Return of the King!!

After months of dawdling, I am finally back to re-populate this corner of the cyberspace periodically, which has been left unscathed for purely technical reasons in the recent past.

Meanwhile a lot has changed in my life, as mentioned then, I am now an IITian and finally feeling settled in. Initial days were kinda odd, for the first time i was staying away from my parents in a hostel. After all the years of news and first hand accounts on the happenings inside a college hostel, this was something i was not exactly looking forward to, though fortunately a new hostel was allocated to the new incoming batch. Hall 9, one of IIT's "innovations" in nomenclature of hostels, become my new abode for the next couple of years.

After the first few days, all apprehensions had evaporated and was finding the stay quite enjoyable. For the first couple of weeks all of us had to go to Hall 7 to fulfill our dietary engagements. The food was certainly more than palatable, and were occasionally served rather daintily. Periodically i made a visit to the local restaurant, mostly alone to satisfy my craving for non veg as that was the only thing disappointing about the mess food. Going by the banal conventions in nomenclature this place is called "Campus Restaurant".

The professors had a certain aura and charm about them which i had been longing for so long. Finally i got professors who can confidently answer all my questions without using all sorts of delaying tactics which i had become fed up of in DU. The studies were certainly a notch higher than what was being done with my friends at other colleges, and was enjoying it pretty much.

Even though our daily routines are filled with classes and test preparations, the college takes care of our fun and frolic bit too. We had this Antaragni, our college fest, wherein singer, Atif Aslam and the rock band, Poets of The Fall were invited to perform on different days. After serpentine queues and hours of waiting i got to hear both of them right from the first rows. Late night discos and chatting up with friends right until the sunrise were certainly firsts for me.

Though in the final analysis, i may have messed up my grades, i learned a lot more and really had a enjoyable experience, the iitian way of life!!!

Finally!! IIT Kanpur comes my way!!

From 28th of july i would formally become an "iitian" in the truest sense of the word. I am not just going to any iit but arguably the best one we have at present in India. I am joining the masters course in statistics and the course is supposed to be quite theoretical in nature and something I am quite excited for.

I hope i am able to make use of this opportunity to get a solid base for my dream of going to some good actually very good US university for my PhD.

I reach iit on the 26th and lets see what all awaits me, Hopefully a bright future!!

Great going....

Recently some unknown alien life form has invaded my head and is giving my some cool intellectual powers!! I know it sounds like Koi Mil Gaya, but otherwise how could i explain the recent unexpected burst of some great results!!

I am being offered admission to an integrated PhD program in Mathematics from Houston University, then IIT for Masters in Statistics and finally the really big one IISc, Bangalore for integrated PhD in Mathematical Sciences.

The list could make even the best of students proud, i suppose, and more so for someone who is considered weak in studies, first by parents and more so by a few of the teachers in college (though i my self have similar impression about them, the teachers that is, hehe).

On a related issue, the long absence of posts from this blog also shows that I actually was busy studying at the least for the last few months.

I hope the alien resides in my head for a few more ...........

Happy Valentines Day

This is my first foray into poem writing so.... here it goes..

Falling in love isn't science to me,
which gravitation can explain fine to me,
for heart has reasons of its own designs,
a language to me which only shows signs,

love in your heart wasn't put their to stay,
for love isn't love till you give it away,
In the end i hope you wont throw the message away,
as I only wish you Happy Valentines Day

Arijit Das

She Won, She Won!!

I had just woken up at around 6:30 on a foggy Monday morning and turned on to a news channel. "She won, she won! Can you believe it, she actually won," what read like an encrypted message, rolled past on the ticker at the bottom line of the TV screen.

Obviously, I had been too clued out over the extended weekend to understand that the world - at least the sizeable Indian chunk of it - had been waiting with bated breath to know the verdict on Shilpa Shetty on UK reality show “Celebrity” Big Brother!

Ha! So was I supposed to feel glad and a trifling more Indian at the big victory? After all, the "UP-Bihar" item babe had "gracefully" managed to oust her "tormentors" from the show and had successfully overcome "racial victimisation" on Prime Time television.

