Priorities and Reversals !

Its pretty strange that, when I was facing a time-crunch experienced never before in my life, I had a nagging desire to post something creative here.
I thought of half a dozen topics on which I could scribe and the world would benefit from my posts and accompanied time squandaring !

& yet at a time I am free and unfettered, I find it impossible to get myself to write anything more than 500 words long at a time.

This post marks another of my failed 'I-will-post-about-xyz-today' resolutions !

Of Honour and redemption ..

Read this mail I sent today -

hey,
just was reading through some of my archives , and came across this mail!
Well, Sem 5 just abt to end, & I am proud to say that in this mind
boggling nerve-unnerving semester, I havent copied a bit :D !
[as in not that not doing a bad deed, wud count for much, just that
resisting the temptations happens to a qualifying benchmark for
maintaing self-honour ]

It reminded me of If by Rudyard Kipling -
'If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs ..'

Rest is fine,

Lets see what turns arnd !
Shantanu

ps - Clearly, I didnt make a good first impression ! Phew !

On Sat, 5 Feb 2005, some-ta wrote:

> Hi Shantanu,
> I remember you did attempt lab2. However while checking for
> cogging, I found that 2 ppl dzz and d08 have submitted
> the same files.
> Did you allow someone to copy from you / vice versa?
> There are some 7-8 cases we caught. I guess this will go off as a warning.
> But I'd suggest that you avoid this in future.
>
>
> bye
> same-ta

As is happens, its not as much as lauding oneself for not commiting a crime, but rather redeeming oneself after shitting hard on one's own and family name !
[To those who wonder what I am crowing about, there arent more than 150 in our batch of about 550, who can claim this claim. Sad but true.]

Crazy ...

Crazy day, Crazy week, Crazy fortnight !

Nothing special, nothing ordinary !

So much to say, so less said !

Abstract thoughts max!

Kick, Vroom .. & Away !

Hey all,
One of the original reason of setting up this blog has re-incarnated in the form of another blog -- http://4stroke.blogspot.com

No specific reason, other than
1. This will continue to have things I think
2. That will have Things I do.

Anyway, this will continue to be more active among the two, since I think a LOT more than I do [though occasionally things I do, are WAY more interesting, than the things I think :P] !


Or in CSE terminology --
[Caution -- Fatta Ahead]
This one will have all the Static Meaderings
That one will have the Dynamic Meaderings.

So in order to avoid a Binding error, had to create seperate scopes :))
[First one to point out a technical flaw in this, will get a kick on their @$$]

Happiness Reloaded !

A few weeks ago I had shared the essay I wrote about, 'My Idea of Happiness',
as an assignment for the Design and Analysis of Algorithms course.
Strange but true.
Well, below is the feedback given by Ranade Sir on the classes' 'performance'
on this assignment. Not is it one of the best analyses of an IITians psyche,
that I have seen, its heartning to see that some professor would take so
much time out to contribute to the students' growth!
Not Surprisingly, one of the most lasting images of contentness, that I have
seen is that of Sir himself, sitting at Shack reading a book, golden rays
streaking all over him.
In his time, to a stray observer, Newton would have appeared something similar
to an Oxfordian, instants before the apple hit him.

Here goes the mail ::

Here are some comments on the Happiness assignment.

I will begin by describing some of the major issues raised in your
essays.  I will then describe why I gave this assignment -- why I
think more students should relate happiness and academics.  Then I
will talk about job satisfaction and competition.

WHAT YOU WROTE: SOME OF THE HIGHLIGHTS
First, the most important source of happiness reported by many, many
people were family ties -- happiness in just being with your
parents/siblings as well as enjoying specific family events and get
togethers.  As it turns out, this also tops the list of what makes me
happy.

A number of people did say that academics/solving problems gives them
a kick and in general makes them happy.  Several also said that
accomplishment makes them happy.  These two are of course different --
you may be happy with accomplishment because it is noticed by your
family and friends; the study/work needed for the accomplishment might
not have made you happy -- just that you have the persistence and
mental strength needed to complete a task once you undertake it.

Several people also mentioned hobbies such as music that made them
really happy.  There seemed to be some disappointment that they cannot
pursue the hobbies and some hope that after they are settled in life
they will devote time to their hobbies.

Finally, there were also several who said that the competition in IIT
makes them nervous and prevents them from enjoying what is going on.

ACADEMICS AND HAPPINESS
The first point I would like to make is that it is worth asking
yourself whether you are happy with academics.  By this I dont mean
the grade you get -- but whether the material you learn is itself
causing any excitement in you, whether you are feeling that you are
learning anything of significance, or whether you are seeing anything
beautiful in what you are studying.  The beauty/excitement in
academics is not always easy to see, however.  Anyone can see the
beauty in snow clad mountains/flowers/ocean.  To see the beauty in a
computer you need to be able to look under the surface a little bit.
But once you do see this beauty, it is as exciting as natural beauty.
Anyone can see the excitement of being able to play tennis well or
play the guitar well.  I hope you can also see that being able to
design good algorithms (or analyze them or program them) is an ability
as hard to cultivate -- it has as many intricacies and frustrations as
there are in playing tennis or learning music.  But it is also as
satisfying.

Being able to relate happiness to academics has a few other important
side effects.

