Lord of the Rings!

Sohoni Sir says,

Its so amazing that its almost theology.

about rings.

Studying didn't help, I hope praying will (in today's midsem).

Can a guy & girl be just friends!?

They were strange post-midnight discussions between friends - when we stumbled on the Ladder Theory. Google for it or check out www.intellectualwhores.com .
2 ladders diverged at the first look,
I took one .... & that has made all the difference.

Becky vs Robin ?!

Its not like my life's boring when I don't post on the blog;
but its worth mentioning when half-asleep realization dawns that you have a cute thing in your heart for women newscasters ...
While Melissa Theuriau is a global favorite & Barkha Dutt inspires national awe;
I can't figure out whether I like Rebecca Donaldson or Robin Scherbatsky more.

CAGD Project

Our CAGD project this semester was quite a pleasant exercise. While I shall not bitch about the other course projects, this one took us back to appreciating the aesthetics (something we would have otherwise abstracted out) and designing a simple everyday object in a 3D modeller.
While I shall be strutting around after getting some good marks in that project; I enjoyed doing something totally novel and creative after a long time. Hats off to Sohoni Sir for injecting so much life into things we otherwise take for granted.

Here are a few snap shots of my mobile - that I promised a few people.
Guess which cell-phone model I was aiming to ape in the comments .. First 3 correct entries get a treat (assuming that you didn't know of it before hand)!

Apparently, its not like all my 21 years have been wasted ...
While she was sure I was no where close to 21, my mom did wonder which of the two I resembled more - a 2 yr. old or a 1 yr. old!!

I might not have done much in my nearly 21 yrs. of existence;
but I take joy in the fact that I am / was often regarded as a capable friend or a worthy adversary by those who have!

My good deed of the day :-)

I donated 4000 grains of rice at www.freerice.com . Now I have no idea where the rice comes from & where it goes, but was a pleasant post-GRE exercise nonetheless. Have been swinging between a low of 31 & a high of 43!

1 साल बाद!

Its been an year, since my Goa trip;
& just like Goa, the memories are ageless; as are the wounds! Ouch!

Another year, when the "Har saal .. " resolution has failed.

The globe turns a full circle ..

as a 10 year old boy (circa 1995), I distinctly remember hearing time and again, why globalisation is bad for India, its economy, its people & more dramatically, for the survival of the country at large.
12 years later, things have come a full circle - Americans / Europeans are dreading the same globalisation.

Many Europeans, like many Americans, feel threatened by globalization. But the challenge cannot be met with Mr. Sarkozy’s misconceived ideas, including designating threatened European companies as nationally backed contenders, and giving them special legal and economic privileges. That approach will see sheltered European firms fall even further behind newer and more efficient competitors from India, China and elsewhere.

While much more can be said - it was amply felt during our time in France and reading articles otherwise. Indians are riding the wave, better than the Chinese apparently. Pepsi / Coke which were often the target of anti-economic-imperialism screams, finds an Indian lady at the helm. Ditto with Adobe.
Too inexperienced to comment more -- but :-)

You are in CSE, IIT Bombay when ...

... the following exchange pleasantly lands in your inbox!!

Dear Ram,

Your leadership in piloting this bold initiative through Tata Sons is finally paying off - and how superbly! My congratulations and compliments. I am glad that IIT Bombay has contributed in the effort, not only via its past students (who are also past faculty), but also a little through our on-going research collaboration.

With best regards,
Sincerely,
- Deepak

and just when you wonder who Ram is --

Thanks Deepak. You have been a great supporter and a source of strength. Warm regards

S Ramadorai
Tata Consultancy Services
Mailto: s.ramadorai@tcs.com
Website: http://www.tcs.com

"आरे!! हमारे ज़माने में ..."

Anti, Calvin and the above line are intricately linked.
However, if there was one thing I would say was truly unique to people of my age, it would have to be the taking down messages for others, for the calls they miss.
If you aren't figuring what I am talking about, remember the times, when a phone number had a one-to-one correspondence with a particular address (or worse, there was the funda of 'शेजार्यांचा फ़ोन नम्बर'). As a result, we answered phones (which were seldom for us) and we were supposed to take down hurriedly pronounced names / numbers & remember them for delivery to the correct person. I particularly sucked at this art & was sufficiently chided for the same!!

