Give me some sunshine!!!

As I write this post, my headphones are playing this wonderful song from ‘3 Idiots’ in my ear.

“Na naa na naa, nana na na naa;
Give me some sunshine, Give me some rain,
Give me another chance I wanna grow up once again!”

Fantastic!! Though the movie itself was overdrawn and overdone, I liked the message which was conveyed through this song. The character portrayed by Mr. Lobo in the movies was so real- how many times have a seen, as an engineer, a similar thing happening with people- ideas stifled, because the person at the other end of it, the one who holds all the reins is too stupid.

I think the story that was the basis for the movie (it wasn’t 5 Point Someone. Chetan Bhagat, keep quiet) is played out in every Indian household. Every middle class Indian household with ambitious, working parents. It was in MY house, anyway.

My parents are dears, mind you. And I love them. Fiercely. But it was the system, the population and the competition that forced them to train me as a horse to run the race. Or was it a rat?

Right from first grade- well that was the first year exams were held, otherwise I am sure it would have been before that; I was taught to be first. In exams. I was a hell of a record smasher, you know. I doubt if anybody has broken my record in my school, of standing first each year, for all 9 years. (9 because 10th grade was a bit of a screw-up, due to no fault of mine.) I wasn’t a mugger. I just had a good grasping power. But unfortunately, mom failed to understand that. She though I needed a lot of time to study. So she made me sit most of time at home, apparently studying. But the thing about working parents is that- when the cat is away, the mice make merry! That wasn’t of much help though. 4th grade scholarship exam this year- No football practice Rohan. 5th grade Mathex exam this year- No badminton Rohan. And so on, were all things that make a kid’s life a kid’s life sacrificed. The last nail was getting that damn National Talent Scholarship, after the damn 10th grade exams. Can you imagine that? I actually had to sit studying after your BOARD *sarcastic* exams!!! Studying 3 years of CBSE course in one month, cause the state board was low-life. Seriously!

It was when I got to 12th that the trouble started. At a very awkward time. Venue- IIT JEE exam center. Math paper.
Question- Do I want to be in IIT?
Answer- No.  Odd time for self-discovery, you might say. But it had to happen sometime. 12th was a royal screw-up. Ultimately, the high flying topper that I was from childhood, I crash-landed in a decent enough local engineering college. But that was a bit of a sacrilege for the parents. Not a bit. A COMPLETE sacrilege. I mean, REALLY. The first year of engineering began with a promise made- that I would top all years. Top the university. Each year. All years.

Well, the tone of that sentence should tell you what really happened. I didn’t even top my practical batch of 20! I did decent. In my eyes. An aggregate distinction for 4 out of 6 sems, and a first class in remaining 2. Not enough in eyes of those who matter though. Then once after a particularly annoying bit of nagging, I lost my head. “Guys, don’t you see I wasn’t made to be a topper? I have something different, of doing something different. Why not just leave me at that, and let me do my thing?” Increase the volume and the passion in that a 100 times, and that was what I said. Then came out came a lecture about how others played cricket, while I sat at home, and so on and so fourth, right from childhood. Ouch, I know the tone of that blast must have hurt mom and dad. But I had no alternative. I HAD to make some things clear once and for all. Mind you, I don’t dislike people who study all the time and top. I really respect their ability to be so focused for long periods of time. But I am not like that!! Finally my parents sort of left me to do as I wanted. Rather, gave up on me, I suspect . Its more than a year and half since that happened. I haven’t done too bad for myself, I think.

Some days back, I got my first job. At a decent company. A nice pay-package. Well, I might not join the company. Hopefully, All Is Well, and I’ll get my US visa. Later. But I can hear the sound of  swords against shields again. A LOT of money is being put on the horse. Again. The stakes are higher this time.

Only, with a tiny difference.
Question- Do I want to do MS?
Answer- Yes
And that, will make all the difference. I hope.

Anniversary Post..

Hi guys…

It’s Whiteopal’s first birthday today.  Been an eventful year, this one. And very happy one too. I hope it continues. And wishing a happy year ahead for all you guys…

I got back from Dubai yesterday. You might recall, that I had co-authored a paper, which got published by IEEE Computer Society. Had been invited for an oral presentation for the same. Well, had gone to Dubai for the conference, but must confess- it was more of a vacation. The fact that we’d presented the same topic at a number of places back home made us complacent- didn’t really hit us that we were supposed to present the same till the day of the conference. But it went of just fine. Had to present the paper towards the fag end, so had only a dozen or so bored Chinese listening to us, which was a bit of an anti-climax, but what the hell- the claps were loud enough!

