Random...

To be very honest, I was in 2 minds whether or not to post this one...But well here it goes...

Saw '3 IDIOTS' today (Loved it !) and I realised something..

After about every 10 minutes in this movie we have atleast one male lead crying over some issue or the other..and the issues range from college problems to personal problems to problems related to life and death..

There is a common belief that it is the girls who are known to be cry babies..girls express any problem they face and cry it out and guys are supposed to be like closed shells who cry to themselves and rarely bring it out..(Most of the hindi movies I have seen till now kinda strengthen this notion..The hero being the rough guy and the heroine being the damsel in distress..)

I am not commenting on whether this is right or wrong..But just observed this while watching the movie..So is it that the age-old-beliefs are slowly changing?

P.S. I did not intend to come across as some kind of feminist.Just observed this little thing today and was curious to know what others think about it.But neway if I have offended anyone - PEACE !

HAPPY READING ! ;)

(n HAPPY NEW YEAR in advance)

Its all in a CHIT...

Engineering is known to test many aspects of one's personality in 4 years..Of course,brains not being a part of it..But this one is about one (verrry important) specific aspect - LUCK !

As they say,once upon a chit..
Its the same old story every time..everyone prepares..almost everyone leaves one (or a few) assignments on option..and then everyone prays NOT to get that chit..
The discussions outside the labs all concern the CHIT.."I wish i get ---" or "Oh god.plz not ---". A piece of paper of utmost important that time..as one by one people go inside ,their expressions on reading the chit are worth a watch...Some see gods smiling on them through that piece of paper..while some others have the instant expression "What in the name of devil did I do to deserve this???"

The feeling when you get inside the lab cannot be put in words..papers all over the desk..all waiting to be picked..all perfectly hiding the prized chit..the mind goes through random search and hands land on one..but eyes look at another..and heart says yet another..

Then there are theories about the chit."Prof.XYZ is known for keeping difficult ones in centre","Prof.ABC keeps the easiest one at the bottom.",etc.If these are all true ,the poor last person is left with all that he/she doesnt want !

Getting the chit changed is getting another aspect of your personality tested - negotiability ! Even if that does work , you are left to the mercy of another chit !
Getting the simplest assignment is a matter of sheer luck..(I have been lucky twice now \m/)..but getting a difficult one and then successfully completing it is a completely different victory...

So well,as they say "Fortune favours...umm ..just any lucky picker " actually :D
So this one is for all those who dint get the rite chit in CL1..Just one more practical left now..just one more chit...Better luck this time guys ! ;)

Happy reading :)

P.S. : Any peculiar experiences with the chits are welcome in the form of comments :)

HELLO :)

Its been a very long time so just blogged to say Hello :)

Its been a busy time ..the only books i read were OOMD and ADBMS :( ...obviously no one is interested in reviews...No new movies seen...n well to be honest missing college,friends and well even teachers... :(
So well..nothing to write about...

To all those studying for their exams -GOOD LUCK :)

happy reading !

CRUCIO !! :D

1.58 pm : A and R are walking through the corridor and see You-know-who standing at the door.R has promised A that there will be many people attending.But it turns out that R and A are all alone.Now they stand right in front of You-know-who.You-know-who asks "What do you want?".A timidly replies "Sir..Lecture".You-know-who says "What time was it?".R says "2 minutes to go sir" in a volume that only A can hear! Suddenly a brave man called K turns up and loudly announces "Still 2 minutes left sir".You-know who glances at his cell phone and says "So yes..you are right..Come in".

And then it begins...2.00 pm sharp and You-know-who starts dropping pearls of wisdom !

1>I have 2 rules which you must accept before we begin :
" The syllabus has been completed 10 days back when you were all absent.And Because you were absent I assume that you know all that there is to know and will successfully and completely solve the problem I give.Only if you do that will you be allowed to mark the attendance."
K ,A and R all look at each other but decide that they are in a soup and there is no way out !

2>You-know-who gives some problem - pretty easy one actually but he (as always) has great expectations.10-12 minutes ..no one does anything.K and R are trying to think of (or pretending to think of) something.A is too sleepy and is just looking into R's book.

3>Suddenly You-know-who speaks "This is the 56th lecture I am conducting for your class.In 22 lectures I had atleast 1 student.For the other 34 I came and waited for students."
A,R,K all look up at You-know-who in admiration and then look down and try scribbling something.

