During the Mumbai terrorist attacks on Mumbai in Nov, The Times of India and its television version brought to us the heart-wrenching visuals of grief and people trying to escape the carnage, graphic images of terrorists firing at innocent civilians and showed live footage of them holding one of Mumbai's most famous landmarks hostage and the last moments of those who went in to stop these culprits.
As a former US President told about Mr.Ed Murrow, they brought the fires of mumbai to our living rooms and the bullets and bombs were aimed at us. The reporters from the channel and the newspaper went to great lengths to cover the event as it was unfolding and gave upto date information to the world. But TIMES did more than that, they stamped their trademark on it, which I must say is not one to be proud of.
I would like to quote the front page news that appeared on The Times of India sometime during April 2004, it said 'Two Women, One night. Rs.60,000'. How could a self-respecting person not be ashamed by what they were forced to read first thing in the morning? The bigger question here is, how could the editor and reporters of such a prestigious establishment allow itself to descend to such lows? This is unfortunately the trademark of the TIMES these days. Sensationalist reporting, with several "unconfirmed reports" and claims from "unofficial sources" adding spice and taste to the days news. There were instances where the channel telecasted live footage from Ground Zero as the army operation was going, which could have given the terrorists some advantage as it might have given away the army's position or could have threatened the lives of those who were still holed up in their hotel rooms. TIMES was not alone in this act, but I am merely pointing out what they did.
Most of the news reported by the channel is also equally rubbish, so much so that it made me feel it had a group of people who were paid just to come up with stupid, spicy and sensationalist news that would catch the attention of the people and is of utterly no news value at all. They have taken journalism to a new low and the Mumbai attacks is just another example. After the attacks, repeated telecasts of the Kerala CMs statement insulting the family of one of the soldiers who laid down his life in the operation proves how sensationalist and untrue to the spirit of journalism the channel has become.
Both the newspaper and the channel, normal days, devote a lot of space and time for 'all the news that is unfit to print', which although is a play on the slogan of the New York Times, fits The Times of India only too well. Gossips, rumours and all that about celebrities and entertainment consumes so much space and importance that the real purpose of a responsible newspaper and news channel is easily forgotten.
A lot of people who I know are subscribing to the TIMES do it just for the gossip and the entertainment and use other newspapers and channels to get the real news. TIMES will become a medium just for those looking for entertainment and maybe that will do. They do give the people what they like and want and not what they should be deserve and need.
I do not say that the Times is not part of a responsible media, but those who are looking for the real news and not spicy gossip would do well to stay away from the channel TIMES NOW and the Times of India newspaper.
P.S-One could say that there are other worse offenders, but I cant go through the pain of watching those channels or those newspapers.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Political Parody
The Mumbai terrorist attack has brought to light again the cancer that plagues our politics. Politicians have seen the oppurtunity to gain an edge over its opponents as elections are about to take place in 5 states and the parliament elections are due within the next 5 months. The resignations of the Maharashtra CM, change in the central government portfolios and the comments of the CM of Kerala are getting equal attention as the terrorist attack itself.
The comments made by Vilasrao Deshmukh reflect the attitude of the politicians towards the post they occupy. He said that he has informed the high-command of his willingness to resign. I would like to know who is the high-command for him to inform. He said if is required he will resign with, but said that with so much ease as if it was just another task that he would do. The fact that party affiliations are stronger than a politicians commitment to the people itself defeats the purpose of democracy which is supposed to be a government for the people.
At this juncture, I would also like to know what is our obsession with the Gandhi-Nehru dynasty? Why is it that we cannot produce a leader from outside that family? A nation of one billion people requires a person of Italian origin to rule us? Officially, it is Dr.Manmohan Singh who is our PM, but we all know who is really making the decisions. If ever there is one more person from that family becoming PM, it will be a failure from our part. The government spends nearly Rs.180 crore on the security for the Gandhi family, but the entire budget for the NSG which is entrusted with safegaurding the nation from terrorism is only Rs.158 crore. Who are these people whose lives are worth more than that of the entire Indian population? What inherent right to rule do they have in a democracy?
The resignation of Mr.Shivraj Patil also came without any effort. He just said he was resigning due to his failure to prevent such repeated attacks. It was like an irresponsible captain leaving a sinking ship and not doing his duty by refusing to solve the problems that had arisen while he was in charge. The resignation is an insult to the people of this nation as it is a step that has come too late and adding to it is the fact that elections are just a few months away which means that the government would become for all practical purposes a lame duck within the coming two months and so his resignation does not make much of an impact.
The senseless comments made by the CM of Kerala, which I would not like to repeat, is unfortunate if not shameful. I would like to remind him that if he was not the CM of a state, not even a dog would have listened to him. I have no regrets to this comment.
The apathy shown by the politicians is a matter of shame for the worlds largest democracy. The ministers from Maharashtra also joins Mr. Shivraj Patil as they resigned just like that as if the the posts they had occupied was something that was not worth much and so one could afford to throw it away. The anger of the people of this nation is justified as for a long time we have seen politicians mesemrise with sweet words and promises but have actually delivered nothing. A wind is blowing and hopefully it will gather enough strength to throw away existing blockades to our nations well-being and usher in a new era of responsible poiliticians who work for the peoples good and not just for the good of their own family.