JOB SATISFACTION
I feel that as an adult it is very important to get a lot of
satisfaction out of your work.  After all, you will spend about 10-14
hours every day on it.  Note that satisfaction is different from
salary/promotions/prestige.  You may have salary/promotions/prestige
but may not really like your job.  If this happens, then you will have
to look elsewhere for your real happiness -- remember you only have
8-6 hours for it outside your work.  And that time is also needed for
many of your natural responsibilities as an adult (including
maintaining the family ties that are important to us).

If you developed the ability to see beauty and excitement while you
are a student, you will find it easier, I think to see beauty in your
job too.  This ability I am talking about is not related to CSE -- it
is the general attitude of looking under the surface, looking for
patterns and order etc.

I dont mean to suggest that you should learn to be content with your
job -- by all means aspire for promotions/better jobs/salary.  But
decide for yourself whether the Narayan Murthy's of the world
accomplish a lot because they like their work intrinsically or whether
they work (even without liking it much) because of the money/prestige
involved.

COMPETITION STRESS
Many of your essays report that academics in IIT is very competitive
and causes stress and hurry and so on.

I think there are reasons to ignore competition as well as reasons to
pay attention to it.

Competition usually focuses on external attributes -- how many marks
you get rather than what you have learned.  To keep things in
perspective, note that your relative standing in the department will
play a smaller role after you finish than the role played by what you
really have learned.  So it is worth focusing on what you should be
learning -- are you learning the ideas/techniques being taught --
never mind what others are doing.  Again the message is similar to the
one before: focus on the material you are learning, see the beauty in
it and so on, rather than worry about the marks.

Of course, you cannot ignore competition and marks entirely.  For the
simple reason that most of us have a tendency to get lazy -- some kind
of spontaneous decay.  So competition keeps us on our toes.  It asks
us "how come he/she gets so many marks while I cannot, am I just
lazy?".  If you think you are working hard, then you could ask
yourself -- "how come he/she gets more marks and understands
everything faster -- is there something more he/she sees in all this
that I dont?  Is it because he/she is having more FUN with this than I
am?".  If you can ask such questions you will be able to make
competition work for you than hurt you.


CONCLUDING REMARKS
I am not an expert on happiness, or on people's motivations,
personalities and abilities.  So what I have written is to be taken
with a grain of salt, and as an inexpert opinion.

Yes, I have in fact seen people who can do work that they find
unpleasant just because they have will power that keeps them going.
However, most high acheivers I have seen have made their mark because
they love their work.  The first step to loving work later in life is
to develop the ability to love academics right now.  This will require
efforts on the part of students, and also, I am sure on part of
faculty.  If more students participate in this process, the better it
will be.

The Bee Box

In this small box, my love,
you'll not find a ring,
but instead, a brave, little bee.
He'll be dead by morn, having given his life
defending his flowers against me.
I felt his sting
while picking the small, purple pansies
growing wild along the roadside,
in hopes of an afternoon bouquet for you.
And I grieved the sting,
more for him than me,
knowing full well the price he paid
for my small pain.
And I allowed him his victory,
leaving his flowers as a memory,
and brought you instead
this brave, little bee,
who proves there is love
even in the smallest
of things.

-- Lowell Parker


Again, I am posting something, that although not quite mine, was so moving that I felt that I had to share it !
Btw: Got it from Kram's blog. Really admire him as a person I have often heard about.


Also, my blog has had 108 visits, since setting up the Counter on 2nd Oct. Exlucding abt. 9 of my own, that makes it an average of 9 visits per day -- not great, but made my heart warm :)

Muaaah !

In recent Hindi Movies, with a declining interest in dialogues that outlive the characters, seldom are lines as well scripted as the ones below from Lage Raho MunnaBhai !
Delivered by Vidya Balan, 'apun jab bhi yeh line sunta hai na, to apun ke mooh pe mast smile aa jati hai'.

"Good Morning ...... Mumbai !
This is Janhavi on World Space Radio
जाने से पहले, ये है मेरा आज का ख्याल
उन सबके लिये, जो दौड़े जा रहे हैं इस शहर की दौड़ में
शहर की इस दौड़ में दौड़ के करना क्या है?
अगर यही जीना है दोस्तों, तो फिर मरना क्या है?
पहली बारिश में ट्रेन लेट होने की फिक्र है, भूल गए भीगते हुए टहलना क्या है?
सीरियल के किरदारों का सारा हाल है मालूम, पर माँ का हाल पूछने की फुरसत कहाँ है?
आप रेत में नंगे पाँव टहलते क्यूँ नहीँ?
एक सौ आठ हैं चैनल पर दिल बहलते क्यूँ नहीँ?
इंटरनेट पे दुनिया से तो टच में हैं, लेकिन पड़ोस में कौन रहता है जानते तक नहीँ!
मोबाइल, लैंडलाइन सब की भरमार है, लेकिन जिगरी दोस्त तक पहुँचे, ऐसा तार कहाँ है?
कब डूबते हुए सूरज को देखा था, याद है?
कब जाना था शाम का गुज़रना क्या है?
तो दोस्तों, शहर की इस दौड़ में दौड़ के करना क्या है?
अगर यही जीना है दोस्तों, तो फिर मरना क्या है?"

haan , and btw: Thanks to boss for the unicoding the text, and Sangram for the English version! :P

My Idea of Happiness

The Essay below was written as an assignment for a course in Algorithms [Can u belive it ?] but we have a stud prof. so I guess, we cudnt have asked for anything better !

