Ripple.. Rock.. Reverberate..

CET DHWANI 2012 College Cultural Fest

2011-12-30T00:45:00.000+05:30

www.cetdhwani.com

Finally it is back again ! The cultural Fest of College Of Engineering Trivandrum 2012 Edition is here :
Know more by joining the group on FB :
https://www.facebook.com/cet.dhwani

Promo Video DHwani CET 2012
Watch Teaser dhwani 2012 CET

PS:As a part of SEO :D

Food for thought 2

2011-10-17T20:22:00.000+05:30

Most of the parts of thc country is facing serious outbreak of diseases with "hard to spell" names .

Once we knew of just one fever ,the one which was a genuine reason for absenting from school.

Now,the choices are more than the brands of bathing bars available in a super market.

When new ATMS and bank branches spring up all over the state,I understand ,people have money and there are now more than a million way of saving ,investing or spending money cos PEOPLE HAVE LOTS OF MONEY TO SPEND (I guess ,i just defined INFLATION)

But when new specialty hospitals(NOT PRIMARY HEALTH CENTRES) ,spring up every where ,what else do I understand ,than the fact that PEOPLE INDEED HAVE LOT MORE DISEASES AND HEALTH ISSUES than the existing hospitals can handle ,which hence means ,the existing ones never actually made people healthy or health conscious by any degree.

So when we say kerala has hospitals in THOUSANDS , don't we mean to say Keralites are sick in LAKHS ??!!

jobs steve jobs !! A for .... ?!!

2011-10-14T02:58:00.000+05:30

Happened to bump in to our seniors class blog which looked very much alive and kicking ...
There were loads of episodes of some malayalam novel written,,,
Wonder where the story makers of aPPles have gone...

Is it RIP apple ??!?

Ps: It was only today that I noted that most of the gadgets and high end tech companies have some fruity names
Black berry ,Orange ,Apple ...Not aware of the rest ... But there should should be a grape or grapevine ,a pineapple or Mango (oops!!! dats the Manorama FM Channel's name,I dn't intend to classify them as hi end though)

Where is the Justice??

2011-05-05T22:49:00.002+05:30

Osama was shot dead. Apparently in the head. But later it was the leg, then both. It has also been said that he was unarmed. And Obama says that justice has been done. Hey, if justice can be achieved by killing off unarmed people, then to hell with Afghanistan and Iraq. Maybe the US is right in staying there to finish off whatever is left of its populations! That will surely reduce terrorism in the world. Why not the rest of the middle east along with that too. The common American's anti-Muslim mindset means that there will always be support.

A lot of people have been complaining that India is being weak by sheltering Kasab and we should follow the example of the US. Maybe they are right. Why should he be given a fair trial? Why can't he be shot dead. As a matter of fact, why cant we just send the military into Kashmir and probably shoot anyone who is suspected of being a terrorist. Or maybe finish off with all the people who support the Naxals.

The same people who say that the British was inhumane and denied justice when Bhagat Singh was hanged a day early, say that Kasab should be hanged.

Thankfully the people in charge of our country are a better, more mature and intelligent lot. Though they might be steeped in corruption, they would still like to see India as having a just society.

And so would I. Let the Justice take its course. Maybe we should try making it faster, rather than deny it to those who do not have public appeal. We need a just society, without the corruption of course.

Earphonia

2011-01-06T23:08:00.002+05:30

Lately it seems to be a trend among most of us to have earphones plugged in our ears most of the time. People seem to be listening to music quite a lot. Does that mean that the Indian music scene is getting better? With Sheila and her Jawaani the answer is a big NO, unless people are listening to something other than pop music. And hopefully that is what they are listening to every minute of their lives.

But this post is not about music but the new hobby the youth have found for themselves. People seem to be enjoying music everywhere, in the bus, train, while eating, while watching cricket(all the commentators can leave, no one seems to be listening), etc, etc. This has become a sort of a disease (earphonia) and it is spreading fast.

One of the problems is that we cannot directly talk to one with earphonia. We first make sure they can see us, than say 'Excuse Me' hoping they heard it or atleast saw our mouths move while we were looking at them. Then if they respond, we have to wait for them to stop the music and take the earphones out of their ears and then start out conversation.

One thing common among all those who have earphonia is that they seem to be alone. Alone in the bus, alone in the mess while eating. Maybe they listen to music because they have no one to talk to. Or maybe they don't want to talk to anyone. Or maybe they have no friends. Or maybe they dont like the sounds of the real world. Or maybe they find the subjects people usually talk about to be boring or beneath them.

But the problem is that having these wires sticking out of your ears makes others hesitate to approach you in the first place. Hopefully the the sights and sounds of the real world will get better soon and this disease can be cured.

Common Wealth Games

2010-10-03T00:21:00.001+05:30

The question is ,
Even if the CWG preparations were perfect and the facilities were truly world-class, would any one of us in this cricket obsessed country of ours go to attend the event????

If the Delhi Games is not a success, it would not be because of all the controversy but because we did not even try to make it a success. Some celebrity even suggested that we should boycott the games. That would not be necessary. Since there is no cricket, no one would go to watch in the first place!

We Indians are the type of people who want to be the best but are to lazy to even lift a finger for the betterment of this country. It is no wonder we would rather hero worship the existing sport stars (meaning cricketers) than pushing ourselves or our children towards a career in sports.

Of Food

2010-09-18T14:14:00.003+05:30

It doesn't matter whether you are studying in one of the top colleges in the country, if you cannot you cannot eat from a mess just because it doesn't serve the food from your region, you are just another narrow-minded and conservative person just like any other person in India.

Its no surprise that the country has not reached even 10% of its actual potential. When Indians cannot take risks with the food they eat even for one day, how are we supposed to take the big decisions that will take the country forward?

In IISc. you can see the entire story unfolding. People complain about the mess but still wont change to another one even though you can change back if you didn't like it. And the students from each regions have their own dishes which they cannot live without. If it is rice and sambhar for Keralites, then it is the Hilsa fish for the Bengalis and so on.

I used to think that only malayalees were so rigid when it comes to food, not trying anything different. But now I have realized that every Indian is as bad. The ones from the big cities are a little better. But they come with their own set of problems. But that is for another post.

Intruder in Wonderland

2010-08-30T22:10:00.001+05:30

I do not know where it was. I cannot recollect when it happened.

Oddly enough, a part of me is happy that I do not remember the details. Another part of me is trying hard to guess them.

I was trotting up the mountain path. The mist was gliding along, hugging the luxuriant slopes in its heavenward gait. I found myself fluxed by the mist: 'practically inside a cloud', i fancied... In a matter of seconds, the whole valley disappeared from view...

Looking around in the mist, I couldn't discern much from the faint silhouettes shimmering a few yards away. They appeared to be signalling something. Directions, perhaps. I took them to be either shrubs or rocks, and kept walking. It felt insanely satisfying. Tiny droplets of water be-dewed me as i ambled along.

Mists are true travelers. They do not plan ahead. Nor do they know of their destination. They listen to the Wind when it grows powerful. They hover around mountains, at times making them look beautiful. This mist, in particular, was in no obvious hurry. Not wanting to miss out on any more views of the valley, I decided to halt and reclined upon a smooth rock. I closed my eyes and felt myself dissolving into the mist.

Percussion.. Rhythmic strokes.. Somewhere in the distance. I stirred slowly from sleep. The rhythmic strokes started again: the sound that a sharp beak makes when it caves in into a hardwood tree. Ah! I'd woken up to the melody of a woodpecker at its day's work. I opened my eyes and scanned the place. The mist had sailed on.

There was not even a suggestion of the mountain path anywhere in the vicinity. I must've strayed off a long way. I discovered that I was near the edge of a mountain. Obviously intrigued, i walked towards the edge and peered down.

If i describe what met my eyes as merely hair-raising, heart-stopping or spine-tingling, I should be punished. It was nothing less than spiritually uplifting!

Flowers: Hundreds and Thousands of them!

Theme: Fragrance and Colour!

Artist: He who created the World.. who left this part of it unknown to Man.. and who momentarily lost vigil: when a man wandered into His finest piece of art, hiding under a cloak in the shape of a mist.

The mist had left pearls on their merry petals. These flowers had seen nothing of the world.. and the world had seen nothing of them.. If ignorance was bliss, it was only theirs.. The ponderer somewhere in me felt troubled.. For whom do these flowers blossom everyday? Apart from the mist, wind and rain, who appreciates their beauty? Why did God even create them, only to keep them a secret unknown to the world? For years and years, the flowers must've bloomed everyday, not knowing how wonderfully charming they are, not knowing that a world of men exists, that a few of these men would admire them endlessly. Why did God have to rob us both of what we deserve?

Thomas Gray's legendary lines came to my mind:

'Full many a flower is born to blush unseen,

And waste its sweetness on the desert air.'

Perhaps He did it for a reason. Midas, as we know, turned everything he touched into gold. Maybe Midas is none other than Man himself.. and just like Midas' own daughter who turned to gold upon his touch.. he ends up losing even those things he holds close to his heart, for Gold.. for materialistic gain and a queer pleasure only Man can identify with..

Perhaps many more such valleys exist, unknown to us.. The more unknown they are, the better..

An eulogy for this dying blog of ours

2010-08-29T18:24:00.002+05:30

For the blogs that die an immature death .....

Lemme a scribble an eulogy .....

When the pens cease leaking,when the keys start choking

When the purses get fatter,when the degrees get longer

Thoughts takes no shape ,nd yu literally gape

@ that old Blog ,Where once you slogged ;)

Of Hostels

2010-08-28T00:44:00.000+05:30

Of Hostels
While going through the hostel admission process at IISc, I overheard one of the officials saying that the girls are always taken care of and its only the boys who have to put up with all the issues such as no water, cleanliness, etc. Someone else told me that this was the situation in all colleges. The girls hostel is always better kept than the boys hostel.

But why? Girls have always been known to be more orderly and tidy than boys. Why do they need any extra attention? If anything its the boys who require more attention. With personal experience about the cleanliness of a boys hostel, I would have to say that its a wonder boys don't catch an diseases because of their appalling standards of hygiene. I have seen rooms covered with enough layers of dirt for it to have an archaeological survey done.

That the boys start acting mature and start cleaning up after themselves is not going to happen any time soon. So I urge all the hostel authorities in every hostel take up the issues of boys' hostels before it goes from bad to worse. The future of mankind is at stake here!

Political 'Career'

2010-08-21T22:44:00.000+05:30

The recent hiking of the salaries of our MPs has brought with it a storm of criticism from the media and the like. With inflation going unabated why are our leaders eager to to take home fat paychecks than solving the nation's problems? Why is it that they are ready to look like selfish babus just for a rise in income?

But why not? Surely inflation also affect the rich too!! And service starts right from our home and family! But apart from that, Indian legislators are among the lesser paid than their counterparts elsewhere in the world. But that is not an excuse since the 'nation building work' they seem to do may not be worth much.

But isn't politics another career a person may choose? It is also much more riskier and gratifying at the same time than any other profession. In this money driven world where jobs which come with high salaries together with an opportunity to change the world for the better are rare. In this world it may be the best career option too. Of course to succeed in politics takes a lot of hard work as does any other profession bud the rewards are much better. Above all you get the love and respect of the people. Does any other job offer that?!

Indian politics needs fresh faces and not somebody's son/ daughter/ nephew , etc. Maybe this hike in salaries will inspire more people to take politics as a career.

2010-08-15T17:53:00.001+05:30

http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2010/08/in_silhouette.html

In silhouette .....a photo blog i recommend you to chek out...

Images speaks better ...not me ..chk out

HARtALS Everywhere

2010-07-15T12:19:00.001+05:30

Hartals are the same everywhere in India..u curl down with a pillow on the couch and run yur fingers restlessly on the remote buttons.Soon tv channels will have "HARTAL DAY SPECIAL MOVIE" nd shows specially for the festive day break wen movements are still..I woke up to a silent mumbai today..feeling happy for the same,for today has no more monday morning blues ;P;the usual sounds of the rick and the drool of the horns of the BEST buses are missing altogether...arising that UNmumbaish feeling.Well the silence on road has been well compensated by the NOISE on the news channels,with multiple screens from all the four metros flashing fire and fury with zero solution to the problem they were fighting for.As usual ,the fairy tale ends with "AND THEY LIVED HAPPILY EVER AFTER"...6 TO 6 ie it.

Young Adults

2010-07-12T10:46:00.001+05:30

Am I an adult yet?
Is being 21 years old enough to be an adult?
I guess not.
We live in a country where talking about sex is taboo. For some, the act itself is a necessary evil.
So I'd say we are all still children. So lets throw all responsibilities out the window and just enjoy!!

The City of Joy

2010-07-12T10:32:00.000+05:30

With names like Esplanade, Park Street and Cornwallis Avenues, one would think they are in London, but a closer look shows that they are in a more beautiful place called Kolkata.

Though the city is one big traffic jam, it is quite a sight. The narrow roads are filled with Ambassador cars, I too went around in one. I was surprised by the size of the car, its huge! Three can sit comfortably in the back without touching each other.

The people are very helpful too. And unlike New Delhi or Mumbai, the youth here are not much of the Pg3 HiFi types.

Got to dip my feet in the Ganga (Hooghly) near the Dakshineshwar temple and hopefully they are free of sin.

The place is more of a girls delight with the large number of saree shops selling the traditional bengali handloom sarees.

World cup controversies !!!

2010-06-15T11:39:00.000+05:30

Here is a link to the World cup controversies !!!

http://in.yfittopostblog.com/2010/06/14/footballs-top-world-cup-controversies/

The Value of a Human Life

2010-06-07T11:59:00.000+05:30

This is an incident that happened to me on my way back to Trivandrum from Ernakulam by bus. We were on a narrow bridge with two lanes when a motorbike tried to overtake us by going full speed. But unfortunately, there was a car coming from the other side and the rider hit the car. It was quite a gruesome accident. Of course, this being Kerala, the bus stopped and many people got down to see the victim. The licence numbers of the both the car and the bike was noted by the conductor of our bus and one person was trying to get some water for the victim. This enquiring mood did not last long though, in the very words of one of the passengers of the bus, “since the accident did not involve the bus in any way, we need not care at all and the bus should leave.” The infamous Malayalee spirit had taken over. The car involved on the accident waited for the police and so did the bike rider who was unconscious evidently with heavy injuries on his head and spine. The passengers of the bus were told to board the bus as it would be leaving. Inside the bus the discussion about the accident began. There was no doubt that it was the fault of the biker. So the discussion was about why we did not help the victim. Surprisingly, everyone seemed to think on the lines that since the bus was not involved we were not required to help at all.

It is said that God helps those who help themselves. I used to think that this meant that we should learn to take care of ourselves and not be dependent on others. But I have now learnt that this means the we should try our best not to help others and we should not help ourselves either, otherwise we wouldn’t need a god to help us!

As the bus left I could see the bike rider lying on the footpath with his motorbike kept beside him and his bag kept near his hand for easy access. He was unconscious though. And where was I during this whole episode unfolded in front of me. I was worse than the average Malayalee. I did not leave my seat fearing I would lose it. I did not enquire about his condition and just kept on listening to the others.

The value we give to another human’s life is always more than ours. If we think of an unknown person’s life to be highly valuable we would also be right up there. But on the other hand if we deem another person not worthy of our help we too are worthless indeed. If human life could be measured in absolutes then the average of them all would be very low. The life of the common man is quite worthless for if he was worthy of anything then he would not be common at all.

J.K.Rowling's Harvard Commencement Address

2010-04-13T00:49:00.001+05:30

Monday, January 18, 2010

J.K.Rowling's Harvard Commencement Address
The Fringe Benefits of Failure, and the Importance of Imagination Harvard University Commencement AddressJ.K. Rowling,
Copyright June 2008

As prepared for delivery

President Faust, members of the Harvard Corporation and the Board of Overseers, members of the faculty, proud parents, and, above all, graduates, The first thing I would like to say is 'thank you..' Not only has Harvard given me an extraordinary honour, but the weeks of fear and nausea I've experienced at the thought of giving this commencement address have made me lose weight. A win-win situation! Now all I have to do is take deep breaths, squint at the red banners and fool myself into believing I am at the world's best-educated Harry Potter convention.Delivering a commencement address is a great responsibility; or so I thought until I cast my mind back to my own graduation. The commencement speaker that day was the distinguished British philosopher Baroness Mary Warnock. Reflecting on her speech has helped me enormously in writing this one, because it turns out that I can't remember a single word she said. This liberating discovery enables me to proceed without any fear that I might inadvertently influence you to abandon promising careers in business, law or politics for the giddy delights of becoming a gay wizard. You see? If all you remember in years to come is the 'gay wizard' joke, I've still come out ahead of Baroness Mary Warnock. Achievable goals: the first step towards personal improvement.Actually, I have wracked my mind and heart for what I ought to say to you today. I have asked myself what I wish I had known at my own graduation, and what important lessons I have learned in the 21 years that has expired between that day and this.I have come up with two answers. On this wonderful day when we are gathered together to celebrate your academic success, I have decided to talk to you about the benefits of failure. And as you stand on the threshold of what is sometimes called 'real life', I want to extol the crucial importance of imagination.These might seem quixotic or paradoxical choices, but please bear with me.Looking back at the 21-year-old that I was at graduation, is a slightly uncomfortable experience for the 42-year-old that she has become. Half my lifetime ago, I was striking an uneasy balance between the ambition I had for myself, and what those closest to me expected of me.I was convinced that the only thing I wanted to do, ever, was to write novels. However, my parents, both of whom came from impoverished backgrounds and neither of whom had been to college, took the view that my overactive imagination was an amusing personal quirk that could never pay a mortgage, or secure a pension.They had hoped that I would take a vocational degree; I wanted to study English Literature. A compromise was reached that in retrospect satisfied nobody, and I went up to study Modern Languages. Hardly had my parents' car rounded the corner at the end of the road than I ditched German and scuttled off down the Classics corridor.I cannot remember telling my parents that I was studying Classics; they might well have found out for the first time on graduation day. Of all subjects on this planet, I think they would have been hard put to name one less useful than Greek mythology when it came to securing the keys to an executive bathroom.I would like to make it clear, in parenthesis, that I do not blame my parents for their point of view. There is an expiry date on blaming your parents for steering you in the wrong direction; the moment you are old enough to take the wheel, responsibility lies with you. What is more, I cannot criticise my parents for hoping that I would never experience poverty. They had been poor themselves, and I have since been poor, and I quite agree with them that it is not an ennobling experience. Poverty entails fear, and stress, and sometimes depression; it means a thousand petty humiliations and hardships. Climbing out of poverty by your own efforts, that is indeed something on which to pride yourself, but poverty itself is romanticised only by fools.What I feared most for myself at your age was not poverty, but failure.At your age, in spite of a distinct lack of motivation at university, where I had spent far too long in the coffee bar writing stories, and far too little time at lectures, I had a knack for passing examinations, and that, for years, had been the measure of success in my life and that of my peers.I am not dull enough to suppose that because you are young, gifted and well-educated, you have never known hardship or heartbreak Talent and intelligence never yet inoculated anyone against the caprice of the Fates, and I do not for a moment suppose that everyone here has enjoyed an existence of unruffled privilege and contentment.However, the fact that you are graduating from Harvard suggests that you are not very well-acquainted with failure. You might be driven by a fear of failure quite as much as a desire for success. Indeed, your conception of failure might not be too far from the average person's idea of success, so high have you already flown academically.Ultimately, we all have to decide for ourselves what constitutes failure, but the world is quite eager to give you a set of criteria if you let it. So I think it fair to say that by any conventional measure, a mere seven years after my graduation day, I had failed on an epic scale. An exceptionally short-lived marriage had imploded, and I was jobless, a lone parent, and as poor as it is possible to be in modern Britain, without being homeless. The fears my parents had had for me, and that I had had for myself, had both come to pass, and by every usual standard, I was the biggest failure I knew. Now, I am not going to stand here and tell you that failure is fun. That period of my life was a dark one, and I had no idea that there was going to be what the press has since represented as a kind of fairy tale resolution. I had no idea how far the tunnel extended, and for a long time, any light at the end of it was a hope rather than a reality.So why do I talk about the benefits of failure? Simply because failure meant a stripping away of the inessential. I stopped pretending to myself that I was anything other than what I was, and began to direct all my energy into finishing the only work that mattered to me. Had I really succeeded at anything else, I might never have found the determination to succeed in the one arena I believed I truly belonged. I was set free, because my greatest fear had already been realised, and I was still alive, and I still had a daughter whom I adored, and I had an old typewriter and a big idea. And so rock bottom became the solid foundation on which I rebuilt my life.You might never fail on the scale I did, but some failure in life is inevitable. It is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all - in which case, you fail by default.Failure gave me an inner security that I had never attained by passing examinations. Failure taught me things about myself that I could have learned no other way. I discovered that I had a strong will, and more discipline than I had suspected; I also found out that I had friends whose value was truly above rubies.The knowledge that you have emerged wiser and stronger from setbacks means that you are, ever after, secure in your ability to survive.You will never truly know yourself, or the strength of your relationships, until both have been tested by adversity. Such knowledge is a true gift, for all that it is painfully won, and it has been worth more to me than any qualification I ever earned.Given a time machine or a Time Turner, I would tell my 21-year-old self that personal happiness lies in knowing that life is not a check-list of acquisition or achievement. Your qualifications, your CV, are not your life, though you will meet many people of my age and older who confuse the two. Life is difficult, and complicated, and beyond anyone's total control, and the humility to know that will enable you to survive its vicissitudes.You might think that I chose my second theme, the importance of imagination, because of the part it played in rebuilding my life, but that is not wholly so. Though I will defend the value of bedtime stories to my last gasp, I have learned to value imagination in a much broader sense. Imagination is not only the uniquely human capacity to envision that which is not, and therefore the fount of all invention and innovation. In its arguably most transformative and revelatory capacity, it is the power that enables us to empathise with humans whose experiences we have never shared.One of the greatest formative experiences of my life preceded Harry Potter, though it informed much of what I subsequently wrote in those books. This revelation came in the form of one of my earliest day jobs. Though I was sloping off to write stories during my lunch hours, I paid the rent in my early 20s by working in the research department at Amnesty International's headquarters in London.There in my little office I read hastily scribbled letters smuggled out of totalitarian regimes by men and women who were risking imprisonment to inform the outside world of what was happening to them. I saw photographs of those who had disappeared without trace, sent to Amnesty by their desperate families and friends. I read the testimony of torture victims and saw pictures of their injuries. I opened handwritten, eye-witness accounts of summary trials and executions, of kidnappings and rapes.Many of my co-workers were ex-political prisoners, people who had been displaced from their homes, or fled into exile, because they had the temerity to think independently of their government.Visitors to our office included those who had come to give information, or to try and find out what had happened to those they had been forced to leave behind.I shall never forget the African torture victim, a young man no older than I was at the time, who had become mentally ill after all he had endured in his homeland. He trembled uncontrollably as he spoke into a video camera about the brutality inflicted upon him. He was a foot taller than I was, and seemed as fragile as a child. I was given the job of escorting him to the Underground Station afterwards, and this man whose life had been shattered by cruelty took my hand with exquisite courtesy, and wished me future happiness.And as long as I live I shall remember walking along an empty corridor and suddenly hearing, from behind a closed door, a scream of pain and horror such as I have never heard since. The door opened, and the researcher poked out her head and told me to run and make a hot drink for the young man sitting with her. She had just given him the news that in retaliation for his own outspokenness against his country's regime, his mother had been seized and executed.Every day of my working week in my early 20s I was reminded how incredibly fortunate I was, to live in a country with a democratically elected government, where legal representation and a public trial were the rights of everyone.Every day, I saw more evidence about the evils humankind will inflict on their fellow humans, to gain or maintain power. I began to have nightmares, literal nightmares, about some of the things I saw, heard and read.And yet I also learned more about human goodness at Amnesty International than I had ever known before.Amnesty mobilises thousands of people who have never been tortured or imprisoned for their beliefs to act on behalf of those who have.The power of human empathy, leading to collective action, saves lives, and frees prisoners. Ordinary people, whose personal well-being and security are assured, join together in huge numbers to save people they do not know, and will never meet. My small participation in that process was one of the most humbling and inspiring experiences of my life.Unlike any other creature on this planet, humans can learn and understand, without having experienced. They can think themselves into other people's minds, imagine themselves into other people's places.Of course, this is a power, like my brand of fictional magic, that is morally neutral. One might use such an ability to manipulate, or control, just as much as to understand or sympathise. And many prefer not to exercise their imaginations at all. They choose to remain comfortably within the bounds of their own experience, never troubling to wonder how it would feel to have been born other than they are. They can refuse to hear screams or to peer inside cages; they can close their minds and hearts to any suffering that does not touch them personally; they can refuse to know.I might be tempted to envy people who can live that way, except that I do not think they have any fewer nightmares than I do. Choosing to live in narrow spaces can lead to a form of mental agoraphobia, and that brings its own terrors. I think the wilfully unimaginative see more monsters. They are often more afraid. What is more, those who choose not to empathise may enable real monsters. For without ever committing an act of outright evil ourselves, we collude with it, through our own apathy. One of the many things I learned at the end of that Classics corridor down which I ventured at the age of 18, in search of something I could not then define, was this, written by the Greek author Plutarch: What we achieve inwardly will change outer reality. That is an astonishing statement and yet proven a thousand times every day of our lives. It expresses, in part, our inescapable connection with the outside world, the fact that we touch other people's lives simply by existing.But how much more are you, Harvard graduates of 2008, likely to touch other people's lives? Your intelligence, your capacity for hard work, the education you have earned and received, give you unique status, and unique responsibilities. Even your nationality sets you apart. The great majority of you belong to the world's only remaining superpower. The way you vote, the way you live, the way you protest, the pressure you bring to bear on your government, has an impact way beyond your borders. That is your privilege, and your burden.If you choose to use your status and influence to raise your voice on behalf of those who have no voice; if you choose to identify not only with the powerful, but with the powerless; if you retain the ability to imagine yourself into the lives of those who do not have your advantages, then it will not only be your proud families who celebrate your existence, but thousands and millions of people whose reality you have helped transform for the better. We do not need magic to change the world, we carry all the power we need inside ourselves already: we have the power to imagine better.I am nearly finished. I have one last hope for you, which is something that I already had at 21. The friends with whom I sat on graduation day have been my friends for life. They are my children's godparents, the people to whom I've been able to turn in times of trouble, friends who have been kind enough not to sue me when I've used their names for Death Eaters. At our graduation we were bound by enormous affection, by our shared experience of a time that could never come again, and, of course, by the knowledge that we held certain photographic evidence that would be exceptionally valuable if any of us ran for Prime Minister.So today, I can wish you nothing better than similar friendships. And tomorrow, I hope that even if you remember not a single word of mine, you remember those of Seneca, another of those old Romans I met when I fled down the Classics corridor, in retreat from career ladders, in search of ancient wisdom: As is a tale, so is life: not how long it is, but how good it is, is what matters.
I wish you all very good lives.
Thank you very much.

