Saturday, November 19, 2011
A Letter.
Thursday, October 27, 2011
In Memoriam
Suddenly, he threw the bottle onto the brick wall. The wall broke into a hundred million pieces. Brittle and Shiny. And the bottle dissolved into liquidness. And, darkness consumed him. He tried to open his eyes. He could only see a hazy vision of what was happening.
But, then his eyes drooped. A single drop of blood raced down from his head onto the asphalt tiles. He could hear footsteps. He could hear their shouts. Somebody tried to pull him up. They would always ask why. He knew that. He did not have an answer.
They would all remember him for a single day. And, then as usual, it would be back to their mundane lives, lived in order to either reach somewhere or to get a high with whatever they have. Being forgotten did not matter to him, but those murmurs about his sanity, especially when he could not reply…
He could sense the movement of the ambulance. He could also sense the numbness creeping in. And, where the numbness had not yet reached, it was searing pain that he could feel. The horns blared relentlessly. He just wished they could reduce the volume. Time appeared to be dragging itself, just like in those nightmares he usually got.
Yet,for this one time, he knew it was not a nightmare. He could see the walls. Thousands of uniformly coloured grey bricks that were slowly coming to choke him. And, then he remembered. He had tried.
Thursday, September 8, 2011
When you come to NIT-C.
Having chanced upon a blog by an ex-MITian about the hundred things to do there,I have decided that you guys might need some pointers as well,even though I am not quite an ex around here yet. ;)
Here goes..
When you come to NIT-C,
1)Don't forget to miss the last direct bus, back to college at night, from kozhikode.
You'll invariably have to take a bus to kunnamangalam and start walking from there.The fun starts here.It would be around midnight when you start walking and it's a two hour walk through desolated places to reach college.The amount of fun you and your friends will have is unforgettable.Hooting and somersaulting and doing crap on a long stretch of never ending road in utter darkness. :)Not to mention the view atop the bridge on the way.
2)Do one crazy shit after other
I remember this one time,when the current went off in our first year hostel and it started raining heavily.We took buckets of water from the bathroom and drenched everybody and the entire hostel.It was followed by this awesome rain dance.The hullabaloo that ensued annoyed the authorities so much that they came in bundles with torches.They could only slip and fall,much to everybody's delight.
3)Give your heart to Ragam
You are going to give up an entire sem for this :).Working your asses off.You are going to go hungry for three days and have many more night-outs.It's going to be a headache.But,it's worth it.I was a part of the programme committee.Nothing you would have done in your life would be more satisfying.
4)Celebrate Onam with the Mechs
All the departments would have their cute and peppy onam celebrations.But,onam will never be complete unless you go to the mechanical department at around 6 pm, the same day.Mud slinging,powder popping,with intermediate showers of flowers and finally the shrinkari melam.Then,there is that awesome procession through the entire college with people being pushed into all sorts of ditches and pools.Mad fun.As simple as that.
5)Take part for Sangam, Debutante and Spectrum
These are our first year cultural,literary and technical festivals.It's fun.Running around for your branch.Cheering your heart's out.Letting hell loose in the Audi or Aryabhatta hall.Planning.Scheming.More night-outs.Trying out all those zillion events.The bonds formed.The memories created.
6)Take part in cleaning the civil pool for Tathva.
Hehe.I remember this part.The pool as usual was very dirty and smelly.Decorum and dignity was maintained initially.And then... ;).Suffix to say,by the end of it,we were soaking wet and smelling like rat poop.
7)Play FIFA or CounterStrike or DoTA during those exam nights.
Umm.I guess this applies more when you graduate out of first year.By the end of it,you would have gotten the gyan on last minute studies.And,simultaneously, a new world of LAN and internet would welcome you.When you visit NIT-C during exam nights,screams of terror will welcome you.Nope.They are not for the imminent examinations.