4>Then You-know-who turns "dildar".Suddenly decides to help.Starts dictating the answer! Occasionally asking a question.A,K and R keep nodding and saying something here and there.You-know-who is happy.Its been ages since he has had a full classroom :D

5>Then You-know-who becomes his usual self.Starts calling programmers as typists with graduate and post graduate degrees.Talks of recession.Warns A,R and K to mend their ways or join an NIIT course.Tells A,R,K that he expects them to submit documentation of 150+ pages when all they usually submit is 1 (copied) page.And well the usual stuff...

6>Suddenly he feels pity for A,R,K and decides to allow them to mark attendance even if they can complete the input part of the program.But A,R,K dont know how to add a single word to what has been dictated to them.Then You-know-who opens the green book.Points at A and asks "What is your number?Pahilyanda pahtoy tula".A replies 4243.You-know-who looks through and announces "2 present out of 56".Then he asks R.R replies "Sir same".You-know-who's face brightens up."We can plot a graph of your attendance and predict which ones are friends." and then suddenly winks and adds "Ani jodya pan shodhta yetil.Barober doghe doghe yetat".
(A has a feeling that he might actually go home and try that)

Looking at A,R and K's poor attendance and innocent faces or maybe the fact that they amused him for 1 hour,You-know-who passes the attendance sheet.The attendance sheet looks up at them with hope.Poor thing is all red.Its been 7 lectures since anyone has signed on it !!
And now its wait is over (and so is ours ;))....3 signatures at the end of the hour marked the happy ending !

And thus A,R and K survived You-know-who's CRUCIO !!!....

A,R and K are Aruna ,Ruta and Kapil respectively...You-know-who is best left to the readers knowledge and experience (if PICTian) or his imagination (if otherwise)...

Happy reading ! :)

The lost symbol !

Dan Brown's much awaited novel - took him 6 years of research and then after fighting all controversies ,arrived -The lost Symbol ! This blog is spoiler-free.No harm reading ! :)
The book is a typical Dan Brown story.Starts with some tragedy,Langdon is called and he goes through the a historic journey bringing to light old secret rituals,customs and blah blah ! This time the secrets belong to the MASONS.
The book vividly reminds you of Angels and Demons.A couple of times you find yourself saying - "Oh,I can guess what will happen next!"
Not sounding feminist but one thing I like about Brown's books is the way the female leads are portrayed.Unlike some other "authors" (read Chetan Bhagat ) whose female leads are nothing but stupid and desperate damsels (God only knows which world he lives in !) ,Brown 's ladies are always successful and dignified women with excellent professions - cryptographers, scientists, mathematicians,etc who significantly contribute to the main storyline.This time again ,the character of Katherine Solomon - a 50 year old scientist is nicely written.Robert Langdon is as always is impeccable.But the negative characters in his books I must say are becoming monotonous.
The book is too long.You dont give long and boring speeches when you have a mystery to solve and a deadline for it.At times the book becomes a drag.One more aspect where it fails completely is the suspense which is too easy to guess.8/10 readers will know what will happen in the climax about 100 pages before they reach it.
To sum it up, the book is rather a disappointment as compared to Brown's other works.But what can not be denied is the sincere effort and tremendous research behind it.And only for that sake I would suggest all Brown fans to read it.But if it takes 6 years for Brown to come up with this ,I think he should wait 8-9 years before publishing his next one !

Happy reading ! :)

Bout "Luck"

Hello all,

Just sharing one of my favourite poems (tiny lil one) :)

Disclaimer : If you ever see poems on my blog ,I assure you they will never be my own.So you can go ahead and risk reading.

I think some of you must have already read it but for most others who havent,here goes..

He worked by day,
And tired by night,

He gave up play
And all delight.

Dry books he read,
Of what great men had said.

New things to learn
And forgot to earn

He plodded on..
With faith and pluck

And when he won,
Men called it "LUCK" !!

Happy reading !

Lord of the rings Vs Harry Potter

1> Frodo Baggins and Harry Potter
Useless characters who make it to the end mainly by the virtue of having more talented friends and protectors.When they are finally done,you have a feeling that a donkey in their place would have sufficed.Two ordinary boys who have responsibility and power thrust on them.
My opinion:I liked neither much.
So LOTR -0 HP -0

2> Samwise Gamgee and Ronald Weasley
Equally useless friends of the useless main heroes described above.Again,two ordinary boys who do nothing but stick close to the main heroes right till the end and get to enjoy the limelight.
My opinion :I think the character of Ronald Weasley is better written than Samwise Gamgee..
So LOTR-0 HP-1

