Did I say I was Busy???

Blogging after a fairly long hiatus. With a heavily loaded week just over, I can see a packed week staring ahead at me. Been quite busy over the last week. So let me recapitulate the hectic week spent.

• Well, Dear Nag has started blogging -- Click here for his amateur blog. As I commented on your first post -- "Way to go dear!!! For someone who did his entire schooling in Telugu medium, you write quite well and the desire in you deserves Kudos and special mention."
• Started a new blog -- FabVocab -- one word to learn each day in a sincere attempt to reach the upper echelons of you know what!!!
• Almost Forgot! The Thermodynamics Mid-Sem marks were out during the week. Got exactly what I expected -- did not deserve even a wee bit more for the effort I put in. Not exactly satisfied though.
• Rampage got a tad bit upset with the mockery 'we' -- Dave, Shaggy, Nag and others and me -- made out of his "uh!! Huh!! Hun!!" frequent mentions in his posts. Sorry if you were really hurt but then you must learn to take it with a pinch of salt. Secret : He even deleted a few Huh's from his earlier posts and reposted the edited ones, I believe, though he vehemently denies doing so. (Don't ever tell ramp. Or else He is gonna kick my ass)
• The Thermodynamics Class Test was due this Thursday and I was game for it without even touching the books, without the slightest fear that 20 marks out of 100 hinged on the outcome of this test. Impudent, Impertinent, Shameless!!!!!! Call me whatever you like. Maybe I deserve much worse "gaalis". How the hell on earth did I become so negligent and nonchalant about marks? Don't need to mention how the test went. It's anybody's guess.
  
• Yo RK!!! 2 Basketball League matches played. One with Patel. The Other with VGSoM. Won both comfortably even though the scoreline was in favour of our opponents by the end of the first quarter each time. Everytime the team was in a trench, a combination of Common Sense, Rathee and Chochu Prevailed and pulled us out of the rut. Me, as usual, was on the sidelines without being substituted -- No rude jolt this. I was mentally prepared for that. So all this prompted to me being tagged the "WaterBoy", "The CheerLeader" and my being the butt of ridicule of many a joke. Life's a great leveller and I will do get my chances. (Or did they get theirs???)
  
• Thursday was Ugadi -- New Year on the Telugu Calendar(Gosh!! When will I understand this calendar???). The Telugu Association of IIT Kgp, organised a get together and a Supper -- So you now know what exactly was on my mind!!! Gorged on the lovely south Indian cuisine -- a rarity in this part of the country. Devoured up to my fill. Must mention the lovely Tomato curry and the sweet -- reminded me of Home in all respects.
• Finally I managed to get the Consent Letter for pursuing Summer Training In Vishakapatnam Steel Plant. Now the remaining work is to fix up the dates -- Ideally I would like it to be a 3 week training. Only after the dates for this have been fixed, can I go about working on the training at Volvo, Bangalore.
  
• Been quite long since my last Telugu movie on my comp. DVD Rip's of Athadu and Ghajini shared on the LAN this week. Saw Ghajini earlier. Hence watched Athadu. Was a Great Entertainer. Was a good movie inspite of the few flaws. Especially liked the character Trisha potrayed -- that ziddi, pompous village belle. Might watch it once again in the near future.
  
• Today had SUPER SPECIAL DINNER. It was the Treat that the Final Years were giving us --Their Beloved Juniors -- for all their wonderful achievements. The Music playing in the background as well as The Music System were awful as was the selection of songs. Huge array of dishes to please the palate. But the cooking was awful. Mutton Tikka -- Yuck, Tasted like Saw Dust. Mutton Curry was not wholly cooked. You could get that odd raw smell. Rice and Veg curries were so-so. Desserts-- Rabdi, Gulab Jamun, Jalebi and ICE CREAMS -- were the best part though.
  
• Waited impatiently for 'something', irritated someone a lot for that specific 'something' and it's yet to fall in my hands.
• And something I got to know just a few hours back. Grandpa is admitted in the hospital in Vizag. Nothing Serious is what Mom had to say, Just old age and cardiac Problems. He's been put under Observation for a few days. Suddenly there is gloominess all around, The heart grows heavy, Miss you all a lot. Love you Grandpa, Do get well soon. Feels Bad that I can't be there with you atleast in such situations. Looking forward to coming home at the earliest and seeing you in full health. Awaiting that cherished sweet talk with you in the balcony.

