I'll confess...
I love to read...anything almost..stories, fables, tales, opinions, blogs, poems etc... But a poem which tells a tale with a thought provoking context in such a simple manner! The following poem made my day...
Even This Shall Pass Away
Once in Persia reigned a king,
Who upon his signet ring
Graved a maxim true and wise,
Which, if held before his eyes,
Gave him counsel at a glance
Fit for every change and chance.
Solemn words, and these are they,
" Even this shall pass away."
Trains of camels through the sand
Brought him gems from Samarcand;
Fleets of galleys through the seas
Brought him pearls to match with these;
But he counted not his gain
Treasures of the mine or main;
" What is wealth?" the king would say;
"Even this shall pass away."
'Mid the revels of his court,
At the zenith of his sport,
When the palms of all his guests
Burned with clapping at his jests,
He, amid his figs and wine,
Cried, "O loving friends of mine;
Pleasures come, but not to stay,
'Even this shall pass away."
Lady, fairest ever seen,
Was the bride he crowned his queen.
Pillowed on his marriage bed,
Softly to his soul he said:
"Though no bridegroom ever pressed
Fairer bosom to his breast,
Mortal flesh must come to clay
Even this shall pass away."
Fighting on a furious field,
Once a javelin pierced his shield;
Soldiers, with a loud lament,
Bore him bleeding to his tent.
Groaning from his tortured side,
" Pain is hard to bear," he cried;
" But with patience, day by day,
Even this shall pass away."
Towering in the public square,
Twenty cubits in the air,
Rose his statue, carved in stone.
Then the king, disguised, unknown,
Stood before his sculptured name,
Musing meekly: "What is fame?
Fame is but a slow decay,
Even this shall pass away."
Struck with palsy, sore and old,
Waiting at the Gates of Gold,
Said he with his dying breath,
" Life is done, but what is Death?"
Then, in answer to the king,
Fell a sunbeam on his ring,
Showing by a heavenly ray,
" Even this shall pass away."
- Theodore Tilton
Friday, October 20, 2006
Thursday, October 12, 2006
Phase Shift 06 DC
- Well we believe its one of the largest DC events ever conducted...
- 93 teams registered out of which around 73 turned up...
- The DC software developed by my senior Suresh ensured that the results were permanently on display and no manipulation could occur.
- The event started at 11 and the qualification lasted till 2:45!
- The number of teams were really overwhelming...
- The finals were from 3 till about 5.
- My teammates and I took turns on conducting the event.
- One team of Doctors from KIMS took part and they went on to win the event!
- One team from PESIT bunked their placements and won the second place.
- One standard team from my college came third.
- Most teams were relieved that we didn't have time inverse in the finals.
Saturday, September 02, 2006
Fest Preparation begins
What a great start to 5th sem...
My telecommunication department approached my 3rd year class to conduct our own tech fest. Everybody seems to be doing it now days, so why not us?
"Tech Fest " is quite a misleading phrase. I've been to loads of fests, tech and cultural, but tech fests are not what they sound like. The most crowd pulling event is Computer Gaming or Informals like balloon toss! Then probably would come DC. Of the tech events, C programming and paper presentations are the favourites.
After we'd been handed the responsibility of conducting this fest, some inspired people from my class got together and we got into the groove. Cultural events were decided in a jiffy but tech events still elude us!
I'm in the sponsorship committee and we've got quite a job cut out. What does it take for a company to give a college money? What will it take for us to convince a company,anyone for that matter, to part with their money?
Well one thing's on our side. This is the odd sem and there are not many fests we'r competing against us.
We've still not decided on the name of the fest. I hope to learn loads from organising this fest. Already I've spoken to loads of people in my college who've organised their own department fests and its quite a learning experience. Also looking forward to working with my seniors and initiating my juniors into the department.
Will keep posting as the work gathers momentum,do read this great quote on team work.
"No one can whistle a symphony. It takes an orchestra to play it."
H.E. Luccock
My telecommunication department approached my 3rd year class to conduct our own tech fest. Everybody seems to be doing it now days, so why not us?
"Tech Fest " is quite a misleading phrase. I've been to loads of fests, tech and cultural, but tech fests are not what they sound like. The most crowd pulling event is Computer Gaming or Informals like balloon toss! Then probably would come DC. Of the tech events, C programming and paper presentations are the favourites.