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
My Idea of Happiness
Happiness is something that has over the years always been a concept that has more complex than before. After thinking of it again on the fly, and re-writing & erasing it repeatedly, let us define happiness as a state we always aim to acheive.

Defining the concept of happiness as simply doesnt end this essay, rather opens up a plethora of questions, that are more difficult to answer. What the definition does, is that it sets the questions in the right perspective. eg: We seek to define the properties of the state. Thinking of it, we can define the state we seek to acheive, in terms of financial health, job [as in the current engagement] satisfaction, personal & family fulfilment, social acceptance and so on.

After this rather formal and hence boring interpretation, to think on a more intutive level, I must say that I get happiness from the freedom of doing what I want to do / pursue at any point of time (which would fall under the heading of job satisfaction among those above).
But clearly the ideas of happiness have changed radically along with growing up. As a child, the ideas of happiness were really simple. A 'Lego' set entertained me for weeks at end. Watching the progress of India in an arbitary sporting competition kept me engaged for days. Over the years, this concept has been compounded (& I would say, clouded as well) with what the society and the people around oneself, define the properties of happiness state as well.

With these imbibed inputs from the society as well as the inherent concepts, have enabled me to sketch a rough picture of the state i wish to acheive. Hence in the future, I think satisfaction in terms of career and family will have top priority. I think financial health [subject to a certain threshold] is irrelevant. As long as I can provide for the basic needs of all those dependant on me, I will be decently satisfied. Though it would be grossly errorprone, I think to quantify it, an inflation-corrected income equivalent of about Rs. 3 lakhs p.a. should suffice. Hence once this is assured, I think family and career have a unmatched importance.
I strongly think, that a 45 yr. old man who has considerable financial clout, who meets his 16 yr. old child for less than 20 hrs. / week, which is spent in minimising friction, simply cannot be happy. Choices between family and career could be made on each case basis.

& once I am done, projecting a rosy future, as I sit and try and answer the most crucial question of them all:: What makes me happy in the present?
I am firmly of the opinion that happiness though defined (in a very convulated manner) to be a state, it is rather travelling a journey. If it was a state, a person wudnt try and change it. This is clearly not what happens. What a man is 'happy' for is that, he has progressed along the path towards the 'Happy' State ! So I think it isnt wise to be happy for what one is, but rather for being more of what he thinks he hopes to become.

As I try and wind this essay up, and read through it again, I realise that the above might not be the most coherent of thoughts and thought process, but since I am unsure of my idea of Happiness, I can hardly complain!
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Back from B'Lore !

After a hectic Midsem week [TableTennis really tires one out, u know ;)] and a Work Visit week [MG to Brigade to MG again, is tiring as well], am headed back for the 'usual', 'boring', 'peace', 'lazed-out' semester starting tomorrow.

Firstly, I have to make up my mind, what makes me Happy ... as if that was easy ...Phew !
Then, Double OS Lab this week, is a threatening situation. [HP Analogy : Seems much like Double Potions, that Snape took. Snape had greasy black hair. In my case, its greasy enough.. but thats about it :P]

Nevertheless, heres what I took from the visit:
1. Quality Research in CS is possible in India, wrt: MSR, Google etc.
2. Value knowledge and satisfaction over an overkill of financial pay-off. The second follows the first. The question essentially is: what is the the differentiating line between basic & surplus !
3. Reading is a joy. So is spending on quality books.
4. Coding is an important skill, no matter where you land up !
5. B'lore has amazing weather, and thats about it. Its costly and un-safe with a non-existent night life.

I have become a boring person over the last month or so...

No late night adventures, No freakouts at amazing places & to top it all I am in the lab at 8 in the morning, after having chopping off errors / warnings of a monster named DMD's OS Lab assignment. Needless to say, like the mythical Hydra, another one props up before you are done dealing with one ! On a sadist note: I would have said, that Sir himself resembles a Hydra : Alas god wasnt gracious enuf to grant Sir as many black hair protruding off his skull !

Midsems start tomorrow, and needless to say I am gonna be utterly screwed esp. in OS again. Might fare marginally better in PoPL & dB if Sangram / Ankit are gracious enough. As if it wasnt all so 'rosy' we also have a pending submission [of what else but OS Lab] within another 16 Hrs.

The week after Midsems, my batch leaves for Bangalore for a work visit. Really looking forward to that.

While another class, again OS, beckons at 8:30, I must conclude by saying that, yesterday I went to Chowpatty, [with Mama, Mami etc.. so spare me the looks ;) ] for Ganapati Visarjan! If not anything else I was simply amazed at the fantastic organisation put in place by the Police and BM C ! Kudos to them ! More abt that later, if I end up being more interesting :) !

will 'Even' things out some next sem.

Sorry, but I havent been doing this for over a month now!
The thing is that the 2 semesters in IIT are very distinct in some aspects.

The 1st semester of the year, is odd: Half the sem is spent running around [if not behind :p] the freshies. The later half cramps in a truckload of events.
As a result, the Odd sem, doesnt really give you a chance to think what you are doing. You just end up doing it.

The 2nd semester, gives you slightly more time to reflect upon yourself, as you plan for the year ahead. So you even, out the reckless execution of the previous semester.

This blog, was initiated in one such reflection session last semester. This semester, I hardly have time to think whether the things I am doing are right or wrong, I just pray for the best and take the plunge. Hindsight judgements , and hence longish posts can wait for February.

NUMB3RS !

On this lazy Sunday, chatting with my parents, the topic of Love & Relationships among people of my age, came up!

