Just a SLEEPLESS Friday Night!!!!

So when I am writing this, it is already GOOD MORNING (for those who slept ;-)). Time is 5.30 A.M. in Indian Standard Time to be precise or say to avoid my friends’ questions like which timezone. 😉 .

Headphones are resting on my ears and making me feel like any Sa Re Ga Ma Pa programe’s Judge. A hot bowl of Maggi is besides me. Yeah, Don’t worry. I’m sharing that with my laptop’s keyboard also.

Hmm.. So let me rewind when this all started and I ended up in a sleepless Friday night at my flat.

After returning form, this began with a Hollywood blockbuster “The Incredible Hulk” on TV and followed by a typical bollywood masala movie “Chashme Baddoor” (Jisme Pyaar ka Punchnama wala actor hai “Liquid”) back to back which killed our almost 4 and half hour. Mix Chaat of Holly-Bolly really just made the starting of friday night spicy. Chill!!! I am not going to bore you with movie review. 😛

It was 01.30 A.M. when my friends (Flatmates,Training Batch-mates or call whatsoever. ;-)) went to bed and one of guards of my society was just making sure that I should not sleep by whistling continuously.
Anyways I opened Facebook just to make my daily quota of social networking complete. My friends say that my meal will not digest if i don’t use Facebook before sleeping. This is where i took WRONG TURN. After satisfying my hunger of liking and commenting, I ended up into chatting with one of my best buddies of college and my senior.This was the high-time when our brains were in its maximum performance mode and our thoughts were flowing like hell. (Hawaai Kile…. [Castles of Air 😉 ] ).
Time also flew away and it was 4.30 A.M. now. I bade them a Good Night and thought of sleeping but accidently clicked on a link in newsfeed and then I found myself on a Personality test website. It was appealing so I took the test, First one, then two and so on. Quite Amusing You can say. Result what I found was pretty interesting and got to know that I possess ENTP kind of personality. (Facebook was still open.)

To my surprise, I could relate that to my self. I was just wondering and then my stomach roared loudly. Ohh!!! I forgot that last time I ate something was 8 hours before as It was 5.15 A.M. Now.
By the grace of God, we had maggi for emergency ;-). So Just left everything, put my headphones on my Listening senses, Started Music Player on cheap ShyaamSingh’s (Samsung) phone and I was all set to make some Bhasad in Kitchen. Hopefully, Maggi was prepared well and I’m now at starting point of my post.

It was 5.30 A.M. (Yeah, IST again).

By the end of writing this post, Electric bulbs and tubelights of Pune now have been turned off as “Chandaa Maama So gaye.. Suraj Chachu Jaage”. The Light of dawn was raising its wings.
As now I’m finishing this post, I’ll be leaving for balcony and enjoy some eyes-soothing sceneries with cool breeze outside.

GOOD MORNING FOLKS.!!!! 🙂 See you soon.
Ohh!! ha… The Birthday Journey – Part 2 is in progress. If you missed part 1 then reach from here.

P.S. – If you find HULK anywhere then please tell him that I’ve mentioned him in my blog-post He once requested me to blog about him or at-least put his name once. 😉 😀
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Are still here!!!!!!!! Well, Just witnessed Rising Sun and so are doing my hopes with life.

Kuldeep Singh Rathore

IBM India Pvt Ltd, Gurukul Kangri University, Haridwar

To follow one’s dreams? Or to follow what’s ‘safe’?

So I’ve been told quite frequently these following words – “ This guy, no matter how many times you try to talk sense to him, his thick skull always gets in the way.” Well, most of the time it’s in Tamil, sometimes in English, and once or twice if memory serves well, in Hindi.
Now, the context for them all vary. In one case, it’s like insults. Ranging from yo-mama jokes to insults about my appearance, gender, math skills (Shut up and stop laughing, I still passed so HA! ) and mostly academics. Most of my close friends already know that unless I’m unsure or ask for advice myself, I wouldn’t take their advice, even if they’re right. I suppose you could call me stubborn, dum, short-sighted, proud, egoistical etc. And maybe I’m all of that , or none of that.

