pepperoni

2011-11-01T05:46:00.000-07:00

Panic grips the heart,

Mind is full of fear,

The writing's on the wall that the end is near,

The writing's on the wall that the end is near.

More limericks

2011-10-11T00:22:00.000-07:00

There was a miser from indore,

Who cribbed that his life was bore;

He lived in with his cooks,

And swore by his books,

And reminisced his glorious days of yore.

From hyderabad a dude was he,

As American an Indian could be;

He hated dal-rice,

And ate burger with fries,

And hopped off to San Fran with glee.

There was a fine lady from Mang,

Who nodded her head as she sang,

She ate pizza with cheese,

And shopped with great ease,

And hung out with her cousins in Bang.

From Kalyan a mallu was he,

As pervert as pervert could be;

He boozed with his folks,

And cracked gay jokes,

And never went home before three.

verbs in the first person singular

2011-09-02T06:04:00.000-07:00

(composed a few weeks ago)

i write, I read . . .

i sing, I listen . . .

i dance, I watch . . .

i joke, I laugh . . .

i cook, I eat . . .

i earn, I spend . . .

i achieve, I praise . . .

i cry, I console . . .

i die, I condole.

where are "you"?

Broken strings

2011-07-21T11:16:00.000-07:00

As i silently cry
till my eyes go dry,

As i feel my energy drain
and my heart fill with pain,

As i count a million sheep
and yet not fall asleep,

As my veins bleed
and final lines i read,

And as my end nears
Your laughter deafens my ears.

yet untread

2011-06-18T23:40:00.000-07:00

you have your path, n i have mine . . .

the time now comes, to draw the line . . .

we'll part our ways, n we'll both be fine . . .

and when our paths cross next, we'll meet n dine . . .

the Killer and the Guitarist

2011-05-19T00:59:00.000-07:00

She stabbed my heart cold,

She robbed me of my breath,

but my Killer's so beautiful...

i died a painless death.

She strummed the strings of my heart,

and hummed the song of love,

and as to Her tunes i swayed...

realization dawned... i was dead.

...

Slow Poison

2010-10-14T06:46:00.000-07:00

The senses are numbed

The feeling isnt good,

No thirst for water,

And no hunger for food.

Sight loses color,

Nothing's music to the ears,

There's no reason to live,

And I am counting my years.

A Story

2010-09-13T11:43:00.000-07:00

"Monsieur Jacques...umm...Sargon Corporation?"
"Ya, that's the one"
" Sorry to keep you waiting Monsieur Jacques...you may go to studio 5. Over there."
"thank you"

He started walking in the direction she had pointed. It was a large hall with make shift partitions that were being used as photography studios. In each of them, there were various backdrops, large lights, reflecting screens and cameras. The photographers, young men and women in their twenties, were busy taking their shots and shouting out instructions to the models. Other assistants were running around carrying papers to and from the studios. IN the far corner was a cabin with wooden paneling and tinted glass. It looked quite different from the surrounding. On the door was engraved a name: Nikolas Johann. It sounded surprisingly familiar. He was sure that he had heard the name somewhere.

He looked up: Studio no. 5. There. He entered inside. The photographer in this studio was a young lady, slim, fair, with long flowing jet-black hair, beautiful eyes, and a smile that could hypnotize anyone who looked at it. She appeared to be in her early twenties, about the same age as his. She was casually dressed, with light beige cotton trousers and a knee length maroon top. It was not designer wear, but it looked great on her. He was stunned and stood there motionless looking at her. His thoughts raced faster than time. Was this the girl he had been waiting for all his life?

She seemed to be saying something to him but he could hear nothing. He felt a light tap on his shoulder.

"Monsieur Jacques...are you ok?" She was carrying a notepad in her hand.
"Oh...oh yes..I....I was just lost in my thoughts"
"You seem to be anxious. Dont worry. You look new to this place...."

There was a magic in her voice. It had the air of friendliness that was rare to be found these days. And she was speaking with a stranger with such ease as if they had known each other for years. She pointed to the desk in front of the camera. He went and sat down. She handed him a mirror. He did not take it and instead looked up and asked her.

"Do I look ok Miss...."
"Ms. Jacqueline...and you look good..except for a missing smile."

He was dying to hear her voice. He repeated her lines in his mind and made an effort to smile.

-Click-

The photo was taken. And in a moment he would be out of that place. But he did not want to go. He only a wanted a few more minutes to talk to her.

