Whether life-term really was a better option? Whether the 150-300 seconds of pain on the rope enough for the brutality leashed out by him on innocent people and too with an unforgettable satisfied idiosyncrasy. Or the lead up to execution is what makes it a more fitting punishment. Have we forgotten his sick sense of humour in courtrooms and the calm with which he was reading Tipu Sultan in his prison before Judgement Day? Come on, they have seen it coming already.
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Redemption
The latest judgement on Kasab - a pawn in the whole 26/11 massacre and the recent stories in the news got me thinking:
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
The Year it was!
This post has been edited on popular demand to include more details:
This past year in bullets: (:P)
- Treats, Lunches and Dinners:
Where: Gullu, Laxmi, Utsav, Poptates, Urban Tadka, Rajdhani, Subway, Dominos, Pizza Hut, Papa John's, 5 Spices, Kinn Kohn, Wild Dining, Copper Chimney
When: All year round!
- Marketing Manager, Radiance - High expectations but zero experience. Anxieties. Happy at the same time! Looking back, no regrets whatsoever.
- TUM, Germany - Finally, i had an intern! Product Engineering Division at TUM - Could not have been better. Euro Trip! DAAD application et al. Fingers crossed.
- DELF A1 - 77% - not bad for starters, eh. Je parles francais!
- Joined InsIghT - Had wanted to do that since freshie year. Recent stints at writing encouraged me.
- Horrible Semester - Prabhu (pun intended) ki kripa - so much work for a 30 credit sem!
- 8.5: Barely made it. Right on the mark. But that was just the spi. Needed to work harder.
- Pankhudi: Winter Intern was fun and rewarding. Designing / compiling activity sheets and exercises et al. Met some very awesome people including the kids.
- Radiance work: Amidst all this, frantic contacting continued with little success. Had not quite found the right nerve to be tapped :-/
- Home, Sweet Home - catching up with family. Awesome time. News!
- New Sem - Fight for an extra credit course to reduce load later - Ended up with an audit!
- Radiance - Breakthrough: Finally - Won't forget the awesome 10 days. One after another!
- DAAD results - yay!! Should I or should not I. TINA factor. Fight for accommodation and the extra stipend!
- Career Choices: Confusion hi confusion hai..solution ka pata nahi...
- Midsems: In midst of all this hullabaloo, midsems appeared as if out of thin air! Abysmal
- Radiance: More breakthroughs. Woohooo!
- Di's Bday: Surprise visit home! Cakes and more cakes. Yummy!
- Internships: People crack interns left and right \m/
- Insti Elections: 'nuff said!
- More people crack!
- Radiance!! - What a fulfilling experience! _0_ \m/
- Dept Elections - To be or not to be GSec. From Department GSec to MEA GSec to a bonafide law abiding dep-izen. All in two weeks! Polt! Results - Yay!
- Morgan Stanley - Pleasant surprise. Bumps (almost :P) Infi congos :)
- DAAD ditch - German prof not so happy. Drama!
- Student Mentor - Feels good.
- Valfis - some very funny profiles and senti and not-so-awesome food. Infi icecreams!
- Arti Rush: InsIghT - MEME - InsIghT - MEME - InsIghT - in that order - all in a month. :D
- Endsems - Screw Ups - Re-exam - More Screw Ups
- Summer in Bombay - :-?
- ....
Feel a totally different person than what I was at the end of my second year!
Ready for an awesome summer and an eventful last year at IIT Bombay. More responsibilities and lot more important things to come soon. Will win some and will lose some. Can't wait for it.
Cheers!
Friday, March 26, 2010
MIT Alum's note to Freshmen
I was just going through this note by an MIT alumnus (supposedly) to the freshers on someone's Facebook Profile. A checklist of sorts. Its so awesome that I wanted to preserve it. So, here it goes.
1. Your friends will change a lot over the next four years. Let them.
2. Call someone you love back home a few times a week, even if just for a few minutes.
3. In college more than ever before, songs will attach themselves to memories. Every month or two, make a mix cd, mp3 folder, whatever – just make sure you keep copies of these songs. Ten years out, they’ll be as effective as a journal in taking you back to your favorite moments.
