Sunrise

Image by Thai Jasmine via Flickr

I was lucky to be up at dawn today. My window gives me an amazing view of the central lawns, hostel buildings, the river Zuari and the bank beyond. I noticed a diffusion of orange in the sky when I woke up signaling sunrise. My window does not face the east, so I went to the other side of the building and stood hanging out of a window to watch the colours in the sky. The window is before a terrace, the door to which is sadly, always kept locked. The hues of the horizon change every second. First there were streaks of bright orange in the middle of the sky. Near to the land, the orange diffused to a misty grey. And above, hung the clouds in shades of white and grey. As the sun rises somewhere beyond my vision, the orange lightens. At one moment, there is a glow to the whole sky like a golden light has overtaken the orange and the grey. The orange gently lightens to herald the appearance of the sun. The sun is hidden beyond the hills but the light has spread.

This is Christmas morning and I want to sing Joy to the world, the Lord has come.

Merry Christmas to all of you!!

सू करू छे

पिछला आधा हफ्ता ट्रेन में ही गुजरा । पहले वास्को से जबलपुर, फिर जबलपुर से सोमनाथ और वापिस – ९६ घंटे का सफर । गुजरात मैं पहली बार गई थी, खमण- ढोकले तो नज़र नही आए पर अमूल की दुकान हर स्टेशन पर थी । गुजराती नमकीन लज़ीज़ होते हैं पर ट्रेन में तो दाने-पानी को तरस गए । वो तो घरवालों के साथ थी तो खाने का एक थैला साथ था, वरना, गए थे । हाँ राजकोट और जैतलसर अच्छे शहर थे । राजकोट में अमूल श्रीखण्ड खाया तो अणुशक्तिनगर का श्रीखण्ड याद आ गया । { अणुशक्तिनगर -> देखें I love Mumbai } । ऐसे ही जैतलसर के भजिये याद रहेंगे ।

पेट पूजा से आगे चलते हैं उसके एक स्त्रोत पर। सोमनाथ में गाय-बैल थोक में हैं । गुजरात में 'दूधो नहाओ' ज़रूर होता होगा अगर अमूल और वाडीलाल सब बेच न डालते हों । एक ही शहर में हर तरह का पशु पालन दिख गया - गाय-बैल, बकरियाँ, भेड़ें, मुर्गे और गधे ।

सोमनाथ मन्दिर परिसर में बहुत सारे कबूतर रहते हैं । दाना चुगाते लोग और दौड़-दौड़कर कबूतर उड़ाते बच्चे दोंनों ही सुंदर छवि बनाते हैं । मंदिरवाले शायद साम्यवादी हैं इसलिए कुत्ते और शूकर भी मौजूद होते हैं ।

अगर आप कभी सोमनाथ जाएँ तो गुमने का कोई डर नहीं है । जिस जगह से समुद्र-मछलियों की तेज़ बदबू शुरू हो जाए, बस समझियेगा पहुँच गए। सोमनाथ से लेकर दीव तक एक भी मछली बाज़ार नहीं दिखा पर गंध 'आपके साथ सदा के लिए' । गोवा में तो यह धूप कभी नहीं महकी । पर गोवा जैसी ठंडी-तेज़ मस्त हवाएं भी हैं सोमनाथ में । स्टेशन पर ट्रेन की पटरियाँ खत्म कर दी गई हैं की कहीं ट्रेन समुद्र में न कूद जाए ।

सोमनाथ से दीव के रास्ते में एक नए तरह का रिक्शा देखने को मिला । आगे से मोटरसाईकिल, पीछे से ट्रॉली। फोटो में देख सकते हैं आप। बैठने का आनंद उठाने का मन था, पर सफर सिर्फ़ इन्डिका में कटा।

यहाँ पर स्टेशन से मन्दिर पहुँचने में ही इतनी गलियाँ हैं की होश फाख्ता हो जाएँ। बनारस घूमी हूँ, उसे मात देती हैं ये गलियाँ। पर इतनी गन्दगी होगी ये सोचा न था। सोमनाथ एक तीर्थस्थल है, पर ये मेरा देखा हुआ सबसे गन्दा क़स्बा है।

ये थे मेरे गुजरात भ्रमण के कुछ अनुभव। गुजराती लिपि देवनागरी से मिलती-जुलती है। कुछ अक्षर अलग हैं जैसे क -> ક । गुजराती में उसे डाँट कर सीधा खड़ा कर दिया गया है। बेचारा मुँह बाए खड़ा रहता है।
दीव और गोवा नाम पढ़कर एक सवाल उठा मन में । हिन्दी में गोआ गोवा और दियू दीव क्यों हो जाता है? अगर दिमाग की बत्ती जले तो अवश्य बताएं ।

