Word Life

25 things about me

2009-03-12T20:09:00.002+05:30

1. Life at IIM Bangalore has been an amazing ride, and I ll never forget this place as this where I met Priti, and I still thank my stars for the day on which my waitlisted admission to B was confirmed, and I took the decision to join this institution :)
2. I have had a very modest and close to earth upbringing, which I feel is my biggest strength. I have seen bad times in my life, and that’s why I feel that I will never be irresponsible or irrational with my spending (although I do like to spend on small things which make me happy), no matter how much I end up earning in life. It also means that my feet shall always be on the ground, irrespective of how high I fly in my life.
3. I was, am and will always be a bookworm. I have read books in loo, while eating, drinking, travelling, watching TV, surfing, classes, labs, tutorials- basically anywhere and everywhere. I am also one of the biggest fans of Hindi comics that you will ever come across, I think I have read almost all kinds of Hindi comics from chacha chaudhary to nagraj to dhruv to even weird ones which no one would have heard of like Ram rahim, tausi, angara etc etc etc.....
And despite all this reading, Super Commando Dhruv remains my favourite character through the ages.
I have also read almost all editions of Hindi magazines as a kid which include champak, nandan etc.

4. School days were just the most awesome part of growing up. I rarely missed school (unless it was an exam which I wanted to miss, wherein I would conveniently have a headache or stomach ache in the morning :) ). I am still in touch with many of my school friends, and am still one of the most frequent visitors to my school, to meet my favourite teachers.
5. I am artistically challenged, my sketches and drawings have left me and most of my friends in fits of laughter during school days, and I still remember that once I just spilled over some water colour on the drawing that I was making for the art exam- and ended up getting the highest art grade I ever received on that particular sketch.
6. I am a firm believer in whatever happens is always for the best, and was “meant to be”, that’s why I generally do not complain if things aren’t going right. But I do feel bad if people don’t get what they deserve...
7. I am an introvert in general, and suck at making small talks with people. I take my own time to be comfortable with people, but once I am friends with someone, I can talk for hours at a stretch. I have never understood this conflicting side of my personality, and I think I never will.
8. I love driving and that’s one of the thing I miss most about Delhi, not being able to drive my car.
9. I am a big sports fan in general, and enjoy watching football, cricket, formula 1, tennis etc. I worship Sachin Tendulkar, have followed his career from the beginning, and instinctively I switch from total interest to indifference for a cricket match once he gets out. He is just been synonymous with cricket for me. In the past few years, I have also been a fan of Nadal. I also respect Steve Waugh and Lance Armstrong for their achievements on and off the field.
10. I HATE DISCUSSING anything about any examination once it’s over. I generally throw away or tear off the question paper once I leave the hall. And move away as far as possible to even avoid hearing any discussions by mistake.
11. I love listening to all kinds of music, from rap, to rock, to Hindi music and recently a good friend of mine introduced me to jazz as well, and I liked it too. Music was one thing which used to constantly play in the background when I was preparing for my IITJEE exams. Although I own two iPods, I am not a big fan of using earplugs to listen to music; I prefer to play it using speakers.
12. I have very simple choices in food, and generally I stick to them. I was once asked by someone about my favourite food, and all I said was North Indian (Dal paneer), south Indian (idly, dosa, vada and uttapam) and Pizza Hut- that kinda still remains what I generally eat.
13. I was very lazy during school days, and earned the nickname of “susti”. Till coming to IIM Bangalore, my normal sleeping time was 10 pm. The first night at IIM B, I had to stay up till 4 am due to interactions :) , and well that kind of set the trends for my sleeping time here.
14. I love watching movies in theatres (it doesn’t matter what the movie is, and how it has been rated- the kind of movies I have seen in theatre would send a shiver up the spine of most people), during my internship at Mumbai, I watched over 12 movies in theatre, and some of them even alone. For me, more than the movie itself, it is the other attractions which are a big draw- those who have gone to movies with me will certify that- I look forward to new movie trailers/promos and pop corns more than watching the actual movie :)
15. I consider myself to be quite good at pulling people’s legs
16. I am one of the few people to have never ever had a “C” grade in IIM B courses (had to say it loud for everyone to read), before this term came along. So I would also add in the same breadth that I have already received two of them this term :)
17. I am not very vocal with my feelings, and generally don’t create a scene even if people don’t actually behave in a mature manner, but I never forget such things.
18. I like going to zoos, I make it a point to visit a zoo at any place where I go. I have seen the zoos at Chennai, Mysore, Delhi, the Banerghatta National park, Bandipur sanctuary and many more. Snakes are the animals which fascinate me the most, and I have rarely missed any show on TV featuring them. Among the scary ones, my favourite animal is the King Cobra. I also find Hippos and elephants to be quite amazing.
19. I love planning, even if things don’t always work out the way I have planned. Planning for euro trips was just awesome fun. Here and even in Delhi, I used to plan most of the reunions that we had with school friends, and I used to love the task :)
20. Ever since I started watching football, I have been a Man Utd fan. I also like Lionel Messi, and despite being on the opposition side, I have a lot of respect for Jose Mourinho, and his achievements, esp. with Porto.
21. Nike is my brand, for anything, everything :)
22. I like reading blogs, I used to write a blog too, but haven’t written anything for some time now, hope to get back into regular blogging in the near future- I really like the great Bong blog and his is one of the regular blogs that I follow
23. I hate using facebook applications
24. It may sound clichéd, but I can’t see my friends sad, I will generally do anything and put any fundas to cheer them up, or console them, I believe life is too small to take load about anything and I mean anything :)
25. Connected to no. 24, my own philosophy in life is best summed up by “ Frankly my dear, I don’t give a damn “ :)

Those were the days.............

2008-02-25T22:12:00.001+05:30

When

The school reopened in June,

And we settled in our new desks and

benches!

When we queued up in book depot,

And got our new books

and notes!

When we wanted two Sundays and no Mondays, yet

managed to line up daily for the morning prayers.

We learnt writing with

slates and pencils, and

Progressed To fountain pens and ball pens and then Micro tips!

When we began drawing with crayons and evolved to

Color pencils and finally sketch pens!

When we started calculating

first with tables and then with

Clarke's tables and advanced to

Calculators and computers!

When we chased one another in the

corridors in Intervals, and returned to the classrooms

Drenched in sweat!

When we had lunch in classrooms, corridors,

Playgrounds,

under the trees and even in cycle sheds!

When all the colors in the world,

Decorated the campus on the Second Saturdays!

When a single P.T. period in the week's Time Table,

Was awaited more eagerly than the monsoons!

When cricket was played with writing pads as bats,

And Neckties and socks rolled into balls!