Anyway, since our parents never had phones in their childhood & the concept of a घरचा phone number is fast on the decline - it truly qualifies for a "आरे!! हमारे ज़माने में ..."
Aah! Those were the times ;-)
A Calvin to spread the cheer ...

A few times over ...

Some years ago, statisticians predicted that by the time He retired, Sachin would hold every batting record - well, they were only partially right.
He has records, by a decent margin as well.
A list of his Batting records :-
1. Most Runs (15800s) in Career (yeah.. yeah -- we all knew that)[Next best 12200s]
2. 5^th highest innings score.
3. 2^nd highest runs in a series.
4. 1^st (4^th and few more) highest runs in a calendar year.
5. More than 1000 runs in a calendar year - 7 times
6. 2^nd highest batting average among batsmen with 7000 runs or more.
7. Most hundreds in Career. (41 + 5 times this yr. that he has been out in 90s :-|) [Next Best :- 25]
8. Most hundreds in a calendar year. (Also, the 4th spot.)
9. Most 100's by a batsman against Australia, Srilanka, Zimbabwe, Pakistan, West Indies, South Africa & Kenya.
10. Most (14) 90s scores .. arrgh!! [Next best:- 9]
11. Most (3) dismissals at 99. [Pulling my hair.]
12. Most 50+ scores in career.
12a. Most 50-99 scores in career.
13. 50s in 5 successive matches [Highest by an Indian.]
14. 4^th highest number of career sixes.
15. Highest number of 4s. [1720 to 2nd best 1348]

Anyway, He has set the stage for a decent onslaught. So back to the match.

Mornings !

Mornings in IITB are little appreciated,
because like many other things here (read: lectures, labs, ...) people sleep through them!
However, once in the rising sun, when I happen to chance upon them --I do miss not meeting them more often.

Quoting Sushant :-

To Kanpur ...

I shall not harp again on the (un)justifiable reasons for my long absence. Some updates:

1. Leaving early morning tomorrow for ACM regionals at IITK. Have never been to kanpur, it might also be my east-most indian city since i am self-aware :)
It should be a nice experience, this time being the best in the year to visit kanpur. Their cultural festival is also scheduled on this weekend. We should have a gala time, an inviting break from the semester.
I guess quite a few expectations rest on us but I am quite pessimistic this time around, we have not practiced at all :(

2. Met Tejas and Sonal after a long time yesterday, had dinner together. Good fun.

So long

Won't bother to add much - have been to Hyderabad, so the eastern city and a few other things might not hold, but what the heck saved me a lot of typing :-)

Universe, Solar System ..

.. & life have been reasonably good to me, over the past month upto last weekend !
Quick Notes :-
1. GRE went w/o major calamity!
1'. Back to Nightouts
2. Midsems weren't as terrible as I thought they would be.
3. Ranade Sir didn't appear as angry as my laziness called for.
4. Ganapati Rocks !!
4.1 : Ameya, Anish, Pallavi Tai, Anand Dada were the icing on a real hectic but enjoyable day 1
4.2 : Delhi trip beckoned.
5. Delhi Trip -- Priya will finally rest in peace. Short trip, sweet girls ;-), sweeter memories. Nightout with Aman & co. Meeting Teemish after 3.5 long yrs. Exchanging notes on IITB / IITD Elections, MI / Rendezvous, Insti. Poltu., life, girls, photography etc.. Spoke to Eesha at length after quite a while. India Gate, RajPath walk, Delhi Metro :-), Delhi Traffic :-|, Richshaw fares :-(, Airport, and oops!! coming 2nd <:-P!
6. Google CA!
7. Qualified for IITK Onsite :D
8. Entering knee deep into the Arabian Sea, and feeling responsible for the 18' idol.
9. Biding Sept. adios
9'. Trek to Naneghat, again.
10. Thinking lots about the Pune trip - HawkEye is brainy stuff :-P
11. Going to Pune - 15.4 sec., a paper presentation & lotsa chicken!!

Burp .. Content.

When you think you have run out of time,
prolly its time to turn the clock on its head!

Corny!

Quoting this article,

V. Raghunathan writes about a farmer whose corn won top awards year after year. When a reporter asked about the secret of his success, the farmer attributed it to the fact that he shared his corn with his neighbors. Why, the reporter wondered, would the farmer want to share his seed when those neighbors also competed with him for the prize? The farmer's reply was, "The wind picks up pollen from the ripening corn and swirls it from field to field. If my neighbors grew inferior corn, cross-pollination would steadily degrade the quality of my corn. If I am to grow good corn, I must help my neighbors do the same."