The conference venue- Hyatt Regency

The flight from Mumbai to Dubai was of Air India, and we spent most of the time before the flight at Mumbai airport comparing the air-hostesses walking by. Verdict- Dr. Vijay Mallya really knows how to pick his gals. I mean seriously! Heard that he himself interviews them. That true? I knew the hostesses in Air India would be in saris. In my opinion, there is no dress in the world as elegant as a sari. But what I didn’t expect was 45 year old hostesses. I mean, cummon! The funny thing was, we’d asked for a window seat both times (to and fro) But Both times, we found ourselves at the Emergency Exit. With a rather serious looking air hostess asking us-”Will you like to assist the crew in case of an emergency? ” . And then proceeding to give us instructions…

Dubai itself was great. The Arabs have poured a lot of money there, I tell ya. What with intricate wooden dustbins. Everything is in superlatives over there. Tallest building, largest mall. All glitz and show. Name the brand, and you got it. Its clean, disciplined and $$$$$. If you ever want a reason for wanting to be a billionaire, go to Dubai. You’ll suddenly start feeling poor . And yes- the Arabs don’t like Indians. Literally, they put up with us just because they have to. They don’t like Pakistanis either. They seem to have  some preformed notions, as most Indians and Pakistanis they see are laborers. And yeah- Arabs don’t work. They don’t need to. They own all the places, and have Indians, Pakistanis and Filipinos working for them. Arabs are like the most chilled out people in the world, roaming around in pure white Jellaba shirts, looking very regal.

Luckily for us, we had a classmate who is from Dubai, and he showed us around the city. The first day we had to go to the conference venue to get ourselves registered. The next stop was Burjuman Mall, and then Mall of the Emirates, and finally Dubai Mall, the largest mall in the world. Right in front of the Dubai mall is Burj Dubai, the tallest building in the world, scheduled to be opened on 4th Jan. The fountain-dance in the adjoining lake is fantastic, and a must watch. We must’ve walked at least 10 km that day, covering most of the malls. I’d put that figure around 15, but my friends disagree. At any rate, it was enough to send me packing for the night.

Burj Dubai seen from Jumeirah beach- haven't quite been able to capture the size of it.

The next day, was the day of the conference. The whole thing got over by 6 p.m., after which we visited yet another mall- the Deira city Center, and then spent a leisurely evening at the Dubai creek. Lots of hotels had their private boats in the creek, and the city lights across it were fantastic. The breeze was quite chilly, but not uncomfortably so.

Dubai creek

The last day we first checked out of the hotel, and then went to the Jumeirah area. Our first stop was Madinat Jumeirah, a shopping mall selling Arab antiques and stuff. I absolutely loved this place. IF I have a ton of money one day, and want some decor for my house, I’ll buy it ALL from here *fat dreams* . Then we check out Burj Al Arab, the only 7 star hotel in the world- from outside. The entry fee is AED 200.

Madinat Jumeirah, with Burj Al Arab in the backdrop- the old and the new

Lastly we chilled on Jumeirah beach, and soon it was time to catch the flight back home.

All in all, it was a great experience, and a perfect way to end the year. Happy New Year to you once again

If you doubted my Puneri credentials….

…doubt NO MORE !

I love dogs…no seriously, I do! They are better friends than men can be. But I don’t like their poop. I like others’ dogs’ poop even less. I mean, cummon- you would expect dog owners to have enough sensibility NOT to egg their dogs to poop in other people’s gates. But they do just that. Specially where I stay. After the third consecutive day of stepping out of the gate and soiling my footwear, I wrote that gem-of-a-notice myself.

BTW, to those who can’t read Marathi- it reads

“Do not let your dog dirty this place.”

To those of you who stay in Maharashtra, you must be well aware of ‘Puneri Patya’, or the rather cheeky notices that Punekars are famous for. Actually, I think there is a pretty good reason for it. Its just that other Punekars are asking for it.

Holidays going on these days. Having fun, and not feeling like writing a lot. I had mentioned in my previous post, that I wanted to get into Texas A&M, coz they have lemons in Texas. Well, my hopes are dashed. I might just have to carry a sack to survive, if I do get anywhere. Got a reject from Texas. But the good news is, got an admit in OHIO State University. It was my first admit, and came on special day  too. There are 8 more universities  in US to go, so waiting and watching.

You have fun

Addiction of the Yellow…

We are not talking about gold here. Nor are we talking about the sun. Today, I want to tell you about my love for Citrus Limon, popularly known as the Indian lemon/limbu/nimbu.

