Sunday, November 9, 2008

I take back what I said!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Did I say that I do not like my computer?
I must have been possessed. I probably was in a drunken stupor to have made such a statement.
Well you must have guessed it correct. Things are normal now and I do take back my statement. I very much love my computer. It is my best companion. How I wish there were some artificial intelligence built into this machine. Well, I do want it all dont I ??

It is probably a human psychology. I got the spelling correct I presume.
When things go bad there is no remedy to come out of the dismal feeling unless there is something of the opposite polarity that could negate the bad effect. In other words there is nothing like a good news to cheer you up and boost your morale to god knows what limits. Just a few days back I was in this horrible state of not wanting to do anything and feeling totally screwed up. There were a ton of assignments due and project deadlines were fast approaching.
Things have changed now. Assignments are overdue, and project deadlines are almost banging on the door.
But amongst all this there is this fresh change that has come in like a real life saver.
I got through into the main campus for the next semester. From now on I will not be attending the Polytechnic campus for a degree. Its no longer a Masters degree in Computing Studies, but now it is going to be a Master's degree in Computer Science itself. Now that really does clear off a major chunk of the bad feeling. So as they say things are not as bad as they seem to be. After a span of bad days comes the good days. After every thing bad comes something good. It is a cycle.
Phew!!!!!!!
Look who is talking philosophy now.
Naah thats not my area of interest anyways. My area of expertise is to write crap just like I have been doing all along.

Wednesday, November 5, 2008

Gggggrrrrrrr

At the moment all I have to say is that I hate computers
Just for the basic reason that there is too much of complications involved as compared to the ease of work and life. Well anyways. This is my shortest post ever. May as well play frisbee with my laptop now!!!!!
Hhhhhmmmmmnnnnn, will keep that thought in mind.

Friday, October 10, 2008

Very Very Very Very Random

Its almost a month since I posted anything, and finally here is something. As suggested by the title, this is totally random. I could as well say that this is just for the sake of writing.

First of all, a few days back I met a friend's friend. After the introduction the first thing that the guy said to me was that he read my blog. To be frank it was like a bolt in the blue for me. Then reality dawned on me that people do read this. So first of all a very big "WELCOME" to all those visiting. Secondly a big "THANK YOU" for taking the time out to read this, which obviously will be of no use to you. Thirdly a small request, in case you are visiting, please leave a comment. Any kind of comment will suffice.

University life is so much different and so much more fun as compared to back home. For one nobody in the right state of mind in India will venture out at 12 in the night to the library like me. It is an altogether different story that I am blogging instead of burying my nose in some voluminous book with a specs clinging on to the end of my nose for dear life. Anyways as one of my Prof says "I digress". So here I am not at home in the middle of the night trying to study.

Cricket is a crazy game back home. As correctly quoted " Cricket is a game played by 11 fools and followed by a 11,000 other fools". How much ever the truth this particular quote carries the game is still ingrained in our blood. The best part of life here at ASU is that I have been playing more cricket than I played back at home. Playing cricket in the birth-place of baseball gives you a strange sense of satisfaction, especially when the natives question about the game and its rules. So here I am playing cricket half way across the world that too under lights at 11 in the night. That, I would definitely call it an interesting improvement coming here.

A very interesting and encouraging trend or rather program I would say is the International friend program. This is a program where international students sign up and are assigned foster families based on their likes and interests. I had been to a family's place through this program for dinner one evening. Their hospitality is to die for. The guy actually came all the way to our apartment to pick us up and promptly dropped us off after dinner and a light conversation. There is seriously a huge difference between the way they speak at home compared to the way our families speak back in India. Here is a small example :-

Mr M :- "Honey, where is the photographs that we took when we went for the hike ? "
Mrs M :-" Oh yeeaah!! They are right over there on the book shelf."
Mr M :-" Oh noo. Its not over there I just looked for it. You must have moved them some place"
Mrs M :-"Are you sure? I kept it there the last time I looked at them".
Mr M :-"Yeah I just looked for it and it is not there."
Mrs M :-"Hhhmmnnn oh okay gimme a minute I will take a look, it is probably there in the other shelf inside the room."
Mr M :-"Oh okaay!! I will go get it then, no problem."
Mrs M :-"Okaaay!!"

Eight lines of conversation. Keep in mind that these people speak very very slowly and they talk in a sing-song voice almost dragging and elongating each word. So all in all I would say that the above conversation would last probably for 6-7 minutes.

Here is a typical translation of the conversation back in India.

Mr : "ley aa tripige hogiddu photos yelle? " [ Hey where are the photos of the trip ? ]
Mrs ( in an irritated tone ): "nanige yenri gottu neeve ittiddu, neeve huddukoli" [ How am I supposed to know, you have only kept it, you only search for it. ]
Mr ( in an even more irritated tone ) : " ee maneli yenu timeige correct aagi sigalla " [ you dont find anything on time in this house ]

Three lines of conversation, keeping in mind that they speak fast and the appropriate time of the conversation would be 6-7 seconds.

It is not a very exact translation, as the situation varies from house to house and from person to person. I would say that 50% of the conversation would probably end here and there is a high probability that this conversation could lead to a nasty fight over some trivial matter which would have no connection to the first question.

Off course there is also a high probability that the conversation might take place in exactly opposite sense without any hint of irritation and full of sugary tones. As I said differs from family to family.

Okay there are so many things more that I would like to tell, but as of now I am blank. Will come up with more as soon as I find time, { which is actually just a plain old excuse, as usual } .

Thursday, September 11, 2008

Grumblings and Ramblings

Often I allow my mind to wander
Into the realms of engineering which lies yonder
Cursing myself for the time which I did squander
Repenting for having treated my courses like a philander.

Sitting in the hall I begin to go adrift
Causing my engineering academia to rift
Now I wish I had been a bit more time thrift
Having realised that my standards badly need an uplift.

I did expect a rude awakening
But its never easy to accept ones short-coming
Its high time I put an end to my rambling
Its going to be an arduous battle before Homecoming.

Tuesday, September 2, 2008

Utter Non-sense

Basically this post has no title. Just a random headed post which might probably contain a wee bit of cribbing. So that could serve as a statutory warning, and this is your cue to bail out of this blog.

Cribbing in the sense, life is not all that bad here. But there are certain things that do not go as you expect it to. Well for instance there is this new season starting of the series Prison Break. I being in US have not yet seen it but my friends back in India must have already seen it. Reason downloading is a crime here. I have heard from people that some guys ended up paying a fine of roughly 20k dollars for downloading stuff. So there is this strange fear as to what I can download and what I cannot. Ironically the internet speed is way too fast. Come on people I have a 15mbps connection at home and I am not able to download anything.
Okay i agree that is not too big a reason to crib about. But sometimes being so far away from home does get to you. No home food, no pampering from parents and relatives, no friends. Okay that does not seem as it looks like. { LOL!! funny usage of the words there }.
Anyways talking about friends, people are way too cool here. For example my roomies are wonderful guys. I seriously could not have asked for more better people as room-mates. Though one of them is always on the phone [ hehehe no offence mate i.e in case you read it ]. Both of them are pretty good cooks. Actually one of them cooks quite well. Imagine its almost been two weeks since I landed here and I have cooked only about 3 or 4 times at the max. Where do you get such people for room-mates? [ lucky me :-D ]

The other guy is also way too cool. [ noticed the usage of the words way too cool??...That tells you just how cool these guys are :-D ]. To be frank initially I thought that how am I going to stay under one roof with two people who have a work experience of 5 years among themselves. But from the day I landed in Phoenix, these guys have never made me feel that they are seniors and I am a junior. Believe it or not I fool around and pull their legs as if we were from the same batch.

Sometime back while doing my bachelors I realized the importance of building up contacts. Once you are out of your home town and living in a totally new place all together, the contacts come automatically. That is provided if you go around talking to people. Fortunately I do have a big mouth and have spoken to quite a lot of people around here. It is all together a different story that I find it difficult to remember half their names. My room-mate has a friend here who has finished his graduation and is currently working. We hang out quite often. So basically everybody is friendly. Even my senior about whom I mentioned in my previous post. Her room-mates are also very friendly. Some what like angels. [ hehehe sounds quite funny when somebody reads it, but thats the way it is :-D ].

