Arrrggghhh.........Never Mind

The nonsense post

2006-09-05T08:35:00.000-07:00

Going in line with the activities of the past few weeks, I have been constructively spending my time doing nothing. After my life at IIT Madras, I never thought I could reach such depths of utter joblessness. But I constantly keep surprising myself.

Anyways, one such voyage into the realms of vettiness took me to the FBI homepage. Yes, you read it right. The FBI homepage. My eyes were cast immediately upon the so-called-nemesis of the US, one Mr Osama Bin Laden. The calm grin in the picture said it all. It almost yelled out In-your-face. It was upon further dwelling I realised that there is a bounty of $ 27 million on him and best of it all, the website has not been updated since November 2001. Even funnier is the labelling of a 77 year-old among the top ten most wanted fugitives. You got to be kidding me now!! Its not as if he could run away from the cops. For all you know, he must be rotting in the basement of his house. I get this incredible feeling from the look of things that the FBI aint as smart as the movies make them to be.

I have been longing to write a post after the Champions League draw was made. Must say that it was totally in the script. Barcelona were destined to be in the same group as Chelsea. The prospect of the re-match is mouth-watering to say the least. Eidur would have a point or two to prove after being deemed surplus to requirement at Chelsea. At times, the treatment meted out to players like Eidur, Gallas, Duff and Parker by Chelsea has me perplexed. Its one thing to have money, but too spend it recklessly makes no sense. Here are players who could easily walk into any team in the world, and despite it they are being replaced by equally, if not more, capable players. Just dont see the point in it. But hey, how would it matter to you if you had coupla billions of dollars and didnt know what to do with a few millions!! Arsenal on the other hand seemed to have a quiet transfer window with much of the activity happening on either ends of it. It goes without saying that William Gallas and Julio Baptista would almost straightaway walk into the starting team. Its not always that this happens to a new addition by Arsene Wenger. So this is a huge boost for the team and the fans. Arsenal in the Champions League was a huge revelation last time around, making an impressive run to the final. The five-man midfield, which was successfully employed in the previous campaign, looks very strong with Baptista coming in. He should add that extra bite in the middle which was lacking since Paddy left for pastures afresh. I am already relishing the idea of Gallas and Toure pairing up at the heart of the defence. This might be the toughest defensive pairing in Europe, let alone the Premiership. However its the attacking option which seems to be quite interesting for me. With Reyes and Pires moving on, Arsenal do seem to be a bit lightweight on the flanks with Hleb, Rosicky, Freddie, Walcott and maybe Van Persie. The forward options are filled to the brim, with Adebayor, Van Persie, Aliadiere and Walcott. The future prospects of Lupoli and Bendtner seem to have Arsenal on course for the next couple of years. Hopefully Cesc will go on to embark on greatness which he seems to be destined for, and it should be a smooth couple of seasons for me to watch at the Emirates Stadium

Anyway one of the most hilarious reads regarding the recent Gallas-Cole fiasco.

This post doesnt deserve a title

2006-08-26T23:13:00.000-07:00

SIGH!!!

The lull before the storm

2006-08-22T06:38:00.000-07:00

The silence had been piercing the ear drums. It had become unbearable. The persisting need to fill up the gap. Gaps which were being plugged but created just as quickly, like quicksand. The constant effort leading to fatigue. It is not the fatigue to be worried about. But the urge. The usurping need which is to be worried about. The intermittent journey has taken way too long, thus making the gaps obvious and the agony increasing by the moment. There had to be an escape route. There had to be a path leading him to safety. To his humble abode. The very thought of the linen curtains hung on the windows brought comfort to his mind. The image of the winding passageway leading upto the garden at the front of the house warmed his otherwise frigid heart. He had been fooled before. Of an escape path. Of alternate ones. But he knew there is only one. The tortuous path had made him wiser. So he thought. He had to endure. He had to continue plugging the gaps.

Endure he must, Plug he must. For without them the task of reaching his abode, his destination, would be all the more ominous. The path all the more thistly.

Scarred

2006-08-11T11:02:00.000-07:00

The quiet autumn evening was broken by the movement of an animal in the woods. Its entry had demystified the sullen mood of the woods. The rider's grunt had raped the serenity of the woods. The horse's hoofs were covered with a mix of blood and mud. The drapes put on the horse to justify the regal position enjoyed by the rider was in tatters. The elegant beast, which had previously left the stable shining in the middle of the day, was left in the woods to recover from the wounds of the ensuing battle. The rider was in no better condition. His armour shattered. His morale battered. The horse had taken the path through the woods to distance itself from the mind-numbing battlecries and merciless killings. The drizzle had made the soil wet and the path ardous for the animal to cross. The rider lay motionless on the horse; trying to recovering from the shock of combat. The images of the sword piercing the metal armour and into the flesh of his troops still lay in his head. The pleas of the soldiers lying on the ground, stained by carnal remains, still rung in his head. Things had gone awry. This was not how the plan was supposed to work. This was not how his King wanted the campaign to move. The weather seemed to change for the better. The rain had receeded and the moonlight showing him the way through an otherwise dense woodland. The sun had set just before the arrow had pierced the rider's right leg. The rider did not seem to mind the pain as he had been through worse. The rider was beset with the implications of the battle on the campaign. The rider knew that the woods would lead him back to the safety of his lands soon.

But there was much left to do. Much left to plan. Much left to achieve. Much left to succeed. Much left to travel.

It is time...

2006-06-13T23:23:00.000-07:00

Well, it has finally begun!! The World cup has made the indolent author move his ass around for a change. It was quite an entertaining start to the World Cup with Germany winning in a high scoring encounter against the Costa Ricans, but one would be surprised if they do score more than once against a higher caliber team like Brazil or Argentina (You would want me to put England here, dont you ??). The absence of Germany's inspirational captain Ballack can be called as a reason for the lack of real spark in the game. Just a reason!

Anyway, the English didnt differ much from the Germans. Pathetic would be an understatement!! I did miss the first half of the game, but the second half was just horrible. The game plan clearly showed the lack of a second forward for Sven after Crouch and Owen, and he absolutely has no confidence to bring on Walcott in place of Owen. Downing showed complete lack of creativity on the left flank in the few minutes he had on the pitch, which he used well to run down blind alleys. How Ashley must be missing Arsenal now!!

One guy who must not be missing Arsenal is Van Persie. He has been performing admirably on the right side of the Dutch attack, which has been spearheaded by Van Nistelrooy. It goes without saying that Robben has been collosal among the trio. He had an absolute ball on the left side and completed a beautiful move. This dutch side has been quite different from the sides before. The difference being the efficiency of the back four or five. Van Bronckhorst or Heitinga are by no means rampaging full backs and this has been the key to the midfield trio of Sneijder, Cocu and Van Bommel. They have been constantly keeping shape in the middle. Full credit to the Serbs, who fought till the end. However some questions need to be answered from their set-piece tactics and for not using the height of Zigic well. Otherwise it was a good effort from the Serbs.

The game between the Argentines and Ivory Coast lived upto its reputation. Fast and furious!! The Africans showed steel and purpose in the middle of the park. Zakora, Kone, both the Toure's and Kalou to some extent played wonderfully. Drogba as expected spent more time twitching on the field. And how could i forget the Argentines. Their football is a delight to watch. Despite the physical strength of the Africans, Cambiasso and Maschereno held fort quite admirably. Saviola was lively throughout and that pretty much makes the case as to why Tevez is absent in the starting eleven (Did anyone miss Messi??) . Not much needs to be said about Riquelme. He is probably one of the most complete attacking midfielder currently. He holds the ball brilliantly, almost never gives it away and worst case he gets the team a free kick. I vividly remember him holding the ball with Gilberto, Cesc (and I think Henry) breathing down his neck. This makes one question the Barcelona team policy, with both these South Americans shipped out to other La Liga clubs. Quite tragic!

Anyways teams and players I am looking forward to in the group stages:
-->France vs Swiss Army: Want to see if Senderos is good enough for Henry.
-->Togo: Apparently one Emmanuel Adeboyar is their key player, so have to watch the comic spectacle.
-->Holland vs Argentina: Duh!!
-->Brazil vs Australia: Think this is going to be a cracker!
-->England vs Sweden

What we have learnt so far:
-->Germans are impotent in attack and will struggle against good teams.
-->The English team is a joke. It is an even bigger one that they are supposed World Cup hopefuls. Hopefully Rooney will return to boost their game and morale.
-->Argentina have proved why they are to be feared.
-->Iranians are not as puny as the Saudis!!
-->Ivory coast have proved to be the most feared African nation, they need some more luck. They were making the right noises in the game.
-->Holland's quiet World Cup campaign is on track.

How much is too much?

2006-05-29T04:27:00.000-07:00

With the modern technologies available at man's disposal currently, nothing is impossible (as the Nike slogan shouts) . The "man" can build a nano-motor to a storage dam with breathtaking accuracy and efficiency. Anything he deems necessary is made feasible by paying off certain costs with the environment, which are ofcourse collateral damage. Anyway, that would be digressing from what I intend to state in this post. As the title clearly conveys when does a person know if the time is ripe for closure. Closure for anything. Love, Peace, Lifestyle, Habits, Information and quite a few things.

When can one clearly identify the point of no return, the point beyond which there is only a one-way ticket to perdition?

If not, is there only one way to find out the destination of the journey? (I hope not.)