Languishing here without knowing what to do during the weekend. Another Busy week ahead as I said. 2 Baski matches the next 2 days. Need to complete a C program -- Mechanisms n Machines Submission most probably next week. Mine Surveying Chart to be made. Probability Class Test on Friday. So what do I do next???
Time is the best healer, they say. So lemme watch a movie now. Time will take care of the rest.

Hurt........................

Yeah..... Seriously Hurt!!!!!! Don't ever ask me why??? Many incidents to quote...!!!

Some Good words backfired.............

Someone I deeply respect made an unwanted, inexpedient statement..........

Some trust I placed in another was compeletly misplaced...........

Some really good, straight forward work went unnoticed and unappreciated........

Was Hurt as a result of Lack of Faith in me...........

Different Situations... Different Feelings.... The HURT stays.. rather hurts a lot.... Life's looking like its in the doldrums, full of disillusionment.......... Who is going to exonerate me??? When will life return back to normal???

Oh! Lord.... Please spare me this torture... get me out of this pain, this anguish, this wretchedness.....!!! All I can do is hope this is a Delusion. Or is it my fallacy???

Time I stop complaining and time to get back to some serious work!!! Maybe by the time I make my next post, I will be back to normal...............

The Jinxed post -- But a Gr8 Song neways

One more great song, Just wanted to share these beautiful lyrics of Michael Jackson’s Heal The World. One of MJ’s lesser known songs. Actually MJ also setup the Heal the World Foundation for the aid of children all around the world, especially Africa. Dunno what has happened to the foundation. Even the website doesn’t exist anymore. Anyways, here are the lyrics.

HEAL THE WORLD
Written and composed by Michael Jackson













(Think about, um, the generations, and that we want to make it a better place for our children and our children's children so that they know it's a better world for them. I think they can make it a better place.)

There's a place in your heart
And I know that it is love
And this place could be much brighter than tomorrow
And if you really try
You'll find there's no need to cry
In this place
You'll feel there's no hurt or sorrow

There are ways to get there
If you care enough for the living
Make a little space
Make a better place

Heal the world
Make it a better place
For you and for me and the entire human race
There are people dying
If you care enough for the living
Make a better place for you and for me

If you want to know why
There's a love that cannot lie
Love is strong
It only cares for joyful giving
If we try
We shall see
In this bliss we cannot feel
Fear or dread
We stop existing and start living

Then it feels that always
Love's enough for us growing
Make a better world
Make a better world...

Heal the world
Make it a better place
For you and for me and the entire human race
There are people dying
If you care enough for the living
Make a better place for you and for me

And the dream we were conceived in will reveal a joyful face
And the world we once believed in will shine again in grace
Then why do we keep strangling life
Would this earth crucify its soul?
Though it's plain to see
This world is heavenly
Be God's glow

We could fly so high
Let our spirits never die
In my heart
I feel you are all my brothers
Create a world
With no fear
Together we'll cry happy tears
See the nations turn their swords into plowshares

We could
Really get there
If you cared enough for the living
Make a little space
To make a better place

Heal the world
Make it a better place
For you and for me and the entire human race
There are people dying
If you care enough for the living
Make a better place for you and for me

Heal the world
Make it a better place
For you and for me and the entire human race
There are people dying
If you care enough for the living
Make a better place for you and for me

Heal the world
Make it a better place
For you and for me and the entire human race
There are people dying
If you care enough for the living
Make a better place for you and for me

There are people dying
If you care enough for the living
Make a better place for you and for me

There are people dying
If you care enough for the living
Make a better place for you and for me

(You and for me)
Make a better place
(You and for me)
Make a better place
(You and for me)
Make a better place
(You and for me)
Heal the world we live in
(You and for me)
Save it for our children
(You and for me)
Heal the world we live in
(You and for me)
Save it for our children
(You and for me)
Heal the world we live in
(You and for me)
Save it for our children
(You and for me)
Heal the world we live in
(You and for me)
Save it for our children

This one’s got a great video too… Quite a thoughtful song. Especially love the words that the lil’ kid says at the start of the song – something for each one of us to ponder about and for each one of us to try follow. Soothing music, lilting voice with MJ at his best, absolutely marvellous and thought provoking lyrics – subtly embedded with a message, great choreography with its own fair share of disturbing yet inspiring scenes – All in all, one Classic Song!!!