In an effort to corner me ;), my mom wanted to know which of my friends were in a relationship, now or at some point earlier. I asked her to name a few girls, she knew & I would tell her how many, if not who all.
To her evident shock, out of the 10 girls she recounted, only 3, hadnt been in a relationship yet.

Things got scary for her, when for the 9(+ me) guys, the corresponding number was still stuck at 3.

Freedom ... ya rite !

The earlier blog isnt a pre-timed one! Still what happened is too much to describe.
That I am back in my room and typing this, is testimony to God's grace !

Excitement to Exhilaration to Madness to Despair to Releif ! Phew !

Freedom ...

with my four stroke past Midnight ! Read it !

Its a lonely night ...

:P

The following is a famous Marathi song, that I have flavoured. It came to me pretty spontaneously on a Sunday morning, for reasons clear below ;)

उषकाऴ हॊता हॊता,
काऴ रात्र झाली
आईनॆ पांघरूण खॆचण्याच्या आत,
उशीत मुंडी खुपसली ... हॊ हॊ हॊऽऽ !

Technology !

Well, to be frank .... I was never among those gadget geeks.

Sleek and high end things, that are at a cutting edge of technology never really impressed me as such ... but

Today this is a heady feeling.

Am at my uncles' place tonite, and boy.. it is a treat to the most novice of them all.
Have a IBM ThinkPad on my laps, with a Dual Band Wi-Fi connectivity ( I still dont know what it means, just that it is seems very cool.)

Behind that, is a 17" TFT FlatScreen for the Desktop, with wireless mouse and all !

So its like 2 comps. 6 inches away from one another !
A HP Printer on the right and a Fax Machine on the left make up the desk.

I had seen each of these devices seperately at some point of time or other .. but today they are really making my head go dizzy !

Now I know, what they mean when they say 'And Sparks begin to fly'.

Blast from the Past

Its too sad to be true !

And the longer I think about the title, the less the amusing it seems.

The day has been a violent concotion of a number of strong and numbing emotions. Each one as potent as the previous and the hangover persists. It will take me some time to settle down while I write this !

11/7/2006 1830 hrs. IST:

Within a span of minutes as many as 7 blasts ripped through the heart of the Western Suburban Train System, killing as many as 150 till the last count and injuring as many as twice as many more.

Theres much I want to say, about the psyche about the terrorists and the impact it will have on the City, its people and other things. But there are many who would want to say that, in fact to think about that should be among the most easier things to say in the wake of these blasts.




But that post, if it ever will come, has to wait.

Today I have to pass more personal judgements on the nature of the city, its citizens and 1 in particular.

Cut back 13 yrs.

12/3/1993 1745 hrs. IST:

My father was waiting for me at the school gates, an incident I dont recollect happening ever before. But then I have few memories as concrete as this one from class 1. [If you want to picturise what class 1 is, think of the twins from the movie 'Bombay' . They were in class 1 that fateful year.]

I asked what was special. He mentioned about a series of bomb blasts in Southern and Central Bombay. It later turned out to be 12 in number. But little did it matter to a 6 year old. Its just meant a drive back home in our 9 month new (then) FIAT, rather than in the rickshaw, as the daily routine was, much to the envy of others.

Little did I realise that, later that evening many of those kids would be waiting anxiously for their parents to return home, safe!
Little did I realise that, it wasnt that those kids were loved by their parents any less!
Little did I realise that the fact that they didn't posses (in case they didnt) a car, would stop their parents from picking up their kids from school that ill-fated day, in case they could otherwise!
Little did I realise that, living in Bombay meant that one had to trust the serpentine monster machines, called trains more than anything else and I belonged to one of the very few lucky households in which noone travelled by train.

Little did they matter to me, then. After all I was escorted safely by my parents back to home, at every instant of turmoil.

Did I ever feel rocked by these blasts? Did I lose someone near or dear to these blasts? Did I share the guilt of being a part of a community, that was in part responsible for the events of the 3 months leading upto that day? Did I whimper while the famed 'Spirit of Bombay' was assaulted? Did I loose a drop of sweat, blood or tear to make up the black ink that rewrote the history of the city?

What the Heck !! NO !!!

I was 6 then. I was doing what Calvin & Dennis continue doing till today....

In short, At that point, Did the Bombay Blasts in any way, seem closer to Home, than the year or so old insurgency in Kashmir??

NO !!!

I grew to be quite a normal kid. I imbibed in me all the qualities, that a 'Mumbaikar' would be proud of! In time, lives ruined on Dalal Street had more to do with Harshad Mehta and Ketan Parekh than Dawood Ibrahim. Plaza Theatre was an artistic monument that stood testimony to every passing 'Ganapati Visarjan'. The Sena Bhavan roared its loudest at the movie 'Bombay'.
The Air-India Building, Hotel Sea-Rock, The Centaurs, The Zaveri Bazaar et al were up and running in matter of weeks if not days.

I was soon to be told that this was the 'Spirit of Bombay' that everyone talked of.

I went into High-School and Bombay gave way to Mumbai. So what the spirits were still high in the city of dreams. Soon Dawood, Chota Rajan, Arun Gawli and their henchmen were household names. Daya Nayak, Praful Bhosle, Vijay Salaskar and Ravindra Angre were hot in their pursuit. Company found a place in the city's subconscious, Ab tak Chappan followed suit.

