Digha trip

Last night, we- a batch of 9 went to the Digha beach. Really enjoyed a lot. It started off very quickly- I was informed only at 9 PM and before 11PM we were crossing the Puri gate out of the campus. It was fun all along the way up. We reached there at around 1'o clock.

Here was the surprise- I was expecting dry sand in the beach- infact we brought our supplies to eat & drink there. The beach was totally wet. The sand had become hard & flat with water. The first thing i did was write my name in the sand and i took a snap with it.
Then we went into the sea and i had a great time. I've been to beaches earlier(chennai's marina, pondicherry, kanyakumari) but i don't remember much- I was very young then. Practically, this is my first tryst with the ocean and i really love it. After about 2 hours in the sea, we sat to have something to eat. While those who drink had their fun, we had something to eat. It was great- 0230 hrs, moon lit sky above, wet sand and rocks below, endless ocean in the front

Inner Ripples ...........

There was a boy. A boy just like any other except that he was ambitious. He always felt restless. He wanted to do something but he didn't know what. His father once told him- " I want you to be independent. I want you to make a name for yourself. You should not be introduced as someone's so & so. You should be your only reference. That is the best you can give for me." It was very simple and clear. His father was probably dejected by the 'recommendations' system in the bureaucracy he was in.

Many boys of his age would not have given it a serious thought but this one was different- He worked really hard the next 2 years towards what he thought would fulfill his father's wish. Iam talking about the JEE- the Joint Entrance Examination of the IIT's and yes he cleared it though not in 'flying colours'. He got into an IIT and everything was fine. He thought he had fulfilled his father's wish and resigned into a pleasant satisfaction.

But then 2 years later, he sees the reality. He is not considered 'good' because his rank in JEE (ya, the same JEE he wrote 2 years back) is not on par with his 'coached' peers in his department. He didn't get to his present department by virtue of his JEE rank but by virtue of his first year performance at IIT. First year at IIT was not as difficult as JEE but then he had to be consistent- Every lab, every viva, every attendance, every day, every class counted. When he learned about result of the first year, he thought he deserved it.
But, now one old man comes from nowhere and says he doen't give a damn to performance at IIT, all he wants is JEE rank. But the boy is not worried about that. He should atleast be given a chance to defend his low rank in JEE.

Because only he knows what it takes to crack JEE without anyone there to teach you anything. He would stare at the equations for hours not understanding a bit. His friends would comment- It's difficult, better prepare for the state entrance. Even the naive housewives understood JEE- They made fun of him at his back, Preparing for JEE at home!! The moment anyone gets to know he was preparing for JEE, they have a suggestion as if they have mastered it over years. He had to battle all this and still remain committed to the goal. But now its of no use- nobody wants to hear all that stuff.

But these incidents only make him more determined. He has realized that he has not been able to fulfill his father's wish. But he will fight for it. As long as it takes him.
He definitely will win.

Engineering

You must have a really convincing explanation for being caught studying in your room- at least a class test
and if you are caught studying in a library- My GOD! Its an unforgivable sin!- whatever be your explanation.

This is how it happens in my college and i think its much the same in many engineering colleges. A serious student is branded "muggu" and will be made fun of. Those on the other extreme consider it 'cool' to be like that.



PS: Before you start guessing which extreme i belong, let me clarify- I belong to neither of the two extremes. I'm somewhere in between.

Thought for the day

You have enemies? Good! That means you have stood up for something, somewhere in your life!

The popular saying is : show me your friends, I'll tell what kind of person you are.....
Now, this also makes sense- Show me your enemies, I'll tell what kind of person you are......

The Money game

Zimbabwe is now experiencing an annual inflation rate of 7000%.

What does an annual inflation rate of 7000% mean?

A good costing Rs 1/- now will cost Rs 71/- after an year. or the prices double for ever 60 days.

Good deal indeed! Buy now and sell later.

But just wait...... How do you buy to store and sell later when you are not able to buy your basic goods. If all the cash you have is just sufficient for a meal!

I was curious about the highest inflation rates and did a bit googling. I found some interesting facts:



Historically, there have been incidences of monthly inflation in the order of 10^6 - 10^9 %!!!
The highest ever being 4.19 x 10^16 % per month which means prices double for every 15 hours!!
What happens in such cases?
The maximum denomination of note available increases drastically.
How does it end eventually?
It ends either with change in currency or the notes issued in that period( high denomination) are exchanged at a suitable rate.

This picture shows a German woman loading a stove with currency notes. They burn longer than the wood they can buy!!


PS: data and photo from wikipedia.

Emerging Power

A few days back, I saw a front page story in The Hindu about an External affairs ministry statement regarding some US senators enquiring Indian IT companies about some visa issue.
What caught my attention was the head line which read-" India threatens US.........."
Yes, you read it right. No typo error-India and US are in correct positions.
This is just an indicator of an emerging India.

This is the new face of India. Get used to it.

Q-paper ka kamaal............

Today was the last class of 'Computer Software' course before midsem and a few words of advice on how to tackle the Q- paper given by the professor were:
" Students-
1) Do not try to attempt all the questions, you should be happy to solve 4 or 5 questions out of the 16.

2) If you find any ambiguity in a question, it only means- tera sochne ka tadeeka galat hai.... happily presume 0 marks for it....dont even attempt it kyon ki tera soch pehle se galat hai....u will be miles away from the actual solution.

3) I have deliberately put some wrong/invalid/misleading questions...... Touch them at your own risk.

4)Lastly, all you people who attended this last class will most probably score very low marks because u want to score more marks....................... Do not go to the exam hall expecting to score more.......... Infact, Expect to fail in the exam."


I got up early in the morning with great difficulty, only to hear this..........
UFfff, why did i go to the class?........

Love in the 'orkut' era

Gone are the days when a boy loved a girl because he loved her, because he couldn't explain the special bond with her. Gone are the days when it used to take some years to propose to a girl even when you knew she liked you. Now the mantra is FAST...... watch for interesting profiles, chat for 4-5 hours, ask for a photograph, fix up a date,......................., " It was a mistake yaar..... She is not like what i expected"

So, in such an environment is it an anachronism to feel really special about someone........ The very first thing i hear when i say i feel special about someone is " Kaisi hai.........photo dikha ".
Why do you want a photo.....Comeon it is me who is feeling special about her.........Why do YOU want a photo?? I try explaining- "No yaar, its not about photo...I think i truely love her" .... They say- " Woh kya hota hai..How is it different? Pehle photo." I try explaining but it hardly makes any sense because when i dont understand it_ How can i explain??

UFffffffff Am i over reacting....................... Actually i know what it is...Im afraid she is being evaluated when i show a photo......What if they say "she's not good." and even worse is if they say- "she's good Ummmm!!" and again there is this eternal fear - " she's too good for you"- Infact one of my best friends at IIT commented- " How did this 'figure' fall for you?" I hope he was only kidding..... They are my friends..... my well wishers... I probably shouldn't be thinking too much........

LUCKY

Yesterday, I watched the movie 'the constant gardener'. It is a story of a diplomat and his wife set in the backdrop of Africa. On seeing the film, I found yet another reason to be proud of my country and its strengths. Yes, I was lucky to be born here and i will do something in future to repay for my luck.

Build self confidence

Many Battles have been lost but the war is still on, Go Get it

Yes, You should, You will, You Can.

This war will not end till your end.......So its never too late



ps: this is for me. It has nothing to do with anyone else. However, you may also get inspired:P