Or does one have to experience them to make a better call the next time around (if we get a second chance) ? This does remind me of the movie "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind".

Anyway to end on a lighter note:

P.S: With an Ordinary Differential Equation to be solved, guess what the smart IITian decides to do??

The Aftermath

2006-05-19T06:35:00.000-07:00

As i said, I was gutted. Things didnt go the way it was planned.

Anyway had to do something to cheer myself up. So watched a telugu movie and the rest as people say is crap!! It was the typical tollywood conveyor belt product. The movie was called Asadhyudu (please forgive me if I got the spelling wrong). It is supposed to mean the guy who does the "impossible" (or whatever) and the director takes it a bit too literally. He tries to do everything. A bit of Matrix, a bit of Mission Impossible. But forgets the essential component of a movie. The story. The movie can be effectively broken down to a maverick college-going hero who doesnt like anyone standing in his way (for that matter anyone's way). He is the supposed to be the flag-bearer of the society. What a twist in the tale!. You didnt see that coming, Did you?? Me neither. He fights against the mafia of Vizag and Hyderabad combined. An interesting observation in the movie is that the supposed mafia only rule the cities with swords. They never fire a gun. Heck, the only gun there was with the cops, who as usual do nothing. Bit of Japanese influence I must say.

The villain is probably the most interesting character in the film, along with his eccentric brother who bordered between a psycho and a constipated comedian quite efficiently. And as most telugu movies lay thrust on Physical Training, there was enough focus on the pelvic thrusts. It goes without saying that any Telugu movie without a significant show of skin does not warrant a presence on the wide screen. The heroine stalks the hero from vizag to Hyderabad, where he impresses her with his dare-devil antics and "moral" values. The stunts, the agility, the skill, the choreography. Phew. Even John Woo would have been proud of the action in the movie. Anyways, no points for guessing how the movie ends. The hero wins. Runs away with the girl to an exotic beach where they dance as if the world depends on it(Close!).

Btw it should be noted that a small perturbation of this movie would result in yet another classic Telugu movie. The task at hand for Telugu directors and writers couldn't get any harder. Hail to the Chief !!

P.S: Another movie on the hit-list is: Rumour has it!! Please dont go anywhere close to watching even the trailer.

May 17th, 2006

2006-05-18T07:22:00.000-07:00

I am gutted!! There is no denying that. This was not how it was supposed to go.

But i will live to fight another day!!

Closing time

2006-05-14T06:56:00.000-07:00

It has been a quiet few days. Indolence has been the theme so far. Procrastination has been the favourite activity so far.

It does feel weird that in a few days i will not have a reason to stay in my room. This was first thrust upon me when I had to fill up the Alumni association form (which i still have not filled). There had to be something fishy going on. Things dont end so abruptly. I am not trying to go down the good ol' route of putting senti where i talk you up with things like how i first came to campus-got scared of how huge it was-was petrified when i checked out the hostel-was stupified when i met the seniors-shocked i was when i got ragged-how thrilled i was to attend my first class-the adrenalin pumping when i cheered for my hostel-how content i seemed among my friends-how peaceful i was with the settings of the campus-how despite the innumerable cribs i had about mess food, i miss it now (even after the frog biriyani)-that i love my 15 minute walk to department even in Madras summer heat-loved getting into arguments with autodrivers-the walk to and from gurunath-endless fun in the quadrangle playing footer-nightouts put doing everything other than studying for the endsem the next day. Things have been so good that I kept thinking that this is where happiness is supposed to start, where all good things begin. And there will be more to follow. Never did I realise that this is happiness (Does it ring a bell?). This is where i belong. A place where I am content with my surroundings, despite all its shortcomings I have made my peace with. Well all good things must come to an end.

Old man dies, Young girl lives. Fair trade.

P.S: I am a bit high on milk. Had almost a litre of milk in half an hour. Long story :D
Btw just realised that i wrote the post in past tense. Guess time has come to move on.

Closing time it is.......

Closing time - time for you to go out, go out into the world.
Closing time - turn the lights up over every boy and every girl.
Closing time - one last call for alcohol, so finish your whiskey or beer.
Closing time - you don't have to go home but you can't stay here.

1-0 to the Arsenal

2006-04-19T22:55:00.000-07:00

Yet another memorable Champions League night. Yet another clean sheet. What an amazing way to bid farewell to Highbury, although another goal would have left me a bit more satisfied. Anyway got to make do with what we have. So hopefully it will be a typical Arsenal performance at the El Madrigal next week and I just hope Milan turn around things at Camp Nou. I hate the thought of Ronaldinho and Messi having a go at Senderos and Toure. And of course, there is a small matter of a bus ride across the city . Its time to flood the Lane and bring down their silly dreams of playing Champions League football next season.

Double, double, double
Sol Campbell has won the double
And the c*nts down the Lane
Have won f*ck all again
And Sol Campbell has won the double.

Final sem blues

2006-04-08T23:26:00.000-07:00

Playing footer in the quadrangle is usually a no-brainer. Just 2 hours of fun. But today it was a bit different. We had an alumnus among us. It was Sada, as usual showing off his football skills! With another month to go to the grand finale ,the final end-sems which I will be writing in my IIT life (hopefully!), it is a stark reminder that I am on the cusp of being on the other end playing with Sada, of course not as good as him. It only seems like yesterday when I first entered the campus when the first thing I find is a room with a broken bed and dirty bathrooms. They are still the same but there is a different vibe about it. It was not too long ago when I was welcomed to the paradise that was the hostel life by none other than Gabbar, as the name quite rightly sums up the person. Of course all this was happening in my previous hostel, Jamuna. After the small matter of reshuffling, life has moved on and so did the hostel loyalties. There were days of mindless shouting and screaming during an inter-hostel match when we come back to rooms with a dry and broken voice, but that would have been the last of our concerns. How could one forget the innumerable fart sessions in the wing which would eventually end with throwing a particular senior in the dustbin. Those were glorious moments which will be cherished.

As most seniors would have cried out as loud as the P.A systems in our hostel, IIT life has and will be the most memorable aspect of our life. It is the one period of our life when we can look back and be sure that we cannot have that elsewhere. Be it Stanford or McKinsey. IIT has its own drawbacks but what doesn’t. It is all about working around it and IIT teaches it best.

P.S: I tried not writing a senti article but it was too hard to resist :)

The French affair

2006-03-10T07:06:00.000-08:00

Everything's not lost

2006-03-04T10:38:00.000-08:00

What a wonderful day it turned out to be!!!!

Started the day with an admit from Purdue, then with breakfast at Residency towers. After hogging, slept like a log. Followed by a fluent display by Arsenal, who thulped the poor cottagers by four goals. Bring on Madrid!!

Went down the Lane the other night,
To tell the yid scum
We got the new Ian Wright, they said to me,
How can that be
I said to them,
We got Thierry Henry, Thierry Henry, Thierry Henry, Thierry Henry, Thierry Henry ..........

The lull before the storm

2006-02-20T08:40:00.000-08:00

Finally the week arrives. The week football fans all over the world have been waiting for. Yes, Champions League week is finally upon us, with a resurgent Real Madrid team taking on a depressed Arsenal team. (A rematch of the Barca- Chelsea classic among the other games. But i dont care a shit'e about them now. )

It is an irony considering the fact that they started the season quite contrastingly. Arsenal started with a decent run and Madrid could just not stop losing with defeats against Celta Vigo, Valencia and Barcelona. How could one forget the day when Ronaldinho mesmerised the Bernabau with his dazzling talent and was given a standing ovation? How could one forget the way he went past Sergio Ramos like he did not exist? How could one forget the face of Robinho who was pitted against a young Argentine lion called Messi? Well if Arsenal are to get a positive result out of the game then each and every one of the Arsenal players have to get a game like that. There is no getting around the fact that Arsenal have been appaling at times with no grit in the heart of midfield and no width provided by the ageing duo, Pires and Freddie. The magnitude of the game is all the more magnified by the fact that both teams have only Champions League to play for with Real Madrid seemingly better off to launch a hypothetical attack on Barcelona for the Primera Liga title. Arsenal have been all at seas this season. They are well off the pace set by Chelsea and considering the current squad it seems to be the case for some time to come. A 25 point gap cannot be overcome by this squad. Period.

It is time for the Arsenal players to stand up and be counted. Well this is the moment when the Arsenal season either decimates to complete shambles or bids a fitting farewell to Highbury. These are the moments for which players are paid so much. To play their game on a big stage. And believe me, the stage doesnt get any bigger than this!!

Good old Arsenal,
We're proud to say that name,
And while we sing this song,
We'll win the game.

Saturday morning blues

2006-02-17T23:55:00.000-08:00

This is an algorithm to optimally spend a Saturday morning :P . This solution can be improved by preparing yourself better the night before...Watch movies, play CS, fart in the wing, check one useless webpage after another. This should do the trick. Next comes the actual procedure.

Step 0: Initialization. Wake up around seven in the morning that by a phone call.

Step1: Decide Plan Of Action.
Sub-step1: If it is too early, then you might consider going for breakfast (like your truly). Go for the Residency towers breakfast buffet. Plan for the next two hours: Hog, hog, lech, hog and more hog!! Once this is done, move to next step.
Sub-step 2: If it is a bit late, then go back to sleep like a goody-goody kid. (How i wish i had done that today!)

