tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-202742292024-03-14T03:43:26.475-07:00Music.Life.Blog.EnjoyJFxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17311988206575395920noreply@blogger.comBlogger101125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20274229.post-30033145309024535542015-08-25T00:11:00.000-07:002015-08-30T23:16:11.975-07:00Phases<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
When you start splitting life into phases, it starts looking short. Few
thoughts crossing my mind when I start realising that me and lot of my
peers are transitioning from one phase to next.<br />
Life does not have a pause button. Nor does it have a rewind. 'Kafka on the Shore' by Haruki murakami has a character who lives out her life as 15 year old because she's the happiest she'll ever be. I do not believe in that philosophy, but once in a while I too find myself searching the pause button.<br />
Scientifically time is a proper measurable quantity. You've got seconds which make hours which make days and so on. But how do 'you' measure time that has gone by. That's not really an absolute measure. I have only sparse memory till age 10, like 1/3 of my life. So my perceived time there is very short. My most memorable days are from high school through mtech. They seem to be the longest period in my life though while I was living through that, the days went through at lightning pace. That's the irony of perception of time - the fastest time in present are often the longest in future. <br />
Lastly, to the phase that's nearing an end. It's been an interesting mix of financial freedom, intelligence degradation, philosophical widening, letting go and picking up, loss of innocence and lots of travel. I've got to thank my friends for the good parts and myself to blame for the not so good. One thing I want to say to myself, 'if you are pausing your life waiting for something to come, you end up fast-forwarding that much time in future.' Time goes by tick-tock tick-tock.</div>
JFxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17311988206575395920noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20274229.post-31591070292529523872015-02-08T07:29:00.001-08:002015-02-17T20:38:43.244-08:00Laugh and the world laughs with you<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div dir="ltr" id="docs-internal-guid-5e9d86c8-69cc-5ae2-3f08-f47f33eeb134" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small; vertical-align: baseline;">An interesting thing happened while driving back to the flat today. I noticed a group of girls waving cheerfully at me from the van in front of me. I smiled back, but felt something amiss. That's when I noticed it written on the back of the van - "disabled children". Suddenly I felt a pang of sympathy. Not for them, but the rest of the world. When did we forget to laugh? Laugh our heart out without a care...at ourselves, at the world around us. Why should I even have thought why these girls are laughing. They are kids enjoying life. They don't require a reason to be happy. </span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small; vertical-align: baseline;">I hope that we don't end up being a generation who forget teaching our kids one of the most important things in life - spread happiness. Those girls were calling out 'bye bye uncle' as I passed them. I waved back at them, thankful for showing me the happiness in small things.</span></div>
JFxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17311988206575395920noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20274229.post-35059812811370848752014-01-01T11:07:00.000-08:002014-02-13T11:10:40.278-08:00Travel<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Come 2014 and it was time for resolutions. I never believed in keeping resolutions but made exception this one time. One item in it is travel and found out to my pleasant surprise that many of my friends has the same. Thus began our journey in a race against time. </div>
JFxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17311988206575395920noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20274229.post-46417513567423535232013-12-31T07:41:00.003-08:002013-12-31T22:18:54.463-08:00On Artificial Intelligence<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div dir="ltr" id="docs-internal-guid-1e64f85d-4951-4dbf-586d-c5f0dfcca44e" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">How do we make artificial intelligence? </span></span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I do not know whether artificial intelligence would ever attain the beauty and complexity of human mind. But it still is an interesting scientific problem. So just to challenge my human intelligence, I’ve been asking the question.</span></span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">To answer that question, we might have to look back at how humans gain intelligence. There are few inborn human features and external factors which play a role in growth of intelligence from a baby to adulthood. </span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">1. Senses : We have been with very powerful sensory system to collect data from our environment. There are already sensors which can mimic each of our senses. So that’s one down. There could even be sensors which does more than the human sensory organs, like ultrasonic vision modeled on bats.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">2. Classification : One of the critical elements. How do we recognise a cat when we see one? Think of it from the viewpoint of a baby seeing the cat for first time. The baby brain probably classifies the cat into a moving object. It wouldn’t know whether it’s an animal or moving toy (assuming cat is the first animal it’s seeing). But then why would baby brain classify it as ‘moving object’ or even as an object? For that we would have to go further back in baby’s life to the point when it opened it’s eyes. The information about surrounding is getting recorded in the brain but it is just shapes and frames of references. Everything would be compared with things seen before and classified as ‘similar’ or ‘different’. Fast-forwarding to seeing the cat first time, baby would’ve classified enough data to have a class called ‘moving object’. As time goes on baby would classify further to ‘interesting moving object’, ‘furry interesting moving object making sounds’, ‘furry living object with mom saying cat’ and by a certain age just ‘cat’. </span></span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Modern computers, even after being so much powerful will not be able to recognise a cat unless it has been programmed to do so. It never does anything more that what it has been told. Artificial neural networks does classification to an extend, but I’m yet to know about something which goes “Mama, Cat!” when it sees one.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">3. Communication : This is the most critical external factor. We had inadvertently touched on this in baby and cat example. Unless the baby classifies ‘furry living object with mom saying cat’, it will never say a cat is a cat. It could give any name that it fancies or not even give it importance to give a name. So the communication from outside source did two important things : constrain the classification to a common reference by giving it a name and ensure that some classification is important enough to be remembered. </span></span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">How can this be done for artificial intelligence? The AI should be such that next step after classification should be the question “what did I classify?”. This question could be answered by human intelligence or another artificial intelligence. What if there’s only classification and no communication? Would we still have individual AIs which are intelligent? I dont think so. It will just be a chaos of accumulated data. So our intelligence is as much dependent on our ability to communicate as our brain’s capability to process the information from senses. Human intelligence is thus a collective achievement of our race and artificial intelligence, even if it completely independently cultivated from human influence would require some medium to communicate and reach an agreement.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">These three factors can make an Artificial Intelligence, but could it then have human emotions?</span></span></span></div>
</div>
JFxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17311988206575395920noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20274229.post-70356096853488467652013-06-30T11:54:00.000-07:002013-06-30T11:58:51.046-07:00Why cant I buy music in India?Long back I'd promised myself that when I earn the money to spend, I'd spend it on things I love - books and music. It was not because there's any lack of cheap pirated books or mp3, I wanted to do it as a way of saying thank you to the people who brought those beautiful piece of work into this world. I love owning books and since getting a job, I've been a regular at online book sites. Sadly the same couldn't be done for music.<br />
I, like the majority of Indian youth, have laptop/mobile/tablet/ipod but do not have a cd or cassete player. So naturally the choice of format for songs would be digital. The advantages are many, including portability from one device to another. mp3 songs were available in plenty in 'not so legal' form. So there was nothing to complain. <br />
That's when Flyte began. It couldn't have come at a better time for me. I had just got a job and had money to spend on music I loved. The Flyte online music store by Flipkart had a very good collection of songs. Their mobile/tablet app was also pretty good. I wouldn't say I was driven only by some misplaced sense of self-righteousness to buy music. In recent years there have been lots of 'free' mp3 download sites shut down (I guess with
government involvement). So it has not been as easy getting
hold of good quality songs and the lazy me went for the costlier solution. But I knew in my heart it is a good in long run because I'm buying it to the digital library from where I can download whenever I want to any device. I almost convinced many of my friends to start buying. I went crazy when Flyte offered 100 free albums for several days as part of their anniversary celebration. Little did I know that good days wouldn't last.<br />
Flipkart closing down Flyte has been very disappointing news for new age music lovers in our country. I appreciate Flipkart for venturing into digital music in India where it is a huge risk to take, since 'free mp3 download' is pretty easy. But cutting off the sole source of legal digital music was a bitter blow.<br />
So this is an open appeal to all the aspiring start-up companies in India. If you make a digital music store with mobile app, atleast the 9000+ fans of <a href="https://www.facebook.com/FlyteMusic">Flyte in Facebook</a> would download your app and be happy to buy the songs they love.<br />
<br />
- Someone frustrated at not being able to find a single good mobile app to download music in India.JFxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17311988206575395920noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20274229.post-17709243074170783342012-11-13T02:57:00.001-08:002012-11-13T03:07:06.177-08:00Bangalore - 3 days on 4 wheels<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div dir="ltr">
Disclaimer- This would be completely useless for
anyone looking for a travelogue and is of no significance other than for
the writer.</div>
<div dir="ltr">
<br />
Day one: South and West <br />
Bangalore traffic was at it's best (read worst) on that day. A large
majority of Bangalore population having their native elsewhere are
hurrying along to reach the two transport hubs - Majestic bangalore
central railway station and Madiwala, the long distance buses stop. The
fact that it was a long weekend didn't help. First day's journey was
from Bellandur to Majestic to Madiwala, 30kms took close to 4 hours.</div>
<div dir="ltr">
<br />
Day two: East and Center <br />
It doesn't get more central Bangalore than MG road and Shivajinagar.
