Monday, December 12, 2005

A sudden self Realisation

I happened to check the synonym of the word - "Ungrateful" and found it to be "Not feeling or exhibiting gratitude, thanks, or appreciation". Well, something strikes me. This whole stuff sounds familiar. Where did i see this! where did i hear this! I started racking my mind. I dont know where i saw that. but still everything sounded too familiar.

It was then, realisation struck me. The process of self realisation always helps you discover deeper depths, inner implied meaning of a lot of things. Shit!... how did i miss that! Everyday....every minute... i 'm living in the midst of it, it is right here....surrounding me...always around me.... but still i was too lazy, or probably too immature or even naive, to note that i was surrounded by it.

No one really accepts it heartily that he/she was fooled. The feeling is not exactly quite comfortable. Now, with that uncomfortableness, i start realising i was fooled. Didnt even have a clue as to what was happening. Not once, but a hundred time!

Why did i allow myself to be manipulated ! How did i allow myself to be manipulated ! It just reminds me of a towel! when you need that, you search for it, find it! Ok, you use that! juz throw that and move ahead! You dont care what happens to it! Your work is done! Thats was all, you wanted !

Yeah, true. This world is like that. The small world that i saw in BITS is not the real one. World is much bigger, much deceptive, a thousand times more cunning than i thought! Lies, hate, ungratefulness, jealous - Every where. Every one is actually waiting to use someone else to get his work done. If you close your eyes for a minute, that it. You find that a hundred people have used you but only a few genuinely care about what is happening to you! Till you find those "few" people, life is difficult. Everyday survival is just a battle!

Tuesday, November 15, 2005

A Fresh start

As a kid, i always used to wonder what this one really meant! "Computer" - This word always used to puzzle me. I have always wanted to open a computer and see what lies inside that. Then came the Internet. One more thing in my never ending list of "puzzling things". I never understood what it meant(Even now i dont, just that i have got used to it! ). I have always had a aversion towards biology ( Reason: may be its very silly, but the truth is i feel very disgusting to see, talk or even think about operation, operation theatre, hospitals,...). This one combined with my fascination for computer made me choose Computer Science Group over Biology Group ( there were just two group in my school) in my higher secondary.

Very soon, my romance with computer science ended with a series of low score in the tests and to add to the woes, i had a very boring and uninteresting teacher for Computer science. I never cared to be awake in her classes. The practical classes, were even more boring than the theory part. Only consolation being the games that were available on the lab machines. I started going to computer science tution in my twelfth standard. Though, i didnt understand anything, i just mugged up everything, right from hello world program to some multi-threading programs in the practicals. Somehow I made a very decent score in computer science in 12th and got away with it!

Then came the very difficult part, choosing stream in my UG program. I found physics to be a much better choice compared to computer science(as per my higher secondary experience). Hence, i took up ECE in GCT, Coimbatore( though, there was a big dilemma to choose REC computer Science) and when it was time to enter my choice for BITS, i made the biggest mistake of my life. I chose EEE over other courses. Being honest, I never understood why i took that and i still dont understand anything in that! I will say i dont even know the basic kirchoff's law or the norton and thevenin's theorems in EEE ( For all these names, i had to search the net! ) Somehow, i crossed three years in BITS with EEE and now in fourth year, i find that i'm irresistibly attracted to Computer science. May be addicted to it. But to be honest, i dont have any scope in EEE any further. Probably thats why i'm teaching myself to turn my attention towards some other thing! Whatever it is, now i really dont have any option....Just to stay atop of the tide and let myself get carried where it takes me!

Friday, November 11, 2005

Left stranded!

Fours months have gone after coming here. Now just one more month to go. I hear all kinds of news. I develop all kinds of doubts, confusion. Everyone has started to think about job. People have started making jobs in their PS. Tension starts gripping everyone. Uncertainity is my companion! May be I should have been there in the campus for the first sem! A lot of other "May Be's" come to the mind! Now comes the luck factor. When things dont go your way or when the going gets tough, you blame all your inefficiency and inability on this innocent, non-existent "Luck Factor". You feel you are unlucky. I'm no exception!

