Whimsical Thoughts

Stanley Ka Dabba - A Must Watch

2012-01-04T02:12:00.001+05:30

After a dismal batting performance from Indian Cricket Team, I required something immersing that could take my mind of cricket. Sure, there were a lot of movies and the toughest decision, as always, was to zero in on a good one. Without much of a thought, I went to the Hindi section and started 'Stanley Ka Dabba' (SKD). Little did I know that I would be moved and compelled to write this, for it takes an effort and some sheer class for a movie to get this lazy blogger out of his deep slumber. And, believe me, there was no dearth either the class or the concept when it came to SKD.

Set in a good English medium school of Mumbai, SKD is a story of a talented kid named Stanley, his friends having fat 'Dabbas' (Lunchboxes) and a teacher. The teacher, a villain of sorts, is infamous for not managing his own lunchbox and being dependent on fellow teachers and students (particularly the Stanley lunch box gang) for his lunch. On the other hand, this innocent kid Stanley is helped by his friends during lunch hours. Jealous of Stanley, our teacher somehow always manages a bitter tongue for him. Set against this basic backdrop, SKD manages to move beyond the realms of a simple student teacher tussle. As a viewer, you can always sense bigger issues simmering at the sidelines. You can always tell that there is something more to the script; that the stage is set for a larger show. Eventually, when the final scene unfolds, SKD has the power to move you. Even the so called tough guys will find it hard to avoid a surge of compelling emotions that run through the body and overflow from the eyes. There are a little or no emotive dialogues. But the lack of it does not fail to drive home the point. In fact, it adds value to the communication of the whole idea. It is said that the deepest of human emotions are perceived in silence. No wonder the audience is given the time to ponder over the issue our society so badly faces.

SKD depicts the ability of Indian Cinema to give a voice to prevailing societal issues in an effective manner. At the same time, SKD is not condemning or restrictive in nature. On one hand where it deals with a problem, it also goes a long way to personify human courage and compassion. Never once in the ninety minutes of run-time, SKD fails to emphasize the importance of human dignity and self respect. All of this is packed in a very simple, easily digestible and effective package that keeps the viewer engrossed. In parts, the movie is also about small-small events that make the school life memorable. The innocence of childhood, the desire to excel and to be accepted is captured beautifully. In fact, there are times when, as a viewer, you are reminded of your school life and you feel the urge to go back to your school life and add a few feathers to the cap.

Overall, SKD is a powerful and compelling piece of Indian Cinema. It is a canvas where the soul of the art lies in the innocence and the colors are nothing the blacks and whites that define human existence. Undoubtedly, it is among the best movies that Bollywood has produced in recent times. In my list, it ranks with the likes of Udaan and Tare Zameen Par. A must watch !!

Invictus

2011-12-10T17:09:00.000+05:30

A short Victorian Poem - Invictus inspired Nelson Mandela for 27 years. Pure, unadulterated, sheer inspiration.

Out of the night that covers me,

Black as the pit from pole to pole,

I thank whatever gods may be

For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance

I have not winced nor cried aloud.

Under the bludgeonings of chance

My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears

Looms but the Horror of the shade,

And yet the menace of the years

Finds and shall find me unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,

How charged with punishments the scroll,

I am the master of my fate:

I am the captain of my soul.

- William Ernest Henley (1849–1903).

One month down the memory lane

2011-08-12T01:57:00.006+05:30

It’s been nearly a month in IIM Shillong and I am just in love with the green campus we have and the natural beauty of Meghalaya, especially that of Cherrapunji and the areas nearby. I visited Cherrapunji along with my batch mates on the very next day of jaunt to MawPhlang forest. Undoubtedly, Cherrapunji is among one of the best places I have been to. The highlands are as lush green as they can get and their power to transcend you to another level is truly exceptional. Then there are smoky clouds which seem to converge on you and make you feel majestic. The journey itself epitomizes a tourist destination. And the most amazing thing about the trip is that I can still see those exceptional views when I close my eyes. I can see the lush green hills, extremely deep valleys, a beautiful garden, several waterfalls, forests, beautiful wavy roads and those clouds. It is as if somebody has painted the canvas of life with different shades to bring out the best nature can offer. I can just visualise myself looking out of the window of our bus and the breeze rustling through and making me feel free. The very view of a clear sky, untainted by any amount of pollution can be liberating. Those were the emotions that I don’t have the words to describe. I can just feel them. And that was a high of its own kind not experienced by this writer before.

Anyways, I will come back to my campus and will shed some light on the special events of the last month. As expected, none of us missed an opportunity to have fun at any point of time. We had the birthdays of many of eminent personalities of our batch and we celebrated them like anything. But what transpired at Kush’s birthday cannot be discussed on this blog. Nevertheless, more than any single event, it is more of a combination of small-small moments that make life special here. It can be as simple as fighting to get hold of a badminton or table tennis racket or taking a walk in the campus when everyone has gone to sleep or the long discussions. The discussions tend to range from heavy to extremely stupid and silly things. But the essence is in the belongingness rather than the subject of discussion. It has a beauty of its own.

By now, the reader must be wondering that IIMS is all about fun and all is cool here. But let me just tell you that they make you feel rigour instead of just putting it in a brochure. We have days where sleeping looks like an activity of past. Even the shortest possible amount of sleep looks unachievable. You have got assignments, clubs and committees work and other commitments to honour. Loss of sleep and changes in behavioural patterns is directly proportional to the speed at which a course goes. And the expectations of the instructors should not be talked about. Amidst all this chaos, many of us did not even realize that at least one fifth of many course books have been covered and we are expected to know everything because a surprise quiz or random questions might be round the corner. And it does not end here. A lot many of us wait for the weekends to finish the backlog, only to find that it is already booked with corporate visits, guest lectures or knowledge sharing sessions. In a short span of time, we have had the honour of interacting with chairman of ISRO, Minister of DONER and Chairman NEC, President of HCL, CEO of Hammer communications, Chairman UPSC etc. to name a few. These interactions have a charm of their own. And being a part of an academic legacy, you would not want to miss out on those interactions. So the result is more sleepless nights.

In a nutshell, you need not go to an amusement park to find what a roller coaster means, come here to experience it first-hand. It will be exciting, humbling, encouraging, thought provoking and worth every bit of effort you put in. That is what life is made up of at my Alma Mater. This is Life @ IIM Shillong.

Life @ IIM Shillong

2011-07-23T22:55:00.004+05:30

It’s been nearly three weeks since I first stepped in at IIM Shillong campus to become a part of the fourth batch of PGP participants at IIMS. But it seems like a thing of distant past because a lot has happened in these three weeks. I don’t know from where to start. The very first day I spent in hostel was filled with palpable excitement. We were getting to know each other and the topics for fluent conversations were scarce. But first week changed everything. I had heard the concept of hell week at many IIMs but what it takes to experience the same is a different thing all together. Just imagine yourself being bombarded with sessions, assignments, presentations and senior-junior interactions for twenty four hours a day and seven days a week. All you talk about is the next case study or article review or a coming presentation and the constant anxiety of what the future has in store. Sleepless faces were omnipresent so it never took a flash of genius to figure that out. But amidst all the chaos, there was something that was changing every one of us and was making us better at what we need to do. We were actually shedding our inhibitions and it was the time when belongingness and care for one another was being seeded in our minds.

I still remember the days when I was extremely apprehensive about joining IIM Shillong. I had calls from IIMB, IIMI and XLRI in addition to that from IIMS. I was not able to convert the first three and needless to say, I felt devastated. I was in a dilemma that I did not want to handle. But looking at the present moment, I feel happy to be part of IIMS family. I used the word family because this is the feeling that I have observed in the air of IIMS. We are not just a bunch of individuals who are here to compete. We are here to learn from one another and to help one another in becoming the best we can. We are the Incredible 106. Yeah, that’s what we call ourselves - ‘The Incredible 106’.

Destined to do great things in times to come, we have already announced our arrival at the Talent show that got concluded on last Saturday. We had very talented participants in almost all the areas. Dancers did a fabulous job and were backed strongly by the singers and guitarists. Then there was Apoorva, who got a standing ovation for his extremely talented mimicry. The surprise package of the whole event was a fashion show that got the audience really excited. To top everything, we had the batch video made by Rajan. I cannot describe the feelings that the video evoked in our batch. That goes to reinforce my belief in power of movies to evoke emotions. The incredible 106 did not stop at just the talent show. We have been to journeys together and have shared wonderful memories. The time spent at the Badminton court, Common room, Old boys’ hostel ramp and at the birthday parties will probably be the one giving us most cherished of moments in years to come.

Wise people say that in order to appreciate peace you need to experience chaos. Well, I could not just agree more. Three years in one of the most chaotic parts of the nation and now I could not just help appreciating the beauty of Shillong and the peace it has to offer. Today was one of those days when I experienced a profound sense of peace and beauty in one package, all because of a faculty organized excursion to “Sacred Groves” of Mawphlang near Shillong. It was ‘Pandora’ personified in the real world. The clan taking care of the groves have a hierarchical system of their own. Their belief in the deities and spirits of the forest has endured the tests of the time and sustained itself. There is so much to write about these groves that it might require a new post but even then I might not be able to do justice with the actual experience. One has to actually go to the forest and experience it in order to understand how profound untainted natural experiences can be. I just want to experience it again before I die. I want to sit there uninterrupted, close my eyes and sit in silence. Silence can be liberating as well as haunting. Today, it was liberating. I am really hoping for many such experiences as life moves on at IIM Shillong aka IIM ONE (IIM Of North East).

Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening

2011-05-30T23:52:00.003+05:30

I remember this poem as the first poem in my English book when I was in school. Back then, I was too little to realize the depth of this brilliant poem. But now whenever I feel like tired, this piece of poetry helps me to regain my strength and motivates me to keep going. I just love it. Here it goes!! Enjoy!!

Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village, though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.

My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.

He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sound's the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.

The woods are lovely, dark, and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.

- Robert Frost

Bleed Blue - World Champions 2011

2011-04-03T02:55:00.009+05:30

April 2, 2011 will go down as one of the most celebrated day in Indian Cricketing History. A long twenty eight year wait of a nation obsessed with cricket is finally rewarded handsomely. The men in blue have done it. They exhibited hunger, passion and full commitment to the job. In fact, it has nothing less than an exceptional display of skill, integrity, team effort and courage to win the most coveted cricketing trophy. The tears of Joy, the roar of victory and a set of overwhelming emotions were at the display when the final line was crossed, when the final ball was lofted towards the long on boundary for a six. It was a six that will remembered and cherished for a long time. The years to come might fade the visual representation of the view but it wont be able to touch the feeling and the experience that this victory has brought. It was a feeling beyond words and believe me, it is not an over statement.

Looking back, one can say that the 'Men in Blue' were always tipped off as the favorites to win the cup but nothing came easy for them. They played against a spirited Ricky Ponting in the Quarter finals. Definitely, it was some brilliant display of bowling that restricted Australia to two hundred and sixty. But a team like Australia always had a reputation of asphyxiating the opposition in chasing this kind of a score. That was why it was not easy and required composure from likes of Yuvraj and Raina to see India through. The reaction of a pumped up Yuvraj was enough to decipher how badly he wanted to win. A win, at that level, meant that India was getting ready for what was declared as 'The Mother of all Clashes' - India v Pakistan. The media was having a field day. They had the got the best story of the world cup. Corporate India was supposed to be on an official bunk. Projectors and Big Screens were being set up to witness what could be a golden day in history for Indian Cricket. So was the excitement, nervousness, anxiety and hope among the supporters that a defeat was unacceptable. This was supposed to be a true test of composure and ability to handle the pressure. After a lot of nerve wracking and nail biting moments, Team India managed to emerge as victorious and registered a date with the destiny.

So it was today, the final of ICC Cricket World Cup 2011, where India needed to perform and win it for Sachin, for themselves and for more than a billion Indians. Today just reaffirmed the reputation of India as a cricket crazy nation and it is quite evident that there is nothing as Cricket that has the ability to unite and uplift India as a nation. And Men in Blue did it. The 'Captain Cool' and the 'Second Wall' answered the call of the duty and made the country revel in moments that will last a life time. Thanks a lot for all the efforts that you guys put in and congratulations for the victory at the biggest stage. Enjoy Team India !!

Revel in the moments of glory because you guys are the deserving champions. You did it !!!

Helping Hands

2011-01-16T20:36:00.017+05:30

This year has been an erratic one till now. I experienced a lot of different events and emotions in just 15 days. Most of the fascinating experiences were attributed to the Helping Hands Event, an endeavor to help poor people fight winter by distributing Blankets. It was something that was initiated last year by a group of motivated individuals. The idea was to generate as much money as possible from people working in different companies and to use it for getting the blankets for poor people. I was lucky enough to be part of the initiative for a very brief period. But that brief period was enough to motivate me for this year’s task.

Last year, a total of 170 blankets were distributed and this year, we all wanted to take it to a new level altogether. We started by informing as many people as we can through our social circle. We floated a mail introducing our co-workers about the cause and asked for the support they can give to the cause. I was hopeful as well as nervous when I wrote that mail. A lot of new faces had come up in my project since the last effort and I had no idea how they would respond to the mail. But at the same time the network had grown bigger. We had Alcatel Lucent, TCS, SatyaPual, Flour Danial and a few others aboard the ship and that meant that even the smallest of trickle at any of these places could lead to the avalanche we were looking for. After all, we needed all the help we can get.

Just a day after dropping the mail, I saw funds pouring in faster than my anticipation. The response was overwhelming to say the least. Soon we crossed 10k mark from my project and then it was 20k in two more days with more than 70 people coming forward alone from my project. Similar responses were seen from Alcatel Lucent and other companies. It was wonderful. By Thursday, the date we were planning to purchase blankets on, we had generated more than 70k from all the sources combined together. Stage one was doing handsomely. Now, we had to move to stage two and buy blankets at the best price we can get. This led us into the hearts of the Cloth Market in Chandni Chownk, Delhi. Wandering through the narrow streets of the market, we finally zeroed in on a retailer who had quality blankets at a decent price. After a time consuming but a fairly satisfying selection, we got over four hundred blankets in 68k. Finally by 11 in the night, we had the blankets in our warehouse and the satisfaction of a job well done in our hearts.

We had already started with distribution by giving out six blankets while coming to Gurgaon from Chandni Chownk. More hands came forward to help us on Friday. Some took the blankets to Faridabad, Noida and Delhi while the others kept the pace up in Gurgoan. One part of the process was to roam around at night and give the blanket to the one who needs it. It was an instant success just because of the support that we were offered from all the sides. Second aspect of the distribution was to target strategic locations and gather people there from nearby areas. The biggest challenge that we faced in this process was to identify the one who really needs a blanket and is bound to use it. We knew that we cannot eliminate misuse altogether but we aimed to minimize it by taking all the precautions we could. We made sure that people use the blanket while taking them. The packing material was collected by the volunteers and was disposed of properly. Availability of monkey caps and ear covers (we got some more funds after purchasing blankets) turned out to be a boon in final distribution process. This increased our reach and also helped us to control the crowd where things were bound to go haywire. By Sunday, we had distributed majority of our stock and felt great about it.

Personally speaking, the distribution was one hell of a roller coaster ride. There were many moments when I felt that I need to be more thankful for what I have instead of cribbing about what I don’t. On Friday night when we were near Sheetla Mata Temple, I saw a man, physically handicapped, lying in the shade of a tree with a very thin blanket as the only cover against the freezing winds. I went towards him and covered him with a blanket. All he said to me is that it was pretty cold and he needed the blanket badly. I left the spot after giving him the blanket. But I could not help wondering about the sorrow and pain that plagues our world. Life did not seem to be fair at all. My problems seemed inconsequential as compared to that of such people. Needless to say that it was a reminder of the fact that I need to learn gratitude and that I must appreciate the gift called life. I also realized that what I am doing is not everlasting and does not constitute even a fraction of what needs to be done. Of course, I felt good that at least some people will be helped by the blankets. But at the same time, my actions were too small than what I can actually do and their scope was too narrow than the actual need of such people. When I met a man running an NGO specifically for the upliftment of slum kids by providing them with education, I felt the long vision of such a work. It is something that I would like to associate myself with. It would be like teaching them how to make their own blankets. It would be great. Anyways, blanket distribution was a great learning curve and an eye opening experience for me. Hopefully, i will be able to do more stuff for people who need me.

Signing Off,

Tarun

A Great Poem - Solitude

2010-11-19T01:43:00.007+05:30

Laugh, and the world laughs with you;

Weep, and you weep alone.
For the sad old earth must borrow it's mirth,
But has trouble enough of its own.
Sing, and the hills will answer;
Sigh, it is lost on the air.
The echoes bound to a joyful sound,
But shrink from voicing care.

Rejoice, and men will seek you;
Grieve, and they turn and go.
They want full measure of all your pleasure,
But they do not need your woe.
Be glad, and your friends are many;
Be sad, and you lose them all.
There are none to decline your nectared wine,
But alone you must drink life's gall.

Feast, and your halls are crowded;
Fast, and the world goes by.
Succeed and give, and it helps you live,
But no man can help you die.
There is room in the halls of pleasure
For a long and lordly train,
But one by one we must all file on
Through the narrow aisles of pain.

- Ella Wheeler Wilcox

Let the Audit Begin.

2010-10-15T23:45:00.007+05:30

14 October,2010.

Ladies and Gentlemen, believe me it's true. Your ears are not betraying you. Yeah, it's true, Delhi has successfully hosted the nineteenth commonwealth games and got a pat on the back as well, even from the die hard critics. Against all the odds - which were more than of considerable size - Delhi once again proved to the world what we Indians are already aware of. What exactly?? Well it's simple.. We are known for our ability to improvise at the last moment - The Great Indian Jugaad. Nobody can match an Indian to raise the level at the last moment to get things done. It might be shoddy or even hollow from the core, but things generally get done. Anyways, lets just be more fair and objective in the analysis.

Lets first concentrate on the positive aspects. One of the most important aspect of the organization was the security of all the delegates and sport persons and safe congestion free transport. It goes without saying that Delhi was spot on in that area. Over 7000 policemen made sure that Delhi is not shamed by any uncalled for unfortunate event. Moreover, most of us who are well acquainted with the never ending traffic jams of NCR found the roads to be well managed and traffic police on its heels in order to keep the things moving. Another areas where games won accolades were the opening and closing ceremonies. Opening ceremony was applauded as befitting for showing India as a united nation treasuring its diverse culture and the closing ceremony was meant to exemplify the advent of India as a global power which can not be neglected in world affairs.

Once madam president and prince Charles jointly declared the games as open, there was no looking back. It was action time and we saw some arrangements were not able to withstand the tests of time. Games website which is the first point of contact for many games lovers was disappointing to say the least. For a IT giant such as India, it was a piece of cake to build a simple site for games. Believe me, we are capable of handling much complex systems than a simple dynamic website. Anyways, barring a few such major glitches the games went more smoothly than any Indian could have imagined. We even managed to grab the second spot and 101 medals. The performance of Indian players is something that we must be proud of. Well, now the show is over. What next??