8)Have a bombastic branch tour
You'll have two of them.But,not more than four days.Yes,I agree to the fact that other colleges have it longer.But,I promise you, your's will be wilder.And wherever you go,never miss out on Hogenakkal.It's stunning.Don't forget to take tonnes of photographs.You would want to etch those moments.
9)Volunteer for National Service Scheme
They'll be doing tonnes of stuff like visiting juvenile homes and orphanages, organising camps and cleaning drives in villages and tutoring kids from poor families for free.Take part.Give something back to the society.I have lazed it out on this one.But,I have seen the amount of happiness that people have derived from doing such stuff.
10)Get yourself selected into one of those clubs.
There's a whole load of them.LnD, IPF,DnD, ICA, Adventure club, Enquire, Mathematica etc.Have fun in all those random meetings and organising smashing events. Then there's the induction and the farewell.More bonds.More memories.
11)Go after random hot chics.
Of course,they might not accept you.Worse still,they might end up falling for you.Your purse might get screwed.Hmm.Maybe,you would have somebody else back home.Doesn't matter.Nothing's as much fun as trying to capture a girl's attention.
12)Innovate.
Of course,you might have got pushed into it.But,doesn't mean you should stop trying out cool new stuffs like astrophotography or aeromodelling or making those insane contraptions.
13)Fall in love with a subject the very last minute
Everybody hates studying here.But,once in a while,something interesting would turn up in your curriculum.You might end up studying that only, at the very last minute,but please do rack your brains for it.You might end up doing something big.Of course, it doesn't rain apples here.But,still.
14)Booze.
Yeap.I know.Arguments aside,don't hesitate to try it out once.:D.And don't end up trying out too much of it.The perfect balance.
15)Light diyas for diwali.
After all your toil,as you see the rows and rows of diyas lighting up the entire rajpath and other parts of the college,you would realise that the heavens isn't that great big a deal. ;)
16)Remember Rajan and Prof. Wahabuddin.
The story of a student who spoke against a tyrannical government and a professor,who stood up for him when they abducted the student,is eternally etched in our blood.Never forget them.Be aware of what's happening around you and have an opinion about everything under the sun.Never hesitate to speak out and stand up for what you think is right.
17) Come back to college during vacations.
We get long holidays.Long ones.REALLY long ones.Some of you might go for internships.Some of you might go for a great big tour.But,never forget to come visit the college.MagCom (Magazine Committee) and Tathva work will be going on.Atleast, they are supposed to go on and you would end up doing a lot of interesting stuff like learning everything imaginable about poker and bluff and other random madness.
18)Conduct events for schools as a part of a club.
It's awesome returning back to school and lording over the kids(It's interesting to note that as soon as you are in college, school is for 'kids'.) .It's awesome telling them about your awesome school days.And,it's the limit of awesomeness,when after an event,they shout out a cheer for NIT-C.
19)Make a pack of friends.
Reminiscence with them about those glorious school days.Talk to them about that wonderful college life.Share with them all those random moments and burdens in life.Discuss with them all those useless crap like "chicken or egg?".Those hi-fives and B'day bumps.All those swear words we reserve for them. And,all those plans of future.
20)Stand together.
We have proudly resisted incursions from any political party into our college.But, inspite of that we seem to have acquired an uncanny ability to fight over every small differences.
Chuck it.It's not worth it.I remember a time when a couple of our guys got into trouble for doing nothing major and one entire year chucked out classes and stood behind them.And,we had no political parties to kick us into action.It was just glorious unity and we managed to change things.
Always remember that part.
21)Do not stop chasing your Dreams.
Some of us were born engineers.But,a lot of us got pushed into this stream by parental and societal pressure.I don't care which of the former classification you belong to.Now,you have reached a place which will give you the ability to decide your life on your own.Seize that chance.
Think about what you really love.Make a practical plan on how to reach there.See,that's the beauty of it,if you really want it,there will always be a convenient way to jump to it.Don't stop the chase.
This is but a few of the stuffs that I want you to do.And,never forget that tag.
NIT-C.
It absolutely means something more than a four digit national rank in AIEEE.
