weeks. This is not because there's nothing to write about, but the shortage of time (yeah.. the same old reason).

The other instance is the Indian sports. We had been oblivious to the sporting developments in our country. Especially after the early exit of India from the cricket world cup, I had stopped following the only sport I had been watching since childhood. I play hockey in the institute, but there was no buzz. Even in news, they all kept talking of the exceptional GDP growth, and the inflation concerns.

But then Chak De happened. Suddenly all were talking of Preeti Sabarwal, Komal Choutala, Vidya Sharma, Bindiya Nayak etc. Who were they? They were a part of the hockey team which goes on to win the World cup against 'Australia' in the climax of the movie. My little 8 year cousin sister, started talking of hockey. But generally people in India do react to such rare bollywood ventures, and I didn't expect it to carry on.

Then there was the Asia Cup Hockey Championship in Chennai. Again no buzz when it started off. But as the Indian team gained momentum, all became aware. I was there to witness the India vs. Japan semifinals, in the stadium, the final score being 4-1 in favour of India. Never before I had so much fun, and pride. It was especially good to watch a sport being played well by India, which I could associate with myself.

But one sad thing was still there. Even in the hockey stadium, ESPN had advertised about the twenty20 world cup. Eventually India went on defeat Korea in the final 7-2, and became the champion. The fate of Indian hockey still depends upon the olympic qualifiers to be played next year in Japan, but there's at least a hint of change in the air.

Then came the twenty20. First match against Scotland, washed away. We barely managed to win the next one against Pak, thus topping the pool (real cliffhanger). Saying that the road ahead was was full of hurdles, is an understatement. There were big boulders rolling down a slope, and India had to reach the top. With no Sachin, Dravid, Sourav.. it was certainly a 'nice try' (IIT lingo).

We lost to New Zealand by 10 runs. Not a big surprise. Then came South Africa. We raped them so badly, and ensured that their almost certain entry in the Semis was denied. Ok, I spoke to myself, SA generally has a bad record in the world cups, so the history repeats itself. Next task, AUSTRALIA. Why I wrote it in capitals, is evident when you compare the openers of the two teams. Hayden, 188 cm tall, 95 kg heavy.. and Gautam Gambhir, some 5 ft tall, weight must be max 70. So the physical presence itself demeans the confidence in the spectators.

But thanks to the awesome form of Yuvi, and a great team effort, by the rest of batting, fielding and bowling. Even Sharmaji bowled an outstanding last over. Everything was simply great.

There was great cricket all around the stadium. The thing I liked best about India is the team effort being put in. No dependence on some selected players. Someone or the other rises to the occasion.

Its even better when you are watching such a contest in a room flooded with sports enthusiasts. No one cares about ergonomics there. Just find a place to fit in yourself, and be content with what you get. Theories being poured over from a room full of guys, who think they have the ultimate knowledge of cricket. Its good that you don't hear many of them in the noisy atmosphere. Let me give some of the expert comments/observations/stats:

1.Anna- Indian team performance inversely propotional to number of kars (eg TendulKAR, AgarKAR) in the team.
2.Doodh- Agarkar would have been better in place of Joginder.
3.Anna- The two teams getting in the twenty20 world cup finals, had a first round exit in the world cup previously this year.
4.Dilli- Blah Blah Blah
5.Bachha- Dhoni the savior

During the whole session, I was saving my words for this blog. Now the decider is on Monday, against Pakistan (expect a full match summary in the next post).

Hope the tide continues for India.... in cricket, hockey, tennis..... and Sensex!!

The Journey

2007-09-22T14:10:00.000+05:30

Introduction
Its always in the back of my mind, that I was born as a consequence of some one's sacrifice. I always remember that I have been made to cheer up people, or to bring out the sorrows in a creative form. I am, the Guitar. Yes, the one you enjoy listening to in almost every kind of music you hear. They use me for rhythm, lead, all sorts of notes, and I deliver..... This is an account of my journey. Please don't read any further if you see me as a thing, having no soul. Remember, only one who has it, can melt the hearts of millions, which is what I have done.

The Making
It is some place in Kolkata (a city in India), where I have begin to take shape. A richly hued timber, brownish with dark veining (eventually I came to know that it was rosewood) formed my sides, back and fret board. A fine european spruce was put up to form the sound board. Mahogony gave me my neck. Oh god, all these sacrificed to give me life. At this point of time, I pray that I do something worthwhile when I go out to produce vibrations, generate waves.

