Mid-Exam Probing

It's almost 2 in the night, and I'm having an exam tomorrow morning. Then what the hell am I doing here at this time?? Well, I've supposedly finished 'my' quota of today's study just now and am planning to go to sleep as soon as I'm done blogging. Anyways, have you ever come across such a situation in which you know that you got an exam the next day and yet, you don't feel like studying for it ?? Every now and then, your mind gets distracted from the books and you wanna either log on to Orkut (which I don't and which I'm not logged on to for 24 hrs Mr. ______ !!! You know who you are) or some old scrap-book of yours suddenly occupies your mind after an year or so, and you feel like taking up the pending job of sticking all those articles and pictures you've been saving for it; or some never before heard of "activity" suddenly assumes a larger interest than ever before (which will again be lost into the oblivion as soon as exams get over). Point being, why do all such things strike our mind during exam time, which on a normal day wouldn't even matter a trifle to us ???

I'm feeling extremely sleepy right now. Had to take support of a big cup of coffee and hope the caffeine would do it's work. 'Cos when I get really sleepy, even coffee doesn't work for me. But it did today. These are the times I feel really grateful to the guys who invented coffee. And my elder sister. Who knows just when I need a mugful!! Luv ya for that... But the coffee's effect has finally died down along with my studies (impeccable timing) and I'm back to yawning heavily. My back's aching with those long night studies, improper postures, uncomfortable college bus and basically, lack of sleep. So I'll sign off for now... Back to blogging, later...

Rendezvous With CAT

Finally, 18th of November, the D-Day had arrived. I was all prepared (just mentally, that is) to face what is claimed to be one of the toughest entrance exams in the world - CAT. As my mentors had said, a good night sleep is essential; and a day before the CAT, you should stop studying, spend some time relaxing and de-stressing your mind. The relaxation part was ok. I was pretty much relaxed. But when I actually tried to sleep by 11, I couldn't (only to realize consciously, later on, that it was anxiety and that late night working habits hadn't turned me into an insomniac). I must 've slept around 1.30 or 2 o' clock. Anyways, but I woke up fresh and not sleepy-eyed or tired. I was fully prepared to take the CAT, head-on.

I started off my morning with the regular routine, only to be interrupted by good luck messages and phone calls. Apart from that, read the paper at ease, had my morning cup of tea, and got ready, went to the Gurudwara and then was ready to leave for the centre. Mom and dad wanted to drop me to the Centre but I denied it 'cos I didn't want to feel as if CAT was some big deal (Unnecessary pressure it could've created). So I went on my own. There was a huge number of vehicles in the parking, but the campus seemed awfully silent. As I neared the main hall of the building, I could hear some voices. Finally as I entered the building, I saw a large retinue of students and parents rushing around here and there in the corridors, looking for the respective seats in the classrooms.

I could hardly see a few known faces. Met a friend or two of mine. Then went around looking for my class. Found it in a few minutes. Then again I came down to look for some known faces, so that I could have a light chat and ease the ambient-pressure. But to my dismay, there was none. Decided to take a stroll in the campus, and simultaneously look for any known face. There was a large crowd near the canteen, but I was surprised to find press reporters and cameramen swarming that place and interviewing students. Boy! That sure was creepy. I didn't want to comment on anything at that moment. So I decided to just return back to my class and wait for the proceedings to start, lest I be yet another student speaking about the exam, assuming myself to be an experienced person to do so.

The supervisor of my class was pretty much friendly. He had the list of students who were to sit in his class along with the photographs. And he was constantly checking outside as to who's not yet in the class. But I guess, he understood my body language and did not pester me to go inside. When it was almost 9.45, both me and the class supervisor started walking towards the class. Immediately he gave me a warm smile and gestured his hand towards the classroom, as if telling me, "Shall we go now?"

I smiled back at him, and that eased up a few moments, which I was hoping to experience to ease up any pre-test anxiety that could develop at that time. Finally, we were handed our OMR sheets and then began the most coveted test in India, CAT '07.

The surprise element in this year's CAT was that there was no surprise. The test-setters hadn't deviated even a bit from the last year's test format. So again, things eased out more, as most of the students were aware of the strategy for this paper-style. As the bell rang, the sounds of tearing of seals and the opening of plastic covers filled the entire campus. Seriously, it sounded like a racket.

I went on with my strategy. Skimming and scanning through the Maths and English sections and then starting off with the Maths section. As time passed, I realized that I could hardly attempt 5-6 questions in Maths and that the section was turning out to be really tough. Man! was I shattered. The dreams of even reaching close to the IIMs were all getting vanished. Cos even if I manged to score good in the other two sections, what IIMs looked for is good performance in all the three sections and not just the overall score.

Then the allotted 50 minutes of my Maths section got over. Actually 5 more minutes went by. Then I realized it's high time I started off with English now. Well, even English section seemed ok, but it still wasn't that easy. I had a tough time keeping my calm 'cos I had my moments of self doubt and depression where I felt like it's all over now. Somehow I still managed to calm myself and tried to maximize my attempts in the other two sections so that I could still stand a chance of scoring decently. It was almost 12.50. I had ten minutes left to go. I was done with the other two sections. I went back to Maths hoping that somehow I can magically still solve a problem here or there. But ten minutes just passed by, with me, trying to attempt almost 4-5 sums, but the end result was that I couldn't solve any of 'em.

And so it was over. The most anxious, most-waited, anticipated and frequently dreamt-off 2 and a half hours of my life. As soon as the test got over, the entire campus was swept by a wave of silence. I looked at my partner and asked him, "Was the maths section tough?" And he said, "yes it indeed was." I chatted with him for a while as he somehow knew me and was telling me he was a friend of my cousin (who stays besides me) and so he had seen me many a times.

Anyways, as I bade him goodbye and left the classroom, hordes of zombies joined me. I can never forget that scene. The entire campus was quiet. No student was talking to the other, or smiling, or discussing. Some parents were trying to calm their kids, telling them its ok, things will be fine, there's still a next time just in case... Anyways, the initial silence in the campus was enough a proof to tell anyone that the paper was indeed tough.

I didn't stay in the campus for long. Left immediately for home and not before long, I started getting messages and phone calls from friends and well-wishers as to how was the paper and also from those who had taken the test and how they felt about it. So far, everyone had given me the same story. Maths was very tough and English was a less tougher but still it wasn't easy. God knows what mistakes we must've committed.

