GOOD BYE

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

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

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???

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

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.

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'

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

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?

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.