MEC,DDC, MP....Common among all ???

One year out of college, memories of college linger around everybody. At some point or the other we would said,, 'those good old college days'. GOOD, OLD...why only them, there were lots of bad and worse moments too. But what remains with us are the highlights of all of them. One such highlight of the college life, will be meeting this person called, Arun Kumar.
Rings bells...isn't it????

The person who was hated the most, but still he was the only one I guess who commanded respect more than anybody else in the entire staff. I guess he knew how to handle every class. He controlled our seniors, Us and our juniors in the same way. Though our seniors told what kinda person he was, we didnt have answer to his tactics and though we cautioned our juniors they too were clueless. Nobody would think to bunk the HOD's class but would definitely think twice before bunking Arun Kumar's class coz thts the way he controlled us. All the sems he had taught us, his was the only subject which would have full attendance and which would actually save the fine (for lack of attendance) at the end.

Controlling a class of engineering students is a daunting task. He did that with ease. Everybody was suprised at the methods he used when he first taught in 2-1. ANd when everybody got used to it, we thought it was easy to defy him in 2-2. But again, he changed his stratergies so adeptly that there was no defying him again. Thats how there was full attendance for hs class.

And why not. He taught with such vigor that everybody wanted to attend his class. The passion with which he taught made those dry and boring subjects (MEC, DDC and MP) atleast bearable and worth learning. He made sure everyone got the concept and wouldnt let go even one if he wasnt clear with the concepts. This was the most interesting part in him. He wouldnt fail you if you dont answer his viva,but would ask you to come back with answers to the same questions. If you fail the second time, you had to go back again but he wouldnt leave you, "Meeru ayanni nerchesukoni mallirandandi...". This was a torture but he knew how to make it fun too. I guess no other lecturer would give you discount offers on attending pracs and lectures but he did.

He was young, dynamic. I believe he had a large girl following. He used to dress the way. I'm not sure if he is a fan of actor venkatesh, but around the time when 'Gharshana' was released, he was almost a look alike of Venky in the movie. Those tight half-sleeve shirts, those dark glasses... he was definitely a cause of envy for the boys. hehehehe...;)

Those three semesters were a fun filled learning experience. I feel by far he is the best lecturer in the department till now and for a long time to come. Whatsay guys....!!!! [comments please]

The ROOM

Very recently I had read this book called 'five point someone' by chetan bhagat. The book had created quite a flutter when it was released and I actually thot it would an ultimate murder mystery plot or an un-imaginable sci-fi based book but it turned out to be neither. It was a book on 'What not to do at IIT'. Its about three friends who spend time at IIT Delhi, their life at IIT. While I was reading through the only thing I could relate about the book to my life was this place called 'ROOM'. Yes, the ROOM in Koti. Though its a small place, there are lots of pleasent moments bound with this place. A place, to write about which this space wouldn't be sufficient.



So whts this ROOM, where is it and whts so special about it??? (to the new comers...)

ROOM, as I would describe, is a two roomed space on the 2nd floor of an congestedly constructed apartment in the most centrally located place in the city, Koti. And actually one should be asking whts not special with it. Each one of our lives was tied to this place for four years and each one of us would agree that indeed this place is place is special. How, Lets find out!!!


Firstly, the occupants of the ROOM :Manoj, Seenu, Yaser.

But the list doesnt end here. Harish anna, Ashish, Rakesh, Mandala, Police (as rajesh is fondly called), Keerthi, Praveen ( the hero of our class), Sreeram (motu), Pradeep, Vijay, Bhupal, Chandu..and last but never the least, me. Among the others who visited would come the entire class, from Nishanth, sridhar to vamshi etc. So, this entry is decicated to all the roomies of the ROOM.


Four years this room has seen each of grow into new beings altogether. It has seen us sit and laugh, fall and cry, cheer and joy, share and tear, make and break and what not. Moments of joy, sorrow, glee and gloom all of them are associate with this small space.


We started of in year one of engg life where I first visited this place to get my bus pass stamped. ( I guess every body remembers wht connection the room had with the bus pass stamp) and the hero of our class, praveen,introduced me to this place. And then the skit reharsals in 2-1. All of us had gathered for the dress reharsals actually. Imagine almost 10-12 poeple in tht place with the music on and Rakesh, the director and Chandu, the Co-Director ( from whn on he was called Codi or KODI..hehehe) calling the shots. It was not just the skit, whtevr the event be from fresher's party to tour planning's to cricket matches to party plannings to everything one could think of, the outset for all of them was the ROOM. It should start at the room and very much to the expectations it should end at the ROOM too. Whatever the events would be, the discussions and planning would start at this conference ROOM with the planning panel sitting seriously on the bed (ha yes...) and finally all the occasions would end with the day long or actually days long analysis sessions the participants of which would be varying from 2-4-10. And all this analysis was actually just timepass talk with each of having got nothing to do ( we actually had exams and labs to read for..but who cares coz we had our own style of exam preparation).



