Ambitions & crystallized double sulphates

When I was 12, most kids my age had pretty much the same kind of ambitions..All of us wanted to become fighter pilots ['Top Gun' had been released] or scientists [astronomer, in my case].

Of course nobody told us that becoming a scientist required years of intense study before any kind of fruitful work is produced or discoveries are made & eventually would make us socially dysfunctional + flat broke, & that staring too long at the night sky can give you quite a painful cramp in the neck.

But we were kids, all of us had our dream jobs & playing with electric motors & kitchen spices in moms kitchen made us feel as if we were born to do be the next Edison. We grew alum in a bowl for crying out loud! Couldn't cut any frogs though.

How I miss those joyful days..

Delhi Times

College is over.I am back at home. Away from the sweltering summer of Bhubaneswar to the humid,sweaty,slimy summer of Delhi.But I'm loving it..'cause its my favourite city.
10 things that makes it worth living in the national capital..

1. Absolutely extreme weather conditions...You are either frozen in the bone chilling, frost bite inducing frigid winters or the hot & humid summers when you feel as if you are just a few centigrades away from spontaneous combustion.

2. Dirty slang spewing Bus drivers...Did these people go to some special school where they were taught the most obscene curses & slang so that they could vent their frustrations on their fellow man?

3. 2 hour traffic jams...You can actually get a lot of work done during this time if you are well organised & have 25 million kilograms of patience. (You should be an expert in avoiding a neural haemorrhage in the process)

4. All the Beauiful Girls & Ladies & Aunties...no i'm not a perv!

5. Obnoxiously Affluent junta who derive pleasure by filthy display of wealth...& believe me, there are scores of them.

6. Dirty Politics & even Dirtier Politicians..& the whore also known as Mainstream Media.

7. Page 3 Parties..aka Get togethers for the Rich, middle aged Socialites, Publicity hungry blokes & Gay people from the Fashion industry.

8. Awe inspiring Monuments & sites of architectural magnificence which are dying...in structure & in spirit.

9. Beggars on traffic signals..& boy do they have their own standards. Give them a rupee & the killer look that they give you..travails of living in an inflated economy.

10. Last but certainly not the least..The Youth Of Delhi..Be it Late night parties, Weekend getaways, Academic exellence or Social & Political activism..WE can handle anything & everything all at once..So don't you dare mess with us dude.

The Book Of Rock:Verse 24: "Floyd is God"

The most Fantabulous & intruiging interpretation of one of my favourite albums..
& I thought I was an expert on Floyd!

For The Prehistoric Couch potatoes

Satellites are these big time chunks of metal, electric circuits & on-board computers & they go round & round around the planet in orbits of various eccentricities. They offer various kinds of services ranging from telecommunications to remote sensing & what not..
But why am I all of a sudden talking about satellites in this post?!
Its because to me the most enthralling application of these big chunks of metal is how they can beam hundreds of channels into our idiot boxes & help couch potatoes like me in attaining digital nirvana.
But this is not even about that. Then what the hell is it about??
Well its about how life used to be for millions of Indians before cable TV, before satellite TV invaded our homes & made certain very important decisions of our lives like what time will I have to leave from work to catch that prime time broadcast of Miss Universe or the latest sting operation about the bollywood starlet in very compromising circumstances.