Everything was new after coming here. I was introduced to this glamourous corporate life(Glamourous n charming - to stay out n watch but not once you get into it). When i really started getting the corporate feel, i have to get back to where i believe i really belong. The problem is that even that isin't permanent. I can't sit back and relax. I have to find a way to make my way back here. I dont have a sense of belongingness in either place. Not here, Not there. Its all gone. The feeling of belongingness, feeling at home in bits , everything is gone now. Same is the case with this life!

Now i'm in a really confused state. I can't stop thinking about this! Where do i really belong! Neither here ....nor there....do i belong...then where is the place for me! When your mind does the same thing over n over and again n again, it really loses the likingness for that. If this job has given me such a feel in just four months time, then I really can't think about doing this work for the rest of my life! yeah...i'm really left stranded! stranded in the middle! hanging in balance....Waiting to take side!

Thursday, November 10, 2005

Diwali madness!

Diwali - The Festival of lights! The day, Lord Krishna killed Naragasura. Well, thats what oldies will say when you ask them what is diwali! May be its nothing more than a way to earn two days holidays or way to take a break from your busy n boring life. May be this is what a Bangalorean will say!

A typical lower middle class family man sees this as an oppurtunity to get his children some new clothes, crackers, sweets... get his wife some new sarees.... the much awaited break to take his family to his In-Law's place....or probably to some movie. whatever it is, surely its the time for the whole family to be happy...to enjoy...atleast once in a year!

Every city certainly springs into a rocking mood for diwali. Coimbatore, this normally silent city (silent after the serial bomb blast) has certainly got back on its feet for this diwali. That was visible from the rush that was there in every shop! Crowded Streets, Crowded shops, Crowded buses!It was evident from everything!

The day before diwali, you could see every two wheeler carrying more than two people! I started wondering why there was such a madness ! You can see every shop overflowing with eager and anxious people who rush to make their last minute purchase. Sure, diwali is the time to enjoy. Everyone have every right to do that. But not at the cost of others....others happiness!Well, i started realising the fault wasn't theirs!

Coimbatore being a city of mills, having as much mills as the colleges there(though only a handful of them are operating these days!) has a huge number of people working in mills and other industries. Every year, they get bonus for diwali from the mill and industries. People start planning and make their list of purchase well in advance...i wont be surprised if i learn that they had started their planning as early as June! But the mill owners just drag n drag till the very last minute. Exactly a day before the festival, they give the diwali bonus to the workers. In such a situation, what else do you expect ! just madness...craziness everywhere! What are they going to lose if they give that money sometime in advance! If they have decided to give the money, then why should he hold that back till that very last moment! If people get that amount in advance, it will atleast allow the people to make their purchase at their leisure, not in such a hurry!

Well, when are they going to learn to be rational! This mad rush could really turn out to be disastrous! Already we hear a lot of people have got killed in Stampede...road accidents.. and a lot more on this diwali eve!Sad things happening when it was actually the time to be happy! when are they going to realise their mistakes! If done once, its mistake...If its repeated again, then its a blunder! Wonder who is going to put an end to these blunders!

Monday, October 24, 2005

Expectations!

I'm not a saint and so are you! May be saints don't wish for anything or don't have any expectation. Even that is not true. He's always waiting for salvation. Expecting an answer to his life or whatever! Everyone of us have expectations.

You get up in the morning expecting a bed-coffee from your mom. You get ready. Go to the office expecting some better assignment than your current boring one. You submit your code to your manager expecting some recognition, a word of praise, encouragement. All in all, right from dawn to dusk, you have few expectations.

Well, with expectation, there comes every possibility of disappointment. You expect something to happen, but it turns out to be other way round. You get disappointed. It can be a small disappointment like missing your bed-coffee to a bigger one like missing your promotion. Whatever it is, disappointment surely pulls your spirits down.

Once you get disappointed, you recover quick. It happens twice, fine. you can take that too! but if it keeps happening, then comes the problem. You start thinking. Why does this thing happen. Why does this thing "always" happen! That too, only for me! Then, there comes the transition. Your disappointment changes into frustration.