Some of us have eating habits which are more Bohemian than others. I for one, am not ashamed of my lemon lust. I squeeze it over everything that is not sweet- right from the regular vegetables, to stuff like Maggi, omelette, papad. Heck, if I’ve ordered a pizza home, I’ll squeeze lemon on it. There’s no escape for the burger either- it’ll be opened up, and the patty will be bathed with liberal amounts of lemon juice. Now I can feel most of you squirming at the thought of this. Set your teeth on the edge with sourness, did I?

But I don’t mind. For me, no food is good enough with no lemon on it. Mind you, I won’t settle for pre-squeezed lemon juice. I ought to have the satisfaction of having squeezed it myself, with my own hand. I easily consume around four full lemons everyday. Two each for every meal. Three, if the two ain’t juicy enough. And this habit (addiction?) of mine has been there ever since I have. The story goes, that when mom had me in her tummy, she’d feel nauseated if she ate anything except Batatyachya Kachrya (sort of potato fingers, shallow fried, and with red masala on it) and toasted bread- with lemon squeezed on it. That went on for all 9 months, I’m told. So no surprise that the tang caught up, once I saw the light of the day. No limbu? Fine. No food.

This lemon lust of mine forced dad to do something about it. With lemons costing around Rs 2 or at least Re 1 per piece, on an average, I’d consume Rs. 2,190 worth of lemons per year. And that is only a conservative estimate. Poor dad went all about our garden, planting lemon seeds here and there. But none grew into even the smallest of saplings. This went on for many years, and soon it turned into a family joke. Then finally, the Gods smiled on my dad. A lemon tree randomly sprouted in the garden, in a place where dad confessed to have never planted any seeds.

Dad's lemon tree

For that matter, for some months, we didn’t even realize that it was a lemon tree- till the heavenly yellow started shining from its branches. Ok, the lemons in the pic are still green, because the yellow ones have already been plucked.

Sure enough, this strange eating habit of mine is the butt of many jokes, from both family and friends. When I go out to dine with my friends, the lemon bowl is always passed on to me, with much ado. Anyway, by now, I am an expert in lemons. I can tell just by looking at it whether it is good or bad, juicy or dry, or whether it was dropped on its head as a child. Preferences- bright yellow with thin, flawless skin.

All of us have our secrets, and I am glad to have put this on the table. Don’t worry – my enamel is in great shape (because I don’t just  suck on lemons.) And if it wasn’t, they make toothpaste to help that now. If anything, I’m probably warding off kidney stones. I love easy success.

P.S.: The second link is also the reason I SO want to get into Texas A&M. They got a lot of lemons there. BTW, had my exams going on, so couldn’t post for a while. Cheers !

The Diwali that was..

So its Diwali. This post should probably have been up 2 days back, when Diwali started, but anyway. For starters- I’m finding this Diwali pretty much drab. Nothing much to do, except EATING sweets, and procrastinating about when to start off with STUDYING for the practical

But it wasn’t always like this. When I think of Diwali, the first image that comes to my mind is of my grandfather- Daddy, as everyone in the house calls him. As a kid, it used to be somewhat of a ritual- going with Daddy to the shop nearby to buy the all important firecracker gun, or the phatakyachi banduk as it is called in Marathi. Which Daddy used to buy with his trademark statement, “Look Sunny, the gun has been bought,” as if to put the act of buying the gun on stone and call upon the shopkeeper to bear witness. He even used to lend me his bottle of ‘Soldier Oil’, for keeping the gun in a working condition. This used to be like a week before the actual start of the festival…

And then my friends and I used to go all over the place, running behind each other with our guns going thak  thak thak. Sounds silly, does it? But it used to be real fun. Then just 2-3 days before Dhantrayodashi, the first day of Diwali, I used to drag Daddy along to buy me firecrackers – Sutali bomb, Chimni bomb, Panpatti, Lavangi- you name it, and I’ve burst it. So during the four days of Diwali, all the neighborhood kids used to gather on the street in the evening, pool up stuff and burst loads of firecrackers. At night, we used to set off rockets from my terrace, my place being one of the tallest.  Sometimes my grandmother, Aaji used to join in. Always the daredevil, her specialty was  to take a incense stick in one hand, a Lavangi Maal (firecrackers on a string) in another, and then she used to light it up and throw the Lavangi far off.

Ah- I’m getting nostalgic now. Life’s so serious these days. I mean, you can’t even think of such a simple thing as bursting firecrackers without thinking of the pollution it causes in the same breath. And then as a adult you have all these issues- professional, personal and what not, to worry about.