There was an anxious crowd who had already checked their scores by tallying their answers with the solutions put up by various coaching institutes. I, for one, decided to do that later on, i.e. on the next day. And so hopefully, I shall have summoned up the courage to check my answers after I finish off with this piece of writing. But post-CAT, I went to sleep, woke up in the evening to attend a few guests and then went to party hosted by my coaching institute. That party definitely turned out to be a stress-buster and I really had a blast, dancing and torturing others with my "hathodas". He heh. No actually the people enjoyed the hathodas for a change. Post-CAT stress I guess ;) . But the day's gone by and here I am, writing down my experiences of yesterday. So much I had thought about this day, how will it pass by, how will the experience be, how will I take it. And now it's gone and I didn't even realize it.

Now I have my university exams coming up in a week and I haven't yet started preparing for them. Gotta sit down with those boring books again. And then have to concentrate on the life insurance policies that I took up. I mean SNAP, NMAT, XAT and other entrance test that are slated to take place in the coming month. I still don't know what CAT '07 's got in store for me. But I can't even relax after the kind of paper I've attempted. Let's hope its results catch me off-guard in a positive way. The CAT's gone; but the scars it left haven't...

T20 : Definitely Here To Stay

Those of you all who have read the preceding post of mine, well this can be called a sequel... In that previous post, i had speculated upon whether T20, the new format of cricket would be a major hit or not. Today I'm gonna give my verdict on the same... Going by the heading, you must have got my stand on the issue.

First of all, a hearty congrats to India for winning the first ever T20 World Cup, and that too in the most fearless and stylish fashion possible. I followed all of India's matches till the end. (Unlike those so-called "true" Indian fans who switch off their TV sets the moment India goes into trouble and praise 'em like hell when they perform well) This win will definitely bring a new lease of life into Indian cricket. After 24 years, we've finally become the world champions again.

So getting back to the point, which is the format of Twenty20. I've had some doubts about the format of this game which were completely washed away after I witnessed the entire series. One of them being the loss of technique, the genuine method of playing cricket as it used to be in Tests and ODIs. But now I think there's nothing much to fear. The Indians have clearly showed that T20 is not just some game where all you do is slog and win. The bowlers have had their share of game. Only those batsmen who played methodically have survived. If one prepares bowler-friendly pitches in future, then definitely T20 will be a game of clear wits. Those who can think clearly and quickly, make quick decisions and adjust themselves quickly to blitzkrieg change of situations, can survive.

T20 asks more of the players than ODIs or Tests did. It requires the best of batsmen and bowlers. Cos now, any new batsman, coming in to play does not have time to take 4-5 overs to adjust himself and then start playing. All he can get is max 2-3 balls (that too if the situation is relaxed enough to allow him to do so). The bowlers, on the other hand have to bend their backs more, make sure each and every ball of their four over quota falls right into the proper place. One over-pitched ball or short-pitched ball(or any other ball except good length and yorker for that matter); will be punished for sure. So, the discipline the bowlers will need to inculcate in themselves will be higher. Much higher.

This format doesn't even spare the fielders (if you think that's not being talked about anywhere). It was said in cricket (when T20 was not in existence), that every run matters. But that sentence did not have so deep an impact on the masses. Now the essence of each and every word hits deep in the minds of viewers. Fielding can't be loose. One run could change the game completely, cos the matches have ended real close.

Another good thing T20 has done in that it has raised interest amongst those people who never used to follow the game. It has also found viewers in American and European nations where cricket is almost non-existent. We might see new teams coming up in future to take part on international tournaments. Maybe cricket might become an international rage in the truest sense, as football is today. And viewers are truly enjoying it. Very close finishes were seen in almost all of India's matches, but the heart pounding final really gave the viewers the best of excitement, what T20 had promised. And this is how a final should be. Cos if you have two teams who have reached the finals, then the match should be really close.

I, for one, was tired of watching World Cup finals earlier where Australia had got a comfortable win in all one-sided matches against Pakistan, India and Sri-Lanka. Here, no team gets a chance to capitalize on the game. It's your day if you're extremely good, else it's not.

And man! I tried to watch the first ODI of India vs Australia that was held in Bangalore yesterday. I swear I couldn't sit in front of the TV to watch the entire innings. Just the thought of going thru' the entire innings made my dizzy. Seems I'll have to get used to ODIs instead of T20.

All said and done, T20 is here to stay. It poses a serious threat to the existence of the older versions of cricket and it shall definitely reign over its other two counterparts in the days to come...

Twenty-20 : The New Face Of Cricket

September 2007 witnessed a new chapter in the popular game of cricket, i.e. Twenty-20 (T20). The first official, international world-cup for T20 took off in South Africa and people welcomed it with open arms. What does T20 have in store for us? Sure, the main thing it's built upon is the entertainment factor. It has been given a baseball kind of feel in many ways and has been reduced to a three hour stint, where people come, have a blast, enjoy the game with balls raining all over the stadium, and go home with a definite result in hand. (Unless the rain doesnt play spoil-sport for a very long duration, that is)

But the real question is.. "Is Twenty-20 here to stay for the good or for the worse?? Is this game here to give what ODIs and TESTs could not, or to take away what they had to offer??" And as any situation generally has it, there're two sides of the coin here too.

Firstly, I personally feel the players in T20 do not require any methods or techiniques to play the shots. If the ball hits the bat and fetches you runs, then it all counts. Some teams or players display more of negative batting and bowling skills, which is harming the reputation of cricket, as a game and its modus operandi. So the real technique is being lost, if one sees it in the long run. There were categories of shots and proper ways to execute them, which youngsters learnt from the cricketing heroes of the likes of Tendulkar and Lara. Now, what do they have to look upto?? The way any international batsman is playing the game is the same as any child plays gully(street)-cricket. Hit the balls no matter how and score. So the youngsters would see their heroes (in new avtaar) hitting blindly, and they would ape that technique itself.

Besides, the new players would be selected on their ability to slog, rather than play correctly, following proper cricketing rules. They wont grow as a batsman and would fail in ODIs or TESTs which test the real endurance of a cricketer. It's spoiling the batsmen and challenging the bowlers to improve their bowling by conceeding as little runs as they can, in their quick spell. But what's the solution to pinch-hitting?? Bowl full length and yorker balls. That's what, or rather, that's all the bowlers will learn.

