The MNS thing:'They' have a say

People who know me well know that I love Pune. Also I love travelling to Pune. So I was all set for a pleasant train journey last week after a particularly tiring day. Now, I couldn't get a reserved berth for myself and that meant I needed to stand for the next for the next 3 hours.Suddenly the scenic mountains were gone and in came visions of an aching body. And then out of the blues I decided to do something I had never done because it was 'cheap' but secretly I always wanted to. So here I was sitting at the doorsteps of the coach. To my surprise,nobody bothered to notice me.
An hour and half passed and I was joined by a guy not more than say 23-24, smelled of crude jasmine oil,with a 6600 in one hand and a carry on bag in the other. He looked at me gazing at him. I withdrew and went back to examining a blank tunnel wall, wee-bit embarrassed. Then without warning he pulled one of my legs up!! I saw a fast approaching platform, pulled back and had a narrow escape. Before I could thank him he said " Arre bhhaiya abhi tang chali jaati ". It must be the whole controversy surrounding north Indians or it just might be my narrow mindedness, but the first thing that I noticed was that he was one of 'them'....To be continued soon

My Ecological footprint

Wikipedia defines one's ecological footprint as-
The ecological footprint is a measure of human demand on the Earth's ecosystems. It compares human demand with planet Earth's ecological capacity to regenerate it.

To put it in simpler terms... It tells you ki tu dharti pe kitna bada bojh hai.
That's because it gives you the ecological footprints in terms of earths. So if you have, say a footprint of 2.71 earths, we'd require 2.71 times the resources on the planet if everybody started leading a lifestyle same as yours. Which means you need to change certain aspects of your living. So go for the test and post your scores here. Mine was a meagre 0.41 earths :))

The link to the test is : http://www.myfootprint.org/

Top 7 reasons why I HATE North Indians

I hate North Indians. Yeah! The very sight of them sends hate waves down my spine...
But my reasons for such levels of despise are rather... should we say ... umm unconventional. Here's the top 7 in my list :
1)Those guys have Priyanka Chopra,Preity Zinta, Minisha Lamba, Neha Dhupia, Esha Deol and other goddesses ... All we have is Urmila Matondkar!! Wow!! That really excites me! REALLY!!
2) Their leaders find innovative ways to stay in the news like sting operations, chalisas on their names, memorials at parks... All we can manage to find are leaders who have no creativity as far as PR is concerned. Damn!!
3) North Indians get a large chunk of India... I mean, they get an ENTIRE DIRECTION to themselves!! All we get is a pea-sized state and an illusionary title MAHArashtra.
4)North India is to the North i.e. it is closer to the North Pole, this means that taking the annual pattern of the earth solar rotation and revolution into consideration, the cumulative amount of sunlight that North India receives is more than what we do.. And then we go about wondering about the cause of the power crisis... Brains, people, BRAINS!!
5) North India has been ruled in the past by the Mughals, Ashoka etc... It was the battleground for the Mahabharata, Ramayana, The Annual UP parliament Wrestling Championship, etc. Amcha Bollywood makes movies on all this futile issues and people. But I don’t see a film on Shivaji Maharaj or 'VT station at 6' any time in the near future. Let justice befall upon our souls!
6) Ok now here's one that I'm really concerned about: You see North India, as I have already informed you, is to the North. Ok? Good. So it’s closer to Pakistan. Now whenever Pakistan will attack us, they will know that we will assume that they will attack through the north. But that is where they beat us! Instead they shall fool us by starting from our own Maharashtra. Don't you understand the gravity of the situation?
7) You know, North Indians have this ugly habit of hard work. I tell you what it’s a scam. As Phoebe Buffay had hinted in FRIENDS, when the Ant People attack our civilisation, they’ll be looking for good slaves and they'd kill the rest with their acidic anti-people venom. North Indians know about this controversy since they are part-descendants of the LION-people (Singh, you see). All they are doing by driving our taxis, building our houses, selling awesome panipuri is just a preparation for Armageddon.

