The KeyStrokes

IIT-M in the summer - A Delight !

2011-05-21T20:56:00.000-07:00

My first few days in the insti were during the summer vacation... totally new to d insti culture n lingo, hailing from a conservative place in south Tamil Nadu I din kno that I belonged to d class called kuntry... slowly I progressed into another class - pseud... hope I reach god level atleast while i leave this heaven..

Talking of heaven, this place is a haven during the summer.. a cool lush green forest in the middle of a hot, humid, grey and polluted city. Providing respite from the heat to my friends outside the campus, it soon became their favourite hangout too! Its only when I experienced this place, did I realize that the so called lesser beings are infact more intelligent than us to live under nature's care, than foolishly build our own habitats that really are disgusting. I agree that man made habitats - buildings, towns and cities are aesthetically appealing and intelligently realized ideas, but they are no match for nature..

Nature is the ultimate engineer and we do have a lot to learn from her... and we have succeeded in the past mimicking nature quite a lot of times. The insti in the summer has lesser junta, lesser pressure, more masti and everything's good... the only drawback being that there's no junta in CCD and Tifany'd during this time. So there's less to watch :(
To sum up, its a true delight - Insti in the summer!

A bad break... for a better blog!

2011-05-18T11:02:00.000-07:00

Its all changed! I'm not working. I say bye bye to Tata once again and decide to study. Getting lucky with two admits at IITM for a masters by research program, I step into the world of research. (I won't talk abt my awesomely humiliating performance at the IISc interviews...)

A research scholar and a student of IIT-M now, my thinking, attitude, outlook towards life and my priorities, all have undergone substantial transformation... and I sincerely hope tha same happens to my blog too...

Refresh yourselves... and your browser too ;-)

The VJ is back!!!

I finally get a job! Thank you Tata!

2010-03-13T08:46:00.000-08:00

Yes!

I finally got a job ..in the famed Tata Consultancy Services.

Thank you Jamsetji, JRD and Ratan...

Not knowing whether to be satisfied or not satisfied I waited...till March 3rd ... when the Tatas againn blessed me with a job... this time in Titan Industries Limited... a job which would satisfy me more than the TCS one coz it was related to my studies..the kind of job that I always dreamed of!

So I changed my loyalties to the Tata unit headed by Mr. Bhaskar Bhat from the one headed by Mr. Chandrasekaran!

Ultimately, its Tata that matters :P :) !

NI kicks me out! - My first job interview failure

2009-09-15T08:11:00.000-07:00

Yes, finally a company came. And came a company that was too good to enter into, a company which I thought would not recruit anyone in this recession hit period, that too from our college and mechanical engineers - National Instruments! But they were there...
On Monday morning...it all started with a delayed Aptitude Test attempted by 160+ from the three departments - MECHANICAL, EEE n ECE.I attempted just 31 questions out of 60 in the given time period of 45 min. Most of the
The results were announced after the lunch at the end of a PPT by National Instruments employees - young men in their twenties! We had expected people from a separate HR department, much more experienced than the ones who showed up on that day - they looked like kids :P who'd just passed out of a college!
PO announces the results -
Group 1 - my name not there... :(
Group 2 - not there... :(
Group 3 - 2nd name. Oh no! Gotta go n change into some decent formals...I rush up with my roomie Braggs who also gets selected, to the room...and then off to the College Guest House where all these GDs and interviews take place usual. About 24 of us got selected. The GD was held in 3 batches. I was in the second batch.

With some talking and a lit bit of shouting (if talking loudly is shouting!) I get through the easy topic: "Higher Studies - MS vs. MBA"

I get into the next round(11 clear it) - Technical Presentation...where I presented on Refrigeration and answered all the questions thanks to my RAC internals that was held just a week ago! It got over by 10.30 Then I was into the last round - the interview. 4 of us had got selected and we got this msg at 11.30 pm...I tried whatever I could the whole night, pulled up an all-nighter and successfully screwed up the interview. Wasn't even able to answer even simple questions. Such was my level of preparation and technical knowledge.....and get thrown out of it! So are Sundar and PKS. Only Gunda goes ahead to Bangalore but then he also fails to get into the prestigious NI! FAILURE NO. 1 :)

Finally TCS saves me! (on Dec. 7 and result on 8th)Thank you TCS :)

Waiting for a good core company to take me in...

The Games Begin

2009-08-08T10:31:00.000-07:00

The placement games have begun...the campus is buzzing with true info and rumours causing anxiety and excitement. To all those ready and confident it comes as good as the announcemnt of a holiday, but for people like me who are still in slumber, even a slight mention of that makes us twitch and our stomachs start churning.The feeling of guilt, a guilt that never should have been there, had I sincerely done my studies in the previous academic seasons.

The EEE,ECE,IT and CSE dept. guys were ready for their Hewlett Packard interview on that fateful day! And as usual Mechies were asleep waking up only when their fellow mates from these depts had woken them up at the last minute jus to borrow pencils,belts,etc.(Thats what Mechies usually have with them!)We gave them the customary All The Best sign..and were back to gully cricket, song and movie watching or sleeping...

Out of 400 of these people, 30 had been shortlisted for the technical interview, a small number indeed(going by HP's expectations....)Then they filtered them through the technical and HR rounds of interview and finally selected 11 students from our college...first time in my coll's history!

It was 2 or 3 every year preceding this, but there were 11...a good number by our opinions, but small by HP's expectations!

What does that mean for me and my mechie friends?

We smell a company round the corner!...but no, we can't tell u the time of its arrival...Keeping our fingers crossed?Meanwhile why dont we START studying?

Hmmm! Will think abt it!....

A change in attitude's what I need now!

I Turn Twenty

2009-06-30T06:48:00.000-07:00

Twenty times around the Sun...that describes my life's journey PHYSICally (literally too!)...Twenty's the buzz word (atleast for my ears!)...the end of teenage (and of ODI's and Tests for the T20 frenzy !)

29th June, 2009 11:05pm..I turned Twenty!

Statutory Warning : Don't read this if you are allergic to philosophical writing or thoghts :) !

I realised that I had been one of those organisms on this planet that had managed to survive 20 years ... which means I'm one of the fittest. Don't forget Darwin's Survival of the Fittest! "A life as unique as any that has lived and is being lived on this planet of ours" - one sentence to describe my life! The moment signified the completion of one-third of my life going by current statistical life expectancy rates or one-fourth taking into account the developments in the medical sciences...