So long! Farewell! It's time to say goodbye!

2010-04-05T17:21:00.000+05:30

At last, the time has come to bid adieu to our alma mater- CET. Four years have meandered by, softly, silently.. moulding us into engineers along the way.. preparing us to face the challenges in life.. empowering us into responsible citizens of the nation.. Yes, i believe CET has done all this devotedly and more..

There's a lot to feel grateful for.. friends, teachers, the facilities, the placements.. the greenery, the old-world charm... the leisurely pace at which life chugs along in the campus.. a strange, but definite, sense of purpose emanating ironically from a seemingly laid-back haven..

and there are a few things that, had they been different, would have helped boost our hopes and aspirations even higher..

Forever obliged to all the people i've met.. 4 years of being together undoubtedly makes u wiser by a jugful & gets u closer to people: knowing and understanding them.. and knowing and understanding yourself.. for every person u meet comes from a different background, and there's always something for u to learn from him/her.. It has opened up new channels of thought, revealed different ways of looking at things, broadened ur horizon, forged amazing relationships..

Four years have showered us with memories to cherish and opportunities to learn.. We've celebrated, laughed and made merry.. in our journey, many a time we've been derailed and we've patched up.. Even at times when the group dynamics didn't seem right, there must've been a collective feeling of pain and a resultant eagerness to make amends.. and now, when it's time to part, there seems to be an unexpressed wave of emotions floating in the air, making its presence felt..

At the end of it all, only when u look back u realise how far u've come.. how far u've progressed.. how much u're richer by.. There's plenty more to write, of course.. these 4 years have been special indeed..

I shall miss the campus, my friends and all that we've been through together.. All the same, i'm looking forward to the next step in life that college has prepared me for..

Proud to be a CETian!

Something 'classy' fROM 'THE CLASS ' to 'my CLASS'

2010-03-26T20:44:00.004+05:30

The following is a piece from my all time favorite book THE CLASS 1956 by ERICH SEGAL...

reread it today..and couldnt stop posting this here...

its a story of a class in Harvard ....and dis is a page of the diary of one of the students in that class !! may be some one amongst us too have such a diary ...

I have mailed yu the link to download that book.
ANDREW ELIOT'S DIARY
- October 5, 1954
- The occasions that we thousand-odd will meet together as a class in our entire lifetime are extremely rare. We gather three times while we are in college. First at the Freshman Convocation-sober, serious, and boring. Then at the notoriously gross Freshman Smoker- just the opposite. And, finally, after jumping all the necessary hurdles, one June morning four years hence when we'll receive diplomas. Otherwise, we go through Harvard on our own. They say our
most important meeting is a quarter-century after we all graduate. That would be 1983-impossible to think that faraway. They also say that when we come back for our Twenty-fifth Reunion we'll be feeling something vaguely like fraternity and solidarity. But for now, we're much more like the animals on Noah's Ark. I mean, I don't think the lions had too much to chat about with the lambs. Or with the mice. That's just about the way me and my roommates feel about some of the creatures that are on board with us for this four-year voyage. We live in different cabins and sit on different decks.

Just a common soldier

2010-03-21T12:18:00.000+05:30

He was getting old and paunchy and his hair was falling fast,
And he sat around the Legion, telling stories of the past.
Of a war that he had fought in and the deeds that he had done,
In his exploits with his buddies; they were heroes, every one.

And tho' sometimes, to his neighbors, his tales became a joke,
All his Legion buddies listened, for they knew whereof he spoke.
But we'll hear his tales no longer for old Bill has passed away,
And the world's a little poorer, for a soldier died today.

He will not be mourned by many, just his children and his wife,
For he lived an ordinary and quite uneventful life.
Held a job and raised a family, quietly going his own way,
And the world won't note his passing, though a soldier died today.

When politicians leave this earth, their bodies lie in state,
While thousands note their passing and proclaim that they were great.
Papers tell their whole life stories, from the time that they were young,
But the passing of a soldier goes unnoticed and unsung.

Is the greatest contribution to the welfare of our land
A guy who breaks his promises and cons his fellow man?
Or the ordinary fellow who, in times of war and strife,
Goes off to serve his Country and offers up his life?

A politician's stipend and the style in which he lives
Are sometimes disproportionate to the service that he gives.
While the ordinary soldier, who offered up his all,
Is paid off with a medal and perhaps, a pension small.

It's so easy to forget them for it was so long ago,
That the old Bills of our Country went to battle, but we know
It was not the politicians, with their compromise and ploys,
Who won for us the freedom that our Country now enjoys.

Should you find yourself in danger, with your enemies at hand,
Would you want a politician with his ever-shifting stand?
Or would you prefer a soldier, who has sworn to defend
His home, his kin and Country and would fight until the end?

He was just a common soldier and his ranks are growing thin,
But his presence should remind us we may need his like again.
For when countries are in conflict, then we find the soldier's part
Is to clean up all the troubles that the politicians start.

If we cannot do him honor while he's here to hear the praise,
Then at least let's give him homage at the ending of his days.
Perhaps just a simple headline in a paper that would say,
Our Country is in mourning, for a soldier died today.

Excess Baggage will Be Charged

2010-03-11T17:13:00.001+05:30

All Indians are born with luggage which we are expected to carry with us throughout our lives. The baggage I am talking about is our cultural baggage. Indians especially carry a very huge and heavy bag, more likely an aluminium trunk. Every ‘learned’ person claims that we have to let go of this cultural bag that we carry if we want to ever develop into a great country. Everyone, from a student of a local engineering college to ex Infosys guy Nandan Nilekani, wants Indians to let go of its past. But do we really have to?

Has anyone ever opened the bag they carry around and actually seen what lies in it? Have we ever read our history books, our scriptures and mythologies not to mug up for exams but to examine our past? We must realize that there is a lot to learn from our past. A lot of good things were told that must be done. A lot of mistakes were made from which we must learn so they are not repeated. It was this past that inspired Indians to overthrow our colonial rulers so we could live our lives the way we wanted to.

Have any of these new-age rationalists ever read any of our scriptures? Because those who have read them would attest to the fact that they have a lot to teach in almost every field from music to politics and can be helpful to all kinds of people in almost every situation imaginable.

Isn’t it hypocrisy to speak about something you don’t know about?

Life Cycle of a Wall

2010-03-11T17:09:00.000+05:30

I was walking down the street, with nothing much to do, thinking of ways to waste my time. I had about an hour to my next appointment. As I turned around corner, I saw a man staring at me. As I turned around I realized it was not me but the wall he was staring at. I continued walking. ‘But hold on’, I thought, ‘nobody stares at a wall. Maybe he was just window shopping’. I turned to check but it was a solid red brick wall. There were no windows and definitely no shops. ‘Probably a nutcase’, I thought. That was when I got a bright idea. I sat down on the footpath next the wall. The same wall which was being stared down by the other person. I sat there looking intently at the other person. He was around 35 years of age I guessed. He wore a pair of blue jeans. But I realized “Almost all jeans are some shade of blue. We definitely need more descriptors for jeans than just its colour. Especially since the branded ones cost an average of about Rs.1000.” I came to the conclusion that this pair of jeans the person was wearing was the shade of blue found on the seats of the Indian Railway compartments. The ones which are new. The person wore a cream colour shirt. The cream being, in this case, that of a butterscotch ice cream. When I looked op to the persons face I realized the he was looking back. He looked a bit uncomfortable. “Can’t blame him. He has a person sitting on the floor gawking at him studying the colours of his clothes. But hold on! Isn’t India the land of staring? Everyone stares. So why can’t I too?” But I discovered the truth, “You are allowed to stare only at people who look out of the place. This guy was wearing normal clothes and was normal in every sense.” He started tidying himself up though there was nothing wrong with him. He took out his napkin and wiped his face. And after giving me a sharp glance he walked off. “The converse of the Stare Rule has come into play. If you have someone staring at you, it implies that there is something wrong with you.” My eyes were following the person as he walked away. He turned back to look at me and when his eyes met mine, I gave a mischievous smile. He stopped in his tracks and started adjusting himself again. I thought, “Since this guy was staring intently at the wall, there must be something wrong with the wall.” I turned to look but found nothing interesting. It was a brick wall, comparatively new, probably only a year old. The red colour of the bricks was still shining. The wall was enclosing a school. “Maybe he was waiting to pick up his child from school. But wait. Shouldn’t he be waiting at the gate? How can staring at the wall solve anything? Was he a thief? But what can you steal in a school? Chalk!” I smiled at my own joke. “It is funny now but if I tell it to my friends, it becomes a PoorJoke. I think all jokes are lame if taken out of the context.” “Maybe he is going for the computers and things like that. He’s probably the scout and has come to check the place and make the plans. There may be others members in his gang.” But computers are not that costly and have very little resale value especially if it is stolen. “What else can you steal in a school? Maybe it is the fees collection time, there might be money lying around there. But isn’t this a government school. The fees here is quite low and wont add up to anything substantial.” “Is it possible that he was a Pink Floyd fan and was thinking about the meaning of ‘Another brick in the Wall’?” They referred to the wall that surrounded our minds. Bad teachers were just a part of it. And it was a brick wall just like this. And this was quite a big wall. It was more than five metres high. “Maybe the playground is on the other side and the wall was built to stop balls from flying out. Of course there is a bigger probability of it being built to keep the children from flying out, with the high dropout rates in schools.” At that time the school bell rang. I checked my watch to find that I myself had been staring at the wall for about half an hour. A I turned to move, I found another person staring at me and then at the wall. And I thought “The cycle continues”

The crows connection

2010-01-24T20:53:00.000+05:30

Windows and balconies were invented just so that Man could gaze at the world outside and ponder..

Electrical lines and cables were invented just so that birds could perch on them and ponder..

If either of the aforementioned species has the company of another member of the same species, the pondering turns into conversation..

I gazed out of the window.. A crow was perched on an electrical line.. She was obviously pondering.. Another crow came flying by and took perch on the adjacent electrical line..

Crow 1: Hey.. what's up??
Crow 2: Ah! There u r.. heard u finally got a placement on top of Burj Dubai.. congratulations!(offers handshake/wingshake)
Crow 1: wha...backoff!! wingshake? u out of ur senses? We're sitting on electrical lines of different phase voltages.. if u touched me, we'd form a circuit with a voltage difference that would kill bo......
Crow 2: okay, fine! cut the crap!! damn those humans! knives and fire everywhere..
Crow 1: hehe.. thanks, by the way.. yeah, the Burj is indeed spectacular.. but i wonder what humans are really after..
Crow 2: what do u mean??
Crow 1: Look at us..we're such a peaceful lot.. and look at them.. they're so restless..
Crow 2: hmm.. Evolution has been cruel to them, u say?
Crow 1: well, u could put it that way.. they've evolved too much for their own good.. now every man wants to be better than the next..
Crow 2: hmm.. u're right.. chronic restlessness.. the insurmountable itch to 'progress'..
Crow 1: yeah.. and i'm not really comfortable with their definition of 'progress' either.. it's got a lot to do with brute force and brute reason!!
Crow 2: It's like.. where one man gains, another has to lose.. it's like an endless, perpetual see-saw..
Crow 1: Believe me.. this see-saw is incidentally what keeps the world going..
Crow 2: eh? what do u mean? that inequality and imperfection are the hands that run the world??
Crow 1: Not really.. we know that man is, ultimately, selfish.. their world, unlike ours, will never become perfect.. there will always exist differences that'll bother man to insanity.. and these differences keep the see-saw in motion.. and Evolution in action..
Crow 2: hmm.. alright.. and what abt us?
Crow 1: Well, we are different..and way better off.. our happiness is absolute.. if i get my supper and u get yours, we're both happy.. as for man, it's a very complicated relative matrix of needs, passions and emotions.. that are forever trying to balance each other..
Crow 2: ...and the fact that 'it's all relative' makes things as they are?
Crow 1: yeah.. their world needs as fuel - jealousy, anger, lethargy, fear, folly, hatred and imperfection.. otherwise it would crumble down and mankind would fall..
Crow 2: er.. didn't get u at all..
Crow 1: If every man were happy, then civilization would fall.. If every man were contended, his life wouldn't be different from ours.. all he would have to do is eat and sleep..
Crow 2: Eat and sleep and ponder*
Crow 1: hehe.. yeah, right! in such a world, there would be no disease, no crime, no hunger.. Necessity would be a non-existent concept.. Man wouldn't evolve.. he would stay put.. he wouldn't budge.. no art, no culture, no sophistication.. the world would be a very predictable, boring place..
Crow 2: So true.. and it all wonderfully connects! 'All the world's a stage, all the men and women merely players, and all of us crows merely spectators!'
Crow 1: ha! Shakespeare, in all his hurry, left out the last bit.. poor bloke probably thought we crows wouldn't know of it!
Crow 2: Yeah! So much for all the entertainment! Man ought to live! Manwatching is a glorious pastime..
Crow 1: hehe.. Anyway, i'm gonna take off now.. it's been gr8 talking to u.. caw-caw!
Crow 2: Caw-caw!

Pic: The Global Ponderers' Summit

(P.S: Unless you feel guilty abt Not Blogging for 2 months at a stretch, never ever listen to a conversation between crows! Caw-caw!)

2009-12-18T16:33:00.002+05:30

For months I have been skipping into this place to see 'something'........the void has not been filled ever since september .....!!!!
As the year draws to a close ....with time running out ..with our years together sinking into oblivion......
Doesnt our class blog have anything to discuss...........? Have all gone numb....well lemme tag evryone in 'applied' to this questionaire....(courtesy :schreiwardhun):

QUESTIONAIRE
1. When you looked at yourself in the mirror today, what was the first thing you thought?
Y do my hair always grow against the laws of gravity!
2. How much cash do you have in your wallet right now?
200+
3. What’s a word that rhymes with DOOR?
BORE.......
4. What is your favorite ring tone on your phone?
The theme of REHNA HAY TERE DIL MEIN (MINNALE )...wen maddy sees dia the first tym ;P
5. Who is the 4th person on your missed call list on your cell phone?
09847053818>the telecom operator calling me to lemme know f der offers
6. What are you wearing right now?
A white shirt with a green patiala .
7. Do you label yourself?
No......ooo
9. Bright or Dark Room?
Bright with lots of light n air
10. What do you think about the person who took this survey before you?
Hope he learns the art of talking LOud some day.....
11. What does your watch look like?
Though gold plated square dials have tried to grab the position of the most special watch of mine ;it has always remained the queen....a silver HMT with Roman lettering that stood the test of times (with me since 1999 ).Most interesting feature of this watch: It stopped running half an hour before both my first X nd XII th board examz...( gets pretty tensed i guess)
12. What were you doing at midnight last night?
snoring off in ma bed ....
13. What did your last text message you received on your cell say?
Lovely friendship is like standing on the wet cement,longer U stay,harder to leaveand if u try to go ,u cant go w/o leaving ur foot print.Sender :JK ,my skool mate .
14. What’s a word that you say a lot?
yaar!
15. Who told you he/she loved you last?(Please exclude spouse, family, children)
Hriatpui,my roomie for 2 weeks @ lh.
16. Last furry thing you touched
RINI's and Hriatpui's teddy bears ...they had lots of dem der...
17. Favorite age you have been so far?
7th ,8th and 10 th were great classes to be in.even my KGs were great!!!
18. What was the last thing you said to someone?
Dont switch it off ,I want it on full speed (to mom)!!!
19. The last song you listened to?
IRUVAR >AR RAHMAN> NARUMUGAIYE(TAMIL)
20. Where did you live in 1987?
mUST Have been waiting in the queue to earth for the right MOM n DAD.(hAV HEArd its a pretty long Q,so might have waited for around an year!!!)(y do i sound like am a 'BAJAJ scooter' which took 6 years to be delivered n early 90's)
21. Are you jealous of anyone?
yeah !!! of ladies in the airforce!
22. Is anyone jealous of you?
any'one'.....poor question...it shud have been 'hwmany?' ;P
23. Name three things that you have on you at all times
My ear rings ,chain and specs(not for dreams)
24. What’s your favorite town/city?
Kollur.(Near Mangalore ,Karnataka)
25. When was the last time you wrote a letter to someone on paper and mailed it?
To the postal dept,a complaint
26. Can you change the oil on a car?
if anyone wud be daring enuff to giv der CAr for the same to me, I Will surely do it with pleasure.(Since the q is not wedr i will do it on mine !! ;) )
27. Your first love/big crush: what is the last thing you heard about him/her?
hE has started telling stories recently !
28. Does anything hurt on your body right now?
My spine says "come on! enuff of sitting up answering this! ;)"
29. What is your current desktop picture?
Sun rise at TIGER hILLS
30. Have you been burnt by love?
dOES ice BURN ???