What do i mean by what next?? Isn't it simple to understand that life goes on and we should resume our busy lives with same pre-game conditions. This is the general notion that has ruled Indian hearts for so many years. Time and again we have let corruption off the hook, specially when it was staring us in the face. Lets try something different this time. In all the merrymaking, lets not display how shoddy our memories have become. Lets not forget the blatant corruption and apparent dereliction of duties that plagued the games from start. If we keep the fire alive and spread the message, we might be able to force the government to take strong steps. By strong steps, I mean exhaustive and transparent investigation by an independent and competent authority and tangible punishments to the guilty.

In order to accomplish this gigantic task, Media needs to rise to the occasion. We all know the power that media holds in a free country such as ours. But it needs to realize that this power gives birth to an equal amount of responsibility. The responsibility to do what is right and at the right time. And it does not take a genius to figure out that the time is right. Government needs a prod or may be a slap and media, with all its power, can simply oblige. Let the Audit Begin !!

Inception

2010-07-17T01:02:00.007+05:30

"Your mind is the scene of the crime".

Inception was one of those movies that I was desperately waiting for. Being a Christopher Nolan movie, it was highly anticipated and much hyped. Before going for the movie, my expectations were high and so were the apprehensions that come bundled with an over hyped movie. But Inception made to list of those rare cases where a movie delivers what is expected out of it or probably more.

(No Spoilers)

Right from the start Inception keeps you occupied. There is too much happening and you consistently try to solve the puzzle that it throws at you. A story unfolds within a story. By the time you figure out the first one, the second one is in the process of giving way to another one. The first of half the movie goes into building the framework and laying out a detailed description of the phenomenon that rules the movie. And the second half is too hot to handle. Just imagine yourself completely glued to the seat, constantly formulating answers to all that Inception had to offer. The second half is packed with all the ingredients that make Inception ever more special. There is enough action and special effects to make any Sci-Fi feel proud; enough thrill and surprise to keep your mind occupied and more than enough complexity to challenge you. Moreover, the emotional depth that the main protagonist has exhibited makes Inception stand apart from similar kind of movies. Barring a few scenes where the set up looks absurd, Inception does not offer even a single dull moment. Well, there is always a scope for improvement J…

Anyways, let me come to the artistic side of the movie. The phenomenal blending of the background score makes the whole presentation very engaging. As usual, Christopher Nolan delights the viewer with his uncanny skill and imagination in storytelling and direction. Leonardo DiCaprio, once again, has proved his ability to understand the intricacies of the situation and to devote himself to the character he is playing. Michael Caine, though plays a small role but, is as composed as the Alfred in The Dark Knight. Ellen Page charms like the smell of the fresh air with her little assignment. Joseph Gordon-Levitt rises much above his role of a confused and grieved lover in ‘500 days of Summer’. Overall, the cast delivers all that is expected from a Nolan movie.

After watching the movie, I wanted to know what Mr. Masand had to say about Inception. In a nutshell, he described Inception as a movie that challenges its audience and expects them to dive in for a mind boggling ride. And I just couldn't agree more. I hate to say this but I do feel that you need to watch this movie twice to understand all the subtle things that make it really special. It might remind you of Memento and Matrix, but it goes into an even deeper and more swirling matrix. If you want to see a movie that is simple and unsophisticated action, then please don’t watch Inception. You will come out of the hall with a frustrated and tired mind. But if you have the willingness to try something new & weird and you are bored of the mundane movies that have nothing to offer except archaic concept of love, then Inception is made for you. Go and judge it for yourself. You may or may not like it, but you will have an experience of different cinema and that is the USP of the Inception.

I will go with 8.5 of 10 for Inception.

Two years of Irony

2010-07-03T00:54:00.012+05:30

The clock had struck twelve and officially a new day had begun – 30^th June 2010. Exactly two years ago, I was being inducted into TCS in an Initial Learning Programme (ILP) at Trivandrum. A week into the programme and realization of my mistakes had struck me. It was shocking, frustrating and confusing to find myself in a place where i thought I would never go. But there was no time to waste or to brood over past. I had to move on and pessimism had to go to make room for hope and optimism. Thus, a plan was in put action that would make sure an early and successful exit from TCS. Plan was an unambiguous one and all efforts to make it successful were unadulterated and synchronized. But the results were ironical. The exit strategy was supposed to work but it did not. Consequently, I found myself in TCS after two ironical years.

Looking back, I do see a lot of anguish, pain and hopelessness in these two years. I find it hard to remember the number of times I felt like a loser. Perhaps it was a reality check. But it does not matter anymore. Whatever it was, the good it has done must be taken into account e.g. I never knew I had the courage to go on and on even after feeling uninspired and I had no idea about my ability to fight till the last moment. I had never restrained and disciplined myself so much. These two years have tested me in many aspects and have made me resilient.

Moreover, I have come to a better understanding about what drives me and satisfies me. I do realize that nothing can satisfy me more than a fully exhausting, dedicated effort towards something meaningful even if I don’t get the desired result. The hard work that goes in pursuit of a Goal energizes me and helps in saving me from the negativity that a failure brings with it.

Well, irrefutable fact of life is that the bigger and painful the fiasco is, the more it toughens up you for the game called life. And something called ‘HOPE’ keeps driving you towards a purposeful goal.

Hmmm.. I must sleep now. Once again, I have poured more than I initially set out to do. If I have to recapitulate the whole thing in one line then i would just refer to this dialogue:

“The night is darkest just before the dawn. And the dawn is coming” – The Dark Knight

:) Signing off.

-Tarun

PS: Next time I go to an Interview, I will say that I am passionate about the dialogues of the movies that really captivate me.

Greenland and Global Warming

2010-05-30T00:48:00.009+05:30

Someone like me, who is obsessed with his own little world and its vicissitudes, hardly finds time to explore what lies beyond his little world. But when I do, the feeling that comes with this newly acquired knowledge is of unadulterated satisfaction, achievement and amazement. At such times, I feel that vastness of this planet earth is beyond comprehension by a mere mortal and all that I can do is to explore it and admire it. One such moment of exploration happened on this weekend - courtesy National Geographic magazine. I read two wonderful articles about Greenland and impact of global warming on its geography, economy and future. I would like to share some of the most fascinating aspects from those articles:

1. Greenland, the largest island on planet earth (except continents), has some 80% of its land buried under ice sheets which can go as deep as 2 miles. It is one of the world's least densely populated nations. It is largely dependent on other nations for even the most of basic resources like fodder for sheep and wood for buildings. Its economy is largely dependent on sea food exports, which are not consistent enough due to unpredictable weather conditions. Greenland also attracts its share of tourists but numbers are not very high, owning to lack of proper conditions for stay and costly travel expenses. Fjords, that dissect the land and pop up many small streams, make it impossible to travel by land.

2. Although Greenland is an autonomous country but it is still considered as a part of Kingdom of Denmark, which controls its foreign policy and pumps hefty amount of money to help the anemic economy of Greenland.

3. Greenland has always been a hot spot for many glaciologists, who want to study Global warming in action. Increase in pollution in other areas has adversely affected the melting patterns of ice in Greenland. In general, ice has a tendency to reflect most of the light that falls on it. Its albedo is high. But with air containing all kinds of impure particles, volcanic ashes and by products of industrialization, the ice that is melting turns black in color. Resulting tar like liquid, also called cryoconite, has lesser albedo and absorbs higher amount of heat, which in turn melts more ice and sets off a chain reaction. If all Greenland ice melts sea level will rise will inundate coastlines around the planet.

4. Another interesting aspect of Global Warming on Greenlandic ice is formation of superaglacial lakes. These lakes, formed by rise in temperature around the region, vary in composition and size. While it may take days for a small pond to acquire the status of a lake, it generally takes only a few hours for a lake to be sucked by a Moulin - a vertical hollow shaft in sheets of ice. In 2006, a team of glaciologists documented the draining of a two-square-mile lake into a Moulin, where 11 billion gallons of water disappeared in just 84 minutes.

- Courtesy National Geographic - June 2010 issue.

I hope the reader enjoyed the information as much as i did. For more, get hold of the main source. Cheers!!

Australianism Prevails

2010-05-15T18:54:00.011+05:30

"Australianism, means singleminded determination to win - to win within the laws but, if necessary, to the last limit within them. It means where the 'impossible' is within the realm of what the human body can do, there are Australians who believe that they can do it - and who have succeeded often enough to make us wonder if anything is impossible to them. It means they have never lost a match - particularly a Test match - until the last run is scored or their last wicket down." - John Arlott

The semi final between Australia and Pakistan was a true exhibition of the attitude known as Australianism. It was sheer class, mental strength and ‘never die' spirit that zoomed Australia into the Final of the competition. Once again, Australians proved themselves and delivered the goods when it mattered the most. It was just another match where the result could have easily gone against them but they snatched an improbable victory from their opponents.