Step 2: Brainstorm.
Think of various alternatives available at this point of time (after step 1). Once in a while you could listen to your 'brilliant' friend's advice and go to ECR on a vehicle which has no valid documents.

Step 3: Implementation.
Go ahead with the brilliant idea. Drive at 60kmph on ECR without stopping by at a junction when a cop halts the traffic for a cycle-rickshaw to cross the heavily densed road.

Step 4: Update
Get pulled over by same cop who takes a lift from another bike just to catch us. Then go back to the scene of crime which is 3 kms away from where we were pulled over.
Show the expired documents of the vehicle to the cop, who in turn removes his shades to show his gleamy,expectant eyes. You dash the dream by showing an empty purse. At this time, it is very important to hand over your driving license to the cop for no reason.
Next you wait under the hot sun listening to his cribs. listening to the autodrivers in that area bitching about the 'honest' cop and devising ingenious methods to execute him. In the meantime, to keep yourself occupied you could appreciate the speed of rotation of the sun.
Somehow manage to escape from the evil clutches of the cop after one and a half hours and celebrate it by blogging about it later.

Step 5: If it is another Saturday, Go back to step 0.

P.S: I got an admit in London School of Economics for the Masters program in Operational Research :)

Time balance

2006-02-13T05:49:00.000-08:00

Please read this before going ahead: I cant believe you suckers are gonna go ahead and read this post. :D

I managed to endure another week of absolute nothingness. There was zero entropy created during this period :P The only good thing about the week was the treat by bulb, which I forgot to ask the reason for. Arsenal drew , for a change, with Bolton and India is winning against Pakistan as I write this post. The world sure has been weird of late.

As I was utterly jobless when I pondered over making a new post. I decided to audit my time spent over the last week. There are certain discrepancies which most of you will agree upon :D

Anyway,

X1 amount of this time was spent in watching sitcoms and movies. After berating sassy for wasting his time with a serial called '24', I ended up spending the entire Sunday finishing the second season. Before that, there was a small matter of viewing Munich, Syriana, Reservoir dogs, Rang De Basanti, Bluffmaster (again), a documentary on the Gaza strip calle d 'Death in Gaza' and a season of 'Everybody Loves Raymond'.

X2 amount of time was spent in my smail account. Just by accounting it in this audit, it gives you an idea of the magnitude of time I have spent in the damned mailbox.

X3 amount of time was spent playing Counterstrike. This has been a recent addition in my timetable that is otherwise gobbled up by footer, which has been interrupted due to hostel quadrangle relaying.

X4 amount of time was spent in recreational activities like Gurunath, browsing, treats and a certain senior's presence in campus.

X5 amount of time was spent in crashing. This amount has a statistical average of 9 hours and 33 minutes. This has been observed over the last 2 weeks. This is however not accurate due to overlapping of Saarang period.

X6 amount of time spent in wingfart. This cannot be obtained from statistical data as it is quite a fluctuating function. Thus we use a probabilistic function Fart(E), where E is the entities present in the wing. This is the simplest form of the function. There can be more specific function.

X7 amount of time is errrr..... (where did this come from). Oh yes! Classes!! Spent in attending 6 classes a week. The flow of knowledge is continued and so is the hope of us being enlightened atleast in our final sem.

There you go. Now we add it up.

X1+X2+X3+X4+X5+X6+X7+P= 7*24*60= 10080 minutes

P----> random term which sees to it that the equation holds under all circumstances.

Now you know why you should not waste time reading my blog. Coz its a stark reminder that you are utterly jobless and have nothing better to do than read my blog. Muhahahaha!!

When the music's over.....

2006-02-06T06:56:00.000-08:00

Saarang proved to be a welcome distraction at the expense of my sleep though. Ended up jumping like a monkey on stage during the Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy show, wandering around the Bindaas park like a nomad, drinking and eating at all the vague times, sitting through most of the events, getting work done once in a while, talking to quite a few unnecessary people and worst of all listening to their cribs. Yup, that pretty much summed up my final Saarang.

I kept myself busy post-Saarang with the autobiography of Lance Armstrong, "Its not about the bike" (corny title). Finished it a few days back and I am just filled with admiration for the guy. You have to applaud him for his sheer tenacity and strength. To come back from cancer and win 7 Tour de France title is not a joke. On a slightly different note, he got recently divorced from his second marriage. So looks like his cancer really is a problem :D

Saw the movie "Rang De Basanti" yesterday. The movie didnt live upto its hype. It is pretty much in the Yuva mould except that all the drinking and smoking made the characters take a more extremist step. I wonder how the movie cleared the censor board. The movie was a wonderful advertisement for Benson & Hedges with Siddarth having more smoke time than talk time in the movie. And whoever had the brilliant idea of not dubbing for the firang. Her accent fluctuates between hilarious and a cruel endurance test. Another interesting aspect in the movie was the role of Aamir Khan, whose role as DJ was not exactly a pivotal one. Apart from that Soha Ali khan was extremely cute in the movie.

With Saarang out of the horizon, life seems a tad bit dull. In other news, Arsenal just cant seem to stop losing. So that leaves me with nothing to do but to work on project and worry about my life outside the boundaries of IIT and ofcourse, MY APP.

P.S: Not too keen to blog nowadays thanks to my current best friend Mitra Thomas's recliner chair. Thats the best thing to have happened to me this year :D

Also sorry for the crappy post as I have zilch enthu currently. All cribs can be directed to the aforementioned person.

Strike One!

2006-01-28T05:37:00.000-08:00

As if the last few days werent hard enough, I had to get this mail now. What a timing!

Wake up one "fine" day, and I get a mail from one Mr. John Gardner. Kept asking myself where I heard the name before. Then I chanced upon the title of the mail. It read "Reviewed Application". Then my heart missed a beat. This was the dreaded moment. And tadatada....This is what the mail read......................

We have finished reviewing your Application for Admission into the Industrial
Engineering program at the University of Minnesota.  I regret to inform you
that we have denied your request for admission into our program.  We have
returned your file to the Graduate School, who should be sending you official
notification of our decision through the mail.

We thank you for your interest in our program and I wish you the best in your
academic future.

Sincerely,

So there it was. My first app bump. One down. Lots to go :)

Give the dog a bone

2006-01-25T03:09:00.000-08:00

Saarang is finally here and I still cant feel it.
The vibe aint there. But the people are there.
The excitement aint there. But the media is all over.
Maybe it is because of the constant involvement.

Anyway after an interesting inaugaral ceremony (with Rajiv Menon being the guest), things got a bit better. I found the classical music show to be , surprisingly, interesting. Not a bad way to start the fest. But the best event so far has been the Nagesh kukunoor lecture. His simplicity won the audience's hearts. He connected with the crowd unbelievably well. Thts "Hyderabadi" for you! (Just like yours truly :D)

With Choreo night coming up tonight, it sure is going to be an evening to look forward to for more reasons than one. :)

P.S: I have recorded parts of Kukonoor's Q&A section. Let me see what I can do with it.

Change of seasons

2006-01-18T01:40:00.000-08:00

After a frantic December and January, I will be taking a much-needed break. Heading to Hyderabad for the next 4 days. Will be back on Sunday and after that we have Saarang :D

So its gonna be a fun and relaxing time ahead

Btw i have kept my New Year resolution of repairing my computer and uploading the pics of my wingmates :)

Wing damage

2006-01-12T05:29:00.000-08:00

This blog is dedicated to my dearest wingmates. So without much ado, i present you blah blah blah

Gautam

The moustache is to remind him that he is a man. He should have joined the cops, wonder what he is doing here.

Do i need to say anything about this???

The mouth

Who is next????

The mouth after 30 years!!

Our Mallu chettaaa

Aaaeeeeiiiiii!!! Where is my Shakeela??

So who was it yest??

Sassyman

Sorry dude, this was the best pic i could get of urs! :P

I got no clue what he is doing under the mouth and mallu boy

Bulb

Bulb on his comp

Bulb on his comp the next day

The story goes on and on and on.......

This is what exists in my wing so you now know what i put up with everyday :(

Status seeker

2006-01-11T08:08:00.000-08:00

It had been a gloomy December and an even gloomier January ( so far). After 21 days into our placements, I finally got shortlisted for a company today (Yeaaaiiiii!!!)

Now to scour the wing for shoes and belt for the interview :)

P.S: Pics of my "dearest" wingmates will be up at a blog near you :D

The last stop???

2006-01-06T08:52:00.000-08:00

Time: 1536 hours, January 5th 2006
Location: My room

Look! It's moving. It's alive. It's alive... It's alive, it's moving, it's alive, it's alive, it's alive, it's alive, IT'S ALIVE!

ITS MY COMPUTER!!!!!! ITS BACK!!!!!

My precious is back and kicking ass big time.....

ok rewind......

Time: 1411 hours, Sometime in December
Location: Sass's room

I hate linux....i cant use half the commands and if not for its graphic interface, samba i would be like a goat in a butcher's shop listening to the sharpening of the blades ...the sound of inevitability (I love agent smith for some reason).

ok forward a bit

Time: 1123 hours, January 2nd, 2006
Location: My room

The computer service guy arrives. He fiddles with my precious. It flutters. Shows signs of life. Yes, come on I know you can do it. Just a bit more. Almost there. YYYEEEEESSSSSS!! Its back. The BIOS screen runs, and then....and then comes the blue screen of death! Alas! My joy was shortlived. The comp guy takes it with him.