My cousins are out there, and we have our own way of communicating. Vibrations by one, are heard by all. There are some, who are happily living out there, giving pleasure to people. Some produce faulty notes, as his master is still learning to play. But there are those, who never speak. They are lost somewhere in this large world, still unknown to me. I still wonder what has happened to them. In a few days I will be out of here, with all the finishing done.

The Showroom
I am complete now. My whole body, is assembled properly. Fine polish gives me a glaze, making me an attractive piece in the showroom. New strings are on me, tuned to perfection. So many cousins of mine around me, probably having the same anxiety as me. Its been a week since I am here, many have come and tried me, but they have chosen someone else. I can hear them being played, and it makes me really excited.

I have been classified as a spanish jumbo acoustic semi-electric (I can be connected to amplifiers), with a tag of Givson on me. Bathed in dazzling black, I sit here to be accepted by someone.

its "my" pic

There comes a boy, he must be around 16-17 years of age. I can see, he is asking stupid questions about me, apparently, he is a novice. The shopkeeper has pointed me to be taken. My look appeals him very much. He takes a plucktrum, and strikes my strings, aah.. it feels so great. Yes now my journey has begun in a true way. He instantly pays for me, gets a few plucktrums, a guitar strap.. and there I am, put in a cover, lying in the backseat of a big car, having no clue where I am going to land up.

The Process
I have heard from my cousins, how it feels when every single note you produce is crap. You can't really help it, its the learning process. The kid is still trying to get hold of you properly. There are others in the place where he gets his lessons, who have a decent knowledge of playing guitar. But its a long and gradual process for me. The only thing soothing me is that he is at least trying. I hope, he doesn't give it up.

Now I understand, why some of my cousins never spoke. Still there was some weeping I could hear. They were helpless, lying in some neglected corner of a room. The strings getting rusted, the tension bending the fret board. Dust settling over the sound board, which has now forgotten its tone. The sacrifice, going in vein. Hope this never happens to me.

The joy
And gradually, I began to sound good. The boy had eventually learned a few things. He took me to a small gathering. He sang, and I happily accompanied his voice. It was magical. I was producing the vibrations, and my cousins also complemented me.

There was something very nice about this, I was convinced that, I won't be ever neglected. May be he will go on to buy some better guitar, some modern electric guitar, but I will always be the first one. The memories he will associate with me, will be unique. I still remember the day when he had his first stroke on me, and I am proud to see how much he has learned since. I can feel the love he has for music, which can never perish.

I sincerely hope, that each one my cousins have good experiences like mine. So, next time when you hear a guitar piece, do remember its the unison of two souls touching the depth of your heart, the artist and the Guitar...........

Tune Mujhe Pehchana Nahi

2007-09-16T12:02:00.000+05:30

It has been a long time since I have posted anything. It may have been because of the scarcity of creative thoughts coming in my mind, apparently because of the quizes going for the last two weeks. Still they have not ended, and so I am in no mood to write, but uploading this video was of utmost importance.. See and comment, sang by me, shot and edited by Moli

My First ON RECORD Performance, Please Comment....

Here's another video.. Shot by the band named as "The Branded Underwears". The members: Srideep (lead guitar), Arpan (bass guitar), Moli (drums), Madhavan (vocals), Rahgav (rythm guitar).... This is the mess room of Alaknanda hostel of IIT Madras, now being used for the creative compositions by budding musicians like us, Hope that you see more of us:

This is the Band in Making

Chennai.. The Truth

2007-09-02T15:29:00.000+05:30

The Chennai Central

I was reading the gtalk status messages in my contact list.. people have all sorts of advices and declarations over there. Some direct you to their blogs (don't know why they want to popularize it so much). Similar way my good old friend Dilli had the link to this article. Its very uncharacteristic of him to go about reading articles on the net, and publicize them, so this time when i saw it there, I couldn't resist sparing 10 minutes to go through it. The article was so good that I thought it even qualifies to be posted on my blog, so here it is:

How dare you kiss in Chennai?

October 03, 2005

Chennai, the city of auto majors Ford, Hyundai, BMW, Ashok Leyland. Chennai, the city of software majors TCS, Wipro, Infosys, Xansa.

Chennai, the city of several engineering colleges and thousands of engineering students.

Chennai, the city where the country's first six-lane information technology expressway is under construction.

Chennai, the city of the Big Brother.

