City City Bang Bang

I would have to begin this post by apologizing to all Bangalore-lovers among my friends. When I set foot on kaddu-land some 2 months ago, all I could see around me was traffic, pollution, kannada songs and more traffic. No wonder I had been severe on the city in my previous post. But now that I've become better acquainted with this fascinating place, I really hate to think about my impending departure from here in a few days.

These 2 months in the beautiful, serene campus of IISc have been a wonderful experience for me. After witnessing and taking part in some of the best research taking place in the country, I too am now pondering on taking up a career in research. The first 2 weeks, though,were very dull and boring. Being an electrical student , I felt really out of place in the ECE deptt at first. I had to study overtime to come to grips with the terminology and concepts of wireless communication. It was as if God was punishing me for not studying for my end-sems by making me study non-elec courses. Add to that the umpteen number of problems that I had been facing with the place of my accommodation, i.e. at Gokula appts, mentioned quite eloquently in my previous post. The dull schedule was punctuated with a few visits to the cinema, lakes et al.

Things started to look up when my bro moved in with me. It was great to be back together after some 2 yrs of separation. And of course, it was great to be back in the company of a laptop again. Every evening I would be either indulging in bloddy battles on the fields of AOE, or dribbling my way past hapless Man U defenders in FIFA. All of this was punctuated with a visit to the revered Maddu-land. A trip to Marina in the evenings seemed to provide the much-needed respite from the horrible, humid weather during the day. Most of the time, however, was spent indoors with the lethargic Scooby and the wily Louie at my friends house. All in all, my first time in Chennai was very much enjoyable.

As soon as we returned from Chennai, we were informed that our luggage had been moved to the Jalahalli guest house. I could not believe my luck!!
A word here about the Jalahalli GH: All the girls live there. Period.
So, as of now, I'm livin' in a co-ed hostel, havin' breakfast, lunch, dinner ( and much more :D ) with some of the most beautiful girls I've known in the past 2 yrs. All the more reason I don't want to leave this awesome place!!

P.S.- Sports Headlines - 'The King' cements his rightful place in tennis history, Dhoni & co. screw themselves over in England, though somewhat redeeming themselves in WI and Real & City go berserk.

Main aur Meri Tanhayi

The last 15 days have been very eventful, to say the least. As if the shock of getting a "panji" in the cursed Machines course wasn't enough (why me??) , the agony of seeing my lapy taken away from me (for no misconduct on my part) has left me in shreds. Add to it the dull, boring, insipid life in Bangaluru where I find myself now, and then you would be somewhere close to understanding my misery. As Sushi rightly put it, it's just "Main aur Meri Tanhayi". The lone bright spot has been Chelsea's FA Cup win and Catalan's demolition of The hapless Devils, even though I couldn't be witness to the two spectacles (screw Bangalore).

I heaved a sigh of relief when the exams ended, putting an end to countless nightouts (mostly spent in watching PB and bakar, rather than studying). What I didn't know was what the results would have in store for me. I usually head directly home after the exams, not bothering to wait till the results are declared. However, this time around, I decided to stay around, just in case. I accept that even though I'm not as adept as our revered Licker Sir in licking off the arses of our profs, I still had a faint hope that my staying back would help in one way or the other. And help it did, as i had a gr8 time with the gods of AOE. A lavish dinner in Dynasty was followed by a daaru party in Dhody's room, most fondly remembered for the rounds of Flaming shots. However, all that joy was soon drowned in the hopelessness of my results, and with that went any hopes that I had been harbouring of getting an 8-pointer this sem.

I had a short stay of 4 days at home. Only thing of note that happened there was food (at last) and the HP service center. "Your lapy is in serious trouble" said the technician. "You need to leave your lapy here for atleast 10 days....". I froze on hearing his words. "10 days, you sure?". "We need to replace the heat sink, the speakers....". "Dammit". I had to finally resign to the fate of bidding au revoir to my lapy for 2 months.

Bangalore or Bangaluru, as it is now known, translates to "The land of (boiled) beans". It wasnt my first time here. I had been here on an earlier occasion, but that was with family. As soon as you step out of the station, autorickshaw drivers are armed and ready to rob you of your money. I made the more prudent choice of going to the prepaid booth, and eventually made my way to IISc after having communicated with the driver in sign language. From there, a bus dutifully lead all the students to our apartment.

Gokula apartments is located in a remote corner of bangalore, a kind of gaon within a metro. No TV, no internet connection, no proper shopping complex, no proper bus-stand and all the other virtues of a gaon (even water-buffaloes roaming around the complex). There's just a single plus-point about this place: the awesome South Indian food. My time-table has been reduced to nothing but a cycle of Food-Sleep-Study, just like the old school times.

A word about the other Summer Research Fellows. All of them are either Bengalis or are doing M.Sc in bio-something (-technology,-informatics and what not!) or something else in Maths. A very few sane guys are doing something in engineering. Even among those, almost all except 2 belong to the "ghissu" class that all colleges are cursed with. So, as you can see, I effectively have 2 friends in here. How much I miss u guys, enjoying yourselves back in R!!