May be, you can overcome frustration too! But, when things don't go well, when you are already frustrated, then comes the biggest problem of all. Your frustration turns into depression. All the way, if you have had some support, probably it would have been better, may be you wouldn't have come to that state.

Few people stay fine, when they dont think much ( Anand, Praga- guess you know who i'm talking about! others ignore and move ahead!). Once they start thinking, then comes the problem. When people go to a depressed state, they start thinking a lot. Lot of crazy stuffs, real crazy stuffs. So, what is the solution? The best solution, probably, is "Dont have any expectations!", which ,of course, is not possible in one way or the other. So, finally, it boils down to "A Solution-less Problem Case!". You get into it, you go through that. Only you know how to come out of it!

Life

Some people say Life is beautiful while other consider Life to be nothing more than a mere burden. Well, how do i see Life? what is my perception ? I have never thought about this. Not till this very moment.

I will call Life, a mystery, probably more interesting and thrilling than a Ludlum's novel. It is a mystery, that is waiting to be solved. Everyday, the things that unveil are so varied, different, interesting and above all, unexpected. You can expect every god damn unexpected thing to happen. Every now and then, it keeps springing surprises. Be it good or bad, whatever it is, its a sweet mystery.

Never had any plans for the future. Its always too easy to take things as it comes. Nothing to worry. No big plans on hand. Sit and relax till you encounter something. How wonderful it is! Yeah,true!nothing to care about...worry about...But this one doesn't always work out. You , sometimes, have to stay prepared for a few things.

Its not always a cake walk. Sometimes, you need to really fight hard for survival. If you haven't planned, you might not be in a position to face the situation, for no one is an expert in handling all the challenges that life throws at you.

May be, this is the reason for my change - from "a careless, dont care about the future - guy" to "a worried about the future - guy"! With age, comes responsibilities, and of course, few worries too! But, probably thats the beauty of life. In every phase, you come across new things and eventually you learn to tackle that too. So, guess i have hit such a thing and its time to learn a few things!

Tuesday, October 11, 2005

A Perfect Nonsense

You are in "C World". You do something, it doesn't turn out to be what you expected it to be. You ask for something, you dont get it. You think of something, it vanishes. You touch something, it breaks. In short, you were put up in a place where everything sucks!

You find a door, a locked door. Door which might lead to the heaven - probably, Alice's Wonderland! You go in search of the key. You ask everyone around you. Then finally you were given a deal. You do the job, you take the key! But there's one condition too! you can use the key only once! After that it will vanish!nice deal! pretty fair! You go for that!

You put your heart and soul in that job. You know its way too hard, atleast for you. But even then, you desperately need the key. You have to get outta this place! You are thirsty, you ignore that! You have to get the key! You are hungry, you ignore that! You have to get the key! You are tired and sleepy, you ignore that! You have to get the key! you work as if you are a machine that has no hunger, thirst, sleep, tiredness, nothing! Then finally there comes the day, when your work is rewarded. You are given the key- the key that takes you to the Wonderland!

You snatch the key, run. Run towards the door, with whatever energy you have got. You put the key in the key hole. Then, turn back, to say a final Good-bye to this world! You turn the key! You hear the clicking sound behind the latch. The door opens! Yeah...thats your heaven! You go inside. The first thing you see in that world is a Counter. You wonder what that counter is. It was a checking counter. The cop in the checking counter asks for your passport and visa. Oh ....shit! did i bring that one! You search your shirt pocket! nothing was there! Nothing!So Near yet So far!

Oh yeah, did you forget something!You have the key in your trousers! Thank god! you step in! Something was waiting for you! You were called by the Councellor! Oh no! not again! He says that your Visa will expire in 4 Months. After that you can't stay there! you have to leave that world! But you can't get back to the C-World too. You need to get a Visa for that too!

You are sad! You plan to take the visa to get back to the C world! But there was a huge competition! You were asked a few crapy things, and finally after convincing the Officer there, you get the Visa. They send you back to this C world after 4 months.