Next day's travel was to commercial street via old airport road. Almost
all the roads in MG road area are one-ways and one wrong turn could end
up miles away from destination. Thanks to whatsapp location sharing and
Google maps, I somehow reached the right place after several wrong turns
and missed red lights. Reached back after about 2 hours and went for
lunch. Tried to find out a shortcut on way back but my navigator took me
to dead ends one after the other. Moral- common sense triumphs Google
maps.</div>
<div dir="ltr">
<br />
Day three: South-east to North-west<br />
Morning on day 3 took me to Karmelaram. Not much traffic on road since
it was a Sunday. By afternoon I had gotten addicted to driving and
decided to cover the only direction left. Hence the final leg of my
Bangalore city in 3 days was to Jalahalli and then to Yeswantpur. </div>
<div dir="ltr">
<br />
<a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/BHfrrTEOF0wUXpUDPYOPBqJaQzPMC58OEpwjcUI5HJ0?feat=directlink">https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/BHfrrTEOF0wUXpUDPYOPBqJaQzPMC58OEpwjcUI5HJ0?feat=directlink</a><br />
<br />
Cast- Myself and Maruti zen<br />
Special appearances - Friends</div>
</div>
JFxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17311988206575395920noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20274229.post-74357718754124970942011-02-01T10:47:00.000-08:002011-02-01T10:47:52.928-08:00Overdose<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
Been going through an overdose of nostalgia these days. What do you do when a stage comes in your life when the memories weigh you down. I've always been someone who tried to find inspiration out of my good memories. At the same time remembering them gives you a feeling of loss, the harder you try to grasp. Life moves on. The nostalgia catches up with you as and when you slow down to stop and think by yourself. It's addictive in a way.<br />
<br />
At last, there are two options before you with all the memories you have. One is to relive and refresh them in some way. Second is to let them go. It's harder when you are forced to do the second in some cases. The two songs I'm hearing aren't helping either. Here's to all the memories I've got to let go:<br />
Owl City - Vanilla Twilight<br />
As many times as I blink I'll think of you... tonight.<br />
I'll think of you tonight.<br />
<br />
Manichithrathazhu - Varuvanillarumee<br />
വരുമെന്ന് ചൊല്ലി പിരിഞ്ഞു പോയില്ലാരും <br />
അറിയാം അതെന്നാലുമെന്നും<br />
പതിവായി ഞാനെന്റെ പടിവാതിലെന്തിനോ<br />
പകുതിയേ ചാരാരുള്ലെല്ലോ<br />
പ്രിയമുല്ലോരാളാരോ വരുമെന്ന് ഞാനെന്നും<br />
വെറുതെ മോഹിക്കുമെല്ലോ</div>JFxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17311988206575395920noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20274229.post-34549960695455885212010-12-17T08:22:00.000-08:002010-12-17T08:22:44.539-08:00The Bell Jar - A short noteI've started off with 3 different sentences for this post and am still not able to begin. Maybe it's the writer's block or the sheer absurdity of writing about the book. Let me start off with some history.<br />
Back in Std 10, we had to study a poem called Tulips. It is my favourite in the collection of poems. I've never been a huge fan of poems, but this particular one appealed to the 'little spark of madness' (quoting Robin Williams) given to me. Never knew that would influence me to buy her only novel, The Bell Jar.<br />
<br />
A <i><b>bell jar</b></i> is a piece of laboratory equipment similar in shape to a bell. It can be manufactured out of a variety of materials, ranging from glass to different types of metals. A bell jar is placed on a base which is vented to a hose fitting, which can be connected via a hose to a vacuum pump. By pumping the air out of the bell jar, a vacuum is formed. (source Wiki).<br />
<br />
The name is a very apt one for narrating the story of Esther who's trapped in the Bell Jar of life and every gulp of air is being sucked out. You cannot use beautifully written, interesting plot, thrilling or any of the normal adjectives given to a good book for this one. The biggest word of praise would be she's crazy and I believe that is exactly what Sylvia Plath wanted people to say. She's not asking anyone to think like her, she's just saying to the world how she sees it. No one can deny that it's not her autobiography because she actually went ahead and committed suicide few weeks after publishing it. The novel could have been her last try at saying to the world she and her mind doesn't belong here. The book left me one unanswered question - Madness, is it a disease or just a way the world says 'You're different'? <br />
<br />
Couldn't resist posting the poem Tulips:<br />
<br />
<b>Sylvia Plath - Tulips</b><br />
<i> </i><br />
<i>The tulips are too excitable, it is winter here.</i><br />
<i>Look how white everything is, how quiet, how snowed-in</i><br />
<i>I am learning peacefulness, lying by myself quietly</i><br />
<i>As the light lies on these white walls, this bed, these hands.</i><br />
<i>I am nobody; I have nothing to do with explosions.</i><br />
<i>I have given my name and my day-clothes up to the nurses</i><br />
<i>And my history to the anaesthetist and my body to surgeons.</i><br />
<i><br />
</i><br />
<i>They have propped my head between the pillow and the sheet-cuff</i><br />
<i>Like an eye between two white lids that will not shut.</i><br />
<i>Stupid pupil, it has to take everything in.</i><br />
<i>The nurses pass and pass, they are no trouble,</i><br />
<i>They pass the way gulls pass inland in their white caps,</i><br />
<i>Doing things with their hands, one just the same as another,</i><br />
<i>So it is impossible to tell how many there are.</i><br />
<i><br />
</i><br />
<i>My body is a pebble to them, they tend it as water</i><br />
<i>Tends to the pebbles it must run over, smoothing them gently.</i><br />
<i>They bring me numbness in their bright needles, they bring me sleep.</i><br />
<i>Now I have lost myself I am sick of baggage ----</i><br />
<i>My patent leather overnight case like a black pillbox,</i><br />
<i>My husband and child smiling out of the family photo;</i><br />
<i>Their smiles catch onto my skin, little smiling hooks.</i><br />
<i><br />
</i><br />
<i>I have let things slip, a thirty-year-old cargo boat</i><br />
<i>Stubbornly hanging on to my name and address.</i><br />
<i>They have swabbed me clear of my loving associations.</i><br />
<i>Scared and bare on the green plastic-pillowed trolley</i><br />
<i>I watched my teaset, my bureaus of linen, my books</i><br />
<i>Sink out of sight, and the water went over my head.</i><br />
<i>I am a nun now, I have never been so pure.</i><br />
<i><br />
</i><br />
<i>I didn't want any flowers, I only wanted</i><br />
<i>To lie with my hands turned up and be utterly empty.</i><br />
<i>How free it is, you have no idea how free ----</i><br />
<i>The peacefulness is so big it dazes you,</i><br />
<i>And it asks nothing, a name tag, a few trinkets.</i><br />
<i>It is what the dead close on, finally; I imagine them</i><br />
<i>Shutting their mouths on it, like a Communion tablet.</i><br />
<i><br />
</i><br />
<i>The tulips are too red in the first place, they hurt me.</i><br />
<i>Even through the gift paper I could hear them breathe</i><br />
<i>Lightly, through their white swaddlings, like an awful baby.</i><br />
<i>Their redness talks to my wound, it corresponds.</i><br />
<i>They are subtle: they seem to float, though they weigh me down,</i><br />
<i>Upsetting me with their sudden tongues and their colour,</i><br />
<i>A dozen red lead sinkers round my neck.</i><br />
<i><br />
</i><br />
<i>Nobody watched me before, now I am watched.</i><br />
<i>The tulips turn to me, and the window behind me</i><br />
<i>Where once a day the light slowly widens and slowly thins,</i><br />
<i>And I see myself, flat, ridiculous, a cut-paper shadow</i><br />
<i>Between the eye of the sun and the eyes of the tulips,</i><br />
<i>And I hve no face, I have wanted to efface myself.</i><br />
<i>The vivid tulips eat my oxygen.</i><br />
<i><br />
</i><br />
<i>Before they came the air was calm enough,</i><br />
<i>Coming and going, breath by breath, without any fuss.</i><br />
<i>Then the tulips filled it up like a loud noise.</i><br />
<i>Now the air snags and eddies round them the way a river</i><br />
<i>Snags and eddies round a sunken rust-red engine.</i><br />
<i>They concentrate my attention, that was happy</i><br />
<i>Playing and resting without committing itself.</i><br />
<i><br />
</i><br />
