The Midnight's Road

I have often felt midnights. Many at home, and a few on my travels across the country. Now midnights are routine at NITIE. And when things become routine, that is when their beauty is lost.

Notice how I said "felt" midnights in the first line. Yes you actually do more than see things, you feel or experience them. I try to soak in everything and make an experience out of them so that they remain etched in my memory forever. Also I am blessed/cursed with a good memory. Midnights in Hyderabad used to be brilliant, since I stayed a predominantly residential area, you would never hear any noise (except this one prick IT professional who would keep honking to wake his watchman around 1am every night), the roads glistened in the orange haze of the streetlights and there was always a pleasant smell in the air owing to the trees around methinks.

It is the same almost everywhere in India. Midnights or late nights or mornings before the sunrise are truly the best times to actually discover any place in. Bombay after 1am, a brightly lit metropolis with very few cars on the road, the occasional policeman keeping vigil, the chai waala on his cycle and lots of unknown faces tucked under their blankets would sum it up.

NITIE or atleast the area between the hostels always has activity upto 2-3 am atleast, so I think those times have become too routine for me to experience anything serene, but sunrise is usually awesome. 6am and everyone will be asleep, the sun will throw its reflection on the waters of the scanty NITIE pond and air is moist and chilly. The Tea stall outside the Outer Gate is open early and always happy to see a NITIEan up that early. So here's hoping to soak in a few more of those early mornings in NITIE or Hyderabad or wherever life takes me henceforth.

Football, Cafes and a Movie

It started with a small mention of Mumbai FC to Ambujesh. This led to a series of events that has become the most memorable that I will have in a long time.

Two football players - Ambu and Me and Two Basketball players - Chetan and Anirudh left for Cooperage by the 25(bus) after getting done with classes. After a drowsy bus ride, we arrived at the ground 20 minutes into the game between Mumbai FC and Mahindra United. Got decent seats on flimsy stands that seemed like they would crash anytime. But the game was fun in its own way considering it was the first LIVE football match that I watching.

Although it ended in a draw, the game was pretty exciting, Mahindra United hitting the framework with some excellent play from Steven Dias on the right wing. Mumbai FC had a disappointing day although Abel Hammond showed sparks of brilliance time and again.It was fun yelling, clapping and discussing football with strangers.

Then we trotted along to grab a bite at the illustrious Leopold Cafe. After filling our tummies there, we went and sat on Marine Drive and just soaked in the sea breeze. Then it was off for dinner at Sundance.

Anirudh had to get back to college, so we put him on a bus and headed for watching Dev D. Its been long since I reviewed a movie, so here I break the trend. Dev D is old wine served in a spanking, stylised, good looking bottle. Kudos to Anurag Kashyap and his team for serving us with a visually stunning and bold movie. He has ushered in the Bold New Face of Indian Cinema.

From tomorrow its back to work, we are organizing B Cube, an event for MBA aspirants on Sunday. So if you want some gyaan about the various verticals of management, GD/PIs or you just want to win some prizes at the business quiz, come down to NITIE campus.

PS:Things I forgot to mention (which Ani's comment reminded me) - The many cute girls that we saw throughout the day, the tear-jerkingly spicy Hakka Babycorn at Leopold, Ambu's friend Karthik who joined us after work and Anirudh's encounter of the different kind ;) I also ran into a guy from school Prithviraj during the movie

Time has flown by

A good friend sent me a mail which made me smile. So thought, it was a good thing to start my 2009 posts with. So here I am.

A year has flown by since this -
http://adityagn.blogspot.com/2008/01/holiday-to-remember.html

We will hardly remember things we did exactly a year from today, but I think my blog will be a brilliant reminder of where I have been and in a way its a sort of reflection of where I am going.

I'm glad I started this, like the way I'm glad about 99% of the things that have happened to me in my life. Forgive the optimism :)

So January 2009 I have been doing a few events, playing football, quizzing, watching loads of movies, still travelling a wee bit and trying to grasp managerial concepts along the way. But to all those who have made this journey memorable thus far I say, Cheers !

Reckless Hate

"What can one do against reckless hate ?", says King Theoden as the Uruk Hai break into the fortress at Helmsdeep.

These words echoed in my head as a bunch were huddled in front of the TV on Wednesday night as the events unfolded along one of my favourite places in Bombay. As innocent lives were taken, vigilant cops killed and hotel residents taken hostage, a sense of helplessness engulfed the residents of this city.

Who is to blame ?
The system ?
The politicians ?
The late reaction of the otherwise swift Military forces ?

I leave that to your judgement. I'm just filled with anger. An anger that comes from realization that I'm in a position where I can do nothing, but vociferously express my feelings. I'm a common man and I echo the voices of a hundred more people who I have spoken to atleast.

TV channels always raved about the "resilient spirit" of the Mumbaikar, but now that I'm here I realise it is not resilience, but numbness that has taken over this city. People are getting used to this and the Government just sits there, fires a few people, plays the blame game, promises meagre amounts for lost lives etc etc etc.

Light candles, Voice your opinions, but make sure there is action, it is high time for something positive to happen. We can't be held hostage by ones that we elect. We have the money & the resources, it just needs to be put to good use. Awaken yourself. Do something, do anything. Don't ask me, I'm clueless as you are. But let the fire within never die.

A Mundane Train Ride and An Early Midlife Crisis

Leaving home is always difficult, especially when you are treated like royalty by your parents. So as I boarded the 2nd AC compartment of the Hussainsagar Express I realised the royal treatment was continuing.

Usually I always have some kid in the seats near mine, but this time it was all old men with snow white hair. So I just jumped up onto my berth, pulled out my Outlook magazine and started reading. About two hours later, I realised that there was a plugpoint adjacent to my berth. My eyes lit up. I immediately pulled out my laptop, put the charger on and started my impromptu movie marathon. After having dinner at around 19:30, I started with one of Jim Carrey's best movies thus far, The Number 23. Then LOTR, Return of the King - Rashomon - The Fountain and half of a Tamil movie called Unnale Unnale. It was around 2:30 am when I put the laptop in my bag hoping I would sleep for an hour atleast before getting off at Kalyan Jn.

But plans never work out too well for me at such unearthly hours. There was this 60+ gentleman who was snoring so loud, he made one of the girls in the adjacent cubicle cry. It was like sleeping close to a caged tiger, a caged angry tiger might I add.

After that debacle, it was back to college and Economics and Work System Analysis and Event management. Bunked a class to catch up on some sleep. Now after finishing up with some work, was discussing some crazy things with Manisha. Then more thoughts were running around in my head, which I vented out to my neighbour and good friend Sambit.
Attending classes that don't mean a thing,
Writing exams that don't anything,
Living life like a robot made of flesh and blood.
Is there a point to all this I wonder ?

Maybe its just that I'm missing home, or slightly disoriented with things. But nevertheless, I'm bored and letting my mind wander. Sambit calls this an Early Midlife Crisis. Why me ?!

Massive Attack - Angel is filling my room. Awesome trance.

A slice of heaven called Home

Most of the people who read this blog will know how much I love Hyderabad. For the ignorant rest, I'm one of those who proclaimed that he would never leave this city no matter what.

So after an eventful 4 months at NITIE, I left for Hyderabad after an equally eventful post-Prerana (annual business fest) party at Rodas. Felt like I was leaving my new home and heading back to my old one. But I had been long awaiting the trip to Hyd.

First it started off with a surprise at home, the folks thought I was coming down on the 27th, but there I was on the 26th itself. Was good to see smiles all around. After a day of resting and Diwali shopping, it was a visit to meet the extended family. Diwalis in our household mean lots of good food, the special programmes on TV and more family time. No bursting crackers and polluting the environment, and I'm proud of that.

After Diwali , the floodgates opened, I met lots and lots of my friends. It was awesome catching up. Most of them thought that my receding hairline was becoming evident, a few thought I had become less talkative, one even thought I had become "uncle" like. "Darn ! I'm still 21," I retorted.

I went for a movie called Chintakayala Ravi starring Venkatesh in one of those old Hyderabadi theatres for a ticket that cost only Rs.30. Yes such places still exist, they might not have the comfort of multiplexes, but they certainly feel good. That evening I visited the University of Hyderabad, which I must say has one of the most beautiful campuses I have seen. There was a chill in the air which is typical of a Hyderabadi winter which unfortunately I will miss this year. Lets hope the Mumbai winter can be some consolation atleast.

I also had the oppurtunity to watch "Unspoken Dialogues", a theatre production directed and performed by Alyque Padamsee and his team. A good mix of sensible, funny and thought provoking theatre is exactly what the Hyderabadis need.

I'll be heading back to NITIE soon. But with a heavy heart, I say to the city that will be closest to my heart, " I will be back."

Varanam Aayiram is playing on Winamp. Check out the album.

Dusting Cobwebs in my head !

My blog is going to hate me. 10 posts this year. Shameful. Of course I'd been travelling a lot in the first half of the year, and now I'm in business school.