When few played

"kabadi" and "Kho-Kho" in scorching sun,

While others simply played

"book cricket" in the

Confines of classroom!

Of fights but no conspiracies,

Of Competitions but seldom jealousy!

When we used to

watch Live Cricket telecast,

In the opposite house in Intervals and Lunch breaks!

When few rushed at 3:45 to

"Conquer" window seats in our School bus!

While few others had "Big Fun", "peppermint",

"kulfi", " milk ice !" and "sharbat !" at 4o Clock!

Gone are the days

Of Sports Day,

and the annual School Day ,

And the one-month long

preparations for them.

Gone are the days

Of the stressful Quarterly,

Half Yearly and Annual Exams, And the most

enjoyed holidays after them!

Gone are the days

Of tenth and twelfth standards, when

We Spent almost the whole year writing revision tests!

We learnt,

We enjoyed,

We played,

We won,

We lost,

We laughed,

We cried,

We fought,

We thought.

With so much fun in them, so many friends,

So much experience, all this and more!

Gone are the days

When we used

to talk for hours with our friends!

Now we don't have time to say a `Hi'!

Gone are the days

When we played games on the road!

Now we

Code on the road with laptop!

Gone are the days

When we saw stars

Shining at Night!

Now we see stars when our code doesn't

Work!

Gone are the days

When we sat to chat with Friends on grounds!

Now we chat in chat rooms.....!

Gone are the days

Where we

studied just to pass!

Now we study to save our job!

Gone are the days

Where we had no money in our pockets and still fun filled on our
hearts!!

Now we have the atm as well as credit card but with an empty heart!!

Gone are the days

Where we shouted on the road!

Now we don't shout even at home

Gone are the days

Where we got lectures from all!

Now we give lectures to all... like the one I'm doing now....!!

Gone are the days

But not the memories, which will be

Lingering in our hearts for ever and ever and

Ever and ever and ever .....

Gone are the Days…. But still there are lot more Days to come in our
Life!!

NO MATTER HOW BUSY YOU ARE ,

DONT FORGET TO

LIVE THE LIFE THAT STILL

EXISTS..

just reminded of the good old days, wish I was in school again for the rest of my life ......

This is all they teach you here….

2008-02-07T17:29:00.000+05:30

It has been nearly three terms for me here, and here is my reflection on what I have learnt during my small stay at this reputed school. From what I have gathered by interacting with my other mates, life isn’t any better at the other sister institutions, so this post is not a crib about life here, it is just my take on the irony of the proceedings at these schools.

The day I had received my admission information, I was happy, content, that the next two years of my life would be another learning experience, mostly about knowing things which I had very little idea about, and although in a way this has been the case, I had not expected these kinds of experiences.

We are all at a school, from where we are expected to become future leaders, but the kind of qualities displayed by most here at far from those of a leader, and the systems here mold you into doing things which were unimaginable earlier. The intake does not focus on what an MBA is supposed to be, it is rather concentrated on evaluation patterns where the most dominating, or the most hardworking & slogging people make it, neither of which I must add are capable of becoming leaders that Indian and the international businesses require. There is constant pressure on the few (unlucky) normal people who actually make it to be converted into either the ever whining, ever crying about marks, grades kind, or to become the scheming, hypocrite, dominating individuals so as to survive. The academics add further pressure to it, where you either have to slog to get marks, or dominate in the class to earn the reward carrots know as CP. And of course, there is absolutely no relationship between your intellect and the grades/position you earn in class.

Then there is the question of leadership qualities to be instilled, which include team work, and getting along with people, who sometimes are better than you. Ask anyone here, and they will tell that these are the last things that are instilled by the system. You only reach the top if others go down, so there goes into the drain of learning to cooperate and coordinate with others. There is minimum sharing of information among people, and you tend to become more and more individualistic as time passes by, it is always about me and myself, how much more can I pull the person in front of me down, so as to be at the top. Here friendship is based on give and take, and gangs are formed as a matter of convenience, and I wouldn’t be surprised if tomorrow the so called great friends go on to stab each other in the back in order to gain superiority which could be in the form of grades, positions of responsibility, and/or jobs.

The situation is further encouraged by incompetent instructors (some, not all, and that is about the only positive thing here), whose way of teaching and grading is nothing to talk home about, they are irrational, unreasonable, and if you don’t vomit what they taught you (which anyways was nothing) exactly, then you don’t get “marks”, an indicator of performance. The way in which I have been taught some courses is downright appalling and it is like school again, you just mug, vomit, forget and in the meanwhile end up cracking the course.

The system works fine if looked from outside, you work very hard, you get marks, you become individualistic as that is how you would gain maximum, no one is here for charity attitude, ridiculous courses taken up in an even more ridiculous manner which suits you just fine, as that’s how you have been taught all your life, and that’s how you have mugged and cracked every university/school you go to, you act as a hypocrite, whine, cry, make others feel that you are one of the most miserable creatures that god has ever created, and end up doing well than most people, of course you get a great job too etc etc, and would have been ideal but for one thing, which if I put plainly would be : Is this what we came here for, and is this what these institutes are meant for, and if that is indeed the case, then why all this hoopla around denying that very fact. These places make you as much leaders, as a lawn tennis coach would make you Sachin Tendulkar, and this is the irony that I want to bring in front. Either change the system of running things, selecting people, and culture of evaluation, or just accept the fact that you are not making “leaders”, you are taking the brightest in the country and making them the most individualistic, selfish hypocrites who will only talk to people of they think that they can benefit or if the other person is a notch above them, a notch better than them. This is all they teach you here, my friends, this is all they teach you here……….