<i>The walls, also, seem to be warming themselves.</i><br />
<i>The tulips should be behind bars like dangerous animals;</i><br />
<i>They are opening like the mouth of some great African cat,</i><br />
<i>And I am aware of my heart: it opens and closes</i><br />
<i>Its bowl of red blooms out of sheer love of me.</i><br />
<i>The water I taste is warm and salt, like the sea,</i><br />
<i>And comes from a country far away as health.</i>JFxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17311988206575395920noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20274229.post-44642787613452395872010-07-09T02:29:00.000-07:002010-07-09T02:33:38.670-07:00World Cup through my ages<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/c/ce/1990_Football_World_Cup_logo.svg/200px-1990_Football_World_Cup_logo.svg.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/c/ce/1990_Football_World_Cup_logo.svg/200px-1990_Football_World_Cup_logo.svg.png" /></a><a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/2/21/2010_FIFA_World_Cup_logo.svg/200px-2010_FIFA_World_Cup_logo.svg.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="http://draft.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=20274229" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/2/21/2010_FIFA_World_Cup_logo.svg/200px-2010_FIFA_World_Cup_logo.svg.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div>"<i>Mone nokku Maradona</i>", said an elder (Look son, Maradona)<br />
"<i>Hee he.. dona dona maradona.. dona dona maradona</i>", I danced around in my er..<br />
Yeah I guess that counts as being a 2 year old Argentine supporter at the 1990 World Cup. The earliest name I heard in the footballing world was that of Maradona, even before I knew it's rules. Argentina went on to make the final that year, losing to Germany (erstwhile West Germany). It was the beginning of the fall of Maradona too.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/6/6e/1994FIFAWorldCup.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="184" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/6/6e/1994FIFAWorldCup.png" width="200" /></a></div>I was supporting Spain in 1994. Why Spain? No idea. I even didn't know a bit about how the Spanish played. But Spain was my favourite country then. I still don't have a clue why. One day I looked up on the globe and said <i>Me encanta España! </i>Those days I had even made a personal record sleeping just 3 hours to wake up and watch a match. I slept off 10-20 mins into the match though, leaving Dad to watch the rest. Spain did make it to the quarter-finals but ended up losing to Italy. The final was a tight one. I still have vague memories of that spectacular moment when Roberto Baggio missing the final penalty, thus losing the match and Cup to Brazil. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/a/a7/1998_FIFA_World_Cup_logo.svg/200px-1998_FIFA_World_Cup_logo.svg.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="174" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/a/a7/1998_FIFA_World_Cup_logo.svg/200px-1998_FIFA_World_Cup_logo.svg.png" width="200" /></a></div>I've always had this love-hate relationship with Brazil. In 1998, they were the best team around. Ronaldo was at his peak and I couldn't resist the temptation supporting a team that I believed would go all the way. They did reach the final in a breeze and looked unbeatable. Then there was controversy before the match as Ronaldo was said to be unwell. And that's when Zizu zoomed into the picture to spoil my party. Brazil ended up losing 3-0.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/47/2002_FIFA_World_Cup_logo.svg/200px-2002_FIFA_World_Cup_logo.svg.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/47/2002_FIFA_World_Cup_logo.svg/200px-2002_FIFA_World_Cup_logo.svg.png" width="136" /></a></div>World cup was being hosted by Asian countries for the first time. EPL frenzy had caught up in school and the English superstars were a hot commodity. With Beckham as captain we all believed in our hearts that this could be the year for England. I joined the big fan club. I remember delivering a speech about the World Cup in our school assembly just before it began. The English team didn't looked as good as the hype, but got till the quarter-final when Ronaldinho exposed their weakness. A long shot left the goalkeeper wishing he was a real sea-man. Fast forwarding to the final, I was willing to support any team other than Brazil. <i>Ze Germans</i> couldn't do much about the mighty Brazilians who won the match 2-0, both scored by Ronaldo.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/6/6b/FIFA_World_Cup_2006_Logo.svg/200px-FIFA_World_Cup_2006_Logo.svg.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/6/6b/FIFA_World_Cup_2006_Logo.svg/200px-FIFA_World_Cup_2006_Logo.svg.png" width="158" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>I was back to my first love this time. Argentina played great football through the group stage scoring lots of goals, most of them beautifully. Germany was the spoilsport this time in quarter-finals. It was heartbreaking to see them going out in penalties. Devastated, I looked around for any other team to support. Someone was playing the best football of his life in French shirt. Zizu, who missed out on 2002 WC was at his best for his country at the age of 34. He single-handedly dragged the French team into the final against Italy. He was spectacular in the final, until the sad headbutting incident. I was almost in tears. Often wondered whether France would've won it otherwise. Zidane in WC2006 is the best I've seen any player in a World Cup. Truly one of the greats.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/2/21/2010_FIFA_World_Cup_logo.svg/200px-2010_FIFA_World_Cup_logo.svg.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/2/21/2010_FIFA_World_Cup_logo.svg/200px-2010_FIFA_World_Cup_logo.svg.png" width="181" /></a></div>Now to the present. This time it was a toss up between Argentina and Spain. One was being coached by my first football hero and the other perennial underachievers were finally finding their feet winning the Euro 2008. I went with Argentina and the group stages didn't disappoint me, full points. Again the quarter-final and again Germans. The Germans outplayed the Albicelestes, end of story. Spain on the other hand defeated the Germans (who are a very impressive team) in semi. So the final awaits. Some work of fate has it that the country I support in the final has never won. Fingers crossed.. Will my favourite country (still?!) bring home the Cup of Joy?<br />
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<a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/2/21/2010_FIFA_World_Cup_logo.svg/200px-2010_FIFA_World_Cup_logo.svg.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><a href="http://draft.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=20274229" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/2/21/2010_FIFA_World_Cup_logo.svg/200px-2010_FIFA_World_Cup_logo.svg.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a>PS. Logos courtesy Wikipedia.JFxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17311988206575395920noreply@blogger.com0Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India8.5522492348840551 76.91013336181648.5416397348840558 76.89554236181641 8.5628587348840544 76.9247243618164tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20274229.post-26146928432174163082010-07-08T07:42:00.000-07:002010-07-08T07:43:40.546-07:00Update from HomeAlmost a week home now. These days I'm not getting anything to write about. Most of the days were spend doing nothing. After the first few days you find out how boring internet could be if you get to sit in front of it for more than 4-5 hours a day. The great world of television has never quite caught up with me. Don't find anything interesting there other than the occasional Star World. (Btw iceman, the tour de france has started. Contador's the best bet.)<br />
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Moved on to movies and TV-series. Reached 3rd season of "How I met your mother". Not as entertaining as "Friends" or "Scrubs". Still it's pretty entertaining and good time pass. In movies over the past few weeks,<br />
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Rebecca - 7.5/10. ya I'm watching the Hitchcock classic only now. Good movie. Very good buildup.<br />
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Remember Me - 8/10. A touching story, I felt the characters were potrayed in an intense way. RobPat shows he's much more than a romancing vampire.<br />
