A day in the life of..….IT department

Disclaimer: All the characters and incidents described below are entirely true. Any resemblance to fiction whatsoever is a result of the author’s inadvertent plagiarism and the hyperactive imagination of her sources.

The bus shudders and heaves and disgorges another pile of sleepy and tired students, desperately clutching their headphones, momentarily happy to be out of the racing metal trap, onto the bridge. They traipse sadly off to the white building.

The first few groups of students have already started the daily routine of first stop bathroom-check hair-wash hands-next stop drinking water-exchange communal gossip-check out juniors-sigh-come back to class. This ritual would be repeated several times a day at periodic intervals.

The ladies arrive in droves and mill around the office room, checking out each others’ dresses, commenting on their hair and complimenting each others’ choice of bathroom slippers which they proudly show off.

The gents come as stags, sign and retreat quickly to their rooms to think of novel ways to harass the tea boy.

The ac in the professors’ rooms starts humming.

Final years are herded off to the seminar hall to begin the day’s illusion of education. Hostel boys arrive 10 minutes late and stare abashedly through the window pane. Hostel girls arrive an hour later.

The lecturers in the ground floor are in deep discussion. Is the girl in 3^rd year IT B going out with the tall boy in IT A or the curly-haired senior? They decide to counsel the offending girl on the principles of virtue. Is there any progress in the case of the boy they advised last week? Is he still hanging out with his girlfriend? Not good, they decide.

The lecturers in the first floor are arguing whose mother-in-law is the cruelest of all. A student walks in to enquire about her project. They ask her to come after half an hour.

A scream, not unlike the wail of a banshee, can be heard from the lab. The banshee in question is screeching at a hapless student “Enna dash ku da nee college ku vara? Chollu pa chollu….”

A sudden commotion can be heard from the centre of the department. A few students have been caught copying. The lecturers congregate. All of them have a take on what punishment should be given. All of them have a piece of advice to give. They all call the Innocent Girl aside to advice her on propriety. One watching assistant professor alone remains silent. “She alone has some sense in this crowd. No wonder she is AP”, Innocent Girl thinks. Later that AP would declare in the middle of an astonished (and sadistically happy) class, “You should not change your attitude for anyone. Including your husband,” all the while staring down Innocent Girl.

“Give me all your mobile phones. Come with your parents”, the lecturer who caught the students says.

“Ma’am please ma’am. Last time ma’am. I wont repeat this again ma’am”, one student begs.

“No need parents ma’am. Veetla prechanai aagum ma’am. Dad will kill me ma’am”, another student laments.

“Ma’am it wasn’t my fault ma’am”, another student protests.

“Ma’am mobile phone mattum thiripi kuduthidinga ma’am”, says another. True ITian.

A dark shadow slinks along the ground. It pauses in front of the lab. A few bags are opened and ransacked. The shadow sneaks away with its treasure of calculators, mobile phones and purses carelessly left behind.

Juniors run around with laptops looking very important. They stop suddenly, check the signal strength in their laptops, sigh contently and open facebook to check the status of their farms.

The department empties as a quarter of its population trickle out in the direction of the gate just in time to catch 119.

A few couples head off to the canteen. They stop suddenly on seeing the HOD. He gives a vacant smile, locks his room and meets his wife at the entrance and together they proceed, hand in hand, to the canteen.

A phone in the office room rings twice. R. anna cuts the call, silently walks out and opens the door of the Assistant Professor’s room he had previously latched. The AP smiles at him, his mid day 10-min power yoga session completed without any disturbance from pesky over-enthu students.

A lone junior girl walks into a class of curiously staring seniors to draw a flowchart.

Students mill around the lab attendant in the ac lab.

“Sir Sir please Sir!”

“Illa pa chance ae illa”

“Sir please”

“Seri solunga”

“Sir, copy onepassassembler.c from account 34 to accounts 26-33 and 35-45”

“Seri ma’am varuthuku munaadi area va gaali pannunga”

Assistant Professor in first floor is teaching a class of bored looking 3^rd years. Suddenly he launches forth into a profusion of practical advice. “Life in IT field is tough”, he nods knowingly, “You work your asses off for years and all of a sudden a 20 year old girl gets promoted over you and you have to bow down to her.” The class snickers. “None of you will ever get placed”, he yells. “I have told your seniors and I am telling you. The market is on a deathly downward spiral. You have no future. You will work as a waiter.” He stomps away. A few final years approach him with chocolates. “Sir we are placed in CTS”, they proclaim. “It must be luck”, he grabs the chocolates and walks away.

Mrs.P enters a class and promptly steps on a large blob of cake. She looks at the mess on the floor.

“Yenna pa ithu”

“Ma’am A ku poranthanaal”

“Clean pannunga pa”

“Ma’am A ku poranthanaal”

“Seri we’ll start with Random variables”

“Ma’am A ku poranthanaal”

“Athuku enna pa panna solreenga. Write down….”

The students chant, “A unakku poranthanaal! A unakku poranthanaal! A unakku poranthanaal! A nee azhaga poranthitiye!”

“Silence”

“A unakku poranthanaal! A unakku poranthanaal! A unakku poranthanaal! A nee azhaga poranthitiye!”

“HOD kitta complain pannuven”

“A unakku poranthanaal!”