But here’s the real thing, every bit of advice I get, whether It’s good or bad, I always listen. I may not follow, but I always listen, and consider what would happen if I do follow it. Most of the advice I receive from my friends are always centred on trying to help me, or shield me from mistakes I could be making. It’s quite heart-warming to find that even though I could be a condescending jerk at times, they still look out for me and blah blah. But I wonder, what if I said that the only reason I don’t follow their advice, I don’t share their concern is because it doesn’t make me happy to follow them? That even though my actions right now could be making me happy for like a month or two, and end up hurting me for a year later, I’d still do it?
Well, If you’re going to ask why on earth would anyone do something as stupid as that, I’m going to give you a cliché answer – “Life is about being happy”

I know right. Lame. Unrealistic. Unlike what we were trained to think since childbirth.
“Life isn’t about being happy, life’s about being smart, surviving, and coming out on top.”
And let me ask you. Why? Why about survival? Why do you guys want to get high end jobs? To give you comfort in your old age? You’d rather waste 40 years of your life with specialized education and working night shifts in your office to earn 2 lakhs per month so that when you’re 60 you can retire and spend the twilight years of your life in a fancy arm-chair?
Well, I have nothing against that plan. It’s a good plan actually. Insurance. Certainty. You’re sure to lead a comfortable life with 20 servants looking after things for you and your family. If That’s what makes you happy, go for it! I’d be the first guy who would support you if that‘s what makes you feel worth it. But ask yourselves this – How many people like you have already achieved that, and when they’re old and tired, how many have regrets so deep that carrying them alone kills them?
“I wish I could’ve become a professional paint-ball champion”
“I wish I tried climbing the Himalayas”
“I wish I became an ethical hacker”
“I wish I followed my dream of being an international guitarist”
“I wish I could’ve become a gym-trainer”
“I wish I became a director”
“I wish I became a pilot”
“I wish I became an artist”
“I wish I could travel around the world”
“I wish I became a masterchef”
Oh I could go on forever.
I ask them, “Why couldn’t you?” They answer – “It was a stupid dream, not really useful in the real world.”
Then why are we still carrying on like this? Are you really going to blame it on the system?
“This education system is the issue! They make engineers and doctors seem like the best! The mindset of society that if you’re not an engineer you can’t win in this country.” Go ahead then. Do whatever the society tells you. Be AFRAID of adversity. Be AFRAID of disappointment emanating from people you care about. Let that fear guide you to do what others want you to. Don’t take risks. Be smart. AVOID the consequences ENTIRELY.
Makes so much sense when I say that right? It’s because it’s not the society’s mindset, it’s YOURS. There are people all around who make it amazingly well even thought they don’t follow engineering. Maybe they got their B.Tech degrees, or even masters, but in the end, it’s always only a backup for them. They don’t be people they don’t want to be. They follow their dreams, and as simple as that, they achieve them. Sure you could say it’s not that simple. There are always pitfalls and stuff. OBVIOUSLY. Do you think you’re so special that people would give you whatever you want? You’re nothing. You mean absolutely nothing. You always did. Don’t let anyone tell you different, because it’s a lie. And if you want to be something, be the one who wants to be something. That’s the start.
I want to show you guys a small video, my friend Saran Rishi in my class made about his upcoming short film the perceptionist. He’s a B.Tech student btw,and not that attuned for it either. He wants to be a director. And his passion is so strong, you can almost feel it here.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=atWWHSaKd2o

Obviously, I love it. I think it’s pure genius. And for a B.Tech student to come up with this with a limited budget, a hostelite who has very little time outside campus (college rules), he made this just like that. Oh, he didn’t need a B.Tech degree for this btw. Just saying.
I want to be a guitarist. My main genre of interest is metal. My own mother thinks it’s noise and not worth playing. More than 90% of my friends think what I’m playing is crap. A few know that I worked hard to get my skill at this level. I don’t have inborn talent. But with over 90% of people telling me to stop, why am I continuing making ‘Noise’? Because I like it. I know that I’d get very little appreciation. I know that I may end up being called a guitarist wannabee, hell I bet some people already call me that. Over 3.5 years of playing the guitar, and THIS bullshit was my first recording.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H72LbAuTm1E

