Engineering reloaded

Few days back, a friend of mine studying in class 12th asked me if I could come along with her to a seminar cum counseling session called as ‘An insight into engineering’ given by a famous coaching class that trains for both, the CET as well as engineering subjects. I know that such seminars are all about publicity, another of those time wasting exercises, but I had nothing better to do, so I agreed to attend it with her.

Some guy in his thirties in a loud and clear voice started explaining ‘what is engineering about?’; Something which I couldn’t figure out after three years of engineering. Then he spoke of how important is the first year and if you don’t figure out how to get around things in the first year, how the rest of the years will be difficult for you. 'First year is the foundation for everything, here’s where you get the basics right' he added.

Basics what, being friends with the person who writes assignments, being a regular at the Xerox place, finding someone to make your ED drawings and all, I wondered. Then he started talking about individual branches of engg and here’s when I started dozing off. After almost an hour gone, I looked around to see students still paying attention with the same enthusiasm. How fast your attention span can reduce after getting admit to an Engg college is what I was thinking about!

After the seminar, there was the counseling session. Seriously bored by then, I decided to have some fun. Students in group of 3 were counseled by the volunteers of the coaching class. I pretended to be a class 12 student along with my friend. At first, I preferred listening to the questions my friend was asking such as 'Is engineering difficult?' 'Which colleges are the best for engg?' and more such questions. He mentioned my college name as one of the best ones. I felt happy for a moment. He also said, "First year is the most difficult, but don't worry, if you join our classes, you will have done the syllabus a month before the exam leaving ample time for revision".Then he asked me whether I have any questions.

I was kinda waiting for this. I asked him what distinguishes a good engg college from an average engg college. He answered ‘ Good engg colleges have good professors who give wonderful insight into the subject and they have good research facilities, good labs and other infrastructure.’ Those exact words he said. A picture of my profs flashed for a minute in my mind. Period.

Next question I shot was, ‘How good is the interface of an engg college with the industry?’
He answered, “Every year, most colleges arrange Industrial visits (IV s) to get student interaction with the industry; they are quite good for budding engineers”. I can’t remember how I controlled my laughter then. Man, people can lie!

Then I bombarded another question, ‘If I enter Electronics and Telecommunication Engineering, which companies will offer me in college placements?’
He answered, “There are the telecom companies like Vodafone, Airtel, Idea and also internet providers like Hathway, MTNL etc. who come for placements. You can also get into good core electronic companies such as Siemens, Falcon, Samsung, Sony etc. through good colleges like a, b, c, d.” one of those colleges was mine. He also said that some people also end up with software or financial jobs. Unless the word ‘some’ meant ‘almost everyone’, it didn’t reflect the truth. When I asked him about the course of Electronics and Telecom Engineering, the answer he gave me could very well have been termed as something even no professor of this subject in any college, has done in his lifetime.

A few more questions and I was wondering which of his answers was the most hilarious one. He was like an in-form batsmen hitting sixers all over the ground. For a while it made me wonder whether I was studying the same thing this guy is talking about. If I were to do it all over again, would I do things differently? Nah, I love my life and love the journey that has been so far. I would change nothing about it, not even a single thing!

A 'Drama' tic post

I adore going to the drama theatre. It is a more pleasing experience for me than seeing a movie. A bit weird it might seem, but very true. I’ve seen a plethora of live dramas, and can still watch many more at the price higher than a movie ticket.

It gives me a very different feeling to that of a movie. It’s like someone is giving in his 100% performance, not once, not twice, but every time he performs. No matter what his mood that day is, or whatever the problems in his daily life are, he has to the same for every show. Going behind the set in a flash, changing costume and coming back as a different character altogether in less than half a minute. Making mistakes would ruin the reputation of the show and thus his future earnings too.

Plus, the attitude in India towards drama isn’t very positive, both as a career option and as a viewer base. The salaries earned by the actors are much less than what TV actors get without possessing half the talent. Fewer people are present to view the drama and lot of this amount goes into the hall rent, building up the sets and the people working behind the scenes that actors have to bear with an amount which is much smaller than they deserve. The cost of a drama show is almost equivalent to a movie ticket in India. So sad, but true. Despite that, most viewers are people long beyond their youth.

Cost of watching a drama in England is around 35 to 50 pounds. This is more expensive than watching a live premier league game; certainly more expensive than watching a movie. Still people of all ages turn up there to see a drama there, with the same enthusiasm of seeing a movie. TV serial actors over there aspire to be associated with a good drama someday. Here in India, such a step would be considered as a step backwards. We care so much about publicity, don’t we? Whose gonna watch a drama, millions would rather be watching me on a TV show or for that matter even a commercial.