Life in Bangalore

2007-09-05T14:42:00.000+05:30

It has been two and a half months and I have finally settled down in what would be my world for the next two years. It surely has been a roller coaster ride, from the first week (which I would never forget in my life), to exams, and submissions, and fun, and parties. To start with, the campus itself is a stunning one, away from all the rumblings and pollution of a city like Bangalore, so much so, that the moment you move out of the campus, it is a different world, a different era.
Coming back inside the campus, here the human biological clock has been reversed totally, a person like me who had been used to going off to dreamland @ 10 pm, stay up till 1 am, and there is buzz in the campus at all times of the day, with major activities taking place in the night, but it is all worth it, once you get used to it.
About the studies, well I have been fortunate enough to stay as away from them as possible, unless and until absolutely necessary (example- the mid term exam or the next day quizzes), and there too, I am careful enough not to compromise on my quantity and quality of sleep.
Talking about the courses, and I must warn you, that much of this information is based on brief times that I am actually awake in the classroom and listening to what the esteemed person standing right in front of me is saying, all I can say is that they are one too many. I have been unfortunately blessed with a front row center seat (why does that never happen in places like where it is required) courtesy the name, and it becomes real difficult to listen to so much information in so less time.
There have been instances though, where I have realized the futility of staying awake. One of the courses has easily the most soporific lecturer I have ever seen, and I really wonder what would have happened if he would have taught at an undergrad college, I can however say with some confidence, that he may not have survived at mine.
Then there is this great general knowledge course, which of course has the one of the more charismatic lecturers that I have seen, he is funny at times, and the way he conducts the class , at least the first 40 minutes are very bearable (after this what happens, I have no idea, as I m off to la-la land), and as I have been told by my more esteemed colleagues, that there are mentions of Greeks, and all other names from other countries which I wont be able to remember even if my life depended on it.
then comes the open book exam course, which of course means that the book is useless, but the lecturer does have his way of making things interesting, he has a unique sarcasm, cynicism in his life, which keeps u engaged during most of the class, and the one class he took for another course was simply outstanding.
Not to mention, that as we have now learnt, the first term in these colleges is more about bringing u down to earth, and make u aware that all your past achievements count for nothing at all. This is all a “unfreezing, change, and refreezing" process, which gives you that unique edge from others who haven't actually studied at that place.
I for one feel, that before coming here, I had no misnomers about myself, so somehow there was never a need for the unfreezing exercise :(
It is a food for thought though, coz the pressures here have already started acting on people, with many getting psyched up before exams, not sleeping, panicking, I have seen it all during the past few weeks, and if they are something to go by, things are about to get worse in the next term.
I sometimes feel that this place is a different planet, I feel like an alien in this magguland, or better still "Planet Maggus", and if it remains like this, it would make life more difficult for the few good and genuine earth people remaining here. They will either have to "mug-up or perish", and this certainly means that there are troubled times ahead for people like me.
And I will conclude by a comment on the food (apart from breakfast) here, it is as good as the reviews for "Ramgopal Verma ki Aag"; I hope it is clear how it is.
Life in general remains good, with friends (real ones as well as the sitcom series) being great way for spending time, and some awesome movies which I have seen, and would be writing about in coming weeks.

A new beginning- IIM Bangalore

2007-05-18T20:39:00.000+05:30

It has been some time since i wrote anything, a lot has happened since then, none of which is bigger, better or sweeter than the fact that IIM Bangalore is my new destination, i finally made it and it was great relief, more so for my parents than for me, i wasn't exactly complaining on Eurotrip from shell, along with great salary at Bangalore. But I guess it wasn't meant to be. Apart from that i had my final examinations, and they all went ok, and the results helped me preserve my department rank of 5 in IIT D mechanical department. i also gave the project presentation, which was another fraud practice with not many people actually thr to listen us (we weren't complaining )
apart from that, life has been busy in general, saw Spidey 3, nearly dozed off in the first half, which was very bad and very boring, the movie does pick up pace in the second half, and a block-buster climax is something which actually pays your money's worth, and although it was nowhere near the expectations i had, it was not a washout (compared to some earlier disasters i have had the misfortune of watching - nishabd, elaan, lucky being some of them), but compared to movies like 300 and LOTR , it was bad.
and trust me, getting no dues for getting an IIT degree is almost as difficult as getting into IIT, i have lost the count of number of signatures that i have had to take, and the number of people i have had to ask for signatures, and this being the great govt employee organization, thr were the usual- i have to go to lunch, come tomorrow and etc etc , but finally i did achieve it, and now i don't have to go to IIT again , at least for the no dues.
and this is another place where i say thank you to all my friends, and people i know in IIT, this place has given me a great job, worldwide recognition, and an advantage in my future college.
i am going to end this now, although i don't want to, but there will be more to come, especially from IIM B, here we go.

Shantaram

2007-04-20T20:40:00.000+05:30

On the looks of it, it looked like another one of the big, burly novels, which have more pages for decoration's sake, and to impress readers, but Shantaram is not one of those. It is an epic novel, which looks into the life of one human being, but encompasses nearly a 3 countries, and a wide gamut of people. Size wise, it was one of the biggest i have read, at 940 pages, ( LOTR is the biggest novel i have read), and it was as enjoyable as LOTR was.
Story wise, the novel is about Gregory Roberts (the author) himself, who runs away from a high security prison of Australia, travels to India, where he becomes known by the name of Lin (which is given to him by Prabhakar, the local guide whom he meets in Mumbai, and who is one of the focal points of the novel, and one of the very likable characters). He falls into love with an enigma of a character, Karla, who is portrayed as cynical of Love, goes and lives in slums, where he uses his first aid coaching to good effects and opens a free health clinic. he also becomes a part of the Mumbai mafia, and sees a father figure in Lord Abdel Khadar Khan (a philosophical personality), with whom he shares great relationship, along with other mafia gangsters like Abdullah, Nazeer and others.
He then gets into trouble, goes to Indian jails, because he helps Karla trick a powerful lady called Madam Zhou who runs a prostitution racket, and suffers torture, and nearly dies. When he comes out, he regains his health, only to fall into the heroin trap (because of the death of his friends Abdullah, and Prabhakar). After recovery, he goes to Afghanistan along with his Khader khan, Nazeer etc to fight with the Mujaheddin, and gets injured in the war. He is smuggled back to India, during the war, he learns of many truths about Karla, his own "recruitment" into Khader's gang (who himself dies during the war), and of the traitors who betrayed them.
When he comes back to India, he takes up a more central role in the mafia, and even gets involved in an encounter, which puts a stop to the gang wars in the city, and makes his gang the supreme one.
The novel ends with him falling in love with another of his friends (at least it indicates towards it ), and leaving Karla although he forgives her for betraying him and not telling him about her relationship with his mentor Khader khan, and that's when he comes to realize about his aim in life, which was to fight for what he believes in life and to stand by it in all situations.
This is about the story, and the novel also captures the Indian culture especially the slums and Mumbai city very vividly and thoughtfully, the group of friends is the one to envy for, and the trip to the village by Lin, is as amusing as it is thought provoking.
The book is a must read for everyone, as it showcases the struggle of one man against various odds in life, you suffer with him in the prisons, and you enjoy his fun during his trips and his time with his friends, along with his achievements, and alongside you learn a lot of other things, especially the rules of street fight, and the theory about good or evil as preached by Lord Abdel Khadar Khan, which gives a unique way of looking towards your acts in life.

That will be all for now, but this is one novel which left me exhausted and I enjoyed it at the same time.

PS- To Government of India- Please let the autonomous institutes decide on their admissions, it is getting irritating now, and I hope the Supreme Court gives you what you people deserve.