4. Take naps in the middle of the afternoon with reckless abandon.
5. Adjust your schedule around when you are most productive and creative. If you’re nocturnal and do your best work late at night, embrace that. It may be the only time in your life when you can.
6. If you write your best papers the night before they are due, don’t let people tell you that you “should be more organized” or that you “should plan better.” Different things work for different people. Personally, I worked best under pressure – so I always procrastinated… and always kicked ass (which annoyed my friends to no end). ;-) Use the freedom that comes with not having grades first semester to experiment and see what works best for you.
7. At least a few times in your college career, do something fun and irresponsible when you should be studying. The night before my freshman year psych final, my roommate somehow scored front row seats to the Indigo Girls at a venue 2 hours away. I didn’t do so well on the final, but I haven’t thought about psych since 1993. I’ve thought about the experience of going to that show (with the guy who is now my son’s godfather) at least once a month ever since.
8. Become friends with your favorite professors. Recognize that they can learn from you too – in fact, that’s part of the reason they chose to be professors.
9. Carve out an hour every single day to be alone. (Sleeping doesn’t count.)
10. Go on dates. Don’t feel like every date has to turn into a relationship.
11. Don’t date someone your roommate has been in a relationship with.
12. When your friends’ parents visit, include them. You’ll get free food, etc., and you’ll help them to feel like they’re cool, hangin’ with the hip college kids.
13. In the first month of college, send a hand-written letter to someone who made college possible for you and describe your adventures thus far. It will mean a lot to him/her now, and it will mean a lot to you in ten years when he/she shows it to you.
14. Embrace the differences between you and your classmates. Always be asking yourself, “what can I learn from this person?” More of your education will come from this than from any classroom.
15. All-nighters are entirely overrated.
16. For those of you who have come to college in a long-distance relationship with someone from high school: despite what many will tell you, it can work. The key is to not let your relationship interfere with your college experience. If you don’t want to date anyone else, that’s totally fine! What’s not fine, however, is missing out on a lot of defining experiences because you’re on the phone with your boyfriend/girlfriend for three hours every day.
17. Working things out between friends is best done in person, not over email. (IM does not count as “in person.”) Often someone’s facial expressions will tell you more than his/her words.
18. Take risks.
19. Don’t be afraid of (or excited by) the co-ed bathrooms. The thrill is over in about 2 seconds.
20. Wednesday is the middle of the week; therefore on wednesday night the week is more than half over. You should celebrate accordingly. (It makes thursday and friday a lot more fun.)
21. Welcome failure into your lives. It’s how we grow. What matters is not that you failed, but that you recovered.
22. Take some classes that have nothing to do with your major(s), purely for the fun of it.
23. It’s important to think about the future, but it’s more important to be present in the now. You won’t get the most out of college if you think of it as a stepping stone.
24. When you’re living on a college campus with 400 things going on every second of every day, watching TV is pretty much a waste of your time and a waste of your parents’ money. If you’re going to watch, watch with friends so at least you can call it a “valuable social experience.”
25. Don’t be afraid to fall in love. When it happens, don’t take it for granted. Celebrate it, but don’t let it define your college experience.
26. Much of the time you once had for pleasure reading is going to disappear. Keep a list of the books you would have read had you had the time, so that you can start reading them when you graduate.
27. Things that seem like the end of the world really do become funny with a little time and distance. Knowing this, forget the embarassment and skip to the good part.
28. Every once in awhile, there will come an especially powerful moment when you can actually feel that an experience has changed who you are. Embrace these, even if they are painful.
29. No matter what your political or religious beliefs, be open-minded. You’re going to be challenged over the next four years in ways you can’t imagine, across all fronts. You can’t learn if you’re closed off.
30. If you need to get a job, find something that you actually enjoy. Just because it’s work doesn’t mean it has to suck.
31. Don’t always lead. It’s good to follow sometimes.
32. Take a lot of pictures. One of my major regrets in life is that I didn’t take more pictures in college. My excuse was the cost of film and processing. Digital cameras are cheap and you have plenty of hard drive space, so you have no excuse.
33. Your health and safety are more important than anything.
34. Ask for help. Often.
35. Half of you will be in the bottom half of your class at any given moment. Way more than half of you will be in the bottom half of your class at some point in the next four years. Get used to it.
36. In ten years very few of you will look as good as you do right now, so secretly revel in how hot you are before it’s too late.