Exams were a hell to anyone but not for us ( a bit exaggeration i know) but yes we had our own style of preparation. Teamwork actually. Each one would read a unit and explin the others and by the morning next day the syllabus would be done atleast once for everyone. And the sessionals were the most intriguing one's. None of us would start preparation, until the FINAL word came from the ROOM as to what would need to prepared for.... the secret of success..i guess everybody knows...;). And when there are exams there nightouts- tea breaks. we used to roam on the roads of hyd without caring about the time of the day. Be it 12 or 2 or 4, if we were sleepy, take one of the bikes ...( courtesy:harish anna, ashish, or manoj) and vrooom to the Imbliban bus stand for 'chai'. And only then even think of watever. If NY is the city that never sleeps, the room that never sleeps is our ROOM. The lights wouldnt go out at alll. There were days when everybody used to doze off reading but still the door would be open with the lights still burning.



If thats how the nights were spent, the days were spent in an equally amazing fashion. No one used to get up till 8 and still get ready by 9 to reach college by 10 or 10.30. Me and yaser once fought on some petty issue. I think it was about the pillow in the ROOM. We always used to fight for it. And we actually fell on the bathroom door and it broke. And from then on, Ms. Mallika Sherawat's half nude poster hangs on the door to cover up the broken cleavage on the door.

We used eat breakfast at a 'bandi' in the market area. It used to be good. And lunch used to be a conglomeration. 6-8 people in the ROOM. One used to get the curries and the rest used to laze around complaining and cursing the guy who had gone to ge the curries for the delay. We used to eat as if it was days since we had eaten. We were actually as lazy to even pick-up our own plates. Two or even sometimes three used to eat in a single plate.

One thing to mention here, I dont know how many of our class girls can cook. But, Manoj is an awesome cook. He used to cook for all of us while we either used to laze around or sleep. Movies(dont ask what..;) used to keep running in the background and each one used to doze off later not knowing where to sleep. There was a day when we had just returned from the exam in the hot sun. There was only one source of cool air (one cooler) in the room and we were actually around 10 ppl. Each of slept in the same room and on top of each other. 4 ppl on the bed and 6 on the floor. Hahaha...that was something which is astonishing coz never one would have thought it was possible.

Evenings would be time for fun ( again). It would start off with a plate of pani-puri in the market area or mirchi-bajji. Then pulling each other's leg while strolling back to the ROOM, we used to have a lot of fun. Back in the ROOM, it would be time for another movie or time to wait for someone to arrive so that the analysis on some event of the day to start.


Tht was how a typical day in the ROOM would be. It could be a combination of any of these happenings or something altogether completely new. We lived, studied, slept, danced, dreamed, shared. It was a place where each of us found ourselves. Seenu to this day keeps reiterating the fact that the 'ROOM has taught me how to live'.


In a sense he is right. I spent more than half my engg life in the ROOM( this is one reason why seenu would call me the or actually everbody a parasite. 'Maa room meeda padi dochuku tinanaru raa'). I knew each situtation these people faced and how they came out of it. I too learnt how to live along. I used to eat lunch, most times dinner and often breakfast at the ROOM. It was almost like I had a second house in Koti. My mom was always upset whn I used to call her up to tell her i wouldnt be coming home that night.


I'll always miss this place. The times when we used to sit to wile away time. The times we spent here discussing various issues, various ideas. The times of mini-projects and major project. The times of rainy days when we flushed out water that had flooded the room. The times of celebrating b'day's and kicking everybody along with the b'day boy.( Poor Motu used to end up getting b'day bumps for every b'day). The times of sharing sorrows. The times of celebrating success. The times of preparing for the campus interviews or the TOEFL or GRE. All these times would stay alive to remind each one of the golden days of our lives!!!!


This was my experience and thoughts on our ROOM. I want all your comments please. Write in your thoughts, all things you would want to share and things which I may have missed out.