Wasn't she the perfect picture of a "good Indian girl" winning over an emotional audience who couldn't stand her being bullied around by UK's B-list celeb scum? For now, Shilpa seemed to be every waking man's centre of universe. As her joyous pleasure cries reverberated, and her red skimpy top shimmied across news channels, I wondered aloud - Whatever was the Big deal?

I have many remonstrations to the song-and-dance over Shilpa's victory dance. Shilpa Shetty ain't no "A-list movie star" as being claimed by many in the media and Ms Shetty herself (of course you could forgive her for that considering she was to share space on the show with the dirt of UK's celeb circle. Think am kidding? Run a Google Image search on Jade Goody and you would know!)

If playing second-fiddle in films like Baazigar or uninspiring forgettable performances in a slew of later films makes one an "A-list star", I am sure a Mamta Kulkarni is an equally deserving candidate. She was being paid - and oh boy, being paid BIG - to be on the show. The prospect of getting richer by a few crores doesn't hurt anyone, certainly not a star deprived of quality work.

Her "quotable quotes" in the diary room made one cringe and squirm. They sounded phoney and contrived more than anything else. Sample this, "I didn't even know what was going on outside. I mean we don't even have real grass in the Big Brother House. It's all plastic." Grass or not, you sure do sound plastic lady. Oscar winning show indeed!!

Her U-turn on the racism allegation came as the icing on the rotten cake. And all of it was served with a generous helping of UK Prime Minister, PM-in-waiting, India's Finance Minister et al commenting on the issue and her weepy mother rushing to UK to the rescue of her tormented daughter! Sob, sob and urgh!

I am sure most would take me for a compulsive cynic trying to undermine a hot actress' victory. Cynic I am, but not without a reason. I do not contest that racism is bad. It must be condemned in all forms and that our lass was subjected to unfair treatment.

And yes, I really am wondering, open-mouthed, at the sudden turn of fortunes for a woman who would have perhaps been best remembered for her bootylicious moves in "UP-Bihar" songs is getting to become an overnight sensation - for whatever reasons - is no mean feat.

But does it really call for celebrations? Does it really require us - the media and the public - to go gaga?

Whoever cares?

I would, if I were in Shilpa's shoes. Certainly not otherwise.

Every one's on Orkut!!

"Oh great I'll find you on orkut", i said and walked away. And two days later when i signed into my most favorite pass time, i had a new friend request on orkut.

Everyone is on orkut. And for any one who isn't, i cant help but think of that shady PSPO pankha ad... where the guy who didn't know about the local fad was met with a simple "Yeh PSPO nahi jaata!". And it was his cue to catch up with things.

Anyway, what i still find amusing is why so many people fuss over adding or not adding people on their friends list. I've friends who keep invitations pending for weeks before they decide to unwillingly click "accept". and then of course there are those who're part of the elite club where membership comes .. not very easily. My question of course... orkut has no perks for being or not being on the friends list! Either ways, your scraps, your photos your profile can be accessed.. so besides the "I'm on his' her friends list" novelty factor.. there's really nothing else to it..or is there?!

Of course orkut does great for your social life. You don't have to bother getting her number, you don't have to impress her in those 2 and a half minutes at the metro when you meet her.. so she thinks your a nice guy and gives you her number. All you need is the name.. and your good to go! a few scraps that gradually move to private messages, (clearly no longer fit to be in the scrap public domain) and you look back and pity ancient romeos who went to such lengths to get her to rattle out the first few digits of her number.. knowing fully well that there was a good chance that one out of those ten digits could be wrong. Enough to end that romance.. that never was!

All's great when you end up meeting old crushes, ex bosses, grand mother .. (who's managed to finally hold a mouse and not giggle!) and a half a million others who you'd have forgotten if it wasn't for orkut. what comes as the only liability perhaps is the fact that you also end up reviving contact with people who're best forgotten! Then again, what chance do our noble intentions stand in front of "expanding the circumference of your friend circle!"

All great, only for systems in almost every company that has tried so hard to block orkut. There's one word that makes the world go round.. PROXY! ;)