I Will Remember-The Walk

This is something that I have been wanting to do for a while now - take a walk around IIT and relive some of the memories. Doing it with 4 others was a lot of fun! This was by no means extensive as it was a good 3 hour long walk and hence, was pretty tiring as it was after a long day.. :)

But, an attempt nevertheless.. :D



The place where the day generally begins :)




The dreaded school steps!! :D



The school lounge ,where all the important football games of the last 2 seasons were watched with the entire gang :)




The way from class to the school lounge :)



Class finally :D the place I went not so frequently :P




The Indian deli outside school..Most slacking moment lol



School Corridor..The place where I got caught all the time this year :P




School Terrace..Where we saw(partly) the asteroid showers :D



The University hall..Remember the first days when I used to collect my scholarship here :)



And finally(phew!!) The football court..Where I spent the majority of this year in the name of practice and matches :P



Cannot forget the exam hall where Bipasa(in pic) got her first A+ lol :)



No more exams (after the finals ofcourse :P) so notice fail :P



Auditions for the various cultural programs which were awesome fun lol



Sleeping in campus one last time this year :P



Thanks for the McBreakfasts all over this year :P

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It was a walk to remember :)
Kindled all memories of the previous year!! Thanks for being there with me guys..That walk was one memorable one :)
I'll miss the classroom!!

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14 hours and 1 final post to go :)

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I Will Remember-The Trips

These were the 2 trips we took in school the last 2 years. And these would rank among my sweetest memories of the joys of my last 2 years of school.

Langkawi: Our 1st trip experience last semester. For this one, we had Mom with us. This helped all other parents wave out first time jitters and we were all set to go. It'd be tough to list out all the wonderful things that happened.. 3 things I do remember are -

The Place: My god! Langkawi ranks among the more beautiful places I've seen just for the simple fact that it is a killer combination of hills and sea. The sea is as you would imagine - golden sands, bright blue water and the Hills are awesome as well.



I vividly remember taking the cable car up to the hill with a popular bridge(where the climax of a then-recently released Hindi movie called Don had been shot) and gasping at the sight of the beautiful sea just below.

The Hurry: This is something we set right in our 2nd trip. This one, though was jam packed and I remember us constantly rushing from one thing to another. We were at Langkawi for 2 and half days and 3 nights and there's really a lot to do in the place! We had a day off for scuba diving, another for various water sports, other for some sight seeing and all in all, we were ALWAYS rushing from one thing to another.

It's a funny memory - it's probably because it was the first time we were getting out and our desire to do 'everything' possible in that place.

Late night drives: I love driving so it is only natural driving features in my top 3. For a small island, Langkawi has a beautiful road system with clear maps. And it was a small and safe place.. Remember going out for nice long drives - all jam packed(We had 10 people in an 8 seater car) with our shadow man entertaining us with his language skills.

There was also a drive in the afternoon just as it was about to rain that I'm sure to remember for a long time. We were climbing a hill and it felt like a journey in heaven with fog, clear roads and lots of greenery..

One that almost made the list: Great diving experience swimming 25 feet under water with nemo fish etc

It was a great trip. Learnt a lot on how to organize a trip once we went on this one. Following this, we practically took 2 years to go on our next one. Most of us went into a money crunch/got busy. By the time, we were in our 3rd year, friends had already left on exchange etc.. In our 7th semester, time was ripe for another one. After a bit of research, we decided to go with Cameron Highlands- which seemed like a scenic mountainous place and thought it would be a nice change.

Cameron: Tough to name 3 things again.. But here goes -

Getting there and Settling In: I clearly remember the excitement of waiting at the KL terminus for our beautiful black Toyoto Innova and the sheer joy at seeing the car and test driving it. We were all set for a lovely 3 hour drive down the highway. This was followed by an awesome climb! We had managed to rent out what seemed like a great apartment for the entire group - 9 of us living in the same house - imagine the chaos! Once we got there, I remember being dead tired and fell asleep.



Within a couple of hours, we were all set to do some minor trekking. So, we decided to go on the trail to a waterfall. And after a deliicious meal of waffles, strawberry and ice cream, we went on this 'trek'. It turned out to be just a walk for 15 mins till we reached a small waterfall. Well, so much for trekking we thought..