Lots of Trouble Blogging

Changed my template yesterday... created a few links.... And all the time i get to see that 403-Forbidden Error page. Lots of encounters with that dreaded page the past 2 days. For the past half an hour, I've made 3 valiant attempts to post the lyrics of MJ's Heal the world -- once it showed a double entry in the blog -- erased those 2 without saving, once the 403 error and the other time I switched to explorer from my trusted Firefox and it ended prematurely quoting some runtime error. Where does the fault lie??? Is it the proxy creating problems or is it the bad server at blogger.com??? Or could the problem be with Internet Explorer or with the blogger himself??? Whatever be it, the post is jinxed. But I will make one more attempt tomorrow -- to post the jinxed article. It's too late(uh huh!!! 4 in the morning is to be called early or late???) to give myself another go at it.

Lots of eventful happenings the past few days. Holi today-- The festival brings with it all those colours -- quite some fun spraying colours on one another. My vest was torn to tatters... Thank God, My short was spared. Had a photo session with those colourful bodies and faces. Well, Slept all day after the Holi bash. Woke up to write the short story for the MOTOFWRD competition - I didn't want to give myself a chance to feel bad for not taking a shot at a competition where the first prize is worth 4 lakhs and also 2 months internship at MOTOROLA. All we needed to do was write a short story or an essay envisioning the future of Seamless Mobility - Don't ask me what that means. Came up with a sick story. Will post it here soon. First let me get a few reviews on that. I had to make myself creative for 30 mins -- How sick can that be??? And after sweating out my grey caps for half an hour, I framed the story in words in about 1 hour -- Man, Things like these can get really tiresome. Just as I submit and begin to relax I get this call for BASKI Practice. Whacko Guys we are... Practice at 11 in the night till 2... And at 4 on the comp blogging it out. Wacky.... Not quite!!!

Now for some serious campus news . Heard that our SSM - the Hall's Second senate member after the Happa or the Hall Prez -- is going to MIT. 3 cheers to Reddy!!! Well even RP's SSM is going to MIT for further studies. Well, What's with these SSM's??? Feels great to know people around you are scaling new peaks. But at the same time there's that insecurity... You begin to think of your future.... Where will I be??? Am I good enough??? Whatever be God's will, Just moving forward with time, hoping for the best. Once again, 3 cheers to Reddy... even tho' he might never ever have a look at my blog.

It's been a Pleasure Writing this out!!!!!

Some great feelings that make my life worthwhile…………..

When I return home from hostel, say after 4 months or so, and I find mom, dad, grandma and grandpa waiting eagerly at home – keeping on hold their busy work schedule. When mom hugs me hard and says, “Feels like ages ra, kanna. Feels great to have you back.” When grandma invariably has to say “You’ve grown weak and thin” irrespective of whether I have gained weight or lost it.

Late night dinner on the couch -- The 5 of us together -- discussing various topics ranging from human psychology to academics to politics to sports to even my girlfriends and sometimes when dad shifts off to the prospective daughter-in-law in waiting!!! That’s sheer fun.

When I sit on grandpa’s lap (and he is on his special stool in the balcony) and we explore the world looking at the same old neighbourhood that has been the same for ages, yet find something new to rant about.

Watering plants on the 2^nd floor roof top along with mom in the evening. Fighting it out for the television remote with papa. That’s fun. …. Haan almost forgot….. Inviting grandpa to watch WWE (wrestling) along with me…. He loves that and so do I.

When I can see mom hurriedly trying to make something in the kitchen, even when she has got to go on her work – the sense of satisfaction fills you up, the love on her face shows. When my cell rings at home and mom is like “Is that your girlfriend??? Won’t you introduce me to her??”….. When I can smell the aroma of “Keema Fried Rice” – This onez my mom’s speciality – that wafts through the air to my room early morning (I mean 10 or so)…. And then the heavenly taste of that in my watering mouth…. When mom advises me about life, about the world and the many ways of the world…….. Seeing Mom and Dad playing pranks on each other… quite kiddo at times they are and it’s always fun seeing them like that. When we, as a family, go out to a movie….. When I see my mom exploding in tears for the silliest of emotional scenes and when I hand out the hand kerchief and she smiles…. Later when we have a great dinner somewhere outside.