Once again they check for your passport and visa. You turn back, longing to take a look at the door. There it is gone. Its gone once and for all. You are trapped. Trapped in this world. Now, you can't go there! you have to stay here! But this time you dont have any deal but you have to work the same way, you worked to earn the key!

Well, I have perfectly no idea why i'm writing this but I believe this certainly is the case of PS-2 students like me atleast! You come here to this C World - Corporate World! You get the feeling that PS-2 is nothing more than a bonded labour scheme. Then you go back to the wonderland - BITS! but there also you can't stay more than a sem after the PS. You again take some job in some XYZ Company and come back here and do the same coding stuffs! Yeah the same shit!

Thursday, September 15, 2005

OOP!!!

"Electives"- what comes to your mind when i say that word?... Ask any Bitsian, the spontaneous answer will be ..."An easy 'A' Grade!".Yeah....I'm also one among them....

It was my third year beginning.Back from the vacation with a lot of plans, very unrealistic ones. Just like every year,i vowed to do well atleast that semester. As usual was too confident or rather over confident and was too sure that i would do well that semester.I wanted to make all kinds of positive moves.I too planned to take an Elective just like most of my wingies.Then started the discussion, what elective should we take? DP.... SimLog..... IWMM ..... ComNet.....OOP....a lot more came to our mind..... some decided to take DP, while some decided on IWMM (which meant the easiest A).Myself and Bala decided to go for OOP,as though we were some computer geeks!.Everyone warned us about OOP.Seven Sup-T,three online tests,one assignment with heavy weightage and all that components meant lot of hard work was needed.Knowing my attendance rate and amount of time i spend studying, my wingies advised not to go for OOP.But as usual, my thadi took over me.I took the course.The worst of all, Bala also took that course following me!

OOP class was at the seventh hour(2.00 P.M) of monday series.It was the worst class hour that anyone would ask for.Right after the lunch, no one feels like goin' to the class.So did I feel.But somehow forced myself to attend the class cos i had vowed to do that sem well.To add to my laziness, the OOP instructor was too bad and heard it was better not to attend any class than to attend his!I decided..."Thats it !! I'm not goin' to that class anymore".So, just like any other course, I stopped attending OOP class in the second week of that semester and Bala also stopped attending that class.At times, we both used to go to that class for Sup-T 's sake. Moreover, I wanted to attend atleast one Sup-T in my bitsian life ( it doesn't mean i didnt have Sup-T in any course before that . just that i never attended any!).

Time went.There came the first OOP test.It was on thursday.Unlike other subjects, I read for this one.Not for a day or two but for 4 days.I felt confident or rather over confident.But that was normal for me.I never touch the book, but when i do that.I start feeling as if i'm a master in that one!.We went to the test.It was in the first hour.Second hour we had EDIC Tuts.But who cares about that EDIC!.After the test, i was confident of making av +. and quite naturally, i didnt go to collect the paper.One night, i saw MP in the mess and he told me that I had made av - 10 in my first test.Well, surely this wasn't the start i wanted for my elective.I was really pissed off.But as usual, gussed it.I just told myself,"I dont give a damn !"

Then came the second test! I wasn't in a mood to write the test.I decided to get a makeup for that one.I inquired about the OOP IC.Everyone said he was pretty sac.So Myself and Bala took makeup for the Second test!We sent our request letters through MP.I waited for the makeup test for the next two weeks.No notice was put up.I just told myself "just forget it!".Then came the time for the assignment.We submitted the assignment group.A Group of Five was allowed.But we just had three in our group.Myself, Bala and MP.None of us were interested in working for the project.We somehow submitted the first module of the assignment copying from some group.