" Having wealth without compassion is similar to a golden flower without fragrance.." - Sudha Murthy

A packed conference hall in the Hyd DC. It was the ESTEEM awards ceremony, one of the numerous events that infy organizes to recognize and reward the talent of its employees. That seemed to be the obvious reason for the packed room. But, there was something bigger. It was the presence of one of the most elegant of human beings at the event. It was Ms.Sudha. Or should I be saying Mrs. Murthy. I'm not sure about the others, but I was part of the crowd only to listen to the 20 min talk of her's.


One might feel calling her 'one of the most elegant of human beings' as blowing her stature out of proportions, but this lady definitely deserves to called so. I guess most us even might agree to this. And reading further you would realise why she is one. ( I'm not trying to write a testimonial for Sudha madam but I'm writing this because her speech was as splendid as she has always been.)

It was a Video Conference with all the DC's connecting for the event. Though a VC, people were still searching for places and with none vacant they had decided to use the steps in the hall as seats.
After a speech by the head of the ES team, Sudha Madam was invited to the podium. The untill then restless crowd had suddenly fallen silent. Everybody settled down suddeny to sit and watch. And for the next 20-25 mins everybody just watched.


A simple lady, in her late 50's but with the vigor of a girl in 20's still very strong in ideas and clear in thoughts, walked upto the mike. She's been a teacher. She's been a mentor. She's been a programmer. She's been an advisor. She's been a mother. She'e been a lover. She's been a visionary. And she's been the source of life to innumerable souls. And here she was, talking again to inspire, teaching from the pages of her experience with life.


She Began,'Thanks to all the infoscions for your continuing contribution for the profits of the company. Its your effort that pays dividends to all of the share holders and to us, the Infy Foundation. Thanks to you all.'

Teacher. Anybody would always listen to his/her school teacher talk. She would be the only one in life I guess who could still command you and ask you lots of questions. And Sudha madam was a teacher. And she was commanding. Commanding respect for all her words and deeds.


She started narrating a short story of one of her school student's. It goes like this.

' I once gave a short lecture in one of my classes. I said, what ever you learn is going to give you your life. Tomorrow in life whatever you may become, dont forget to be compassionate to the people around you. Sri Krishna said in Geeta, One has to learn to give and give as much as he can. You being compassionate can give life to somebody. Always remember, having wealth without compassion is similar to a golden flower without fragrance.

After the class one of my students came to me asked me,' Ma'am, I dont agree with what you say. This is a competitive world and if I need to survie here, I need killer instincts more than compassion. You might say help others your stomach is full and you dont need to bother. But, there are people in this world who have responsibilities to fullfill. For all of them being compassionate means neglecting their responsibilities.' He argued with me that day and I remembered him.

Years later, he called me sometime back and asked me if he could meet me. I said come down for coffee. And we met in my house. I had been talking all my life. This time I wante to listen. I wanted my student to talk. So, I asked him 'What happened?'. 'You were right ma'am.' He started. ' All my life I spent time building relations which would give me something. Relations out of which I could earn something. I built relations only when I saw an advantage in it for me. I've grown. I've acheived what I wanted to. I'm a big man now. I've all the money I wanted. But, I'm missing something in life. I'm not happy today.' I asked him why. 'I built my relations for my advantages. And the same way is my daughter now. She talks to me only when she needs my help on something. My wife has no time to spend with me as she's the same. I'm not happy at all. Ma'am what do I do?'. All the boys here pls remember that you are the head of the family when you aer married. You are the role model for your kids. They dont follow anybody but you. So be careful about your actions.

I asked him if he had ever been to sudan or somalia. He replied, ' Yes , for a business visit. Its not a place for business.'

'These are people who cant eat twice a day and what do you think they'll do business with.
You have to be compassionate to people around you.'


She went on,'To me progress of the nation doesn't mean having 10 $3 billion companies. Its about the children here getting to eat 2 meals a day. Its about them getting proper primary education. Thats possible when each of us contributes to the society without expecting anything in return. Thats when actually my country will progress.
Thanks for bearing with me.'


The hall resounded with applause for the next minute. It was an immensly touching speech. A person who is spending her life for the well-being of the society, wanted contribution to the cause from all of us, in terms of time we spend, in terms of terms of deeds we do and in terms of compassion towards the people around us.


I guess this would definitely summarize why she would be called the epitome of elegance.
A truely remarkable personality. Hats off to you ma'am!!!!