A long time back in a television galaxy far far away, the Indian television broadcasting system gave us DOORDARSHAN, the grand daddy of Indian Television.
As long as I can remember I have always been a TV addict. But before becoming a neurotic channel surfer with an unquenchable appetite for 24 hour music channels & American sitcoms, I used to look forward to my Sundays with a gleeful excitement of a 10 year old (which I was!) for the next episode of MAHABHARAT or JUNGLE BOOK, which came later.
Never can I forget the restless anticipation with which I used to wait to see the drama between the Pandavas & Kauravas unfold in front of our eyes, or the battles fought in Kurukshetra, being mesmerized by the special effects (one arrow being converted into hundreds) which can be best described as prehistoric by todays standards nor can I miss enough, the adventures of Mowgli & the rest of the JUNGLE BOOK gang.
The title song of the cartoon series was also quite a rage in my school at that time. I guess same was the case all over the country.
Apart from serials of epic proportions & jungle adventures there used to be some very meaningful & socially relevant serials & programmes. HUMLOG, which is believed to be India’s first soap, was the story of an archetypal Indian middle class family dealing with issues of everyday life. It was supported by an impressive cast who became icons for the Great Indian Middle Class & people could identify with each & every character in some way or the other.
Always being an ardent Sci-Fi fan, I also enjoyed the inter-galactic adventures in SPACE CITY SIGMA which a lot of people won’t remember. If it was STAR TREK for my elder brother when he was young, it was SCS for me. No comparisons made, I feel it was a pretty decent effort at bringing a science fiction series on screen. Although I’m a STAR TREK fanatic, SCS will always remain in my mind as my first Sci-Fi series.

My parents would always wait for Sundays to get their share of latest ‘filmy’ music in CHITRAHAR.
The entire week used to be spent in wait of the weekend for the weekend movie which most often than not turned out to be a Mithun Chakraborty pikchur.
The Badshah of Bollywood, SRK started his career in Doordarshan with a serial called FAUJI which I used to follow with a fervent zeal imagining myself in his uniform running around the house with my toy sub-machine gun.
Another SRK starrer, CIRCUS followed the lives of people working in a circus & was hugely popular owing to a fine cast none of whom can be seen today on screen.

The most intelligent, knowledge rich feature that Doordarshan gave us was SURABHI hosted by the inimitable Siddharth Kak & Renuka Shahne. The kind of fan following witnessed by this programme was unmatched & beyond compare. What I liked the most about the programme were the thoroughly researched features & the cultural backdrop of the whole programme. Not to forget the weekly quiz which also led to the introduction of the competition postcard.
Being an ardent fan of the mystery & suspense genre, I was also a very very big fan of BYOMKESH BAKSHI & POIROT (based on Agatha Christie’s character).
I enjoyed both the serials equally as both of them kept me at the edge of my seat & my grey cells working. The only difference was in the setting of the two equally captivating serials. Both David Suchet (POIROT) & Rajit Kapur (BYOMKESH) gave performances which thoroughly intrigued the viewers & I cannot picture the two playing any other character besides these two. The title tracks of the two serials will also be etched into my brain forever.


Apart from the serials & programmes, who can forget the awesome time fillers like the national integration song ‘MILE SUR MERA TUMHARA’ written by Piyush Pandey & first aired in 1987 commemorating 40 years of Indian independence.


And finally, on every 26th January, all of us still sit in front of the TV, switch onto DD1 & watch the Republic Day parade with our families & wait for the colourful tableaus of our native states.
While trying to remember any more programs or features that I used to enjoy, I evoke fond memories of the lost glory of doordarshan & also thank the people who thought up the concept of satellite television & gave me 75 channels of pure bliss. Couch potatoes of the world…UNITE.

Keep Talking..

The most human instinct of all I feel is the urge to communicate with other fellow beings.
In 5th or 6th grade I had learnt that thousands of years back, people used to use sign language to make the other person understand what he’s trying to convey.
The evolution of language seems to be a fascinating process. From ancient latin, greek, Sanskrit & Victorian English to today’s sms lingo, the mode of expression may have changed but the passage of time hasn’t had any effect on the human impulse to communicate.
I personally find it a stimulating experience to share my thoughts & viewpoints with my friends & people who would be willing to hear me out.
Nothing beats a night out chatting with the guys in my dorm room over a bottle of vodka or telling that somebody special how much you missed her while she was away.
A lot depends on the kind of company you have. I personally feel blessed to have the most wonderful set of friends. Our topics usually include girls, career, politics, life in general ,girls, why so & so prof. is such a moron, what’s that smell? ..I think you get the picture!
Having conversations on diverse topics is always a rewarding experience for me. I have also understood that to have an open mind is paramount for anybody who has a rational temperament.
I have learnt that intellectual arrogance can be the death bed of your own creative intellect. I have learnt that we can always learn something new from every creature with a thinking brain. All that’s required is a little humility.
The thrill that I feel when I get to chat with somebody on subjects & issues that are close to my heart is indescribable & I’m sure there are a lot of people who feel the same way because reaching out is the most natural human instinct.

