Payanam FDFS

A movie on the first day of its release, after a long time! By pure coincidence,we had to do quite a lot of payanam/ travel to reach a theatre where the reels would be available for the morning show. But the movie was worth it.

Yes, there were flaws in the screenplay. Like the close-up shot of a dead man where his breathing is visible. The cast of T-shirt donning youngsters as terrorists is seen to be in tandem with the Mumbai attacks. But the guys need a good course in acting. They don't need to scream hysterically and slap random people to induce terror. Which sensible parent will leave a four-year-old kid with heart ailment on the aisle seat in a hijacked plane? 

But there were a few good issues highlighted in the movie.  For instance, the indecisive nature of the Indian Bureaucracy and the consequences of Irresponsible Journalism. The religious integration endorsed the Priest is good, but his character later on becomes melodramatic. Maybe in a normal environment we would not enjoy it so much but the Indian commandos' instant human ladder formation at a nail-biting moment during the climax makes us Proud! But at the same time, the hero's predicted-by-all-in-the-audience escape from the bomb is the pictorial description of the word "cliche". 

The movie gets a bit thrilling in the second half after the drag of "Okay. What Next?" feel that comes over one in the first half.  

Overall, a definitely better way to spend the morning session, instead of lazing around, shifting between the Department's labs. And I did learn a few things. Like the consequences of  accidentally getting into an adjacent screen's hall, sitting and starting to watch a different movie after the Intermission! :-D       

The sacred word- "I"

The one-month-old year has provided me with quite a versatile set of days. A good mix of happiness, anger, dejection and silly enjoyment. 

While JMET and FMS made me happy in the first week of January, the Feline Queen was let out of the bag in another week's time and it has generated a wide range of reactions from me. 

Anyway, I am looking forward to my D-days- two in Feb and three in March. It does look like every other experience shall culminate as a training for the Big day on March 31. 

These days, as I run around with SoPs, CVs, Reference Letters and Bonafide Certificates, I realize that there is just one main and ultimate subject I need to be thorough with... "I, Me, Myself"

Surprising as it sounds, this happens to be one of the toughest parts for a considerable section of the aspirants. There is no Wikipedia or Google to help you out in this aspect. Well, to most of us- the spoilt brats of today's techie world- answers have been provided by the Internet for far too long that introspection has become just another word in the dictionary, used when appropriate in GDs and Essays but never practised. I have seen some posts in PagalGuy asking for "good answers to Why MBA"! 

Is this not a matter of our own choice? It is possible that 100% clarity may not exist in most of our minds. But those gaping holes need to be plugged into. I am enjoying the process, despite the occasional off-mood moments caused due to meaningless apprehensions. Only these moments cause exhilaration when I find answers to those very doubts from within my own self. 

Another important aspect in life, I have come to realise, is Passion. The Great Indian Mould, which churns out Engineers and Doctors in plentitude, erodes the once-cherished dreams of many an adolescent heart. One such example I know of is a girl who is sitting in front of this computer right now. But she is on the road to self-discovery and is very excited about it. 

With a lot more to be found from deep within herself and also from Wikipedia , Ayn Rand and certain Eco-Fin enlightened souls like Roshni, she signs off from Blogosphere for the time being. :) 

 

Yet again.. Another year in review!

This is the one post that I have been consistent in writing, since the inception of this blog. I remember completing my review of 2009 in a sort of last minute haste. This year I have the luxury of a copious amount of time in hand to collect my thoughts and put them across :) 

Ah 2010.. "Eventful" would be too inadequate to describe this year! A vast gamut of personal experiences- pleasant and otherwise, combined with a world waking up to a whole lot of important issues (none of which this indolent girl has posted about :-/ ) have made this year more important than a mere conclusion to the first decade of a new millenium. 

On the Personal Front...

I have definitely grown up substantially! And No, GlaxoSmithKline shall not take credit for this. The growing up process that they claim their drink enhances, has not occurred! Relationships- their making and breaking- have helped me realize myself. Realization of what core values I respect and expect in people I mingle with, has made me take pride in the ethics I have imbibed implicitly. The second half of this year saw me learning a lot more than CAT basics and 7th semester ECE stuff. 

Lives of great men all remind us, we can make our lives sublime, and, 

departing, leave behind us, footprints on the sands of time.

I have been inspired by a few such great people, who have already achieved some success in their struggle for the well-being of deserving and talented students! Juxtaposed against certain societal equals whose driving force in taking up one of the most noble professions is nothing beyond the monthly cheque, these people's lives and their actions are a lesson in the true meaning and spirit of communism, unblemished by the Ayn Rand-style-hypocrisy! For the Rand follower in me, this has been a good experience at viewing the other side of the coin. 

On the other hand, I have also had trysts with the true-Rand-style pseudo communists who do stuff that are supposedly "good for all", giving "opportunities" to all. Ha! Comrades, Communism is not about sacrificing Talent at the altar of Incompetence!

I had two major losses in the family this year. A friend who came home for the first time early this year asked with awe "Are all your grandparents alive?". I replied with extreme happiness "Yes!!". There couldn't have been a moment I have damned more during this year than that. I have no one who now responds to my calls of "Manni.." or "Paati..". 