"Excuse me, are you one of the partners who own the studio?" There was a look of surprise on her face. And a mild laughter. It looked even more beautiful.

"No....what makes you think so?"
"Errrr...nothing"
"I have just joined here. This place has a lot of traffic and gives good experience. I hope to start my own studio some day. By the way, Director Johann has asked you to meet him in his room, the one in the corner. Good day, Monsieur Jacques"

Those few moments seemed like eternity. He continued to look at her. Then with a smile, he turned and walked away.

She had taken his photo on a film. But her picture had been etched in his memory for ever.

-----

Adapted from "Peoples and Characters" - a collection of true stories by Vladimir "Ally" Kavolski.

Two stories

2010-07-09T20:21:00.000-07:00

Stories about the truth of life. Thanks a lot to Prof. Dan for sharing these with us.

This is a story similar to the one that we have often read (atleast in India) in the kids story books.

Two friends had gone wandering in the forest. Suddenly they heard sounds of a bear approaching. It was clear that their lives were in danger. Now they knew from old wisdom that bears do not attack dead people, so they decided to lie silently on the ground.

As the bear approached nearer, one of the friends got up and was ready to run. The second friend asked him what made him change his decision. He replied, "I just realized that to save my life, I do not need to outrun the bear, I just need to outrun you." And he ran.

This is competition. And life.

There is another story told to us by elders (or we read it in children's books).

There was a king who had lost a battle and had fled to a cave in the nearby mountains. There he saw a spider who was trying to build a web on the wall of the cave. The spider tried a hundred times to climb up, but failed. Yet, he did not give up. Finally, he succeeded.

We are often told this story to try and try and try and not give up. This is not quite the right thing to do in life. Its utter bullshit. If you are doing something that you couldnt succeed at after a few attempts, dont do it. There are definitely people who have managed to do that thing right in the first attempt, and they will be better at it than you. Always. It is highly unlikely that you will ever be the numero uno in that. And if you are not the best, dont be there. Try doing something else that you are better suited for.

(** words between the lines for i-bank analysts: Not everyone is meant to be a banker. If you dont get good ratings as analysts, you are not meant to be a bankers. Dont stay in the job trying for years and years. Quit.)

In the age of competition, you have to be the best. Being better isnt enough.

Some Limericking

2010-05-09T09:45:00.000-07:00

After a really long time, I tried to do something creative to put up on my blog.... and being the last few days with junta here, I obviously wrote about them :)

% comments are welcome

There was an enthusuast from Vapi,
Who firmly believed that CS was crappy.
He gave up in life without fear,
And said "Pack pepsi, drink beer",
The give-up young man from Vapi.

There was an elec geek from trichy,
Who proclaimed that hot water made him itchy,
He said his body was hot,
And felt funny after smoking pot,
The crazy elec geek from trichy.

There was a hairy youth from hyd,
Who spoke more truth than he lied,
He ate very less,
But in Andhra mess,
And took all his creditors for a ride.

There was a fair guy from Timbuktoo,
Who googled to add two and two,
He cashed at UniLever,
Drank scotch by the river,
And smoked everyday in the loo.

There was a hulk in mech,
Who turned everything into wreck,
He broke the furniture,
And fought with his teacher,
And forced all his bros to a trek.

From Rohtak there was a fair dude,
Who sometimes was really rude,
He beat loud his drums,
And drank with his chums,
But with a girl did he put some pseud.

From Jaipur a casanova was he,
A true consultant as one could be,
He ran for co-cas,
And really kicked ass,
But ended up writing GMAT and Gre.

There was a lazy boy of boobneswar,
Who lay on the couch and cried "Sir,
Prithee wipe my face,
And tie my shoe lace",
The lazy old boy of boobneswar.

A line in the morning

2010-03-20T04:06:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, I fell asleep while the song "give me some sunshine" was playing on my comp. I dunno from where, but the first line that came to me in the morning was:

"Give me another life, and I'll love you once again"

And i have been singing it all day long.
I dont remember my dream :(

Chaos Theory

2010-02-28T07:22:00.000-08:00

Totally random phrases. Do not try to make any sense out of it.

A decade maybe. Happenings. It will not move. It is sharp. It will keep you awake. US and UK in world war 2. Not fully conscious. Male bonding gone too far. Not destructible. Beyond inverse tangent. The science and art of. The year of the infant is over. Ganguli retired. At the very centre. Taking things too far, or maybe not.