हिन्दी में

थोडे दिनों पहले विकल्प का लेख पढ़ा पिलानी के हिन्दी प्रेस क्लब के ब्लॉग पर| बहुत दिनों बाद हिन्दी में कुछ पढ़ा| उसके बाद प्रतीक माहेश्वरी का ब्लॉग पढ़ा| बहुत अच्छा लिखते हैं| तब से हिन्दी में लिखने का मन कर रहा था, इसलिए अगली रचना हिन्दी में| अब से इस चिट्ठे में थोड़ी हिन्दी, थोड़ी अंग्रेज़ी|

!!!Two hours

In those two hours, the world went topsy-turvy. I received three CDC papers in two hours, one was good (surprisingly) and the other two left a lot to be done in T2 and compre. But these are not the two hours I am talking about. They are the ones that followed. I decided I was in no mood for snacks, instead went to the library and settled down with a book, only the fourth person inside. No network inside lib, switched off my phone. The clock showed six and I was completely immersed in All Things Bright and Beautiful by James Herriot. Another hour went by among sheep, horses and calves. {James Herriot is a vet and writes about his country practice.} By now, I was ravenously hungry. I proceeded to the Institute Cafeteria for samosa chaat (staple food at IC). Saw some crowd outside audi, couldn’t figure out why. Maybe there was something related to the visiting MIT delegates, but without prior intimation… Wondering, I reached IC where the guy asked me that what was happening in audi. I replied with a negative probably for the first time. Anyway, returned at a leisurely pace to hostel where the world exploded. And I came to know a lot had changed…

An Answer

An in-depth reply by a friend to my post Does Self-Improvement Improve? :

In my opinion, personal/relational influence is what matters. Books, movies,sports,music etc happen to be the channels through which the authors/actors/directors/singers(different persons) convey what they want to.What exactly matters, changes individually. At the same time whatever the person is trying to convey, has to be caught immediately by the person being conveyed. I call this ability to catch, "an innate spark".

I love Mumbai

Arrival on 25th May, Departure on 18th July. A lot has happened in between.
An application I made is up and running on supercomputer Anupam Ajeya.
I found some great friends here, as you have read and some about whom you haven't.
I've travelled in Mumbai in all modes of public transport. Sometimes alone also.
And I am in love with the city.

Reasons:

एक फुग्गा....दो दीवाने

दीवानों के नाम - Alan and Alibe. The story begins with Opal's balloon which brought the two together. On Sunday evening, we were coming back in a bus from Carter Road to Sion. It's the most moving-shaking bus ride I've ever had. Every time the driver hit the brakes, every person used to jump a metre ahead. And on Mumbai roads, brakes are a recurrent feature.

When the first time this happened, we were caught unaware. I was holding only with one hand which slipped on the rod, and got cut slightly. Opal was holding with both her hands and still did a mighty swing. Her precious balloon from Mad Over Doughnuts meanwhile, was being doctored by Alan and Alibe. The tiny hole in it needed immediate medical attention. So out came remedies from Alan's bag : first try -packs of Jaljira, second - sugar packets from Mocha, third - comb, finally a fevi quick. In this busy scene, the driver interrupted with brakes. Alan fell forward holding a rod with one hand. Then, in slow motion.. Alibe fell on his other arm, the balloon still clutched safely in his hands. Two guys and a balloon... The situation merited violins playing.. Alan says some did sound in his head :P

Yumyyy

Sunday is fun day no, food day. Just a quick look at what I ate yesterday:

Breakfast at 10.30 - a glass of milk and sambhar vada

Image via Wikipedia

Lunch- Typical Andhra food in good quantity. Food was awesome. Andhra specialities - पुलिहोरा (tamarind rice), दद्दोजनम (curd rice) , रसम, आम का अचार, छोले।

Image by Chocolate Geek via Flickr

Then, a treat at CCD - Chocolate Fantasy,their speciality. A hot chocolate pastry with a scoop of vanilla icecream. I love dark chocolate.

Image via Wikipedia

In hostel, for dinner, sweet corn soup and we made four packs of maggi (3 ppl).

Image by jetalone via Flickr

Then, for dessert, we cut a water melon.

:-) :-) :-)


Now, why did I eat so much in one day? Maybe because Vir Sanghvi publishes Rude Food in Brunch on Sunday :P

Does Self-Improvement Improve?