Ah that part has become an amazing excuse for everything these days.
Forgot Arun's birthday - was busy with business school.
Didn't call some person about something - sorry busy with assignments.
Didn't eat dinner for 3 days in a row, Mom is pissed - had too much work.

Yeah ! Apart from all the work here, all I do is play football, watch movies or sleep. I belong to that rare breed of b school students who fit in atleast 8-9 hours of sleep into everyday. NITIE is an amazing place to be that way, always 3-4 degrees lesser than the sticky Mumbai heat in the city.

I've always been a fan of amazing speeches at graduation ceremonies and such events, especially ones that bring out the true meaning of life atleast to those who want to believe so. This is a small excerpt from Bill Watterson's speech at a graduation ceremony.

"You will find your own ethical dilemmas in all parts of your lives, both personal and professional. We all have different desires and needs, but if we don't discover what we want from ourselves and what we stand for, we will live passively and unfulfilled. Sooner or later, we are all asked to compromise ourselves and the things we care about. We define ourselves by our actions. With each decision, we tell ourselves and the world who we are. Think about what you want out of this life, and recognize that there are many kinds of success. Many of you will be going on to law school, business school, medical school, or other graduate work, and you can expect the kind of starting salary that, with luck, will allow you to pay off your own tuition debts within your own lifetime.

But having an enviable career is one thing, and being a happy person is another.

Creating a life that reflects your values and satisfies your soul is a rare achievement. In a culture that relentlessly promotes avarice and excess as the good life, a person happy doing his own work is usually considered an eccentric, if not a subversive. Ambition is only understood if it's to rise to the top of some imaginary ladder of success. Someone who takes an undemanding job because it affords him the time to pursue other interests and activities is considered a flake. A person who abandons a career in order to stay home and raise children is considered not to be living up to his potential-as if a job title and salary are the sole measure of human worth.

You'll be told in a hundred ways, some subtle and some not, to keep climbing, and never be satisfied with where you are, who you are, and what you're doing. There are a million ways to sell yourself out, and I guarantee you'll hear about them.

To invent your own life's meaning is not easy, but it's still allowed, and I think you'll be happier for the trouble."
Courtesy - Phalgun's status message

How true. After 16+ years of educations, numerous competitive examinations and a few interviews later, here I am on the crossroads of what could turn out to be life altering years at India's equivalent of the City of Dreams.

A special shout out to all my friends who I think of often, but am short on balance to call or short on time to ping.

The Verve - Bittersweet Symphony is playing on Winamp

What do you wanna be when you grow up ?

It was just another ride in the Bombay Local for me. But little did I know that at the end, I would be in self-discovery mode.

Well this is how the story begins. I got off the train and was walking along the platform when I came across this father and daughter. The daughter was being quizzed by her father about her performance in school. There are always these uncles ie. your dads friends who want to cuddle you and they get real happy when you say something cute. So the "uncle" in question was asking the little girl, " Beta, what do you want to be when you grow up ?".

I didn't wait for her to finish. I kept walking while a flurry of thoughts just came running into my head. What did I want to be when I grew up ?

When I was 10, I wanted to be an explorer and lead teams into Africa and the Antarctic .
When I was 13, I wanted to be a nuclear physicist because I liked the whole idea of creating energy.
When I was 16, I wanted to become an officer with the IPS to serve my motherland (and still want to).
When I was in engineering, I wanted to be an advertising professional.
When I was in the himalayas, I wanted to stay there forever and become a Mountaineer with an unquenchable thirst for scaling peaks.
And in between I have wanted to be involved in Tiger conservation, Politics, Journalism and the latest on the list was movie making.
I have actually taken steps towards all these things, but somehow they have just gone into my never ending list of passions without materialising into something big.

I'm a Mechatronics engineer and an MBA to be. I'm 21 years old and have no clue where I will end up. The thought of the future doesn't really scare me. I know that wherever I go, whatever I do, I will do it with immense enthusiasm and have a lot of fun. These are a few advantages of being an optimist I'm afraid.

But I will take comfort in the fact that in article I once read, it said that the most interesting people did not know what they wanted even when they were 40. I guess I will end up being one of those "interesting" people.

For now I will focus on Saving the world from Environmental Hazards as I'm being trained to do.

So until I want to be something else in life, Au revoir and remember Que Sera Sera, whatever will be will be, the future's not ours to see, Que sera sera.

BullDOZER

It is a well known fact that I used to sleep for an average of 12-13 hours during the holidays between engineering and b school. I hardly ever left my room and my bed was HEAVEN ON EARTH. That is primarily the reason that I have become chubbier in the last few months. Sleep is a very important part of the day, especially for the people who are hyperactive during the day. We need to rest our body and mind.

Now here at NITIE, life is falling into a routine. I sleep late, but have to wake up by 7:30 to get to class in time after bathing and breakfast. I've been managing to do accomplish that myself, otherwise my roomie comes to the rescue and wakes me up. So I'm managing. But to compensate, i'm sleeping in the classes also. So much so that, I'm automatically attracted to the seats near the window. The only colours we can see on campus are Grey and Green. The grey of the clouds and the incessant rains which never seem to stop and the green of the flora on campus.

Amidst all the work, the movies, the latenights and some sleep, I hit upon an idea which might come into implementation someday when we are dead and gone. The idea shall be explained as follows.

Have you heard of Carbon Offsets, Carbon Trading etc ? For those who haven't, let me elucidate. Essentially, companies which have high amounts of carbon emissions pay other companies to cut down on their carbon emissions so as to offset their high amounts to maintain a constant amount in the atmosphere. This is used to reduce pollution considerably.

So my idea is to have Sleep offsets, we should have assistants or people who we can pay to work for us, just the way we would, when we sleep. This would result in the same amount of productivity while we enjoyed our beauty sleep. It would be even better if someone could develop robots with similar mental frameworks for specific individuals. The best alternative would be to have clones.

Maybe someday, when I'm in my eternal slumber, someone who has read this blog would develop something amazing such as this. With that optimistic message, I shall go sleep now.

Of Bschools and sleeplessness

I have moved from the laidback city of Hyderabad to the absolute chaos of Bombay. I'm a NITIEan now. Yeah its hitting me slowly. The amazing greenery is keeping me happy, but the humidity is maddening.
I arrived on the morning of the 19th. Ever since its been an amazing four days. I've met some amazing people, made loads of friends, played football, made presentations and business plans, shopped for pillows, slept for not more than 6 hours put together in 4 days and finally danced like crazy around a bonfire.
We had loads of events where we got to know each other and the seniors too. But the highlight of the whole thing was the inter floor football tournament. Our team was the "FOURTH FLOOR DESTROYERS". We lost to a beatable fifth floor team after they scored early. But this loss meant that we had to try harder as a unit and this way earned each others respect. I think us fourth floor buggers are the closest bunch of wingies among the juniors. The atmosphere in the Lounge (thats what we call it atleast, has three beds which are dirty) where we watch Euro 08 matches is always electric during the midnight.
Apart from this I'm also a member of the Tam and Gult gangs in college, its good to be multicultural I say. Guess what , after a finance case study that I did, I now know what mutual funds are, how stocks are priced and all that abracadabra stuff.
I'm told its going to be real hectic this module, so I won't exactly be able to blog too often. But I promise to keep blogging often. I'm now off to the Lounge to watch Spain v Italy.
PS: Two bits of gyaan that all potential b schoolers should know -
1. We're working on it
2. We'll get back to you
More later folks. Till then Cheerio

I belong to the Mountains

Yes, I believe I belong to the mountains. The 10 days I spent exploring the Himalayas were the toughest and most eventful days in last few years. It has been exhilarating from the word go. The animal encounters, the sub zero temparatures, the physical and mental exertion and not to forget the near death experiences. An adventurer's lifestyle I must say. I've been to ten different cities in the last five months and this mega himalayan trek. Its time for a little peace and serenity in my life now.

Now I'm back to the heat of Hyderabad and the mundane city life again. I leave this city for Bombay in another 20 days. So a wee bit of nostalgia is creeping. I'm saying bye to all my friends, who I will obviously keep in touch with. I'm doing some shopping. New blazer, new sandals, new pillow and bed covers and all that jazz. Ah yes, a new Blue Inspiron laptop is worth mentioning.So all this stuff is keeping me busy.
For those expecting a mega blog about the Himalayas, I'm sorry to disappoint, such beauty and splendor can hardly be expressed in words by an amateur like me. For those who insist get in touch with me, I have loads of pictures and videos and of course lots of stories to tell. So until next time.
Cheerio and Farewell

The IPL Phenomenon

The IPL has taken over the average Indian household. I'm so relieved that I don't get to hear them sidey serial soundtracks. I hear its making good money and has everyone young and old rivetted to their seats. It has created a whole new audience for itself and they are certainly getting their monies worth.