But apart from that, it also is lending a new definition to the batting of experienced players. There are natural sloggers who are stripped off their natural talent by the coaches who ask them to play with a restrained attitude. So most of the times, they do not get a chance to actually free up their arms and really hits shots when the situation demands them to, in an ODI or a TEST. Here they can play their natural game, and they'll be applauded for their talent. So it's a great platform for born sloggers such as M.S. Dhoni, Virendra Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh and others to be themselves on the field.

Besides, the other batsmen, who are not born hitters, also get to learn how to hit shots, which can later be useful in the ODIs or TESTs if the situation requires. So, in a way, batsmen are learning how to be more aggressive, through this medium of cricket.

This also means that we might get to see a further increase in the total runs scored scored by any team in an ODI, owing to the aggressiveness lent to them in T20. Already the average score in an ODI has increased to twice its orignal value since the advent of ODIs. Now a further increase in the score also means ODIs would be more interesting henceforth.

One grim question everybody has in mind is, "What's the future of Twenty-20?" People, everywhere are having mixed feelings about the game as well as the audiences are giving mixed responses. The tournament that's going on currently is the World Cup of Twenty-20, but still there's no hype or feel of the world cup, that's generally associated with a conventional tournament of such magnitude. Whether Twenty-20 is here to stay or not, that is something only time will tell. Maybe this new style of cricket may disappear into the dark some night or maybe this may change the face of cricketing forever, as ODIs did when only Tests were prevalent...

Relearn Love

Artist: Scott Stapp
Written For: The Passion Of The Christ (OST)


On a dark and lonely highway
I need the sun to raise my head
I come before you, I am naked...
The man I am now must be shed

I've weathered storms and I am broken
My beating heart is in your hands
What I really need is shelter
And a chance to relearn love

Teach me all over, all over
To relearn love
Show me again…
So I can relearn love

The comfort of your arms around me
Your tender hands caress my head
I lay beside you, I'm not worthy
This jaded man's not who I am
I touched the flame and I've been burned
All I need is a second chance
Give me eyes of a child
And teach this man to relearn love

Teach me all over, all over
To relearn love
Show me again…

To relearn love
Teach me all over, all over
To relearn love
Show me again...

So I can relearn love

I was selfish, but you still loved me
You gave the greatest gift of all
And you set me free

When time means nothing
And your world is standing still
...but still the world is calling
If you feel me drop and kneel

Can you feel it?
Just remember
Oh remember
…to relearn love

To relearn love (show me again)
Show me, show me to relearn my love
Teach me now, now, teach me all over (relearn love)
To relearn love
Relearn my love (show me again)
So I can relearn love

The Freshers' Party Saga

The saturday that went by (i.e. 1st September, '07) witnessed a freshers' party of U.V.P.C.E. I was pretty much excited about going to the party this time. Firstly, b'cos the new crowd was supposed to be better than that of previous years, and secondly, this was the last freshers' party for me. Besides, i had attended only one party earlier, and that was when I was a fresher. So I decided upon going this time.

As expected, the crowd was pretty good. The juniors sure are better than what they were in the previous batches. The whole atmosphere was energetic and lively when i entered the venue. It was dark and hence couldn't make out who all were present. Found a couple of friends with whom I went on the dance floor. We were having a great time, dancing and doing all weird and odd steps. Hey! Noone can realise in the darkness, how bad it can get when you try new steps.

The UV lights illuminated the whites in the crowd, and I was unfortunate enough to be a huge source of illumination. I was wearing a white coloured shirt, and to match it, a white turban. Boy!!! As they say in Hindi, "Main toh chamak raha tha!! (literally)..." Why did it not occur to me earlier?? Anyways, nothing could be done about it then. (But Hey, we could still try out odd steps, cos the UV lights were not placed everywhere)

Leaving all that aside, I was having a great time dancing, matching moves and sometimes, leading the pack. The air circulation, at such places is usually defunct. I mean, it is working, but for namesake. So as expected, with the increase in the number of people. the amount of CO2 increased drastically and the circulation of fresh air was not keeping upto the mark, hence, causing suffocation. I left the floor a couple of times and headed straight to the dining place to breathe. And man; the atmosphere was all sweaty. Whew! Talk about intimacy in discs. I never knew it could be so disgusting.

Anyways, everyone who was dancing was all sweaty.. Then came the dinner-time... It's a shame to call it a dinner, 'cos all we had was fried rice and manchurian. Hello!?!? Doesn't food count for anything in the party?? We've paid an exorbitant amount of money for the pass.. Atleast we deserved a proper meal. And to top it all, it didn't taste good at all. Anyways, I was hungry since I could not eat much during the entire day, owing to a hectic schedule. So, even bad food can taste decent for a hungry man. I ate a bit, making sure to strike a balance between hunger and taste.

Then the party resumed. The DJ was out of his mind, I guess. Ok, the tracks were good. But he was kinda repeating the same thing again and again. that made it monotonous after a while. He had a particular fascination for darkness, cos after every ten minutes, he had the line playing, "Battiyan Bujhado..." from the song, Pyar Humein Kis Mod Pe Le Aaya, from the movie Satte Pe Satta.

The best part of the night came when he played the song, Sutta by Zeest. And, boy did the crowd go wild!!! He used to mute the song many a times at those crucial places. But the ecstatic crowd filled up the gaps in between, as they were singing that song on top of their voices. Professors exhaust themselves, trying to focus all the energies of ths students onto one thing and channelise it. Well, they should certainly check this out. What can be a better example (he heh)!! It was so much in tune, synchronised and well sung.

Me and my friend had a whale of a time laughing our hearts out on seeing all our college-mates go wild. There were a few innocent girls who were dumb-foundedly staring at the entire scene, wondering what's in the song?? Boy, they sure need to revise and re-build their sources for more GK. One such confused girl, one of my friends, was standing besides me. Just to add more to her anxiety, i added, "This is perhaps the most famous song, you've never heard. Listen to it carefully."