Self Improvement is a must section for any book-shop now. I went to Odyssey store some days back and they had those in huge numbers. Then, I went to Matunga Circle this weekend, and they were there too. Matunga Circle is a place in Mumbai where second hand books and cheap reprints are sold on street-side shops. (I got an old book on financial management for 10 bucks). I also got Robin Sharma's Megaliving and Who Will Cry When You Die?, though they weren't such a treat to my wallet.

Megaliving is a true blue, 'you can have a perfect life' book. It begins with reassurances that you can turn around your life and has a 30 Day program to revolutionise your life. My mom is suspicious of such attempts at becoming successful and believes in action not words. I do not know whether such books can change lives but they sure give me an uplifting feeling. For a while I could have a can-do attitude and an optimistic outlook. Long term effects are more a product of my philosophy and upbringing rather than inspirational literature.

Many books in the motivational genre have went on to become best-sellers. They are read by countless around the world. So, does the world now have self-motivated, go-getters who never say die? Though if I consider the world around me, BITSians are constantly working to improve in their fields, be it my batch, seniors or alumni. Each one does something to excel, it is almost amazing. Reason, I suspect is just the atmosphere at college.

Coming back to books, most authors claim that they have changed thousands of lives by their endeavours. Is it pessimistic of me to think they are bluffing or do books actually change lives? Or........ the high lasts only for a day?

One believer: Abe Oye!
One non-believer: Soul Surgery

Essel World

As you know we reached Borivli after an interesting journey. From the jetty, we took a ferry to Essel World. At 480 per head, it was costly entertainment, but worth it I guess. Especially for Alan and Opal, who went on all rides, mostly more than one. They give the top prize to Rock n Roll, a small ride which made their brains do big circles. In it, the seats rotate continuously, no track of which way is sky and which way is earth. Plus, the mandatory going round in a circle too.

I would call Hool-a-Loop as the most jarring. It’s a roller coaster which has extreme dips and a 360 degree loop. Whenever we went down a slope, everybody used to scream. It was perhaps the first time in my memory that I was screaming involuntarily. Nothing else has ever made me scream yet including 3-feet long snakes when I was 10. When X saw the first almost vertical dip, the words that came out were “हे भगवान्, मैं यहाँ क्यों आया”. Opal got so scared by this proclamation that she didn’t open her eyes throughout that ride.

There’s another roller-coaster called Cadbury Xyclone, but it is tamer in comparison to hool-a-loop. I went twice on this one and all of us tried putting our hands in the air instead of clutching as if holding on to dear life.

Another big one was a giant wheel that used to go from horizontal to vertical, with high-speed revolutions. This time it was I who got scared because of X’s proclamations. The guy himself went on to all rides, but managed to transfer his fear around. I have been on giant wheel before, so if you put me there without giving much time to think, it would’ve been okay. But after listening to “यार, ये बहुत खतरनाक है” and “अब ऊपर मिलेंगे”, I didn’t open my eyes. X has a nice theory, it feels better if there are two in one gondola, at least there’ll be company while dying: D


There was also ice-skating and roadies-style bull-ride. After ice-skating, opinions: Opal – “four-wheel skates practice doesn’t help”. Rav – “No skating for me in this life”. Me – “I’ve never tried skating, after looking at them, good…” Alan was our sole champion in the ring.

That's the water splash. Only Rav and I went for this one.

Out of a local train

A major event in my EPA as in Extra PS Activities: Essel World on last Saturday. We left at 7.30 and came back at 8 :)

For destination Essel World, we braved the local trains of Mumbai for the first time. We includes four other friends besides yours truly. And since I don’t want to be bashed up for telling you about their silly acts, let us call them Opal, X, Alan and Rav.

Nature's bounty

I am living on the seventh floor in New Bachelor Hostel now. btw, how do u define a "new bachelor"?
It rained for the first time today. And the view from my balcony was awesome. There are no buildings to block my view. So I see only tree-covered hills and a blue sky above. I've been told that we can literally walk through clouds when it rains. I'm waiting..
The best time view is in the morning. The sun's rays' interplay on the hills, the shifting patches of sunlight. Gives a lovely start to the day.
The campus is about 5000 acres in area. I think half of it must be greenery. And we are not the only ones in Mother Nature's lap, there are scores of red-faces monkeys too. Even one of the guys found the monkey-babies cute, merrily clinging to their mothers as they walk. Also, there's a cute cat who lives near the canteen. She's still afraid of me but not of the lassi that I gave her.
The campus reminds me often of home, I guess nature will always be like a home away from home...