And we came back, packed dinner and watched what will go down as one of the most eventful football games of the season - Manchester United vs Manchester City. United clinched a 4-3 victory with a goal in the 95th minute (i.e 30 seconds before the whistle blew).. Cannot forget! We were all set to go trekking the next day..

THE Brinchang Trek: We had all (well, almost all..) come fully prepared for an adventure trip. We knew there was going to be a fair amount of trekking etc. So, we went down and had a chat with a local travel person who recommended we all wear shorts instead of track pants as it would easier to spot leeches if they do manage to get on.. He also told us that the trek we'd be taking would be a good 4 hour trek and could get tiring. We were all set..



We reached the spot and the 1st 15 mins was a nice walk with a nice tarred road and we were again laughing at the 'trek'. This road, however, came to an abrupt end and we didn't know where to go. We soon spotted a small(miniscule would be the word) clearing with a stream and a way right into a hilly jungle. It had begun..

The trek did take a good part of 4 and a half hours. We managed to take a few photos in the nicer 1st part of the journey after which, it practically became impossible to stop at a place together. I was actually very surprised the locals are chilled out about people going because it is not one for anyone who is not in touch with regular physical activity. We had to use our hands, legs, lots of help from friends to make it through. And if it wasn't for the fact that we had a formation to make sure we were able to help the person in front and behind, I doubt if we would have made it through..



There were still heart stopping moments like at a sudden point when a friend slipped and said she'd twisted her leg. I didn't see any way of us going down the wilderness (would've been physically impossible) and the last hour of the climb was vertical. Luckily, the twist didn't happen and she was good to go. The last hour was an almost vertical climb. And soon we were on top! The other side of Mt Brinchang was a beautiful 3 hour walk down tea estates and that was a relief after the long trek..

It was a very tough trek and that's what makes it so memorable - the fact that we did it without any guide. Out in the wilderness for 4-5 hours is a memory that is going to stay for a very long time. And one thing for sure, we felt great finishing it!

Rafting and Caving: There was more adventure in store. The next morning, we headed for caving.

Caving involved us walking, crawling, climbing and slides in caves that were few storeys high (with thousands of bats right on top) and then suddenly just low and thin enough for 1 person. It was quite an adventure as we had a guide who was in charge of 12 people, could barely speak English and hence, communicated with the gestures. I remember a couple of instances when I was sure I'd just be falling off a cliff.. And just managed to slide out in time… The craziest memory during caving was when we had to float for a few metres along a stream(yes, there was water running all through) through a passage narrow enough only for 1 person and with no place to raise our heads even(thanks to stalactites). Tough for anyone who is claustrophobic. This was followed by lot more climbing, pulling each other up and sliding.. And ended with a wonderful natural jacuzzi..

Rafting was an experience to remember as well. The most freaky part was the briefing where they just let us glide down a stream, gesture for a rope, catch it and swim to shore. Once we started, our guides were in complete control. They were strong enough to comfortably lift any of us with 1 hand onto the boat. And they made sure we capsized a couple of times to add to the fun. Oh, and let me not forget, the water was FREEZING cold. And we also received a certificate for having rafted through a grade III river..

There's a video of the rafting here.(of the rafting company that is..)

The big difference with the Cameron trip was that we were never really rushed. We did things at our own pace, had lots of food, a night of lots of music, dance etc - but all at our own pace.. And that made it great.

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These 2 trips are memories that I'll take forward for a very long time. If you started your last 2 years in school ,Its high time you gather a tour with guys cause its gonna last a remembrance for a long long time. Haha


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2 days to go.. (As of yesterday)

Humans-Handle With Care

Recently,a friend of mine sent me a message .."Don't say that I 'm destined to read you,just say its my fate"...hurried to add "just kidding".He is well known to me ..so I felt that the latter part was unwarranted.

Well,communication is a double-edged sword.Most of us are looking for an excuse to get offended,,,sensitive to be precise.You all will agree with me that we cannot operate in vacuum.We need people ..thus need to master the art of managing relationships,to tackle the fragile,at times brittle fellow beings.

Few tips here which I follow,,,not exhaustive,add your own...I would love to learn more.