“I wont give attendance”

“A unakku poranthanaal!”

“I’ll send you all out”

“A unakku poranthanaal!”

“No internals”

“A nee azhaga poranthitiye!”

Mrs.P walks out sobbing.

A bored student is staring outside the window in the corner lab, pondering the meaning of life. There is a sudden exclamation of joy from behind. He takes this as a sign, walks over to roll no 23 and comes back to his workstation with a fully loaded pen drive. His friends look at him in sleepy awe. “Vaangtiya machan? Mail anupidu.”

Students come out in clusters. Some break off in the direction of the canteen. Some of them walk to the stores. One heads off to the department of Biomedical Engineering.

The lawn is lush and crowded. One group of 5 girls and 1 lone boy are discussing the day’s lab. Suddenly one of the girls breaks off in mid-conversation and cries out “Puppy! Oh cutie puppy!”

I wander tiredly back to my bus. “Why did I come to college?” I yell at the heavens. “What have I accomplished today with my time? What did I learn? What higher purpose can there be behind making me wake up every morning, bathe in freezing water, run behind the bus, sit through 8 periods of nonsense and go back home just to fall asleep again?” My friends look at me blandly. “Hey look”, my classmate points out a boy in the crowd excitedly, “You and JS are both in black! My! What a match!”

A smile lights up my face.

I am floating along, letting the current take me where it would. Every few minutes I remember I have to take control and I kick and I swirl and I create a maelstrom of confusion. Only to give up a few minutes later, tired and wet and extremely irritated and even more clueless than before.

Lost in the river, just one of millions of others, trying to conform and stand out at the same time. Wanting to be unique, just like everyone else.

Peering into the darkness, trying to give shape to vague, abstract emotions. In the midst of grey bursts of colors, I stand, trying to select one of many goods, none great.

Every once in a while, I get intoxicated by the power afforded to me, only to be brought rudely back to earth by chaos. Blinded by an illusion of control, I float on.

I rage against fate, I fight against the very notion of destiny. All the while, I long to be led by the hand. Life is easier when you have someone to dump the blame on.

YAAAAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Officially done. Finished. Zip. Closed.:):):)

Reasons why life really sucks sometimes...

When you decide to oppose the flow, the first people you're forced to fight against are the people whom you love the most and the ones who love you the most and your supposed benefactors. 'Coz we live in a society which has such a desperate (yet unfounded) need to protect its own back, that, its members, including your supposed well-wishers, are concerned less about you being the best you can be than about you being so worse or so different from the rest that fingers get pointed at them in judgement.

That is for the 0.00001% of the society that really cares about you. The rest 99.99999% doesn't really give a shit one way or the other.

I was learning for the sem. But I had to take a break and type this......"Go Federer Go Federer Go Feder...." Yay!!!

*victory dance*

Please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please let him win atleast this french open:(

Diamonds are Forever???

No, this is not a review of an old James Bond movie. And no, this is not another one of those innumerable promotion campaigns by jewellery shops urging you to buy gold or precious stones from just their shops tomorrow and make an ‘exclusive’ profit (sei kooli illai, setharam illai) on account of tomorrow being akshaya trithya (the annual gold shopping fest in India when even the most bearish of investors suddenly lose their heads and rush to buy their piece of pie er… gold. This is actually a first for me. This is an awareness blog!

So anyway, we were just discussing diamonds the other day during a free period (yeah yeah just another average gossip session) and I found that many of my friends were sadly uninformed about blood diamonds. This is despite, what I thought would be, a kind of reflected publicity offered by the movie ‘ayan’. I only wish the movie had used itself as a platform to spread more awareness about this curse of blood diamonds. It would be better still if we had a movie like ‘Blood Diamond’ in Indian Cinema, but I guess that would be too much to ask for. ‘Blood Diamond’ is the ideal mix of entertainment and awareness. This is the only perfect realization, that I have ever seen, of the utopian dream of cinema for a cause. No other movie has  made me think as much or made me more sentient of what we as human beings are capable of doing to each other. Anyway I spent an entire afternoon researching blood diamonds, the day after I saw the movie, and this is what I found. And people, if you haven’t yet watched the movie, please don’t miss it. It’s the kind of movie that will make you proud of the medium of cinema. And it’s the kind of movie you cant just walk away from and try to ignore. My friend actually swore off diamonds for the rest of her life. You don’t have to take such an extreme measure but do insist that the diamonds you buy (after the recession) come with a blood-free certificate.

 

What is a conflict diamond?

Conflict diamonds are diamonds that originate from areas controlled by forces or factions opposed to legitimate and internationally recognized governments, and are used to fund military action in opposition to those governments, or in contravention of the decisions of the Security Council. 
Also called blood diamonds, they are predominantly mined in war torn African countries by rebels to fund their conflict. Rough diamond caches have often been used by rebel forces to finance arms purchases and other illegal activities. Neighbouring and other countries can be used as trading and transit grounds for illicit diamonds. The rebels grossly abuse human rights, often murdering and enslaving the local populations to mine the diamonds.

Once diamonds are brought to market, their origin is difficult to trace and once polished, they can no longer be identified.

 Who needs to take action?

