IIT

found this lil outburst of mine while looking thru my old drafts …. had penned these thoughts down when the famous new hostel shifting took place.. but somehow didnt get arnd to publishing it. 

i think this deserves to be put up.. so here goes!

For everyone who thought IITs are the epitome of technological advancement in India, I have two words — ” Ha Ha”. Well, sure the output of IITs is world-class and sure the facilities (technologically) are the most cutting edge — comparable, maybe even surpassing, the ones available at the top universities in the West. But the administration, atleast here at kharagpur, lags behind the world by more than a decade ….

where else would you find a new hostel being constructed with the exact same (building) plans that had been designed in the late 50s, or an administrative cadre that thinks an internet connection, geysers and curtain rods are not “essentials” when girls are asked (rather forced) to relocate to a new hostel.

What do you say, when, on bringing the lack of these amenities to the notice of the people in charge, you’re told that the reason why the management wants you to move to the hostel is that all such discrepancies can be identified and rectified….. moreover, when, after shifting in, you, again, bring these to the management’s notice, you’re told to bear with them for a few days… you can’t expect a palace now, can you?

errr… we never expected a palace, respected ma’ams and sirs, but we would like to ask you…. when u;re commissioning new hostels / buildings in the campus, is it absolutely essential you stick to the age-old building plans that the first hostels were made by…. is it not right for a student who joins an IIT with the expectations of world-class facilities, to expect a half-decent hostel — atleast one that has been constructed in 2007?? and.. is it that necessary that an available hostel is filled with residents (during the middle of the term) while it still lacks basic amenities & still has workers milling around all day?

Ironically, the only answer the authorities have to our complaints / suggestions / grievances —- take this opportunity to learn to manage with whatever is available. Pray how do you manage without hot water in a place like kharagpur where morning temperatures drop to abt 13 degrees?? Maybe we can turn this into a learning opportunity by luggin buckets over to our warden’s home half-way across campus to use hot water….. hmmmm good idea.. wat say?

Goa-licious..!

so… what is a perfect day in goa?? everyone i know differs on this one.. for some it is the full-day drinking that symbolises perfection… for others it is the beaches and sand that cannot be denied the whole day.. for some the churches and temples are the places to hit.. while some prefer to sleep in most of the day and hit the nightclubs and pubs directly when the sun has finished his business about town.

the total goa fan that i am.. on some level subscribe to the second one.. just relaxing in a beach on one of the numerous shacks that line the baga beach (not calangute… too noisy and crowded for me) … sipping on something off and on.. nibling on french fries in between.. but basically doing nothing.. aaaah.. thats goa…

on a recent trip to goa however, i’ve done what i can now describe as the most perfect way to spend a day in goa….

its like i finally realised why hordes and hordes of foreigners spend months and months and then some more months in goa… … what am i going on about?? well.. to experience it, get to goa, rent out a bike (more a cruiser bike than the other types — yes i dont know too much technicalities about bikes.. can we move on pls…), get hold of a tourist guide (the book!!! ) of goa.. and get moving… away from the beaches.. away from the most popular tourist spots.. farther the better…

so what did we do that im rambling about aimlessly here?

the day started idly.. like a normal goa day… after a late brunch.. (well so what it was almost lunch time by the time we finally made it to infantaria… it was our first meal of the day… it still qualifies as brunch :P) .. we took off on our bikes — destination - Kerim Beach … a tiny little beach almost at the northern tip of goa..

from the minute we left crowded calangute, we saw glimpses of how awesome the roadtrip was going to be… well-grown paddy fields lined both sides of the tiny road that would take us to Kerim… with the long palms waving in the distance  in the breeze was rushing to meet the sea..

the road meandered through fields, hills, valleys  leading to sights prettier than the prettiest you’ve seen till now. every turn of the road brought you to a lovelier view of the goa no one knows too much about.. tiny villages, with the backdrop of a river, or fishermen’s nets set up in the backwaters of some not yet named creek …

the beach itself was a treat…  situated at the delta of one of the numerous goan rivers (i forget the name of this one) and directly overlooking the teracola fort (the northernmost frontier of Portuguese controlled Goa) …

i wudnt say the beach was particularly clean (with the monsoons jsut drawing to a close.. no beach would be terribly clean!) but there were hardly any ppl ther.. and that is the best part about going to a beach…

when the sands roll out to welcome you and the sea rears its head to say hello… this is wat beaches should be all about…  not the tonnes of ppl crowding over one grain of sand and one wave…

this is the goa i love…. 

