Well-Planned Drama

TRS Chief K Chandrashekhar Rao's so-called 'fast-unto-death' for obtaining a separate state of Telangana is a sham that is meant to bring his collapsing party back into the limelight.

The sad thing about such movements is that gullible students are often trapped in it. Consequently, several student groups joined hands with TRS workers as they torched vehicles, forcing the government to shut colleges in the region for two weeks. This will cause great damage to an already-packed semester, and that for petty politics. Meanwhile, KCR is being attended to by the full team of doctors at NIMS, being administered drips every time his health even slightly deteriorates.

KCR should understand that Telangana is a dead-horse issue and that people have far more serious things to worry about. KCR himself does not represent the Telangana people, which is clear from his party's recent drubbing. Why won't he give up now that he does not enjoy popular support? Simply because he is a power-hungry, greedy politician. His actions have caused great damage to the unity of Andhra Pradesh and he must apologise for that.

The First End-Sems End

It took an entire month of spending time in the library, cramming up the entire syllabus and rushing through the syllabus. But when the exam finally came, they were pretty depressing overall!

Okay, let's cut to the chase: EC-102: Fundamentals of Electronics bombed. However, days before the exam, the sessional marks were placed up and I got 30.5/60. Now, the strange thing about this subject is the cut-off: it's always been low (only higher than EC-101A/B). So, seeing as though it was 26 last year, I hope to have passed. The exam went badly for everybody, so maybe I can just pass with a D.

Now, Maths was a good exam. We were shown the papers yesterday at the Department of Mathematics (which strangely shares a building with the Physics Department). I'll probably be getting an A in that one, though not an A+. But that's OK! The results of other subjects will flow in soon.

A lot of people have already left now that the semester has ended. I'm staying to see those horrible EC marks though. So, it's juts a lot of time pass going on right now.

I've gotten into playing The Rise of Nations and I've already conquered half the world!

Marathi Terrorist

The act of arson and vandalism by MNS MLAs on the floor of the Maharashtra Assembly is condemnable and unless people like him are stopped, India will begin to disintegrate.

The act was sparked off when SP Legislator Abu Azmi began to take his oath in Hindi. Previously, Raj Thackeray had shot off an open letter asking all MALs to take their oath in Marathi or face 'serious consequences.'

The Indian constitution guarantees the right of every citizen to speak freely in any language, yet this act clearly strikes at this very fundamental right. Thus, the MNS has gone against the Constitution, not just this time but many times prior to this. IT fully qualifies to be banned.

Yet, no political party has the guts to do so. While the Congress-NCP won't do it because it would give the Shiv Sena its old votebank back (remember how they won the recent elections?), the Shiv Sena-BJP, if they were in power, would not do it because the Shiv Sena has similar ideologies, but keeps them suppressed. In such a situation, nationalism is in grave danger in Maharashtra. How long before the MNS demands a separate Marathi nation? How long before more and more civilians are killed? He is already hurtling stones and banners at defenceless people: how soon before he takes up guns?

The Union Government must ban the MNS now: it is the duty of the Union Government to protect the unity of the nation. When the Kandhamal attacks took place, the PM called for a meeting of the National Integration Council (NIC). The time has come for another such meeting: and the MNS must be banned.

And here come the End-sems!

Two weeks to go for the real deal, the exam that will determine my CGPA. Come Nov. 23 and the end-semester exam for Autumn Semester 2009 will commence. So, hows my preparation?

Well, here's the good news: I've already passed in a subject! OK, not yet, but since I need to score 3 marks our of 50 in CE-102: Environmental Studies, I'm pretty content that I'll be passing this one with ease. Next, HS-101: Technical Communication aka, English. Very easy.

The others are pretty safe, our Chemistry Professor promised to pass us all in Chemistry (he controls 60% of our marks!). The only trouble, as usual, is Electronics. Let me not talk about this anymore... at least no until I fail in the final exam.

So, as the exam approaches and we have our final practical exams (today was Chemistry: not so good), it's study time... again!

Expected CGPA after 1st Sem: 6-7. Now, lets see how right I am...

Diode ki Kahaani Suno...

OK, this is yet another lamentable post on the worst subject on the planet viz., EC-102: Fundamentals of Electronics.

I mean, how can we possibly pass in this? The entire department teaches badly, yet the question paper is abnormally difficult. The department is also evil so they don't gibe us plenty of marks in CWS: in fact, they give us marks in single digits! Then, our mid-term marks don't come so good and the end-term, being a much, much harder paper, is a no-show anyway. Our practical classes are spent in permuting and combining wires (and the professor joins us in that), sometimes getting the right combination by sheer accident! Even worse, they know that we cannot solve single question from our Tutorials, so they give us the solutions to copy. Incidentally, the solutions also do not make any sense!