On 1 December 2000, the United Nations General Assembly adopted, unanimously, a resolution on the role of diamonds in fuelling conflict, breaking the link between the illicit transaction of rough diamonds and armed conflict, as a contribution to prevention and settlement of conflicts (A/RES/55/56). In taking up this agenda item, the General Assembly recognized that conflict diamonds are a crucial factor in prolonging brutal wars in parts of Africa, and underscored that legitimate diamonds contribute to prosperity and development elsewhere on the continent.

Governments, inter-governmental and non-governmental organizations, diamond traders, financial institutions, arms manufacturers, social and educational institutions and other civil society players need to combine their efforts, demand the strict enforcement of sanctions and encourage real peace. The horrific atrocities in Sierra Leone and the long suffering of the people of Angola have heightened the international community's awareness of the need to cut off sources of funding for the rebels in order to promote lasting peace in those countries; such an opportunity cannot be wasted.

 How can a conflict diamond be distinguished from a legitimate diamond?

A well-structured 'Certificate of Origin' regime can be an effective way of ensuring that only legitimate diamonds -- that is, those from government-controlled areas -- reach market. Additional controls by Member States and the diamond industry are needed to ensure that such a regime is effective. These measures might include the standardization of the certificate among diamond exporting countries, transparency, auditing and monitoring of the regime and new legislation against those who fail to comply.

Kimberley Process Certification Scheme

In May 2000, diamond producing countries of southern Africa met in Kimberley, South Africa to plan a method by which the trade in conflict diamonds could be halted, and buyers of diamonds could be assured that their diamonds have not contributed to violence.

On July 19, 2000, the World Diamond Congress adopted at Antwerp a resolution that called for an international certification system on the export and import of diamonds, legislation in all countries to accept only officially sealed packages of diamonds, for countries to impose criminal charges on anyone trafficking in conflict diamonds, and instituted a ban on any individual found trading in conflict diamonds from the diamond bourses of the World Federation of Diamond Bourses.

On January 17 - 18 of 2001, diamond industry figures convened and formed the new organization, the World Diamond Council. This new body set out to draft a new process, whereby all diamond rough could be certified as coming from a non-conflict source.

In November 2002, the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS) was created.

Transparency

The Kimberley system increases governments' transparency by forcing them to keep records of the diamonds they are exporting and importing and how much they are worth. This shows the governments their finances so that they can be held accountable for how much they are spending for the benefit of the country's population.

This seventeen-year-old lost both hands to rebels’ machetes.Waterloo camp, Sierra Leone, 1998. UNICEF / HQ96-0566 / Pirozzi

Botswana used to be a poor farm country but today its government works hand in hand with the Diamond industry to give Botswana a living standard 7 times higher than its neighbors. While the wars in Angola and Sierra Leone are now over, and fighting in the DRC has decreased, the problem of conflict diamonds hasn't gone away. Diamonds mined in rebel-held areas in Côte d'Ivoire, a West African country in the midst of a volatile conflict, are reaching the international diamond market. Conflict diamonds from Liberia are also being smuggled into neighboring countries and exported as part of the legitimate diamond trade. Despite its pledge to support the Kimberley Process and Clean Diamond Trade Act, the Diamond Industry has fallen short of implementing the necessary policies for self-regulation. The retail sector in particular fails to provide sufficient assurance to consumers that the diamonds they sell are conflict-free. It is up to us find out how policies are being communicated at the shop level, and what actions, if any, are being taken to ensure that policies are more than just rhetoric. At the same time, we’ll be sending a strong message to your local jewelers that their role in diamond-fueled conflict must end.   Stop being in denial. This is happening now. 

Sources:www.wikipeia.org, www.amnestyusa.org,www.un.org/peace/africa/Diamond.html

 

THAMBI TEA INNUM VARALA!!!

Friends-Part 1

This is one post which has long been due. Not that I’d forgotten but I guess I was saving it for some special day like ‘Friendship Day’ but then I realized every day is special when you spend it with friends (yeah yeah I know….sooo clichéd!).

Anyway friends have always been a reaalllly really special part of my life. I’ve never been particularly close to my dysfunctional family, which is not that surprising considering the only thing all of us have in common is a hair-trigger temper. So friends have always dominated my life a little more than normal.

As long as I was in Fatima, I never had a fixed gang. There we had simple rules. Your gang was who you sat with at lunch. Somehow, I’ve lost contact with all my ‘lunch gang-members’. The ones who remain are those whom I hated in de beginning, tolerated later on and can’t live without now.

In DAV the rules got slightly more complicated. There, for the first time, I had a properly delineated gang. Also for the first time, I had fights over whom was close to whom, and who bad-mouthed whom and who was hiding secrets from whom. Not that having a gang leads to fights, its just that along with the sense of belonging also comes these unwritten rules and codes of conduct. Newayz if I managed to survive 2 years of hell in DAV without much serious mental damage, I owe it all to Hema and Sugi and Ramya. They were there for me at times when I’ve felt all alone, when it felt like it was just me Vs the Rest of the World. But thanks to them, I’ve never had to face the rest of the world alone. They’ve seen me at my worst and still for some unconceivable reason, they’ve decided to stick. Looking back, I realize I haven’t always been at the best of my behavior around them (being in close proximity with Nimmi had a tendency to unhook me for long periods of time). They’ve stood by me through my tantrums and all those tears behind the girls bathroom and they’ve protected me from the worst of it in ways I still don’t completely realize. Whenever I talk about friends having saved me, its always them I mean and think about in the back of my mind. I guess I never actually thanked you guys for doing what you did for me and I guess no matter what I do, I can never repay you for those days. I only hope I brought you as much joy to you as being with you gave me.