--
Ms. Sudha is the Chairperson of the Infosys Foundation, which is a service organization for the underprivileged in our society. She is the wife of Mr. Narayana Murthy, Founder of Infosys.

Note: I have tried to recreate her speech as closely as possible. Forgive me for any mistakes.

Nature in its best dress....!!!!

Far from the busy office and hectic work schedule, spending time with your family and friends is something everybody longs for. And when you find time to spend it at a holy place, the peaceful environ is all the more appealing. So was, my trip to shiridi.

A highway leading out of the city. A fast moving vehicle and some good music. I was in sitting idle in the front seat watching the lush green grass moist with the early morning shower. It was almost 4 in the evening, but it looked like it was 7. With a strong breeze blowing across my face, I was recollecting some lighter moments of my life and listening to some good songs.

The sumo started to slowed down on the twisty ghat roads, the road to triambakeshwar (120KM for shiridi).

The scenic beauty of the path enthralled each one of us. The road from Nasik to Triambakeshwar (a distance of 30 km) is generally through a hilly region. With rock structures all along the route its really beautiful. And, to add to this it started to drizzle very slightly. It was almost like somebody had decided to give you the taste of 'what beauty really is' and yes it was for a moment that I felt that 'did I ever know what beauty was?'. Marvelous. Amazing.

The rain drops started getting bigger. As we sped across the hills, the combination of the lush green grass-the beautiful rain-the hills through which started water falls, was mesmerising. I felt even the time I spend in capturing the beauty would be a waste of time. The waterfalls were small but a treat to watch.

The road swirled through the hills and it was pouring now. I was just sitting still capturing as many views of the nature around as possible. We had reached the Sri Shiva temple. One of the 12 jyotirlinga's, its one of the most important Shiva temple as it is situated at the birth place of the river godavari. The temple, as any of them in India, was a complete rock structure. If the carvings on the temple speak about the religious traditions of our country, the temple as such is a standing example of excellent artwork and immense dedication to the cultural values by the then emperors.

As the rain slowed down, we went in to the temple for darsanam. The lord Shiva here appears as three linga's, one instance each of lord Vishnu, lord Brahma and himself. We would have to look into a mirror to watch the image of lord Shiva as the actual linga rests in pit-shaped linga than the normal shiva linga one would see. A replica of the same linga is placed right outside the sanctum sanctorum. And as one walks back to the gate of the for exit, one turn around to seek the god's blessing again, and that is it. Nobody would actually walkway from there without feeling something disturbing deep within them. The picture perfect backdrop of the temple ties you down. Still drizzling, the rain added a perfect shade of beauty to the nature and it was absolutely awesome!!!

I walked out of the temple feeling guilty of not doing enough to satisfy mother nature when she's actually trying so hard to keep you happy. I didn't want to do so. I came out of the temple and to my surprise found a Rolls Royce parked right in front of the temple. Some VVIP must have walked in I thought. As I moved farther away I started to set my cam mobile to capture the glimpse of the nature and people around me started with their mobiles too. But all of them were interested in the Rolls parked there rather than the beauty which was all around them. 'What a silly comparison' I thought and smiled to my self while I strolled back to the sumo.

Some moments in life remain special. This would be one of the most special moments in life because I've felt the nature as close to me as never before.

Thanks god!!!!

These are some of the moments which I have captured.....

Sivaji: The Phenomena or The Mania

June 15th 2007:
Theaters all over South India are crowded with excitement all around. Its the big day for the Rajni fans all over India and abroad- Its the release of 'Sivaji' - the much awaited movie of the superstar. The screening open now to packed crowds began the night before with fan shows, celebrity premiers and other special screenings.
With the movie involving 3 big names of the industry namely Rajni-Shankar-ARR, the movie is expected to be a runaway hit. But will it be one?
The hype on the movie began with the involvement of ARR for the music a year ago. A heavy budget making it the costliest movie ever in the Indian film industry just another fact to add to the drama which just began. Matrix specialist Peter Heins was roped in for the action sequences.

All in all 19 months of hard work... a cost of Rs.84 crores... and the release date being postponed thrice added enthu to the crowd's expectations.

And where is the media???? here they are...1 week before the movie is released..switch on any news channel...Mr.Rajni pops up..... his interviews..his expectations on the movie....and one channel even went to the extent of telecasting a week long show to catch the 'Rajni Phenomena' featuring fans from various parts of the country and how much they shell out to watch Rajni's any movie on the first day first show. That got the expectations on the movie even higher. And the politicians were not to left far behind.... from Mr. Karunanidhi to Mr. Chandra Babu Naidu....all of them pitched in to add to the already hyped situation. People started making comparisons all over...rating Rajni as the biggest ever star born.... tht Amitabh Bachan was no par with Rajni.... and all such stuff. The biggest attraction to the whole affair is that AB responds to these comments and adds his bit to the chaos.


