One of my best friends told me about how another friend of ours had got placed in Microsoft and how she was the only one who got placed there from her college. It was not a surprise for me since she is the only person that I know who joined a good engineering college to actually become an engineer whereas for the rest of us, becoming an engineer was just an insignificant epilogue. We were told that once you get in, THAT IS IT and at 16, you believe what you are told by your parents, who actually had no clue about what they were saying and who were taught this by friends and the initial sources were coaching centres that had to grab the school toppers regardless of the interests of these students
A popular bollywood movie had the phrase 'kahaani abhhi baaki hai mere dost', meaning 'the story is still not over' (roughly!), but in engineering life, the story only begins once you are in college and then there are higher studies options to think about and then careers in core or software or a transition to management or something else entirely.
I do not know what is right or wrong, to have joined BITS has been an unbelievable experience for me since it widened my horizon, I met some of the most talented people ever, some of the most smartest, sharpest minds and learned to live in a mixed environment which had people from all over the country. It taught me to learn and learn and learn all the time, even from the most insignificant of matters, from everyday incidents about dealing with people, taking pressure, meeting deadlines (to be more honest- how to submit an assignment- copy, borrow or just plain old bluffing) and countless other things. But engineering wise, I really doubt whether I have done justice to myself and to this institute. Time will tell, but it is most likely to ring me up and say 'Yo dude, m2l2. ggwp hua mkl' or something like that.
Got an exam tomorrow, going to be run over by a freight train at full speed. So, ciao people.
PS- this is my personal experience and that of many who studied with me in my hometown and what many of my friends had told me. Your experience could be different and if it is, you are really fortunate and hats off to you for having done what you wanted to do.
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Monday, February 15, 2010
At War, they live life
Recently I read the books 'Fools Rush In', an autobiographical account by Bill Carter about his trip into wartorn Sarajevo and 'The Zahir' by Paulo Coelho. There was a common factor in both of them, it explained how people in the middle of war were living their life to the full and how they were not worried about trivial matters of existence but concentrated fully on the present. This was the central theme of the first novel and formed an important part of a revelation in the latter novel.
'Fools Rush In' explained how people who have survived a day in the frontline enjoyed a well earned break by drinking and singing and also about a fashion show that was organised in the city of Sarajevo right in the middle of war (the song 'Miss Sarajevo' by U2 is based on Bill Carter's book).
I suppose having survived certain death, humans become more aware of being alive since they have realised, whatever it is that we do to keep this body breathing, it will stop one day. Yesterday was a hellish experience which they were able to see through and are thankful for having one more day to live and tomorrow, they might not be this lucky. This makes today the only certainty, the only thing that is visible and within their reach. Hence, they make the best use of today.
They are not burdened by the mundane aspets of daily life, saving for a rainy day, paying for rent, getting a degree or looking after the family for all of this is too far in the future to even cross their minds. The only constant and certainty is not even today, but this nanosecond for in the next a missile or bullet or shrapnel could take away everything. We are weighed down by our actions in the past, we have things to do in the present, we have dreams and aspirations of the future hanging over us and always, always miles to go. We are all prisoners of our past, expectations about the future and helplessness in our present.
We sacrifice our present in the hopes of a better future, we carry our past with us- its weight pulling us down. I do not know what is right- to live forgetting our past, uncaring about the future and living a free present or to lead a cautious, planned life. But one thing is for certain, not all of us can be totally free, for if that happened, the world will not run. Not all of us are free of commitments and we will never be free of our past for it determines our present.
There is a practical way out perhaps- we can stop worrying about results and what will happen in the future but just give it our best. We can learn from our past and leave the experiences behind just as pointers and to remind us of our mistakes and
low points so that we do not repeat them especially because how much ever we want to change the past, we really cannot do anything about the time that has gone by. I guess this is what 'Bhagavad Gita' tells us, it is our duty to perform our actions and it is not for us to worry about the results and also says that whatever has happened has happened for the good.
'Fools Rush In' explained how people who have survived a day in the frontline enjoyed a well earned break by drinking and singing and also about a fashion show that was organised in the city of Sarajevo right in the middle of war (the song 'Miss Sarajevo' by U2 is based on Bill Carter's book).
I suppose having survived certain death, humans become more aware of being alive since they have realised, whatever it is that we do to keep this body breathing, it will stop one day. Yesterday was a hellish experience which they were able to see through and are thankful for having one more day to live and tomorrow, they might not be this lucky. This makes today the only certainty, the only thing that is visible and within their reach. Hence, they make the best use of today.