'campus film festival 'and d movies are:

2009-09-11T22:55:00.002+05:30

HERE S A VERY FUNNY SMS Igot recently

onam campus film festival
1 canteen news
2 HOD yanu tharam
3senior junior(annan thambi)
4 projectum seminarum pinne njanum
5ayaal supply ezhuthukayannu
6 CSpenninnu EE payyan

7LECTURE marude shradakku
8 nerariyaan CRO
9 semester1 supply 3
10 strike vannu vilichappol
11veruthe oru btech

and the icing of the cake the blockbuster on the last day:
''EVAR ENGINEERS AYAAL?!!''

PS:WHICH ONE WILL YU GO FOR?????

For I've lost my Friend.. I've lost my way..

2009-07-10T17:12:00.001+05:30

Dark clouds swept down on my mind..
Strangling my cheer, with a smile unkind..
They thundered and menaced on my bleeding heart..
They hurled on my sorrow, dart after dart..

Trudging through the mist- thick, chill and blind..
I cared nought for what lay 'head or behind..
For Fate stabbed my heart with a cruel knife..
Plundering me of a Friend & joy in life..

O pain & agony! Stop thy wicked play!
For I've lost my Friend.. I've lost my way..

Amidst tears and sobs, I rendered them my tale..
and lo! The clouds wept, and away went the gale!!

The Sun then emerged with a gleam in his eyes,
a smile on his lips, healing all malaise..
Heralding his wake, the burgeoning vale,
unfurled its beauty to the fullest scale!

Flowers blossomed forth and scented the air..
Trees danced in the breeze without a care..
Rivulets and creeks gurgled down the dale..
Birds sang & bees buzzed, adorning the vale..

I beheld this portrait of Nature's bliss..
But beneath I felt something amiss!
This new-found joy had filled my soul,
Yet I had none with whom to share this bowl..

I felt alone, even in a place so charming..
I felt forlorn, in this heaven enchanting..

My joy and my sorrow battled one another..
I stood helpless, for my friend wasn't hither..

Of what use is a joy that one can't share???
Of what use is sorrow that none's ears can bear??

The dark clouds swept down on me again!!
The vale too sparkled to humour me, in vain!!

Backseat Philosophy: - from a new angle!

2009-07-10T17:11:00.000+05:30

God bless the chap who came up with the whole idea of 'Thought Experiments'!!

Well, u surely know the deal about Ordinary Experiments.. these could be anything ranging from test-tube acrobatics in a chemistry lab, to jumping off from a flying jet..
In the former, if u fail in the first try.. worry not!.. for there's always a second chance..
as for the latter, our jet-jumping hero, well.. here's an idea - if u want to test gravity, please, oh please, use a simple pendulum!! :P

What I'm trying to say is.. when u do an experiment, u r most likely calling for trouble.. Look at what happened to Ramalinga Raju.. in an abortive attempt to emulate Gandhiji, perhaps, he came up with 'The Story of My Experiments with Satyam'!! poor soul.. :D

These abominable things called experiments come with a free package of risks.. I shudder to think of the effects of an experiment gone wrong.. I'm no heart patient, but the prospect of the danger that lurks behind it certainly gives me the creeps, the jitters, the quivers and the shivers! (listed in alphabetical order)..

Which is precisely why, I'm all for doing Thought Experiments.. its simple.. all u need to do is..plonk on a chair and start thinking out ur experiments.. believe me, Thought Experiments work! Did u know that some of the greatest theories in modern physics were formed based on Thought experiments? Come on now, did u actually think Galileo Galilei dropped those balls from the top of the Leaning Tower of Pisa?? No..it was a thought-experiment!!
No risks involved.. u need not actually perform the expts.. and the conclusions u form help u to get ahead in life.. u might even win a Nobel..who can tell???

I take it that u must be familiar with motorbikes and how one rides them.. the sitting position is what i'm alluding to.. Take the pillion rider's sitting position.. (as the subject of our Thought Experiment).. Usually, in an Indian scenario, a male pillion perches on the back seat.. with his legs on either side of the bike.. and in most cases, a female pillion sits facing one side of the bike completely..

U may also agree..that it's very important for us human beings.. to examine life from different 'angles'..to look at life from different 'points of view'.. Now, this is not so difficult a business to go about, is it? for eg., if u are a man, and u literally want a different view on life.. du'uh!! just take the female pillion position on a bike!!

I performed this very TE the other day.. My bike was parked outside.. It was night time.. I strolled out into the yard for a bit of breeze, wondering what i could do to view life from a new angle (!?!).. that was when this sudden whim of a Thought Experiment struck me.. I climbed on my bike, crawled over to the pillion's seat.. and sat facing one side completely.. assuming the female pillion position..
and then.. i looked around..

A nameless fear gripped me.. the whole world looked eerie and obtuse (or was it reflex?)!! This position endowed me with a momentary insecurity.. I sat there, looking like a 4-year old child who'd accidentally climbed a tree..and didn't know how to get down.. My head whirled, and i reluctantly imagined how traveling like this would be like..

When I regained my balance, I said to myself- 'Wow! so this is how women travel on bikes.. I empathise with them'.. and accordingly, i spent some time empathising with them..
Now u tell me.. how can u feel safe & secure when u know that:
a) u r travelling sideways on a 2-wheeler the whole way
b) u can't lean forward/backward if ur back aches..gotta sit absolutely still
c) u don't have anything 'real' to grab on to
d) when ur bike overtakes an autorickshaw, u can watch the rickshaw guy sulking/swearing away
e) city buses with disgusting/pointed horns chase u like tigers that go after deer
f) u can never actually say how many potholes lie on the road ahead, and be prepared for the shocks
g) u have a 210 degree view of the chaos and mayhem that is urban indian traffic!'

Whew! These Thought Experiments sure do give u a deep insight into life...See? A mere thought experiment helped me foresee an experience.. and understand the plight of a million pillion women.. The experiment itself, if performed in real time, would have been nothing short of disastrous..

P.S:
** The stuff abt Ramalinga Raju is from a cartoon published in The Hindu.. ahem! I give credit wherever credit is due
**I was still shivering 5 minutes after i dismounted from the pillion seat :P
**@ the picture on the right.. both of them are recipients of Bravery Awards of international repute..

what do yu think

2009-06-24T09:09:00.001+05:30

what do yu think?
someone said :

I am who I am. But I'm not who you think I am. Definitely not

Do u think THIS IS ATTITUDE. wHY ? WHY not?

of/off the rule book

2009-06-18T18:56:00.001+05:30

It is difficult to perceive ; yes it is ....Faces are the most beautiful and at the same time, the most dreadful masks that masquerade the soul. Many a times we are not what we are.Some one said it right , that no human is his/her true self unless he/she finds her/him selves ALONE IN THE DARK with the knowledge of pure solitude. Expressions , thoughts and almost everything about the person then turns out to be perfectly pure n true.But then none oyher than him/her knows that true self !! Ones ideological n philosophical self surfaces like never before at such occasions. You cease to be the self whom you saw getting ready in front of the mirror that morning.

Shakespeare said it right that we are all performers on the great stage of the world . Etiquette,manners and formalities thus become the syntax of the language called life.Try freeing yourselves from these and you shall no longer be called a 'social' creature-you upgrade yoursef to the sublime position of an ECCENTRIC !!
Dont ever laugh and show your teeth !
Never run wild when you breathe a better space!!!
Walk with short ,yes ...!!! very short steps ; like a cat behind a rat ,slow and silent . Even when you are the eye of the storm ,boil beneath and never explode; like the morning sun who grows wise into the noon , to know that it just cant explode (cos dats not n d rule book)and hence shrink into a feeble being to sink into the horizon for a new morn else where!!! Its hard to remain HOLLOW yet we do...... Its hard to keep that plastic smile ;yet we do.....

PS: The author had no 'idea 'as to what it wud turn out to be once she penned it down...so she gives you the fullest freedom to take it as a poem ,prose ,poe-rose or a mere snippet of a reflection..

Lesson I learned : When heart really reflects what u think, u never know what wud that turn out to be ....

The Incident

2009-06-11T12:14:00.000+05:30

Prologue
May 7. It started as any other day. I got up late as usual. I wanted to play around with the components I had bought for my project. So I called up my project partner and told him to come to the college. Just then I realised that there was a hartal on that day and the college probably would not be open. I cancelled my plans and was sitting at in my room going through the pages of the new ACD textbook that I had bought just a few days ago. That was when my roommate told me that the labs at the college were open. So I called up my friend again and we met at the college. After fiddling with the components in the lab for about half an hour, it was time for lunch. My partner and I left the college and went to the Green Park hotel behind the college which was open. I had half of a vegetable biriyani (I was not feeling hungry) and a Maa (for which I still haven’t paid for. The guy didn’t have any change so I told him that I would pay for it in the night). After that I went to my partner’s house which is located near the Kingani hotel. I sat there till about 3pm after which I left for home alone via the MH road.
Just Before
It was about 3:15(I found out about the time later); I had crossed theMH ground and was near the new Comp. Sc. Building, where a mud road goes to the right. I saw a bike with two people approaching me from the main road. The driver saw me and told something to the pillion rider. He looked at least 30-35 years old. I thought that they were about to ask for directions, so I slowed down and turned around to see them stop behind me. That’s when it all began. The gut sitting behind got down and pulled out a stick as big as a tube light and called out “EDA”. I knew then that I was in trouble and started running towards the main road. Unfortunately, very unfortunately, I tripped on something and fell.
The Assault
The guy followed and started whacking me with the stick. Initially I shouted out, asking him not to hit me, telling them that I was a nobody (at that time I thought that this was because of the hartal). This was like a reflex action, since on thinking back on these events I never felt my brain giving the commands for me to shout and scream. I had probably got two or three hits then including the one which broke my left forearm. Doctors say that the first instinct when you are about to be hit is to raise the arm which you use for everything up for self protection. I being left handed raised my left arm. I was rolling on the ground when I got my first hit in my face, on my right cheekbone. I fell silent at that point. I could only hear a ringing sound. I stopped feeling pain. Even though I was fully conscious, I didn’t feel any of the subsequent hits. The attackers left me on the road.
The Aftermath
I was able to get up though I was very unsteady, I started to walk towards the main road hoping to reach the Emmaus hostel to get help. I was bleeding heavily through my nose. I called up my roommate who I knew was in the college. I told him that two people had beaten me up and asked him to get some vehicle from somewhere to take me to the hospital. He asked me whether I was telling the truth to which I replied affirmatively with a couple of abuses. I reached the main road. I was holding my handkerchief to my nose to stop the bleeding. I saw a man standing in front of the Meter Testing Office there. I asked him if he could help me. He said that he could try stopping any cars on the way. Knowing that cars would be few it being a hartal I left him and ran inside the Emmaus hostel and went towards the first room I saw shouting for help. I told them what had happened and asked them to do something. The pain had not set in yet. I sat on a railing and looked at my hang. It felt broken. I thought that this was the end for my exams. I then went to a bathroom and got the first look at my face. It was really gruesome. My first reaction was “WOW”. The right side of my face had bloated up and was almost like a football. I was bleeding through my nose and from a cut above my eye. My jeans were soaking in blood and so were my hair and feet. My shirt was deep blue so there was nothing much to see. I washed my face and went back to sit on the railings. I told one of my friends there to take a photo of mine. But unfortunately or fortunately for me, he was more cared for my health and got busy elsewhere. I was then moved inside a room and sat on a chair. Someone got a huge piece of ice which I put on my face to stop the bleeding. I told someone to call my father up and tell him about the incident. I talked to him but thanks to the amazing luck I was having, the reception was not clear and he understood very little. My friend had been playing Mafia Wars onFacebook, it was on the computer beside me. My roommates had reached by then. Some others had got bikes. But I felt that I could not get on a bike and reach the hospital in one piece. Then luckily someone got an auto and climbed into it with two of my friends and was rushed into the Casualty wing of the medical college. The pain was starting to grow while I was in the auto.
Medical College
Getting to the casualty wing requires us to go round the statue of a mother and a baby. I was thinking that more serious cases would probably end up dead by the time they reach the place. Finally on reaching the place I went in and sat on a wheelchair, while my friends completed the formalities. It was really an unlucky day for me as the wheelchair I was sitting on didn’t work. I grumbled and uttered some more abuses. My friends pushed me inside and I was taken one by one to various places where some different type of doctor would check on me. They gave me some glucose drips through a needle stuck on my right hand. Some other friends had arrived by then too. I asked one doctor who checked my hand to tell me that it was not broken and I had an exam to write. But he was silent. Once they took of the drips, I started to shiver violently, and it took some persons to hold me down. I was telling everyone I saw to give me some anaesthetic or drug to remove the pain, but it seems that everyone thought that I was a superman of sorts and could endure any amount of pain. I was then taken to another doctor who put stitches on my face. The nurse told me that I would feel the sting of the needle going into me. This made me laugh, of course I was going to feel a needle and thread going into my face. An X-ray revealed that my hand was indeed broken. My ulna bone was in two pieces. A person put a huge cast around my arm which made it almost impossible for me to move. I was shifted onto a stretcher and was being pushed around everywhere. My local guardian, my aunt was called and she had arrived by then. The medical college police had also come and they took a statement. I told them the entire story in detail which they took down.
They told me that there was some scuffle between the MHites and some locals previously on that day. The attackers probably thought I was anMHite since I was walking down that road. I put a sign in the FIR with my right hand which came out really goofy. A lot of my friends came to see me though I remember very little. My staff advisor had also come. After some more X-Rays, a CT-Scan and more pushing about in the stretcher, I was finally admitted into the Casualty ward where I fell asleep. I was being given oxygen and fluids were being pumped into me. I couldn’t open my jaw completely and the movements of my right eye were restricted though I could see properly. There were multiple fractures on the right side of my face. The ophthalmologist felt that fragments of my skull were probably in the muscles and nerves of my eye which were restricting its movements. An orbital CT-Scan was required to get a more accurate picture. I slept rather uneasily that night, making friends with some cockroaches which were crawling about my face.
I woke up the next day and found two of my aunts there. I was told that my father would be arriving from Ahmadabad that evening. I was being attended to by my friends and relatives. I was told not to eat as I had another scan that afternoon. I was still being filled with medicines and stuff intravenously. I probably had more visitors that day than the rest of the patients of the ward combined. I talked to some of them and also sent a few messages. I was able to sit up and look around. One person was screaming out in pain. My bad luck had still not left me, I was taken in a wheel chair for a scan only to find out that due to some problem all scanning had been pushed to the evening. My dad arrived in the evening and I told him the story too.
SP Fort Hospital
Finally that night I was taken to the SP Fort hospital by my father and two of my classmates where a Faciomaxilliary Surgeon came to have a look at me. On seeing the scans he said that there were multiple fractures on my face. I had probably got two impacts on my face and because of that my cheekbone had got flattened inwards and was resting against my eyeball because of which I couldn’t move my eye completely. There was a blue spot on my eye which was due to a lot of blood. I was told to get a 3D CT-Scan and an MRI scan. The MRI scan took almost half an hour to complete and it was really noisy. I was told that my forearm would be operated upon the next day, while the one my face would take time since it was still the size of a watermelon.
The Operations
The operation on my hand was done under general anaesthesia. It was given via a mask. It works really fast. Before I knew what was going on, I was out. The fixed a metal plate inside my arm. By the time I woke up I was being taken back to my bed. I had a crepe bandage on my arm.
The operation on my face took place on the 13th of May. It was a complicated surgery. I went into the operation theatre at about 10:30am and came out at about 4pm. It took about 6 hours. The anaesthetist gave me an injection. It took a few seconds to take effect. My eyes went blurry and slowly I lost consciousness. I had 3 plates fixed inside my face. There were some more sets of stitches. One was right under my eye, another beside it and one inside my mouth. The doctor had to push out the cheekbone from the inside and use screws and plates to hold the thing in place. It was a complete success and my eye was functioning completely. The blue spot had reduced into a red spot.
Epilogue
I was discharged on Saturday the 16th of May. I went with my parents to stay at my aunt’s place. I had spent 10 days total in two hospitals and couldn’t do more. I was told to come on another day to remove the stitches on my arm of which I took a photo when the attender had removed the bandage. I had one giant scar on it. I also had to cut my hair. I was forced to cut it since it was caked in blood and full of all the crap from the medical college ward.

Thoughts

Thinking back on all that had happened, it was truly a terrible but great and somewhat weird experience.
I was beaten up by accident due to mistaken identity.Some MHitewas supposed to get what I had received. But this is CETlife. Probably not the CETlife we imagine but this is one thing about the four years in college I would never forget...
The attackers only had the intention to hit. They came, They whacked, They went. Thankfully they didn’t steal anything. I still hope a coconut falls on their head and they die.
The pain was not that immense and even though I had a bunch of broken bones and whatnot, I was still able to stand up and run to safety. I got a bunch of scars and now I have metal on my skull \m/. Due to some twisted luck, there was no damage to my brain(no way of finding out!) or my eye.
I only missed one exam, it was a choice between one suppli or writing 12 exams together in the next semester, which would have probably given me a whole set of supplies. Writing with a broken hand is not easy.
It put a certain things in perspective. Like pain. And the times we laugh when we see on TV people crashing in cars and bikes doing stunts and breaking a bunch of bones.
My hair was among the big losses I faced. Not to forget the medical costs which came to more than Rs.1.15 lakh!
A broken right ulna and a tripod fracture on the right side of my skull with a large segment of bone depressed inwards. I have a total of 4 metal plates in me with a bunch of screws. Who would have thought I would have recovered in just 20 days!

ANNE FRANK - If any one has the book " the diary of a young girl "please do lend

2009-06-09T15:02:00.003+05:30

Chk out this article from Hindu on ANNE FRANK

http://www.thehindu.com/mag/2009/06/07/stories/2009060750070200.htm

Tawa wars!!!

2009-06-09T14:17:00.001+05:30

The world is changing..
I can feel it in the wind.. I can smell it in the air..
The sweet smell that wafts by.. flirts with my nostrils..
Yes.. the time has come..
It is now that I must make haste.. I must act quickly..

Like a warrior drawing his sword, i raised the ladle..
i shoved it underneath the dosa..
and before the flame of the stove blackened the underside.. i swiftly flipped the dosa.. and tossed it back on the tawa..
triumphantly, i withdrew my ladle..
Thus, Dosa side-A was saved..

i admired my work.. enchanted, i beheld the golden-brown glow of the wafery crispness..
then, i looked up the chimney.. and raised my hands in thanksgiving..
'Thank you, Roy Plunkett (of Kinetic Chemicals).. Had it not been for you, we'd never have had the delight of using Non-stick Cookware!!'

Seriously, non-stick tawas 'rock'..( dosa-'kallu'..hehe)!!.. they're coated with teflon.. which means.. no matter how little ghee/oil/butter u add to the tawa, ur food does not stick on to it.. so, u can save on calories n stuff too.. wow!!
Hey.. isn't it quite ironical... that inspite of the Teflon Revolution... cookery-show-aunties are so fat these days??

Anyway, that being a side-issue.. i thought i'd discuss it later.. during breakfast, perhaps.. "who's fat and who's not" has always been a favourite topic since our non-stick arrived..
And as i waited for the flames to add their finishing touches to Dosa side-B, i turned my thoughts down memory lane..

It was 8 years ago.. i stood in the kitchen with a ladle in my hand.. my head held high.. (bcos i was trying to smell and assess whether the underside was blackening!!..).. suddenly, the dosa started behaving in a very odd manner.. it coughed and spluttered.. being a helpless 12 year old boy, i ran to fetch my mother.. she came and took over..

armed with the ladle, both of us struggled to pull the dosa away from the tawa.. it was a tug-of-war between the flames and us.. Fire was claiming the underside for itself.. and we started de-plastering it in every possible way.. (The tawa was a non-Non-stick type!!)

But alas!.. the dosa had stuck on blindly.. it was a battle that we lost.. tawas can be very demanding when they grow old.. so we put our foot down, and decided to do away with the monster.. We ordered a brand new non-stick tawa which serves us to this day..

I looked at the non-stick tawa beaming with pride..
But Shock! Horror! Disbelief!! My flashback had come with a price...
Fire was back with an evil grin... to reclaim Dosa side-B!!!

A Kzh Mootha Adventure

2009-05-03T17:23:00.003+05:30

Because some have taken offence to the usage of the word k*zh*, I am repostin this post after some censoring. The original can still be found at my blog nitishn5.blogspot.com

May 02, 2009: This was today four of us, KMG, TGT, TVT and myself N5 decided to explore the darkness that lay beyond the much heard but little known region called Alathara. We began our journey following the road not much travelled by CETians, going towards Alathara. On the way we passed big towers that were coming up, tall in defiance of the countryside, great structures looking out to the sea. Onward we walked, without a target, following the same worn out road, leaving behind the hills which had great castles and palaces of the rich and famous lying in between the shacks and hovels of the downtrodden. A lot more of them were coming up here, leaving us amazed at how crass capitalism was destroying our countryside.

Then as we turned around a bend in the road, we caught our first sight of the great Akkulam Lake, glistening in the sunlight in all its majesty. Alas, for we were at a junction with two choices, to go either left or right. We searched for any signs which would tell us the way forward. But then the blistering heat of the high noon took over our mnds with the help of our k*zh* and we took the beaten road to the right. We advanced forward, ambling along the shores of the stately Akkulam Lake passing by many wonders, natural and manmade alike.