Yours truly,
That Random Senior who is going to catch you by the scruff one of these days.
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
The Artist.
Friday, July 22, 2011
The Main Gate and The world beyond it.
Hello my Friend,
About 8 kms from the Thampanoor bus stand,on the Vembayam-Venjaramoodu route,there lies a mythical gate and a world beyond,which has been home to generations of youth.
The first thing that you notice as you enter through the main gate(the common name of this mythical gate),is a long walkway and a couple of old and weak dudes with big moustache roaring at you to not walk on the road(if you are a pedestrian)or to keep the correct lane(if you are in a vehicle).You would notice that the road has been widened and a footpath constructed recently and everything looks picture perfect.But,let me tell you,some years ago,it looked like something out of a village hamlet with a single tarred road marring the landscape.It was way more sexier,with a lot of trees.That's when those idiots brought in the JCBs.
As you proceed,you would see a lot of inspiring quotes written everywhere on the compound walls."Stick no bills" would have been better.You walk a bit more and to your right side,you would see a magnificent building,which is basically home to a group of chics and another group of devoted women,who have dedicated their lives to someone born approximately 2000 years ago.Of course,if you are like me,you wouldn't care about the latter.Yes,they purposefully put glass shards on the top of the wall.They know that the world is composed of men like us.
You walk for some more distance..[Loud sounds of bikes].Yes,This happens often.Any inmate of this institution,who has a vehicle,thinks that he is the king of the road.Yes,the management knew this would happen because at a certain period of time in their life called teenage,they were doing the same with bajaj scooters.But since then they have grown old and resent the fact that they have become so,they have constructed three or four ghastly bumps on the road.They are of the opinion that if you speed too much,fuck your balls.Literally.
As,I was saying,if you walk for some more distance,the road splits into two with one going to the left.As you go ahead along this road deviating to the left,you would see an institution and a lot of people trying to escape out of it.No,it's not a jail and yet I agree they are all wearing the same stuff which is such a sore in the eye.Yes,you would hear the dark curses falling out of their mouths but they seem to be such jolly chaps when they reach the walkway.
When you travel back to the main road,you would see a huge institution to the right.There are lots of legends associated with this archaic buildings.One is that great big clock tower.It is rumoured that until the clock stops,The World beyond the Main Gate shall remain impregnable to invaders from the outside trying to influence the natives.It is highly doubtful whether this is true though.There is this fountain of eternal water flow or a tap,if you are one of those lame non-poetic persons,inside this Gothic structure.Laugh all that you want.When all games are done in the nearby arena,it is this fountain that all those young gladiators run shamelessly to.Maybe you would realise it's importance when you spend a good part of your life in this world.The one beyond main gate.
Now,you slowly turn to the left...mark my words...slowly turn to the left.Yes,the slow motion is very important.You see an arena and a spectacular structure right next to it.Yes.I asked you to turn slowly because otherwise you would get dazzled by it's elegance.This my friend,is where my heart stops.All my life,it is to this place,that I keep coming back to.I have heard many an inmates of the World beyond Main Gate lamenting about their conditions.You see,my friend,I can't comprehend them.Don't they see?This is the place where friendships are forged.This is where they all slip and fall into love.(Yes,my friend you are allowed to puke.)This is where they all walk,all the way to the main gate together.(I know!I know!the vehicles.)This is where they jump compound walls to escape out of institutions and to sometimes jump into some of them,despite those glass shards.More often than not,they don't get out of this gate without a pot-load of memories in their bag.Or else,they were pretty dull to begin with.
So,friend,on one of those very ordinary days,you see a nomad wandering about this place with a dreamy look on his face and a glitter on his eyes and you think that he is a weirdo,you are very definitely right.He's just weary of all the hullabaloo outside of that Main Gate.
Saturday, July 2, 2011
Kalki
A photo was stuck on the back of the door. Four bobbing,smiling faces. But, it looked faded. Just beneath lay a bunch of porn magazines, crumpled as if somebody had clutched on to them like a vulture. The photos that stared back at you did not seem like the regulars. They hardly even looked like adults.
