Sunday, December 27, 2009

Reclaim your life!

Might seem directly out of the commercial but this is something i feel from the depth of my heart! I am finally feeling i have reclaimed my life, now someone may ask when did i lose it. Well i had been working for one year and they try to kill your life in every single aspect that they can, your ambitions, your wishes, your enjoyments and your happiness. Well its like using a fire hydrant on your inner fire. It surely cannot be felt when you are working its like "You cannot see the picture when you are in the frame" and it cannot also be felt when you are studying cause you never know what you are going to face on the other side. But trust me i have seen both the sides of life and i am thankful to whatever force control's the events of this universe that he gave me the courage to step out of the conventional and be free from what i was been dragged into. When we were children or for that young we use to think of all the things we might do when we become adults or 'big for that case', but what has happened we have lost that dream along the way. We have become fearful of acting foolishly, of letting ourselves lose, doing what we feel. This thing needs to be unlearned this creates limit's inside our minds sets limitations for us and all this is but stunting our growth. If your spark is still fluttering and burning you can think more creatively be more confident and do what you feel. Its like you are on high, i have personally never ever had dope, but doing what my heart says and acting foolishly (in a manner that i feel is correct not worrying much about others) gets me on a high of another kind. I literally feel that i am on skates and can put the whole world on fire, that feeling in itself is so satiating and so good you would like to have that kick again and again. The day you can have that kind of feeling and kick throughout trust me you can accomplish anything, just any damn thing. But for that you need to get out of the set method of thinking get out of the conventional and do what your heart beats for. Now i really feel the essence of the saying that "When your passion becomes your job it isn't work anymore its like a lifetime of love and the love deepens with passing time". I surely have reclaimed my life its just that i have to concentrate it on something but one thing is sure. Please never lose your inner spark, that life its all you got. If thats lost you do not have much to salvage then.

Friday, December 4, 2009

Nerd!

Finally back from Bombay after an excruciating exam, which was like going on forever. For the first time in my life i was reading like this, ten hours a day regularly for one month. Now i understood what a nerd is. And its not an easy task to become one, but surely i would not like to become one. It requires lots of patience and lots of hard work. Its like you should have the patience to sit at one place for atleast 5 hours (at one go) and then you have to read that book (which you do not like that much) for so many hours and then over that you also need to think about what the author might have been thinking while writing all those glorious words(crap). And when finally you have a flash of light somewhere in your head which says yes! Finally the "Aha!" moment then you know that you have understood why in the whole world were you reading some differential equations which resembled the notes of music arranged in rather a precarious way. Its really the best moment, its as if you have won the world, its in this moment that you feel everything is worth it. But i must admit that those who think that being nerdy is uncool are totally wrong. It takes lots of planning and sacrifice's to become one, you have to give up your social life, you have to leave aside every single thought of your mind and then you have to be totally determined. Also you have to keep your mind kicking all the time its as difficult as keeping your body kicking if you are a athlete. You have to be mentally alert and fit for say ten hours a day or may be more. That's not a piece of cake. It takes lots of determination to become one. I also used to think that being nerdy is uncool, but now i rather respect them then disregard them cause i know it takes lot to become one. And now in my dictionary nerd is rather a good word then being a disgrace. But still i would not like to become one cause i do not have the patience to become one.

Saturday, October 3, 2009

Amphetamine called Mumbai

Mumbai the city of dream's the city where everything else comes true, this city i must say has a peculiar thing in itself, its quite fast. Not quite fast lets say its very fast, speaking truly it runs at maddening speed, i have been there only for 3 months now and been out only a few time but some how this city has got into my blood, or can say got onto my nerves. Few signs of this, I walk unusually fast and get irritated at being late and now i like standing it does not worry, walking a distance of 15 minutes is not too difficult for me and that's usual part of my day. I do not know why everyone is Mumbai runs but they run somewhere, and they are always in some hurry. It's something you might get frustrated with at first and will get accustomed as time passes. It feels as if you have amphetamine and you are high. Cause suddenly you feel more lively and feel more energetic you like to pick up a fight and would feel like putting the whole world on fire (in positive sense of course). The confidence level of a person changes cause you are on your own out there. This city surely has got a personality of its own, its different, you have to get accustomed to it. The most stark difference of this can be felt on the main gate of the campus as soon as you step inside the atmosphere its quite serene and calm, the main gate is as if the boundary between two cities, you have to shift your gears quite literally if you wanna get out in the city. But that is something that some people may like and few many not, but that is the way this city runs.