A bit more forward

Time: 1310 hours, January 4th 2006
Location: At a traffic police patrol opposite spencer

Sir, we and all students sir....we cant pay that much sir (that was after blowing coupla quids on new years). That was me putting student senti to a cop. We have almost mastered that art. We have tried it on auto drivers, taxi guys, Ad block staff and.....Basically the Prime Minister's Office is left out so far. They are on top of the hitlist. Anyway, I was hoping this senti would work. But cop looked least interested and I feared the worst. I definitely didnt want to pay him a thousand bucks just because the vehicle's insurance expired. After spending 20 mins with 4 cops who did nothing but threaten that they would shower me with expletives, i decided to part with 1000 bucks, 1100 to be exact. With a heavy heart I handed him over the money and all that time I kept thinking of the things I could have done with it. Life Sucks... So does the New Year.

Just then, the cop (who was counting the cash till now) looks at me and tells me "Son, You look like a nice educated boy" (He says it in tam, no enthu to translate).

Immediately I look around to confirm if he is talking about somebody behind me. Nice? Educated? Hunh! What was that guy on??

He continues " Thats why I wont charge you the entire amount. I will charge you only for 300 bucks". I immediately beam like the Sun god himself. I was glad to have met this compassionate cop, who takes mercy on "nice", "educated" people. But the wicked man above , you see, had other intentions. It was not without its price. For the next 15 minutes I talk to the cop about IIT, Civil engineering, influence of computers, Operations Research, his son who works in London, his first daughter who is working in a s/w company and something about his second daughter which I frankly didnt care a damn about. I was talking to a cop in the middle of the road, in the middle of the day about his family. He soon let me off to catch somebody else, who was driving in the wrong lane. Yeaiiii!!! That is my ticket to freedom. One man's misery is another's glee....

The things I had to endure for getting a computer repaired......AAARRRRGGGHHHHh

Ok....whats wrong with this remote....

Time: 2325 hours, January 4th, 2006
Location: My room

Still no word from them. They said they would call. What happened?? Something sounds strange. Is it just me or is my computer calling out to me. I can still recollect the fond memories of me, my comp and my stolen Common room chair. Will wait one more day...then i have to go in....Behind enemy lines it is.

Baaaahh.....still forward

Time: 1504 hours, January 5th 2006
Location: My room again

It was a warm summer day. The sun was beaming as brightly as Sass's Colgate tooth.

I get a call.
I answer it.
I look up.
I see my room.
And outside......it is my computer!!!!! At last she is back. My precious!!

Gosh! The things I had to do to get the comp running.

Now, where is the bluetooth?

I swear on my wingmates, I shall upload the pics asap and shall not rest till then......else I will change my name to Rahul :P

Times like these.....

2005-12-30T22:37:00.000-08:00

Its New year's eve and i still dont know what i am gonna do tonight. Sitting at dean's office and pretending to think about it doesnt help that much...anyways.

Its an year when i might not be in the campus of iit.

Its an year when i might not be in India at all.

Its an year where i will be spending new year's single (again!)

Its yet another year and if not anything i know i havent gained much over the years.

Its yet another year which promises a lot and fails to deliver.

Its yet another year where we fail to keep our resolutions.

Its yet another year where we know our hardships are gonna grow factorially (since factorial grows faster than an exponential term).

Its yet another year where i hope Arsenal might turn their fortunes around.

Anyways, i think i have my magic beans to get me going :)

To keep things simple my new year's resolution is to repair my computer and to upload the pictures of my wingmates. Not too hard hunh. I thought of including the repayment of my outstanding debt(s) in my resolution, but naahhhhh. I dont want to break yet another resolution :D

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! HAVE FUN AND PLAY SAFE :P

My tryst with autowallahs

2005-12-22T06:53:00.000-08:00

grub> root (hd0,5)
grub> kernel /v(tab) ro root=LABEL=/
grub> initrd /i(tab)
grub> boot

Turns out my mom and dad are among my devoted readers. No wonder my hit has almost reached the 1000-mark. Anyway, just in case you guys are reading this one....SATSRIAKAL!!

I was in Hyderabad for the weekend. It was comforting to know that there are places where rain is not a daily happening. Luckily, it was my friend's bday the day i landed there and for the treat he gets a bike which has an auto start on the key. I was stumped! Why in the name of Thierry Henry would you need ignition on ur keys?? Probably for a quick getaway. But from whom???
Anyways, the bike wasnt the talking point of the day. Had the honour of meeting...pack. will get killed only later.

Ahem..Ahem.....So after a thoroughly enjoyable trip, i come back to chennai. The rain, slush and auto drivers welcome me back. And to add to this wonderful settings, I hear that Arsenal lost to Chelsea. Ah!! How i missed this tramp of a place. But there is one thing i cannot understand. Why i get into fights with auto drivers in madras. It doesnt happen in Hyd. Thats probably cos of the fact that autos here dont have a meter system. Just to give you an idea, here is how my conversation with an auto guy went:

Me: Sir, IIT ponnam
Autodriver: hostel aa gate aa?
Me: Hostel Sir
Autodriver: pollaam Sir...okkarungo
Me: evvolo?
Autodriver: 250 rupees Sir
Me (After picking myself up): Sir 250 rupees naa evvolon terriyuma?
Autodriver: Sir, petrol velle errirthu, time vere aachu...enne Sir
Me: Sir...Hyderabad lend vanden...train ticket velle ye 280...ingendu IIT k porrtuku poi 250 aa Sir....koncham sollarthuku kuda koochadu vongalk
Autodriver: Appo train ye puddichindu IIT k pongo
Me: final aa sollungo evvolo n *What a smart alec autodriver*
Autodriver: Final 225 Sir...ennun kizhe muddiyadu
Me: Poyytu vanga....Ennan' avvolo kekarang?
Autodriver: Sir...Luggage irruku (Btw i had one airbag and a school bag), IIT dooram, vulley ponna return kaali
Me: *Aaaaaaargggggggghhhh*
Autodriver: Enne Sir neenga ellam paanam pakkreng
Me: Poyya.....call taxi e 160 daan ne enna da na 225 aam.

You get the gist, right. Twice i almost got into a physical fight with them. Once in tarams and the other outside Sheraton. The same thing happened with the auto driver at Koyambed. I was sleepwalking and had not even brushed my teeth. I get off the bus and the sucker wants 200 bucks to drop me off at IIT. The nerve these guys have. Autowallahs are like parasites. They kill you slowly with their constant pestering before and during. And fortunately or unfortunately, I am in no mood to take the crap. Good for me though :)...I have my bit of fun.

Anyway I am still searching for my bluetooth to upload scandalous pics of my wingmates.

Check this link out

2005-12-14T02:25:00.000-08:00

If you got lots of time to kill (you must have since you have taken the trouble of reading my blog), then check this link out.

www.googlism.com

This is what it said about my name :)

rahul is ok but dillan needs to take some typing classes
rahul is about a cute little boy who tries to unite his estranged parents
rahul is not the typical launchpad
rahul is among anu malik
rahul is a warning on how adults will sometimes traumatize the lives of their offspring by using the kids as pawns against their ex
rahul is an integral part of the indian team
rahul is played superbly by one helluva talent in little yash pathak
rahul is a lad ?different? from your run
rahul is much hotter; from
rahul is not
rahul is one cricketer who likes to learn more and more about his game
rahul is a movie of a boy whose parents are divorce and fight for him by going to the court
rahul is the scion of the typically successful nri family
rahul is a graduate of georgia state university in atlanta
rahul is an adopted son
rahul is following in his footsteps
rahul is
rahul is a refreshing film looking a life from a child's eyes
rahul is unaware of nisha's feelings for him
rahul is married and upon their return
rahul is that he is arrogant and a flirt
rahul is studying
rahul is a photographer who visits dehradun for an assignment to shoot on bridal apparel
rahul is about
rahul is not responsible if you are browsing around and
rahul is a subhash ghai presentation and one wonders why he wanted to enter the field of small and meaningful cinema since his films are usually massive
rahul is in love with tina
rahul is drawn to seema
rahul is a dreamer and a loner who likes to keep his feelings to himself
rahul is a remarkable departure for subhash ghai from his kind of love stories
rahul is a shy
rahul is an extremely fussy eater
rahul is totally dependent on raj for all his needs
rahul is shocked to see that his friend's fiancee is none other than his beloved
rahul is blazing away at the world cup
rahul is a cheater
rahul is in mumbai overseeing his film's release
rahul is madely in love with sandhya
rahul is an international business and economics post
rahul is a story about a little boy's search for his mother
rahul is dying and he doesn?t know about that
rahul is the only son of a rich industrialist parents
rahul is filled with the presence of love
rahul is 12 years old
rahul is a small film
rahul is a small town man who leaves home after much arguing with his parents in order to fulfill
rahul is adopted and has been kicked out by his father who claims that he only has one son
rahul is the romantic character that feels his sole aim in life is to find that special someone
rahul is satisfied with his life and his family
rahul is romantic and is photographer by profession
rahul is a carefree
rahul is deze dus ctr en voor bram ctb
rahul is quite a cool minded person in our group
rahul is feeling quite mellow and chilled out due to some intake of alcoholic beverages
rahul is very angry with her about this
rahul is unable to come to terms with his new lige
rahul is a class act
rahul is in the process of organizing his next big musical ?maya
rahul is involved with grassroots activism in madhya pradesh
rahul is more of a charmer and indubitably
rahul is a commendable music score
rahul is a nice name i like rahul name
rahul is working on the restoration of the sassoon library and some old city clubs
rahul is the son and the youngest disciple of the legendary santoor maestro pt
rahul is reminded that he's adopted and told to leave the house which he does
rahul is just excellent
rahul is arrested by arjun and rahul is killed by someone in the prison
rahul is currently the lead architect of the jax
rahul is unhappy at the thought of going to boarding school
rahul is a playboy
rahul is working as
rahul is also extending the cricket to use in a workshop with visually impaired children
rahul is even unable to be part of his brother's funeral
rahul is the pr guy
rahul is strictly a performer and representative of my style
rahul is here
rahul is shocked to learn that the girl he has fallen in love with is also the girl that he has suggested his best friend to marry
rahul is no exception and is currently playing for kent
rahul is a graduate hunting for a job whilst romancing the daughter of the landlord
rahul is devastated
rahul is a single parent after tina's demise
rahul is inclined towards
rahul is loving
rahul is a young six year old
rahul is madly in love with her
rahul is an adopted child
rahul is born and brought up in the us he looks indian
rahul is given this news
rahul is prakash's brother

This is better than it said for my nick :D

Seven down, One to go.....