With the end of teenage comes a word called 'Responsibility'...for the self, family, society, nation and the world...Gone are those days...of teenage fun and mischief...But definitely its not the cul-de-sac...I'll still be considered young by the society atleast for 10 more years (or 20 (again?!!)) as life expectancy rates increase!)...coz 'Young' is the word that fires anyone up! :)

The Birthday Bums - And its the end of B'Day bums if I don't get into a PG course...the last of those hits and slaps on the back that are gifted for fun!

Twenty20 begins...n much will have happened before Thirty30 starts!

Thanking all those friends, relatives and well-wishers (now Which category does Mr.God fit into?) for their Birthday Wishes and All that they've done for me to survive these 20 years!

The VJ

M...um...Bye Indians and Kolkata's Nightmare Raiders

2009-05-17T08:54:00.000-07:00

No I am not mocking them...it is me, a loyal fan of Mumbai Indians and the Prince of Calcutta, who is being mocked by everyone around me for supporting them.Yes, being mocked by friends, classmates and even my college juniors(the worst part, isn't it?)!

And the title of this post is not theirs, but mine ... after watching them perish in the Indian Premier League.(M..Um... - for the silence that we fans had to go through after watching them 'lose in ishtyle', Bye - for getting out IPL, Nightmare - for their performance that has being giving SRK, the team and Kolkata their nightmares, and Raiders - for their opposition in all but one match!) So here is the post centred on the laments of a diehard Mumbai Indians fan and a supporter of the Bengal Tiger/Dada.

Mumbai was a team that I thought no other team would stand a chance against. Though their performance wasn't as abysmal as KKR, their batting didn't click at all except in the first match against Chennai. The batting relied heavily on Jean Paul Duminy with Tendulkar and Bravo playing a few good innings and Nayar chipping in here and there. The veteran Sanath wasn't his usual self.The bowling was exceptional - spearheaded by the skilled Lankan pacer Lasith Malinga(known for his yorkers) with Bhajji, Duminy, Kulkarni and Bravo ... even in the absence of Zaheer Khan. The fielding was quite good - it obviously can't get bad when you have someone of the calibre of Jonty Rhodes coaching you.

The wicket-keeping department of MI wasn't impressive even though MI had the choice of three keepers - Luke Ronchi, Yogesh Takawale and Pinal Shah. The keepers' batting didn't show up in any of the games.

They lost all their games in close encounters which shows that that the team needs good finishers during chasing and needs to keep its nerve while defending. To sum up Mumbai Indians were 'so close to victory but so far from winning'.

KKR - a team badly in need of a coach (No! not John Buchannan...I would rather have the team stay without a coach ;) ) and a captain (definitely the one and only Sorav Chandidas Ganguly...none can replace him!) ... things might turn around one they do that. The team has got some good players like Dada, McCullum, Hodge, Hussey and Ishant...all they need to is to gel together as a unit and play their hearts out.

Sympathising with the exit of Mumbai Indians and Kolkata Knight Riders and wishing them success in IPL-3 is

A loyal fan of Mumbai Indians and Sourav Ganguly!

PS: By the way remove those 'foren waali' cheerleaders for the Mumbai Team...bringing in the decent and desi Mumbaiya gals might help ! :P

Giving it a Break !

2009-04-23T02:22:00.000-07:00

I've decided to give blogging a break...what possibly could be the reason?...Yes, its EXAMS...

...and when I return back after that I've lots to tell you...the hostel day...the trip to Madurai's Meenakshi Temple after the recently concluded Kumbhabhishekam...my exams...and a lot more!

But...I might forget to write about them if something even more interesting comes up ... !

Till then...My dear readers ... have a great time sans 'The VJ's Blog' :P ! I guess you might be thanking your stars that I've temporarily stopped it ... STOP RIGHT THERE ! ...am I so bad at blogging, eh? :)

P.S. : NO Comments allowed for this post...if you really want to comment, please read and comment on the previous post.

The Lone Warrior

2009-03-31T06:30:00.000-07:00

This one is about a Warrior Prince who loses a battle and almost his entire army.But The Lone Warrior(...he's alone in the battlefield ... left wounded by the enemy and he pretends to be dead disguised as an ordinary warrior...) doesn't loose hope and strikes back. Its similar to - "It doesn't matter if you loose A Battle, what matters more is to never loose Hope and win The War"...

Do comment on it...since this is my first attempt at narrative poetry!

THE LONE WARRIOR

Drops of blood from his wounded arm kept trickling down
Turning the earth to a shade of red from the usual muddy brown
Alone he stood gazing at the lifeless torsos of his faithful men
The ones who stood to protect his kingdom had numbered a thousand then

Completely destroyed now, he had forsaken everything he had
Only to save his subjects from the all that were evil and all that were bad
Cruel was the enemy, unkind was fate and harsh were the Gods to him
But he went on - to save all he could, even though the chances were dim

But save all that he could was his life and something else
and all that his ears could hear were the sacred temple bells
Bells that echoed the essence of life, invoking the spirit within
To go ahead and Fight! Standing by the principle through thick and thin

His heart pounding with desire to avenge and mind as calm as the sea,
The warrior rose up from the blood soaked battlefield as swiftly as a bee,
Buzz he did not, sting he did not, and climbed up gently on his horse,
Buzz he would,sting he would, after he wins the battles and finally the wars,

And as you and I expected, the Lone Warrior, not the faint hearted, struck back
With the help of his intellect, body and the supreme spirit taking the enemy aback
Using what he called 'sparks of noisy fire' he wreaked havoc in the enemy's camp
making their superior agile horses and mighty elephants go mad and tramp

The 'sparks of noisy fire' was a gift from his friendly neighbouring kingdom
in return for all the kindness that he had showered over them and for his wisdom
They called it 'firecrackers', and the Warrior called it gift of Providence
As you may have guessed - 'something else' was nothing else, and hence,
Some call it hope, some call it tenacity, some call it belief and some call it faith
But all those who win say - 'Never ever ever ever give in'...fight to death!

THE END

The last quoted words are from SS(one of my seniors)'s reminiscence talk...the Best Outgoing Student-Medal of Excellence for this Academic Year...I liked the style in which he delivered them...so I copied that. :) Sorry for the plagiarism SS Anna!

My Worst Ever Internals

2009-03-28T02:28:00.000-07:00

Operations Research and Automated Manufacturing Systems saved my face...I managed to get a 7 out of 8.

Heat and Mass Transfer (Remember Vaaranam Aayiram Surya!) and Mechatronics were bad with a 5 out of 8.(Again missed a 6 in Mechatronics by 1 mark! unlucky :( )

Machine Dynamics was okay with a sixer(6) (But managed that by 1 mark this time, got lucky!)

