TO BE OR NOT TO BE

Conversations with my consciousness

2011-10-16T18:36:00.001+05:30

Most people will never have an affirmative answer to this baffling question: ‘Do you love what you do at work or at home...’ But sadly that’s the way this life is. I can’t say I love what I do. Every evening after returning from work I don’t have much to look forward to. Switch on the laptop, check mails, facebook, chatting… But every night when I lie down on my cold bed, my consciousness asks me, ‘Did you do justice with your day… Did you achieve what you set out to get?’ It’s rare I can stare back at my alter ego and say ‘Yes, I did what I loved, I achieved what I wanted’. Mostly I hide my head under the pillow and shout back ‘Get lost! You moron… you don’t know a shit about this world… so better keep your mouth shut’. My consciousness gives me a good stare… laughs his heart out at me before going off to sleep till the next night when he can again throw the same rhetorical question at me. That sums up the life for me… may be most of the people.

But then there are days when I too get a chance to fight back. These days, though a very few, are pretty exciting days. ‘Yes I did what I love… achieved what I wished for’. There is an endless jour at heart when I get a chance to shout back these very words at my consciousness. But, he pounces back with an even terse ask. ‘What next… or for how long?’ He politely asks, leaving speechless and dumb. These barbed words hurt even more than ever before. At least earlier I got the chance to shout back. But where am I left stranded now? Whom I am trying to fool? I again crouch back, hiding my face when finally he decides to leave me alone but not before having laughed his heart out.

Tired of this every day ordeal, I decided one day to take my consciousness to a coffee shop for face to face talk. I wanted to settle this once for all. I started the conversation explaining him ’If I always do what I love or wanted I …’

‘How often do you do stuff that you love’, he shot back even before I could finish.

‘Quite often…’ I said, trying to avoid any eye contact. But he kept staring at me.

‘Ok! Not so often’ raising my eyes I replied to the unasked but obvious question. There was no change in his stance. I finally gave in. ‘I do things that I like rarely… but if I always do what I want I will end up nowhere.’

‘Define nowhere.’ He politely asked.

‘I don’t know’

‘Then checkup the dictionary’

‘Sure, I will as soon as I get time but let’s stay focus on the matter at hand’

‘We have time now. Why don’t you check out while we wait for coffee.’ He said in a manner I couldn’t deny.

‘Nowhere: in, at or to no place; not anywhere; not in a successful or a winning position.’ I read out loud from the Cambridge dictionary. ‘Satisfied’ I blurted. ‘Can we talk now… see the point I was making is that if I always …. rather often did what I loved I may end up being an unsuccessful person. I love to cook my meals but I don’t like to do the cleaning afterwards. So if I only cooked and never cleaned will I ever be successful.’

Nodding his head he asked ‘Why do you work at job’.

‘It pays me a salary at the end of every month.’

‘Which you use for?’

‘Doing things that I desire.’

‘Do you desire food’

‘I need food. I told you I love cooking.’

‘But do you really cook?’

I was stunned in silence.

‘So try explaining me… you work at a job which pays you a salary which is to be used for doing things that you like but you end up not doing things that you like!’

I was dumb founded.

‘Let begin it all over again!’ he suggested. ‘You said that if you do what you love you will be unsuccessful. Why don’t we check out what dictionary says about success’

I quietly flipped over the pages of the dictionary and read to myself. ‘Success: the achieving of desired results’. I could clearly see where this conversation was headed realizing the gloom of silence had descended all over the place.

‘Your coffee Sir’ the waiter’s voice ruptured through the darkness of silence as I released a sigh of relief. But this conversation was far from over.

To be continued…

How global investment banks are following ancient Indian culture?

2010-08-11T23:50:00.006+05:30

I came across this interesting article so sharing here!! Its bit long, but take my word, you will find it interesting. Please bear with it!!

Every wonder why the American Investment banks / Lalit Modi / or those get away lightly always......the Reason is Indian Mythology (It is Vishun's Kar-na-ma that world over people follow........of late)

Another thing which is crucial to the financial services industry is the concept of being too big to fail, which has been put to good use by Citigroup, Bear Stearns, and Goldman Sachs over the past few years in sucking money from American taxpayers. This beautiful concept was also invented by an Indian - Vishnu Sharma, the author of the Panchatantra, in the story of the Weaver and the Chariot Maker.

The story of the weaver and chariot maker is one of the Panchatantra stories that usually doesn't make it to primary school textbooks or Amar Chitra Katha, mostly because it's full of sex, war, and moral hazard. Since you probably haven't read it, here's a quick summary.

A weaver sees a princess during a festival and falls in love with her. As a weaver, he has no chance of marrying her, so he sinks into depression. His friend, a chariot maker decides to help him out. He designs a flying chariot in the shape of Garuda, dresses the weaver up as Vishnu, and tells him to fly the chariot into the princess's room, tell her that he is Vishnu and wants to marry her Gandharva style. That is, the wedding is kept a secret from everyone except the princess and the faux-Vishnu. The princess agrees, and the weaver comes back every night to consummate the marriage.

Eventually, the maids notice that the princess is spending her days in total bliss, suspect that she's in love, and tell the King. The King asks her what's going on, and she tells him that she's married to Vishnu himself. The King is absolutely delighted, and decides that there's no point in paying tribute to the Chakravarti now that Vishnu himself is on the kingdom's side. The next night, he catches the weaver as he enters the princess's room and asks him to fight the Chakravarti's army.