Scene One

A park in Chennai. A young teenage boy and a girl are sitting on a bench munching peanuts. The distance between them slowly reduces, and the boy puts his hand on the girl's shoulder and draws her close to him. They are still talking and munching peanuts. No, they are not about to kiss, but their physical proximity is such that they can. That is, if Big Brother does not turn up. And he does.

The terrified kids jump up.

"What are you two doing here?" asks Big Brother.

"Nothing…" the boy stammers.

"Nothing? What nothing? You are doing something," Big Brother thunders.

"We were talking and eating peanuts," the boy's voice is barely audible.

"What? Can't you talk loudly?" Big Bother's voice is so loud that the two young things clasp hands in fright.

"Take your hands off her." Big Brother whacks the boy with his baton so hard that his eyes fill with tears. The girl has already started crying.

"No tears. No crying. Don't you know boys and girls are not supposed to sit so close to each other and hold hands in a public place?"

The boy wants to ask 'What's wrong in us sitting close and holding hands?'

"Don't say she's your girl friend?"

The boy nods.

"Girlfriend and boyfriend? What is this world coming to? Come on, get into the jeep. I am taking you two into custody."

Moral of the story: If you are in Chennai, never sit on a park bench with your girlfriend or boyfriend. And, most importantly, never hold hands. It is not part of the great Chennai Culture.

Scene 2

A party in the discotheque of a luxury hotel. Loud chatter, louder music. Couples dancing merrily on the floor. The music gets louder and the dancers more passionate. Bodies intertwine. Soon, some lips lock.

Enter Big Brother on the dance floor.

"Stop!" his voice booms, but the music is too loud. He keeps shouting, but no one can hear him. He rushes towards the DJ console and terrorises the DJ into stopping the music.

The romantic world of the couples shatters.

Big Brother jumps onto a chair and shouts, "What's this? What's going on here? Don't you have any respect for this great city, and its great culture?"

"What's he saying?" A woman whispers as she comes out of the trance.

"You people better listen to me. This is a great city..."

"How many times will he say that?" Another woman laughs.

"The culture of the city is so great that here, no woman and man should hug each other in public, nobody should dance like mad people. You should learn to dance Bharata Natyam. That's our culture, and not this. Here, no man and woman kiss each other in a public place."

"This is not a public place. This is a hotel, and this is a dance floor," an angry young man shouts back.

"I will arrest you for insulting our great culture. No man and woman should kiss in a hotel even if they are husband and wife. You will be arrested if you do that. Today, I, the Big Brother, forgive you," he jumps off the chair and walks away.

Moral of the story: In Chennai, you should not go to a dance party unless it is Bharata Natyam. You should not kiss your spouse even if you are dancing the Bharata Natyam. You should respect the great culture and traditions of the city.

Scene 3

An engineering college campus. Three students are summoned to the principal's room to appear before a panel of five teachers whose duty is to question 'immoral' students and punish them. The students' fault; they are wearing short, sleeveless tops and tight jeans, and they were caught talking to boys.

"What kind of dress are you wearing? Were you seducing the boys when we caught you? Don't come crying to us if you get raped. If you dress like this, anything can happen. Remember, this kind of indecent dress is not allowed in this city and in this college, understand? Now, go home and get Rs 500 as fine for wearing sleeveless top and tight jeans. If you want good jobs in good companies, you should learn to dress properly, and also learn not to flirt with boys," The teachers shout at the girls.

Once the girls are done with, five boys are called in. They also undergo a dressing down for 'wearing dark coloured shirts,' 'talking to girls' and 'flirting with them'.

"You people will never see even the gates of an IT company," the jury declares.

Moral of the story: If you are an engineering student in Chennai, you should dress 'decently' and never talk to the opposite sex. That is, if you want a good job in a good company.

Scene 4

Angry women demonstrating -- with brooms and flip flops -- in front of a movie actress' house. The women shout unprintable abuses, spit on the gate, burn her effigy.

In an interview, the actress had advised people of the city to have safe sex. She had pooh poohed the idea of pre-marital virginity as an essential virtue.

"You dirty woman, you insulted our great culture. How dare you live here? We will banish you to the Andamans," roars the mob.

Moral of the story: If you are a woman living in Chennai, a city that has Big Brothers who flaunt their several wives/mistresses as proof of their wealth and social status, never talk about sex, sexually transmitted diseases, HIV, AIDS, condoms or virginity.

