Sunday, December 30, 2007

REFLECTIONS 2007

.Well the name might suggest a cultural fest more than a first person take on a year that promised a lot but provided moderate satisfaction and fulfillment. Emerging at the other side of the tunnel here's a tribute to 2007.
.365 days and 1/4 days sped past with the speed of a tgv. Yes the year was a blur but laced with it's share of events. On the better side india were crowned t20 champs,arsenal's wonderful run in the premiership,pratibha patil as india's first woman president,democratic battles all around europe to name a few on the darker front benazir's bhutto assasination,scores of lives being lost to terrorism and in the fight against it,doping scandals of marion jones and floyd landis excetra .Amid all this laughs and tears i became an adult legally and can exercise my franchise. Well jus an addition to the humongous indian voter list.
.JANUARY:1/1/2007 was different from its siblings.Mumbai is a city which parties unto death and i wasn left out. Our complex threw up a lavish party(alcohol included) and i had a ball.legs tired of dancin ,throats dry of shoutin i hit the sack at 4 only to be flying 10 hours later back to college.Cold mornings in trichy and de dullest of starts to de 2nd semester.brushing and rushing to classes was de order of the day.Luckily trips to saarang and a win in an ims quiz were the highlights. January represented its weather bleak and dull with streaks of sunshine.
.FEBRUARY:St.valentine cast his attendance and the leo club of r coll put up this "INTERACTION" party dedicated to him and people who practice his religion-love. Well it had a riffraff dresscode(Yellow for homo's enjoyin de majority) and an lovey-dovey atmosphere.Well people painted the barn red and de moral police was present so tat "STUFF" doesn get out of hand.Ya i forgot one thing we wrote our 1st cycle test.
.MARCH:The sun eventually won de hide and seek battle against de clouds and vented its pent up wrath on us nittians. "Pragyan" de tech grail of nittians graced this month .Sadly i had sinned enuf in my previous janma and missed it.Well Pragyan-08 promises to be bigger,better and an ISO-9000 tag around it's neck.Trips to my native place and meetin my grandparents after long time augured well for me.Well js and i discovered r now favourite pasttime weekend visits to de ayyapan shrine in trichy cantonment and dinner at sangita's.
.APRIL:An eventful month indeed.My birthday came and i turned 18.Escaped from the wrath of customary bums,got wonderful presents and stuff which i treasured.Early april and late march saw NITTFEST set upon de 3000 strong student community.A total and allout war of talents,minds,legs,voices and what not.A hellhole were money and insanity were abundant.As usual(now its customary almost) we the ECE came out victorious and am happy for whatever tidbits i helped in.Hardly had de tired legs,scrambled brains and de strained voices struck when SECTION DHAMAKA cast its spell over first years.My section did well and finished 4th(despite de boos v got due to a couple of overambitious STUDS).D section deservingly won it.April was easily de most entertainin month of de first half.By the way,v wrote r second cycle test.
.MAY:Everythin was like a detention cell in guantanamo bay for me.The harsh weather,water problems and over all an enigma called SEMESTER EXAMS.Well i certainly wasn gonna get de mark registers ringing but i was sure it wouldn be a flopshow.So i write dem and twiddled my thumbs waitin for de results.Ya hols set up and with a 25% engineer tag all over me i trudged bak to bombay.
.JUNE:Sleep,sleep and more sleep. Yeah city centre,prithvi theatre workshops,movies with gomzy and chitchaat with my parents helped me beat an ulti-boredom month. Yeah but i did grace singapore for five days.The most memorable moments include eating sambar out of a plate at komala's on upper serangoon road, visiting genting,putrajaya,jurong,sentosa and penang.
.JULY:RESULTS!!!OMG!!!As expected it was a good score(i wont mention it).I trudged back to coll with hopes of gettin screwed up in ECE and making new friends. ECE did surprise to me an extent.There were people of my ilk u know last-bencher goofers,studyin only when needed and enjoyin life to the maximum,runnin out of classes,solvin crosswords and pokin people all in de classes. nv,swami,dib,scistu,dope,rameez were my fellow warriors for this cause.
.AUGUST:My family temporarily shifted to chennai and my sis was posted there also which meant i had got back a luxury which i had been deprived of:frequent visits to madras nalla madras. When dere joy rides on sis's scooter and endless pamperin provided a luxury i can ill-afford in coll.August was pretty quiet unlike de emporer its named after.
.SEPTEMBER:FESTEMBER de festival of th year loomed large.So de publicity team scurried to all parts of south india lik industrious ants campaigning lik anythin.As one among dem i had hell a lot of fun visiting mcc,mop,ethiraj,wcc(i din ask for dem) with two girls who r among my best friends now. De goof-ups and gaffs we did and de fun tat resulted are unparalleled till now.And yeah festember was a roarin success with neighbours SASTRA donnin de mantle once again.Yeah v wrote de first cycle test.
.OCTOBER:Wasn really interestin and i don remember anythin interestin to write home about.
.NOVEMBER:Early part of november was cold as winter settled in with frequent rains adding to de misery.But the frequent visits to dhaba and snacky for the tangri,medu vada,steamin coffee were lifesaving.i wrote de second cycle test.Then sadness cast its pall over me as i went thro one of de most emotionally troublin period in my life.It was due to four brilliant friends who cried along with me tat i got thro tat tough time.
.DECEMBER:The gloom refused to go away and de melancholy ceased to lift but de four willed me on.SEMESTERS came along and since i had performed decently in de cycles i wrote de semester with a dose of confidence but with my heart and mind somewher else.But as sunlight broke thro de rain-bearing clouds streaks of happiness returned and my mind and heart rested as de emotional turbulence was behind.An interestin entity called "in-plant training" conquered de second years and i became its victim also.Well it was an enrichin and educative experience preparin me for forthcomin on-sem projects,workshops and internships.Well a movie called EQUILIBRIUM caught my attention and ARSENAL was at its best den.