2005-12-02T00:53:00.000-08:00

Well the time has finally come. It is what we have been waiting for so long. The hiatus had led to a period of chaos and wretchedness. No...its not my new post but the completion of my endsems :D

After yet another end semester examination, I was pondering over what I have learnt so far. They can be summed up in a few points.
1. Its not much really.
2. I can buy a cup of coffee at gurunath and drink it before I reach CLT.
3. I could have saved a lot of time by cycling to my department instead of walking to it daily.
4. My computer is beyond repair.
5. The DCF is the best place to be in the summer, unfortunately everybody else thinks so too.
6. The tea at MBA office is better than that in gurunath.
7. I can buy a cup of tea at MBA office and drink it before i exit CLT.
8. The wing is the best place to while away time.
9. Ashik kurian can get physical at times, so we , in the wing, have to thread our path carefully.
10. Not to mess with Ashik kurian's computer...I learnt this because I wasnt aware of point 9.
11. Shit happens a bit too frequently in insti.
12. Sass is staying a bit too close to my room.
13. Torso bought a new 5.1 speakers (#12 and 13 reinforces the validity of #11)
14. Rain makes us lazier than ever and I almost put a W cos of that.
15. I wasted a lot, i mean a lot, of time studying things I did not relate to.
16. The institute library has 5 floors ,which I found out last week. Apparently they have an amazing studying room with couches, and taking advantage of this are couples studying each other.
17. Boredom cant kill you, but sometimes you wish it could (like now).
18. Something about concrete and it containing aggregates n cement. Not too sure.
19. IIFT stands for Indian Institute of Foreign Trade. (Dont ask me how i found that out :D)
20. You live to die another day....I learnt it from my quizzes.
21. Never let a crying girl fool you.
22. Not to eat vague stuff at gurunath. It either tastes yuck or u will be having a LM solo show in the bogs for the next two days.
23. *Bulb*
24. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr
25. Go to #1.

That should give you a gist of what I have learnt so far. With another sem to go, its wierd to think of life beyond the insti. Its something which I havent given much thought about. Guess the only thing to do now is to maximize enjoyment from my time in campus and to think of optimal ways to achieve boredom subject to spatial, economical and emotional constraints ( finally OR helps me somewhere :P)

Cometh the hour, Cometh the man!

2005-10-19T01:16:00.000-07:00

"Return of the king"

If you know me well, then its not too hard to guess who the man is. Its none other than Arsenal's Thierry Henry. The lethal marksman fired his way past Ian Wright's record at Prague despite being low on match fitness, match practice and moved to the treatment table for the last 7 weeks. That pretty much sums up TH14.

After yet another defeat, this time at the hands of a lowly West Bromwich Albion most of the Arsenal fans were praying for Henry's return at Prague. And finally something went Arsenal's way. Henry was available for the game and was put on the bench.( Now we are talking)
After an early retirement of Jose Reyes, due to some mindless tackles of the Czechs, AW was forced into an early substitution. This was the sight well awaited for.

THE INTRODUCTION OF HENRY!

Within five minutes of his arrival, it was 1-0 to the Arsenal. Henry got quite a few decent touches but his lack of match fitness was there to see. But his very presence had boosted the morale of the outfield players and more importantly the fans. Considering the current injury list, consisting of Campbell, Cole, Hleb and now Reyes, his return was all the more significant.

The match was nothing close to a classic and Arsenal seemed quite dull at times, and the inexperience of Clichy is a bother. He was caught out far too many times by the Czech winger Pospech. This shows how valuable Cole is. And another man of the moment is Kolo Toure. He marshalled the defence admirably. This was a completely flawless performance from the Ivory Coast player. But the match was worth the watch just for TH14's second goal. This was the moment we were looking forward to. Henry's 186th goal. A new Arsenal record at the age of 29.

Henry is probably the best player in Europe, and maybe the world and he deserves to play in a team which compliments his style. This may or may not be at Arsenal, considering the current situation at Arsenal. So we need not be too perplexed at Henry leaving the club at the end of the season because he deserves to play at a world-class club.

So wherever Henry maybe at the end of the season, his legacy at the club will live for eternity.

P.S: Coming soon- pictures of my wingmates. I promise you that it is worth the watch :D
Will be going to Blore this weekend, so no activity from my side for a while :)

Soldier down!!!!!!

2005-10-08T22:16:00.000-07:00

It was Shaastra week and it was hibernation time for me :)........ apart from a lone participation in shaastra its been pretty much the usual for me. Am with my computer and good old DC++.

But the last month has been quite frustrating to say the least. I have been unable to complete my SoP for like an aeon, i have been unable to play footer and i have been unable to go to the gym ( ya you heard it right :P). The last one week was crammed up with 4 midsems and 2 industrial lectures, and the only thing i can think of is hmmm (*Bulb*)....I have 2 more midsems next week and a presentation with two other people who , to put it mildly, are not good at presentations. I got screwed over by my Btp guide and i thought the worst was over. Then i get the ill-fated call. Its the call which changed my life, nah my week :P. (In retrospect i feel like Keanu reeves :P) . It was my Dad. The details of the conversation will not revealed for the sake of my plummeting pride. That was the killer blow, i am still to recover from it. My dad's sarcasm didnt help me one bit. I am in rehab now i guess. In for the long haul this time around.

Hopefully will get back out soon.

Grrr....i hate odd sems

2005-09-28T23:32:00.000-07:00

I was speaking to a couple of my seniors the other day and they kept telling me how much they enjoyed in their final year, how nostalgic they felt! And there i was actually in my final year and feeling nothing like how they felt. I was attending 8 courses, one B.Tech project, doing my app work and lots of other crappy thing and at the end of week i am all jaded. Gosh, what final year are they talking about?? It feels like first year again!

The few things which kept me going are the app tensions and football. Talking about football, i had the honour of watching the clown a.ka. Didier Drogba in the Champions League encounter between Liverpool and Chelsea. In that game, i was hoping the movement of Chelsea would be directed to him. This implies the movement is directed to Jamie Carragher. His first touch is simply atrocious for any forward. His theatrics will make Johny Depp look stupid ,in particular when Carragher caught him on his back and he rolled on the ground as if his spine had been broken (i wish it had happened cos then i would have seen the understudy of the clown, clown jr a.k.a Hernan Crespo). It was a real treat watching Drogba playing, too bad Crespo didnt play for too long with him. What a duo they would be!! They would take over the footballing world with their flowing locks and clumsiness :D.

A day before Arsenal had to travel to the Amsterdam Arena for their group tie with Ajax. It was a pretty even lineup for both teams thanks to their mounting injury and suspension lists. Notable absentees were Henry, Bergkamp, Wesley Sneijder and Trabelsi. As the match wore on, i think i was the only guy who felt that Pires was a lazybum. He never runs for more than 10m when he is marking. Period. He is one of the worst defenders of the ball. And his aging body does him no good. With Reyes and Ljunberg upfront, Pires and Hleb on the flank it seemed like it was the usual Arsenal zip-em-before-they-blink football. I was disappointed at not seeing Quincy start. After his World cup achievements i was really looking forward to see more of this Dutch starlet. Well, end of the day it was a controlled performance from Arsenal. Although the attitude shown by Hleb where he dived at more than one occasion was some of the negatives of te Arsenal game. Apart from that its 2-1 to the Arsenal and a 100% start to their Champions league campaign.

I will wind up my blog with a quick reference to one of my esteemed wing mates, Gautam. Here is to a guy who has dedicated his life to laying girls. He speaks more than what he can do. And he is among the most desperate guys in the insti, so girls next time you meet him think twice before you do so :).

Welcome to Basin city

2005-08-29T12:31:00.000-07:00

I simply do not know where to begin.

I was stunned by this movie. I had kept postponing this for almost a month. The movie kept rotting for that long. Now thats a sin! This was the fourth time i saw the movie in three days. And its totally worth it.