Alright guess there is not too much of cribbing going on in this post to be frank. There are a few things that really does get on my nerves at times. For example there is this guy in two of my classes. Decent looking chap I would say. That comment lasts only till his mouth is shut. The moment he opens his mouth to talk to the professors or any other american I get irritated. Come on man!!!!!! Why the fake accent? These people do understand the normal accent that we speak. I am pretty sure they must think that why is the guy putting on such a fake accent. Well I could so totally be wrong about this, but its my blog so its my feelings and thoughts. US is a free country with total freedom of speech anyways. :-D

The gowri-ganesha habba ( festival ) is quite a big one back home. Yeah we all missed it. But can you beat the advancement in technology?...Me and my room-mate saw the ganesh puja going on at his place through the web-cam. It was pretty weird to see a live puje on the the cam, but it was worth it. We even bowed and payed homage to the idol through the screen. LOL!!!! [ some things are really worth mentioning ;-) ] Thanks to Nik we did not miss the entire ganesh puja. I did find a little funny even though it was a super experience watching it through the web-cam.

Ok more about my life in the states sometime later. Right now I got to go and get my assignment done. Bye for now!!!!

Sunday, August 31, 2008

America America

Finally I have landed in the place that people prefer to call as the land of dreams and land of hope. Makes me remember how people throng the city of Mumbai in search for a job or with hopes of becoming an actor. Funny how the analogy works. Makes me think that even I come under almost the same category. Except that I have no Hollywood dreams. Life in Arizona especially at Tempe is not all that bad I must say. Living in an apartment that is situated in the heart of the major Indian community does not make you feel so out of place. So basically you do not require too much time to get acclimatized to the surroundings. The first thing that I did learn after coming to Tempe is that Arizona is HOT. Lets just say that it is a direct reference to the weather and to the incredibly amazing population of the opposite gender species a.k.a Chicks. Well that is the first couple of things a normal guy would notice upon landing here. Life here is not all that bad at all. Once the initial hiccups are overcome I could say that it is a pretty smooth sailing routine. Sometimes it might just become routine and mechanical. But the degree that comes after 2 years is worth its weight in gold. Here are some of the interesting observations that I have made during my brief tenure so far.

* Pedestrians are GOD. Literally speaking they are gods, and get the first preference on road. But on the flip side they are not invincible. Get it right? You still have to look both ways to cross the roads.
* Every third person on the road greets you with a “Howdy”. It does not matter whether you know the person or not, you just say “howdy” and carry on with your work. ( I do not think that it is a greeting which says that you are openly accepted. Maybe it is just a courteous greeting. You never know maybe I am mistaken. ) There are always exceptions to everything. In fact some of them are genuinely nice people. [Honest observation and not being diplomatic. ]
* Every other guy has a very helping nature. You get all the facilities to make sure that you are not lost. As in you get maps and all. But if u are portraying an image with even the slightest bit of confusion or “ I am lost” look then trust me you will find atleast two people willing to help you out without you asking for their help.
* Most of the Americans love to talk. I have atleast spoken to more than half a dozen strangers in a span of 3 or 4 days. Spoken means having a literal conversation.
* Most of the people here have a dream of visiting India. That was really nice to hear. And guess what most of them have heard about cricket. Though half of them do not know how to play.
* Believe it or not, I play cricket nowadays. With a small guy who hails from Bangladesh, is not a fan of Tendulkar and loves Australia. I do not have a choice, since not many guys around here play cricket. A couple of Americans have tried their hand at the game and trust me they are yet to differentiate between cricket and baseball. They do try to learn the game though and thats an encouraging sign.
* The internet speed is faster than the damn auto-rickshwas back home. Beat this. In India BSNL offers 2 Mbps speeds for a net connection and we say wow thats pretty fast. Believe it or not at this very moment I am using a net connection that is offering speed 7.5 times that BSNL offers. Online streaming was never so fast. I watch movies online rather than downloading them ( which is a crime here by the way....crap!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! )
* The punctuality of the people here is amazing. People will keep up their time no matter what.
* Some of the kids think that we are here to kill them. Have heard kids screaming not to kill them. Sounds funny when you experience it.

Well there are so many more things that I would like to tell but at the moment mind has gone blank. I guess its time to hit the sack. Its almost 2.45 in the night here. I guess its back to square one for me. The late nights never die do they??

Friday, August 22, 2008

The Sky High View II

Ever wondered how big the word huge is? Its just about four letter big. The word huge is actually an insult to the Heathrow International airport. We landed in the 5th terminal which was roughly 3 times bigger than BIAL. And there is 4 more terminals, no wonder the place is one of the busiest airports of the world. Since I was tagging along with my senior, I had absolutely no tension. I was blindly following her and doing whatever she asked me to do. It really is a major advantage if u fly with somebody who has already gone through the rigmarole of changing flights and entering into the State. It gices you time to soak in the atmosphere and the structural splendour of the airports. At this time somewhere in the corner of my heart I hoped that my own country will come up to such classy standards one day. We disembarked the fliht and I faithfully followed Sowmya ( my senior ) just like a sheep following the sheperd. Or rather in this case "Mary being followed by her lamb". Please note I purposefully left out the word little as, describing me as little would be an insult to the word. We had roughly 3 hours to catch the next flight. I naturally gaped at the wonderful exhibits at the duty free shops. My jaw dropped onto the fround when i saw the Ferrari and the Audi on display. Since we did have time to kill we waited on level one of the terminal. Even though British Airways had taken extreme care in filling my tummy I had the cravings for some home made stuff. The chapatis that mum had packed finally made its way into my tummy on international soil.

The checking in process did not look like the monstrous process that people make it out to be. It was a fairly simple and smooth process. Maybe it felt smooth to me because of the calming presence of Sowmya. The flight to Phoenix from London was a 10 hour ordeal. Finally I managed to get some sleep and the flight journey was over before I realised it.

Landing at the Sky Harbour International aiport signalled the start of a new beginnning. There was again no problem with the customs. Sowmya did have a minor problem with the customs. It was just a matter of time before we stepped out of the airport, to be welcomed by the rains.

The Sky High View I

This post has been long over due. I would as usual escape by blaming laziness to be the cause for it all. Plus the fact that there was no net at my disposal. So here is my so called experience which I managed to key in to my trusted cell phone sitting way up above at an altitutde of 30k plus feet.



Emotions never goes down so well with guys. I guess it is an un-written law of nature that checks the deep emotions in guys. Or was it just a conscious effort from my side to keep a check on mine. I really am not sure what the reason was but during the course of my last day in India ( atleast for the time being ) there was not much shedding of tears. I will admit though that there was the expected few drops of waterfall, but it was broken down into several stages. The moistening of the eyes and the sudden outbursts on a couple of occasions. Finally it was time to say goodbye. I somehow did manage to keep a chec on my emotions while I was engulfed into the BIAL terminal. It was a strange kind of sensation when I boarded the jumbo jet outbound for London. The excitement, the tension and the unfathomable emotions from the previous days morning finally got to me and lo behold I was fast asleep even before we left terra firma.

It is said that before we die then our entire life seems to flash past across our eyes. Well thats certainly one thing that nobody would claim to have experienced. When I did wake up ( which was just about an hour later ) I seemed to have a very similar feeling. As we climbed to dizzying heights I was leaving behind one phase of my life and entering a new phase. This was the time when my mind was in rewind mode. But as during the screening of the movies on tv ( when a very interesting situation is interrupted by an irritating commercial ) I was interrupted with food and beverages from the flight attendants. Being in the middle seat I was sitting sandwiched between an elderly lady and a guy sitting on the aisle seat who refused to shift. So basically even though I was travelling with my senior I was pretty much travelling alone at the moment. Talking about senior, I must say that I was extremely lucky to have gotten myself tickets on the same plane as her. She had a strange kind of calming effect on me. Just her mere presence was enough to assure me that things would be a cake walk and nothing would go wrong. Well almost a cake walk!