3> Gandalf (the grey and white) and Albus Dumbledore
Old 'know it all' men.These are perhaps the characters who know the end of the story even before the author does.When you reach the end you have no choice but to wonder "Why didnt these old men act when they had time!!!".But anyway the main purpose of their existence is to look after our useless heroes and guide them and make sure they are well protected right till the end.
My opinion : Gandalf the grey is kinda boring but Gandalf the white is equally charismatic as Albus Dumbledore.
So LOTR -1 HP-2

4> Aragorn and Sirius Black
Young men who have been wronged in the past but have never left the good side.They have sworn their lives to the protection of our useless heroes.Now these are perhaps the best characters of both the books.And you feel that they are actually capable of "doing" something.
My opinion : Sirius is no match for Aragorn.
So LOTR -2 HP -2


5> Merry and Pippin and the Weasley twins
Characters introduced for humour.Dont do much right till the end but do manage to entertain you.
My opinion : Merry and Pippin are a tinge funnier than the Weasley twins
So LOTR-3 HP-2

6> Sauron and Lord Voldemort
The two "BAD men(?)".By direct comparison you realise that they would shoo away our useless heroes like a fly on a tea cup.Both surprisingly dont appear in physical form for a very long time but exist as spirits for a major portion of HP and the entire LOTR.
My opinion : Sauron shouldn't even be allowed to stand before Lord Voldemort (\m/)
So LOTR-3 HP-3

7> Other possible comparisons :
Saruman the wise and Bellatrix Lestrange
Legolas and Gimli and Lupin and Weasley
Boromir and Snape
Gollum and Dobby
(All are more or less equally well written)

As far as the books are concerned,LOTR wastes 50 pages on absolutely boring and useless characters like Tom Bombaddil and long songs.HP on the other hand is written quite to-the-point.From readers point of view HP goes way easy on eyes and brains than LOTR.
But when it comes to movies the tables turn completely.HP movies are disappointing.LOTR movies on the other hand are must-watch. (Specially the war sequences)

I assure you that inspite of my criticizing the characters the way I have,I love both the books!
And I am sure many will have completely different opinions.As always ,they are welcome in the form of comments !
Happy reading !

PATHS OF GLORY :)

"Paths of glory" by Jeffery Archer.I finished reading this book last night.
And now it has become my favourite Jeffery Archer book.Mind u- I am a huge Archer fan!

Everyone has some or the other ambition in life.How big is our ambition?Have we ever thought of doing/achieving something that is considered 'IMPOSSIBLE'?Are we ambitious enough to risk our lives to get what we want? What if we do manage to turn this impossible ambition to reality?History reminds us that people have done this in every age.And that is the reason we remember the names of all greats who were the first to do something out-of-the-world.

But what if even after achieving our goal,we are not able to prove it to anyone?What if people dont believe that you did it?This reminds me of a dialogue in the movie 'Kate and Leopald' (A rather forgettable one,but anyway ) - "Dogs cannot see colors..I am the dog who has seen the rainbow..Its just that the other dogs wont believe me!"

This is the backbone of "Paths of Glory".Its inspired from the true life story of George Mallory,the man who dreamt of conquering Everest (29002 ft) in the 1920's when not even the airplanes had ever reached that height ! He never returned from the expedition and his dead body was found in 1999 -75 years after his death (preserved by the ice).There are a few reasons which suggest that he may have reached the summit.Some believe it-others dont!But one thing for sure-history cannot be trusted with the name of the first man to climb Mt.Everest!

Mountaineering was George's life.In one of the press conferences he was asked "Why do you want to climb the Everest?".He answered "Because its there!".These 3 words became a kind of slogan for mountaineers in coming years.

The book is amazing right from the beginning.Archer's writing is as always-impeccable !What touched me most was the way the character of Ruth Mallory-George's ever supporting wife is potrayed.George was so fascinated by the Everest that he called her the other love of his life besides Ruth.Therefore the tag line of the book says "This is a story of a man who loved two women and one of them killed him".Ruth's struggle with herself -about the safe being of her husband and his fascination is the most sensitive part of the book.As in all Archer books there are traces of humor but most of the book is quite serious.The description of mountaineering expeditions especially of the weather changes during the Everest expedition is brilliantly written..Overall an amazing book :)

Happy reading !

Just a trivia : I googled for more information about Mallory.His grandson (also named George Mallory junior) did manage to climb Mt.Everest in 1995.And he kept a laminated picture of his grandparents on the summit and quoted "Just finished some family business" ! (\m/)

Bout PICT...