I support the Chennai Superkings and the Deccan Chargers for obvious reasons. One team has been doing well, the other is just getting into the groove. The Aussies are ruling over proceedings here - Hayden, Gilly, Symonds and my personal favourite, Mike Hussey. All of them have put in atleast one blitzkrieg performance so far. I used to love to watch Michael Bevan play in the death overs for the Aussies and Huss has taken over that slot. Stud players both of them and whats more both are left handed batsmen just like me.

Good Entertainment all around. Go IPL !!

PS: I have Deccan Chargers sticker on my bike . Woohoo !! Gilly is God ! :)

Tidbits of the last few days

Its getting real close the finishing lap. I have my last two semester exams on the 28th and 30th. Project Viva will be anytime this weekend. So its been real hectic, running up and down to college (which is 23 kms from home),last minute editing of the report etc. < April 14th was Tamil New years day. So PUTHANDHU NALVAZHTUKKAL to all the tams, WISHU HAPPY VISHU to all the mallus. It also happened to be my bike's 5th birthday. Boy do they get old on you !! LOL

I'm making a yearbook for my class. Most of the work is done and should be ready by the end of April. So thats something that lots of people are looking forward to. After all memories and each other are the only good things that we will take back from MGIT.

For all those people who believe black and white movies rule, this next piece should reassure them. Sun TV is showing Classic movies at 10.30 every night. So I got to see some amazing movies starring Sivaji, MGR, Muthuraman, Savitri, Gemini Ganesan, Padmini etc. It was certainly a feast for me. Movies like Thillana Mohanambal, Galatta Kalyanam, Deva Magan, Navaratri(Sivaji plays 9 roles) and a host of other movies totally kept me occupied through the nights.
K. Balachander's super hit THILLU MULLU starring Rajinikanth is one of the funniest movies of the 80s. It was even remade in Hindi into Golmaal with Amol Palekar

Apart from watching movies, I'm also writing scripts for a few shows that I have in mind and maybe something that can be made into a full length film if I get enough time to finish it. Other than this, nothing exciting happening in life I must say. Porkalam Angae from Thenali is playing on Winamp these days.

Thoughts running around in my head !

Tho Chalun from Border has become my latest favourite song. Leaving MGIT, Leaving Hyderabad. I'm going to miss my room the most I think inclusive of my bed, my Nirvana posters, my computer. I have the softest mattress in my circle, most of my friends will vouch for that. Two months from now, god knows which spongeless mattress I'll be forced to rest my body upon.



Had an amazing Farewell party at Bottles and Chimneys, danced for 3 hours straight, on boots. Ankles hurt so much that I could not perform to my best in the football tournament the next day. Lesson learnt, I'll dance only in sneakers from now on. The DJ was one painful fellow, playing few decent songs and loads of crap with the "dichik dichik" beat. But we danced nevertheless. Clicked about a gazillion photographs. At the end, I was given the title of Mr.Attitude. Is that a good thing or a hidden insult? Well, I got a clock for free so I guess its ok.

Wrote the last internal of my engineering life. Almost done with my project. So all good on the academic front, except I have no bloody clue what is there in the subjects that I have this sem. Entrepreneurship is manageable, but Industrial Electronics ? <Feels a shiver crawl down his spine> I'll cross that bridge when I get to it.
Musings has two of my articles, thats a good thing.
I missed Nirvana, thats a bad thing.
But I was walking through the 7 star Taj Mahal Hotel in Mumbai in shorts and a Mood Indigo shirt that I flicked from an IITian friend at that very time. Some consolation atleast. Did I mention, I've been to six cities in the last 3 months ! Nice no. And at every single place that I went, I was so well taken care of that I didn't feel like coming back. Thanks Vindhya, Shekhar (Madras), Padmini Aunty (Pondicherry), Thatha, Paati & family (Bangalore, Mysore), Venkatraman mama, Shashank and Rajat (Bombay), Ram, Akshay and Phalgun (Ahmedabad).

New things that have caught my fancy-
Saturday trips to The Fresh store .
The Outlook magazine.
Carnatic Music.
Lazing around in my room and not going out unless absolutely required.
Watching bad telugu movies in theatres in the RTC X roads area with Pavan and Arun.
A.R.Rahman's not so famous songs.

Played holi after 3 years. Got hit by eggs. Blech !! Looked very Pink Pantherish for 2 -3 days. Its been raining(read drizzling heavily) in Hyderabad. So good weather, though it gets a little humid when it doesn't rain. But the heat approaches with wrath and fury. To escape this I'm making plans for May and June. Kolkata, Assam, and Himachal on the itinerary. I'm going alone as it stands now, let me know if you want to tag along. Will consider ;)

And for those who I haven't personally told, lets make it official. Aditya Narayanan has been admitted into NITIE and will be leaving for Bombay/Mumbai on the 18th of June.

So these are most of the thoughts that are running through my head at this moment, and Tho Chalun is still playing on Winamp. LOL

Tiger Tiger, Burning Bright

The title is taken from a poem by William Blake. Ironically, the situation that the Tigers face in India today is far from bright. These majestic beasts are usually said to be powerful and magnificent. The panthera tigris is the National Animal of India.

I was on 10 day trip to Bangalore - Mysore. I decided to visit Nagarhole National Park. It is said to have a decent tiger population along with the Bandipur and Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuaries. We got to Nagarhole at around 9 in the morning. We were told that we would not get to see too many of the animals, since most of them were moved to Bandipur. So we decided to look around the place in our Maruti 800 itself. Obviously, we had to stick to the road only ;) .

Meanwhile, we met a forest officer who was pretty passionate about Project Tiger. He explained to us how the tiger population in India had dwindled from 3400 to around 1400 in the last 6 years. A sad state for the majestic beast indeed. Tigers are very territorial animals and are said to control over 20-30 square kilometres of land. Although poaching is still rampant in many parts of the country, coupled with mismanagement and badly trained patrols, I think Project Tiger which was started by Indira Gandhi way back in 1972 is now going to have some new zeal as more and more people are becoming passionate and vociferous about this cause. Afterall it would be a bloody pity if my children or grandchildren could see the Tiger only in documentaries.

In the Budget session, I was quite happy to notice that P.Chidambaram has actually allotted Rs.50 crore to the National Tiger Conservation Scheme. A Tiger Protection Force is also going to be setup. I believe that this world is big enough for all species of animals and pray that the tigers move away from being dangerously close to exctinction and it is upto people to help it survive and repopulate. Stop Buying anything that has anything to do with wild animals. When the buying stops, slowly the killing will too.

A Holiday To Remember

I firmly believe that a city is like a person’s mother. No matter how she is, we will always love her. In my case I’m blessed to have two such loving cities, Madras was the city where I was born and spent most of my summer holidays during childhood and Hyderabad was the city that brought me up and made me the man I am today. So both these cities hold an equally important place in my life. My trip to Madras and Pondicherry was my first trip out of Hyderabad in over a year and a half, so it was obviously a much awaited one for me. So let me in detail, take you through the six days of what I call A HOLIDAY TO REMEMBER.

Jan 23 –
After a no incidents train ride, I caught a bus and went to my Uncle’s place which is about 45 minutes from the Central station. I decided to not do too much on that day, so didn’t make any plans. But didn’t want to be stuck at home all day either, so I visited the famous Kabaleeshwara temple in Mylapore passing through most of the busy roads in Chennai or Madras as I will be referring to it throughout the rest of the post. The temple is vast, has many shrines but mainly that of Shiva. Like any other South Indian temple complex it has a huge Gopuram and a lake inside the premises. It was a peaceful place and I went at a time when it isn’t particularly crowded. En route I saw the Akkineni Nageshwara Rao Park and the Andhra Mahila Sabha school where my mother had started off her career as a teacher before coming to Hyderabad. After this I headed back home, again local bus + shared auto formula, the cheapest way to get around after the famed Madras Electric Train. Madras is particularly balmy in the mornings, so are most of the coastal places in the winters I’d like to think. So I totally loved the weather for a change. Rest of the day I spent bonding with cousins Vishak and Ashok.

Jan 24 –
It was Vindhya’s birthday. For those of you who haven’t been introduced to Vindhya, she is doing her 3rd yr Biotech at IIT Madras. So I took a bus from the Vadapalani bus stand to IIT – M. It was one of those local deluxe buses, there is a lot of variety in the buses that ply in Madras, like in Bangalore. We have the rickety old ones to the new air conditioned ones with digital signboards.
Madras like any other Indian city suffers from the curse of excessive honking, processions, crazy autorickshaw drivers and the occasional jay walking cattle. So it was a while before I got to IIT-M. There I met up with Vindy, who had arranged for a bike. Met a few other friends who had come from Hyderabad. Meanwhile Vindy had made plans to go to an orphanage for HIV positive children called CHES. The place where they stayed was called ANANDA ILLAM (House of Joy). It certainly lived up to its name. As soon as we got there after a grueling bike trip, the kids came and clung to us like they had known us all along. It was a moving experience, most of these kids may not live to celebrate their 21st birthdays. The House Manager Mrs.Chitra and Father Samuel, the teacher explained to us how they learnt the essential education needed, and also played around for a while in the evenings.