This movie is an adaptation of Frank Miller's comic "Sin City", and other stories ("The Big Fat kill" and "the Yellow Bastard"). I was initially put off by the editing of the movie and was about to dismiss it. But somehow i persisted and thank god i did. Sin City is based on a retro-future urban setting where corruption is everywhere and the gore has Tarantino written all over it. The movie's opening credits holler that it has been "shot and cut" by Robert Rodriguez, making it sound like a serial killer's umpteenth victim. But the sheer brilliance of the movie has to be conceded on second viewing.

The film tells three stories in parallel and the central characters are: Marv, Hartigan and Dwight. They are essentially characters who are fighting for revenge and justice. They exist in a system which is plagued by corruption and complete non-existance of principles. Marv (Rourke) is potrayed as a ugly thug, who is seeking revenge for the cold-blooded murder of Goldie (the woman with whom he spent a night and was murdered in their sleep). Hartigan, played by Bruce WIllis, is a veteran cop after a paedophile, whose current victim is Nancy Callahan. Finally Dwight is there trying to protect Shellie, his girlfriend, and the entire red light district. Well thats about the plot.The jumbling of the timeline adds to the intriguing drama which ensues.

The slick editing and the scoreline compliment each other perfectly. This movie has done something which no other movie has done before. It has brought to life a comic strip while retaining the traits of the comic. The black and white colour, and the stunts remind us of the origins of the movie time and again. The gore at times is appaling, but one cannot resist from sitting back and enjoying this crazy ride. The characters played by Elijah Wood and Stahl were cold and pathetic at times. Talking about Elijah Wood, he played the role of Kevin to perfection. Although his screen presence was limited, it was convincing. He made the character scary and abominable. The detail was chilling. And as for Roark Jr (Nick Stahl), what can we say....he was better off as Yellow Bastard than Roark Jr,the rich paedophile. And of course there is Gail, Dwight's Valkyrie. She plays the role of Queen whore and Dwight's bitch. She bosses around the girls and her energy & passion is there to see. Benicio Del Toro's character is significant. He plays a corrupt cop who is killed by the whores, which threatens to end the pact between the girls and the cops. The scene with Del Toro and Dwight in the car is simply amazing. Bruce Willis saves the 11-year old Nancy from the clutches of the paedophile and in the end sacrifices himself to protect her.

In short, Sin City delivers a blistering ballet of bullets and blood, dames and danger at every turn.

Walk down the right back alley in Sin City, and you can find anything

I will leave you with some memorable quotes from the movie........

Dwight: Most people think Marv is crazy. But he just had the rotten luck of being born in the wrong century. He'd be right at home on some ancient battlefield swinging an axe into somebody's face. Or in a Roman arena, taking his sword to other gladiators like him.
Hartigan: I take out his weapons.
(Shoots Junior's hands)
Hartigan: Both of 'em
(Shoots his groin)

Priest: Ask yourslef if that corpse of a slut worth dying for.
Marv: Worth dying for
(Shoots the priest)
Marv: Worth killing for
(Shoots him again)
Marv: Worth going to hell for.
(Shoots him again)

Cop yells : There is no sign of him!
Marv: Here's a sign!
(Hits cop in groin with hatchet)

Normal service is resumed

2005-08-14T07:44:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the brief interruption.
I had other matters to attend to. Now that i am back in my dearest IIT, i think i will be able to resume my service :P

After my intern in Bangalore, i had a stale period in which i had to prepare for my GRE and Toefl. I have to say that, it was one of the dullest times of life. I had never referred to a dictionary more number of times than then. I had never used a computer for so long without playing games on it or listening music. Gosh! Am i happy that the GRE/Toefl is done with now. Only thing that kept me going was the homemade food.

Anyways, soon after the tests i left for madras as the semester had already begun. It was then i realised that i was into my final year. I couldnt believe time had gone by so fast. It felt like a week back that i met Gabbar, Mcp, Topa etc in the 8th wing of Jamuna hostel while it was actually 3 damn years. Hmmmm...... these are nostalgic times.
I got back to my room and made a quick check. My computer looked as bad is it could and all my sports illustrated posters were dusty. I got a cloth out quick to correct that. My precious!!!
In no time it was Monday, and it was classtime again. Here we go again. Yet another sem. Classes were as dull as ever and the only difference was that instead of my usual classmates i saw new faces (MTech guys). How refreshing! The only reason i seem to be going to the DCF nowadays is to check out the new exchange students . After hauling my ass to all the classes i was looking forward to the weekend for more than one reason.
Finally, the weekend arrived. And after welcoming a freiend back home, it was the usual party weekend.
Then came Sunday, the much awaited new season of english premier league. Manchester Utd had registered a victory over Everton on Saturday, and were trying to put some early pressure on Arsenal and Chelsea.
The Highbury ground brings a lot of sweet and bitter memories, and it is a bit hard to accept that Arsenal Football Club will be playing the next season at a new ground. Well life goes on, as is evident from the sale of the captain Patrick Vieira.
The game started of well and it seemed to be an entertaining one. There were a few things i was impressed with Newcastle in the game. Scott Parker seemed collosal in the midfield. He seemed to be tackling everywhere. And same with Emre. This dimunitive Turk was playing some exquisite football at times. But thanks to some poor refereeing and a red card for Jenas,who is linked with Arsenal, Arsenal were in the driving seat. With the gunners dominating the game, victory seemed inevitable and at times Newcastle were playing some desperate football. And the introduction of Hleb and Van Persie made the necessary impact. After 80 minutes of Newcastle's stubborness, Arsenal finally made the breakthrough. An awkard tackle by Nzogbia brought Ljunberg down and Henry did the necessary. Soon, a tap in by Van Persie settled the game. So it was 2-0 to the Arsenal.
1 down and 37 to go. And next stop: Stamford Bridge. Guess its time to bring the Bridge down.

And as i said : NORMAL SERVICE IS RESUMED.

Me loves Bangalore!!

2005-06-28T22:50:00.000-07:00

Booked my tickets to Hyderabad today and was thinking how fast time actually moved. Well the ticket booking itself took time coz i was waiting in the wrong queue and the wrong building for half an hour [:D].
It was as if i had been to the railway station jus yesterday when it was actually almost two months. Was feeling nostalgic ...sniff [:(]

My time in Blore was made even more memorable thanks to Mr. Assman. Here is a guy who is ready to be at ur side and certain things (ahem ahem) at any time. He is one guy who can cheer u up at any time and what fun i had with ass in the innumerable occassions at Mojos. Man, the moment they play Doors we wud go hysteric.

We are going to the roadhouse and gonna have a real, good time (and did we have a good time or what)

Man, i am really falling in love with Bangalore now. Courtesy Chennai. One god damn visit to Chennai changed my opinions abt Bangalore. I couldnt believe how many features of Bangalore i had overlooked. I was enlightened by the three day visit to Madras. The weather was pathetic. The food was horrible. The only reason why i forced myself to stay was the damn prof, who called me there in the first place. That was when i realised the beauty of Bangalore.

Madras here i go, for good!!!!!

After a few boring weeks in Bangalore, i was looking for a change of scene. I couldnt stand the traffic here. Every journey gets delayed by the traffic here. Its just sad. I am sure u will soon find pizza being delivered to vehicles stuck in the jam. Apart from that the people here are too superficial.Period.
So i decided to go to Madras and meet my prof who was paining me to do so. Madras here i come!!!

Nice and Bangalore?? Kabhi Nahin. (it was a catch line for some ad which i ant remember). My routine was becoming monotonic and tooooo mechanical. Got fed up at times actually. All my friends were by default busy (its like everyone on Yahoo Msger is on Busy status and u r on jobless status). This certainly didnt help. Was biding my time here and waiting for it to end.

My first impression of Bangalore was good. There was greenery all around and seemed to less chaotic than Hyderabad. It all seemed to be promising. Met my guide here and everything looked rosy (it always does in the start, doesnt it!). Its like a rose. You appreciate its beauty when you look at it, but the thorns prick u once u hold it. Anyways, met coupla people in Bangalore and seemed like i was set for a nice time in Bangalore.

Yossarian and Morrison

2005-06-22T23:26:00.000-07:00

Yossarian???
What kinda name is that??
It started out like that for me. Catch-22 was welcomed with nothing but skeptism when i began reading it and was wondering if i would like it. And boy did i like the book!! This is one of the very few books which will drive you crazy and at the same time make you laugh ur balls off. I fell in love with the characters of Yossarian and Nately.And what a role Milo play. Its amazing how Heller came up with a book as wonderful as this. They way it moves back and forth in time, no other book can do. Its completely mind-boggling. This is one of the books which is not a general read, but a must-read for everyone.
Only read it if you r ready to invest some time in it though.

Talking of investing time, it happened that all my friends are at seperate places. What i thought was that we might get a bit bored and will be aching to meet up sometime. But it turned out quite the other way. Each of us were having fun. And what i feel is that that personal space is required for a person to understand more abt oneself. This is true for anything for that matter. The reason why, say, most ppl listen/play music is to escape from life and its hardships.
Its a way to explore the unknown of one's mind.
Its a way to challenge the constraints imposed upon us.
Its a way to liberate ourselves.

And the only thing i can think of when i say liberation is JIM MORRISON.

It was his concept to connect the unknown and the known through the medium of their music and he did that with aplomb. Despite all his histrionics on and off stage, he was a person who could connect with audience. Such was his influence on the crowd, that there were cops all around him during his shows, which was started due to a incident between Morrison and a cop backstage. Morrison loved chaos theory and tried it a lot on the audience by erupting one to many riots. This did not go down well with the cops.For him, rock and roll was not business, but a way of life. he felt that he was a way different person on stage than off it and people could see that when he was performing.