I myself think its crap. Not even worth replaying. But I uploaded it anyway. Why? Because I worked hard to be able to confidently play something like THAT. I have NO inborn talent. I have NO high speed learning potential. I’m just an average guy who plays the guitar because he likes it. I touch my guitar, All I can think of is just what I can play, how I can play, and why am I thinking this when I could be playing? I cant express what I fell when I do play my guitar. It’s content, happiness, joy, everything is just beautiful, amazing, and I feel so happy, it’s almost unrivalled.
I don’t want to loose this feeling to something as mundane as a fancy arm chair made of sandalwood. I don’t want to lose it to be able to order 20 servants around to pick me up and carry me up the himalayas, I don’t want to lose it to wasting my life working for a company to whom I’m just an investment, and not even human. I want to keep it. And I will. To the grave.
I just hope You guys can understand what I want to tell you. I have so many things I want to get out of my head to tell all you guys. People who care about me, or not.
Dream on.

Srihari S

Amrita School of Engineering

s.srihari@outlook.com

http://ssrihari.wordpress.com/

Trying to find neverland….

Mar. 28, 2013 No Comments Posted under: Uncategorized

What next? Argh. Don’t you just hate that question?

I Got into Media College based on a decision I made during the last term of school. But that kind of easy last minute decision-making is not going to do it this time and I know that for sure. One year from now, I will be done with college and then what? What do I really want to do? I fear the answer is “ I’m still thinking about it and I’m going to figure it out through the course of next year”. But that answer is no more valid I hear.

I walked into mum’s office today and asked her “What do you think I am going to do after I am done with college ma?” and she stared blankly at my face and said, “I don’t know, I have to think about it…” I finally picked myself up and asked her “amma, are you okay with me studying anywhere outside Chennai, within India?” Somehow I expected her to say “of course, its your decision” but she said “I need to talk to your dad about it, give us tonight and I will tell you tomorrow.” I said, “okay” with a face that I was trying so hard to keep happy. I also told her about the colleges I had in mind. And she said “okay I will get back to you.” and then I asked her “amma what if you say no and that I cant study away from here..? I need to find alternative colleges here also right?” and she turned to me with a look that I interpreted said “exactly that. Go figure tha t out”.

I walked out of the room and walked up the stairs, got into my room, put my bag aside and lay down on my bed and then slowly I began to realize that I was crying. I don’t know why, but I’m guessing it is that feeling of uncertainty that comes with youth, as people say.

All of a sudden being clueless upsets me, especially for a girl who decided to celebrate her confusions, as she had time. And time is what I don’t have right now. I was up until today never afraid of a blank page, but do I still feel the same way about blank pages, not knowing what to write about or what to write further? Questions are easy, answers are difficult. I am so desperately trying to give myself answers and just when I seem to be on the verge of finding something, my blood people don’t quite see what I see. Ironic right? Actually…no. Pathetic is the word for how I feel. Especially since all my friends know exactly what they are going to do after college.

Going with the flow was and is never my type. I believe in “prepare and fight head on” but I failed at what I believe in. I am not prepared and I don’t know what or whom I am fighting. Is it the pressure of turning 20 and racing towards adulthood that I am terrified of or is it the want not to disappoint people? Is it the feeling of growing into something that I have only seen other people become? I don’t know. All I know is I hate change and I hate having to grow up.

And all of a sudden I wish I was peter pan, who was young, is young, and always will be young. Forever.

Sruthi Laya

AAT media college

http://cookielaya.blog.com/

 

Resources

The three powerful resources you always have available to you: love, prayer, and forgiveness. But for some people, humans are resources.

This ‘HURTS MY INTELLIGENCE”

Microwave ovens are resources, phones are resources, laptops and internets are all resources – but humans are humans. And the sooner we realize that, the better it will be for all of us.

Addressing or using human as “resources” most likely commenced in medieval times when there were autocratic lords and they had labours who sow their crop, cut their harvest, look after their livestock and to do all the other things that required humans. If a labour died or was handicapped they could simply be replaced by another who could do the same thing – a typical direct replacement, like replacing your refill when the pen ink gets over.

However, we now live in more civilised times (even if you feel that your boss is a autocratic lord sometimes, trust me, he cannot order your head chopped off anymore!) and I feel that it is time we stopped using humans like that – as if they were replaceable or renewable and regenerable cogs (aka resources) in some huge organic engine.