The weaver is horrified. Pretending to be Vishnu was fine when it allowed him to make sweet, sweet love to the princess, but taking on the role of Vishnu to face an imperial army single-handed is another thing altogether. On the other hand, if he confesses to the King that he is not actually Vishnu and has been boinking the princess under false pretences for the past month, he will have his head chopped off. So he decides to get on to the battlefield and do the best job he can, while the King is whipping up enthusiasm in the population by telling them that Vishnu himself is going to do all the fighting.

By this time, Garuda (the real one, not the mechanical one) has tipped off Vishnu about what's going on, and warned him that if the fake Vishnu doesn't win the battle, the people of the kingdom will lose all faith in him. Vishnu doesn't want to see this happen, so on the battlefield he enters the weaver's body and annihilates the Chakravarti's army. The entire army. Every single soldier. After this, the weaver marries the princess, everyone goes on worshipping Vishnu, and the king becomes the new Chakravarti.

The moral is that you should conduct your affairs in such a way that if you fail, it will lead to someone or something even bigger or more powerful failing too. This lets you get away with anything.

The weaver got away with having sex with the princess on false pretences (this is rape under Section 375 of the Indian Penal Code), pretending to be a god (awesomely enough, this too is a criminal offence under Section 508), and annihilating an entire army that was fighting a just war - after all, it was the king who broke the treaty (you could make a case for this being genocide under Article 2 of the UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide).

American banks and financial institutions were very good at absorbing this lesson, and leveraged themselves up to such an extent that if they failed they would take the global economy down with them. And just as the weaver lived happily ever after with the princess, banks have lived happily ever after with taxpayer-funded bailouts.

But no matter how hard American investment banks try, Indians still remain the masters of this art. If the whole truth surrounding Lalit Modi is revealed, big politicians might be trapped. Modi is, thus, likely to get away lightly -- as is A Raja, who might have given away spectrum at bargain basement rates, but whose sacking would lead to the government collapsing. All this goes to show that no matter what the anguished elderly gentlemen who write letters to the editor feel, Indians are still in touch with our ancient and glorious culture.

There will always be a bail out in the EU.
The PIIGS owe 700 billion to Germany and 900 billion to France.
France and Germany are actually bailing out themselves.

Random Observations of an idle man lost in the labyrinth of Saas-Bahu Serials

2010-08-09T12:37:00.000+05:30

Vacations are no doubt every man’s desire, but a really long holiday can become a pain, especially when you have nothing to do. Few would realize my pain, sitting in front of the Television sets aptly named idiot box, from 10-6 and watching the same news again and again and again. I cede the control of the idiot box to my mom in the evenings, who watches these hopeless soaps of the ‘Ekta Kapoor’ fame. With literally nothing to do, I too have to sit through the ordeal, during which I made some of the most bizarre observations:

1. Every soap has so many unwanted twists that it’s impossible to figure out what the original story line was. (Instead of twist in a story, the story is entire story seems twisted).

2. Without fail there is a character in every serial, mostly likely female, who is incarnation of Sati Savitri. She will be presented throughout as an epitome of Bhartiye naari. She will bear all kinds of domestic violence and cruelties quietly for months and even years until suddenly she becomes the embodiment of Goddess Durga.

3. What’s the point in having a resolute hero, if there is no villain? So, each soap inadvertently has to have a devil, generally male but lately fair sex can also be seen, whose only job seems to me is to plot against the lead character. These plots, read shadyantras, are so overtly complex that sometimes I feel why can’t our intelligence agencies use their services for unraveling the conspiracies?

4. Irrespective of the social standings in the serial, every female character is loaded with tones of jewelry all times, even when they are to sleep, an omnipresent, large sized mangal sutra hanging down their necks like a noose, an overdose of sindoor in maang and lastly high heeled footwear. I actually wonder how people shown, in the soap, living in mud houses afford such expensive jewelry and even absurd is the idea of wearing them 24x7. Frankly, I am confused that how many females wear high heeled shoes instead of casual slippers in their homes?

The males, in these soaps, are even more overtly dressed. Lately the trend has been extensively embroidered long kurtas. Phew! I tried the same, but sincerely I would never give up the comfort of Tees and shorts, for such things.

Another amazing fact of these soaps is they rarely conclude in less than 3-4 years. Most of them meet the fate of being booted out when their TRP’s hit the rock bottom. I wish I would ever watch a serial end gracefully.

Weekends!! Why Saturday and Sunday only??

2010-08-04T15:42:00.002+05:30

I have been idling at my home for quite some time and my not so good health is not permitting me to venture out frequently. An empty mind is a devil’s workshop and probably few would realize it better than me. With absolutely nothing to do, some weird thoughts are bound to cross my mind and one such thought that tickled my feather of thought was why weekends mean only Saturday and Sunday? Why can’t other days of the week be made into regular week offs?

The source of this weirdo is the recent initiative of the Tamil Nadu courts to run family courts on Saturdays and Sundays so as to help working professionals to fight family court cases. One of the reasons for this initiative was the spurt in the number of family disputes (read matrimonial disputes and divorce pleas). While this shows that matches are not made in heaven, but the point of interest for me was the working on so called weekends.

I sincerely feel that this initiative should be extended to other offices too. Rather than having Saturday and Sunday as weekly holidays, we can make a particular day in week holiday for a particular department. Pondering over this I came across some ideas:

Welcoming the Tamil Nadu initiative, it would be better if the same is implemented across the entire judicial set up(Supreme Court, high courts, etc.) across the country. The courts can have weekend on Monday and Tuesday, enabling working people to avail judicial services on Saturday and Sundays.

Considering that state governments and union governments rarely agree on anything, it would better if union government sets aside different days as weekly offs. Starting with the financial institutions (read banks, stock exchanges) can enjoy their weekend on Wednesday while other central government offices can be closed on Thursdays and Fridays.