Packs of cigarettes were neatly arranged on the shelf. A lot many of them were in alphabetical order. Different names. Different colours. They hadn't been even opened yet. Broken bottles and syringes lay across the floor.
He was sitting in a pose reminiscent of meditation. But, he was swaying. His head was continuously twitching. He was giving a blank stare. His pupils were dilated.They hadn't seen bright lights for some time. Familiar sounds emanated from his laptop. But, he seemed unable to notice. His eyes kept focussing on a dark corner in the room. He wasn't wearing a shirt and bruise marks could be observed all over his body. Some bad. Some worse. His face could be hardly seen amidst his unkempt, long and dirty hair. Loud music blared from the speakers. Violent Music. Photos of beautiful, young girls adorned his wall. Some of them were encircled in red. Some of them were struck out. A bunch of red roses lay over the table. He hadn't stopped swaying.
In a nearby hospital,a middle aged man kept pacing the length of the waiting hall. He was anxious.You could see the tension spilling out from his face.He seemed adrift in thoughts.The nurse came in."Everything went fine. See, I told you.There was no need to worry. She is fine. Go in. It's a girl." He barely mouthed a 'thank you' and rushed in. His wife was lying on the bed. She smiled at him and turned her eyes towards a small figure, lying beside her, wrapped up in towel. The baby was sleeping. He fell in love all over again. He kissed his wife and whispered 'She'll grow up to be as beautiful as you."
At the other end of the city, a police inspector was driving his car with sirens ablaze. He stopped suddenly near a garbage dump and got out. He noticed the huge crowd watching the scene in silence as his team combed through the area looking for evidence. He slowly walked towards the rotting corpse. It was a ghastly scene. There were many cuts and jabs in her body, as if she was tortured. "Twenty years of age. Evidence of drug use." The forensic surgeon murmured."Evidence of being raped as well." The inspector looked at her face and then noticed a red rose lying by its side.
"Bad business as usual eh, Sir?Need some coffee?"his constable asked. He removed his cap and nodded. It was already evening and at a distance, he could see the sun about to set. It's going to be a long night for him, he thought to himself.
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
To do.
Being in college and getting halfway through, results in the whole world asking you one question.
"Bacha,what are you going to do with your life?"
Until some time ago,the only sensible thing I could say was "gak".
Recently,I watched this movie called 'Bucket list'.It's not a great movie.It's basically this cliche about two dudes who got cancer and they make a list of things to do and blah.
This got me thinking.I hate engineering.I have no preference between MBA,IAS,placement yada yada.I mean my heart does not exactly leap at the thought of any of those stuff.
One of my friends told me that I am too passionate with life and not at all practical.I agree.
So,here goes my list.
1)Skydiving,bungee jumping and para gliding.(Nope.not a rip-off from the movie.wanted to do the same for like ever.)
2)Visit Disneyland.(childhood stuff.I tend to never grow up.)
3)Write a novel and publish it.(courtesy LnD and all the noticeboard work.)
4)Stay in a luxurious hotel near a beach for like one week,get pampered. :D
5)Become an astronaut.(for zero-g and that cool view of earth)
6)Build up a small business enterprise and when it becomes too big,get out with fair remunerations ;)
7)Be the coolest dad to my kids.(put into my head by this series called 'Castle')
8)Have sex in all the wild positions described by kamasutra(too much of porn,I think)
9)Publish a thesis.(tada...yeah and to fall in love with and study something,that is not a college course)
10)Fall in love and marry a hawt,attitude girl with the right kinda heart(Mushiness.This reminds me so much of the crap I told on stage for first year debutante)
11)Get totally wasted for one week in a row.(This one's easy considering the college I am in.:D)
12)Learn to fly a biplane.(It has an open cockpit.)