37. In the long run, where you go to college doesn’t matter as much as what you do with the opportunities you’re given there. The MIT name on your resume won’t mean much if that’s the only thing on your resume. As a student here, you will have access to a variety of unique opportunities that no one else will ever have – don’t waste them.
38. On the flip side, don’t try to do everything. Balance = well-being.
39. Make perspective a priority. If you’re too close to something to have good perspective, rely on your friends to help you.
40. Eat badly sometimes. It’s the last time in your life when you can do this without feeling guilty about it.
41. Make a complete ass of yourself at least once, preferably more. It builds character.
42. Wash your sheets more than once a year. Trust me on this one.
43. If you are in a relationship and none of your friends want to hang out with you and your significant other, pay attention. They usually know better than you do.
44. Don’t be afraid of the weird pizza topping combinations that your new friend from across the country loves. Some of the truly awful ones actually taste pretty good. Expand your horizons.
45. Explore the campus thoroughly. Don’t get caught.
46. Life is too short to stick with a course of study that you’re no longer excited about. Switch, even if it complicates things.
47. Tattoos are permanent. Be very certain.
48. Don’t make fun of prefrosh. That was you like 2 hours ago.
49. Enjoy every second of the next four years. It is impossible to describe how quickly they pass.
50. This is the only time in your lives when your only real responsibility is to learn. Try to remember how lucky you are every day
1. Your friends will change a lot over the next four years. Let them.
2. Call someone you love back home a few times a week, even if just for a few minutes.
3. In college more than ever before, songs will attach themselves to memories. Every month or two, make a mix cd, mp3 folder, whatever – just make sure you keep copies of these songs. Ten years out, they’ll be as effective as a journal in taking you back to your favorite moments.
4. Take naps in the middle of the afternoon with reckless abandon.
5. Adjust your schedule around when you are most productive and creative. If you’re nocturnal and do your best work late at night, embrace that. It may be the only time in your life when you can.
6. If you write your best papers the night before they are due, don’t let people tell you that you “should be more organized” or that you “should plan better.” Different things work for different people. Personally, I worked best under pressure – so I always procrastinated… and always kicked ass (which annoyed my friends to no end). ;-) Use the freedom that comes with not having grades first semester to experiment and see what works best for you.
7. At least a few times in your college career, do something fun and irresponsible when you should be studying. The night before my freshman year psych final, my roommate somehow scored front row seats to the Indigo Girls at a venue 2 hours away. I didn’t do so well on the final, but I haven’t thought about psych since 1993. I’ve thought about the experience of going to that show (with the guy who is now my son’s godfather) at least once a month ever since.
8. Become friends with your favorite professors. Recognize that they can learn from you too – in fact, that’s part of the reason they chose to be professors.
9. Carve out an hour every single day to be alone. (Sleeping doesn’t count.)
10. Go on dates. Don’t feel like every date has to turn into a relationship.
11. Don’t date someone your roommate has been in a relationship with.
12. When your friends’ parents visit, include them. You’ll get free food, etc., and you’ll help them to feel like they’re cool, hangin’ with the hip college kids.
13. In the first month of college, send a hand-written letter to someone who made college possible for you and describe your adventures thus far. It will mean a lot to him/her now, and it will mean a lot to you in ten years when he/she shows it to you.
14. Embrace the differences between you and your classmates. Always be asking yourself, “what can I learn from this person?” More of your education will come from this than from any classroom.
15. All-nighters are entirely overrated.
16. For those of you who have come to college in a long-distance relationship with someone from high school: despite what many will tell you, it can work. The key is to not let your relationship interfere with your college experience. If you don’t want to date anyone else, that’s totally fine! What’s not fine, however, is missing out on a lot of defining experiences because you’re on the phone with your boyfriend/girlfriend for three hours every day.
17. Working things out between friends is best done in person, not over email. (IM does not count as “in person.”) Often someone’s facial expressions will tell you more than his/her words.
18. Take risks.
19. Don’t be afraid of (or excited by) the co-ed bathrooms. The thrill is over in about 2 seconds.
20. Wednesday is the middle of the week; therefore on wednesday night the week is more than half over. You should celebrate accordingly. (It makes thursday and friday a lot more fun.)
