Sunday, September 23, 2007

snapshots from hell... the end!!!

it's more than two months after I have left my alma mater, Indian Institute of Science... some memories to conclude the snapshots from hell...

it was 27th July'05, a cold morning in Bangalore, that we set our first foot in IISc... we are very much delighted to find few enthusiastic senior students, who came to receive us from the railway station... I know none of those sitting with me in that cab, which took us to the institute... while many of the then current students were walking here and there with books in their hands and glow in their faces, we were sitting on our luggage in front of the hostel office, just like refugees, waiting for the registration... all the delusions that we will be given hi fi rooms were shattered when we entered into those old hostel rooms, where visibility was poor, walls were seeping, and bathrooms unattended!!! of course, those rooms were still prestigious as they have given shelter to many great minds over the last many decades... the whole day went by in trying to make contacts with the new faces, finding the routes etc... we were given a welcome address the very next day in the faculty hall... the scenario faintly resembled the welcome address for John Nash and his batch mates in the movie "A beautiful mind"... we were thrilled to know that the institute was an outcome of the discussion of JRD Tata with Swami Vivekananda a century ago (you can have more information here)... and we were here, to carry on with the standards, and do something... all the faces were very enthusiastic, bright, and nervous at the same time... on the very first day, we were told by the faculty that life at iisc will be hectic, just like hell... and they have proved the same, as days and months passed!!! so, that was the starting point, with lots of hopes, dreams and expectations...

a semester passed by... there were countless situations where we felt all alone... first time in my life, i got less than 10 marks for a test conducted for 100 or so... how can this situation be compared to my four years of undergraduate life where i have never scored below 80 percent... ha hha, that's what we were supposed to learn at this place... learn that life is not a bed of flowers... i have seen almost all of my batch mates crying to tears when they perform badly or got bad grades... i even remember the day i sobbed in front of my seniors that i wanted to leave this place and do something else, rather than continuing with this poor performance and harsh criticism by professors...

well... we sustained finally, and changed the course of our direction... came out of those high expectations from oneself and started taking life a bit easier, while still putting a little bit of effort to meet the requirements... as another semester is finished and we were announced that there is no more course work, we got wings all of a sudden... there was lot of free time and space... institute started looking more beautiful... the same roads, the same trees, the same buildings, and the same people... but, something has changed inside... since the worst period was over, our eyes started to recognize the beauty of this place and its importance in life...

the coffee board, the tea kiosk, the department corridor, the TMC canteen, the gym-cafe, the aerodrome, and the jubilee park... every corner of the institute has its own connectivity with us... the much awaited placement session lasted for a couple of months, leaving us in trance... finally, everybody has got selected and finished thesis work and presentations... some satisfied with their performance, some left with bitter experiences with the whole degree, and some with no feeling at all... at last, the two years of iisc life is over!!! only those memories, lessons, affections, and relations are left...

only after leaving the institute, that we realized how beautiful the life at iisc was... though i have addressed the institute as hell, it was the most beautiful place that i have ever lived... so, that calls for the end of the snapshots from hell!!!

PS: also read snapshots1 , snapshots2

Saturday, September 22, 2007

few hours without a mobile...

just now, i had a training class of 3 hours duration... haaaa... such a boring thing to do on a weekend... cuddling in the rug till the rug, reordering the flat, cleaning my FIRST KISS until it shines, or whatever on the earth will be more exciting on a weekend than coming to office to attend a lousy seminar... as soon as i was out of the conference room, i was searching for my mobile... my portable, cute, shining, small friend who never bothers me irrespective of how i handle that... uff, i forgot it at my flat... almost, like losing one of my limb... I can't send some funny thought to my colleague, about the boring lecture... i can't hear my loved one's voice... i can't play games... ooops... few more hours without my mobile, that too in the conference room :-(

Thursday, September 20, 2007

life can be funny...

the other day, some X was talking to me... this is to know how wild guesses could be...

X: sooooo, you are miste...r Krissshnaa???
G: no, I am Gopal...
X: oh... I thought you must be Krishna... sooooo, you have finissshed your doo..ctorate???
G: no, I did my masters...
X: oooh... masters innnnn compu..ter science???
G: no, masters in chemical engineering...
X: oooh... ok ok... sooooo, yoooou did your masters from IITB???
G: no, I did from IISc...
X: soooo... you went to masters after sommmmmme work experience???
G: no, I went directly after my undergrad...
X: soooo... you must be from UP... right???
G: no, I am from AP...
X: ooooh... i thought you are from UP... sooo, where in AP???
G: Kakinada
X: Kakinada??? it is near Hyderabad... right???
G: nooooo... it is near Visakhapatnam...
X: ooooh... Visakhapatnam is in AP???
G: hmmm... one of the beautiful cities of the state!!!
X: ok Gopal.... if you have any doubts, you can come to me for clarifications...
G: sure... i will come to you anytime if i have doubts...
X: no... not any time, but sometimes!!!

ufff... there ends the conversation ;-)

Tuesday, September 18, 2007

can we be more sensible?

since last four days, all the roads and main centers are occupied with ad hoc Ganesh temples... keeping aside the sentiments of people, it is surprising to see the way the whole process is being celebrated... within a span of 1km of roadway, there are more than five points where these ad hoc devotional places are arranged... all of the groups are competing with the size of the statue that is erected there... not just the size of the status, but the wattage of the speakers they arrange... lord Ganesha himself can answer where the hell these people got permission to play those loud speakers, right in the middle of busy residential area!!!