When you react:

* Trust : If the opponents intentions are good,let him say anything,in any terminology,just consume.
* Take it easy : Easier said than done..if you cannot be "cool",act as if....you let the opponent win if he infuriates you,so don't.
* Pull your own legs : Particularly when someone mocks at you;A class mate of mine named himself IAS (Invisible After Sunset) Those who teased him for his extra dark complexion had to give up.
* Get pally : This week,in a pensive mood,when I told one of my friends to 'go to hell' he blissfully countered 'join me,it might turn into heaven'.
* Humour : No need to elaborate,incorporate everywhere,its the best weapon.

When you act :

* Try not to step on toes : No one deserves it,leave alone accepting it.
* Add tact to honesty : Even if you intend good,make it obvious that you don't mean to hurt.Remember,he is also a delicate darling like you.
* Emoticons : This while communicating through writing(thanks to Scott Fahlman who brought smile to the internet in 1982)whether you tweet,scrap or write on someones wall, it comes handy.Suffix liberally a smiley face :) , :( , :D , :P , :X ,or any such ,,you have a plenty of choice.A simple "just kidding"(recall the opening paragraph) or lol!!!! serves the purpose.

I recommend the last one..the emoticons...it clears up confusion about writers' intentions... it also gives me an advantage to say any damn thing I actually intend to,yet pretend I never meant it..its so simple,for eg.,
The one who reads this post yet doesn't comment is an illiterate :P
Anyone who comments,shares it either on his FB or Twitter page is my best friend :D :D
Is my message conveyed? lol!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Note: There are a few with whom you don't need to think of what & how to speak,they get you anyway..such are rare,unique and divine. I guess neither you nor me come under that category,,,,,and this I am not kidding.

Wavin' Flag -K'Nann

When i get older, they'll call me freedom
Just like a Waving Flag.

[Chorus]
When I get older, I will be stronger,
They'll call me freedom, just like a Waving Flag,
And then it goes back, and then it goes back,
And then it goes back

Born to a throne, stronger than Rome
but Violent prone, poor people zone,
But it's my home, all I have known,
Where I got grown, streets we would roam.
But out of the darkness, I came the farthest,
Among the hardest survival.
Learn from these streets, it can be bleak,
Except no defeat, surrender retreat,

So we struggling, fighting to eat and
We wondering when we'll be free,
So we patiently wait, for that fateful day,
It's not far away, so for now we say

[Chorus]

So many wars, settling scores,
Bringing us promises, leaving us poor,
I heard them say, love is the way,
Love is the answer, that's what they say,
But look how they treat us, Make us believers,
We fight their battles, then they deceive us,
Try to control us, they couldn't hold us,
Cause we just move forward like Buffalo Soldiers.

But we struggling, fighting to eat,
And we wondering, when we'll be free
So we patiently wait, for that faithful day,
It's not far away, but for now we say,

[Chorus] 2x

(Ohhhh Ohhhh Ohhhhh Ohhhh)
And everybody will be singing it
(Ohhhh Ohhhh Ohhhhh Ohhhh)
And you and I will be singing it
(Ohhhh Ohhhh Ohhhhh Ohhhh)
And we all will be singing it
(Ohhh Ohh Ohh Ohh)

[Chorus] 2x

When I get older, when I get older
I will be stronger, just like a Waving Flag,
Just like a Waving Flag, just like a Waving flag
Flag, flag, Just like a Waving Flag

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Waving Flag by K'Nann is one of the songs which has created an impact on me in the recent past..I just got the original CD so that I could contribute for the Somalian people!!!
Get your CDs too people..Its worth it
You can feed a group of people!!!!

I Will Remember -The Friends

I have been fortunate to have a close set of friends a.k.a 'the gang' but today's post is not about them, it's about a bunch of others.. Today's post is going to be different. No learnings - just a collection of thoughts.

Why? Because I just had the most amazing 3 hours laughing at myself with a very very special friend and I felt I should write on these moments rather than blog about what I had planned..

1)The intellectual: I love deep long discussions - philosophy, life, human psychology etc.. Just love discussing in depth. I love listening to a completely different point of view. And this is a tribute to a friend - the intellectual..