After we'd been handed the responsibility of conducting this fest, some inspired people from my class got together and we got into the groove. Cultural events were decided in a jiffy but tech events still elude us!
I'm in the sponsorship committee and we've got quite a job cut out. What does it take for a company to give a college money? What will it take for us to convince a company,anyone for that matter, to part with their money?
Well one thing's on our side. This is the odd sem and there are not many fests we'r competing against us.
We've still not decided on the name of the fest. I hope to learn loads from organising this fest. Already I've spoken to loads of people in my college who've organised their own department fests and its quite a learning experience. Also looking forward to working with my seniors and initiating my juniors into the department.
Will keep posting as the work gathers momentum,do read this great quote on team work.
"No one can whistle a symphony. It takes an orchestra to play it."
H.E. Luccock
Wednesday, August 16, 2006
The first day of 5th sem
After nearly two months of exams and holidays, I returned to my college MS Ramaiah today for the beginning of the 5Th sem. Normally I expected the first class to be taken by a senior professor who would advice us on the importance of this sem and so on... Imagine to my pleasant surprise a young lecturer turned up who actually put this entire Semester into context by explaining how this sem and its subjects are going to determine our future in the Telecomm field.
We had the first class and soon I found myself walking to the canteen. The first thing I noticed was that I couldn't recognize many faces on the way. And then my friend said it... the super Seniors or those in 4Th year had passed out. I couldn't imagine how this campus would be without them, now reality was filling in for where my imagination left off.
No Sanjay Joshi to egg you onto public speaking and debate, boosting any nervous participant's confidence with a few words of extremely useful advice.
No Santa and Banta or Mahendra, Dilip and Dinesh DC teams who'd competed with us for two years and had defeated us many times until my DC team learnt from them the tricks of the trade resulting in us beating them in the farewell Mechanical fest.
No Nikki to beat me in speaking Tamil without teaching me any Punjabi.
No Vineet to trace back his and my stay in Bihar.
No Gagan to warn us on the many pit falls of having chosen Telecomm.
No Srikanth and Devadatta to look up to as quizzing geniuses.
No Varun to break into random thoughts and speeches or give tips on JAM.
As I look back I often realise that my second year was totally defined by the above people, people who helped me out tremendously in various parts of college life.
As I walked around, my friend started discussing the freshers party that was to be organised for our juniors. It is then that i realise that the wheel had come a full turn.
“Nostalgia is like a grammar lesson: You find the present tense and the past perfect”
We had the first class and soon I found myself walking to the canteen. The first thing I noticed was that I couldn't recognize many faces on the way. And then my friend said it... the super Seniors or those in 4Th year had passed out. I couldn't imagine how this campus would be without them, now reality was filling in for where my imagination left off.
No Sanjay Joshi to egg you onto public speaking and debate, boosting any nervous participant's confidence with a few words of extremely useful advice.
No Santa and Banta or Mahendra, Dilip and Dinesh DC teams who'd competed with us for two years and had defeated us many times until my DC team learnt from them the tricks of the trade resulting in us beating them in the farewell Mechanical fest.
No Nikki to beat me in speaking Tamil without teaching me any Punjabi.
No Vineet to trace back his and my stay in Bihar.
No Gagan to warn us on the many pit falls of having chosen Telecomm.
No Srikanth and Devadatta to look up to as quizzing geniuses.
No Varun to break into random thoughts and speeches or give tips on JAM.
As I look back I often realise that my second year was totally defined by the above people, people who helped me out tremendously in various parts of college life.
As I walked around, my friend started discussing the freshers party that was to be organised for our juniors. It is then that i realise that the wheel had come a full turn.
“Nostalgia is like a grammar lesson: You find the present tense and the past perfect”
Tuesday, August 15, 2006
Bloging related sites
Was just surfing the net reading up a bit on blogging. Came across this article which pretty much summed up why the whole blogging phenomenon is occurring.
Another great website is problogger. This website contains the A to Z of blogging. Tools, resources, tips so on...
Another great website is problogger. This website contains the A to Z of blogging. Tools, resources, tips so on...