But whatever people might say about Jim, Jim Morrison and the Doors are one of the shining beacons of Rock music and rightfully so.

So when the music's over,
Turn out the lights.

The music is yout special friend
Dance on fire as it intends
Music is your only friend
Until the end
Until the end
Until
THE END!

The commie menace

2005-06-09T11:02:00.000-07:00

Just when i started feeling at home in Bangalore, the power cut shows up again. I was anyway used to it as it had been happening in the last few days. Atleast the weather was still good and not like madras (do i hate that place or what). Anyways, i was around with two guys in the hostel and we started farting as there was nothing else to do. We started discussing a couple of things and it ended with us having a really heated argument on communism vs capitalism.

I will introduce you the characters involved in this debate.
Subject 1 was codenamed Agent Pink commie as he claimed to be a communist.
Subject 2 was codenamed The buddy as he was supporting my case :D.
And me the knight in shining armour.

It all started with a simple talk of people in Xaviers as in how they put pseud and stuff. Agent Pink commie is the ex-culsec of Xaviers, an avid quizzer, and a Math student. So one fine day he decides to become an communist (oh btw there are only 6 commies in his institute, which also includes a girl. ahem ahem)
Agent Pink commie claims that India is in such a bad state that they do not provide equal opportunities to people. Agreed.
Agent Pink commie claims that the Government of India is not acting as it should supposed to do and there is lot to be improved upon. Agreed.
Agent Pink commie claims that if given the chance of being the head of a communist India, he would invoke drastic and necessary laws like the Land ceiling act. Dream on dude.

Even my brother knows that the current state of the country is not so good but its showing glimpses of what it can achieve. Its well known that there are atleast 25% of the population living below the poverty line. Its well known that the Government of India can function more efficiently than how it is doing right now. And the blame partly lies in us also as we are also part of the flawed system.

When Agent Pink commie cribbed to the Knight in shining armour (from hereon referred to as the Knight) that there are people who are talented and yet not able to make the mark becoz they are not given the chance. Chance is not available for them as they are not financially well-off. The knight calmly replied that, if all the people were to be given a chance then most of us including the Agent would not be in the position they are in currently. So he would soon be one of the person who cribs that he is not given a chance. The knight followed this up by saying that the economy is not in a position where it can afford to give a chance to one billion people; may it be education or jobs. There simply was not enough sources of revenues for one billion people. The knight cited an example in the UK (which is a developed country and has a population smaller than that of AP), where the government provides people with job interviews and some basic ameneties till he/she gets a job. This offer is valid for a limited time. This is how UK managed their unemployement situation. How could one expect India, a third world country, to provide jobs to its huge population. It is simply not feasible the Buddy stated ,who had economics background, and started blabbering all sort of gibberish in economic terminology. Both the knight and the Agent Pink commie waited for the baashan to complete. It soon ended and almost left the uninterested audience dozing.

Next was the comedy part. Agent Pink commie ,known for his "communication skills", declared that he wanted a land ceiling act which would state that people will not be allowed to hold beyond a certain quantity of land. Any portion beyond this permitted limit, would be taken over by the commie governement and distributed to the landless labourers (who are the true losers in the end acc to our commie friend). The knight and the buddy started rolling on the floors laughing when they heard this. They felt it was too silly to even continue discussing this.

More was to come from Agent Pink commie. His next target was the Cola companies. Agent Pink commie feels that the Cola companies are responsible for the droughts in many parts in the country. It is their unregulated withdrawal of water which is causing this drought as it lowers the ground water level. So he wants the Cola companies to pack their bags. This point is supported by the fact that then the fruit sellers would be benefited. but he forgot how to accomodate the thousands of people who would be laid off from the Cola companies, if they are to call it quits. The buddy rightly pointed out that it is necessary for an economy to have a decent "substitute" at any given point of time and that we would be losing that by not having the Coke's and Pepsi's.

All in all it is very easy to say that we should be providing opportunites to all, which is impossible to implement. Also when i have a person who is more deserving than another person, a communist state will offer them same pay if they are doing the same job. This makes no sense. This will inculcate animosity within an organization and not ideal for any workplace.

What we have is not perfect but is something to build for the future and if we do nothing but crib about what we have now then we will have nobody else but ourselves to blame. So the question is not if you are a commie or a capi but if you really want to make a difference in the society. This need not be done by doing something very radical (like becoming a commie!!) but by doing service to the society.

The buddy intervenes by saying that the best thing to do is to amass wealth initially and distribute at a later point of time to society. How true.

THE END

CASTING
KNIGHT IN SHINING ARMOR.........YOURS TRULY
AGENT PINK COMMIE.......T PRATHAMESH
THE BUDDY....SARAT RAO

SCRIPTING,DIRECTING, PRODUCING by YOURS TRULY( Make your own blogs and put ur names....)

My take on "Poor" Ashley

2005-06-08T22:47:00.000-07:00

Finally back in Bangalore. I am one relieved person. My tryst with hell is over. I am back to my getaway place (called ISI).
The first thing i do after coming back to blore is check the soccer news to see if there is any news actually related to soccer. But to my dismay, all i find is Ashley Cole all over the papers. My my has this bloke come under public scrutiny or what! "Poor " Ahley is not even allowed to mind his own business. All he wanted was more money and the Premier league dont even allow him to do that. All he wanted was to get away from the club which was run by Frenchies and a manager whom he doesnt like.

How sad!!

Well the fact is Ashley, if you want to get away from all of it, from Arsenal, i am sure Wenger wont go out of his way to stop you. You aint a Henry, you aint a Vieira. Remember that. Here is a manager who gave you a run in a squad that then had a Brazilian international (Silvinho) in the same position as you. The manager kept confidence in you and it wasnt too far that you actually got a international cap ( inside your first full season). So i just cant understand the fact as to why there is any "uneasy" atmosphere between you and the gaffer. Beats me.
Now about the role of the French players the squad. Firstly the French players in the squad are Henry, Pires, Vieira, Cygan, Clichy and Flamini. Of the aforementioned players the last three are not even first team players, so i cant see how they can have a significant say in the dressing room. The core of the French legion has been here for as long as you have been in Arsenal, so i just cant understand the logic of you crying about it now. Btw if you want to play in a team run by English players please have a look at Man Utd ( I am not considering Chelsea coz they technically come under the Russian league). Also Clichy and Flamini are around 20 years old.
To top it all, you claim that the manager and the board should have supported you during your trial. Hey dude, are you stoned? Which manager in his senses, will support a player who has spoken against him in front of a rival manager? Which board will support you when the only thing in your mind is money, and not the interests of the club (which you claim to be "fan" of).
Nextly it shows about your character, when you slander your own teammates, with whom you celebrate everytime Arsenal scores a goal, in front of a rival coach. And you are the product of an Arsenal youth system and supposedly an Arsenal fan since the age of 9. How ironic! The worst part is that Jens lehmann , a german international, has to come out to negate all this claims. How embarassing is it. I appreciate lehmann for coming out to undo the damage, but the damage is beyond repair. After all this fiasco, i have lost all respect for Ashley Cole and i dont give a damn if he stays or leaves. When the English act in such a fashion, i can understand why Wenger is so cautious about English players ( also his track record with English players aint good with Jeffers, Wright, Pennant....)
Ashley, i hope your time with Arsenal ends as soon as possible because i dont have a TV yet which can blur you out if at all you continue playing with Arsenal. And Wenger is definitely prepared for any outcome ,as he has Gael Clichy(a more than able replacement at 19 years of age),since he has dealt with the left back situation twice before with Nigel Winterburn and Silvinho. Now its the turn of Ashley Cole. So long boy.

Money cant buy everything, for everything else there is Arsenal Football club.

Tam Brahms and Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind

2005-06-07T00:38:00.001-07:00

I still cant comprehend what made me go back to Madras in June. After all the hatred i had for Bangalore, after staying there for more than a fortnight, i thought it couldnt get worse than this. But this Madras trip changed all that and in some style . Now i know why people fear to go to Madras in summer, i just found it out first hand right after i got down from the train.

Apart from the weather i had couple of interesting discussions including a few heated arguments with auto drivers. (I dont know what it is with auto drivers and me. I just cant get into an auto without fighting with them. )

So one of them had to do with anti-Tam Brahm senti among couple of gult junta. (BTW i am a Tam Brahm ,Iyengar to be more precise.) and i just couldnt get the gist of it. Their argument was that Tam Brahms in general do not express their opinions and always follow those of their parents. That they cant think for themself. That they are too conventional. That they might not even have opinions of their own. That they are selfish. That they always have sambar, rasam and coffee. After hearing all this i just couldnt help but start arguing with him. There were a lot of things to clarify. Firstly that Tam Brahms are usually conventional agreed but they are among the smartest people around ( not just me, jus come to IIT Madras) so the argument of Tam Brahms not having a opinion doesnt arise. Secondly, the only reason Tam Brahms prioritize the parents wishes higher is probably coz we respect them and know that they have nothing but the best intentions in their hearts.. The argument didnt head anywhere though, but i realised that people have that slight tinge of disliking towards Tams and in particular Brahms.
Poor Us. Its not that i care or something just that people have these vague mindsets which is against their "prinicples". So its just sad to see how "open-minded" people are. I guess India can really look forward to its next generation.