IT jobs these days by its very nature is a creative pain – you may spend countless hours or days on a problem without coming up with a optimum answer and all of a sudden it strikes you when you go to get that fifteenth cup of coffee to keep you alive Or maybe you need to just sleep on it and the next day on your way to to your office it all magically becomes clear and you wonder how you missed something so simple and obvious.

Show of hands – how many people have never had this happen once in their career so far? No hands? I thought so!

Anyway, the point I want to make is that the real resource you need care about if you are a project manager (God help you!) is not the quantity humans or the time they should spend on a given problem or a piece of so called work. Instead, you should be worrying about their levels of result, inspiration, motivation and even current mental state. Sadly, these are all very ideals and abstract qualities and, moreover, they do not have any units of measurement. Project managers cannot say, for example – I need 7 grams of creativity, 120 metres of inspiration and 10 motivations on this project for the next 6 months. So, ironically, they only decision or measurement what they can – number of people and time – and think they are done. That is where the debate comes in, because

‘X’ people is not equal to ‘X’ other people

Actually, the real fallacy is not in the numbers themselves but in considering them as if they were only numbers. They are not – not numbers, not resources, not exchangeable, not replaceable. They are humans – real, live, blood and flesh and feelings humans who have their own strengths and weaknesses, their own likes and dislikes, their own hopes and fears and dreams and their own state of mind on any given day, and who will go to the corners of the planet to pull off a miracle for you if they actually want to.

If you only considered them like – humans.

Nikhil Chandwani

VIT University, Vellore

nikhil.chandwani2011@vit.ac.in

http://nikhilchandwani.com/

An Ode to Engineering

A single word which enthralls
every time when it crosses the mind
The depth in it, which makes
someone to drown being never confined

The commitment hailed by it
is not just in return of livelihood
As there is no other way out
when one without if, feels marooned

With a spin of imagination
its the innovation of futurism
For that which was science fiction
has been transformed to realism

With the pulse of electric power
or a simple manual stroke of a hand
these wondrous devices lessen labour
freeing time for a life more a grand

Its not ‘ who you know ‘ but its
‘ who knows less than you do’ that matters.
As it is small band of creatures
who just live high in artificial structures
& this is the reason why
the respect within yourself keeps on enhancing 
for that single word which is none other than ENGINEERING.

Nikhil Das

College of Engineering Bhubaneswar

nik_d13@ymail.com

What’s in a name?

Stranger: “what’s in a name?”
Me: “excuse me”
“A great man once said, what’s in a name?”
“yeah, Shakespeare.”
“Yeah, that guy. But how does that matter. Great words, I must say.”
“Indeed, but well don’t you wonder how people know it was he who said those words?”
“He probably wrote his name or signed underneath it.”
“So it implies, he wrote these words with his mind. Had he written them with their heart, he would have actually believed in them and wouldn’t have given a rat’s ass for writing his name there.”
“So you think Shakespeare did all this for fame?”
“Not at all sir, all I think is that, someone wanted to give world this message, but no one would listen, so he wrote Shakespeare under it. You know, how we are attracted to brand names. You would agree with me on that. In the world of literature, Shakespeare was quiet a brand name. There is nothing wrong in being famous I guess. If you are worth, and if you deserve it, well then go right ahead, enjoy it. But you cant enforce yourself upon someone right? I don’t think its about enforcing yourself upon someone as it is being accepted by that someone. 
I spent my whole life, or how much so ever I have lived so far, hoping there is lots of it left. Anyways, as I was saying I spent most of my life trying to fit in and be accepted by people. Why is it so important? The old adage goes that the people who are genuine in this world are the ones that accept you no matter what your ‘flaws’ or personality quirks are. So apparently they should be the ones that matter. They why? Why do I, or for a matter of fact, most of the people around try to be accepted by people who won’t accept them!?

Perhaps the answer lies in the fact that they are scared of being forgotten. The number of blog hits and the status update likes determine the level of acceptance for them. I think the fear is deeply rooted. Our ancestors, the older, long gone ones, whenever committed a crime or did something wrong or did not live up to the expectations (today: standards) of their group, they became an outcast, and died. Alone. 