lord Ganesha, whose statue is located at the nearest point to the speakers, must have already gone deaf for lifetime (in fact, for his whole life cycles to come) and he can no longer hear the pleas of people, in spite of his large ears!!! sadly enough, there is no single song that is devotional... day starts much before 5AM with a song "meri naseeb mein tu hi tu" followed by "sexy lady on the floor" and so on...

lord Ganesha must be muttering to himself "sudharjaa beta"when he sees the 'pujari' staring at the display by a modern-dressed young girl who came to offer pooja... funny enough is the publicity on display for the people who are organizing these things...

every time I see these ganesha idols being worshipped, i only think the fate of these man-made forms of god being thrown at the local dump yard after the nine days event :-( needless to mention about the stringent security needs to avoid any casualties between people, who always try to find reasons to fight!!!

I dream for the day when people celebrate the 'spirit of unity' as their religion, 'brotherhood' as the motto and 'live and let live' as their policy...

Saturday, September 15, 2007

my FIRST KISS...


finally, i have got a bike of my own... honda shine featuring 125cc, 10.3 bhp, 65kmpl... I have named it as my FIRST KISS... boo hoo to Pune public transport ;-)

Thursday, September 13, 2007

jab kabhi...

jab kabhi chand na ho... andheri raat ho...
darna kum hoga mujhko... agar tum saath ho...

jab kabhi baadal chaaye... ya ghani barsaat ho...
hogi khushi har ek boond mein... agar tum saath ho...

is jahan mein koi mera ho bhi ya na ho...
har ek lamha bhar jayega roshini se...
bas agar tum saath ho...

jab kabhi aansoo aaye... ya buree saugaat ho...
muskuraaloonga main to phir bhee... agar tum saath ho...

tum yahaam ho to saari duniya hi idhar...
saare armaan khwab saare ban gaye hai ab tumhaari ek nazar...

jab kabhi dil ghabraaye... saamne maat ho...
jeet ke main dikhlaaoonga... agar tum saath ho...

jab kabhi hansde aalam... khushiyom ki baaraat ho...
zindagi hogi jannat... agar tum saath ho...

Wednesday, September 12, 2007

boring...


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Tuesday, September 11, 2007

the namesake...

I have read this touching novel 'the namesake' recently, which kept me reading to the end in one stretch... A story about an Indian family shifted to the land of opportunities, America, and settled there... Ashoke, the father of the protagonist Gogol, met with a dreadful accident during his train journey, when he was reading the short stories by Nikolai Gogol... the same accident, which almost takes him to the doors of the death, motivates him to move to a foreign land to pursue his higher studies... he gets married to a bengali girl, Ashima, during his Ph.D and builds his own world there in that foreign land...

Ashoke names his son by the name of his favorite author, Gogol, the book of whom he was reading during that dreadful accident that haunts him throughout his life... Gogol, along with his sister Sonali (gradually converted to Sonia due to her American ambiance) grows up with a mindset of considering himself truly American... Later, Gogol officially changes his name to Nikhil after numerous embarrassments and other inner feelings... Then onwards, the story goes on describing how he goes to India with his parents, how he hates that ambiance, his two unsuccessful love affairs, his father's sudden death, and finally his unsuccessful marriage with a girl names Moushumi, who turns out to be unfaithful to him... Finally, his mother moves to her motherland leaving Gogol and Sonia to their individual lives...

Jhumpa Lahiri, the author of this novel, starts this story with Ashima's feelings when she was expecting a child... the story takes the readers to their innermost self, dwells out those memories of childhood, points out our way of behaving with parents, and finally the intricate difficulties of typical metro/cosmopolitan lifestyle... a novel worth reading at least once, which leaves us with a nice feeling... just like feeling the touch of a dew drop after a chillingly cold winter night!!

PS: thanks to Deepa, who has gifted this book to me!!!

Friday, September 07, 2007

pune...

surrounded with greenery, Pune is a medium sized city with a lifestyle of its own... somebody who lived in a city like Bangalore for quite sometime and shifted to Pune without having any local acquaintances, is likely to get cheated by auto drivers, at least once... minimal knowledge of hindi is a must for a smooth survival here... few goodies about this software city that i have observed so far...

first and foremost thing to be noticed is its pleasant climate... we can feel like in an air-conditioned room most of the time... though monsoon season brings some irritation along with its beauty, it is quite comfortable weather to live in...

wherever you go in the city, there are always some buddy shops selling native marathi dishes like vadapav, poha etc. one can't help admiring the taste of vadapav if he takes it in a good stall... tiffins in a road side buddy are much more reasonable in prices and better in taste compared to that is available in restaurants... and the food is hygeinic too...

the 'dahi handi' event that takes place on janmashtami is celebrated too good here... the spirit of unity, tradition, and strength are well displayed... it's an awsome event that should not be missed...

people are never too much bothered about traffic rules here... people might be too time conscious to follow the rules, i guess ;-) even then, the mishaps are very few, since people are showing a suitable driving sense to assure enough safety...

last but not the least, gender bais is not found that much here... no separate seats or entrances for gents and ladies in public buses and other common modes of commutation...

except the poorly maintained public transportation, muddy roads on rainy days, and dusty atmosphere on a sunny day, this is a nice place to spend joyously... provided, one has enough money to afford!!!