Who moved my cheese !!

These are some thoughts that I had in my mind when I was driving to PICT to collect my BE result. Why am I writing about it now (after 15 days) ? Because I thought it was too silly to write this until a wise guy told me "No blog posts are silly.It depends on the perception of the readers." I admit I didn't completely understand what he meant , but here goes..
I love PICT. This is the one place (besides home) where I am most comfortable (and this is perhaps true for many others like me). There are just so many memories attached to this place. Then I remembered how sad , scared and overwhelmed everyone used to be in our last few days of BE. The thought that "this" is going to end was tormenting. All facebook updates, tweets, blogs (mine included), etc. were full of senti poems and thoughts. Which brought me to the present - 2 months completed in my new job. And I realised how silly all those thoughts were.
Ofcourse things have changed. They HAVE to change. How can anything that stagnates be beautiful ? Ofcourse I miss those days. I miss chattering with my best friend all the way to college. The loud music that bangs in my ears now when I drive to office just cannot compete with it. I miss seeing my poor ( but brave looking ) scooty loaded with 2 sets of drafters,sketchbooks,helmets and what not ! I miss the bunked lectures (common offs mostly ;) ) , the daily gossiping , the games in lectures and even the boring submissions. I miss everything about PICT. These will remain unwashed memories. Nothing can ever take their place.
But there are so many other reasons to be happy now. First salary , the pleasure of spending(rather lavishly) my own earned money , enjoying the fact that I am FINALLY doing something useful (No offence to the engineering syllabus , but well.. ), disturbing everyone in office and asking doubts(:P). When I look around at my colleagues , I realise that they feel the same way about nVIDIA as I feel about PICT. And it dawned on me that it wont be long before I say "I love nVIDIA.Its like a second home to me."
I am sure this is true for all of us. Life always moves on. One chapter unfolding after the other. But we are so scared of being taken out of our comfort zones that we fail to realise what we are missing. Just because we stand at the end of a beautiful chapter in our lives , doesnt mean that the one that follows has to be bad ! Infact it could even be better :)

Happy reading ! :)

Straight from the heart ..

2 days back I saw this picture on my friend Harshvardhan's facebook profile.It was dated 7th April and it had the caption "poor fellow... lost his mother yday...keeps calling her all the time :( why is nature so cruel???"
The scared,innocent eyes are enough to touch anyone's heart but being an avid cat lover , it had a worse effect on me.Immediately I found myself questioning God "HOW COULD U?" That little one obviously has no one and taking its mother away from it is as good as killing it ! I posted a comment on the pic "Oh ! please tell me that it is safe" .But even as i did this , I was expecting a reply like "No I have never seen it since then" or "No some stray dog killed it" or something worse.Next day Harshu replied "Aga ho..chan motha boka zalay ata to".
And I found myself smiling ,just staring at the pic for some time.It then occured to me that we live in such a cynical world.Perhaps it is because every morning we wake up to a newpaper full of fights,murders,blasts and other sinister happenings.At times it brings us to a point that we doubt God's existence and his will.
I easily thought of the many possiblities how this little one could make just one mistake and it could be the last in its life.But I did not think much of the one case where perhaps there could be someone who would tolerate its continuous mewing ,who would offer it the security of a fence -safe from stray dogs and fast cars,an old blanket to keep it warm in the untimely rains and a bowl of milk and a slice of bread everyday till it became old enough to find its own food.But well the kitten survived.It survived because of the love and compassion shown to it by a complete stranger.Atleast for the kitten God did appear in the form of its protector ^_^

And this whole incidence reminded me of the short story "What men live by" by Leo Tolstoy.If you do have 15-20 minutes ,do read it.
This is the line from the story :
“I have now understood that though it seems to men that they live by care for themselves, in truth it is love alone by which they live. He who has love, is in God, and God is in him, for God is love.”

As for the kitten , I pray that it stays healthy and safe ! :)

Happy reading !

P.S. For all those reading on buzz, if you do wish to comment ,please visit http://pindropnonsense.blogspot.com/

A and R and the idiot box ..

( I know that this is know sounding similar to the Baby's day out series - first the baby has a day on its own ..then goes to China n all ..but well its true :P )

After being on the "other side" , A and R are now going to be on TV !!