Soon we found our beaten track merging into the great NH Bypass. The road that carried vast amount of traffic at high speeds which left us amazed. We satiated our thirst at a wayside shop with lemon juice and soda and rested our feet. The keeper of the shop was amazed to hear of our journey till now but we told him that it was just the beginning leaving him dumbstruck. Others bid us good luck for our adventure. We bid them goodbye and turning south walked along the Bypass till we reached the bridge crossing the Akkulam Lake. A long bridge was this, spanning over 369 metres and built over six years, the construction being led by a woman chef engineer. We traversed the bridge slowly, marvelling at the beauty of the mighty Akkulam Lake. And slowly and steadily we had finally crossed. We looked back and the beginning of the bridge gleamed far away in the distance. We rested a little in the shade of a mango tree. Its branches were teasing us with bunches of its fruits hanging just out of reach. With the heavy motor traffic of the NH Bypass road to give us company and protection, we strolled ahead, viewing the many factories, car showrooms and other sights alongside the dusty road. We had a small lunch at a decrepit hotel offering only rice meals after which we walked till we reached another junction.

But there was a road sign here which read:

Kovalam 19 k.m.

Veli tourist village 2 k.m.

We were well aware of the limits of our k*zh* and with a sea wind cooling our minds, we turned west again, walking towards the other greater lake, Veli. We first reached the Kochuveli Railway Station. This was from where many long distance trains started. We found the Kochuveli-Bikaner Express lying at the first platform. We were now walking right on the railway tracks, filling our eyes with the majesty of the grand Indian Railways. We crossed the tracks and after a right turn and then a left turn we stumbled upon Veli. We entered the park and saw the various carvings and sculptures it had on display. With a little more rest we moved towards the beach and stood facing the wide open Arabian Sea. We strained our eyes hoping to catch a glimpse of any big ship but to no avail.

Our k*zh* took us further south as we walked towards the beach of Shankumugham. We ambled along the beach with our pants folded up to our knees and our footwear in our hands. Befriending the dogs basking in the beach we moved forward, sometimes sighting crabs and other creatures in the beach. Littered along the beach were many bottles of alcohol which we tossed into the sea. Regrefully, we also found a few persons depositing their feaces in the sea. Inspite of al these distractions, we were progressing slower than we expected since the sand obstructed our speed. But we walked onward, crossing small creeks that joined with the sea. Finally we were close to our destination. We had reached within viewing distance of the Indian Coffee House building at Shankumugham. We found a bottle of red paint which we used to mark our presence and of our college’s on the new seawall constructed to protect in face of anther tsunami.

Crossing the beach we entered the ICH and ate and drank to our fill. We then walked towards the sculptures, one of the man resting on his back ever gazing at the sky and the stars and the other one of a beautiful mermaid sun bathing, basking in the glory of all nature. And so we came to the end of our journey with our k*zh* now satisfied. We took a bus back to the hustle and bustle of the city and back to our daily lives.

This was a mail i received recently.thot f posting it here.

2009-05-01T14:16:00.000+05:30

College Reunions V/s Facebook!

Staying in touch has always been a choice. Either you said yes to that and connected with your old pals regularly, or you said no and moved on to make new friends. But there is always that thought in your mind that makes you wait for the college reunion to happen each year. It's like you subscribed to these invites when you walked out of those college corridors. College friends have a strange presence in your life, though you may not see them or talk to them for years. A chance sight of a balding man on the road suddenly brings about the recollection that this is the guy who paid for your food when you ran short of dough in your sophomore year.

There is another side to this. With increased tools at your disposal to keep in touch, the pull of college reunions are no longer what they used to be. Take for example, my colleague Donna. She says, "Why do I need to go to college to meet old pals? I can do that through Facebook!" Now I think she's got a point there. With social networks, you can keep in touch with your old friends throughout the year. You can know the crests and troughs of their lives, you can see pictures of how they evolved from gawky twenty-somethings to mature parents. It's all there for you to explore.

So the question is, should you take up that invitation from the college and be there? Or are you content keeping in touch with your friends via networking tools? It's true that we are constantly running short of time, so that college trip might well be a little heavy on your work schedule. But, at the same time, a trip to the campus which stood witness to the making of the person you are now, is time well invested. What would you rather do, be there at college reunions or stay in touch via Facebook?

the 'G'rand 'P'icture of 'A'pplied-electronics..

2009-05-01T00:20:00.008+05:30

I happen to know two people... Arjuna and Krishna... they're fellow engineering students.. krishna is the all-knowing omnipotent one.. arjuna is his friend who admires him endlessly... (hey, now wait a minute.. this sounds a li'l familiar... aha!! mahabharata.. bhagavat gita.. bravo!! u're a genius..)

krishna is a very knowledgeable fellow.. encyclopaedic, if i may use the word.. he talks abt technology, business, global issues, sports, philosphy... and arjuna simply gapes at him for his sheer intellect, speechless.. awestruck.. inebriated with the nectar of krishna's raw magnetism...

then one day, something happened that turned the world upside down.. no, not an earthquake or a tsunami.. no, no..not a hurricane either.. just take away the natural-disasters-category from ur mind..

arjuna had asked krishna a question to which he had no answer...
none at all..
krishna blinked.. (but blinking didn't help him find the answer either..)

this was what happened..

Krishna: (finishing lines of prev speech).. and that's how nutrigenomics promises a great future for mankind...
Arjuna: (dazed, awestruck, dumbfounded etc..):.. wow, krishna.. wow!!
K: (very unassumingly).. yes.. its great, i know..
A: krishna... krishna, can i ask u something?
K: sure..go ahead..
A: krishna.. what's ur GPA??
(silence)... (krishna thinks he didn't hear the question properly)...
K: er...my what... arjuna?
A: dude.. ur gpa...

Krishna thinks hard.. finally shakes his head.. and says, "dude.. i don't have the foggiest idea what u r talking abt.."
The world stood still.. Sea waves stopped in mid-tide and turned around to look at krishna.. the winds halted, surprised and shocked.. a guy trying to kill himself by jumping off from a flying jet, paused during mid-fall to wonder at what krishna had just said.. he had not heard of GPA..

A: Du'uh??!! krishna.. u've not heard of gpa??
K: ok now.. enough of this non-sense.. u r just bluffing.. well, what's this gpa anyway??
A: (takes a deep breath).. krishna... GPA.. is a way of life...
K: carry on..
A: u see.. GPA.. is like this philosophy that runs the wheels of the world..
K: eh??
A: well, how shall i explain it to u?.. GPA is like the universal answer to any question... ANY question..
K: Arjuna! u've kindled my curiosity.. kindly enlighten me..'
(psst..above line adopted from translation of Srimad Bhagavath Gita..hopefully blogger.com won't arrest me for copyright violation!!)

Arjuna: like i said.. GPA has all the answers..

Arjuna elaborated thus...
"Any question, my dear krishna..
Why did the chicken cross the road?..GPA..
How shall i find a suitable life-partner?.. GPA..
How to allot electives to students in CET?.. GPA..
Which brand of underwear should i buy?.. GPA..
God!!! Why me???.. GPA, my dear child..."

Krishna: (dazed, awestruck, dumbfounded etc..).. arjuna, i never realised all this...
Arjuna: don't worry krishna.. u r perhaps the only person in this world who hasn't heard of gpa..there's still time.. to catch up with everyone and learn the ways of the world..
Krishna: Arjuna, but u haven't thrown light on what GPA stands for.. what does it all mean, o arjuna!

Arjuna takes another deep breath.." Its a long story.. Years and years ago..when good men still walked on the earth(??).. GPA was called Grade Point Aggregate.. a mere indicator of students' academic performance (in KU exams)... later on, it gained so much importance that it was used as a "General Policy for (any) Allotment"... it was seen as unfair by a vast number of people.. but they were too timid to protest against the policy... later, they suffered, as they saw their "Genuine Passions Attacked".. their passion for knowledge.. their true aptitude thwarted.. they were denied the electives they asked for.. the knowledge they craved...BUT they were too timid to protest..
This remained so for a long time.. till the rules became rigid.. till it was too late to question the authority.. a big "Goodbye to Protests and Arguments.."..
gpa has ruled our college lives ever since.."

Arjuna finished his speech rather dramatically.. Krishna was overcome by nausea..
He cleared his throat..(for it had become choked.. well, y else would anyone clear their throat dammit??).. he mused for a while, and collected himself...

Thus spake GoPAla Krishna:
Remember, my dear Arjuna.. To survive in this college life and in the web of mundanity that the GPA spider (Genetically Programmed to be Atrocious) has spun.. it is not enough to have worldly knowledge alone.. it does not suffice to read the newspaper everyday, build up ur general knowledge, develop ur extra-curricular interests.. it doesn't spur u forward.. all u need to do is score well in Kerala University's "extremely fair" exams.. get a good gpa.. and do the practical thing.. You are known by ur gpa.. as a number.. just as prisoners r known by a number in jail.. U r trapped inside a bubble... gpa is ur only way out..

Super lyrics

2009-04-28T20:09:00.000+05:30

The Toxic Waltz - by Exodus

Here's a new dance craze
That's sweeping the nation
It's called the Toxic Waltz
And it's causing devastation
You're jumping up and down
Like a psycho circus clown
Slamming with waltzers
All the way around
You get caught up in the whip
Thrown into a flip
You aim for someone's head
To stain the floor red
Give someone a kick
To prove you're truly sick
Bounce back from some blows
And blood runs out your nose
Flailing round and round
And you're injury bound
Waltz it up!
The pit is it!
You can take your chance
On this rough new dance
If you dare!
To dive in!
There are some that try
But they don't survive
They don't hit!
'cause they're wimps!
And this exercise
helps you brutalize
With us!
Exodus!

(chorus)

Everybody's doing the toxic waltz
Kick your friend in the
head and have a ball
Come on and do the toxic waltz
And slam your partner
against the wall
Everybody's doing the toxic waltz
Good friendly violent fun
in store for all
Get up off your ass
and toxic waltz
If you hit the floor
You can always crawl!

Used to do the monkey
but now it's not cool
The twist and mashed potato
are no exception to the rule
So don't be a dunce
and dance like a runt
Just throw your elbows
with good friendly violent fun
don't start to cry
if you get a black eye
just dive back in
and give another try
but too much action
may leave you in traction
so you better get insurance
no matter your endurance
flailing round and round
and you're injury bound
Waltz it up!
The pit is it!
You can take your chance
on the rough new dance
If you dare!
to dive in!
There are some that try
but they wont survive
They dont hit!
'cause they're wimps!
And this exercise
Helps you brutalize
With us!
Exodus!

(chorus)

Everybody's doing the Toxic Waltz
Kick your friend in the
head and have a ball
Come on and do the toxic waltz
and slam your partner
against the wall
everybody's doing the toxic waltz
good friendly violent fun
in store for all
get up off your ass
and toxic waltz
if you hit the floor you
can always crawl!

Get up on your feet
Don't look so obsolete
And thrash like an athlete!
Don't sit there on your ass
Don't look like you
got too much class
you'll be harassed!
You know we guarantee
This is the key
So rage or get the third degree!
You begin frontal assaults
and start your somersaults
And do the toxic waltz!
Do the toxic waltz!
Do the toxic waltz!
Do the toxic waltz!
Do the toxic waltz!

Ads, weight-loss and RIPe bananas...

2009-02-15T07:33:00.006+05:30

Primarily, there are two kinds of boards on our city roads
i) advertisement boards
ii) sign boards

Loosely speaking, ad-boards are evil.. they distract u.. and put u off ur guard.. the big ones especially.. the ones perched atop the tall buildings...
but the trouble is, u feel the ads look awesome and gaze and gaze at them.. eyes transfixed... until somebody comes along with a bucket of cold water, splashes it on ur open-mouthed face... and shouts-
'hey, do u know that u r in the middle of the road?? huh?? now get outta my way.. before i slap that face of yours.. with a robotic arm !!'

The sign boards, on the other hand, are meant to bring u back to the real world (.. in case that somebody didn't get his hands on that bucket he ordered!!).. they kinda give u these last-minute warnings of whats coming ahead.. and do quite a smart job of it actually.. and what do u know? they can be very very informative too!!

for instance, once i'd been to kanyakumari.. there was this signboard that read -
Trivandrum- 89 km
Nagercoil- 13 km
Varanasi- 2460 km!!!!
.. now thats what i call information!! signboards are smart.. yet they keep their feet on the ground.. but soon, the big green eyed monster of jealousy would hunt them down.. wonder why?? bcos generally, people don't give a damn to signboards, however smart they are... they just don’t…

on one of those rare, lucky days, my dad had asked me to take the car to the petrol bunk all by myself.. so, having the car all to myself, i felt like a king.. i even felt proud, like a haughty advertisement board...

then i saw a lady on her scooter, a few metres ahead of me... she was moving pretty slow.. in fact, she was snailing her way on the road...inch by inch.. i've even seen tortoises move faster (on animal planet's Tryst with Turtles..)... anyway, the road is not the place to imitate a tortoise.. the tortoises certainly wouldn't agree to it... i only hope they don't take it personally!!

So it turned out that the lady was actually staring at one of the ad-boards.. one of those jewellery ads.. or was it abt designer sarees??.. don't remember.. all i know is that the model who featured in it was kinda okay-looking... but the itchy fingers of impatience started tickling me... and i blared the horn of my car a couple of times... the woman got a rather nasty shock, fell sideways and turned turtle!!... man, that was one hell of a sight... when i started honking, she jolted back to reality and started behaving with her scooter as if it was an infuriated spanish bull out of control!!!.. oh man, that was amazing-videos material!!...and before the locals could start crowding around the scene of accident, i made a deft exit...whew!! close shave..

Nasty, them ad-boards!!

I regret to say that once even i became a victim of their crime.. ok look ..i agree that ad-boards need to be eye-catching... but they go too far to prove that point... what they really do is eye-catching-capturing-imprisoning-bonding to steel chains!!.. there was this one ad that had my jaw drop... It read something like this..
"VLCC-
Pay for a weight loss of 10 kgs.
Lose upto an extra 5 kgs...Absolutely free!!!"
My jaw dropped and hit the ground... (well, almost...) fortunately, i was not driving at the moment i was confronted with that ad... well, what the heck was happening to…er.. orthodox weight-loss??

(Of course...the pic on the right side has 4 different women... and the ad makers think they're very clever!!)

Speaking of weight loss, there r a couple of things to be added here.. First of all, the kind of ppl who come to health clubs to "lose" the extra-5 are 'FAT men in branded bermudas'... they come there to pump out their calories by punishing themselves... they lift loads.. they pull heavy strings...whining and wincing, puffing and panting… and when the instructors r not watching, they snooze off on the benches... sigh!! heavy work does that to u sometimes!!

Worse, they are put on diets.. everytime the dietician says, "No X..No Y..No Z.." ( where X= rich sweets; Y= fried snacks; Z= chocolates...etc etc), they writhe with pain... they get choked…and tears fill their ever-hungry eyes… on their diet list, comes bananas, oats & cereal, low-starch rice, triple skimmed milk, plain bread...( and other small stuff which only skinny fashion models would dare to eat...with a guilty heart)

But bananas... ah! always fleshy and juicy... (unless they're more than 3 days old)…
I rushed thru half my breakfast before college one day..and stuffed the other half - a big, healthy banana - into my college bag ... but alas! little did i know that mom had packed my freshly prepared lunch in that very pocket of the bag… right next to the banana... later at college, i put my bag away in one of the seats... this was when karthik pottered his way into the class, searching for a seat.. and sat on my bag!! ouch!!..anyway... that was one R.I.P.e banana for u, steamed and sat on!!!

I leave u with these interesting/ disturbing images...

Nineteen-nineteen to the dozen

2009-01-22T12:44:00.004+05:30

Once upon a time, Ashok Leyland gifted CET with a beauty.. a highly fashionable, state-of-the-art, roaring bus, (which will be the subject of this post).. the "KRV 1919"!! Hear one, hear all! This bus runs through the winding lanes of Trivandrum everyday, transporting a hundred ( that's right..a hundred, mind u! choke! suffocate! die!) engineering aspirants to their alma-mater..

There are rumours that it has even been given special mention in the "History of the Kingdom of erstwhile Travancore"!!! Initially i was made to believe that the registration number of the bus had something to do with its year of manufacture!

so, this bus is like this huge rectangular box, carelessly balanced on six wheels.. When the bus starts, it'll appear as though the wheels and the body have a difference of opinion and threaten to part ways!!.. but i assure u, it gets worse when it gets moving..

It seems that 'Ground Clearance' was given a lot of importance in those days..when u see the 1919 coming from a distance, it reminds u of the latest edition of Fashion-Week Paris.. the tyres are very showy, and if u pay attention, the wobbling from side to side and the mini-skirtish look of the body r enough to give u the memory of the best cat-walk ever!! The seats are rock solid, with metallic frames designed to suit the tastes of an engineering student.. when the bus passes over a little pot-hole, u can feel ur ribs rattle, reminding u that u r still alive..worse, when its time to screech to a halt and the brakes are applied(?), u feel as if forty-three amateur violinists were rehearsing poor Beethoven's Last symphony right beside u!!

Oh, and that's not all..there is the return trip home, which starts with half a dozen hefty boys pushing the bum of the old beauty whilst the driver tries, cries and practically dies to get the engine kicking into a roar...and what a blessing it is to be chosen as one among those half a dozen of boys!! i envy them..i envy them all!! grrr..
Also, the 1919 has a distinct style of acceleration..its show of power..well, in the process, an unfathomably huge cloud of black smoke drifts out of the exhaust..that for the vehicles behind the bus, it'll look as though the power cut had come 3 hours early..and all calls to mobile phones within the region would be thwarted with an 'out-of-coverage' response!!

All in all, it's worth a bumpy ride!! I do make it a point not to miss the bus the moment i know its gonna be KRV 1919..the unpredictability, the team spirit, the emotion..priceless!!
Ashok Leyland, we owe u a lifetime full of rib-rattling pleasure!!

Need some earwax..got any??

2009-01-10T02:49:00.013+05:30

On some blessed days, its always a pleasure to arise from blissful sleep by a beautiful song or a bird chirping on a tree outside the window.. Luckily for Satan, not all days go down into our diaries as blessed days.. There are times when Satan sharpens his teeth, files his nails, services his horns and gets all set to poke, prick and jerk civilization out of its pants..

For instance, my life here in this peaceful neighbourhood is heaven.. i mean, i've got to admit that i've got it all.. pink flowers outside the window, flowers in a vase on the window-sill, flowers on my desktop and the mousepad..why..there r flowers even on the bathroom tiles for crying out loud!! so in one quick glance, it certainly looks like a full-bloomed life.. if yesterday had ten buds, today has ten blossoms.. and the vase gets its re-fill of water everyday.. so u get the idea?..its not just limited to the flowers though..

so here i am..leading a happy life..wondering where a bunch of flowers will pop up next.. this was when i came across a guy called Satan.. amazing fellow really.. to tell u the truth, he's this guy whom we can all thank for a couple of things..
it seems the whole idea of festival-loudspeakers was his.. can u believe it? of course, one can expect it to be, naturally, for the sheer brainpower that lives inside his head..
( hey..by the way, were those things 'horns'??.. no..can't be.. i must seriously stop imagining things! too much of flowers i guess..)

anyway, horns or no horns, i've got exams these days.. and whoa!! the temple festival is here!! so whaddya know.. how much more lucky can i get than living in a house near a temple where the festival is on.. could God get any happier than this and bless people even more?? looks like all the pieces of my life r falling right into place.. yippee!!

And then, i saw it.. they came and put up a big black box right outside my window facing the street.. it was a loudspeaker, one of satan's own, no doubt.. the electronics engineer that i am(..!??!..), i immediately took to satan and admired him endlessly..

i remember how it used to be earlier.. if it was a festival at the temple, there would be music concerts by professional singers, dance performances and the day would start with a famous record by a famous singer.. it all fitted.. it built up an air of soothing peace, calm and devotion.. and now, here cometh satan's invention.. ready to make a difference..

It was barely 4 a.m in the morning.. i was grossly disturbed from my flowery dream and jumped out of bed in shock.. i heard a man yelling for redemption from a life-threatening peril!! In other words, i thought his ass was on fire and half-roasted already.. his voice was horror struck..and he seemed to be calling out for help to atleast a hundred gods..

i ran around frantically, trying to locate the scream.. it turned out to be the black box eventually..and this was supposedly music, the food for love..so.. Satan was off his mark then.. attaboy!!

..and along with the big bad black box came new songs.. new artistes.. new kinds of music.. pop, jazz, punk rock, heavy metal.. soon hybrid genres would gate-crash in..Bhakti-Rock, anyone? How abt Raaga-Rap??

It seems Satan kinda opened up opportunities to the unemployed to eke out a living, rather than keeping them at home, swatting flies, mosquitoes (and other winged insects that do not have any particular attraction to flowers!!)..
So now we have a whole new battalion of singing voices, all praising a God in different voices, different tones, different pitches, but uniformly lacking in grace.. diversity in unity..hehe.. that when u hear it through a loudspeaker, u would actually forget what a flower looked like and how sweet the smell was when it wafted into your soul.. instead u would have this picture of an unholy mixture of false artistes, straining their throats for money in a glory-hunting demeanour.. Obviously, whoever vilified empty-vessels hadn't even heard (of) a loudspeaker!!

Once upon a time, people said that God was all-forgiving..well, looks like they'd rather believe that he's all for giving...the way they place demands before God is disgruntling to say the least!!
With satan's loudspeakers and a new class of contract-employed nuisances of musicians, they're all calling out to a God loud enough for him to hear them in a parallel universe.. one day, he's gonna have to come down Himself and ask these fellows to tone it down so that he can do his work of running the universe in concentration..
so that the boy living in a house behind a black box can get back to his work as well.. so that flowers once again bloom..at the right time and right season..and the good ol' bathroom tiles sparkle with floral charm..