Neways, coming back to my love for drama; I’ve seen my cousin directing a play in her college. It was amazing to see how much of hardwork they went through before the final product. It was a play based on communal riots which won the ‘Purshottam Award’ for the best college drama that year. It’s considered to be the most auspicious college level drama award in Maharashtra. The energy and enthusiasm you see in it, makes you wanna do only one thing, stand up and applaud.
Apart from these, it was also great to see many college dramas at Malhar a few years back. Some of the plays in our college Quadrangle on weekends are also good. I also remember watching a pantomime contest in Pune a while ago. Even without speech, they conveyed such beautiful messages and such nicely did they depict emotions that brought tears in my eyes. Just like the Charlie Chaplin movies. Last year, on one of the college days, we had prepared a 10 minutes skit by the four batches of our class. It proved to be such a fun task and everyone was so happy at the end of the day. We’ll never forget that day.

Lastly, language is not that important, as long as the emotions and actions are conveyed to the viewer. I’ve watched a lot of Marathi plays, a few Gujarati plays, English plays and one Korean play too; and have been able to decipher most of those. According to me, what the play conveys is more important that what language is used. One Gujarati play on Shri Krishna had such a mellifluous sound of flute playing in the songs that completely mesmerized me without understanding a word.

We say many a times to our friends, “Chalo, let’s go to a movie”. Hoping that someday we would say “Let’s go for a drama” too…

A bit too much

Listening to a lecture once in a while is ok,
sitting on the last bench and asking doubts is a bit too much.

Showing concern is ok sometimes;
dictating terms is a bit too much.

Working on your project is ok,
but lying that you haven’t even started is a bit too much.

Cribbing on your blog is ok sometimes,
but using the thesaurus for every third word is a bit too much.

Losing is ok sometimes;
not accepting defeat is a bit too much.

Taking advice from the ones who can help is ok,
but forgetting them as soon as the job is done is a bit too much.

Cursing someone is ok,
but cursing him behind his back is a bit too much.

Calling your friends on their birthday is ok,
but forgetting to wish them happy birthday is a bit too much.

Sharing secrets with someone is ok,
but disclosing someone’s secrets to another is a bit too much.

Four minutes of added time is ok,
but Oven scoring in the sixth minute is a bit too much.

Turning up at a stupid movie once in a while is unavoidable,
but recommending the same movie to your friends is a bit too much.

Lying once in a while is ok,
but lying to your best friend is a bit too much.

Making a mistake is ok;
making that mistake again is a bit too much.

Helping someone out of courtesy is ok,
but expecting something back in return is a bit too much.

Writing a boring blog is ok sometimes;
asking people to read it and comment is a bit too much.

Praying to god for a good result is ok,
but not studying for it is a bit too much.

Wasting time sometimes is ok;
but complaining about lack of time after that is a bit too much.

I guess writing anything above this would be a bit too much.

Are numbers really important?

What is more important, the final results or the process? This question has popped up in my mind several times and I’ve had a different answer every time. Sometimes there’s this feeling that numbers are all important, no matter how you get them. Adapt to the system, follow the norms, get the results, job done.

Then there are other times where the numbers really don’t matter. At those times you really don’t give a damn for the marks and just concentrate on learning. You just enjoy the process so much that results are secondary.

I’ve been on both sides of the road. Can’t say which one is right or wrong; at various times in life, you have to choose one of them timely. If you say marks don’t really matter, all that I care for is knowing stuff, and then you may have to risk missing on a good college, a good friend circle and lot many things. The world will never believe you that you are intelligent; you’ll have to come up with the numbers to show them that. Plus what’s the harm if you know some tricks to get marks without actually knowing the stuff

On the other hand, sometimes I feel like running away from the rigid doctrines of exams. Solve this problem exactly this way, it will fetch you full marks. Don’t use your creativity. This is the crap I can’t handle sometimes. I don’t care that I get a mediocre score. Working on a real microcontroller excites me than calculating stupid memory map tables. In the long term, I feel some scores will just be another set of numbers. There’s no point pressing hard for such marks when they are of little use.

The recent GRE test was a wonderful experience for me. At first I was really vexed by the process. Hardly did I remember the words that I studied the previous day. I hated it, I almost quit the conquest! But with some inspiration and convincing from friends, started it all over again. This time it was different. I was actually enjoying the process of learning. I enjoyed that I was reading the daily newspaper in different manner now. Actually caring to understand the meanings of the words that I once ignored.

No longer did I feel the urge to curse the words, not even the yellow cards which carried them. I kinda liked them. I told to myself, whatever happens in the actual exam, I’ve actually gained a lot from this process. Even if I falter, not everything will be lost. That’s when the tension disappeared. I got a decent score but I think even if I had scored any higher or lower, I wouldn’t really have been more joyous or unhappy. For this time I surely knew, numbers were not all that mattered…..