A star status

Once you are into IIT one thing you get for free is attention and a star status, this term star status is the only thing which can define what is the feeling once you are into IIT, there are several privileges. I got a feel of this once when i was in train, there came a police constable for regular check up round and asked everyone to open up their bags, he asked what was their professions and all details, i was sleeping he woke me up and asked what did i do, i said i was a student and he asked from which college i replied IIT, he said sleep no need to open your bag. I said well this is something i have not felt ever before, it was quite astounding to me, but it was real. This got me to thinking means all right we have the privilege but along with that comes responsibility if people are giving us this status its because we mean something more we have the onus open us to prove to the world, we have to contribute and also to give back something to the society and country as a whole. The other day i was joking with my friend and we drew a conclusion "We can talk utter rubbish but still people will atleast give it a thought." Well that statement as a prima facie is quite humorous but underneath it has a sense of privilege along with responsibility attached to it. We now have the privilege of speaking things and expressing thoughts which people will listen to and would follow, its not that we did not have this thoughts before, its just that now it has a sense of authenticity and credibility because of the institution we are affiliated to. So whatever we convey should be with a sense of responsibility. We had this excellent professor, whenever we would ask him a question he said you are now designers you are going to design things you are going to decide in what manner the thing works and you are the god for that product or whatever it might me. Whenever he use to say that it use to get me thinking cause in a way he was right. It was the privilege for us to decide the manner something would work and the manner in which people or the end user is going to use it and the facilities we would be giving him it was some sort of a power you have but it brings responsibility cause now people trust that you are going to design things and products which are not only going to be reliable but are also going to make their live more comfortable. So along with having the power to decide how will people use a product you also have the responsibility of fulfilling all their needs from that product. Last experience i had was when i attended this Pre-Placement Talk by BCG. Well although i have two years to go before i attend one i just attended it for having some experience of what a PPT is like and the company is all about, one of their senior executives started in a quite peculiar way, he said that "right now their is no room in the entire world which has more potential than this room here" then he went to explain that "this room has atleast 10-15 CEO of mnc's 10-15 people who are going to lead some NGO and atleast 15-20 people who are going to be senior executives in BCG itself" this was quite an experience for me. Well those people out their have a perception that we are the best minds in the country and also in the world. With this privilege we have the responsibility to make it count, we have to prove that whatever perception they have has to maintained and enhanced further, its upto us now to prove that we really are the best minds in the world.

Proving you are worth it(IIT)

Well surviving IIT is one thing but proving you are worth is something you achieve not so simply. Even though you may have given the toughest technical exam but that's not just enough to earn the respect from the IIT faculties and also from the Under Grad students. You have to be exceptional along with being earthy, you have to keep aside your ego under the hood until and unless you are accepted as being one among them. Well this according to me is not that simple a task, you suffer from various feelings like inferiority complex, defensiveness or simply denial. One suffering from inferiority complex would have accepted that he is not as worthy of being into IIT as those who had cleared JEE and taken admission and when that happens as an defense mechanism he starts taunting them if they are not capable of doing something that he feels is easy. That is something which develops some kind of rudeness in your behavior and that keeps on increasing. Some people out-right deny that they are not as good as the Under Grad students, as per them they are either better-off or on par with them, but this as per me might not be true for everyone. Some people who have great achievements to their credit might proclaim that they are not as bad but many of us have not done what this people do here so its quite true that we might not be as good as many of them, i have used "many of them" intentionally because there are so many things done here that everyone has done some or other thing and the attitude that this guys have comes from there. I feel attitude is the thing which differentiates an IITian from other people, he is confident that he can achieve anything, this thing is fed into their brain since they enter, they are constantly told that because they are into IIT they should be acting so. They are conditioned in a manner wherein they are prepared to succeed i find this missing in the state level college's where you are constantly bogged down or else you are not provided with enough opportunity or else you are not shown the path to create opportunities, this people here are so much into extra-curricular activities that its obvious they will have different attitude and will have some arrogance cause its required if you have to lead or execute something which you feel is great. I feel the attitude they have is something which one should develop to succeed but it should not get to your head then you can do wonders. The Under Grad student's stay on the campus longer and their brain's are still receptive when they enter so they can be conditioned in the manner you want them to, but with post grad its completely different they are atleast 4 years older and already been through college so much of the part of their growing up is over, now its upto them to unlearn what is fixed in their mind and start learning new things. That is something which many of the student might not be comfortable with but that is the truth, other way being that at least open up your mind to new things and along with old ideas learn new things and new attitude that would help you to go a long way. I wish to prove down the line that "I am worth it(IIT)".

Thursday, September 24, 2009

Surviving IIT!

Finally i settled down at IIT Bombay Design, although its been alomst two months since my last post but it can be justified by the title itself. Well getting into IIT is one part but staying and surviving it is quite different. Its like the famous quotation "after the winner is announced you can quite not differentiate between the winner and the runner's up". After getting here i realized the pain i would have to go through to prove that i can survive for 3 years. It was quite something, i will ask you few questions to give a feel of what i went through, Take 50 best nerd's from around the country and place them in one place what would you have? Then add to that the senior's who frighten them to study? I think now you can understand what i had to go through. It was one real experience but then it help's to push the bar upwards which is all that matters, so it was not as bad it was fun but also painful. The first thing you should remember after taking admission in IIT is that you are there for studies, well thats important because there is so much to do, so much extra that you could get involved that you might forget that you also have to study, so many competitions so many clubs so many groups so many sport activities. But then thats why its so famous the campus is always upbeat with one or the other activity its your volition when to step in and where to stop. One more reason why its so important to take care is because its a relative marking system and you have to be at least around the average to survive and in the initial days you are not sure of your position so it becomes difficult to judge how much study is enough, everyone is studying for 6 to 8 hours and then it becomes necessity instead of requirement that you study. So surviving IIT is also more about choices you make along with the amount of study you do.