The comments made by Vilasrao Deshmukh reflect the attitude of the politicians towards the post they occupy. He said that he has informed the high-command of his willingness to resign. I would like to know who is the high-command for him to inform. He said if is required he will resign with, but said that with so much ease as if it was just another task that he would do. The fact that party affiliations are stronger than a politicians commitment to the people itself defeats the purpose of democracy which is supposed to be a government for the people.
At this juncture, I would also like to know what is our obsession with the Gandhi-Nehru dynasty? Why is it that we cannot produce a leader from outside that family? A nation of one billion people requires a person of Italian origin to rule us? Officially, it is Dr.Manmohan Singh who is our PM, but we all know who is really making the decisions. If ever there is one more person from that family becoming PM, it will be a failure from our part. The government spends nearly Rs.180 crore on the security for the Gandhi family, but the entire budget for the NSG which is entrusted with safegaurding the nation from terrorism is only Rs.158 crore. Who are these people whose lives are worth more than that of the entire Indian population? What inherent right to rule do they have in a democracy?
The resignation of Mr.Shivraj Patil also came without any effort. He just said he was resigning due to his failure to prevent such repeated attacks. It was like an irresponsible captain leaving a sinking ship and not doing his duty by refusing to solve the problems that had arisen while he was in charge. The resignation is an insult to the people of this nation as it is a step that has come too late and adding to it is the fact that elections are just a few months away which means that the government would become for all practical purposes a lame duck within the coming two months and so his resignation does not make much of an impact.
The senseless comments made by the CM of Kerala, which I would not like to repeat, is unfortunate if not shameful. I would like to remind him that if he was not the CM of a state, not even a dog would have listened to him. I have no regrets to this comment.
The apathy shown by the politicians is a matter of shame for the worlds largest democracy. The ministers from Maharashtra also joins Mr. Shivraj Patil as they resigned just like that as if the the posts they had occupied was something that was not worth much and so one could afford to throw it away. The anger of the people of this nation is justified as for a long time we have seen politicians mesemrise with sweet words and promises but have actually delivered nothing. A wind is blowing and hopefully it will gather enough strength to throw away existing blockades to our nations well-being and usher in a new era of responsible poiliticians who work for the peoples good and not just for the good of their own family.
Monday, March 9, 2009
WAVES-09' Summer
It is a blur to me. The last 3 days. The events I saw, I participated and also the event I conducted. It was 3 days of fun, joy and sleepless nights too! But when the dust settles, you are only left with a hangover, not just for the boozers, but I am sure everyone was intoxicated by some of the best days we had in campus.
From a personal point of view, I am very happy. As the Secretary of the Quiz Club in BITS-PILANI, GOA CAMPUS, it is very heartening to see something that you love grow and attain success. We were able to bring in Shamant Rao, a quizmaster from Karnata Quiz Association for our highlight event, Waves Quiz, and this was followed a wide publicity campaign, which involved post in various blogs and posters being put up inside the campus. Another important incident which I must mention is the conversation I had with the quizmaster of the Waves Quiz. He, like everyone else, was simply blown away by our Auditorium, he was impressed by our infrastructure, the settings and surroundings of our campus and the enthu shown by the crowd and also the standards of our quizzing, which although is not the best in the country, is something which will slowly be a force to reckon with. Also, I was able to learn a lot and receive sound advice for my future and career.
It was worth the effort since we were able to attract 89 teams for the Waves Quiz(meaning 287 participants) for the quiz and the lecture theatre was nearly full. My friends tell me that this was the most succesful LT event(do not know whether it is true) and even if it wasn't, I would settle for the fact that we made our presence felt and we too were able to add spice to our fest.
Although the event I did was not a huge hit, it was good enough and I learned a lot from it, not just from the quizzing point of view, but in general. I must also mention the personal succes I had during the fest, by winning and XBOX! Funny thing is, I do not know what to do with it!
It was only yesterday that we were all celebrating, having fun and with no care in the world having some awesome fun. It is all over and tomorrow, I have a mid-sem viva, a 3 hour lab session followed by another 3 hour make-up lab. Life can turn around fast eh? As the Blues song goes,
'Its kind of funny, how life can be,
Can flip 180, in a matter of days'
This post must conclude by congratulating all those who participated in our fest, especially all our outstation teams who covered all that distance to make our fest a success, the audience and spectators who are the soul of such an event, the event managers and all clubs and departments. Hats off to all of you for giving us a Waves that swept us away!
From a personal point of view, I am very happy. As the Secretary of the Quiz Club in BITS-PILANI, GOA CAMPUS, it is very heartening to see something that you love grow and attain success. We were able to bring in Shamant Rao, a quizmaster from Karnata Quiz Association for our highlight event, Waves Quiz, and this was followed a wide publicity campaign, which involved post in various blogs and posters being put up inside the campus. Another important incident which I must mention is the conversation I had with the quizmaster of the Waves Quiz. He, like everyone else, was simply blown away by our Auditorium, he was impressed by our infrastructure, the settings and surroundings of our campus and the enthu shown by the crowd and also the standards of our quizzing, which although is not the best in the country, is something which will slowly be a force to reckon with. Also, I was able to learn a lot and receive sound advice for my future and career.