Techno Immune 2.0

There are times when you have to be philosophical and bear the injustice that life gives you..
Presently, just the power cord of my lappy has stopped wrking. Techno immune again as i am, wont be regular here...
Hopefully, my creative energy would find an outlet in CC or in a frnd's room..
c u
Quote: Nothing stands in the way of a willing heart and a strong determination :D

Can I Call You Angel ?

by Erin Sheets

The snow fell, leaving a halo of white upon your head, and that's when I said, "Can I call you Angel?" You looked at me with surprise, but I could see it in your eyes, and I knew. As you sang silent night, your beautiful voice put me at ease, and I asked please, "Can I call you Angel?" A smile came to your face with serenity and grace, but you said not a word. In my darkest hours you held my hand, never leaving my side, and I said, while I cried, "Can I call you Angel? " You then began to wipe the tears away and erase all the gray in my life. You led me down a path of gold, telling me of the creator above, and again I asked with a greater love, "Can I call you Angel?" You never answered my plea, so I fell to my knee in prayer. As I opened my eyes, I could see you before me; Your wings spread and a golden halo upon your head and one last time I said, "Josslyn, can I call you Angel?"

.

Enchanting, captivating, bewitching, mesmerizing
Why is the dark sky so deeply convincing

The darkness engulfs even the lone star
Its moments of bravery forgotten
It tries always quite hard to spar
Why does it still get beaten

Spellbound it draws you closer
Beauty of the fruit forbidden
Rationale, courage and valour
Defeated by the demon within

Trials and tribulations they mar
Fear and flight together train
Judgement within is at war
Cowers mind beneath that rain

Rising and falling, bending and crawling
Moving where the darkness is shrouding

Cheers!!!

Keep smiling, it's contagious. My warden has this quote outside her door. Beautiful, isn't it? :-)

Life is too short to be depressed. The best feeling is when you feel a sense of gratitude for life's blessings and let that shape your expressions and actions. There are little-little things that happen everyday that make one feel so happy and grateful for all that life has given. A call from a parent or friend when you r blue, a big smile from a person whom you know only slightly, praise from a stranger.....

Would you want to be happy and content with life? They say the magic lies not in fame or fortune, but in the attitude towards what you have got. Things might be going wrong at times, but if you look, there's always a light at the end of the tunnel. It's far, but look at it and keep moving onwards with the the joy of the world in your heart.

Kindness

The title may seem simplicity itself yet I choose to explain it. Helpfulness towards someone in need, not in return for anything, nor for the advantage of the helper himself, but for that of the person helped. We generally associate ‘kindness’ with being charitable and philanthropic. But, kindness is also your behaviour towards friends, towards those that serve you and towards strangers.
My first brush with people actually practising the teachings was when I read about Vasant Kalbag, founder of Kindness Unlimited. He was featured as an Everyday Hero in Readers’ Digest. A Mumbaikar senior citizen actively engaged in spreading the word of kindness. That lead to the discovery of helpothers, a website dedicated to making people kinder. Not by doing great deeds but by practising everyday kindness.

There have been instances where the simple acts of kindness that I witnessed have moved me greatly. There is a friend of mine who is excessively caring towards dogs. It is a wonder how patient and loving can she be towards strays. There are dog-lovers aplenty, but very few care about the ones on the streets. No wonder that if you stand with her, near a pack of dogs, soon you’ll be the centre of a group of wagging tails.

Another time, when I was travelling in a train with friends, one of them was overwhelmingly kind and polite to a girl asking for alms. Even after sharing his food with her, he remained polite till the time she moved from our seat which she did not do very willingly in the hope to still get more. People can be so unkind to those who can do nothing to them. Though I do not support begging, yet it is disturbing to see the tone in which people rebuke. The strong, sharp words just to emphasize how much they dislike the practice. Since she wasn’t moving, I’d asked him to be more firm with her. And the reply I got was that if he does then what will be the difference between him and others. That incident left a lasting impression on me.
Lastly,
“Kindness is the rent we must pay for the space we occupy on this planet.”

Serving the nation

"It does not matter, who I am, I will work, and work, all the forces of universe, will also assist me. I will achieve , what I dream."
I took this oath with hundreds of other students on 7th February in the auditorium. It was initiated by Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam when he visited our campus to inaugurate Quark 09. He said that when you dream, when you work, it does not matter who you are.