It isn’t a walk in the park managing kids, they can be so absolutely unpredictable, some kids meddled with my shades, some played cricket with me, some of the younger ones pulled my hair, some begged to taken for piggy back rides, but I realized that in the end, all they needed was to be loved. Affection was one of the key factors that kept these kids from going into depression. I’d like to think, that I did my part and brought a few smiles to these children. Thanks Vindhya, firstly for the orphanage trip, secondly because, I got the chance to pass by the place where I lived as a kid. That house still remained as it had been so many years ago.
Meanwhile, we totally forgot our hunger, and in Madras no restaurants are open after 3. So after a lot of searching, we finally found a Pizza Hut in Adyar. After a quick lunch, we headed back to IIT. After this I met up with Deepthi, one of my seniors who was now working at Cognizant in Madras. We met at this place called Planet Yumm at Ascendas, a software complex on the Old Mamallapuram Road in the IT corridor. It was a super place and had most of the major food outlets, I tried some green tea for the first time and didn’t quite like. There was a lot of catching up that we did. Feels good to know that distance only makes people like you more. Went back to the IIT campus at about 8 in the night, spent some time with my classmates who were staying there and then headed for home. Unusually at 10.30, Madras had become a quite place, owing to its majority of early sleepers I presume. Next day it was off to Auroville.

Jan 25 –
Took an early bus out to Auroville via the East Coast Road, one of the most scenic highways in the country. It took me three hours to get to get there. After getting off at Periya Mudaliar Chavadi, I saw a signpost which said that Auroville was a further 8 kms inside. I had just had two glasses of milk in the morning. So mustering up all my strength, I started walking. I was about 5 kms into the township, when an auto stopped a few metres ahead of me, a smiling old gora asked me I needed a lift. I nodded and got in. He introduced himself as Alain. He was a frenchman working on a bio organic farm there. We spoke for the next 15-20 minutes as the auto made its way to the visitors centre. He explained to me how he had a carefree life in France and that he was busy here in Auroville, I told him the contrary, that Hyderabad was busy for me and that I had come to Auroville to slow things down. After saying bye to him, I went to the visitors centre where Eva , the receptionist there told me that it was peak season and that everything was full. So I trudged back the beach, 8 kms , stopping for a few idlis at Dinesh Tea and Snacks. After getting the beach, I looked around and finally found a lovely place to stay in. It was owned by a German couple. The lady was of Malaysian Tamil ethnicity, so she could speak Tamil. Her husband was German. Padmini Aunty showed me up to the cottage which was supported by 8 stone pillars and was made of bamboo sticks and dried coconut leaves. I loved the place immediately, it had place for 3-4 people and a table fan, a bulb and a mosquito net.
I must have slept for 3-4 hours after that 15 km walk. Aunty came and woke me up and we spoke for a long time. I loved the hammock in front of her house. Throughout the trip, I spent many hours in that hammock. As the heat receded, I went and explored the beach, from the pier down south to the fishing village in the north. Here I ran into a very heart warming site, a Tibetan single father and his daughter. He was teaching her to swim on the beach, and everytime she successfully completed a stroke she would come running back to her father and kiss him.
My alone time was going to come to an end. Harsha and Sneha said they would be joining me in the night. Sneha’s uncle was at the Aurobindo Ashram. So she would be going there, and Harsha would stay with me. They arrived three hours later at around 8 in the night, we came back to the cottage, put their luggage. Then we made our way to THE BEACH CAFÉ for dinner. (Remember the Indica V2 advertisement, that place only). This was a place where people of all nationalities ate and socialized together. Knowing Tamil made things easier for me, but the Europeans were pretty happy speaking in Francais and Deustche too, of course I managed with the limited knowledge of these languages that I had. We strolled around on the beach after that. The stars, the sea and us, along with a few dark silhouetted people in the distance. The night was breathtaking. It was off to sleep after an eventful day.


Jan 26 –
Republic Day. We woke up to a few local numbers being played out after the traditional National Anthem. Some events were being held in the local village on this occasion and the loudspeakers were on full volume, much to the amusement of the Europeans residing in the area. The three of us decided to head to the beach that morning. We loafed around, I even did a Daniel Craig imitation on the beach and kept getting battered around by the waves. Then we went back, showered and headed to Pondicherry. Here with Sneha’s uncle assistance we hired a bike and explored most of French town and the Indian quarter. We also saw the Samadhi of Shri Aurobindo and the Mother.

Since booze sells at half the price in Pondicherry, compared to other states, my friend wanted to make optimum use of this. So we went to the seaside Ajantha. I had a Virgin Mary. He had his fill. We returned to Auroville and headed towards the Matrimandir, the main meditation hall in Auroville. It is a golden sphere which signifies the divine power. Inside it is a meditation chamber entirely in white marble with a single ray of light passing through. There was also a placed called the Lotus bud which has the soil of 124 nations in it, placed during the foundation of Auroville. It was a pleasant evening and as we made our way to the cafeteria, we saw posters saying that the Auroville Theatre Group would be staging an adaptation of Hamlet. So we hastily made our way back to the Beach café, had some coffee and garlic bread, went to the cottage, had a cold shower and went to the Town Hall Plaza where it was being staged. As we were leaving, Aunty warned me to wear pants during the night because there would be too many mosquitoes and it would get cold. But I didn’t listen and went ahead.
The play was captivating. Probably one of the few occasions where one would find Indians, French, German and Tibetan actors on the same stage. I faced the wrath of the cold on our way back. We did all sorts of crazy things en route, there were hardly any vehicles on the road, so we went a few seconds switching off our headlights. Crazy and Scary simultaneously. After dinner, a few hours of silence followed and then we went off to sleep.

Jan 27 –
My last day in Pondicherry, I woke up and headed to see the sunrise alone. It was spectacular. I headed back to the cottage and had coffee with Padmini Aunty and her daughter as Harsha was still asleep. It was more roaming around French town. We checked out most of the places, went to the Puducheri museum, The Manakula Vinayakar Temple and a French restaurant called La Maree.

Contrary to what you all might think, every cuisine offers decent vegetarian fare and I feasted on the food at hand. It was very nicely done, tres francais to be precise. Then we sat on the rocks at the beach and shopped for some handmade products. After this, my friend Puppy dropped me at the bus stand and I made for Chennai.It was Sunday evening and getting a ticket was a pain, the junta in my bus were packed in like a can of sardines. But the trip was fun anyway, the highways in Tamilnadu have improved a lot over the years. On the way, I saw the Panchavati Hanuman temple, the idol here is really huge. After getting to Madras, I ate and slept.

Jan 28 –
Last day of my holiday. Didn’t have too many plans. Went to Landmark, Nungambakkam. Bought a few books for my cousins. Went to the coffee day nearby, sipped Ethiopian Coffee and caught a bus back home.

I packed and arrived at the station long before anyone else. They were all running late. A few of them were a little too late and one guy pulled the chain, I was the tamil translator and we were let off the hook with a fine. I stayed up late talking to friends in the train. It had certainly been a HOLIDAY TO REMEMBER.

PS: For a week no one spoke of b schools, college and there was no gossip. So it was all the more peaceful.

The Unsung Hero

A writer friend of mine once said that the best writing comes from an author who is on an empty stomach. I’m guessing that this entry into my diary should be my best then. I haven’t eaten in 3 days. Eating snow isn’t exactly like Ice cream.

My name is Karna. Whoever finds this diary should realize I might already be dead. If all this is unfolding too fast for you, let me bring you upto speed with the occurrences of the past few days, and since I haven’t entered my anything into my diary for a long time, it will make Mr.Diary happy too.

On January 2nd, 2010 after a wild new year party, a bunch of us i.e. Harsh, Sneha, Pavan, Isaac and me decided that we should do something memorable since we still had a few days left to get back to our mundane routines. A few suggested Goa, but the majority were in favour of going to the Himalayas. The mountains always fascinated us city slickers, so we jumped at the idea and preparations were underway by that evening.

We reserved tickets to Gorakhpur, and decided to make our way eastwards towards Nepal thereafter. We lodged at a place called HOTAL ROYAL PALASE. Despite the horrible spelling, it was a quite a comfy place to crash in and the owner Shiv Bahadur was an amazing conversationalist. He hooked us up with a local guide called Sarvesh Singh aka Captain, a strapping six footer who had worked with the Border Roads Organization, but had a premature retirement for reasons no one knew. Shiv told us that Captain never spoke much. So we never asked him too many questions, went along and did whatever he asked of us. I’d like to think that I am a good judge of people so from what I saw of him it was obvious that he was an adventurer but something from his past had extinguished the fire in him.