After the match, I kind of felt sorry for Pakistan. Although they played poorly throughout the tournament but they performed really well in the Big Match. They batted superbly to host a Target of 192 in 20 overs and followed that with an excellent start. They did all right things that a team does to defend a high total. They got rid of Warner and Watson early and reduced Australia to 67/4 in 10 overs. Their spinners bowled their heart out to make the chase look impossible. Australians looked on the verge of being knocked out of the world cup. The edge was becoming thinner and thinner with each passing ball and an Australian defeat looked inevitable. But as one would expect from them, The Australians held on to that thin edge. They had that last ray of HOPE that never leaves their sides till the last ball is bowled. The task was arduous and they pursued it relentlessly. White started the onslaught with his lusty hitting and gave Australia the momentum they were looking for. But even after his marvelous innings, the goal looked far way from their reach when they required 48 runs in 3 overs with 6 men down. Their hopes were lingering on one Batsman who has been the epitome of consistency, Mike Hussey. Mike Hussey had delivered most of the times when the team required him and he did not disappoint his team mates this time as well. Some big sixes, superb running and cool batting reduced the equation to 17 of last 5 balls with Hussey on strike, already playing the innings of his life. Pakistan employed their best bowler in Ajmal to contain the deadly hurricane but things fell apart for them miserably. Couples of sixes, a sliced upper cut to fetch a boundary and final blow over mid wicket for a six were all that Australia required to pull out one the best international T20 chases. Hussey completed a miracle and expressed Australianism yet again.

Kudos to the spirit and attitude that form the core of any Australian cricketer and sets him apart from rest. And all the best to England for final game because they will need all the luck they can afford. There is no doubt in their ability and form but they will have to produce something special to stop the Australian juggernaut. No matter who wins in the final, we can be sure of one thing that the final will be played among the two best performers of this World Cup.

In a Traffic Jam

2010-04-30T19:40:00.007+05:30

Yesterday would have been just another day in my already not-so-happening office life had I were not saved by a lunch party. As usual, the break from office was more than welcome. The food was delicious and Sandeep's witty one liners kept everybody happily occupied. Anyways, this post is not about those one liners or that delicious food, but it is connected with something that happened during the course of my journey back to office.

Having been lived in Gurgaon for more than a year, I don’t get surprised by everyday traffic jams. And same was the case when we got caught in a bad one. Once again, I found Murphy's Law apposite for a Traffic Jam. (Murphy’s Law for Traffic Jam - The row, you just left to get into a seemingly faster one, starts moving faster than the one you just came into). While I was occupied in observing the chaotic system, a friend said, "What's that!!” I turned my neck ninety degrees to my left and witnessed an unexpected scene. For the first time in my life I saw a group of nearly twenty Muslims performing their Namaz in a public place as a single entity in total harmony. It is quite likely that many will find this event a commonplace and mundane one. But to me, it was a symbol of freedom of expression. And what I felt, after watching that scene, is a tough thing to explain. I experienced tranquility amidst all the chaos and a feeling of admiration for those people. In that very moment, that single moment, I felt extremely proud to be living in such a country where all the colors and shades are accepted and respected, where you are free enough to be yourself, where love has been the way of life. I wished to see a world where that harmony will be perpetrated unconditionally.

Well, that was one traffic jam that, for a moment, made me laugh from inside.

Happiness and Others

2010-04-28T20:44:00.005+05:30

Don't put the key to your happiness in someone else's pocket....

Everyone points to the other man, who, according to him, is happier. But the only one, who has the courage to declare that he is truly happy, is he who has relinquished all his passions and hungers from within.
-- Swami Chinmayananda

I came across this wonderful message while browsing Times of India. Liked it and felt like sharing it. What prompted me into quick action was the connection that I felt with first line of the quote. It is absolutely truthful that consciously or unconsciously, most of us tend to equip others with the key to our happiness. Thoughts like, ‘What others will think about me’, ‘Will they think bad if I do this’, ‘Will he like this dress’ etc, give rise to anxiety and fear of being rejected. At times, we tend to elude ourselves by denying this fact. But in reality it keeps on dwelling inside, slowly to come up again without the knowledge of our conscious mind. Because the truth is everybody desires to be accepted, appreciated and liked by his or her sphere of society.

Sometimes, we become so much engrossed in these thoughts that we forget that the real source of happiness lies within us not with people surrounding us. Having said this, I don’t intend to imply that one should stop listening to others or behave as if there is only one soul left on this planet. We must respect and regard others opinions and point of views. But at the same time, it is extremely important to understand the subtle but substantial difference between flattery & true appreciation, between sincere criticism & disparaging words and between positive and negative influences. If we succeed in keeping a balanced approach, then the quotient of happiness lying in our hands will be much much higher.

I'm Back !!

2010-04-26T22:42:00.005+05:30

A LONG HIATUS -- This might be the right phrase to describe my blogging activity since Oct, 2007. Yes, it has been over two years since I last wrote about myself, since I poured my thoughts in here and since I enjoyed writing about a movie that I saw. Come to think of it, I do realize how erratic and ephemeral my blogging has been. I have been too lazy and too busy to write. Moreover, I was entangled in my web of thoughts, frustrated with my present job, apprehensive about my future, uncertain about my career and dreamy about my aspirations. And one can also add some guilt of unfinished tasks and some pity (after a glut of ineffectual results) to already overflowing emotions that I was experiencing. Having said that, I will be doing injustice with myself if project everything as dark. Because happiness can be found even in the darkest of hours and my situation was no way near the darkest.

Surely, the final year at Thapar was a turbulent one but even then it was the most memorable time that I spent with my college friends. The scenes of our last party, those watery eyes and a deep nostalgia still engulf me whenever a thought of that life rambles into my mind. Without a shred of doubt, the college time is the best and the most happening time of one’s life.

The transition from college to job happened all too fast for my liking and I found myself in Trivandrum, for Initial learning program of TCS. Undoubtedly, it was really an amazing and delightful experience to travel and explore Kerala. Trip to Munar and Kerala backwaters, late night stay at TCS to complete tasks for EC-2, Dancing in a TCS bus on south Indian songs and enjoying company of some really good friends are some of the most cherished memories of my ILP. But life was never the same after ILP.

Ever since ILP, I found myself in a race with life. Each and every day, only one thought traversed my mind and I was too full with it to realize slow recession of happiness from my life. All I wanted was the misery of a Job at TCS to end as soon as possible into a fruitful career path. What exactly constitutes a fruitful career path is a question that still haunts me. Its answer eludes me all the time. After many unsuccessful attempts at getting into a foreign university for either MS or PhD in Biotechnology, I finally decided to bid farewell to the idea that clogged my mind for all the time since I joined TCS. I am still unsure that whether it was my passion and love for Biotechnology or my hatred for IT sector that motivated me to pursue this idea. Whatever the reason was, I did give my best shot at it and when all those doors slammed shut before my eyes, I realized that it’s a break up that I must get over with as soon as possible. So as of now, I am planning to shift to contingency plan A i.e. MBA. This is motivated by the fact that I got calls from IIMB and IIMS on the basis of my strong academic background. The results for the same are still awaited.

During the past two years of my life, I have been through some tough lessons and realizations. Some of those shattered me to my core, changed my perspective of life. And all the chaos that ensued in my life made me believe that most of our apprehensions come from our desire to control our future, from efforts to control our little sphere. On the contrary, there is so much that a mere mortal like me cannot understand and the best thing to do is just to give his best without worrying about the result or consequences. And it is extremely important to be flexible enough to accept change because the only permanent thing in life is change. Well, it is so easy to put these thoughts into writing but their true essence lies in practice, something at which I find myself quite inconsistent. I just hope that with time and with some meditation, I can put these lovely thoughts into action more often.

That’s it from me in my come back post. I have scribbled more than I expected. Bye.

PS: I read my previous posts today and cherished them as the gifts life bestowed upon me.

A Trip to RDB Fort..

2007-10-02T01:00:00.000+05:30

Hi blog,

What a trip it was.. first of this type in my life.. Credit must go to chaman for his idea.

It was Sunday and everything was planned.. Eight of us, (AP, Kiran, mridul,kamal, chman, pappu, ramneet and me), left for RDB fort on bikes and in my case scooter. Well, i never had the experience of driving on highways and that too of around 150 km on a round trip. But it was totally fun. The fast driving of highway has a thrill of its own.

RDB fort was good. We clicked hell lot of pictures from mridul's digicam and from my k790i. After exhausting every corner of fort, We visited Gurudwara sahib near fort and langer tea there, was very refreshing. We also visited Mcdonald and Floating restaurant. The burger at Mcdonald was really tasty. I also had the opportunity of driving Karizma and CBZ extreme on the way back and both bikes were really good. For the first time in my life, i drove at the speed of 100 kph. It was totally thrilling. The trip was really-2 awesome and we had a lot of fun.

PS:- Biotech Rockzz.....

The Butterfly Effect & The Chaos Theory

2007-09-01T23:38:00.001+05:30

Hi blog,

"The Butterfly Effect" - Yeah, it was the movie shown by Thapar Movie Club today. The movie was totally confusing one and the voice system of C-Hall added with a bad print of movie made the matters worse. But still, I understood the movie because of Kamal, guys discussing movie at end and Wikipedia (It rockz). And now after fully realizing the movie plot and concept, i feel like appreciating it. The concept was mind boggling.

Tagline of Movie: Change one thing, change everything.

The Butterfly Effect is a story of an extra ordinary boy which can go in his past black outs and change the course of events in those blackouts. And these changes further effect the outcome of his life. Whenever he changes an event, a new time line presents him with an entirely different life. He changes the events to suit the best life but end up in a life of some trouble or the other. And at last, he succeeds in striking a balance in life but he has to scarifice something he desires most. After that he destroys all the ways from which he can travel in past and accepts the life he has got in last time line.

Now let me come to The Chaos theory Part:

It has been said that something as small as the flutter of a butterfly's wing can ultimately cause a typhoon halfway around the world - The Chaos Theory.

Actually, in a chaotic system the smallest variation in input can have an enormous impact on the output. And this is the most interested thing that is applied in the movie. The smallest change in a blackout event causes total life change of characters in movie putting them in different time lines. That goes to sure that sometime certain important event can change the course of life and it is something that one can take away from movie.