The flight would have been really eventless had it not been for yet another VTU victim sitting next to me. He did manage to spill orange juice all over me during the flight and i do not know how her managed to do it though. The balding attendent had quite a laugh when i kept asking for tissues to clean up. I know anybody who looks at a guy with orange juice dripping from his pants might laugh his heart out, but please give me a break man. It was not my fault in the first place that I had the stupid juice all over my seat and plates.

British Airways does have a decent in flight entertainment system. Its a different story that I had seen most of the movies that they had provided. I still did manage to watch a dumb comedy starring Arshad Warsi and Suniel Shetty. The elderly lady sitting next to me was pretty sweet. She even told me that orange juice will not leave behind a tell tale stain as I had washed it immediately. So basically my flight till London was characterized by conversations with this sweet lady and the poor VTU victim who had a strange habit of providing facts of the day everytime he seemed to remember one.

Once you are on board for a really long international flight you just seem to have loads of time to yourself. The same goes gor me as well. I had time to reflect upon the previous days events. I realised how little time I had spent with my parents on the day of my departure. In fact I was not able to spend quality time with anybody to be frank. I did not know what is there in each of the bag that I was carrying. The entire packing was done by my mum. I was pretty much spoon fed that day. Mum and dad doing the packing and some of my friends also pitching in with what they could. Amidst all these thoughts I guess I did manage to catch a few more minutes of sleep.

On our way to London we flew over Afghanistan. Despite the terror label that it has, it did have a good landscape. Or maybe everything looks small and pretty from an altitude of 35,ooo feet. I did have a strange kind of happiness when we passed over the Caspian sea. After marking the water body a hundred times on the maps I was really happy to see it from atleast this high. The descent to Heathrow International airport was really a sight to behold. London is really beautiful from the heavens. With the Thames cutting its way across the city and the ocean surrounding the entire landmass. The formation of clouds all along was simply one of the most picturesque sight that one can get to see. I also managed to get a glimpse of Arsenal's home pitch ( well thats what the walking talking wikipedia sitting next to me told me. I am not much of a football follower anyways ). Anyways whichever the stadium was, it was truly amazing. Words are not enough to describe the beauty of the sight. Finally the long journey was over when the plane taxied into terminal 5 of the Heathrow airport.

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

The first Official International Post

I cannot believe this post is originating all the way from America.
Its almost a week since I set foot on this soil and I still have not found time to put up a post on my blog. I actually want to share my experience from the time I boarded the flight all the way back in Bangalore till I got down in Pheonix. Its not that I do not have access to net, its just that I am pretty much lazy to type out the stuff that I have in my cell, all over again. So another few more days and I guess that will be up on the blog. Lets make this International post short and very sweet. So until next time, keep waiting for the next post from half way across the globe.

P.S- Will be getting a net connection very very soon.

Sunday, August 10, 2008

In the Nick of Time

This post has been a long overdue. So as per the basic laws of nature, the interest to write about it and I am sure to read about it ( i.e. if somebody does really read about it ;-) has gone plummeting down. Keeping the laws of nature in mind I will curtail this to as short a post as possible. This is basically how things went just in the nick of time for me before the visa interview.
My interview was scheduled on thursday morning at around 9.

Monday- 11.30 a.m
The fact dawns upon me that a PDC ( provisional degree certificate ) will be quite essential for my visa interview. It usually takes about 2 weeks for the PDC to arrive by post, but if collected personally from the university office in Belgaum it takes about a day. I book tickets (to and fro) to go to Belgaum.
Monday- 12.00 p.m
I remember that my cousin leaves for Norway in about 8 hours.
I rush to say goodbye.
Monday- 4.00 p.m
I decide to go to the university meet happening at Barista. ( thank god i did otherwise would have still been hunting for room-mates :-D )
Monday- 6.45 p.m
I leave the meet in a hurry as my bus for Belgaum leaves in an hours time.
Monday- 8.00 p.m
I manage to board the bus to Belgaum.

Fast forward to tuesday, i.e after the mental trauma of having to agonizingly wait in the university head-quarters, as described previously.
Tuesday- 8.45 p.m
I board the bus back to Bangalore.
Wednesay- 8.30 a.m
I reach home, thankfully in one piece after having to painfully sleep in a berth 2/3rds my height. ( I am hoping that the automobile industry will come up with transports customized for people of my height!!!!!)
Wednesday- 10.00 a.m
I prepare all the documents required for my visa interview.
Wednesday- 10.30 a.m
I realize that one of the print-outs of the visa form is not back to back, but done on different sheets.
Wednesday- 11.00 a.m
Finally I manage to reach back home with the proper print-outs after having stumbled across 4 internet cafes without power.
Wednesday- 12.15 p.m
My friend made me realize that I do not have the proper photograph required for the visa form. ( I know which dumb-ass idiot will not remember to get a photograph when it has been clearly specified on the form!!!)
Wednesday- 12.30 p.m
I get my mug-shot done with my ears being prominently visible ( obviously without the name-plates ;-). This was possible only after I literally begged the guy to give me the snaps in 45 minutes time.
Wednesday- 12.45 p.m
I realize that I have forgotten to inform my dad about an important financial document required for the visa interview. ( pretty obvious I did get yelled at for this :-D )
Wednesday- 1.15 p.m
I go back to the studio and collect my mug-shots. ( thankfully they were ready by then )
Wednesday- 2.15 p.m
I sit inside the train along with my mum and wait for it to depart.
Wednesday- 2.20 p.m
My dad's colleague comes to the station to provide that financial document that I had forgotten.
Wednesday- 2.30 p.m
Train departs for Chennai. ( Phew!!!!!! )
Ok wait there is just one more thing to add to this last minute tension episodes.
Thursday- 8.45 a.m
I realize that I have not pasted or stuck my mug-shot to the visa form and the interview starts in half an hours time.
Thursday- 9.00 a.m
I stick the damn photo to the form and finally enter the consulate building.

After gong through so much of tension and last minute rushes, the visa interview lasted for about 10 seconds. The guy hardly posed any questions to me and he did not even bother to check my financial documents. ( not that I am complaining :-D )

P.S- I know I said that I will make this as short as possible, but i just dont seem to stop once I start ;-)

Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Just My Luck!!!

Pre Script: The reflections of a depressed mind.


He gazed far across the distant land

As far back as the sky joined hands

His eyes scoured the outstretched sight

Desiring the fulfillment of his fantasy flight.




The affair could well have been clandestine

Had their love sustained the test of time

As much as they loved the other with all their heart

Reality was bent on tearing them apart.




His feelings for her was as deep as the sea

He always wondered why the others failed to see

She had feelings of a similar kind

But success was not the first thing on her mind.




His family approved of their match

But as always somewhere there had to be a catch

Her family had absolutely no clue

She always wondered "wont it be a bolt in the blue?"



They had to defy all the laws of nature

If they wanted to see a combined future

Even though time was not on their side

When the secret was out, they managed to cling to each others hide.

Post Script: He is the fat guy in the pic and she is the thinner one towards the right of the pic.

Friday, July 25, 2008

One day @ the university head office

It all began with a phone call. My friend passed on the information that our university registrar will not be available from next week. It was almost time to hit the panic button as my visa interview was just two days away and I had to get hold of my Provisional Degree Certificate. I had a couple of documents left over from my previous visit to the university office on which there were two phone numbers given. I tried calling them up. It was no surprise that it went un-answered. Would have been astounded had they been answered at the first go and would have probably resulted in the paramedics being called to my house on account of my passing out due to the university officials quick time response. Anyways, the more surprising part was that it kept going into the fax dial tone. After about calling 6 different numbers for about 100 times I finally managed to get through to the office which confirmed that my work would be done if I reached Belgaum.

P.S--- Have skipped a lot of details which cannot possibly summarize the agony and irritation of getting through to our University.