Post-DAV was when I really started speaking to most of my school friends (having been a timid follower of school rules, I never really spoke to the guys much in school, the operative word here being ‘much’J). So newayz, that summer of 2006 was when I met most of the people who later changed the way I looked at life. If I begin naming them, I’d never finish in 1 blog, so I’ll stick to those who really really made a difference. Harry, who is always somehow in the crux of things, be it good or bad, and whom I never got to and still dont get to see without a pink bandage swathed around some body part or the other. Maney, whose got incredibly bad taste in actors (you-know-who) but who plays cricket like a pro. Gan, who taught me snow-bowling and which I still suck at. Bha, one of the few people in this world, who is lazier than me. Dash, with his incredible and simultaneously awful sense of humor and who changed me in more ways than he can ever imagine. Deepak, with whom I’ve fought with more than most, but that’s because he is so much like me in some stuff and an anti-thesis to me in other stuff; there really is no middle ground between Deepak and me. Ani, who can make anyone and everyone laugh. Bd, who is one of the most responsible girls I know. Srivi, who is hardly ever serious and who continues to be stuck with me (same coll, same dept). Maya, always ready with a laugh (at her own mokkai jokes) but who is most level-headed than most people I know, constantly places others before self and who is extremely down-to-earth. Cd, who gets an entire paragraph later on. Ashok, the mobile expert. Subi, with whom I’ll forever I’ll regret losing contact.

I cant claim to be close to all of them and confide in all of them but I still know that I can always turn to them when I have a problem. Most of the times, they’re the ones whom i hang out with. Even that has dwindled down to only semester holidays now. We’ve never felt the need to coin a gang name for ourselves (the closest we’ve come is adopt harry’s email id-naamellam_tharuthalais- as our collective identifying factor) or assert ourselves in any other way. I guess that’s ‘coz this was never a ‘regular gang’ in the strictest sense of the word. For one, there were too many people in it. Second, even those people weren’t fixed. Someone would get committed and they would introduce their respective girlfriend/boyfriend to the ‘gang’. Or we’d have a fight over exactly and absolutely nothing and da Gang would split. Or someone would realize they’d had enough and leave 'la costa nostra'. I guess what bound us all together was this tendency to feel everything in extremes. Whether we are happy or sad, its always extremes for us. If we are happy, we laugh, shout, rag random strangers in the crowd and are generally on the top of the world. If we are depressed, we sulk, cut, break stuff, ignore everyone and make life living hell for all around us.There simply is no moderation. Thats just us.

Cd, who doesn’t profess her friendship from mountain tops but who is always there at the end of the day. The only person who actually enjoys my driving and doesn’t keep screeching behind me when on the road. Who can look at people and really look through them. Who knows exactly how to deal with people. And who loves handing out relationship-guidance to every poor soul who has the chances to meet her.

All in all, I’d say friendship was quite simple till then. In college, not so much. It took us some time to get settled. Even now we share an uneasy relationship. We’ve had more than our fair share of fights. We don’t go out very often and we don’t speak for endless hours on the phone but these are people whom I love and admire and who have taught me so much in these past years despite being so different from anyone I’ve ever encountered before.

Then of course, my busmates. Niru who introduced me to Ayn Rand and with whom I have endless discussions and also endless arguments. Seniors who Did Not Rag us and with whom we had ultimate fun Not Ragging our juniors. Bus days and Food Fests and Bday treats.

And then there were the friends I met through Instincts-seniors, juniors, my own batch mates. People whom I enjoy working with and whom I will always admire and who make time fly and even work seem fun. But that deserves an entire chapter in itself.

Friends-Part 2

Anjana, (I never quite got around to writing you a testi so I’ll make it up here instead) the one person whom I can love and hate at the same time. The one person whom I can talk to for hours and still not have enough. The one person whom I can sit with in complete silence and then start a sentence only to have her finish it. The one person who can listen to my crazy philosophical theories without her eyes glazing over and then actually agree with me. The one person who can talk as much as me and listen as much as me.The one person who continually drives me crazy with her extremely convoluted dealings of extremely simple problems. Very brilliant and very lazy and with no time sense at all. Hates my driving and is convinced that someday I’ll end up getting us both squashed into roadkill under some lorry. Says she keeps seeing final destination omens whenever she sits behind me but most of the times she’s got no choice:D. the one person who loves romantic comedies as much as me. Some of best memories in these last few years are those long drives with her and those walks together and sitting in my room for hours together, alternately talking and not talking while the light changes outside and the shadows deepen and her mom starts calling on my cellphone.