Then we heard that we had missed the first two Sup-T.So, myself and Bala decided to attend the common hours atleast, there after.We went to the common hour.It was 8.05 A.M. Even then Instructor did not come.Everyone started leaving the class.So we too left the class.While walking back, I heard someone say, as the makeup test was scheduled that day, the instructor didn't turn up.I was totally shocked.Then we both ran down to the IPC Notice Board from FD-1 upstairs.We found the notice there.We had forgot that thing cos of the OASIS Fever.The test was happening in FD-2.So, we ran to 2206. The instructor had asked to submit the medical prescription the previous day which we didnt do.So, the instructor asked us for the prescription.We didnt have it with us that time.He asked us to bring it.Time was 8.20 A.M. We went to our room and brought the prescription and the OOP Book as it was an open book test.Then after showing the prescription he allowed us to write the test.We were the first people to leave the hall though we started late!Then after a few days, we learnt that we had made av in that test!

Then came the assignment submission, we didn't write any code.We submitted some empty file with some other files which had nothing other than few variable declaration statement.After that we got screwed properly in the viva.There came the precomp total.Myself and Bala, we both had made some av -30 . All our "'A' in Elective" dreams have gone.Then, all that we wanted that time was a 'C'.We wanted to avoid the embracement of making a 'D' in an Elective.But to add to the worries, our OOP Compre was scheduled in between two CDCs! we tried to read for that one.As usual, we slept and atlast we had read for only 3 hours totally for that exam.We went to the compre and got a very unusually rod ...or rather roddest paper for the objective section.No hopes.We wrote something and came back.We didnt even bother to collect the compre paper.When we were in Delhi waiting for TN Express, we got the news from Pilani that myself and Bala have made av + 25 in the compre! That surely was the most unexpected news of that semester! Thank God....At last i was able to make a 'C' in that one....!

Bala saw my other blogs and he wanted me to write about our OOP test .Thats how this blog came!

A Bitsian Nostalgia

Past :

It was an usual winter day in Pilani......cold weather....freezing....frightening to think of that ice cold water.... fog was covering every inch of the bhawan corridor......even the ever active ...ever studying ghottu in my wing was asleep.....It was cold even inside the room......... not inside my rug....yeah....that was my heaven.....i would say ...there was nothing so heavenly.....like.... sleeping inside the rug on a cold winter day.....Room no:257,Budh Bhawan......yeah....that was my room......I never felt like coming out of it...when it was winter...... So did i feel even thatday......

BEEP!!BEEP!!.....hmm.....sounded familiar.....a very familiar sound..... oh.. yeah... that was praga's alarm clock.... it must be 7.55 A.M...... I heard some noise outside my room...... footsteps...... hurrying...towards to bogs....then...again in seconds ....hurrying back to the room....then the shouting started...."lets go to tuts..!!" ....." wake up da....idiot!!" ...i heard all sorts of foul words..... Determination.... yeah....i was showing a great deal of determination....."wont come out of my come....whatever....you say!"......then the banging started.....looked like i can't pretend to be asleep anymore.....i opened the door...unwillingly....hmm... as expected...praga was standing there.....he was telling me it was already 8..... time for tuts....I heard a voice in me..... "curse that tuts man!....why do they have these tuts everyday....! .... which idiot's idea is this tut thing!".....I told myself...."i juz cant take it any longer!....I waiting to get outta this shit..."

I went out.... and got ready for the tuts..... searched for my pen..... couldn't find that.....oh there...it is...it was inside my computer cabinet....safest place in my messed up room...... i took that ...examined it....checked if it was working.....nope...wasn't ......i ran to the H Wing .....knocked the first room.....no reply.....started banging...then slowly...a first yearite...came out....asking what was my problem...i asked him for a pen.....before he gave it to me...i snatched it from his hand....was already.....on my heels.....

The whole budh bhawan......road was covered by fog..... couldn't see anything beyond 10 ft........after a good sprint.....entered the class in FD-2..... even on that cold day....i could feel the heat in my Instructor's look.....oops ...did i call that a look....it was a stare...!..... but nothing was new to me......after all...i was a regular customer.....:) .... then took the tuts paper and went to a bench.... and started turning the Mu-E (Micro Electronics)book..in all directions....(it was an OB tut....else i wouldn't have come!!!) ...... "oh..yeah..there it is!...thats the answer....how could they afford to give such a stupid problem straight from the book.....that too.....in an OB...!".... I laughed....told myself..."Its your day...man!!!".... copied that problem....from the book...hurriedly....before i could finish.....i heard the instructor shout "Time up"...Somehow ...i managed to finish it and returned the paper to the instructor..... walked out of the class....