Multilingual oil driller. Not quite swedish. A single horned mammal, or double?. His namesake was slapped. Cane, or Kane? Special. Pseud Distros. Krishna and the second big letter. A great pair. America's military headquarters. Hanging from an exterior point.

Children hit fruits. Warriors hit buildings. He explains. I can. :D for perverts. Just like relativity was explained. Sea function. Not sure if in or out. Wierd documents. Xerox machines are now outdated forms of copying. No offence meant. Apologies if offended.

Two institutions. Set theory. Total scrap. Numbered accounts, not quite. The great escape. Only one beginning. Too many spices, apparently. Numbers and algorithms. Spanners and simulations. A non living dead body. Female poultry. Male politics. More bar. It inspired a good looking bone. Narcotics in sport. Not the mint with the hole. Three beginnings altogether. Incorect gramer.

Two long strings. Some fight. Some net. Hate of kings and presidents. Belief and not so smooth consensus. Need not complete it. Not many lit-soc notices. Anagram and in feb-march. All's well that begins and ends. Not the same? Anyways, I couldnt care lesser any more.

Curiosity killed the cat. Or it spoiled a quiz.

Currently on my mind

2010-02-14T08:15:00.000-08:00

1. Philosophy of scoring systems in competitions
2. MATLAB code to solve an equation
3. Wiki page on OCD
4. Who should stand for secretary
5. I need to put a treat, but is it worth spending the cash?
6. Pending reimbursements and a large bundle of cash in my bag
7. Having a bath with hot water.
8. Scoring full marks in Quiz 1.
9. Confronting my BTP professor.
10. Why was my hand at rummy so bad today?
11. Stomach ache (thats not on my mind..i am experiencing it right now)
12. Why cant I die in some bomb blast
13. Do I have the guts to commit suicide? Is it the most logical thing to do?
14. Will going to Tirupathi improve life for me?
15. I should ditch my job and apply for PhD at IISc.
16. Why the hell am I doing all this on Valentine's day instead of going out for a good dinner?
17. Who the hell will I go out with? will i, ever?

Reason to be

2009-12-10T09:01:00.000-08:00

You're the reason I wake up
at the early hour of the day,
to see if everything is set
perfectly your way.

You're the reason I smile
though sadness lies deep,
sweet conversations with you
are the joys that I keep.

You're the reason I laugh
though sorrow brings only tears,
you make me forget all
my worries and my fears.

You're the reason I dream,
to be with you all day,
moments of happiness and joy
I will carry all the way.

You're the reason my heart
beats faster or takes a dive,
you're the reason I live
and am still alive.

Looking for a job

2009-12-07T08:54:00.000-08:00

Few days after placements, life is quite different.

Prior to placements, I remember myself sleeping no more then four hours a day. Watched not more than three movies in the entire semester, and did not play a single computer game. It was all about books and code, and being busy 24X7.

Well, now life is quite different. Placement is done. (It is a story in itself, which i might post in some other blogpost.) Project reviews are done. Right now, I am "putting peace". I have started gaming, and crashing not less than eight hours a day. Walking all the way to tiffanys for breakfast, not cribbing about spending time in the queues, and farting in Gurunath and Basera. For the first time, I am liking long queues as they are good for killing time. :P

I am trying hard to excel at this game called DotA. And after 10 hours of "practice" all I have managed to get at the end of a game is 3 kills and 8 deaths. :( But still, DotA rocks!!

Now I am looking for somethng interesting to do. Searching for good blogs that are updated, scavenging my shelf for some book (ya, I found an unread sydney sheldon there, yayy!!), and trying to generate the enthu to write something.

Sooooo jobless! A "first time" feeling.

Draco dormiens nunquam titillandus

2009-11-10T05:11:00.000-08:00

This isnt a well written post, but I wasnt in a mindset to write a well written post; so here it is, as it is.

Well, the first thing to note is that you dont need any of those exotic substances to get high. The excitement around can very well get you there. And once you are on the top of the roof, you dont know what you are doing.

The evening was all going on well, until I get involved in the big mess. Firstly, you should realize that its better to mind your own business than get high on the excitement and do things that you will repent later on. Paining the hell out of a friend is quite common, but thinking of it later on, we did cross the line.

Nothing wrong in that too, you would say, but then, there is this burden of virtuousness, the feeling that keeps biting you. But once done is done. Life has no UNDO button on its screen.

Also, you never know how things can get back at you, so the best policy is to let the dragon sleep, rather than wake him up and laugh at him as if you have played the biggest prank of the century.