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The spy next door - 7/10. Entertaining and funny. For Jackie Chan fans.<br />
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Shutter Island - 8.5/10. Psycho.. real psycho. No more words.<br />
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Vinodayatra - 7/10. Feel good movie. Could've cut down on the preaching though.<br />
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Agnisakshi - 9/10. Watched it the second time after about 10 years. Timeless story, brilliantly taken.<br />
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Vinnaithandi Varuvaaya - 8/10. Lots of mixed reviews on this one but I personally liked it. The feel of this one stays with you for long. Very beautifully taken especially Trisha.<br />
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Raavanan - 7/10. Though I missed out on majority of the dialogues due to language problem, I felt the plot was ok to good. The camera work is one of the best I've seen in Indian movies. But disappointing as a Mani Ratnam movie. Could've been better.<br />
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Kites - 5.5/10. There wasn't much right about this. Didn't expect much. Ended up laughing through some of the supposedly serious scenes. :-D<br />
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Disaster Movie - 0/10. Truly disastrous. Horribly Boring. Left me wondering what happened to the Scary Movies era when movie spoofs were as good as original.<br />
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On to other stuff, I've started reading the classic "Little Women". I'm not finding it much entertaining. Am still ruing the fact that I forgot to take the book I was reading (The Chamber) from IISc. I was seriously drugged (taking medicine for fever) while packing. Other than those, the list of things not packed included my iPod, toothbrush, shaving set etc. <br />
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Firefox 4 beta is out. Cool look. <br />
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Main project work hasn't started in proper sense yet. We've been attending some presentations and so on, but Self-Driving Car still seems a distant dream. Bach is having better luck with his one I believe.<br />
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Till anything interesting happens.. Signing off..JFxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17311988206575395920noreply@blogger.com0Trivandrum, Kerala, India8.487495 76.9486238.4026044999999989 76.831893499999993 8.5723855 77.0653525tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20274229.post-88964292080330229452010-06-20T03:10:00.000-07:002010-06-20T03:13:33.848-07:00My Train JourneyTravelling alone was going to be boring. I had packed some books along, but was too loath to open them and get myself to read. The job on other side of the journey wasn't any different. But there I had atleast someone to talk to. 3 years in the company gave me some friends, though at the price of wasting some of the prime years. So there I was sitting idle looking out at the green kerala tapestry when someone walked in.<br />
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She wasn't much of a beauty but I didn't care. It was not going to be a someone I'd be least interested sitting opposite me on this trip. Getting the side seat on train has it's advantages (though not much weighing the disadvantage of being cramped for sleeping space with my height). Once in a while you get someone interesting to chat up and side seats feels more like a personal area than the 6-seater berths. Back to her, it wasn't her look that made me notice her. There was this aura of ethereal swarming around her which made her look out of this world. She seemed to be floating around on her tiptoes which carried her as fate would right opposite to me. "Should try to talk to her", I made a mental note.<br />
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An hour or two passed and she took out her dinner packet. I'd bought one one the way and took the cue that it's dinner time. Being the careless guy, I forgot to buy water. She kept her bottle on the table. Observing me eyeing it for some time, she offered the water. "Thanks", I said, putting out my hand to get the bottle and asked where she was going. <br />
She replied "I'd been to Trivandrum for some work. Now I'm returning back to Bangalore. What about you?"<br />
"I work in Bangalore too. I'm coming back from seeing my parents." and so the conversation began.<br />
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She, after completing her MBA is working as senior consultant in some "enterpreneurship promotion" department in her father's company. Couldn't make much out of it but it was something related with encouraging people setting up their own companies. Her father is a self made man, who now is the CEO of the million dollar company that he built up. She as a person was very warm and fun to talk with. In comparison to my pretty boring work, she scored a perfect ten. I caught her name in between the conversation - Claire Roy Tresa. People called her 'CRT', she joked. She wasn't an LCD flatscreen anyway. The two hours spent chatting fled by and it was time to sleep. As I tucked in, I couldn't resist taking a small peek down to her berth. She smiled back saying "Goodnight".<br />
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I overslept as usual. Anyway the train wasn't going to reach Bangalore till about noon. Then I noticed her berth was empty. Even the sheets had gone. At first I thought she may have gone somewhere, but as time passed I realised she must've got down at some place while I was sleeping. Felt kinda bad that I didn't get to say goodbye. I had to let it go. Anyway I'd to worry about getting to office in time so that I don't have to take full day leave.<br />
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Now I'm back in office the next day. Can't get Claire's image out of my mind. Maybe I could google and catch her on some social network. "Claire Roy Tresa", I typed and pressed the 'I'm feeling lucky' button. What appeared on the screen shocked me. It was a news article:<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Claire Roy Tresa (26), daughter of Roy Cherian passed away in a train accident yesterday. She was returning from Trivandrum, where she went on a business trip. ...</span></span><br />
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The report continued. Then I noticed something: Published on 20th June, 2009!JFxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17311988206575395920noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20274229.post-86129204281070396262010-05-28T11:48:00.000-07:002010-05-28T11:48:04.948-07:00Two much?I've been wanting to write about the second semester in IISc for some weeks. I'm back home now and feel like writing about the city more than IISc. You always inherit something from your hometown. For me, Trivandrum has given the trait not to be in a hurry for doing anything in life. Like the slow calm pace of the city, I try to give everything it's own time. Sooner or later everything's bound to fall back in place. Now let me get back to the work at hand and hope I'll be able to jot down something about the second semster in IISc.<br />
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We'd feared the second semester more than the first. It was supposed to be the most strenuous times in our lives, with possibility of 4 or more mini-projects. Fearing this, none but the bravest dared to take more than 5 courses. Since I didn't have any hurry, I took 5 like most of my friends. Into the first month, we were surprised by the amount of free time we got. We even started doubting whether the seniors were joking.<br />
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It was cold in Bangalore. That was the first time I got to spend a proper winter season. Back in Kerala we never have winter. It's either summer or rainy season. I liked waking around in warm clothes. Those leisure time never went to waste though. Our gang, Bach, Ak, Navy & Me spent many of our nights at Tea board, chatting about everything under the sun/moon. It was fun, something like all the museum sessions during B.Tech. The Tea board sessions continued throughout the sem, though in varying frequency depending on our workload. Navy discontinued the membership at Tea board as our return time started to extend past 2 am :-). Moving on to less fun and more work...<br />