In this situation, how can we pass? The only hope is relative grading: it's bad for me, but it's bad for everybody else. So, it's good! Not quite, there are a few prodigies in CSE and ECE who do get good marks (and raise the damn average in the process)! So how does one pass? I have NO IDEA!

So, as I prepare to fail in this abhor-able subject, sing with me: (sung to the tune of Pyaar ki Yeh Kahaani Suno)

Diode ki kahaani suno...
Ek mid-sem tha... ek aur mid-sem thi...
Dono mein hamaari vaat lag gayi...
Dono ke liye padhe the...
Par questions the ajnabee...

Hoti kya pareshaani suno...
Ek mid-sem tha... ek aur mid-sem thi...

Padhte padhte rehte the...
Phir bhi, phir bhi, back lag gayi...
Soche kuch marks layenge... par zero aa gayi...
Paper dekhte hi hosh kho gayi...
Diode ki kahaani suno...

(I would've written more, but there's no time. Much more after the end-sem!)

Back from Thomso

Fun, loads of screaming and some life-threatening situations: that's an easy way to describe Thomso 09.

Having arrived at IIT Roorkee (Roorkee Campus) on Day 1 (WE MISSED Day 0), we had to find some accommodation. Luckily, I found a guy from RJB whom I could befriend. Now, RJB is not a great place to live in: thee is no ventilation, no lighting, the canteen is too small for so many people and (most importantly) the Mess SUCKS!

But anyways, having set up a place to sleep, we went to Nescafe for the Street Play. Thanks to the wonderful cheering by the DPT Gang, and also the team's talent, DPT won the third prize! Sadly, the dance event - Footloose - wasn't so good. The DPT group sucked, but nobody could boo them because we were cheering them on anyway (and the hanger aka Convocation Hall carries voices far).

In the night, there was a fashion show. IT was nice, but there was a stampede caused by over-enthusiastic guys, because of which I simply left after the first performance. Later, I found out that some hot Brazilian models had also come ;)

The event management at Thomso was very bad: everything started at least two hours late and there was even some mild lathi charging! Not a great thing for North India's #1 Fest (ok, IITB's MoodI is #1, but Mumbai isn't all that up North). I met a lot of people there, spending my time giving gyaan about the Saharanpur Campus. Tch tch, such ignorance over there. 'Malviya Bhawan mein kuch aur hi log rehte hain, pata nahi kaha hain...' (Malviya Bhavan is in the Saharanpur Campus).

The good news is that most people did badly in Electronics there too! But apart from studies, plenty of stuff happened there. The UG Club was perpetually busy, as was DoMS. Over there, I managed to see the 16 Frames Short Film Festival: it was simply spectacular! I left on Day 2, but my friends stayed back and took part in the informal Treasure Hunt. Imagine walking 14 km in 2 hours!

All-in-all, Thomso 09 was a lot of fun, but it could have been managed better. Let's see how Tarang 10 goes now!

Last month of the First Sem

November is nearly here and with it will come the final days of this semester. It seems so strange that the very first sem in IIT Roorkee is coming to an end so quickly. It seems just like yesterday when I wrote JEE on a hot, summer day in CBIT, went to Chennai for counselling, had long arguments on BITS vs. IIT and eventually came to IITR's Saharanpur Campus. DId all that really happen so fast?

November will not however, be a very nice month. It includes an end-semester exam, for which I am thoroughly unprepared. The exam also entails a practical examination which will be "just like Class 12" according to a Research Scholar here. Unfortunately, in Class 12, there is so much cheating and copying that it is impossible to replicate in an IIT. So, this is probably going to be my first proper practical exam ever! By the way, it's on Nov. 19, while the written papers are from Nov. 23. Luckily, or not, classes end on Nov. 18. Although, I doubt we, rather they, can complete the syllabus by then.

So, here's the main question: will I fail in Electronics and Thermodynamics? Based on the just-concluded mid-sem 2, I think I will be able to pass with a decent grade in Thermodynamics. But Electronics is just too hard: the subject itself is quite challenging while the professor and indeed, the entire department, is barking mad!

As for the other subjects, I need to concentrate a bit more on Engineering Graphics, especially the confusing part of Engineering Drawing. While HS, EVS and Maths are doable, the remaining subjects need special care.

Did anybody say anything about a branch change? Oh, was that even this year?

MH Opposition voted for the Congress!

In a rude shock to the "Senas" and the BJP of Maharashtra, the ruling Congress-NCP has returned to power for a historic third consecutive term. But what are the reasons for this victory? After all, the Congress-NCP Government there is perhaps the worst in the country - barely any of its manifesto promises have been fulfilled; farmers continued to commit suicide in Vidarbha; there is virtually no water or electricity; and 26/11 was described a "small incident" by the Deputy CM!

