Fedex triumphs :)

At last the tennis gods bestowed the title of the Greatest Tennis player of the history (perhaps) on Roger Federer on Sunday when he surmounted the so-near-yet-so-far French Open tournament after reaching the finals three times before. He is only the sixth man ever to win all the Grand Slam titles and equals another legendary Pete Sampras's record of 14 Grand Slam titles. What makes this achievement so sweet is that the way Fedex cameback from his slump in form. One can say his declivity started from last year Aus Open when he faced real power and challenge from his well-known Spaniard rival Nadal. Nadal, who appeared anywhere close to Fedex in prime, came to the fore and rightly deserved No.1 status after staying in N0.2 position for so long. The aura of invincibilty arnd Fedex seemed lost forever when he lost almost to everyone. However, form is temporary but class is permanent. Fedex fought his way back, and wow!! Now he is the French Open Champion. Having said that, Soderling was his saviour in a way. He had probably the best 2 professional weeks of his lifetime when he beat Nadal (surprsising everyone and sending shock ripples by ending Nadal's winning run f 31 matches at Roland Garros) and Gonzalez on way to finals. The victory would have been sweeter had it come against Nadal but by the law of transitivity, Fedex fans can think Fedex beat Nadal by beating Soderling :P

Anyway Go Fedex! Go!

What is Freedom?

It has been a while since i bothered myself in updating my blog. Its not that nothing great compared in my life but its the contrary. Life is full of small yet compelling surprises which makes it more interesting. Every time u come across a hurdle, u become stronger, rather u shud become stronger.

One question keeps on coming up in my mind..what is freedom?? Does it mean free from constraints?? Does that mean u need not be accountable for anyone?? Does that mean u need not worry what others think of u or ur action?? I think none of the above fits the bill..I believe freedom is the situation where u r able to choose the path which u believe is right for u with no influence. Having said that, its true that u may be whimsical or reckless and end up doing something dangerous or u might choose a utterly disastrous path in ur decision-making. But the difference here is U made the decision and U can lick ur bruises made by those decisions in ur heart while analysing where u went wrong rather than listening to advice. U can accept the situation with a smile though the cost of the smile is very high.

So going by my definition of freedom, I might become too self-centered and apathetic to relations if I go by my whim in the name of freedom. Thats when I realise that with freedom comes responsibilty. I was thinking that if u r free to make ur own decisions, then u ll be happy. Life is a cruel teacher. It teaches u a lesson in a harsh manner. It gives u a situation and expects u to find the answer urself. No matter how much success u attain, happiness depends on the attitude. Happiness depends on U. Situations never change, only people change. If u brood over a lost opportunity and delve into more depression, it is not going to do any good. I am not too ideal here. Its natural to brood over the lost chance and U have every right to do so. But the key lies in how fast u bounce back. Two problems with people are we dont know when to start and when to stop. If v crack that, then v r ready to pursue happiness :)

NR-IPL??--Non resident Indian Premier League!!

Is it a personal defeat for Lalit Modi or prestige issue fr Indian Gvt ?? IPL season 2 is moving out of country..as of now..South Africa or England are speculated to host the coming edition. But IPL will be robbed off the vibrancy and "home n away" feeling of the teams..remember Dravid saying to press that MUMBAI crowd remained silent even after him scoring a splendid boundary..he is seeing for the first time that the Indian crowd not cheering him after scoring a boundary. Same the case with Kolkata ppl cheering Akthar to see the back of the Little Master Sachin(Well..there is no home n away concept when the teams have many foreign players than the home team players!!!anyway)

I thought IPL will be more entertaining than the political twists n turns. Its gonna be my first election and believe me or not,this time its very tough to find a candidate's party,leave alone whom u r voting for!!I am wondered how ppl see IPL bigger n more important than the election!!Come on..v have already had too much of cricket n v cant afford another terror attack on cricketers.

So its wise decision by BCCI to move IPL out of India though it cant make profit. The writing is there on the wall. The last thing to expect in this interesting drama is the ultimate turn-around in the govt stand, thereby reducing England and SA to mere pawns in the political game of India!!Wait n see for more action:)

The Best Class Trip!!:D

Well well well..How better can it get???I have seen the same place before last summer but never had this experience!!The trip is gonna break the closed attitude of the ECE dept I am sure.

The starting point of our class trip to cochin, veegaland and munnar was itself under dark clouds, should say. I must be frank here. When my friend Durai told the class about this trip, I was cynical and sceptic because of my misconception of my class. I thought it wud be boring with ppl forming their own gangs and not interacting properly. I used to come to class late and leave early with no interest in my dept. Thats because I had dreamt how my college life wud be but as always, I was wrong. So I didnt make myself active in any of my dept activity. Worst of all, I didnt know the names of my class girls (but now i know:P) Given this background, I thought its gonna be another hostel in hillstation. How stupid and cruelly wrong I was!!!

I wont say anything about the places there as everyone wud know about them n i am not a guide. I will restrict myself to the surprise elements that were waiting for me in the trip!!