The mood was set once again. The DJ managed to save his dignity with that stunt of his. Soon Mr. and Miss Fresher were announced and the party ended peacefully, and well on time. All in all, I had a good time. The last party of college-life turned out to be great, if not awesome. And I was back home, getting fresh and preparing to sleep, and carrying with me, memories of some good times from college days.

The Poor Man Who Cried !!

A joyous moment, a gala time,
We celebrate it with cake and wine,
But what about those who are wretched and desolate?
What about the poor, starving man who cried?

Upon a street, I, once was walking,
In my own world, nothing compelling enough for me to stop,
But getting me out of it, on the street, was a poor man,
With eyes dug in deep, & a body no good than a carcass.

He lay there helplessly expecting a bit of mercy,
Torn and tattered, weak and grungy.
His lanky legs, hardly able to bear his own weight
Made me wonder if he had the memory of seeing them last, straight !!!

He dragged his body towards the wall,
The poor little creature wasn’t even strong enough to crawl,
He lay on the pavement, expecting a few alms in sympathy,
But people passed by him; displaying nothing else but apathy.

Those mechanical bodies, the slaves of time,
So much engrossed in themselves to pity & give a dime,
Just walked by as if he wasn’t present there,
Their faces unmoved, as if they just don’t care.

Some children finding their joys in him,
Pelted stones, pebbles & flung lots of sand.
The helpless being didn’t even have the strength to defend,
He lay there begging and pleading; waiting for his life to end.

I searched my pockets to check if a helping hand is what I could extend
Gave him some money and bought him some bread,
He managed a weak smile to express his gratitude,
I smiled back, and left that place, to continue with my walk amidst the numb multitude.

On my entire way after that scene, I couldn’t get him out of my head,
Instead of feeling a bit satisfied for helping him, I felt very sad.
I couldn’t do much to make a difference in his miserable existence,
Which will be back to same old struggle; soon after this temporary affluence.

Sometimes, dealing with life’s realities can be so harsh for the heart!
But then you have to learn to accept it as your life’s daily part.
Hope he keeps finding someone like me, until he has to survive,
I pray to God, seeking blessings for the poor man who cried.

The Mall Gets Mauled

Ahmedabad gets yet another of its share of 'the largest' this week. Every new construction seems to be breaking the previous records of being the largest or the biggest. Specially in the mall arena. There seems no end to it. This one claims to be Gujarat's biggest mall. It must be. The floor space is pretty vast. And it has nice branded stores, with good exquisite collection of stuff. But the hype about this mall was the opening of Reliance Mart, the very first of the planned, Reliance Hyper-Market chain in India...

The opening of the mart was slated to take place on Independence Day. Mukesh Ambani and his wife, Nita Ambani had come for the inauguration ceremony. Two days before that, aggressive marketing started in papers, something that Reliance is famous for. And that included offering extremley tempting offers. So it was pretty obvious that a huge in-flux of crowd was expected. Cos the offers were so tempting for the common-man, not to resist them. They were literally giving away goods at dirt-cheap prices. And the goods were that of pretty good companies and brands.

Select the most happening place to open your store. Combine it with huge floor space, great offers and on top of that, have a big brand name name attached to your store. What else could you ask for ?? It was so very obvious half of Ahmedabad would be driven to the place on the day of inauguration. And that's what exactly had happened. Ahmedabadis are, as it is, known for their crazy antics, and in the recent years they have become so fond of shopping and mall-crawling, that this was something no typical 'Amdavadi' would miss. And so, an uncontrallable retinue thronged the place altogether. The parking lots were full. Leave that, the wide spaces on both the sides of the road were full of cars, as far as your eyes could see. There was a heavy traffic jam for an entire stretch of 1 and a half to 2 kms. The regular traffic had come to a standstill. It was literally mayhem. The store had to be closed down at 4 itself on seeing the situation getting totally out of control.

I mean, this is absolutely crazy. What's all the hoopla about?? Its just another good store!!! People were acting as if there was no tomorrow. And that this store has been opened only for a day, so they should go in today itself and make the best out of all the deals. The offers are supposed to last till the 30th. But who's gonna wait that long ?? Atleast no one here. I made a mistake of visiting the mall today, thinking that the initial craze must have died down by now. But it turns out that the situation was the same today also. There was a big queue to get into the store. The entry to the mall was all empty and one could easily get in, but to get into the store, there was a separate entry and there was a huge crowd standing in queue waiting to get into the store.

I decided to go inside for a mall crawl. When i came out, the situation was still the same. It seems, the next day on which people were free, after Independence Day, was the saturday to follow (which was today) and so, the remaining crowd had gathered today to finish off the pending ritual. I just came back home, deciding to go after a week or so when all the craze would have died down fully (atleast I hope it will). Or maybe go on some weekday at non-peak hours and check it out. No doubt i'd wanna visit that place, but I'm not so desperate so as to stand in queue for 20-25 minutes to just get in. And besides, when the store is crowded to this extent, then shopping isn't fun also. The store is here to stay. It aint going anywhere or it's not gonna close down.

But for our dear, crazy Amdavadis, there's no tomorrow. This has been the typicality of the people of Gujarat since beginning. Offer them anything in a sale price, or make them feel that they are actually saving a decent amount on some bargain, they will be driven in crowds and will buy that stuff in bulks. Then it's no wonder why Reliance Mart had a turnover of whopping 1.1 crore on the very first day. Rather, very first half-day i'd say, since the store closed down at 4 P.M.

It's the Amdavadis who make or break a store. It's such an indomitable spirit of Amdavadis, that a good store gets a taste of what real business is all about. I guess it's not just Ahmedabad that has such a passionate crowd. It's the case with any good city. Lets not forget what crazy things Americans did on the days when iPhone, Playstation 3, X-Box or any other awaited products were released. I remember incidents of Americans standing out of stores since 5 in the morning to be the first to lay hands on the new iPhone by Apple. Others were selling off their places in the queue for hundreds of dollars to others who had come late and were desperate to get in. So, it's not just our city that has a crazy crowd. Call it ludicrous behaviour, but then such a response form the consumers makes such companies and stores wanna offer better n cheap services and goods to the consumers even later on.

Even the stores enjoy doing business at such times. Which store wouldn't ??? It just increases their respect for the customers, who've shown them so much respect. It's a mutual equation that balances itself from both sides. We'd like to stay out of all this crazy behaviour, but then even we're benefitted from it later on, thanks to the enterprising crowd of our city. And also, we enjoy reading about it in the papers and hearing about it on the FM stations, and then muttering to someone besides us, how crazy people are!!! What's all the big deal ???