We guys started walking back towards bhawan.... while other studs left for the class (never had the habit of attending any class)..... On the way back ....i heard someone say..." The problem looked easy...but there was a small twist in that....did any of you notice that?"... thats what i was searching for...."Oh Dear!!! you missed it even today!!!one more zuk!! can't even open the account in this god damn course!!" ....well..i was sad..... not for making a zuk..... but for goin' to that tut.....could have slept a little more......

Then we came to the mess .....checked the breakfast....it was the same...uppma........surely that wasn't the best of my days.....went to the mess biah and asked for bread and jam...got that ....... came to the table....ate that bread and jam ... talked about the Marudhara cup.....that was scheduled for the weekend.... then we started walking towards the bhawan.....there it was....back in my clavern....once again...i got inside my rug...my heaven....sleeping.....with all my heart.....

Present:

The same..usual...typical Bangalore morning.....pleasant weather....I wake up at
8.30....dont hear anyone shout...dont hear anyone bang....... take all my time to get out of the bed..... come downstairs....brush my teeth.... take the newspaper....start reading all the crap...... then...when i feel there is nothing more left in that paper.....go to the bathroom.....get ready......

I come downstairs....lock the house.........take my bike..... "oh man....!!! not again....not this traffic...not the signals....not this...BMTC buses..!"....there it is... I'm maneuvering my bike through the dense traffic....i get to my office at around 11.....time for breakfast....call Bala on his phone....we both have our breakfast..in the 8th floor....come back...."oh..cha...forgot my coffee!"....get my coffee...when i settle down in my seat....the time...is 12.........start the coding from where i left the previous day.....i hear some sound in my stomach....probably some kind of acidic reaction.....is that some kind of a signal..."oh..i have to get something for my lunch!".....look at my watch....it is ten past three.....i go to the cafeteria and get bread & omelette.... then come back to my seat in half an hour...then i realise.... I 'm late for my all-hands meeting....rush to the conference room.....Thank God....my manager has not come yet.....i sit down....with a coffee in my hand.... time goes in a flash....it must be around 4.30 or probably 5.....come back....start doing the correction that my manager had said in the meeting......it is 7.30.....i feel..it's the time to leave home....go downstairs....start my bike......

Then something strikes me..... "oh...Am I really longing for this life....is this the real world....real life...that i was searching for ! " .... God created...everything in pair....He created....day...then...said...let there be night......He created light.....and then said....let there be darkness......He created good and to balance that.....He created the evil......He created Happiness and then said....let there be Sadness ......Experiencing only one half creates an imbalance....Any state when its prolonged ....human mind doesn't like...."Change"....it searches for Change....Well.....we learn to accept that....digest that....after all....Life has to go on!

Wednesday, September 14, 2005

Silence

Everyone have their way to telling things out....few of us tell it out gently....a few... shout it... a few of us...gesture it.....but we all have moments when our silence spoke for us...spoke more than what we could have spoken.....Silence....is it a way of making others experience what you feel .... A more clear way of conveying your untold feelings....i really dont know....

A moment where you silence conveyed more than your words ....did you ever have that?.....Try to think of such a moment....... you love someone so dearly that you want to live every moment of your life with her.... but you can't tell it out to her.... b'cos .... you are afraid that you might lose her.......but why will you lose her?i dont have a reason !!! its just the fear....the fear of losing your loved one...... now, the moment comes ....where you have to seperate......you have to leave her.... you sit with her.... hold her hand.... make an honest attempt to say whatever you have in your heart.....but....there is a much better way of conveying that..... you sit next to her......hold her...hand....stay silent..... let the silence do the talking..... silence conveys.....