Sunday, July 12, 2009

Last return

I was returning back home, it was the end of my journey. I had been to places and seen the sights i could have never thought of travelling. I was feeling relieved along with a sense of nostalgia, i do not know why but i was feeling a void. It was as if something great was coming to an end. Although my body was tired my brain wanted to carry on, somehow i liked the whole travel. I started off at noon, one thing i must set straight at this point is that the people of Guwahati are really very warm and helping i shall continue this in other posts, i reached the airport quite early had lunch and was waiting for my flight. All sort of thoughts were filling up my mind, i was feeling excited at the thought of reaching home and also was happy that i had my first admission after such a long journey. I relaxed on the airport for 2 hours and then my flight came in, i must admit the atmosphere at the airport is magnetic, light breeze with drizzle and mountains in the distance with orange coloured clouds is very scenic. Boarded the flight and had a window seat, it was a time to reflect upon what all i had been through. The time passed on very smoothly with several thought cluttering up the top space. Reached Delhi and moved to terminal 1-d for last time in my journey, the place was upbeat with lots of activity. I made my way to the counter only to find that my stay at the terminal was extended due to delay in the flight but it was not painful given the fact that it was my last leg of the journey. I passed the time on the terminal just resting and killing the time. Finally i boarded the flight and what i noticed was really shocking. The sits were very uncomfortable and not even reclining, they were like the seats that we have in our state transport buses. To my luck i again was endowed with a window seat and this time the sight i was going to see was really enchanting. The flight took off and i slept because of extreme wear out that i had been through but the hostess woke me up for having my dinner, i resisted cause i did not feel like eating and just wanted water but she forcefully feed me. Somehow i gulped the food and watched outside the window and saw some shimmering lights down beneath, as we were passing above various cities it was really worth it to see the beautifully lit cities down beneath. The horizon was dotted with several such jewels, it was dark and you can clearly see the boundaries of the city and how it slowly merged into the wilderness. Their was a small streak of light connecting two cities, it was the highway which passed from one city to another. Small vehicles were also visible with their lights. It was really enchanting to see those jewels embedded over the black fabric of night. Reached my destination at 01:00 in the night and it was too late to find any public transit systems to reach home. I decided to go for a cab, hired a cab and we started off at 1:15 a.m. It was already 12 hours or more since i was travelling but i was not at all tired as i knew this was last hour of my great journey, the cab driver turned on his music, it was a typical driver's music (those who have travelled in buses or have been to any of the highway restaurant might know this for sure). The cab was going swiftly through the night. I cannot exactly describe the feeling that i was going through at that point of time but it was a mixture of nostalgia, relief and achievement. This feeling cannot be categorically put into words but it can only be felt. Reached home at 2:30 in the morning and went to sleep directly, it was one of the most peaceful sleep i had in long time. All the things i had seen and felt during my journey were in my heart but still it felt light. My long cherished dream had been completed. Finally i was an IITian.

"One man's disgust is other man's food"

The title shall be justified as i go along. Boarded the cab and i was moving towards the campus, i passed through the settlements which were overwhelmed by greenery. The place is having a constant war with nature, the greenery as if trying to take over every bit of land it finds, even the building's seems to be taken over by them. I must admit, here nature rules. You cannot fight with it, you have to learn to live with it, either you live with it or you leave(this statement shall be understood in more depth as we move along). The place is very close to nature, untamed vegetation everywhere, planned and controlled vegetation is very less. After few kilometers i reached Brahmaputra bridge, the river is the largest flowing water body i have seen. Somewhere in distance two branches mixing and making one large body. It makes everything else look small, its so huge that it takes few minutes to cross it in a car. Whosoever sees it for the first time is surely going to fall in love and be terrified at the same time. This was my second grand encounter in a single day. After few minutes i crossed across and reached the campus. I must admit the campus is one of the best guarded i have seen. As always my search for my hostel started, good thing was that we were already informed about the hostel we had to go. I reached my hostel and straight to my room. Tired as i was, i slept for few hours. Slowly night came in and i decided to go around but there stood my first surprise, i wont call it a pleasant surprise by any means, it was an insect (if you can call a 3 or 4 inch long fleshy roach as insect), so big that it could swallow lizards. It was something similar to roach, it was really annoying, it could fly and would go down the doors and get into rooms. It was something i had never seen in my life and may be thats the reason i was frightened at first sight. Although i managed to get accustomed of its presence around me, i was still not comfortable with one of those things getting into my room. For first night none of those came in and my night went peacefully. Second day i went around the campus, its really nice, as i just mentioned about the vegetation, similarly here too the vegetation is wild, actually it cannot be tamed given the area of the campus. The area is so large that it hits you directly in the face. The architecture of the campus is really nice. Its designed in a beautiful way. Second day passed by and then came the most horrifying night i had, i was sleeping and the "insects" i was talking about came into my room, total 4 of them. I was sleeping peacefully and suddenly i heard something near my ear and to my disbelief it was sitting next to me. I was so much horrified that i felt like leaving the room and running away, but in middle of this unkown place you have but one choice and that is to fight. I somehow managed to get one after another every single one of them out and then stuffed my door with polythene bags so as to restrict their entry. It was one bad experience i would not like to have again. That night itself during dinner time when i was going around i saw one person carrying few of them in a polythene, i thought he was carrying them so that he can dispose off them somewhere else. I inquired and then i got one of the most unusual answers i can get. He said they eat it. It was really startling to know that one man's disgust is other man's food. But that was true. Next day i took a flight to home.