Big deal or no big deal, the mall craze is here to stay. Any new store opened by a big famous business house will definitely receive a warm response from the crowd. And why wouldn't it ?? They've transformed the way Amdavadis shop, added a feel good factor by deeply studying shopping therapy and its effect on the customer psyche, made consumers feel like the king, drastically raised the standard of living of people in the small towns n cities, and made accessible high quality goods (at moderately affordable prices), which were, at one time, only a luxury of the people of Metros.

No wonder the new Amdavadi is all ready to absorb more of the pampering... BRING IT ON...

India Talkies

Appeared In: The Times Of India
Section: The Times Of Ideas (BRIEFCASE)
Written By: Divya A
Date: 18th August, 2007 (Saturday)


Watching the emotionally-charged Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham with my family over the weekend, one could not help chuckling and giggling to see my folks gazing intently at the usual melodramatic scenes with wet eyes. And then, something strange happened. When Kajol's UK-born son in the movie sings 'Jana Gana Mana' at a school function and the British audience stands up is respect, tears rolled down my cheeks. The on-screen mom might have had glycerine in her eyes, but mine were real. Call me sentimental but one felt that life, for Indians, had come a full circle. It is a feeling shared by many of my contemporaries.

Although freedom was served on a platter to our generation, the 'India factor' is there in all of us, in abundance. We may shy away from public display of patriotism. but deep inside, we certainly take pride in being Indians. Be it celebrating 60 years of free India or the 150th anniversary of the 1857 uprising, or a global Indian takeover for that matter, the pride is palpable. We might be sick of our politicians and rampant red-tapism, but when the Tatas sing in Corus, we all join in. When Americans and Britons outsource their jobs to India, the cry goes up: "I told you so, it's useless chasing dollar dreams. There's a boom at home!"

We can't stop raving about Kalpana Chawla and Sunita Williams leading space missions, or waxing eloquent about SRK and Big b at Madame Tussauds. When Husain or Tyeb Mehta is shown in galleries alongside Picasso and Da Vinci, it feels like a personal honour. When Lata sings 'Ae mere watan ke logon', few can hold back their tears. Strains of 'Mera rang de basanti chola' invariably generate a lump in many an Indian throat.

Coming back to our movies, only two films managed to hang on in our memory last year - Lage Raho Munnabhai and Rang De Basanti. And both had India factor in abundance. While one talked of Gandhi's principle of non-violence being relevant even today, the other, in contrast, said the 'Do or Die' attitude of pre-independence heroes is the need of the hour. And surprisingly, both went down equally well with audiences in India and elsewhere. This year too, the two films that are running to packed houses are Gandhi, My Father and Chak De! India. Although they belong to different genres, India is in focus once more. It seems patriotism pays in Bollywood as well.

Exam?? Oh !! Is It Today ??

As far as engineering is concerned, 7th semester is going on at full swing, but we've neared our patience level to take studies anymore. The situation is getting worse day by day. We had our first sessionals this week (they got over today, whew!! what a relief) and almost all the people i know started studying for the tests, early morning in the bus. The one n a half hour bus journey was all, that we wanted to devote to the stupid tests. Seriously speaking, we all are tired of it. Everyone, n i mean EVERYONE is least bothered about sessionals now. All are tackling it with the "dekha jayega" attitude.

Three sessionals, every semester is too much of exams for any student. On top of it, the professors and the college authorities try to frighten us by telling that the marks will be counted in the final result. NO, it's not like they don't do it. We do have 30 marks alloted for our performance in internals n 70 marks for Final exam. N besides, we don't even know how those 30 marks are evaluated. Whether it's average of all three, or average of best two of three or simply best out of three, noone knows. But now noone even bothers to find out. When this concept was initially introduced two years ago, the scenario was different. Students used to study with the spirit of scoring and getting good marks in the internal exams as well. But now, after going through four gruelling semesters of the same kinda stuff, almost every student of the 7th sem is fed up.

Now, after getting hands on experience at the industry in the summer training, as well as going thru' few experiences of interviews and aptitude tests for placement, everyone has realized how much does theoretical study count for, in the end. It's all in one's aptitude, and attitude. The marks are just a ticket, for an entry to these interviews. All that the companies look for is whether you've maintained an aggregrate of 67% (ok, 66.66% to be precise!!) or not. Then whether ur aggregrate is 67% or its 72% or anything higher, it really doesn't matter to them. All the students above distinction are same in their eyes. N Many of the companies just want an aggregrate of 60% in the academics.

I mean, then why the hell do colleges stress on scoring very high marks?? How does it really help?? The companies look for practical knowledge, which can be gained only if you have participated in extra curricular activities like the techfests and other technical symposiums. What we've learned so far is that you gotta maintain a balance between both theoretical and practical knowledge. Score decently good enough and at the same time, devote that extra time n energy you spend on getting 4 to 5 percent extra to the extra curricular activities to gain some practical knowledge.

Also most of the students prepare for the entrance tests for their Masters programme at this period of academic session. Even that requires a pretty huge chunk of ur time off from the normal schedule that you've been following so far. So at such a time, such tests don't figure anywhere in the priority list of any student. The file pages, the drawing sheets, the assignments, they all are already calling out to us, saying we're pretty tough and time-consuming, we come with a dead-line and there's no escape.

7 n half hours of college, almost 2 hours of commuting, and when you reach home late evening, there's so much pending work already, n also you gotta take out time for the preparation of P.G. entrance tests. Any wonder why the tests don't really matter now ?? Last minute study is the best study, and that works out every time. I'm sure all the engineering students would agree with it.

One good thing about engineering students is that we have maths at our disposal. Any engineer is expected to utilize all the resources around him in the most constructive way so as to achieve the desirable result. And that is best seen, when calculcative bunks are planned out by each student, using the academic calendar for that particular sem, so as to maintain the required percentage of presence in the class, getting enough marks so as to maintain the pre-requisite for company interviews and tests, calculating the probability of any answer being asked in the exam based on the sir's approach towards the subject or simply by his interaction with the students, and various other deductions that require calculative risk towards any practical problem.