The Congress-NCP owes its victory to the divided opposition. Raj Thackeray's MNS, which has virtually hijacked its parent organisation's (the Shiv Sena) agenda, managed to win 12 Assembly seats, five of them in Mumbai, which is arguably the State's most cosmopolitan city. But the MNS did much worse: it ate into the vote share of the Shiv Sena-BJP alliance, thus pushing it far behind the Congress-NCP.

Now, as the Congress-NCP is set to return to power, the Opposition must think deep. So much ground has eroded beneath it that it has left the Congress-NCP as the only real choice in the State. The MNS must return to the Shiv Sena, and the Shiv Sena itself must champion a cause that people really care about. And, most importantly, the BJP must build itself into a formidable force and provide a real, nationalistic alternative in Maharashtra.

Can this happen in a mere five years? Only time will tell.

The Nobel for Politics

US President Barack Obama's controversial winning of the Nobel Peace Prize smacks of political intervention and the biased nature of the Nobel Committee. This is obvious if one just brushes through the surface of the citation.

Obama has been awarded the prize essentially because he gave extravagant speeches calling for world peace and nuclear disarmament! Well, Jawahar Lal Nehru was the first person in history to do that -where's his Nobel? Later on, Rajiv Gandhi also called for the same ideals, but won no Nobel. And to top it all off, the man who perhaps defined peace in a modern context - Mahatma Gandhi - was never awarded a Nobel. Instead, a US President who just won an election that was riddled with media hype, was awarded what most see as the most honourable prize on earth. Or used to see, at least.

It is worthwhile to mention here that, during the campaign, in an interview to CNN, Obama, replying to whether he would deploy America's nukes against any Iran in case it attacked Israel, remained non-committal and simply said that 'Israel would be protected.' What does that mean? Will he use nukes on Iran if it does indeed attack Israel? Would that not break away from the long lectures he has been giving to the world? Can the Prize be taken back?

The Nobel prize has become a political instrument, no longer free and autonomous. Those living in the West have a better chance of winning one that those in the East, and a prize can be won through political means.

If only Alfred Nobel were alive today, he would have broken down into tears.

The Gods of Fun have Arrived

It's that time of the year again, when IIT Roorkee is set ablaze by the fire of pure fun. The annual youth fest - Thomso - is back and this time, it's going to be the best ever. From a myriad of formal events - street plays, panel discussions, quizzes etc. - to informals, including the BLIND DATE ;) Thomso 09 is sure to leave you asking for more.

Thomso begins from Thursday evening (29 November) at the main campus of IIT Roorkee in Roorkee, Uttarakhand. Next semester, the Saharanpur campus will organize its own fest - Tarang '10.

Bad Exam? Who Cares!

Oh, those terrible three days. Yes, IIT Roorkee just concluded its second mid-term exam ("mid-sems"). IT seems the gods at the University have come to believe that it is actually an ellipse, not a circle. Hence, it must have two "mids"! After mid-sem 1, all of us vowed to shed our post-JEE complacency and adopt a more study-centred approach. Unfortunately, such aspirations died out pretty soon and we went back to having fun.

And then came the exam. It was an absolute disaster! Can you imagine how it feels to see a whole paper in front of you and not know how to solve a single question? Well, that's how I felt when I was attempting my Physical Chem paper. After all, with so many partial differentials and what-not, how can they expect us to remember the derivation of um... well, some equation.

Leaving aside Technical Communication, which is easy but not scoring, every exam was a challenge. Studying late into the night, we read all our books - from the useful BS Grewal to the horribly boring GM Masters! In fact, while reading the last at 2:00 AM, I wondered if we would make it out alive after the exam!

Now, it's all up to the end-sems, stating from the 23rd of next month. OK, so that's what I said last time too. But if not the end-sems, there's always next year :) I just hope some ingenious fresher come along who'll teach me everything!

A Eulogy to a great soul

My grandfather was always, to me, the embodiment of hard work.

His father fled from Bangladesh during partition, while he was still a child. His entire family came to the new-born nation of India with just the clothes on their backs. It was a very hard time: the entire subcontinent was torn apart on religious lines; a mighty empire had collapsed, leaving destruction in its wake.

In spite of the gloom, my great grandfather looked towards a brighter future. He wanted his son to study and live a better life than he did. Thus, my grandfather completed his B.Tech in Mechanical Engineering against all odds.

He was a bright student and secured a government job in NMDC Ltd. For the rest of his life, he would remain associated with the company. He married my grandmother (a marriage of 54 years till death did them apart) with whom he had two daughters (one being my mother) and a son. However, because he was posted in a tribal, mineral-rich belt of Chhattisgarh (then MP), he had to send his children to boarding school at a tender age. In addition, he also educated a little, impoverished boy who came to his door one day seeking sanctuary. That boy today is a grown man with a good job.

