Random passing thoughts!

Hi Dear,

That is what life is.. Nice blog.. :-)

Roorkee is just like that.. makes you learn what life is.. in a complete form, not confining to something specific. Had it not been Roorkee and any other IIT, I do not know how much you learn.. (as I never was a part of any, except Roorkee)

You rock,man.. Liberate your thoughts and keep them on paper (here, blog :P)

Best Wishes,
Vani.

Well, Vani, I have to say thank you for that! I do agree with you about IIT Roorkee!
This was the one place where i got to reinvent myself completely, be different from who I was before. I knew no one from before and no one knew me. I made the greatest friends, met the greatest people, whom I will never forget. I wanted this opportunity to say thank you to all of them. They are so many that I can never name them all. The guys in civil department, the guys who live along my lane.. All the womenfolk in SB who still talk to me despite the sexist jokes I make about women being given preferential treatment and all.. Seniors whom I owe a lot to and still have a lot to learn from.. All the juniors whom I have worked with and hope to stay in touch with later..Throughout my four years here, if I want to be remembered, I want to be remembered as someone who was fair and treated everyone fairly. I am not expecting universal support in this area but I tried to be fair to everyone I met, friend or supposed foe. I learnt a lot at IIT Roorkee about people and their motivations. How the smallest of things that I think do not matter, but other people care a lot about it.

Anyway, onto other things, out of sheer boredom, I have decided to make this blog writing thing a habit considering that there is no other outlet for this stuff and the only one intelligent enough to comprehend this is me. I was just looking at a painting by van gogh, starry night.. The wavy curls of colours that blend into the sky over a town and looking over a cliff. I could stare at that image and come out with a different meaning everytime. I saw that painting in real life once in the Boston museum, and it is really breathtaking.. There was this Van Gogh exhibit once there, and those paintings in real life speak to you. Its as if the painter is behind you whispering their meaning and the reason for its existence, every colour, every line, the perspective, everything..

So moving on from arts, I wanted to talk mainly about the raging issue around the world today, the Olympic torch run across the world by China and hostile reception it has received. This being done in protest over the treatment of Tibet by China. China has to resolve its identity issue between the Mainland and the Hinterland which is dividing it. Using the PLA to govern is not a solution considering the fact that there is a reason why you seperate the army and the police. The army protects you from enemies outside the state. The police protects you from enemies of the state. Once the army controls the police, the people tend to become the enemies of the state. (this being taken from battlestar galactica). This is the issue facing China today. It had used the PLA in the case of Tianenmen Square in 1989, and faced international condemnation and again not learning from history using it against Tibet. It is a more fundamental issue they need to recognize their identity as a communist state. The economic policies that they follow are more liberal than the democratic countries and causes a huge gulf between the rich and the poor of China. With over a billion people, the largest army and one of the largest countries in terms of size, the disparity is apparent. Its inhumane one child policy and killing of babies before they crown, causes further discontent among the people. The leaders of China no longer are in touch with the reality of the crisis they face, hoping that a few gimmicks on the world stage can resolve an internal issue. The vox populi across the world condemn this treatment and China should well take notice of it. With globalization being more than a buzz word and a phenomenon, it could have serious repercussions on their economy. This Olympics has more in common with the Berlin games of 1936 than ever with these issues being identified with it. It is a very symbolic gesture that the people have taken against China. I just hope that this does not become a page in the newspaper but a step towards China being part of world's community. A little side story here..The guy in the photos who stopped in front of a tank in Tianenmen square, he was arrested and shot as a traitor to the country. They billed the family for the bullet they used to kill him. I think something akin to the embargo placed by the world on South Africa in the case of apartheid is the only way we can get China to recognize human rights.

Political Activism is banned on campus and I have to ask is it correct that it can be so? Freedom of expression is a right granted by the Constitution. Banning it on campus is not only wrong but also stifling. As long as the activism does not disrupt the functioning on the campus, it should be allowed. This is the only way we can get things to be noticed. Considering that many people who are here are going to go on forward to occupy important positions both in private and public life, it is important that they be cognizant of the social issues that dominate the world. To put this in perspective, many people have died to get these rights for the people and we are giving it up willingly. There should be a proper outlet for the collective anger. People here have a right to an opinion and they should be given a way to express themselves.

As I am writing this blog I am listening to the song by Bob Dylan, Times they are a changin'.. His voice and his lyrics are probably one for the ages..Never again will there be one like him.. "Come writers and critics who prophesize with your pen, and keep your eyes wide, the chance wont come again and dont speak too soon for the wheel's still in spin.." This captures the mood of the moment and this is more relevant than before.."..Get out of the way if you dont understand!"

Early morning blues

Everyday in the morning when you wake up, you usually think whats up for today, or what am I going to do today. Ever miss the days when you woke up and your only thought was, whats for breakfast or what cartoon is going to come on tv? Well, I do. Now its read the newspaper, drink coffee(a coffee lover me, so I dont exactly complain) shave, and move on with the day..