Finally I could see the so very famous university building looming up ahead. I could very well categorize the architecture as a marvel. Acres of land purchased by the university and boasting of about 7 fairly large buildings and several bungalows or houses. I was greeted into the university office with a horrible news that left me a bit tensed. Students, had been stranded on the blasted land from as far back as Friday. Most of them had to stay over to ensure that they could collect their PDCs or transcripts by hand. I heard that the management had been hopelessly horrible. In fact I could quite clearly see it so. A room probably big enough to accommodate a Santro or a Swift had been allocated for the collection of applications for the PDCs and transcripts and the Mark Sheets. I did manage to submit my applications for the above mentioned documents and was given with the hope that I would receive them by evening. I managed to make a few friends there and inquired about the previous days blunders. There were about 100 or more students who wanted the documents and 90% of them had to stay back as they were not given the documents on the same day. In fact one of the guys application only had been lost. Imagine his plight had he asked them to post the transcripts and gone back home. Finally after about an hour's worth of shouting and about 30 hours of anxious waiting the guy managed to get hold of his transcripts. Wonders and amusements never cease to happen at VTU. One of the guy happily walked out of the office with his provisional degree certificate showing to everyone that he had been granted a first class degree in the PDC when in reality he had only managed an aggregate of about second class.
I really do not know where the money that the university collects keeps disappearing. They charge quite a hefty sum for the transcripts and the other documents necessary for students keen on pursuing a higher degree. On an average each PDC costs Rs 200, Transcripts cost Rs 250 for the initial and Rs 150 for every subsequent copy, an 8th sem extract ( which is nothing but the xerox of the 8th sem marks sheet with a seal and signature from the registrar) costs Rs 175. This apart probably the cumulative mark sheets costs another Rs 200 or so. Even the charges paid for the revaluation and re-totalling should not be forgotten. Reval costs 600 per subject and the others I have no clue. A challenge reval costs Rs 3000, and just imagine there are roughly 120 colleges withing the university. There is so much of cash in-flow. But the standards and the organization is a total zero. Some of my friends were even stating that these officials should be made to study subjects like Engineering Technology and Management or Operational Research and Management ( I hope I got that right ).
There is actually no point cribbing and complaining about such stuff at the moment. As they say 'Alls well that ends well'. After a long and arduous wait till 5.30 in the evening I finally got the documents, which now leads to " In the Nick of Time!!!!! ".

Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Random

It has been quite some time since I posted something.
I can as well say this is just for the sake of posting, not that I really wanted to write or blog or post or whatever.

I can as well start by announcing my entry into the engineering world. Result was announced yesterday. I can say that I am finally a graduate now. I just realized something that, I missed obtaining an overall distinction ( 5-8th sem ) by 96 marks. At first it does seem like a huge margin. Here is some simple math that suggests how narrowly I missed it.

96 marks in 4 semester means that comes up to an average of 24 marks in each sem.
Considering that we had about 8 subjects in each sem it narrows down to 3 marks per subject.

See that does not seem to be a big margin does it??
I guess math does not change the end result now. Anyways the most positive outcome of all this is that I am finally an engineer. People tend to think that an engineering graduate must be so different from the rest of the graduates. As in they must have stuffed themselves with technical stuff and are capable of solving problems related to their fields ( or maybe some weirdos can manage to deal with stuff out of their area of specializations....this is just a possibility!!!!). Seriously i just feel I am just one among the 5 lakh graduates from India freshly out from 4 years of gruelling engineering studies from about 2000 odd colleges.
After 4 long years of cramming in information of roughly 50 subjects I feel I am still the same when I started out 4 years back ( except probably I have put on a little more weight and aged 4 years ). It makes no difference at all.

Moving on, right now I have been staring into this screen for the past 3 or 4 hours listening to the same two songs over and over again. Again it does not make any difference. Does it really matter to anybody if I listen to the same song a hundred times each day? Maan I so wish people would give some kind of royalty for listening to their songs endlessly. Practically would be rich by now.

You do need some kind of motivation to do anything I feel. Alright I created a blog and started putting up post after post in the beginning. Then I lost steam. And now I am back again. Does that make a difference?? Well maybe it does or maybe it does not. Who cares??
Anyways, when I started out with this post all I wanted to do was post a couple of lines, so that I do not completely go out of touch with blogging. But as has always been the case with me, I could not stop myself. First it was sentences that were never ending and now it has graduated( just like me...quite pathetically ) to blog posts.

Thursday, July 3, 2008

Day 2 and 3 away from Bangalore( 29th and 30th june )

The two days were spent in complete laziness.
The most out of the box or un-routinely thing that happened was probably my friend leaving for Benaras and there was a send off for him. All this was happening about 250 km away from where I was in deep sleep dreaming of probably some god forsaken thing which I do not remember. Here are some of the most interesting things that happened before I returned back to Bangalore.
  • Signing of the Sleepsvilla treaty in bright and colourful ink.
  • Signing of the Remotesvilla treaty. ( Usurped total control over Mr. Onida, became my pride and my sister's envy literally!!!!!!)
  • Signed a pact with Mephistopheles to trouble my sister.
  • And finally helped Asterix and Obelix overcome and thrash the Romans time and again.

Finally its good to be back home.

Tuesday, July 1, 2008

Day 1 Away from Bangalore( 28th june 2008 --4.30 in the evening )

Listening to the haunting melodies of a very popular hindi film I reflected upon the previous days experiences. It was one of the rarest occasions when I had to wake up in the wee hours of the morning. I was supposed to catch a train at 6 to my native. This was immediately after a fitting finale to the wonderful time spent together in college as a group. Yeah Yeah I know this post is also heading towards the nostalgic path. Well it is not everyday that you graduate leaving behind a saga of wonderful memories. It was our last dinner together as a group, and the members made sure that it was a night to remember. Everytime we went out I felt that it was the best outing that we have had, but the next one was always a notch above the previous one. The guys were actually sending us off. It sure was a wonderful gesture to bring a cake and a parting gift for those of us who were shifting base away from Bangalore.
Talking about Bangalore, its almost 2 days away from home and I must say that the city has a strange and magnetic charm to it, which makes you want to stay back or you yearn to return as soon as you are out of the city. It had been ages since I had made a train journey. Here I was under-taking one, and greeted by a sign inside the coach that said----"WELCOME TO INDIAN RAILWAYS, 25 GLORIOUS YEARS OF SERVICE". Here is how the events proceeded:-

6.00- Train leaves platform ( above IST standards I must say!!! )
6.15- I buy paper to read the news
6.30- I am welcomed with the sign that reads-----"WELCOME TO INDIAN RAILWAYS, 25 GLORIOUS YEARS OF SERVICE"
7.15- I wake up and finish reading the newspaper
7.26- I am welcomed with the sign that reads-----"WELCOME TO INDIAN RAILWAYS, 25 GLORIOUS YEARS OF SERVICE"
7.30- I have breakfast
7.40- I sleep
8.30- I am welcomed with the sign that reads-----"WELCOME TO INDIAN RAILWAYS, 25 GLORIOUS YEARS OF SERVICE"
8.40- I sleep
9.30- I am about to get off the train to catch another connecting train
9.30.01- I am welcomed with the sign that reads-----"WELCOME TO INDIAN RAILWAYS, 25 GLORIOUS YEARS OF SERVICE"

You can as well see what was the most eventful thing during this journey. Yes thats right. I was welcomed a million times by the stupid LED display inside the coach.
Apart from that there was nothing too exciting to write about. There was the customary greetings to my granny which was followed up by our surprise visit to my aunt's place. Imagine 24 hours without access to my system. This post was actually a hard copy before it appeared here.

Note:- Days without access to system--001

Sunday, June 22, 2008

Engineering

A few analogies that comes to my mind with the word Engineering especially in VTU!!!!

Engineering == Test Match Cricket ( 4 gruelling sessions in both!!!! )
Engineering == One Night Stands ( basically preparations before the exams!!! )
Engineering == Results of One Night Stands ( getting F***ed!!!! )
Engineering == Bowling ( U always end up rattled with the question papers just like the pins )
Engineering == Nuts and Bolts ( U always end up getting screwed end of each semesters!!!! )

Well there are many such analogies that can be drawn for engineering, but still the profession sells like hot cakes. Finally I can say that I am an engineer. Yeah even I am into the most fashionable brand of engineering. This statement is very much subject to the condition that I manage to clear the final paper of my under-graduate life. The last paper that we had to take up was Constitution of India and professional ethics. What profession and what ethics one might ask? But all the same its a compulsory subject that requires a mandatory pass to avail a degree certificate. A very basic question occurred to one of my friends when we were preparing ( that word is just a formality ) for CIPE. When the makers of the constitution themselves have taken 4 long years to prepare one then how do people expect us to study the very same thing in a span of 4 weeks or 4 months. Very interesting thought!!!!!!!