Apart from chaos theory, movie also gives a very simple lesson that one cant have everything in life and sometimes, we have to make certain decisions, certain sacrifices.

Overall, it was a good movie if you understand it (which takes time). But it could have been far better. Especially, the part dealing with revival of time lines.

My rating: 7.9/10
Imdb rating: 7.7/10

Bye blog.

PS:- It was another good day in placement scenario for Biotech as 4 more students were placed (in HCL). Our Gang is almost placed. I'm very happy for all of my friends which are placed and do hope that others will get placement soon. After all, Thapar has got some brand name in market...

Mission TCS Accomplished...

2007-08-11T16:39:00.001+05:30

Hi blog...

I'm to used to saying this but I'll have to say it again.... "Its been a long time since my last post"... But this time I've excuses.. 1st I was busy and too occupied in placement work to write and 2nd (more importantly) i was not having a net connection at home.. Anyways, now I've got DATAONE and a placement.. Total tension free for a few days... Now let me start writing about the Mission TCS...

1st aug, 2007 -- TCS was coming for campus placement. I was happy because it was a very good growth oriented IT company and i wanted to reserve a seat in it. The placement process was divided in written tests and interviews. Career launcher took care of the interview part and i was confident for the interview but it was written test that was haunting me. So i along with suneet and Deepi started preparing for it. I started missing classes, labs just for placement. Prepared for the Quant section from old TCS papers... Did some GRE high frequency words... And also got Barrons 12th edition model test papers for analytical reasoning (it is widely known that TCS analytical papers come from that only). But preparation was more of an illusion as i had not completed reasoning section.

And then came 1st august, and see how luck favors the blogger, the test for Biotech was postponed to 2nd august and i was extremely happy. Me and suneet went to library and started doing model test papers and everything went great till 1:10 pm and then i got a call from CILP office. I was asked to report to CILP office and the test for top 10 students from Biotech was to start in half an hour or so (my rank is 2nd in the class). I was shocked, broken and what not.. and then luck again favors the blogger, a call came in CILP from somebody (I dont know my saviour) and the program was cancelled. Huh.. I was relieved.. I did some more test papers on that day.

2nd August, around 1 pm -- Written test in Computer lab. Well, it was far lot easier than i expected. I did all the guess working in verbal section, some in analytical but Quant was a piece of cake. The test was done successfully. First hurdle was crossed and the second was about to start.

3:30pm -- I was there in front of CILP office, formally dressed with filled TCS form and a folder of certificates, waiting for the interview. All of my friends from Biotech were there. Needless to say they were tensed, but i tried my best to find humor in the situation. But when my name was called, at 6 pm, i was a bit nervous. The wait was getting on my nerves but i tried to calm myself and entered for the interview....

THE INTERVIEW

First 2-3 minutes were close to terrible. I let slip in my introduction that my father is a Bank officer and soon i was bombarded with questions from banking line, accounts.. what not... and soon i told them that its not my field. Then began what would i call 'dream 10-12 minutes' of my interview. One of the interviewer asked about Mitochondria and i explained him all its chemistry and biology and then it was like leading an interview. He asked questions from my answers and i explained each and everything. mDNA was made to be an existing part of genetic material in cell by me and the viruses, genetic disorders, Mendel's laws, photosynthesis.. what not.. i just blasted each and every question with confidence. Ho, it was great.. But then came another twist.. The interviewer asking technical questions left the room and the second one took over... and started a bad patch.. asked about C/C++ and i was not knowing much.. at last he gave me a puzzle, which i half solved.. he remarked that it was easy and i should have solved it.. Chalo Technical interview was done... I was not sure that i've done enough to get a call for HR interview but my CG and technical knowledge of biotech did the trick and i got a call for HR interview in next 10 min...

Well, HR interview was fun.. Mam was cool.. she just wanted to know that why i wanted to change from Biotech to IT, being good in technical. And i answered as diversely and differently i could have done. At some point she looked a bit unsatisfied but at last i thought i had done a fine job of convincing her.. Anyways, HR interview was over in 5-7 minutes..

Huh.. All done and then i was again in waiting mode... It was 9:30 pm. I was waiting for the result in C-hall. Cracking jokes among friends but a bit nervous from with in. And then came the Head of TCS team. He started announcing results..

First B.Tech Biotech --
Tarun Gupta

I got up.. accepted the applause from audience.. But Was this the moment i was waiting for.. i dont know.. i was blank.. my perception of the world was lost.. my hands were applauding for others but mind was not processing information.. it was just different from any feeling i ever had. And now, about 10 days later i have started feeling a sense of fulfillment watching my friends getting placements in other companies. It really makes you happy..

Anyways, The bottomline is and remains -- Mission TCS was Accomplished...

Bye blog..

5th July.. The delayed Independence.

2007-07-05T21:46:00.000+05:30

Hi blog...

Its 5th july today and i got my independence.. a delayed one... should have been on 4th july but i am free now from a pathetic piece of shit they call training.. today i got my certificate.. a document proving that i had completed my training officially... i cant be happier... I know that at end the things went better in a way that i got a desired project much related to my field but still i cant help feeling that this training was nothing less than a time pass or time wasted.. may be i dont know enough to decide about it.. who knows.. they say that alls well that ends well... it has ended now and ended well... let see how things goes in college.. looking forward to that.. in the meantime, i request the reader to shed some light on the thing they call training....

Bye..

Cya soon blog....

Goodbye Mumbai...

2007-07-05T21:34:00.000+05:30

Hi blog,
It has been a long time since my last post.. i was a bit busy in report and project.. now its over.. Finally i'm leaving mumbai.. Felling great..

It has been a mixed bag in mumbai.. some moments of joy, some sight seeing and quite a lot of travelling.. made me tough mentally but it takes a lot out of u too... i'm still not sure about this place.. whether its good or bad i'm still consumed.. i dont know why.. perhaps it was a lot happening in a short duration or my frustrations about other things.. i can hardly tell.. but one thing that i can asuure u is i'm very-2 happy to leave this place.. and this post of mine is different in the prospest that i'm hardly thinking while typing.. just the thoughts pouring straight from my heart and i'm typing... well i think thats it... i'll write about mumbai in future too.. (may be a tourist guide).. who knows.. for now..

Final verdict is... "Asi tere Sheher nu Salaam kar Challe haan".....

Goodbye mumbai..

Life in a........ Metro

2007-05-11T20:24:00.000+05:30

Hi blog....

Another day goes and we are heading towards the 15th may.. Hmm.. Am i getting impatient ?? I dont know... Chal leave that.. let me tell you about today.. a day just like any other one.

I got up at 11:30 as usual... there was no electricity and according to the notice board of society it was to come at 5 pm.. what should i do for time pass ?? and then the idea came... a movie at Adlabs in galleria mall.. Cool.. so i got ready by 12:15 and was off to galleria.. I was thinking about watching Tara rum pum but got the tickets for Metro.. The show was at 2:30 pm.. I had an hour or so to explore the mall.. the mall was good but Center one was better. The best place in the mall was 'Odyssy - The leisure place'. It had books, greating cards, toys for kids, perfumes and music shop. It was cool to spent half an hour there. And then at 2:15, i entered the hall... so let the movie take over the post...

Movie review

My first thought about the movie was that it will be realistic and practical movie but i was proved wrong. There is no doubt that the movie was realistic at times but then suddenly it went too far fetched to contend with.
Theme of the movie said "countless emotions". Its true to some point. Movie shows it all.. passion, lust, a greed to succeed and love. It was a bold movie. At a moment, it reminded me of page 3 but page 3 was class apart. This one cant match page 3.

But there were certain things that appealed me most in the movie. Movie clearly showed the hollowness of the character in certain group of people which do nothing but use others for their benefit. Also, the path followed by some to realize their dreams, which ultimately compelled them to sacrifice on their integrity. A virtue which is constantly going down in todays hollow but shiny society. Apart from that movie showed some emotionally weak characters, tangled love lines bla bla bla..

And, as far as acting is concerned, i think it was good.. you can always expect Kokana sen sharma and Irfan khan to do a good job in these sort of roles. KK and Shilpa also did a good job and kangana ranaut looked good too..

And talking about the music, well it was rock dominated totally. A rock band performs in all the song (i dont know the name). Initially it looks good but after some it starts to give a headache. The best song was "In dino".

Final Verdict: A good movie for a one time watch watch.. Something appealing (At times)... But its not a ground breaking cinema by any means.
My rating: 2.8/5
Imdb: Not there yet.

After the movie, i went to center one and wandered there for an hour so. Then back to home. Back to Orkutting, Chatting and blogging...

Bye blog.

A rocking Day with Spiderman - 3

2007-05-05T21:16:00.000+05:30

Hi blog..

Today was an eventful and Successful day.. Bhot aish kitti... Day started a bit boring but soon it was filled with fun and excitement. Actually it was 'The Monitoring Day'.. Our dear prof SS was coming for monitoring.. So me and AP went to Nerul Plant of our company (Elder Pharma) where SS was expected to come. We reached Company at 10 and were hoping that we were not late.. ans we were not.. On the contrary, SS came near 1:00 and we have to wait for over 2 hours. Our cool company coordinator left us with SS in his cabin. And from that moment onwards the day started to change.. First we all said "Good morning" in a formal way and then something followed which neither me or AP was expecting or hoping for... Dear, SS started talking a bit friendly with us.. asked about all project things, Mumbai, changes in our lives bla bla bla.. there were one or two awkward moments which could have turned nasty but all in all it went well.. So we were free by 2:10 and left the company..

