An Enigma called Life

Feels nice to be back writing a blog post. Don't even remember how long it had been since last time I blogged.
As life unfolds with each passing day, I can't stop wondering about the beauty of it. After all, it has shown me its two most contrasting faces within past two and a half years or so. Just one year ago I was down into dumps. A cruel year was coming to an end, but before that it was determined to strip me of all my confidence, my positivity, my cheerfulness, and anything else that made me who I am. The life seemed screwed up both at personal and professional level. There was no place where I could find some solace. Although I was shaken and stirred to the core, there was still some remnants of that indestructible hope that kept me going.



So on New Year eve, I decided to take a leap of faith and strongly believed in my heart that life would be good again, and coming year would be awesome. Just prayed like a child, and made three wishes. As if all I needed was to make a wish, things changed considerably and with each passing month, I found my confidence back, and then most importantly my cheerful self. Precisely it started with some good results on academic front, although of little significance to me career wise, but in retrospect they played a crucial part in rebuilding my confidence. But the real turn around came in summers, when my internship began. I always had this "Day 3" image of HT Media in mind, that I never felt excited about it. But when I began my work, it turned out to be fun. Had a cool boss, and a chirpy buddy. But what made me tick was meeting all kinds of new interesting people everyday, listening to their problems, their anecdotes, some rumours, and some new perspectives. I got to see the life from the point of view of very poor people. Also, the kind of respect and acknowledgements I got while working in the sales department of a media company was quite an overwhelming experience. To simply put it, I loved it. I also realised some important things about my own self : I am a people's person, I like companionship, I crave for appreciation, and I love helping people around me. Yes, that's me. This realization gave me some clarity about my career goals. It's important to make a career in what you're really good at, but even more important is to match your career with your personality. After all, we can always learn new things, and be expert in our chosen fields, but real happiness and satisfaction comes only when we love the work we're doing. So, I decided to switch to Marketing. Feel so good about this decision.
The life seemed to be coming back to a smooth track again. One of the wishes got fulfilled early in the year, but two more were left. As if heavens were listening with open ears, second wish came true. I applied to only one International Summers program, that too on the last day of deadline. And I got selected. For someone who has not travelled much beyond North India, it was a dream come true to finally going to Europe. And I planned...planned meticulously, dreamed wildly, and let the fantasies fly. I so wanted to go to Switzerland since I saw DDLJ as a seven year old kid. Had read so much about Paris's history and culture. Was excited to visit the romantic Venice. Came to knew about this bachelor's paradise Amsterdam, and with a little encouragement from a close friend, decided to give few things a shot for once in my life. Okay...will write in detail about my Europe trip in a series of travelogue, but the bottom line is this Europe trip was what I needed to rejuvenate myself, to reflect, to rediscover my own, and get back to life in full swing. And since then, life is just getting more wonderful with each passing day. I don't mind following my whims, and fancies any more. Neither do I care about the world around me, nor does it bother me what others think of me. My friends at FMS say, I have changed. But I know, I have just came back to life after two years of living like zombies. Doesn't really matter, as what matters is fun, and I am having loads of it. Three cheers to this enigma called Life, because it is beautiful. 

NSIT LINGO (Inspired by: Alliance)

• Thass : Random talk about the most weirdest and useless things. “Kya kar rha tha?? Abe yaar thass maarte maarte saara time nikal gaya”Thass GD and Thass groups are integral part of NSIT culture. Events like Spin a Yarn and Thass GD ensure that the competitive edge and verbal innovativeness of Thass remains intact over the time. 
• Machana: No performance or event is complete without this. “ macha mat yaar, shanti se kaam kar le”...Machana was the favorite past time...Machana usually ended with Thass sessions, and sometimes, albeit most of the times, Thass sessions drifted to other topics with no relation watsoever to the original topics and ended with another round of Machana and so on...This virtuous cycle had continued for more than 12 hours on multiple occasions.
• Fight: putting an effort to complete anything. “Ho to jayega par fight marni padegi”...Most frequently used word during exam days.
• Bakar: exaggerating about something/ someone. “Bakar panti mat kar be”...Integral part of Thass sessions.                                                                      
• Khokaa: the small shop on the way to metro station. “bahut bhuk lagi, chal oye khokha chalte hain”...A place that has spawned many a bakars and has been a training field for most prolific bakars.
• Funda: logics and ideas. “Apne funde mat pel, soch le kuch”...Used in Machines and other incomprehensible subjects.
• Fatta: illogical logic. “Fatte mat maar ”...Extensively used in subjects like Manufacturing Processes, IOME, EEM etc. and in FIGHTING circumstances has been even used in subjects like Analog Electronics, Digital Communication, and Microprocessors depending upon the gravity of situation.
• Bhassad: fish market. “Bas bhassad macha le tu”...That's why NSITians are so good at clearing GDs of B-Schools.
• Pen-D: pen drive. “******* pend de be” Saare dayschi Chitts se hi Pen-D maangte the;) ;) ;)
• Sahiii: when you are surprised and happy, kind of wow. (Also, Jabhieee...) “Abe sahiiii, tune to phod diya”
• Ghissu: Studious. “Abe ghissu, bas ghista rha kar din bhar"