Scene 5

The bedroom of a newlywed couple. It is an unusually cool night, and passion is running high. As they are about to kiss, the voice of Big Brother booms.

"Stop!"

They stop in mid-kiss. "But why? We are husband and wife. We are not in a park. We are not on the dance floor of a hotel. We are in our bedroom. Can't we have some privacy in here too?"

"No, Big Brother is watching you. You should abstain from sex today."

"But why?" The couple dare to question the Big Brother.

"Today is Thursday, the day of abstinence." Big Brother announces.

"Can we have at least one kiss?" they plead.

"No kiss today. You can kiss on Mondays and Wednesdays and can have sex on Fridays and Sundays. This is Big Brother's order. Remember, Big Brother is watching."

****

No, this is not an adaptation of George Orwell's 1984. This is 2005, and the city is Chennai.

Yes, Chennai, the city that has blah blah blah.

ITC internship

2007-08-24T00:33:00.000+05:30

Its like the rats following the pied piper of Hamelin. The internship season has started with one of the best recruiters, ITC (Imperial Tobacco Company), coming in to give internship offers to all the branches. The result is that almost everybody has submitted the forms duly filled before the deadline. Its created a buzz, with people taking out there CGPA cards and writing in the exact figure. But I should not blame anyone as I myself have been one them.

I am still wondering how they are going to choose from such a vivid lot of students, the few whom they will give the chance. I remember to have read somewhere.. a boss tells his secretary to send a letter for interview to the 50 applications kept at the bottom of a pile of 500 odd applications. The confused secretary expresses her concern "Sir but leaving out rest of them might keep away some very good candidates, don't you think we should go through them". Boss appreciates her concern and replies "You do have a point, they will really be unlucky to have missed the opportunity, but then I don't want to recruit people with bad luck".

The application form was real pain. They asked such questions, to which you have no specific answer for. I don't to blabber much over this issue.. just listed below are a few questions and my answers to them:

What were your 3 key focus areas during the last 3 years? What were your accomplishments?

Three key focus areas during the last 3 years:

1. To get through IIT-JEE entrance exam with a good AIR.

2. To take up some sport and learn it properly.

3. To improve my administrative skills by participating in various organizational activities.

Accomplishments:

1. Got through IIT-JEE with AIR 846

2. Started playing hockey and water polo, and got into the hostel teams of both the sports.

3. Handled various coordinator posts in events organized in IITM.

What are the types of assignments that keep you hooked and charged and what are those that you find boring ?

I am not a person who loves to experiment. Experimentation (as in what one does in laboratory) doesn't appeal to me. I prefer practical assignments. For example the fault finding assignment I was given in DaimlerChrysler during my internship, was what I liked.

I have found my performance more satisfactory to me in situations where dynamic circumstances demand for quick, careful responses.

Describe an incident that has had a deep impact on you and brought about a significant change ?

I don't remember a single incident distinctly having a deep impact on me, or having a drastic transformation in me. What I am today is a result of many small incidents scattered throughout my life.

Still I remember one incident. I was a good above average student throughout my school life, and got good marks. But during my 10th pre-boards I got 79.8% marks, which was way below my expectations and capability. It was like a wake up call for me, that I should not take things lightly. This was a major lesson, which helped me whenever I got complacent during IIT-JEE preparations.

Why would you like to do a project with the ITC Group and how do you think you will add value ?

ITC has a great reputation in the indian corporate world, and a wide range of products. Doing a project with such a prestigious organization will give me an opportunity to hone my skills and get a good experience. I hope my previous association with DaimlerChrysler and whatever knowledge I have gained in my academic life, will help improve and optimize various processes taking place in the company.

What are your short term and long term objectives?

To use the resources and the highly competitive environment around me to the fullest to develop my personality, my communication, organizational and managerial skills.

In the long term, I want to have a satisfactory career and good amount of money in my bank account.

And thus ended the boring procedure of the submission. I just wanted to write there that this kind of assignment is what I find boring. Well lets see how things proceed. This is just the beginning, god knows how many such crap forms will have to be filled....

Saarang....

2007-08-23T13:28:00.000+05:30

The following was the write-up I did for the application form of Saarang 2008 PR & Media coordinator :

OAT during rock show : Come, Live the MAGIC

Love life, Live a Saarang... The cul-fest of IIT Madras presents you a unique opportunity to experience one of the greatest festivals of its kind.