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It was towards the end of February that we got the scent of what's coming up. Assigments started taking up more and more of our time in March. Come April we were deep into mini projects work. AVLSI mini project got over first. The project involved lots of sweeping and balancing acts (tech terms coined during those times). Lost interest in it towards the end, resulting in a sub-standard report after all the work we put in. Thankfully it got over much before the exams which started in mid April. The exams felt more like a disturbance than any tension. Most of us wanted it to get over as soon as possible so that we could get back to work on the mini-projects.<br />
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Working on mini-projects were exciting and exhausting at the same time. Working with Ak on ID-project was most fun due to it's nature and electronics hardware work involved. Processor Design project ate away half of my head, but felt satisfied once it was over. I left the work on Embedded Shell assignment halfway and made a short visit to homeland. Got back, the whole team worked overtime and the assignment somehow turned out fine eventually. We spent the whole night before submission in lab. Slept after having lunch the next day (At this point let me say that this must've been the 5th or 6th night-out to do assignment that month). So finally everything got over and we were officially free!<br />
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Short note on Mini project allocation without going into the details of what happened before that. Ak and Me are doing 'Self Driving Car'. Our project guide envisions a car driving by itself through IISc road. Somehow my eyesight's gone a little blurry there. Bach and Navy would be working on 'A non-802.11 wireless mesh network'. Lots of networking work there, I hope they don't get caught in it.JFxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17311988206575395920noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20274229.post-59532000574768154252010-05-09T02:00:00.000-07:002010-05-09T02:00:02.116-07:00HomecomingReached home sweet home yesterday. Though it is not much of a homecoming for me because none of the usual residents are here. Miss ya.. mom and dad.. :-) Then there are some other things too that you realise you miss very much once you reach home. One such thing is the sound of ma Creative SBS.. Reminds me of all those days when I used to close the door, put it at full volume and simply enjoy the music. Next is the food. I'm not someone who gets high on culinary stuff. But lack of good food, or at many times the lack of any food gets me into a paranoia which can end only if i get some home made food on a proper dining table. Back here, that wish is granted too. Had been wishing to blog about this semester at IISc for so long.. Hoping to do something about it in next blog.JFxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17311988206575395920noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20274229.post-11813488736032556942010-05-02T07:56:00.000-07:002010-05-02T08:01:51.917-07:00Light in the DarkSaw a firefly on the way to lab. I cant remember the last time I saw one. Memories of my native place in Malabar are flooding back into my mind.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_5IV7dvpz0sFeweETLCS6D6RAPX4Gj17taZsjhiu349eOuTp-LdRzFauMZafHlY86IvXZuLmfYf608dofTgMEGrn_z0wIVlh4_WNxclwxVdwBeWxk347UpIJelX-BDei5lOBc/s1600/100_0647.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_5IV7dvpz0sFeweETLCS6D6RAPX4Gj17taZsjhiu349eOuTp-LdRzFauMZafHlY86IvXZuLmfYf608dofTgMEGrn_z0wIVlh4_WNxclwxVdwBeWxk347UpIJelX-BDei5lOBc/s320/100_0647.jpg" /></a></div><br />
The house is halfway up a mountain called <i>Kappimala</i>. All around, you can see the Western Ghats spreading away like ripples of green water. The nights are as beautiful as the day. This place might be one of the very few areas where there is no electricity connection in Kerala. So once it is night, it's pure darkness.. Nothing like the night lights filling up the sky in Bangalore. The only light sources are the Moon and fireflies. I remember the joy of sitting out on the couch after dinner during such nights. The calmness just engulfs you, feeling one with nature and the sounds of nature rings in beat with the soft music from my iPod. Ah..<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEw2Vj56VSZT5bpf-770f58RvPUeKRBQNKEsc8YqkDZzZPxaVy1h1T8tgTszFegx0gMjjQr0ewWKnmfiu6lJ1fcaWcTGQok5ofRQBHh4BXoSLf-FwxOH_j6ItnxmUtWsONy9HJ/s1600/100_0672.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEw2Vj56VSZT5bpf-770f58RvPUeKRBQNKEsc8YqkDZzZPxaVy1h1T8tgTszFegx0gMjjQr0ewWKnmfiu6lJ1fcaWcTGQok5ofRQBHh4BXoSLf-FwxOH_j6ItnxmUtWsONy9HJ/s320/100_0672.jpg" /></a></div>JFxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17311988206575395920noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20274229.post-38150499988019937332010-04-21T04:57:00.000-07:002010-04-21T04:57:48.776-07:00Baby steps?Not even a blog this year.. and it's almost reaching the end of the fourth month. Not that I didn't think of blogging many a times. Never quite got the idle time. Hoping to take the baby steps back into the world of blogging once the exam gets over.<br />
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The change of seasons.. Saw a proper spring season for the first time. It's become hot now with intermittent rains. The rains are beautiful. The campus takes on a completely new picture when it rains. You just feel like sitting simply and enjoy it. But more of that only after the exams and mini projects.JFxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17311988206575395920noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20274229.post-81873215516592538762009-12-29T03:21:00.000-08:002009-12-29T04:01:40.428-08:00Happy B'day!4 years and some hours ago was conceived an idea. It started off with small stuff like swatting mosquitoes but down the years, though in fits and spurts, it's sustained as one of the most important literary work in modern history. Happy Birthday <span style="font-style: italic;">Music.Life.Blog.Enjoy</span>. Quick trivia, the name of the blog had been <span style="font-style: italic;">Simple Musings of a Complicated Mind</span> and changed the name when I realized my mind is not that complicated at all.<br /><br />Feels like it's long back since the beginning, but just 4 yrs.. which added with the previous 2 has been the most eventful years of my life. A lot has changed, a lot hasn't but a lot happened in between. After the pretty boring first few months in CET, it changed all of a sudden around the time I started this blog. Been a roller-coaster since then. To be honest, I've never been much of a writer and those reading here would know it. But the blog has helped me to keep a log of events and stuff that mattered most to me. I still feel like the 'just out of school' kid that I was then - lost, arrogant, confident, silent, talkative, foolish, loyal. I've got to thank all my loved ones around me for everything. Life's always great, you only have to make sure you're looking at it with your eyes open.<br /><br />Final words of acknowledgment to all those idiots (right now being an idiot is the most fashionable thing to be) who are following the blog and those who've dropped by with useless comments. Keep it going.. ;-) There's nothing like negative publicity. And hope the blog will still be alive to celebrate another birthday.JFxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17311988206575395920noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20274229.post-19137705360443863812009-12-18T08:22:00.000-08:002009-12-26T02:38:56.361-08:00IFFK - '09Once every year during the hot wintry month of December in Kerala comes the visual treat of movie splendor - IFFK. I chanced upon being part of the fest only twice, but both times it gave me immense pleasure to see the world through the movies.<br /><br />Being back in hometown only for a brief period and spending the first few days in cinema halls, it almost became a fashion asking me the question- have you come home to watch movies. But if those asking the question had gone for the fest, they would've known why. The film fest took my breath away the first time and didn't disappoint this time too. I got to see just 10 movies this time around, due to various reasons. So I'm not in a position to make any authoritative appreciation/criticism about the fest. But who cares I'm blogging. Now START CAMERA ACTION...