SEARCH has begun...

It was in Hyderabad with lot of gusto and euphoric feeling on knowing that my thatha who stays at place five minutes walk to Sheshadripuram and that he is all alone in a three bedroom flat was the maximum I could ask for. Alas, fate had it it wasn't going to be that easy. It so happened the initial reporting block that we were asked to report at was just Administrative block and not the actual place of training. The training is at Sheshadripuram.

Well…did that REALLY upset me that much?? Na….because I got a call from my dad saying I had to options to stay at one at my avaa’s house and the other at my other distant relative Satish anna’s house. Now had I been in any of those I wouldn’t bother blogging it. So now you know what transpired.

Now what happened next and how did we land up at the present spot is coming up next….

22nd….The actual search began.

Achyuth had to buy formals and it so happened there is a mall by the name Megamart which was giving discounts upto 50% and was located at Koramangalam. We would be trained at LAKSHYA INFOTECH which is temporarily leased by SATYAM as a training centre as at present there is no training centre at Bangalore. It is right above Megamart. The most important criteria for us was the distance. So that day after having lunch at Andhra Mess we sought their help. They told us they do have PG's but they were exclusively for women but one good thing that happened was they suggested us to take FREE ADS magazine where there are plenty of ads that might assist. With magazine at hand we started rounding off the places nearer to Kormanagalam. Phoning one by one we first listed out all the addresses on a book. With the help of passer's by we judged how to go about from one to other. To make the trip a bit short here is the list of things we got and why they were rejected.

ERC PG HOUSENear
Venkateshwara Hostel
ORACLE Bld. Backside

This is the first one we went to. We were already tired with the day's ordeal. Crossing the FORUM we travesrse through a small lane. We walked on and on and on... I mean it was mentioned in the ad it was 'walkable' so we were like what the heck does walkable mean??. ORACLE building itself looked so far to us. From then on, on further enquiry we had to go furhter half a kilometer. As we reached the final lane where we had to turn leftone guy pointed out a building with SINTEXT tanks and told us the place is nearby to that. It looked pointless to us at that point to continue further as the building itself was really far and we had to walk little more further to that.We wanted to turn back but something held us back saying we were already this far what difference would it make.We met the owner. He showed us the rooms. the first one he showed was on the first floor with no ventilation. Then he told us there is one more at the ground floor itself with open space at one end i mean a window attached to teh outside world. That looked really good. It was fit for three with a attached bathroom.

Mornig hot water from 7 to 10.

With food: 3400

Without Food: 2400

Advance: 2 months advance which on little persuasion he said one month also would do.

Economics:

It looked like we had to take an auto as the distance wasn't as WALKABLE as mentioned in the brochure. Putting 10 for auto up and down that would mean 300 more.

Afternoon there woudln't be food as we would be in the company and the outside food would be 30 minimum. thatwould put us 900 more.

DHOBI: 10 per pair. Assuming three per week, and an extra pair say 160 more.

NET : 3400+900+300+160=4800/- per month.

NEW Heaven Hostels

Opp. ORACLE Building.

This one looked really good in terms of ventilation. It was on third floor. But the only glitch was he couldaccomodate one person in one room. Even in a months duration he said it would be doubtful for getting all together.Apart from that for some 20 odd people there were three common bathrooms with hot water of course.

Hot Water Provision

Without Food: 2000

No With Food option.Advance: One months rent

ECONOMICS:

No auto charge.

Dhboi remains the same.

Added costs would include food with say breakfast 10, lunch 25 and dinner 25 (these are minimum...) 1800/-

NET: 3800+160=4000/- apprx.

342, Bajaj Allianz road

Koramangala

This is also not as WALKABLE as mentioned. We came back to the forum and on enquiry we got to the place in auto with minimum charge that is 12/-. He showed us the rooms and the availability there was two in one and the other personin another room. On further insisting he told he would take care of getting the other guy shifted and making threetogether in one or two weeks time.It is a three storied residential building remodeled as PG's. So at every floor with the usual two bedrooms that a house has remained the same and kitchen, drawing and any extra space that was there was removed and huge woodenplanks were put and in total 4 rooms were set in with three people in each. Two rooms had attached bathrooms which were already filled. The other two were teh ones he was planning for us to get into. For the other two rooms he hadthree separate bathrooms at the ground floor which again was shared by all the floors.Rooms looked bit congested with no ventilation and as i said before TWO in one and the OTHER seperate.

Hot Water Provision

With Food: 3000

Without Food: 2400

Advance: One months rent

ECONOMICS:

Auto charge of 6 up and down per head totaling 150 apprx. per month.

Dhobi remains the same.

Added cost of LUNCH remains the same : 900

NET: 3000+900+150+160=4200/-

KORMANGALAM 6TH block - 10 kms ...DON'T BOTHER

KORMANGALAM BTM Ist CROSS - 5 Kms...DON'T BOTHER (Hari's place is four KMS...)

some two or three again just rejected for above cited reasons.

The next day i.e. 23rd

We were very exhausted with the previous days events, I mean we did lot of walking. So we started the hunt today withkeeping in mind three above probables listed around 11 o'clock. We reached FORUM and began calling the left overs inthe FREE ADS magazine around 12'O clock.

Opp. BOSCH 2nd GATE,

KORMANGALA

We had quite a problem finding this place and we had to do lot of communication before they finally relented to meetus in person. We were asked to wait near Anjanaye temple which was near to the lane exactly parallel to the main road FORUM is located. ((remember the criteria is to get a place nearer to FORUM...The distance from that to our traininglocation is negligible...)).

Two guys around mid twenties greeted us on the bike. They were from Andhra and were very boisterous to say the least.Non-stop talking. Went on telling us that they knew some 15 PG's, that food wouldn't be problem at all and that tehplace about to be shown was 2 minutes walk from Trainig center and that it doesn't look like a PG hostel and is moer like a home and that we woudl be absolutely comfortable. The reason i wrote that way was all the things were told atminimum 10 times. Everything was true infact.He took us to the place. The maximum that can fit in that building were 2. It was actually a two bedroom residential houses remodelled into PG. So the adjustment would be two in one room the other in single room that is kitchen roomwhich was remodeled into a single bedroom one with attached bathroom to it. For us there is a bathroom at the other end. So all in all six people would be sharing 2 bathrooms. One within the house and one outside. It looked okay.Again in midst of all these we were reminded of everything.

Hot Water Provision

With Food: 3000

Without Food: 2000

Advance: One months rent

Commision: 1000 (one time payment ...he started with 3000 per head then came down to 1000 per head)

Maintaince: 500 (also one time payment)

ECONOMICS:

Added cost of lunch remains the same: 900/-.

Dhobi remains the same.

NET: 3000+1000+500+900= 5400/- (for first month)

3900/- for the subsequent ones.

NEAR to ORACLE building,

JR JOSE building.

He came down to meet us in car and took us to his place which was quite walkable. It is two storied residentialbuilding. Top floor is where he lives renting the basement. The basement has three rooms with provision for 18 people. The house itself was very dark with dust all around and renovation still going on. Now there were threebathrooms. Two rooms with 8 people share a common bathroom. That's how the present strengh is right now.The rest are yet to be filled after the renovation. There were 8 girls living there and teh owner wanted to convertinto a mens hostel as it was evident that there were plenty of girls hostels all around. So he said there would be a availability from 1st of next month.

Hot Water Provision

With Food: 3000

Without Food: 2000

Advance: One months rent

ECONOMICS:

Added cost of lunch remains the same: 900/-.

Dhobi remains the same.

NET: 3000+900+150=4000/- apprx.