13)Construct a remote controlled toy helicopter(Well,I ended up in B.Tech electronics and so.;))
14)Climb Mt.Everest.(Bucket list copy-paste 1 :D)
15)Help a complete stranger.Make him smile(Bucket list copy-paste 2.Another thing that I can do easily and have like kept on procrastinating all throughout my life...will do,one day....;))
16)Make an awesome speech in the United Nations and get a standing ovation.(I don't even know where that came up from.)
17)Get my name into the Guinness book of Records.(Yeah.seriously.)
18)See a World Cup final in India,live inside the stadium with,India participating.(I missed the chance recently and I do have an idea of what I missed.So,that's why.)
19)Attend a College Re-union after like 25 years.It would be funny.very funny.
20)Ditto with school.
21)
22)Surprise my Dad,Mom and Sissy.This one moment for which they'll be like "oh-shit-he-did-that-for-us!"
23)Wander for like 20-something years all over the world and then finally settle in Trivandrum.And Reconnect. :)
24)This guy,my Physics tuition teacher has Parkinson's disease.He basically caught this scruffy kid and made him sit and study at like the last moment.Now,the interesting part is when I finally sat and studied,I did it for the love of it.Not for the sake of a degree or entrance.I kinda want to do that for the rest of my life.I want to give back to him,what he gave to me.
25)And,when I finally sign-off,I want to sign off bloody well.Leave footprints in concrete.Tonnes of memories.Be terribly missed.
So,I don't even know whether I am actually going to complete this list ever.But,if somebody asks me what I wish to do with my life, atleast I have an answer.
And besides,what's there in life if you don't go chase all the nutcrack things your brain cooks up?eh
Friday, January 21, 2011
Mediocrity vs Ambitions.
Now,even before I start my blog,I know there would be loud cries of indignation from different quarters of the mature adult world when they read this.They would comment on the kiddish,idealistic tendencies that I have.
Now,let's see,what the status quo is,in this country of this debate(No,it is not one sided as you might think.)Educated parents around here,send their kid to some expensive school.They force them to sit and study.
And in the end,the kid has only two choices really
1)Engineering.
2)Medicine.
If he is not good enough,he gets bundled off to some arts or literature college,which is supposedly not that great.
Did anybody ask the kid anything?
No.
And,from the very first day,he lands up here,a carrot is tied in front of him and he is made to run somebody else's race.And,when he falls,he gets ignored which means,his entire life is spent around in catching up so that he would get some attention.So that, he won't be looked down upon.
A haunting life.
But,why?A degree on top of another degree.A pack of certificates piled up one after the another,in stuffs that you don't care about.
Oh,you wanted to make an impact in this world?you wanted to become famous?your parents wanted you to become famous?rich?
Nobody including me,would assert that money doesn't matter.It does.But,then when you earn it,why don't you earn it by doing something you are passionate about?And,not something that you got pushed onto.
Around 60 years from now(if we live to see that age),we would glance back at life.Every Kodak moment would count.All the God-I-got-really-fucked-but-I-sailed-through experiences would count.When you get out of your house and when you hear that old friend(grey.frail.beaming) of yours yelling at you for another game of cricket,that would count.The high fives would count.So,would those awesome memories of bunking,yodelling and doing crazy stuff.That awesome life you lived with your sweetheart counts and the messed up disaster of relationships you have had before that would also count.
My 12th grade(read Senior High in my country) Physics tuition teacher was the best that I had.I respect him a lot.He continually asks me to shut myself up in my college library and study day in and day out.But,one day when I visited him on my vacation,after the usual “sit-and-study-and-do-nothing-else”,he started describing his college days. He turned out to be a total wacko,who did mad stuffs at college. And,the laughter that echoed from him,when he related his college days,was what made an impression on me,not the fact that a brilliant guy was sitting there as a 12th grade tuition teacher
And,your family?My favourite tv series would be undoubtedly Castle.There is this terrific scene in that series,where Castle shows Beckett(search Wikipedia to know who they are),a photo of him and his daughter,when she was around 3 years old.He describes how around at that age,he would make sure that at the end of each day, he would take her for a visit to the park.He continues by commenting on the fact that she has grown up and would probably assert her independence.Beckett remarks how his daughter would be asserting her independence,knowing that even if she falls,she would have her best friend(read her dad) behind her to catch hold of her.