Well, this is an apology to a great friend, who was at his wits' end that evening.

Instantaneous thought

2009-11-05T10:11:00.000-08:00

Consider the following scenario: A team is presented with a spade.

Someone influential in the team comes up with the proposition that the presented object is a rake. The ideal team player is supposed to accept that proposition as perfectly sound. He should actually hear out the person for quite some length of time, and take notes on that. Even though he knows perfectly well that it is a spade, he is supposed to keep his views to himself. Only then can the discussion go on, and people feel that they have got the freedom of giving their opinion.

Then the ideal team player gets the chance to speak. At first, he is supposed to speak about the positive aspects of the spade being called a rake so that proponents of that idea feel that they are on the right track and are making a contribution to the team. Then probably he can put forward a few points that suggest that the so called "rake" might not be a rake. At every point of time, he is supposed to make sure that the whole team is with him. After lengthy discussion on each of the points, the proponents of the rake theory slowly realize that their rake theory has some flaws, and the presented object might not be a rake. Note that they still havent accepted that it is a spade.

Now the team player has to wait for someone to come up with the idea that the object might be a spade. Only then can he put forward point s supporting the FACT and then convince the team.

The end result is that the whole team has accepted the fact that the object is a spade after all. But the exercise has taken hours of productive meeting time, and you, who knows well that it was a spade, feels like having wasted a lifetime.

But thats the way teams work. It is not in the team spirit to call a spade a spade at the very first instant. The next level of maturity comes when you give up your thought of the spade being a spade, and you evolve with the team.

I am learning to be a team player.

Mathematization

2009-11-01T06:44:00.000-08:00

You can ignore the title as it is given for my lack of knowledge of a better word. Having given GRE a week ago, I think, does not make any difference in my ever so small vocabulary. Neither does cracking quant make any difference to my math skills, which remain at an average D graded. However, what follows is my attempt at trying to define something by a mathematical function: L (k,t)

Characteristics (for a given k):

1. The independent variable is time. That is, the graph is plotted with respect to time, and exists only in the first and 4th quadrants.

2. At t = 0, the function has a certain positive value, which is generally finite, but may tend to infinity in some cases. However, the special cases are excluded for general analysis.

3. The function gradually increases with time and tends to infinity. However, it goes to minus infinity for the next instant.

4. As time progresses, the value of the function approaches zero asymptotically from the negative.

5. Well, I can say, without doing much thinking, (which leaves a lot of scope to find out faults if anyone ever decides to read this post, or even comment, if i am really that fortunate) that the function will be:

L(k) = L(k)o + tan (0.5*t*pi/T) ; for 0=< t < T

L(k) = 1/(T-t); for T=< t

Well, the attempt is to define love. When you see someone(k), at t=0, there is finite attraction, which goes to infinity as time progresses. However, at some point of time, you realize that you have lost (time = T). Then you start hating that person so much, that you dont want to see, hear, think of that person ever.(L = -inf.) However, this hate to goes away after sometime, and you come to a balance where you dont care about the existence of that person. (L(k) = 0).

If you have read the post till here, then I am sure you are a vetti fellow :P

A day in Shaastra

2009-10-10T10:09:00.000-07:00

The day begins at 8am. Wake up, Sid. Take a quick bath, stuff a spare shirt in your bag, and get out. Things not to be forgotten: cell and bag. The bag has the coupons that all coords are despo for.

Take a cycle and rush to ICSR. Grab a copy of the newsletter and the schedule of the day. Even though you have made all the schedule yourself, you tend to forget it. A copy always helps. Check the newsletter for the number of times you have been quoted saying something that you never really meant. Count the number of times the Newsletter showcase their lack of any kind of knowledge. Check the current version of Psi. It(she, rather) apparently gets upgraded regularly.

Go to the nearest event. Check up stuff. Make sure that the phone is on silent. You keep getting calls from coords who have not collected their coupons and are hungry. You can get as many as 198 calls in a day (that was my highest) before the cellphone battery gets discharged and then people crib that you are unreachable.

People call up and ask where you are, and where you will be after 15 minutes. You dont know the answer. The dynamism is very high. Now you are at ICSR, After 15 minutes, you might be at Workshop, CRC, CLT, SAC, HSB, BT Bldg, KV grounds, SAC road, Dean's office, etc. You can understand the frustration in the voice of the caller, but you can do nothing to help it. You meet many coords on the way. No conversation can be completed without interruption by 4-5 calls.