Control Systems stole the show...3 out of 8...had the teacher given me a mark more I would have atleast been on 4!

EVS - Sir was unkind this time too (probably this had more to do with my handwriting :) )..gave me a cold 4.

The toppers in each were obviously at 7 or 8...

Overall..worst performance... second time I flunked in my internals (The first one being in Maths in III Semester)...need to buck up before the hell breaks loose...But all's better said than done..Hoping and praying for the best!

Got any tips on how to control Control Systems from giving me nightmares...a paper in which even some of the best in ECE Department performed poorly last semester? Then please do share them...

On my handwriting...

2009-03-23T04:22:00.000-07:00

Here's what people have to say on my handwriting :

The first kind:

'Looks uglier than your face' - My mom
(This one makes me feel better because I'm the kind of person who goes mad with happiness and looses sleep if someone grades my looks as 'average'; so I get too happy to know that there's something worse than my looks!)

'The person who corrects your answer papers must have been a sinner; he's/she's the kindest person on earth' - My friend

'Even a hen scribbles better than you'- My classmate

'You could have written it neatly in a better handwriting' - The kind teacher!(You are not a kind teacher......you are GOD!)

The second kind:

The marks say what they've chosen not to say!

The third kind:

They are those Gods who give me the marks as well as don't say anything! These ones are those that corrected my X and XII board papers, most of my school and coll teachers...Thank you sirs and mams...the Mech Don is indebted to you for ever!
They also include the other people who struggle to decode/decrypt my handwriting...Thanks for your concern and kindness...You are the best codebreakers and the most intelligent people on planet earth!

My take on my handwriting:
In Tamil they say - "Your handwriting is like your headwriting (something that's written on your forehead - Destiny)".
My handwriting reflects my
mindset - I am a confused person
disliking - I am lazy and don't like to write
interest and enthu level - When I like something my handwriting gets better!

My handwriting was pretty good in smaller classes when I used to get prizes in handwriting competitions (Hindi, English and Marathi)...maybe writing changes like your looks and attitude too (Earlier I was chubby, goodie-goodie and smart,my handwriting was chubby too...... now I'm lean, baddie-baddie and dumb and my handwriting is the same!)
But I don't worry coz
1. I'm in elite company..even the guy whose face gets printed on the most wanted currency notes had a bad handwriting...
2. You don't use the pen and the paper anymore...its the digital world of keyboards, pads,OCRs and touchscreens!

And I do convince my mom to award better marks to students with a bad handwriting like me...The Don likes social service (esp. to people who face the same problems as me!)

To find out if There's some correlation between handwriting and destiny keep following 'The VJ''s Blog...

Next post on my internal performance!

Manuiz and MathMagic

2009-03-07T21:45:00.000-08:00

Manuiz

Manuiz was a first timer at PSG Kriya - a Manufacturing Quiz for people from the Mechanical, Production, Industrial, Automobile and Aeronautical background conducted by the Production Department students.

For a first timer, Manuiz was superbly organised - The quantity and the quality of questions and participants are enough to prove this statement. There was a prelims round (2 per team and nearly 50 questions) where some 30-40 teams participated and then 6 teams were shortlisted for the finals.I and P were lucky to be among those 6.My classmates SR and SP were also in the last 6.

The final round was conducted by the QuizMaster NK of final yr. Production dept., PSG Tech. And there were8 people to support him..mainly second and third years as Scorers ,Timekeepers and Operators.There were 7 rounds(the fifth round eliminating two teams)
..the longest domain Quiz that I had seen..held for one and a half hours.The question setter had painstakingly chosen and presented the questions in a lovely format.The difficulty level ranged from sitters to very difficult ones...from Mechanical Reasoning to Manufacturing Process Sequencing in types...from simple MCQ no pass rounds to risky gambling/bidding rounds for multiplying or decimating your score!

In all, Manuiz was a successful event both for the organisers (and for me too!)
I hope they conduct it every year with new features and additions...

And the special part was that the QuizMaster finished the Quiz just in time so that I could attend the finals of MathMagic...more about it follows:

MathMagic

MathMagic was another first timer at PSG's Kriya..the name says it all - 'Its all about Math' - one of the most hated subjects in the world!

I was not planing to attend it. But after the Manuiz prelims, we had another half an hour for the CAE workshop to begin...wondering how to while away the time I and my friends decided to take the Audio -Visual Quiz. But one of my friends Snu was too eager to attend this MathMagic event.He fooled us and literally pulled me and another friend to this event saying he was taking us to the Audio-Visual Quiz!

And I was afraid of Math...no not since my school..I was good in Math at school till 10th std....but in 11 and 12 I changed...It was Math that prevented me from getting admitted into the famed NIT's and IIT's (not that my Physics and Chem were excellent :P )...so naturally I was afraid to enter the hall and write the prelims test!

But when somebody pulls u in front of so many people, u can't say No! I had to do what Snu wanted us to do!So, I decided to give it a try...and we wrote the prelims. We came out of the hall in 45 min(i hr. was the time given...but we were getting late for the workshop...)The questions were interesting and kept us engrossed for minutes. I would have stayed for the whole 1 hr. if I didn't have the workshop.The last question was very different(not the typical math problem) - It went like this :
What is your favourite theorem/proof? Give reason why it impressed you(for 5 marks)...I wanted to tell about Fermat but I wasn't quite sure of it...so I left it unanswered like the many other questions!

When I was having a lunch I received a call saying I was selected for the finals of MathMagic..since I was outside it wasn't quite audible and I had to call back and msg. the organisers for the timings and place!The timing clashed with my Manuiz finals..so I called them back to ask for a special late entry ! and I was permitted.

The Manuiz stretched upto 95 min. and I thought that MathMagic would have got over by that time(great escape I thought!)...but just as the Manuiz got over I received a call from a MathMagic organiser teling me to be there within 10 min...I was the last finalist to go on stage!As soon I reached the place, I was greeted by a guy and he asked if VA was my name(When somebody disturbs you by calling you and messaging you for umpteen no. of times...you'll defintely remember that name! But these guys/gals were cool and patient...)

I get onto the stage

I was asked to introduce myself. Name, college, year, department and then I said "Honestly! I am bad at maths and don't have much knowledge about it too! It was my friend who made me come here and I consider myself lucky to get selected for this round...so please be kind to me!"

The examiners/judges

The faculty(they were the judges and the examiners too) were definitely kind to me...there was a mam who kept on encouraging me and kept on giving clues for every question that I was unable to answer(She made me answer them, instead of telling them herself!)...and there was a sir who made me reason for every answer(I was never made to give up...they kept on guiding me and even provided algorithms so that I could get to the answers easily!)

