Apparently with the increase in student intakes every year, the insti has also decided to let in more of the rest of the animal kind. The authorities believe that it is for keeping the balance in the insti ecosystem. So much attention is being paid to give their fraternity a warm homecoming that the mere sight of a panther in the campus is met with loud applause and fireworks. As if that was not sufficient, the high panther expectancy zones are searched with powerful torch lights so that no panther can escape out. All attempts are being made to trap the panthers inside the campus.
Besides, we are also accepting quite a few number of dogs and cats this year. Only recently, a visitor came by in a car and left us 3 puppies. To ensure no friction with the PETA authorities, these have been well accommodated in the student hostels. Due to lack of availability of rooms, arrangements have been made in the lounge area, mess, and in most cases wing corridors, staircases and toilets. The institute also encourages greater bonding between the animal kingdom and the student community and hence encourages the newbies to keep visiting our rooms and feel at home. They also eat with us in the canteen. I find that most of them like the Gobi ke paranthes and Noodles from the canteen. They also come in all shapes and sizes and breeds. My hostel hosts a grandfather dog, a white puppy, a brown skinned and another white skinned street dog along with a gray cat and her bony kitten. Ironically, these have twisted lifestyle choices. They often sleep where we piss and likewise piss where we sleep.
The number of the larger-sized species from the coveted animal kingdom is limited but that of the smaller insects is innumerable and out of control. Recently, to curb their numbers we have installed insect trappers in the mess and canteen areas. The authorities are also considering an entrance test for them to only let the right one in. The student community is requested to pen down their feedbacks in the comments section for further review of the insti animal policies.
Insti Wildlife Secy
Monday, December 14, 2009
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Friday, September 18, 2009
Blackout!
Been busy with midsems. Lots have passed meanwhile. Intern fight, fest work, lukkha (apparently i cant live without it) and of course studying in watever little time i was left with. Oh! and the longest blackout in the past two years (unconfirmed) in the insti.
About blackouts, they are ossum! Its one of those rare times when d hostel junta sets aside their laptops and desktops and comes out of the room all excited. You can see (of course after your eyes get adjusted to the gloomy surroundings) people forming addas everywhere..in the corridors, on the stairs, up on the roofs. And people gossip and laugh and scream and shout with their howls audible from over a mile away. You can see people flashing torches (no one bothers to light candles anymore it seems!); those fortunate enough to own a powerful flash enabled camera go wild, clicking at almost anything in the dark. People sing, people talk on the cell phones, some just sit and enjoy the cool breeze...
And in midst of all this, there are some who stay back in their rooms still stuck to their laptops till they have squeezed out as much power as possible from the poor battery.
Multiply all this by 15 and add to it the scene on the roads with people wandering aimlessly, the only sources of light there being the occasional Tum Tums and the ATM outlet and then stage this show of sorts on the night before a midsem exam for more than two hours and half and you get ossumness raised to infinity!
Meanwhile, I sneaked out of the campus to HN for dinner with my friends.
It was amazing!
P.S: What do u like or not like about blackouts? leave comments :)
About blackouts, they are ossum! Its one of those rare times when d hostel junta sets aside their laptops and desktops and comes out of the room all excited. You can see (of course after your eyes get adjusted to the gloomy surroundings) people forming addas everywhere..in the corridors, on the stairs, up on the roofs. And people gossip and laugh and scream and shout with their howls audible from over a mile away. You can see people flashing torches (no one bothers to light candles anymore it seems!); those fortunate enough to own a powerful flash enabled camera go wild, clicking at almost anything in the dark. People sing, people talk on the cell phones, some just sit and enjoy the cool breeze...
And in midst of all this, there are some who stay back in their rooms still stuck to their laptops till they have squeezed out as much power as possible from the poor battery.
Multiply all this by 15 and add to it the scene on the roads with people wandering aimlessly, the only sources of light there being the occasional Tum Tums and the ATM outlet and then stage this show of sorts on the night before a midsem exam for more than two hours and half and you get ossumness raised to infinity!