Today its been three years since we have been students of PICT..So this one is for my college... :)

21st August,2006 : This was the day we officially became "students" of PICT..We had "Principal address" where we were all cramped in that tiny room no.301 n Potdar sir going on about the "discipline" in PICT,about how cell phones were NOT ALLOWED,(OMG !I believed that) ,how attendance was compulsary and so on..We all had the typical FE look (maaz of getting in PICT + total confusion due to the new surroundings)..This was the first time I shared a bench with Ruta having no clue that this was the beginning of such a wonderful friendship :)
FE was fun..The first timers - First addiction ,First rule breaking and hence First encounter with principal ( FE 6 played ranga panchami in college !!! \m/ ),First exams,First results and First INC (Escorting :( )..We were so sincere-we would even STUDY for the unit tests... :D



21st August,2007: As far as i remember we were wondering when the results would announced and whether FE had commenced (Just because we wanted to be called "seniors").Nuthing special..
Whatever innocence was left after FE was completely washed off in SE..We were "BRATS" by SE..The 'G' batch had fun...Organised Addiction this year..and were promoted as hardware lab assistants in INC (Though during the event sir pulled us out for escorting :( )...But overall SE was quiet...

21st August,2008:I dont remember what I was doing at all..But TE was definitely the BEST year I have had in PICT..Our class got the "notorious" tag right in the first sem and we did well to continue bearing it in the second..We became "SUSPENDED TE2" towards the end of Sem 1..Suspension resulted in starting of group activities including starting of (in)famous community :P..I made many new friends in TE..Some friendships that I wish to cherish all my life..



TE sem2 ,we organised INC..I dont think any of us would forget those 2 months and the "INC ROOM" has definitely become a special place for all those involved..We played tt,roadies,uno and even 'raja-rani-chor-shipai' (Yeah! We are 'THAT' cool :P) there.I vividly remember the poor marketing people talking on the phone and yelling out at us "CHUP BAITHO NAHI TO BAHAR JAO!!".

College definitely is our second home..Maybe becoz its such a tiny place or maybe becoz of the less number of students,everything here is so homely and secured..I dont think there will be many who have NOT stayed in the college till late at night...The typical "hangouts" in PICT (very few of them actually)...The basketball court where except swimming (Thank God!),all sports events take place..It is also our dance floor during addition n dandiya nites :P..Talk of multiplexing !...The gloomy canteen which serves the most tasteless food..Steps in front of the audi...the parking.... and the INC room for TE people...Thats it -thats our college !

21st August,2009 : I am writing this blog..remembering the last 3 years spent in this place I have loved so much ! Just one more and we become "ex" students..Well,time to get senti WILL come..As of now..planning to make sure that this year will also be as wonderful as the others !

Happy reading !

Things you CAN DO when stuck at home..

This one is for all those stuck at home (bored !) because of the swine flu scare...
Here are a few things you can do to kill time :

• Hunt for PROJECT DEFINITIONS...Definitely kills time and energy..Rather boring work..But well since you have no choice.. :(
• Study hard for GRE,CAT,GMAT,GATE,etc...No better time span to have college off.. (Last non-fun CAN DO)
• Play FARMVILLE...Excellent pass time..Plant RASBERRIES..they need to be tended to every 2 hours..This one definitely ought to keep you busy and well,considering the progress from the two above mentioned CAN-Do's one may think of considering this as an alternate career ! :P
• POKE people on facebook...This is fun of its own kind..A better variation will be to SUPERPOKE - kick,throw cake at,pass bear to,etc
• Take all the irritating QUIZES available on facebook and not to forget ..PUBLISH them.. :D
• Read other's orkut profiles,especially the ABOUT ME and TESTIMONIALS..
• THINK about what u want to do in life,about your existence,about how u r wasting it,about ur soul ....(ALL RITE .. Was just kidding on that one ;) )
• Start watching some TV series (FRIENDS,HIMYM,etc)..or movie series (STAR WARS,MATRIX,LOTR,HPetc) ..Its long seasons are enuf to keep you occupied..
  
• READ ( or write ) such useless blogs !!

HAPPY READING !
(More CAN-DO's are welcome in the form of comments !)
:)