The biggest hazard of having a conversation with this friend is that we start generally around dinner time (8 or 830) and generally go on till 4AM atleast and has often gone on till 7 or 8AM even. This has included 'study' times, lots of exchange of youtube videos, but most of all just discussions - understanding why we believe what we believe in - asking that dreaded 'why' question!

Because, often we tend to have a point of view and we don’t know why. It's when we ask ourselves that why question that we understand where these points of views come from. I have often used these discussions to further deepen my understanding of concepts in many books and then, just laugh - laugh at everything and most of all, myself. Every moment has been a pleasure and we've managed to keep this happen despite being in completely different 'gangs'.. It's a friendship I treasure and one I will continue to do so for a very long time..

And the few hours spent today was right up there among the all time great. This friend has decided it's time he found out something 'weird' about me and find something that would be unexpected. He's on a mission - let's see how it goes..

Just a tribute to an awesome person!

2)Football friend, work friend: There have been two friends who deserve special mentions as well.

My football friend has been a friend who came together thanks to a common interest - Arsenal. We share a common myopic view of the world when it comes to football. In fact, I think it is fair to say we are Gunners fans first, and lovers of watching football second. It's only a pity we've really gotten around to spending time this year but boy, have those times been fun. I enjoy catching games with this friend.. And enjoy the endless chats on how we would do as managers.. Haha

The other friend is a friend I've worked with for a long time. Again, someone I've seen grow up over the years. We've shared a very nice working relationship and even after our paths separated, we found new excuses to work with each other. It's been a wonderful relationship - one that I will look back on with a lot of joy. It is also because this person was one of my first 'kids'(this term I shall explain right below) - that may have changed with time but there'll always be a special place for being the 'first' in my heart.. :)

(Typically, they would be in separate paragraphs but I just realized I have another paragraph and I am fixated about 3.. Haha)

3)My kiddos: I was taken in an environment at Nineo where, in our 1st year, we were our mentor's kids. And we kept becoming so and so's kids depending on which mentor we were working with. And soon came the time for me to have my own 'kids'. Now, as this was my first leadership test, it went really bad and I gave my first set a torturous experience. The good news is that they survived and one of them made it through most of the rest of my journey. These opportunities got lesser and lesser as the years passed and things changed at work..

That changed this year though with Sparkz and ArtVibe. All of a sudden, I have a very special bunch of friends to spend time with. Every one of them is a source of SO much joy these days that time spent with them is an absolute pleasure..

These experiences have played a big part in 'making' me. If I had to lead people, I realized that I better start practicing what I preached. And if today -

-> My room is kept clean and sanitable
-> I've begun laughing at myself
-> I've learnt to rush a lot less and be calm a lot more..

I owe it to this special bunch..

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I am a people person and generally most of my associations are people related. For example, I would choose between where to go depending on the people and most of my school life has been spent alongside people as well. I'm not much the TV show or movie person (as the intellectual friend above discovered to his dismay) - I'm much happier being around a bunch of friends - learning, playing around, having conversations and doing something fun.. There' s a whole list of people who've given me an immense source of joy and this post is just remembering fun times, unpredictable times that have really defined a big part of my school life..

Here's to them!
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I'll Remember- 'The Gang'

What would school life be without friends, eh? I'd detailed one post about friends outside the 'gang' and so here's one for 'the gang'. It's been an amazing journey with these friends, one with lots of ups and downs and learnings as well..

1)The People: I've tried not to name people for some weird reason in all these school posts, and so, that trend shalt continue..

The Shadow: Likes all underground places. Loves the idea of living as a shadow, having your own space and being different from normal mortals. And if you ever want a human search function on YouTube, you know whom to go to..

The Dancer: Quite the Ms.flexibility with a passion for anything that gets life groovin'.. Oh, and this one is a not-so-apparent geek..

The Delicate one: Quite the sportsman. Averages atleast one fracture/ligament tear every 6 months. Oh, and this one can paint as well..

The Singer: Successfully dragged 8 other Indian classical music lovers (not!) to 8 paid classical music concerts.. What more can I say?

The Talkative one: Blah blah blah blah blah blah. Fills the airwaves, always.. 'Nuff said..