The Questions

The questions ranged from sitters (those were for me because of my special requisition!) to extraordinary ones...from finding the units digit of exponential terms to identifying dirac delta or impulsive functions(The question for this was - what is the function that describes the pain when you get hit by somebody?... Cool na!) to whether mutually exclusive events can be independent? ...to operators that can be used to obtain shadows ( Convolution was the answer...I made the grave mistake of not listening to my Control Systems teacher ..she was teaching about this topic a day ago!)

I fail to answer a sitter :(

There was a question on Permutation and Combination which I failed to answer..I blanked out..reasons:
1.P kept on calling me when I was onstage(he called because the Kriya policy says that both the team members must be present while receiving the prize money..so he needed me urgently).When a mass weighing one pound vibrates and jumps in your jean pockets, you cannot concentrate!
2.There were too many gals in front of me in the hall...and being a Mechie student I was without them for 2 3/4 yrs. in my class..so there was this fear of standing in front of gals and getting humiliated :) !
3.I didn't remember anything about P&C...so I had to think and solve it on the spot...

MathMagic rocks!

MathMagic is an innovative event that makes mathematics look more glamorous, funny and interesting!It made me browse about Maths on wiki the whole day and turned me into a Math Addict...
Keep continuing the good work PSGians! Hope you succeed in your mission of creating more Mathaholics!

PSG Tech - 'To and Fro'!

2009-03-07T21:11:00.000-08:00

The cause

Almost half my class had left for that on Thursday night.A few had left for IIT's Mechanica'09.Some of us stayed back..coz we weren't the Aaruva Kolars(Eagerness Defectives)...n we hadn't prepared for any event like the others...we didn't make a water rocket, a glider and our contraption was in a dilapidated condition.I hadn't attended a single Tech Fest (except the online events) outside my college and this was something I was ashamed of.After consulting our seniors, a few of us had finally decided to visit PSG Tech and participate in their International Technical Festival Kriya'09...our target was a workshop - no prep needed..just go there, pay up, sit and listen, get a certificate and come back!

The 'To' part :

We set out at 2:00 a.m.(we brushed and bathed at 1.30 a.m. in the morning...our earliest morning!) from the hostel so that we could reach PSG by 8.00 a.m.As usual I was the last one to get ready and my friends (there were 5 of them - SRaj(SR),Araj(A),BondaKoli(B) and Pakki(P)..SunaPana(SP) being a day scholar came directly to Aarapalayam) had to wait another 15 min. for me. The ASO of the hostel and security inquire the reason for getting out at this odd hour and then let us out.Two policemen on a bike also questioned us (well...I look like a Don!) and advised us to take care of ourselves after they came to know that we were college students.

In the bus, I was sandwiched between P and B...poor P! I thought...I had a habit of falling over the person sitting next to me when asleep and B's snoring was intolerable(It could be heard 10 rooms away in my hostel!)...but it happened the reverse way that day...B was quiet and it was P who kept on falling over me!
For an hour we teased and talked about the topic that most guys in a coll are interested in talking about (You Know That! - The Gals) and we fell asleep...

When we woke up we were in the land of the Cherans...from Singanallur we boarded a bus to Peelamedu ..got down at PSG Tech...some of what happened in PSg in my next post...

The 'Fro' part

The delay in getting our certificates made my friends wait for 3 more hours(from 5 to 8 in the evening they waited so that I and P could get our certificates and return back with them...so I was the reason for their getting late again!)...We reached Singanallur bus station by 8.30...they waited again so that P,B and I could dine (the others had already finished that in PSG)..finally climbed onto that bus to MDU and then we don't remember anything...woke up at 2:30 and found ourselves at Aarapalayam and reached hostel back by 3.15...The End!

The Mech Don turns into a Net Mechanic

2009-03-06T06:51:00.000-08:00

Well..I assume you might be knowing the Mech Don if you've been following my blog...That's none other than me!

I recently ventured into this job of a net mechanic...if you've been wondering what this is about, let me explain -

One of my friends had asked me for an Orkut proxy (coz our coll server blocks it..curse the Comp Sci & IT dept. guys/gals 4 that!) that would work and I suggested good old power.com - the all in one site...but it seems my friend had already tried it and the login was blocked by the server! Another of my friends from the same small remote town named Villupuram had the same problem ( Coming from a big city in Tamil Nadu named Karaikudi I always had some sympathy for those people from small towns like Villupuram )...so I decided to help them out...It always feels so nice to lead someone to waste his/her time on such activities ( why should only you waste your time on orkut, let everyone do it...nice policy of mine na? ).

So I set out to find some proxy sites for them...But I knew that this would be futile( but definitely profitable for Larry, Sergey, Eric & Co.!) since both these friends of mine were the most active users of orkut(One had 21 friends and the other jus 2 in the friend list..i had coerced him to join)...besides there was this goal of wasting their time too...

I wasted 4 hours on this(I had postponed my book touching ceremony for the second internals for this useless work ... my friends know me as the Lazy Fellow, always finding excuses to avoid work and study...I hadn't touched my books since the first internals)... and found out two very slow proxies that worked(almost useless!), but I awarded this Net Mechanic title to myself after I found out how these innocent souls could allow themselves to get spoiled through orkut using power.com itself...

I had to rob my friend of his privacy...I made him disclose his username and password so that I could use it to identify the problem...he didn't mind as long as I didn't trouble him asking him to enter the username-password everytime and I started the mechanic's analysis...(I have always been awestruck by the speed with which bike and car mechanics could spot the problems and then make a plan to burn a hole in your pocket...my dad's ill - maintained scooter n car were enough to teach me about them!)

I could not find any reason or cause as to why it didn't work for them but worked for me...so I set out searching for those useless proxies...& finally when I discovered that I had wasted hours on it I decided to focus my attention on power.com itself...I first logged in using my account and then observed carefully...then I used my friend's account and observed what happened...the only difference I could notice was the ID on the address bar which I thought made all the difference between my login occurring and their's failing...so I copied the address that was displayed after my login and pasted it on the address bar after logging in with my friend's account...and bang went out that window declaring 'Restricted Website' and lo! my friend's power.com page was on the monitor...

So this was the Eureka moment for this self-acclaimed one-time Net Mechanic (Mech Don in reality!)...this might sound like a small child's accidental trial and error method discovery for all those professionals out there..but for a networks illiterate mechie it was a moment of joy...and if you know why this happened please post a comment explaining me the reason for this in a short para...I had wasted so much time on finding proxies while I could have thought of this idea earlier...