Meanwhile, I sneaked out of the campus to HN for dinner with my friends.
It was amazing!
P.S: What do u like or not like about blackouts? leave comments :)
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Birthday BASH!
Ok here's d thing. Birthdays are meant to be fun.
But not with people 'bashing' u up as soon as the clock strikes midnight.
When we were in school, we used to have those bashings on our backs the number of times equal to the number of years the person had lived as of then. Well that was not so bad. I guess you could only hit someone so hard on the back.
But now people have sunk low. Both figuratively and literarily!
The new hitting zone are your bumps. And the hitters take tremendous pride and joy on being able to land hard hitting slippers on the bumps with all strength he can muster. My God! the tradition of bumps on birthdays have uncovered the strengths within guys as lean as stick. It is as if all the frust has finally found a vent and there is no hope in the future. As if all the torture are the misdoings of this guy standing with his face to the wall, pinned by his two hands held stretched out and crying for mercy all because he was born this day!
Only when u have had a sore bottom, do people stop but to smudge cream from your birthday cake all over your face and hairs! Even after this, treats to all those present are in order!
You are hit! Smudged with cream and then you treat them! Bizzare, aint it? And there's no escaping it. Unless you are lucky enough that your birthday (read doomsday) comes during the vacations when you are at home.
All said and done, its a great feeling when so many people actually make it a point to remember your birthday...for whatever reason. Overwhelming! trust me..
But not with people 'bashing' u up as soon as the clock strikes midnight.
When we were in school, we used to have those bashings on our backs the number of times equal to the number of years the person had lived as of then. Well that was not so bad. I guess you could only hit someone so hard on the back.
But now people have sunk low. Both figuratively and literarily!
The new hitting zone are your bumps. And the hitters take tremendous pride and joy on being able to land hard hitting slippers on the bumps with all strength he can muster. My God! the tradition of bumps on birthdays have uncovered the strengths within guys as lean as stick. It is as if all the frust has finally found a vent and there is no hope in the future. As if all the torture are the misdoings of this guy standing with his face to the wall, pinned by his two hands held stretched out and crying for mercy all because he was born this day!
Only when u have had a sore bottom, do people stop but to smudge cream from your birthday cake all over your face and hairs! Even after this, treats to all those present are in order!
You are hit! Smudged with cream and then you treat them! Bizzare, aint it? And there's no escaping it. Unless you are lucky enough that your birthday (read doomsday) comes during the vacations when you are at home.
All said and done, its a great feeling when so many people actually make it a point to remember your birthday...for whatever reason. Overwhelming! trust me..
Saturday, July 25, 2009
Barefoot on ceramic !
Nine of us walked into a restaurant today...all bare-footed! (Remember Barefoot on Metal;FPS, Ch3? Only, in our case it was on ceramic tiles and that didn't look hot!)
Anyways, it all happened on our wing picnic to Lonavala and Khandala with the new sophie junta. We started at 6 in the morning reaching Lonanvala by 8. It was really cold and foggy up there. And to top that, it was raining. More unpredictably than it does in Mumbai! Despite that, it was really amazing.
Tiger Cliff, Bhushi Dam, Carla caves, Bhaja caves in that order! And lots of trekking, waterfalls and bathing all along (not to forget some 400 plus pics!)
Followed by lunch at Neena's, where it happened. Having survived till 1 o'clock only on two vada pavs we were really hungry. And our shoes had all become wet. So we left them in the Tata Winger that we had hired and got in the restaurant barefoot! ordering amongst the 9 of us, 72 puris, 11 bowls of aloo bhaji, 3 bowls full of pickles and onion!!! And our plates were sparkling at the end. Not a morsel wasted!
It looked as if we were one of those improperly fed-n-dressed people (the bhooka-nangas as we sometimes not-so-politely address them)!!
Lunch was followed later in the day by the famous Maganlal's chikkis and corn (makai or bhutta) at Khandala! It was a great picnic and quite a welcome for the sophie junta into the wing!