No one has the power to predict the future, but the superstitious few always know when something is going to go wrong. This is exactly what happened on January the 9th. Pavan woke up with a start, sweating like he’d been working out in his sleep. Pavan was the kind of guy who wouldn’t invest in stocks, if he saw a black cat that morning or if someone sneezed when he left home that day. He had had some nightmare and tried desperately to convince us to limit ourselves to bead shopping and temple visits that day. Though we were a close bunch of people, Sneha was closer to Pavan than the rest of us and reluctantly agreed to stay behind . So all suited up, Harsh, Isaac and I made our way to Mountain View Restaurant, where Captain usually picked us up in his rickety old Willy. He informed us that today’s trek would take long and was the most dangerous yet. We were pretty kicked about it, since we had done very exciting stuff in the last 2 days, so were waiting to push the envelope this time around. But time to time, I kept remembering Pavan and his nightmare. I marched forth nevertheless.

Four hours into the mountains and we had passed probably the most beautiful terrain that we had ever laid eyes on, the light mist floating above the mountains, the small stream gushing with a force like it had to get to work on time and the sheer majesty of the mountains themselves, standing tall like grand old men. Isaac started complaining that his wife Irene should have come along and that being stuck with two guys in such a beautiful environment was frustrating. I felt the same and I’m sure it was the same with Harsh, we looked at each other and tugged Isaac’s backpack to make sure we didn’t lose pace with Captain who was leading the way, unaffected by all breathtaking beauty around him. Was it because he was indifferent or was it because he had seen these places before? I will probably never know.

It was almost 4 in the afternoon, we were famished. Captain suggested we go a little further and make camp. But we insisted since we our legs would not carry us anymore, even though we knew that the base of a mountain wasn’t the best place to make camp. Harsh was a chef at one of the better hotels back home in Hyderabad. So he started working on our mini feast. Isaac & I went to gather some wood while Captain sat a few metres away on a rock eating the single paratha that was his standard meal on all our treks.

We ventured further into the woods, the trees on the border of the woods were soggy and unsuitable for making a fire. We were still searching, when we noticed something in the distance. A musk deer I think it was. There was an abundance of the beautiful beasts on the Indo Nepal border areas. But I remember Shiv had told us that poaching was a big problem in these areas. And surely enough, we noticed a few hundred metres away, behind a foliage, two burly men taking position like snipers with a rifle. I took out my SLR, and zoomed in to get a better view of things. The guns were armed with tranquilisers with yellow feathered tails. We didn’t want these guys to succeed. So we decided to scare the animal away from danger. So I started yelling and Isaac hurled a few rocks at the deer. It immediately noticed us and darted into the bushes. Mission accomplished we thought, but little did we know that these poachers would now turn their attention to us. Captain came running towards us and pushed us to the ground. As we hit the ground, we heard shots fired and bullets whizzed past us. The sound echoed. This was bad news. We were in avalanche country.

We were grounded in our positions, and the poachers reckless fire had triggered huge echoes. Soon enough, we could hear the rumbling snow. Something had to be done and fast. Captain had informed us that as soon as heard me yelling he had asked Harsh to ring up the Mountain Rescue team through his satellite phone. But it would be impossible a helicopter to land in these circumstances. Captain crawled closer to us, informed us of what he was going to do. We hesitated furiously. He slapped me back to my senses and asked me to make a run for it. What happened after this was like a movie is fast forward.

Captain sprang up, ran towards the gunfire as fast as he could, and hurled himselves at the shooters on the ground. “Run”, he yelled. Isaac and I dashed back towards camp, we could see Harsh at a distance signaling us to pick up speed as the snow was rushing towards the base of the mountain. I turned around to see what was going on. Before I could realize, one of them got shooters got a shot away and it hit my leg. It felt like something sprang up from the ground and bit me real hard. I collapsed in the pain. Isaac turned around, I yelled at him to keep running. He came back, put me his shoulder and trudged along. This would get us nowhere I thought, I wriggled out of his grip and warned him to save himself. Tears welled up in his eyes, he threw his back pack at me and made a run for it.

The snow came crashing down. I managed to make half a tent in the next few seconds and crawled into it. Meanwhile my eyes scourged the place, but there was no sign of the Captain or the poachers. The tent collapsed under the weight of the snow, but I had room enough to move around. I assumed that the snow wasn’t too deep since I could hear the groan of the helicopter. I grabbed a torch and checked the provisions I had, minimal food, this diary, a pen, 2 torches, 2 sleeping bags and a long rope.

As the day turned into night and loneliness engulfed me. My thoughts started wandering. I thought of my family back home, my cubicle at work, all the laughs that my I had shared with my friends, the memorable trip that this had been. I was glad that Harsh and Isaac were safe, or atleast I can assume so. I’m glad Pavan and Sneha never came along. The fat bugger could hardly run. Finally I thought about Captain. I had to remain sane, so I picked up my pen and I’m writing this. I wish someone would save me.

___________________________________________________________________

I must have blacked out sometime while writing that. I woke up in a cozy room to see Harsh, Isaac, Pavan and Sneha around me along with some strange men. My arm was bandaged; I felt a stinging pain in the right leg where I was shot. It was January 14. The authorities had found me as I was on the edge of the avalanche. I still had a pulse and so they shifted me to the best hospital in the area. After a few long distance telephone calls, a few forced smiles. They left me to rest.

I still think about Captain Sarvesh Singh to this day. He was a Hero. Heroes aren’t born, heroes aren’t nurtured, heroes don’t beat up 15 goons with their bare hands, and heroes certainly don’t dance around trees. A hero is an ordinary man who conjures up the courage to place himself before others in extraordinary circumstances. Had it not been for the Captain, three of us would have never lived to see the sunrise again. I read those pages in my diary once in a while to remind myself of the rebirth that I had been granted at the cost of another’s man sacrifice.

The High Times

What does it mean to get high on alcohol ? I don't know. Maybe I will in the future, maybe I won't. But in the last few days, I have been high on life.

I have been away from all the things that I would usually have done for the last few months only to realise the futility behind what I was trying to do. Neglecting blogs, short films,films and most importanly people.

Who says Hyderabad is boring ? If you do, come spend a day with me, I'll show you a whole new city you never even knew existed. I'll tell you some of the things I did in a span of few days, you decide if that was fun or not.

Theatre - Hyderabad has been a latent place for theatre, but that all ended with the Metroplus Theatre Fest which brought to our city, theatre groups from Chennai, Mumbai and Bangalore. I went and watched Five Point Someone and loved it. It was an amazing experience considering I had never been to a play before and also considering that I hadn't read the book. It even had a french kiss. Who says Hyderabadis are narrow minded ? ;)

Music Concerts - This have been happening on and off for a while, but there are hardly any quality performances doing the rounds. But that all changed with Shankar Ehsaan and Loy turning up on one mildly chilly saturday night. I went with a couple of friends, one of whom was totally high after he shook hands with Shankar Mahadevan. The show was scintillating, they belted their usual repertoire of soulful yet youthful music. But you what the best part was - I GOT TO SEE IT ALL FOR FREE. Of course "Karma" had made me spend a hundred bucks to replace my broken clutch wire a few minutes before I could reach the concert. A small price to pay for some amazing music

Also I hear there are a lot of classical/fusion concerts that happen on and off. I have fallen in love with a song called Raghuvamsa Sudha, thus the sudden interest in classical music. Heard of it ?

KBR Park has been an oft visited place in the last few years. There is something absolutely serene about this green island in the midst of the hustle bustle of Jubilee Hills. Go there at 5am in the morning, sit on the rocks and stare at the world around you. You might just bump into a few celebrities, or better yet you'll find peacocks flying by.

Career Launcher, Ameerpet - Its more like another home to me these days, I not only go there to study but also to chill out, to have intellectual conversation (yeah !! right) and to get high on Ice Cream.

Watch Happy Days. Not because its shot it MGIT/CBIT, but because its a very touching movie especially for those who are in their final year of college. That movie talks of friends, and that brings me to the conclusion of this post.

Friends/People in general.

There was this article that I read recently about Tribes in the Modern World. The author tells us that in the evolving society, tribes of friends will start becoming like parallel families. I totally agree with him, friends are like family to me. I have always valued the people around me, especially those who stick around when you're not doing too good. Respect to all you guys.

I had this whole recluse phase for a few months, now I have become crazier as those who have seen me recently will agree. I shaved my three month old beard and chopped my unruly locks, replacing them with a short crop and a handlebar moustache. The cop look, I brag. Many actually agree, after a little pondering.

Exam season is around the corner and my schedule is packed, but I'm glad I took this time to get back to Blogging. Many thanks if you took some to read this.

Looking for a Meaning

He wakes up in the morning, still tucked under his blanket, he thinks what the day has in store for him. The Sun is just growing out of a nascent orange and has plans to brighten the day for all the world (his world atleast) . He showers, parades around in his towel and smelling of a mixture of lemon flavoured soap and menthol shampoo. Breakfast is decent, he doesn't ever stuff himself.

He walks out and a gust of breeze hits him, displacing his neatly combed locks. He picks up his bag which is lying on the marble floored porch adjacent to the huge swing that reminded one of the swings of in a huge mansion in the villages of South India. " Grandmother's gift ! ", he would beamingly exclaim when his friends asked him about the swing. After adjusting the bag on his back, he turns toward his bike. He doesn't like cars, for reasons which only his closest friends from college knew apart from himelf. He owns a snazzy Royal Enfield Bullet Electra. I remember how he would religiously spend a litre of water and shine it every evening. It was something that was almost like a part of him. Bag on back, aviators on eyes, helmet on head... he chugs away from home on his ride. This was what I would see of him almost everyday.