And to T and RJ...those two not-so-Orkut-crazy friends of mine whom I wished to get spoiled, go my Special Thanks...for making me a Net Mechanic!

The guys get stunned by her!

2009-02-22T01:16:00.000-08:00

She was new.We had never seen her before.And yes, she was glamorous!

In our department's thermal engineering lab, there was a new entrant...not an ordinary one...she was the cynosure of all the guys' eyes in our male dominated department(actually there's no female in our batch...so my classmates were the first one to see and ogle at her!).She stood boldly in front of a brand new lenovo desktop.Clothed in black(with some extra gloss!), she was very attractive, though she did not look very stylish.But still she was new...we hadn't seen this in our department before...so we stood staring.We did not need an ID card to know her name.That was tattooed on her.We inquired our professor about her.

This is what we came to know about her...She had been b(r)ought to teach us mechanical engineering students about vehicle dynamics.She stood on a chassis dynamometer and the lenovo in front of her was used for data acquisition.Wires went from various parts of her body to the computer...a complete setup to experiment on two wheelers' power and dynamics.She wasn't the only vehicle in our lab though...we have an older Ford too(but that's about 30 yrs. old!).She was Hero Honda's CD Dawn-100.Not the most stylish of bikes, but still good enough to look at(she was brand new!)in an old lab with noisy and greasy engines(which we mechies really love!)...!

When I don't understand...

2009-02-15T08:10:00.000-08:00

You are as hungry as a bear and before you sits a burger,
But tied are your hands and taped are your lips,
You prepare madly for the IIT-JEE and make it to the IITs,
But the government suspects foul play and orders a re-examination,

How would you feel?.......You would feel the way I feel,
When I don't understand something, when something is not clear,
The agony, the pain, the frustration, the confusion, the anger,
That's what I get when I don't understand something,

The head starts aching, the muscles contracting,
the wrinkles appearing, the smiles disappearing,
The reason for that becomes an object of hate,
and unless I begin to understand, it doesn't abate,

That's how its been all these days, be it studies or movies,
understand when I don't, I feel uncomfortable,
to understand I'll be able, but only if I brood over it,
so just help me understand, or at least let me understand...

I Ain't Spiritual!

2009-02-10T09:41:00.000-08:00

"I am not spiritual." - A statement blatantly made by a person who is a believer.
Call it whatever you want - blasphemy or heresy, but I don't get impressed by spirituality...I don't understand it...the eternally confused person that I am, I'm sure I'll never understand.And where arises the need to understand spirituality?

I'm comfortable and satisfied with what I am - a religious guy...I'm a devout Hindu...I love Hinduism...and before you accuse me of parochialism or label me as a right winged extremist..let me tell you that I'm not against other religions...In fact I love religions - Christianity for its serenity (and for Santa Claus!), Islam for some of its principles, Sikhism for its leaders(the Granth Sahibs),Buddhism, Jainism,Taoism,Confucianism,and even Pagan religions(thanks to Dan Brown for throwing some light on the worshiping of a female power)......

On why I'm Religious

Talking about my religion, I love it...The gods and the goddesses (they have become an integral part of my life - each God being called by me every minute for some silly want of mine!), the mantras and chants(they are pleasant to hear)..the rites and rituals( havan or yagna, the splashing of holy water with leaf-spoons! )...the devotional songs(from Om Jai Jagdish Hare to the popular South Indian devotional songs...I rarely listen to them, but I like them when they are played early in the morning or in the evening in Temples)..................and ofcourse I also fear some of the practices(I used to shudder at the thought of somebody in a state of trance near me...I was too afraid to go near those people when I was small - at the temple festivals in my hometown during summer hols.Even now I fear them.I don't go close to them for fear of getting killed by strangling or with a spear or trishul....lol) and am also amazed by the devotion of those people who walk on fire, pierce spears everywhere through their body....the colourful heavy kavadis...the celibacy and fast observed by those who wear Maalai(a sacred garland worn around the neck as a mark of purity ).......

I luv the epics(one of the best literary works, I believe), the Essence of the Gita(best thing to read when you get depressed),and the Vedas,Upanishads, puranas (this is too much..Honestly, I've never read them!....they Sound good na!)The worshiping of nature...trees, animals, sun, mon, planets and wind,rain, river, sea....

My religion (and any religion to its follower) energizes me, encourages me and teaches me to live...its a sort of cultural link with all those ancestors of mine...and also a form of connecting with my Creator...whereas spirituality is not...

On why I'm not Spiritual

Spirituality is abstract, vague and confusing...Its too complex and when I hear of all that people speak or write on it, I get a feeling of hollowness, a sense of nihilism, and all the energy gets drained out of me..so that is why I don't like to get involved in it...I don't understand the concept of cycle of life and death...abt Moksha n all that stuff!...And I get a strange feeling that all these spiritual leaders are quacks and charlatans(sorry,if I've hurt anyone's sentiment..but thats what I feel like)... How can a mortal, who looks like any other human being, have special powers and... how could he be so great that he or she could be worshiped as the omnipotent Almighty?

To conclude

Spirituality makes me feel insecure,confused and small while religion makes me feel confident, peaceful and Big!
Religion is for the layman like me, while Spirituality is for the saamiyars,saadhus,saadhvis and their like!

I'm worldly and materialistic !

So, I'm in favour of the colourful, lively and vibrant religions.....the more diverse, the merrier!

A Mechanical ostentation!

2009-01-31T03:19:00.000-08:00

De Grisogono Meccanico dG

Contrary to its appearance, the Meccanico dG has no digital components. Below the more conventional analog portion of the two-timezone watch is a numerical display driven by the intricate interplay of 651 strictly mechanical components. Numbers are formed by the motion of 23 cams, which are connected to gears and a synchronization system.

To prove it, the watch's back features a transparent dial plate that affords close scrutiny of the timepiece's inner workings. Billed as the world's most complicated watch, its creation marks the 50th birthday of the Geneva-based company De Grisogono.

The Meccanico dG comes in four styles (red gold, titanium-and-gold, titanium-and-platinum and titanium-and-rubber) and is waterproof to 100 feet. It won't be easy to claim one of the mere 177 produced.

Price Tag : A mere Rs.1,10,00,000 only . Tough choice .I'd reckon ... go for the Aston Martin!

My love ...I Miss You ...