It was worth the effort since we were able to attract 89 teams for the Waves Quiz(meaning 287 participants) for the quiz and the lecture theatre was nearly full. My friends tell me that this was the most succesful LT event(do not know whether it is true) and even if it wasn't, I would settle for the fact that we made our presence felt and we too were able to add spice to our fest.
Although the event I did was not a huge hit, it was good enough and I learned a lot from it, not just from the quizzing point of view, but in general. I must also mention the personal succes I had during the fest, by winning and XBOX! Funny thing is, I do not know what to do with it!
It was only yesterday that we were all celebrating, having fun and with no care in the world having some awesome fun. It is all over and tomorrow, I have a mid-sem viva, a 3 hour lab session followed by another 3 hour make-up lab. Life can turn around fast eh? As the Blues song goes,
'Its kind of funny, how life can be,
Can flip 180, in a matter of days'
This post must conclude by congratulating all those who participated in our fest, especially all our outstation teams who covered all that distance to make our fest a success, the audience and spectators who are the soul of such an event, the event managers and all clubs and departments. Hats off to all of you for giving us a Waves that swept us away!
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Change, I must
There comes a point in life when you must change and that time has come for me. This sem has been hard and has questioned everything I believed, everything I wanted and everything I have so far done in my life. It is time to rethink what I am doing and my priorities and to go back to the fundamentals and start over again or, to go back to the point where you diverted to this path and then walk another road, in another direction.
I do not count it as a failure, but rather I would say that I chose the wrong path for me. I must go back and start over again. It might be difficult, but I must do it if I am to continue doing what I have loved the most in this world. There has to be a change and I must find a new path.
I do not know whether I will succeed, but I must and I believe I will. I started off by failing for three years and it was then that I realised anything is possible. Well, lets try and do it once more.
I do not count it as a failure, but rather I would say that I chose the wrong path for me. I must go back and start over again. It might be difficult, but I must do it if I am to continue doing what I have loved the most in this world. There has to be a change and I must find a new path.
I do not know whether I will succeed, but I must and I believe I will. I started off by failing for three years and it was then that I realised anything is possible. Well, lets try and do it once more.
Friday, February 20, 2009
I like.....EXAMS!!
I never ever thought that I would ever say this, but here we go. I have said it. But before someone throws me back into the asylum, do hear my reasons for saying so. Once you hear me out, you will say that is the sanest thing you heard in a long long time.
My reasons for saying so originate from the long hours I spend in the lab each week and that too in some of the most inhospitable conditions the college can offer(not that the lab is too warm for this time of the year or dangerous, but I rather not specify the exact reasons) and the hours spend trying to understand what is happening. I am actually scrutinising my timetable each day trying to figure which classes I can bunk without serious threat of any repurcussions! Gone are the days when I would just decide impulsively to take the afternoon off and have nap or bunk a lecture because it's too boring or sometimes even just for the heck of it. Every day starts off with the hope of some free period (reminds me of my school days) and by the end of the day, you are just tired from the 3 hours of standing in the lab and hours spend setting up the apparatus or writing reports.
There is precious little time, but the last few days have been surprisingly pleasant. I had exams from last Saturday and my exams finished one day ahead of all my other friends' on Tuesday. No labs, no reports and no assignments, just the 2 hours spend writing the exam and that is it. It was the relaxing time I had this semester and let me tell you it was much better than any other break I have ever taken in my life. My battery is charged and I am good to go, but how long before I get fed up of the labs is another question.
I hope I have convinced you my friend about my sanity and that exams are fun, in my case atleast.
My reasons for saying so originate from the long hours I spend in the lab each week and that too in some of the most inhospitable conditions the college can offer(not that the lab is too warm for this time of the year or dangerous, but I rather not specify the exact reasons) and the hours spend trying to understand what is happening. I am actually scrutinising my timetable each day trying to figure which classes I can bunk without serious threat of any repurcussions! Gone are the days when I would just decide impulsively to take the afternoon off and have nap or bunk a lecture because it's too boring or sometimes even just for the heck of it. Every day starts off with the hope of some free period (reminds me of my school days) and by the end of the day, you are just tired from the 3 hours of standing in the lab and hours spend setting up the apparatus or writing reports.
There is precious little time, but the last few days have been surprisingly pleasant. I had exams from last Saturday and my exams finished one day ahead of all my other friends' on Tuesday. No labs, no reports and no assignments, just the 2 hours spend writing the exam and that is it. It was the relaxing time I had this semester and let me tell you it was much better than any other break I have ever taken in my life. My battery is charged and I am good to go, but how long before I get fed up of the labs is another question.
I hope I have convinced you my friend about my sanity and that exams are fun, in my case atleast.