It is the pressure to become known in these over-crowded times that humility and ‘what’s in a name’ phrases have lost their charm, my friend. You know, from where I come, there are over a billion people. It not easy to be an individual in a crowd of a billion people. Hell, it is even tough being a zero in that billion digits itself. Think about it. A BILLION Freaking people. Putting in some math, even if you were a one-in-a-million kind of a guy, there would still be thousands just like you. You forget humility in such times, right? 

But, then it is true. World has been changed by the people who dint care about acceptance or humility. They went out there and did there world. They gained or lost humility after they achieved what they were supposed is of no concern to us. We often confuse humbleness with being inferior. Humility to me is the understanding of suffering. Thomas Merton once mentioned, ‘In humility is the greatest freedom. As long as you have to defend the imaginary self that you think is important, you lose you piece of heart. As soon as you compare that shadow with the shadows of other people, you lose all joy, because you have begun to trade in unrealistic and there is no joy in things that do not exist.’ 

Whenever you feel like a genius, remember there was a time when you were trying to learn how to not shit in your pants. 
We come nearest to being great when we become humble. And when we become aware about our humility, we have lost it.”

“wow, that’s a lot of words. Great words. But yeah, a lot of words.”
“Yeah, someone called Nilay wrote them.”
“Why would I care?”
“He would sure hope you did. He hasn’t learned all the life lessons I guess. So, he is still averse to humility.”
“Whatever. And what’s your name?”
“Doesn’t matter.”
“And why is that?”
“What’s in a name? Ciao.”

Nilay Parikh

VIT University

TOPIC: What I learnt in those 5 min

Shades of Z

The sun shined faintly on the ghostly aura of Mumbai as Zenith khan shadowed his vision through the dark sunglasses he wore. He smirked a little obviously as Ludo Prasad slid through the door that separated Zenith’s jewel studded balcony and his penthouse in Juhu, to give him the news that would change the history of the Mumbai Mafia of the 2020’s.

‘Wasiq publicly castrated Romerio’s men at the ‘chauraha’ in Ville parle. Mennon has declared war on him.’
This was it then. After 7 years of careful planning, Wasiq and Romerio had turned hell bent on ruining it for power.

Zenith looked up in the sky and laughed at the news of his crumbling empire. As much as such a reaction scared the shit out of Ludo, he knew that like always, Zenith had a solution up his sleeve. ‘What is to be done now?’ he asked calmly.

‘Wasiq is the man i need. Send Gandu Acharya to the Ghatkopar office. They’ll find him there. Romerio Mennon. He’s dispensible. Let them have him.’ 

‘But it was Wasiq’s fault-

Zenith raised a finger that silenced Ludo, as he went on to defend his cold bloodedness, without a flinch. ‘ You act like i give a fuck. Romerio taught me how to use a gun. But the chap has gone Senile. Wasiq doesn’t bat a lash when he stabs. Who would you pick? The Z mafia has fallen in conflict as you must have deduced, we need to be as strong as we can be when we rise.’

‘So you’re going to turn over your mentor to that gandu -that blood thirsty son of a bitch.’ canvassed a baffled Ludo

‘For a better future.’ Said Zenith darkly. There was no pity in his voice, in fact there was no emotion in what he ever said or did, there was only a vision. ‘Get me Bourbon Desai.’ He motioned a hand towards Ludo, turning towards an open view, as Ludo dissapeared confused by the raspy morality that Zenith’s body had now come to inherit.

Monal Thaakar

Kendriya Vidyalaya No.1

monalthaakar@gmail.com

TOPIC: Grey

 

Finding me!

Following my foot prints
On the transparent tracks,
That whip the world all around.

Tried to walk with those,
Who just disappeared in the blue.

Made those voices my destiny,
That muted in front of truth.

Strolled on the road of one-sided love,
Which led to nowhere.

Stumbled between choices and necessities,
Whenever happiness turned kind.

Lost every bit of real me on all the spots,
While trailing in life.

Now I stand again on the sands of peace,
To wash my foot prints 
With the quest to find me!

Ms.V U

MIIT

Success Must Bestow Humility

Bill Gates Said “Success is a lousy teacher. It seduces people into thinking they can’t lose”. Success should foster Humility, if it does not, it only increases in the individual a stronger more unhealthy sense of competition. The fear of failure creates in one a frustration and a fear of not performing up to the level. As George Sheehan said “Success means having the courage, the determination, and the will to become the person you believe you were meant to be” The more successful a person the more humble he should be. Such people stand the true test of life. 