15th April 10.30 pm:

A and R are peacefully eating ice cream in Iceberg ! A has chocolate in waffle cone (yummy) and R has vanilla (boring) . A reporter appears suddenly with a camera man in tow.

A and R (to themselves) : Go away ..we aint sharing our ice creams !
Reporter persists.Asks for 2 volunteers.A and R are as usual the first to step up for such pompous occasions !

A and R listen to him ( between two consecutive licks of their respective ice creams )
and after a while reluctantly give the ice creams to their friends.. ( for safe keeping , not eating )

First R gives the shot ( and then returns to her ice cream ) and then A follows !

It was great fun . Thanks to Amod , Prasanna and the reporter for help with the questions .

P.S. : IF they dont edit it, you will find us questioning Mr. Suresh Kalmadi on NDTV 24x7 at 9.30 pm this Sunday . The name of the show is "Your call".If possible catch our 30 seconds of fame ;)

Just a thought ..

Just received this message from Sanket and thought of sharing it with all of you !

No poem , no beautiful thought ,
Just a tribute to the times we fought ..
Try and understand what this message says ,
A few days more and we part ways ..
No insane talking then , no crazy pics ,
Our meetings would be dependent on mouse clicks..
The parties would be corporate , the innocence would be lost ,
We would be earning , but at friends' cost ..
We would be professional , we would be "sane" ,
Then this message would be no more than a
"WALK IN THE MEMORY LANE " !

Happy reading :)

Being on the other side...

After surviving the crucio of you-know-who here, A and R found themselves actually taking interviews !!! ( Oh yes , every dog... ) And so their adventures continue..
(For convenience , the interviewee is called I)

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A : Is there any difference between NULL and void pointer ?
I : Void pointer is pointer that is void and NULL is aapla NULL pointer re
A : (waits..hoping he will add more)
I : ( silence )
A : You can ask your group mates if you want.
I : ( asks group mate )
I2 : Arey asto na to void kuthetari , NULL mhanje aapla end of linked list re..
A : okk..
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
R : What is your favourite subject ?
I : I dont know anything about C and DS. I am an EXPERT in DBMS.
R : (asks a few dbms questions and then gets bored)
R to A (in a hush hush voice ) : Arey hyala dusra kahich yet nahi..kay vicharu ?I have to keep him busy nahitar he is disturbing the others.
A to R (in equally hush hush voice ) : Ask normalization . Ani tula samajla tar mala pan samjavun sang..
A and R together (with a devilish smile) : heheh
R : (asks EXPERT)
EXPERT gives up.A and R are still left uneducated . :(
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A : What is a global variable ?
I : (looks at A and smiles ) heheh
A : (Tries a different subject) Can you write a code to traverse a tree ?
I : (looks at A and smiles ) heheh
A : (Tries a different language : Asks some puzzle in hindi )
I : (looks at A and smiles ) heheh
A to herself :Wonder what would have happened if GT had taken his interview. (looks around for help and catches the eye of a Dreamz member in another panel (say , D2) )
D2 : (looks at A and smiles ) heheh
A gives up !
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Moral of the story : Its verrry easy being on the "other" side...Anyone can do it..So next time you face an interview, look at the interviewer and smile "heheh" :D :D

Happy reading ! :)

Back with a blog ..

Hey all ! Feels good to be blogging after a gap of more than a month.Its been a taxing month - both mentally and physically and not to forget the complete chaos of emotions.To put it shortly , m glad to be at the end of it.Well some days in life teach you a LOT more than plain years put together.So this one is about what I learnt from the past few days.