Idea of having any day of the week as holiday has many fold advantages. The working professionals will not have to take unwanted leaves from their works for just trifle works, resulting in increased productivity. Another aspect is even distribution of traffic ensuring that on Mondays roads are not overly crowded while on Sundays roads lie bare.

No doubt that such a system would feel chaotic initially and may face stiff social acceptance challenges but over the time it might just prove to be vastly productive.

I don’t know whether this is a great idea or another absurd thought of an empty mind, but I wish to see it being implemented at least on trial basis.

GOOD BYE

2010-05-20T16:01:00.000+05:30

This is my last blog before I leave Indian School of Mine, the place that transformed a school boy into an engineer. Leaving friends is painful.... so its bit senti... hope readers will bear with me...

Tonight I walk past the same tall and imposing gates of ISM for the last time which I entered four years ago with dreams in eyes… but the eyes this time are wet, not with tears to fulfillment of dreams but that of the pain of leaving my friends with whom I shared the best moments of life…
I will miss the days which were spent in dreams and those happening nights full of joy and mirth when you all were around…
I will miss the 5am tea at RD, 2am dinners at station… late night shows at Fame and the long walk back, not because the tea of extra-ordinary or the movie was a super-hit… but because you all were around. The warmth your hearts made the cold food at station the best delicacy and a boring movie more enjoyable than anything u can ask for.
I will never forgot you all for I am taking back with me the biggest treasure… the memories of you all.

I thank God for being lucky to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard.

बदलाव : the change

2010-05-09T15:18:00.001+05:30

ये जीवन बहुत लम्बा है, पर बदलते क्षणॊ में कट जाता है,
नहीं बदलते हैं हम, बस हमारी जिंदगी बदल जाती है |
नहीं बदलते हैं ये रिश्ते, पर मिठास फीकी हो जाती है,
नहीं बदलता है सत्य, बस पर्याय खो जाते हैं|

प्रेम है वही , पर चाहत बदल जाती है,
लक्ष्य भी है वही, बस उद्देश्य बदल जाते हैं|
जीवन सफ़र है वही, पर साथी बदल जाते हैं,
जवाब भी है वही, बस जिंदगी के सवाल बदल जाते हैं|

अंतिम मंजिल तो है वही चिता अग्नि,पर पहुँचने में ये जीवन लग जाता है |
नहीं बदलता है ये संसार, बस एक किसी पल में हम ही खत्म हो जाता है ||

THE CANDY CURRENCY

2009-12-11T18:10:00.000+05:30

Having recently paid a visit to not so friendly Topaz canteen, I noticed a change. No the change wasn’t in the variety items available or the cold reception accorded to you, but the change was in the way I was paid back… 5 centre fresh instead of currency!

I was literally taken back! Till now it was acceptable to have a candy or two in case of lack of ‘change’ but candies worth Rs.5 /- is bit difficult to digest. Before I could even argue , pat came the reply “Kya Karen saar, change nahi hai!!” Instead of forgoing my money for later reimbursement ( its rare that it will be returned to you without an argument and even more difficult to keep a record) I simply pocketed what was at hand, not before sharing them among juniors and friends.

Trying to figure out the implications of the candy currency, the first thing that struck me was It’s a damn good business strategy. On average there are 500 customers and even if half of them are paid back in candies that an additional sale of over 200 candies that translates into additional sale of over Rs. 6000 per month. (Not a bad venture I guess!!).

Another aspect that this brings forth is the absence of low denomination currency from the market. Initially, I couldn’t figure out the possible reason but soon it became apparent that this can be at best attributed to the ATM’s. Almost all students depend upon ATMS for their cash requirements, which only dispenses Rs. 100 and 500 denomination notes , so absence of ‘change’ can be explained.

I am not very sure of the legal (those interested in law can definitely help!!) implications of these transactions but for one I am sure that there are certain rights in the Consumer Protection Act that deal with these. More over almost all banks as per RBI directives provide for exchanging money to lower denominations by simply filling a form. So these canteen walas can procure change easily from bank. (But considering additional sales, I doubt they will ever think about it).

As of now I am saving most of these candies and planning to pay the canteen wala in candies the next time and waiting eagerly to see the reaction on this!!!

What were We doing there???

2009-07-01T17:46:00.009+05:30

The Delhi tourism official website reads:The Garden of Five Senses (GFS)is not just a park, it is a space with a variety of activities, inviting public interaction and exploration. The project, developed by Delhi Tourism Transportation Development Corporation, was conceptualized to answer to the city's need for leisure space for the public, for people to socialize and unwind. Such spaces add atmosphere and life to a city and cater to all sections of the society.

Looking out for a place to spend our pleasant evening, Sunny came up with this brilliant idea to visit this Garden after his friend told him that you can hours there. (What his friend meant was all together a different thing....). So seven stags went out...
First things first, most of the auto drivers didn't know where GFS is ! Finally, a chai-wala provided us with the directions...
Unfortunately, our autos dropped us about a kilometer away. Walking down the lane, we asked directions from a 'thaele-wala', he replied with an unusual wry smile on his face (though none of us paid much heed to his smile..). Upon reaching, at the entrance the ticket guard made a strange comment 'Saat ke Saat Bande!'. Still we failed to guess whats in store for us.
No sooner did we land inside, we realized why that thaele-wala had that peculiar smile, and why did the guard looked amused.We have landed in a totally out of context place. The place which 'was conceptualized to answer to the city's need for leisure space for the public, for people to socialize and unwind' was couples paradise. Every nook and corner was occupied by love birds. If we were taken aback, equally shocked were the couples. Initially, I thought of killing 'Sunny' there, but decided otherwise, It wasnt so bad after all, we were in a really 'hot' zone (pun unintended). We set out for a stroll in th garden, recieving unpleasnt stares from every couple.
But this hardly made any difference to us. We actually posed for well over 15 mins infornt of the couple, for group pics . On our walk back , made sure I did not make even eye contact with that thaele-wala.