Sunday, September 28, 2008
In love with the Queen
It is the first weekend after Test-1 and so its the time when everyone just cools down and simply just fools around. Tonight after dinner, we were just taking a walk around the campus slowly, just chatting, telling tales, cracking jokes and my brain working overtime on PJs. We got to discussing about a friend of mine from Ernakulam and I do not know, I felt some sort of longing to go back to Ernakulam. I miss the place, whatever imperfections it can boast of and whatever annoyance and problems its messy traffic system can cause.
I have spend 8 years so far in Ernakulam and those were my teenage years and it does leave a mark on you. It is the place where I grew up but unfortunately I do not know it anymore as I found the place really different from what it was when I was staying there full-time. I still love the place, the theatres, the main economic hub of the city-MG Road, the bus ride which is an experience in itself, the traffic hustle in Vyttila junction or the narrow Banerjee road and who can forget the north overbridge.
I really miss my hometown and I really dont think I will be seeing much more of her anymore. I was able to spend only a few weeks so far in Ernakulam this year and it seems that this might just be the first of many such years. Well, you can take me out of Ernakulam, but you cannot take Ernakulam out of me (a smart and creative guy said this about himself and I am just copying it). Another smart guy also said that the tree grows best in the place where it struck root and therefore although it might not be same old town that I have known, it is still home and my heart will never truly be able to leave that place
I have spend 8 years so far in Ernakulam and those were my teenage years and it does leave a mark on you. It is the place where I grew up but unfortunately I do not know it anymore as I found the place really different from what it was when I was staying there full-time. I still love the place, the theatres, the main economic hub of the city-MG Road, the bus ride which is an experience in itself, the traffic hustle in Vyttila junction or the narrow Banerjee road and who can forget the north overbridge.
I really miss my hometown and I really dont think I will be seeing much more of her anymore. I was able to spend only a few weeks so far in Ernakulam this year and it seems that this might just be the first of many such years. Well, you can take me out of Ernakulam, but you cannot take Ernakulam out of me (a smart and creative guy said this about himself and I am just copying it). Another smart guy also said that the tree grows best in the place where it struck root and therefore although it might not be same old town that I have known, it is still home and my heart will never truly be able to leave that place
SEZs again causing trouble
http://craziestme.blogspot.com/2007/06/sanctioned-exploitation-zones-in-india.html
This was made over a year when the SEZ problem had not garnered the media attention it has now with forms of media commending upon the necessity of industrial development that will not affect the poor man. There are a few points that I would like to raise
1)Why is the government so insistent on establishing SEZs inspite of the fact the people clearly dont want their land taken away?
2)Why doesnt those who give permission to establish SEZ understand the fact that the primary requirement for man is food, clothing and shelter? With the land being taken away, farmers have no means of livelihood and also their shelter is destroyed.
3)It is not only the farmers, but each and everyone of us who are being denied our basic necessities. The worlds population is growing and instead of using farmland for industries and real estate, we must try to obtain better productivity from the existing farmlands and if possible, bring more land under cultivation. If food production does not increase, there will bew food riots in every part of the world, something which has already happened in
Bangladesh, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Côte d'Ivoire, Egypt, Ethiopia, Haiti, India, Indonesia, Latin America, Mexico, Mozambique, Pakistan, Myanmar, Panama, Philippines, Russia, Senegal, Somalia, Yemen
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food_crisis#Unrest_and_government_actions_in_individual_countries_and_regions
4)SEZs obtain tax exemptions, labour laws are exploitary or non-existant and aimed at benefitting the SEZ promoter alone. The way to achieve economic development is not by surrendering our land and subjecting our people to slavery, for this is what happens as they get the land for dirt cheap price and that land follows rules different from the rest of the country and it will be a place where our working population will be made to work with no rights.
5)Is there any pressure on the government to grant rights to these SEZs and if there is, who or what is exerting this pressure?
6)The SEZ problem has been going on for over a year now and it is only now that the media has begun to report this. The police firing in Nandigram and land takeover in Singur happened over a year ago and now, the media is reporting it with all the hype and with latest updates on the situation. Only when the actual situation has unfolded and there is a controversy are they reporting it. Only when there is assured public attention are they ready to report the issue. Although this is not directly part of the issue, the media nowadays has now become a media for spreading gossips and sensationalism.
This is a new version of colonialism and this is modern slavery. In each era, imperialism and colonialism won because they had the strongest weapons. It was ammunition and warships and guns earlier and now, it is money. Money is denying us the right to live independently and freely and making us do things that we initially do not want to do, and it makes us accept certain wrongs and eventually it kills of our conscience.
This was made over a year when the SEZ problem had not garnered the media attention it has now with forms of media commending upon the necessity of industrial development that will not affect the poor man. There are a few points that I would like to raise
1)Why is the government so insistent on establishing SEZs inspite of the fact the people clearly dont want their land taken away?
2)Why doesnt those who give permission to establish SEZ understand the fact that the primary requirement for man is food, clothing and shelter? With the land being taken away, farmers have no means of livelihood and also their shelter is destroyed.