<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTwJ6zQd2LcbE_SajNNXotE7okyyKSs9yNnrNzgPcXNGJTP9RZ_RdGIx_lqY_aymzWSrYo6AdFMgJ_RWbB8-nK4EuSirqvD8l4sTcrnX1aCbqKLPupfGTOKkLrrUL70s0ybxsY/s1600-h/My_secret_sky_movie_351953767.jpg"> <img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 176px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTwJ6zQd2LcbE_SajNNXotE7okyyKSs9yNnrNzgPcXNGJTP9RZ_RdGIx_lqY_aymzWSrYo6AdFMgJ_RWbB8-nK4EuSirqvD8l4sTcrnX1aCbqKLPupfGTOKkLrrUL70s0ybxsY/s200/My_secret_sky_movie_351953767.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5416633061891137554" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTgcbDvALM0pGfNPW0od90qzSgDWVa-cIlVWoe0tkPbBqnjuTQXaBZlAOUt1-QLTUgwLSdpc3fpMl8BWNlIXeQKg8aKNiiFxLZljj9XSZP5i_OnB9b8FjGU_H3MX6c9dOLzZhn/s1600-h/broken_embraces.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 140px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTgcbDvALM0pGfNPW0od90qzSgDWVa-cIlVWoe0tkPbBqnjuTQXaBZlAOUt1-QLTUgwLSdpc3fpMl8BWNlIXeQKg8aKNiiFxLZljj9XSZP5i_OnB9b8FjGU_H3MX6c9dOLzZhn/s200/broken_embraces.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5416633068959084034" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2r4f_fkivSjzxCeq26fOs9wd_vlg6DpP12LNvEKzOni-Jp7_XG88i2XX9HoBttTLj7_QKAYh1yP1knKw4WioIj71iNHv8nOgH1HhIEsaJ9G8rppTpGw3OdOHg7a4ijbW67XGS/s1600-h/rithu+film+wallpaper+photos+stills.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 145px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2r4f_fkivSjzxCeq26fOs9wd_vlg6DpP12LNvEKzOni-Jp7_XG88i2XX9HoBttTLj7_QKAYh1yP1knKw4WioIj71iNHv8nOgH1HhIEsaJ9G8rppTpGw3OdOHg7a4ijbW67XGS/s200/rithu+film+wallpaper+photos+stills.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5416633074145461234" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />The movies I liked the most were <span style="font-style: italic;">My Secret Sky</span>, <span style="font-style: italic;">Broken Embraces </span>and <span style="font-style: italic;">Rithu. My</span> <span style="font-style: italic;">Secret Sky</span> talks about the life of two children in the farms of Africa after their mother dies. How they come to town to fulfill their mother's dream of entering a hand-crafted mat in a competition. The movie had all the elements - a serious theme, moments of joy, beautiful shots etc.. The spanish master Almodovar is back this year with <span style="font-style: italic;">Broken Embraces. </span>The movie has complicated relationships akin to the directors style. And the whole mesh of relations unravel amongst awesome camera-work. Watching the movie in first row of the theatre, the areal scene in which the camera zooms in onto a car driving in a deserted highway - unforgettable.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Rithu </span>is the latest offering by renowned malayalam film director - Shyamaprasad. The movie tells the story about 3 friends in the current generation <span style="font-style: italic;">mallu</span> youth. Although the movie might not have garnered as much critical acclaim as the directors previous movies, I hold it close to my heart cuz I'm part of that group and could connect with the movie so easily. Some readers might've noticed that I borrowed the title of previous blog from tag line of <span style="font-style: italic;">Rithu</span>. Another movie which I felt is very good is <span style="font-style: italic;">About Elly.</span> The movie captured the tension of characters during a catastrophic incident very realistically.<br /><br />One thing different from the previous IFFK was that this time we went for <span style="font-style: italic;">desi</span> films too, instead of the all <span style="font-style: italic;">phorein</span> policy. That was a revelation in itself. Watching <span style="font-style: italic;">Thaniyavarthanam</span> and <span style="font-style: italic;">Dev D</span> felt as good as watching movies from abroad. <span style="font-style: italic;"></span>But somehow we failed to catch the French New Wave. The two movies in that category that we saw - <span style="font-style: italic;">Cleo from 5 to 7 </span>and <span style="font-style: italic;">Pierrot goes wild</span> felt pretty ordinary. <span style="font-style: italic;">Cleo </span>had it's good moments, but the comedy in <span style="font-style: italic;">Pierrot</span> was completely beyond us. <span style="font-style: italic;">Looking for Eric </span>is an ok movie, the best parts being replay of goals being scored by Cantona. I'm still confused about the ending of <span style="font-style: italic;">Divine</span>. If someone watches it, please explain.<br /><br />Overall, the film festival was a very satisfying event. Last time the mix of movies were better cuz we got to see more movies which were purely entertaining. Maybe we got our selection of films to watch a li'l wrong. But that doesn't take anything away from how much we liked it. And would love to watch many more films... next December. CUT!JFxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17311988206575395920noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20274229.post-62892516357869491022009-12-16T08:56:00.000-08:002009-12-16T09:25:02.477-08:00Seasons Change.. Do we?Home is where your heart is. We always end up following our heart, where ever we are. Life takes us to places we never dreamed we would be, yet we always come back searching for our heart. But what if your heart has been split and send off to places, all over the world?<br /><br />The biggest chunk of my heart is still in Trivandrum and that's where I've returned to now. My journey started of here. And going round a circle, I wish to end it here.<br /><br />People often ask, what's there in a place? why get stuck? get going to somewhere better..<br />I say, it's not places that we get stuck in. Life moves forward only if we move forward in our mind, our vision, our dreams.. Let memories not hold you back, instead thrust you forward. Never stop dreaming, that's the important thing. The place doesn't matter in terms of progress in life. But it does when you ask yourself where the heart is..<br /><br />That led me to the first serious question I asked myself in this direction after staying away from home for the longest period in my life - Is all of this really worth it?JFxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17311988206575395920noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20274229.post-33846986947103095222009-11-16T11:54:00.001-08:002009-11-16T11:54:57.977-08:00NumbThe Linkin' Park song playing on songbird right now is so apt for my current mood. 1:00 am and you find out that the bug in the program has rendered your work of about 5 hours corrupted. You cannot but smile at the laptop and say this has to happen just now - 3 days before the DVLSI mini project submission.<br /><br />How I wish the submission date wasn't extended last week and everyone would've been the same kinda ***t I'm in right now. The bright side is I get something to write on in the blog because.. because I dont have anything to do now! God save our souls..JFxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17311988206575395920noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20274229.post-34809125466028581602009-10-14T02:26:00.000-07:002009-12-26T02:44:13.052-08:00PotluckEvery time I think it's over now, somehow she returns back into my life with more challenges. I'd been under the impression that after not getting through the Rythmica auditions at IISc, it would really be the end. Then came Potluck and the challenge was much greater than previous times for me.<br /><br />We always had someone doing the directing/coordinating part in the band while in CET. I just had to simply sit around and watch them all practising. But this time around I turned out to be the senior-most guy, in the sense I was the only one who'd actually performed with a band. Determination and love for music are the two things required to keep it going. We had enough of both and with the fun added, we got it through. And the CEDT freshers band was formed - Mitsu and me on Vocals, Gaurav and Bach (Suraj as he is known here) on guitars, Navyendu on Violin and Abhishek and Makarand on Keys. We did a pretty good show on stage for first-timers, though it had moments like Gaurav breaking the pluckdrum half-way into the final song. Hoping to continue with the band in future..