Today, the movie was released and from the initial reviews I've heard from 4 people, who saw the movie...'Average...not upto the expectations...'. So is it not a runaway hit??? Was all the run-up to the release, a big drama to pep up the show??? Yes most of the times..lead pair's public comments are supposed to be publicity stunts to pep up the movie...but isn't the entire Rajni episode blown out of proportions???


The crowd throng the theatre at midnights for tickets...the tickets for the 1st one month are sold out... the movie rings in alll the profit worth expected...but is the movie as good as the talk thts been created. Why is it that the Big starrer pictures are always hyped..they are great actors... accepted ...thts it... whts it got to do with the movie being good or bad... all times ( not sometimes) even the mega star Chiru's movies are blown out of proportions...but his last 2 movies were flops....Rajni's BABA was a flop...

So wht who's loosing anything???

Yes...the actors dont loose their remuneration....the producers make their huge profits...the distributors get their profits tooo... the people have to smile...applaud and dance to the numbers of their demi-gods.... Now...where is the director...the other technicians who worked for the movie....nobody ever talks of them, unless the movie is a flop...and the reason for the flop...' the director did a poor job...' is tht the case really???

NO....

Take this case...going according to the initial reviews..if the movie 'Sivaji' is an average hit..who is at fault.... the director should definitely be not pointed out...coz he did his job trying his best to portray the superstar on the screen according to his public image.... he cannot discard the public image of such a 'BIG' star....so he has to make his own changes to the script..the screenplay...so the entire movie comes out a different thing thn his original imaginiation....


I was expecting a runaway hit of 'Sivaji' coz shankar was directing the movie and not coz Rajni was the lead. I guess..he was not able to deliver his original thots in this movie...coz the script of the movie had to be changed to suit Rajni's fame...this happens to most of the directors.... Shankar's Aparichitudu, Bharatiyudu and etc....were such movies which were hits not coz of the cast..but coz of the sense the movie made to the crowd.... and such a person couldnt have faltered so unreasonably......

So whts the point finally???


Rajni, Chiru, AB...all of thm are great ...very great actors....They are people who continue to create flutter whn ever and where ever they goo..hats off to them.... but, that should be it....their movies need not be manically blown out of proportions....

Whatever said and done...the practice of not talking abt BIG starrer movies is not possible...creating a chaos over it is unstoppable... coz....we are Indians...


and coz....every time Sachin walks out to bat....we cheer..shout..pray...dance...wait...think...talk..comment..ohhhfff...and hope he gets a big century...BUT HE HAS SCORED ONLY 41 so far.... But he is still the Master Blaster ....

Giving the right credit to people makes thm happy and also helps thm perform better....
who know's if Sachin was not under the pressure of performing for the public...and rather had played for the team's cause ( which he always says he's doing)...he would have scored over 100 centuaries in his 384 ODI appearances so far....

Ideas cannot be killed...

I was inspired by this article on one of my frnds blog....http://zephyrinthesixthavenue.blogspot.com/

ideas cannot be killed....

True...in every sense true... But imagine what only if the opposite was possible...
I was wondering wht if tht was possible...

Think.... if at all somebody on earth had the ability to read ur mind and destroy ur thots... whtever be it.... he can simply erase it like shift + del from ur mind... and u cant even do anything abt it... coz u cant think on an idea to stop the ideas being destroyed...

U cant talk to yourself....u cant think for urself... u cant dream...u cant innovate...u cant create...and life becomes ...wht... a blank...it wud mean you have to accept wht anyone wud just impose on you... and it means u cant live...

U cant live???? now is tht scarry?? Cant one live without ideas.... did i ever have idea of wht was going on around me whn my infy training was going on...whn my infy interview was happenin..whn i was in my Xth.... i've lived thru and am still alive...

But how wud it feel if it was not possible for u to just have a say on wht u wud wnt to do in the future...in the next few weeks...or the next hour... U are tied down with nothing...but still u cant have ideas....just ideas... imagine whts life thn....

No ideas...no need to think.... it might actually mean no need reason for existence...

Fine...fine...relax..i guess its not possible untill the next potter movie....