Reminisce

We entered a place,
Made its our own,
Met new people,
Made new friends,
Had wonderful moments with them,
Moments of fight,
Moments of love and care,
Moments a plenty of joy and flair,
We play, we study.
We grow as a buddy,
Three years passed,
We weaved a world of dreams and thought it would last,

Then comes the Placement time...

Everyone gets busy with C or C#,
GRE, or CAT,
Less and less time we get for each other,
But fondness for each other grew even further,
All gets settled and everyone gets placed,
Time flew away, and left a pleasant taste,
 Farewell came and went,
And then came the last meet,
Still we didn't realized,
What we are going to miss,
Some went for jobs, some for MBAs,
Rest went for MS, far from "Apna Des",
Now is the time for scattered Get Togethers,
And time between them seems like a wait FOREVER...

Don't Quit

It has been long since I've blogged something, thanks to such a hectic life. Since last few days I am having continual sessions of self doubts and fits of despair. Future seems bleak, I feel unable to find out what actually I want to do in my life, what are my long term goals, would I get a job , even if a get a job then what next? Is the purpose of schooling, and for that matter life is to earn some bucks when you have no liberty to stick to your ideas...But then this is what society EXPECTS from "Aam Aadmi"...It has never cared about the true passions of that aam aadmi, instead he is forced to leave his dreams and live the stereotype dreams of society. This is the last thing I want in my life. But going against the norms always have huge risks associated with it. I know I'm taking a big risk by not participating actively in my campus placement, but then the job profiles which are being offered are not to my liking. And that's why I want to pursue an MBA from one of the coveted institutes in India. But then the competition is so tough that a little bit of complacency can cost you heavily (esp in case of an inveterate complacent person like me). This transient phase of lax attitude, however short it may be, can lead to a premature end of your dreams in this cut throat competition. And then starts the biggest problem, you start questioning yourself : What the heck I'm going to do in my life? Am I able enough to reach those heights which I've always dreamt of? What the people would say if I failed? and so on...and a vicious circle starts.
This is the time which tests your mental strength, your self-belief and how positive you are. You need someone to support you, to make you believe that you can do it, but most importantly you need something to lift your spirits...it can be a quote, an adage, a maxim...In my case it is a poem. I don't know who is the poet but this is what keeps me inspired whenever I am in distress...the poem goes as :

Don't Quit
by anonymous

When things go wrong, as they sometimes will,
When the road you're trudging seems all up hill,
When the funds are low and the debts are high,
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,
When care is pressing you down a bit,
Rest! if you must; but don't you quit.

Life is queer with its twists and turns,
As everyone of us sometimes learns,
And many a failure turns about
When he might have won had he stuck it out;
Don't give up, though the pace seems slow;
You might succeed with another blow.

Often the goal is nearer than
It seems to a faint and faltering man,
Often the struggler has given up
When he might have captured the victor's cup.
And he learned too late, when the night slipped down,
How close he was to the golden crown.

Success is failure turned inside out;
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt;
And you never can tell how close you are,
It may be near when it seems afar;
So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit;
It's when things seem worst that you mustn't quit.

It has been six years now, and not even once it has happened that I recited this poem and didn't feel a go and get it kinda feeling. I would like to sincerely thanks its poet for such an inspiring composition. Well done Anonymous.

Nothing...