3)It is not only the farmers, but each and everyone of us who are being denied our basic necessities. The worlds population is growing and instead of using farmland for industries and real estate, we must try to obtain better productivity from the existing farmlands and if possible, bring more land under cultivation. If food production does not increase, there will bew food riots in every part of the world, something which has already happened in
Bangladesh, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Côte d'Ivoire, Egypt, Ethiopia, Haiti, India, Indonesia, Latin America, Mexico, Mozambique, Pakistan, Myanmar, Panama, Philippines, Russia, Senegal, Somalia, Yemen
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food_crisis#Unrest_and_government_actions_in_individual_countries_and_regions
4)SEZs obtain tax exemptions, labour laws are exploitary or non-existant and aimed at benefitting the SEZ promoter alone. The way to achieve economic development is not by surrendering our land and subjecting our people to slavery, for this is what happens as they get the land for dirt cheap price and that land follows rules different from the rest of the country and it will be a place where our working population will be made to work with no rights.
5)Is there any pressure on the government to grant rights to these SEZs and if there is, who or what is exerting this pressure?
6)The SEZ problem has been going on for over a year now and it is only now that the media has begun to report this. The police firing in Nandigram and land takeover in Singur happened over a year ago and now, the media is reporting it with all the hype and with latest updates on the situation. Only when the actual situation has unfolded and there is a controversy are they reporting it. Only when there is assured public attention are they ready to report the issue. Although this is not directly part of the issue, the media nowadays has now become a media for spreading gossips and sensationalism.
This is a new version of colonialism and this is modern slavery. In each era, imperialism and colonialism won because they had the strongest weapons. It was ammunition and warships and guns earlier and now, it is money. Money is denying us the right to live independently and freely and making us do things that we initially do not want to do, and it makes us accept certain wrongs and eventually it kills of our conscience.
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
What are we doing to ourselves?
I am simply uphauled at the way we treat ourselves, how we go to any lenghts to achieve what we want without any regard for what impact our actions can have on others, on our world and even on ourselves. We forget that we are also humans and now we care not for our fellow beings, our world and are ignorant about what we are doing to ourselves. Greed, selfishness, lust and desire for more and more power is making monsters out of us. We are destroying ourselves, our world and thus trading our future for present pleasure and momentary satisfaction of our greed. We are never satisfied with what we have. Once we have a slight taste of these, we crave for more and it becomes an addiction. We either throw away our knowledge, wisdom and discretion and take up satisfaction of our excesses as our top priority or we simply dont have any wisdom from the beginning and the only way we know forward is to satisfy our excesses and crave for more and more and get whatever it is that we want, taking and getting it by doing whatever must be done and without any regard to what it might cost to the world.
We might be the dominant species on this planet, but we are acting as if we are the dumbest now as we are threatening our own existence and well being. We are thinking about only the present and we dont really concern ourselves about the future and what impact our actions have on it. I sometimes think about a dialogue in the movie 'The Matrix' when agent Smith interrogates Morpheus. He says that when he tried to classify humans, he found that we were more like viruses, those which used up all the resources in a particular area and then moved on to another place and used up everything there, finally, destroying the host and then moving on to another area. But for us, there is no another area. We have only one planet and we are destroying it. We are spreading hatred, violence and we cannot tolerate someone who practices another religion, someone who believes in different things. We value money above everything else and forget even ourselves in its pursuit. We forget how we treat our fellow beings, our world and how we treat ourselves. We turn to the devil inside us and let that rule our judgement and gradually drive out all that is good in us.
A little bit of patience, some kindness and honesty are the answers to all our worries and problems. These are not just words, these are not to be defined with the help of other words or their meanings to be understood from the dictionary; they are to be defined by practise, understood by experience and propogated through action. We also must abandon our egos and must try and understand or atleast know about the situation of people in this world so that we will realise how fortunate and thus will not forget how lucky we are which will enable us to throw away our greed and hunger for more than what we need.
We might be the dominant species on this planet, but we are acting as if we are the dumbest now as we are threatening our own existence and well being. We are thinking about only the present and we dont really concern ourselves about the future and what impact our actions have on it. I sometimes think about a dialogue in the movie 'The Matrix' when agent Smith interrogates Morpheus. He says that when he tried to classify humans, he found that we were more like viruses, those which used up all the resources in a particular area and then moved on to another place and used up everything there, finally, destroying the host and then moving on to another area. But for us, there is no another area. We have only one planet and we are destroying it. We are spreading hatred, violence and we cannot tolerate someone who practices another religion, someone who believes in different things. We value money above everything else and forget even ourselves in its pursuit. We forget how we treat our fellow beings, our world and how we treat ourselves. We turn to the devil inside us and let that rule our judgement and gradually drive out all that is good in us.
A little bit of patience, some kindness and honesty are the answers to all our worries and problems. These are not just words, these are not to be defined with the help of other words or their meanings to be understood from the dictionary; they are to be defined by practise, understood by experience and propogated through action. We also must abandon our egos and must try and understand or atleast know about the situation of people in this world so that we will realise how fortunate and thus will not forget how lucky we are which will enable us to throw away our greed and hunger for more than what we need.