GRAND FINALE ...If you had keenly read what I wrote from the start of the blog bluntly put 1st is what clicked and all the others were rejected purely on the basis of this Bathroom basis if attached or notand many others just because of the distance.On all counts like ventilation, spaciousness, food etc. that looked like a safe haven to us. We went today for hunting with having one as backup that is the first one. This time we took a different root and comfortably reached the placeby walk in around 10-15 minutes. By the time we reached the rooms that we saw yesterday were booked and there was onlyone left with good ventilation. There was small problem as he wanted 2000 as BOOKING ADVANCE and that his MD wouldn't want such a thing to be left emptied without advanced inspite of our assurance that we wanted to move in. He said he would allow us to come back with 2000 in hand and give him by 5:30.

Time was around 3'o clock. ATM was the first place we went to which was near FORUM and that's how we knew how far it was in another route (13 minutes to be precise...). There was very large queue and the nearest ATM was of SBI's and nobody knew where AB ATM is. There was a large queue thereand it took us 20 minutes of waiting to learn there was no money in it. So on phoning to nanna money depositing option was ruled out. Incidentally I met my intermediate friend RAHUL who has just finished training at SATYAM'S Lakhshya Infotech. We wantd to borrow some from him and he was very sorry as the day was still 23rd and that his expenses were ending. We phoned our roommate HARI as it was a holiday for him and asked him to bring the money over. Somehow things didn't work out and we went back to the room, took the money and made our way to the ERC hostel.

Time was 4:50 p.m. Finally we paid the money.Going back through the forum there was a dance ballet going on to promote CLASSICAL DANCE by the group called ALANKRITA (orsomething like that..) We stayed back for seeing them. Good is not a word that would actually describe them. They were very pleasing to the eye and we could see blend of both classical dance and modern music coming together there.The last performance was the best one as the theme was BRAZILIAN martial arts and that was the only one we coudl understand what the dance was all about. After that we stayed back for a while looking back on our expedition and thinking of the life to be.Wanting to share our joy with our fellow mates we decided to give them a treat for being such a nice hosts, cooking for us in the night, sharing mat and pillows, sharign computer and top of all that being very good human beings. I really appreciate them. It is from IYENGAR BAKERY that we brought EGG PUFFS, 1.5 Ltr COKE, Pastries. Coming home we all sat together and toasted our induction and as well as our succesfuly PG hunting. Everybody is happy.

That's how it ended...

I know my travials are trivial to what Srujuna must have gone through as she so eloquently put in her blog but I had my share of excitement and tensions too which I wanted to share with you all. And also I would like this to have this blog as an blueprint for those who are about to SEARCH FOR PG....

Something interesting about Girls

Well what is not…(pun unintended)

Harry thought Cho’s way of showing her anger by inciting jealousy, throwing warnings etc. was highly enigmatic and utterly stupid thing to do and we see him later telling Hermoine why can’t she just ask?? Poor Potter if he only he knew anything about girls.

To start with they are extremely fond of jokes. Ever heard “ ammayulu navvite muthyalu raluthaye ”[when girls laugh it is comparable to shine of the pearls (I can’t get the translation)] May be there is an endless race between them to shell most muthyalu. They burst into fits seeing a thing as simple as a drop of a pen. I mean try this for once. While conversing try throwing your pen high in the air and intentionally miss it and in the mean time try acting like Jonty Rodes trying for a dive. There here that giggle.... This is just one of many small and highly stupid experiments you can start off with. Later on you can improvise. From my three years engineering experience, one year of TIME’S Coaching classes and lastly my three months of VISU coaching, with utmost conviction and 95% probability (of course there are some non-dumb people….) and ISO 9000, and with a CMM LEVEL V certification ( usually given to companies for their standards…but girls are one bunch which have proved consistent in doing this) I would say for every dumb joke we hear, almost all the girls go cackling like wild goose. This sickening phenomenon of late has caught up big in TIME classes. Adi asalu joka kada ani kuda alochincharu, egabadi navvadame vala pani and it is one of the most interesting topics to converse and the most cliché dialogue heard in the boys circles : ‘baapre velu asalu a kullu jokulaku etla navutarra babu’ [ Gosh! How could anyone laugh at all those horrible joke?]

Then (scratching my brain…) there is bragging, immature thinking, constant beauty vigilance and then the top of the pick: the bossy feelings. You see most of them don’t have anything to do but they pretend as if they are carrying entire burden on them when they start speaking. They always wait for you to speak up first and make the move. I guess it gives them internal joy, satisfies their ego and make them feel important. After taking a bait you would surely understand what I am talking about. It is a greatest favor they are doing by talking to you… do you understand. To elaborate bit on jealousy. Feeling jealous at your friends for marks is okay, their bikes okay, their dresses okay, their intelligence okay, but did you ever feel jealous because someone talks to someone else too long, someone complements someone else faster than you, or for something as simple as talking longer than you. This is where girls are much better at picking up fights and increasing the distances.

Even with all these and much more which I haven’t mentioned they have such an abundance of sympathy, love and care which comes out so naturally. They are built with resilient power to withstand pain at greater levels. Crying is one of the best ways to relieve your pain they say. No wonder why they are blessed with this art whereas in our case it is the hardest things to do. Once hurt, they cry it over and then with a tremendous relief they carry on with the life. Happy or sorrow they take it in the same spirit and there is nothing more pleasing than being consoled by a girl. They empathize with you and put themselves in your shoes to make you understand.

Well friends especially boys out there....never think bad about girls. Not all the girls are brainless, not all girls are stupid, not all girls are always jealous, there are some good things about them too. Try seeing the bright side of them. Next time you see a girl laughing for no reason in particular or a girl who behaves in a very arrogant manner please do remember that if it were not for that then there would not be much to discuss with friends.

(FACQ)

FREQUENTLY ASKED COMMON QUESTIONS

(FACQ)

How are you?
I am doing fine.

How is Bangalore?
Well that’s a very difficult question to answer. Bangalore is really big. From my stay here in Bangalore for the last four days here is what I have to say. People here are very friendly and top of all that are multilingual. I mean most of them can understand apart from Hindi, Kannada and English they can very well understand and speak Telugu too. When I say ‘most of them’ I mean natives like auto-drivers, pan dabba fellow, Xerox shop guys, etc. Most of the times I frequented people from North-East with their distinct facial features. The place itself is a mixture of urban and rural life. When you go to non-commericalized areas it wouldn’t be surprising for you to find a huge mall or a MNC or a stretch of two three food outlets in midst of residential buildings or slum-like areas. There is remarkable contrast all around. Yesterday on our hunt for a PG (Paying Guest) hostel we were going through a lane and suddenly we saw 30 storied, 100 odd feet wide building with ORACLE on the top, right opposite to some kuccha houses and very shabby surroundings. Well I guess one good thing is there is all round development rather than concentrating on one location.

And yes, I would be a perfect hypocrite to leave you on that good note without mentioning THE thing that might make Hyderabadi proud. Well, that would be TRAFFIC. Lots and lots of TRAFFIC. You would be laughing your ass off when I say it took me 75 minutes to reach distance of four and a half kilometers.

Chaaa…Hyderabad lo leda mari…veedu asalu Panjagutta, Ameerpet chusinatle ledu…

I know, I am coming to that. In Hyderabad you can count on your fingers the places which would be jammed but here all your twenty fingers (including your feet) wouldn’t be enough to count the places. I guess virtually all the places are always packed and traffic moves very slowly. The best time to venture out hassle free would be early wee hours say from 3 to 7 or in the late hours say 10:30 to your-wish. Not a day goes without me getting a little frustrated with the inherent traffic.

nee yankamma nuvvu vachinde nalugu rojulu…

you are right on that regard but that’s how general public is too. To be perfectly at ease with the traffic here it would take you at least a month. Now That’s HOW Bangalore is.