Our total planning was to go home straight forward but another unexpected plan was on the way.. we boarded a bus to Vashi baazar as usual (hoping to get an auto from there towards home).. But my mood changed in between.. i was dying to see Spiderman-3 and moreover Mridul said it was great.. So I told AP to get off at Vashi depot and go to Fame Adlabs for watching Spidy-3.. AP agreed.. So we left the bus at Depot... We hired an auto from depot to Galleria mall where there are 4 screens of fame Adlabs...
there were 8 shows of Spidy-3 in a day at Adlabs.. and shocking thing was all were already filled...

I was a bit disappointed to say the least but then i thought about going to another Cinema Nearby Meghdoot or Meghraj.. And See how the luck smiles on us.. We got the tickets for 3:30 show of the movie....

Now movie review...... well, it was a good movie.. no second thoughts about that.. Special effects were as good as its earlier parts or may be better.. Story line could have been improved a bit... there were too many villains to accommodate in one movie.. Movie was a bit more romantic then Spidy 1,2... But overall, it is a very good movie for a Spidy fan... Must see .. especially for special effects..
My Rating: 8.3/10
Imdb rating: 7.9/10....

After the movie, AP went home straight way because he was feeling giddy... and i went to Centre One mall.. I spent more than an hour or so in mall.. It was just great.. Crowd was good too... On the way back to home, i had my small dinner..
Overall it was a rocking day...

PS:- Spiderman-3 was the seventh (As far as i can remember) movie that i have seen in cinemas of Mumbai... Others were..
1. Guru (Excellent Movie)
2. Eklaya (Good acting, Weak Story.. Nice to see, nothing much to remember)
3. Ghost rider (Waste of money)
4. Black Friday (Super-Duper Movie... A must Watch)
5. Namaste Landon (Good Timepass movie.. Katrina looks Hot...)
6. Mr. Beans Holiday (Very good and Clean comedy.)
7. Spiderman-3 (Good movie.. excellent effects)
Saga will go on......

Bye blog.... :)

The Shawshank Redemption

2007-05-03T21:30:00.000+05:30

FEAR CAN HOLD YOU PRISONER, HOPE CAN SET YOU FREE

Hi blog, Seen The Shawshank Redemption today again.. Seen it countless number of times and movie still delights me... Especially its dialogs... So I'm writing about it.... Actually i should have done it earlier because this movie deserved it. But better late than never.. Let me start..

The Shawshank Redemption is undoubtedly the best movie i have ever seen. Its a classic. Movie gives you hope. It engages you slowly and then delights you at end. The beauty of the movie lies in it being slow. Every scene, every character just fits into it amazingly.. Acting by every character in the movie is amazing.. The narration by Morgan freeman throughout the movie holds the viewer.. This movie has it all -- hope, patience, friendship, fun, misery and prison life.... And above all great dialogs.. Here goes some of my favorite ones...

Red: "Get Busy Living, or Get Busy dying.. Thats goddamn right."

Andy: "Remember red, Hope is a good thing, may be the best and no good thing ever dies..I'll be hoping that this letter find you and finds you well."

Red: "I hope to cross the border. I hope to see my friend. I hope the pacific is as blue as it has been in my dreams. I HOPE"

Andy: "Yeah. The funny thing is - on the outside, I was an honest man, straight as an arrow. I had to come to prison to be a crook."

Red: "Some birds are not meant to be caged... Their feathers are just too bright.. and when they fly away..the part of you which knows, it was a sin to lock them up rejoice..yet the place you live, is much more drab and empty after they are gone.."

Red: "That kid's long gone. This old man is all that's left. I gotta live with that. 'Rehabilitated?' That's just a bullshit word. So you go on and stamp your forms, Sonny, and stop wasting my time. Because to tell you the truth, I don't give a shit."

Red: "These walls are funny. First you hate 'em, then you get used to 'em. Enough time passes, you get so you depend on them. That's institutionalized."

Red: "In prison, a man will do anything to keep his mind occupied."

Andy: "There are places in this world that aren't made out of stone, and that there's something inside that they can't get to ,and that they can't touch. It's yours. ....Hope."

Red: "When they put you in that cell... and those bars slam home... that's when you know it's for real. A whole life blown away in the blink of an eye. Nothing left but all the time in the world to think about it."

Red: "Andy Dufresne - Who crawled through a river of shit and came out clean on the other side."

Brooks: "The world went and got itself in a big damn hurry."

Warden: "I believe in two things: discipline and the Bible. Here you'll receive both. Put your trust in the Lord; your ass belongs to me. Welcome to Shawshank."

Red: "... and for the briefest of moments -- every last man at Shawshank felt free."

Warden: "The man disappeared like a fart in the wind !"

Red: "Prison life consists of routine, and then more routine."

Warden & Andy: "Salvation lies within"

Red: "Geology is the study of pressure and time. That's all it takes, really. Pressure and time."

Red: "Somethings are best left unsaid."

Well, there are endless dialogs in the movie which could have come here but i had to choose the best which was a very hard job, i must admit. At end i will just say "wonderful Movie"

PS: My rating: 10/10
Imdb rating: 9.1/10 (2nd best after Godfather)

Exploring Mumbai

2007-04-30T23:53:00.000+05:30

Hi blog...

Life is going great in Mumbai.. There is not much work to do in company... And vase vee, those are cool people so no tensions.. In the meantime, I'm exploring every bit of Mumbai... Last week was no different.. Went for a all Mumbai tour aka Mumbai Darshan and also visited Brabourne Cricket stadium for watching final of Twenty-20 match between Punjab and Tamilnadu with AP. Match was a close one (alas! Punjab Lost).. I really enjoyed it and ground looked spectacular under lights.. Also went to see Marine Drive from ground... Marine Drive looked amazing at night..Its U shape looks like a necklace...But this post of mine will be dedicated to Mumbai Darshan...

Hmmm.. Mumbai Darshan aka City tour is an attempt to cover major tourist attractions of the city in one day. But, to me, it looked more of a crash course of Mumbai. Although there was a guide in bus to explain the history of everything, But Bus stopped at 8-9 major points only and that time was restricted too. But one cant complain after all they have their limitations. And covering Mumbai in one day is not a joke.

Here Goes a brief description of Mumbai Darshan..

The first destination of the tour was Gateway of India (GWI). It looked as magnificent as ever and there were Taj hotels (both old and new) too... looked marvelous... Clicked some pics.. Then bus left for the next destination which was Chattarpati Shivajee Vastu Sangrahlya aka Prince Wales Museum. It is the second largest museum of India. It is not dedicated to one set of things but is more of a general museum. And it is huge. I was just able to see it in given time of 40 minutes.. mind you just see not observe. It surely requires 3-4 hours to completely observe it. Well, it deserves another trip of mine.. :)

Third stoppage of the tour was Taraporewala Aquarium on Marine Drive. But between the two stops were a lot of other important and beautiful buildings like Mumbai High court (aka "Sanjay dutt ka sasural" according to our guide -- SD has to go there in relation to 1993 blasts), Cloak tower of University of Mumbai, Assembly Hall, Mantralya, Offices of HP,LIC, air India and Bombay Stock exchange (BSE). Now coming to aquarium, well it was a very simple and a good tourist point, especially for kids. There were all sort of fishes, Crabs, Prawns and tortoises. We were given time for lunch at Canteen besides aquarium so we had lunch there.

After the aquarium, it was the turn of Kamla Nehru Park and Hanging Gardens. But once again the path was laden with some special spots. There was Jain Temple having 100 % gold sculptures and a police station near it. (our guide said "kalyug hai bhagwan kee raksha police kar rahi hai").Others were Governor's bungalow, Afghanistan Embassy, Chowpathy Beach and Veena apartment where Mr. Jackie Shroff ("Galli ke gunde" acc to guide) lived.

Now, Kamla Nehru Park (1st park of India after independence) and hanging gardens were not simple parks. There was a place in Kamla nehru park From where one can capture all the marine Drive in the Camera.. so we clicked some photos. Hanging Garden was made over a water reservoir (thats why it is called hanging Garden) which provided water to south Mumbai. Hanging garden also contained many hedges cut in shape of animals..

After Gardens, we left for Mahalaxmi temple. On the way were Sahayadri guest house for MP's ("jab hamare desh ke politician thak jaate hai to yahan aaram karte hai" -- Guide), Towers of silence (has a elaborate history behind it),American Embassy and Aanand Niwas (Home of Homi bhabha-- Nuclear Scientist). It took approximately 15-20 minutes to reach mahalaxmi temple. Yahan par bhagwan se appointment puri kee aur phir nikal liye aage.. :)

The next stop was Nehru Science Center. The path from Mahalaxmi Temple to science centre was having some more special points like Haaji ali, Bunglow of salman khan, Tata golf course, Lata mangeshkar's flats, Essar house and Mahalaxmi race course. Nehru science center was one of the most important point of tour. The science center was big. There were a lot of different sections like man and machine,aeronautics, sound etc etc... I checked my weight & height relationship and it was perfectly ok given the fact that i have shed some weight after coming to Mumbai... Actually we were not having much time to explore the science centre completely. But i surely will give it another visit.

After Nehru science center, It was the turn of Mumbai's biggest beach -- Juhu beach. It was a silent journey of 40-45 minutes from science center to Juhu which was enough for me to have a short sleep.. (i was completely exhausted). We reached Juhu at 4:30 and the view of the waves was good enough to take all the weariness away. There is a lot to write about Juhu so i'll dedicate it a separate post..