Sunday, August 06, 2006
The VTU mobile Ban...
I'd like to consider the ban imposed on students carrying cellphones in engineering colleges in Bangalore.
The Ban prevents students carrying cell phones anywhere on them even if they are switched off...
Now this is a really backward step justified by the VTU on the basis that it reduces indiscipline .A BLANKET ban sound draconian in this time and age. The VTU should have at least allowed us to carry the cellphones in a switched off state.
Now lets be frank here, the blanket ban has significantly increased discipline in my college. No more do I have near unlimited ability to message people in other rooms or cities with ease, no more do out of station students walk into labs loudly enquiring about the health of their uncles, no more do canteen discussions revolve around who's got the best ring tone.
Now for all the good things the cell phone ban has done its done quite a lot of bad ones also. Loads of students including myself travel cross the city in attend college and more often than not the cell phone provides an important communication link to our homes. When Bangalore nearly drowned in last year's downpour the fact that I had an illegal cellphone on me allowed me and my friends to communicate our whereabouts to our families and also helped us to avoid traffic jams!
Also let us remember that engineering students are part of a professional course, this ban would have been justified in schools but we are students who are going to start earning in 4 years time and this ban has made our ability to make our own decisions for ourselves seem irrelevant.
The VTU should rethink this absolute ban and in turn bring about a limited ban regarding the usage of cell phones during class hours.
The Ban prevents students carrying cell phones anywhere on them even if they are switched off...
Now this is a really backward step justified by the VTU on the basis that it reduces indiscipline .A BLANKET ban sound draconian in this time and age. The VTU should have at least allowed us to carry the cellphones in a switched off state.
Now lets be frank here, the blanket ban has significantly increased discipline in my college. No more do I have near unlimited ability to message people in other rooms or cities with ease, no more do out of station students walk into labs loudly enquiring about the health of their uncles, no more do canteen discussions revolve around who's got the best ring tone.
Now for all the good things the cell phone ban has done its done quite a lot of bad ones also. Loads of students including myself travel cross the city in attend college and more often than not the cell phone provides an important communication link to our homes. When Bangalore nearly drowned in last year's downpour the fact that I had an illegal cellphone on me allowed me and my friends to communicate our whereabouts to our families and also helped us to avoid traffic jams!
Also let us remember that engineering students are part of a professional course, this ban would have been justified in schools but we are students who are going to start earning in 4 years time and this ban has made our ability to make our own decisions for ourselves seem irrelevant.
The VTU should rethink this absolute ban and in turn bring about a limited ban regarding the usage of cell phones during class hours.
Sunday, July 30, 2006
Lessons from many a bus ride.
I've been travelling to my college for the past 2 years on the local city bus, it was a welcome change from cycling to school which was virtually down the road. The city bus as opposed to a college bus is with a difference. The simpler differences are that a seat is not guaranteed, its not always on time and so on...
But it offers significant advantages too. For the first time since i arrived in Bangalore in 1993 i got the ability to interact with the local population for longer periods than i usually used to.
Firstly, i realised how accommodating the Kannadigas are. I've spent a nearly 13 years in Bangalore and till recently i used to be proud that i didn't know much Kannada. Not only do Kannadigas accommodate themselves and have picked up English and my mother tongue Tamil, nowadays considering the large number of north Indians arriving here in search of a dream IT job, the use of Hindi is also on the rise. No more am i proud of my ignorance of the local language. I Now insist on speaking in Kannada to some of my friends in an effort to learn it.
Secondly, English is not only the fastest way to the top in India it seems to come with the added benefit of instant arrogance. Traffic policemen seem to be extremely intimidated by drivers who speak in commanding and aggressive English. This is balanced out by the way they treat English speaking student motorists.
Thirdly,The people of Karnataka are not as politically involved as say Tamil Nadu,State politics does not dominate the general discussions on the bus as much as national politics. But this is on the decline,the death of the Kannada Superstar Rajkumar bought out chauvinistic Kannada groups on the streets as Karnataka has never seen before. Other examples of rising strength of these group are the renaming of local areas such as Ulsoor to the more Kannada sounding Halasuru, renaming of majestic bus stand to Kempa Gowda bus stand and so on...