As for the campus, it reminds me of R in a lot of ways except that its very "green" down here. The only bright moments for me in the campus are when I'm loitering around, admiring God's creations. Otherwise, its all dull and boring. Work goes on amid gtalk,FB and ebooks.

Its quarter past 6 now, and I'm pretty much alone in the lab, except for the lab assistant who keeps pestering me by spying on me. He's looking at my screen very curiously now, so I had better leave. Its au revoir for now.

P.S. - My new number in Bangalore - 09379021272.

P.P.S. - Blue is the colour, football is the game
We're all together and winning is our aim
So cheer us on through the sun and rain
Cos Chelsea, Chelsea is our name.

Of TS, Footy and Swimming

A sunny Wednesday morning. Half an hour at the insti swimming pool, a boring and unintersting breakfast and a one hour EE-208 lecture (spent reading Arthur Hailey's "Strong Medicine") later, here I am, sitting on my desk humming to the tune of "Kryptonite". Perfect time for blogging.

The previous fortnight has been quite a revelation for me, a period of renewed interests as well as new-found aspirations. The former with regard to TS & football and the latter with swimming. All this punctuated with my experience at the insti library and my one prized (I-should-be-proud-of-it) personal achievement.

TS, a time of the year which we dread the most. Speaking of which, I must tell you, this time  around yours truly played the role of "The Teacher" for a change rather than the usual "The Baster" (annoying and irritating our very own revered Mr. Dhaka, even when he tried relentlessly to put some (non)sense in the minds of us poor souls). Well, as goes the famous proverb "As you sow, so shall you reap", I did reap considerable rewards for my generosity towards my fellowmates, this TS being the best for me in the past year. At least, that's the way I feel about it. My DC machines score too agrees with me, improving by 200% over my previous try.

The four days encompassing TS were also filled with a few happy moments : the violet-canopied tree outside our wing (described eloquently in Murtass's blog), the fun-filled eve playing football (even though I wasn't part of it) and of course, Man U (basters) screwing up at home against Porto. And, yeah, Chelsea rules! More so after the see-saw, nerve-wrenching encounter with Shitterpool. I sincerely hope that Porto beat the hell out of Man U tonight. That would certainly call for a celebration. 

The library experience: Friday afternoon, 2 days after TS got over. No electricity in Azad Bhawan, so obviously no net. Peltering heat. The entire wing frustrated, looking to while away time. Then out of nowhere the dimunitive mastermind (aka Chote) comes up with a brilli-aunt idea. Library Chalo!! "Awesome", I said. And so 6 of us, with our lappies and headphones, made our way to our Great Library. The next 3 hours were spent gleefully downloading games, watching movies, chatting and playing FIFA on the first floor, even as our not-so-awesome friends considered it to be blasphemous and instead fought the heat and boredom in their rooms. This was the maximum stretch of time that I had ever spent inside the library, and which, I guess, I put to good use. Thank you Civil Dept. people (or whoever they were) for giving us such a great library.

And now, to Swimming, something which I had thought of learning a long time ago (1st year 1st sem, just like the rest of the guys). The insti pool opened today for the first time this sem. Timings: from quarter to 8 to quarter past 8. I not-so-eagerly got up at 7:15 and 15 mins later found myself at the pool. Only the first 40 people to arrive were allowed, so obviously me and my friends had to make it early. In the end, the situation got out-of-hand as more than 80 guys turned up, all willing to take a dip. As a result, we got only 15 mins time in the pool. But that was time enough for me, a beginner, to fill my stomach with as much water as I could, in the end feeling like a water-balloon. All that ingested water soon made its way out into the wash-basin (urghhhhhh) immediately after I returned from that darned morning lecture.

6:40 pm - I have just returned from UG Club, all exhausted after an hour spent playing TT with SSS (Sexy Sleepy Soccer-lover) aka Jynja. The Power electronics prac and the "wannabe-HOD" who presides over the lab had got me all jaded, so I decided to slip out at the hour mark, unable to take it anymore. Also, with virtually the entire Department going berserk over SURA applications and chasing profs, I decided to cool off my heels at the club. Today being the last day for submitting SURA applications, everyone was very busy (even Mallu!). I would have been one of them, all worried and harried, had I not had the privelige of securing a fellowship at IISc, Bangalore. With the fellowship safely in my pocket, I can breathe easy, albeit for now. Bangalore beckons and I'm game.

Dhun..... At Last!!

3 eat-outs in 3 days! Turned out be a nice weekend for me, apart from the crappy Bhawan Day ("Jai Ho" anyone??). Had to play AOE for 6 hrs straight to get over it!

Well coming back to the gluttonous meals (kind of a rarity after coming to R-Land), this one was in Dynasty (again!). The occasion: "DHUN- The Symphony", a splendid show (but obvious) put up by the Music Section.