1. Take care of your health.Dont let any mental strain take its toll on you.You ill health is a matter of concern ONLY for the people who genuinely love you and others (who are responsible for it in the first place) are not remotely affected.
2. Water is as good as blood.True friends DO exist and will look after you in all highs and lows.But at the same time , people who talk behind others' backs,then become best friends and then make plain faces to deny it all are not fictitious characters from "k" serials.They DO bear a resemblance with reality.
3. So what if you are alone?Dont ever give up.Any person who ends up losing but still has the courage to hold his/her head high and say "true to myself and true to my God , I did everything within my capacity" is as good as a winner.
4. Nice people who are always ready to help you are the ones who eventually make you cry.It is very easy to be negligent if someone scolds you.But caring words become a burden on your soul.
5. I recently learnt that a great man has said that "hard working people are servants of desire and anger".(To be very honest I think , either he was quoted out of context in what I read or I did not understand the meaning of what he said since all other great men usually are known to plant laurels on hardworking people).But anyway , my belief is that , in contrast , hardLY- working people are the most frustrated lot who bask in the glories earned because of others' hard work.And well , its way cooler to be in category 1 even if it implies endless desire and anger.
6. Things at times mean much more than just non living objects.Specially in troubled times , only the best of your tools are your comrades.
7. There are times when all you want to do is rant n rant n rant.You expect the other person to listen to you without questions and arguments.In such times only your mom knows what to do.No one else in the world would suffice.
   
8. If there exists a person who wud cry tears of joy when you win because he/she knows how hard you have worked you are really lucky.If there exist 2 ,you can safely assume that you are God's special child.
9. Harder the road to victory , sweeter the taste of success ! ;)
   

Now that its over , happy to have come out of it ' a lil bit wiser ,a lil bit stronger' !

Happy reading ! :)

Hope is the thing with feathers ..

By: Emily Dickinson

"Hope" is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul
And sings the tune without the words
And never stops at all,

And sweetest in the gale is heard;
And sore must be the storm
That could abash the little bird
That kept so many warm.

I've heard it in the chillest land
And on the strangest sea,
Yet never, in extremity,
It asked a crumb of me.

Bout the epitome of determination ..

You get mesmerized by certain people in life , mostly celebrities-sportsmen,actors or politicians , bussinessmen or even cartoons !! You want to know more about that person . You are disappointed at the failure of that person and elated at his/her success . You try to explain to others what it is that leaves you spellbound . But they never seem to understand . You are called childish.Slowly you get used to the ridicule but nothing deters your faith in your idol who in reality may be far from perfect . You know it but it doesnt matter to you !
If you have such feelings for anyone , only then will you understand why I am writing this blog . This one is for my idol - Zaheer Khan ! :)

I first read his interview when I was 14 . Since then I must have read almost every single one that he has given . Born in a small town , where there were hardly any means to encourage his cricketing talent , he is a perfect example of where skill , hardwork and determination can take you ! Not many know that Zaheer was an engineering student . Unlike most cricketers who have played all their lives , Zaheer first saw a leather ball when he was 17 . Just five years after that he was selected to play for India - an honor most only dream of ! Setbacks have only acted as stepping stones in his career . Most fast bowlers in the Indian cricket team have had the career span of 2-3 years . Zaheer will soon complete his 10th . He has had a career full of injuries . 4 years after playing at the international level , he realised that it was his bowling action (with a high jump) that was the cause of these . It was then that he took time off and changed his bowling action and then came back with a bang . Today he plays the role of mentor to the other youngsters in the team and is called the "unofficial bowling captain" .

Blessed with a sharp ,analyzing brain , terrific sense of humor and a pleasing personality , he has been my ideal for the past 8 years and will always be !

So this one is for Zaheer - I am sure some day you will read it ! :)

P.S.: Not expecting many , but if you feel similarly about anyone , would love to read bout it in comments !

Happy reading ! :)

Bout TRUE friendship..

We have grown up listening to the story of two friends traveling through a dense forest at night.One friend sees a bear coming towards them and climbs to a nearby tree forsaking the other.The bear then whispers words of true friendship to the other friend.Practically it ain't possible to take all our friends one by one to the forest and get them checked by our good old bear.
So in the past few years I have found my own definitions of true friendship.This blog is what friendship is to me !

• Friendship is RUTA for willingly replacing with her own stuff , something that I had borrowed from a classmate and carelessly lost , for drawing my diagrams before submission even when I hadn't asked her to - just because she knew I may be late,for sharing all the joys and sorrows with me in the past 4 years,for always saying things that I want to hear at the moment, for being the sister I never had but always wanted !