He was away for most of the day, once or twice I remember him coming home during the afternoon. In the evenings, he was always sporting shorts and a t- shirt. There was something about these t-shirts, they were always those freebies that you got when you attended an event organised by some big organisation/institution. That seemed funny, because he was only dressed in crisp shirts and matching trousers every morning. So much for alter egos. He was liked for his calm, easy going and friendly nature. He would always let those devilish 7 yr olds play cricket on his lawn, he would even join them sometimes bowling underarm and trying to be as slow as he possibly so the kids could actually score off him.

He never spoke much to anyone. An occasional smile from him would be all that we would get. He loved his TV and you could hear the constant groan of the Idiot box throughout the night. He had one of those amazing flat screen televisions with extra dimensions which made one feel like one was in a mini cinema theatre. A few hazards of living by oneself are that inanimate objects like the television, the cellphone and the internet become family. He had friends, a group of 5 if memory serves right, they had dinners at his place often. They were always the silent intimate kind of dinners. No loud music for him.

Never could he be seen reading a book, but you could know that he was a deeply insightful person. No one ever knew what he did. Some said, he worked for one of them Software Giants, a few others said he was a journalist, a few others thought his attire was that of a financial analyst, one person who had seen with a famous actor once even went around telling people that he was a famour director. But no one ever knew what he did or for that matter anything about his past or present.

I will always remember that day, January the 13th. This day was the first time, he wasn't doing the usual routine that I had seen him do day after day, he was dressed in a smart white striped collared T shirt and blue jeans. He was walking towards my gate. I sat up with coffee mug in hand, wondering whether he had noticed me observing him and was getting annoyed, and that he was coming this way to give me a piece of his mind. "Ah ! Well, atleast I would hear him talk", I thought. But he didn't seem like the type who would care for nosey neighbours.

He came up to my gate, looked me straight in the eye and smiled. I signalled him to come on in. He kept the stare going as he strode towards me and fidgeted with his pocket. He shook hands and sat himself down. The first words escaped his mouth, he said, " Hi, I know we haven't spoken much." I smiled. He went on, " I'll be going away for a while, and I'd really like it if you would take care of my Bullet, wash it once in a while, and in return you can drive her around for a bit." I was delighted, that was a like a dream come true. I assured him that I would love to and promised to be careful. He nodded a thanks and started to leave. I interrupted, " Where are you going and when will you be back ?". Decreasing the pace of his step, he turned around and said - " I'm going in search of the meaning of life and I will be a while. " I did not quite understand his cryptic talk then, but I smiled and waved goodbye.

A month later, I heard his gate creaking open. I ran outside. I saw his friends driving into the driveway. I could sense, that things weren't in order. A girl, probably in her late 20's saw me and signalled me to come and join them. I went as quickly as I could. She enquired in a low voice, "You're Aditya right ?". I nodded. She forced a smile onto her pale face and said - "He wanted you to have the bike. ". I did not quite understand and stared back at her perplexed. She ushered me into the porch and we sat on the swing as the other four friends went into the house. She explained to me that my neighbour was one of India's foremost writers. He had travelled to the war stricken areas of the Rajasthan border to write about the life of people who lived there. He had planned to name the book, THE MEANING OF LIFE. One night as he was on one of his walks on the sand dunes, he was fired upon by a few militants. The villagers who he was studying for his book, found his unconscious body 3 hours later. He was on his deathbed when his friends went to see him at the hospital in Jaisalmer. She told me that he looked like someone else and that they were inconsolable, but he still smiled and spoke to them for half an hour before he suddenly rested into his eternal slumber.

She said that what he said during those thirty odd minutes were profound. "He never had family and he always was close to us. But he loved the kids in his neighbourhood and especially the boy who unknowingly waved goodbye to him with his eyes every morning", she quivered, almost in tears. I felt a shiver crawl down my spine, and lump in my throat. I stood up and froze. The girl put her arm around me and said "Thanks". For what, I did not know and did not care to ask. I just looked back at her walked out of the house and headed straight for my room.

He went in search of The Meaning of Life,but went so far away from Life that he could never return. Sometimes bonds are formed without even saying a word.

My first fictional work. Do comment

A Public Service Message :)

Frustration leads to anger leads to creative surges. Hours of waiting in the traffic and daredevil auto drivers have lead to this.

Cheers

The Tortured Artist

PS: Art and Concept by Aditya G Narayanan :P

Infinite Fun ... and some learning too

When I'm happy I'd like to multiply my joys and that is why I'm probably writing this blog. Its a been a long while since something worth mentioning happened in my life, Nirvana being the last.
The last week has been pretty eventful and this is how it unfolded.

Monday: Cognizant came calling and I answered their call. Got placed, with the right kinda preparation and some effort.

Tuesday: Went to Kashish's house for lunch. Feasted on yummy parathas with makhan and mouth watering biryani. This was the first time, I had to suck the pulp out of mangoes and well let me just say, I made a fool of myself :P :P. This was when a friend of mine called saying my results had come. I was little anxious, but not too bothered since my CTS would have neutralised any threats that the results posted. I always think that things in life can only get better, and proving this fact, Puppy called me saying I had cleared all subjects with 72 %. Was damn relieved.

Wednesday: Spent most of my day at Career Launcher since they were organising a residential workshop called Infinity 2007 and I was helping co-ordinate. Dinner with family in the evening was a rare occurence and thoroughly enjoyable.

Thursday: Three of my friends came home and my father dropped us at the Rendezvous Point ie. CL Parklane. Most of my friends boarded Bus # 1 and I was the Captain of the Bus. We reached the destination - Sreenidhi Resorts in about an hour. We were then shown to our rooms. The guys in the first bus, got rooms with cockroaches and spiders for company with rickety old fans and spongeless mattresses. But we weren't the ones to complain since there was lots of fun to be had.
We were divided into 3 teams :- Thunderbolts, Castalia and Intrepid. My friends and I ended up in Thunderbolts so it was gonna be a ball for sure. We had a GD session first and then a few games which tested group dynamics and strategy.
The evening was set aside for planning the cultural events and deciding what was to be done. As Radio Mixing was my area of expertise, I got into that and we made a funny script. The night was totally ours, we hung out with people, got to know them better and made some amazing friends.

Friday: Bah !! The worst way to wake up, have a bunch of girls break down your door. Well it didn't deter us too much because once we shooed them away, we went right back to sleep. We had another game called Liar Liar which was a lot of fun and this game our team won by 20 pts and we were leading the pack. Then we had interview sessions. Here we were divided into groups of 3 and had to interview each other. During our exercise my friend and I tortured the eternal bakra Nitin, who I must mention had mustered quite a fan following after a random rendition of Tanha Dil for the CL faculty. The evening and night were a lot of fun. We had a disco, and for the first time ever, I danced for three and a half hours straight. Boy !! It was a lot of fun and every muscle in body hurt after that. Late into the night, our gang hit the merry go round and we spoke till around 3 in the morning.

Saturday: Gyaan sessions by junta who were headed to the IIMs made me realise that the CAT wasn't that big a deal and with the right frame of mind, anyone can crack it. Then after brunch, off to the Culturals. After 2 hrs of performances, Thunderbolts and Castalia were declared joint winners. We had a photo session around the resort for a while and then headed back home, wishing that we could turn back time.

Thanks to all those guys who i got to befriend, the friends I got to know better and everyone at Infinity 2007. The memories will last forever.
Contact CL soon for the videos and pics

A scapegoat of Dynasty Politics

This is the story a man named Dayanidhi Maran. A Saggitarian, a tech savvy and smartly dressed politician who has been made the scapegoat in the ruckus of dynasty politics of Tamilnadu.

The History :
In November 2004, Mr.Murasoli Maran, Dr.Karunanidhi's nephew passed away leaving the constituency of Central Chennai without a candidate for the 2004 Lok Sabha Elections. The DMK leadership chose the then 28 year old Dayanidhi, shy younger son of Mr.Maran as a replacement. Dayanidhi was new to politics but he had a resounding victory in the constituency that was previously's his father's bastion and a DMK stronghold.
He was sworn in as Minister for IT and Telecom which is one of India's growing sectors. This did not sit well with other DMK contenders for they did not quite appreciate a rookie being given a ministry on his first trip to Delhi.

The Flash point :
Dinakaran, a Tamil Daily published an opinion poll about who would be the successor of the Octogenarian Leader of Tamilnadu. M.K.Stalin was shown as the obvious choice of the Tamil junta. This did not go down too well with M.K.Azhagiri, elder son of the leader and Don of Madurai. His infuriated supporters set the Dinakaran office in Madurai ablaze in the presence of 44 Police Personnel. A typical tamil movie scene, my fellow tamil movie goers would agree. Reel life isn't that far fetched from Real life after all.