I gave the much-anticipated Common Admission Test and followed it up with three other entrance exams. I have displayed extreme competence in one of the three mentioned in the latter part, displaying my acute inability to distinguish between printed words- "saturday" and "sunday". The result of the possession of such skills has been the absence of a certain "Shilpa Suresh" in a certain PDF called the IIFT GDPI shortlist. The CAT is very much on the wall! In fact, CAT 2010 brought out the Humane Nature of the IIMs! To err is Human, isn't it? ;-D

Now for The Bigger Picture..

Let me now tear my eyes away from the mirror and look at the world around me! There has never been a shortage of movies in Indian cinema depicting Corruption! Guess it's now time for the Real-Life-anti heroes to have their heyday in the media. King Cong has  given the sack to Suresh Kalmadi (the genius who welcomed Princess Diana with Charles during the CWG Inauguration :-D ) and Ashok Chavan, on grounds of revising "Charity begins at Home" to "Everything Monetary reaches the society after serving home and family". The currently-hot 2G scam involving Namma ooru Raja is nothing short of the Biggest Ever Act of Corruption in the history of, well, everything. Even Vijayakant has not reeled off such a huge number in any of his statistics-revealing punches! The harmful side-effects of Radiation are very much in focus!

Obama came visiting and took the easily-impassioned compatriots off their feet with impressive prepared speeches and a few diplomatic replies. Say the things the Indians like to hear and they'll love you! Mr.BHO stuck to this wise one-liner and had a successful stint here, hinting at the goodness of India being a permanent Security Council member while his Secretary of State had been more veracious in opining on the issue, as revealed by Wikileaks. 
Ah Wikileaks! The Sensation of 2010. The Talk of the World! I love it for the one purpose it served- Showing a spade as a spade and a club as a club! No diplomatic sweet-talk or nonsense involved. Just plain true facts! For a person like me who has experienced the frustration of trying to get one just need satisfied (and failing eventually) by traversing the layers of bureaucracy and coming across hypocrites and sycophants, there can be nothing more refreshing than the Simple Straight Truth! Don't we, the people, deserve it?

There does exist, one class of people whom I do loathe more than the hypocrites and sycophants.  In fact, this lot's right to exist is seriously in doubt. The child-abusers. How on earth can they even dream of inflicting pain and horror on the blooming buds of the garden of the Earth? I was satisfied to note that one such non-human who had murdered a couple of kids from my town was shot down by the cops.

Alright, now that's enough cribbing for one post, I guess. Let's face the facts. The World around us is Ugly. Unfair. We can't realistically hope for a radical change in a mere three hundred and sixty five days. But we can definitely hope for a marginal improvement in the right direction. The issues in the spotlight now should help raise the public awareness and create a better place for us to live in. Let organizations like "Fifth Pillar" which promote anti-corruption flourish! Let more people get back their lost cellphones like my mom did :)  and fewer if not none, lose them in the first place! Hoping to crib about fewer things in the next year's post :)

Joblessness- Or is it?

The romance with this began two years ago..

As we tried (in vain) to fool the rickety kits in the Communication Engineering Lab into functioning agreeably, I used to throw jealous glances at those super-seniors seated in the Impact Lab, with not a single care in the world- yes, no observations/records,no classes, no assignments and absolutely no written tests! "Wow!! What won't I give to be in their shoes now.." used to play at the back of my mind every now and then.

Come sixth semester, and there was a fresh batch of insouciant seniors out there in the Impact lab! By then, I had made up my mind- No Internship! This kind of joblessness needs to be experienced before I plunge deep into the corporate world, not to resurface for a good forty years or so. 

And Now.... I sit in the same Impact Lab, not knowing what to do, chit-chatting, shuttling between TestFunda and PagalGuy, checking mails every fifteen minutes and of course discussing means to bypass the attendance system. Work on the Project shall resume in due course of time, but as of now, it's just time to chill out and actually sort out those things I've always wanted to do, but never did, citing a lame lack-of-time as reason. These six months, I hope, shall see me learning a few life-lessons (for instance, a life-sustaining skill such as cooking!) and working towards the realization of some long-cherished dreams..        

Hi there!

So, I am finally back after a "break" that broke out of control and extended too long. No reason is reasonable enough to justify my not pursuing this enjoyable hobby. I'd rather start posting straight away.. 

So Long!

Consistency.. Competition.. Confusion.. Apprehension.. Accuracy.. Inspiration.. Disappointment.. Surprise..

Well I am in my own muddled world... Shall be off this space for sometime while I hope to......

Coping Without..

I've contemplated,
Many a time;
Those brief instants-
Of madness- I'd call them.

On the way home
In the school-bus,
During Thunderstorms and
Those nondescript moments
Whose roots are known to none.

Imagination is Bad-
I'd declare to myself.
A shake of the head,
And then back to
The bliss called normalcy.

But now I'd say,
Imagination was Better-
Much Better than This.
The Pain. The Void.
Reality makes them Worse.

Those warm trails
Burn my cheeks in solitude.
To dam is more agonizing.
Bonds hurt when broken, with
One end on the earth and the other beyond.

Would it hurt less,
Had the bond been weaker?
I ask myself.
A pang clears my head.

Each smile, Each story,
Each dish you made for this brat,
Each non-pampering reprimand,
Each pet-name,
Is worth an ocean!

That tingling laughter,
That voice,
Those phone-greetings,
That last kiss and the last hugged-sleep-
Remain evergreen. Be it two months or two centuries.