<br /><br />Though the band performance was the most important part of the event for me, Potluck is much more than that. Let me start from the beginning. Potluck is a family gettogether of our department. The 'crazy' CEDT family, including the faculty, alumini, seniors and freshers. We, the freshers are in charge of organising the two day event involving sports, cultural nite and dinner. I'm happy to say that both sports and cultural events went very well. Esp. cultural events since Akansha and me were heading the cultural comittee ;-). The night ended with a sumptuous dinner and long photo session.<br /><br />Our Potluck day didn't end there. Gaurav, Bach and me set out to airport on Gaurav's Honda City at around 11pm. The route to airport is one of the best I've seen. The new airport looks really great. We sat down and had drinks at CCD outside the airport. Too bad the parking cost us Rs 80/half hour or we'd stayed longer. Thanks to Gaurav, I got to drive the car back to IISc. It felt awesome. Thouroughly enjoyed the ride back. Thus ended a really nice saturday and it was back to work from next day.JFxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17311988206575395920noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20274229.post-72495772915816642312009-09-10T02:10:00.000-07:002009-09-10T02:11:53.384-07:00PeopleMy roommate left yesterday. Though he had reservations about taking PhD from the beginning, the news kinda came as a shock to me. The stay here was brief, but we had some nice time together.<br /><br />IISc is the first time I'm properly staying in hostel. The only thing I was sceptical about was having a roomie whom I might not like. Thankfully Soumya turned out to be a nice guy and we never had problems adjusting. We met only once or even less a day and had a few good chats. While leaving, he left behind a note which was very thoughtful. Now all of a sudden, the big room seems void and very large with just me.<br /><br />The news also put into perspective my thoughts about people we meet in our lifetime. Some we see and never see again. Some we meet and still never meet again, but wish we could. There are still others who remain with you through your life and finally those who are far away but close at heart.JFxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17311988206575395920noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20274229.post-12219254419894866342009-09-10T02:05:00.001-07:002009-09-10T02:10:43.325-07:00Treading Unknown Waters<span style="font-weight: bold;">Some day in week 1: 11:30pm PD-220</span><br />Just back from my own beautiful moment of the day - the midnight walk back to my IISc hostel room listening to iPod. I didn't know whether Soumya, ma roomie, is back yet. Seems he's back early today and out talking to someone. Tomorrow it will be a week since I left my hometown.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">IISc</span><br />I feel blessed to have been part of three awesome campuses. Right from the beauty of Loyola in school days, to the elegance of CET and now IISc. All three have something in common - unlimited greenery, and that's something I enjoy very much. It's said that the temperature in IISc is three degrees below the normal temperature of the city. All the roads are bound on both sides by trees. Though it's not the spring season, I can imagine how it would be during full bloom. None of the buildings are more than 2-3 floors high, each unique in design. They seem to pop their head occasionally out of the green and does not stand out from the surroundings. The main building is an exception. Made of some kind of white stone, just one view of it takes us to the grandeur of 1900s. Our admission procedure was held in the main building. Before that we'd to pick lot to decide our hostel room and I got PD-220.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Hostel</span><br />The walk towards my hostel room seemed an endless one, esp. with a bag full of stuff. I'd to cross a busy road. Thankfully the guard in the gate opposite guided me to the hostel. The room is a double room. It's really spacious with large wardrobe, well furnished and even a small balcony to top it all. There's also a terrace nearby. The area is very silent at night (which is pretty much the only time I'm there). My roomie is a bengali - Soumya. I got quite a shock when he messaged me for the first time telling <his> name and informing that <he>'d arrived ;-). The name is pronounced Shomu, pretty nice guy about to do PhD in ECE dept. Though the hostel is about a km from main areas, I like it and the walk back to the room at night.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">12:00pm PD-220, a week later.</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">CEDT</span><br />The department had impressed us a lot the first time we were here for the test and interview. On the official day 1 in the department, we were taken around the department, shown the labs and given a briefing about the subjects. Both Suraj and me felt like the labs comprised of our favourite subjects clubbed into one MTech course. The teachers were jolly, even overdoing it occassionally with chalus. Now we're past a week into classes. Labs are about to start soon. That's gonna be the tuff and time consuming part according to seniors and the dept would virtually be our second home. Four of our subjects have lab and we get to have a hands-on experience in electronics design.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">September 5: U-47</span><br />Now in Sreejith's room. It's more than a month now. Starting to taste the real IISc life. The past month was pretty good with not much work. But towards the end we got to know what's going to haunt us for the next 22 months. Lab assignment submissions seems to be the worst of that nightmare now, but who knows what all are going to be thrown us at from now on. Lab work is enjoyable if you know how to do it. But sitting in front of some problem without a clue how to solve it for hours at a stretch is plain disappointing. Hmm.. Hope the situation gets better if we start studying. How to find time to that is another question.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Sept 7/8: Lab</span><br />Riding back to hostel at 4:00 am.</he></his>JFxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17311988206575395920noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20274229.post-47497413478151686262009-07-27T19:52:00.000-07:002009-07-27T19:58:26.440-07:00IISc beckonsI'm off to IISc, Bangalore today. I'd thought I would write something long enough about it, but seriously nothing coming into my mind. Cya all. The good thing about net is that it does not care about geographical locations. So the me in Bangalore would be the same here. And hopefully I'll get enough time to keep blogging. KU has been kind enough in that respect.. :-)JFxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17311988206575395920noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20274229.post-64544482412859025782009-07-23T10:47:00.000-07:002009-07-24T21:18:39.943-07:00HOTC Ch 7: The Rains Went By<span style="font-size:85%;">It's almost a month since CETlife officially ended. I hadn't thought about taking the series this far when I started off back in S6. The final two sems have been as happening as the previous ones but thinking back about it when it's over is tough. But I've got a feeling that HOTC's gotta be completed and if dont do it now, I never might. So..</span><br /><br />A new semester, a new hope, a new beginning.. No No! we were right in the middle of the storm like in the beginning of HP7 and we didn't have time to appreciate the change in classroom. We were Potters in search of the horcrux jobs, with Albus Samson helping us out at CGPU. That's when the bubble-that-must-not-be-named burst (literally) into scene. Things never got better after that and even after a year our batch is still bathing in the aftershock. (pardon me for the absurd allegory in previous statements :-) . The fact that our class secured the most number of jobs in the batch was little consolation for what happened.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6plXXvoLPykvuIczHiKVFami_ET1hunQPsuRCKGK2Gq1U5dt7qizIPsoHJz3PPzRpndlmvoB7p1Ia95YqTWTOBYsVy0mPxG0uBYqtDHwrd3BrPyVej6URXkNMuLedYcF0FFNr/s1600-h/DSC00816.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6plXXvoLPykvuIczHiKVFami_ET1hunQPsuRCKGK2Gq1U5dt7qizIPsoHJz3PPzRpndlmvoB7p1Ia95YqTWTOBYsVy0mPxG0uBYqtDHwrd3BrPyVej6URXkNMuLedYcF0FFNr/s200/DSC00816.