There is no time for breakfast or lunch. You go from one event to another, be it Fire n Ice, Contraptions, Robotics, Wright Design, Math Modeling, etc etc etc. There are 46 events. At every venue, there is a different scenario. There are places where things are pretty screwed up, and the core ends up taking the position of a volunteer and doing the running around helping the coords. No work is below dignity. where the events are running well, it is good. You can sit down and relax for a few minutes. There are lectures that you must attend and then preset the speaker with a memento. Also, there are some events that you do not want to miss, whatever happens. They are close to your heart.

The best part of being a core is that you get a lot of preferential treatment. Chairs are brought for you to sit down. The pedestel fans are turned so that they face you. Coords come to you to report the status of the event. You are photographed quite a lot of times. But thats because of all the painstaking effort that you take. The responsibility that comes as a part of the job.

The day goes in this. Evening is a time for the shows. You sit down and enjoy the show. Most likely, you will be amidst a crowd of bubbly QMS coords and fellow cores. Needless to say, you are in the front line, way ahead of the common crowd that is struggling for space. You say a "hi" to many people yuo have met for the first time in the day, and have a small chat. The topics are standard too: how busy the day has been, which events were successful, what did the newsletter write about, did the reporter change her top, which coord/vol was looking good etc etc.

At the end of the show, you find yourself in the middle of a crowd that is asking for grub coupons. The fact is that you havent any and yuo are hungry too. You somehow get away from the crowd and call up the finance core, telling him that you are hungry. You actually are. The stomach is growling.

The finance core is not such a bad fellow after all. You collect coupons from him and the catering coord too. At the core level, the coupons are counted in the number of sheets: the 80 sheet, 120 sheet and 140 sheet. You grab 8-10 sheets and head to the stalls. You search for the costliest items available there and eat. You eat till you are full and distribute the rest among the coords and the vols.

It is very entertaining to see how coords and vols beg and fight for coupons. Apparently, a set of freshie vols had formed a co-operative that collected coupons from all possible sources till late night. Their challenge was to get maximum possible and beat the previous day's tally. They would spend it at the very end. The people that hang around benefit the most from the generosity of the cores. The others are less lucky.

With respect to food, there are two fundamental laws that should be followed by a core:

1. A core shall not eat any food that is bought out of cash.
2. All food bought out of coupons belongs to the core.

The second law permits all cores to bite stuff from others. It is due to this that you will end up tasting all available items at the stalls.

Then you head to the Video conferences. It is one peaceful place. The air conditioned auditorium and comfortable seats. You listen somewhat, and frame a question to ask at the end of the talk. As the talk ends, you shake hands with the moderator and have a discussion with the coordinators about the next day's plans.

The time is around 11. Your cellphone is discharged. After spending some more time at the stalls talking and discussing with fellow cores and the CoAs, you head to the venue of the night events. By the time you reach your room, it is 3am.

You have a room neighbor who is waiting to hear the day's news from you. You narrate everything to him. Also, you give him a surprise snack that you have brought for him from the stalls. A couple of mails to be read and a few to be written. There are also a few notes to be taken down for the next day. You put your cell for charging.

And then you lie on the bed going over everything. You have enjoyed your day to the fullest. You are smiling to yourself and feeling happy. However, somewhere in the mind, you are sad that all this is going to end in a couple of days. Before you think more, you are dead asleep, lost in dreams. Your mind and body are gearing up for the next day.

Life now (1 week pre Shaastra)

2009-09-26T02:22:00.000-07:00

Shaastra is just a few days away. And it means a lot.

You cannot differentiate between weekdays and weekends. Sleep seems to have gone on vacation. Cash flows like water. Offline is a word of the past. At any given point of time, you have atleast four gtalk windows open, talking to people from four different departments. Your phone never stops yelling. Cell phone is free. You know that all your bills will be reimbursed. Every minute, you either read a mail or write one.

Books cease to open. Room accumulates dust. Posters go up and old posters are torn down. Status messages tell the current event news. Tempers run high. Coffee is the drink of survival. Flight tickets are booked. Cheques are made. Monies are transferred. Excel sheets are generated like random numbers.

Excitement is in the air. This is the beginning of Shaastra.

Your mind is fixed on the one that you have always dreamt of. At the back of the mind, the professors are shouting and asking you to submit assignments. Deep in your heart, you want to get away from the world. Switch off yuor cell phone, disconnect the internet, and give up coffee. All you want is a nice sea breeze blowing in your face. You want to soak your spirit in silence. You want to sleep soundly on the sand. You dont want to see another person for miles around you.