Bout "THAT" time

..this one is about the result times..I have had wonderful memories with "results" in the past 3 years.. :)
These times have been fun rite from FE..I remember our very first result in engineering..that was the day we had our first successful common-offs..Yeah,we were THAT sincere..
The next one was better..we were a lil experienced ( :P )..well versed with the technique of common offs by then..but then that was the start of the rumours..thats something i still havent understood..It happens everytime...someone from PICT says "result tom..notice in SIT"..SIT students say "notice in MIT" and after covering all colleges from the city..by the end of the day we realise that it was a rumour..The whole day u c ppl smsin friends from other colleges for confirmation...
SE 1st sem we went to the rajiv gandhi udyan to see the white tiger super (basically to kill time before results)..That was fun..I still love going to the zoo :)
SE 2nd sem i decided to have some fun..i myself started a rumour bout notice being in cummins..by day end ppl were telling me what i had started in the mornin...ppl tend to believe ANYTHING in such times.. :)
TE 1st sem result was on valentines day !! With the INC work pending and TOC to worry bout,(besides its date) this one was rather less eventful..
TE 2nd sem results were out on monday ..maybe becoz of the placement or becoz of the realisation that results dont matter,no one was tensed...spent a lazy monday in snack shack (?) hanging out with friends..Its always fun bunkin classes be it for ne purpose..
Now just 2 more results left (hopefully)...well not that it matters but yeah-lookin forward ... ;)

A long overdue one.. :P

Well as the name suggests ,this is the long overdue one... :P
I have been wanting to write for over a month now.But (not considering the fact that I have been extremely lazy) this has been a rather eventful month.
It started with my 21st bday which was the best bday so far..I got to meet/speak to all the people i love in this world in that one day.With bro flying over from Delhi,friends turning up at 12am,Ruta baking the delicious cake,it was just perfect! :)
It was then that the placement mania began.Rumour spread that placements will begin from the 6th of july..This was sufficient to spread panic.And so the next 6 days were only slogging for me with revising whatever i could lay my hands on.I had thought this would get over in 10 days.But with placements getting postponed to 13th and the two companies coming from 17th,it specially took a toll on me.I dont think I have ever been so whiny in my life before.So well thanks to all those who managed to bear with me.. :P
And inspite of all this,the placements began with a dismal performance as I cudnt clear even the aptis of thoughtworks which apparently the entire college did.The next two days went with people offering their sympathies and me cursing myself at every chance..But well,I did manage to do damage control with nVIDIA..Oh yes!finally all the tension,the stupid whining(?) and the hardwork paid off..I will never forget the 22nd of july..Yeah i got my first job on sagar's bday.. :) And I must say it feels amazing to be on the "other" side of the fence..
The last week went in completing all the tasks i have been postponing under the pretext of "placements" which included (almost everything i could postpone),rite from a visit to the eye specialist to watching harry potter (a rather disappointing one btw! )..And then here i am..
It has been an amazing month which started and ended on a sweet note..As they say "All's well that ends well".. :)

And now i have promised myself to blog regularly..Will write one next week with the results coming up.. :)
Till then,
Bye Bye !

It feels nice !

To start with,most of the blogs that i have read are either technical or nonsense..Me writing technical will eventually end into nonsense so i prefer to write hard core nonsense..now i assume that dint make much sense ... :P
Well everything around us changes as we grow up..One thing that i am writing about is the fact that when we are kids people "teach" us stuff..As we grow up we learn to use big,fat books n learn stuff ourselves..But once in a while it feels nice to have someone else incharge n follow his instructions blindly..In the past few months i have had that experience twice...
I had joined a japanese language class..It reminded me of primary school where teacher would show how to write alphabets,numbers and show pictures and recite poems.We were taught small chapters ( 1 page each) and were made to learn meanings and phrases covered.We would all stand up,cover our ears and start shouting the meanings loudly ( the loudest wins !).The neighbours usually peeped in giving weird looks but who cares!.Then there were the poems (their nursery rhymes i guess).We had to memorize them as well and then enact ( or dance! ) accordingly.It just brought back so many memories :)
I am currently learning to drive a car.Thats one cool experience.The first day we went out i saw a truck coming my way.Though it was at a safe distance and i knew kaka(my teacher) had all controls at his feet,I panicked and pressed whatever was under my feet.The car stopped suddenly and one not-so-friendly riksha-wala came to my side and yelled "kay tai..kuthe challi?"..On my first day itself i managed to halt traffic on vitthalwadi road.This reminded me of the days i learnt to ride my first bicycle with bro running behind me.I knew i wudnt fall coz he had held the cycle :) Some unwashed memories that never leave us..It just feels nice !
I got this message from one of my friends today..Perfect for my blog-
" I want to go back to the time
when "getting high" meant "on a swing"
when "drinking" meant "apple juice"
when "dad" was the only "hero"
when "love" was "mom's hug"
when "dad's shoulder" was "the highest place on earth"
when "worst enemies" were "your siblings"
when the only thing that could "hurt" were "skinned knees"
when the only things "broken" were your "toys"
and when "goodbyes" only meant "till tomorrow" "

Until my next blog,bye bye!

My very first one

Well I have my brand new blog n absolutely nothing to write :)
So just saying "hello" to all !