300, and a lot of cricket- and a new name

2007-04-11T20:32:00.000+05:30

First and foremost, go watch 300, it is easily one of the best visual effects and CGI movies (may be THE Best), and although that alone may be a reason to watch such a movie, here there are more.
The slow motion sequences are breathtaking, and the one liners, (look out for the queen saying - "only Spartan women give birth to real men"- and u will understand why) are just awesome, the action sequences make you jump and applaud, and you just come to appreciate honor , valor and bravery much more, as many others have already said it, it portraits the basic human emotions amazingly, and it was one of the few movies I actually wanted to see it again, as soon as I left the theatre.

Now after movies, comes cricket, a lot of has been spoken and written, and a lot of dirty linen has already come out in the open, (quite expected, how come all the leaks started after Greg came to India ), but there is one thing which I always maintained, and saw getting executed, that the team was really hyped up. This team was never as bad as it has been made to be, the only problem is it never really was AS GOOD AS FANS THOUGHT. Honestly the only people who thought we could make it with the kind of bowling attack we had, (although realistically we are out because our famed batting didn't work), should be given some award for optimism.

The World cup on the other hand has had its moments till now, and I am really backing my favorite team , the New Zealanders, to go all the way, and break the arrogant aussie stranglehold on the cup (although Matthew "hulk" Hayden has indeed played the knock of the world cup so far- the 158 was breathtaking).

and finally, courtesy Manu, I was given a new name which goes as

quite extraordinary.

So long, and thanks ............and a new beginning

2007-04-05T20:14:00.000+05:30

It has been a long time coming, and frankly I got lost too much to remember about this part of my life, my blog.
My life has been a roller coaster ride since the last time, with more ups than downs, and today I stand before possibly a cross road scenario, with the choices that I make defining my entire life for good. It is an old debate for students like me, and something which has got no correct answers.
I got placed in a cool and comfortable job in Shell, which has money, easy life, and some trips to foreign shores, while on the other hand, it is the possible selection in IIMs, which are synonymous with money, and great jobs.
Since the institutions haven't announced their results, I still haven't given a thought to this scenario, and as of now, its Shell which is my future confirmed destination.
And these two pretty much form my highs of my past year, along with an amazing experience at my internship during last summers.
The internship began with taking trips to Mumbai for a day of orientation, and then to Orai, (and by googling it- You will find that its a small place somewhere in between Jhansi and Kanpur), it was an internship which along with some technical learning taught me virtues like patience, (try opening orkut on a dial up connection which gets disconnected every 5 minutes), and sports like badminton (which playing on concrete with your normal shoes isn't a good idea- trust me) where I had a great time with my HR manager and two other Job trainees, who are my very good friends now. It also made me experience 50 degree temperatures (although Delhi people have got experienced to closer temperatures). It was my first time away from home, andIi had great fun.
The last summers also brought me newer contacts via the now famous site - orkut
where I found many new friends, and met some very old friends who I had lost touch with after school, and it is one place where I have been most active in the past few months.
After my intern, I gave my GRE, and suddenly started dreaming of MS and PhD abroad, and in the hindsight I think it was for the better that I couldn't make it to the selected schools where I had applied, as I had come out of my attraction for further technical education, seeing the situation and the studies involved.
Then came perhaps the two most important cracks, first was getting through Shell, where apart from me, everyone else was convinced that I would crack it, and thankfully I did, and the most important thing that got me there was my intern and my performance in the college.
I also cracked CAT, irrespective of the fact that I hadn't prepared for it, and that the exam was one peace of holy crap that should never ever be repeated and that going to the IIMs, the worst place you could go to after the cool and chill life of IIT Delhi, was last on my mind, but I did crack it with a great percentile too (99.93 to be precise, with all calls) :D
I attended my A,B,C interviews and C was the best one, followed by A with B being the only bad one. Still have my fingers crossed for a good result (see how things change in a few months- one time no IIMs, now crossing fingers for a good result)
There is an end to my great and wonderful year, with the main hiccups being that of BTP, or (Big Time Pain project) which is the only thing that can still ruin it all.
On a personal front, there was great progress with meeting my close friends, gang meetings and movies with a most unlikely gang possible, playing cricket, and watching great new series like "how i met ur mother " (if you haven't seen it, u have missed a lot in life )
And here it is today, on 5th of April that I make a new beginning, where I shall start writing again, anything and everything on which I am entitled to have an opinion, starting with the world cup of cricket, but that will have to wait for now, since it has been around half an hour, and a long long post.

I hate hypocrites

2005-12-24T20:24:00.000+05:30

I have just got one of the biggest shocks of my life, and I am sad coz the ppl concerned have acted like such hypocrites. The week already was a bad one for me,with programs for movies and get togethers getting cancelled due to one reason or the other,and so when ppl u think r ok act like hypocrites , it makes it a perfect ending to a bad week.
The only shining point in the week was KINGKONG, an awesome movie which truly deserves each amt of money spend on it, wont write a review, not good at it neways, and of course a gentleman calld Mr Arnav has already written it, so check it out on his blog (sea inside )
I have spend most of my holidays doing arbit projects and watchin cricket, yes a lot of cricket and it helped dat our team has been doing really well over da past two months.
I read One night @ call centre, a crappy read, time pass only if u have nothin else to do.
I once again cracked my sem, scoring a 8.84 on 10, although I did realise that after some time and some CG, it really does not matter at all, and ppl may not beleive me, but I really did not study this time, me crackin the minors had helped, and so it was an academically satisfying sem for me, I hope HLL trng this summers turns out to be good.
I also saw the promos for da vinci code movie this week, it is awesome as far as the promos go, and I cant wait for May 2006.