Saturday, July 11, 2009

Terminal 1-D

Well as i have already said this was on of the most painful experiences of my life. After getting down at Delhi we took a cab and reached this place called as terminal 1-D. By now i had been here at least a few times to know its layout quite well, but this time things were different. It was 00:00 in the night, i had 5 hours to go for my flight and i am not accustomed to late night outs or any late night parties so it was like an acid test for me to pass these 5 hours. To our advantage we reached early enough to find few benches unoccupied also as my friend and me were not feeling well we had to find place to rest else . . . So we managed to get seats on bench. The benches, i must admit, are really not as comfortable as they look. I have sat on these benches before for hours but sleeping on them is not my cup of tea. I tried every single position you can imagine in a chair, i tried my legs up on the front chair, on my bag, even on the seat next to me. I tried sleeping upright and sinked in also tried to sleep with the bag in my lap but all tries failed. I was feeling like Mr.Bean, trying all the silly moves that i can. All the veils of shame or disgrace had fallen amidst the primitive urge to sleep. Finally i decided lets not sleep, this being a bold decision as i never ever had a sleepless night. Even during my college days i never slept later than 00:30 p.m. But my friend who was already sick and in a dire condition took a rather unimaginable decision. He was going to sleep on the floor. Here on India's most swanky airport my friend pulled out his sheet, laid it down kept his bag as pillow and slept. I was shocked, not as much by what he did but by the irony that when in condition like this nothing seems inept, i was comparing the situation with the condition of poor people who have to sleep on platforms, its not as if they like it, its because they do not have any other option(we shall come to this soul searching in separate posts as this itself is quite a large topic to discuss here). So as i had already decided not to sleep i went in search of tea so as to fool my natural cycle that i already have had enough sleep and lets start a new day. I had my tea went around the terminal so as to freshen up. It was 3 o'clock in the morning when one of the staffer came so as to guide us towards the check-in. She woke up my friend and was insisting him to move, i compared it with what the guards do with those poor people who have taken refuge in the crevices in the platforms. So finally at 3:30 we moved towards the check-in and we were inside. Rested for few hours and decided to have tea and snacks (breakfast if you may call it so) at 4:30 in the morning as my flight was scheduled at 5:25. Looking over the beautiful air stirps with atleast a few dozen aircrafts waiting for the next day to began i was sipping over my coffee and having my sandwich. It was time i left for my next and preferably last frontier it was Guwahati. I parted from my friend and moved towards flight. I was drowsy but still managed to board the flight and like all other times i was terrified by the thought of not having a seat or sharing the same seat number with someone else, well it did not happen this time. The flight took off early in the morning with the sun not completly out and the early morning haze still settling down. I was really tired. I slept as soon as the flight took off and the hostess started her daily chores. Somewhere middle in the flight i don't remember where i woke up suddenly, to my luck i had been endowed with a window seat, the white clouds were beneath us and somewhere in distance i saw one of the most beautiful view i ever held in my eyes. I was looking at Himalaya's (if i have not mistaken!), the Grandeur of those mountains is so magnanimous that it fills you with aw alongwith a sense of being trivial. Trust me i have never seen such a thing in my life, i doubt i will see something like that again. It was as if my jaw dropped to my feet. I was trying all i can to keep on looking at them, its just magnificent. Somehow coming out of the lure i reached Guwahati, the place is a heaven truely, although i did not realize it at that time but today thinking of that place i feel its really so. I landed amidst fog and drizzle, it was quite soothing to enter this atmosphere. I felt a light breeze across my face which was both cold and wet. Its really one of experience, lush green fields around the airport. I came out of the airport and boarded a cab to my destination.