bangalore–aaaaarggh!

wonder y ppl make so much of a fuss about the water logging in bbay… the last few days in blore, it has been raining.. not pouring, mind you.. just a lil bit of rain.. the kind that will make a paddy field just abt wet — but, yet, the blore roads say a different story all-together!! thers atleast an inch of water on the roads — every road .. and in parts where the pot-holes lurk underneath.. obviously more!!

and… on closer inspection — i cudnt find a single drain opening… whether storm water, or regular water — nope.. no drains at all!!!

hmmmmm… here’s what ppl living in glass houses shouldnt do!

the city of joy..

Ther’s something in the air at blore that screams Party!!!! — how wud u else explain two consecutive weekends of endless partying / going out/ hanging out / pubbing.. by someone like me!! … even the “life away from home” at pune didnt get this much share of the party animal in me…

wonder y then is some other city called “the city of joy” …

I’ve learnt…

kind suggestions from a certain Mr. Bala have prompted me to move this post to a whole new page… from where “life’s little instruction book III” my best selling guidebook will be developed….

thanks for the insight Bala …..

‘that’ feeling

wonder how a chance encounter, a casual meeting with a particular person throws a complete spanner into the normal running of your life….

especially when, after long discussions and analyses with yourself, you’ve come to the conclusion that the said person is completely wrong for you….. the least of the reasons for which are that he’s not available no more…. just that essentially he’s all wrong .. for u atleast…

why then, i wonder, does this encounter bring back the memories, the anticipation, the ‘what-if’ games you’ve played with yourself, ages ago… and leave you with ‘that’ feeling - the one that brings out all the negativity in you… making you feel like ther’s someone else inside you, not the ‘you’ you know…

man… women are complex!!

Ho hum!

i miss work… not the fun and frolic time at office.. not the endless coffee / tea sessions…. nor the gossip sessions with friends (who would have been just “team-mates” in a more officious environ) … but the “real” work… the challenges, the thrill of solving a huge problem (also called “finding the bug”), the sense of wonderment at writing a script (however small),  the incessant wondering of “when is this thing ever going to get over” not to mention the words of praise from the boss  (yes… can u believe it.. i actually got those a coupla times too!!! lucky me! ) —

some may find it really hard to believe… i mean i left a perfectly good job as a project engineer to pursue an MBA… which would undoubtedly open up a whole new world of opportunities (and maybe some moolah) in this big bad world…  and here i am.. halfway through my MBA mumbling and grumbling while i reminisce about a “better time” …….

but truly… somewhere below the mumbo jumbo and the blah blah  that usually comprises an MBA…. the engineer in me just wants a teensy weensy challenge… an urge to prove to myself above others… that i can do it!!

hmmmm… now where do i go looking for that???

Why?

why do guys (and men for that matter) think that a girl playing with her hair is the first sign of flirting????

Really… i’m just playing with my hair… in my own thoughts…..

is that reallly so hard to interpret???

Of old friends and new

This weekend was one of a kind…

One day I caught up with friends of the days gone by… spent a day reminiscing about the “good ol’ days”…. cracking up at the silliest jokes.. gossiping, bitching.. (yes.. does happen esp when u’ve graduated from an all girls college… ) … did i mention laughing… and generally acting very very stupid…

while the other day was spent “bringing in” the new comers… Met my juniors at MBA school.. well, actually my to-be juniors (they hvnt registered yet… could my comments hv driven some of them to take up other options… i wonder… hmmmmm ) … talking about how much fun school is.. what the campus is like, how the day is, which professors should they be wary of, how the hostel is, what the food (yes. its still officially called food.. though i would like to very much differ on that opinion) is like… blah and some more blah….

The “me” on both days —- Quite a stark contrast!!!!