So How is the company?
To date I haven’t yet started to work in the company yet. My date of joining is on 26th of this month.

Why did you go so early then?
Well we had to have medical diagnostic tests done on 19th itself and there were some formalities to be completed like submitting our attested copies of marks memo, submission of the sureties, opening a bank account at ICICI etc.

Okay…so Have you bought a cell at least now??
yes…

You did ???? Why didn’t you tell so??
I didn’t feel like. Well…it was only I activated it with a SIM. My number is 98860***** (abba vankay...number on request...).

7…………………………

To be continued…

How Avantel Changed My World...

Started in 1995 with some 50-odd people it has grown into a very big cooperation with a branch in US. It is a product-based company whose clients are ECIL, DRDL, Indian Army, Indian Navy, Nokia etc.

Located right opposite to BSNL office in Madhapur, it is in the midst of fields located at least half a kilometer from the main road. It is a four-storied building with every floor dedicated to a particular aspect of the designing of the project – R&D, Production, Software Development, Marketing, Testing (in the basement). Cool breeze welcomes you when you enter into the lobby through the stairs immaterial of the time. It’s because it looks a bit isolated with no buildings on any sides giving free access to unpolluted air. My mom keeps stressing about having NATURAL AIR and my reply would always be what’s the difference? I mean with fans, air coolers, and conditioners etc. where does natural air stand a chance? Trust me friends I was so wrong in assuming that. Man can never conquer nature as the eternal debate continues. The floor I was assigned to is R&D as I was given a decoding project essentially based on C.

It has first class canteen with both vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes. A coupon system is in place and the food is at subsidized rate. All the floors are air-conditioned. Everyone there dresses up in formals. The timings are very flexible i.e. no rigid timings till you get your job done. Special attention is given to the newcomers and a formal training is given to them for at least one month before assigning them to a project. There is so much of nice camaraderie around the workplace that you feel completely at ease. Everyone there identifies with the company motives and put in their best efforts to the development of the company. One is awarded impartially the hikes based solely on performance.

Sounds too good to be true isn’t it? Well it isn’t. I take back all I said (3rd para). If you are one of those trying to practice negations for CAT or just for fun can experiment on the above paragraph to get the actual picture. Still didn’t get it?? In the words of Mr. DP “ All you have to do here is pretend that you are busy…”. It is one company where I found so much of discontent. Everyone there has an account in Naukri or Monster or any placement websites looking for better avenues outside. The common refrain apart from the TIMINGS ( Monday – Sunday) is that one is not treated well with respect. “ Dabbudi emundi, adi pakkanapettu. Mammalnu koncham engineers ga respect cheste chalu. Ante gani edo salary istunnam kada veelu manam emi cheppina chestarle ante… eveadiki kaladu…” echoes one absolute gem of person in whom I saw a man to admire and respect with his abundant knowledge and commitment to work. Other thing that really puts off many is the lack of guidance or support from the senior staff. Excepting few many have large ego problems there. One month into the project, one is still at square one not knowing how to proceed. The matters doesn’t end with you doing your part. Being put in R&D makes you responsible for the overall design of the circuit and testing it. But that’s not the case. Right from the job assigned to ordering materials, software developing, production everything has to be taken care of that individual/group. Before you want to say anything I want to clarify that when I mean taken care of is you have to monitor all the processes. Literal monitoring i.e. just make sure that guy is fitting it well, making sure all the components needed are entered and ordered. Making sure the software guy has given you right GUI. It just puts off people. I mean as person assigned to particular department you are expected to harness most of your energy in there. Hence it is not unusual to find many a people in this floor at least idling away most of their time either because materials are not yet ordered or because the testing is still being done or something or the other.

Coming to my case, I had a blast in the first week since I joined. It was exciting to be addressed informally. The hourly journeys to and fro form the company to the home was very tiring but I found myself liking it thinking this is what hard work is all about. I was asked to try to understand a code in C. The person who is in charge of me was little busy at that moment to tell me the EXACT DETAILS of the project and asked me to continue on my own. At the end of the week knowing how completely idiotic I was in trying to write code for such a complex program I started surfing for clues. I found something to verify with. BAM….a much sought after breakthrough. Tested it on microcontroller. Found it working fine. I was given another higher security module to be debugged. A week passed with again GOOGLE coming to my rescue for some code to verify with. It was then I knew something is really wrong here. No one was interested in this project of mine. I mean it was said that it wasn’t going to work as it was tested already. I failed to understand what my position is in this regard. The days of frustration began. As usual I reach the company an hour before. Making some itsy-bitsy changes I was supposed to get it worked on the controller. There is some technical talk between sir and me which is completely opposite to OTHER sir (the next in order of in-charge for me…) and me and my job was to validate that. Some days I tolerated with me having company and soon even they were so-called engrossed and I was left all alone brooding my fate.

The last week of my stay was by far the most irritating and the worst form of torture I could ever endure. From 9 to 1 i.e. till lunch my work was to sit. That’s all. To sit and stare at the computer waiting, WAITING for something to happen. Something that would change the world. From then again I was to sit. Oh ya, in between I have the absolute rubbish talk between one sir and other sir. I was going completely mad sitting there. It is from the people there I understand I was not alone. I was literally breaking down, unable to think in any manner and losing interest in everything. I tell you the absolute euphoric feeling I got when I could convince my parents my decision to quit was something I hadn’t even experienced when I got selected in SATYAM. I was in such a deplorable state.

Thankfully everything is over for now and I am back doing what I like enjoying what I like. Those are the most unforgettable 30 days ever in my life.

GET TOGETHER -III

Taaain…taaai..tadaaan…tere teee taain tadyooon…tedaa … Taaain…taaai..tadaaan…

That’s the starting tune of the theme music of Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King but the look of disbelief and what-the-heck tells me you completely missed the point. Tut..tut..tut…I overestimate my audience these days…

So as you read the previous sequel even on warning not to, I was apprehensive, tired, and little irritated. Read on to find out what followed next-

Bringing down the curtains on the most un-awaited, unwanted (you have no choice, my decision is made, live with it) sequel here I begin what actually happened that fateful oops rainy night. As always, and always and will always I was on dot to find myself all alone outside the resto. Why do I have to mention ‘‘always’’ so many times? Ans: Because this happened SO MANY times. Clutching the greetings in my hand, looking here and there, wondering if I have come to the right spot or would it be an encore performance - not long ago, when Swami Naidu, Vijay, and me planned a movie at Skyline, I headed all the way to Sangeet before going back to Skyline, which is something that brings smile to my face every time I think about it.

Chucking it aside, I have a question for you all to start with. As I entered the resto thinking MAYBE they have already started eating (time was still 8:30…) I saw two fellows relishing a hot-boiling soup. Now they are:- (chose any two of the four in all options and finally chose the right option…this ain’t your regular G.K. question…so put in some effort…). Two minutes max…

a. Nikmo, Laddoo, Alok, Uday
b. Srujana, Venkat, Nikhil Mohan, Visharad
c. Abhinav, fool-proof, Harsha, Laddoo
d. Karthik, George, Srujju, Nix.

Okay , time is up. The answer is …you know already, don’t you. I take back what I said about ‘overestimating’ my audience. That’s a bit of surprise in the evening, as I didn’t expect milady to grace the occasion. If you read the previous sequel, you would have understood. I felt awkward as I planned to give her the greeting later. I was very very hungry that day and when Laddoo asked me or to me it felt like tempted me to have a little, I wanted to snatch the bowl and gulp it all in one go but poor lady about to go to US of A would be too shocked to recover and would think at least ten times before she can offer it to anyone in the future.