Or imagine this....... you love your dad n mom very much...times comes...when you have to go abroad.....you have to spend atleast three or four years there..... they miss you a lot.....Of course...they are happy to see their son go abroad......And you too miss them a lot.....you dont know how to express that....you take your mom n dad...out for a dinner.....tell them...how much you love them...how much you are gonna miss them.....but....there is always this option.....the better option....silence.....your silence always conveys more....much more than you could say.........
if there's something ....that can convey unexpressible...its surely.....silence....

Tuesday, September 13, 2005

A Pleasant Drive

It has been a long time since i posted my last blog....!!!well....nothing motivated me to write a blog all these days....but..this drive...as soon as i came back from this place...i decided to write a blog about this place!!!
Date : 27.08.2005
7.00 A.M
I woke up hearing some rustling sound in the room.I found something was different.Only then i realised, i'm not in Indiranagar.I had come to BTM Layout the previous day to meet anand , praga and everyone. But to my dismay everyone there except Anand was goin' to some DLPD Exam Invigilation.So myself and Pomi were kinda disappointed.Everyone left at around 7.30 A.M. I turned towards Pomi and Anand.Both of them were asleep.Neither did i expect them to be awake.I turned on the computer.I started watching some movie.
10.00A.M
Pomi woke up slowly.Then Anand woke up.We were feeling hungry and decided to get our breakfast soon atleast before 11 !!!! All of a sudden, I asked them....if we could leave to "Mekedatu"? Anand wasn't too impressed with the idea.But i told him that it really a nice drive in NH. Almost immediately Anand agreed and we decided to leave as quick as possible.

Destination : Mekedatu Vehicles - me and pomi in Wind 125, Anand in his pulsar. Distance- 95 Kms (approx)

11.00 A.M
We started from BTM Layout.I read about this place in a blog.So as per the blog we decided to start from JayaNagar and follow the same route.On the way, we filled in fuel and also got the money from the atm.(Dont look for any ATM centers r Petrol Bunk near Mekedatu....there isin't any).We went to JayaNagar and asked for KanapuraRoad.We were given direction and we followed that route.We were again in BTM!!! then we somehow reached the NH-209 (Mysore highway).We went 2 kms along the highway and stopped to have our breakfast.We forgot to get the Digi camera.So we had brought Anand's conventional one.So we thought we 'll get the film role and batteries.
11.30 A.M
We started again and decided to cover a decent distance before the next stop.As we covered some 10 kms, the traffic eased out.The concrete jungle of Bangalore vanished.We were travelling along nice green fields. We stopped again to have some tea.We took our first snap here.Then we started again.The sun was playing hide and seek.It was cloudy at times but mostly sunny.It was disappointing that we had to travel in that hot weather.We reached Kanakapura (approx 45 kms from Bangalore).
1.15 P.M
We didnt stop at kanakapura.We went along the Mysore highway till we reached a place where there was a board saying the right fork of the road leads to "Sangama".We took that one.The road looked very bad with lots n lots of potholes.But surprisingly the rough road ended in not more than half a kilometer.Then we were travelling in a very well maintained Country road.The drive was pleasant.The surroundings were much more green than we expected.We reached a checkpost.We were asked to travel straight for Sangama.The uphill wasn't too steep for we couldn't differentiate much between the uphill n plain's journey.The road wasn't too plain.They were full of ups n downs.We travelled another 25 kms with occasionally stopping for snaps.
2.45 P.M
We saw an arch which led to Chunchi Falls.We skipped that.We travelled straight for Sangama.Then it got gloomy and started raining.It was too good.The distant fields were covered by slight mist and the scenery was awesome.We enjoyed the ride in rain.Then again in another 7-8 kms we came to the Ghat road.The climb down was steep.We came across 3-4 hairpin bends.Then we reached our first destination-Sangama.The road ended there.We parked our bikes there.
3.30 P.M
Sangama is the place where river Cauvery and river Arkavathy confluence.We crossed the river and we were surprised to find a bus on the other side of the river.We took that bus.We travelled 4 kms in that bus to reach "Mekedatu".This is the place where river Cauvery flows through narrow gorge where even a goap can leap across the river.But legendary Mekedatu(Goat's leap) no longer exists as goap's leap, i guess.The gorge has been widened because of the constant erosion by the river.But the sight was awesome.The swift flowing river.Water splashing against the rocks.But we were cautious and didnt try to get near the water.It was too fast with lot of swirls.So we stayed on the rocks and enjoyed the sight for another half an hour before the bus driver called us.We had to leave that place as the bus was about to start.But we decided to come back to this place and spend atleast a day here.
5.45 P.M
We had tea in Sangama and started our bikes.We wanted to reach Kanakapura before it was dark.As we planned we reached Kanakapura and it started raining again.But this time,it was not a drizzle.We continued driving in the rain.At times, we stopped in some tea stall as the rain got heavy.We reached Bangalore at 9 P.M.
No doubt, Mekedatu is awesome.If you think MG Road and Brigade Road are the only places to visit when you come down to Bangalore, you are wrong. You can see the true colours of Karnataka only outside Bangalore. Village girls carrying pots of water on their head,thatched roofs,huts,cattles,lush green fields,dense forest.....what else....you name it....you 'll find it....If you are a nature lover.....you 'll surely love this drive.