With efficient use of resources in vicinity, time-planning, calculative risk taking, keeping cool till last moments in tense situations and managing to come out of it successfully, no wonder engineers turn out to be extremely good managers later on.

When, inspite of studying at the last moment, most of us manage to score pretty decent marks; outsiders say that its because we're engineering students. (Yup!! Engineering students do carry an image of an intelligent species for the world, and nobody can bicker about that) So we manage to do it even by studying at the last moment.

All we would like to say is that we've got ourselves accustomed to the system and we've formed our own pattern of tackling it. And i'm sure anyone who enters into engineering will get moulded into this pattern. We, engineering students work on the rocket - principle, after all. But only those, who are into engineering know the charms of such gambles and the probability of it, paying off.

An Excerpt From 'The Lord Of The Rings - The Two Towers'

This conversation takes place between Frodo and Sam towards the end of the movie 'The Lord Of The Rings - The Two Towers' (those of you, who haven't seen the movie yet, WATCH IT asap. you don't know what you're missing). This is when Frodo feels like giving up and he feels can't bear the burden of the ring anymore. But the significance of the talk is not just pertaining to the movie or that situation itself. Whenever I feel that life's become too cruel or I feel that "This Is It!! I won't be able to move on..." That's the time when I read these lines to re-energize myself (yeah, i have it written in a paper, on a wall, in my room). Works for me everytime, and even in normal happy times adds a new breath of freshness to stick to the 'right', come what may. Here it is...

FRODO: I can't do this Sam.

SAM: I know... It's all wrong... By rights we shouldn't even BE here... But we are... It's like in the great stories Mr. Frodo... The ones that REALLY MATTERED. Full of Darkness and Danger they were... And sometimes you didn't want to know the end... Because how could the end be happy ??? How could the world go BACK to the way it was when SO MUCH Bad had happened ??

But in the end; it's only a passing thing; this shadow... Even Darkness must pass... A new day WILL come... And when the sun shines it will shine out the CLEARER... Those were the stories that stayed with you... That MEANT something... Even if you were too small to understand WHY...

But I think Mr. Frodo, I DO understand... I know now... Folk in those stories, had lots of chances of turning back, only they didn't... They kept going... Because they were holding on to something...

FRODO: What are we holding on to, Sam ???

SAM: That there's some GOOD, in this world, Mr. Frodo... And it's worth FIGHTING for...

An Unnamed Piece Of Work But One Of My Favourites

When the heart pounding reality strikes your face,
And its bitter terror nibbles you to shreds
Away from it you wanna make a run for your life,
Wishing that it’s all false; wishing that it never happened.

A restless feeling empowers you,
Falling short of breath, you feel crippled,
But what’s happened is a fact you gotta accept,
The roaming lost mind needs to be brought to its abode.

A detour sought to free you from these mind numbing fallacies
But whoa! It’s not at all easy to find it,
A desperate prayer to help your own self,
A soul needed to alleviate your impoverished plight.

But who’s he gonna be?
How is he gonna help?
Will he be able to help you let it all out?
Or will you have to contain it to yourself?

Dressed in pricking robes of agony
You start searching for equilibrium
A pretence, you put up in public
Trying to hide whatever is your problem

But let’s take that experience in a positive way,
Those people, those days, those times have gone past sway,
They added a pinch of salt to your flavouring experiences
To bring to your life, the perfect taste.

The Amusing Guilt Transference

I was shopping for the occasion of Friendship Day... I was in one of the card shops in my locality, going through greeting cards... After sometime, a girl comes into the shop and starts hunting for cards. Not that there weren't any girls earlier!! She was one of 'em. But here's wat happened. She was quite close to me as we were looking for cards in the same rack. Then all of a sudden, she calls up someone, and says "Wat are you doing ?? If you're at home, then call me."

What?? Overhearing others' conversations ?? I'm not even a tad bit interested in it. I tried to move a bit aside, so as to concentrate on the cards, but that lady wouldn't lower down her voice. She had her voice loud enough, for me not to hear it. The way she was talking seemed as if it was some guy. So within 10 seconds, she gets a call, from that person. (One more reason for the person to be a guy)

Then she asks him, in a very childish, swinging quality of tone girls can miraculously blend into their speech, so as to melt anyone in front of 'em, or the kind any girl would feel comfortable using, only with the closest of friends or her family. That still sounds sweet most of the times. But this was very funny. She said "Wat do you want? For tomorrow? I'm really very confused. I dont' know what to buy for you. You tell me what do you want." Damn sure now it has to be a guy.

Poor guy!! Instead of being able to think that what a friend is she, who can't even buy a gift for me, gets carried away because of the tone of her voice. She lovingly lulls him into telling what he wants. At first he argues that he doesn't need anything (as anyone has to, for courtesy sake... only few people actually mean it when they say, that they don't need any gifts) She was counter arguing for a long time, "No.. I want to buy something for you.. Tell me what you want tomorrow. No, you tell me... No, you tell me... No, you tell me... No, you tell me... No, you tell me... No, you tell me..." (ughh!!! so irritating na !?!?! That you've to read it so many times !?!? Just imagine how weird it must be sounding there. N yes, she repeated this sentence more than ten times...)

Finally that he gives in, I get to hear out loud, "A Tie!!!"... She was pretty much shocked to believe that he was actually talking about a tie, any man wears with a formal suit. (I know!! pretty weird a choice for a gift, but hey!! Maybe he needed one direly) "Now tell me the place where-from I can buy it... What what ? A tie!! Wat else!?!?! Any place near my house.. I said, a place in 'my area'.." During this entire conversation, I was trying to move further away and away. But that girl, it seemed, wanted me to hear, and also make out the other side of the conversation. She also kept coming towards the other side, looking for cards as I moved along. At one point, I had lost my concentration completely from the written material in the cards.

I was like, "Lady!!! Why don't you now ask him to buy one for himself and then you pay the bill !!!" Cos that was the only thing left to listen to, now... First of all, YOU are buying a gift, and that too you can't do it yourself, that you ask the other person for whom the gift is (and that too out of the blue), that what does he want, then where is it available in the vicinity.