Success together with Humility enables a person to expand his horizons and improve upon the success he has achieved. When success is not teamed with humility it means they have lost the capacity to develop. Success alone makes people insecure due to the fear of losing it. “Success is a state of mind. If you want success, start thinking of yourself as a success.” Many famous people experienced severe failure but nothing could snuff out the flame of their desires to succeed or attain success. In his early years, teachers told Edison he was “too stupid to learn anything.” Work was no better, as he was fired from his first two jobs for not being productive enough. Even as an inventor, Edison made 1,000 unsuccessful attempts at inventing the light bulb. Of course, all those unsuccessful attempts finally resulted in the design that worked because he had humility. Thus success requires humility and hard work. As Churchill said “success consists of going f rom one failure to another without a loss of enthusiasm” Edison went from one failure to another failure only to become a success. Failure and success are part of the same coin. Thus the failures on the road to success should humble a person rather than make him proud when he attains success. 

Success without humility makes a person compete unhealthily to attain success as it can be seen in the case of the sporting sphere where athletes compete under the influence of diuretics and drugs to enhance their performance. Sometimes teams are bribed with sums of money in order to allow other teams to win If success is attained by drug abuse and bribe it is not success. “Striving for success without hard work is like trying to harvest where you haven’t planted ” as David Bly said. The brain child of Muhammad Yunus the grameen banks which made him successful not only added to his success but was aimed at eradicating poverty in his state of Bangladesh. His grameen bank ideas were finally implemented in the western world due to its far reaching effects in Bangladesh. Muhammad Yunus shared his success with world indicating his humility. He managed to translate his vision into a practical action for the benefit of millions of people. This is true success coupl ed with humility as it benifted millions an did not make the inventor arrogant. 

Success has been given more importance than it deserves in today’s world. Success is what defines a person an makes him popular among him his peers in today’s world. People do not note the effort that goes into attaining success this creates a sense of envy an jealousy leading to conflict. The modern world is obsessed with the idea of instant fame and success thus success alone is leading to violence. A school boy killed his classmate because he was more successful than him in class. If success causes violence it is not success as it unleashes the animalistic instincts of man in order to make him attain success. Success depends entirely on the effort you put in it is not instant as Sophocles said “ Success is dependent on effort “ success along with humility makes a person simple an humble and resigned. 

Recently the resignation letter of Steve Jobs is a remarkable example of success coupled with humility he states “I have always said if there ever came a day when I could no longer meet my duties and expectations as Apple’s CEO, I would be the first to let you know. Unfortunately, that day has come.” Steve Jobs the successful CEO never let success get the better of him; he resigned in all humility despite being so successful stating that he was going to contribute to the further development of apple in a different role. He vested great confidence in his successor Tim Cook. His success never made him arrogant and his Position in Apple never made him feel indispensible. He expressed his confidence in his successor Tim Cook saying “As far as my successor goes, I strongly recommend that we execute our succession plan and name Tim Cook as CEO of Apple. I believe Apple’s brightest and most innovative days are ahead of it.”This highlights his humi lity despite being one of the most successful CEO’s of Apple. 

Ratan Tata the chairman of Tata groups has never let success come in his way he used his success to promote his country and the youth of India. The Nano was his brainchild which benefited society and the youth of India. His dream was to provide an affordable means of transport for the lower rungs of society. Tata is a true success as his success is the fruit of years of labour. He started out sitting on the floor and working with blue collar workers with limestone. His turnovers went to charity. We live in an era of instant success which can take an individual to the brink an remove every element from the success thus depriving the individual of being a success. Success which is the outcome of immense efforts and good intentions mellows people and makes them humble. It is this kind of success coupled with humility that inspires individuals to return back to society in a large way. Thus success an humility coupled together enable one to attain ultimate and true success.

Tisha Maria Mendes

Loreto College

http://tishamaria.blogspot.com/

Let go..

Somethings in life can never be attained forcefully- care, love, trust, faith, friendship.. sometimes you just have to let go…

Sanhita Baruah

Assam Engineering College

http://sanhitabaruah9.blogspot.in/