Saarang presents itself as a representation of today's youth. It boasts of all variety of flowers in its bouquet of different events, ranging from body shaking Rock shows to the depth of Classical ragas, and it will be impossible for you to miss the magic.

Its a perfect platform to show your talent and witness events like fine arts, speaking events like JAM, dramatics, music competitions, workshops, talks by famous people etc. Well there is just too much activity for an individual to watch fully, and I am sure you will be compelled to come the next time too.

Our pro-shows showcase classical music night, popular night, rock show, and then there is the Dance competition among various colleges in our very celebrated Choreo night.

So it’s a completely packed schedule from morning to night, offering you a plate full of dishes to feast upon... aren't you hungry? If not, work up your appetite!

Poem I read somewhere....

2007-08-19T10:50:00.000+05:30

I read these beautiful lines somewhere on the net:

Time is standing still

As I sit here and wait-

Waiting for something that

only the clock can bring

Nightmares on my mind,

and tears cried blood.

There are dangers creeping

And the tick tock

of silence........

As time stands still

I am annoyed .. of myself !!

2007-08-19T10:11:00.000+05:30

I guess this is my first post sharing some negative side of me. Something terrible happened yesterday, which could have been avoided.

Srideep called up and asked to come to his music room.. we were in all 6 guys there, making music. It was a great show, height of enjoyment. Since long I had not done such a thing, I was just elated. But, it was short lived. I got a call on my mobile, while I was playing the bass guitar. I just went on to give the guitar to someone else, and in the process I lifted it overhead.. the fret board struck the fan above, and it cracked. I mean, only the end had a damage, which I put back in place, but I am afraid that there may be a problem in playing the first string now. The damage to the guitar is repairable, but I was annoyed of myself.

This has often happened with me. Such things can be regarded as accidents, but there are too many happening with me. I don't know how to react. A sorry doesn't solve any problems. May be I am just over reacting. May be I should get over it... but it will take time (hope I don't screw up anything in this recovery period of mine)..

Mercedes... Yeah!!

2007-08-07T23:00:00.000+05:30

Mercedes S class and ME

My brother would have definitely choked me if I were any late in posting this one. Well, indeed its special.

I did my post second year intern in DaimlerChrysler India, Pune. For those who are not very familiar with the name, this is the company manufacturing mercedes.

I was staying at my uncle's house.. around 35km away from the factory. But the MNC gives so nice facilities to its employees (even trainees), I had to board the bus just a 20 min walk from the house. I used to board the bus at 5.30 in the morning, reach there by 6.30, and had my breakfast. The work started at 7. It was start of work for all the people there, but a long jobless day ahead of me. It was a relief that I knew the local language, which allowed me to converse to everybody freely.

Well, what work I did there.. let me think.. ya I was actually given something to kill time. I was working with the production department, on the assembly line. So I was given 6 large excel worksheets, which had data indicating the faults that had occurred since jan 2007 (monthwise), and I had to trace the causes of repetitive faults, operates involved, and somehow get the number of faults lesser. But the problem was that this work was assigned after I had spent around 2 weeks seeing the whole working of the assembly line, had seen all the functions of this wonderful car, and my intern was only a month long (my favorite pass time was to sit in the merc, put on the AC, and peacefully listen to radio mirchi (one of the interns from Birmingham, described his month long experience of training and sleeping in a Rs.80 lakhs bedroom with great cooling and cool music).

Free internet was again there for my rescue, the time to time serving of beverages, and the great variety and quality of the food were other very good things.

long queue of mercs wait to be put in the transit park

I did learn a lot, as in how different things are carried out, various quality tests, the attention payed to even smallest of misalignments.. truly they do give you an awesome machine.

One of the other great time of my day was when I did the IS (Intelligent System) test for the cars.. it just comprises of connecting the car controls to a computer console through a cable and then a software is run which tests the working of all the electronics of the car (there are so many sensors to be tested).. and then time to time it asks us to press some buttons in the car cinterior, open and close the doors, etc.. this process took 25 minutes for E and C class, and around 50 minutes for S class. After that filling of petrol, starting of car, putting in steering oil, then keep turning the steering wheel until it gets smooth.. and during all this, the Mirchi RJ was also there for company(after writing so much, I am now feeling that I wasn't totally jobless)

And after all this .. the cherry on the cake was that they gave me Rs.7500/- in return of the services I provided to the company.. Now people, I have already made my plans as to how spend this money, so please don't ask for treats..