I told you my reasons were unconventional. Some might even find them impractical. But which seer didn't have critiques? My claims are sound. They are at least much, much saner than a certain Thakerey.

Wierd Name, Awesome Place

Well, just got a mail from my bro who is at this place in Canada doing his PhD. The place is called.. ok .. hold your breath : Saskatchewan. Add to the wierd name a climate that's presently scaring polar bears at a chilling -20 degree Celsius and a population size equal to that of Chunabhatti. Why on earth would someone be so insane to stay there? Here's your answer:Thanks Aditya for the pics

Nadi's blabbering

Perhaps the most eagerly awaited chunk of bytes on VESIT's cyberspace is now up for all to cherish. Nadi's SPARX 2007 speech link is here:

http://nadispeaks.blogspot.com/2008/08/sparx-2007-speech.html

Time to ACT!!

Well , another academic year begins and ends a month long of uninterrupted sleep. Oh !! I'll surely miss waking up at lunchtime... and that wholesome meal, quite different from the ... erm food served in the college canteen. But perhaps what I'll miss the most is the peace of mind. With the college having begun the most common question is not 'Jaane Tu or Dark Knight. What say?' but its the more easier one 'MS or MBA?'... and for someone who thinks zillion times before choosing an ice cream flavor, its not at all as pleasing as a movie. While colleagues rush in to fill up the coffers of the IMSs and the TIMEs, folks like me stick to the ancient excuse-'There's still a lot of time'.
But times of lukkhagiri in the canteen will soon pass... and the college ka katta will soon have to be replaced by the cousellor's desk... Your 'Surfing History' tab would feature university websites rather than social networking websites. And that time will come without showing up on hoardings. Absolutely no alarm bells ....
I can also join the hordes of people, who've obeyed the mind of the 'crowd' and just started preparing for the heck of it. But that seems like running blindfolded in a race- not a sight of the goal.
Its such decisions that , they say maketh a man. And if I am to face the 'big bad world out there' I'd rather make this one soon. Whether I am ready or not I have to accept it that- Its time to ACT... Either I act that I know what I want to do or I act to do what I want to do.

An A.I.R. of Inspiration

I just got a new pair of earphones for my cell phone and along with that I also got myself a new addiction -RADIO. And like most radiobuffs I prefer to stay at the lower frequencies,the more hip ones,with zealous RJs, creative jingles and even more interesting show concepts. So when I wandered into the higher frequencies one day(sorry if I'm making radio sound as if its a very important part of my life,but frankly it is), the ones with the lame RJs and even lamer shows, a meek yet cultured voice fell onto my ears.

My fellow citizens...

Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh voice was crystal clear and so were his thoughts when he announced a much anticipated but equally dreaded price hike in petroleum products. After the justification for the same, he made an appeal to the nation...
And perhaps it was listening the whole thing on radio rather than reading about it in some editiorial where the PMs thoughts would be adulterated by the authors comments on it, but was as though a friend was asking for a favor. The request sounded genuine. The man too did. And for the first time I realised a sense of respect for Dr. Manmohan Singh, who has been overshadowed by the persona of his party high-'command'. As an afterthought, perhaps the urge to save fuel had never been more after I heard the address. Also I was reminded of something that I had forgotten long ago, to get my voter's card ready.
I like you to read the following excerpt from the address. We've all heard about the energy crisis and blahblahblah... but the whole thing coming out of the mouth of a person who is responsible for a billion people's wellbeing has a different kind of impact:

I would like the nation to remember that issuing bonds and loading deficits on oil companies is not a permanent solution to this problem. We are only passing on our burden to our children who will have to repay this debt. Cutting down on the returns of our oil companies will choke a sector vital for the growth of the economy. We need more corrective measures in future on many fronts. In the long term, our country must have a sound strategy for energy security.

To begin with, each one of us can conserve energy and contribute to national security. I urge every citizen to conserve energy at every step, every minute of the day. Be it petrol, diesel, kerosene, LPG, electricity or even water , let us learn to save and use efficiently. Let us reduce wasteful consumption of petrol.