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

Return from Roorkee

Returning from roorkee me and my friend both were utterly exhausted to the extent of being worn-out. As both of us were not to the best of our health's it was really tough going through the journey. This was the lowest point of our tour i must admit that. And from here we were going to directly move to Guwahati. That too, after passing through one of the greatest pains of my life which i shall describe in my next post. Me and my friend are kind of well built and the only means of transportation to the station is cycle rickshaw. Its really painful to ask someone to tow us till there. But one brave hearted person took the challenge and dropped us till the station. On station my friend's health deteriorated even further and he was at a point where he could no longer carry on. So finally he decided to reschedule his journey and leave back home without coming to Guwahati. Although an audacious decision it was one of the most apt decision given the condition he was in. So on the station the flight was rescheduled and we were moving in different direction from Delhi. Here came the train and we boarded it. An utter disbelief awaited us to the booking that we had done for the return train. It was the best coach one can travel in India. We were served mineral water and our luggage was taken care of. Snacks, soups and dinner came progressively and it was such an irony to travel in this compartment when only 2 days back we had been through the worst of the journey's that could be possibly undertaken. So the turn of event was really hilarious. Still in the train but our conditions were not at all proper. Somehow gathering all the strengths that we could we managed to reach Delhi Airport terminal 1-D. By now the Terminal 1-D had stuck in my mind like a leech. I had already been there so many times it started to feel like the backyard of my house. But this time it was going to be different. . . .

In a class of its own.

Truely the campus of this place is one which has to be seen atleast one. Although not upto the standards that we expect after seeing kanpur, i think i was a bit prejudiced after seeing kanpur. For me nothing is as good as Kanpur. Although, i have not visited IISC but in IIT's that i have visited for me Kanpur is superlative. I might be wrong so please do not take it personally. Roorkee is closest to what you may have an image of an ideal college or university. White archaic buildings with an atmosphere which is seemingly pleasant because of its location. Every care has been taken regarding the infrastructure and its nice to move around. The central building sits atop a hill and looks nice. For the part that we have roamed its nicely planned and maintained. Also, there is no hustle and bustle. Life here is quite tranquil. The only problem me and my friend were facing was that non of us was feeling well. We were not at the best of our health so it was not possible to enjoy it to the fullest, else its a great place to be. I can't write much about this place cause my encounter to this place was quite short. But for the time i passed i had all the feelings to settle down there, but life is about moving and here we go once again.

Saturday, June 20, 2009

Longest journey in my life

Truly the title of the blog is not an exaggeration, its quite true. I left at six in the morning, boarded bus at 7 and reached the city at 8 then back in auto rickshaw and then to train which left at around 9:30. This was going to be quite an eye opener and an exhausting one. We started our journey with ease and like earlier times i had my friend with me. Here we were on our way to Roorkee, for those who think its somewhere in Orissa i must inform that its Rourkela and not roorkee. Roorkee is up there near Haridwar. So train was moving and it was almost 3 to 4 hours since we were moving and then we entered Rajasthan, well i must tell you this was one hot experience which we may never forget. The temperatures were soaring and we were seated near the windows so the sun coming directly over to us the air was hot as if breath of some grievous dragon and the cabin was a living hell as if we were put into some furnace. The only sign of relief were the fans, they were trying their level best to keep us cool but in front of the heat demon it wont stand a chance. We thought of pulling out our other weapons, the bottles of water but to our surprise they were empty. So now what? We waited for few minutes for some station to arrive so that someone might come to sell bottle of water and no one turned up, stations went one after another and no one came for selling bottle of water instead they sold TEA yes tea, we thought how in this whole world in middle of desert someone would have tea but our doubts were rest assured, their were people who were comfortable having a sip of tea in middle of desert with all that heat. Out of our inquisitiveness we stopped someone and asked why the hell we don't find a bottle of water and quite honestly he replied "you wont find it anywhere on the train sir". Stations passed and we were starting to get a bit dizzy and then i saw a person with two bottles of water in his hand and inquired only to find out that the bottles were available on the train itself, at some ten bogies distance. I rushed through the cramped spaces in the train to reach there and bought three bottles, back to the place and drank them ferociously. Relieved a bit but not completely, we moved ahead. Now we had atleast some means to stay alive, finally after few hours of torturous heat the sun began to set and the heat began to subside and due to our horrifying experience we had collected enough water of bottle to have a bath with. The train reached Delhi in the morning and we thought our pain was over as we had made it up til here, only 3 hours separated us from our destination. But we were again taken back by surprise, this time it was not due to nature but due to people. As soon as we left Delhi people started to flock our compartment, we thought it being a reserved compartment such a thing would never happen but when we saw our Travel Ticket Examiner being escorted by two police guards our illusion was shattered. Few police men entered the bogie and to anyone's guess they too were travelling with us. People can seat anywhere and you cant say anything to them, its just not possible for you to defer them. For first time in my travel i was feeling unsafe. But to god's grace somehow we made it through and reached our destination. Like Kanpur here too the mode of transportation is Cycle Rickshaw. So we boarded one to the campus and here we reached campus. Finally to room at 12:00 in the noon on other day. It was a 30 hours journey from my home to the campus. Literally the longest journey i had in my life.

A lesson in modes of transportation!