Lara Vs Tendulkar

2005-12-09T14:21:00.000+05:30

The cricket season is back again, and for a change , the Indian team is doing quite well, with wins against Sri Lanka and a draw against South Africa, and me being the passionate fan that I am, of cricket, also got hold of a match between Australia and West Indies (boy they are getting really bad these days, except for a genius called Brian Lara, who seems to have been in the wrong team , in the wrong time , and against the wrong umpires, I have never really understood this, but it is a fact that, he has been on the wrong side of doubtful decisions, throughout his career ).
Well fortunate I was to catch hold of Lara smashing a double ton against the Aussies and breaking Border's record, but that once again started a decades long debate on who is better, between Lara and our very own cricketing God (yes he is , in India at least ), someone called Sachin Tendulkar.
The debate dates back to early 90s when both these players had started blossoming for their respective countries, but while Lara showed signs of being the best test player, Tendulkar slowly got ahead of the bunch in the one dayers ( and believe me nobody would be bale to braek some of his records in the one dayers ).
well according to me, the comaprison between both players is like comparing a bollywood movie with hollywood, or like comparing chalk and cheese. Both have their own importance in their teams.
But the pure weight of expectation which Tendulkar carries makes him more under pressure, with the status of a demi-god in India, and I still remember a remark which Gavaskar made while Tendulkar was reprimanded for ball tampering during the South Africa series in 2001 ( remember the Mike Denisse controversy, which ultimately resulted in him being not made a match refree these days ), that " In India , u can get away by saying anything to the Prime minister, but u cant get away by saying anything about Sachin Tendulkar ", which actually sums up quite nicely what the entire country feels about him, and although he has been going through a lean patch, but there is nobody who will ever even think of dropping him from a team.
Lara on the other hand has been facing different set of challanges, the sponsorship problems, the controversies with the cricket boards, and the most important being a brand ambassador of a game which is quickly losing its magic in the Carribean, with ppl moving towards basket ball, and other greener pastures, and that is an equal if not more difficult pressure than what Tendulkar faces.
To sum up, the game of cricket in the 90s would not have been the same without these two and although now there are more entertainers in the form of Afridis and Dhonis and Kemps, the world would never be the same without the two small in height large in stature cricketers from India and the carribean.
PS: who is ur favourite among the current lot of hitters ??

Whats happening in this country

2005-11-18T14:05:00.000+05:30

I am sad , astonished and shocked.
I read a news report yesterday about how a prominent committee has recommended resrvations for minorities ( religious ) in institutions like IITs and IIMs, which came as a disappointment to me. ( read it )
It is disappointing to see that a committee headed by our education minister would recommend such a thing. I respect all religions but I am absolutely against reservation of any kind on the basis of religion, it is a very dangerous practice and could lead to horrible results.
These institutions already have a lot of reservation quotas which keep on reducing the chance of talented students of getting there, keeping religious reservations can lead to large scale conversions , just for getting an admission into the college.
And what will happen to the standards of these colleges, which have built up such a high reputation, this will surely lead to a deterioration in the standards.
I believe that in order to bring up the minorities, steps should be taken at the primary level and efforts to be made in that direction so that at the time of entering into the collge the reservation system can be done away with, as everyone would be at the same level.
And if u really need reservation , do it for the poor who cannot afford the education expenses like books and coaching, irrespective of their castes , religion, location etc. instead of giving even rich ppl reservations jsut bcoz they belong to a specific caste or religion.
I hope that the recommendations are not brought into effect and I sincerely hope that the education minsitry and the HRD ministry stays away from IITs and IIMs.

IT HAS BEEN A WHILE 2

2005-11-18T13:37:00.000+05:30

It has been a long time since i posted and sinec then a lot has happened.
1. I have made up with sak and her unique nature.

2. I have realised that when u come back from a long journey in which u did not sleep for three out of 4 nights , it is not advisable to attend an alumni function , so that u can have a great time with ur friends, coz u 'll, more often that not end up on the bed with high fever for an entire week, and miss ur college.

3. I had the best day of my IIT life when I got selected for an internship in Hindustan Lever LTD. (hll) , although the GD was pretty arbit , I cleared it and in the interview , although I ended up giving confusing answers to some of the technical questions ( on thermodynamics etc. although they were convinced with my explanation of having forgotten the small definitions, as I had scored an A in both my thermodynamics courses ), I cracked the usual what do u want to do, and where do u see urself etc with some conviction and finally got selected .

4. I had to spend most of my birthday (30th october ) writing a term paper of "Heat and mass transfer " on " heat transfer in space-crafts".

5. I enjoyed watching Indian team rising from its ashes like a phoenix to defeat a very non-professional sri-lankan team, whcih was a pleasant surprise to me.

and to end it

what would u do

1. If in a GD , somebody calls out "shut-up everyone, let Ms x speak " ??

2. If ur blog was filled with comments like " a male chauvinistic pig, bastard etc " when u write about something which u feel strongly against ?? ( ask my friend shaurya or visit this. )

3. If u were Saurav Ganguly ???

4. Last but not the least , if somebody asks u "what is inert ice ".

A GRUDGING POST

2005-10-01T15:25:00.000+05:30

these have been quite some days for me, with getting rejected out of the ITC group discussion, missing out a lecture quiz coz i skipped the class, and that ass of a proff took the quiz without any prior notice. Add to it that the one quiz abt which the notice was given , fell on a day that one of my closest friends in school was going to an engineering college somewhere down south , and it was his last day in delhi. And since we hadnt met for sometime , i cudnt miss that either, so we did meet that day and i did give the quiz ( and i might add, for my friend SHAURYA- I might still get more than u do in that quiz :-D )
but this post isnt exactly about that.
It is about somebody who i met that day, somebody who ppl who have read my blog, know as sak .
the person SAK is a very interesting character, she has her usual dosage of dumbness that u expect, but she is someone that u need when u go for watching a horror movie, as i found out on thursday when i went to see The Grudge.

( and before ppl start protesting, i should add, that the grudge , was '' apparently" a horror movie, with its setting in japan, but it turned out to be surely one of the worst movies that i had ever seen in a theatre, and that too for 150 bucks, it is still hurting )
well i was compensated a little bit by the antics of sak, who at every horror scene , would either close her eyes or scream out loudly ( well in her defence, she only screamed in the first few horror scenes, after which she followed the other option, of closing the eyes), which would send me and rest of my friends into fits of laughter, which went on throughout the movie, as it was full of ur usual scenes of spirits walking, things esp hairy things appearing out of thin air, spirits badly in need of a vicks or a halls, as they always made a gargling sound whenever they confronted the characters, comicly grotesque faces, with a very weak storyline, converted the movie from a horror one to a comedy, and we were not the only ones who were making fun of it, execpt for a few weak hearted and fearful ppl, almost the entire audience was making fun of the movie and cursing loudly about the 150 bucks that were wasted.

and here are some other things that sak has done which could be called as sakisms:
she makes the plan for an amusement park, we ppl go there and enjoy, wheras she is the only one afraid in sitting on any of the rides, the important thing here being that the place was her own suggestion.
she suggeted watching THE Grudge.
she cries after reading harry potter books, esp the sad portions of it.
(this would be understood best by my school mates) she understands, laughs and actually enjoys vinayak's jokes.

but inspite of her poor judgement, sak is one hell of a person to have whenever we meet and for the few times that she has not been there, we have missed her , and her jokes, (most of which we dont get ), her bubbly ness and a lot of other things. I know it is a bit too much, and the praises would be ending here. (:-D)

well this is it for now, i would be adding a few more things about her as and when time goes on.

and i forgot to pas on the tag, so i would be passing the tag to anirudh, rohan ( where have u been, we r missing u ) and vibhor.

adios.

tagged

2005-09-28T15:58:00.000+05:30

I have just been tagged by shaurya, it is a new concept for me although some ppl have already been doing it, ( manu, vinal etc)

so here it goes
(tagged by SHAURYA )

5 years ago:

i was in class 8, fat, medium height, wore ridiculous specs, and believed only in eating, sleeping, playing and a bit of studies, life was good, enjoyable, and since i wasnt in a big school not much competition in academics was there. absloutely loved cricket, would feel really sad if our team lost, not very athletic but still played cricket to the best of my abilities. fought with my brother a lot ( I still do that) and on the whole had grt friends and was known in school.