Still, when we sit together and recall the incident, it amuses us beyond doubt. Just think of the curse that were 'showered' upon us by the love birds for spoiling their evening. Think about the thought going through the thaela wala and guard's mind. Probably thay would have guessed that 'Jamana badal gaya hai' or might have recalled the famous song..'AAdmin hun, AAdmi se pyaar karta hun'..

PS: Though I have tried to skip details, those interested can always mail me.
Also I sincere apologize to all those people whose evening we unintentionally spoiled. Hate mails invited!!
At the hind sight I do want to thank Sunny's friend and Sunny's intelligence for all the 'scenic beauty' that we witnessed.!!

CSE Summer Workshop-II

2009-07-01T10:37:00.004+05:30

This my second blog, where I will try to introduce some of the people whom I missed in the first(especially the girls):

Vikram Parihar: This lad from NIT,Raipur, is one of the most serious people. Follows a strict routine, goes to the lab regularly. One of the only guys to visit Library, seldom goes out.

Nidhi: She has a really good sense of humor, she takes everything in lighter vein. Her favorite passtime is 'Bando ki Band Bajana' waise, she doesnt hesitate to pull legs of girls either. In case you call her anytime, the most probable reply is' Yaar abhi to main doston ke saath bahar hun'.

Malvika: She is a real chatter box, though after she started working on her project, she has been a bit quiet, keeps boredom away from the group.

Gazal: Probably she is the most 'senti' girl around. Always seems to be in worry about something(GOD know's what).

Haseen: She is the studious type, has a really good concentration, doesnt like to fool around. Doesnt like to leave campus after 7:30. Her catch line is 'its getting late.'

Joyeeta: Doesnt know much about her, waise she is not too outgoing, but definitely 'daring'.

This completes the introduction of my friends out here in IIT Delhi. In my next blog(s), will try and describe some of the most funny and amazing incidents out here.

CSE Summer Worshop @ IIT Delhi.

2009-06-22T16:47:00.004+05:30

It has been a considerable time since I penned down an article.... partly because of busy schedule and partly because I was mourning the loss of my invaluable luggage (including laptop, handycam , certis and what not....). But as it is said life has to move on, so I will try to move over these.. sooner or later...
Now, this is my first blog on my experiences during summer workshop at IIT-Delhi().

I am almost halfway through the Workshop, so I think I can at least write something about my friends here....
I will begin with (No ladies first this time around...):-

Sunny:: Nick for Suryaveer, young fellow from BITS, about to leave for US for a six month Intern @ DreamWorks Animation.Cool, cheerful guy, big movie geek...

Sangeet: My roomie, from NIT Hamirpur. Is bande ka sirf ek kaam hai.. ghoomna... Always ready to roam about, koi tension nahi.. Banda Bindaas hai...

Pulkit: My project partner, from CJSM Kanpur. Has been wasting his college lifeby living as PG, so easily gets miffed. Banda tension bahut leta hi....

Dumesh: yeh banda thoda unpredictable hai.. kabhi kabhi binaa baat hi naraaz ho jata. Waise ghoomne ka shaukeen hai, but takes work too seriously.

Ankit: he is the 'good boy' of our group(according to the girls). Iski jindagi main sirf do cheez hain... padai and his novel.

Shubham: Apna pyaara 'Chotu',(got this name because he is in 2nd yr). Always ready to raom about in delhi, but equally good at work. Big supporter of unix.

There are a few more guys, but I dont know them well enough to write.Probably will get to know them better by the end of workshop. As regards the girls, probbaly will write about them in my next blog.

The Art of Saying 'NO'

2009-03-14T12:30:00.004+05:30

Sid has mastered it!! DD is not willing to learn!!! I am still a student of it!!!

How difficult is it to master the art of saying ‘NO’.

The first question is obviously whom are you going to say ‘NO’. At times it becomes increasingly difficult to say no to people to whom you are too closely attached, or who are just too good a friend to say no!!

Next, how can you say no and still not hurt someone?

Frankly speaking, I am too bad at this.... At times I am too outward spoken ... If I don’t want to do something, or not like something, I just say that too flatly.... and those who know me are unfortunately have been at receiving end many a time... (Sorry friends!! I can’t help it.... still mastering this art)

Finally, how do you cope up with offending some?

Now, that’s the most difficult part for me.... Probably since I have offended a lot of people because of my ruthlessness and too flat talking I feel this pinch the most. No matter how much I try to overcome this, it always lingers somewhere at the back of mind and it hurts more than anything else. (It’s really painful to when people rightfully change their behavior towards you)

So friend who have mastered this art help me out with your in valuable suggestions...

And not to forget those whom I might have hurt!! Hate mails invited!!

DC++ and Social Life of ISMU

2008-12-12T19:09:00.002+05:30

Probably one of the biggest change that I observed in the ISMU is the advent of inter-hostel LAN connectivity, DC++. Now the entire campus is easily accessible to you right on your desktop. No need to roam from wing to wing or hostel to hostel searching for latest movies, songs or other documents, play CS and AOE all the night. DC has definitely placed infinite resources at our disposal.

But there is another side of the picture too. Under this glitter of gold in the form of so called DC we have lost the social connectivity. Can you recall when was the last time when you all came out as a group from your rooms late at the night (birthday bumps not included) just for BC. Isn’t it not true we stayed glued to our desktops and laptops watching more and more movies than spending time with friends?