The Aftermath : The party blames Dayanidhi Maran for indulging in anti-party activities and asks for his head. The senior leadership gets what it wants and Mr.Dayanidhi Maran leaves his position much to the discontent of many industry experts as he was one of the more industry friendly ministers.
Well !! What can I say. NICE GUYS FINISH LAST .

The Bright Yellow

When I was in Class 6, I religiously played cricket in the hope that I would become a cricketer someday. The coach did not pick me in the school team and chose some kids who were obviously less deserved of their positions than me. The perplexed 11 yr old that I was , I walked away from the world of cricket other than the occasional game with friends.

The Australians stormed home to yet another World Cup victory last week and this prompted me to blog about cricket which I thought I'd never do. Their dominance of World Cricket is very similar to the way the Brazilian team reigns supreme in the world of Football. The way these teams dominate the game and decimate their opponents is a sight to relish.

But does their performance depend solely skill, talent and the way the sports administration works in the country ? Of course these are very evident reasons of their respective teams' success. I observed a sort of pattern in both these teams and plan to write to Mr.Sharad Pawar one of these days suggesting to him to change the kit of the Indian Cricket team to YELLOW.

Yes Yellow !!! When people say they've got the blues, it means they are not doing so well,then how on earth can we expect the Men who've got the Blues to do well in a sport. Of course the Italians are an exception to this fact. Yellow is the colour of the Sunflower(which can be placed on the caps as the logo for the cricket team) .It is also Martin Scorsese's third cousin's favourite colour. Bands like The Beatles sang about the Yellow Submarine and not a Blue Submarine and even Coldplay has made a song on the colour. So whats not to like about yellow.


Its simple logic ->
When we need some service, we look in the Yellow Pages
When we need victory, we look to the Men in Yellow
PS:MY FAVOURITE COLOUR IS BLUE

The Grind

It is that time of the year again which all engineers-to-be love to hate. Its Exam Season.
Borrowing records from friends, hours of waiting in the photocopying place, nightouts with the gang, extensive planning, hardly any execution. This is my way of life during these tough and testing times. Apart from this, to increase my blood pressure in this sweltering heat I have Nirvana Audit work which is like a real pain, since most people don't want to give bills for evading taxes.
My computer crashed yesterday, I had to sit and re-install windows and all the other softwares. So its all going wrong as of now, but still I smile. I read somewhere that life gives us two choices -
The path we should take
The path we eventually do
So which I will take and whether I successfully accomplish all of the above mentioned tasks and go into the month of May peacefully is yet to be soon. Multitasking has always been one of my strengths, so I should be able to manage.
I'd like to take this opportunity to apologise to someone very special. My dear BLOG !! I have been neglecting you for a long time I know. But I have been busy with lots of stuff outside of cyber space, so please forgive. I know you will :-) :-)
I'm putting up here, my fave pic from Nirvana 2007 which has probably been the best thing to happen to me this year, thus far, hopefully other important things will follow suit.

Nirvana 2007 - A job well done

Its over. I cannot believe its over, just like that. What do I do now ? Classes ? College ? Nooooo, Nirvana I want you back, please don't go away.
This is how I'm feeling now. But I have an epic to tell you guys, let me start with October 14. This was the day Nirvana 2007 work was officially kicked off, I gave a small presentation. A few hours after this, I met with an accident. This was probably a sign of things to come, the difficulties that I was to face during the months of January, February and March.
PROLOGUE
We started having our meetings in the month of January and decided initially that it would be Shaan or Colonial Cousins. Now the hurdles started being hurtled at us. We had our first official meeting with our respected Director. He was totally against the idea of us having celebrities from outside come and perform. Around 15 of us kept rallying against this and were finally able to convince that this and only this would be the best entertainment package. He agreed.
We got our permission letter on January 18, ten days after the set deadline, but we still had lots of time. By then, it had been decided that I would be made Student Convenor and there would be a Core Committee to back me up. But due to a few unforeseen situations and for the evident betterment of the fest, I scrapped the Core.
Now things had been set in motion, money was top priority. I had been reading a lot about Laloo Prasad turning an institution like the Railways into a profitable organisation, so I resolved that I would do the same about Nirvana which was always short of money. So I kept telling everyone that Mission SHOW ME THE MONEY was top priority. A team of 10-12 people who were really dedicated started doing the rounds of a few companies, and I was taking care of other things.
Many important activities were not on schedule. I was getting a wee bit worked up and making people work harder. February came, the supplementary holidays began and lethargy set in. Half the team went to sleep and I was powerless to do anything. Our deadline of Feb 20 was fast approaching and I did not have enough finances to show for the team's hardwork.
Then the worst blow of all. I was told that Mr.Hariharan would not be available for the 10th of March. This had a chain reaction. A few big companies who were to give big amounts backed out, we lost almost 3.5 lakhs, and the whole brain racking of finding a new performer began. Due to our financial constraints we were forced to go low budget.
We decided to first sign Hemachandra, finalist from Saregamapa and upcoming singer. Sona, Leslie Lewis and Kartik were other names that were suggested. The money kept trickling in, but my stress levels were reaching break point. My team and I just kept at it, Money money money. Something had to give way. Saturday Feb 27 was easily the toughest day for me. People from all sides were putting too much pressure on me. People who I thought cared about me a lot did not even bother to call. I was on the edge. Something had to be done and fast. So along with my closest confidants, I trudged into Sterling Cinema and watched Blood Diamond. Solid relief it was. Slept well after a long time that night.
Next day it was back to work. Then suddenly something out of the blue. One person was interested in being main sponsor, a ray of hope maybe. We tried but that did not work out too. Just as I was coming to terms with the fact that my fest would be just another mediocre event, a heaven sent miracle. Akshay Rao, a brother to me called me on the March 3rd and told me about this band called Prayag. I loved the name. I googled them, I loved their music and I loved the idea of bringing them to MGIT. We needed another 70k to pull this off. So the sponsorship run never stopped, but big amounts were just not coming. But we kept at it with a dogged determination.
The last 3-4 days before were hectic. It was like I was going downhill without brakes. Once we convinced the management about having Prayag also, things had been set in motion that could not be undone. So it was upto us to pull things together and give it a 100%. I designed the posters overnight and gave them away for printing. They were looking good. It was going to be good. I was very close to being disowned by my family for my crazy work timings. Then Nirvana came -
DAY 1: This was the day of the techies. There was a decent response and the events happened without any speedbreakers. Team Nirvana still had to pool up 30k. We were lying down on the lawns in college and wondering what the hell to do. We had our last meeting for the day where I emphatically said – “Sir, we have come 90% of the way, we will do what it takes to go the remaining 10%”.
DAY 2: Things began smoothly, I was still on the edge since the financial situation had improved by 10k only. So I went and sat down with the faculty incharge to do another round of accounts. This was one of the most defining moments of Nirvana 2007 for me. Magically an extra 20k had been miscalculated before, we needed only a thousand rupees more to break even. This happened in the next few hours and I was just so thrilled. I had accomplished what I had set out to do, without compromising the quality of the fest.
But happiness never lasts long when one is doing something of this magnitude. After the sound and stage had been setup, the backdrop gave way. Due to some ingenuity from one of the workers, we managed that. Next problem that sprung up was that our man had brought a 60 hz generator where the whole of India used only 50hz. But somehow we dealt with that too.
My close friend Nitin’s band REVE from JBIET was to perform first. It was an amazing performance considering that it was their first major gig. Their drummer, Venky who was a visually impaired 14 year old was the toast of the evening. Trust me guys, this kid is has a bright future ahead of him. Then a beautiful fusion ensemble by the 2nd year guys kept the show going. Due to a small delay our main performer Mr.Nagraj was delayed. But luckily Mr.Ravi Varma , a playback singer was in the audience and he graced the show with a few of his numbers. Then Mr.Nagraj arrived and put on a stellar show despite a few members of the audience leaving early.
DAY 3: With all the confidence in the world, I woke up at 6.45 am and left for the airport where I was to pick up the members of Prayag. The flight was on time and the guys were eager to get to the hotel and get some sleep. They were the most down to earth bunch of rockstars I had met. It felt like they were one of us . We were more than pleased that we had chosen Golkonda Resorts and Spa as our hospitality sponsor because it had an amazing ambience to it. After a five star breakfast, they went to sleep and I left to conduct the quiz prelims.
Most events went on decently except the ones that I was incharge of, and I’m still feeling guilty that I could not hold a JAM. But nevertheless, once the quiz was done, I had to prepare my vote of thanks, change into my kurta and get ready to receive the guests of honour.
Things went on well in the auditorium while sound check was going on in the ground. So once things were done inside the auditorium, we were ready to start. Hemachandra was to perform first. I was to be the emcee for the evening. He started off with an A.R.Rahman number and his playlist was well received. He also had a great interaction with the crowd and kept them in awe. Once his performance was done, I announced Prayag onto stage with their tagline THE STORM TROOPERS OF HINDI ROCK. They stood true to the name and took the show by storm. Great numbers like Where the streets have no name, Kashmakash, Duur were making the audience of 1500 Come Alive. Just when I thought things could not get any better, they dedicated the song Roobaroo to me and called me on stage to sing along. It was an awesome experience and I think I got a little stage high also, but once I realized my amateur singing talent I took a bow and got off stage. Prayag ended with their flagship number – RAASTE. It was an amazing show, an amazing turnout and I’m glad everything turned out alright.
LESSONS LEARNT
Being at the helm for Nirvana 2007 was like being the Captain of a fire fighting unit. One fire here would be extinguished and another elsewhere would start. I think the entire team stuck together and pulled off a great show. There were no fights, there were a few wrong decisions, lots of juniors earned my respect and I found myself a band of brothers who would give their all for me, not to mention one great friend who helped me through most scarily stressful nights. I have also realized that I’m a more resilient person than I thought I was and that working under pressure turns me on.
I would like to thank every fireman, I mean ever member of Team Nirvana for making this happen. I would like all those who showed up and enjoyed the fest. I would like to thank Mr. Venkatramana for patiently bearing with us through everything. I would also like to thank my parents for allowing me all liberties. This would be incomplete without a special thanks to all my paduans and my brothers and the new friends who stood by my side through trying times. May the tradition of Nirvana bring joy to all of you like it has done for me.
Cheers