And then the next thing that comes up, "You're good for nothing... Don't even know one shop in my area where I can find it..." Beg Your Pardon Lady !!! But if he's good for nothing, then how useful were YOU?? Can't even find a gift, ask him everything and then shout at him saying he's not of any help... WOW.. I wanted to go and congratulate her... How magically she hid her guilt and fault of not knowing his choices first by talking so sweetly, childishly and slyly, got him into the melted-heart (oh, you're so sweet a girl, I'll do anything for you) phase, made sure he doesn't realize her fault, then got him into speaking out what he wanted.

And the best of all, made him feel guilty for not being able to help her find a gift for himself. I seriously couldn't control myself from smiling (I wanted to laugh out, but then it was a very silent place, and I can maintain my decibel level at zero when I need to, unlike that girl, who made her private conversation public by talking out so loud)

This is really funny and weird. We guys always will keep wondering how (typical) girls (typical ones, cos not all girls are so... Also typical girls are huge in numbers these days) manage to turn the guilt factor around. But then, not all things are meant to be understood. It's these little mysteries that actually develop attraction between males n females. In retrospection of the adages of people of old times, which said - 'One can understand everything on earth, but not women', I think they must 've gone through some incidents of these kind. But then again, its such behaviour and acts that get the guys going crazy behind the girls. Then you can get to see a guy wondering, she's so weird, yet I can't help loving her.

The reverse is equally true. There will be some things about men women will never understand. But, then I'm not wanting to go into the details of why men and women are so. Let it be so. It adds a bit of mystery to the relationships which otherwise, would have been dull had men and women been alike. Also, then, this incident would not have taken place, giving me, and hopefully, you all; a light, enjoyable moment.

The Truth About Life

A topsy turvy curve life takes all of a sudden,
Bringing back past memories & feelings, buried and hidden,
As soon as you feel you’ve finally adjusted to the new circumstances,
That’s when the past creeps up, & faster & faster it advances.

I guess life never stays constant; like a pendulum it sways,
You have to keep adjusting yourself with it always
No sooner you challenge HIM to avoid or not do something,
Then life brings you at such a step that you somehow fall into it, unwanting.

You come to terms with the new times,
Things again start seeming wonderful, bells of happiness chime,
But you gotta make sure not to get carried away too far,
Or else you’ll be hit hard with life’s ever changing reality & power...

Galling Neighbour, Calling

Yesterday I was studying for my exam. N all of a sudden mom calls me from downstairs, saying someone’s there to meet me. I couldn’t quite get the name. I thought she said ‘Monu’, which is my cousin’s pet name. I went downstairs only to be shocked to see that it was my neighbour ‘Sonu’. (Even his brother’s name is ‘Monu’... just FYI) You see, the old age tradition of having kids with rhyming names is pretty much prevalent today. I was shocked to see him, cos I haven’t been on talking terms with him since past few years. Very few people are lucky to get good, peaceful n friendly neighbours. N my family is not from the lucky lot for sure.

It so happens that he had just given 12th Board exams n he wanted some info regarding which colleges should he choose, which line should he get into, in which colleges does he stand a chance to secure an admission. (60% was what he scored, which is pretty less to get into a good engineering college) So well I did give him all the information I had about colleges, ways to secure admission and which line’s better. He had all his doubts cleared up, n then, while leaving, said, “If I have any more queries anytime, I‘ll come up over here.” Excuse me buddy!!! Isn’t that supposed to be 'MY' line? It’s shocking how people can make themselves comfortable enough and that too with such a past rapport. All that I had left with me, to say was “You’re always welcome.”

I had absolutely no problems in helping him clear his doubts. But had I been at his place, I’d never wanna take counseling from ‘Me’. Cos I haven’t talked to that person since the past 7 years, have always been in his bad books and now all of a sudden, when I got work, I’m all friendly once again. I can’t change my feelings like I change my clothes!! N I'm pretty sure once he's got into some college, I shall hear no more of him.

N it’s not just a few of such persons, I’m sure there’ll be many around us all. The people who wouldn’t like any child playing in the vicinity of 50 meter radius of their house, but their child can break anyone’s window panes, n he’s just a child, mistakes happen. The ones who would go out n stop every child’s play, just cos their kid’s got exams, n wen it’s the other way round, there’s no stopping their kids… they can play music at full volume, scream, shriek, confiscate other kids’ balls whenever it lands in their house, bring in the entire retinue in their family tree to a society function (well, so what they don't live in the society ??? They are a part of their family after all !!), utilize, or rather store anything n everything that’s free. Well, unlimited food means pass it to your kitchen from the society’s common plot; since u got your house rite behind the plot, utilize its location, n store it in huge vessels, n hey!!! food doesn’t become inedible until three days or more… What’s a fridge for after all??

I can’t help but have a pity laugh on such people. They actually think they’re very smart n get their work done whenever they need to. But outside; they‘re nothing else but a bunch of laughing stocks. Everyone in our society knows them & thinks they’re really irrational enough to consider themselves as highly wise. It’s the patience n tolerance of all these good families that such people are still under that misconception. Had they been living amongst a group of equals, they’d have realized their worth soon enough. I, for one, many a times think there’s nothing we can do about such people, but at the same time, you wanna do something to get them onto the track.

It’s said; to make sure a person understand what you wanna say, try talking to him in his language or his terminology. Let’s hope, they don’t cross the limits in their regular doings. Or who knows, maybe someone from us might take a crash course in their behavorial - terminology n give them a dose of their own medicine.

Under The Glory Of Basking Sun

Under the glory of basking sun
Lie some cries unheard
Fall but only on deaf ears
Hoping to pierce some little bit of a sensitive soul

The trees quiver with shaking fear
Against the mighty wind;
Who, with its mighty jaws uproots everything in its path;
And sounds like a lion roaring to brag pride

My conscience hollers out colossally
Encumbers my path to free will
Act out by mind or by heart?
Is what I need to resolve
But hey! The greediness of the lurking shadows whispers in the dark
Tempting me to listen to the adages of thee
Compelling me to follow their commands
And to become their slave eternally

My mind starts loosing control of itself
My body forces me to dance to their commands
I try to rebel against my own self
But my mind pre-occupied in its preposterousness
Can’t think of anything, can’t follow its master!
And makes me feel like a windmill with a single blade in a hurricane

I shout out, I cry “Leave Me Alone”
I ain’t gonna fall under your domination
I fight with all that’s left in me
Against my own body that’s no more mine

I belong to God, I’m his humble servant
I choose to die rather than serve you
My arms, freezed to the ultimate treachery;
And denying my own-self to work for good;
Rise above against all odds;
Mighty high with a strong cry;
To break all the manacles tying me up
To prove that goodwill always defeats wicked cry

I escape the treacheries hoaxing me to temporary happiness
And I once again feel at ease
‘Cos I was able to stick to perpetual happiness
And that too in consort with undeviating peace


While recalling the bitter reminiscence of this painful experience
I think about the person who foremost came to my mind
I feared I was loosing that person
And would see no more of my acquaintance
That fear gripped me the most
I desperately prayed to God “Please save me…
I want to live to see that person once again”
That person is whom I call “The One”
The One gave me strength to fight out my weakness
The One gave my fragile numb knees strength to rise once again
The One made my arms rise sky high
To defeat the pretence appearance behind loosing fallacies.