I just recall my life in the Opal hostel, where every night there used to be a big BC, people used to sit in balcony and evenings were spent in the badminton court chatting and asking about each other. But somehow all this is now lost! At least earlier we used to go to each other’s room asking for movies that provided some form of social contact but now all this is lost and probably lost forever!!!!

Probably DC is one of those necessary evils that has connected us from outside but at the same time deprived us of the social connectivity!!

Teachers' writing exams?

2008-10-16T01:49:00.003+05:30

Foreword: This blog is a purely personal opinion which does not in any way intends to undermine the authority or question any ones capabilities. The blog does not knowingly or unknowingly intend to hurt any ones sentiments.

During the recently concluded mid-sems a very strange question was put up by one of the invigilators as we were about begin writing our exams,

‘While we write our exams, why doesn’t the teacher who made the paper write the exam along with us, under same circumstances?’ .

At that time I was not willing to answer it because I had to write exam without letting the horses of my imagination run wild. (any way I couldn’t have answered it as question paper just has knocked me down and I had to channel my resources towards the joint effort examination, to keep me afloat)

Just think over it for a while..... I realized why not?

Now before I say anything further, I want to make it very clear that my intention is not at all to question the knowledge of the teacher nor do I doubt his capabilities, but wouldn’t it be of great help for the students that they would get to know what exactly was expected from them and at the same time provide an answer to their usual grievances that paper was too lengthy or too difficult etc. Moreover the teacher is their through the entire examination duration as an invigilators.

Another thing that came to my mind was, of late quite a few universities displayed the answer sheets of the toppers in public, so that other can understand what was expected and how different was their answer. Such initiatives can be of great help for the students.

Most of the prestigious universities have mechanisms for the assessment of teachers where, they are assessed by the students, with an intent to enhance teacher student co-ordination so both students as well as the teachers understand each other’s aspiration, compatibility expectations.

Let the Truth Prevail....

2008-09-19T20:29:00.004+05:30

Last week I wrote a blog ‘Butterfly Effect’ because I was disturbed by the malicious report about a small student clash that had been blown out of proportion. Somehow I digested that foul smelling piece of crap.

I thought that worst was over, but it wasn’t to be. One of my dear friend went missing after he failed to clear exams and sadly enough his name was struck of the academic roles. An FIR was lodged in connection with the incident, and we looked forward for cooperation for ‘Media’ to help us trace him. But instead of looking into our agony and concern, once again the torch bearers of so call ‘freedom of press’, preferred to rub salt on our wounds. I can’t even imagine the extent to which the report in the so called world largest daily was flawed:-

1. The branch of the student concerned given wrong.

2. The year in which he was currently studying incorrect.

3. The so called marks obtained by him in last two exams were totally cooked up. The thing that surprised me the most was that even when the student himself never got to know the precise marks obtained by him, how an outsider can get to know such intricate details. This was even more amazing when one realizes that grading system is followed and precise marks of even the successful students are not known.

These moguls of the blooming media industry have probably been blinded by the glitter of the power and influence they command that they even fail to see that without being factually correct, they can never gain trust of common man, they have become emotionless to feel the pain and agony of the common man.

The most distressing part of the report was that even in this hour, they didn’t fail to dig the dead from graveyards. The most insulting part of the article was the presentation in which they reported saying that ‘recently the students have been involved in a series of violent clashes ‘ referring to the small tussle that had already been resolved and digging a three year old incident that had nothing to do with the current students as the involved people have already graduated.

Its really agonizing to see that just for the sake of increasing their TRP’s these people who have the social responsibility to keep the society informed and aware, are stooping to such low levels. Can’t these heartless people think of the sufferings of the family of the person missing that they further damage the name of the student, and the institute.

It’s now high time that media should be charged of bringing bad name and disrepute if it indulges in such misinformation. Like many of the nations where freedom of press is respected but at same time these media persons are reprimanded for their uncivilized deeds, we need to have a similar mechanism. If such malicious and irresponsible reporting is to continue, it’s not long enough when people will loose their faith in the ‘Fourth-Pillar’ of democracy.

The Butterfly Effect

2008-09-15T00:23:00.007+05:30

"The flapping of wings of a butterfly in one part of the world can cause a tornado in other!"

Now if you that thought this is impossible thing..... please think again. For this can be made possible by our ever hard working and overzealous media. These torch bearers of the Freedom of Press have simply forgotten the one fundamental fact..'Freedom bestows responsibilities.'

Not long ago, one of the most unfortunate incidents came to light that shook the very foundation of Indian family culture, the Arushi Murder Case, in which even before the judicial system could look into the case, 'free press' carried out a public trial and held an innocent man guilty.

Even more interesting was the recent CERN's Experiment, the sub-atomic particle smasher, where some 24x7 news channels went on the extent to predict the end of the world. For many people this was funny, but for many others it wasn't. After watching this piece of 'crap' news channel, one child committed suicide.

Now one thing that hurt me the most was the way a small quarrel among a group of students from a prestigious institutes was blown out of proportion, even of the leading daily devoting almost 1/8th of the page and with damning headline. These people don't realize that for their small gains they can jeopardize the entire career of students. Apart from bringing a bad name to the institute, their irresponsible, incomplete and spiced up article only added fuel to fire. I fully acknowledge that they wouldn't have known this ever had someone among the students had not passed on the information, but isn't it their responsibility to at least give the administration's stand.

Probably its high time that these people do some intro-inspection and realize freedom alone is doing more harm than good (at least at times). Infringing upon privacy of people can be shoot up their TRP but what about the pain, agony and emotional damage they cause??

SAVE!!SAVE!! My Friends Think They are in LOVE!!!!!