The Bubbly one: Always full of energy, full of life.. And hence, always brought down by some constant rubbing the wrong way to normal human energy levels..

The Funny one: 3 things - Very tall, very thin, very funny. There's gotta be one of these in every group..

The Mom-ish one: Has an interesting ability to bring up interesting biological facts and statistics - some say with a rather weird sense of humor, but hey, that's a touchy topic..

The Ap-droid one: Would search for his dad's name on Google on his phone if you given the chance on one hand and would wax lyrical about his rather icky looking white laptop on the other… tough choice..(These are replaced by others from time to time - we're just going with the flavor of the season)

2)System attempts - Weekend, Dollar Tracker: Now, we've tried out various various systems and initiatives. I'm going to talk about a couple of things that did work..

Weekend System: This system meant allotting one weekend (i.e. Saturday evening) per person in a semester. And this person basically decided what needed to be done. As this was entirely person dependent, we had weekends spent playing Dumb Charades, board games, pictionary as well as weekends outside.. Was a fun initiative.. And saved us from spending hours on Saturday's deciding what to do. This way, one person was god.

We've tried numerous numerous other systems to make our lives easier and to keep spamming each other on emails. Tried our hand with Dropbox and One Note (which was useful for planning trips), Google calender etc but one of the recent successes was an initiative called the Dollar Tracker.

Dollar Tracker: Now, we all owe each other some cash all the time. Often, these are sums ranging from a few cents to a few dollars to a few 100 in some cases. It got increasingly tiring to keep repeating every time we met each other that we owed each other stuff. That's before the dollar tracker.. (in picture)



'All amounts and characters are purely fictional. Any resemblance to real life characters is regretted' :D

Keeping track has greatly reduced this headache. And given the increase in the number of jokes on this thing, I'll definitely remember this one..

3)Music: I think music has been a big part of the glue that's held together this bunch. And thanks to advice from the MIT Blog on 50 things for every undergraduate on burning a CD with all the songs for every period, here is a list. Some of these are just personal favorites during the period and others are group favorites..

Semester 1-> One Last Breath, Blue, Echo

Semester 2-> New slang, Honey and the moon, Ever after you, Only gay eskimo, Engel Kaisi paheli

Semester 3-> Hey there Delilah

Semester 5-> This year's love, Sparrows over Birmingham

Semester 6-> Hurt so good, Say, Hurt, Bubbly

Summer Hols '09 -> Hallelujah

Semester 7-> Love story, Super Trouper, Take a chance on me, Winner takes it all, Cloud Number 9, Ukulele Orchestra's 'The good, the bad, the ugly, Viva La Vida, Stu Song and Nakkamukka

Semester 8-> 3 Idiots - Sari Umar Hum, I'm Yours, Wavin' Flag (Fifa 2010 song)..

There have been many many times when we've just sat all nights introducing each other to new songs.. So, here's a tribute to all those late night chats usually followed by Mcbreakfast(how can I forget!).. :D

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Another big part of time with the Gang was the trips we took, and that's coming up tomorrow.. :D
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4 days to go..

Where Is Everyone??!!

Where is everyone?
Ma, pa?
Pa – I never knew him. I mean I’ve never met him. My aunt told me he died cause of gang violence. Ergo, mom is a single parent. I’ve got a sister and a brother. We’re triplets. That made things even more difficult for mom. Feeding three mouths and working. But she made it through. We lived in a tough neighborhood. It’s a gated community, but it’s like one of those promise lands, where everything seems so great from the outside but living there, you’d been in hell’s hell. There would be constant wars between us and “them”. Shootouts were a common thing here. Mom always wanted us to stay at home. She was scared. We were home schooled, I don’t know how she found the time, but she did it. She was a tough woman. Three years ago, my brother was on his way to work. He stopped to buy groceries, bang bang bang, three shots to the head.”They” strike again. My sister was kidnapped. She was not found dead, but my sources told me that she was being treated in some facility. My mother was shot dead, 3 weeks ago, inside our territory, our home. I witnessed her execution from behind the hedges; I’m scared because I do not know how long I have to live. And the worst part is. I’ll be living my life in fear of everything around me, not knowing when the enemy will stick a gun to my head.
This was a first hand account of Ms. Goldie black’s life. Growing up in fear, isn’t her life sad?? Now here is the twist in her story, she went through all of this within the first 5 years of her life. Anyone thinking, how a 5 year old kid can tell me all of this. Simple. Ms. Goldie black is a 5 and a half year old TIGRESS .you must be wondering shootouts? And kidnapping? How is that possible? But it’s like that for them. The poachers and those shipped off to the zoo. They do not know what’s going on. We sympathies and do what ever we can in trying to help children growing and living in war zones. This is ALSO A WARZONE, and then why not joins our hands together and save these majestic creatures? It’s your choice. But think about this. Would you leave a child of 5 years old in a war mine?