Finally, we have to develop alternative sources of energy, whatever be the source. We cannot remain captive to uncertain markets and unsure sources of supply. We have to develop renewable sources of energy, including nuclear energy.

My Fellow Citizens, today more and more of our people are enjoying the fruits of development. It is the responsibility of the Government to ensure a secure future for all our people and for future generations. We cannot think only for ourselves, for the present, for the here and now. We must think about what is good for future generations - for the welfare and security of our children, grand children and their children. It is our duty to ensure their food security and energy security.

The steps taken today are part of that process. I hope each one of you will strengthen our hands in building a strong, secure and caring India. An India where the aam aadmi feels safe, secure and hopeful about the future.

Jai Hind!"

Hostels for students in Mumbai

From the time I knew that I was about to spend 4 years of my life in Mumbai... the first thing I did was to google the term "Hostels in Mumbai". Because given the rocketing prices of private accommodation in this city, you'd rather stay in a hostel, unless of course your grandpa was ossum enough to leave you some of his moolah to blow up.
And since its 'that' time of the when students from other cities come into Mumbai, I thought it would be good if I put up the list that I had consolidated after hours of 'google'ing .
Places I've listed below have been put up randomly. I suggest you use the map of Mumbai to look up places close to your institute because although transport in Mumbai is much better than most other places,its still a pain in some-body-part-that-sound-similar-to-an-animal's-name. Once you shortlist some of the places, its time to hit the road. Get a backsack ready. Put in loads of glucose, a pair of binoculars, a map, a compass and yeah pirates flags, zero-G suits, alien-impersonating costumes ... you get it? Right now forget the backsack at home. Take apna local to get a feel of the REAL Mumbai. Reach your destination. And ask directions from the city's over-helpful people. I bet someone would even drop you there. And so your journey is over or rather it begins.

So here we go with the list then:
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Chatrapati Shivaji Smarak
Address D.N Nagar Andheri(W) Mumbai


D.N Patel Hostel
Address Nana Chawk,Gramdevi Police Station,Grant Road
Mumbai

Dr.Bhall Patil Hostel
Address Above Pupi Medical's ,Versova Road,Andheri(W)
Mumbai

G.L Mundra Hostel
Address Meshwani Hostel,Lala Lajpatrai Road,Malad (W)
Mumbai

G.T Bhatia Boarding
Address Opp Tejpal Hall Nana Chowk,Grant Road Mumbai

Ganesh Hostel
Address C/O L.R Dani ,Gangawala Bldg,Bombay Central
(W) Mumbai
Government College
Hostel Address C.Road,Churchgate Mumbai
Government Polytecnic Hoste
l Address Kala Nagar ,Bandra(E) Mumbai

GTD
Address Off New Empire Cinema,Grant Road Mumbai
H.A Desai Boarding School
Address Near Napoo Garden,Matunga C.R,B'Y-19 Mumbai
H.G Jain Hostel
Address Opp Navjivan Society,Laminton Road,Grant Road
Mumbai
Kapol Hostel
Address Near Kapol Niwas ,Dr Ambedkar Road,Matunga
Mumbai
Jain Hostel
Address Near Elphiston Station ,Elphiston Mumbai
4225315

Koli Patel Samaj
Address 3/12 Dastur Building,21,Santacruz (W) Mumbai

Kuchi's Hostel
Address Kama Lane ,Ghatkopar(W) Mumbai

Lad Parishad Bhavan
Address Near Liberty Garden,Cross Road No 4,Malad(W)
Mumbai

Lohana Vidyarthi Bhavan
Address J.D Bhavan ,OPP VJTI College,Wadala Mumbai
M.S Mehta Hostel
Address Dadabhai Road ,Near Bhavans College,Andheri(W)
Mumbai
M.S.P Jain Sang
Address 139 Kailashpuri,Panchwati Society, Malad(W)
Mumbai 8403988
Maharaj Vasant Hostel
Address Bandra (E) Bus No 714 Mumbai Tel 6442062