I soon found out how to travel by trains. Were they dangerous? Nah... dismissed everyone.
If the Spirit was to have a circulatory system, the suburban train network was the heart.

Then the terrorists learnt as well, and found out what a better place to attack than the heart itself! Blasts on trains, in Ghatkopar, Mulund followed. Vile Parle Station was rocked.

Did it shake my spirit? Well a little, a wiggle here and there. But then I was 16, had a mission in life (read JEE). I was not too be bothered by these things. The Spirit knew how to take care of itself.
& mind you it did!! In a brilliant fashion, Mumbaites rose to the challenge. Within hours the trains were back on track. The subsequent day, offices registered near usual attendances.
Did it seem any closer to home? Hmm.. certainly a little, but nothing that couldnt be taken care off. So what I almost daily traveled by that route.



Cut to Present Day:

I was 19 able-bodied, had a motorcycle at my disposal and didnt have any immediate goal in life. But as the City suffered 8 heart attacks within a matter of half an hour, I was stationary. While I could run, jump, carry and help I was coolly sipping away my coffee and following up the news on innumerable websites, all the while thinking 'Shya ! What has the city come too !!'.
Didnt the thought that someone might need help cross my mind at all: well it did, certainly !
But then I knew, the Spirit would take care of itself. And it bloody did !
[For those who thought, I was going to lament the loss of a great city, I am not! What follows is personal anguish.]

Hundreds of locals poured out of, each building, shanty and every other structure outsiders denounce mumbaikars for calling it their homes. People were rushed to the hospital, free of costs by taxi drivers. Shopkeepers gave away food to victims. Youth groups rushed to hospitals like KEM, Sion etc. offering to help in all manner possible. Doctors here, worked overtime to care for patients in unparalled heroism. [So much so, for being the Rudest City in the world.]

Aha ! no need to worry, I couldnt have been of any additional help - I thought, conviniently.

And as the day draws to a close, I feel sad for myself! Why did I not move a limb, while tons were being sharded? Was this one too 'far from home'? Clearly not !!
Had it been Central line under attack, in place of the Western, my mom was in the line of fire. If this wasnt reason enough, there could hardly be any !
On any other day, irrespective of Rain or Sun, all I need is an excuse to bike all the way to Juhu or Bandra.
Did I need an excuse today?? Or did I find one too many ! 'There would be traffic on the road', 'I wouldnt be of much help anyway', 'Its half an hour away' and so on ...


What stopped me from responding to the call of the abstract I called, so very proudly, my Spirit!
I let my City down, more than its insecurity, prices and crowdedness has ever let me down!
I shall never be able to call myself a Mumbaikar without lowering my head in shame.

Back to d Blog !!

Well after a gap of nearly 2 months, I am back on the Blog....

No idea, when the subsequent post is going to make it here, but atleast this streak has ended.

I am inspired (or heckled) by the following ppl. :

Aditi : For her repeated reminders that theres more to writing than, replying to scraps.
Anchit : For his extremely articulate and well written blogs, mostly regarding Football
Rahul : For the beauty of his writing. He also, writes stuff I dont understand.
Rutuja : A arbit blog, I liked reading.

and, also Sangram : For asking me to write my Trek details !

Thanks Guys !

Also : I will be writing a few Pre-dated posts :D

Sudoku Solver !

I have made a Sudoku Solver using JAVA.
Check it out at : www.cse.iitb.ac.in/~shantanu/sudoku

Its an Applet, hence will require you to download a few things if not already present.
Also, it might be slightly problematic on non-Windows machines.

All coments and suggestions are welcome !

Trek: Day 0 to 2

Day 0 : 3rd May

Left Dadar Station late at night, on the illreputed Dadar - Amritsar Express. Illreputed 'coz its scheduled time exceeds the maximum time taken by all other trains, and ofcourse more of than not, this one is late itself.
Living upto its reputation, the train lost no time, in losing time. We were almost an hour late reaching Kalyan. 100% late. We reached 4 Hrs. late eventually, a total of 39 Hrs.


Day 1 : 4th May

Crossed MP in searing heat. There was 'Loo' in your face (Pun intended). To think of it, MP in summer is a tragic site. Miles and miles, of barren and sunbaked land thirstily look up. As if all this wasn't enough our train was the destined to stop at every village which had a semblance of railway station. That it also, stopped at a dozen other hamlets is another story.
[btw: did i mention that we were traveling in AC ;)].

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At this juncture I will introduce you to the cast:from l to r :

Avijit (aka Sexy) Has a style of doing things, that no one can emulate and a caustic sense of humor. Has a shapely @$$, which re-christened him. An omnipresent wicked grin, and an abundant flow of cash (more on that later), made up his front portion.

Anchit (aka Sports God) Has stamina. How much is not known, except he never ran out of it. Calm until ruffled, as Jajoo found much to his dismay. Utter perfectionist, he crax Acads, Sports and an occasional NP or DAC ;)

Shirish (aka Jajoo) A complete womaniser, with tinges of innocence, meant that he was easy and common target. Combed his hair more often than he drank water.

Shreyas (aka PornStar) Long hair, Pink Floyd fanatic, lives in Mallu land hostel, yet doesn't drink, dope or fag. An eye for girls, but far from being a skirt-chaser. Wont say more, else he can take my case as well.

Apoorva (aka Stud) Unbeatable zest for adventure, be it cycling from anyplace to anyother, fixing all of his own things. But cant work with a thing without spilling it. (no pun intended).