Speaking to mom over the phone when away from home (I’ve been in hostel almost all my life and this is the 15^th year). When mom scolds me for taking too long a break before calling her (a gap of 2 days is enough for her to term it long)......When I hear dad proudly tell people around him “my son is in IIT.”…..

When we sit in the room and gossip about irrelevant stuff in the hostel…. When someone says “Let’s go Billoo’s/Sup Dup/ wherever. Today’s mess khana sucks”…… When does it taste good in the first place? Late night walk down to Chhedis. Chatting over a Tinku about what not….
On the Vidhan Chowk Lawns with “Da Gang” having nothing else to do on earth…. Just for some casual bhaat….. When I bunk a class for some extra sleep…. When I submit some assignment I just copied from some maggu, alongside him……

When I complete some long pending work… When I lie on the bed after a tiring day….. When I sleep…sleep and sleep …. I love my deep slumbers…. Those 10 -12 hrs continuously in my dreams…. Love the smell of the earth before it rains… the fragrance rocks…… When I put my nose on the fuel lid of bikes to smell some petrol…. The weirdo that I am….

When I find someone waiting online anxiously for me….. When someone wishes me on my minute accomplishments…. When my phone keeps ringing for about an hour on the zeroth hour of my birthday, courtesy the amazing friends I have….When I am on my way to Vijayawada during the holidays to meet my aunt, uncle, akka and also Surya and Khan, when I reminisce of our school days…. When I remember how Miss Brijit and Bro Jaico would try instilling some good qualities in us….. When I am out for a cinema with my friends in Vijayawada….. When we roam the streets on the bikes doing nothing…. The sweet times at Baker’s Inn…. The times I again think of those lovely school days…….

Having fun with akka(my cousin, though I consider her my own)… playing pranks on her, running off after smacking her, calling her names, pulling her knee length braided hair and at the end of it all when I sleep in her lap after all the mischief…… seeing the smile on her face….. Nothing more heartening than that smile…. Well I cannot put all those feelings in the words… I’d be surely making an understatement.

Time I spend with sweet kiddo cousins….. listening to their gibberish talk…. Nothing sweeter than that… The sight of a nice comment to my post… any word of encouragement when I am down and out….When someone asks me “Post soon and do tell me what it is all about before hand!!!”……

I can go on filling pages and pages… Maybe I will add some more later….So lemme stop here… By the way, What are yours???

Confused!!!!!!!

Confused!!! Now what do I write...... Saw Crash yesterday in the afternoon after a "We've got nothing to do here" Forming Lab and then later Saw RDB early morning today(or late night yesterday) for the first time (The DVDrip was made available on our beloved DC++ only yesterday and I had to see it the day it was there... No excuses)-- Yeah that sick RANG DE BASANTI.... maybe that is why I am confused.

How could people lap up a movie with such a blatantly false message??? What the director was trying to put across got me really mad. Watching Aamir Khan as a college going punk(Where's the college shown in the first place???), lovey-dovey Siddarth with that "I-dunno-what-to-do-n-I-dontcare" looks got me very nauseant. And people are calling it the best thing ever coming out of Bollywood. Not a patch on some of my most loved Hindi movies (DCH, HumTum, Swades, Bluffmaster.... in no specific order). Was a bad choice I felt. (Saw this one from 12 to 3 in the night.... was yawning all through and was scratching my head at the intermission point as to what the story was that far!!!). Could have utilised the time a little bit better -- obviously by watching some better movie. I know I need to be ready for some brickbats for saying so much.... But I think there are enough people of my tribe -- those who hate RDB fiercely.

I am not done with this. Will come out with an extensive review of RDB, Crash and Brokeback Mountain -- the most talked about movies in the recent past -- RDB
for its message to the youth, Crash for winning the best movie Oscar and Brokeback for losing to Crash even after being a firm favourite. I have seen Crash and RDB. So Brokeback soon -- Promise you will not need to wait much before that is out!!!

And, meanwhile Capote and Walk The Line can wait for sometime.

Still Confused!!!! What do I further write about..........