Unimportant?Sounds gay or lame or mushy?Really,my friend?
In the end,I am throwing at you,a facebook status that I put up inspired by another comment my friend,Venu put up in his profile,
So,you have one more semester to go before some weird accident happens and you get chucked out of the world.And,you know it.How would you live that semester?rat races do not make up life:P, they seriously don't.Get your perspectives right.
Even if you end up being mediocre,I suspect in the end you wouldn't care two cahoots.
Sunday, January 16, 2011
A Thesis on Lurve.
Not random actually,it was more about this curious phenomena called 'love' which have made the newer generations go really hormonal.And,when you are nineteen turning twenty,have had three relationships(well,to be honest,the first one was hugely whacked apart when the girl gave my first ever love letter to her mom and the mom decided I was a very cute baby.heartbreaking.And the second one,after going on for like three years and then drifting off,the girl comes and tells me..dude, you were my little bro.really very annoying.) and being surrounded by whackos who have whacky relationships,this was something that I could actually sit and think about.
So, roughly my thoughts went on like this.
"
The love market is thriving,these days.You see those frills and hearts everywhere.'Men are from Mars,Women are from Venus' is a run away hit.And,my hometown is littered with love smitten butterflies,who complain about the lack of meeting places in Trivandrum.Hmm..This is amply illustrated by the fact that these days,when you visit the museum,you have to be careful around the bushes.Don't go too near them.seriously.
And,these days the kids start even earlier.When I was in school,a couple of my friends,once caught this kid in junior class.He had written this love letter to some other girl in class.Now,we would have still been like "kids-these-days...",hadn't all the other girls in class turned in letters,written by our young romeo.All my friends could do was look at each other and start recounting the glory days of their childhood gender wars.I mean seriously I know it's the generation gap speaking.
But,I believe that kids should try the merry-go-round first and then fall in love.It would seriously ruin the merry-go-round experience,if they fall in love first.
And,these days it's love polygons that's in the vogue.You ain't cool until you are in something where you lose count as to who loves who :p.A loves B,B loves C,C loves A,D love B's big bro,C loves A's dad....very annoying.Why can't people keep it simple?.Such Drama.
Not to mention all those who sit silently and bear the antics of their lurve,even though some of them come close to torture in the name of,well,love.Well,no comments.
I understand in love you have to give up stuff and some part of your independence.But,then seriously,if the moron on the other side take it for granted,ah well.
But,somebody once told me,all this hullabaloo is quite justified.That's why it's called love.There's a hundred and one shitty ways of making crap out of yourself,when you go after that love thing and then there's one right way,which nobody knows exactly(And yet they don't freaking shut up talking about it,do they?like this blog for instance.).So,much for that.
Come to think of it,I guess the reader,just like me,won't have the faintest idea as to how one half of the world falls for the other half.It would have been much more convenient if everybody could have sex as they please(that does not include incest, by the way.),without going into something which for half the time is a pain in the ass for everybody.We are disasters in this messy business.
All said and done,even the reader would agree it's sometimes awesome fun,plunging in and out of love.Going into depression and then coming out of it,when you see another gorgeous babe or hot guy walking in the distance.And,with some rotten luck,some pest of a guy or girl will get stuck up with you for the rest of your roller coaster life.It did be cool."
The bus started,my father stopped fiddling with his phone and finally called me.He had waited for nearly an hour outside.He had earlier,proclaimed that he would go only when the bus started.He wanted to make sure I was alright.Now,usually I would have started on how I was twenty years old etc.But,that time,I did not.I could see that he was sad about me leaving Trivandrum.He missed me.And,I remembered,this was the same look that he had on his face,when during my childhood,he dropped me at school.
Love eh?
After,all the analysis people sit and do on it,it still manages to truly astound you.