A Small Unforeseen Mishap

!!!The Man Who Missed The Boat- 'Pokiri'!!!

Nix in a casual tone of his mellow voice tells me Harsha wouldn’t be coming. Thinking he was joking I looked at Laddoo for any hint of usual friendly banter. Girls give away clues easily you know and especially with highly sensitive Laddoo you have to be extra careful in planning a bluff. When he repeated the same thing again I knew something really wrong was happening. What happened was a small misunderstanding. As you are aware there were three people involved in getting the meet on the wheels and the main engine was Harsha. I thought I had told Nikmo to tell the final details regarding the place, time etc to Harsha and he thought I did. Fact of the matter was it was upon me to call him. Added to that this MOTEY didn’t allow me to rectify my mistake by insisting he can’t make it even though he had plenty of time to make it further adding to my woes of regret. It bothered me because he and I had a very long chats through the phones from the start and I screwed up everything… Next time I will take care.


As time ticked by, everybody started coming in. The one who made a grand appearance would be Mr.Spectrum (sometimes known by the name ‘Visharadh’). Being new to this part of the city, sitting in auto he was directing the driver through phone in spite of my ironclad landmarks that I had given him. The funniest part is he was hardly 10 yards away from the spot, by the time he called. Abhi was still missing and upon calling, I was surely disappointed to know that he hadn’t even started from his home.

Yossarain Presents “Something About Abhi”

!!!Happy ABHI Kabhi Bhi"

He is one guy whom I can never understand. Always has that smile on his face. What is it that makes him share every little joy he experiences, joke he heard or a decision he wants to take? That’s an incredible asset but not an easy one to live with. Just imagine having to take some twenty opinions on an issue, reviewing them and then coming to a decision which might be as simple as how to do a particular assignment (or) a career decision like MS- in US vs. Job? Hands down, I can never live in peace with such state. He, on the other hand never fails to come to a good decision. An absolutely enigmatic personality seriously. He has tremendous memory power, great network of friends next only to Nikmo and an affable personality who is still child at heart and very open to anything you might ask.

Back to the present, he was deciding to come or not based on the people that have turned up. I assure him there are already 14 people (actually 7 were there so far…) and also bribe him on the fact that he would be missing the most valuable greeting of his life if he can’t make it. With a bit of urgency and assurance to turn up in the next 45 minutes, he puts off the cell. Laddoo prepares to leave as it was getting late for her but not before being SNAPPED. Once she left, it was all boys gang out here- uday, geroge, lokesh, chitti, nikmo, swami Naidu, visu, alladi, allok, and me. We seat ourselves with veggies on one side and pure-non-veg on the other for easier serving (and also for easier billing :)).

Making sure everybody is seated comfortably I hand out the greetings I had. The one I liked the most was the one I wrote for George. I became all tingly and excited like a child from inside when handing out. Once the orders were given, we started talking about quotas in IIT’s, how IIT is going to be. With so many people around it becomes quite a task to maintain conversation with all but at the same time you can’t sit idle and take your favorites and be with them. Well, that’s what has happened earlier FIRST-MEET ever at EAT STREET. I thought girls were out of sync there maybe because that’s how four years had been. So this time I thought maybe all boys wouldn’t be a bad idea. As Abhi entered so did the waiter from inside to serve the dishes. What a Coincidence I tell you. As always highly excited like a guy who topped the unit tests, he comes in and greets everyone.

Now the discussion centered on how American way of life is and that once there one would have to succumb to DRINKING, tempted to amoral desires, asking them if they have learnt cooking, taken the immuno form, tablets, clothes etc. Meanwhile chicken biryani was doing rounds accompanied by the curries. All the dishes were excellent and were adequate. When I thought I had enough someone ordered Noodles. I tell you, for future reference, I can have noodles no matter what state I am in. I am a noodles-freak (or in general Chinese food freak…) and maybe it was me who spoiled Chitti in becoming one. We had so many outings in God-knows-what kind of places but we had masti time eating together.

I don’t remember much of the convo that we had that day but I can tell you everybody was engaged in talking about something or the other and none was left behind. It was around 10:30 when we finished everything and came out. Like always, I took the cam-phone from Alok, and had the snaps taken with all of us standing before the resto. Everybody were reluctant to have a go at Ice-Creams. Then one guy (Loki) started eating, everyone followed the suit with CHIITTI in the lead. Well I guess he is one of those who cares more for friends than for anyone else. I suggested on a lighter note to treat us all. He took it literally and finished shelling out money for all the 11 ice creams. Thanks mate, may you and your compassionate heart

In other twenty minutes everyone left on some bike or the other. For some reason I felt this meet was something different, for me at least. Maybe because it was the first time I was involved in calling up people, setting the place and time taking the responsibility of a good host. And I feel I have done a good job except for that minor glitch.

I wish all those guys who have gone to pursue their higher studies a very successful life. Your presence at the party made the day all the more memorable.

!!!Amen!!!

"Super" Audio Review

by V Karthik on Sunday 17 July 2005

...............just absolutely super.

First of all I have taken a voluntary retirement from watching telugu or hindi movies. But that doesn’t stop me from watching Bio-Scope or whatever programs that come across channels ranging from MAA tv, Etv, Teja Tv, etc. So here is where I came across this fabulous, spectacular, and absolutely stylized song of the year (maybe!!). I am talking about none other than Nagarjuna Starrer – ‘Super’ song which features Anuksha Khan running through the fields, beaches, forests and our latest fashion statement icon Nag with the weirdest hairdo in the telugu movies for a long long time, enjoying her moves, relishing each movement of her tantalizing sways and the absolute brilliant camerawork just makes you glue your eyes to the screen. Man was I not spell-bound.


I go to andhravilas and what do I find ? No surprise for guessing – Almost every song is rhythmic, foot-tapping, techno-beat, and a must hear for those hardrock fans. Must I mention that this song ‘ Mila Mila ……..’ holds a special position in the sense it is first telugu song to be featured in MTV, V in their regular quota of latest songs. Sandeep Chowta surely deserves a pat on his back and making every hyderabadi proud ( damn right I am exaggerating …but that’s how it is…).

Here is my analysis of the album:

1. Akkad Bakkad –
It is one of those songs starting whose lyrics everyone is familiar with. Like the way we had ‘ Veeri Veeri Gummadipandu …’ from Jayam. But it is only the charanam that you would be familiar with. The main content is simple. I guess this song must be after one of their robbery ( by the way it is INSPIRED from Doom…’). So all the song is about enjoying every little penny that one has got and also advises you on love, life and etc.

2. Mastana – When you hear this you feel somewhere you have heard this beat but just can’t place it. But don’t worry about thinking it ( if one does remember let me know…). This is a duet song with absolutely meaningless lyrics. Hey just enjoy guys from when did you care about lyrics anyway.


3. Gichi Gichi Mix - I fail to understand why he kept that mix thing. See if there are two songs of same name then we can understand one is a mix and the other is not. But that is not the case. Anyway it is little slower (oh…slow down…not slow enough to stop you from dancing..) and from the preview of the song I can say this is the opening song. (Remember the first song of Doom with Bhachan Jr. and whoever in the room…again it is only INSPIRED from Doom). Song is quite melodious and has a good soothing feel to it. One good thing is because of the tabla, and the urban feel to it one can choreograph the song well if one had to put it on the stage. But everything said and done this is not the song I would want to hear.

