A Tribute

What makes one dazzle? Only integral double digit CGPA, Hefty paychecks before entering into the real world, a publication in journals which you probably can't open from your computer as you are not so rich/qualified to access it, or may be someone trying to fix a partner for life without having lived a quarter of it(Life expectancy has shoot up, Go jog if apprehensive) or something else.

Cycles - Every existing phenomenon has to be cyclic. If not the time period is larger than yours. My father used to say, pane galnar, punha navi hirwi pane yetil ( Autumn and Spring). I could never fathom the seriousness of it, rather I used to run away from it. I can feel how an acrophobic must be feeling when he's put on the edge of a sky-scrapper. The gap between existence and nullity is so narrow.

Life is priceless. Suicides being committed for failures in examinations, getting dumped by love interests and even more insane reasons. Does tackling problems weigh heavier than the existence of life? It does not, certainly. Humans are superior than animals because they can think, they can find ways, chalk out multiple possibilities.

Lives dazzle, deeds mesmerize, remembrance last forever. Everything is possible. It just asks the extra belief in inner self and the perseverance. Get dazzled, bedazzle, be remembered.

This is dedicated to the lady who spent entire life for her children and divine causes, my grandmother.

May she rest in peace.

Language

The much talked about "Pan-Indian" nature of BITS-Pilani always makes me wonder about the several languages spoken in the campus. Telugu, Tamil, Malyalam, Bengali, Marathi, Hindi, English, Gujarati...the list is long yet countable ( Effect of Maths courses is evident! )!!

My schooling was done in a school that was owned by a Gujarati trust. It had many Gujarati staff members,right from the principal to clerks. My fascination for learning different languages began at that stage. The curiosity of knowing what is being talked between two persons was a fundamental reason, showing off that 'I know these many languages' another! All attempts of grasping the language ended up in knowing just Su chhe? Saru chhe! Danda leke maru chhe!! I even had a hit on Bengali (Thanks to Jhinak , Shubho and Rajat for teaching me and not to Soumyadeep!!) and now I can ask you Tumi Kemon acho?

India is blessed with myriad dialects. Add to it the multiple accents in each language, that makes it one of the largest collections of its kind. These very dialects speak more than just words. They reflect the culture of the terrain, for the coining of a word is often related to some event or some object or a phenomenon. They reflect the way humans are treated, for the politeness or rudeness encased with the words. They reflect the generations, for the slangs. They are vehicle to convey a plethora of emotions.

A language evolves with time. Those who don't, extinct. Thou has become u now, Because its cos today, My cellphone supports Hinglish as a language. This a pointer towards amalgamation of languages, globalization and the manner in which people think today, Geographical barriers proving ineffective in inhibiting the usage of a language. Purists will always disapprove the changes, but they will be there.

So the 'To Do' list for this year includes, to speak at least a complete, error proof, and a fluent sentence in Bengali! Any bong ready for the coaching?

Preponement

I had read in Oxford Dictionary that the word(Prepone) was derived in India and its usage is considered as non-standard. Now when I google the word, I find its existence in many standard dictionaries like Webster.(Alas! Blogger does not approve the word!) India can change the way world looks at things!

I believed preponement can be a good policy till I entered the later half of sophomore. The courses are giving a glimpse of what can be achieved on their foundation. A simple chip can change the word(In fact it has!) This feeling was impossible even if I would have preponed the learning of things.

Many times I try to visualize future. When I find similarity between what I had imagined and what happens, it feels great. The uncanny similarity entices to envisage more and more. One can put best foot upfront if fairly accurate in anticipating things.

On the contrary side, there are some things which have their own time. One may practice predicting and making himself familiar with whatever is stored in future. But this lessens the joy of uncertainty. The beauty of hazy future lies in its unpredictability. If a distantly impossible phenomenon suddenly occurs it tests the strength of individual,the ability to cope up with any kind of circumstance.

I feel its a matter of two thinking tendencies. One who like to adventure,take risks and explore new avenues may go for the later one. Whilst individuals (like me) who like to have a low risk approach, play safe and are more careful about the outcomes than the methods used, may prefer the anticipation way of thinking.

PS-For reverting to blogging, a hell span of assignments and tests needs to get passed and a holiday too!

Good Topic,Anyone?

Seems like ages have been past since the last post. I am still searching for a good topic! Search for a good topic is desperately on for 'Ankur' (An yearly Magazine of the Maharashtra People's Organization at BITS-Pilani) Life at BITS seems to have gone miles ahead. Yeah, congrats to Swapnil for his success in Google Coding competition!

I am back to Pilani from a long holiday of couple of weeks at home. This visit meant a lot for me in many ways. I got to observe the placement procedures in the local colleges of Maharashtra. I could mark the differences of the same carried out in BITS as against in the colleges there. Some key and not so obvious differences

• Time of placement (Academic year in which placement is done)
• Syllabus covered till that time
• Type of post for which recruitment is done (Development vs Testing,Not always true)
  

I feel lucky to be at BITS! (Although its a bit too early to say that :P !!)

Despite staying away from home for last 4-5 years, the drive to go home is quite strong. What urges more to write this post is the probable parting from Amravati in the recent future. Although since last few years I am merely reduced as a guest,the beloved association with the city for more than 15 years is comparable to nothing.

And this picture can possibly describe heaven-Melted Chocolate Truffle.
I couldn't get the image of the original one ,so had to Google it out.Thanks to Supriya for the introduction! Delight for Eyes and a great treat for taste buds!

P.S- If you are a chocolate freak then Aditya has something interesting for you.

M S Dhoni

Why would someone love M S Dhoni?

-He has emerged from a rural background,defying all the politics and fighting hard.

-He went on succeeding in career and became captain of ODI team in such an early stage.

-His strokeplay innings is a delight to watch(?)

-His brave statements,on-field approach which has a tinge of aggression with calmity at times.

Why would someone hate M S Dhoni?

-His brave statements!

-His non technical approach towards batting.

-His overemphasis on the success in T20 world cup.

-His alleged role in banishing Ganguly from the team.

-If the person in question is a Dravid fan.

I admire him for the first one and a half reason and hate for first three reasons. I feel the change in the leadership in the Indian cricket was done in hasty and it involved a lot of unfair politics.To add into the anti-Dhoni air was media which made the T20 success look equivalent to winning 4 world cups. The success in T20 was no where a barometer for success in One dayers or Test cricket. As long as Dhoni performs well his bold statements would not disturb anyone. But once he or his team for that matter starts losing the grip,it will (rather it has) become a problem for many.

Its important that Dhoni gets his act together both on and off the field. Because he is a role model for a lot of youngsters who hail from a semi-urban or rural background and want to make it big in cricket. Because they can relate themselves with him,owing to the similarity in backgrounds. He can be an symbol of a fighter who defies all the regional politics,Anti-rural prejudice. He can be an epitome for hardwork,burning desire for winning. In him see a billion Indians themselves ruling the world. Are you listening Mr.Dhoni?

From Global to local

As always I am a bit late to avail the Transliteration facility provided by blogger.A great one.The mantra these days seems to be go local for big brands. The power of an average Indian consumer is undeniable.Be it Orkut or Wikipedia or Vodafone for that matter.Its no surprise that Cellular operators are spreading their networks in rural areas as well.
For me this facility is a great news for another reason.Now I would be able to write in मराठी,Something that I haven't done in last 4-5 Years.Sorry,non-marathi folks!