LINE OF FIRE

2009-01-07T13:15:00.001+05:30

A real story ...A conversation between a Soldier and Software Engineer in Shatabdi Train .... .....An interesting and a must read ! GOT IT FROM AN ORKUT COMMUNITY

Vivek Pradhan was not a happy man.. He was the Project Manager and still not entitled to air travel. It was not the prestige he sought, he had tried to reason with the admin person, it was the savings in time.

He opened his case and took out the laptop, determined to put the time to some good use.

'Are you from the software industry sir,' the man beside him was staring appreciatively at the laptop.Vivek glanced briefly and mumbled in affirmation, handling the laptop now with exaggerated care and importance as if it were an expensive car.

'You people have brought so much advancement to the country, Sir. Today everything is getting computerized. '

'Thanks,' smiled Vivek, turning around to give the man a look. He always found it difficult to resist appreciation.

'You people always amaze me,' the man continued, 'You sit in an office and write something on a computer and it does so many big things outside.'

Vivek smiled deprecatingly. Naiveness demanded reasoning not anger. 'It is not as simple as that my friend. It is not just a question of writing a few lines. There is a lot of process that goes behind it.'

'It is complex, very complex.'

'It has to be. No wonder you people are so highly paid,' came the reply. This was not turning out as Vivek had thought. A hint of belligerence crept into his so far affable, persuasive tone. ' Everyone just sees the money. No one sees the amount of hard work we have to put in. .

'Let me give you an example. Take this train. The entire railway reservation system is computerized. You can book a train ticket between any two stations from any of the hundreds of computerized booking centres across the country. Thousands of transactions accessing a single database, at a time concurrently; data integrity, locking, data security.
Do you understand the complexity in designing and coding such a system?'
The man was awestuck; quite like a child at a planetarium.

'You design and code such things.'

'I used to,' Vivek paused for effect, 'but now I am the Project Manager.'

'Oh!' sighed the man, as if the storm had passed over,
'so your life is easy now.'

This was like the last straw for Vivek. He retorted, 'Oh come on, does life ever get easy as you go up the ladder.
Responsibility only brings more work.
Design and coding! That is the easier part. Now I do not do it, but I am responsible for it and believe me,
that is far more stressful. My job is to get the work done in time and with the highest quality.
To tell you about the pressures, there is the customer at one end, always changing his requirements,
the user at the other, wanting something else, and your boss, always expecting you to have finished it yesterday.'

'My friend,' he concluded triumphantly, 'you don't know what it is to be in the Line of Fire'.
The man sat back in his chair, his eyes closed as if in realization. When he spoke after sometime, it was with a calm certainty that surprised Vivek.
'I know sir,....... I know what it is to be in the Line of Fire.......'
He was staring blankly, as if no passenger, no train existed, just a vast expanse of time.
'There were 30 of us when we were ordered to capture Point 4875 in the cover of the night.
The enemy was firing from the top.
There was no knowing where the next bullet was going to come from and for whom.
In the morning when we finally hoisted the tricolour at the top only 4 of us were alive.'
'You are a...?'
'I am Subedar Sushant from the 13 J&K Rifles on duty at Peak 4875 in Kargil. They tell me I have completed
my term and can opt for a soft assignment.
But, tell me sir, can one give up duty just because it makes life easier.
On the dawn of that capture, one of my colleagues lay injured in the snow, open to enemy fire while
we were hiding behind a bunker.
It was my job to go and fetch that soldier to safety.
But my captain sahib refused me permission and went ahead himself.
He said that the first pledge he had taken as a Gentleman Cadet was to put the safety and welfare of
the nation foremost followed by the safety and welfare of the men he commanded...
....his own personal safety came last, always and every time.'
'He was killed as he shielded and brought that injured soldier into the bunker. Every morning thereafter,
as we stood guard, I could see him taking all those bullets, which were actually meant for me.
I know sir....I know, what it is to be in the Line of Fire.'

Vivek looked at him in disbelief not sure of how to respond. Abruptly, he switched off the laptop.
It seemed trivial, even insulting to edit a Word document in the presence of a man for whom
valour and duty was a daily part of life; valour and sense of duty which he had so far attributed only to epical heroes. The train slowed down as it pulled into the station, and Subedar Sushant picked up his bags to alight.

'It was nice meeting you sir.'

Vivek fumbled with the handshake.
This hand... had climbed mountains, pressed the trigger, and hoisted the tricolour.
Suddenly, as if by impulse, he stood up at attention and his right hand went up in an impromptu salute.
It was the least he felt he could do for the country.

PS: The incident he narrated during the capture of Peak 4875 is a true-life incident during the Kargil war. Capt. Batra sacrificed his life while trying to save one of the men he commanded, as victory was within sight. For this and various other acts of bravery, he was awarded the Param Vir Chakra,
the nation's highest military award.

Live humbly, there are great people around us, let us learn!
"Winners are .....
too busy to be sad,
too positive to be doubtful,
too optimistic to be fearful
and too determined to be defeated "..........

The Handshake

2008-12-26T22:56:00.002+05:30

What do you do if a friendshows you his hand for a handshake before parting? Obviously you would take it. But what if that friend was of the opposite sex? And would a person of the opposite sex even offer to do that?

The following is a real experience that I had not long ago. There were five of us there, talking about somethings. Then one of us a boy had to leave. He offered his hand to each of us boys in turn and each of us returned a hearty handshake. But when he turned to the girl, instead of offering his hand, he just gave her a wave. He then said goodbye and left.

Why the double standards? Why the handshake for the boys and nothing to the girl? Personally if i were in the girls place, I would have been offended. Here is one guy who I consider to be a friend who shook hands with everyone else but me. Why would he do that? The girl didn't seem to mind. She just smiled at him and said goodbye.

I was pondering on this and then I realized where I was. This was Trivandrum, Kerala. Touching girls is probably taboo here. Nattukaar enthu parayum?

These conservative notions are surely outdated if even a simple handshake is out of place!

MANIFESTO OF A HACKER

2008-11-21T20:20:00.001+05:30

This is not my original article. I got it it from another site. Decided 2 post it here coz i found it interesting. Enjoy if u hav de patience, nd b ready 2 face reality

Another one got caught today, it's all over the papers. "Teenager Arrested in Computer Crime Scandal", "Hacker Arrested after Bank Tampering"...

Damn kids. They're all alike.

But did you, in your three-piece psychology and 1950's technobrain, ever take a look behind the eyes of the Hacker? Did you ever wonder what made him tick, what forces shaped him, what may have molded him?

I am a Hacker, enter my world...

Mine is a world that begins with school... I'm smarter than most of the other kids, this crap they teach us bores me...

Damn underachiever. They're all alike.

I'm in junior high or high school. I've listened to teachers explain for the fifteenth time how to reduce a fraction. I understand it. "No, Ms. Smith, I didn't show my work. I did it in my head..."

Damn kid. Probably copied it. They're all alike.

I made a discovery today. I found a computer. Wait a second, this is cool. It does what I want it to. If it makes a mistake, it's because I screwed it up. Not because it doesn't like me... Or feels threatened by me.. Or thinks I'm a smart ass.. Or doesn't like teaching and shouldn't be here...

Damn kid. All he does is play games. They're all alike.

And then it happened... a door opened to a world... rushing through the phone line like heroin through an addict's veins, an electronic pulse is sent out, a refuge from the day-to-day incompetencies is sought... a board is found. "This is it... this is where I belong..." I know everyone here... even if I've never met them, never talked to them, may never hear from them again... I know you all...

Damn kid. Tying up the phone line again. They're all alike...

You bet your ass we're all alike... we've been spoon-fed baby food at school when we hungered for steak... the bits of meat that you did let slip through were pre-chewed and tasteless. We've been dominated by sadists, or ignored by the apathetic. The few that had something to teach found us willing pupils, but those few are like drops of water in the desert.

This is our world now... the world of the electron and the switch, the beauty of the baud. We make use of a service already existing without paying for what could be dirt-cheap if it wasn't run by profiteering gluttons, and you call us criminals. We explore... and you call us criminals. We seek after knowledge... and you call us criminals. We exist without skin color, without nationality, without religious bias... and you call us criminals. You build atomic bombs, you wage wars, you murder, cheat, and lie to us and try to make us believe it's for our own good, yet we're the criminals.

Yes, I am a criminal. My crime is that of curiosity. My crime is that of judging people by what they say and think, not what they look like. My crime is that of outsmarting you, something that you will never forgive me for.

I am a hacker, and this is my manifesto. You may stop this individual, but you can't stop us all... after all, we're all alike.

the gear.. of choice..

2008-10-15T02:31:00.002+05:30

FOUR..thats the number of ways u can drive ur car on a highway..
the highway is where u r right now..moving on with life..u know not of the destination, of the road ahead.. of bridges, tunnels and dead-ends..
the wheel is in ur hands.. u control it.. and as u would've already guessed,.. ur dreams, aspirations, abilities and persona r what drive the car..
now, add to the picture a lot of gorgeous, breathtaking scenery sprawled out there in front of u.. infinite with beauty, painted with the rhapsody of colour by nature's finest hands..

1) u could start ur car, take it straight ahead, without giving a damn to the scenery.. all u really want is to reach the destination(which u don't knw abt..).. u see other cars in front of u and follow them.. riding rough on the roads.. the car gets cranky but u don't care.. yes, u've reached somewhere..
..engine-kill.. slam door shut.. no looking back.. blank..

2) u start ur car, move on a bit slowly, watching the countryside treat offered to ur eyes, feeling the wind in ur hair.. oh but, u need to reach somewhere.. so u step on the gas a bit.. later, u feel like stretching out and the car has to cool off .. finally, u reach somewhere..but a little late..so what?
..u glance at the scenery.. thank the car.. look back at the way u've come.. feel happy
..look ahead..

3) u start the car, b'cos everyone else has done so..and u realise that u have to make it to someplace special..ur dreams and aspirations r strong..but nobody seems to believe they'll work out well for u.. u r totally in love with the scenery..mesmerised, u take ur car off the highway, and ride right into the wilderness.. later on, u feel uncertain.. was the way wrong? is the car still ok? but oh no! u need to reach somewhere and catch up with the others..
u..feel lost..feel passion for ur real dreams..feel frustrated..feel lonely..and lost..
the rest itself is uncertain..

4) u start the car, u don't give a damn to the highway.. u don't give much to the car either.. but u believe the scenery is all yours.. Nature has offered u a tiny line of a road on one hand, and a world full of possibilities and unexplored destinations on the other.. u sprint right into the adventure.. ur car has lots of horsepower and keeps u going on and on and on.. u find ur haven atlast..
..bliss.. satisfaction.. rich-life experiences.. forever grateful for the journey..
..the car has even more horses to pull it now..

The Grand Holiday

2008-10-14T21:41:00.003+05:30

On the massage bed I lay,
Thinking of what to say,
Without the tour the class was glum,
Right then the hot nurse lady smacked my bum!

Thats when I sat up and thought,
Here's an idea for the tour I've got,
But there was one thing left to do,
The nurse and I had a job to do!

I wore my pants and left the room,
I promised the girl I'll come back soon,
Straight for the college I went,
And for the tour "committee" I sent!

Though they were feeling very sad,
I told them not to feel so bad,
A novel idea is what I have to say,
Its something all the boys will crave!

We'll pack bags and go to Kottakkal,
On the way we can drink, smoke and yell,
There we'll get a massage, ayurvedic,
from a really nice hot chick!

Its not just massages that they do,t
hey offer a lot of other 'things' too,
Flexible and bendy is what they are,
In any position they can spar!

The girls need not worry either,
Male nurses may also be there,
If not there are 50 of us too,
We'll start in the bus, it'll be cool!

Some in the class are quite horny you see,
They would like to be set free,
This is the perfect opportunity,
It will also remove any disunity!

I request the tour committee to think over this
,Give us a chance to get some bliss,
Any groupism will melt away,
In this perfect holiday!!!

Nitish, Kottakkal and our final hope!

2008-10-10T07:51:00.005+05:30

*****SCENE # 1 - The Castaway*****

Nitish thought class was a hell
so he went to kottakkal
In a world so very hectic
nitsh needed a massage-ayurvedic

In the community, he did sabotage
And he got 'laid' down for a massage
s-5 began to 'dope' his head
n-5 then to kottakkal fled !

*****SCENE # 2- The Magic of Kottakkal*****

Soothing it was, and nitish felt peace
the herbs and oils put him at ease
nitish! nitish! went into bliss
the world and its joy were now his !

nitish soared in the skies of joy
he was now a 'man', not just 'boy'
his eyes were closed and he couldn't tell
"who" was rubbing the oil so well?

He thought abt his friends- poor souls!
They were sitting at home like stupid a$$-holes
Nitish then had an idea so very bright !!
that he came to tvm in the next flight !!

*****SCENE # 3 - The Great Escape*****

The teacher came to the class and got a shock
Mass-cut it was and the class was under lock !

*****SCENE # 4 - The CET Redemption*****

Far, far away in a small Malabar town
66 applied students- from a bus, got down
Nitish! nitish the brave man he was,
he lead the team from front like a horse

Three hours hence the clock tick-tocked
66 in number the massage tables were stocked
We all saw bliss and happiness this time,
when the herbs and oils did their beautiful crime !!

nitish! nitish! the leader that he was!
never says things without a cause !
"With this massage all of your misery ends,
Here is your precious I.V. my dear friends"

****CURTAIN*****

*****APPLAUSE*****

FRIDAY TALKS

2008-10-06T23:10:00.000+05:30

‘Friday Talks’

Topic : Anti-terrorist Laws in India –An Analysis
Speaker : Dr. N. Krishnakumar
(Lecturer of Laws,

Govt. Law College, Trivandrum)

Venue : YMCA Youth Centre
Date : 10th October 2008
Time : 5.15 pm

UNI-Y & YMCA
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM
All are welcome

Ha Ha Ha!!!

2008-10-01T15:37:00.001+05:30

They say that listening to heavy metal gives a greater high than smoking cigarettes — they must’ve been referring to Megadeth.
\m/Megadeth\m/
\m/ Rules \m/

The Greatest Artists

2008-09-13T09:29:00.002+05:30

This is my list of my favorite music artists. These are the ones who have influenced me the most. It is in alphabetical order after Megadeth which is me most favorite. I'm posting it here so that atleast someone reads it.

Megadeth - This is my favorite band. It is one of the best thrash metal bands ever. It was founded by Dave Mustaine after he got kicked out of Metallica. This band has released mindblowing tracks over the years. It has combined all the aspects of thrash, speed and heavy metal into an awesome mix of sound. The best thing about this band is that its songs are for normal headbangers and it is not full of screaming. It can be sung by us. Though it has been pluaged by a lot of lineup changes I feel that as long as Dave Mustaine is there Megadeth will rule.

AC/DC - One of the fathers of hard rock and metal. Their album “Black in Black” is one of the greatest albums ever. Every track on it was great. They have cool lyrics hard, rocking music and great vocals.
Deep Purple - The gods of heavy metal. They along with others like Iron Maiden and Motorhead invented Heavy Metal and inspired bands like Metallica. Though their songs may not fit the Heavy Metal genre now but they are still one of the best songs ever.
The Doors - One of the first English songs I heard were of these guys. I was about 6-7 years old and they are the ones who paved the way for my metal addiction. Their slow melodious rock is just great.
Eminem - An excellent rapper with great lyrics and cool beats. Unlike most other rappers whose songs are about either cars or babes or money, etc. this guy has released a number of great tracks with exceptional lyrics and wordplay. He also has a lot of funny rap songs which are hilarious.
Gwen Stefani - This ex-lead of the band No Doubt is a great singer. She has an amazing voice and can make a variety of sounds(pitches and notes and stuff). She has a wide vocal range which one can see in almost all her songs.
Jay-Z - Just like he says he is the best rapper alive. He has a lot of hard-hitting songs which would get anyone up and into the mood. The lyrics in his songs are cool too with a lot of double meanings and other wordplays. The music is also sometimes different than the mainstream ones.
Korn - One of the best Nu-Metal/Heavy bands there. It is one of the ’Against the system’ band with a lot of songs in that style. The music is really cool with a lot of effects.
Limp Bizkit - This may not be among my most favorite bands but it is one that has brought me into metal music early on. Limp Bizkit also has a lot of the against the system songs which are really great. The rap+rock mix has come off better here than in bands like Linkin Park. Though its lyrics are littered with a number of fucks here and there it is qiute cool still it is a children’s band.
Metallica - Another Thrash Metal legend. Metallica has a number of exceptional songs with great lyrics and awesome riffs. James Hetfield’s angry voice and Kirk Hammett’s superb guitar solos are just great. Though it can be compared with Megadeth, I feel that Metallica has some exceptional songs and Megadeth has many good and some great ones.
Nelly Furtado - This is another exceptional singer with an amazing voice. She has a lot of cool folksy and funky tracks to her name. Though she recently acquired a more glamorous image, the quality of her music has not changed.
Outkast - This is a great rap group which has a lot of different songs in the sense that they don’t match the existing stereotypes. They are really great to listen to.
Shaggy - The reggae master. This is one cool dude. His song are all upbeat and great to listen to. Though many times we may think that all he says in his songs is a couple of “uh-uh’s”.
Travis - This was a band I listened to a long tome ago when I was probably 10-12 years old. It used to be on MTV all the time. I used to like all their songs. They had an eclectic mix of music and poetic lyrics.

Train Journeys You Have to Experience.

2008-08-30T22:06:00.003+05:30

This is a list of train journeys that I have experienced in my short life till now. The descriptions are of the time I last went on one of them. I don’t know whether they have changed now. The descriptions are rather short for want of space otherwise I could go on and on for pages about each one.

Rajdhani Express (AC 2 Tier) - The Rajdhani Express is the name of the set of fully air conditioned trains connecting various parts of the country with the capital New Delhi. Food is included in the fare and this train has a higher priority over other trains which means it rarely runs late. Now this is one amazing experience where you do nothing but eat, sleep and watch the scenery outside. Try going on a long journey such as Delhi to Trivandrum/Chennai/Guwahati. This way you can stuff yourself with all the food they serve. Food is served at: Breakfast, Midday, Lunch, Evening Tea/Soup, Dinner. The quality of food is quite good too unlike in other trains.

Shatabdi Express (AC Chair Car) - The Shatabdi express is the fastest train in this country and it is surely a thrill going in one of them. Now keep in mind that this is not the JanShatabdi that I’m talking about which is poor guy’s Shatabdi. The Shatabdi Express is a fully air conditioned train for shot journeys of usually less than 12 hours. In one word this train can be described as ‘posh‘. It is just like traveling in an airplane. With the speed, smoothness and the good food(unlike in planes) helping the journey to be quite enjoyable.

Mangala Express (2nd Sleeper) - Earlier before the Konkan Rail Route, the Mangala Express took the long route going through Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, etc. Now the Kerala Express may provide a similar experience if you are lucky not to be stuck with a bunch of Malayalees. The great thing about his trip is the sheer amount of distance it covers. And you can also meet people from different parts of our country, people of different cultures, religions, etc. If you are anything like Gandhiji you could probably learn half the languages used in this country in the space of the journey. If it is spring then the scenery is spectacular. Concerning food you can get different things from each state. It’s an amazing treat.

Footboard Travel - This is to be done in a reserved compartment maybe with a waitlisted or RAC ticket. This is actually not legal, but on the other hand is quite an experience. It is even more fun when you are with a friend. You can feel the wind in your air and see some amazing things outside that you would surely miss when inside. You should get down at each and every station and buy something different to eat.

Mumbai Local Train - A ride in this during the rush hours is something you will never forget for the rest of your life. It is the extreme rush, the crushing feeling and if you are standing near the door the fear of falling of. You can see crazy Mumbaikars fighting for every inch of space. There are unwritten rules about traveling on the local that every Mumbaikar knows. If you are being stared at, you’ve probably done something wrong. Also,women are not far behind men in etiquette. You can find women, young and old shoving, pushing, abusing ad jostling for place. Some times you can be lucky enough to be the last one to enter and get about 10 sq. cm of space to one of your feet and on to the pipe-thing that keeps the rainwater away. A similar journey in a local train in Delhi or Chennai would not be the same.

Parasuram Express (General) - Travel from Mangalore to anyplace after Ernakulam. This journey was once described by my friend as ‘Hell on Earth’. You can listen to all the different dialects of Malayalam and learn quite a number of new abuses. You can experience a variety of different smells ranging from the flowery mullapoo smell to extreme nauseating pungent smell of some guy who has not taken bath for a week. You should also empty your bowels before boarding since you may never get a chance once the train has started. This would not exactly be fun but is something you would remember.

Delhi-Patna (2nd Sleeper) - Except maybe for the general class, this is quite probably the most unsafe journey. If your ticket is not reserved you can always bribe the TTE. Just make sure you get to him first. And most probably you will find a person sleeping on the floor in each cabin. You would probably have to keep an eye on your luggage all the time.

Konkan Railway (2nd Sleeper) - Make this journey in the daytime to see some of the most awesome scenes in India. And if it has rained, the land would be all green and beautiful. With countless bridges, tunnels and many rivers, streams, waterfalls and more, you will never get bored. You can also get to eat a lot of vada pavs and bhel puri on this trip and if the season is right a variety of fruits too.

Our s3 excursion made by N5, enjoyyyyyyyyy

2008-06-26T19:18:00.001+05:30

Rendezvous with nature..

