Nostalgia

Thursday, 11th Feb, 2010

20:00 hrs – Panic strikes!

Harish (with the phone in his hand and beads of sweat on his brow): “Mom, I had campus recruitments. I finished my technical interview at noon today. I waited till 7:00 PM and assumed that they were not going to announce the results today and so, I came back home. My friend tells me now that I cleared the technical interview. I have the HR interview pending. I need to get back to the college within the hour”.

Mom (to me): “What are you staring at me for? You’re the driver here. What is the point in feeding you every day if you can’t serve us during emergencies? So what if the emergency is consequence of your brother’s ignorance” This is what she had on her mind. However, she chose her words carefully and what she had on her mind transcended subtly into “Naveen, can you please drive him to his college?”
Well, so much for my planning for a nice and quiet evening.


20:15 hrs – You must be kidding mom!

Mom: “Boys, dinner is ready. Have some before you leave.”
Only she can come up with something as audacious during a crunch situation. Come on ma, someone here is trying to take his first step towards planning his dinner for the rest of his life.


New Horizon College of Engineering (NHCE)

Although I’ve lived in Bangalore all my life, I’d never heard of Marathalli until I joined the NHCE back in 2001. The outer ring road, which was relatively new back then, didn’t have a single signal for the entire stretch and not as many as half the speed breakers as now existed back then. The KR Puram cable/hanging bridge wouldn’t be completed until the latter half of 2002. There were no buildings apart from the college for many a mile. Where there are IT companies now, there were what looked like ignored stretch of land once used for cultivation. The campus itself wasn’t all that big. Since 2001 was when NHCE was established, apart from few fellow engineering, BBM, BCA and MCA students, the campus looked mostly deserted.


20:50 hrs – Astonishment

I didn’t expect the college to look exactly the way it did in 2005 when I last set my foot inside the campus. Sure, I’d expected to see few new buildings, but what I saw there was mind-blowing. The auditorium, the students’ clubs, the indoor games room, more hostel rooms, more bakeries. It looked like the college had been overhauled completely.


21:00 hrs – Long night ahead

The HR interview had begun. Lots of kids were awaiting their turn. Harish filled up his form and settled down in the hall with his friends. That the interviews would go on well into the night was expected. I had to find myself a company.


Mr. Lakshmi Narayanan was appointed as the placement manager at the eleventh hour, the man for the crisis when everyone else had failed to do the job miserably. 2004-2005 was a tough year for most of us from NHCE. The college was still relatively new, and we didn’t pin our hopes high on campus recruitments. A year later, some of us found out that getting a job off campus was sheer thrill. Four years down the line, things have changed significantly. Graduates are walking out of NHCE with at least a job each. I wanted to find out how the college managed to do that. I walked up to Mr. Lakshmi Narayanan and got myself introduced.


23:15 hrs – The canteen

Harish was done with his interviews and so were most people. The final few were waiting for their turn. Mr. Lakshmi Narayanan wanted to pick up the souvenir he’d got for the HR representative from his office and I joined him. On our way to his office, we came by the NHCE canteen. It was the best place in the entire campus back then and it probably still is. I have a lot of fond memories of this place. The “gang lunch” stands out particularly. Akash’s and Uday’s lunch, unlike Mukesh’s, Vishwa’s and my boring lunch (sorry ma), were a real treat to the tummy; toasted bread, cheese & butter sandwiches and rolls. All of us would wait for Udi and Aka to open up their boxes and pounce on it. We used to finish the lunch off in a jiffy. Uday, very smartly, used moved to a corner and grab a piece before he brought his box out in the open. Girls called us the “Dog gang” and I don’t blame them. We did look like street dogs fighting for food. By the way, Sreelatha’s home-made rava-idlies were very tasty and special too.
It was disappointing to learn that the canteen would soon be brought down. Sad!


00:30 hrs – Ecstasy and pain

The results were out. Seventy nine out of the ninety were positive. Lots of happy and excited faces yet, there were a few who didn’t make it through. I felt sorry for one pretty girl who broke down completely. Pretty girls always break down easily, don’t they? Why? Or do I find girls pretty when they cry? I’m going no further with this. It was hurting to watch her plead the HR for a second chance. I however, wanted to tell her that something better was in store for her. I couldn’t, but I’m sure time will.