The most obvious mode of communication is verbal i.e to talk. But then, there are different layers to human psychology. History books will tell us that there have been artists & poets who weren’t exactly good communicators, people who were confined to their own worlds but

have mesmerized people the world over though their works of art & literature. Some people reach out through their creative expression rather than through spoken words.

The last century witnessed an explosion of knowledge which has resulted in rapid technological advancement in all walks of life. Life in general has become so very data-driven that it poses a challenge to all of us how to communicate & assimilate all this knowledge.

E-mail revolutionized the way people write letters to each other. Apart from being incredibly cost effective (its free people!!), it is very accessible with more & more computers breaking the digital divide.
Instant messaging, short messaging service are gifts of technology which have pervaded the lives of millions of people who want to communicate & communicate in ways that are both economically viable & to which there is a certain amount of technical coolness attached to it.

But I guess you can never beat the actual act of talking with your college buddies about why the 60’s were the golden era for Rock music or why that hottie in your college never smiled back at you!

"For millions of years, mankind lived just like the animals.
Then something happened which unleashed
the power of our imagination.
We learned to talk."

- Pink Floyd

Starry Eyed Surprise!

Some of us live our lives in quite desperation with a sense of meaningful purpose & you wish to share your dreams & aspirations with somebody who would bring a sense of completeness in your otherwise dull & mundane life. You spend your days with a melancholic solitude lurking in that puny little heart just waiting that maybe tomorrow she will bump into you & end your misery.
You spend those teenage nights wallowing in self pity believing the adage that nice guys do finish last but still hoping that good things will happen to you. Even the presence of an exuberant spirit behind that lonesome disposition doesn’t help & you feel as if you are living in an existence of no consequence & there is no place for any colour in the canvas of your life except for black & white.
As time goes by, you have made a habit of living like this & then one day it strikes you..
Maybe she is waiting for you too! & while you are standing on the road, the powers to be are laying down the bricks so that the road leads you to her.

Just then, like a cool spring breeze she walks in your door owing to a chance encounter & asks for your help & you feel a connection, a kind of soulful bond which encompasses your entire consciousness & it becomes impossible to erase her from your psyche. You start questioning your whole belief system & the terms destiny & fatality are new words in your agnostic dictionary.
You curse yourself for not finding her soon enough but are also grateful at the same time for reaching out to her & forging a truly meaningful relationship that transcends mere physical attraction.
She inspires you in ways you didn’t expect to be inspired & gives you that warm, mushy feeling every time she is around you. You start wanting to be a better person, not for her, as she promises to love you as long as your clock keeps ticking but because she arouses that part in you which has always wanted to awaken from slumber & instills a take-on-the-world spirit in you.
You start seeing a future with her & walk the road as one. All the songs & all the poetry in the world start making some real sense now & you feel “this is what I was waiting for” & that it really was worth the wait. Every touch, every smile, every conversation reassures your faith in all things that are good & pure & you say to yourself “What a Wonderful World”.
You feel a metamorphosis is in progress & you are changing, changing for good. People around you cannot figure out what’s brought it on but you know its her indefatigable spirit that touches you in the most subtle ways & you feel like a new person.

Well I consider myself to be the most fortunate soul to have been a part of this surreal quixotic exploration. She is with me by my side lighting up my days, laughing at my unfunny jokes & warming my heart with her adorable self. It is because of her that I can write like this without even an iota of embarrassment. Without a moments thought I can share with her my most intimate thoughts & darkest forebodings and she assures me that she will never let go of my hand & will take me as I am for better or worse, for richer or poorer, for smarter or loser!