Anyways finally the course is complete and I can say that quite an illustrious journey has finally come to an end. It started way back in 2004 when I chose to join my college. Every face was a new one for me sparing probably one or two at the maximum. I realised that I had made a big mistake of opting a college where none of my friends from PU would join me. The starting was really pathetic. I found myself brooding why did I manage to screw up things. I used to think what went wrong that I found myself landing up, in this college where everybody was an alien. I had a pretty tough time adjusting myself to the new environment. I was no extrovert back then and was pretty much hesitant in approaching people and getting myself acquainted with them. While all this was going on there was this one person who actually understood what I was going through. I guess that it was a similar kind of situation for that person too. All thanks to that person, my first few days or rather my first few weeks passed by without much of grumbling. Thank You buddy, I am sure you will be reading this and smiling to yourself thinking what maha did I do?.....But yes your friendship did mean a lot and helped me out of a pretty tough phase.

Well that was four years ago. Now when I look back, I sometimes wonder how time has flown. I ask myself how did we manage to do so many things within a span of four years. After the initial few road-blocks in the first semester I did manage to find myself some really good friends. From there on it has been a roller coaster ride. Be it the cultural events or the sporting events. Be it the night-outs for exams or be it the night-outs for time pass. Everything that I did within this course of time has become so memorable now. It is all history now, and they do say that history does repeat itself. But will it repeat in such a case?
I would not mind if it did reapeat but it should be sans the exams and the studies. The golden period has finally come to an end. The journey which began without any friends has now come to an end with a plethora of unimaginably wonderful friends. Some say that the journey does not matter but the company with which you accomplish the journey matters. Some say that the journey is what matters the most. I would say that the journey matters the most with the best possible company that you get. The company and the set of friends that I got during these four years was simply wonderful. For me the journey was super and the company was even more better.
Signing off with a big thank you and loads of luck to all my wonderful friends who have made these past four years of my life absolutely memorable.

Tuesday, June 17, 2008

MOVIES!!!!!!!!!

"Power cannot be not given."

"Power has to be taken."



That does ring a bell right?

Just few days back I managed to watch one of the most eagerly awaited movie of the year, Sarkar Raj. This task was accomplished even though a friend of mine helped me or rather should I say guided me in the most enlightening path possible. What an enlightenment that was. The bugger managed to spill the beans on the entire plot of the film. Even before I had entered the theater I knew what was about to happen.

Ok I need my share of revenge so here goes.

Amitabh Bachchan is paired along with his son and his daughter-in-law. (Hey thats not a surprise I know). Anyways so this tall lanky dude winds up getting married to this short skinny babe(which again is no surprise). The dude is running his dad's business. Which is probably taking down the bad guys and blah blah blah(that too was known I guess). Okay so the most important part is that....................Hhhhhmmmmmnnnnnn okay not going to reveal anything here. I have already been promised that I might find myself hanging upside down by the railings of my balcony. Anyways the point is that the movie is overall an amazing watch.



I was just wondering, when RGV factories can churn out such classics like Sarkar, Sarkar Raj and not to mention the cool gangsta flicks like Company and Satya how do they manage to come up with ultra flob bombs like Aag,Gaayab and Naach. Anyways as far as I can see there has been a slight change in the movies that has been hitting the theatres lately. Indian Cinema has changed I guess. From movies like DDLJ and QSQT we have reached to movies like ChakDe and Lagaan. Its no longer a necessity for the protagonists to run around the same old freaking tree in the same old freaking locations performing the same old freaking antics. I guess its no longer necessary for the hero to vanquish the villians and emerge victorious. People are actually ready to see their favourite starts die on screen. Now thats quite a change in the film industries. I can as well say that Indian Cinema has come of age. Well not exactly Indian Cinema but Bollywood sure has changed by leaps and bounds with movies from different genres, from scifi-flicks to super hero dare-devilry.
I could not stop myself from giving these facts, which are the main reason why I had to add the previous statement.
  • Hero chase villain on horse. Truck comes between hero and villian and is perpendicular to the road. Hero makes horse slide beneath the truck. Horse comes out un-scathed. Chase continues.( What a horse? Self-Healing with amazing sliding techniques. Maybe some of our cricketers can take a leaf out of the horses book and start sliding on the field.)
  • Hero doused in petrol. Rowdy gang throws some 20 lighted match-sticks at him. He escapes ala Matrix-Neo style. He thrashes bad guys. He throws one lighted stick at them. They all on fire. Logic= During fight he transfers petrol from his clothes to the rowdies clothes. ( Now there is a fatal attraction you dont exactly equate with!!!.)
  • This is one of the most mind blowing dialogues I have ever come across till date. "When a normal man touches current he gets a shock.....I am Narasimha. If current touches me current gets a shock!!!!!". Woaow!!! now thats what I call as an electrifying. The dude just nods his head after this and the power supply itself goes kaput!!!!!!!
  • Hero is doctor operating on a patient. Power supply goes. No back-up or ups. No emergency lamp. Patient critical. The dude performs operation under lights generated from other doctors mobiles. ( Hey which hospital is this man?? Mobiles in the operation theatre, no back up, no emergency lights. Wonder how the hospital was running!!!!)
  • This one is also pretty crazy. The big mustache dude is surrounded by rowdies. One tweak of the left part of his mustache the guys to his left go flying, one tweak of his right part of mustache and the guys on the right go flying. Its best to stop here. Guess the director also had the sense to put a full stop at this point. I was seriously wondering what all the dude was gonna tweak to get rid of his enemies.
  • This was an opening scene of a movie. The young hero( for the past approx 40 years) kicks the usual thug. The guy flies and hits the transformer thats roughly 10-12 feet high. Now there is a kick boxer for you!!!!!!
  • Hero being chased by villians( whats new???). Hero jumps into well. Villians throw machete into well. Hero avoids all. Villians now pour petrol into well. But hero very clever. Before petrol reaches him, he sets villian on fire. Logic=Hero takes machetes thrown by villians. Throws back to villians such that it scrapes the walls of the well. Friction causes sparks and sparks ignite petrol and villians are deep fried. Bravo hero what a presence of mind and what mind boggling applications of the laws of physics!!!!!

I am quite sure given a chance anybody will be able to come up with a hundred other instances like this. Maybe thats what they call being creative geniuses. Hats off to those guys for defying every other law of physics and being creative and coming up with ideas and stories completely out of the box. Bow to them all. Including to you for having had the patience to read out this piece of crap about crap movies!!!!

Sunday, June 8, 2008

Its the dreaded time of the year
When people like me have nothing to cheer
The feeling which prevails is that of fear
But I still hold enjoyment dear.

June announces the arrival of exams
Its time to draw all kinds of study plans
Sticking to it though is a major scam
I bang my head to the wall wham bam slam.

This will actually be the final time
And the exam bells will no more chime
Merry-making will once again be the prime
And we can all relax with a glass of sweet lime.

Saturday, June 7, 2008

Exams!!!!

The time keeps ticking
As I continue to keep flipping,
Page after page
Boredom was so prominently
Sketched on every inch of my face.

I was staring right into the text
It was as though they were alive
Mocking and laughing at my despair.

The exams dawn upon fast and near
There still seems to be no kind of fear
Distinction has been an age old dream
Which now looks like a task upstream!!

Friday, June 6, 2008

Brain is fried!!!!!!!

The codes were extremely simple, but atleast orthogonal. More importantly noise was neglected. Noise would add to the transmitted signal C, the results would not be as even with -6 and +6 but would maybe be close to 0, making it harder to decide if this is still a 0 or 1. Additionally, both spread bits were precisely superimposed and both signals were equally strong when they reach the receiver. Assume that B's strength is five times A's strength. Then, C'=A+5*B=(-1,+1,-1,-1,+1,+1)+(-5,-5,+5,-5,+5,-5)=(-6,-4,+4,-6,+6,-4)!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

What all one must go through to become an engineer!!!!!!