Anyways, it all happened on our wing picnic to Lonavala and Khandala with the new sophie junta. We started at 6 in the morning reaching Lonanvala by 8. It was really cold and foggy up there. And to top that, it was raining. More unpredictably than it does in Mumbai! Despite that, it was really amazing.
Tiger Cliff, Bhushi Dam, Carla caves, Bhaja caves in that order! And lots of trekking, waterfalls and bathing all along (not to forget some 400 plus pics!)
Followed by lunch at Neena's, where it happened. Having survived till 1 o'clock only on two vada pavs we were really hungry. And our shoes had all become wet. So we left them in the Tata Winger that we had hired and got in the restaurant barefoot! ordering amongst the 9 of us, 72 puris, 11 bowls of aloo bhaji, 3 bowls full of pickles and onion!!! And our plates were sparkling at the end. Not a morsel wasted!
It looked as if we were one of those improperly fed-n-dressed people (the bhooka-nangas as we sometimes not-so-politely address them)!!
Lunch was followed later in the day by the famous Maganlal's chikkis and corn (makai or bhutta) at Khandala! It was a great picnic and quite a welcome for the sophie junta into the wing!
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Aarghhhh...
The other day while I was walking down a road I was stopped and asked by some guy for directions to a certain place. It was about 4-5 kms from that place. So I suggested him to go to take a bus but he insisted on knowing the directions. Confused..also slightly irritated..I told him it was far.. He became sad and told me that he had been pick pocketed and he had no money and asked for help. Now I usually dont believe such stories. But the look on his face was convincing. I took pity and gave him 10 rupees. That was all the change I had. He didnt seem very satisfied in the beginning but later thanked me and left. Deep inside my heart there was this happy feeling of satisfaction. With this feeling I was walking and I had covered merely a hundred meters when some man spoke to me:
"Excuse me, I lost my wallet in the bus. Can you please help me...."
I could feel my satisfaction slowly ebbing away at that moment...
"Excuse me, I lost my wallet in the bus. Can you please help me...."
I could feel my satisfaction slowly ebbing away at that moment...
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Its official ! Je parle francaise
I got my results for Delf A1 examination and apparently I passed! So officially I cleared the basic level exam. There are 6 exams in all. A1, A2 upto C1, C2. After the hard time I had wid A1, I am not sure whether I am going any further :P
Waiting for the certificate to arrive!
Cheers!
Waiting for the certificate to arrive!
Cheers!
Monday, June 1, 2009
Literally speaking!
Few days back my little brother asked me the meaning of some common word. I can't recall the word right now but I was clueless as to what should I be telling him. I struggled and finally managed to explain the context that word is used in. He was satisfied.
I wasn't!
It drew my attention to a plethora of words I didnt know the literal meanings of and thats how it started! Since then I have fallen into the habit of finding out dictionary meanings of words and I am falling deeper and deeper into this whirlpool of my passion for dictionary meanings.
Of all the words you know how many do you think you learnt off a dictionary or a thesaurus? I am guessing very few. We learn words as we read - books, newspapers, magazine articles, editorials, advertisements, even the internet, or as we listen to them - news, movies, music, conversations. But with all these new words, we also learn the associated way of usage - the context where these were used! So we end up increasing our vocab but knowing only d contextual meanings. The literal meanings take a back seat and when asked what does a particular word mean, we fidget around trying to find out what exactly it meant!
I wasn't!
It drew my attention to a plethora of words I didnt know the literal meanings of and thats how it started! Since then I have fallen into the habit of finding out dictionary meanings of words and I am falling deeper and deeper into this whirlpool of my passion for dictionary meanings.
Of all the words you know how many do you think you learnt off a dictionary or a thesaurus? I am guessing very few. We learn words as we read - books, newspapers, magazine articles, editorials, advertisements, even the internet, or as we listen to them - news, movies, music, conversations. But with all these new words, we also learn the associated way of usage - the context where these were used! So we end up increasing our vocab but knowing only d contextual meanings. The literal meanings take a back seat and when asked what does a particular word mean, we fidget around trying to find out what exactly it meant!
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