The time will come. But for now, it is business....at the speed of your hearbeat.

Urgent Help Wanted

2009-08-23T10:28:00.000-07:00

Well, it is 11pm, and I have an assignment submission tomorrow. I have done nothing all day. I read a friend's blog, wrote a nice and long comment (his gtalk status msg had him asking for comments), and then wondered why it never appeared. I made a list of all the things that I had wanted to do in insti since the day I came here. I am already in my final year and more than half of it remains undone.

And now, I am thinking of all the reasons I can possibly give my professor for not doing the assignment.

1. Sir, I did my assignment, but left the room door open, so the cat came in and urinated on it (yuck!!)

2. The monkeys tore it.

3. My Matlab crashed and I was not able to run the code. (I am not sure though that the assignment requires Matlab nor do I quite well know if matlab has a crashing tendency.)

4. I lost the questions sheet ( really lame)

5. I went to the hospital for some minor cough and they quarantined me suspecting swine flu. ( This might force me to miss a week of classes resulting in a W grade)

Junta, please help.

Fall of the Arabians

2009-08-16T11:17:00.000-07:00

Background:

This is a common english 4 liner as adapted to a bunch of Arabians in the desert. Arabians generally use camels and are fond of ladies.

Ring-a-ring-a roses,
The nude model poses,
The old camel dozes,
And all fall down.

Composed by: Sheikh Abhiram Railkar

PS: The above rhyme also shows the disinterest of old camels in nude models.

Swine Flu origins (and insti ofcourse)

2009-08-12T20:50:00.000-07:00

Disclaimer: I am practising for Shaastra Scifi writing, and I do not intend to offend anyone. The article is purely fictional.

Ever wondered how this swine flu started? Read on to know more and comment if you are surprised.

It all started in the April of 2006. There was a guy studying in IIT Madras, who was from Pune. (Duh..thats not me..I wasnt into IIT at that time.) He had an ambition. He wanted to be the leader of SoE at Shaastra. He got together a team of dedicated students to work on his project. Little did they know what the effects of their success would be in the following years.

This person had a dream. The preceding SoE's had been Peper bridge, Basacule Bridge, Tensegrity tower, etc. There was nothing moving in them. Now this new team had only three words: "Want to Fly". And they got down to business. They searched the internet for designs to help them fly. All work was done in top secret lest someone flew before they did.

However, the team did not notice that they were being watched. Just a few months before, pigs were driven out of IIT Madras and now they wanted revenge. Some pigs, disguised as humans, joined the team. And they learnt all the secrets of flying. They wanted to fly, away from the dirt of the ground, and demonstrate to the real humans (who were trying to make automatic dirt cleaning machines), who was superior.

Now, one would ask, the SoE was demonstrated in Shaastra 2006, then why did the pigs learn to fly so late? Well, firstly, the first few attempts at flying went wrong. The flying machine crashed, and pigs did not want that to happen to themselves. They waited for a couple of more years, till the flying was perfected. Till then, they were a part of the team and no one knew. Then they flew.

That was a year ago. But then people did not notice that pig flew. They had to make it popular. Then came the VISA advertisement of Matt Harding. It was a common stupidity to dance, but the "Viral video" funda made it popular. Now the pigs learnt something more. They had to make it viral. They learnt how to use computers and integrate that with the flying machine.

Due to a lot of efforts from the PR boys of Shaastra, there were articles in the papers about the IIT students flying stuff. During one of the demos, the pig disguised as a student had messed up his polyjuice potion (that he used to source from one of the Gurunath juice wizards) and his real self showed up. The Deccan Chronicle journalist (who had strong contacts in IIT and was a Tiffanys regular) got to know of this and the Headline next day was:

"A Swine Flu" (you know the level of english spellings of DC journalists).

Pigeon hole principle

2009-08-07T12:51:00.000-07:00

GD: Macha, I want to ask this girl out. What do you think?
GDC: She is wierd. I dont think she will go out with anyone.
GD: uh oh........
GDC: Why would anyone like to ask HER out??
GD: See da.....in insti, there are more pigeons than holes. Thats why.
GD's co-core: And the pigeon hole principle states that if there are more pigeons than holes, then there has to be more than one pigeon in the same hole!!!!

PS: Another friend advised GD: If you want to ask her out, be sure to wear armour, or else, you will die.