2008-06-06T23:25:00.006+05:30

If you are a trekking enthusiast, or a nature-lover, I have two words for you - 'Agastya Hills'. Here, you get to walk through thick jungles and open hilltop grasslands, wade through streams and rivulets, and climb near-vertical rock mountains as u make your way to the summit, through a series of unpredictable weather changes and complete isolation from the outside world. That's right. 60 kms of trekking and three days of breathing pure air, bathing in the purest water and living in harmony with Mother nature. No points for guessing that your mobile phone would be useless in this paradise 90 percent of the time.

Agastyarkoodam is the summit. It stands at 6200 feet above sea level, the second tallest peak in the south of India, roughly located at the Kerala - Tamil nadu border. At the peak is a sanctum of Sage Agastya, who is believed to have powers such as controlling the forces of nature, and is credited with the birth of the tamil language from which other south indian languages have sprung. The entry point to the trekking trip/ pilgrimage is at the Bonakkad Forest Office. Bonakkad lies about 10 kms off the Trivandrum- Ponmudi road, and has tea estates sprawled across its slopes. At the office, what one carries into the forest is scrutinized, as a step towards ensuring safety to the forest and its family of flora and fauna. Agastya Hills are renowned for the richness of medicinal plants that they are home to.

Thus one embarks on a 3-day journey of wonderful experiences that one shall treasure in his heart forever. As for my case, I can't wait for the onset of the next trekking season. The mere thought of the place builds up the zest of adventure, your soul would want to infuse with the beauty of the place..and its then that you start your tiny little ponderings on life.. well, sages are supposed to be full-time ponderers. so, putting 2 and 2 together, we can conclude that Sage agastya certainly knew what he was doing!

The first stretch of the trek is through sparse forest, which gets thicker upward. Pleasant walk, a wide forest path, with the mid-morning sun peeping occasionally through high branches, and birds chirping and tweeting in tune to the melody that u gradually start hearing. This stretch leads you on to a set of 3 or 4 waterfalls, one of which is the Karamana river in its beginning stages. As you move from one waterfall to the next one higher up, the chill sets in more pronouncedly and the trees, creepers and vines close in on the path. If the earth is wet, you can expect a lot of thirsty leeches up your leg. ( one of these streams is actually called Attayar!) Every waterfall is a resting point. The sight of the cascade, the sound of the gurgle and the feel of the fresh rapid water is as refreshing as nature meant it to be. From certain points, the view of the peppara dam and reservoir comes in.

After the final waterfall, there's a rapid climb towards open mountain tops. Only tall grass grows here. Co-incidentally, when one reaches this stage, the Sun would be up in the heavens, and it would be scorching heat everywhere, with very little trees to rest under. This is an extreme climate shift. But yes, this is a forest and that's how it will be. This open stretch goes on for about 4 kms, but the view from here is absolutely magnificent. On a clear day, one can see town settlements near the horizon and majestic rock faces further up. It was here that we heard the trumpet of an angry elephant and ran for our dear lives without even turning back to see where the pachyderm was. By the end of this stretch, you would be gasping for breath and water. Sometimes you may wish you had never even undertaken the journey. Even now, only a third and the easiest leg has been completed. Really discourages you sometimes. But when u have a group of 8 people trudging along uphill, u simply have to keep up with them.

All of a sudden and without warning, the geography changes again. It would feel like entering the rainforest after a walk in the sahara. The next phase is called Seven-fold-mountain, or Ezhu Madakku Mala. This is one hell of a jungle. There is no proper path. You need to choose the most stable, least slippery and least leech-inhabited piece of rock every step u take. The slope is very steep, the roots of gigantic trees block your way and in some places, fallen trees themselves obstruct you. This is a kingdom of crickets and rare birds. The sky is mostly not visible, there's a green canopy throughout.

Around early evening, you reach the base camp. The first day's journey ends here with around 20 kms on your tripmeter. The base camp has been set up by the forest dept. and is managed by an adivasi settlement nearby. There's one dormitory for accommodation at night, a make-shift kitchen and a stream nearby. It is here, at the base camp that you can have your first full 'darshan' of the Agastyamala. Its the most elegant, aristocratic-looking mountain I've ever seen. Its magnetism commands you to bow to the supreme power of nature. The verticality of the single piece of gigantic rock gives even experienced trekkers a shudder down the spine.

Nights are freezing cold. Without electricity, you are just stuck with candles, using them more for warmth rather than for light. We sleep on a plain mattress on a cold cemented floor. When the wind blows in every time, you see images of antartica and penguins in your dreams..and maybe of polar bears chasing you for a meal.

The next morning is the final part of the upward journey. After yet another phase of thick forest ,we reached a point where we had glimpses of a vast wilderness of rock whenever the passing mist cleared for a few seconds at a time! It was the most wild,exotic landscape ,gleaming with the myriad water streams running down its face and seemingly disappearing into nowhere! For a moment I felt lost in no-man's land! I was conscious of a sudden desire to spread my wings and fly over the valley, glide along the breeze and break into song! The hillside was rich with wild flowers that danced in the wind and dew drops that glimmered like pearls in the morning light, as if they weren't enough to add to the whole enchantment!

Rains in a forest always mean disaster, and for us, it began to look like we were going to taste some of it. The morning was hazy and misty, attempting to cripple our hopes of going further. From the base camp onwards, the altitude increases at a very fast rate. Visibility was very poor, it was not more than 5 feet. It looked just like a spooky horror movie,especially when one knows that tigers and bears are regularly sighted in these parts of the forest. People who started before we did for the peak started coming back, saddened to hopelessness.

It is foolish to endeavour to challenge nature if it doesn't wish you to. There is a dangerous point on the route. A stream flows fast over a vast flat rock, and suddenly it falls into a deep vertical ravine, just like u see in many movies. To go further, one has to cross the stream. If he slips while crossing, he's left to nature's final cruel treatment. We waited for a long time, praying for the mist to clear so that the stream could be crossed safely. Our prayers were answered, the mist slowly drifted out and we proceeded.

After a while the path stops. It would appear to be a dead end, but there would be a tiny stream flowing down. The only way up is to walk right into the stream, and wade up its course, as if you were searching for the source of the stream. This is the best part of the whole trek. Walking literally up'stream', again is a tricky bit. You have to watch out for faulty rocks and mossy slips. The trees around you get stunted as you climb higher.

The last leg is the toughest. Its impossible to proceed wearing trekking shoes. It has to be barefoot the rest of the way up. The terrain from now on is pure rock, with little shrubs nearby. The verticality of the rock-slopes is one good reason to summon up all the alertness one can gather. The second reason is the mist, and the little droplets of water that get sprayed over you all the time. The third reason is what makes this a real adventure- The final rock-slope is very narrow, with two vertical walls on either side. If one goes near the edge, one would be gazing down at 1000+ feet of gravity travel. The rock has to be climbed intelligently, with tact, holding onto the right cracks and grooves. Because of the steepness, one has to climb on all fours, imitating a lizard on a wall.

The satisfaction on reaching the peak is immense. Here the wind is so strong that it is unsafe to remain standing. The most interesting fact about the whole place is that there is a mystery at the sanctum of Sage Agastya, and we saw it. All the way down from the peak, it was mist and even rain, with powerful wind. But at the sanctum alone, there was sunlight, clear visibility, and not even a hint of the wind that was blowing with great force ten yards away. The sanctum, is nothing but an open space, a continuation, and why nature is so peaceful within that small region alone is indeed a mystery.Then we started the return journey. By this time, the mist had completely cleared and we could even see distant hills on the Tamil Nadu side. This is how weather keeps changing, and to live every moment of it is pure bliss.

The season is only 45 days in a year. During off-season, conditions are said to be inhumane. But every time one treks on the Agastya hills, its a whole new experience altogether. The excitement never wanes because of the myriad possibilities and uncertainties that nature offers. Its a suspense-packed adventure zone, a paradise-next-door for Trivandrum...and its beckoning us again!!!

Does a thing called soul really exist?.......

2008-06-04T21:32:00.003+05:30

As in the words of the all great Avinash," It is God and only God who has the power to create life and destroy life".. so wat does God create other than just a body?. He creates a divine quata of energy that controls the body.. When the body becomes weak to hold this energy.. the energy shifts to another body.. this is the basic thing behind the Hinduism's Reincarnation theory..

Humanity was entirely satisfied with this theory for centuries..Then came something called CLONING.. It proves that not just God, now human beings can also create life.. Humans create the small embryo from the DNA of an organism and implants it in the womb of a female of that organism.. All the other processes r same.. so now the fundamental law or the only way by which God created life has a loop hole?.... Now this newly formed organism is entirely same as its DNA donor.. But it has an entirely different personality of its own.. So does it means that it also has something called a soul that only God could create?... or is there really something called the soul or just like in the words of N5, is "life just a consequence of some natural action"? ..

Education vs awareness

2008-05-31T15:50:00.003+05:30

Education is expected to develop a person,increase his knowledge,awareness and give him a broader perspective of life.In short education helps to improve ones personality.But how far does it actually help an individual?

Women have always been prey to various atrocities from ancient times.The rape cases and molestations continue even in the present scenario.Goa,the state which contributes a lions share towards tourism revenue is highly unsafe for the tourists.The other states are not far behind.Even the chilren are not spared.A seven year old was raped in the capital two weeks back.Sadly,the perpetrators of most of these crimes are educated.The respect element is totally lacking in the "educated" youth of incredible or shining India.The patriarchal and conservative thoughts are still entrenched in the minds of most of the educated people.In this context,I feel education has contributed little towards improving the horizon of thoughts of people.

The world is moving towards a power crisis.Energy shortage is a serious threat."Switch off the lights and fans when not in use".This is a commonly encountered phrase.But how many of us actually do it??

Kerala is one state that boasts of its literecy rate(am talking about the literacy beyond the signing of names).Yet the so called pseudo god-men,the latest in the news find it a very favourable destination.So if education actually makes you more aware,why do these people find it so easy to make a living in this state??

The suicide rate and honour killings continue to show a rising trend despite the various measures taken by the government.So I feel we have reached a position where lack of education cannot be blamed for what is happening around us.(The recent gujjar agitation included,which became this worse only due to BJPs renege )It is the mindset,the thoughts of the people that needs a change,which has a long way to go....

Voodoo and the city

2008-05-28T22:23:00.004+05:30

Ouch! Voodoo hurts! (Especially if pricked with a galvanized pin!!!) ... So, as they say, voodoo really is spooky action at a distance, eh? Mr.Nasty gets some evil thoughts into his head, and starts poking and prodding all over your dummy.. while u yelp and yowl in pain miles away...

Some experts (and a plethora of researchers) are of the opinion that ‘globalisation’ is what voodoo is all about!! Really? The US president merely pokes his nostrils, and the whole of Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan and Vietnam stampedes to the nearest pharma stores. Yes, the US is poking its nose everywhere. Maybe the political map of the world looks like a cluster of pin cushions to the president and his gang of voodoo miscreants!

But Kerala is different. IN particular, Trivandrum is Mr.Nasty’s unconquered domain. He must have tried pricking on Trivandrum’s fate a hundred times..all in vain..and ultimately given up..Run out of pins, no doubt. The sight of bent, crooked, broken and Kerala-defeated voodoo pins practically kills a voodoo practitioner!

It’s all because Kerala has its own, indigenous issues. Some of them really grave ones too! If a cyclonic typhoon from the southern pacific ocean informs that it would be visiting the state shortly, the govt would quickly shoo it away… In most cases, the cyc. typhoon would turn back and go home, distraught and devastated beyond repair. Naturally, the govt and the ppl can’t expect the cyclone to understand solemn issues such as water logging at East Fort!!

On the other hand, when global changes DO have the tiniest impact on Trivandrum, it could turn out to be disastrous. Now, whoever thought of erecting concrete pillars in the middle of the street at Bakery Jn.? Certainly, these do not agree with Kerala’s culture and lifestyle. Oh man, now the city bus drivers are going to think there were TWO roads instead of one!! Blame all the engineers who came up with the whole concept of flyovers.. The pin almost pricked here..and look at the roads.. they’re all dug up!! Does that mean that autorickshaw drivers have to renounce their 180 degrees-turn legacy?

Please do not conclude, therefore, that globalisation is a failure on Trivandrum. It is not a failure, because we do have strikes here. Its our most refined and polished way of acknowledging events around the globe. Well, ‘strikes’ is not the exact word, because if the event calls for celebration, one can’t go about striking down road dividers and throwing stones at bus passengers!! So, a happy-strike is called a march.. or ‘show of strength’. Whatever we call it, it can be generally put under the category of “ a collective forward-wise movement of people clad in white shirts and white loin-cloth, to indicate their approval or disapproval of developments that take place in distant lands, far, far away”. In simpler words, a gathering of people who have absolutely no idea what they’re doing, where they're going, or why they're holding a flag, and how they themselves got into the mess!!

This is the art of nano-voodoo. When the rest of the world rumbles with a Richter scale 6.0 earthquake, Kerala merely shuffles, and coughs into a handkerchief. Acknowledged, the earthquake stops, happy that it’s been recognized by the govt, and accredited with a 6 out of 7!!

Trivandrumites are clever. Outside their homeland, they experience luxuries, roam around the world, fly rockets to outerspace et cetera. Once back home, they put up a DO NOT DISTURB sign outside the door. By the way, if you have ever felt that Trivandrum is showing signs of progress, you've just been here for too long..

The State of our Class

2008-05-03T11:53:00.003+05:30

Why is it that Daysci's of our class never post in our class orkut community?????
Why is it that the NonDaysci-NonMH ppl of our class never post in our class blog?????
Why is it that the MH & LH never post anything?????

What Should we understand from this observation????

Two People

2008-04-15T17:26:00.001+05:30

Consider the following two types of people, we would always want to be like one of these type ourselves but which on should it be???

The first is a person who does not do anything wrong, he does not hurt anybody, follows all the rules of his religion, follows all the laws and does as he is told to do by others(as long as its not against the law), even though some of the things he does may be not what he intends to do but is forced to do so due to pressure from say the govt./religoin/etc., i.e. this is a person who tries his best to make everyone happy even though he himself may not be getting a good deal out of this.

The second is a person who would rather try to change the world when he feels something is not right. This person would stand up for what he feels is right and fight for it. This person wouldn't care if anybody else is hurt or discomforted by his views. This person would keep fighting till he gets what he wants.

Which person would you want to be???
The first is a person who leads a perfect life from every ones point of view. He has hurt no one, broken no law, done nothing wrong.
The second is a person with an identity of his own. He wouldn't care about the rest of the world's viewpoint, as long as what he feels is correct.
Mahatma Gandhi was a person of the second type. So were Hitler and any other murderous killers.

Kitchen safari

2008-03-10T23:29:00.006+05:30

Situation. Its midnight. And u r hungry. u desperately need to get into the kitchen to stuff some biscuits down ur gut. So, all u have to do is simply go into the kitchen and stuff some biscuits down ur gut.

Welcome to my house. Here, i live in harmony with nature. Therefore, its not directly possible for me to go into the kitchen to stuff some biscuits down my gut. Yup, if i do that, i'm calling for trouble and have missed out certain crucial steps.

Its quite an old house. It's too old that it's tired and exhausted because of counting how old it's getting every year. The sight of Jerry nibbling at a piece of cheese on Cartoon Network can make u relaxed, but it's not gonna be the same kind of entertainment u r gonna get in the kitchen of an old house. U'll jump up in shock, grab ur pyjamas and flee frm the spot, stamping over several cockroaches and lizards on the way... so much mortality just for a couple of biscuits.. why doesn't the media take up this issue seriously?

Watching lions, komodo dragons and killer sharks on national geographic is such a pleasure. Even in real life, safaris r thought to be adventurous and exciting. But what the hell is a squeaky little mouse gonna do to u? well, wild encounters that r made by surprise sure do perplex and unsettle the human mind. forget the biscuits...when u try to sleep u have nightmares about mice, rats and civet cats on the prowl.. i'm not kidding.. they run over the roof like it's a vintage theme park..

Other species that succumb to old mansionly residences include certain spiders, wasps and bandicoots.. populations are chiefly confined to outhouses.. official visits r made to the kitchen when nocturnal conditions prevail.. family trips r common especially during the time of purchase of groceries.. hey, everyone needs their festival alright!!

Well, the simple solution to avoid disastrous consequences is to turn on the kitchen light from outside, bang on the door a few times, and then storm in, singing 'crawling in my skin..' Now u can have the biscuit treat.. and whats new! we have festival offers.. get some rat poison, mix it with 3-week old unconsumed laddoos and lay down the banquet for the night visitors.. the mortein magic takes their lives only when they're outdoors..

Rodents r not seen as a part of mother nature's privileged elite..( sob! sob!)..but the flipside of the pessimism is that they increase our mental alertness.. certain unwritten rules like "tap hard with ur feet when u walk at night", "U r the man before the mouse, don't swap roles" and "Rodents love mortein-laddoo delicacies" certainly smoothen life easier.. and u can digest those biscuits better..

Glossary:
bandicoot: perichaazhi;
civet cat: marapetti;
wasp: kadannal

none of the others taste good except the civet cat! so, who's gonna be my first customer, zam zam or kalavara? :P

TRY THIS ONE

2008-02-28T19:44:00.001+05:30

http://picasaweb.google.com/avinashsurendran2000/FootballFotos/photo#s5172032955833393586

SOfSTICATED HELLIDAYS

2008-02-17T16:29:00.001+05:30

A tired "good inkrez "{ apples u must b witty enuff to decipher that piece.....} alm;st fell on his knees ;if my count hasn't gone wrong the 4th time to jus get me penning ooops...typlogging these pizzes....... for dis very reason lemme dedicate my 1st blog post here(fm mein dedication ka season hay yaar!!!!) 2 'gudinkrez'.
D softisticated(i spelled it right) hellidays we have these days have set ....."1 movie per day " as ma way;frenz .!!...the consequences were terrible .........I hav started observing very many strange facts abt bollywood and tollywood movies.!!!!..JUS THOUGHT OF SHARING IT WID U HERE.
lemme not take u the roundway ....last time u saw a bwood (or any indian wood movies )did u guys notice big commercial breaks creeping in to the movies unnoticed???? ...........lagta hai aapko meri baat samajh mein nahin aaya !!!!Am talking about an ideal case where u r not watching a movie on any channel but at a theatre or on a vcd...(where u dont have a commercial break as such ; i mean ....hmmmm well howam i 2 explain tis ???? !!!plz read on u 'll get the point in a shortwhile )...most of the movies these days have the camera zooming in to some commercial product's ad banner or a hero or heroine using a particular product very casually yet very trickily catching our attention....in order to create a feeling tat "wow this's being used even by them 'stars of silverskreen 'in movies(hey hey !!they cant fool us ...of course)"
Lemme give u striking example:
Hrithik in 'koimil gaya' n 'krissh 'talks a bit more than necessary about "BOURNVITA"
In krissh alone, if u r a bit careful ,u wud even c ,hidden ads of 'tide washing pwdr','lays','siyarams','starplus.'.....and loads more.
In "dus" u 'll c abhishek going 4 a "pepsi" for no good reason at all .(dil mange more)
The famous tamil movie gajani (gonna b remade by 'taare asman par ' frenz )had almost 10 different ads embedded neatly in all possible shots ,dialogues ,acts ,locations etc...Zyaada aur dekhta toh kya kya hotha???
By this time u must be telling urself(itrayum naal mariyadikku cinema kandukondu irrikukayayirinnu adine eee sadanam endokkaya parayuunne)
TAILPIECE:THE RESULTS OF OUR Sophsticated HELLIDAYS CAN B DANGEROUS !!!!! frenz howr 'they' 4 u???
[scrap me if u still didnot understand wat i meantby "S"HOLIDAYS.]

2008-02-07T16:00:00.000+05:30

The Ant works hard in the withering heat all summer building its house and laying up supplies for the winter.
The Grasshopper thinks the Ant is a fool and laughs & dances & plays the summer away.
Come winter, the Ant is warm and well fed. The Grasshopper has no food or shelter so he dies out in the cold.

Modern Version

The Ant works hard in the withering heat all summer building its house and laying up supplies for the winter.
The Grasshopper thinks the Ant's a fool and laughs & dances & plays the summer away.

Come winter, the shivering Grasshopper calls a press conference and demands to know why the Ant should be allowed to be warm and well fed while others are cold and starving.

NDTV, BBC, CNN show up to provide pictures of the shivering Grasshopper next to a video of the Ant in his comfortable home with a table filled with food.

The World stunned by the sharp contrast. How can this be that this poor Grasshopper allowed suffering so?

Arundhati Roy stages a demonstration in front of the Ant ' s house .

Medha Patkar goes on a fast along with other Grasshoppers demanding that Grasshoppers be relocated to warmer climates during winter.

Amnesty International and Koffi Annan criticizes the Indian Government for not upholding the fundamental rights of the Grasshopper.

The Internet is flooded with online petitions seeking support to the Grasshopper (many promising Heaven and Everlasting Peace for prompt support as against the wrath of God for non-compliance) .

Opposition MPs stage a walkout. Left parties call for "Bharat Bandh" in West Bengal and Kerala demanding a Judicial Enquiry.

CPM in Kerala immediately passes a law preventing Ants from working hard in the heat so as to bring about equality of poverty among Ants and Grasshoppers.

Lalu Prasad allocates one free coach to Grasshoppers on all Indian Railway Trains, aptly named as the ' Grasshopper Rath ' .

Finally, the Judicial Committee drafts the ' Prevention of Terrorism Against Grasshoppers Act ' [POTAGA], with effect from the beginning of the winter.

Arjun Singh makes 'Special Reservation ' for Grasshoppers in Educational Institutions & in Government Services.

The Ant; fined for failing to comply with POTAGA and having nothing left to pay his retroactive taxes; its home is confiscated by the Government and handed over to the Grasshopper in a ceremony covered by NDTV.