4. Mila Mila… – The pick of the album. I bet my damn life and can say without hesitancy this is going to be another ‘Cheliya Cheliya ….cheliya cheliya…alalavadilo eduruchustunnna’ (Gharshana). And please…..don’t worry about the lyrics. There must have been some but you see Chowta doesn’t want us to be talking about them. The way it starts off like a engine on fire blowing the trumpet to the loudest and then slowing down the way it has started to absolute silent music is awesome transition. Worth hearing it any number of times you wish. Definitely the defining movement of the whole album and the hot-cake of the season.

5. ChandraMukhi – This reminds you of the Manmadhudu Cheliya Cheliya song or Donga Donga’s Koncham Neeru ..Koncham Nippu I mean the husky voice, the guitar strumming the constant beats everything adds up to the atmosphere. This is the second best of the album and if I am not mistaken this is also being featured in V channel. The words Chandra Mukhi keep echoing as if it is going to you haunt you for the rest one hour.


6. Muddelenti – Last but not the least but not the worst ( already Gichi Gichi has taken that spot). I guess this is one song you would love to hear and watch it on T.V. just for the heck of seeing Anuksha go wild with her mouth open singing ‘ooohh oh yaaaa ooooh oh yaaa’. This has a blend of rap and techno lyrics which makes it all the more worthful to hear.


Well that sums up my review. There wasn’t any movie/album for a long time I wanted to write a review until this came. And by the way if I have not said it before this movie is only INSPIRED by Doom. And mind you guys Nag said “ This is going to be a biggest hit or it is going to be biggest utter flop of the year”. So watch out for Doom …sorry….Super.
The credits go to :
Starring : Nagarjuna, Anuksha,Ayesha Takia
Music : Sandeep Chowta Director : Puri Jagannath
Album Price : Free to hear and download it on net( andhravilas.com), Rs.38/- is the cassette and the disc – 90/-. Rating : ****1/2 /***** ( all because of that Gichi Gichi song …)

This is a review I have written long, long ago. I still the remember the way I wrote. Putting the loud speakers at full volume, listening to each song, pausing a while writing the review then playing it. And it went on.It took me 2 and a half hours to write it within which I heard the whole album twice. I was so pepped up after writing it and immediately posted it on erstwhile website www.vasavionline.co.nr. The comments were instanteneous and it was much appreciated. The one that struck me the most was by Adi who said "Awesome review...not yet a fan but going to be..."-this from the great man himself. Added to that once in college SwamiNaidu, NewAger aka Ms.Talkative on a passing note told me that many of their friends were talking about this review. I felt absolutely euphoric that day but had my control infront of them. From then on no matter what article I wrote I always read this and compare to see if I have improved and I guess the next one that I think has bettered would be my "Nostalgia Calling-I".

The first sweet success always would remain immemorable so it is with that feeling I am reproducing as it is without any modifactions/additions to have that pristine, original feeling. I hope all you readers would enjoy reading it and would deeply appreciate your comments.

For some corrections, the lady that runs and snakes through the woods would be Ayesha Takia not Anukhsha. 'Dhoom' is misspelt as 'Doom'. The song "Mastana..." has the touch of "Na Tho raa...tamashalalo telusta..." from "Ninne Pelladutha".
For legally listening to the song click here: Super(2005)

Finally, please do give at least one hearing to "Mila...Mila..." song and I promise that won't be the last time you hear it.

GET TOGETHER -II

STUNNING SEQUEL

First among all time great sequels would undoubtedly be “The Godfather –II”. Who could forget Robert De Niro’s character playing young Vito Carleone? With intermixing of past and present and a great direction by Francis Ford Coppola the movie never once let you off the hook till the end.

The next best would be" Terminator –2: The Judgment Day". I have seen the movie more than FIFTY times and I am ready to watch it again. 39 minutes into the movie and you would be seeing one of the best ever chases in cinematic history. Arnie clad in Black from head to toe, sporting a cool ray ban glasses zooming down on the road from 10 feet height (a stunt he did it on his own), with Harley Davidson is a site to watch if not for the entire movie. None could have even come close to being a TERMINATOR as Arnie did.

Well following which…

Wait a minute, you are still reading??? Oh. Okay. You see I warned you. You are free to skip this SEQUEL (which by the way is in no league to the movies quoted above.). Don’t misunderstand me, I don’t want you to DELIBERATELY miss this, it’s just that this is one way of catching your attention which I think I succeded in if you are still reading. All right here it begins…

The next time someone tells you, “Chod do yaar, what’s the hurry? We can do it later right?” give him one tight slap. (Read on fully…don’t come to conclusions…)

It was Monday morning. The day was warm. The mood was alright. Alok bought a new car (not that day of course…). We all sat in it. He called from below and Swami Naidu and me got down the lift. Expecting to be seated in the front with some snacks and cool drinks I was about open the car door when I realize there was place for two alone and that too in the back. Smiling broadly my satisfaction I get in. But man was I not surpised to see myself sitting comfortably with two others in the back. All credit to one and only GETZ, i.e. Hyundai GETZ. It’s like a small SUV. (I am drifting too much of late…)

Stepping into the college after almost two months, I felt…nothing because there weren’t any familiar faces around but Swami Naidu did. I wonder why is it that I can’t keep in touch with people either one step ahead or one step below me (aka seniors or juniors). Well edging him on, we go get our forms. It is then we see Gregory and Balswamy greeting us all the way from Computer Block. Swamy was unrecognizable for sometime with what his hair looking almost like a pigeon nest and dense beard. He is going to Tirupati, you see? They go on to explain all the things to us-whom to meet, what to do etc. With such valuable inputs and after little distractions like Chinmay returning my books, Signing Radha Poornima’s slam book. Now something about Radha Pornima. She …abba, get on with it…you irritating piece of ********.

Okay I will make it really brief from now on.

• 10 to 12 – Signing Radha Poornima’s log book (abba again????) Going to Visvesharayya’s block, running from floor to floor getting the things signed
• 12 to 1 – Same as above but this time there is no signing.
• 1 to 2 – Same as above.
• 2’0 clock – having lunch with some of the assorted people there including Mr.Nash, Visu, Logic, Balswamy, George who were first surprised and stunned with the pace with which the things were going on. It was pathetic actually.

Excepting two signatures everything was in place. One that of Electrical Technology (E.T. not Jadoo ) and the other that of Proxy Principal which in GEORGE own words a man who signs a blank paper given a cigar in return. (If only George was in my shoes…). With some minor skills gathered from watching n number of english movies I was able to easily con a Mechanical Dept. young recruit in signing on behalf of whomever. (thank you, thank you…). But there was this one problem – Nirma ka drama and getting Proxy Princi sign. The first half Mr.SwamiNaidu will be blogging shortly (well within the time he marries of course…) and latter half…

• 2 to 2:50 – Go up and down, up and down all in vain as we couldn’t find princi.
• 2:50 to 3:20 – Same as above but this time we could FIND princi. But, yes there always was a but. Why did you think I would be writing such a big one…He is in middle of a class.

Finally at 3:20 we do find him, and he being such a great gentlemen without even asking for at least one-cig signs our papers. Zooooooooooom..We rush to Examination branch to get our Provisional Certificate, final marks sheet not without a hassle. We were greeted by that ever-friendly, prehistoric, anachronostic, pedagogic, or simply - irritating accounter. With people really restless as the time was ticking by and crowd getting larger by the minute here is this guy sticking on to rules and like explaining to a LKG student how to tie a shoe-lace starts telling the gathering the steps 1,2,3 to do once the forms are given. My goodness or goodness gracious me am I not glad I wouldn’t have to face him.