 There are friends and there are friends. And there’s Bhavya. My oldest friend (or is it longest?). On the serious side, she’s the most level-headed person I know, though she doesn’t look it. Hardly ever gets carried away, always makes the right decisions, never gets caught up on the spur of things, all of which are unlike me. I’ve never ever told you how much I admire you for that or in how many ways you’ve influenced and inspired me but I hope that some day when you’re feeling down, you’ll look at this and remember how much joy you’re capable of giving to those around you. My accomplice in crime and hair-cuts.  My learning partner. My co-director in imaginary blockbuster movies. My sight-seeing partner. The butt of all our jokes whenever we go to movies together. Center of attraction in theatres especially during very serious, nail biting, edge-of-the-seat-thrilling scenes. My ultimate critic. Hates over-sentimental dialogues. Always popular. Never seems to get around to getting me a gift although she pulls me along to select gifts for all her other numerous friends ( I think she does it on purpose to torture me). Lazy, brilliant, very ambitious and very very helpful. One person you can always count on no matter what. One person I’ll really miss if and when she settles abroad.

Then there are the friends who broke my heart. People whom I never managed to fully understand and I guess who never fully understood me. Those whom I’ve hurt and those I resent for being able to hurt me. I never could understand that quote bout how if you really loved something, you’d let it go. I’ve never been able to fully let anyone go. Someone once told me it wasn’t because I was wrong or the others were right. It was because I was different. I was too fast and the world was too slow for me. I guess he was right but then even he never understood me at all.

 

Many more have influenced me in so many ways. I can never list them all out for what they’ve done. Bemi, Reva, Sangi, Zamsi, Gp, Divya Subu (my namesake), Haripriya, Vetri anna, Rd who never shrinks from the road not taken, Anpu who’s very gutsy, Reni who is always cool and one of the few people who’ve really impressed me for precisely that reason, Arthy, Deepi, Bd, Kirthika, all the girls in my class. I’m really sorry if I’ve missed anyone. Its not that I’ve forgotten you or that you’re not important to me. You may not know it but you’re the reason I am what I am today. I know I may have hurt you either unintentionally or otherwise. But that doesn’t make me love you any less for the part you have played in my life.

 

With Love,

Divya

Classic case of Ahmed and the camel

First they close down the schools in the area, then they flog teenaged girls for God-knows-what transgression according to their depraved law, then they send sexually-frustrated, brain-washed and deluded young boys (kids who should be in school) to blow themselves and unsuspecting civilians up outside police checkpoints and places of worships, then their ‘patriotic’ leader comes out into the open and declares bravely for the entire world to hear that such attacks would continue twice a week unless US stopped their air-strikes on the NWFP, not to mention attacks on US soil that will ‘amaze the world’ and now they’ve caused the whole of Islamabad to come to a screeching halt following vague threats of attacks. Give them Swat and they ask for Islamabad. Serves you right for making peace deals with terrorists.

Closer home, our very own Mr.Vaiko warns of a bloodbath and the youth of TamilNaidu rising up as a ‘volcano’ and India not remaining one country if anything happens to LTTE chief Prabhakaran. When will our leaders stop cohorting with or supporting terrorist outfits?

If you ignore the physical relationship part or if you go 1 step further and ignore any thoughts or fantasies of a potential physical relationship further down, what then is the difference between a guy-and-girl who are committed, going out or whatever and a guy-and-girl who are just friends???

Institutionalized marriage

I do not write this coz today is women’s day and I have something to say about it. Nor do I write this coz I want to take a stand on a serious issue, cause people to look up to me as a role model or whatever. I write this coz I’m genuinely confused and this is something that has been plaguing me for a long time.

My classmates and I have never been quite on the same bandwidth. This is one of the first things I noticed when I came to this college and something I’ve never been able to come completely to terms with. Yes, we have agreed to disagree but still there are times when I wonder how we can even belong to the same species. Sometimes it just feels like we’re on two different planets, when it’s just me vs the rest of Them. I took a resolution a few years back to never judge anything or anybody without looking at both sides of the picture. But one case and one long-standing argument where I just cant see the other side, where I am completely blind to Their side is ‘Marriage’.

3 years with Them and I still haven’t been able to grasp what They see in marriage or why with Their every action, They seems to gravitate towards it. They look forward 5 years from now and all they can see is a McDonalds happy family. I look forward 5 years and all I can see is a good, satisfying, mentally-stimulating job, a small house of my own, a backpack trip across Europe and if possible a puppy ( gimme a dog any day over a guyJ). Marriage only figures somewhere in the distant future and even then its just a vague, obscure concept. Whereas for Them, it’s the one part which is clearly defined. They may change their ideas on career every 5 seconds but somehow their very vivid picture of a big, noisy wedding, a husband, two kids never changes. That is something which I’ve never been able to understand. Why would anybody ever want to get married immediately after college? Its not like most of them already have a guy in mind and thus since They’ve realized they want to spend the rest of their life with someone, They want the rest of their life to start real soon. No, its not even that. For most of them, Their future husband is just some tall, handsome guy without a face (though how a guy without a face can be handsome is beyond me).