Of Blackouts and Plunders

Warning! Long post ahead!!

Yesterday night, there was a blackout in our area. It brought to my mind my childhood memories; those were the times when blackouts were quite frequent. They were associated primarily with all the children hitting the streets and playing games. Something which came by as complement was robbery and many interesting tales of robbery. But this post is all about the one incident that I’d never forget all my life.

I was studying for my History paper next day. Boredom was taking toll as the clock neared midnight. Someone felt pity for me I guess. The next moment all the lights faded and cursing the text, I ran out towards the street, relieved. My other friends had similar relieved expressions on their face. Studying was out of question, so we thought playing something would freshen us before the exam next day. Dog and the bone was the game we chose.

It’s so true that sport makes you release all your troubles, be it temporary, so what! Nobody cared what time it really was and no-one wanted the blackout to end. Meanwhile, my friend saw something strange. “Dude, someone’s trying to break through into Ishan’s(name changed) house” he whispered into my ears. Earlier that day, after playing cricket Ishan had told us that he is going to Ahmedabad in the evening with his family and will not return until next fortnight.

It was a moment of horror, but we knew that we shouldn’t panic. We needed to do something wise. What to do? Call the police or call all the colony residents or maybe fight with the thief ourselves and be superheroes of the colony for next few days. Lots of options flooded our mind, not knowing what exactly to do. Finally four of us friends decided that we’d hunt him down ourselves. Childhood plans, immature as most of them are!

Now suddenly all four, although a bit frightened, were resolute on doing the task without any help. Three of us took a stump each and the fourth one with a wooden stick. We had to avoid doing something stupid; we had to have a plan. If anything went wrong, it could well go down to our lives.

We examined everything. There was the window near the kitchen left open by the thief; we decided to get in through it. One of us had a doubt as to why would the thief leave the window open. The others just shut him down by saying that he probably needed fresh air.

Taking care of three things was essential. Firstly we had to avoid making noise otherwise it would alert the thief and he would attack us with anything he has, probably a knife, could be anything. Secondly, he had a torch and we didn’t b’coz again the thief would be alarmed if we used the torch. Thirdly, we had to track his exact position before getting in.

Thinking about all possibilities, we saw the position of the thief from the window and made a plan of attack. The thief was on the mattress eating cucumber. This was assumable since if he came out with his loot and try to elope, people on the streets would come to know and probably attack him together. So now was really not the time for him to get out. Now was the time to eat cucumber.

Boldly we stepped inside the house without making slightest of the sounds. One of us who carried the stick cautiously approached towards the thief from behind the cupboards and dining table. We followed him with our stumps. As he was about 2 feet near, he hit the thief severely on the knee. Next moment the robber went speechless and numb. Till the other three of us join, he realized he had to do something, that too quickly!

He started running away from us and shouted, calm down, I’m Ishan’s uncle, what the hell are you doing? We froze there, thinking how foolish our act was.

In the meantime, two other stupid things happened. Firstly, someone called the cops. Secondly, someone called up Ishan’s Ahmedabad place at 1.30 saying there was a robber in their house. Next worst thing due was the history paper, which was due in 5 hours.

It's all about the bike !

I pass by my school every day. A lot has changed since the time I left. Changed for the better I guess. But this one change really saddens me. It's the barricade of cycles, which is missing from the picture.

I remember the days when I rode to school on a bicycle. Not many of my friends used this mode of transportation for school, but it was a joy ride in the morning. Some 20-30 cycles were aligned outside our school compound. Now there are none!

I still cherish the long bicycle races with colony friends, travelling from Cinemax to Aarey Colony and then New Zealand Hostel. All this for a small treat, the loser would pay for all the Vada Pavs. After that, riding down the slopes of New Zealand hostel at very high speeds with the wind rushing into our faces. As I write this I really want to go there now. Sometimes we would race to Aksa beach through a narrow road, fast moving vehicles, putting ourselves into trouble, getting outta trouble. The narrow bruises, the minor accidents, the high speed skids, still so fresh.

The picture today is sad, really sad. The only people I see riding the bicycle are doodhwala, pav-wala, anda-wala and restaurant delivery guys or small children till the age of 10. It is a pity that cycle drivers are seen as people who cannot afford a bike or a car. Cycle racing enthusiasts are also very rare. The sport is dying in India, rather cycling is dying in India. Also cycling is something just for guys here I guess. It’s been more than 2 years since I’ve seen a girl ride a cycle, which was my sister btw. Why don’t you apply ‘Why Should Boys have all the fun?’ funda to this case too! This also reminds me, where are all the Hero cycles, Hercules top gear, Lady Bird advertisements that were running on TV channels few years back?