21. Welcome failure into your lives. It’s how we grow. What matters is not that you failed, but that you recovered.
22. Take some classes that have nothing to do with your major(s), purely for the fun of it.
23. It’s important to think about the future, but it’s more important to be present in the now. You won’t get the most out of college if you think of it as a stepping stone.
24. When you’re living on a college campus with 400 things going on every second of every day, watching TV is pretty much a waste of your time and a waste of your parents’ money. If you’re going to watch, watch with friends so at least you can call it a “valuable social experience.”
25. Don’t be afraid to fall in love. When it happens, don’t take it for granted. Celebrate it, but don’t let it define your college experience.
26. Much of the time you once had for pleasure reading is going to disappear. Keep a list of the books you would have read had you had the time, so that you can start reading them when you graduate.
27. Things that seem like the end of the world really do become funny with a little time and distance. Knowing this, forget the embarassment and skip to the good part.
28. Every once in awhile, there will come an especially powerful moment when you can actually feel that an experience has changed who you are. Embrace these, even if they are painful.
29. No matter what your political or religious beliefs, be open-minded. You’re going to be challenged over the next four years in ways you can’t imagine, across all fronts. You can’t learn if you’re closed off.
30. If you need to get a job, find something that you actually enjoy. Just because it’s work doesn’t mean it has to suck.
31. Don’t always lead. It’s good to follow sometimes.
32. Take a lot of pictures. One of my major regrets in life is that I didn’t take more pictures in college. My excuse was the cost of film and processing. Digital cameras are cheap and you have plenty of hard drive space, so you have no excuse.
33. Your health and safety are more important than anything.
34. Ask for help. Often.
35. Half of you will be in the bottom half of your class at any given moment. Way more than half of you will be in the bottom half of your class at some point in the next four years. Get used to it.
36. In ten years very few of you will look as good as you do right now, so secretly revel in how hot you are before it’s too late.
37. In the long run, where you go to college doesn’t matter as much as what you do with the opportunities you’re given there. The MIT name on your resume won’t mean much if that’s the only thing on your resume. As a student here, you will have access to a variety of unique opportunities that no one else will ever have – don’t waste them.
38. On the flip side, don’t try to do everything. Balance = well-being.
39. Make perspective a priority. If you’re too close to something to have good perspective, rely on your friends to help you.
40. Eat badly sometimes. It’s the last time in your life when you can do this without feeling guilty about it.
41. Make a complete ass of yourself at least once, preferably more. It builds character.
42. Wash your sheets more than once a year. Trust me on this one.
43. If you are in a relationship and none of your friends want to hang out with you and your significant other, pay attention. They usually know better than you do.
44. Don’t be afraid of the weird pizza topping combinations that your new friend from across the country loves. Some of the truly awful ones actually taste pretty good. Expand your horizons.
45. Explore the campus thoroughly. Don’t get caught.
46. Life is too short to stick with a course of study that you’re no longer excited about. Switch, even if it complicates things.
47. Tattoos are permanent. Be very certain.
48. Don’t make fun of prefrosh. That was you like 2 hours ago.
49. Enjoy every second of the next four years. It is impossible to describe how quickly they pass.
50. This is the only time in your lives when your only real responsibility is to learn. Try to remember how lucky you are every day
Saturday, January 9, 2010
Idiotic?
Recently, a professor gave us an assignment to build working models of Gears, Crankshafts, etc. using mount board. Quite practical right? But almost everyone was cursing the prof on the grounds that it was a pretty lame thing to do and why do we need to make things like this when we know how they work and all. Moreover, when in the class, we realized (although wrongly, but that's not the point) that these working models will not be graded and need not even be submitted, the first reaction was why did we do it then?
This and the 3 Idiots slamming the education system have made me think whether we do things only for grades? And if this tendency led to the fact that things were made compulsory at schools and colleges or is it that because the system is faulty, we have become accustomed to work only for grades. Looks like a vicious circle to me.
This and the 3 Idiots slamming the education system have made me think whether we do things only for grades? And if this tendency led to the fact that things were made compulsory at schools and colleges or is it that because the system is faulty, we have become accustomed to work only for grades. Looks like a vicious circle to me.
Monday, December 14, 2009
Of cats and dogs!
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
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
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..
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
Posts