1 year ago:

Entered my second year at IIT D, not fat, but thin and tall, life was still going grt, had just earned money through a fraud project, and was thinking of ways to spend it. Alraedy had a grt bunch of friends in my now famous (in mech engg deptt. ) CYCLE 2 , with some of them being rt, khandu, shaurya, naveen , anshu, amol,etc, almost the entire cycle.
life went grt with school friends too, with me getting in touch with my school crushes through alumni etc., and having fun was all i thought.
well it may seem a bit boring at this stage, but also did one of the best courses that i have done in IITD till date, called fluid mechanics.
but developed a slightly negative outer perception as an introvert, and i still remain as one.

5 Songs that i know by heart:

numb (LINKIN PARK), in the end (LINKIN PARK )
somewhere i belong (LINKIN PARK ) , crawling (LINKIN PARK )
boulevard of broken dreams (GREEN DAY )

{ no prizes for guessing my favourite band }
although i also like hindi songs, just cant memorize them.

5 snacks i enjoy

paani puris
aloo tikkis
veg surprise and french fries at McDONALDS
dairy milk chocolate
samosas

things i would do with $100 million:

leave IIT
go a world tour- i love travelling
buy expensive electronic gadgets - i am gadgetoholic
give some to charity (tsunami relief )
help my parents and my brother fullfill their dreams
buy a ferrari

5 places i wud run away to:

loo
manali
past
australia
secluded hills to be at peace with myself

5 things i would never wear:

girls clothes
pierced rings (wudnt be able to stand the pain)
a torn trouser
a pink pant
red shoes

5 favourite TV shows:

the great indian laughter challenge/champions - absolutely love it
friends- seen it all
ripley's believe it or not
guiness world records
small wonder

5 greatest joys:

eating
success
getting a new gadget
meeting old friends,unexpetedly
watching a grt movie

5 fav toys:

not much of a toy guy, but love my cricket bat (if u could count is a toy)

and in the end, 5 things I hate about ppl:

When people hide things, which they know that the other person would get to know.
When people give more importance to attending classes than getting together with friends.
When people make stupid excuses to avoid you, and when they do meet u, they meet like grt friends.
hypocrites, I absolutely detest them ( although I may hv been guilty of being one on one or two occassions).
People who wont talk to u for long times and remember u only in times of need of passes for rendezvous, or getting through examinations.

It's been a long time

2005-09-28T15:05:00.000+05:30

It has been a long time since I wrote something, the reason being that I was too busy in one thing and another.
so let me start with few things that I wanted to write about in the last few days

1. JEE examination format- this change , I believe is not correct, and before the people start thinking that I am pro coaching- institutes, let me make it clear that I am not. But I still believe that making JEE a single exam, and that too mostly objective, will affect the quality of students that will be entering the IITs. The format of JEE was the one thing that made it stand out among the other engineering examinations , and it was a thing which really separated the great ones from the good ones because it was about absorbing the pressure, and having the temperament to perform on that day. In the earlier format, people who deserved to get through did get through, and it was more of a talent examination , than a luck examination. But in future we may have situation that somebody who just has a good day with his guesses in the objective examination gets through whereas an excellent student by making a small mistake could no longer get selected. The new format would not reduce the pressure on the students, instead it would increase it as now everything would depend on that one objective paper.
Another point raised by the people who supported the change was that it would increase the relevance of the board examinations, but is it correct to change an excellent system (IIT JEE ) so that it matches up to an ordinary ( and sometimes absolutely ridiculous ) system of evaluation called board examinations, why not bring the boards upto the standard of JEE in terms of evaluation, the quality and the syllabus, which is much more practical than the medieval theories that we have been putting up in the boards syllabus.

2. The rendezvous 2005 just ended on sunday, it was a drab affair this time around, with rain also playing a spoil sport, the events also werent that good and the best of the lot was the group dance event called spectrum. It was an entertaining affair with all the teams being very good and performing well.

3. I am now in PRS (post rendezvous syndrome ) mode which is on a lesser scale this time around as rendezvous itself wasnt very exciting, and sometimes I felt as though we were having regular classes and not a cultural fest.

4. I got rejected from the ITC companies training selection list, and although my friends felt that I deserved it, I myself feel that I wasnt up to the mark in my GD and since only two ppl were selected from my group, and both of them were better than me, so I really have no regrets. Although it would have been great to get selected and earn some nice money and wok in the next summers, well , some more companies would be coming and I hope to be better this time around.

5. Meanwhile, I also had my minors in between and they went quite good except for the classical mechanics one, well 5 out of six is a good enough score for me.

6. I am doing a mini-project with my friend SHAURYA and although people have already started praying for me , i believe that i will make it , to the end, with or without Shaurya.

7. And I have been gifted an i-pod shuffle by my uncle which has become an invaluable accessory for me at home and for my outings , although i dont bring to college , coz i believe it is more fun hanging out with ppl rather than sitting in a corner and listening to music.

I walk alone

2005-09-28T14:55:00.000+05:30

been listening to this song for quite a while a now, love its lyrics

BOULEVARD OF BROKEN DREAMS

I walk a lonely road
The only one I that have ever known
Don't know were it goes
But its home to me and I walk alone

I walk this empty street
On the Boulevard of broken dreams
Where the city sleeps
And I'm the only one and I walk alone

My shadows the only one that walks beside me
My shallow hearts the only thing that's beating
Sometimes I wish someone out there will find me
Till then I walk alone

I'm walking down the line
That divides me somewhere in my mind
On the border line
Of the edge
And were I walk alone
Read between the lines
Of what'sFucked up and every things all right
Check my vital signs
To know I'm still alive
And I walk alone

My shadows the only one that walks beside me
My shallow hearts the only thing that's beating
Sometimes I wish someone out there will find me
Till then I walk alone

I walk this empty street
On the Boulevard of broken dreams
Were the city sleeps
And I'm the only one and I walk alone..