Lets go! Well this day i had wheels on my feet and quite literally. Got up at 5:30 in the morning (time stamp is important as you may see at the end), ready to leave at 6:15 and left the hostel at 6:30 moving towards gate, out of the gate and waiting for Auto Rickshaw, i boarded one and reached the air port at 7:30. Flight was at ten so waited for few hours. 9:30 and boarded the bus to go to flight. 10:00 here i was on flight already changed three modes of transportation. So back to city and in taxi going back to home in car. So fourth mode of transportation and time was 11:30 so in five hours 4 modes of transportation and 1000 km. Still the day hadn't ended, i went home and had to leave for one more place so here i move on my two wheeler and the time i reach their was 01:15 P.M in the noon. So quite literally on wheels. This was the fastest day i had and to my surprise i was not even a bit tired. But then i thought of life in this terms and i found that more than this the trip to kanpur had more twist and turns quite literally. Cause i had left in flight, moved to railway station in auto rickshaw, boarded a train and in kanpur i was sitting in a cycle rickshaw. So in these trips i have seen all modes of transportation and it has proved to be a lesson in modes of tranportation.

Saturday, June 6, 2009

From flight to floor

Personally i can say that this was the incident which led me to create this blog. Finally we have reached Delhi and as with all IIT here too with great difficulty i found out the hostel i had to go. And here i enter the hostel like debonair only to know that my histrionics were of no use. People were waiting in queue for getting a room and the hostel warden was blunt enough to tell that their were not enough rooms and people will have to accommodate themselves in the common room and sleep their itself on the floor. Only privilege i enjoyed was that i had an Demand Draft, that day i understood the importance of a demand draft. I was asked to wait for half and hour but in half an hour the rooms got filled up and finally even though privileged i was asked to find a place for myself in common room. People cried out that they were their for admissions in MTECH and they should be given rooms but the warden would not budge. But to my surprise my friend had already got one room and the room was large enough to accommodate two. Only problem was i had to sleep on the floor. So from flight to floor in less than an hour, great change of fortune. But finally i got my sheet out, laid it properly on floor made my bag as pillow. It was not the most comfortable of the setting you would expect but it was all that you could have. So after getting settled in the room we rested for the noon and then in the later part of noon went for a stroll around the campus. Now as everyone knows its not the largest of the campus but still its fairly large and after seeing Kanpur and Mumbai the aw factor was slightly dying out. But still it has the tallest central building for an IIT. It is almost eight or seven floors high and has quite a contemporary look. So we went around for some time. From the experiences at Mumbai we had learnt that food was the most important part of the trip and it should not be ignored or missed at any cost if you want to have a comfortable trip. So we ate at various places from their Uth cafe to the juice centre. We tried everything that was possible. Other day we had written tests and due to that i got a chance to go around the academic sections. The academic section is really large and has vast corridors. So test was over and we moved back to hostels rested for some more hours and decided to go for a visit to the India Gate. We travelled by Blue Line bus. The bus itself epitomizes terror so it was terrifying to board it. But some how we managed to board it and went through the traffic ridden roads of Delhi. The government offices and the residences of government and military establishments are really good. We visited this place which is a sort symbol of Delhi. If you are talking of Delhi then you have India Gate or Parliament in the back drop. It creates a sense of patriotism in heart when we know that names of almost 13000 soldiers who had laid down their life for country has been inscribed on it. From their the view down the road is really breath taking. Its one of a kind atmosphere. The place attracts tourist because of its history, its importance in politics, its importance as the centre of power in country. Everything that happens to you and me is somewhere decided there. The aura of this place is completely different. You can see people from all the walk of life there from all castes and creeds. Its like this amalgamation point. So it was a really good experience and we returned to our hostel cause the next morning i had to return. The returning is quite a story.

Flight number 6E481

As evident from the name here we start the journey again in a flight to delhi, well by then travelling had almost become natural and i was becoming a seasoned traveller. Getting boarding pass, security check and all that stuff looked a mundane task. This time i boarded the flight with much more confidence as i had quite some experience now, so on flight their daily procedures started and here we go to Delhi. Like earlier times their was not much fun this time round, every thing went regularly. I got down easily and reached the campus easily. Nothing exhilarating.

Life tossed

Well me and my friends decided at about 3 in the noon that we are leaving whatever happens, and we have given the written test for energy sciences, i was quite confident of clearing it still i was not at all in a physical and mental state to prolong my stay at the campus. So we called up the travel agent and to our surprise we got tickets. So in an hour we leave the campus and reach the agents shop to find our booking confirmed. And as luck would have it, i receive a call from campus from one of my friend that i have cleared the test, actually me and my friend both cleared it. So here we stand on the road physically and on cross-road mentally. Should we go back? Should we give it a try? Is it worth it? This questions crossed the mind a million times. The feeling cannot be compared with anything else, in middle of road having a ticket to back home and thinking of turning back to campus for interview. I was never before in such condition, never ever before but nothing can be done. We consulted our parents our friends and put to test all our analytical and logical thinking but the confusion only multiplied. To increase the frustration the bus getting late, cell's battery was getting low and a feeling of guilt for missing and opportunity was rising. Had to find a solution to this cause this was getting over the nerves. Returning to campus was evidently becoming a possible solution. The darkness loomed over and the traffic zoomed about, here we stood with a fork stuck in the road. My friend pulled out his last resort, he said lets toss a coin if heads we head home, if tails we return. It was quite odd for me, i never decided my future on a toss but at that given moment it looked absolutely logical. Imagine this, in middle of road deciding about your future you toss a coin and decide according to me nothing can be as daring as this. He tossed it and i still do not know which force worked on that coin but it had heads. We were returning home, the regrets were dying out and the frustration easing, in mean time the bus came and we left for home. But i will never forget that moment the decision of a life time decided on a toss. At that moment in time my friend taught me a very important lesson, he said that the coin was just a means it is fair to both the chances. You can have heads or tails but whatever you have got you have to stand by it and live it positively to the fullest never hold regrets for decision once made. Regretting for decision does not help only increases your agony and wastes time, instead just accept it and go out all guns blazing in that direction you are sure to find success. This truth was just so hard hitting, i still find it really hair raising.