At the end of his inspiring speech, there was an interactive session with students. Somehow, all the questions submitted beforehand were from boys. So, he asked that last two questions should be asked by girls. One of them was mine:

Me- "As a technical student, when we are getting excellent education in a technical institute, after college, would we be serving India more if we become a researcher or would we be serving India more if we become a grassroots activist?"

Dr. Kalam- "If you take 100 engineers, technology group you take, my feeling is 10 to maximum, depending upon the institute, 20 percent, they will like to be interested in real research.So it is the necessity of the institution and the country also, to support the research. Because, competitiveness India is 41 now. Out of hundreds of nations, the competitiveness we are 41. If you want to become number one, two, three, four, five - science needed. Science only gives new technology. New technology will not be available to us immediately, till the technology becomes a product, somebody gets money for it. So science... Science, we need to encourage science. Government of India willing to spend 2 percent. Out of that, 0.8 percent for fundamental research. But our institutions are not spending."

At the end, he made us take another oath "I will work with integrity and succeed with integrity."
Amen

(Note: The 'Amen' is a personal addition, not a part of his speech)

Divided we stand

“All are equal but some are more equal than the others” said George Orwell in “Animal Farm”. The statement most accurately depicts the tussle between egalitarianism and social divisions. Governments and intellectuals eulogize the romantic concept of egalitarianism but, reality remains starkly different. The Preamble of the Constitution of India declares her as a “socialist, secular Republic”. It also includes the Fundamental Right against Discrimination. Yet, in modern India, caste and religious differences are seen in prominence as never before. The flames are fuelled by political motives. The USA granted equal rights to blacks but, only years later were they able to hail the first black President. Worldwide, such differences have perpetuated, generation after generation yet intellectualism still strives and upholds egalitarianism.

Classlessness is a fundamentally right concept. Each human being is equal in the eyes of God and in the eyes of law. Equal rights should be enjoyed by John Doe and the billionaire capitalist. A few societies do realize this state. Like the nomads, some Chinese tribes and certain North Australian communities. In a Chinese tribe, which survives on hunting, the one who makes the kill is teased in proportion to the size of the beast to deflate his ego. In North Australia, each person is bound by custom to share anything that his neighbour needs. Everybody’s needs are hence taken care of. The nomads own nothing but the bare minimum and hence do not fight over what belongs to whom. These egalitarian societies have been built upon the principles of kinship and collective ownership of resources.

Individualism, privatization and the notion of ownership of resources– ubiquitous concepts in modern world, all but destroy the possibility of egalitarianism. The countries who gave equal share of wealth to everyone, saw their economies in tatters until they allowed some form of capitalism. Anti-egalitarians also argue that nature creates genetic differences. It makes some men more able than the others then why should their progress be stymied in the name of equality for all. Society being divided into strata is so strongly a part of every society that it must be essential for a stable society. It thus stands empirically correct even though morally, egalitarianism stands higher.

Awesome Day

It’s a good time to be alive.

I had my first MT prac today. It was a good and at times funny thing. Electrical Experiments are all about connecting wires. You try to tie three thick bush-like wires to a single knob and the lab assistant comes at pulls at them. Unexpectedly they are seen in his hand instead of on the transformer. Next, my partner was trying to adjust the load on a motor. Somehow she rotated the handles such that the spring balance that was hanging from it unscrewed and went down with a clang. The instructor and assistant came running. First incident in that lab. Then after some time, when we were done with the readings, we tried to turn the motor off. I lowered the voltage. The motor hissed and then the silent lab came alive with the grinding sound. Our assistant was standing a few feet apart. We told him “Sir, our motor is making a sound”. That guy turned his back to us. Then seeing at a distant star, as if having a premonition, he said “Wait, I can hear some sound”. Till that time, the instructor who had been at the other end of the lab realized where the sound was coming from and rushed over. No damage done, thankfully. We didn’t exactly appreciate the idea of blowing something on our first day itself.

The evening was made fun by a DJ nite organized for Lohri. Maybe the name Bhangra nite would be more appropriate. I danced this way after quite long. One and a half hour of non-stop of dancing with friends – sheer joy. Doing फुगड़ी is another exhilarating experience. For the uninitiated, fugadi is a kind of dance step where two people, usually girls, hold each other’s hands and move around in a wide circle. The faster the better, even though the world is dizzy afterwards. And if you haven’t clasped tightly, you are flung out and land as a heap on the floor. Punjabi songs are fun to shake a leg to. Even last time’s Lohri DJ nite had been fun. Unlike the one in Waves where Nikihil Chinappa was the DJ. It is desi music that rocks.

So folks..my life is becoming better by the day.. how’s urs?