Arundhati Roy calls it ' A Triumph of Justice ' .

Lalu calls it 'Socialistic Justice ' .

CPM calls it the ' Revolutionary Resurgence of the Downtrodden '

Koffi Annan invites the Grasshopper to address the UN General Assembly.

Many years later

The Ant has since migrated to the US and set up a multi-billion dollar company in Silicon Valley .

100s of Grasshoppers still die of starvation despite reservation somewhere in India ...

because of loosing lot of hard working Ants and feeding the Grasshoppers, India is still a developing country!!!

Of Poetry and Rhyming

2008-01-28T19:13:00.000+05:30

Do you think that all poems should rhyme??

I feel that a poem should. When it does not rhyme it is only a bunch of gramatically incorrect (as they usually are) sentences. A poem is a poem only when it rhymes. A poem that rhymes a test of the vocabulary skills of the poet since he has to find all rhyming words. If a poem dosen't rhyme the it shows that the person has something to say but can't do it very well.

Life at CET

2008-01-27T14:55:00.000+05:30

First thing i learned abt CET was that here the teachers r the pple who rag and not our paavam seniors... And the worst part is that the college supports this ragging.. u didn't get nah?.. i'll tell u..
Suppose Rahul doesn't go to class, Rahul looses his attendance.. And if the teacher doesn't come to class, again Rahul looses his attendance and the teacher gets paid 4 it..[wow.. lucky me.. don't ya think:-(]

To be continued..........................................................................

hiya!

2008-01-17T08:57:00.000+05:30

opening our blog after a long time..so thought i d say a "hi" :)..n how come the chat window is full of msgs from ppl with very weird names?http://www.hindu.com/mag/2008/01/13/stories/2008011350010100.htm.read that article in hindu on sunday..

Something Cool

2007-12-22T12:28:00.000+05:30

This is an interesting passage from the Chhandogya Upanishad. Here he refers to the sun.

"The sun never sets or rises. When people think to themselves the sun is setting, he only changes about after reaching the end of the day, and makes night below and day to what is on the other side. Then when people think he rises in the morning, he only shifts himself about after reaching the end of the night, and makes day below and night to what is on the other side. In fact he never sets at all."

The Satan In Me

2007-12-16T13:02:00.000+05:30

-Nitish N5

Everything in my mind,
Is a mystery,
Happiness, joy, sadness are just simple things,
I know nothing of what is deep within.

I always thought that I had angels in my soul,
Making me happy and good was their goal.
But I started to feel when I committed the sin,
That there is something else that my mind has deep within.

It makes me feel that I am somebody else,
It tells me to think of myself and nobody else,
My life is not to be wasted on lesser mortals,
Says it, I should strive to make myself immortal.

It tries to remove any compassion from me,
It strives to make my anger go free.
It aims to make me lust for more,
It works so that I have a conscience no more.

But it also brings the fire in my eyes,
It gives me determination to take on the world,
It makes my dreams go to infinity,
It ensures that my greed has no finity.

It gives me the reason for my existence,
For this I can give it no resistance.
Even the perfect man also has a bit,
Even the Creator wouldn't say there's no one without it.

It is the same thing the people have in their lives,
Which makes them determined to change other's lives.
It made sure Hitler never said sorry,
It got Mike Tyson to achieve world glory.

I know for sure that I'm nobody without it in me
For it is, The Satan In Me.

-Nitish N5

exams, eh?

2007-12-15T22:11:00.000+05:30

Looks like they're gonna conduct the exams without any shillying, or for that matter, shallying, this time...
battle hard people...cos this time the university has finally decided to stick on to a schedule... victory to KU!

A Quote by Kabir Bedi

2007-12-07T23:21:00.000+05:30

"Men are like mascara(kajal),
they run at the slightest hint of emotion"

How true is this???
If we had any girl bloggers we would have known how they feel.

I for one agree with this completely. Its true in my case.

Enough of Empty Promises

2007-12-06T00:17:00.002+05:30

hypocrites everywhere...
political parties are ideology driven.. if their ideologies are rooted in hypocrisy..

i don't give a damn in mentioning party names or personalities...i believe that they all need to be given a strong dose of some kinda veritaserum so that india's dumb and politically attached masses stop smothering their faces in political blasphemy..

politics has come to mean sacrilege of all morals.. it needs to be appended to the list of seven deadly sins, if this is the way our people perceive and orchestrate their lives about politics..
(before that, the pronunciation of the word is done with a longer sound of '"o"..the "pol" rhymes with words like 'call', 'ball', 'tall' etc...)

the ideology driven party that rules the southernmost state in our country would rather believe in ravana than rama, because of the former's tamil origins. for them, god doesn't exist. here the hypocrisy lies in the fact that politicians rush to astrologers before elections, and execute religious practices so as to achieve triumph..hmm...after all, "the man who worships god is a barbarian"...right? but that's business. this is life. for them, the two are different.

the communists. they believe in working for the society. if a tender is published desiring the introduction of a new development scheme for a city, it gets turned down because the poor and needy have to be fed. the communist then goes home, relaxes in his home theatre, when his son calls from america on his new mobile..the hypocrite then takes out his new car and goes for a jolly trip outside the state...real social work..

the indian politician is a loser. not every indian is affected by the blasphemies of these hypocrites. at the rate which india's economy progresses, there r billions of ways by which an indian can save himself. for leeches who are addicted to politics and have no other means of living, its a case of free-wheeling a bicycle down a hill, a bicycle that our freedom fighters brought to great heights with their sincere devotion...

the word stinks. these people make it rot further. politically unbiased, economically focussed work would definitely help india improve.

WHEN LIFE CAME CALLING

2007-12-05T11:46:00.000+05:30

The sky was lit up by a radiant moon;he was finally complete after weeks of a spectral existence.

Her fingers curled around the window rails as she clenched her teeth,hoping against hopes that the pain would subside,that it would atleast become bearable.

She hated herself for the hope that she nurtured inside her,even when she could feel it inside her.It was draining her,eating her inside out,gnawing at her flesh,feasting itself on her bits and pieces.

She did not cry anymore;the tears ran down her cheeks on their own,along a path they knew by heart.She had given up on any show of weakness,she was strong and and she knew that strong people did not cry.

The air rustled past her;giggling on his way,mocking the tears on her face,the face that once threatened to take his breath away.

The earth shifted uneasily beneath her feet;letting out a mirthless rumble,mocking the hesitancy in her touch,the touch that once threatened to sweep him off his feet.

The wind caught her lustrous curls,playing with her fragrant tangles as he whistled to her the inevitable question."No!"was her answer,she was not ready yet or else she would have known.

Her heart still beat against her delicate frame in dread,fearing the impending doom.

She felt nothing at all,they had kept their promises after all.

She felt disturbingly calm inside,suddenly relieved of a huge weight,she felt like a gaping hole,an aching nothingness...everything was in order.

She smiled.

It was over,her errand was run.

The moon was complete after countless days,and so was she.

Winter + Scorching Sun + Running Nose...hell!!

2007-12-01T22:24:00.000+05:30

Whoa! It's December! ..and guess who's here to stay?? ...THE SUN! Looks like HE intends to spend his winter in the land of coconuts...and he also intends to bless me with an exclusive sun tan from a close-up...Hail Helios! Ra! Sol! Morituri te salutant!

I'm getting literally fried in my room.. My skin has already begun to show signs of resemblance to that of a sizzling shawai chicken...the fact that the avian is dead while i'm being roasted alive is a side-issue...

So..THE SUN..The distinguished guest of the season..Currently he has put up at the foll. address:

Helios (alias) Hiranyagarbha
c/o Schrei Warduhnn
Latter's Room (upstairs..sob!)
Latter's House

But there's this possibility that HIS winter capital may be shifted next year... away from my abode... the reason could be that his current host doesn't seem to be able to manage the hospitality... A pathetically frustrating cold, a saturated pair of ma eyebrows seen at 2 PM and three wet towels that were used to mop the beads of perspiration from them... stand testimony to the truth that I'M EVAPORATING!!
All my sunshine seems to have been blotted out...even with the SUN himself in my room...

It doesn't really help with a bad cold and running nose either, when my roommate THE SUN is in full glow... I've got a lake of the nose-stuff (some call it 'Phlegm'..but yuck, i don't like the word) in the nasal cavity..it's like a reservoir of contaminated water in there...and it hasn't been much of an effort for the rhinoviruses and other 'dada'-viruses to disrupt the cilial coating each time, and jump up and down in jubiliation as my nose starts blasting away to glory.. I shiver and quaver when i'm being roasted and sunstroked...enigmatic thermodynamics, eh?

and with the cold, or 'flu', as people LOVE to call the cracker disease..there's a sure way to make u remember to KEEP TO THE LEFT while driving.. when u have to sneeze whilst u locomote on a two-wheeler (say, a bike, if it's a bike) then u have no other option but to slow down ur bike, move to the left end of the road, sneeze all u want (or...all u have-to), and then start with your driving all over again..of course this sequence of events (let's call it algorithm,what?) becomes a li'l more interesting for an engineer if there's a helmet on ur head too.... especially if u have to sneeze URGENTLY...

It's a bad time altogether, when it's always a dilemma to decide what u want for a drink..u can't have anything hot because the SUN is your ROOMMATE and u can smell ur oesophagus going up in smoke..and u cant have anything cold because of the flu.. If I'm able to live through the heat, and HELIOS liked his stay here, what i only hope is that HE doesn't bring in his entire family of planets to stay too next WINTER...(swoon!)

Different means to a common end

2007-11-27T22:06:00.000+05:30

This is in response to N5's post .. i kinda had quite a lot of points so i'm putting it all up here...

Any text of wisdom, whether theological or secular, will tell u that the aim of life is self-realisation, practice of correct morals, living with self-respect and bulding up of a stable, complete character. Religion is one way to achieve all this. Correction...the unadulterated, ideal concept of religion in the broadest meaning is a "means" to achieve an "end", which is God...

U may or may not believe in God. If you do, you are free to look upon God in any form u like. You are allowed to define God for yourselves in such a way that THE DEFINITION U MADE FOR YOURSELF MAKES U A GOOD PERSON, WHO DEVELOPS THE CORRECT APPROACH TO LIFE AND FELLOW BEINGS...
You may look upon God as the father of the universe with infinite power in his hands, or as a friend who always guides u at every stage of ur life, or as a hero with the qualities u aspire for yourselves...when u grow old u can look upon God even as ur child...You are free to follow the teachings of any prophet..in all these cases, what stands out clearly is that u have to "attain one-ness" (as the term goes) with God.. hence becoming good and reforming yourselves is already implied in the same..

For you, God could also be an intangible entity..a Force..pure energy..which could take many forms from time to time.. u could personify this force into a common but ideal embodiment...a human being, an animal, a plant..even the collective beauty of nature...whatever/ whoever God is, it/he should be a mentor which/who moulds you with positive energy...

If you do not believe in God, on account of your own ideas supported with maybe with science, the only thing that matters is the outcome of your existence as a social being.. discipline yourselves to be good and lead a life flavoured with broad-mindedness that does not end-up in meaningless conflict of ideas (applies to both believers and non-believers)

Religions are different methods to arrive at the same result. Various exponents and prophets have existed, preached, lead people in the right path before leaving earth.. and today people fight in their names.. this saddening, disheartening phenomenon reveals a total misunderstanding of their teachings..

You were born in this world not to prove yourselves, or your religion greater than others'..you were rather born in this world...as a spiritual being on a human visit..to understand the meaning of one-ness of all religions, and learn to co-exist peacefully with the world.. and ultimately realise the purpose of life..

thank u n5, for bringing up the topic..

Ponder on This

2007-11-26T19:10:00.000+05:30

this is a story by Jalal-ud-din Rumi a Sufi. Many of us would have read this but it is what follows from this story that is important.

There was a country where there was a city entirely inhabited by blind people. One day the news came that an elephant was passing outside the walls of the city. The citizens held a meeting and decided to send a delegation of three men outside the gates so that they could report back to the city what an elephant was. The three men left the town, found the elephant and felt the animal with their hands. Then they all returned back to their town to report what they had felt.
The first man said:"The elephant is like a snake, but it can stand vertically upright in the air!"

The second man said:"The elephant is like a pillar. It is firm and round and solid. No matter how much you push you cannot knock it over."

The third man said:"The elephant is like a broad pankah (a fan). It is wide flat and leathery. "

All the three men stuck to their story and argued with each other till they vowed to never speak to each other. each professed that they and they alone knew the whole truth.
But we know that each person had felt only a part of the elephant. The first had felt the tail, the second the leg and the third the ear. All had a part of the truth, but none of them had begun to grasp the totality or the greatness of the beast. If they had listened to each other, they might have realized the true nature of the beast. But they were too proud and instead they preferred to keep to their half truths.
So it is with religion. Muslims see Allah in one way, Hindus have a different conception, and the Christians have a third. To us, all our different conceptions seem incompatible and irreconcilable. But what we forget is that to God we are like blind men stumbling around in total darkness.

The Rock n' Roll Philosophy

2007-11-26T18:35:00.001+05:30

Whoever said that Rock and Rap was all about headbanging, violence, sex, etc????
Here N5 has brought to you some examples of lyrics from some of his favorite songs which have some real meanings. For some of them you might have to dig a little deep.

Master of puppets Im pulling your strings
Twisting your mind and smashing your dreams - Metallica (Master Of Puppets)

Trying to keep up with you
And I don't know if I can do it
Oh no, I've said too much
I haven't said enough - R.E.M. (Losing My Religion)

Pay your surgeon very well
To break the spell of aging
Celebrity skin is this your chin
Or is that war your waging...
Space may be the final frontier
But it's made in a Hollywood basement - Red Hot Chilli Peppers (Californication)

I think I'll take ahold
Of whatever comes my way
Then we'll see what happens
Take it day by day...
Tell me what you can hear
And then tell me what you see
Everybody has a different way to view the world
I would like you to know when you see the simple things
To appreciate this life it's not too late to learn - Iron Maiden (Different World)

If you're havin' girl problems i feel bad for you son
I got 99 problems but a bitch ain't one - JayZ (99 Problems)

These are just a few of the examples. Wait for more

Where is the CET ki Jai??????

2007-11-17T18:54:00.000+05:30

Our college is said to be the best college in Kerala. It is among the top 40 colleges in India. But apart from these numbers, what else is there that makes our college stand out from the rest?? If we ask anyone from Calicut about NIT, we will be hearing a really long story about how NIT is so big, how its fests are so awesome and so on. But we dont get the same response from any Trivandrumite.

CETians are divided into the MH, the DayScis, and the nonMH-nondayscis and not to forget the hostel girls(whom we dont see anywhere for any programme outside this college). The MH have their MH pride, the DayScis whith their pride, the rest have the pride for surviving without any help from either the MH or Dayscis. The best example in our college of this divide is the ISTE+LnD(which is full of dayscis) and the SFI(full of MH). Each has a puppet member representing the otherside.

What is missing here is the all important College pride. Whenever our college wins something over in another college, we usually hear from some friends, and we just shrug and probably say 'ok there's one guy who is doin something.' Its more like that guy won it for himself instead for our college.

We need to make our presence felt in the state in the students scenario. And we need to make our presence felt as a College united, without any Mh or dayscis, etc.

Bats love stamps...

2007-10-28T16:46:00.001+05:30

Oh look at this!!! this should be the way people meet and get to know each other... there r vampires and werewolves everywhere but we need to know their pleasant side too...
So, "come to the dark side ...and get free cookies" is not the moral of this story....
The moral could rather be...if there's a bat sitting on ur ceiling, please, o please take care of your stamps...
i didnt wanna pull off the real life 'CET' analogy of what the real moral is...damn its so frustrating!!!

Out with the Old and In with the New

2007-10-22T17:47:00.000+05:30

We all have feelings of attachment to things, people or places. It may be some toy or the city we grew up in or friends or a real close friend. But when we move on to newer places or start with another leg of our journey of life, should we still carry these feelings of attachment with us?

It would be best if we rather forget the old and open our minds for fresh ideas, different people, new places or even a new boy/girl friend. When it is said that it is this attachment to the old that hampers development and slows down progress of the society, the same also works for the individual life too. We must learn to respect the old and learn from it and not drag it along with us into the future.
If you had any great experience when in school, leave it there. If you had any friend with whom you talked to daily then but don't talk to now, forget him. that friend is probably better off without you and you are better off without him. Unless you are going to go back to where you started with, what is the point of harbouring such feelings? It is nothing but a waste of our time, mind and energy.

Why Not Me???????????????

2007-10-19T19:03:00.000+05:30

After spending upwards of Rs. 1000 on birthday gifts and presents in total on various persons of our class, why is it that N5 has got nothing for his birthday??????? Even after a big treat where everyone was invited, though only few came N5 desperately needs a watch(preferably digital), so someone should help him.

Network Analysis ?!?!?!

2007-10-17T22:54:00.000+05:30

Kirchoff's Current Law (KCL):
At every node, the sum of all currents entering a node must equal zero.

Kirchoff's Voltage Law (KVL):
The voltage law says that the sum of voltages around every closed loop in the circuit must equal zero.

Exercise:
Please apply Kirchoff's Current and Voltage laws to the following figure

Seriously...what was Kirchoff's dad thinking???

who killed the Lord?

2007-10-15T19:44:00.000+05:30

He cried out in vain,yes he did
I watched with glee while
your King begged for mercy:
I was around when he had a moment;
of doubt and pain,I watched with glee.

I am the sinner's saint,
I am the divine and the diabolic,
I am the blessed and the accursed,
I am the darkness of the lids and the light of the world,
I am the void of the mind and the substance of the universe,
I am and I am not ,all that is and is not.

Far reaches of the pit and above the clouds I rule.
There's no truth in me,for behold I am the eternal truth.

Gods I have made and gods I have unmade,
I am the son of god and I am his father;
for I am the god created and the god creator.

He cried out in vain,yes he did
I watched with glee while
your King begged for mercy:
I shouted out"who killed the Lord?",
when after all,it was you and me.

- three lines inspired(edited,not lifted:)...three lines out of twenty one..that makes it 15% inspiration and 85% perspiration) from Sympathy for the Devil

Help Me I'm too sober.

2007-10-15T18:46:00.000+05:30

Me has been sober since gawd knows when nd need sumthing to lighten me up.

help!!!!!!!

suggest something. something good. no local mallu crap.

KALLAR!!!!!...nature's "magic unveiled"...

2007-10-13T22:24:00.001+05:30

(Click picture to enlarge)

It was a glorious day...

The skies were clear; clear enough for the morning sun to set your alarm clock blush in his radiance... and take over by shining on your open-mouthed sleeping face...

Flowers were in full bloom; full enough to humble the infamous Axe-effect as bees, butterflies, birds and Axe-runners charged towards them...and the guy who had emptied Axe all over his torso stood alone in "no-woman's" land, defeated and subdued...

The markets looked strong; strong enough for beggars and tramps outside the BSE complex in Dalal Street to grow rich by evening...rich enough to shake their booties in mockery at the mighty Ambanis...

The mood was exuberant; exuberant enough for workshop instructors to forget that their work alone was worship...and exuberant enough to set them dancing merrily to the tune of 'Kajra Re, Kajra Re...'

The day was so filled with a strange "peace", that even "Santha"kumaran Sree"santh" realised for the first time that his name said it all...

The atmosphere was of happy reunion; eventful enough that when Rajnikanth's engines stopped abruptly during mid-flight, he remembered to fall down...and gravity became friends with him again...(they'll be married next autumn...hey, u r also invited!!!)

(Click picture to enlarge)

Yes, the grand day was finally here...celebrations filled the world...
wading through knee-deep water..slipping from mossy rocks...taking hospitality from a bubbly waterfall...we turned gay (strictly in the medieval sense of the world, as implemented by Shakespeare and Wordsworth in their "straight" pieces of literary work)...we turned gay and happy and rejoiced the gift of nature that the kallar river had to offer eight "innocent" boys and their respective shaddies...(also spelt shaddys or schadees)...new spelling suggestions will be entertained because its everybody's birthright to own one...

The celebration was of that very birthright...the energy and vigour of "Team Shaddy" enchanted the beauty of the forest... and wild animals, elephants, tigers, deer, langurs, peacocks, wild asses (and some policemen) came to watch the show...the display of the meaning of life... portrayed well enough to enliven into the jungle's magic a new zest for adventure and gay-spirit...(medieval usage again...mind u, Shakesy and Wordsy weren't gross)

The Eight Liberated Men (er..us!!), glided next into the joy of returning home, carrying wonderful memories that would inspire nostalgic reminiscence( wha..??)...we rode faster than the river, faster than the wind...fast enough that we had to slow down whenever turnings approached... fast enough that we had to step on the brakes when we realized that the lorry coming towards us had two extremely gay drivers in full booze...celebrating...
.
.
.
.
.
wondering where the brackets and the medieval-times hint have gone this time??? don't worry...those two drivers r not part of Team Shaddy at all...but since its a happy day, we forgive u for everything, u careless drivers...oops, one of them was actually a policeman who got picked up on the way by the driver... we got the tip-off that they were rushing home to watch the wrestling match on TV....see??? everybody's so full of life...oh! what a beautiful world...

hey but not everybody's happy...the AXE guy must be still desp... coming to think of it, AXE would have worked out on Nitish N5...man he was the only one wearing a flaming red shaddy and Axe would have worked wonders on him... if a guy ever says he loves mobiles and bikes, he's just too shy to admit his best interest...

(Click picture to enlarge)

ON A SERIOUS NOTE...
Kallar's an awesome place...the perfect weekend-getaway for a group of boys...but if u r looking forward to a family trip, there r more suitable places further uphill...yup, between kallar n ponmudi...