.Well its with a heavy heart tat i bid goodbye to 21st century's 7th child.Pregnant with its 8th it beckons me to a new era in my life adulthood,responsibility beckons ,maturity is a requirement,challenges become thicker and friendships thicken. I looked ahead.

PS:Things to luk forward in 2008:1)Narendra Modi becoming PM.2)Pragyan 08.3)NITTFEST(well ece s gonna have its way again)4)Arsenal winning de premiership,FA cup,Carling cup,Champions league and billions of fans5)my birthday6)friends,treats more friends and more treats 6)yes de eternal sanctum sanctorum of insanity and madness DIAMOND 8 and last but not least 7) REFLECTIONS 2008.
---------DO COMMENT------------

Sunday, December 23, 2007

the school-where i still live...

.one last glance,yes one last glance at dose wrought iron gates,the two columns hugging it and de plaque de support above splashed with letters saying "P.S.SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOL".my sister accelerated and it disappeared.

.15 years ago as my mom often tells me i walked through de same gates holdin onto a hanky in one hand and my thumb lodged tightly in my mom's hand. i was howling tat i won't leave her side but eventually i had to and clutching de hand of my preKG teacher i stepped into an institution steeped in tradition and history.my mom always sed tat i cried non-stop for de first week but later came to accept de situation.kindergarden passed on and i entered primary.

.dere was dis system called merit cards in r school wher u needed to maintain a particular percentage to get it.1st standard i din get it and i was de only one in my class in my class who din get it. i cried like anythin and said to my mom tat i will do my best to achieve it in de forthcomin years. ps was beginnin to change me and dat was de time i realized tat somethin called competition exists. 2nd and 3rd came and went but i found an elixir called friendship some of it's patrons will continue till my end. 4th came and with it came my first crush. i still can't explain dat silly feeling i experienced wen i looked at her.it lasted briefly and i later will come to know tat somethin called hormones do exist. adolescence and teenage had crept in without my knowledge.

.middle school. friends grew de friendships thickened and i discovered de loves of my life. science had always intrigued me and in 7th standard i fell in love with chemistry. i loved basketball and went for coaching but returned with a bleedin lip on de first day itself courtesy sandeep. fun and frolic etched dese years which i later learnt wud b de last days of my innocence.

.secondary introduced me to de strain of studies and was an indication of de harshness de outside world held for me.my days of goin to sleep at 10 were numbered. burnin de midnight oil concept was jus announcin itself. excursions were always borin till den but de first time v went on a long distance trip i enjoyed de freedom and was one of de best memories in my life. finally board exams loomed and i somehow coaxed thro dem but i had a bitter surprise waitin for me after tat. many of my close friends were shiftin school and little did i know tat dere vaccum will never b filled.

.X1th and X11th. dese years were crucial and were goin to decide my future. i was never outspoken in school and many of my friends would agree tat i became an introvert durin dese years even though de occasional indulgence of quizzes,debates,jamming were dere. iit classes,strenous academic hours in school were robbin me of a lot of things tho sessions of hand tennis helped a lot.r X11th classroom always resembled a club with hand tennis at de back and table tennis at de front. de seclusion of r class guaranteed us such fun. as my days in de school were numbered de feeling was heightened by de farewell. tho not melodramatic by any stretch of imagination i miss many of my classmates and de unendin hours of fun i used to hav with dem. final exams came and went.

. last day of de school. it was a tearful partin r anythin as most of us were rejoicin over completin de exams. but little did i know wen i saw de schoolgates closin after r bus had entered tat de gates of childhood had closed behind me. lay ahead a harsh world. ps had changed me and in de process of tat information it had etched itself into my heart and wil b dere till i die. last week when i went dere again all dese memories some pleasent some unpleasent came rushing back so i taught why not i tell u guys huw much my school meant to me. it's not much of a homage but with a tear in my eye and a few precious words i hav put down i leant meaning to my emotions to de institution which defined me. yes, those were de best days of my life .PS ROCKS!!!!!!

Thursday, December 20, 2007

why i a gunner???