Aravind says, "Babu, Inkosari aa social service messageslu rasi blog lo mammalni champaku ra" (Please dont kill us with your social messages one more time.)

As a result of my previous post on the BLANK NOISE PROJECT, I have been getting diverse reactions. People are like "When have you become a saint???". "Hey these don't suit you at all." For the people mocking me for being a saint... I am no saint but I am doing whatever little I can. And there are people who genuinely seem to appreciate the effort. Thanks a lot. I can also find many like me opening their eyes as to whats happening around.

I am also getting to know new things. A few friends, ofcourse females, have either mailed or called up, laughed at my ignorance, and told me things they have never ever told -- about the experiences they have had. Well, that wasn't so unexpected I guess. "How could you have not bothered about this so long???", asked one friend. Well, guess I opened my eyes right now.

Ok Ok enough of moral lessons. Otherwise Aravind is gonna smack me on my head I guess. He'd already be fuming over my rubbishing RDB and then for also for writing this crap here.

Been following news on IIM-A's Day Zero -- The first day of placement on the elite campus. I'd love to be there someday as a proud student of the ginormous institute(Have a lot of time before I can fulfil that dream and meanwhile, am ardently following my seniors going through the GD and interview phase). There has been a new recruitment complex constructed for the process, keeping the mediapersons away. Yet there is enough news on the net speaking about the salaries offered. Just have a look at the companies on Day Zero -- Lehman Brothers, McKinsey and Co, Barclays, Credit Suisse Boston, Deutsche Bank, Merrill Lynch, USB Warburg Pincus, Bain & Co, ABN Amro Singapore, Barings Bank, Boston Consulting Group, Booz Allen Hamilton, BP Singapore, Citigroup,AT Kearney and we dunno who else.

Whopping pay packets and Glittering Career prospects. Highest of $1,85,000 prospective offer from Barings Bank and a highest domestic pay of Rs 20 lakh... That's big bucks for sure. 100 offers from around 20 companies and thats the status after Day Zero. Who wouldn't want to be there -- I would give my everything to be there. Though ethically speaking you ought to be there for the love of doing an MBA and not the money!!! I agree, but the pay packets play a lot on your mind I guess. Anyways I always thought of doing my MBA. Sometimes I regret having taken to the sciences after class 10. Family pride and prestige drove me away from my love -- humanities and economics. Otherwise I would have given CAT last november. Though I sometimes regret not having done humanities, I am happy with myself. You don't need to complain being an IITian. Maybe the charisma of this great institute attracted me enough to let leave my true love.

Was also looking at the India England Scorecard at cricinfo. Sachin Tendulkar fails once again in the first innings in the second test vs England at Mohali.... I Don't follow cricket upclose. But then I love the way this man carries himself on and off the field. 2 of my most loved sportsmen -- Sachin and Pete Sampras -- have one thing in common. They speak less and do all their talking on the field, with the bat and the racquet, respectively. And I love them for that. Well, Sachin!!! It happens always I guess. 2 hundreds in 2 years is too little for this champion batsman. Hit back fast at the earliest, Sachin. Just can't see you struggling out there.

Well, That brings me to the other legend -- Michael Schumacher. Another F1 season got underway yesterday with the Bahrain Grand Prix. And Yippeee!!! Schumacher grabs pole and teammate Felipe Massa sharing the front row with him. Way to go Ferrari. The staunch Schumi n Ferrari fan that I am, couldn't have asked for a better start for the season. Schumi, Just go on firing all cylinders and hopefully the Driver's and Constructor's Championship will be back at the Scuderia soon.

I never miss out on a F1 race when I am home and Dad never goes without taking a dig at me, perplexed by my love for the sport. "How come do you feel like watching the same car whizz past over and over on a clean road with almost no traffic repeatedly???", he asks. I got no answers but then I love the sport and thats the bottomline.

Still Confused!!! Why do I need to put up such a confused skewed concoction of likes, hates, life, moral values, sports, sportsmen and what not!!! Hopelessly confused.. Confused with life. Maybe I have nothing to do and thats why I am confused!!! So am I jobless???

Haan, exactly...... exactly that word sums it all up -- Jobless. Think I do know that I have a Mine Surveying Lab test Monday and an extract to write for the MOTOFWRD competition. Still...... I can call myself Jobless I guess. In IIT everyone's jobless all the time I guess -- Nothing seems to bother us -- Anyways.... A movie would be fine now to satiate my joblessness right now.