God is there.. and he is Great

2007-07-25T16:42:00.000+05:30

we were the four lucky ones (L to R Srideep, Rajat, Mangesh, Me)

I have never been an atheist, but what happened with me yesterday has further strengthened my faith. Rajat, Mangesh, and srideep.. came to my house. We had planned to watch MP3 (Mera Pehla Pehla Pyar) on my new LCD TV (32" by 15"). But they all came a bit late at around 6.15, by then my father had come home, and he decided to watch the movie with us. In the beginning I didnt have any problems, but as the film progressed, it became clear that this story of a guy in School falling in love with a girl from london had a lot of stuff that I wasnt comfortable watching with Pappa. The height was when Rohan (the boy in the movie), along with a bunch of his friends is shown watching a porn in his room. I dont know how Pappa must have felt about watching such mature content with me, but then nobody spoke a word. (Thank god that mom didnt sit with us to watch it).

Still no big issue, we continued watching the flick.. I could see the giggles on the my friend's faces. We were all discussing the unrealistic situations shown in the film and that how can so many coincidents happen with the same person, but who knew that a big coincidence is going to save us from an embarrassment.

Rajat had told me that at the end of this flick, there is a long, romantic, sensuous kiss between Rohan and Ayesha (she was so gorgeous). All of us were thinking that it will be real awkward watching it with my parents (by that time mom had also joined us). Just as both Rohan and Ayesha reach the eiffel tower (thats where they smooch), there was a powercut, TV screen went of, my comp was shut down (ya I connected my comp to the TV set).
Then today morning I saw it (alone), and it was real good kiss, thank god for the great timing of the powercut.... thanks god, you are great....

Finally out of teens !!

2007-07-24T10:56:00.000+05:30

me in Hotel Ranjit Lakeview on my birthday

I turned 20 on the 23rd of july 2007.. still one year left for me to legally enter 'Bikes and Barrels'. So the teenage period is over, which I have enjoyed the most. Some of the most crucial things happened in in the teens.. I passed school, got into IIT Madras(have successfully completed 2 years), had my first crush, got my driving license, did my first plane journey, saw all the four metros, learnt guitar and harmonica, started blogging, learnt water polo, did my first intern in DaimlerChrysler and thereby got my first salary (stipend), started boozing, got great friends, and a lot of things which I cant cite in public..

Now in the coming couple of years, some very important things are gonna happen with me, job interviews, graduation, and god knows what.. So wish me luck for the coming years, and keep watching for my further posts..

Salaam Bombay !

2007-05-25T01:22:00.000+05:30

I wonder why Indian cinema is not able to make it big on the international level, only after seeing awesome movies like Salaam Bombay and Mr. & Mrs. Iyer. I saw them both in one day. Its a relief to see these flicks after the torture suffered in movies like Good boy Bad boy, etc.

Salaam Bombay was released in 1988, directed by Mira Nair (nominated for the Academy Award for the Best Foreign Language Film) , a story about a boy ChaiPaw (actual name Krishna, but as he works for a tea vendor, hence the name), and other children living in unimaginably harsh, dirty condition. He lives in a locality where prostitution is an ordinary thing. Well I am not going to spoil your interest by telling the whole plot, but only going to cite few situations which I would never ever forget.

At this tender age, these children are exposed to all kinds of evil in the society. Chaipaw has acted beautifully (I think assholes like Zayed Khan, Ashmit Patel (just to name a few) should learn something from this little kid). He is so natural that I seriously believe that he has actually been called from the dark corners of the city for screen test. I just cant stop praising him.

There is this girl Manju whose mother is a prostitute, she seems to me around 8 yrs old, and knows exactly all about her mother's profession. Chillam (a bit older) is all consumed by dope, and finally dies..... and 4 kids from the street (max age12 I guess), take his abandoned body for cremation. There is this girl who is sold to a brothel (her name the movie is Sola Saal). She is shown to be the love interest of our little hero (shown in the adjacent black & white photograph).

The film has its own light moments, those when Chillam and Chaipaw share there past lives (how they got to Mumbai), children celebrating after stealing a good amount of money from some house, etc. Nana Patekar plays an excellent role. In fact everyone was just perfect, well defined roles, and everyone doing justice to there respective parts.

This was all about the film, but the important thing is the message it conveys. Obviously there's so much pain and suffering shown, but again everyone survives (except the drug addict). These children have momentary happiness, and even these moments are rare to come (but they do come). These kids have clearly (not loudly though) have successfully conveyed the spirit of hope and perseverance.