Few days back, I happened to visit the local cycle shop. The guy at the counter recognized me and asked where all my friends are. He says his business has gone down drastically and the only selling bikes are small kiddy bicycles. That’s when I think, it’s people like me who have left cycling are the reason for which this guy is losing grip in his business. I still recollect the sad the day I sold my bicycle. I left cycling in 11^th standard because no-one of my age was driving the cycle anymore. I cared too much about what people would think and that my friends would laugh at me. I regret my decision now; regret the reasons why I took the decision.

The society’s outlook towards cycling is not encouraging, but I feel I shouldn’t have cared. Riding to Tembu dam 8 kms near my hometown on a bike was one of the most entertaining aspect of our college group's trip last year. So was the ride on the streets of Berlin dedicated exclusively for cycles. I am certainly going to buy a cycle once I get my job and drive it, not caring about anyone saying anything. I’ll also try to complete 100 km a day ride near Karjat in the next vacation, hopefully with friends.

B’coz it is all about about the bike....

Feeling Guilty

Few months ago, I came across a funny article in Air France’s In-flight magazine. Although my knowledge about French is minuscule, somehow I managed to decode most part of it, partly with the help of friends with better French. I don’t remember whole of it, but here’s the English version of whatever little I recollect. Take it with a pinch of salt. These are not my views, but I agree to most of them.

God, I really feel guilty. For a lot of things I’ve done in life.

I’ve been a Businessman all this time, somewhat different than the regular ones. Long time ago, I started a business, with no capital. With a very small workspace and no work experience at all, started something which would help me earn thousands in minutes. A business which has no fixed retirement age, no educational qualification restrictions, no selling of door to door goods, no publicity via phone calls.

A bit about my clientele. They are from all walks of life, all professions. The rich and also the poor, people from the metros as well as from the village. Something more interesting, even if I change my base, my business will be unaffected in terms of numbers. Recession has sunken me, oh no, but in fact, in a small way it has helped me. I believe that I’ve lived a life which is every budding successful entrepreneur’s dream. You’re probably wondering, am I doing something illegal, something anti-social. No I’m not. I was an astrologer.

Failing in the 11^th grade for the second time, my life was a mess, until I saw a small paper ad about this business. They have coaching classes for everything back there in India, and there was a coaching class for this too. One course of a year’s duration did me more good than 15 years of school education. One thing was also certain, I had no death until people stop caring about how their future would be.

I was trained for every situation. Each individual horoscope has a good part and a bad part attached to it. Adapting to every client, I had to come up with different stuff. Not that I had to tell false interpretations, but I had to come up with partial truth. Explaining which stars and planets are in the wrong position ( People come to me only when something’s wrong or the want something in life, not when everything’s good) that you’ve landed up in a mess. Next thing, point to a time in future where all of the stars get in the favorable positions. Give the client a ray of hope. Lastly, tell them that this science is not 100% foolproof, but in most cases it turns to be quite right. Don’t worry; people still will keep coming to you, and if not previous clients, new ones. As people kept worrying about their future, I was side by side securing my future through their money!

Going back to the first line, about me feeling guilty, let me straighten it out a bit. I feel guilty for plentiful reasons. For breaking the hearts of several couples who couldn’t marry because their horoscopes didn’t match. For changing people’s names and making them believe this would bring them fortune. I feel bad for the people who had to reject perfectly wonderful apartments just because the entrance was facing a particular direction. I feel terrible making people buy expensive rings that would brighten their future. For making people perform ridiculously expensive rituals at home to supposedly bring peace and prosperity.

I feel more terrible for doing something without actually knowing the basics. Doing something which I had no idea where it came from and how it developed. Later when I studied more deeply, I got to know this was more of a statistical science rather than pure science. Its foundation lies from the study of people over the years with reference to position of stars and planets. It’s based upon the observation that people born on similar planet positions share similar fortune. It’s a collection of observations of scholars for over a long period of time written in form of scripts. To add more, different set of Astronomy scholars have different ways of inferring from the horoscope. It’s by no way foolproof.

I am still amused as to how there can be the same set of fortune for a beggar born on the same date and time when a successful businessman was born. My belief also says that you have more command over your life than some planets and stars which are a million miles away. One more thing, even if I tell you everything correctly about your future, how’s it going to benefit you? If something it is going to happen, it’ll happen anyways, knowing about it wouldn’t help you change it!

Lots of questions I still ponder in my mind while sitting on this comfortable fully reclining chair in my Bungalow on the Paris - Nice road. I happily retired a couple of years ago, but the business back in India is still strong thanks to my disciples in India. I see the cyclists running from my window for the second most prestigious Bike race in France. Life’s good, but somewhere in the corner of my heart, I feel something wrong.

I’m guilty.