2009-01-30T08:56:00.000-08:00

You are my love n you are my desire,
Your charming face - ever as radiant as fire,
What I am today is but a part of you, know many and not a few,
What you are forever is but - 'a Diamond in the middle of the blue',

Earlier I thought you sounded like explosions,
and so do people now, even across the oceans,
Its now that we relate you to a goddess,
Known to everyone, for your financial prowess,

You are the prowess that can lend your shoulder to the poorest,
and then make him known to the world as one of the richest,
You stand for love and care, happiness and welfare, driving away despair,
Thinking about my life without you would be honestly be a nightmare,

Yes, you are the city of my dreams, the city that radiates friendly beams,
You are the city that never sleeps, the city that never weeps,
The Gateway, the commercial capital,the spirit - of a nation of billions ,
The city that's the love and desire of the hearts of sixteen-millions,

My love, you are the city that raised me up.......I miss you!
You were, and still remain, a treasure to me... Will you?
Yes ..... forever!
'Bombay meri jaan......Salaam Bombay!'

My first attempt at writing a poem in my blog...and I wanted to write about the city that I miss everyday...a city in which I was brought up!

Born in a small town named Karaikudi in TN,I had to spend the first two years of my life in Agartala - the capital of Tripura, one of the seven sisters in India's North-East.I don't remember much of Agartala city, but I do remember hearing some sweet words belonging to one of the sweetest languages I've heard off, Bengali . That's all about Agartala.....moving on to Bombay( haan doston - ' aamchi Mumbai ! ').....when I was jus two I was pushed into a nursery school where I could babble only in my mother tongue (..and that too which only my mom could understand....). It took a couple of years more for me to pick up both my mother tongue and our national language to express myself. I could learn the regional language Marathi only in my secondary ...where I chose Marathi over Sanskrit(for my luv of the people n the culture there!)

This post is exclusively for all that I n my friends (who left aamchi Mumbai and Navi Mumbai) miss.......the ONGC Colony, the KV-ONGC school, the J.H.Ambani School, the Bombay-Pune NH-4 and the Expressway with its greenary and the Ghats, the Sion-Panvel Highway, the Palm-Beach Road, the Vashi Bridge,... every node(CIDCO's CBD Belapur, Panvel, Nerul, Khargahar, Vashi, Sanpada...)and railway station(the Juinagar one being filmed in the movie 'Rhythm' ) in Navi Mumbai, ......the CST/VT Station, the Gateway, the Taj, Marine Drive, Nariman Point, the Juhu,the Chowpatty, Nehru Planetorium , the Science Centre, the SG National Park, the gardens of IIT Powaii,.......the airports at Santacruz/Sahar, the South Indian Temples in Nerul and Chembur, and .....the Suburban trains ( that sound of '.....la jaanari dheemi/tej local .....ahe' in the announcements are still earworms ), the Bhel Puris, the Vada Pavs, the Pav Bhajis, the innumerable tasty food serving hotels, .........and many more ...the list'll never end.

Special mentions : The luv, affection, industriousness, courage, resilience(who cam forget those horrible deluges, blasts and attacks..) of Mumbaikars and the inimitable speed and style with which they carry themselves...

I miss the city that pays almost half of the Nation's taxes, the city of the rich, the wealthy, the poor and the poorest. A city where slum and skyscraper stay side-by-side...the city of Bollywood...the city of technology( we wont forget the BARC n IIT)...the busiest Airport in South Asia, Seaport in India, a city that has railway belonging to two divisions(Central n Western)...the Dalal Street...

The city never stops growing...from Bombay to Mumbai, from a metro to a megacity(probably the most complex urban machinery in existence), Greater Mumbai is surrounded by many other cities(about 4 Municipal Corporations).....and ...My heartiest wishes to the upcoming Mega Landmark of modern Mumbai - The Bandra-Worli Sealink..................I jus miss you, Mumbai!

If I ever get a chance to relocate...I'll come back to you!

Here is an unknown ex-Mumbaikar saluting the spirit of Mumbai...
Salaam Bombay!

Quest 2009 - Part 3

2009-01-30T08:06:00.000-08:00

At 7:45 in the morning, I entered the main block.Seeing me clothed in a denim SJ was surprised."Hey! You not going on stage today..?"I had to tell him that my work was in the evening n by that time I would be clothed in that formal form of dressing in which he was too eager to se me in.B was racing up n down the corridor ordering the juniors to do his work......The guests arrived ...of course, in Indian Standard Time....thankfully for B (who wasn't ready).
He n K were quite good(...My Tamil's good enough to judge somebody's speech...)our friends J n SJ n the others also spoke well...
With a lot of work remaining for the evening , my noon n afternoon time was spent on work, work and some more work... with some more work n lots of tension (n fun too) my part was over...the evening fn. went off well.....the only problem being that there seemed to be more people on the stage than in front of it !(as the program reached the end).

With Quest'09 being officially over, the Big-D congratulated everybody..shook hands with everyone who was in his vicinity...n then there was the photo session..the bashing session...when the office bearers were given their dues..the much feared beatings n blows...the staff didnt seem to mind all the shor n hullah...The next day went off with me n B writing n typing the report 4 the newspapers...n the two General Secretaries sending thank you smses...

Quest 2009 had come to an end!

Quest 2009 - Part2

2009-01-29T06:29:00.000-08:00

Pride n Prejudice

contd. from Part 1 - I n B were to meet K n T that day for finalizing our roles and the work. T was B's classmate in the first sem.He introduced me to her, but not b4 informing me that she was headweighted n also hinted that she might not do the work (!)...K n T agreed to the plans n we set out 4 work.T agreed to do the entire work 4 me, giving me only the editing part. I was too happy to be relieved of my work. She was to mail the entire script to me by night.
I waited..waited.......... and ...........the clock struck 12 n I cursed the Hell...not bcoz she didn't send the mail, but bcoz B had been right again!
B was jubiliant that his predictions were right.

Next morning - K had finished her part n sent it to mam for editing while B also completed his part.Then - we met T . She apologized profusely for not having done her part n agreed to do it immediately. We three sat down, exchanged ideas and neared the completion of our work. To our surprise, T talked in a manner that did not show any of those symptoms of headweightedness(...that's not the right word...can u guess the right one?...). She also agreed to write down a neat fair draft while I and B chatted.The bonus was that she also agreed to type it and bring it after the lunch... Relieved of work we were happy...

Then, she somehow happened to talk about her seniors and mentioned A's name(I'm sorry A, but then this was a shocker!), my cousin sister whom I always thought to be a studious,talkative and kind person ...but... not in anyway involved in bullying.From T, I learnt that kind she was n did help out her juniors in everything ranging from personal life to projects, but not before she ragged her juniors!.......And that her gang was the most feared in the hostel for bullying and ragging when she was a senior.Thankfully ! T wasn't ragged much by A.