Fourthly,Bangalore is no Pub city , don't let the news papers fool you, The majority of Bangalore is not pub going bottle swinging people with "Work hard party harder attitude".For those of you who believe Bangalore is defined by that single stretch of MG road should visit all the other places my bus trips have taken me. Shivajinagar,Majestic, Jaynagar and so on...
Fifthly, Bangalore is not a city suited for students at all. I hope to write a longer post regarding this specifically.
Until my next post...
But it offers significant advantages too. For the first time since i arrived in Bangalore in 1993 i got the ability to interact with the local population for longer periods than i usually used to.
Firstly, i realised how accommodating the Kannadigas are. I've spent a nearly 13 years in Bangalore and till recently i used to be proud that i didn't know much Kannada. Not only do Kannadigas accommodate themselves and have picked up English and my mother tongue Tamil, nowadays considering the large number of north Indians arriving here in search of a dream IT job, the use of Hindi is also on the rise. No more am i proud of my ignorance of the local language. I Now insist on speaking in Kannada to some of my friends in an effort to learn it.
Secondly, English is not only the fastest way to the top in India it seems to come with the added benefit of instant arrogance. Traffic policemen seem to be extremely intimidated by drivers who speak in commanding and aggressive English. This is balanced out by the way they treat English speaking student motorists.
Thirdly,The people of Karnataka are not as politically involved as say Tamil Nadu,State politics does not dominate the general discussions on the bus as much as national politics. But this is on the decline,the death of the Kannada Superstar Rajkumar bought out chauvinistic Kannada groups on the streets as Karnataka has never seen before. Other examples of rising strength of these group are the renaming of local areas such as Ulsoor to the more Kannada sounding Halasuru, renaming of majestic bus stand to Kempa Gowda bus stand and so on...
Fourthly,Bangalore is no Pub city , don't let the news papers fool you, The majority of Bangalore is not pub going bottle swinging people with "Work hard party harder attitude".For those of you who believe Bangalore is defined by that single stretch of MG road should visit all the other places my bus trips have taken me. Shivajinagar,Majestic, Jaynagar and so on...
Fifthly, Bangalore is not a city suited for students at all. I hope to write a longer post regarding this specifically.
Until my next post...
Sunday, July 23, 2006
Dumb Charades
Considering this is the first serious post on my blog...
I thought I'll write on a subject on which I have considerable expertise.
After a lot of thought I've decided to write on Dumb Charades, the Ultimate communication game that's one of the most popular cultural events of any Bangalore College fest, second probably only to Mad Ads...
I'm not going to explain the nuances of the game here, just ponder why its one of the most popular games...
Firstly, people love seeing a young man desperately trying to act out famous pop singers, Oscar winning movies and ridiculously big words to his equally desperate friends within an inhuman time limit...
Secondly, there are few things funnier that acting out Xena warrior princess on a stage in front of an audience of screaming college dudes...
Thirdly, disappointed participants often turn on their own teammates and a lively fight between friends ensues...
Finally, this is probably the only game where the line between the Amateurs and Pro teams is paper thin, thus allowing any group of people to rise up to the challenge...
Truly the game for anybody who wishes to stake a claim to fame...
I thought I'll write on a subject on which I have considerable expertise.
After a lot of thought I've decided to write on Dumb Charades, the Ultimate communication game that's one of the most popular cultural events of any Bangalore College fest, second probably only to Mad Ads...
I'm not going to explain the nuances of the game here, just ponder why its one of the most popular games...
Firstly, people love seeing a young man desperately trying to act out famous pop singers, Oscar winning movies and ridiculously big words to his equally desperate friends within an inhuman time limit...
Secondly, there are few things funnier that acting out Xena warrior princess on a stage in front of an audience of screaming college dudes...
Thirdly, disappointed participants often turn on their own teammates and a lively fight between friends ensues...
Finally, this is probably the only game where the line between the Amateurs and Pro teams is paper thin, thus allowing any group of people to rise up to the challenge...
Truly the game for anybody who wishes to stake a claim to fame...
My first Post
So this is how it feels to have a blog...
The Expectations are high, apparently the world is watching.
I'll do my best...
Watch this Space...
The Expectations are high, apparently the world is watching.
I'll do my best...
Watch this Space...
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