There are days in our lives we spend doing Nothing. But these nothing days in my college life are the most memorable ones.On numerous such eventless days I spent the best moments of my life sometimes talking with friends for hours,sometimes fighting on trivial issues and at others grabbing each others lunch box.
As these nothing days are always unplanned,there is something lovely about them.Going for a round of college, doing nsp (nain sukh prapti) of girls esp freshers,sipping coffee at Nescafe and playing truth and dare are some of the most soothing part of these nothing days.And if it starts raining then NSIT becomes a place to be.
How can I forget my first visit to NSIT canteen.We were new to the college culture and bc sottah was our teen anthem.One such day we were just pulling each other's leg as usual when Kushal challenged me to sing sottah that too standing on chair in front of seniors.And daring as I am, I sang the song after gathering some courage.That was fun dude!!
Then there were my first bunks.How can I forget days of second semester when in the good name of Moksha we used to visit other colleges and hum wahan jaake ladkian taadte the.:-)
I can't forget my visit to IGIT where we went during their fest to promote our fest.And we ended up on its DJ,and had some real fun.   :-D
First Holi in college was also amazing.When we made a lot of hullabullo near fountain and when security officer came to catch us,we ran like never before.Those days were fun.
On one such eventless day I visited girls hostel.Though I should not call it a visit as I never went inside(humaari aisi kismat kahan),it was still exciting may be because friends made it exciting and may be because I was walking past Lovers Lane for the first time.
Then came much awaited Moksha'07. There was a palpable excitement , energy and vigor in the air.We used to spend hours doing something or other volunteerily.It was after years that I draw something as a poster for my events.And it was the first time I had a crush and guess what,that too on a senior, when she was scolding me for some reason.And I was just looking at her,not listening a single word... :-)
On FashP(Fashion Parade) night all of us went crazy esp after watching a sizzling performance from Lady Harding girls and LSR. We were yelling on the top of our voices slogans like...NSIT ka naara hai,LSR humaara hai...My god what a day that was...I got too excited that night that the very next day I won Spin a Yarn...And i still remember vividly how I entertained the crowd ...lolz...
 Kailasa night was also amazing...we were roaming around the campus at 3 a.m. in the morning.That was my first experience of strolling around so late in the night...We used to play cards through the night...DJ of Moksha was just amazing...1st time I attended such a big DJ and we enjoyed to the hilt...Even after DJ got over we danced till 2 in the morning in BH-2....Even thinking of that day has a goosebumps rising effect on me... :-) My first Moksha is just an unforgettable experience for me...
At the same time our visits to Janakpuri distt centre and Rajouri became more frequent and they were always filled with fun and masti,and still are. When we are in a group of friends there is a prevailing carelessness,a madness which makes even simple happenings something to cherish.Every small moment however ephemeral it might had been,is carved in my memory.
I know just one thing...I have lived the best moments of my life in NSIT on such nothing days...naa jaane ye pal kabhi dobara aayenge bhi ya nahi...

Are We ready for Commonwealth Games??

Today, when I was reading an Article in Times of India about the lagging preparations of CWG 2010, few thoughts crossed my mind. I felt so strongly about it that I decided to make it the first post for my blog.So here it is...

As all of us know that India is going to host Commonwealth Games 2010.It's after a long span of 26 years (read 1983 Asian Games) that Delhi has got a chance to host any sport event of great significance. Last year we saw how Peking has shown its might by organising a perfect Olympics.Now it's time New Delhi do the same.

But are we ready as a Nation to host CW2010? That is the big question we need to answer sooner than later. As expected projects for CW games are lagging behind by months.Still 40% of the work is pending. Moreover many of the projects which were initially supposed to be completed by CW games have now been delinked from CWG and thus postponed.But politicians and government officials are still in a slumber. As if some divine intervention will happen.

In the recent report submitted by Comptroller and Auditor General, concern has been shown over the delay in projects.Some projects are far behind their deadlines.Jawahar Lal Nehru Stadium,primary venue for the games, is yet to be renovated.It is not unlikely that the quality of work will be compromised to complete the work in a slapdash manner,as has happened in the past.

Besides lagging projects in Games Village, other infrastructure developments are also in danger. It is expected that Delhi will fall short of Hotel rooms for visiting tourists.Public transport in Delhi has always been a cause of concern.Crumbling Metro has compounded the problems.How Delhi will cope with 1 mn tourists is still something to ponder.India's airports are notorious for their inefficiencies.It seems highly improbable that IGIA will be ready to bear such a load of tourists by October ,2010.

This is not the end of our problems. The behaviour of Delhites towards foreigners is shameful.

Security is another concern.We all saw last November how a handful of terrorists held Mumbai at ransom for 60 hrs.And the same can't happen in Delhi is arguable.Any unforeseeable incident can lead to ignominy for India internationally.

There is no end to such problems.But should all these problems deter India from organizing CWG? No,it's a matter of national pride now.Government should spread general awareness about CWG 2010.Thousands of volunteers should be trained to treat our "Atithis" with courtesy politeness.Projects should be accelerated on priority basis.With a concerted action of people of Delhi and government bodies we can still pull it off.But how well,only time will tell.