We then exchanged opinions about ourselves that were prevalent among our batch students.Some good samaritan had told T that I n B were studious guys...I was overjoyed to hear such a pleasant (and an utterly false statement) about being made in my peer circle.In turn B told T that she was thought of as a headweighted(thought of the right word?.....) personality (Surprisingly,B's remark did not get any expressions on her face).She agreed with that statement(but expressions exploded out of mine n B's face...Oh!come on! who'll agree that he/she's a headweighted person) and told that she had heard the same comment from others too n that she didnt mind it bcoz that was false n also bcos it gave her a chance to distance herself from others.

Soon after the lunch B received a call from T saying that she got infected with chicken pox n that she had to leave immediately. We had to immediately find a replacement for her and inform it to the staff.But T sent the typed doc file through her friend and also made arrangements for her replacements. ..We felt sorry 4 her...(Since I was a child, I had always felt sorry 4 everything ranging from iCards to iPods to iPhones to iMacs(u r right,they weren't there when I was born...but still!) to iBelts to iSocks n iShoes! n iTies n iCoats, but never had I felt sorry for something called 'prejudice')
(If T's reading this, I guess she would have spotted the pun!)

This was a big lesson for me (n for B too!). I learnt - Never judge anyone b4 u know them well...sometimes,Prejudice has to be shown the door!...If T could be so good n A could have been a bully!(Hey!A - I'm jus kiddin...lol..funny to find that ur 'adakamaanna' elder sis is a bully from a new friend)...a good lesson indeed!

The evening went off quickly with the typing and taking printouts of the Agenda,MC copy, the vote of thanks, the overview,the intros to the chief guest and all others that we had to prepare for the office bearers and then asking for approval from the staff...editing...retyping ...reprinting...an umpteen no. of times. The purchase and stage arrangements had also to be taken care of.Plus some more of MC and writing work remained.After twelve the computing centre closed n I went to KV's room(another good friend of mine)and used his lappie n his English too(he's good at that).Finally I went to bed at 3.30 a.m.

I was woken up by B at 5...I shooed him away n woke up at 6.30...reached the Main Building by 7.45 am.......(To be continued in part 3)

PS: I wish to avoid those annoying braces when I write...but I luv those indispensable braces (),{},[] that tell u something extra!

Quest 2009 - Part 1

2009-01-25T03:51:00.000-08:00

Yes, the 'Quest 2009' an interschool cultural festival organized by the third years of our college has come to an end.Successfully? That will be known a couple of days later when the faculty members comment about it.

My experience in the making of 'Quest 2009'

The journey began 6 weeks ago in the middle of December 2008 when the office bearers were nominated. I, ever eager to go on a vacation did not wish to be in one of those top posts...because they had to stay back for the entire vacation and work for it.I had other plans...the IIM Bangalore visit, the Hyderabad sightseeing and shopping trip, a Pongal at my grandparents place and some days with my family.

I got inducted into the Quest workforce only after coming back from the hols. On my friend B's (I wish to keep my friends anon lest they feel offended...)suggestions and invitation I was put into the Stage Management Committee along with him. With just 2 members in our team we were left to scout for a few more members for our team.To maintain the equilibrium the other two members had to be from the Fairer side(as if we men r unfair!). We had to meet the Staff Incharge for our committee Mrs.T ,who was a teacher I knew from my first semester.She woz one of my favourites (especially because she was the first person in my college to have praised me!).So there was no problem.We met her and she described about all the work that we had to do.In the meantime the girls suggested two names from their side - Thalaivi(thats the nickname I n B gave to her some time later after meeting her!)whom I'll refer to as T ,and K.

Mr.Raja of Tamil Pattimanram and Rajini's Sivaji's 'vanga pazhagalam' fame had been invited as the chief guest for morning function.So the mc-ing had to be in Tamil...I cursed my self ...My Tamil reading was poor,writing horrible and speech in Sutta (pure) Tamil was a Distant Dream (that too in front of a famous Tamil Speaker).That woz because I didn't have any formal training or education in Tamil.Though I used to speak in Tamil at home, I just picked up writing and reading from the names that rolled up on TV screens or on the shop boards in town or Bus Route Boards.And the kind of Tamil that you can expect from such learning will be "...extremely ..g.o.o.d.." !I decided that maybe the only work I'd be left with was spreading table clothes and placing water bottles ...(imagine me sitting in front of a HR Manager n telling him that This was my contribution 4 an event organized by we students...he'd be impressed,won't he be ?)

But luckily 4 me- I was told that the chief guest for the evening was Mrs.U, our mamcorres.Regaining the opportunity for a decent work of mc-ing was satisfactory...but not before I asked B to leave that to me, while he could take up the Tamil MCing...Being one of those guys who knew about my extraordinary proficiency in Tamil, B had to agree. K was the suggestion for Tamil mc-ing from the girls side n T (the next post's exclusively on her,B n my cousin sister)for English... to be contd. in Part2

I'm Back!

2009-01-21T10:18:00.000-08:00

Just as Thalai (Ultimate Star Ajit Kumar) says - I'm back!

Back after the longest holiday in my college life(a 40 day holiday was unheard of b4 this vacation..i was used to 1 week or 2 week holidays), from the Central Computing Center of my coll I relaunch my new found hobby of blogging.Though I call it a personal blog I don't want it to be one.The deepest secrets are safe as thoughts in my god gifted biological memory rather than as blogs...which I myself wish to promote.Come on! nobody would luv to publicly disclose his/her inner thoughts.Why would I?
...back to my confused state of mind which confuses others much more than the self inflicted confusion that confuses me.

Back to work 4 Quest - the inter school culturals...back to work 4 Tech Utsav, the inter-collegiate tech fest...back 4 the internals... the externals ...the placements...the BEC Club...the Cultural Club...the untidy rooms of the Menz Hostel...the Mess(didn't quite Miss this one in the hols!)...the Canteen...the Night Canteen(yes I'm a foodie who doesn't look like one!)...and to enjoy the three more semesters that remain of my undergrad college life.

and yes definitely back to 'Owling'...sleeping in the classes in the day(though I don't blame my teachers 4 that(i've got a few extremely good ones whom i can't resist waking up and listening to..they r addictive(i'm serious...there r some like that too!))) and waking up all night!

I'll end this one too with my standard phrase lifted from Darwin-"Its the survival of the fittest!" This one is for a nice movie titled "Evolution" that I watched during my hols...I luved it!

