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 ;-)
Sunday, August 10, 2008
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!!!!! ".
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.
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.
Finally its good to be back home.
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
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.
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.
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