After all this crap, i saw a movie called the ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND. Its the only good thing that happened during this trip.This is a definite must-watch movie. In this movie people get to "delete" memory which they deem unnecassary or distracting. Sounds novel doesnt it? At some point of the movie i started thinking what parts of my memory would i delete to lead a happier life. Would this actually help me in anyway? Could this be a solution to moving on in life from our problems? The thing is if we dont remember any bad incidents, then we dont learn abt ourself. Its what keeps you motivated, ever-improving. By "deleting" the unwanted memory, we would be running away from the problems in life. And its not the best way to go about in life. The movie is value for time and really thought provoking. Btw the starcast is: Jim carrey, kate winslet, Kirsten Dunst (who is very cute in this movie).

Too much of Tam Brahm stuff for the day i guess. (Where is my damn coffee???? grrr...)
Will come back soon with Ashley Cole after returning to Blore.

Main Aisa Hi Hoon

2005-05-29T09:52:00.000-07:00

It was another Sunday at Forum mall in Bangalore. Its the only place in the country which is filled up on a Sunday afternoon. None of these folks have heard of a nice nap in the afternoon i guess( jus realised that it includes me also). I dont know why i spend so much time at a place i dont like. Probably i will enjoy the good times later. Or probably i want my life to seem long (like Clevinger).

After having lunch in a record time of one and a half hour, there was a "treat" waiting. i learn from my friends later that we are to watch the recently released blockbuster "Main Aisa Hi Hoon". i had no idea what the movie was about and what the starcast was. It was some experience anyway! (BTW i spent hundred and thirty bucks for the ticket).

In the first scene i see Ajay Devgan acting like a weirdo & its then that i realize that he is supposed to be a mentally challenged guy.Aaaaahhhh (that was my mind yelling out loud). In the opening few minutes i kept focussing on Ajay devgan's weird tooth and that pretty much sums up my mood during the movie.But it just kept getting better. Esha Deol stepped in soon to push me deeper into the misery i was enduring. I wasnt sure what she tried to do, but i tried to convince myself that she was doing a Jennifer Connolly( although Deol has neither the looks nor the talent). Its for times like these that mobile phones were made for. It is supposed to save us from our misery. but the damn instrument didnt ring for the whole period.

As the movie moved in to a parallel time axis, there were similarities with Constantine (the Keanu Reeves flick , best remembered as a bad hangover of Matrix). All Esha did in the movie was: smoke anything she cud get her hands on, inject herself, dance in shimla with a retard, get pregnant and smoke even more. Phew!! After a performance like that she doesnt give any other actresses any chance does she. i am sure a National award is waiting for her. Was sort of happy that she ran away from Ajay Devgan and killed herself with a drug OD.It was a moment worth savouring.The only other time i wanted the heroine to die so badly was in The Matrix, when Trinity refused to die.(People in the cinemahall actually started hurling abuses )Its pretty sad that the daughter of Hema Malini turns out this bad .

Anyways back to death of Esha Deol. The movie tries to put senti later, but i guess they have met their match in me!! The only good point in this movie is Sushmita Sen. She looks good and carries herself well in the movie. The career oriented role fitted her perfectly and she did her acting credentials no harm. This movie ranks among the all time crappiest movies like K3G, Vastushaastra. Cant believe i actually saw these movies.

Thats about it. i am sure noone is that jobless to watch a movie like that and that jobless to read a blog on the movie.

So what the hell are you doing reading this blog???

Hail to the Reds!!

2005-05-26T05:21:00.000-07:00

I guess this what the press have been talking about. The glorious days of the Reds are back!! I have nothing but admiration for Liverpool and Rafa Benitez. They have achieved the impossible, when people thought that they might be going out in the group stages against Olympiakos. They have risen from the ashes and surpassed all expectations. These words are from one of the most hard-core Arsenal fan. I hated them after the defeat inflicted be the Reds on Arsenal in the Fa cup 2001. But since then i have changed my opinions on them.
They didnt quite have the magic under Gerard Houllier,although they won the treble under him, and they seem to be getting it back. This might be too early to comment on the return of their glory days but what can be better than making a club the European champions. Rafa has done what he would have felt was least likely when he took over from Houllier. To top it all he has done it dramatic fashion. A game which looked dead and buried at halftime was turned around on its head after an hour. To be so resilient against a classy but ageing team of Milan speaks volumes of the spaniard. It must have been on helluva halftime talk which got them the trophy.
Apart from admiring the presence of a European champion in England again, all i can hope for know is that Arsenal emulate them. All i want is Patrick Vieira to lift the trophy apart from the Porsche Boxster. I hope that day is not too far. As the Liverpool slogan goes:
YOU WILL NEVER WALK ALONE

Review of the 2004-05 EPL season

2005-05-25T00:25:00.000-07:00

Well its the end of a season which i had looked forward to very eagerly and ended on a very satisfactory note as it had begun. Apart from the disappointment of not being able to retain the EPl and another failed attempt at the Champions league, the FA cup victory kept me happy. I dont know which was sweeter: the FA cup or beating Man Utd on penalties when they were asking all the questions during the match. Neverthless we are the FA cup winners. HAHA!!
Congrats to our Russian neighbours for winning the English Premier League. You guys did Putin proud!
Anyways what struck me about in Chelsea was the consistency in which they were able to produce result. This was lacking in arsenal during the "great depression" period following the pizzagate at OT. Had AW instilled the current form then, the season would have been more interesting. And as far as the Champions league is concerned, AW keeps drawing blanks every season there. There seems to be no answer when a team which is so good in the league continue to underperform in Europe. Maybe he should study liverpool who have made it to the final and have continously floundered in the league. He needs to adapt to Europe and tone his attack minded strats if he wants to succeed. Apart from that he seems to have all the required personell at highbury. Considering the current crop of youngster at arsenal, i am sure that will be the case for a very long time. He has already made a team for the future. Its incredible how a man can have such a vision. This is considering the fact that he has spent less money on transfers than Spurs who havent even landed at Europe. So that shows how astute the gaffer is.
A couple of more additions to the squad and we have a squad which is more than capable of competing with any team the russian can create. That is how high i rate Wenger. keep wenger at arsenal and i am sure everything will follow in due course of time.
And as for all the oil-stained blues: u might have won the league this time. so enjoy it for now, coz it will be back where it rightfully belongs. and we all now where that is.
Astalavista

The Gunners

2005-02-28T11:28:00.000-08:00

When i first saw an arsenal game i knew that something felt right. I am not sure whether it was the studious French manager, or the red and white strips then featuring JVC or the narrow playing surface of Highbury. Whatever it is, i love it.

I have spent many a nights watching arsenal games while my friends were out watching movies or partying. But i definitely dont repent watching them. I enjoy watching every moment of the arsenal style of football. Its this free flowing style which no other club in the world can claim to have. All credits goes to Arsene' Wenger. When i see the press condemning Wenger for some of his shortcomings, i would just like to remind them of what he has achieved in his tenure so far. He ended the domination of Manchester United in his first full season, when people were betting on his dismissal. He took them unbeaten throughout a full season; which last happened a century ago. To top it all he has the ability to unearth talent. The current squad is a result of his excellent scouting system. All this shows how short-sighted people really are.

Now the vultures are back again. Wenger has a new opponent now; none other than our slumbering neighbours. They were given a lifeline courtesy of an unknown Russian billionare. This oil tycoon knows as much about football as my brother does. This was confirmed when i heard he was considering Sven Goran Ericksson to replace Ranieri( who took Chelsea to semifinal of the CL). But to my disgust, this was not to be. A cocky, Portuguese smartass landed in the blue hotseat. And now i cant decide whom i hate more... Sir Alex Ferguson or Mourinho. They are pretty much on level terms now.

Well all i care abt is that: Wenger is at the helm and Wenger Knows. So as long as he is there, Arsenal is in safe hands.

Here i go.............

2005-02-27T09:59:00.000-08:00

( This is my first blog so please bear with me. And if you can infer something from this blog then please let me know)

I am not an atheist………

I was a regular temple-goer (well used to tag along with my parents) but I thought about this a lot and I still couldn’t figure out whether I believe in “The Almighty” or not.

But I strongly feel that there is a force which is forever working against us and not for us. It wants us to be sad, to be disgusted with ourselves, to be shamed, to be angry, and to cause pain for others. Its success is achieved when we cause misery for ourselves or to others. It strikes when we are most vulnerable, when we let our guard down. It is the gentle push we need when we are on the edge to throw us over. It’s out there to disrupt our lives. It derives its joy from our pain and sorrow.

It’s the lull before the storm till now.

The easier way out is to give into it (If you cant beat ‘em, join ‘em). Then we could probably go about our lives with nothing to worry about at all. But you have to live with the repurcussions of your doings. And believe me its not easy.

It’s at this point that we need to be strong, and to find the necessary courage to fight it. The battle we face to overcome it is hardly ever won by many (at least I haven’t). Its no easy task. We need to have the strenth to pick ourselves when we are hit in the balls. We are actually competing with it in reality. I do not believe in fate. It only conveniently distracts people. Everything is in our hands. It is upto us. Its upto us to go with it or against it.

Victory is ours when we can smile and say to it that “you have come to the wrong person buddy”.

So its your call.