Thursday, August 11, 2005

My first earning

2nd of July.....i came to Bangalore for my Project......Since then.... Not a day passed without talking about the stipend..... We(14 of us doing project in various companies) all started making a lot of plans for the First stipend....
Some were interested in getting something for them......while some guys...planned for some nice trip.....and a few more plans by others ....... well...i thought i 'll get something for my parents.....and...then.....something for my close friends....back home.....

4th of Aug.....i was quite busy with some assignment that i was given the previous week ( as usual.....was late for the submission)..... The day was very dry ...It wasn't eventful.....Everything was perfectly normal.....The only unusual thing...that i noticed since morning was......it didnt rain!!! ..... The post lunch session was even more dull....with my keyboard serving as the pillow(occasionally or rather i 'll put it as often...).....i had a phone call from my project mate at around 4.......It wasn't unusual.......Project mates usually call me...and....we talk about some interesting things like...where to shop....for Music CD's....about the movie for the weekend......but this call was very different....i was in for a surprise....i was told that..... our stipend had been increased by five thousand!!! Though there were some rumours about this increase ....i never believed it.....when it happened...it was quite a big surprise for me!!!

I collected my cheque from the finance department......it was a very different feel....the first salary...the first money that u earned.......surely ...its a really different feel....The word RESPONSIBILITY suddenly seemed to make more sense to me....than it usually made..... i myself felt as though i had grown mature all of a sudden in one month!!! Watever it is... i clearly enjoyed that day!!!

Wednesday, August 10, 2005

Confused!!!

The habit of blogging was long forgotten by me.....now that..i get more leisure time.....i thought may be i should start blogging again.......( well...i dont mean to say that..i was busy earlier).....

It's a really different feel altogether......the change from the college life to the corporate life(At present,i'm doin' my project in SUN Microsystems, Bangalore) ... .... well.....its really different.....it was really a carefree life in the college(Doing my Bachelor's in BITS,Pilani)....with no one to question ......watever i do.......doesn't mean that..i have been questioned by someone here....juz that....responsiblity gets added on its own......

Though ...i did some serious reading for the past one month ....this week..i'm finding a lot of time....I was browsing through some sites .....trying hard to find a solution to my confusion.....whether i should try GRE or stay here and do my GATE.... though many people opt for GRE ....

i 'm not sure......i dont want to go out to U.S and juz be one in a thousand..... when i'm pretty comfortable with India(doesn't mean that....i have been to US) .... but ...then.....i hear a lot of people asking me to do GRE ...instead..... the most pressing thing is no one is planning to come down to India after finishing their Masters....of course...i dont blame them for that........Financially ,they have been forced to stay there and get the money ,they spent, back....well..i leave it to FATE to decide my destiny!!!(may be i'm playing safe ...so that i dont have to take the blame for my action!!!...but...its a very natural attitude.....isin't it??)