Ah, the good old days.. When someone refers to them, I think about why do they call it the good old days. We never had it so well..The entire world at our fingertips with internet access and all..TV in HDTV format as well, mobile phones to make sure we stay in touch with our loved ones etc..I mean what was there in the good old days that people miss? Lower prices? Or is it a loss of innocence that people complain about? I dont think its either, I think its the mythification of the past that people are interested in rather than actually looking at what they have right now.

Anyway, moving on with the day, I have to ask about my insti mates and their motivations. Just how important do they think all this stuff on campus is? I mean all these extra cirricular activities and all are? Do they think five years from now, anyone would seriously care whether you were part of one thing or the other or the head of it.. I mean, guys remember that you do these activities for fun, not to just fill up a resume. Being in an IIT already fills up a large part of the resume. The rest depends on how you present yourself. However, with all this politics and all, you do no more than tear the ties that bind you. These are not professional organizations where cutting throats and stepping over dead bodies gets you anywhere. If its finances you are after, you guys dont think about the future ramifications of your actions now.. Mostly in the financial world, lot of the deals and projects each company gives to each other is based a lot on personal relationships and going for a small monetary gain now is pretty shortsighted. This is the last chance you have to make open networks based on friendship and trust and killing that is just foolishness. If you have a choice between a person you dont know and a person whom you know had done financial misdeeds at your insti, think about whom you would choose to deal with.

However, this morning waking up to the beats of Layla by Eric Clapton got me thinking..
"Let's make the best of the situation
Before I finally go insane.
Please don't say we'll never find a way
And tell me all my love's in vain."
These beats have a mind of their own and they are so captivating that each time he says Layla, your own heart shouts out the name. These lines here are more like what represents my life at IITR i guess. Despite all my misgivings about this place, I actually do like it. Despite all my taunts and jibes about this place being a village and a prison both, I have to say I really love this place..

Anyway peace out for now, will talk later!

First Blog!

Ok, my first blog on the net and I have no idea whatsoever to write about. Being hit by writers block is pretty hard to overcome to tell the truth. I am a decent writer but as i sit down to write, nothing comes to my mind. Its a blank nothingness that i stare into but as i look out i am reminded of all the things around me. Everything i do is for the last time on campus at IITR. But before we start off with that, a little bit about me first I guess. (All those guys who say blogging is for writers and those who like to write.. But i am writing for the sake of just being on the net, and express opinions about stuff later on i guess..Again all those who expect deep philosophical stuff from me on the net, sorry look again elsewhere)

About me.. Well currently i am in my final year at IIT Roorkee in civil department..(again when i look back, i probably will reminiscence about it).. Fate i guess led me to write this blog one day before the JEE exam in 2008, that being the exam i got thru, rather scraped through to reach here.. Good times that, three years of my life spent in studying and i guess more studying..but i made it..Worked out well i guess, four years of memories i wont forget.. Anyway, more about me..I like to read books(a lot and i read very quickly), play basketball and like to be involved in organizing events.. Ok, this reads too much like what i would write on a resume..but i am coming off a host of interviews for my campus placement, and I have become politically correct in all these things..I am also a sci fi loving, trekkie, tv serial show watching, weird litta knowledge loving person and there a 1000 little oddities about me, like the fact that i have a coffee machine in my room and i make my own coffee even though there is nescafe rite outside my hostel and the saving i make is probably at 50 paise a coffee..But i make it just to know that i am master of my fate, captain of my soul..
Now about the events that dominate today..
The cultural society interviews..after sitting through a boring set of interviews of about 50 people, whose results were predecided by each of the sections..Its like being stuck in a Chinese torture machine, as each person comes and goes, comes and goes..Again for what purpose i do not know..I have worked in program management, part of cultural society for four years..Since the results are fixed and everyone knows it, i dont see why we couldnt jsut submit a list..
Apart from this, it feels sad that I had to end my tenure as secretary..To tell the truth, I liked being head of a section..Like being in charge i guess, even though I am a lazy person..Somehow the campus reward the extroverts on campus, but I think the introverts are better suited for leadership..I am not talking about me, but a leader has to think about what's right some times, not be afraid to hurt other people's feelings sometime, and be confident to deal with people..I dont know but I havent been exactly been able to do that..I have tried to be a good person, but sometimes to be nice, you have to be hard..

Anyway, enough about that problem..Going on to other problems..
Well there is the quota issue...I, not being from an OBC category, obviously hate it, but I think I its social justice..Generations of being wronged, I guess we can try to fix it, and this is one way..The general people shouldnt complain i think because these are seats are being created not being cut from the seats existing presently..We should think of them as extra seats which were never available anyway.. Also I think a bit of economic barriers to this quota, would be a bit more fair.. short of giving all the economic cost of the labour extracted from them by force, i think this is a small way of giving back.. Its easier to implement this at higher education because of the order that exists at this level.. Its easy to say that we have to implement at the primary level but its much harder and i think a top down approach is better in this case..Also this could be an election gimmick but its the correct way to go i think...Again short thoughts on this issue..Contentious as it is, it shouldnt be such an issue.. If you are brilliant enough, you can overcome all obstacles...Thats the price of being called exceptional..
So with malice toward none, gracious loving to good looking females and charity towards guys, more on this blog later, I have a lot of things to get off my mind..