Devang (aka Vang) Straight-upward guy. Amazing musician and always a helping hand to have around. A 6' 3" frame, oops .. stick, was the perfect foil for Anchit. Another Floyd buff.

Rohan (aka Freshie) If you have heard of schools like Balmohan, Parle Tilak etc. , you can imagine what their cream is (or rather, what they think their cream is). That's Rohan for you. A cute smile, and a baby face to facade a Devil's Workshop [I aint saying that his mind is empty, in fact far from it], he also guess by the name C. Billa.

Mayur (aka PG or YZ) Quiet, No nonsense guy. Minds his own business. But has a flair, that is distinctly similar to Rajnikant, hence the name PseudoGult.

And of course, the Narrator / Sutradhar, or in case of this pic. the man behind the camera: Yours Truly.
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So in the train, I got to know these guys better. Being the senior, they showed some respect (Cough ! Cough !!), and that meant that I had some immunity from being teased. I left no chance to rag them, and get them to rag one another.


After a complete day in the train, I dozed off after departing from Mathura at about 0130, with an ab-delhi-duur-nahi satisfaction ...


Day 2: 5th May

... I woke up at 9, to find we had just left New Delhi. Train was stalled at NDLS for a little over 4 hrs. With a scheduled arrival at Ambala of 0930 hrs. , the attendant almost sadistically reminded us, that we were traveling by Dadar - Amritsar, and as a matter of belonging had to share his misfortune of being delayed on every journey.
At 1330, when we eventually pulled into Ambala Cantt. station, we had a task on our hands. With no travel arrangements to Kasol, we had to fix it as well as our lunch. Would we report on the 5th, was a question that was topmost on my mind, and nowhere near the tip of my tongue.

As luck, would have it, there was a Haryana Roadways strike that very day. Not to lose the oppurtunity, the private operators had hiked their rates. In Haryana, dealing with the local guy meant, 'No if, No But .... sirf JAT'. We ended up with all his terms. Atleast we were able to start by half past two.

We had hired a Qualis, and with 9 of us travelling alongwith the driver, 4 of us had to be cramped in the back of the vehicle. With solemn promises from the rest, that we would swap seats midway thorough the 10 hr. journey, we lost no sweat, then.
The roads gave us no rest and the winds gave us no respite.

Lapping town after town, and cross-checking it in the map, we crossed through 3 states before finally stopping after Mandi, to take Dinner. Since it was dark outside, I snuggled upto Anchit and had an hours' nap. We left the National Highway, that leads to Kullu and thereafter Manali, at Bhuntar. While NH 21 continues along the Beas Valley, we now crossed over into the smaller Parvati Valley (Parvati river joins Beas, somewhere before Bhuntar). 30 Kms. from there, we peered into the darkness for the Base Camp. As fate would have it, we reached the Base Camp at Kasol at 2340 Hrs. After hastily unloading and paying the driver, we rushed down a flight of steps and in ekdum-filmi-istly reported at 5 minutes to 6th May.

Little did we know that YHAI enforced lights-out at 2200 hrs. and that we would have to follow that for the coming days. More surprising was the fact that we did end up sleeping that eary every day, a heresy that hasnt been committed since.

We ended up filling up our forms partially at past 12 in the night. We realised that we had to sleep in tents at about that time ... Many more illusions were to be shattered. Also, this was about the time that we found out that we had no proof our having registered for the trek. All but one of us, had forgotten that we needed a particular printout with our reg. nos. that no one had remembered to carry along. Nevertheless that is a problem to be handled the next day, and the next posting ...


For the interested below are the maps of our jouney from

a)Ambala - bypassed Chandigarh - Bilaspur - Mandi - Bhuntar - Jari - Kasol &
b) Region where we trekked (More later .. )

And Google Earth Rocks !

Travelogue

I am leaving for a Trek in the Himalayas in a Few hours from now and am pretty excited about it !

Am part of a Youth Hostel Team that will trek that Yankar Pass and so on. So for a few days this will become a Travelogue.

Leaving by the Dadar - Amritsar Express, that is anything but an express and will take almost 34 hours to take us from Dadar to Ambala. The Next leg of it is completely unplanned, as we will move from Ambala towards Chandigarh -> Shimla -> Kullu -> Kasol. Kasol is only a few kilometeres short of Manikaran known for it Hot Water Springs, and is a popular Sikh Pilgrimage. Another Road from Kullu takes one to the more famous Manali, Hill Station!

At Kasol, we are to report at the Youth Hostel Base Camp, from where we are at their Mercy ;)

Current state is the Photo Alongside:


I mostly will not have access to internet while I am there, so much of the remaining will be posted as one after I return !

So long ...

Or as they say: in Hindi Cartoons :
Alvida ..... Yarron !

Musings ....

So from this point I dont know what I am going to write, will generally ramble.

Endsems going on : Which means Bad News. Had a terrible academic semester, and my grades will no doubt reflect that. The worst part is that i prolly aint feeling as bad abt it, aswell.

Anyways, Endsems devote another posting as such, which I may never end up writing !

Other than that, I am back at Home since I was feeling very suffocated in the Hostel. The whole scene appeared weary looking !

Frankly speaking, dont know wat much to write now: its just a hollow feeling that refuses to go away.

Relevance of Shakespeare

"Good signiors both, when shall we laugh? say, when?
You grow exceeding strange: must it be so?"

- Merchant of Venice Act I Scene I
Bassanio to Salarino

More or less sums up, how I feel at the moment.