Between friends

2009-08-05T17:32:00.000-07:00

Two room neighbours have been talking about their girlfriends all night long. Early in the morning, they see a freshie going to take bath.

As typical in IIT, people do not behave in socially acceptable ways.
"Dude, the freshie is coming"
"Ya....so, what was I talking about? Once I saw a lazy chameleon"
" Oh! How do you know it was lazy?"
" It did not change its color man!!"
" ha ha ha hoohohoo......why is this freshie taking sooo long to enter his room .....a***ole....."

They hug eachother.

"Macha, the privacy of the wing has been lost, now that freshies have come to stay here.. pain..."

" Dude, shall we dance?" They hold one hand, the other is around the waist.
" Wait, its the other way round"
"Ya....you have Saarang workshop fundaes, so... as you say" They change the position of their hands.

One step left, one right. They look at each others' faces and stare for 3-5 seconds.

"NAAAAAAAAAAAHH"
"NAAAAAAAAAH"

In shock, they let go of eachother, and move metres apart.

"Dude, I dont think I will ever look at your face again"
"You are not my girlfriend"
"Neither are you a female"
" Moral of the story: we are not gay"
"Yeah....we are not"

Of freshies and seniors

2009-08-05T17:24:00.001-07:00

The following conversation took place between two 4th yrs early in the morning after a night out.

"Dude, the way we have been talking all night long in the wing, the freshies' parents might think that one of us is a freshie who has been ragged by a senior all night through"

Coord: (laughs) so?

"They will call the police and send the senior to jail."

Coord: They know me as GCU coord, so you are the freshie.

"you will be going to jail!! (Yeah!! Competition for placements reduced by 1)"

This reflects the the current mindset of seniors with respect to freshies and their parents.

Shaastra and Saarang

2009-01-21T19:04:00.000-08:00

There are times when you are important and busy, or atleast you feel that you are so, and then there are times when you sit back and relax, and watch others do that role.

Saarang is a life in laziness.

Lessons learnt@iitm

2008-12-17T20:02:00.000-08:00

/*some text missing */

You can be a shaastra volunteer, be it QMS, facilities, hospitality, webops, robotics, quizzes and other events.
You can be a saarang volunteer for scrabble, music, arts and dance.
You can be a part of the inter iit and play sports in december.
You can be a shaastra coordinator and be happy with the large efforts that you put in.
You can be a saarang coordinator and spend your vetti time in the culfest.
You can be the participant in tech competitions and consider yourself the tech god.
You can be a team leader and feel busy and important.
You can be an idler, do nothing, sit in room and watch movies.
You can be the sleepy guy in class as you have put nightouts for other work.
You can be guy who studies at the last minute to get through exams.
You can be a sponsorship coordinator and put all the pseud in life.
You can be the cool guy and go around with all the chics.
You can be a Shaastra core and feel like the big boss.
You can be a hostel secretary and play minor politics.
You can be the politician and aspire to be the insti gen sec.
You can be a good actor and head insti dramatics team.
You can be a good dancer and be a part of the choreo team.
You can be a winner at Shaastra and get a lot of cash.
You can do everything insti has to offer to build your resume.
BE AN ENGINEER FIRST. PERIOD.
that is what you will be told in the end.

Desperate

2008-12-15T03:47:00.000-08:00

Alas....i miss you dear..
I remember the days
When you were with me,
I felt I had everything..
But then I did not care for you,
Why did you leave me alone,
My dear?
I will do anything to get you back
Will you return to me?
I loved you so much...
And will continue to love you...
Please come back to me....
my dear cg..

notitle

2008-09-28T10:49:00.000-07:00

Slept through the years, afraid to wake,
I lived in my own world, no friends did i make,

and i woke to find a world so changed,
rich yet miserable life, emotions deranged,

Initiating with a hand to others reached out,
only to hear "oh! a beggar" shout,

misunderstandings were all that came my way
deserted in the morning and all through the day,

Too much to do, not a moment to spare,
I am all to myself, there's no one to care.

Another incident of Shaastra 2007

2008-09-24T07:15:00.000-07:00

i greet the verry few readers of my blog.