Friday, May 30, 2008

Rain!!

I was just going through a few blogs randomly and I found one where the author has very conveniently described a situation of cricket being played in England. He says that rain in England is similar to a tall man who had suddenly decided to stop over England in his world-wide walk and take a piss. Now thats a nice comparison. What do I say for our very own Bangalore?
Is this the public toilet or what??
Every day it rains without fail just like somebody deciding to take a leak over Bangalore as and when he feels like it, upsetting plans of a thousand other people.
What does this rain bring with it?
A complete chaos on the streets. {would have to say an additional of more chaos with the present traffic conditions}. Nowadays it is much faster to reach a destination by walk rather than taking a vehicle. What with the current road conditions I feel its easier to even manouever a boat on the pavement.
Its easy to sit here and crib about the rain but who knows how many daily breads are depending on the rains. I am just happy that with the rains comes in a very temperate climate that our city is so famous for.
The following is just a common scenario when it rains in Bangalore--
Guy in jayanagar 4th block--"AUTO!!!!!!"...( a few hundred autos whizz past him, failing to even acknowledge the existence of a poor soul getting drenched in the rain!!!!)
After about a gruelling 15 mins and lung crushing screaming finally an auto decides to take pity on the guy.
Guy--"saar banshankari bartira??" [ "boss will you come to banashankari??"]
Poor guy just gets a mere negative nod of the head. All his efforts of trying to stop an auto ends with just two or three irritating nods of the head and the vehicle is gone. After all this the guy manages to stop yet another auto.
Guy--"saar banshankari bartira??" [ "boss will you come to banashankari??"]
Auto-"double agatte" [the fare will be double]
Guy--"double aa?? adu sanjay aar ghantega??" [ double and that too in the evening at 6??]
WTF man??? The auto drivers have a field day when it rains. Not that they need any special occasion to make more money. But charging twice the fare just because it rains when all they have to do is sit under the auto's roof and manuever the stupid vehicle right in the middle of the road. Its a pretty known fact that auto drivers have to put in the minimum of efforts when they drive. That is because the others on the road automatically drive more carefully when they are near autos. I guess it would be an insult to call them auto drivers. They are actually the formula one prospects from India. { Watch out Karthikeyan and Karun Chandok...you got some serious competition out here!!!!!}
The other day my friend kept complaining that all his plans are getting screwed because of the rains. From what he said it looked as though the rains have a planned vendetta against him. Any time he decides to go out the rain decides to party and how?? {As a result of such erratic showers Bangloreans are so fortunate to witness instant waterfalls and fountains. Not many cities provide for such wonderful attractions I guess. The man-hole at the end of the road next to my apartment just springs to life when it rains. The drains over-flow and we are so very lucky to see tiny water-falls emerging here and there. }
It is just as though the guy from the world-wide walk above has decided to give my friend here a daily shower with his constant visit to the urinals!!!!!
Was pretty amused with the relationship of his going out and the clouds deciding to open up. So this is just a small dedication to him. "Holy crap!!!!! Its started raining again I got to run!!!!"

Saturday, May 24, 2008

BLOGGING!!!!!!!

"The a**h*le has the audacity to name his pooch after me? Somebody else is taking a dig at what I do in my profession. There is comparison that HE is better than me........."

Its not too difficult to figure out who might be thinking on the above lines. Ever wondered where the roots of blogging come from. What was supposed to be a personal diary has now evolved into what is called as modern day blogging. From personal diaries to online diaries and to the latest fad blogs. Its a mad mad world out there and everybody has the liberty to express what he or she feels like. No wonder nowadays the celebrities' blogs are front page articles in the newspapers. Everybody is a diarist and a blogger. The all important and attention grabbing blogs are from the celebrities from the film industry. They make better reading articles than the usual run around the mill gossip that keeps popping up here and there.

Somebody's blog is the talk of the nation and somebody else's blog slanders a fellow stars name. There has never been a better way to express oneself and seriously there has never been a better source of entertainment than this. Its hilarious to see stars having a go at each other and then apologising for it. Leaves me in splits!!!!
Would love to see more blogs coming up from other prominent people. Something probably on the following lines--
  • Somebody blogging about how his ideas have revolutionised the Indian Railways or how cows and cattle have a huge influence in his life.( Probably might require a bit of translation but its worth the trouble!!!!!!)
  • Or maybe somebody venting his anger on his team's dismal performance or how his team being called the misfits in the most eye catching tourney just because they are on the other side of the 30's!!!!!!
  • Or maybe somebody blogging about why he was not allowed to be with his team or people criticising him for his non-demure attitude in supporting his franchise!!!!
  • Or maybe somebody blogging about how taking rural trips and mingling with the tribals will help him to garner support for the race to power!!!!!
  • Or it could be some one's blog who keeps claiming to be acting in his last film but churns out mega hits every year, while romancing ladies 1/3rd his age on the silver screen!!!!
  • Or it might be even a blog from somebody who keeps denying to team up with his tennis partner because of personal conflicts!!!!!
  • Or maybe from a politician from the state claiming divine intervention in his political career and requesting votes just because he missed his son's oath taking ceremony the last time!!!!( talk about begging for power...ppl dont just give up when it comes to power and money do they??? )
  • Or it could be a blog by someone who could reason out his opinion for controlling a waterfall that is not in his state or jurisdiction.
  • And last but not the least it could be blogs about our very own bolly stars again where they could claim to be just friends and nothing else.
To be frank there will be a hundred other possible blogs that I would love to see. To an extent blogs are quite informative. May not be the typical encyclopedia but certain facts and figures can be extracted from a few. Bottom line--no blog is a waste!!!
Wondering how my blog is not useless??...Well it could be taken as an example for a "bad example"....It sure does qualifies for the slot!!!!!
Till then three cheers for blogs and the raging battle between celebs......Bring it on!!!!!
Note--This is inspired by an article that I read today in the paper by a regular columnist in Times of India!!!!!!

Saturday, May 10, 2008

Plummeting face down!!!!!

Beeeeeeeep!!!!!!!
The sound of the beeper kept ringing at consistent intervals.
There was a school boyish kind of anticipation and excitement in me. I was standing in a queue which was moving quite fast compared to the other queue. Finally I reached the desk and my number was called out. I was made to sign at a particular place and the noted symbol of the indelible ink was smeared on my index finger. At last I had reached the EVM and there again was the echoing of the familiar beep, as I cast my vote. I had finally become a part of the government. The very same government which we blame and point a finger at, if they do not function properly. Whoever said that voting does not make a difference. Every vote counts. I am sure that even one single vote could well be the difference between a bad government and an able government. The experience was new. The feeling of finally having voted was yet to sink in, when there was another beep. This time it was not the EVM but my cell carrying the news which made me plummet from a euphoric feeling of having voted for the first time, into the depths of sadness.

It all started off with a rumour. The rumour was that one of our lecturers from the Maths Dept. had passed away. Her name was Nalini.C. The messages started pouring in and it was finally confirmed that not only our lecturer but also her husband and her daughter had passed away in an unfortunate road accident. She was one of my most favourite staff members in the college. I could very well say that I took an even more keen interest in Maths because of her. The fact that a couple of days back the lecturer who applauded us for our mad-ads show on college day is now no more with us, was hard to digest. Its a very unfortunate thing to happen to anybody. Life is so unfair at times. The car in which they were travelling rolled down the cliff. The thought of the people inside the car sends a chill down my spine. This was a situation where everybody in the car knew their fate and all they could do was wait for the end to come. Life is so very short and unpredictable. You never know what fate has in store for you. This post is entirely dedicated to my Lecturer. I pray to the Almighty that their souls rest in peace.