Hats off to all the actors, and of course Mira Nair, and I sincerely hope that more of such well thought, intellectual films, are made in India......... after all never loose hope is the moral of the story . . . . . . . . . .

Bhojpur Trip

2007-05-21T15:07:00.000+05:30

Last Friday I went to Bhojpur (24 km from my home) early in the morning. The reasons for starting early were that pappa takes car to the office so we don't have any means to commute during day, and second that its most pleasant during the morning hours in this scorching summer heat. So we woke up at 5. As we were going to a temple, taking bath was essential. This was probably the first time in my 20 day stay at home this summer, that I got up before 8.30. Its really painful to do things differently from your routine. But this trip was worth it.

So we started at 5.45 or so. I would not let this opportunity of stating my passion for car driving go away. It was heaven, the roads were all empty as if welcoming me to have a ride over them. No need to close the windows as the air is still cool. The cool breaze was caressing through my considerably long hair. It was all magical. I drove above 60kmph, the road was good all the way(though the trucks on the highway were a bit slow), still nothing to complaint about.

So here's a pic of all of us who went (I am not there but my long shadow is distinctly visible)
The short ascend to the temple from where we got down from car proved to be daunting for my grandparents. Ok now let me introduce them to you..... (from left to right) aai(my mom), aaji (dadi) (paternal grandmother), ajoba (father's maternal uncle), aaji (father's maternal aunt), pappa(my dad)..... I understand that it may be a bit difficult for some of you to remember this terminology, but you will get used to it. All my grandparents are 75yrs or above, so the difficulty to walk is understandable. We reached the top at a slow pace.

Pappa stopped by to read the history behind the monument (he is really interested in such stuff)
Finally we reached the top, saw the awesome shiv-ling (its really huge). I was busy taking pics. We then put flowers, belpattia and a coconut in the temple. Here are a few more pics......
And yes finally the author needs some mention, the overenthusiastic driver, a jobless fellow all through his semester breaks, overwhelmed by the internet connectivity by BSNL connection. Here is one his photographs

We also met this dog peacefully sitting in front of the temple.....
Also while returning we saw this fellow with an archaic form of guitar in his hand (couldn't take a snap due to low battery), it had a wooden barrel, with a string attached to one of its ends and and the other end of the string was in the person's hand, so that he could vary the tension in the string to produce various notes (this is what i thought)...... i will soon come up with a sketch of this instrument.......

Best Days of one's life, Do you remember yours !!!

2007-05-15T15:15:00.000+05:30

This is my little newborn cousin brother Raghav. In these jobless times for me, its one of my favourite passtimes to go and play with him. I guess playing is not the proper definition to my activities around him. I mean he cannot even lift himself up and doesnt even have proper toilet habits, but yes he amuses me with his body language. I just sit besides him, and talk all sorts of crap, whatever comes to my mind. Main topic is discussing his career options. I keep advising him not to go into IIT (because of the pathetic girls to boys ratio), talk about his crush (whom he met in the hospital). There is this carton of Signature whisky kept on the table in front of him, so this gives me another topic. Yesterday I told him about Vijay Mallya buying Whyte and Mackay, and today will tell him about the Bajaj split.

So that is all I do in the brief time when he is not sleeping (which he does for more than 14 hours a day), not being fed by his mother, not undergoing any massage etc.

I wish to have remembered myself being of his age. It must have been so much fun, no worries except wet nappies. Any problem or requirements, just cry.... the discomfort caused by this activity to others doesnt bother you as long as you are getting your thing done. People come from far places, just to have a glimpse of you. You dont understand anything being spoken to you, so there is no question of responding. You is perfectly ignorant, except that you know when to cry. Its a proper example of "IGNORANCE IS BLISS". What an irony that the best days are never retained in your memory.

Home Sweet Home

2007-05-07T01:13:00.000+05:30

So i am back bhopal, the city i love so much. A very quite city (at least it was so when i left for chennai 2 years ago). Its beauty lies in so many things..... the lake where i have spent so many hours chatting to frinds, the 10 no. bus stop ministroni soup which has been a daily diet for us during csemester breaks, Milan Namkeen, New Market, Top n' Town, malai milk at 6no. stop, .... the list is endless. And not to forget, after roaming all these places we can peacefully come back and eat great home made food. Ahh! There can be no place like tis on earth. Of late the number of pretty girls being spotted in 10no. stop has been phenomenal, resulting in longer evenings of just joblessly gazing at at them.