Lost in the sands of Time

Shangri La, Atlantis, El-Dorado. These are the names of 3 cities which have captured the imagination of explorers,archaeologists and adventurers over the last few centuries.
But did these cities really exist ?
This is an answer which will probably never be answered in our lifetime, although I wish it could be.Proof of these cities can be found in ancient texts and this has led people to believe that these formerly flourishing cities are potential treasure chests.
Allow me tell you about my favourite of the three - Shangri La. Several possible places in the Buddhist Himalayan region between northern India and Tibet have claimed to be the basis for this legend.The legendary Kun Lun Mountains in Tibet offer other possible Shangri-La valleys.A popularly believed inspiration for Shangri-la is the Hunza Valley in northern Pakistan, close to the Chinese border,being an isolated green valley surrounded by mountains, enclosed on the western end of the Himalayas, it closely matches the description of the city.
This city is supposed to home to Immortal people, flying Lamas, architectural wonders and is a lush valley untouched by the insufficiencies of modern civilisation. Only those who are pure of heart have the power to see the city. So that rules me out !!
What makes it so damn difficult for modern explorers to find is that Tibet ie. The Roof of the World is home to the world's most inhospitable terrain. After watching most documentaries Tibet, which was once a forest many centuries ago, brings to my mind the picture of vertical cliffs and dry barren plains. Hopefully if my show airs someday, I shall go where no man has gone before,with my team and explore Tibet,which as a friend of mine once told me is truly THE LAST FRONTIER.
Talking about Tibet,it is impossible to ignore the role that China has played in shaping modern Tibet. According to the Govt. in exile, Tibetan culture is diminishing in Mainland Tibet and the Dalai Lama and his disciples are trying their best to keep their traditions alive at Dharamsala. Its a sad state of affairs considering the fact that the Tibetans are being forced to adopt a foreign culture.
Its a pity that something this beautiful is being scarred by politics and foreign exploitation. But still,as some famous Tibetan said - "Wherever you feel at home, you are at home. If your surroundings are pleasant, you are at home.”

An "INTER"mission

People have always applauded my choice of titles especially after HAMARI AZZURRI KAHANI. So it is only fair that I explain what this one means. Well for most people Intermediate ie. +1,+2 life is hell, but for us at Kakatiya it was quite the opposite. It was almost like a pleasant break from the ratrace of life that people used to experience at that point of time, thus the title.
This is a very(*thrice*) brief account of the five of us and our two years together. Alphabetically:
Mr.Abdul Rehman BBA
Mr.Achyuth Reddy B.Tech
Mr.Aditya G Narayanan B.Tech
Mr.Nitin Prahlad B.Tech
Dr.Vishwajit Reddy MBBS
We have known each other for five years and have seen each other going major metamorphoses. It has been an awesome experience getting to know each one of them, each damn special in their own way. Rehman,Achyuth and Me started out as being the only sensible people in an otherwise dumb class. Nitin and Vishwajit joined us the next year,Vizzy being the only non Math guy. It was the best combination of acads and fun that one could ask for, though I still feel I could have done better,had it not been for the complications that I brought upon myself.
We had the most iconic lecturers around like -
Mr.Ramarao used to call Rehman - REHMIN and me - ADICHA
Mr.Subramanyam taught the periodic table like a slokam(thats why I can remember it well probably)
Mr.Raghavulu and his voice which was nicknamed SONIC BOOM due to its loudness
Mrs. Neeraja for her sheer sweetness and mass
Mr.Sudhir and his antics
Mr.Venugoal with his "EM RA !!!"
the SLIMY MR.NAIDU (need I say more). All people that we shall never forget in our lives.
We are still remembered in junior college as the TERRORIST batch because of all the mischief we were upto. But we were all spared since we managed good scores, thanks to me who all the above mentioned buggers copied from. There was also this specimen of a guy in class called Naveen. He was like a 7 yr old kid in a big exhibition for whom all the lecturers were toys, the way he annoyed them is now legend in Kakatiya circles.
We loved college so much so that we would come back to study(read DO RANDOM TIMEPASS) at college in the evenings. We knew everyone and everyone knew us. We hardly ever bunked college since college was so much fun. More frequently than class, we were at Roheed Bakery, Kakatiya's equivalent of Pop Tate's. Then there was this ritual we had, which we called THE WORLD TOUR. Since we always ended up finishing our lunch in the period prior to lunch, we were free for a whole half hour. This is when all of us used to visit every boys' toilet in the building. The boys' loos were on the 1st,3rd and 5th floors and we loved 'em. We used to steal tubelight starters and we(one of us) even lit a laddi in the loo with the help of a mosquito coil acting as a timer.Now thats home grown technology for you!
Whenever I meet these guys its always a riot, we're always laughing our tummies into an ache. Since Rehman is in Melbourne,we usually do our laughing online with those smileys. Thanks to Yahoo for that, We're Smiley people. He had recently come down for a holiday and one day we met at Sarovar and drove the people there mad. It had been sometime since I had laughed that hard. That night I was so bloody high on WACKINESS QUOTIENT that I wrote a few funny stories which a few of my friends totally loved.
I had been in quite a fix over a few things over the last few days. Thankfullu,this day has been a good day - spent quality time with people who genuinely cared about me , got to know a few encouraging things and experienced an excruciatingly exciting(these things are called Alliterations :)) drive courtesy of Achyuth's psychotically in-control driving.
Next on the agenda for my next fun outing(which will be after Nirvana) is Paintball. Recently saw an ad saying it has been launched in Hyderabad at Jalavihar. Anyone Game ??

Discover Yourself

Everyday is an adventure, a celebration and I really needed to experience this after a boring semester at college. I went to Bangalore - Mysore for the sem break.I have kin in both places, so it meant a lazy week in the Western Ghats for me. Watching lots of movies, long chats with my PAATI(granny), feasting on some yummy food courtesy of my aunt and bullying my cousin Anand was all part of my daily routine. But one night, my uncle S.R.Ravichandran decided to do a little self-development programme at home. Having attended lots of workshops and management programs at IIM-A, XLRI etc.,he was probably the best person around to do some soul searching with.
He placed a white board on the bed & armed with a blue marker and a few white papers we embarked on a most marvellous journey. He drew a a few diagrams representing how the human psyche was made of both masculine(Purush) & feminine(Prakruti) shades and that there were a lot of factors which affected the personalities we ended up becoming. It was the first time I ever heard of something like this and it gave me a new way of perceiving things. He said that it was important to grow psychologically and emotionally along with the physical growth. He asked me what I thought about Marriage - " Co-existense" came the reply. He laughed heartily and told me that I should save such opinions for later. He asked me what I thought of success, Power and Financial Freedom I said. It was probably the sort of answer that an average 20 year old would give. We spoke about lots of other things, how much IQ played a role in success and how much his diligence did.
Dinner was served and we concluded. He still left me in a state of ambiguity about "success". A sound sleep in the cold Mysore weather followed. I was to leave the following day for Bangalore. I was woken up by a phone call. It was Ravi,we said our goodbyes. Then he muttered,"Think about this SUCCESS IS CONQUERING EVERY WAVE OF OPPORTUNITY THAT COMES YOUR WAY." Food for thought indeed. I immediately felt like a surfer trying to conquer those high waves which crashed onto the shores of California. This is how I shall remain.
We all face little challenges and big challenges around every corner of the street called Life. Each one of us is unique and is armed with a special arsenal to tackle such issues. There will always be ebbs and tides. Our surfboard and our character will be our only friends in times like these.
I shall conclude with the immortal lines of Robert Frost which I read in my 8th class English text book.
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.