Back in IIT

2005-07-29T13:43:00.000+05:30

This post covers all what I have been upto in the last month or so. My training is over, finally, it got over on 12th of July but not before I gave them a presentation and a 56 page report. After that I have been watching movies, playing cricket and having, in real sense holidays for the first time during the summer. Watched movies like "dus", "sarkar", and "Maine pyaar kyun kiya". All were fine one time affairs with sarkar being my favorite pick and dus being the lowest one. I also watched 3 seasons of wonder years which I must say is a very good series, although I was a bit sad, I cudnt complete the entire 6 seasons.
The really sad part abt holidays is when u start to enjoy them, they end. So now here I am, back in IIT, which has undergone a major change during the summers. The computer services centre or the csc as the iitians call it, has been completely revamped with over 50 brand new PCs having tft monitors, and the latest configuration of 3 GHz and 512 MB ram. So that has been one positive change in iit.
The sad part is , it has been only one day of classes in iit and :-
1. I have been like last semester screwed in registration (like most of my 3rd yr friends ), and I am already considering dropping the few courses that I have been given.
example the "Macroeconmics- humanities course "which if u take some 15 ppl like me has a batch where the average CGPA is above 9.0. which means that the best chance I have of a grade is an 8 on 10.
2. I have been just denied attendance for a 1 and a half hour class ( good lord was it only one and a half hr ! ) coz I was two minutes late to the class, the only saving grace being that I was among twenty other students who were denied attendance, whereas we shud have been given two attendances just for a class like that, boring, strange, and sleepy.
3. For the first time in my life, I sat on the floor and attended a class coz the capacity of the room was smaller than the number of students. And I got to know that I will have to make a significant change in my time table for continuing with this course.
4. And I still don't remember my sbi online userid and password coz ofwhich I had to pay my fees using the challan form which is quite a process in itself.

Training days

2005-06-17T13:50:00.000+05:30

Days covered
1st June till date

The training days are here and I am quite busy again. For the uninitiated , I am doing my training at the Indian oil corporation office, its R & D unit in faridabad. (and just to add , Indian oil was the first fortune 500 comp of India) So I am living a hostel life as of now, going to my relatives in faridabad on Monday morning and coming back to my home on Friday evening. And one thing is for sure, faridabad is a long distance away from home.
Office is quite good, with AC and net connection, (most of the times), and the work well, it isn't much, more of theory but very interesting . My project is associated with the use of hydrogen as a fuel in vehicles and the Indian oil Corp is also setting up a H2-CNG dispensing station here ( first of its kind in India ) so it becomes even more relevant. I m still in amazement about the progress that has been done inabout my field in the world with Toyota and GM rolling out models and over 74 H2 pumping stations in the world already put up.
but sadly, in IIT standards , my work is only worth a weekend, so I spent my time these days reading e books on my PC. I have completed two books of the "hitch-hikers series" and have just finished "20000 leagues under the sea" along with "The Street Lawyer" ( by John Grisham ).
Another interesting experience in faridabad is its autorickshaw. This can machine run by diesel/kerosene emits more smoke than a truck , is slower than a bicycle and is as noisy as a tractor. It is slightly larger than its Delhi cousin and has a capacity of 8 people including two near the driver at the front. I (un)fortunately have had the experience of front seat and the phrase leading from the front took a whole new meaning for me. These machines jump like hell when they encounter a pot hole and sadly in faridabad the inner roads are non existent. I have lost the count of the number of times my head has collided against the frames of these machines and I really start cursing this 6 Ft height of mine.
And just to add, due to no electricity, I haven't slept for the last three days...........
And just to add, my incharge, is an M Tech from IIT D, his colleague has done a post Ph.D diploma from IIT D, the chief research manager of my department has done M Tech from IIT D and just to add the GM of the department is doing Ph.D from IIT D.
And I m doing my B Tech from IIT D.
And half of their projects currently are from IIT D in my department.
Where is this going to end, I dont know.
Talk of some relation with the college during the training period.
Neways I have to go back to reading more e books and catching up friends on the mssngr.

banglore memories

2005-06-13T14:23:00.000+05:30

Days covered
16th may night to 27th may morning 2005

I visited banglore during this period with my family. The trip was unique from the beginning itself as the well known BJP leader Ms. Uma Bharti was in the same train, so her security people were going up and down the train frequently and disturbing most of the passengers with their talks etc.

The trip in itself was amazing and a large part of it goes to my cousin brother Mr. Abhishek and his wife Mrs Neha . We had a ball as we stayed at their flat there. As for the the places we visited, well, they were numerous , but the few worth mentioning were the nature parks called Bandipur and Banerghatta . We went for a safari in both of them and both were unique experiences . In Bandipur , we went in an open jeep, and right in the middle of the forest , it started raining , that was some feeling, getting drenched in the forest in the evening on a jeep which could breakdown at any time .

Banergahtta was fun due to the animals that were there, we saw bears fighting with each other, tigers ( yes there were a lots of them ) fighting and playing with each other and the "regular animals" like elephants, deers, sambar, wild bisons and wild boars etc. Here you could only go in their special buses as some years ago a tiger had bitten off a hand of a child when taking private cars in the parks was allowed, but since then it is banned.

We also went to places like Mysore, Ooty and Tirupati.

In all the trip was great but for the incidents of pure corruption that I saw there in the places where I had least expected it , i e in the temples. We saw some of the famous temples of South India but were aghast to see the level of corruption that existed there. Corruption, the very insect that has eaten into out government offices, schools, colleges has crept into the temples there too.

They have a ticket for entering into the the temple, like you are going for a movie, the touts will be there targeting and harassing the tourist offering them " special darshan" and they have contacts everywhere, who will take you through the queues and even the priest are corrupt as they shamelessly ask for money and then keep it in their pockets. And all this happens in front of the God whom we consider as someone who will end our pain and will bring order to the society.
The darshans in the end did give some "value for the money" you gave to those touts , but is "value for money" something we look forward to have in a temple .. it isn't a cinema's show for heaven's sake. It was something I felt was wrong for people who were standing in the normal queues and who were handled by these touts like animals , they were being pushed and pulled . And in many places these normal people were being asked to come another day for the darshan.
So much for our religious faith.
Give it a thought and let me know your reactions.

Life after majors

2005-06-09T10:53:00.000+05:30

Days covered
10th of may to 16th of may

the days after the majors were great. One of my friends, Vishnu left his PC with me for the holidays , which was loaded with games like "quake 3 ", "NFS underground " etc, and with series like that of "JOEY "( a follow-up series of "friends" based on the famous character of the the series), Wonder years , and movies.