The world appears a tad Hazy,
A cloth to wipe it Clear.
The problem is that I Fear,
and just that I am too Lazy.

The above poem, henceforth will appear alongside my profile.

Its very not-me to write a poem or any form of verse for that matter. Primararily, since I had hardly done it till that point of time, I was always reluctant to try it out thereafter. Putting feelings and thoughts in complete sentences that were gramatically correct, was always the natural choice for me. Also, for some vague reason I always associated it with the feminine.

Inspite of all that, I was somehow sure that poem was the express myself to others and hence wrote the above lines.

Bikers of the Nite :)

Well, Friday night was a relatively low-key night. As in since Valfis have started there isnt any institute wide activity that is now going on. As a result took a time off with myself :) .

It started off, with a plan, early in the evening, of going somewhere with friends from IIT and outside. But there wasnt a big quorum for that to take place and hence plan flopped :( .

Later in the night, thought of going to Mocha's Powai for a neat Avalanche and some self-spoiling. Didnt get the rite company for that as well. So just ended up fidgeting on the comp. for no apparent reason, waiting for sleep to dawn on me.

It was only very late, that Nikhil Pande thought off going on a bike ride. Very fine idea. So after unsuccessfully trying to get some more people to come, we left towards an unplanned destination. We happened to turn right at the main gate, that took us as far as Saki Naka! It was then we decided to go to Juhu Beach.

Wonderful breeze, and a nice ambience and ever increasing Humidity was present at the beach. We might have hit the beach as late as 1 am or so (With a short detour to Mocha's, Juhu). We whiled our time at the beach, had some talk left at 2 or so, and came back to the hostel at quarter to 3 types.

The best part about Biking late at night, spulrging at Mocha's is the extent of self-control it gives you. More than the control, it is the feeling that one posses the self-control , that os often exciting. In a world of IITians, where either Profs., wing, peer group or Hostel decide what you end up doing for most if the time (in some order, or the other), such a self-control can give one a high. I sure did get it that night, as well as Wednesday night, when we went for a Wing treat and I biked both ways.

Not that I am too much of a philosopher or something, still I believe that : When everyone tells you 'Do this ... Do that.. ', searching for such self-control leads to people 'Doing nothing' as a vent or in more popular usage 'Give UP'.

PAF I,II & III

This post for the record, will state that the PAF's did happen and what the first 3 were.

Performing Arts Festival (PAF), is an annual event in IITB of a scale in its own league. It aims at a production of about an hours' duration that will encompass all performing arts (viz: Acting, Music, Dance, Voice-overs) as well as other aspects like FineArts, Lights, Sounds and Sets among other things. 2 or 3 hostels pool in quite a lot of their strengths to ensure the success of their PAF's, in what is the culmination as well as the high point of Cultural Activities for the Year.

PAF '2K6, saw a decrement in the number of PAF's that happen from 5 to 4, primarily because no hostel wanted to be paired up with a certain other Hostel. As a result certain compromise had to be made on the number of PAF's happening.
PAF I: 'Asraar' by Hostels 2,7,8 was about a conspiracy as frequently heard as the words used in their speech, never !!! A very PAFfable PAF with standard Prods. , Boring Costumes and as Uninteresting Storyline. Watchable in parts, missable as a whole. A prod. of Taj Mahal was worth the effort, though not breathtaking.

PAF II: 'Kharaashein' by Hostels 6,10,13 was better, witht the first 20-25 mins. defintely worth the watch. The atmosphere of the chawl was created well, though the production was not made by students. Simple ideas like use of a actual rickshaw in the PAF were pretty novel. Later the story lost its grip, though with advising people about Hindu Muslim unity and other stuff that is not generally appreciated very well in IITB. Certainly better than PAF I.

PAF III: 'Camoflauges' by Hostels 3,5,12 is best left unsaid about, since it was performed by my hostel, and I had a role to play in it. The PAF didnt live up to the expectataions, mainly with lack of co-ordination between various teams handling Lights, Sound and Choreo/Music. With an extremely Bold Theme, I personally though it was a unconventional PAF and stood better chance than the PAF I.

Till then, no one in their wildest dreams had thought what lay in store for them.

Blog :-|

Well, I have realised, much to my chargin that , maintaining a Blog regularly isnt easy. :(
Howsoever I wish to write what I want to write, excuting it isnt easy especially given that there are so many better ways of not doing anything !

My post ends, here... got better things to do ;)

Btw: In the meantimes, PAF's are done with.

The Rat Race II

When I first started blogging, I was in quite a different state of mind from the one I am in now. Then it was about short-term apprehension [with the Insti. Elections approaching] (and, in parts, long cherished dreams being shattered[with ...] ) . [Those who dont know what I am talking about, stick around with my blog, I will write about it soon enough]. Now it is more about long-term challenge.

So 'The Rat Race II' comes from a different point of view from 'The Rat Race I'. This ones more inspired by Sudeep's Blog, and generally-not-doing stuff for the heck of it, but most importantly for personal enjoyment.

A major change, from my attitude from here-on would be to try on stuff , that I wudnt have otherwise, since they didnt fit in the Best Laid Plans. For example: In the past few weeks, I attended a Manna Dey concert in OAT as well as the Surbahar in convo. . I almost attended SwarSandhya as well. So while at Surbahar, I danced my heart out.
Who I was or what I stood for, didnt matter as long as I did what I wanted to do !