And to top it all, They have all, at one point or the other, tried to convince me that married life is the best part of life for a girl and how I should look forward to it and try to grab it as early as possible. And when I decline or worse still try to make Them see sense, They smile knowingly and mutter something about how ‘people like me’ are the first to get married. *shudder*. Or worse still, They just shake Their heads sadly and tell me that I’ll only get a wheezing, doddering old grandfather for a husband if I decide to get married so late in life (apparently 27 years of age amounts to the autumn of life in Their world. Oh sorry 24 is autumn, 27 is winter without christmas). And sometimes the conversation spills over to how ‘western influences have corrupted my mind, and how, soon, I’ll start supporting live-in relationships (unfortunately for Them I already support live-in relationships) and homosexual relationships (yes, I support that too) and other banes of the bad west world. Seriously, there are times when I don’t know what era I live in. I swear my grandmother is more forward-thinking than They are. Why would anyone want to get married at 21??? I agree I am commitment-phobic and maybe that is coloring my judgement but even otherwise I want to forge an identity of my own before deciding to merge it with another. I don’t mind being one half of a pair, but I cant imagine it being the ‘be all end all’ of my life. I want, no I need time to figure out what I want to do with my life before I rush into marriage. I’ve got places to go, people to see, experiences aplenty. I don’t want to risk being tied down by family or responsibility before doing everything I want to.

I guess it all boils down to this deeply ingrained notion of a woman’s role in a marriage. Most of Them are planning to marry a nice well-established guy (whatever that means) and quit working after marriage (if They think that is the passport to luxury, They’re in for a huge shock). I, for whom financial independence has always equated to a job, will never give it up permanently unless it’s pried from my cold dead fingers. Whatever. And thankfully I don’t have to fight the world for it and I have a mom who’ll kick my butt even if I, in a fit of recklessness, entertain the idea of getting married at 21 and sitting at home full time.

Maybe, as They say, I’ll get jealous when all of Them are married by the time we’re 24 and I’m still single. Maybe I’ll feel lonely and insecure and stigmatized and give in to societal pressure. And maybe tomorrow we’ll clean up our politics and India and Pakistan will become the best of friends. Whatever. They can keep dreamingJ

A week of wild partying, pub hopping and late night revelry comes to an end…. Who am I kidding???

Ok let me try again. A week of serious preparation for GRE- burning the midnight oil, reviewing word lists, going around muttering and sighing ‘perspicacity, ‘expostulation’, ’contumacious’ to myself at mealtimes prompting everyone else at the table to check the gas for leaks- comes to an end. Nope. Not working.

Alright a week of sheer languor, late nights and later mornings, life-saving HBO, sloppy romance novels, omnipresent omnipotent omniscient internet, God’s gift to mankind- Satyam Cinemas, phone calls discussing ‘how not to waste time’, a little alanjifying 4 sponsors (for our coll culturals) and hours spent doing absolutely nothing at all comes to an end. Hmmm….sounds right.

The only ‘student unrest’ I’ve noticed in the last one very eventful week is the general rush at Satyam Cinema’s ticket counters.

Thank you God for the fact that I, being on this side of the Palk Strait, am celebrating the conclusion of a week well-squandered, instead of running for my life like several of those stuck on the other side.

one of my fave songs (enakkum hindi theriyum:))

sab gaathe hai

sab hi madhhosh hai

hum tum kyun khamosh hai....

saaze dil chedo na

chup ho kyun gaao na...

.

.

dil mein jo baatein hain

honton pe laao na....

aao na

I know I’m turning this blog into my personal ranting board but I just cant help it.......

Is not our art, dance, temples, palaces, our architecture our true culture? Why then all this moral policing? Why then all this shit about how girls wearing halters and dancing in discos are spoiling our Indian culture??? Isn’t culture then, as they see it, simply the rule of the majority? The beliefs of the mainstream? Do people surely believe that by beating up women in nightclubs, they can restore the greatness of our culture? And this from the country which boasts of its plurality and its so called unity in diversity. Instead of preserving our art forms, our heritage buildings, we go about defying anyone to be the least bit different from us. And then we officiously call it ‘preserving the culture’. And if we can go about beating women for ‘besmirching the rich culture of our country’, we are just this close to setting up execution stages in our stadiums and stoning people to death for not believing what we believe.

Irony of Life

Death has a way of changing your priorities in life. What seemed so important a few days back now seems meaningless. Things you normally overlook, people whom you don’t usually give a second glance to, now overtake your life. Everyday activities seem so inconsequential. Making small talk, filling up awkward silence, speaking just to stop yourself from thinking seems to be all that you ever do. And there are those moments of introspection. Those rushes of memories you couldn’t stop. Those sudden recollections sparked off by an odd song, an old name in a phonebook, photographs. Forgotten words, broken promises, fresh guilt. And doubts. The nights spent asking yourself ‘what if…..?’. The days of torturing yourself with ‘maybe’. Maybe if he’d worn a helmet….. maybe if she’d gone for a checkup earlier….. maybe if he’d quit smoking…. Maybe if I’d had the sense to call earlier….. Numb todays, hollow tomorrows. And then it all fades away.

Life is short. Life is fragile. One small mistake, one wrong judgement and it could all be over. Sometimes you’re the windshield. Sometimes you’re the bug.Why take the risk? Why put off till tomorrow? Why fight when you don’t mean to? Why live for glass images? Who cares what people think? Who cares if people may not agree with you? They are but illusions. An existence for appearance’s sake?

Life is happiness. Why should it be anything else?

Sometimes you just need the night

To realize the value of the day

Sometimes you just need some setbacks

That victory would taste sweeter

A few tears

So smiles seem miracles

Sometimes you just need death

To recognize the beauty of life.