BLANK NOISE PROJECT -- TIME TO THINK

This one's got me thinking all over again. Well, In which direction is "MAN"kind moving??? Just have a peep into the "BLANK NOISE PROJECT" -- a sincere attempt to fight vocally against "Street Sexual Harassment". I was startled reading first hand accounts of women sexually harassed and assaulted on the streets. Never before have I come across or heard about such ghastly incidents, things looked highly difficult to digest. I even ended up commenting Deepthi's post -- that was the first post I read on the Project -- as being highly exaggerated. I never knew the intensity of the situation. I am sorry for that, sorry for my ignorance. But then I have been browsing through various other bloggers' personal experiences and man, they scare the shit out of me. I am slowly beginning to realize the truth. Sexual harassment exists almost everywhere -- at the workplace, at the bus-stop, at the canteen, at the college, at home too in certain cases......................... I was just ignorant all the time. Every woman has her own story -- stories (Go through Mang's Post) suits better. No woman is spared. It becomes quite obvious once you go through the comments on various blogs that almost all women have faced such situations -- guys poking fun at their private parts, calling them names, groping and snatching at the breasts and what not!!! It gives me jitters just having to type this stuff out.

"Is being born a woman a CURSE???"

"What is it you guys have with breasts and butts???"

"What would be your reaction if someone fondled your SISTER'S BREASTS???"

" Just put yourself in my place and you will understand that speaking a word during such time is almost impossible!!!"

"Is having a body endowed with breasts something to be ashamed of???"

"Can't you understand you are making life miserable for WOMEN with your dastardly deeds???"

"Why cant we as women be respected? Are men really so deprived?......"

Well, the emotional distress people have been under shows. Such hard hitting questions just keep on knocking the wind out of my sails. Once you browse through the various posts in the blog-a-thon of the PROJECT..... There are currently around 70 contributors to the cause -- you can find a varied range of emotions and lurking questions hitting you hardly across the face. What answers have you got for each one of the questions posed??? Well,it's time to think for yourself!!! Going through Mumbaigirl's post got me wondering as to what kind of incidents my family members and friends of the opposite sex had to go through. They have never told me about any such incidents. Maybe, They never will. Now, I am worried about their security, their privacy..... Where have the ethics and the moral etiquette gone??? It' s high time insinuated men leave their wicked ways and let women lead a secure life without these road blocks. One needs to understand there is lot more to life than breasts and buttocks.

One may ask -- What's the use having this Blog-a-thon session???
An excerpt from KnownTurf's Post gives you the perfect answer. "How do you know? Some teenaged boy somewhere reads this and decides not to molest women... you never know." People ignorant of these facts get a real insight into life -- how difficult it is for a woman to be there out in the public, to board a passenger bus/ train, to go somewhere in an auto in the night...........
Deepti says, "I hope the girls who read this post of mine gain the courage to be brave themselves and know they are not alone. I hope the guys who read this know to not just never harass but also spread the message and get the same attitude grilled into their friends.And I hope that everyone who reads it understands that even young children are susceptible to being harassed and get easily traumatised by it.So keep an eye on them for such signs of withdrawal and educate them when they are still very young about what they need to watch out for."
Yes, this blog-a-thon is for the girls to voice out their trauma, share their feelings with others -- keeping things to oneself can prove so fatally depressing. Girls also do get to know that they are not alone in their sufferings. Gain Strength from the fact that you have seen lot of support from the male community as well. It's quite clear that you will have lots of support if you can report things happening to you. Just raise a hue and cry if someone makes a lewd pass or comment or something untoward happens and I am sure the people there will look into the rest. Do not control your emotions staying quiet... you will only be giving him the licence to grope you further by doing this.

Seems I am not good at this stuff and I have spoken enough. I have been trying for the past half an hour to voice my emotions and All I am trying to do out here is make my small little contribution to Blank Noise Project. Kudos to the brains behind the Blank Noise Project. There's a lot more work to be done though before this evil can be uprooted. Atleast, you have got quite a few heads speaking and thinking -- The number of comments on each post is proof enough that you have got many people expressing their anger and concern. And that's the best part.