So starting from where I left in 'The Rat Race I':

At this roadblock, I stop to ponder and explore new ideas and avenues. Subsequently will come a time, when I will have to accept that I ran a rat-race in a maze where there wasnt any cheese for me. That will be hardest part of it all.
Neither is the maze to be blamed, nor are the rats. Its just that, its time to put on the running shoes and start searching for a different maze altogether.

I realise that the maze wasnt meant for me, or more aptly there isnt a well defined maze made for anyone at all. Each is supposed to mould his/her own maze. The tough part will come when I have to stand up for my own maze, and see to it that it doesnt ape the one that had no cheese for me. The very reason that would happen is that, I still would hope that, the maze I left behind did actually have some cheese for me ! The quicker I come to terms with this 'dis'illusion, the better I can craft my own maze !

I had quite a involved conversation with a senior, the night of 8th. He was almost god-sent and helped me a great deal in getting over the initial feeling of emptiness. He apparently had to go through quite a similar experience himself :( . The good thing was that he is quite a respected person in the Insti. and traversed a maze as beautiful and as unique, as well. That did cheer me up significantly and help me carry out routines routinely.

The next few days, were spent in the beleiving that if I had a rainbow as brilliant by the time I pass out as he has, the fact that the entire sky fell upon me one-not-so-fine day will not matter as much ! I could chart my journey the exact same way, as the senior did and end up the same way as he has. Then I too would have people looking up to me and cherish the 'aukaat'.

And This I think, is precisely where it began. Its just that I changed the Maze, I replaced the rats: but essentially it was pretty much the same ... A Rat Race .
Since then I probably have, realised that its high time I learnt what people like Sudeep knew all along:

"And so on, in every aspect of day-to-day life you can see him. Enjoying it out.

You enjoy life to the fullest, largest possible extent and you may begin to look like Renil! But atleast you enjoyed it and the on-lookers didn't! What the hell do you care!"

It makes sense to do stuff that you enjoy and try to excel at it. What doesnt make sense is that you try and live your life the way some other person [howsoever successful] did ! Life is meant to be enjoyed and not chased after.

Each person has to shape his own maze, run down a blind alley - bite into a cheese that is not of his preference - question his maze - kick out in frustration against the walls of the maze, all the same keep running, just because you love to run, the way you want to.

Mood Indigo - The Fe(a)st !

Q: What happened when the Cow Drank Ink ?
A: She MOO(e)D INDIGO !

Mood Indigo, the Cultural Fest of IITB is synonymous with fun, frolic and hell-of-a time ! Everyone who has been to even 1 of these, will bear testimony to the above fact. For 4 days in December, zillions (or as IITians wud put it: infinite junta) attend the festival. I hope that whoever you are get a chance to do so too.

Those IITians who are reading this, may ignore the subsequent post. I am basically going to talk about MI.

For the rest, Mood Indigo (or later referred to as MoodI or simply, MI) happens around Christmas time, most commonly on the 4 days - 26th to 29th. The activities at the festival are of varied nature - from hardcore Trivia Quizzing to completely whacky Informals. At night time, there are professional shows by renowned artists, called Pronites. These have been host to quite a few artists like, Lucky Ali, Shankar Mahadevan etc. in the past.

But what makes MI worth attending and worth working for, is the junta which turn up for the festival. Check out this orkut link, it will give you an idea how crazy people are about MoodI. Contingents from all over the country turn up well-prepared for it. Quite a few colleges from outside Bombay are known to put in a lot of fight in getting their Play/Dance geared up for winning at MI. Not only the rich rewards, but also the honour of winning at MI is worth the effort.

But even those who arent exactly planning on winning at MI, there are rich pickings to be made ;) Since it is such a big gathering of collge crowd, it offers excellent scope for making new 'contacts' that often do end up going a long way.

The Pronites are great fun too. The Open Air Theatre (OAT) is filled to capacity atleast on 2 of the pronites with the crowd going crazy with joy ! This year, Shaan (whose real name happens to be Shantanu :) as well) had the whole OAT in a frenzy. The same was the case with Remo last year, Lucky Ali the year before, Shankar Mahadevan ....

All in all, the course laid out, by the MI team is tasty and filling. And most importantly every bit of it is Free :)
I have been lucky to have been associated with quite a few MoodI's directly or indirectly. Working for it is as spicy an experience. I hope, I have the stomach to report that as well.

The Rat-Race I

I start off as a blogger at a time when most off the doors are rapidly closing around me !

There comes a time when you hit a road block, and all that is left in your hands is to question each of the turns that you took along the way and more importantly , each turn you missed out on :(. Since quite a few rocket scientist ;) , beleive that time cant be reversed, all that one can actually do is think and try and find a way around the road block.
Often vertical turns out to be the correct direction.

Though I do love writing abstart personal thoughts, the very fact that it took me so long to start a Blog, itself is an indication that I never thought out-of-the-maze as long as the road was straight and rather unblocked.

Blogging, I hope will be an activity that i will pursure more often for a personal sort of joy, rather than any kind of recognisition of the kind I have been mindlessly following quite some time now.

At this roadblock, I stop to ponder and explore new ideas and avenues. Subsequently will come a time, when I will have to accept that I ran a rat-race in a maze where there wasnt any cheese for me. That will be hardest part of it all.
Neither is the maze to be blamed, nor are the rats. Its just that, its time to put on the running shoes and start searching for a different maze altogether.