That Indians often fail to act like this farmer is the principal theme of Raghunathan's book.

V. Raghunathan concludes "Indians are privately smart and publicly dumb".

:-ss

GRE Tomo.
Nothing more to say :-|

---
Edit:-
I 1430'd :-|

Watched Rang de Basanti again, today! & much like my other posts, I am confused :)
India, celebrated 60 yrs. of Independence, earlier this week!
My earliest memories of Independence Day, were those of painting Flag Hoisting every August - in the painting class - year after year, an incremental number being the only change. Clearly, as a 6 yr. old, the country as an entity didn't mean much to me, other than - it inspired a lot of fervor.
Over the years, it tickled something... but no sooner had I stopped drawing tricolors (about the time when the number touched the golden 50), than the cynicism largely set in. The past years, have meant an additional holiday, mandatory school parades, additional JEE / Agarwals' classes, or possibly a Malhar - as the case may be. I got perturbed this Wednesday, as I went on some errand to a slum in Thane. Lying in the only square feet - those kids would call a playground - the faith persisted. Some kids had put their ingenuity to test, and had laid out a rangoli in the shape of India - on an extremely uneven ground.
Why was it, that I felt the strongest for my land, when it gave me nothing more than air to breathe (in the years '89-'94, which were among the bleakest in nationalistic history), yet when the country spends a great deal on educating me - I take the midweek break to sneak in a few extra word-lists [& :P] , so that I GRE well!

Earlier today, we watched 3 laborers cut their way through the LT lawns, with an almost medieval lawnmower. It was then, that Sangram brought up the topic of relevance of IITs, Engineers, IITian Engineers to India and so on.
Till before Paris, I was of the opinion that any great innovation made by NRIs in USA would eventually tickle down to Indians & make their life more comfortable. Clearly, I was wrong.
India - has her own set of problems. And, obviously grant commissions in Firang Lands, wouldn't pay to find solutions to our problems. With the case at hand - probably a good automated lawnmower is not an answer, we are looking for in India. Where would the 2, who fed themselves and their families, from their daily wages go? - if we replaced them with a mower than needed just 1 man to man. While, it would clearly be in vogue to have ultramodern devices all over IIT, just like in INRIA, in aping western countries we have missed the point. As sangram pointed out, unfortunately many corporate houses, probably have already purged their payrolls - in order to keep up with 'global' standards.
In the same vein, CTARA (at IITB) is probably the most relevant center / department of IIT Bombay.

And at 60, (coincidentally the age at which Government employees retire) India needs a fresh look at the problems facing us. & A generation needs to reawaken! I have no idea, where the winds of change will flow from (or for that matter - if they will). The easy way out seems like the very easy way out! Just forget that the problem exists, and its existence will stop paining you.
But I guess, things have to change.

Koi bhi desh perfect nahin hota, use perfect banana hota hai.

I have no idea, whether I will have the guts to be a young gun of India or whether

Yahaan pe system ko badal ne ki koshish karo, to system khud tumhe badalta hai.

But, among the best part of the movie, was its touch of realism - each of the hero dies a non-heroic death. Revolutions apparently make no promises & the Satyandra Dubey's die .... but they give no arrival notices either.

But then, political revolution (which might be around the corner) might not come just yet. Yet, the technological needs need addressing as well. The generation can come up with solutions - that address real problems. With thrice as many people per area as France, India's problems are plenty & I don't even know where to start!

Its almost become an annual trend now!
Another student, committed suicide on IITB Campus, sometime yesterday, making it the 2nd suicide in about 7 months and 4th on Campus, in as many years.

While, suicides are an extreme step altogether & a problem in its own right, only a few students end up taking that extreme step. What is a more prevalent problem in the institute, is the desire to quit the system!
In excess, of half the students are in the mood to quit the system & things surrounding them - at the halfway mark! The desire manifests itself, in many ways. Those who actually, quit the system, earlier than stipulated - by leaving the institute dead or otherwise, are a few.

But most, unfortunately, a larger number just wait for time to pass-by and them to honorably graduate from IITB. In the mean time, they sleep through courses, take up easy courses, and so on, so forth.
The general discontent, with the system - is something that has to be addressed at some level.