Nostalgia

Revisiting college brought back lots of happy memories and a few sad ones too. Friends, gossips, calk-piece incident (one of us threw a piece of chalk on the math lecturer. Of course, it was an accident. The entire class was suspended for a day), the college strike, Uday flunking the ‘Data Structures’ paper (he applied for re-evaluation and got 30 marks more than what had turned out after the initial evaluation), the fights and arguments with the lecturers, the internal tests were a lot of fun (Mukesh and I used the blank side of the question paper to share the answers. We started it in the 3rd semester and followed it all the way through to the 8th semester and never got caught once. That’s some track record), the chemistry between Vishwa and Menaka Priya (Menakey, as Mukesh named her, was 3 years younger than Akash. Believe it!), the cold war between Mukesh and Uday over the 6th semester project, Cricket, NFS and lunch at Akash’s place, my TVS Champ, Akash driving Uday back home on his TVS Champ, lovely miss Shaani Helen (my most favourite lecturer after Menaka Priya), the dreadful ‘Linux Internals’ paper in the 7th semester, the flopped love stories, these and more, were all quite an experience.
It’s a pity that I now get to relive those days only in my memories and I miss those days and I miss you guys. Nevertheless, life moves on…


P.S:
1) Sorry guys, for posting your pics without your consent.
2) I don't have Sreelatha's pic.
3) Harish got placed in Wipro that night.



1) Akash - doing what he does best, 2) Mukesh, Akash & Uday (L to R), 3) Sonali & Divya (L to R), 4) Vishwa, Akash and Mukesh (L to R) 5) Akash, me & Mukesh (L to R)

Happy Birthday!

Today marks Mahatma Gandhiji's 140th birthday. Most of what we enjoy today is largely due to his life's work. It must have taken substantial courage to gather the masses for a great cause. Many sacrifices must have been made along the way too. When it came down to choosing between what was easy and what was right, Gandhiji chose the later. This is probably why we address him as "Mahatma".
The least I could to do salute the man and his efforts were to close my eyes and listen to his favourite bhajan.

Eeshwar Allah

"Sabko sanmati de baghwan". Sanmati, it stands for peace evoking thoughts. In times like these, this would most certainly help.
I also picked up a clip from one of the Hindi movies.



Very nicely put. The world would be a better place if we could go about doings things in a peaceful manner, wouldn't it?
Happy b'day Bapuji.

Cruel intentions

Wednesday, 8th July, 2009

I'd got of the office cab at around 6:00PM. I was walking down my lane and noticed a bunch of people gathered at the very end of the lane. All that I could notice was a state of pandemonium amongst the ones who had gathered. I was curious to find out what exactly was happening. I could spot someone pouring kerosene over something. Just as I got there they set the thing ablaze. It took me a moment to realize that it was a snake, about 4ft in length. Even as it was burning, I could see its tail wriggle. I overheard the neighbours narrating what exactly had happened. Just at the very end of the lane, an old house is undergoing renovation. The construction workers had found this snake hiding behind a stone. One of the construction workers took a log and used it to hurt it until the snake was rendered defenseless. The neighbours were having fun watching the drama. The senseless human, who had killed the snake, had become a hero. And all that I wanted to do at that moment was to strangle him to death.

I might not have the right words to explain the emotions that I went through. What is it that gives us the right to kill a creature that is after all inferior to mankind? It might have been just a rat-snake which is completely non-venomous. Even if it was a venomous snake, did it deserve to be killed by some sadist?
Isn't LIFE something greater than all beings and creation? Isn't it far beyond something that we humans can comprehend? Don't we respect each one of our lives? If so, how different was this snake's life?

I just wish I'd got back home about 30 minutes earlier than I actually did. All that was required was one call to the nearest police station, and they would have arranged for the snake's rescue. Snakes aren't aggressive by nature. Snakes don't run around wanting to kill someone like some people do. You won't find a snake slithering on the streets with its hood up to scare people off. Just as we are scared of it and stay away from it, the snakes too are scared of us and stay away from us. It would never hurt us until we try to hurt it. Even though they're built for the kill, they don't kill for pleasure.