(Guys, those who couldnt exactly get what the poem intends to say and would want the meaning or significance of the poem, leave a comment with ur email-id... i'll get back to you personally)

Dera Sachcha Sauda - The Real Deal or no Big Deal ???

It's all a problem of casteism that has crept even into the Sikh religion....
Our 10th Guru had made it clear that there shall be no sub-castes n further divisons in this religion... all followers shall be called Sikhs...But still today in Punjab there're divisions based on castes...One of the sects is Dera Sachcha Sauda....
It all began when the Sirsa-based Dera head Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh appeared at a public function on Saturday dressed as Guru Gobind Singh, the 10th Sikh Guru. The Sikhs got angry over the fact that he was trying to imitate Guru Gobind Singh himself...

Cos this is how Shri Guru Gobind Singh was dressed, the day he formed Sikh religion on 13th April 1699. That was the day he laid down principles n rules to be a Sikh, that they shall never cut their hair, they shall keep those five K's with them, there shall be no sub-castes in the religion, alll shall sit together on the floor (be it rich, poor, king or servant) to have the food, which is known as "langar" or community kitchen... n many such other rules, which promoted equality of Men n Women alike.

N those who wanted to become Sikhs were to drink 'Amrit' or Holy nectar,which was being prepared by Guru's wife...After administering it to the holy 5 persons, (if u want to know who they were, check this link http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vaisakhi) He himself asked them to bestow him with nectar n then he proclaimed himself to be a Sikh. This is how Sikh religion started...

Now the head of this Dera was dressed just like Guru Gobind Singh according to the people of Punjab. He had given some advertisement in which his photo depicted him assuming himself to be someone like Guru Gobind Singh, and had urged to followers to drink 'Amrit' and become high caste. (Sikh religion, the Gurus and his followers were considered equal to the Hindu Brahmins n other higher castes... n wen Guru Gobind Singh said anyone can become a Sikh, n ther shall be no caste distinctions in or sect, then lots of low caste Hindus came forward n got themselves converted to Sikhs...This was not liked by the high caste Hindus that time, so they were against Sikh religion...)

Now i think what this person was tryin to do here was the same thing, wat our Guru had done... But there's nothing wrong in it... Ya, if he dressed up like our Guru n acted the same way, then that's an offence for sure... If he hasnt done that, then i dont see any reason for the Sikhs to get so agitated...

But all hell broke loose after that. Sikh organisations almost immediately formed counter-attack groups and burnt effigies of Ram Rahim Singh which only instigated his supporters to go on a rampage, attacking and razing everything in their wake. Dera Sachcha Sauda has a very very large retinue of people... Enough to make congress win 15-20 seats.. N that's a huge number.. So obviously congress has had their support n has also worked in their favour...

Political parties, are all only concerned about votes as we know... N its a good time for the opposition, to target the ruling party, just like every opposition does (whether the ruling party is rite or wrong, doesn't matter) All that opposition needs is to oppose every act of theirs... least bothering bout wat's good n bad... they are trying to woo the Sikhs who opposed the Dera Sachcha Sauda n his leader...

And I feel, the issue has been blown fully out of proportion.... It's not even worth a riot... N the entire state of Punjab has been put on stake... This might change the plight of the richest state in India... It's somewhat like the Godhra issue... The police n the political parties r not co-operating at all... They are silent spectators, watching the whole thing instead of taking any action....

Cos if they speak for one side, they'll loose vote from the other side; and vice versa. So they cant take actions against the supporters or the objectioners. The leaders have asked the police also, not to take any action, n let things continue as they are...

Again, one root problem here is illiteracy... Who were the people in Gujarat who were a part of mob n went out on streets on a rampage, burning n destroying everything on their way ??? The poor ppl, the illiterate ppl, the ones who dont have the sense to think what's wrong and what's rite.. They are used upon their emotional quotient by the political parties, who emotionally charge them up, n make them think in the wrong direction.. These poor ppl, who have no sense of judgement, follow others' opinion blindly n go out on a destruction spree thinking that they are working for a noble cause, but actually they are creating mayhem....

Same's the situation here.. It's the farmers n other illiterate ppl who are out on streets protesting n creating disorder.... Neither did u see the civlised ppl out on streets in Guj riots of 2002, nor in Punjab...

N as far as Dera Sachcha Sauda is concerned, all its followers are the 'less fortunate' crowd, who haven't had the oppurtunity to study or earn much, & are working as labourers or farmers... So on both the sides, we got ppl with almost zero logic, fighting for wat's not so big an issue....

And the biggest shock is that this issue is turning into a nationwide protest.
The solution is very clear... All these protests can be stopped. In Godhra issue, the Gujarat police did act, though late, but had they acted earlier, they could've curbed the violence. Same's the case here... If the state wants, the whole thing can be calmed down... But they're being prevented from doing so... By political parties, who are worried bout upcoming elections n their vote banks....

They'll ask police to take action only after they're sure their vote bank's not in danger or wen the entire world's eyes will be fixed on this issue. Just like it happened in Gujarat...

If the Sikhs are really hurt, then they can file a petition in court n challenge the saint n leader of Dera, Ram Rahim Singh... i'm sure if the entire community in Punjab is enraged, this matter will be looked upon quickly n some or the other verdict will be out soon....

But, the scenario is going a whole different way, n lets hope we dont get to see yet another Godhra in its making...