Mahavir Jain Vidyalaya
Address Gowaliya Tank,August Kranti Marg,Grant Road
Mumbai 3864417

Modh Vanik Hostel
Address Swami Narayan Chawk,Dadar (E) Mumbai 4945044

Mohanlal Dayalbhai Sanatorium
Address Opp Amlukh Amichand School,R.A Kidwai
Road,Matunga Mumbai
Modh Vanik Vidyarthi Bhavan
Address Swami Gyanjivandas Marg,Dadar Mumbai
Mundra Hostel
Address Devi Dayal Road ,Mulund(W) Mumbai

Oriental Hostel Mazgaon
Address Mazgaon Mumbai Tel 3712243


Parle Kelawani Mandal
Address OPP Kooper Hospital,Parle (W) Mumbai

Patel Samaj
Address Patel Samajwali.Jojeswari(W) Mumbai

Rajawadi Hostel
Address Vidyavihar (East) Mumbai
Rangwala Hostel
Address Bijadada Road ,Matunga C.R,Matunga Mumbai
RVG Hostels
Address D.H.V Lalu Bhai Pathak ,Andheri(W) Mumbai Tel
6781517 ,6283292
Shree Kuchi Jain Vidyarthi Griha Address Opp Railway
Station 122,Sandhurst Road Mumbai Tel 3763108


Students Hostel
Address Ahuja Building,Opp Central Work Shop,Parel
Mumbai

Oswal Hostel Trust
Address: L.B.S. Road
(Ekta Apartment)
Shop # B/2,
Mulund (W), Mumbai 400080

Phone: 25613507

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I am acquainted to people who stay in some of these places . You might just wanna clear out something... post it over here... we'll see if I can help you in any way.
And hey shed those apprehensions about coming to MUMBAI. The people here are great. Apart from the time when they are not cribbing about the people here.

Review: The 3 mistakes of my life

While describing ' 3 mistakes... ' on his website Bhagat states ' A book that has : BUSINESS, RELIGION , CRICKET
Well you can hardly ask for a better winning combination for a book that is tailor-made for Indians.
In this semi-autobiographical book Bhagat uses his trademark style to present a narration that is as close to realism as its presentation is to melodramatic cinema.
The plot:
Based in the 'not-so-hip' part of Ahmedabad , Bhagat depicts a story of an individual's(Govind Patel) struggle as an entrepreneur while he tries(unsuccessfully,though) to stay away from any distractions-in the form of love and channelizes his friends' (Omi and Ishan) passions to make profit. The book does justice to all the 3 aspects that it says form its main theme . While Govind is a practical businessman with a strong sense of entrepreneurship, Ish is a cricket enthusiast to the core and Omi, a son of a priest is a person who's decisions are influenced to quite an extent by religious aspects. Bhagat has thrown in the Gujarat earthquake and the Godhra riots to bring it closer to the public's heart. As usual he aces in his depiction of the female protagonist(Vidya) who is a typical small-town girl wanting to 'escape from the cage'. The story is about how Govind makes 3 'mistakes' that cost him a lot more than he can afford to lose.
Where Bhagat scores and earns:

• He once again scores 10 on 10 as far as characterization is concerned. You can identify with each of his characters .
  
• Although it is not the central theme of this book as against FPS , he handle the intricacies of love and friendship really well. If there is one author who can bring out the 'sweet nothings' of love in an Indian scenario with all its sensitivity and the nostalgia of being in love, its gotta be Bhagat .
• His description of Gujarat in general and the people there in particular is impeccable.
  
• Although its not as humorous as the earlier novels-at least its no comparison to FPS(or maybe the novelty has worn off) it is still a gripping tale which coupled with his amazing knack of striking a chord with the narration style, is hard to put down.
• He's cashed on the fact that entrepreneurship is the new buzz word. But has he created the passion that the word evokes? I didn't feel it stirring me.
• Bhagat has always written about topics that are close to the Indian heart, the guy understands Indians' sensibilities very well and that perhaps is his biggest forte.
  