This one was written by me for a contest on "Saving Tigers-1411 only left in India"!

I'll Remember My Goofs!!

I am generally a person who has too much fun making mistakes to make them 'just' a few times..haha So, the list of goofs is long but I'm going to try and pick the top 2 and also just put in a word about them..

1)Bankruptcy and Debt: I make it sound worse than it probably was but then there was this period when I did go broke - completely broke. Suddenly, I had no money for bills and I had no idea where this even came from?

It was a shocker to me as I had enough money thanks to a scholarship that paid for all expenses. And it then occurred that I had been living a lifestyle that was way above my means. After I'd started working, I was in this rather warped sense of reality - too many cab rides, too much eating out etc. At any rate, I was spending a lot more than I earned. Now, as I had been very proud of the fact that I did not have to take money from home for my studies, I had to rely on friends to bail me out on an immediate note, and they did. It was a big big hit to my own understanding of myself in terms of expenses and finances. It took more about 1 and a half year to get myself back to complete financial comfort but I've learnt a few lessons that I will take forward with me for a long long time..

Learning: Money to spend = Money Earned - Basic expenses - Savings. I haven't even come to a point where there are savings I can talk about but it is a very simple rule that is easy to flout.. And once flouted, takes enormous discipline to get back. It's a lesson I'm thankful for - it was my Personal Financial Management 101 course..

2)Screwing up health: There came a period after my G9 when a whole bunch of people I knew just fell sick. These were generally symptoms of a larger problem - there was a lot of illness flying around accumulated due to bad eating habits primarily, resulting in a loss of health. I was seemingly too busy to worry about food and the result was a bad gastric problem that lasted for three rather painful weeks.

The worst part was that it was self inflicted.

Learning: 'Food first' is a motto I've tried to stick with.. I generally don’t mind walking into a meeting a few minutes late and paying late fee if it means grabbing the all important bite. A lot of things go wrong without food in our system.. And it's just not worth the risk.

3)Goofs in itself - a learning: These 2 big goofs on the finance and health fronts changed a lot. Firstly, I became very concerned about saving to the point that I cringe when I have to spend 20 cents to buy a new take away box. I prefer washing old ones and carrying them to the canteen myself.

With health, I was already very concerned about my staying fit. This just went up to a whole new level in terms of what I ate. It's come to a point where I have consequences if I don't have a full vegetable dish and a fruit or fruits every day. (Again, more on that when I write about $5 discipline system).

I'm thankful I screwed up with these things when I did because it becomes tougher to learn these lessons and rectify this as we grow older. I wouldn't recommend these to anybody. So, if you are a university kid who is going through the normal drill of an unhealthy life, then I think you've seen enough evidence of the things that can happen. It's amazing how even the small things can come back and bite us..

When I was in school, I was once playing badminton on a wooden court with no shoes when my PT Teacher came up to me and asked me to stop. When I told him I'm only playing for a 'short while' and nothing would happen, he just smiled and said - 'You'll only feel the effects when you are 40!' ..

It's the small things that make a difference. And if the effects of wearing the wrong footwear are so bad, we can only imagine how bad it would be with the wrong food. And as far as money is concerned, I think we've seen what spending over our means and living on credit can do to the world.. :)

And again, while I do hope that none of you ever have to make these mistakes to learn, if they do happen.. we always have the choice to grown into individuals who are better for it than not..

As Rafiki - the wise baboon in Lion King puts it - 'You can either run from it.. or learn from it'

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13 days to go..