After Juhu came the last stop of the tour which was Hare Rama hare Krishna Temple. It was a beautiful temple mainly built of marble. Between the temple and beach, there were bunglows of Big B and Hema malini ("ungli mat karna, ander Dhamendra bhee rehta hai" -- Guide). After the last stop, the bus left for vashi.. It took abt 70-75 min and by 7:45 we were back in Vashi,completely tired but satisfied. It was an eventful day where we explored most parts of Mumbai from sounth to middle and It was worth a great experience.

PS:- Again Picasa and 6600 rockzz... And reader must note that i tried my best to keep the description brief.. But if it is long then please bear with me.

Cricket World Cup 2007

2007-04-29T13:31:00.000+05:30

hey blog.. it is over.. Word cup 2007 and Australia has emerged as world cup champs once again.. Great team..

I'm following Cricket from world cup 1996.. it has been a game full of excitement,joy,sadness and some unexpected results. This world cup had some of the most unexpected games I've witnessed ever. Bangladesh had upset victories over India and South Africa.. where Ireland stunned Pakistan and Bangladesh.. I do admire Ireland because they played really well within their limitations... They gave tough fights to England, Newzealand.. Two mighty Asian teams India and Pakistan had an early exit from the tournament..

Apart from upsets, this world cup saw 4 wickets in four balls from Lasith Malinga of srilkanka (against south africa.. what a match that was !!) and six sixes in six balls from the bat of Hershelle Gibbs against the Minnows Ducth. We saw World cup's fastest century from Metthew Hayden of Australia and some fierce hitting from the likes of Yuvraj singh, Mark boucher, Hayden, Ponting, Styris, Kallis, Smith, Gibbs etc etc.. Also Some great bowling from man of the series Mcgrawth, Murli, Tait, Hogg and Malinga.

This world cup also witnessed the greats like Inzamam-ul-haq, Brian lara and Glen Mcgrawth for the last time on the grounds for one day internationals as they said good-bye to ODI Cricket..

This world cup, unlike its previous editions, saw lesser competition in super eights and also local crowds.. But, all in all, it was Cricket that at last emerge victorious once again from wonderful Tournament...

Hat-trick By the Aussies...

2007-04-29T13:14:00.000+05:30

hi blog....
Well, this post is a bit off track as it has nothing to do with my experience with Mumbai but Aussies have earned it..

Ya, Aussies have completed their hat-trick of cricket world cup wins on Saturday, 28th of April,2007.. they were as ruthless as ever.. magnificent..marvelous.. Amazing.. great.. unbeatable.. mind blowing... bla bla bla. I will not be having adjectives to describe what truly this Australian team deserves because there is nothing in words which can describe their dedication and attitude towards the game. It does not matter to them who the opposition is ? they are just the same.. with the killer instinct.. True champions.. even the great carribian team of Clive loyd will have to admire them for there attitude and ruthless nature.

They have extremely talented players which can come more than handy when the true need is there, like Gilchrist provided what was needed in the Final..It was the way Gilchrist played.. he looked like an alien from some other planet who made cricket look so easy where others find hard it to start.....

The Australians take care of every department of the game whether it is fielding, batting, bowling, running between the wickets, it does not matter... And where the Aussies are far far ahead of the others is their mental strength.. They play to win and they know they can and they will..
Hats off to Australia...

Mixed Bag

2007-04-16T00:07:00.000+05:30

Hi...
The collage contains pictures from my earlier visits to Gateway of india, Juhu Beach and mumbai in general..
More to come soon.
Bye.

Elephanta Caves

2007-04-14T19:53:00.000+05:30

Hi Blog...
This post of mine will be dedicated to my voyage of the Elephanta Caves. I visited Elephanta caves on 13th of this month (Friday) along with my friend Amarpreet singh (AP).
It was an unexpected plan that led us to Elephanta caves. Our original plan was to visit Mumbai University Institute of Chemical technology (UICT) for the purpose of using library there. (Our Project co-coordinator insisted we must go there so we did to full fill his wish).

Prologue

We boarded the local train (horrible local) from Vashi station at 9. It was what I call the peak hours of journey via local. But I was happy to board the train comfortably, for a change, in peak hours. So I thought the train journey won’t be a big trouble. But I was soon proved wrong because as soon as the train halted at Mankhurd (1st stop after Vashi), a capacious crowd literally attacked the train without even allowing it halt properly. Soon the crowd was filling in and I knew the worse is about to come as I was standing near the entrance. And I was not wrong at all because as the space inside thinned, I started feeling the force. It was nothing like my previous experiences in local. Impact of the blows by crowd was unbearable and soon all the air was being knocked out of me. I was pinned against the compartment wall and journey after that went in hope that it would be over soon. At last, after a packed journey of 40 minutes Wadala station came, my destination. As I left the train I thought that I was lucky to sign off the train without a bone break. That was quite a journey. Easily the worst I ever had in local.
So from wadala we went to UICT by taxi. UICT looked like an empty building at start but soon we found some students and one of them led to the library and there we were told that the under graduate students are not allowed in the library. So much pain for nothing substantial….
It was at this moment that we decided to go to Elephanta caves…

Real Voyage Starts…

We went back to wadala station. Took a train to vikhroli station. Journey was comparatively better. At VT we had our breakfast and left for Gate way of India.
The gateway of India is a wonderful monument situated at the sea creek the cuts Mumbai. A fine breeze was blowing that countered the effect of heat. From gateway of India we took ferry for Elephata caves as caves are carved in a mountain situated on an island. The ride on ferry was of an hour or so. It was fun. We clicked some pics from my 6600. We reached the island at about 1:30. A toy train took us to the village from where the journey towards caves starts.

The shops on the way to hill top were loaded with amazing stuff of art. We went slowely towards the cave, exploring everything on the way. At last we reached the caves. Bought tickets. There were many caves carved out of stone. All of these were dedicated to lord Shiva. Different sculptures were there representing different shades and pictures of lord Shiva. One of them showing the three faces of lord Shiva was particularly amazing. We clicked a lot of pictures.
After the caves we left to explore the other attractions of the island. On the way we saw some monkeys accepting food from tourists. It was quite amazing the way they behaved. We clicked some more pics. Then we left for the Cannon hill. There were two cannons (old and filled with stones) situated at the top most point of the hill. The way to the top was a rough one but not rough enough to dampen our spirits. It was great to see those cannons having length of at least 25 feet. We clicked some more pics there.

After the cannon hill, we started our journey back to the shore where ferries were waiting to take the tourists back. On the way back we had our lunch. Journey back was great too especially the ferry ride…

At last we reached gateway of India and clicked a few more pics. Then we spent some time in park and left to explore the market near the area. The market was really good with a lot of hariyali. After that we took a bus for VT and then a train for Vashi. Journey via local was not fun again but still better. At long last we reached home around 9 after an eventful day.

PS:- For pictures thanks to my 6600 and for collage picasa rockzz again.

Life @ mumbai

2007-02-14T22:49:00.000+05:30

Hi... Its gonna be my first post from mumbai.. & i thought none can be the better topic than this one.. I've been asked this one by many of my friends so here it goes...
Well, mumbai is just like an another city crowded with almost everything. Life consists of routine & then more routine..(Got it from my favorite movie)..
If there is something that sets this city apart from any another then it has to be the spirit & co-cooperative nature of people of mumbai.. for whenever i needed some help, whether in company or in travelling, everybody stood up to the occassion to help me..... Really they are better than people of my own lovely biotech department, excluding some exceptions...

Hmmm... My wierd experiences in mumbai....
1. Travelling in local trains:- Different people have different opinions about local trains over here.. some call them pathetic, other amazing & for some, like me, its the best option even if it gives you pain in almost every body part sometimes.. i can still remember the day when i was thrown out by the crowd against my will or many of those when train got more than it can afford or when i got fined due to a mistake.. But all in all its a necessity in a fast life over here.

2. Watching Guru:- well, i was all geared up to watch the movie but when i entered in so called cinema hall, i just realized that it was a cinema room sort of hall with 150 odd seats & a 10' * 14' screen.. that was quite shocking at start but later i realized that it was not as bad as it looked in start.. sound system was good so was AC... Movie was great & then i saw Black friday too in that same cinema room...

3. Masti in mumbai:- well.. if u r in mumbai u cant miss on masti.. so i visited a lot of places in mumbai like gate way of india, chowpathy, juhu, band stand etc... beachs had a lot of greenary there & band stand was different in all aspects because its not exactly a beach but lover point.. i need not explain the details...:)

Hmmm... lifes going on... Movies, music, masti, work... there is everything... In gist, life here is like roses in thorns because masti is there between all the chaos..

Majak majak vich kafi likhya gaya.. chalo hun enna bhot hai.. bye.

Some Memories

2006-12-27T23:58:00.000+05:30

Hey blog....
I'm back.
It was another semester at TIET full of fun. Watched hell lot of movies... Had arguments with institute administration.. Learnt a lot of things.... Really some of them changed my thinking... Hmmm... Life goes on & now i'm going to Mumbai for Project semester... I hope i'll learn a lot from Mumbai... It will be fun.

Now coming to these images.. Well, i promised that i'll write more about Guwahati.. But i was just fed up of using net.. So now when i'm back, these 2 images will sum up Guwahati and my trip to Shilong & Chirapunjee.. The first one is showing some natural beauty.. and the second one is having some of the best photgraphs having me (2nd) with my friends Amarpreet (1st) & Kamaldeep (centre)... The two days of trip to shilong & chirapunjee were really amazing.. Undoubtly the most happening days of my life during Summer Training..

Thats all for this post.. Next update will be from Mumbai..
Bye..