LINK OF THE NEWS REPORT:http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Repository/ml.asp?Ref=VE9JQkcvMjAwOC8wNS8xMCNBcjAwOTA2&Mode=HTML&Locale=english-skin-custom

Sunday, April 27, 2008

Mad-ads-The final performance


The euphoria still has not set in. The applause and the cheers are still ringing in my ears. It was a fitting and perfect swan song for Simply Adjust Maadi(SAM). I guess none of us could have asked for a better exit from the mad-ads arena. It was simlpy an out of this world experience to have the support of more than five hundred people screaming out and cheering for us. The journey has finally come to an end with this performance and fittingly it has ended with a bang. Call it "co-incidence" or call it "sheer luck" or call it simply "an out-standing performance", we started also with a bang by winning the event in BMSCE and now we are hanging up our boots after winning the 2nd place in PESIT. To be precise we have won where it matters the most and I am sure that the PESIT crowd will definitely remember our performance.
The feeling still has not sunk in that there will not be anymore mad-ads for us. I guess there will be a time when it will actually sink in just like an anchor falling into the depths of the ocean. This is the best mad-ads team that I could have ever been a part of. I am 100% sure that given a choice to join any mad-ads team in Bangalore I will be always a part of this team. This team totally rocks. On a personal note I would like to dedicate this win to all my team mates. Without their contribution this would never have been possible. And obvioulsy I would also like to specially dedicate this win to each and every one of our friends who came all the way to PESIT just to cheer for us. I am pretty sure that without you guys this would not have been the same memorable experience for us as it is right now. Here is a little insight on the members of SAM.
Our team narrator----SriHarsha.H.S
I have not heard many people who can better his stint behind the microphone. The different kinds of sounds and the different styles of mimicry that he manages to do is simply awesome. The main reason why our team has managed to do so well is just because of this guy. I really am a very big fan of his narration. There are a very few people who can match up to his quality.
Our team Betala----Priyank Rao
One look at this fellow and I am pretty sure that you will discard him off as a bed-ridden psycho. But the punch that this guy brings into his acting on stage is amazing. He is too good with his antics on stage and always manages to come up with something really funny. If the audience is laughing its guts out then I can bet on it that 8 out of 10 times it has to be some ad related to Priyank.
Our team Official slogan boy------Arun K.V
Be it brains or be it creativity this guy is a notch above the rest. He sometimes does talk a lot!!!!!
Jokes apart, he does come up with some out of the world slogans for our ads and has a unique and funny way of delivering them on stage. Bow to you buddy!!!!!
Our team babe!!!-------Sanmathi G.B
This guy is simply a born performer. His stage presence is brilliant. His ability to act naturally on stage is an added bonus to our team. Apart from his acting he is the 'Missin' guy of the team. I am sure its easier to get dates for a top notch bollywood actress compared to getting hold of this guy. The most humourous and the most witty person of our team. His on the spot one-liners is often the only stress buster during our tense situations.
Our team unaninous fav-------Chinmay Lokesh
This so very popular guy is probably the one of the best actors of the team. He is not only liked by the audiences but also a favourite among the team. His pjs certainly cannot be forgotten. Most of all his Anniyan act that he sometimes puts up. Bow to you too buddy.
Our team shorty----------Shashank Katte
No one knows when he arrives and when he leaves on the stage. He is the most important guy next to Arun. I guess he can also be called as the official team substitute for slogans. Was not there with us for some of the performances but an integral part of the team. Comes up with some really good ideas once in a while.
Our team dancer------Trilok .K
One of the best dancers that I have seen in our college. The choreographer of most of our acts on stage. His moves on the stage and his keen sense of performance has been an added bonus to our team. Without him some of the ads that we have done would never have achieved the success that it has got till date.
There were a few others with us who were a part of the team but were not so consistent. This post is totally dedicated to the above mentioned guys. I totally am going to miss Simply Adjust Maadi. You guys rock big time and I am at a loss of words to describe how proud I am to be a part of SAM. There is simply no beating you guys when it comes to being together as a mad-ads team.


P.S--Bow to the tremendous crowd support that we got from our college. It certainly was the best crowd that we have performed for till date.
Cheers!!!!!!!

Friday, April 25, 2008

Madads II


Has anyone ever imagined that acting like mad people on stage infront of a minimum of thousand eyeballs just glaring at you, could ever be praiseworthy or could fetch you awards and cash prizes???


Well thats what Madads is all about. Most people have a misconception that madads literally means to act like crazy,brainless nutters on stage. Thats not what its all about. I for one have been a part of a wonderful team. When I joined BNMIT I had a very faint idea of what madads was all about. I still remember that very fortunate evening when there was a crowd of about nine people sitting in front of our canteen along with our lecturer, who was actually supporting us to form a team for madads. I believe the thought originated when some of the guys had gone to the nature club trip and then we all got together to perform a skit( the skit was pretty lame if u think about it now!!!!!!!!!). That very fortunate day our team was formed. Imagine we started out our career in madads calling ourselves ...............Censored!!!!!!

We were up against the Pacemakers who were the then champions of madads from our college. The show was not exactly a runaway hit but it was also not bad either. We managed a second place in college and that gave us the confidence that we could also make people laugh and perform well on stage. Thats when the journey all began. From that day onwards till the 3rd of May 2008 , Simply Adjust Maadi has had a roller coaster ride from one end of the city to the other end (speaking in literal terms...from MVJCE to DBIT!!!!!). It has been the journey of a team which has seen the ups, downs and also faced the stiffest competition from many good teams in Bangalore. Whether it be the fascinating debut win in UTSAV (BMSCE Fest) or whether it be the final performance in college on May 3rd. I can now say that SAM has seen it all.
There have been quite a few highs of SAM. One of the greatest compliment that we have ever received was when we had been to IIIT-Bangalore this year. We were the winners of the mad-ads event when they had conducted the fest the previous year. One of our friends from IIIT came upto us and actually said that, they had arranged for the judges to judge the event by showing them our previous years performance. That was the biggest compliment that we could have ever received. It gave us a feeling of being the trend-setters of mad-ads in IIIT. Two of our best wins have come in IIIT itself. There can be no comparison to the feeling that we all got when we were praised for our performances. Performing in front of the crowd is an all together a different kind of high.
I do not want to be too boastful or vain about our performances. But we do take pride in what we have done as a team. We not only participated in mad-ads but we also ended up winning in street play. It was a one off thing, but the only place where we took part in street play we bagged a prize. This apart we have managed to conjure 9 different scripts for different performances. Though some of them were a let down, we never lost heart. And also we have managed to come up with more than 30 performances as a mad-ads team. Not being vain here but I can proudly say that we have managed to entertain audiences in most of the places where we performed. Probably the only black mark in our career as SAM would be our performance in PESIT in 2006. Maybe thats why this years victory was so sweet. All in all a fantastic journey has finally come to an end. As a final note from the team's perspective I am sure we are all going to miss some wonderful mad-ads teams like Complete Chaos,No Idea,Team Alone, etc.
I could go on writing about SAM but this itself has become quite a long post. In my previous post I missed out on a couple of members of SAM.

Our team Huchcha----Abhiram P Cuntoor
The tallest member of SAM. More famous as Loosepant Linganatha from the good old concept of skit in second semester. He is one of the most funniest guy you will find on stage. He has this weird sense of comic timing that nobody can deny. You tell him one thing and he will end up doing another, but the bottom line is it pays off. Out of words to describe much about him here. Just see his acting to know what I am talking about.

Our team Zombie----Amith.S.S
Yeah this guy was a part of SAM during its inchoate stages. This is one multifaceted guy who has talent overflowing in almost every field. A musical genius (BNM idol), an amazing tennis, table-tennis, badminton, basketball and cricket player. I always run out of words when it comes to speaking about Amith. This guy is better known as zombie because of his straight face which shows a lack of expressions, but trust me these are the kind of people who can make you laugh the hardest and the loudest.

That brings me to the end of SAM. I was just thinking that this post could well be the final talk about SAM. But something tells me that I will be coming up with more related posts. Till then SIMPLY ADJUST MAADI!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Saturday, April 19, 2008

Happy Days???

Finally the semester is coming to an end. The most eagerly awaited day in my engineering life is fast approaching. The most haunting question is about to be answered. The question that I have been pondering over. "When will I complete my engineering and pass out?"