Sometimes, I wish I were a kid….

Astrology- Blame it on the Stars !

There was this article in the Newspapers the other day. Andhashraddha Nirmulan Samiti- an organization that fights superstitions in society, threw the gauntlet at the astrologers in Pune- predict the results of the assembly elections correctly and win Rs. 21 lakh. Given the beeline that politicians make for visiting astrologers during election time, must say- 21 lakh is no big deal ! And even if the astrologers lose the bet, I’m pretty sure that its not going to reduce their customers or anything.

I have always been intrigued by Astrology- or rather, by people’s belief in it. Nearly all people I know believe it at some level or other. Some perfectly sane people actually visit the astrologer ; while for some others, it may be restricted to reading the daily horoscope.

Human beings have always had an inherent curiosity about the future. For tens of thousands of years man has looked up at the night sky and asked himself, “What does it all mean?” Whenever someone is in difficulty ; he is curious to know when his miseries will end. Many answers have been suggested. One of the oldest is provided by astrology: the belief that the stars and planets have controlling influences on our lives. Sometimes, its not just stars and planets- it may be tarot cards ; or may take the form of palmistry; bone throwing, anyone ?

For me, there is something innately senseless that I find in astrology. For example, if you are talking about predictions based on stars – All astrologers say that there are 3 types of astrological signs for each person-
1) Your Sun Sign: Based on the position of the sun at the time of the year you were born in. Simply, the ‘daily horoscope’ in the newspapers. Astrologers claim that your Sun sign describes your basic ego.
2) Your Moon sign: Based on the phase of the moon at the time of your birth- takes into account the time, date and place you were born in- your Patrika. The Moon supposedly symbolizes your inner self, the part of you that responds from habit, feelings, and instinct. Your emotional inner self, known only to you, and your near- and-dear ones.
3) Your Ascendant/ Rising sign: It is literally the sign that was rising on the Eastern horizon of the sky in the place and at the moment of your birth. Now this one is supposed to describe the facade you show the rest of the world.

Given that all the above are true, how can the ‘Daily Horoscope’ guy tell me how my day is going to be, just looking at my sun sign ? Who is gonna consider my moon and ascendant sign ? When someone looks at my palm, and tells me how long I am going to live, more rational questions jump to my mind. Suppose that *God forbid* an earthquake occurs somewhere, and all people living in that area are killed. Then does it mean that at that instant, Death was written in everybody’s horoscope, or on each one’s palm ? It can’t get more ridiculous and far-fetched than this.

On a personal level, I do believe that certain things, which are not always in your control, influence your life. It may be the stars and planets, who knows ? But for one thing- I firmly believe that no person is smart enough to look at my horoscope or my palm or my signs and accurately tell me what is going to happen in the future. No way! One thing that I particularly dislike about astrology is- if you happen to read your horoscope or something, it starts playing on your mind. You start relating things that were supposed to happen and things that actually happened, and then make imaginary connections between them. A fool’s pursuit, if you ask me. And its rather convenient too- failed to do what you wanted to? Blame it on the Stars

At any rate, the ‘Daily Horoscope’ column is a fun read- but just that !

Hyperlinks not getting saved when you convert word to pdf ?

I had this frustrating experience the other day- I usually use CutePDF writer to convert my word .doc documents to .pdf .

Problem: Suppose you write a direct web address in word i.e. starting with http or www, then the address gets automatically hyper-linked in the word document. When you convert this word file into .pdf using CutePDF, these type of hyperlinks get retained. But now suppose you highlight some text in word, then right click on it, and say – ‘hyperlink’, then this hyperlink will be shown in the word document ; but if you convert the .doc to .pdf, then these type of hyperlinks are not gonna be retained – you will just get a blue underlined text in the PDF file, but when you click on it , nothing happens (the cursor doesn’t turn to a pointer). The same thing happened with many other pdf writers that I downloaded.

Solution:  As much as I fear the sort of monopoly that Google has on the web, must say- some things about it are just too cool. Coming back to the solution, use Google Docs. All you need is a gmail account. Just upload your .doc file. Then edit it if you want in the editor (the word processor has some issues- like the line spacing of ’single’ in MS Word is approx. equal to ‘double’ in Google Docs. Then click
—> File —> Download File as —> PDF

Cool na ?

On another note, the Indian cricket coach, Gary Kirsten took a page out of Vatsyayana’s famous book yesterday . Pah, i’m sure his ‘have lots of sex’ advice must have had all the Indian cricketer’s blushing…lol…shhhhh… we are Indians, you know