2008-09-04T19:08:00.006+05:30

(This blog is dedicated to two of my best friends who think they are in love?? And the most amazing part is that both think that they see no future)

‘I think I am in love’ read the Gtalk quotation of my friend in German. ( I actually had to decode that using German to dictionary.) At first I thought it’s another one of his mood swings since we have been pestering him about his crush for quite some time. (He actually wrote a blog on the same.) Then I realized that things were far too serious. Finally I managed to get the name of the gal but now another peculiar problem. He sees no future in the relationship so won’t tell her and also extracted a promise from me not to tell anyone. So far it was fine, though the reasons he gave me for not seeing any future were ultimately ‘chutiyaap’. Now I got to know that he had told at least 5 more people but not the gal.(though he claims that they tricked him into telling her name). I was wondering that if he can tell others then why not the gal??

Moving on to my next friend, his case is even stranger. He too thinks he is love but won’t tell the gal. His reason, his first love is ‘chicken’ and he can’t let someone take over his first love. (Frankly speaking, he eats the chicken with bones and beak, so I don’t hi word .) But can anyone explain him or even me that can this gal ever part him from chicken though she might be a vegetarian or a non vegetarian.

After reading this blog I sincerely request you to advice me or my friends that love isn’t something that you can escape with. And do write comments so that I can help them out.

The Final Word

2008-07-31T22:09:00.010+05:30

The following article is NOT written by me. It has been contributed by my friend DEVDEEP.

For the starters who don't know about MAILER DAEMON (MD), it is the in campus newspaper of the I.S.M.U. Dhanbad, managed fully by the students of the ISM. For further details visit www.mailerdaemon.in Both me and Devdeep are a part of the team that worked for MD.

I know friends that that u cannot read long article but please bear with me this time.

A year has passed since I pushed myself into Team MD. And I have managed to stick to it till today. My colleagues in the team are aware of two kinds of Team MD members: one, those who are dedicated to it and work hard till the end. They ‘eat, dream and think MD’ while working on an issue. The second category belongs to those who were not able to cope up with the pressure and left MD for its and their good. Guess I am a third kind- a category still needed to be researched. (Right now, my colleagues are working on our last issue, while I am typing this article.)

But this article is not about ‘how I fared for MD’. So let us forget this part and let me tell you what is going on in MD right now. Right now, we are interviewing candidates for selecting a new team for MD.

How I had waited for this moment since the day I was selected. Back then, I imagined this day as one in which I would scrutinize, analyze and cross-question each candidate so as to bring out the true successors of our team. Now, I amuse myself by watching my colleagues do the same. Just on the second day of the interviews, I found myself hardly uttering a word. (Don’t dream of an HR like me!) ‘My colleagues, try to recall, I was there sitting right beside you.’

I watched, as some anxious, some nervous and some energetic faces took the chair before me while Ishant from one end and Shreya from the other, hovered like vultures, ready to peck at every slip of their tongue. Among the remaining enthusiasts were Sid, Divir, Sukhi, Avinash and Sukanya, ready to chip in their part whenever they got a chance. ‘The dedicated and sincere team MD.’ Meanwhile, ‘the Bad Boy of team MD’ (that’s me) was busy planning this article and was randomly generating numbers to fill up his analysis sheet. I decided to go back in time and put myself in the interviewee’s position to analyze how I would have fared in the same test.

Interviewer (MD): Would you like to introduce yourself?

Me: (Actually no. My name is a bit too long and you would forget it, the moment I leave this room. My branch will sound alien to you and my hobby-reading books- is of no practical use to you. Anything I mention thereafter about myself will generate further cross questions- causing myself to land in trouble. It is most unwise to introduce myself. But will have to say :) Yes.

MD: Introduce yourself.

Me: I would blabber out the usual intro and add nothing extra, lest I provoke further questions. All this, I would say in a loud tone, with an accent so that you get irritated and leave me quickly.

MD: What do you want your role to be in MD?

Me: (Let me think. If I choose editor it means sitting at my comp, reading other’s articles, sometimes writing by myself. OK, I will manage that, others will most probably help. Reporting will mean running here and there, speaking to admin etc etc. That is too much work. Easy decision.) I want to take up an editor’s job.

I now realize that back then my decision to choose editor actually got me selected. I escaped the PI round, something -I now feel, I would never have qualified.

MD: Where is the campus administration building and the maintenance department?

Me: (Campus Administration has to be within the campus. That is one thing I am sure of. But Murphy’s Law states that: ‘the greatest myth about administration is that, it exists.’ That makes CA a mythical place. What the hell!) I don’t know where the CA is.

Of course, I know where the maintenance department is. It is right behind the workshop. I went there once in the first year to get my window’s glass fixed. I had broken it, made it drop right from the first floor. The complaint got registered, nothing happened thereafter.

MD: What are your likes and dislikes about ISMU?

Me: (I must be cautious about this question- a tricky one. These guys love to point out shortcomings about ISMU, be it students or the admin. So to impress them, I must do the same. The part about ‘likes’ is just a pitfall, I must avoid. I am a clever guy.)

I dislike the students of ISMU. They make too much fuss about everything. There is a breed in ISM which wastes a year discussing ‘why shouldn’t we give certificates of merit to our rivals?’And prior to this, they would plan out a strategy for a month to ‘reach to a particular high status so that they can discuss the previously mentioned question.’ There is another species which goes on claiming for ‘more space.’ Then there is another which spends most of their time in challenging this claim. There is a group that has decided that its life’s ambition is to see all the infrastructural developments that ISM is ever capable of within their four or five years of stay in ISMU. Also ISM must have an increased area and the net speed must build up every year-all this they must witness while they are here. Finally there is MD which compiles all of this into six pages and hands it back to them.