Die deutsche Technik vs. 日本工学

2008-12-15T00:44:00.000-08:00

The Question that is on every engineering maniac's lips!-

German Engineering or Japanese Engineering!

Lets get set 4 the big debate -

Is German Engineering the best in the world..."Yes!"-say those who believe that German Engineering is a brand name.U think of the Engineerig Giants like Robert Bosch,Volkswagen,BMW,..n agree.Just then the Japs come n remind u of Honda,Toyota,Sony...n u r stuck in a dilemma...Whom do I support?

Well,the Japs r sharp industrious people n their products r extremely reliable...their manufacturing is the best in the world(in terms of quality,management n precision..remember that they r knoen for their Robots,electronics,Toyota Production system n all)...they complete their entire designed lifecycle sans problems...The Germans on the other hand r the best in the world for mechanical/chemical/process engineering n their cars r more powerful n fun to drive...their machinery are the most purchased in the world...though now challenged by the electronic prowess of the Japs

Now, to conclude go Japs 4 reliability n German 4 functionality.....for Design n Styling u have the Italians...don't forget the Swedish 4 product development...China 4 cost...Russia 4 technology...America 4 Brand(though this is no more valid)...

Commented about the world...Now what do I say about my Sweet India? Please do not say "India for Software n BPO"...Don't u feel we must excel in Design & Manufacturing (Core Engineering)to be the complete engineering nation!
We have a long way to go...we have the largest engineering workforce...Can we do it?
Wake up Indian Engineers(stop selling ur brains to America n Germany, they have enough intellectuals there!).....We need to compete..."Its the survival of the fittest!"

The Placement Training Begins

2008-12-03T09:57:00.000-08:00

With the results of fifth semester being declared and the sixth semester classes already in progress,my seniors decided to formally start the placement training classes today.Though there were a few training sessions in the previous semester too, that was not officially considered as placement training.

The seniors had asked us to prepare our resumes.I struggled with the resume for a few hours thinking what to include and what not to include.I then took one of my favorite seniors (named 'Sudarshan'-who was very popular in my coll )resume and modified it to include my details...Of course, I had to write my own Professional Objective and marks.I wished I could use his marks and achievements, but that would be cheating.

I was at a loss for to mention my achievements, coz I didn't accomplish any.Sudarshan's resume' only made me feel my resume' was lacklustre.I'll have to buck up b4 its too late!

In the GD session too, I was not very successful, being called 'Dominating' by my seniors.
Honestly, to dominate wasn't my intention.In fact I was the last person in my Group to start speaking...then came the other criticism that my hands shake when I talk...Well that happens every time I talk publicly even when I'm not nervous..some problem that needs to be taken care of..there were many more to follow...only thing is that I let them pass through the other ear!

Criticisms galore, the struggle for survival goes on!Change or loose seems to be the dictum!
As Darwin said"Its the survival of the fittest"!

VJ"AVA"

Finally, The Results Are Out!

2008-12-01T06:57:00.000-08:00

As planned by me, I got up quite early today and went to seek the blessings of the elephant headed God.We were expecting that the results would be released before the end of lunch either in the 10:45 or the 12:50 break.But the examination dept. had different plans.

After the lunch somebody told that the results will be out at 4:00 in the evening.

All of a sudden, there was a huge crowd outside the Mechanical Engg. Dept. office. Some people had already seen their results on the Net.Students started crowding at the college's central computing centre,even dept. lab PCs were used for viewing the results.With all these places already overcrowded, I and some of my classmates decided to wait for the office clerk to post the results on the notice board.The clerk came along with a lab attender holding the much feared results in his hands after 15 min.I could hear my heart pounding.I just wanted to pass.I wanted to see the words PASS and not FAIL in front of my reg. no.

But those words evaded me for a minutes which seemed like hours(how right Einstein was in his explanation of the theory of relativity!)First the second yr. results were posted, then came the Third yr. results..Reg. No. 01,02,....23,24,...56,..78,79,....
Then the sheet which had my no. was hidden by the many faces belonging to those anxious souls standing before me.I had to wait.Then when I managed to get in front..I could see 85,86,..89,90,..then 91.

What I experienced in the next few seconds was agony...The GPA as well as the PASS/FAIL comment was hidden by the brass handle of the notice board glass.I had to push through to the first row to peep into the place that had my career plans written on it...and then finally it was there..those very words that I longed to see-PASS!I wanted to jump...

I had to do more of this peeping to view my GPA ...a decent eight point seven one.Then I started seeing my marks in each subject..my friends' marks...the toppers' marks(nine point two nine)...returned to hostel shared this happy news of PASSING with my friends...heard the marks of other dept. guys..there were 2 ten pointers in ECE...more than 25 getting above nine..similar was the case in other depts. too..nine point nines and eights....

But I wasn't bothered.thanked Ganesha profusely.All I wanted was to pass...Maybe I can improve my CGPA in the remaining semesters.Till then have lots of fun..after all what is college life for!

Keying In My First Blog

2008-11-28T09:37:00.000-08:00

Hey God! Here is a 19 yr. old kid new to blogging!

Here I begin my not-so-personal personal blog.

The Results that were to be released Today!

Expecting my fifth semester results today,I made no mistake and lost no time in getting up early and going to the Ganesh temple in my hostel.Praying to the elephant-headed God is one of my favrut activities which I don't fail to do if I'm in the hostel.
But today,I prayed with more seriousness fearing the results.I was especially worried about passing in the Total Quality Management paper(most probably corrected very strictly) and the Kinematics of Mechanisms paper(which I had messed up "very carefully"!).

An arrear at this time was the most dreaded thing I could imagine at this time of Global Economic Slowdown.Campus placements were bound to be affected(the principal mentioned it yesterday and told us to opt for higher studies).I hadn't failed in any of the papers yet and if I failed this time it would have shaken me.I wasn't so bad in studies as to fail an exam, but this time I had clearly messed up my exams with late night preps and silly mistakes in the answers.

After finishing off the bonda and upma in the mess, I headed straight for my Control Systems Class.One hour over.Hour two was Environmental studies.A short 15 min. break and a possibility of the results being out now.Or maybe at lunch time.

The Deputy Conroller of Examinations who handles a class for my neighbouring class announced results will be declared on Monday.Tension eases on several faces.My friends Satti,Bonda,BooBoo and co. all pack up their bags and leave for home happily. Had the results been announced today, they might have preferred to stay here.

But the results will definitely come out on Monday.The Grade Points of which I was usually concerned about have now taken a back seat.I simply want to pass in all the subjects.

Help me Ganesha!I'll be there on Monday morning too!

VJ"AVA"