My grandfather enjoyed a steady income, unlike his siblings. Consequently, he would send his family money every month. Despite the additional burden, he took his wife and children on regular trips to various parts of India. Even after he grew old, he never lost his love for travel. He had diabetes and also had a bypass surgery, yet he was amazingly fit. Despite his age, he was, like a true engineer, dedicated to learning new things. Thus, he tried to master the intricacies of the cell phone and Tata Sky, often leading to long tutorial sessions with me!

My grandfather was never a disciplinarian, yet his presence disciplined you; his knowledge humbled you; and his humility inspired you.Today, without him, there seems to be a strange hole in my life. There are so many things I would have liked to do, so much to talk. And yet...

My grandfather passed away at 3:00 pm on Oct. 13, 2009 at the age of 80. My greatest tribute to him wold be to imbibe his ideals and spread my name far and wide... a name that he chose for me, 18 years ago.

Death is as sure for that which is born, as birth is for that
which is dead. Therefore grieve not for what is inevitable. - Gita

What's going on?

WHAT'S YOUR RAASHEE? (2009)

Producer: UTV Motion Pictures and Ashutosh Gowariker

Director: Ashutosh Gowariker

Starring: Priyanka Chopra, Harman Baweja, Dilip Joshi, Manju Singh, Manoj Shah and others

Comments: Three and a half hours is very long for a film

Rating: ** of 5 (2 of 5)

An MBA-educated NRI who believes in the unproven science of astrology. OK, that's possible. Then, twelve girls who look exactly the same. That's taking it a bit too far. Ashutosh Gowariker's latest film, What's Your Raashee?, is another one of those no-brainer Bollywood comedies that have been ruling the roost of late.

Yogesh Patel (Harman Baweja) is an NRI who is called back to India to marry a girl, inherit his grandpa's property and sell it off to pay back his brother's debt of Rs. 4 crore and 40 lakhs. Priyanka Chopra plays twelve different girls - from a super-sexy model to a business woman who has a CBI inquiry on her to a 15-year old girl! Yogesh picks up a book titled What's Your Raashee? (what a coincidence) and concludes that there are 12 kinds of women, one for each Raashee (zodiac sign). And the rest of the story goes around Yogesh's quest to find the best amongst these twelve girls, intertwined with a plot about a local gangster-cum-moneylender and an extramarital affair.

The biggest problem with the movie is that it's too complicated: to expect the audience to care to remember twelve different stories is stretching it too far. I, for one, could not recall who was who by the end of the movie. Secondly, the music isn't too great. It's not that bad, but you won't remember it, although the title song is somewhat catchy. Thirdly, while most of the jokes were funny, they were over-used (the 'no mention' bit for example) and became cliched too fast. Lastly, Harman's acting is still pretty bad (although he's improved a lot since LS2050!).

Priyanka Chopra's acting is very good. After all, playing twelve different roles is quite a task and she does it with perfection. You could easily believe that the same character makes us laugh as some dumb rich girl and makes us cry as a 15-year old girl who is being married off by her father.

The make up for this movie demanded a lot, since Priyanka's twelve characters look very different. Luckily, it was done superbly. Of course, the other characters didn't need much make up, since it's easy to dress up an NRI hunk and his Gujju parents, as well as other Gujju people. The sets were quite good, especially the gigantic Indra-styled palace.

A wonderful part about this film is the way it picks up human realities even in a comical background. So, the director easily moves from an emotionally-charged girl who lost her virginity to a crazy priestess who demands that hers and Yogesh's body 'unite completely'! It's hard to come by such seamless transition in comedy films of late.

This movie won't be remembered for anything, but it's worth a watch if you've got some free time. However, here's a word to the director: long shots of beautiful Chicago and other American cities do not impress the Indian audience anymore. We know America's pretty, but long shots of it will not get you a hit. For that, you need a good story and good actors. This one didn't really fulfil those requirements. (OTFS)

Getting ready to leave

It's been a wonderful time back home. Hyderabad is still that big, wonderful city and Prasad's is still the place to hang out! Sadly, I couldn't meet my old friends but never mind, there's always next time.

Now, as I return to IITR/SRE Campus, there are some very important goals. Studies is the first one: I am looking at backlogs in Thermodynamics and Electronics and I just have to try to avoid that. It will take a lot of hard work but then again, what doesn't?

Then, there is NSS. While the hobbies clubs can be taken lightly, NSS is far more important. It's something that cannot be ignored and should not be either.

So, with NSS and studies, as well as Thomso 09 waiting, I'm ready to leave! Hopefully, with my new laptop, I can keep blogging there regularly. If the WiFi is universalized, that is.

Stop. Think.

A coward is incapable of exhibiting love; it is the prerogative of the brave.

Mahatma Gandhi

On this, his 140th birthday, OTFS continues its tradition of remembering the Mahatma who defeated The Empire through non-violence and love.

May the world, one day, learn that his teachings are always relevant.