They are not burdened by the mundane aspets of daily life, saving for a rainy day, paying for rent, getting a degree or looking after the family for all of this is too far in the future to even cross their minds. The only constant and certainty is not even today, but this nanosecond for in the next a missile or bullet or shrapnel could take away everything. We are weighed down by our actions in the past, we have things to do in the present, we have dreams and aspirations of the future hanging over us and always, always miles to go. We are all prisoners of our past, expectations about the future and helplessness in our present.
We sacrifice our present in the hopes of a better future, we carry our past with us- its weight pulling us down. I do not know what is right- to live forgetting our past, uncaring about the future and living a free present or to lead a cautious, planned life. But one thing is for certain, not all of us can be totally free, for if that happened, the world will not run. Not all of us are free of commitments and we will never be free of our past for it determines our present.
There is a practical way out perhaps- we can stop worrying about results and what will happen in the future but just give it our best. We can learn from our past and leave the experiences behind just as pointers and to remind us of our mistakes and
low points so that we do not repeat them especially because how much ever we want to change the past, we really cannot do anything about the time that has gone by. I guess this is what 'Bhagavad Gita' tells us, it is our duty to perform our actions and it is not for us to worry about the results and also says that whatever has happened has happened for the good.
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Freedom
What is freedom? The ability to do as we wish? If so, we have only moments of temporary freedom, like a leash tied around a dogs neck. As long as the rope is free of tension, we are free- free to do what we wish like in that small little circle. Once that rope is tight, there is nothing to do about it but submit and find solace in our momentary freedom. This freedom is most definitely not an illusion, it exists and is true, but it is has a range. It cannot extend beyond that and when this freedom ends, we are frustrated.
Whatever we do, we are all tied down. Tied down by our past, tied down by the expectations of others about our future and by our helplessness in our present. When we are young, we fulfil our parent's wishes, we go to a school then a college and get a degree- all this decided by our parents or our economic condition. We then enter into a job, start a family and we need to support the family and sustain the family. When are we ever free in this world? Only when we are unconscious, before have begun to walk and talk- it might seem a contradiction since babies cannot move and cannot express themselves. But their smile must tell you they are happy.
We are tied down by commitments to family and work, we have social obligations, favours to do since they have done favours for us a- quid pro quo. Deadlines must be met, assignments must be completed, exams to be written and we forget ever asking ourselves what we are doing to ourselves, this world and what the hell we are doing with our lives. When we ask that question, it is an uncomfortable feeling for it is not in the answer that discomfort lies, but we ask why we have not asked ourselves this question before and the answer to the question is still elusive. We are living a life that has been either advised to us, told to us and ignorantly and complacently accepted or forced down upon us.
Is there any freedom in this? We are all prisoners of our past, expectations about the future and helplessness in our present. Can we leave this world behind us and move into another realm? Can we escape this life and go into the uncertain? It would require immense courage and perhaps most importantly recklessness beyond compare and even bordering on the insane.
Whatever we do, we are all tied down. Tied down by our past, tied down by the expectations of others about our future and by our helplessness in our present. When we are young, we fulfil our parent's wishes, we go to a school then a college and get a degree- all this decided by our parents or our economic condition. We then enter into a job, start a family and we need to support the family and sustain the family. When are we ever free in this world? Only when we are unconscious, before have begun to walk and talk- it might seem a contradiction since babies cannot move and cannot express themselves. But their smile must tell you they are happy.
We are tied down by commitments to family and work, we have social obligations, favours to do since they have done favours for us a- quid pro quo. Deadlines must be met, assignments must be completed, exams to be written and we forget ever asking ourselves what we are doing to ourselves, this world and what the hell we are doing with our lives. When we ask that question, it is an uncomfortable feeling for it is not in the answer that discomfort lies, but we ask why we have not asked ourselves this question before and the answer to the question is still elusive. We are living a life that has been either advised to us, told to us and ignorantly and complacently accepted or forced down upon us.
Is there any freedom in this? We are all prisoners of our past, expectations about the future and helplessness in our present. Can we leave this world behind us and move into another realm? Can we escape this life and go into the uncertain? It would require immense courage and perhaps most importantly recklessness beyond compare and even bordering on the insane.
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