PS: Thanks to Picasa (collage making)... and Daman at last you have something to see from Guwahati...

IIT GUWAHATI !!

2006-07-03T20:58:00.000+05:30

Hi everybody,
Finally I’m writing about IITG. This post will be more of a general post about IITG. So this will not be a post presenting my life here or about my training (Of course I’ll write about that too). But this will be more of an insight to this lovely place & will be exploring it geographically. Chalo I’m starting it now.

IITG is located near to India’s widest river ‘Brahmaputra’ – a small sea in itself. It takes 45 minutes to reach at campus from city via readily available buses that work only for IIT purpose. But another exciting way to get there is via Ferry. Ferry gives you the chance to travel via ‘Brahmaputra’ & takes 13-15 min of wonderful journey to reach Ferri ghat & 10 min from there to IITG. The campus of IITG is a huge one, consiting of many buildings & roads connecting them. All the buildings here are fully AC through a centralized AC system… Tell u what it consumes hell lot of electricity…
The sight of whole IITG is beautiful because it has small hills & lots of greenery surrounding it, which has soothing effect on your whole mind. Daman don’t worry I have clicked some pics…Sufficient enough for you to see….

The hostels.
The most weird thing about the hostels, is their names e.g. ‘Kapili’, ’Manhas’, ’Siang’ etc etc… Here the rooms that are allotted to students are single sitter ones unlike the ones at Thapar. Every room is equipped with a chair, table, bed, cupboard etc etc… and how can I forget to mention the LAN & Internet connection in each & every room… the awesome thing…. Puri aish…Another special thing that need the attention is the number of creatures excluding human beings… cockroaches were the predominant ones along with other weird ones.
Now coming to the mess - food quality is ok with a good mess staff but still the repetition is too much. All time they have one permanent thing sambhar & rice… Breakfast stuff is ok. The hostels are also having common room, TV room, PCO & a canteen – That can save one from repeated food. These were main highlights of the hostels.

Computer center & library of IITG.
The computer center (CC) & library have been made in a separate huge building. There are more than 200 PC’s in CC. PCs are of a very good configuration too. Each one having a LCD screen, DVD combo, P4 processor & 512 mb RAM… Cool na… Yes after all it’s an IIT. The best thing about CC is that it is open till 1 o’clock at night.
Exactly opposite to CC is library. Library is also a huge one & is having large number of books on wide variety of topics including art books as well. Two PCs are there for search purposes… Rest I don’t know much because I seldom go to that portion of building.

Other buildings
One more special thing about IITG is the number of buildings in campus. Each department has a different building connected by corridors, which seems to be never ending. You see, here u have to walk a lot even with in academic building(s). Chalo good for some people… even for me because I have forgotten the long 2-3 km walking that I used to do in Himachal but now got used to it. There is a separate administration building as well that too a big one. So there are no space problems here. 2-3 buildings are under construction & one of them a 1000 sitter audi…. Aah remembering the one at Thapar. Cant compare the two actually because here Govt funding is there.
Another distinct building is the one situated on a hill. Like that of bhoot bangla..Joking. That is actually Director bungalow.
Another special feature here is a small military camp… The military post always has one soldier in position with machine gun… for security purposes…
There is a village called ‘Amin gaon’ near to IITG. There is a small market… Nothing big but still sufficient… One thing I can assure u that you’ll get very good pineapples & coconut water there….
Well that is all what I have seen up to now in this lovely place…there may be a possibility that still many things might have been left to explore… Hmmm… still 7-8 days are there may be then I’ll edit this post.

Actually there is a lot to write about people here, city & of course about life here. Hope to write that soon.

Bye.

My Tiring Voyage – End

2006-06-27T12:21:00.000+05:30

Hello everybody, this will be my last post about journey. In this post I’ll tell you about last parts of my journey i.e. Delhi to Guwahati & then from railway station to IITG..

First of all I’m sorry for posting this late. Actually I was having some problems with the blogger & my posts. All the problems are now fixed courtesy my friend Preetinder. So without much delay here I will start with chapter 3.

Chapter 3 (From Delhi to Guwahati).

Every thing was going according to the plan. I reached railway station (with my friends) at 11:45 am approx. I asked enquiry about platform of train. It was 12 – nearest to us. The train came as it was scheduled & finally around 1:40 pm we were inside the train – Seats reserved not a single problem. The AC in the train was refreshing & was helping me in overcoming the tiredness that had crawled in to my body. The seat reserved were in one line i.e. Lower, middle & upper births – So no problem there as well.

Train left the Delhi station at 2:00 pm. I made a call back home & told that everything was fine.
You know one great thing with Rajdhani is that they never let u feel thirsty or hungry. Something will be on its way after one hour or so. LOL.

First of all, bottles of water were given followed by a lot of other stuff – Kambals & towels, bed sheets (it gets quite cold when constant AC is on & u r not much used to it) & other foodstuff.
I occupied the upper seat & started reading a fiction novel (Angels & demons). After all reading fiction novels is one of my favorites time pass along with relaxation. AP & KD started took a newspaper & started solving Soduko or a game like that- I don’t know much about that. The seat was a comfortable one & everything was much better than bus journey.

As the time progressed the train neared the destination. The dinner was served around 8 & after dinner soup was there & food quality was ok. After that I slept around 10.Really a sound sleep. Only regret was that waiter in train, to give tea, at 6 am waked me up. Yar main apni puri college life vich kade 6 vaje nahi udhiya- par chalo kee kar sakde see.

The day progressed like any normal day, I kept on reading novel but this time I was reading ‘Harry potter & the sorcerers stone’ & in between ‘Angels & demons’ (Both books r rocking). KD was reading ‘Godfather’ & AP ‘The inscrutable Americans’ (Cool book).
Like mentioned already they wont let u feel hungry & will keep on serving something after hour or so & finally lunch at 2. After lunch it was the time again for a bit of sleep. When I Woke up it was raining outside. The sight of nature was awesome. I clicked some pictures with my cell & also made a small video clip.

At last train reached Guwahati around 7:45 (late by more than one hour). At last most of the journey was over but still one question was left that how we’ll reach IITG. I made a call at number given to me by professor at IIT. The person on other end gave me the address from where the bus will leave for IIT & we started towards the given address.

Epilogue

We hired an auto to reach at the given address. It hardly took 2 minutes to reach there. But still we just missed the bus leaving for IIT (at 8:15). Thank god it was not the last bus. The last bus was at 8:45 and that took us to the IITG hostels.

Well that was all. All the main points concerning ‘My Tiring Voyage’.. Rest about life here & other things I’ll write soon….

Till then bye.

My Tiring Voyage contd...

2006-06-24T19:05:00.000+05:30

Hello every body,

Here I’m, again, at Computer center of IITG writing chapter 2 of My tiring voyage…
Chapter no. 2 begins….

Chapter 2 – Delhi Metro (Kashmiri gate to Railway station)

I reached at Metro station with my friends. KD purchased the tickets for station of metro near to railway station. My God, metro station was a huge one, which was making things tough for me due to one of my bags. It was quite heavy than usual because there was a Book in it called Genes by Lewin weighing quite a lot. This book was supposed to be read by us & was issued on my library card so I was carrying it.

In scientific terms, the pressure exerted by bag on my hands was high due to decrease in area of cross section that was induced by weight of that book.

LOL.

Coming back to station, it was equipped with technology & was having cleanliness that made it look like a foreign station. But my illusion was short lived because the crowd emitting from metro completely revealed it’s true identity - Indian.

In that situation of hurry, we boarded the wrong metro that was taking me in completely opposite direction. Then we left that metro at a station where it was possible to leave. The security guard standing at that station was a polite one. By rules we have to buy another coupon from that station. But he understood our true story & allowed us to use same coupon. So in this way I, with my two friends, reached at our end station. It was an exciting experience to travel on metro- Fully AC with perfect safety.

From that end station we just went to railway station from where 3^rd & longest step of journey was to begin.

Hmmm… I think it’s enough for now. I’ll write about last chapters of my journey in next post.

Bye

My tiring voyage..

2006-06-24T19:00:00.000+05:30

Hello everybody,
Here I’m in computer center if IITG posting my 2nd post on my 1st blog.

My project is sucking all the time I have, but still I’m writing this. I’ll write about my project too in upcoming posts and this post will be concerned with my tiring voyage from Patiala to IITG ( but 1^st chapter only).

Lights

Camera

Action.

Here I go….

Chapter 1 - Bus Journey (Patiala to Delhi).

The date was set, tickets reserved, everything ok & at 6:50 am. I started for Delhi in a PRTC bus. I was accompanied by two of my friends – Kamaldeep (KD) & Amarpreet (AP). I was carrying 2 two bags. Tell u what bus was no way near comfortable but there were no choices. Overtaking most of vehicles bus was going at fairly high speed. What else should I mention about bus journey. Most of us had that experience. Those uncomfortable jumps, unintentional & unavoidable, were making my back feel worse.

A night before journey I had slept only for four & half hours because KD had came and we were using PC till 12:30 am. I was regretting that. The first 15-20 minute stoppage was at some sort of small bus stand (Not remembering where & at what time). It was refreshing a bit. Then at 10:48 we reached main bus terminal of Delhi.

I was told (by an uncle in bus) that metro from that bus terminal would be the best way to get at railway station.
So I started towards metro station named Kashmiri gate with my friends.

Here ends the 1^st chapter.
More about journey in subsequent posts…

Bye.

Hello

2006-06-24T18:56:00.000+05:30

This is my first post on my this blog..
In subsequent posts i'll mention about my journey & lifr during summer training at IITG..

Till then bye...