You make me fly high & without you I feel like an empty tin can without the cooked food in it!
This is my humble gift to you on our first anniversary.
To the most amazing girl on the planet..HAPPY 30 DAYS.
1st JANUARY 2006.

My Generation

I am a 22-year old young man. Man – ‘cause I can get married next tuesday & Young - ‘cause I’ll always be young (at least in the inside) even on the verge of a mid life crisis at 45! Indian by birth, Indian by heart. Reasonably intelligent, a little laidback, ambitious, a born daydreamer…

Well this is me but the above may just be the profile of any of the countless of young impressionable Indians who having just crossed the threshold of being a carefree teen or a young adult & are just rushing out to take on the world & create their own destinies.

Young India is getting younger as the clock keeps ticking. A little number crunching will show that almost as much as 55% of India is under the age group of 18-25. Now that to me is a staggering statistical fact! Our country is witnessing a transformational phase, a change in identity if you will.
Gone are the days when the outside world used to perceive us as a third world nation, the land of snake charmers & variety of spices. Today we are a global destination for all kinds of activities.
India has arrived ladies & gentlemen!
This shift in global perspective has a lot of tangible benefits, both in terms of economic advantages & cultural mindsets. The average Indian 20-something year old is a lot more optimistic, confident & hopeful about his future & his place in the new market economy.

Armed with a solid knowledge base & with the requisite soft skills with the ability to sell oneself, the youth of today knows that the world is their oyster. With India Inc. going global in the truest sense of the word, there are no limits as to where dedicated hard work, a passionate drive & the ability to rise above your comfort zone can take you.

Gone are the days when university life was characterized by a reckless sense of rebellion & undiluted idealism & individuality. There’s a sense of real world practicality in the young today. Politics is for the ruthless. Be aware but don’t get your hands dirty seems to be the credo. But I wish there was a greater level of participation & involvement by the young in the political process & the way we govern ourselves.

The technological revolution that has spun the entire globe in a dizzy has brought these young people of diverse nationalities together collaborating with each other blurring cultural as well as geographical boundaries. The internet & mobile technology has forever changed the way people gather & absorb information & the way they entertain themselves.
But this over indulgence in technological wizardry has a few caveats as well. Psychologists & sociologists argue that attention spans are diminishing & that real human interaction is being replaced by spending more time in the digital dungeons. But the pros hugely outnumber the cons.
Google, sms, blogging, mp3, I-pod, Playsation, Nokia are not just products, they’ve become a way of life for this brand conscious, always on the move generation.

Along with all the material aspirations is also the need to grow, to learn, to be enlightened.
Education is not merely about adding a degree after your name, it’s about making the appropriate choices which would enable you to realize your true potential. Technical studies are not pursued today just to quench your intellectual curiosity but so that you can identify real world problems & devise solutions which are cost effective & are market oriented. But one should not let market driven economics to dictate ones passion for a career in science or humanities. Unfortunately our rigid & inflexible education system leaves less to imagination.

The young & the restless are changing the social, economic & cultural fabric of India & the people high up there in the political system would be too naïve to disregard the fact.

On the whole, we are living in interesting times where opportunities are right there in front of us. All we need to do is grab them by the collar & go kiss the world!

Killing Me Softly

The logic behind the title of the post is that i'm in a very romantic mood today & 'Killing Me Softly' by Perry Como is one of my favourite romantic ballads.
Haven't been able to download a decent web-based aggregator. But the search is on..

It rained today & the weather was really chilly all day, really romantic i must add.

Anyways, saw 'Finding Neverland' today & it was a brilliant film. The moment i think Johnny Depp has run out of roles, he comes out with a brilliant performance & manages to surprise me.
Last time he did that with 'Pirates Of The Carribean' which was an unlikely contender for the oscars last year considering the academy does not have a very high regard for films with comedic leading roles or for period costume dramas for that matter.
Some of my fave Johnny Depp movies are - Edward Scissorhands, Arizona Dream, What's Eating Gilbert Grape, Nick Of Time, Finding Neverland.

