Pin Drop Nonsense

Separated by distance ...

2011-07-01T16:02:00.005+05:30

" If our friendship depends on things like space and time, then when we finally overcome space and time, we’ve destroyed our own brotherhood! But overcome space, and all we have left is Here. Overcome time, and all we have left is Now. And in the middle of Here and Now, don’t you think that we might see each other once or twice? ”
- Jonathan Livingston Seagull

.. This post is for all my loving friends who have flown off or are dreaming of flying off to different shores. Hoping to be separated from you only by distance and not in thoughts...

Happy reading :)

Utsav Sharma : Right or wrong ?

2011-01-26T11:35:00.003+05:30

For those readers who dont know about him , Utsav Sharma is a 29 year old post-graduate in animation and film designing from National Institute of Design (NID), Ahmedabad. His father, Sushil Kumar Sharma, is a professor of mechanical engineering at IT-BHU and mother Indira Sharma is a psychiatrist and a professor at Institute of Medical Sciences at Banaras Hindu University. The reason I am writing about him is because this young man showed extraordinary courage (and perhaps some mental imbalance) when he first stabbed Former DGP SPS Rathore when he was coming out of session court in Chandigarh after filing appeal for bail in Ruchika molestation case. He actually repeated his act yesterday when he stabbed Dr. Rajesh Talwar, Aarushi's father, when he was coming out of the Ghaziabad court.

Somehow when I had read about what he did to Rathore last year, I found myself supporting him unconditionally. Who can forget the devil grin on the man's face when he came out of the court with just a six month sentence ! At that time as well there were debates on many news channels regarding Utsav's action. Most senior speakers believed that he was wrong and that you cannot take law in your hands in a democracy. The young participants in the debate though supported his action. But no one had an answer to the one question - What do we do when the democracy fails?

Anyway, that was then. But his action yesterday somehow disturbed me. Though all rational thoughts would point to the fact that 14 year old Aarushi was murdered by her father, there still DOES remain a doubt. There are SO many unanswered questions. If a father wanted to do away with his 14 year old child,there can be SO many ways to do it such that no one would suspect him! It somehow makes no sense why he would do it in such an obvious way. Just for arguments sake , we assume that he is innocent (which he may quite possibly be), then he has not only lost his only daughter but he has been blamed for her death, he has spent 2 months in jail and now he has been stabbed in public ! How is hell any worse than this? After this incident, I found myself agreeing with all the senior speakers who keep parroting the same line "Law cannot be taken in your own hands".

5 years back when "Rang De Basanti" released, every other youth in India (perhaps including me) was mesmerized. "This IS the way we ought to handle things in our country now" were our thoughts. DJ,Karan,Sukhi,Sonia,Laxman and Aslam,etc were our torch bearers. The attitude of young India changed overnight and it was proved by the Jessica Lall case and the anti-reservation movement. But the question that now arises is where do we draw the line? Does the agitation have to stop at lighting candles and shouting slogans on streets? Does Gandhigiri work in every case or is the extremist view justified in some cases? And if it is , then who decides when to take the extremist road? We come down to the classic problem "Who will rule the rulers?" ? Who and what decides the fate of this young man now? It is ironical that the other question that immediately pops up is who was He to decide the fate of the two men he stabbed?

Links :

http://www.infocera.com/Rathore_stabbed_by_Utsav_Sharma,_former_NID_student,_Ahmedabad_7868.htm

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/I-only-wanted-to-hurt-Talwar-not-kill-him-says-Utsav-Sharma/articleshow/7364668.cms

Happy reading !

Aj Kal Zindagi..