Where Bhagat misses and loses:

• Perhaps the biggest flaw is it's climax. Almost as if the editor thought he'd stressed on one overtly flimsy part too much to include the rest of the important stuff. Maybe he could have said something more about Govind the entrepreneur or Ish the cri-crazy enthusiast. But he chose an end that would rather suit a film's climax.
  
• Some parts of the book are needless as they don't add much to the plot. The Bondi beach chapter seemed to be leading us nowhere, for example.
• There are parts in the novel where he goes overboard with the melodrama. He chooses completely wrong moments for it as well. Consider this attempt at 'preaching' a message of persistence.
  A guy is lying on the hospital bed after taking sleeping pills to commit suicide. His mom says "Life will have its setbacks. People will hurt you. But you don't hurt them back. This something that the whole country needs to learn" ...one patriotic mom i say.
  

• Although the plot builds up well, it isn't as gripping as FPS or 1N@CC.

All in all, a good novel to pass your time with(But not good enough to read it a day before your vivas and get flunked the next day,as I unfortunately discovered). Bhagat fans most certainly won't be dissapointed. Whether he gains new one's or not, I'm sceptical about it. But hey it's just me.

Stray Kitten

Here's an email from a friend of mine.
See if you can help.

Hello,

I found a stray kitten yesterday evening in my building. Its a healthy 2-month old. White and light-brown mix. Very adorable and affectionate. We took it to the vet, who declared it fit. It limps slightly at the moment, but that should get fine in a few days.
I'm attaching a few pictures of the kitten.

If you are interested in adopting it, or you know someone who might be, please let me know.

Just send an email to : sjanani87@gmail.com
If not, please forward this mail to those who you think might be interested.
Do pass on the message.

- Janani

Clean-up Mumbai

'Kachara mat pheko varna....'
Jurmana Rs. 200

You see these huge hoardings put up across the city nowadays. Its true we all know that our drains are getting clogged by all the filth that we produce . We also know how important urgent action is in this regard. Well, so we do have a 'purpose' clear in our heads. Great!! But its the 'implementation' of the whole 'drive' that troubles one. I mean, I've never seen a BMC mama fine someone 200 bucks for littering around . Neither have you guys, I bet. But if the rule has been brought in order then there must be measures taken to see to it that people abide by it. The ban on plastics for example is mocked at each time a kirana store gives a thaili to you. And its the authority of the court that is being mocked at. Without the 'enforcing-of-the-law' bit , the campaign is nothing but a fake warning , very similar to moms telling their kids 'Doodh peelo varna ... bhootuncle aa jaayenge'
If the BMC is really concerned about the cleanliness of this city, then certain things like these need to be looked after immediately.
Anyways the monsoons are coming. And so, I'm sure are overflowing drains... The BMC is sure to get a rude awakening;
Cleanup Karo Varna....

THE UnderPerformer RANT

Ever since I was born,I knew I am an underperformer. In fact the only time I felt I was better than anybody else was before I was born .I was 'The Chosen One' to be brought into this world. I desperately wanted to show the middle finger to those other sperms racing with me . Then I didn't have the finger, now I dont have the opportunity(Coz those losers were never born).
When I was born, I was really eager to gain some attention. I feigned a 'cardiac arrest'. But since I wasn't such a good actor then ,half the people thought I was sleeping. The other half didn't even bother, they'd already given up on me being of any use.And when I got a KT in pre-school ,my parents were elated. They said they were expecting a year 'drop'. It was not as if I was bad at everything. I once survived a swimming class for 2 straight days.But I hated swimming. On the third day,I feigned 'cardiac arrest'. Only this time I forgot I was in the water and nobody noticed me. But it worked. Dad came to the hospital and yelled at me, said something really gibberish but I made out it had the words 'no', 'more' , '$#%#' and 'swimming'.
High school was worse. Although my first crush brought in some really happy memories, that didn't last long. She didnt think a new pair of 'waterproof' kolhapuri chappals were cool. I wonder why. They looked really great on her right leg. I couldn't find out about how it would look on the other leg though. Because she never brought it to school. Came with crutches instead. I always wondered why until she used them to whack my butt.
When I went to college, I knew things would improve. The Law of Averages said so. However I had forgotten the YeschRaij law of UnderPerformer that contradicted the Law of Averages
Popularity is:
1)directly propotional to how many affairs you have at the present moment
(affairs with members of opposite sex fetch more points)
2) directly proportional to how dumb you are
(measured in terms of SRK)
3) directly propotional to close you are to your 'mitti'
(whatever that means)