Time whilst by and the buses were all gone. We did have a backup though – Visu’s Maruti 800. He has changed a lot from the time he refused to part with his Weighing scales in 1st year Physics Lab exam to he waiting for us overtime till our work was done, there has been tremendous change in his personality. Five in a Maruti (Visu, Balu, and Avi, Me, Paul) means crowdy. Add to that a sixth giant (Swami Naidu) personality. And further add to that someone (Visu..) who has just underwent training in a driving school. Tadaaaa—you have a perfect reciepe for the most enjoyable, relaxing1 hour trip at max 40 Kmph (to be fair he did touch the 60 mark once…) from the college to Basheerbagh. Promptly telling everyone to be there by 8:30 we part from there in an auto back home.

Swami Naidu and me spent some more time, relishing Chicken Leg Piece at Papaji-Da-Dhaba before he left. Mentally noting down all the sixteen invitees I go to purchase some cards from the near-by stores for the Special Guests of the meet. Reaching home finally at 7:30 I start personalising the greeting. I feel, immaterial of all the sweet, heart-rending, and absolutely poetic words within the greeting, whatever little PERSONAL things you write brings warmth to the greeting. This is a practise I have learnt from Mr.Surendra Sriram, aka BUNTY (a personality whom I would be blogging shortly…). The smiles I see on the face of those with the greetings give me a great joy and a feel of personal triumph. (Do try this at home!!! College, workplace etc..).

Tick…tock…time nearing 8:30. The heavy rain that was pouring in cast some doubts to the fate of the meet.

What could have been done within half a day and giving me enough time for my beauty nap followed by Greetings hunt has turned upside down. The other thing that was affected was my Chinese class. There being only three classes per week every class has 1/3rd value.

And it’s all because: - GO BACK TO READ LINE 10….

GET TOGETHER - I

Mind is a very dangerous thing. You think you remember everything but you don’t. It slowly starts to lapse and the facts become distorted. It goes to a stage where you have to introduce your own story like Mr. Orange does in Pulp Fiction.

Well, keeping that in mind I begin our second ever meet after graduation (funny isn’t it? To borrow the words of Mr. So and So of CTS, if everybody writes “difference” as D-I-F-F-I-R-E-N-C-E, then what is the DIFFEREEEEEEENCE??). Everything DIDN’T go according to the plan but the end result seemed satisfying nonetheless.

AIM OF THE MEET:

There were six people namely (IITians--)George, Uday, Lokesh, (MS in US ‘ians)Abhinav, Alok, Laddoo ( also known as Srujana) ready to step into another EDUCATIONAL career. To make them feel homely again and also to make them understand that old bonds die hard it was decided to give them all a warm farewell and remind them of the beautiful days we had during the meet.
In simple words, to ingrain the message:

DON’T FORGET US – ENGLISH
Nonli dimentichi - Italiano (Italy, The Winning Team aka My Favorite)
不要忘記我們 - 漢語(Chinese)
Ne nous oubliez pas - Français (French)
Vergessen Sie Uns Nicht - Deutscher (German)
Mammalni Marchipokandi – TELUGU
Hame Bhoolna Math – HINDI

Me and Nikmo after witnessing the one of the most exciting and thrilling finale of FIFA 2006 World Cup, decided to have a second get together (don’t bother…there ain’t any logic there!!! I know). But first someone else was needed to put the plan on wheels. ‘Pokiri’ aka Harsha ( just made that nickname for the sake of the blog…for everyone he is Harsha…) enters the stage because I for one (and if you dare to disagree???) believe he is one of the most versatile personalities there is in our class and knows the right places for the right occasions. On talking to him for about ten minutes on phone there were TWO unanswered questions: How many would want to come in the night? Why not Lunch? Would Vegetarian Do?. So back to Nikmo the FOODIE (the lanky guy from VLCC who ironically hasn’t stopped any outing so far). We decide some names on random never actually hitting the target OR getting the positive responses. To achieve the objective we thought first by knowing which date would be convenient to the SEXY SIX hexos. It turns out except for Laddoo ( also called Srujana) everyone consented to the following night.

With a bit of prodding I knew she can make it but she being a girl (actually she thinks she is…) and the probabilities of dinner time going late there always is that hang up. With one more call to “Pokiri” somethings are clarified as to no. of people and the majority’s taste. Then came the most unexpected thing that I could never fathom to happen. Even he turned clueless for the selection of hotel. You see, we need to tell all the guys and gals where the meet would be and when. WHERE and WHEN…essentials. No point in phoning and telling them these TWO would be informed later. WE can do that but it is just waste of money phoning every idiot (excepting me and nikmo…) twice.

Time was ticking by…Back to Nikmo again. Well, guys I have to tell you this. Some things he does deserve a lot more recognition, particularly when it is something like a life-saving decisions. He is too great a person to tell everyone, so here I am taking up the job. IF NOT FOR HIS TIMELY AND MOST THOUGHTFUL DECISION WE WOULD HAD OUR OUTING AT “BAWARCHI”. On behalf of everyone who was present for the outing, and on behalf of all those absent too…thank you, thanks a lot for chosing

!!!SIX LEVEN!!!

More to follow...as is my wont I would like to retell all the happenings of the day so as to make the readers understand how the mood actually was before coming to the event itself. So PART II I would begin with me and Venky (wait...you read after I write...). I leave it to you if you want to read or not.

A Tiffin Centre I would Die For

To all 4/4 E.C.E - B passed out students....the reason why I like this tiffin centre

Raghvendra Tiffins

It sounds so unusual to write about a tiffin centre and it is one of the last things a person talks about. Forget talking writing a review on it is much more disgraceful and humiliating than running around naked in streets. Then why I am writing one and top of it how did it ever go uncensored and got listed in the site. These are all the questions which you might be thinking, if not Don't think, it might sprain your brain!!

You see I have become butt of the jokes in my class and might have well been named Raghavendra just because I love this tiffin centre. First and foremost reason I love it is because it is very very nearer to my home. Hardly a minute’s walk. I don’t fancy myself as a connoisseur but at the same time I am not a glutton. Of late it has become a practice for me to eat at least five times a day. That happens to me during every semester holidays. College-time itinerary is different. My breakfast finishes at 8:00 and at around 10 or 11 my stomach starts rumbling. When there is breakfast still left over I would carry on with that if not you know what I do. For me then time would be very precious….every second I waste I would be dying of hunger.

That is the first foremost reason I love this tiffin centre. It just saved me so many times. Then again just another minute further walk down the lane there is Shanti Tiffins. Why would I stick to Raghavendra in spite of the former offering a seating place to eat?? QUALITY guys and gals QUALITY of the food is what drives me to this small, silent, busy tiffin centre.

It has all the varieties – Poori, Dosa, Idli ( my most hated one…) Vada, etc. I just can’t remember everything on the menu. The aforementioned ones are my favorites there. I do lot of eating outside with friends when coming from a CAT class, or going somewhere on an errand at evenings but I have to yet come across a restaurant or a tiffin centre that beats the quality of poori that is made here. Not even Ohri’s or Taj can give that sumptuous taste.

!!!! Ohri's No Match for Raghvendra Tiffins (Tiffin Segment Please) !!!

Take a token and give it to the person there. Within a minute or so your dish would be served hot with all the requirements chutney, sambar, spoons, ghee etc. The servicing is very fast and you can replenish the accoutrements once they are over. If the main tiffin itself is over you can take the token again and order a new tiffin. You see they are so polite and understanding too about your hunger, they don’t smirk at you or look at you with a weird face seeing you order for second time.