This is another incident belonging to the same times of one year ago.

before i start with the story, i feel that it is important for the readers to know that the Narmada hostel mess hall is being used as the dining hall for Taramani guest house, and hence, obly, it has a security sitting/sleeping there.

time: 9pm
ok, we have had grub. Let me introduce a third character.....SR. this chap has bought some balloons and balls....small, pingpong balls....a large number of them. and we are in the Hifunda coords' room. the time has arrived...we have decided that a good way to burst the balloons is to tie a thread, wet it with petrol, ignite it, and let go. THEORY COMPLETE.

time for action: 11pm
we blow the balloon, put in the balls....we go looking out for a bike/luna parked near hostel/gurunath/wherever from which we can cult some petrol.....mind you, security is sleeping..everywhere..

time:1am
idont remember how, ...maybe BAT helped (real identity concealed) but we do have half a bottle petrol with us. we now climb over the mess hall and get near its entrance...we are quite sure that the road will be deserted and dark......we dip the thread in petrol.....unfortunately, i passer by TNR fellow sees us but just gives a stare of Bulbing (what the tuck are junta doing behind a closed gate with balloons....at late night??) we are too excited to care.....

we light the thread and see some fireworks( but here this fire doesnt work)...all of us get back to the HiFunda coord's room ..dejected

Also, the previoius morning, the large metal frustrums have failed because one HiFunda coord goofed up his fluid mechanics fundaes.....he forgot that turbulence exists!!

All these failures result in one thing:

final day of shaastra, time 4.30am:
we have put a night out..you know where...pasting smalllll stickers on the pingpong balls....and one HiFunda coord suddenly starts playing a video...Junta are surprised!!! WhatTheTuck !
we are all waiting for things outside to become visible.....understand ppl....

time:5.30am:
GD (yippieee) and I take a big bag each full of these balls......go to ICSR. we see there a few arbit junta doing arbit stuff....we stroll around as if we are some out station participants.....and finally, we get into all sponsors' stalls and empty the bag of balls...we also try to flood menlo park with those balls.....

even though a couple of junta have see us, we walk away innocently and head to mess for the much awaited breakfast..

during one of these days, GD, who is also a QMS(read TNR) vol, has put n nightouts, crashes during a shower....LOLmax..

Nothing is Impossible

2008-09-24T06:47:00.000-07:00

This is an old story belonging to the days when i used to spend this time (the time before shaastra) in the 3rd wing of Narmada. I am not too sure junta would like me disclosing all this but I feel it worth blogging....

The Hi-funda coords call me to their room and ask me if i know about HACKS.....and there begins the story...

(it is TNR to define hacks)

we are supposed to make a LED display board that says a line mocking the standard text. this board is 5 feetX1.5feet in dimensions. We get n number of veroboards and solder them for days together...and finally, this is done.

Time: 6am
GD and i have just put a night out in the coord's room...and we set out to mess to estimate the height of the original board. the security wonders what on earth are two half sleepy ppl doing at this time staring at a blank board? maybe he thinks we are drunk...same is the case with a few joggers...

Time:9pm
GD and i now know the height and set out to find a ladder to aid us..we travel around the insti and arrive at a spot...near SAC where we see a 4 meter high stool..cool. Identified.

Time 2am:
Guessing that junta are asleep, our duo with some other TNR people go to lift that stool and get it from SAC to mess and hide it so that the security dont put pain.

Time 3.15am:
We go to the Coord's room sweaty and tired and happy that we have achieved something. we work on other stuff which includes building a sleeeek robot that is impossible to see when kept under a podium...keep wondering why we need it... and arguing about the best way of bursting a balloon.

time 5am:
We carry the board, batteries, wires etc to mess, tell the security that we are repairers and do the job of setting up. we take a trial and our faces have a big smile..now we wait for the night...in the meanwhile, i go to workshop and make a frustrum of thin metal sheets with base dia of 1m. keep guessing the arbitnesss......

the following evening we set up the batteries and the board reads : THINK OF US WHO CANT EAT IT.. .. with HACKS appearing interspersed. I am not too sure how many noticed it, but the newsletter did.

whenever a GA guy tells me that things cant be done, i feel like telling this (and many similar)to him..

2008-07-15T04:18:00.000-07:00

The world changed.....

the world changed and i slept through...

religions changed,
the human followers turned animal worshipers,
the priests lost their power as the world joined hands in prayer
to the nature's second element.
and here i was, the late riser,
believing the priest...
still asleep, as the world changed.

the barricade was broken down
and the people looked out through the windows
but alas, their sight was not free...
though not for long...
the animal gods from the south
came to the rescue of the poor
and gave them a view of the wide world

which had changed as i slept through...

i woke up late.....
and found a sorry site, my home!
my kin! a plague! zombies!

my home was plagued with the sleeping disease
the early risers had fled
to the only cure known so far-
the setting sun.