Since I didn't score in any of the above criteria I knew life would be mediocre.
I tried to setup a company . But nobody thought much of using airplanes as explosives on Diwali then. Until a chap name Osama stole my idea . Smart guy, I say.
My luck with girls did change though. A good looking girl asked me out once. And then we dated for the next one year. Then somebody told me that ' asking out ' is not the same as ' get out' and 'dating' is not 'meeting me in the staffroom' and ' Mrs. Kichupulianapillai' was not exactly what one would call 'good-looking'.
Tired of the humiliation, I decided I had had enough. Then I switched on the TV and saw what i was made for ....
====CONTINUED IN THE NEXT POST====

Humorous sign ads!!

I came across this one on the net recently ...
Damn witty!!

Advertisement In A Long Island Shop: Guitar, for sale....... Cheap...........no strings attached .


Ad.. In Hospital Waiting Room: Smoking Helps You Lose Weight ... One Lung At A Time!


Seen on a bulletin board: Success Is Relative. More The Success, More The Relatives.

When I Read About The Evils Of Drinking...I Gave Up Reading.


My Grandfather Is Eighty And Still Doesn't Need Glasses... He Drinks Straight Out Of The Bottle.


You Know Your kids Have Grown Up When: Your Daughter Begins To Put On Lipstick.. Or Your Son Starts To Wipe It Off .


Sign In A Bar: "Those Of You Who Are Drinking To Forget, Please Pay In Advance."


Sign In Driving School: If Your Wife Wants To Learn To Drive, Don't Stand In Her Way.


Behind Every Great Man, There Is A Surprised Woman.
The Reason Men Lie Is Because Women Ask So Many Questions.


Getting Caught Is The Mother Of Invention.


Laugh And The World Laughs With You, Snore And You sleep Alone.


The Surest Sign That Intelligent Life Exists Elsewhere In The Universe Is The Fact That It Has Never Tried To Contact Us.


Sign At A Barber's Saloon In Detroit: We Need Your Heads To Run Our Business.


A Traffic Slogan: Don't Let Your Kids Drive If They are Not Old Enough Or Else They Will Never Be.


Sign In A Restaurant: All Drinking Water In This Establishment Has Been Personally Passed By The Manager.


Sign On A Famous Beauty Parlor Window: Don't Whistle At The Girls Going Out From Here. She May Be Your Grandmother !


******

The BCCI scores...

The BCCI 'slapped' a ban on off-spinner Harbhajan Singh for reportedly slapping Indian Team colleague Sreesanth on-field after the former's team(Mumbai Indians) faced defeat at the hands of the latter's(King's XI Punjab).
What happened was totally uncalled for. And the BCCI would feel the sting more than anybody else. The BCCI has left no stone unturned to make the inaugural edition of the IPL successful. Moreover it has even declared awards for the players who play in the ' Spirit of the Game ' . No wonder than that it went for such a harsh penalty for Bhajji .
A lot has been written already about what happened on the field was a result of the BCCI's unwavering support for the offie in particular and youngsters in general when it came to the indisciplined display on the ground on previous occasion. And that it has acted like a nanny that is too forgiving of a child's follies . And now the toddler's grown big enough and so have his follies.
But by banning Bhajji it has made a strong statement here . That it means business . The board that claims to be even richer than the governing body of world cricket had taken a huge step when it announced the IPL. IT drew a lot of critisism and apprehensions along with the expected 'wows' and 'ooohs'. And then somewhere between the cheerleaders at the fences to the celeb performances in the middle, the simplicity of the game was lost . And if the BCCI had one chance to prove to the fans and the franchisee owners that it was not blinded by the glitter, this was it.
Kudos to the board for playing on the front foot and avoiding the perils accompanying a back foot defence.