Oru CWRDM Dairykkurippe
Well, I am doing my PS-1 at Calicut in an organisation called Centre for Water Resources Development and Management, where 10 of us, 6 from Goa campus and 4 from Pilani are supposed to gain our first exposure to working in an organisation. But I really doubt what we are doing here does any justice to the aims of the course. Infact, to make fruitful use of the 50 days that we would be here in Calicut, my roommate(Ijaz from Pilani campus) and a friend of mine from Goa (Vishnu) decided to learn swimming in the evenings at a facility close to the town. I suppose whatever marks we get, of the 10 of us here, these two would be the ones who would have learned something from their PS-1! As for me, although I dont know swimming, I decided not to go along with them. The reason? Plain obvious if you ask me! I am too lazy to do that! Travelling for close to 1.5 hours a day, tiring yourself out etc are not stuff on my list of top ten things to do! The most I would be learning from my PS would be how to be patient as we have spend a lot of time waiting and watching for things to happen and also by listening to words of wisdom and instructions that we have received from someone who used to work in Pilani and that someone I think is coming to Goa and THAT might mean some amount of trouble for me.
The first few days, Antony and me stayed at Ashwin's place(both of them are my friends from Goa) as there was a lot of confusion regarding our accomodation and our sir even created a lot of confusion in that. At first, we had three people in a room (Ijaz, Sabin-both from Pilani- and me and then Vishnu, Antony n Nandu in the other one) which was slightly uncomfartable for all of us but we managed to get one more room which gave us some amount of space, but we are back to the old system again now. Arif(from Goa) has his home in Calicut and so is commuting each day. So is Nikhil and Alim(we are working-read that as loafing around-in the same department) and these are the ten men who will be in the battle field @ CWRDM, Calicut!
The title is a slight reference to a Malayalam movie and also to the fact that we have to record in the Diary what we all did during each day for our PS.
With nothing better to do, we resort what we do at college! Movies and games and just hanging around in each others' rooms, although we do not have DC or LAN or IP mssngr. But it simply speaks volumes about the resourcefulness of BITSians when I think about how we connect our comps with LAN cables and transfer files and also those working in the remote sensing department have also managed to find some additional files for our purposes!!!(:P)
All has not been fun and games so far as we had to write a report for which, we got a list of corrections to be made longer than the report itself, then we had to conduct a seminar, we read a lot of books and reports and Antony and Nandu covered an area of 1200sq.km collecting readings and measurements from Valapattanam river basin but they seemed to have enjoyed some elements of it but the biggest benefit of the trip was the fact that they did not have to receive the daily dose of instructions like those who stayed here itself had to bear! We still got one more report, seminar and also the second group discussion. The first group discussion was simply too enlightening that all of us were at a loss of words to say anything! The topics, I am not mentioning since it will make you say WTF? I am leaving our previous GD at that and hope the next one has a semblance of sensibility to it.
I have been able to give only snide hints and remarks about what actually goes on in here, but you should realise that we have not finished our PS-1 here and our grades are not anywhere near being finalised. So, I am being slightly cautious, just taking into account all possibilities.
When I am posting this from college, PS is all done and all of us back at Pilani or Goa, starting off with our all important CDCs! I must say, PS-1 was more about meeting new people and making new friends and working with them and having fun together, going out and 'Bird-Watching!!' and the different atmosphere in which we were all living.
I can't end this post without the ridiculous nicknames that the guys from Pilani have given themselves! Ijaz is referred to as 'God' and it was done by them all, a nic that has its origins from the fact that he plays Age of Conquerers unbelievably well! Sabin is called 'Meesha', the malayalam for 'moustache' for the thick one that he sports. Aleem is called 'Kalam' and it can be for the brains, but the more important reason is his hairdo. Nikhil is called D'souza, for a rather strange reason. He, I am told, had a crush on a girl who had that surname, but this is ridiculous. Ah, well, thats what nicknames are all about isnt it?!
PS- Could post it only after the PS was over and I was safely back in college!!n btw, PS, except the one used before the beginning of this sentence means Practise School.
The first few days, Antony and me stayed at Ashwin's place(both of them are my friends from Goa) as there was a lot of confusion regarding our accomodation and our sir even created a lot of confusion in that. At first, we had three people in a room (Ijaz, Sabin-both from Pilani- and me and then Vishnu, Antony n Nandu in the other one) which was slightly uncomfartable for all of us but we managed to get one more room which gave us some amount of space, but we are back to the old system again now. Arif(from Goa) has his home in Calicut and so is commuting each day. So is Nikhil and Alim(we are working-read that as loafing around-in the same department) and these are the ten men who will be in the battle field @ CWRDM, Calicut!
The title is a slight reference to a Malayalam movie and also to the fact that we have to record in the Diary what we all did during each day for our PS.
With nothing better to do, we resort what we do at college! Movies and games and just hanging around in each others' rooms, although we do not have DC or LAN or IP mssngr. But it simply speaks volumes about the resourcefulness of BITSians when I think about how we connect our comps with LAN cables and transfer files and also those working in the remote sensing department have also managed to find some additional files for our purposes!!!(:P)
All has not been fun and games so far as we had to write a report for which, we got a list of corrections to be made longer than the report itself, then we had to conduct a seminar, we read a lot of books and reports and Antony and Nandu covered an area of 1200sq.km collecting readings and measurements from Valapattanam river basin but they seemed to have enjoyed some elements of it but the biggest benefit of the trip was the fact that they did not have to receive the daily dose of instructions like those who stayed here itself had to bear! We still got one more report, seminar and also the second group discussion. The first group discussion was simply too enlightening that all of us were at a loss of words to say anything! The topics, I am not mentioning since it will make you say WTF? I am leaving our previous GD at that and hope the next one has a semblance of sensibility to it.