What I saw this evening was completely unsettling. I wanted this man to pay for what he'd done. I looked up the internet and found a famous herpetologist. His name is Dr. Rahmath Ataaz. Dr. Ataaz goes to various places creating awareness amongst people about snakes. I called him up to see what could be done. He told me that all said and done, the snake is dead. The only thing that could be done is to create awareness among people. Had I taken a video or a photograph of the incident, it probably could have been used. But I was so filled with rage, I couldn't think straight. And yes Dr. Ataaz, I guess I'll have to brave, do my bit to spread the word around and not act out of emotion.

If any of you reading this happen to come across a situation where a snake needs to be rescued, you can reach him at +(91)-9845243864.

'With great power comes great responsibility'. Nature has blessed us with brains that carry far more processing power than any other creature, which explains why the human species has survived so many centuries on this planet. Shouldn't we be taking up the responsibility of protecting the ones around us? Not just other people, but more so, the creatures inferior to mankind?

No one deserves to die or to be killed. Not even a venomous snake.

A spirited battle

Monday, 6th July, 2009

I got back home from the gym at around half-past eight in the evening. I’m feeling drowsy already, thanks to the lack of sleep last night after the Wimbledon finals. What a match! Just couldn't get my mind off it. Two of the current best, throwing the kitchen sinks at each other. It was hard to believe that Andy Roddick put up such a fight against the King of the grass court, Roger Federer. Especially, after watching the way he had lost in 2004 and 2005 Wimbledon finals. You've just got to give it to the guy for making Roger run around so much. It took Roger some four and a half hours to break Andy's serve. Unfortunately, that was all it took for Roger to win his 15th grand-slam title.

Roger Federer versus Andy Roddick. The battle reminded me very much of the famous 1998 Wimbledon finals between Pete Sampras and Goran Ivaniševic, back in the time when I first started following tennis. In fact, Roger Federer has a style that was very evident with Pete Sampras. Gracious, elegant moves on the court, strong forehand and above all, a cool mind.

Andy Roddick, like Goran Ivaniševic, has a very powerful serve. Andy is considered to have the best serves currently. So was the case with Goran during his prime days. Goran was the first left-handed tennis star that I'd seen and he caught my eye instantly, tall, piercing eyes, with serves that would make an ordinary player run for his life. He was a very animated character as well and so, it was fun to watch him play. This particular match, like the one yesterday, was a game of aces. Goran kept piercing Pete's defenses time and again with it. But Pete, very much like Roger, kept his nerves and won it in the end.

The similarities between Roger & Pete and Andy & Goran made yesterday's match look like the one from the past. But, it was good luck that won Roger the title. I guess it’s a sort of luck that rides along the champs that puts them a notch ahead of the rest.

The case with such matches often, is that as the game progresses, you tend to support the underdog, just for playing out of his skin.

There he was playing his heart out, not just against one player, but against the entire crowd. This was very obvious in the semi-finals between Andy Murray and Andy Roddick as well. Murray, being an Englishman had all the support till the very end. But it was Roddick who came out good at the end of the game.

This was the case in the finals as well. Andy seemed like man who had come out with a kind of hope that you'd most often associate with an innocent little child, a hope against the odds. No one gave him a chance. They just thought he'd be a push over, a win for Roger in three or four sets. But the way Andy played proved most of them wrong.

Although Roger won the championship, although Roger stole the limelight, it would be fitting to say that Andy had won a million hearts. It was pretty emotional to see him sob after the match, but he'd left me high on spirits. And to applaud Roger while he was doing his lap-of-honor spoke volumes of the man's character. This was unlike the way Roger behaved when Nadal beat him in the Australian open earlier this year.

Quite often in life, it takes a lot of courage and self-belief to come out as a winner when you've been put down. It’s like a battle against the whole wide world. It takes a lot to fight a loosing battle. But when you fight it out with the right spirits, you'll always be admired.

Anil Kumble, on the day he retired said "To Sachin, the first newspaper cutting I have says Tendulkar, Kumble score centuries in U-15 cricket. When you came into the team, everyone said he would break all records. When I started playing, people said I wouldn’t last two Tests. You had the challenge of proving them right while I had the challenge of proving them wrong."

Success is not just about proving people right or showing them what they believe you can do. It’s about fighting it out all alone, against all odds and proving people wrong. This kind of success leaves an impression, an impression that would never be forgotten. Isn't it?