Word of caution for Bhajji: Dude, if you've hit the guy,then just say it. Because for me if the video evidence contradicts what you're saying, which implies that you're lying , there's no reason why you wouldn't be lying on previous occasions where similar discipline related questions have been raised against you!!! You're integrity is under the microscope ,mate ... and believe me, that worse than being slapped or being called a monkey!!!

SFE-Helping me P.T.O

S.F.E.-Students' Forum for Electronics
The name that has become a passion in the past year. I don’t know what I’m going to write about it. But since this is MY blog and it has things that concern me, it’s but natural that SFE is typed into it sooner or later.

I've reached a stage where my relationship with SFE has probably come to an end. And it is now that it strikes me how much I owe to SFE for making me realize my own worth!!
Frankly speaking, the 2 years prior to VESIT were perhaps the worst of my life. I was in the middle of nowhere... one hand clinched the past as tightly as it could not wanting to let go lest I’d falter & fall and the other circumspectly reaching to the next step & timidly withdrawing it too afraid of breaching horizons. I'd lost the spark that once people said characterized me.
Even when I became an SFE co-coordinator my apprehensions did not abandon me immediately, having being fueled with years of cynicism and negativity they were bound to 'cling' to me. Then gradually without me realizing it... I started viewing things differently... Each challenge that SFE put up to me... each seeming so exciting that I never thought of quitting for a single second. And in times I wavered from my grit, I had colleagues who although like me were exploring themselves showed that it was not a lone battle for me.

The transformation was not sudden nor was it anything miraculous. I didn’t change myself. No. Did I find a new person within me? No. I didn’t reinvent myself. Rather, I’d say that I discovered myself. I always had the skill sets hidden in me , somewhere , but never being tested , they just lay there , rusting , until the rust spread to my mind and I was blinded of who I am. SFE provided me with opportunities to see beyond the veil and find myself.

There is a tale I’d like to narrate at this point,

There were once two old men who were on a long journey. To their misfortune, they came across a valley which could only be crossed by walking on a thin piece of log put across the two opposing edges. One of them thought of the painful death he’d face if he’d fall and dreading every step he put forward. Suddenly it came to his mind that the long journey had caused terrible pain in his legs and that he would be totally incapable of going across the valley. In a few moments, the valley resounded with a ‘thud’. When the other man stepped onto the log he noticed that the wind was too mild to cause him any hindrance… but pleasant enough to keep him at peace. He thanked the Lord that the valley was to be encountered early in the journey when he still had fresh pair of legs. Not miraculously then, the man crossed the valley and went ahead on his journey.

Today when I walk through the road or the college corridor, I don’t notice the reasons why a guy next to me is better than me, I seek qualities in me that differentiate me from him.

I am unique. I am special. And I will always be grateful to SFE for making me realize such a simple thing.

Exams and experimentations

My brother just got rid of the 12th standard board exams appearing from the MH state board, wondering if it was worth the effort he had put in while on his pursuit of an engineering degree. With the engineering CET exams and other competitive exams coming into the scene, the impetus of the boards has greatly reduced , no doubt about it. I mean its still relevant , but in fewer places... say family gatherings for example, where oldies brag about their grandchildren topping the merit list. Sure, it also helps those unfortunate souls who have to rely on their boards marks for a decent higher education opportunity. But one has to agree, such people are a handful.
The CETs were introduced a few years ago to bring in a competitive spirit and to raise the bar of the merit of the students getting admitted. The trial did fail in certain states such as Karnataka, these are one-off examples affected by other seemingly 'non significant' things. Since the introduction though, people have accepted it as the de facto means of securing their favorite seats.
But has the administration accepted it , in spite of the fact that they were the one's who introduced it?
The fact that they are still clinging to the age-old system suggests the obvious . I think that's where our education lacks. And perhaps even we as a nation lack. Changing . We all are too content with the way things 'take place'(and not 'are done') , whether it's the non-existent queue at the station counter or the 'immobile' file at the babu's desk... whether its the night lamps we burn to top a inconsequential exam or the deal at the Center that never went the right way.
Perhaps once we start accepting change, we'll improve as a nation. But the irony of the situation is that for that to happen we ourselves must change. May be that is why the phrase Be the change is so relevant today.
Lets change so that old aunties speak about the right things.