Saturday, May 23, 2009

Amchi Mumbai!

Here i was in IIT Powai, the best institute to study in India. I entered through the gate and asked for the hostels. I finally reached one of the hostels and not to my surprise i was asked to move to another hostel because of unavailability of space so to the next hostel and finally i get a space. Here i walk the long corridors to reach to my room which was in the last corridor after which started the vegetation.  I reached my room and opened it, and their lay two beautifully mummified lizards on the bed looking so real as have been crafted by a master craftsman. Shocked as i was i made some room for me and kept my luggage. Finally my friend arrived and we arranged the room so as to make it livable for the next two to three days. Then we moved out in search of food, like scavengers we were ready to munch on anything we could lay our hand on. We went to one mess only to find that breakfast time had just got over, but to our relief we could find some maggi and a cup of tea at the tea stall outside the mess. Then we moved around the campus with one of the guy who was aware of the campus and studies their itself. The campus is surely a large one not as big as IIT Kanpur but it surely is big and then their are two corridors joining all the departments housed in the campus. You can move from department to another through this corridors. The terrain of the campus is quite undulated. The main building sits on an hill and down the hill are located the hostels and the ground. The most astonishing thing i realized was the starking difference in speed of life as you crossed the gates, the life outside the gates of the campus runs at speed of light. Its as if people here have roller skates on their legs and not shoes, everyone is running from the working class to the BMW's. People have so much to do in so little time that every one is running. Then we went to the Hiranandani complex just opposite to the campus and here you feel as if you have came to another country. For a small city guy like me to see all this tall towers and so many of them together was really a surprise. Till the sight went only tall towers ruled the sky and they are gorgeous one of a kind architecture. This was surely the location where you would like to own a flat. Great locality and great view. I would recommend that those people who have any doubt about the wealth in India should at least visit this place once and lay down their doubts for once and forever. Return to campus and the speed of the life just cools down. Second morning and we got up early to have breakfast, we had determined that we will eat something this time for sure and went to mess to find that breakfast timing hadn't started and we were early so back to room and wait begins. Back to mess only to find a long queue of people already waiting for food. This food thing has stuck in my mind as it was not as hard to get food in Powai as anywhere else. Well but like all good things have a flip side this might be it. Finally our test and interviews get over and off we go. (Actually the real adventure is remaining but i have kept it for next post)

Lets go!

Here i pack my bags and starts the second leg of the journey. Off we go to Mumbai the city of dreams and high risers. I went to my pickup point for bus and i was the only person to board from that point. Here i was at 11:30 P.M waiting for the bus in middle of road with traffic zooming through, i went right to the travel operators office and he said that bus was late which was obvious cause they are not trained to handle buses on time. I asked how much late, it was 45 minutes late so it makes it around 12:15 A.M that's in the night in middle of road with no one around. But i had the men's most faithful friend around, a gang of few stray dogs scouting the area as if on some search operation. It was really weird to stand their, all alone with few dogs to depend on and one bus operator all shops shut and the noise of the vehicles dying out somewhere in distance. It was 12:30 in my watch, all sounds had died out, my holy friends had left me and moved forward and i finally asked the operator why is the bus late? Any gusses of what his answer was? If you thought it was due to traffic you were wrong... For those who thought due to flat tire you were thinking too practical... For those among you who think of only extremities and who thought it was due to an accident you are right. The damn bus had met with an accident on the highway. Figure this, standing in middle of night on the empty road and the operator is going to get you board a bus which had been through an accident, isn't this exciting. Well to my relief the bus looked in a far more better shape and it had brakes which were working so i boarded it. Seats had no number, here i was again in a dilemma, "Which is my seat?". I feel after my first experience with the flight i was in such a trauma that a phobia had developed wherein in was always worried about the seat. But i got a seat and here we go to Mumbai. 