Complete Text of Barack Hussein Obama's First Speech As President

My fellow citizens:

I stand here today humbled by the task before us, grateful for the trust you have bestowed, mindful of the sacrifices borne by our ancestors. I thank President Bush for his service to our nation, as well as the generosity and cooperation he has shown throughout this transition.

Forty-four Americans have now taken the presidential oath. The words have been spoken during rising tides of prosperity and the still waters of peace. Yet, every so often the oath is taken amidst gathering clouds and raging storms. At these moments, America has carried on not simply because of the skill or vision of those in high office, but because we the people have remained faithful to the ideals of our forebears, and true to our founding documents.

So it has been. So it must be with this generation of Americans.

That we are in the midst of crisis is now well understood. Our nation is at war, against a far-reaching network of violence and hatred. Our economy is badly weakened, a consequence of greed and irresponsibility on the part of some, but also our collective failure to make hard choices and prepare the nation for a new age. Homes have been lost; jobs shed; businesses shuttered. Our health care is too costly; our schools fail too many; and each day brings further evidence that the ways we use energy strengthen our adversaries and threaten our planet.

These are the indicators of crisis, subject to data and statistics. Less measurable but no less profound is a sapping of confidence across our land — a nagging fear that America's decline is inevitable, and that the next generation must lower its sights.

Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real. They are serious and they are many. They will not be met easily or in a short span of time. But know this, America — they will be met.

On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord.

On this day, we come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and worn out dogmas, that for far too long have strangled our politics.

We remain a young nation, but in the words of scripture, the time has come to set aside childish things. The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history; to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea, passed on from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness.

In reaffirming the greatness of our nation, we understand that greatness is never a given. It must be earned. Our journey has never been one of shortcuts or settling for less. It has not been the path for the faint-hearted — for those who prefer leisure over work, or seek only the pleasures of riches and fame. Rather, it has been the risk-takers, the doers, the makers of things — some celebrated but more often men and women obscure in their labor, who have carried us up the long, rugged path towards prosperity and freedom.

For us, they packed up their few worldly possessions and traveled across oceans in search of a new life.

For us, they toiled in sweatshops and settled the West; endured the lash of the whip and plowed the hard earth.

For us, they fought and died, in places like Concord and Gettysburg; Normandy and Khe Sahn.

Time and again these men and women struggled and sacrificed and worked till their hands were raw so that we might live a better life. They saw America as bigger than the sum of our individual ambitions; greater than all the differences of birth or wealth or faction.

This is the journey we continue today. We remain the most prosperous, powerful nation on Earth. Our workers are no less productive than when this crisis began. Our minds are no less inventive, our goods and services no less needed than they were last week or last month or last year. Our capacity remains undiminished. But our time of standing pat, of protecting narrow interests and putting off unpleasant decisions — that time has surely passed. Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America.

For everywhere we look, there is work to be done. The state of the economy calls for action, bold and swift, and we will act — not only to create new jobs, but to lay a new foundation for growth. We will build the roads and bridges, the electric grids and digital lines that feed our commerce and bind us together. We will restore science to its rightful place, and wield technology's wonders to raise health care's quality and lower its cost. We will harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories. And we will transform our schools and colleges and universities to meet the demands of a new age. All this we can do. And all this we will do.

Now, there are some who question the scale of our ambitions — who suggest that our system cannot tolerate too many big plans. Their memories are short. For they have forgotten what this country has already done; what free men and women can achieve when imagination is joined to common purpose, and necessity to courage.

What the cynics fail to understand is that the ground has shifted beneath them — that the stale political arguments that have consumed us for so long no longer apply. The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works — whether it helps families find jobs at a decent wage, care they can afford, a retirement that is dignified. Where the answer is yes, we intend to move forward. Where the answer is no, programs will end. And those of us who manage the public's dollars will be held to account — to spend wisely, reform bad habits, and do our business in the light of day — because only then can we restore the vital trust between a people and their government.

Nor is the question before us whether the market is a force for good or ill. Its power to generate wealth and expand freedom is unmatched, but this crisis has reminded us that without a watchful eye, the market can spin out of control — and that a nation cannot prosper long when it favors only the prosperous. The success of our economy has always depended not just on the size of our gross domestic product, but on the reach of our prosperity; on our ability to extend opportunity to every willing heart — not out of charity, but because it is the surest route to our common good.

As for our common defense, we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals. Our founding fathers, faced with perils we can scarcely imagine, drafted a charter to assure the rule of law and the rights of man, a charter expanded by the blood of generations. Those ideals still light the world, and we will not give them up for expedience's sake. And so to all other peoples and governments who are watching today, from the grandest capitals to the small village where my father was born: know that America is a friend of each nation and every man, woman, and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity, and that we are ready to lead once more.

Recall that earlier generations faced down fascism and communism not just with missiles and tanks, but with sturdy alliances and enduring convictions. They understood that our power alone cannot protect us, nor does it entitle us to do as we please. Instead, they knew that our power grows through its prudent use; our security emanates from the justness of our cause, the force of our example, the tempering qualities of humility and restraint.