Came across this post in the blog: http://unwindingthemind.blogspot.com/ maintained by certain Vaibhav Kamat

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10:30 AM on the VESIT 4th flour

At 10:30 the bell rings, its break time .But no break for SCR(society council members)
Students looking so pathetic in the lecture , suddenly are the men of action.
Some run, some jog and slowly the random mob seems to forming n-sized groups . while few
still like to run dodging the fellows . In the pretty confined space of the corridor SCRs manage space , after all managing is their job. Discussions are in the air and the sound waves superimpose and distort.
Many time their are announcements and the SCRs force their way in a class , sometimes the students/SCR ratio is embarrassing , but adjustments are made persuading the outsiders.The groups move from one class to another and the PROs repeat the same stuff.Yeah SCRs are excellent time managers too!
At the peak time, people density is at its best. Many SCRs excellent dodging
skills rescue them. As they say "when going gets tough tough gets going".
Finally the ending bell rings , SCRs realize theres end to everything. groups slowly disperse and the men of action are again the dull guys in the classroom along with others...
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Very well put, Vaibhav. Its strange how being in the thick of things kind of rouses certain people's energies and channelizes them... Perhaps it's the sense of 'doing something' in this monotonous engineering life or maybe as Dale Carneige wrote, people just want to 'feel important'. Whatever it might be, this is the thing that makes VESIT what it is for me and I'm sure many share the thought. And no amount of cribbing on my part about non-funtional printers, slow-internet connections, lousy staff ,pain-in-the-ass faculty can take away the fact that many remain and many will be indebted to VESIT for giving them this pleasure to discover heroes within themselves.

Moving into trance

The first post . Not exactly . Actually I've made many attempts prior to this to maintain a functional blog. Somehow I could never manage it.

By the way, I'm Grafitus…

Excuse me for choosing such a blatantly obvious username to be addressed. Two things I'd like to clear out though.

1. I'm not a Roman history buff. Nor was I bowled over by 'GLADIATOR'. It's just that I like the sound of the name to be used as a 'mask'.
   
2. 'Mask', you ask?(the rhyme is not intentional, its just that I'm naturally into poetry ;).. well the reason I'm not using my real name here is that I'm getting excited at the prospect of cribbing about certain stuff in this blog, and though I doubt anybody has the time to bother, why give them a chance. )
   

Well, to continue with the introduction then, I 'study' Computer Engineering at VESIT in the MUMBAI university… now ,now don't form a notion that I'm one of those boring S/W developer geek types who scare you to death with their philosophy. That's because I'm not into software much. And I'd rather not comment on the philosophy part. Im very passionate about my college, a kind of passion that originates only from the people there and not VESIT, really… A very intriguing post on VESIT will surely follow in due time, im sure.

On the personal front, I'm 19 and committed. Its been wonderful so far and I hope it continues to be so. Its also changed me in ways I'd never thought was possible. I've become religious, for example… and I've learnt to put up with gossip… almost!

Also, I've staying away from home in hostels, apartments , friends' apartments, relatives apartments etc for a quite a while now … So you may have to put up with some how-to-manage-life-on-your-own-in-this-cruel-world posts… I'm sure those would prove extremely helpful (to learn how to control the urge of not throwing stuff at the screen )

Psst… I almost forgot… I admit I'm a pathetic writer, but I'm not posting for others to read and curse. I'm writnig to curse others*follows this with an evil lung-bursting mythological serial kinda laugh*

Until next post then . Ciao…to myself