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Return to home

Slowly the night came in and i left for coming back and on my way back i noticed that this was one of the best experiences of the life. An opportunity to peek into the life of the people their. On station i waited for train and i waited and i waited but the train didn't turned up, trains which weren't on the list were coming and going but my scheduled train wasn't arriving. Finally after some moments of apprehension it arrived and i boarded it and to my comfort i slept peacefully. Back to airport and i reached quite early and when i went for boarding pass the lady asked me "So early?" as if it was a crime and i was going to be sent to jail. I took the pass and waited their and watched over the airport. I haven't seen so many planes together, i was a bit in aw and watched over. I didn't realized how two hours had passed and moved towards the boarding gate at the earliest so as to get the first seat so that no one occupies it this time round. This time their was no one and actually the flight was going quite empty. Back to home peacefully and safely first leg of the journey ends.

Ugly Outside Beautiful Inside

Well this are the words that i can find most appropriate for IIT Kanpur, i passed through the city to reach IIT and found that most of the civil infrastructure was deteriorating. I was dropped at the IIT Kanpur Gate and the driver recommended to do another auto. I was surprised to find that the area is so large that you really need to have a public transport system separately for the campus and they have one. I travelled with the auto from gate to inside and passing through i found lush greenery and large grounds. Well this all was maintained in the best way it can be. I finally reached my hostel and kept my bag in the allotted room. The Hostel was so large that i believe that my college would complete fit into it. It had atleast 300 rooms and their i saw the most pleasant sight of them all. After keeping the bags i came outside the room in a hurry to rush to the department and their it stood infront of me, a peacock with it feathers in full flurry and moving around. Just imagine having a full grown untamed Peacock in your hostel lawn. I saw it in disbelief but rushed as i didn't have much time. Then to my surprise i found several of this magnificient birds moving freely without any barrier around the campus. I entered the academic area and again i was greeted with surprise. I for one had never been to IIT or for that case any such institutes and here i was, fountain and long corridors and large trees and big buildings. I stood their in aw, had only watched on telivision and in movies those long corridors and this type of campus. It was really magnificient. The best center of study i had seen. I searched my department for half an hour and finally found it. Their were some 500 people and you can never tell that their were so many people as they didn't seem to matter infront of the scale of the campus. Finally after all the formalities i moved to their new hostels and they really are a place to watch. From outside they really look like hotel and from inside also they are clean and comfortable. What impressed me the most was the food and their facilites of canteen and mess which are unmatchable. Slowly i realized that it was the best of campuses which one could possibly have in India. It was really good. I cant say the same about the city and thats why the title but the campus is a real beauty.

Trip to Kanpur

The start of the journey, and as always started with the visit to the nearest temple. For the first time entering the city's Airport feeling the joy of a little child when he is about to enter an amusement. Always looking at that flights from ground and here i was going to board one now, it was this feeling which had overtaken me leaving aside all the thoughts. Like a child i was paying attention to every detail which was present not missing even the advertising posters hanging on the walls. Behaving a bit unsure about what to do, i entered the airport and checked in, sitting their in the airport slowly the feeling sanked in and i started feeling a bit comfortable. Boarding time and i moved towards the boarding gate and finally to the plane. Then came the first shock, i went to my seat and to my surprise it was already occupied, so their i stood all shocked and sheepishly searching for the flight attendant to sort this out, she came and seated me in one seat. The lady who owned the seat came i had to be dislodged again into another one and to my surprise it belonged to another gentleman. For a second a thought passed me that i might be asked to get down the flight because of unavailability of space. Well this feeling had happened in the state transportation buses but on a flight? Just think standing their in middle of flight crowding the space and people looking at you because you are hopping from one seat to another, and feeling that you are some sort of jerk. Finally i got a seat, i held on it until i was sure that last passenger has boarded and to my relief i got a seat, the attendant was really ashamed and tried to comfort me.  All this passed and flight went in for its departure, following all instruction to the T i watched outside the window in amazement. The speed was phenomenal and when you suddenly get that jerk backwards it feels really great. It was like bliss, felt like .... cant explain but it was one of kind of experience. Finally at Delhi i moved towards Hazrat Nizamuddin, i had to wait their for 4 hours. Well i reached station and tried to find waiting room and to my luck i found one and entered it emphatically only to find that it was only for ladies and i was looked at in surprise. I went out immediately and tried to find one for men and to my disbelief it was under renovation, i somehow found a space on the bench and decided whatever happens i am not letting this space go at any cost. Fighting for every inch i made comfortable space for myself. Finally the train came and i boarded it and got a comfortable space to sit. Here i was travelling to kanpur in Patna Garibrath. At ten in night came Kanpur and i asked one gentleman about the Hotel i had planned to move to. He was kind enough to help me find a cycle rickshaw in the most appropriate fair, i was doubtful to board it at first but then i managed to sit in it properly. Passing through the city with no lights and in an cycle  auto you feel as if you have time travelled few decades back. Finally to the Hotel and the travel mostly ended.

First Encounter!

Well this blog is dedicated solely to my experiences during visits to various IIT's. 

To brief about the background i cleared GATE (Not the one you have at your house), it is pre-requisite exam for admission in postgrad in India.

All India Rank 418
Score 602
Total no. of Applicants 23720
Percentile 98.18

So the blog shall be titled as "Being AIR 418".