I watched the entire season1 of "Joey" in three days . It is quite a good series with Matt le Blanc playing the character to perfection , though it may lack the sheer beauty of "friends " still it is quite a good time pass, with me having nothing to do and the summer heat preventing any outdoor activity.
even "Wonder Years" which I must admit, I had not really seen, was good and though I could only watch a few episodes of it during this time period, I really liked it.
also saw movies - Ice Age , Waqt, Kaal, The Incredibles. Of these ice age and waqt were quite good while kaal was slightly disappointing as I had more expectations from the movie than watching ajay devgan being a spirit ... and all that crap.
so this was the way I spend my first few days after the majors , relaxed and enjoying my free time.
I left for banglore on the night of 16th may, the time I had in the trip wud be mentioned in my upcoming posts.
till then,
adios.

I M BACK

2005-06-09T10:42:00.000+05:30

Well ok I haven't posted for a month and a half now but I had my reasons , I was really busy with trips, exams, training etc.....
but now that phase is over and I will be more regular with the updates on the latest in my life

first and foremost my exams , yes they went quite well and the results were even better than I had ever expected , I managed to do all the pending things that I had written abt in my earlier post, ( we all manage it in the end by hook or by crook ).
the results were easily the best of my iit life so far, with me scoring two As in a single semester ; with one of them being in my most feared course , ie " art and tech " ( I still can't believe it ) and the other being in "energy conversions"
and finally I had an SGPA of " 8.80 " quite unexpected by my standards but welcome nonetheless.
till the next time

15 DAYS

2005-04-28T05:19:00.000+05:30

15 days , it has been that long since I wrote on the blog. A lot has changed between now and then .

I have finally displayed my toilet flush project at the open house and surprisingly we received great reviews with one or two of the people even asking us about implementing it in their own buildings and giving us their cards and discussing with us the various details . Me happy with project . Period .

also had my presentation on art and society last week , well it could have been worse is what I would like to say but we also didn't really screw it up so , me happy again .

and now on to some relatively less happy scenarios, as my friend rohan has already written in his blog this is a week of some really hard work for us
work to be done :
a 20 odd page term paper on "art and society " to be given on Monday

around 5 odd practical reports to be submitted by Saturday

four quizzes and a viva to be given in the next 4 working days including three practical quizzes

submission of an assignment given in January ( when was that ) which has around 12 to 15 parts by Saturday

submission of an entire project proposal (the toilet flush one ) with complete engg diagrams , isometric drawings , instruction manual (why would somebody need that for toilet flushing ) , ergonomics (whatever that means ) , ECN , POKA YOKE , GANTT CHART, FMEA AND ALL OTHER ALPHABETS ETC.... By Saturday

submission of tutorials on Friday

status :
two words : nothing started

result :
badly screwed for the next five days and then the majors begin
I am dead . Period .

now on the lighter note: watched pirates of the Caribbean on Saturday a great movie , Johnny depp takes the accolades . Also played cricket on Sunday , it still remains as my favorite pastime .

also here are some of the " lines " said by iit proffs ( u ppl are free to add ur own through comments )

" if you don't want to do it , then do it ."
" I have not done this , so I am not doing it. "
" the paper would be easy BUT it will not be difficult . "
" I 'll make you out ( these are the actual words ) "
" open the window and let the atmosphere come in "
" the babes ( actual word being "waves" but pronounced as babes ) propagate in all directions "

and some of the ones said at school

" give me a blue pen of any color . "
" u three boys go and stand in the four corners "
" let us conduct the kiss ( the word being quiz but due to heavy malayalam accent pronounced as) "

these were actual lines said by our teachers in school

movie review

2005-04-12T17:19:00.000+05:30

saw lucky recently . a movie which promised a lot, but doesnt really live up to the expectations . this despite the fact that the female laed of the movie resembles ash to great extent , the songs are good and it captures st. petersberg in russia in a way that no movie previuosly has done before . just goes on to show that u need more than this to make a movie click , the first half of the movie is bearable but the second half is where the movie falls apart . and towards the end you really dont understand whether to cry or to laugh . on the cast , well why the hell did " mithun chakrawarthy " come back to main stream cinema which was quite bad on its own without his gracious presence , he is well siuted for some c grade flicks which release only in UP and bihar and even recover their cost from these places .
well lucky was one movie which so easily could have been lucky for the box office , unfortunately this would nt be the case .

Art and toilet flushes

2005-04-12T15:54:00.000+05:30

I thought I would begin by posting something about my life in this semester at iit and believe it or not the title of my post says it all . For explanation let me bore u for a while with the courses that I am doing -
one is a humanities course called "art and technology " and it consists of visiting some galleries and appreciating the great works of art some which are downright grotesque and ugly while some others can be appreciated only by taking the mind to a level which I, for one, cant hope to
atleast during this course . The end result , I somehow go through my tutorial presentation on "artwork , real things and designs " and still have to make a term paper ( which apparently should be as vast as possible ) and a presentation on it in the next ten days , meaning I am screwed .
the course would have been a great one if it didn't include some really " shady , absolutely boring , really tough, and really really vast " creatures called handouts ( or articles as our esteemed prof expects us to say ) and to think that I of all people had to make presentations on two of them .
the enjoyable part of the course was appreciating the artworks ( only few of which I was really able to comprehend ) well the really unique one was by somebody called marcel duchamp called " a urinal " .
I never in my wildest of dreams never thought that a thing like a urinal could be a renowned work of art and the basic fact that it existed was a shock to me . It is also one of the reasons why I am writing this post .

now on to the second course which I am doing this semester and this one is called "design, innovation and technology " under prof kale of mechanical department . the keyword unfortunately , in the course is "innovation ". And for those of you who know or have studied under him know that this spells disaster for us .
well it is under this course that I am doing a project , a mini-p and btp all combined together. We are supposed to make a working product complete with instruction manuals , engg drawings , component drawings , and some otherthings which I don't seem to remember .
and guess what our group decides to make , an assembly by means of which the drainage water of washing machine would be utilized to make a urinal flushing system work , here literally all our work is gonna go down the toilet and somehow or the other I get the feeling that I am not going to like the looks of this one

and this is how my life is gonna be in the coming weeks where on one hand I try and understand the complexities of modern art and its relevance in society and on the other hand I would be trying to make a toilet flush work by means of drainage water .

this is going to be one long semester .

The only thing i know is that i dont know anything - SOCRATES

2005-04-07T13:16:00.000+05:30

i am therefore i must blog seems to be the new age mantra in this world . so when i see ppl in the blogs writing more that what i would even think of , it seemed to inspire this new zeal in me to create my own blog and post what i think and what i feel about this amazing place called world where we live and die , cry and laugh , love and hate and about my own experiences in life which i wish to write down somewhere. so from now on this is my world where i make the rules, where i reign supreme , where i create a my own description of a place called earth as i see it from my perspective
and as goes the famous tagline it is DIGITALL
and everyone's invited