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5362244021045841490" border="0" /></a><br />Looking at the smaller picture, the placement season was an 'experience'. There were the PPTs of companies in the beginning. The real deal didn't bore us as much as the PPTs though. It was a special sight seeing us dressed well, as executives for a change (got to say our ladies looked better those days too.. ;-). Those days provided some unforgettable scenes.. The joy after getting a job, the disappointed figures being consoled by friends. I was able to stay back many of those days 'cuz of the proximity of my house. Saw a lot of gr8 friends groups around CGPU including ours - staying together during the hard times. It had the funny moments too.. Sure going round and round the pillar before an interview and three guys doing the same after he'd gone in, AS claiming 'I love japanese people, I love japanese culture' at Toshiba interview and a lot more..<br /><br />Then c<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw_TD7Y0AT2izSKWKLfcYlSQfvQjOQ4ED81tJqjiO0ZrpLjdBtQ0cz5mneozx1D7TxSG4HRAP1tWNF2rxBhas9n1N_TSbHAHstaHdw3VXY5gcnB52pLb8RAyoQ-J97FaxhK4iN/s1600-h/IMG_3458.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw_TD7Y0AT2izSKWKLfcYlSQfvQjOQ4ED81tJqjiO0ZrpLjdBtQ0cz5mneozx1D7TxSG4HRAP1tWNF2rxBhas9n1N_TSbHAHstaHdw3VXY5gcnB52pLb8RAyoQ-J97FaxhK4iN/s200/IMG_3458.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5362244375505457218" border="0" /></a>ame one day that could be named the Happiest day in HOTC. It was our onam celebration. There wasn't any celebration to tell about the previous year. But this was to be our final onam celebration and the AE batch of '09 rocked it <span style="font-style: italic;">Applied style</span>. Back were the laughter, the energy that had gone dim after S5 tour. After our customary trip around the campus (esp civil for obvious reasons), we were back in our class. Thanks <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKhKGFGJpPuUBKZuOIybCYsRW2D-Z7VInw94RqjE7AV_DBHYEEGopdxGsY5TBWpeE2_dmHjkngerOqXPs33iwFHVNOEFnBQOsYWv9Gk1bqBHjmYSwCfusGu9J6vkMpkLNXk3Q9/s1600-h/DSC00554-1.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 143px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKhKGFGJpPuUBKZuOIybCYsRW2D-Z7VInw94RqjE7AV_DBHYEEGopdxGsY5TBWpeE2_dmHjkngerOqXPs33iwFHVNOEFnBQOsYWv9Gk1bqBHjmYSwCfusGu9J6vkMpkLNXk3Q9/s200/DSC00554-1.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5362244738687195170" border="0" /></a>to some organising by LN, we'd plenty of <span style="font-style: italic;">payasam</span> and sweets. Then a session of <span style="font-style: italic;">onappattu</span> accompanied by traditional dances (<span style="font-style: italic;">dappankkuthu</span>). There were many cameras around and none of them were disappointed. We made all kinda permutations and combinations for group photos sessions which lasted well into the evening. There were even absurd ones like <span style="font-style: italic;">Akashagopuram kandu thenjavar</span>.<br /><br />Robotics was sti<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQquhZHDeYj8gRMZZeeEO3xBcjqgn-iOOjXL1gAUTMGUej_eJAYIKB0X3d6bN6OamD5IKsSZjKEBIwpM9IQfQvA2crNK3OkhcU2Rjn91-tshmWl7bVr-ZHduVeo32Kjit_xgCK/s1600-h/IMG_3762.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQquhZHDeYj8gRMZZeeEO3xBcjqgn-iOOjXL1gAUTMGUej_eJAYIKB0X3d6bN6OamD5IKsSZjKEBIwpM9IQfQvA2crNK3OkhcU2Rjn91-tshmWl7bVr-ZHduVeo32Kjit_xgCK/s200/IMG_3762.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5362245347807775858" border="0" /></a>ll in our veins and another <span style="font-style: italic;">Shaastra</span> was coming along. This time we secured entry in two competitions (thanks to AS). Sleepless preparation nights (mostly just chatting around) and countless screwings (?) 'n debuggings later, we'd three bots ready. One was shaped futuristic-ally like a bat-mobile though it ended up having stability issues. This time, there were more of us making the trip. But we couldn't roam around the campus as much as previous time 'cuz we'd competitions on two days. The robotics c<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikZWRs7SmijHSPx2pVsoX4o4aIO6wPJ5idQZ1JEVV3SW1eR0fP0NzluwChseixD5fTRTtw0Zk09GGHhT9_X2S0_oR5Uv5O5FGKgQBKAGkMDalKuC-xvpuxXwcwTeqenwQ_bWAt/s1600-h/DSC01401.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikZWRs7SmijHSPx2pVsoX4o4aIO6wPJ5idQZ1JEVV3SW1eR0fP0NzluwChseixD5fTRTtw0Zk09GGHhT9_X2S0_oR5Uv5O5FGKgQBKAGkMDalKuC-xvpuxXwcwTeqenwQ_bWAt/s200/DSC01401.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5362245722849848018" border="0" /></a>ompetition was real tuff and we were a tad disappointed by it's organisation. Else might've had a chance at winning a prize. The laser show was stupendous! We did go to the beach and spencer plaza. The time we spend at CCD were enjoyable too.<br /><br />Towards the end of the sem, we went for another robotics compet<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIUPtavAfii68A6i1_iLf89jhFwhvhSdrde_Iwg5oHKmDIl8BPVdn17k0JVKwSDdaiNVgM6SN1SB5A0M7TRr6HE_6RqyE3nU3zuX5BhoQ5fNv49iVk90Ne3wa-NfGmIEQ1CXA6/s1600-h/DSC02512.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIUPtavAfii68A6i1_iLf89jhFwhvhSdrde_Iwg5oHKmDIl8BPVdn17k0JVKwSDdaiNVgM6SN1SB5A0M7TRr6HE_6RqyE3nU3zuX5BhoQ5fNv49iVk90Ne3wa-NfGmIEQ1CXA6/s200/DSC02512.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5362246811619442994" border="0" /></a>ition at GEC, Trissur as part of their tech fest - <span style="font-style: italic;">Resonance</span>. Our group had become professional by then, each knew his part of the work. We were rewarded with 4000 bucks too though the organisers were reluctant at giving out prizes. We also witnessed the first and last <span style="font-style: italic;">Sargam</span> (inter-sem) which went through without much fanfare. I believe Jisha (in pic) won many dance prizes. Another thing to take notice was that the teachers were in charge of the events, which told a lot about the political scenario.<br /><br />In academics, lectures became more of a formalit<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt_45-VjXo5icg20ZomsShdVPbw8Yp7INvIv3IU7_YXt3414ExwUJT8IYPdPaiuqd_ErTNvbqL02l_5z8FynO5qZ22KljOUBk9db2c4JvfcuoCH4AB1cXyYZlr2Yw6Zi6mliMN/s1600-h/DSC02087.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt_45-VjXo5icg20ZomsShdVPbw8Yp7INvIv3IU7_YXt3414ExwUJT8IYPdPaiuqd_ErTNvbqL02l_5z8FynO5qZ22KljOUBk9db2c4JvfcuoCH4AB1cXyYZlr2Yw6Zi6mliMN/s200/DSC02087.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5362247142208117874" border="0" /></a>y even though teachers showed their love by drawing hearts in class. We had our seminar and preliminary presentation(s) of main projects throughout the sem. We'd thought of them with reverence in the previous sems. But as usual, most of the work was done at the last minute, keeping up the CET tradition and most of us got through fine. The university exams came along dragging it's feet. We didn't have proper answers to his questions, but survived somehow thanks to our combined efforts. Thus ended the prefinal semester of CETlife and the fact that it would be ending soon was dawning on us.JFxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17311988206575395920noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20274229.post-98865345378859552009-07-15T09:16:00.000-07:002009-07-23T10:56:38.500-07:00InspirationThere was a time when I admired his academic proficiency and excellent teaching skills, but towards the end of my schooling days AO sir (as we lovingly and often fearfully call him) became much more than that for many of us.. a true inspiration. Today we went to visit him again and could just sit with awe at what he said.<br /><br />My pals, Ram, Appu, Gokul, Somu and I used to sit nearest to sir during the classes, in the side bench. He would sit down at a chair beside me to rest after solving problems on the board. The whole class would still be pondering over whether to try doing the questions by themselves or just take down what's written on the board. We, the ones nearest to him knew his eyes would be on what we did. That must be the time our brain worked to it's fullest capacity till now. Physics stopped becoming a subject to study. It became our passion.<br /><br />I don't know how to explain the change in our minds towards AO through the two years. What was once fear, turned gradually into respect and finally admiration. His persona must have been the inspiration of so many students, students about whom he still talks in abundance even with his failing strength. Cheers to my greatest teacher. Thank you sir and we'll try to make the best of the faith you put in us..JFxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17311988206575395920noreply@blogger.com2