We are the keepers of this legacy. Guided by these principles once more, we can meet those new threats that demand even greater effort — even greater cooperation and understanding between nations. We will begin to responsibly leave Iraq to its people, and forge a hard-earned peace in Afghanistan. With old friends and former foes, we will work tirelessly to lessen the nuclear threat, and roll back the specter of a warming planet. We will not apologize for our way of life, nor will we waver in its defense, and for those who seek to advance their aims by inducing terror and slaughtering innocents, we say to you now that our spirit is stronger and cannot be broken; you cannot outlast us, and we will defeat you.

For we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness. We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus — and non-believers. We are shaped by every language and culture, drawn from every end of this Earth; and because we have tasted the bitter swill of civil war and segregation, and emerged from that dark chapter stronger and more united, we cannot help but believe that the old hatreds shall someday pass; that the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve; that as the world grows smaller, our common humanity shall reveal itself; and that America must play its role in ushering in a new era of peace.

To the Muslim world, we seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect. To those leaders around the globe who seek to sow conflict, or blame their society's ills on the West — know that your people will judge you on what you can build, not what you destroy. To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history; but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.

To the people of poor nations, we pledge to work alongside you to make your farms flourish and let clean waters flow; to nourish starved bodies and feed hungry minds. And to those nations like ours that enjoy relative plenty, we say we can no longer afford indifference to suffering outside our borders; nor can we consume the world's resources without regard to effect. For the world has changed, and we must change with it.

As we consider the road that unfolds before us, we remember with humble gratitude those brave Americans who, at this very hour, patrol far-off deserts and distant mountains. They have something to tell us today, just as the fallen heroes who lie in Arlington whisper through the ages. We honor them not only because they are guardians of our liberty, but because they embody the spirit of service; a willingness to find meaning in something greater than themselves. And yet, at this moment — a moment that will define a generation — it is precisely this spirit that must inhabit us all.

For as much as government can do and must do, it is ultimately the faith and determination of the American people upon which this nation relies. It is the kindness to take in a stranger when the levees break, the selflessness of workers who would rather cut their hours than see a friend lose their job which sees us through our darkest hours. It is the firefighter's courage to storm a stairway filled with smoke, but also a parent's willingness to nurture a child, that finally decides our fate.

Our challenges may be new. The instruments with which we meet them may be new. But those values upon which our success depends — hard work and honesty, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism — these things are old. These things are true. They have been the quiet force of progress throughout our history. What is demanded then is a return to these truths. What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility — a recognition, on the part of every American, that we have duties to ourselves, our nation, and the world, duties that we do not grudgingly accept but rather seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character, than giving our all to a difficult task.

This is the price and the promise of citizenship.

This is the source of our confidence — the knowledge that God calls on us to shape an uncertain destiny.

This is the meaning of our liberty and our creed — why men and women and children of every race and every faith can join in celebration across this magnificent mall, and why a man whose father less than sixty years ago might not have been served at a local restaurant can now stand before you to take a most sacred oath.

So let us mark this day with remembrance, of who we are and how far we have traveled. In the year of America's birth, in the coldest of months, a small band of patriots huddled by dying campfires on the shores of an icy river. The capital was abandoned. The enemy was advancing. The snow was stained with blood. At a moment when the outcome of our revolution was most in doubt, the father of our nation ordered these words be read to the people:

"Let it be told to the future world ... that in the depth of winter, when nothing but hope and virtue could survive...that the city and the country, alarmed at one common danger, came forth to meet (it)."

America, in the face of our common dangers, in this winter of our hardship, let us remember these timeless words. With hope and virtue, let us brave once more the icy currents, and endure what storms may come. Let it be said by our children's children that when we were tested we refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn back nor did we falter; and with eyes fixed on the horizon and God's grace upon us, we carried forth that great gift of freedom and delivered it safely to future generations.

Photo taken on Sat 10.1.09.

Supposedly the biggest and brightest full moon of 2009.

I dont think it was exceptionally big but it was definitely bright.

An Objective View of the Mind-blowing events taking place at my college.....Omg i cant stop hyperventilating. OK Divya Breathe. In. Out. In.....Omg

There are two kinds of people in this world: those who have seen a former Miss World in person and those who haven’t. And I have just migrated to the second category. Thanks to a certain Ms.Aishwarya Rai who walked past me barely 3 feet away today evening. And did I mention I saw Mr.Rajinikanth too. Yeah yeah….The Rajinikanth. In person again.

God bless director Shankar who came up with another one of his excellent ideas to spend money and decided to shoot a scene for his upcoming movie ’Aenthiran’ (or however that is spelt) in our college auditorium. And so it came to be that a whole galaxy of stars descended upon this tiny hamlet called Kalavakkam which is around 40 km from Chennai.

Ha! Next time those engineers back at IIT or Guindy or the doctors at Ramachandra start a conversation bout celebrities and star-gazing, we SSNites will have something to contribute too….

You know what would have really wound up the package?? If junior B had decided to come and surprise his pretty wife at the shooting spot. And then we would have really had something to talk about. Sigh…..

P.S. The security guards didn’t allow us to take pictures and we figured that letting us watch the proceedings itself was a big boon so we didn’t exactly try much either. Sorry to all fans of my photographic skills out there. And people who don’t believe me….yeah you just have to take my word for it.