But there's a problem, I dont really have anything to do. The idea of relaxing in the lazy afternoon is alright, but the rest charges you up for the endless (often sleepless), night to come. So I have decided to get myself busy with a few things......... guitar, yeah gonna play and sing along whenever and wherever i get time; photography, car driving (yes we bought a new car Zen Estillo), and yes EATING and SLEEPING. Rajat will always be around and will keep bringing up plans of joblessly wandering around in the city on our vehicles.

Also I will making a few more posts describing my stay in hostel during last month, the pain of saying goodbye to seniors, so stay tuned and live in PEACE.....

Rules: Are they always correct?

2007-04-17T22:39:00.000+05:30

Saw this movie recently "the terminal". The plat of the movie is that Tom Hanks from some country comes over to US and finds at the airport that his passport is no more valid. He hardly understands English. This happens because when he was on flight to US, there was a rebellion in his country and thus as there was no government left, his passport was cancelled, and the visa was revoked. Thus the airport authority tells him that he can neither be allowed to enter US nor can be sent home. Thus was only allowed to be in the airport area.

The whole point I want to stress upon is that the rules and regulations framed to maintain law and order and all these protocols followed can never take care of all situations. Its never possible for any human to establish a system that can take care of every situations. There ought to be a glitches in every process, and these are the times when decision making ability is tested the most. The authority has to take initiative to bend the laws and take a decision best for all. I feel that such situation requires the most of one's leadership qualities, because going against rules (even for a noble cause) is looked down upon by most of the people. It takes a lot of courage to go against the tide and set an example. But again very rarely we find such people.

By rules I am not only referring not onlyto the official ones, but ones which are also implied, and popularly accepted as a acceptable behavior. Again an example from the movie "the scent of a woman" where the Charlie Simms (Chris O'Donnell) is pained by his school principal to name the students who had allegedly done some act of disrespect to the principal. He is threatened that by not doing so his carrier will be doomed. But in spite of all these consequences, he chooses not to speak up against these students (which could have screwed them properly). In the movie he was saved by Al Pacino, but not everybody finds an angel. But this kind of conscience, and humanness in actions will be always a help, because these qualities are always respected. Moreover one never regrets such decisions, because they are selfless and what one feels right.

I may deviating from the subject, but these writings are influenced by some recent events, and also my statements may be a bit biased, so please bear with me.........

WHY DID I START BLOGGING?

2007-04-16T16:51:00.000+05:30

I started blogging because I thought that some of the experiences which are a part of my diary can be shared publicly. By publicly I mean that these are few of my most exciting, and not so boring (censored) entries. But again the idea of writing diary also came after a long reluctance on my part. Partly because I didn’t have enthu to go to the shop and buy myself a diary, and had a notion that a digital entry might not be as fluent thereby ruled out the option of typing in. So finally I started in a notebook (one of my last sem half filled notebooks which initially I had brought to jot down notes, but ended up missing considerable amount of classes).

But the hard part was yet to come. I always lacked confidence in my writing. What I wrote may grammatically be correct but would lack the punch. This may be hard to explain, but there are some articles which showcase the beauty of the description so well, that no matter how alien the reader may be to the subject matter, but still he enjoys reading it. My initial entries mostly described about my activities, some special moments, but in a very ordinary way. It was like I was writing things, but not expressing my emotions related to them. It lacked life. So the reluctance grew, and the frequency of my entries was very low.

But two guys influenced me here, my bro Ankit and mamme (Aniket Anand). Ankit has been writing diary since his second year (don’t know when he started blogging). He kept sending me the links to his blog, which some of my friends also saw, and appreciated. His poems are good. Again I was intimidated by the beauty of his writing, how well he expressed himself. But then he has been writing since 2 years. Even this was not enough to shed my barriers. Then I saw Mamme’s blog. It contained very general incidents of our hostel life, description of holi, etc. and I actually enjoyed reading it. It was after this that I felt a bit sure about my writing. The only way to write better is to write a few ordinary ones thereby getting used to writing stuff.

It’s interesting that I made the first few diary entries when I was high. Probably then the flow of thoughts is the best, and also one doesn’t think too much about details (obvious lack of patience) and so its really very easy to write.

This is the beginning. Watch this space for updates on ME……………