Dhun, an event which had supposedly been planned to occur every year, finally took place for the first time in many years. And it was AWESOME! For one, this time music sec decided to get the audio done from professionals instead of our very talented Audio sec guys (@ahuja: no offence meant.... hehe). Well, let me take you through the eve as I saw it.

I set out for the hangar at abt 6:30 in the evening, with Mallu accompanying me. He apparently had been summoned to the scene abt an hour ago by PM seniors. But as vele as PM guys are, Mallu decided he would make it in his own time. I was welcomed at the gate by some more vele PM guys (one of whom I was made to wish "Happy B'day").

The show began to the tunes of "Fear of the Dark" and a fantastic performance of "Bring Me to Life", both of them sponty performances, just to get the crowd rolling in. A beautiful rendition of "Vande Mataram" brought the audi to its feet (literally!). "Meri laundry ka ek bill" filled the crowd with the required enthu which persisted till the very end. Meanwhile, the comperer was having a hard time on the stage, only to be relieved of her misery by the performers (if only temporarily).

Well, about Atulya. What a wizard! He really is the "Wizard of R"! When he starts weaving his magic, all others around him seem mere mortals. That's exactly what he did in "Sacrament of wilderness", a song executed to perfection on the keyboards by him and Udit on drums. What followed was a mesmerising sequence of hard-rock songs, all performed by our 4th year seniors, which had the crowd head-banging to every beat (damn.. it still hurts). Even our Lit guys joined in the party, with Rishabh, Kondy, Murty and Sushi all there; Murty was sporting the same bermuda he had on during the Bhawan day.

However the high point of the day was undoubtedly our OC - "Lost in Light", with Shaun turning in a sterling performance on the leads. It was a legen-waitforit-dary perfomance by all standards. The night ended with Neel sir performing "Aakhri Alvida", which was very much praised by the professors (u know which one :P), who for the entire evening had been sitting in his seat, watching professors one after another leaving the hangar and students one after another entering.

All in all, a great eve culminating in a great show. Here's the playlist in its entirety. Rock fans will love it!

1. Fear of the Dark - Iron Maiden
2. Bring Me to Life - Evanescence (Awesome!)
3. Vande Mataram
4. Meri Laundry Ka Ek Bill - Rock On
5. Sacrament of Wilderness - Nightwish
6. Sing For The Moment - Eminem
7. OC - Nth Degree
8. When You're Gone - Avril Lavigne
9. Symphony of Destruction - Megadeth
10. Enter Sandman - Metallica
11. Carnival of Rust - Poets of the Fall
12. OC - Lost in Light
13. November Rain
14. Aakhri Alvida

P.S. - @section guys - You Rock!! Love u all.

P.P.S. - Soumya Mam was really looking "hip" yesterday. A whole new avatar!

Heya!!

My first blog, my first post. Something long due, but eventually realised only because of fear of probably being the only guy left in Lit without a blog (well, not really though...... Ahuja is too dumb to write one). After finally finishing 4 seasons of HIMYM in 5 days (a legen... wait for it.... dary experience) in the aftermath of Cogni, I decided to make better use of my time (well, that was the intention, i guess). Had some thoughts roaming around in my head , so sooner or later had intended to pen them down. After coming back from "The Well-Lit Dinner", I just couldn't resist it anymore, and so here I am wasting my and other people's time. This is just the beginning I assure you

I'd like to begin by writing about what I like most, my favourite hobby - Quizzing. I wouldn't be wrong if I said that the inspiration for blogging came to me only after reading the Awesome blogs of Awesome LitSec people.
Let me mention that when it comes to quizzing, I'm a complete loser (loohuuusuuheerr!), atleast as compared to rest of the guys in Lit. So are my team-mates Rakesh (mallu) and Abhishek (ahuja). Ironic, to say the least. But that doesn't bother me, coz I know that even if I go to the ends of the world to change it, it won't. The bottomline is ..." I Suck".

Moving away from that obvious reality, let me tell you something which lightened up my mood. What else - "The Great Lit Dinner" in Dynasty, that too for the very 1st time. Till yesterday I thought there were only 5 kinds of people in Lit -

- "The Geeks" (e.g Ashok a.k.a Rapu a.k.a Rapster)
- "The Awesome" ( e.g. Saagar a.k.a Lefty)
- "The Wannabe-Geeks" (e.g. Ahuja)
- "The Wannabe-Awesome" (e.g. Condy) and obviously
- "The Losers" (e.g. yours truly).

But then, I came to know of the existence of yet another kind of people in Lit, a kind whom I had failed to notice on numerous earlier occasions but were very much the "Centre of Attraction" on the night ..... "Jetty" and "The Wannabe-Jetties" (e.g. Pisra). Having such people in your company really makes you feel good and forget all your flaws. That's why I've decided to dedicate a whole post on these "awesome" people and "Jettyhood" on some later date.

P.S. - The origins of the address of my blog can be traced to our beloved Sushi (who btw has a fondness for "kela").