I have been able to give only snide hints and remarks about what actually goes on in here, but you should realise that we have not finished our PS-1 here and our grades are not anywhere near being finalised. So, I am being slightly cautious, just taking into account all possibilities.
When I am posting this from college, PS is all done and all of us back at Pilani or Goa, starting off with our all important CDCs! I must say, PS-1 was more about meeting new people and making new friends and working with them and having fun together, going out and 'Bird-Watching!!' and the different atmosphere in which we were all living.
I can't end this post without the ridiculous nicknames that the guys from Pilani have given themselves! Ijaz is referred to as 'God' and it was done by them all, a nic that has its origins from the fact that he plays Age of Conquerers unbelievably well! Sabin is called 'Meesha', the malayalam for 'moustache' for the thick one that he sports. Aleem is called 'Kalam' and it can be for the brains, but the more important reason is his hairdo. Nikhil is called D'souza, for a rather strange reason. He, I am told, had a crush on a girl who had that surname, but this is ridiculous. Ah, well, thats what nicknames are all about isnt it?!
PS- Could post it only after the PS was over and I was safely back in college!!n btw, PS, except the one used before the beginning of this sentence means Practise School.
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
Memories of a bygone era
I have been at my PS station for nearly 50 days now and it got me thinking on how I am using my time. It is as if it just got coagulated and is flowing very slowly. Every second was like an hour and all of us just could not wait for it get over. This then lead me to that occasion when time stood still for me. Everything that happened at that moment clearly comes back to me and I can recall nearly everything although it had happened half a decade ago. It was a moment when I realised that the impossible can be made possible, when I learned that hard-work, patience and some amount of luck can bring you success.
I was in my 10th standard and until then, I was there in the quiz team, but was never someone who was good or who could win although I did have couple of podium finishes in my bag at that time. I am talking about the Hindu Young World Quiz, 2003. I would not want to get into the details of how I actually went for the quiz, but I would certainly love to relive the moments from prior to the quizmaster announcing Sadashiv's (my partner in that quiz) and my name upto the moment we all got off stage after the quiz. It was an hour and half of unbelievable existence for as only a year ago, I had envied those who made it on stage and asked myself, will you ever be anywhere near the stage and can you even dream of competing like those on stage.
There was a preliminary round with 25 questions and while they were evaluating the answer sheets of around 350 teams, answers were discussed and we had a score of around 17, but since it was my team who got that score, I never believed we had any chance although we were really happy that we could answer a couple of really good questions like What is the maximum duration for a formula-1 Race, What are the debris left behind in the valley after a glacier has passed through it, the home stadium of Chelsea Football Club and another picture of a fighter craft which Sadashiv quiest easily recognised and left me gasping for my breath. When these answers were given out, it was pride that swelled in me since we could answer some of them, but never did I consider myself having a chance to qualify for the quiz.
The quizmaster, V.V. Ramanan came on to the stage with the names of the qualified teams and said that 5 of the teams were from Bhavan's schools and all from my school (Bhavan's Elamakkara) was sure that it was mostly from Bhavan's Girinagar who had a very strong quiz team. But then, to my utter joy he said, there were 3 teams from Bhavan's Elamakkara and I very nearly screamed out loud as this was really a shock to us as we had always barely made it to the finals of the quiz.
The first to be called on to the stage were Aditya Aravind (who is in IIT-M right now!) and Anil V Anand (my senior now in BPGC) and then it was our teams turn, Sadashiv(someone whom I hero-worshipped while at school!) and myself. I must confess it was the happiest moment of my life. It was joy beyond measure as it was the first real taste of success I had for my efforts in quizzing and it still means a lot to me, even after all these years. The duo of Azmi and Ram Kesav completed the BVM-Elamakkara domination of the quiz that day.
I do not remember much about the actual quiz since it was something that I was beyond my wildest imagination. It was like being in a dream and I did pinch myself a couple of times during the quiz just to make sure it was not a dream. Although I did not win the quiz and Azmi and Ram Kesav did and got a huge pile of prizes and then, went on to win the National Finals of the quiz and got another huge pile of prizes there too, (a fact which made our Quiz Teacher Malini Damodar miss to remark that they had to hire a plane to transport their prizes!), I was just plain happy to have been there and taken part in it. Azmi eventually became a very close friend of mine and we were classmates for two years.
It has been 5 years since the event, but nothing of the same magnitude has ever happened to me. I wrote my board exams, entrance exams, attended a lot of other quizzes, I got admitted to BITS-Pilani, Goa Campus, I am in my 3rd year and there has been nothing to rival that moment when V.V.Ramanan called out my teams name. It has been unrivalled probably because I have not wanted something so desperately until then and even after that, I have not worked for something as much as I did for the quiz that year and that year, I had no hope at all and it was more than a complete shock to me whereas my other succeses and achievements where somewhat expected.