The day ended well; ended well enough for us to relive "the magic unvieled" in our dreams...and relive it well enough to wake up next morning, unable to move a limb...

Anyways, "HAIL SHADDY!!!"

the cet chapter

2007-10-07T22:44:00.000+05:30

this post is adi's ...but as that ass doesn't know his way to this part of our world ,i m posting it

STATUTORY WARNING:
Reading the following scribblings may affect your logical thinking(presuming you have something atleast relatively close to it ,attending your economics class might have helped ) and you may eventually find yourself entertaining the inmates of a high security asylum in an undisclosed location in the writers homeland where he is currently..well...writing..or atleast claims to be doing so(the thirty or so rather unceremoniously dumped paper sheets are a proud witness to this feat).

THE CET EFFECT

In the search for something far greater than distilled vanilla flavour in pure unadulterated bullshit,scientists noted that....oh!so the unreasonable psyche of cet students huh? the reason why most of them seem to be happy and gleeful for practically nothing....considering the fact that most of them are knee deep in classified shit like supplies,pain-in-the-respectable-areas teachers and so on....

Now that we have led ourselves to such an important question lets try to find an answer to this question mark looming large over our little hunny-bunny heads...by the way i shall lead the way ,and the rest of you can follow me in the hope that atleast some of you will trip over stones and grow some sense...umm so here goes

happiness factor(h.f) α family factor(parties,bags of money,no ranting and braying)
α college life(sutta,booze,birdwatching(hic....hic))
α friend factor(sensible folks)
α 1/studies(duh! do i have to explain?)

the great Indian supplie factor(s.f)
α no of affairs(a guy has got to do what he has to..yea right)

α % of attendance(possibly greek or hebrew,origin unknown)
α family factor(rantings,brayings,dancing on your nerves)
α 1/studies(groan.....)

deriving a common relation(damn we are good at this)...

s.f *h.f=(college life)*(affairs)*(attendance) / (studies)

now improving the formula cet-ishtyle

1-college life is basically sutta and booze...bird watching is a dying art...and the artist cant be blamed for this if all they get to see is bird droppings and short circuited-grilled birds

2-since no one understands what attendance means we remove it altogether,assuming it to be related to the Nigerian feeding bottle mafia that clearly has got nothing to do with cet

3-studies....groan not again...assuming half of them study and the other half don't, we reach a state of perfect inactivity(where were i when newton needed me!?)...an astounding zero

4-supplies...the more the merrier...frankly its a frantic race to the top..even the gladiators couldn't have found out a better reason to kill...s.f=k*h.f

so basically s.f * h.f = blah blah blah/(studies)
= blah blah blah/0

k*(h.f )^2 = blah blah blah/0
h.f =α

happiness is infinite...hence proved

Friends,the moves are on to declare us a new species...but then we knew it all the way along right?
By the way if you are wondering about the accuracy of this analysis,seriously man get a life and be happy...

this,that and nothing more.....

2007-10-07T20:34:00.000+05:30

Life can sometimes be such a holy pain in the arse...it has been so,for the past one month and it has acted out its part pretty well...well,i mean my precious arse is an unholy little nightmare now.
Life these days is seriously bitchy and keeping in mind the fact that i have always been a cat person,we don't agree at all....no matter what.
OCD is literally eating me up,and i seriously cant stand this shit any longer.If it were not for my itchy Prozac and yucky Xanax,honestly i would have cracked up by now....As of now i am limited to seeing grand old statues shitting on poor unsuspecting crows and pigeons;and seeing elves walking dutifully under my bed to clear off the dust.And close behind,grabbing the second position is my new fear of kidnappers;seriously i am shit scared and i have bought myself a giant inflatable ape, currently proudly flashing its hairy self in my room,to scare away the kidnappers.
To top it all,I am suffering from a serious bout of writer's block.I feel like puking all over the place
Damn !!!! either mom dropped me on my head when i was young or i hit my head on the cradle or i got a sucker punch from the feeding bottle

fuck life

Life: as we were told

2007-10-07T19:15:00.000+05:30

...... but I do not love the bright sword for it sharpness,
nor the arrow for its swiftness, nor the warrior for his glory. I love only that which they defend....-Unknown

when the light goes out,its just two of you...you and all those stuff that you are scared of.Thats pretty much how life has been for the past one month.It has been constant struggle for one whole month;the soldier is barely alive.He was battered,crushed,and churned inside out.If it were not for his one yellow-green companion and his other white companion,he would not have made it to this end of the river.The undercurrents definitely did more harm than help.

Its still all a haze.Its still foggy,acrid and stifling: and he can still feel the blood and the constant clash of metal on metal.One month of total absence from the being........a detour from life.

But it did little help;he did not come out a hero,not rich ,nor enlightened;but weaker and less stable, torn between indecision and helplessness.The soldier needs some sleep now.This is not the end nor the beginning.The winds shall blow again and the waters shall run far and deep,but its time for him to rest....to give a rest to all the burdens.Someone else must carry them now,his job is done.Its time for him to fall...fall prey to the cosmic conspiracy

He does not know why he had been doing it all his life,but he had to,for there was no one else to do it

"Those who danced were thought quite mad by those who could not hear the music." - Angela Monet

BiRtHdAy CaLeNdAr!!!

2007-09-30T13:16:00.000+05:30

come on ppl..post u'r birthday so tht we dont forget anyones birthday!!

Depth and Silence

2007-09-30T11:19:00.001+05:30

Once upon a time a bird was flying in the sky. Suddenly the weather became very cold and a strong wind started blowing. The bird started shivering and soon began to fall down.

Far down on earth, a cow after having eaten too much grass was having gastro-entrological problems. So it gave out a stream of fresh and hot dung.

The bird, almost dying due to the cold landed on the fresh and hot dung. The warmth of the dung came as a relief and it started singing happily and was shouting its heart out.

Then suddenly a wolf came by and ate the bird...

What is the moral of the story?

When u r in deep shit, keep ur mouth shut...

2007-09-30T11:12:00.002+05:30

"Thatho Bhootha Pretha Pishaacha Brahmarakshasa Yaksha Yamadoota Shakini Dakini Sarpashwaapatha Vrishchika thaskaraath upadrava athyupaghaathaaha"

fooling around with band gaps???

2007-09-21T22:40:00.000+05:30

i didn't understand the stuff given in our textbook abt INDIRECT BAND GAP SEMICONDUCTORS...so i googled for it... i found this link...

http://britneyspears.ac/physics/indirect/indirect.htm

its tongue-in-cheek...
creative way to explain stuff...hehe...but the explanation given IS good enough...

The special bond...outside the workshop

2007-09-19T22:32:00.001+05:30

If u ppl ever wondered what a true and faithful relationship was, then its time to reveal to the world the solidity of the bond that two people very dear to us share...beloved and respected workshop instructor smt. radhamoni, and the young, blossoming and energetic programming teacher, kum. linu shine...

i have genuine respect for radhamoni ma'am and her ideals of perfection.. i'm amazed by the magnitude of strain she undergoes to inculcate a systematic approach in the lives of a bunch of unruly kids... u would definitely have some complaints and arguments if u r a person who takes things casually and wanna lead a convenient life...
i dare not describe anything more abt ma'am because one day after we all got our records corrected and were standing outside discussing abt her tactics, out of the slip of my tongue i mentioned that she was a "paavam"... for the next few minutes i saw only stars everywhere...oh dear god! this generation is seriously out of gear...

linu shine...would like to vilify her a little...now..what happens if somebody drank water in class without her permission? she cries and runs to radhamoni ma'am with the complaint...they conduct discussions and brainstorming sessions together and decide to take up the issue with the staff adviser...ultimately the principal brings out a rule that students must not drink water in class without linu shine's permission...educational decree no: 37 (section # linu shine)...this doesn't mean i'm gonna stop playing chess forever... let her keep running to ma'am frequently...for she is incapable of handling a few students in her class for the deadly crimes they've committed...both ma'am and linu shine r on the path of reform...the former pursues out of in-born quality, and the latter tries to imitate in vain the actions of the former by just playing the good girl..

god bless my soul if our adviser or teacher would read this post...(i seriously respect ma'am and james sir)

Donate blood...our blog is dying

2007-09-15T22:58:00.000+05:30

The only thing thats gonna help this blog survive the struggle for existence is that we start discussing abt the people in our class... so, shall we start?
Roll No: 1....so what do u guys really think abt roll no: 1 other than the fact that he hopes to occupy half of the class before his next birthday? (risky question...abu's gonna have me beheaded for this)
Roll No: 2... !@#$%&^*(..er...ummm...?????
oh come on guys..u r always smart at this kinda thing... i dont know what *points* to put forward.

ok so lets start putting up tech stuff then... what say?..good move or final blow?

Nitish is running outta blood...me too, occasionally... so u guys could donate some to the blog... dont worry we'r not gonna stuff bug-infected cabbage into ur oesophagus if u do something for the blog..

low 'response' to this post...then this blog will take a turn towards dirty alley...then u can be proud to be a part of it...

CHK this out

2007-09-12T18:45:00.000+05:30

N	Noisy
I	Insane
T	Tough
I	Irresistible
S	Silky
H	Handsome

Name Acronym Generator
From Go-Quiz.com

Name Acronym Generator
From Go-Quiz.com

Avi's Concerns

2007-09-12T18:16:00.000+05:30

Avinash seems to be truly concerned about all the poor, sick and dying people in the world.

Why else is it that almost 90% of the mails that he sends are about some old bitch in Rwanda who is dying of Cancer/AIDS/some other bullshit, and how she has made a deal with Google /Yahoo /Orkut /AOL / sum other bullshit.com, to pay her money($$$) for each time the mail is forwarded.
So kudos to Avinash and all his efforts to make this world a better place to those who cannot afford to die peacefully. And Shame on all the others who did not forward all the junk that he sent.

Why is N5 so Fucked Up?????

2007-09-07T18:28:00.001+05:30

Why is it that it seems that N5 always seems to complain and complain and do nothing but complain about why much his life has been so fucked up after coming to Trivandrum and this college????
The City or should I say the town sucks, the markets suck, the classes are a big bore, the teachers suck, the girls suck, no one enjoys life, etc, etc, these are the common complaints of N5 about his life. It was all so wonderfull in New Delhi, with all the weirdness and craziness which is missing in this city. N5 had cool friends, did crazy things like walking miles on end in the hot sun to filming attempts to suicide(that was real fun). Eating weird food, doing crazy stuff was all life in Delhi was about and it was really great fun for N5.

The answer to the question is TV. And more specifically Star World, Zee Cafe, Vh1 and the english movie channels. By seeing nothing Indian and only the 'hip' firangi serials like Friends, one gets a false idea of how life actually should be like and what life in India actually is. We always try to emulate what we see on TV. We all try to get together a gang of boys and girls who would stick together and eat daily from the same place(this being the school/college canteen) just like it was on friends. We try to start our own Rock bands like the garage bands all the americans in the TV had when they were just 12. We put together a bunch of big babol tattoos together to get a cool and punk rock tattoo on our body. Not forgetting all the Mohawks, spikes, and attempted rockstar style nose length hair.

It is this lifestyle that seems to have destroyed all the kids from the city. They have no idea what really India is. But of course N5 is not completely an attempted american. He knows where his roots lie. Its in the streets of New Delhi that he grew up in, with all the baoli's and chat shops around. But it is in Trivandrum that N5 is gonna stay for some years and he has to learn to adjust here. But of course it would take some time for N5 to come to terms with the sheer absence of anything interesting to do.

And N5 promises to tone down his bitching about Trivandrum.

Democracy

2007-09-02T19:21:00.000+05:30

Democracy is where for the 51% majority, the 49% are sacrificed.

What say???? Any Comments????

What the problem with democracy, according to me, is that nobody seems to actually understand it. Everywhere in the newspaper and the media we find people bashing the politicians of our country. "The govt. doesn't do this, the govt. doesn't do that, the govt. if full of criminals, etc, etc." Why is it that it never occurs to anyone that we the people are the ones who vote for these so called criminals.
THE GOVERNMENT SUCKS BECAUSE WE, THE PEOPLE, SUCK.
Keeping the govt. in good shape and free from corruption is our responsibility. Instead of blaming our beloved MP's and MLA's whom we voted into power we should blame ourselves for voting for them in the first place. Now think
Is Democracy something that would actually work???

Skull Security? "Hell met" me...

2007-08-25T22:08:00.001+05:30

I dedicate this post to my helmet, without whose protection and unfailing care, my medula oblongata would have felt ten times safer on the street...ya, and without whose security i would have looked a little more like a homosap...
its onam time...yay!!! traffic cops rejoice! u got loads of street blazers to fine...but dont look at me...i'm wearing my helmet alright [sigh! :( ]...its a ritual that i self-officiate before i do the kick-startin...

helmets r like really helpful...first of all, helmets r so sweet that they give u a straight view of the road... that helps u focus on whats lying ahead of u...hey-hey what abt the view of the sides but??? er...u know what they did to horses in greece when there was a horse race, or when it was war-time...just to make sure that the horse didn't pick up mating tendencies,(straight or not) they blinded the side-vision...

some of these helmets r quite old fashioned...i mean they resemble the "hey, what's cooking, dino?" fashion of 65 million years ago... i did look a bit like a tyrannosaurus rex the first time i wore my helmet...that scared the moths out of the cops' pocket-books...for crying out loud, i'm a 'human being' with a tiny body...get ur bloody magnifying glasses off me u pesky palaentologists!!!

music...the sound of the gentle breeze...wow, really??..."sound" of the "gentle" breeze?? don't tell me u've not heard it...its the latest hit..its noise...bah! who cares abt heavy metal...dont worry i'll tell u where u can get this loud music track...
step 1...buy a helmet
step 2...search for a better helmet and return the first one (others need to wear it too..dont hurt the economics)
step 3...perform the wearing ritual
step 4...choose an empty highway and drive at 60 miles an hour
ah! there u go...the wind comes on to ur ears...kindly continue driving...dont give a shit to the blaring horns of highway trucks...oopsy, u cant hear them anyway...

so helmets really make u more alert on the road...summing up:
a) straight visibility...(er, but 'u' wont be whipped on ur vertebral column if u look at the sides)
b) 5.1 speaker system surround...(too sharp, save ur ear drums)
c) reduction of unhealthy flirting with high speeds...(please dont take ur bike to jurassic park..we dont want any homo-saur hybrids roaming around in chavadimukku)

but once, i did find my helmet favorably useful...the secret here is that it blocks out fresh air (hear! hear!)...i was playing cards with my friends...the surface of the table wasn't all that smooth so we sprinkled a lot of talcum powder...as a gesture of medical safety from one chronic influenza affected patient to another, i urge u to wear ur helmet when there's dust around... at least when u go for a camel ride in the sands of bikaner...dont worry, camels r neither horses nor dinos,they have lumps and its llamas that do the spitting...

P.S:- Retain ur helmets...atleast for 5 more years...World War 3 starts in 2012...says Nostradamus...poor guy, he knew zilch abt helmets!...no...he wore one and saw "straight" ahead into the future

ONAM is here!!

2007-08-25T08:37:00.000+05:30

hi everyone,
wishing all of you heartfelt onam wishes!!
thanks to jithu,johns,jaffer,rakesh and all the others for conducting very enjoyable onam celebrations.the 'sadya' was very good too.
cya all on sept 4th.happy hols!!!!

when i saw ash from up-close

2007-08-21T22:19:00.001+05:30

bollywood's learning something alright! like makin some good movies...some 'actually-good' movies...movie story writers have never been intelligent enough to learn bigger shapes than "(love) triangles (and squares, occasionally)" ..so how abt saying that the folk r fed up of watching sickeningly romantic movies all the while and have progressed summat to appreciate the crap out of movies with good themes...well???

whats the new jolt in the abs then?...ppl have started realising that relationships besides stranger-girl--stranger-boy exist...lets say, hopefully we'll soon have movies that focus on relationships like father-son or sister-brother, instead of the monotonous 1-4-3 ones ending up in the hero and heroine dancing away merrily in switzerland, and where later on the heroine's daddy sends out a couple of gangsta kids who teach the hero a lesson and whip him in the arse...but still he manages..he gracefully 'adjusts' and using his brawns, wins the heart of his....yuck!!

"chak de india", " cheeni kum","swades", "nishabd", "bhagban"... movies with a message, we definitely need to have more of them...thankfully the malayalam industry is millions of times better off, since the big names here do not think that beating up a dozen rogues with the little finger and triumphantly twirling their moustache is their only job...indians r probably learning slowly to accept only something thats definitely not larger than life...

dhoom 2: first day, evening show, the last entry...i got a ticket in the lower circle, and sat in the very first row...tilting my head unto the mid-heavens, in wait of some promised action on the screen... body-gel manufacturers musta made a real good deal from the movie.. ash, bipasha and hrithik were bent on showing ppl their inability to afford clothing.. i dont give a tiny rat's underwear abt their "physique or whatever"... but i know... i tell u i was sitting in the first row... and there was too much oil on their skin... from that position, if u watch the movie while u r healthy, u r gonna have a severe stomach ache (i'm the anubhavam guru here)... but if u r helpless with constipation..like u haven't been able to shit in the last six months or something, and have tried out every possible pill, then dhoom 2 is ur saviour...the oily torsos will surely jiggle up the rotting stuff in ur intestines and u can purge with relief...aah!

Awe-fuckin-some

2007-08-19T22:54:00.000+05:30

With the owerwhelming response to this blog, I'd like to state that this blog is almost as big a success as The Applied Criminals community on orkut. Thats where the last post was on 28 july. So to everyone involved in this massive project, keep up the good work.

By the way Srivardhan/Avinash whoever it is running this blog, could ya reduce the amount of bling. Its taking up too much time to load on even a decent broadband connection.

PS :- N5 is now in Ahmedabad. Its a rockin place. Actually the best place for waya-nokal. The girls are hot and N5 means HOT as in Kandhari Chilli+Tabasco Sauce HOT. They are defenitely much better than the usual Trivandrum/Kerala lot. The only problem is that N5 now has to learn Gujurati.

PPS :- N5 is the one who has continously posted in this blog 5 times. WHOOOOO-HOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ernakulam / Cochin

2007-08-17T13:56:00.000+05:30

People of Trivandrum rejoice. Cochin is as boring and useless as Trivandrum and it is in no ways better than it. That is only if you are all alone and walking in the hot sun with nothing to do. With the advice of the great Subu, the writer went in search of the famous jetty of meneka. It does not exist. What he did see was the swan boat of the trip. And also the ships and boats in the lake/kayal/backwater. MG Road is as exciting to an average CETian as a six-stroke engine is to an electronics engineer. It has nothin more than a lot of gold shops. Though you also have a SUBWAY and also the ChicKing where the writer spent Rs120 on a burger!!!!! What Cochin lacks is ATMs and roadside sharjah shops. So if in any case you come to Cochin make sure you have two things: Cash and a Boy/Girl friend. Becuse if you do have these two things, you can have bout 3 times more fun than you can in TVM. Otherwise you will end up lyk the writer, in a cyber cafe, writing bout your misery.

R	Refined
A	Ambivalent
D	Dignified
H	Humorous
A	Astonishing
M	Misunderstood
A	Ambivalent
N	Nerdy
I	Intense

Ripple.. Rock.. Reverberate..

CET DHWANI 2012 College Cultural Fest

Food for thought 2

jobs steve jobs !! A for .... ?!!

Where is the Justice??

Earphonia

Common Wealth Games

Of Food

Intruder in Wonderland

An eulogy for this dying blog of ours

Of Hostels

Political 'Career'

HARtALS Everywhere

Young Adults

The City of Joy

World cup controversies !!!

The Value of a Human Life

J.K.Rowling's Harvard Commencement Address

So long! Farewell! It's time to say goodbye!

Something 'classy' fROM 'THE CLASS ' to 'my CLASS'

Just a common soldier

Excess Baggage will Be Charged

Life Cycle of a Wall

The crows connection

'campus film festival 'and d movies are:

For I've lost my Friend.. I've lost my way..

Backseat Philosophy: - from a new angle!

what do yu think

of/off the rule book

The Incident

ANNE FRANK - If any one has the book " the diary of a young girl "please do lend

Tawa wars!!!

A K*zh* Mootha Adventure

This was a mail i received recently.thot f posting it here.

the 'G'rand 'P'icture of 'A'pplied-electronics..

Super lyrics

Ads, weight-loss and RIPe bananas...

Nineteen-nineteen to the dozen

Need some earwax..got any??

LINE OF FIRE

The Handshake

MANIFESTO OF A HACKER

the gear.. of choice..

The Grand Holiday

Nitish, Kottakkal and our final hope!

FRIDAY TALKS

Ha Ha Ha!!!

The Greatest Artists

Train Journeys You Have to Experience.

Our s3 excursion made by N5, enjoyyyyyyyyy

Rendezvous with nature..

Does a thing called soul really exist?.......

Education vs awareness

Voodoo and the city

The State of our Class

Two People

Kitchen safari

TRY THIS ONE

SOfSTICATED HELLIDAYS

Of Poetry and Rhyming

Life at CET

hiya!

Something Cool

The Satan In Me

exams, eh?

A Quote by Kabir Bedi

Enough of Empty Promises

WHEN LIFE CAME CALLING

Winter + Scorching Sun + Running Nose...hell!!

Different means to a common end

Ponder on This

The Rock n' Roll Philosophy

Where is the CET ki Jai??????

Bats love stamps...

Out with the Old and In with the New

Why Not Me???????????????

Network Analysis ?!?!?!

who killed the Lord?

Help Me I'm too sober.

KALLAR!!!!!...nature's "magic unveiled"...

A Kzh Mootha Adventure