Fast forward 6 semesters and 3 years to the current date. Now I wish college life never ends. As they say these really are the golden days of our lives. At the moment I am at the threshold of completely stepping out of the doors of being an under-graduate. Its that time of the year where in I will be called a graduate( conditions apply!!!!! you never know when VTU is going to give you a heart attack). Just the thought of ending college life and splitting with all the wonderful friends that I have made over these four years makes me feel so dispirited. As my future plans unravel themselves, I have begun to realize that my golden period of college is unfortunately coming to an end. There certainly are going to be some very very good things that I am going to miss about college. For instance
  • coming late to class everyday and being greeted to the very familiar and bellowing voice of our principal
  • the usual routine of having no attendance in most of the subjects
  • the running around for making up the internal marks
  • the night outs with friends, on the pretext of joint studies( yeah chin n harsh n u 2 arun...really gonna miss all that)
  • the get-togethers to discuss scripts and ideas but eventually ending up killing time( I am sure my mad-ads team-mates will agree to it)
  • the inter collegiate fests...also the intra college competitions
  • I cannot forget the fun we have had sitting and killing time in the hostel( hari,somu,pheku,venky,amit and offcourse our Spartan...dudes i sure m gonna miss the good times!!!!!)
  • the usual adda in front of the canteen
  • the idlis,vadas and masala dosas at SLV!!!!!
  • not to forget the eat outs and hang outs!!!
  • bunking college and going for movies
  • playing all sorts of games( m sure zombie and harsha are gonna agree to the innovative and refreshing games that we played in the sports room!!!!!!!!!)
and so on and on and on..............

Actually speaking the list is endless. College life has no substitute. I read a blog of a friend of mine who has just about finished his college. It surely is that time of the year when college will for once be really missed. I guess this is just the first of many such posts that I may end up posting.!!!!!!!

THREE CHEERS TO COLLEGE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Monday, April 7, 2008

Spiderman!!!!!!!

The race was very intense. It was going to be a photo finish. I was sure that these kind of races were very competitive and were held all around the world. The only drawback of such races was that it never received any media coverage. Well how will you expect media coverage for races involving you and the second hand of the clock!!!!!!
This was a daily scenario at my house during my school days. The bell would ring precisely at 11.15 and the gates would be closed at 11.20. The hour hand had passed 11, twelve minutes ago and the second hand was racing towards completing the 13th minute and, I was racing against the second hand. I was trying to put on my shoes and at the same time searching for the house keys. My parents would go off to work by 8.30, and locking up the house and leaving for school was my resposibility. That fortunate day was the begining of the adventure that I am writing about. We stayed in an apartment. There were about 7 buildings with 4 floors each and each of the buildings housed around 50 odd flats. Our flat was on the Ist floor and on that particular day I was running extremely late for school and I had managed to lose the house keys. Was it due to the fact that I was late or was it due to the fact that I was careless. The reason is not known, but that day I ran out of the house and pulled the door behind me without the keys.

The adventure started when I reached back home. Fortunately that day I had left our balcony door open. I made my way around the building and surveyed my chances of climbing my way into the house. Believe it or not there was no shortage of an audience to watch a monkey climb to his house. I took permisison from the ground floor people and started the ascent to my balcony.I made my way up the grills of their balcony and found myself on the perch or slab just below my window. The height of the window was just a little too high for me to climb on to. And to my good luck there was this pipe running exactly in the middle of the perch and the window sledge. I climbed on to the sledge using the pipe as the support and then jumped onto my open balcony.
MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!!!!!!!! I can bet that I have left a mark of my achievement by bending a straight passing pipe into a U-tube!!!!!!!!!!!!!


After this feat I was looking forward to doing such antics every now and again. It became a sort of pass-time for me. Actually it even extended to doing crazy stuffs like going from one balcony to the other hanging from the windows and climbing up and down the skylight of the buildings.


Well why am I writing about this at this unearthly hour??[It shows 12.30 but its actually close to 2.30 in the morning]...Today being the begining of the new year (UGADI), the festivities at my house was quite big. Festivals have their own significance in peoples lives. But when it comes to people like me festivals mean sweets, holiday and an appetite that increases exponentially because of the variety of food prepared. Today was no different. I am stuffed till my throat and being a holiday I fell asleep in the morning. So here I am posting this blog without even a hint of sleep in my eyes. I was standing in my balcony sometime back watching the man trying to climb onto the poles tied up as ladders in the opposite building. He was preparing for somebodys marriage tomorrow I guess. So now you know from where the theme of this blog originated. Every event is like a chain in the memory which keeps linking one event to the other. I am signing off here with more on links coming soon. Till then wish everyone of you a very very Happy Ugadi.

Saturday, April 5, 2008

An international affair!!!!!!

The internet connection was slow at this time of the night. I could imagine the thousands of users sharing the same bandwidth along with me. I could imagine the majority of them trying to download movies or songs or other multimedia files. There were probably hundreds of others chatting,or playing online games and so on. All this while my browser was still showing the dreaded and the most irritating status in the internet jargon. It was still showing Loading......

I resolved myself for another few minutes wait. Waiting to see the status change from Loading....I was waiting for the page to reveal its contents. Finally the page loaded and its contents was revelaed. It was similar to the opening of the screen in the theater before a movie starts. I was expecting to see the monotonous status of my application. Expecting that it would say
Decision Awaiting
To the Dept for Review.

I could not believe my eyes at first when I saw that the decision had been made and the decision was an admit. It was like a mirage. I was half expecting it to just vanish. But there it was. Finally after a loooooooong wait I had received an admit into a University. It was time for celebrations.

That is how the picture should be at the moment right??
Well all thanks to the basic fact that we are all humans that am afraid is not the scenario now. I have got an admit true, but being a human I still have the desire to want more. Its natural for human beings or even animals to want more. I want more.Having received an admit for one university now,I want to get hold of another admit to another university. Its pretty obvious that people want the best things in life. I am still hoping for admits from universities that are a few rungs above the university that I have got an admit for. There is a thin line of difference for wanting more for yourself and being greedy. This is a situation of being both. So for the time being the
Wait continues......................

Thursday, April 3, 2008

Its been more than a month. The wait is getting to my mind. Its the dreaded wait and the feeling of walking on the edge of the sword. There comes a time in peoples lives when they feel like doing nothing at all. By nothing I mean literally nothing. Its been more than three months and I am still waiting for the so called ticket for an MS. Yes the all so important admit to any university. Sometimes the wait just gets to me. Especially when I realize that friends of mine have already received an admit. Questions keep popping into my head. I keep wondering whether I will be able to go for a post graduation. There is a certain kind of feeling that makes me feel that I am good enough and capable enough of doing a PG. But again there is this other feeling and also the acceptance of the harsh reality that I may not be so worthy after all. Reason----No admit till date.



Its pretty unbelievable when just a small little piece of paper holds so much of importance in ones life. Its not the end of the world if I do not get an admit. But it will be the same as throwing away all the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle and starting all over again from the scratch. On the other hand just one A4 sized sheet holds the key to completing the jigsaw puzzle at the moment. It will be like all the pieces falling into their respective places automatically once I receive the admit. I guess hope is the only driving factor at this point of time. I am still hoping for the best. But as for now the wait just continues.....................................................

Tuesday, February 26, 2008

At last i have my own blog. Funny it took me this long to create one. Actually i had been wanting to create a blog for myself from quite some time. I guess the right time had to come yesterday. Trust me finding out a suitable name for the blog was really a hectic job. I am pretty sure that I have not racked my brains so much even while writing my exams. Every other name that I want to take has already been taken. Finally I did land up with this.
Like true oscars and filmfare style I would like to thank a couple of people who kinda contributed in creating this blogspot. Hehe that sounds pretty tacky I know. I got to do it though in true filmi shtyle. My mum was always into stuff like this. Writing about things being creative and all that stuff. Being creative part is kinda tough though but writing? Well anybody can write bull-shit right??
Hhmmnn so my mum would be my first inspiration. And to be honest there is a friend of mine who is an avid blogger. I really got the josh from that guy to start all this. By the way his blog is deadlyscavenger.blogspot.com. Thanks buddy. And yeah there has to be a mention of another friend of mine who kept telling me to shorten my sentences. Hehehe ok that actually meant that my sentences keep going on for paras together. I tried my best buddy ,this was all I could manage.