Kate Winslet was ok but she couldn't pull off what she did in 'Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind'. The story is about the early 20th century playwright J.M Barrie, the author of Peter Pan, who finds inspiration from a bunch of children he comes across in a chance meeting & their mother(Winslet).
I've always had a special thing for period dramas in cinema. I feel filmmakers who can paint a picture on the canvas of a bygone era are artists in the truest sense of the word.

Did i mention the weather was really romantic today.

Musique: "Fair" By Remy Zero (OST 'Garden State')

God bless G.O.I

I have appeared to have benefitted from the G.O.I's Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme.
OK, so you're now reading the blog of an employed citizen of india (do i sound like a dork or what?!!)..neways, the point i'm trying to make here is that some bludy billion $ company (read:WIPRO) wants me to work for them and i said "sure, what the heck!"

ok enough, i can't do it anymore..YIPEEEE!!! i have a JOB
well an offer at least.. the recruitment process was taxing to say the least.
after days of preparatory tests & mock interviews it feels good to have been selected.
but life wasn't all candy in the air the first day.
DAY1 was COGNIZANT..cleared the written, was a bit on-the-edge about the interview(i'm sure all of you were on your first professional interview). neways, the panel i got was really cool..
i had imagined the interviewers to be a couple of 60 feet high dragons, fire out of their noses ready to devour any innocent looking B.E student, but these guys guys were really cool, made me feel really comfortable..

Interviewer: "So Rohit, you're a bong?"
Me: "Yes Sir".
Interviewer: "You proud to be a bong?"
Me: "Of course."
Interviewer: "Tell me why?"
Me: Some crap about bongs being culturally refined & politically aware and how we can't obviously generalise on those terms.(BTW, i happen to believe in the crap)

After a few tech questions & a bit about why a mechanical engineer wants tojoin an IT firm I was
through. Everything was going well until our placement officer started calling out the names of people who'd been selected & well I couldn't hear my name.
Congratulated all my buddies who got through & went straight back to the hostel to get a good
nights sleep..'cause DAY2 was WIPRO.

The WIPRO interview went really well by my standards.. the interview revolved around my interests namely Quizzing. After a few tech questions on C-programming & a few more HR questions i could tell that these guys were impressed..& well as it turned out they were.
I GOT SELECTED!!!

So how does it feel you ask? Well for one, it does ease a few brain cells 'cause you know you
won't die of hunger in any case. I'll agree it gives a certain sense of achievement but in the end its just campus recruitment.. its a process. A lot more to be done.

Economically Phunny:
What do you call the study of systematically tallying where snake bites occur on the human
body?

A Poison Distrubution
(Source: Bhavya)

Musique: "Eye In The Sky" by Alan Parsons Project

Campus Ruminations

Life is tough!
The last 2 years of college has been......i really can't find the word.
The things i've learnt & unlearnt & re-learnt are just 'simply mind-boggling' when i sometimes sit & think about 'em.
And mind you, by all the learning & re-learning its got nothing to do with acads..
the lessons i'm talking about are the lessons of life (don't i sound like a 45 yr old on the verge of a mid life crisis!!!)

Before college, all of us were living in our respective homes, in a protected environment where things were taken care of for us, & life was all candy in the air..
Hostel life has been pivotal (if that's the right word).. personally 2 years down the line, i definitely feel i've grown as a person. There have been situations which were out of my control. Then there were those ones where i completely lost it & kept hating myself for acting like i was somebody i'm not..

I've had my share of heartbreaks..my share of victories.
People say that the 3/4 years of college are the best days of our lives..& man, i have a feeling that they couldn't be more right..
I really don't want to talk about the harsh realities of 'THE REAL LIFE' out there..'cause as of now I just want to enjoy my college life (Whats left of it).

Musique : "Time" by Pink Floyd