.....people who read thro dis might not appreciate de factual description involved but will definitely understand why football as a game appeals..... de first ever premiership match i saw was on 16th august 2003 de game:arsenal v everton result:2-1.. i knew nothin about premiership when i watched de game but one man stood out for his skills,temperament :thierry henry...every gunner worships dis man and idolizes him....his foot works magic... de two goals he scored were jus de tip of an iceberg which wud den form de 3rd jigsaw of a 49 unbeaten streak... 16th august 2003 to 27th october 2004...gunners ruled premiership...football was a joy to watch de stadium a plethora of delight and squeals from de cuisine dished abt by 11 pairs of legs....de flow was imminent de ball kept on rollin and mostly into de oppositions net...de world was introduced to one touch and every gunner fell in love with it....people said football had lost its charm but little knew tat it had taken up residence at highbury,north london....however i still thank derby for denyin gunners de 02/03 title for den such visual splendour arisin out of de pain of missin de silverware by an inch mite not hav been dere....but dere was no further denial....38 unbeaten results from 38 matches...yes milestones flied past,records tumbled,de gunners armoury marched on....yes hopes turned reality at a late april evenin at whitehart lane,london.....dere was no longer denial it was pure bliss,culmination of a fantasy spannin nine months,a victorious march... yes arsenal lifted de premiership...de football of highest quality was witnessed men came in went out but de quality was never compromised on...a force had emerged from highbury.....an ode to lehmann,cole,toure,gilberto,parlour,pennant,fabregas,vieira,pires,kanu,ljungberg,bergkamp,henry and wenger....go gunners!!!!....2007/08 isn much different jus de residence has shifted emirates now looms large....fabregas,van persie,hleb,adebayor,walcott have emerged but de arsenal style will not change de spirit still dwells within....premiership glory is not far!!!arsenal for champions..

nitt

..... criscrossin arid lands,towerin buildings,a busy highway,946 acres... well all dis mite jus b a cemetery but for de 3000 and odd living souls dere..... nitt is an example onto simplicity and how life works.... de entrance with de high metal gates and de wind-driven institute sealcrest is an example of how technology and reality go hand in hand.... inside de arcane pathways and roads mite well pave ur destiny.... housin 9 engineering departments and oder dan dat architecture,management and computer applications dere is no dearth of academic diversity..... each department functions like a well oiled machine right from de root to de crest.... yes comin to de soul of de institution de students... comin from mundane and remote parts of de country nitt poses a challenge of adaption to dem... de crevice between de two cliffs looms on one side home's warmth and comfort and on de oder side a life in an alien land which promises and paints de horizon with prosperity... friends emerge as flowers on de oder side der plumes and blooms paintin de scenery with varied hues... ur compelled to cross... u take de step and u plunge into a life full of fun,frolic,relationships which u mite cherish for life.... years pass by in de college but de child in u awakens whenever festember and nittfest set in.... ur creative side roars and from every neuron stems ideas de ful for life... de competitive spirit pollutes de air around you and only dose who sift thro de troubled atmosphere with der dextrous skills and mind emerge winners... tech institutions aren complete without techfest.. nitt without pragyan is inconceivable... dis brainchild started four years ago kindles scientific temper and opens avenues for us to scourge and answer humanities questions.... its just a small insight into wat future holds for technology .... its instills in us de power to create de drivin force behind an engineer... fests apart de soul of nitt has a rendezvous with de clc daily.... its here laughter,tears,smiles,joy,sadness r held within de walls of dis imposin structure... de confluence of souls cant b more vibrant dan dis perhaps enhanced by de beauty of de sanctuary inside...
every soul feeds off... so do we... food isn de best in mess but de beloved dhabas and samfoxes rush to de rescue....hostels!! de souls sanctuary... de place where de live for four years and more... literred with happiness,painted with melancholy and powered by reality de form de heart of de institution... of course de souls need directions to find dere feet... de might not be de polaris r de guidin stars but de light of knowledge and skills permeatin from de teachers brighten de horizons for we students... maturity comes along as v pick up de scraps life has for us and try to solve de jigsaw.... de goal is achieved wen de picture is complete.. 4 years pass wen v look back at nitt v mite not hav time to cherish de brilliant times but jus one partin photo which wil always lie in r breast pockets.... nitt is unique and every soul which passed thro its hallowed portals will agree with me..

de decrepit soul

...... well nobody knows wat life holds for us.... i knew i had to make decisions fast and dat de crossroad was imminent,loomin and visible...... de tension was mountin and i felt de pressure upon me ... i knew it was time to act and to keep up my goals... i felt as if billions of eyes were on me and i was de scrutiny of dere incisive looks.... well it was upon me .. de period ... april to june 2006 .. it was horrible terrifyin and strenous... de hooded exam caper was on all of us and i was one of its victims... i took each one of dem blow by blow wastin my sweat as droplets of ink dose few precious droplets of silver chloride wil decide my destiny.... de physical and mental soul was tarnished and became decrepit after de whole process... it was time to rest and heal dem... but always at de back was a gnawing thought tat de fruits of my work were comin.. but i did not whether it was an adam's apple or a mango nectar... wen de day arrived it was a mixture of emotions ... i had to manage failure and success with equal measure ..... destiny had chosen my path and willed me to carry on.... de decrepit soul came out of de maelstorm but it had seen de crux tat life had in store for it in de road ahead... de journey began.. a calm after de storm...