What do I like about ISMU? I like the students of ISMU. There is a breed which is hell-bent on making a mark at ISMU. They would go up to any extent to fulfil their ambition, while they are here at ISMU. Be it promoting their departmental identity, helping the poor, or inspiring entrepreneurial skills, they are always out at the forefront. They are warriors. Remember the shout when the trophy of Muqabla was brought home. Remember Mechathlon, remember Sparx. Those were the times when ISM shone like never before. Ask yourself, don’t they deserve a little more than what they are getting? Maybe they asked for coaches, maybe they asked for a little more departmental and admin cooperation. Shouldn’t an effort be made to grant these? Remember: ‘A college is known by its students.’ And finally there is MD, which is composed of heroes selected from this breed. (When shall the groups mentioned previously get merged with this breed? But I guess, they are one and the same. ‘A mere flip changes the face of the coin.’)

MD: Improvements for MD?

Me: MD. When was the last time I read the complete paper? I remember noticing bar graphs in one of the issues. Then once, there was an article about status of girls in ISM - written by girls of course. You generally expect such stuff from them. ‘Good (status) generally leads to the expectation of Better (status).’ Once again, there was a full page of ‘Ruby Survey’. But that article was not for me. I have stopped staring at them since the time they started staring at me as if they were looking at an ‘ascetic kid.’ No wonders there. I hardly speak, while in group. Other than these, I hardly recall any other article. Therefore you must increase the frequency of MD so that people like me at least remember a bunch of articles to speak about.

The final question was usually based on a situation, where one had to interview an admin member usually. I having chosen editorship would have escaped this question. So let me tell you, that my colleagues pretended to be part of the admin and conducted a mock interview. From their act, the following things about the admin were clear:

The admin is ready to come up with excuses at every mistake that is pointed out.

The admin/G.Sec is ready to take up any action if ‘approached through a proper channel.’

Everything is student’s fault. ‘No proper events are conducted because students don’t turn up.’(So no point conducting a better event.)

‘The sports complex need not be improved since the students won’t maintain it.’

The Yahoo HR will never accept the existence of ISMU at least in this life.

G.Sec will simply act as an interface between students and admin. He lacks the brains or guts to gather support and fight for a cause.

There were further inferences, but I don’t remember them right now.

There you go. I have spoken my heart out. I seldom do that. Judge for yourself whether I deserve to be in MD team after giving such an interview. By the way do not mistake this for a BC article. Trivial BC is not my job. I am totally serious regarding all views expressed. Also I am responsible for any hurt feelings upon reading this article. ‘Hate mails invited.’

What are we striving for: avoiding FAILURE or achieving SUCCESS

2008-04-12T12:05:00.008+05:30

There were two competitors A and B, equally skilled, trained, and equally good in every aspect, yet A used to win always and B lost! Curious to know why?

It wasn't an extra effort,or skill of A that made him victorious, but that it was what he yearned for made all the difference. He wanted to be successful, not to wishing to defeat B or avoid failure, but one and only one goal, to be successful!

What I want to bring forward is that during examination time or during preparation week the one thing that almost everyone says, let me study or else I will fail. Nobody says I am studying to be successful, or to gain knowledge. Somewhere down the line we have probably lost the essence of learning.
Learning is the raising of character by broadening of vision and deepening of feeling!
I cant don't blame the students alone for this, the current education system, assessment techniques have over the years groomed us into such beings who are willing to do everything to avoid failure but not strive or even think of being successful. Also we have placed a blind fold over our eyes that doesn't allow us to see beyond this, and we believe that avoiding failure equivalent to being successful...
to a certain extent the society is also responsible for this dilemma as it does not take failure as stepping stone for success.
Probably, in my view success is what you achieve when you give in your 100%, enjoy what you are doing and do even the smallest thing with utmost dedication, and not care for the result and whats seems a success to me may be a big failure in the eyes of this Hippocratic society.
So, my friend give in you 100% and enjoy the taste of success!!!!!

The Great Circus: excursion, exertion or a picnic

2008-04-06T15:00:00.003+05:30

Over a period of time, students in an institute realize that they have not been out for a picnic for a long time. Now, the problem was how to convince the faculty. But GOD willing, the problem was solved and the professors gave this picnic an official name the EXCURSION (after all they also need an alibi to convince their higher ups for a day out). To give the whole drama some formal touch some instructions were issued such as what to wear, when to report and where to officially go.

So on a planned day, they all set out for an adventurous journey at the break of dawn. On the way to the picnic spot they get caught in a big traffic jam and reach the venue (for one moment consider it the industrial site) two hours late. If you thought that was sure to upset the industrial instructor, just forget it… for the first shock was to come just now... The instructor didn't even know the discipline of the students visiting them and considered them to be of the same mould for which this institute was acclaimed world wide. (It's not difficult to guess whose fault it was the institute or the instructor or the students themselves who should have thought about this fact before joining such an institute).

So finally these poor chaps had to sit through a lengthy presentation that had almost nothing for them. But if you look at it from the optimistic point of view it wasn't that bad. What else would one ask for after a six hour bus journey- a good place to sleep, and there you had it handful. Air conditioned hall, lay-back chairs and some body singing a lullaby for you (no disrespect meant to the instructor), what else would you need to sleep.

So after a nap of over an hour it was time to eat. So these poor chaps set out for their search for food in a world unknown. Finally after having stuffed their stomachs up to the brim, again it was time for some formalities... a visit to an industrial plant that wasn't ever going to be of any use for them. A better way of putting it, in the very words of the instructor is 'there is nothing of interest for you; it's just a PR visit'. So keeping up with their commitments, visit the industrial complex, with hardly anyone disembarking the bus…

So after all such official commitments were over was it time to rejoice? Just think all over it once, getting up at midnight, a bus ride of over six hours from the break of dawn, sitting through a dull lecture and then paying a PR visit… was it not enough to beat the spirits out of even the most merry making! The case here was no different, tired and exhausted these poor chaps had a day full of hectic activities. So they plan to take a ride back.