There is no sitting business, there are two big round tables separated by a distance, three fans- two to the ceiling, one attached to the wall, a long horizontal bar on one side and two flat platforms on the other- these two again are equally-spaced, on which you can keep your plate and eat. It is so congested you might say but I can assure you no problems finding a place and eating calmly. And hey there are two large windows flanked opposite to the horizontal bar giving you a outside view of the one of the busiest roads of the region - connecting road between Shivam Road and ShankarMutt . Endless traffic, constant moving of people here and there make you feel as if you are watching crowd at New York Times Square.

!!! Experience The Thrill of being in New York Times Square !!!

With cool breeze all around ( the fans are at top speed 5 for your information…) and absolute superb quality tiffin in front of you makes you forget all the problems you are burdened with and your mind becomes very clear.

Well I have given all the details and now it must be really clear to people why I like this tiffin centre. To all those who have even once visited my house I have let them eat at this place irrespective of the timings ( few exceptions are there…) and the response has been unanimous – Cannot be told in simple words . Well when you pass by the connecting road and not once felt like eating at this marvelous tiffin centre is like just taking a glance at Taj Mahal after going all the way to Agra. At least now wake up and remember the name RAGHAVENDRA TIFFINS.

Name: Raghavendra Tiffins.
Place: New Nallakunta
Timings: 6:00 A.M to 11:00 P.M. ( awesome isn’t it…)
Parking: Two-wheelers (yes), 4-wheelers (yes but not more than two cars fit) AND AND no parking money ( I know I know….calm down. It is hard to believe…)
Phone No. : They don’t like Advance Booking…

Please after reading so much and eating at this marvelous place let me know what you feel…I will always be glad to hear.

A T.T. Table Proposal

At the outset I would like to say that this proposal fell on deaf ears and all our efforts in persuading them went down the drain. But at least I thought sharing with you what the proposal is gives me a personal relief as I had lot of fun writing this in comparison to Cricket that we play in our apartment.

PROPOSAL FOR T.T Table

Table tennis is one of the most popular sports in the world in terms of player numbers, as well as being one of the newest of the major sports which is liked by both young and adult alike. After a hard day’s work at school or college the child gets exhausted by the time he comes home by 5 or 6 in the evening. The child then spends his time relaxing in front of T.V. before getting down to his studies. Occasionally depending on the time available he/she might be going to some vocational classes like singing/ instrumentation etc. to ease his/her mind.

As the days goes by with exams nearing he would have to cut down these visits too. One might have observed in the past few weeks many of the children playing cricket in the parking space available. It is to be informed that all is not well with the way things are going. The problems involved with this game are

• Try as we might it becomes quite an issue to see to it that ball doesn’t go hitting other vehicles in the parking lot.
• With balls being hit very hard, so often it lands up outside the corridor, sometimes hitting the people walking on the road which again creates some problem.
• It is not only the people that is a problem but also damage caused when the balls are hit onto other houses.

In spite of the problems stated above it should be noted that there hasn’t been any major issue so far. But cricket as one very well knows is something that can truly enjoyed only when playing on the ground.

Coming to T.T. nothing becomes an issue here. With ball as small as 4 mm in diameter and weighing 20 gms playing T.T. is safest and most enjoyable game for the children especially in the apartments.
The reason why this becomes so appealing is cited below:

• For one thing it is one of the easiest sports that can be mastered in few weeks for any amateur. Four people at a time can play the game. With an average time of 15 minutes per game in an hour span 8 people can play two games each taking turns every game. Furthermore there are games like Round-Robin game where more than 10 people can play at a time on the board.
• Competitive spirit can be encouraged by conducting small tournaments spanning a month duration in the apartment and giving away prizes for the best player, best smash etc.
• Night or day doesn’t become an issue as it requires a space less than half a room as the table spans 8 * 4 Feet in dimensions. So as the school starts he/she just spending half an hour of his/her time in playing T.T with peace of mind can then concentrate on the studies.
• Another major Highlight of the game is it’s equality for all. Because of it’s ease of playing all the office-goers and homemakers can also have fun time playing it.

It was on discussion with most of the children in the apartment we have come to decide to get a T.T. table done at ASIAN ENTERPRISES, a furniture and manufactures shop at Nampally. With all the requirements taken into account here are the cost details:


Table – 2800 *
Net – 500
Table Tennis Bats (4) – 1000
Transportation and Labour Charges – 700
--------------------------------------------------
Total - 5000
-------------------------------------------- -----

*- All in Rupees.

With Rs.500/- per flat it becomes a great investment in providing your child the access to the one of the best games in the world and ensuring his/her happiness.

Thanking You for your support

Friends, there is a dual purpose for writing this blog. One to tell you how desperately I wanted all the people in apartment to realise how much 500 bucks would mean to a child's future but also to give details on how one can get a T.T. table with least cost. The actual T.T. table cost is around Rs.9000. (think about it)

Kurnool ki Kahania...

When my mom tells most of the relatives how I end up being the lower mortal among the friends, I used to shrug it off thinking it is one of those pampering things that any mom would say about their kids. But boy was I not wrong as I recall now and blog about my 3rd Class pal: Praveen. This trend had set in long ago i.e. from 3rd class to till date. Excepting intermediate all the times I had people around me who were much better. And this is what puzzles my mom as she can’t comprehend how I haven’t been able to get some qualities from these guys and UP my studies. Even I wonder.

The days in Kurnool are the most memorable in my life. Ironically I don’t remember much of what has happened in classes but off the school, I do. Staying at Narsingarao Pet, it was always warm, traffic free, pollution free and more importantly free of endless apartments and noise that I am witnessing here. The whole area was cut off from the busy part of the town. Five to six parallel lanes made up the place with school as the entry point. It was ten minutes walk from my house to the school. My brother used to escort me during lunch hours, and with T.V switched on he had no problems taking care of me.

My tryst with Cartoons:

I am big crazy fan of cartoons right from childhood. During my breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks or whatever time it was to eat from me the first thing she does is to switch on the t.v. and put some Cartoon cassette Tom and Jerry, or Mickey Donald (my childhood favorite), or Popeye( I had huge collection of those..).


As she recollects I used to utter not a sound of approval or disapproval as she goes on feeding me with the spoon. Once she knows how much is enough, she promptly cleanse my face and continue with her work. Even now she relishes it telling it to everyone she meets how she used to make a doll out of me for feeding. Till 5th class this continued. Don’t get me wrong, I was a spoil child mind you with lots of lots of crazy and irritating things I used to do. But not during the EATING times, because of cartoons.

Well, that’s how life was till 5th. Maybe there was more but I don’t remember. But things stared changing for better. In the evenings all the children gather near one house where we had this 10th class student Srinath as our guide to make us understand what to play. We had somewhere like 10 to 15 people covering almost all the classes from 1st to 8th class. During weekdays it was mostly hide and seek(the toughest of all), gilli-danda, tops or chain game. After few games we all sit around for a while and then disperse for the studies. The actual fun was always in the weekends i.e. the time when Saturday ends to the time Monday begins literally. These were allocated to GAMES like Football and cricket.

Cricket was played extensively. So many rules, so many restrictions but still we managed to play with whatever options we had. We had these games hours together with lots of juggling. After assessing the two to three games we change the teams and when there seems to be good enough battle we had series of 5 or 10 to decide the best one. There wasn’t any betting. Everything taken in right spirit. Movies weren’t quite a craze nor was the t.v. No wonder there is eternal debate about the boon and bane of the Technology.

It was a mixed crowd all the time. Sometimes the fun was with my classmates and sometimes it was with colony people. As the night progresses, we end up in Kishore’s house (my bro’s friend..). there again was an option of playing cards or caroms. Rummy being everyone’ favorite, three to four decks were brought in and we used to catalogue the points to decide the winner and there was minimum of ten games to get that. This was only during the times when there was lot of time before the exam dates approached.