Wherever I may go and whatever I do, the joy and excitement I felt at that moment will never be forgotten. I must thank Aditya, Anil, Azmi, Ram, Rahul Unnikrishnan (my long standing quiz team-mate), Aravind and most importantly Sadashiv, my partner for that quiz. I would like to thank Biju sir who was with us during the quiz and also Malini miss for the great work that she has been doing all these years with the quiz club!
You ever heard the song summer of 69? This quiz and the time I spend with the entire quiz gang at school was my summer of 69. We have all taken different paths and gone on to bigger and better things, but for me, the hours spend in the library preparing for quizzes, sometimes doing it just to give a reason to bunk classes (and also march past practise during sports day), those times when someone would just look at pics from magazines and Azmi would have to snatch it from us and bring us back to the work at hand and all the jokes (the good, the bad, the realllly bad and the ugly!!), these are all my best memories ever. My Summer of 69.
I was in my 10th standard and until then, I was there in the quiz team, but was never someone who was good or who could win although I did have couple of podium finishes in my bag at that time. I am talking about the Hindu Young World Quiz, 2003. I would not want to get into the details of how I actually went for the quiz, but I would certainly love to relive the moments from prior to the quizmaster announcing Sadashiv's (my partner in that quiz) and my name upto the moment we all got off stage after the quiz. It was an hour and half of unbelievable existence for as only a year ago, I had envied those who made it on stage and asked myself, will you ever be anywhere near the stage and can you even dream of competing like those on stage.
There was a preliminary round with 25 questions and while they were evaluating the answer sheets of around 350 teams, answers were discussed and we had a score of around 17, but since it was my team who got that score, I never believed we had any chance although we were really happy that we could answer a couple of really good questions like What is the maximum duration for a formula-1 Race, What are the debris left behind in the valley after a glacier has passed through it, the home stadium of Chelsea Football Club and another picture of a fighter craft which Sadashiv quiest easily recognised and left me gasping for my breath. When these answers were given out, it was pride that swelled in me since we could answer some of them, but never did I consider myself having a chance to qualify for the quiz.
The quizmaster, V.V. Ramanan came on to the stage with the names of the qualified teams and said that 5 of the teams were from Bhavan's schools and all from my school (Bhavan's Elamakkara) was sure that it was mostly from Bhavan's Girinagar who had a very strong quiz team. But then, to my utter joy he said, there were 3 teams from Bhavan's Elamakkara and I very nearly screamed out loud as this was really a shock to us as we had always barely made it to the finals of the quiz.
The first to be called on to the stage were Aditya Aravind (who is in IIT-M right now!) and Anil V Anand (my senior now in BPGC) and then it was our teams turn, Sadashiv(someone whom I hero-worshipped while at school!) and myself. I must confess it was the happiest moment of my life. It was joy beyond measure as it was the first real taste of success I had for my efforts in quizzing and it still means a lot to me, even after all these years. The duo of Azmi and Ram Kesav completed the BVM-Elamakkara domination of the quiz that day.
I do not remember much about the actual quiz since it was something that I was beyond my wildest imagination. It was like being in a dream and I did pinch myself a couple of times during the quiz just to make sure it was not a dream. Although I did not win the quiz and Azmi and Ram Kesav did and got a huge pile of prizes and then, went on to win the National Finals of the quiz and got another huge pile of prizes there too, (a fact which made our Quiz Teacher Malini Damodar miss to remark that they had to hire a plane to transport their prizes!), I was just plain happy to have been there and taken part in it. Azmi eventually became a very close friend of mine and we were classmates for two years.
It has been 5 years since the event, but nothing of the same magnitude has ever happened to me. I wrote my board exams, entrance exams, attended a lot of other quizzes, I got admitted to BITS-Pilani, Goa Campus, I am in my 3rd year and there has been nothing to rival that moment when V.V.Ramanan called out my teams name. It has been unrivalled probably because I have not wanted something so desperately until then and even after that, I have not worked for something as much as I did for the quiz that year and that year, I had no hope at all and it was more than a complete shock to me whereas my other succeses and achievements where somewhat expected.
Wherever I may go and whatever I do, the joy and excitement I felt at that moment will never be forgotten. I must thank Aditya, Anil, Azmi, Ram, Rahul Unnikrishnan (my long standing quiz team-mate), Aravind and most importantly Sadashiv, my partner for that quiz. I would like to thank Biju sir who was with us during the quiz and also Malini miss for the great work that she has been doing all these years with the quiz club!
You ever heard the song summer of 69? This quiz and the time I spend with the entire quiz gang at school was my summer of 69. We have all taken different paths and gone on to bigger and better things, but for me, the hours spend in the library preparing for quizzes, sometimes doing it just to give a reason to bunk classes (and also march past practise during sports day), those times when someone would just look at pics from magazines and Azmi would have to snatch it from us and bring us back to the work at hand and all the jokes (the good, the bad, the realllly bad and the ugly!!), these are all my best memories ever. My Summer of 69.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)