• Friendship is SAGAR for getting punished but not taking any of our names when we were all culprits but he was the only one caught by the principal when we played rangpanchami in PICT,for tolerating all my teasing (dadhi) with a smile :)
  

• Friendship is PRASANNA for always taking me along no matter where we went-picnics,classes,movies,parties,etc , for teaching me all the stuff that dikshit sir said (cough cough ;) ) and I didnt understand, for sharing the most memorable day in my life, for being such an amazing "bhai" to me.

• Friendship is AKSHAY and NACHIKET for riding the bike on a hot afternoon so that the rest of us could enjoy the comforts of a car , for spending almost the entire picnic at the puncture place so that our picnic wasnt spoilt and yet never complaining about it.

• Friendship is MRUNAL for forgiving an innocent mistake I made in the days we dint know each other but which made things difficult for her and still being such a lovely friend yet never ever bringing the past blunder to my notice-neither by words nor by actions.

• Friendship is AMOD for leaving all his work for 3 and half hours and helping me when I had trouble compiling the kernel for the first time,for being my helpline no matter what time of the day,for always being the first one to comment on my blogs because he knows I like it.

• Friendship is NEHA for getting me Baphana notes despite the fact that it was pouring cats and dogs outside when I could not attend class due to illness,for always being the one to wish me luck before I give any exam and always being one of the first few to congratulate me if I end up doing anything remotely good.

• And last but in no way the least, friendship is NIKHIL for being my magic wand for the past almost 7 years, for offering his brand new expensive cell when I needed speaker for some stupid presentation,for coming over to my place to teach me graphics the day before exam because I was feeling "tensed", for all his "lectures" (:P),for being the first one to scold me when I flunked the Thoughtworks apti and for believing in me even at times when I doubted myself.

Friendship for me is all these wonderful people who turned up at 12.00am on my bday just to make me feel special,who tolerate all my mood swings,tantrums,rants and yet are always there for me whenever I need them.

Blessed am I to have such doting friends ! Some of these may be trivial for you all.You may have even forgotten it or never given a second thought to it.But your little actions taught me the meaning of true friendship.So this one is for my true friends - I love you all and cherish every memory we shared ! :)

Happy reading !

"The last lecture" by Dr. Randy Pausch

I saw this video yesterday and I think that everyone ought to see it atleast once..The lecture series used to be called the Last Lecture - "If you had one last lecture to give before you died, what would it be?" This is the Last lecture given by Dr.Randy Pausch in CMU ,months before he passed away due to pancreatic cancer. I am not going into details here but I just wanted to write about something that he mentioned and that made me think..

"THE BRICK WALL" is always used as a metaphor for closed paths.Whenever we get rejection from any person ,any institution or for that matter even discouragement in our work ,it becomes our brick wall..We always wonder why it had to happen with us ! But in reality the brick wall does not suggest a dead end..It is just a method of testing one's true intent and commitment..It is just present to separate "us" who are ready to do anything to achieve whats beyond it from "others" who think casually about whats beyond and would want it only if it is easily getable ! Brick walls always ask the question whether we are ready to get on all fours and climb it if needed.And if we are, then whatever is guarded by the wall is truly ours else we never really deserved it !
So next time you meet your brick wall , think about it as a challenge rather than a disappointment.

We always get irritated,upset,angry or disappointed if people criticize our work.Be it our teachers, parents, siblings, friends, project guides or whoever.No one likes being told that he or she is wrong.But we never think on the fact that the reason that someone is criticizing us is because that person either cares about us or about our work.When you see yourself doing something badly and nobody’s bothering to tell you anymore, that’s a very bad place to be. It means that all have lost hope on you ! Your critics are your ones telling you they still love you and care.
So next time you meet criticism , be happy that there is atleast someone who is affected by your work .

P.S.: Thank you Nikhil for making me watch this.There are so many wonderful points stated by this man in the lecture that are worth pondering and following in life.So for all others who dont have Nikhil for a best friend, here is a link to the pdf of the lecture - http://download.srv.cs.cmu.edu/~pausch/Randy/pauschlastlecturetranscript.pdf
and the video is available on you tube.Just google it.

Happy reading !
and Happy makar sankranti :)