Of all the festivals, Vinayaka Chavati topped the list for the kind of celebrations we had. There was always one twenty-odd feet Statue kept in our lane and there was week long celebrations. The nights we see the entire lane being decked up with lights. Mimicry, dance shows, antakshari, singing competition would take place in the night- the carnival like of atmosphere is something that can be felt and seen only in towns and villages. All we guys used to make many trips round the queue for prasadam(it being free…).Over Three hundred people a day used to throng for the darshan, so it wasn’t easy for pujari’s to spot the second or probably fifth or sixth-timers too.

As I look back I feel sad with the hectic life that we are to put up with, nostalgic as they can never come back, happy because of such a wonderful atmosphere I had and overall immensely satisfied to be able to recollect and share my wonderful experiences.

Rang De Basanti.... Patriotic??

A pointless but entertaining movie...i mean just entertainment and nothing else...
I have reviewd in some points and here they are the reasons why I found this movie is highly overrated and would like to listen to non-abusive impersonal comments.

RDB lovers and those who can't criticism please avoid reading this ....I warn you...

************WARNING SPOILERS******************

1. Trying to bring out change in the system at accelerated pace. What I don't understand is the cause they are supposedly fighting for?

Is it for justice...
Flight Leiutenant Ajay Singh Rathore(Mahadevan)dies in plane crash. They stage a protest and charge that Minister of Defence should explain why such faulty equipments had been commissioned to fly. They are beaten black and blue in a senseless manner for such a peaceful protest which we come to know that MoD had a hand in this. But the protaganists are completely enraged and decide to kill him. Is that a proper recourse? And all because Flight Leiutnant is KILLED and they want justice for it. If that were to be the case what is this gung-ho about the film oozing out patriotism? It is a personal fight and great leaders don't fight for themselves and dont' do hasty things for personal reasons.

Is it fight against corruption...
Then film falls short. We have seen many films before and no doubt many films would be seen in the future highlighting this and the fact remains that it just can't be cleaned or brainwashed into making the minds of millions take a great rally against corruption wihtin a span of two to three hours. The proper recourse could have been trying to bring out the middlemen out something like "Tehelka Scam" and make sure no one goes scot-free. But then again whole movie would have needed a revamp. The short-sighted Film "YUVA" too tried to bring a novel change in the mindset of youth that getting into politics is a child's play and failed miserably but surprisingly this isn't.


2. Most of the movie we see the enaction of pre-freedom struggle in the making of the documentary which alternates with the reality. This takes up chunk of the time. And this is supposedly shown to make us understand that their attitude and behavioral changes in the second half of the film. That's fine but too many of the incidents is too much.For a eigth to tenth standard students (depending on the board of education)it might make a useful contribution to their Social Studies subject.

3. We needed a Foreigner(Alice Patten) to inspire us. In the guise of film making we come to see the transformation of four goal less youths.Wouldn't a Indian film maker do? Didn't Rakesh Omprakash Mehra didn't think of that?

4. Coming to the ending...: What was Soha Ali Khan doing at the end? Shouldn't she have taken the same responsibility as others in the murder as she was the one who suggesetd the crime in the first place?

Then again why were they all killed when more than thousands of people were listening in on that radio about their escapade? Doesn't it bring more pressure on the government and all. Is there a rationale for killing? I mean suppose they were caught say and we all know very well that they have nothing to support their claim that Siddarth's Father or MoD had a hand in the faulty accessories of the aeroplane, they would be destined to be hung. so why kill them?? What were they afraid of letting them lose? The film doesn't explore anywhere near this issue.

Some may say, these men who have gone to the extent of killing MoD might be so very notorious (in common man assumption...) shooting them is the best recourse. But what if these men had many other plans ? what if they were part of criminal conspiracy or some terrorist group? What if they had many more bombs and whole lot of things in place in case something should happen to upset their plans? (all this again in common man's assumption...)If common man can think this way I am sure police truly would? so what was the point in killling them. Utterly Senseless.

Overall:

Everything said and done there are some moments in this film where you can really sit back and enjoy with whole gamut of emotions flowing within. The song "Khoon Chala...khoon chala" played in background as we see protestors being beaten strikes a painful chord among us. The funniest moments were to see Sharman Joshi trying to hug the lady for saving him(even though she didn't...), the realistic potrayal of drinking and whining, and all the songs were excellent. Also the change brought about in Atul Kulkarni on knowing the other side of his "guru".

The movie seems okay in bits and put together one entertainer with great songs. But patriotic...you must be joking...

As the Time Flies By...

18th is when officially I was set free or rather I set myself free or even better when my last ties with college ended or to make it absolutely clear it is when our project viva was taken and that ended our correspondence with college.

A little diversion….

It gives me great pleasure in letting all know that for the first time after the previous 5 semesters I feel absolute confidence that I will pass this semester meaning FOURTH YEAR, SECOND SEMESTER- I WILL PASS. Big Deal eh? You might say. But the repercussions are unimaginable and the mental trauma can be enough for me to go without computer for days. To follow what I am saying please read “Confessions on the Blog floor”.

I would like to thank each and every person who have made these papers so very easy and made sure an average guy can successfully complete. I owe them a lot. The cream of the whole papers was Speech Processing for sure. Oh my god!!! I thought I would die of the uncontrollable emotions of joy erupting inside my body threatening to burst out. Then the second place goes to Java followed by Radar and lastly -.. no forget it, not even worth mentioning as only PASS is required for it.

Focusing on Java paper I would like to say that it is extremely biased paper and the setters had no clue which are important and which are not. For example, who in the right mind would give a question like: Write about the applications of PERL for freaking 10 marks? Nuts for sure. But everything said and done I did lot of writing and took an additional. Additional with my writing gives me lot of confidence even as I write this. And that exam was like roller-coaster ride, not a moment to waste enjoying and relishing the words that are flowing out of the pen for that 180 minutes beginning from 11’o clock.

Diversion ends here…Please proceed on the main road…

What does that mean…

• No going back in the college bus,
• no more proxies,
• no more fighting to sit in the last bench, or sudokus in the last bench
  
• no more bunking and spending time in canteen,
• no more endless chatter about nothing in particular,
• no more last-minute batting for internals, no more tensions of back-log ,
• no more mass-bunking (not that there were any in the last year)
• no more planned outings,
• no more money collection for parties or discos (for record, we had an excellent class with absolutely amazing co-operation in any regard.)

There are so many others that ended with that passage of the day. All those days I didn’t think it would come to haunt me so much. It always seemed like wonderful journey with ups and downs. A certain pattern has set in and it takes a lot of effort to break it free. Loitering aimlessly and lazily till the day of internal approaches, frantically reading just before exams, a lull period again and the grand finale in the form of SEM EXAMS. It is the gap in these things that one can remember, all the others are just an illusion. But it gives me great pride looking back how effectively I have utilized some of those times during the gaps starting with a paper at NIT Warangal, one at Osmania University, one small project at Wipro E Peripherals, and to end it all entering a robotics competition at IIT-Bombay. It ain’t no big deal when compared with peers like Adi or Mr.Swaminaidu who have many more reasons to cherish about but the fact that I had done something useful, something that might help in my course of life (which turned out to be one of the biggest reasons why I have gotten recruited…), something other than doing nothing is a great satisfaction.

With all that gone I feel lonely and no wonder they say graduation is the best part of anyone’s life and no matter how much we try we cannot recreate that beautiful passage of time.

Before I forget I want you all to know I am now Karthik, B.Tech (Electronics and Comm. Engineer).