2011-01-21T12:05:00.003+05:30

Hello all !! :) (after a long time).
Last week I got confirmed here in nVIDIA. (Its just a formality really.. But still feels good..) The 6 month experience here has been awesome..So this post is bout some things that nVIDIA taught me in the "probation" period..
"Its always the first step thats the hardest"
I still remember my first day here. New people, new places, new expectations and a whole new (CORPORATE) attitude but no friends around. It was indeed a scary feeling. Somehow I was sitting at my desk totally blank when a friendly stranger asked if I needed some help. And suddenly all was good again. That day I learnt a very important lesson in life. Sometimes a kind word from an unexpected source can work wonders :)
"It just takes a moment to connect"
Its indeed like magic how the silliest things you do/say or like can make you friends. I had no idea that my "Lion King" desktop wallpaper would fetch me a friend, a mentor and a "BRO" in office. I officially became the "baccha" of the team that day and its never been lonely since then.
"Perceptions can go TOTALLY wrong"
There may a certain quality that you dislike in a person. More often than not you do not think of the person beyond that quality and needless to say , more often than not you are WRONG. Later on when the person ends up becoming a good friend or a favourite mentor , you think about your first impression of him/her and laugh.
"Tact is the art of making a point without making an enemy."
There are so many times when unnecessary opinions, high voices can take life out of a nice, calm discussion. Just keeping quiet and following instructions on your part also solves the problem and it is equally productive as contributing in the discussion.
"People can be GOOD"
Now I am not sure whether is true everywhere or it is due to the culture here. But people genuinely are NICE. They are ready to help even if it is at the cost of their time and effort. Hoping that some of this rubs off on me as well :)

Its been a roller coaster of emotions here. I am sure most of my batchmates have experienced the same. There are times when you are overwhelmed with the new surroundings, scared of the new expectations, excited about the new oppurtunities, happy about the first times and proud of even the smallest achievements or praises from seniors. Its a wonderful time of our lives. Hence I am ending this post with the lyrics of this song which is perhaps written for all of us !

Aaj kal zindagi
Mujhse hai keh rahi
Tu jo meri maane toh chal deewane
Sapnon ki rahoon mein tu
Saari khusboon ko
Saari roshni ko le le in bahoon mein tu

Ab hai tu jahaan
Din raat saare naye hai
Arzoo jawaan
Jazbaat saare naye hai
Naye rastein hai tere vaaste
Toh rahe kyun panahoon mein tu

Ohhoo tere liye
Nayi hai zameen naya aasmaan
Likh de hawaaon mein koi nayi dastaan..
Tere liye
Nayi hai zameen naya aasmaan
Likh de hawaaon mein koi nayi dastaan..

Zindagi ne (zindagi ne)
Dastak di toh (dastak di toh)
Dil ki sab khidkiyaan… khul gayi
Haan khul gayi

Hotoon pe jo (hotoon pe jo)
Jami thi woh (jami thi woh)
Saari khamoshiyaan ghul gayi
Haan ghul gayi

Kitne lamhoon ne
Mujhko ho jaise hairaan kiya
Kitni batoon ne
Dil ko aake hai chuu liya

Chahatein kayi
Hai dil mein ab jagmagaye
Rahatein kayi
Hai mujhse kehne ko aayi
Pehchaan saari muskaane
Saari bhar le nigaahon mein tu...

Happy reading :)

Who moved my cheese !!

2010-09-05T20:37:00.004+05:30

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 ..

2010-05-09T18:37:00.004+05:30

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 ..

2010-04-15T23:33:00.006+05:30

( 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 ..

2010-04-14T21:25:00.002+05:30

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...

2010-04-05T10:44:00.003+05:30

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 ..

2010-04-02T21:31:00.002+05:30

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.

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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Things at times mean much more than just non living objects.Specially in troubled times , only the best of your tools are your comrades.
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.
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.
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 ..

2010-02-23T22:58:00.002+05:30

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 ..

2010-01-28T21:16:00.003+05:30

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..

2010-01-15T13:13:00.005+05:30

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

2010-01-14T20:55:00.003+05:30

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 :)

Random...

2009-12-28T17:56:00.003+05:30

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...

2009-11-11T15:15:00.003+05:30

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 :)

2009-11-03T21:22:00.002+05:30

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

2009-09-26T16:41:00.003+05:30

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 !

2009-09-21T18:17:00.003+05:30

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"

2009-09-11T16:33:00.004+05:30

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

2009-09-05T19:51:00.005+05:30

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 :)

2009-08-25T21:35:00.003+05:30

"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...

2009-08-20T12:24:00.000+05:30

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..

2009-08-12T14:22:00.000+05:30

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

2009-08-08T19:37:00.000+05:30

..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

2009-07-31T08:51:00.000+05:30

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 !

2009-06-24T20:48:00.000+05:30

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

2009-06-23T15:24:00.000+05:30

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