If you think that was all, just wait a minute, on their way back they need to take a break and that was the picnic time. From enjoying the food of the road side dhaba to drinking alcoholic beverages always was to happen and it happened. A real picnic in short.

So friends enjoy the college life !!!!!!

COMITTING MISTAKES: a rare privilege

2008-04-04T01:49:00.000+05:30

My father always says 'Only those who do something or work have the privilege to make mistakes'. In this world there are two kind of people one who work and others who don't. Those who work are not afraid to make mistakes and once they learn from their mistakes they are on their way to success. Those who believe in sitting can never taste the pleasure of enjoying success because they are too afraid to commit mistakes. Shakespeare once said those who remain silent during a conversation pretending they are the wisest are usually the people who know nothing. It's true that silence is a virtue, but not always.
Also we need to remember one thing: Never to repeat a mistake. Repeating a mistake is a sin which one cannot dare to commit, so always make new mistakes, because it gives you a whole new experience.
This is my most humble request to all those sitting in their couches, and lying low to get up and be the part of this privileged group . So next time someone laughs at you for making a mistake, then no need to be disappointed. Just remember one thing: You are a privileged lot, which he is not!!!

RELATIOSHIPS: Living it or Carrying it

2008-04-03T00:50:00.003+05:30

Not long ago, I bought a fine piece of porcelain flower-vase. The porcelain was one of the finest quality, unparalleled in design and covered with exotic work. I loved it so much that I kept it on my study table so that it was always within my site. One day one of younger cousin visits me and drops the vase from the table. It came to me as a real shock! But God’s grace it wasn’t totally broken, just a small chip of it comes out from near the mouth of the vase. I mange it stick it with a fevikwik and keep it on the table I such a way that its repaired side faces the wall, away from the eyes of the world with just me knowing the truth. One fine morning I notice that a crack has developed throughout the length of the vase. I felt heart broken! My mother asks me to throw away my most cherished possession as it is a bad omen to keep broken or cracked glass in house. I am in a fix!! What should I do?......

Dear friends this is not just another piece of story. It has much more to offer if you are able to read between the lines!

For those who are still in a fix, just think of the precious flower vase as relationship between two people. Or better out it up as you share a very good relationship with someone. It is one of yours most cherished possession. But one day you begin to feel that the things are actually not the way you thought them to be. The relationship is strained due to some unavoidable reasons and things are not the same as earlier. You somehow mange to patch up the things, so that the world does not know about it and continue to live with it. But not before long you realize that there is a complete break down and you cannot carry the burden any further but you don’t want to give it up.

You are in a dilemma! You don’t know how to cope up with such a situation. Then what should one do? Probably, it’s the most appropriate time to draw the line. Living in a situation that is suffocating you is not one of the wisest thing in the world, but giving it up is not easy either. It’s hard but life can’t wait, it has to move on.

The choice is yours: either to cry your heart out for a day or two or keep sobbing through out your life!!

On the eve of Valentines Day......

2008-03-29T10:20:00.002+05:30

On the eve of Valentine’s Day As I sit all alone in my hostel room (my room mate has gone home), I feel how lonely the world has turned into. LOVE, one of the most important of spirit of life, the foundation of mankind, the source of joy for all is lost somewhere. I read somewhere: Loving someone is not about finding the person who can complete you but it’s about finding someone with whom you can share you in completeness. How true these words are! We are born single and one day all of us will leave this materialistic world all alone, empty hands. Take a moment to ponder over this fact and then answer: Why do we then seek a relationship or look forward in anticipation at somebody? Philosophically speaking, MAN is a social animal and so need friends, but the real answer lies within us. As I write this page the clock quietly ticks past 12, and it’s the Valentines Day, the day of love, joy, celebration. Everybody is ready to celebrate but do we real understand this day? How many of can recall the teachings of the great Saint after whom this day is named. But still it’s the time to enjoy…. HAPPY VALENTINES’S DAY FRIENDS!!

what is love...

2008-03-29T10:00:00.001+05:30

Love is a feeling of happiness, sharing the spirit of joy between two mutually compatible beings, who may or may not differ in their orientations towards the essence of life. Its an essential spirit of life that rejuvenates us, enthralls us and fills us with unmeasurable happiness, taking us for a joy ride beyond the realms of this materialistic world and for a moment in this sheer delight we become all but one.

Love is the most basic yet the basis of all emotions of life. GOD created this world with a view to promote this spirit of celebration but we the mortals of this treacherous world have this sweetest of sweet feeling of life with envy and enmity.For us, love is no more than another consumer durable up for sale in market.

Probably, we are the best people to answer this simple question, 'What is Love'

Dedicated to her.....

2008-03-29T09:30:00.002+05:30

"SHE comes like a ghost and goes like a wind

In the mean time SHE can pick you up like a pin"

These are the very words that best describe the fairer sex. I don't know what they are made up but one thing which i have learnt for sure that they are impossible. No one will probably ever be able to understand them unless GOD creates new species( which i seriously doubt). Somethings that i learnt the harder way ( and don't wish that others face the same fate) is never argue, for u can never defeat them, and u need to be a patient listener (they rarely give u a chance to speak). Also, make sure that u don't utter a word more than asked for else u are sure to hurt these oversensitive creatures.

dear friends i don't want u to read this article as a boy against girl debate, but this is what i have felt. so feel free to comment and share your views and experiences.