There could be no better start to the tour. V had won a football match with me scoring the lone goal (what a finish it was!!) against a final year team!! I was very happy and elated. With that upbeat mood, I wanted to make sure that there shud be no inhibition during the class trip. I know that ppl ll be expecting someone to break the ice and I decided that I am going to be that someone. Anthakshari is the perfect game involving everyone in the group. Usman Bhai (arbit name rite??its none other than Laksman) too sang songs here..first surprise!!I 'tried' to kalachify Lavanya but it worked wonders as she fell into a super trap!!she is the perfect vijaykanth fan!!surprise factor 2..then after the euphoria, v all settled but I couldnt sleep. So myself, sreevatsan,swetha and lavanya sang some pure musical gems whose lyrics v can remember. That was a nice time pass. Slowly I began to feel enervated after d long evening and so fell asleep. Next day it broke at veega land..here I have to say something..how come the girls always look for a ragging session??it was nice and the first time i got ragged. Not even my seniors ragged me. Only then i came to know all my class girls's names. Thank god! Atleast now i learnt:)

Then the routine fun in the theme park. After having a great time soaking in water, we started to cochin. Oh ya!!wait wait!!i forgot one thing..I can call this trip a photography demo trip because ppl were busy in capturing natural sceneries in their camera rather than their hearts. Group pics were just too many:) After a hard day at the theme park, everyone was tired and so we all slept off at a hotel at cochin after a light dinner. Next day was the highlight of the tour with boat rides at cochin. All twenty six ppl boarded a double decker boat house kinda stuff (dunno exactly to say that..it wasn't ferry but at the same not an usual boat i had seen). We had a jolly session with many interesting stuff taking place. Girls n boys interacted well here and I am definitely going to overlook an incident here (sorry for not being honest). But the boat ride was tooooooo good. Then we shopped near matanchery palace at cochin after peeping into someone else house (But ppl call that history:P)Again v had a photo shoot session. What else can v do with five highly sophisticated cameras!!:P

Then v whiled away some valuable time at cochin shopping mall but it had its own reasons!! I feel that v missed out a camp fire session at Munnar because of this. Anyway ppl bought some costly stuff for their loved ones and closer ppl. Only here I got bums for no reason :( I dunno how ppl gather arnd when it comes to my case. Its like ants coming from nowhere for a small piece of sweet!!U never know where these ants were there!!:) anyway nice fun!

By this time, everyone in the gang knew everbody. A nice close knit unit was formed. While going to Munnar, I just slept off to have a go at night time. Conserving energy to play card games! But u know, collective effervescence makes ppl act differently from the normal. Some girls took the extra space in waking me up as they were bored. Though I feel irritated when I am aroused from deep sleep, I felt happy then as they took the extra space..surprise factor plus one..We paused at a very normal hotel to have a light dinner as it wud be too late to have a decent dinner at Munnar. There our very own Arun( the Dope) bought a bisleri mineral water just to wash his hands!!hygiene aama!!bl***y **i!!At last v reached Munnar and settled in our alloted rooms there in the hotel. Ten of us escaped from the group to have a lovely walk late night in the cold climate just to have a cup of hot coffee..the feeling itelf is too good:) V returned back to hotel by 12, just to play card games till 3!!some fifteen ppl playing cards!!lots of fun:)surprise factor plus one..

Having slept late, everyone had to fight against themselves in waking up especially in that next to perfect climate to sleep!!Finally v checked out of the hotel and made our way to explore Munnar. First to echo point. As it was too crowded there, v didnt go for pedal boat ride but bought fresh carrots and other small items. V then moved to view point for an extraordinary boat ride there though the bledy boatman left out Chavra and Amruta Krishnan..V missed them during the ride only to find out they were busy out there on the shores:P V planned for a couple ride for these two cute ppl but they settled for a nice pic.

Then straight pack-up..back in college with the memories still fresh in mind..this blog entry is just a accumulation of random thoughts..didnt try to make it flowery..ll upload the pics later..:)

Entering into Sixth semester with lots of doubts!

Hi ppl, the long wait is over. The college is back in action and so is its jolly time. The funny times return but with loads of doubt. Every even semester starts off well as its very easy to begin the conversation with "Happy new year" (though v know that 2009 is not gonna be blaring different) and it is always followed by a routine question "How did the holidays go?" (though v r least bothered about the reply). And this semester is no different here but now another question is present at the back of the mind "Recession".

Every semester I set myself some goals and aspire something special. This semester is no different in that sense but I am gonna take it more seriously now as lots are at stake. This semester is the climax and I strongly feel the most strenuous and ardous semester in B.Tech. I say this because only now U take more attention at the basics for the placements, prepare for higher studies and GRE while trying to maintain good score at the academics as well. I didnt add the culturals part here because I am no way related to that. I find myself atavistic in my attitude towards culturals in my department. Having had a shocker of a semster last time, I have lots to prove to myself that I belong to the so-called 'toppers'.

However high u aim or aspire, U r remembered for what U HAVE ACHIEVED IN REAL WORLD! Isn't it? Many people in our college are rated by their placements rather than their GPA. Infact v take unreasonable pleasure when person with higher GPA is not placed. In the past, ppl talk abt choosing companies but now beseeching companies to come for placements is gonna be a hell of a job with the 'bearish' recession in the mind.

Though its unwise to speculate things and brood over matters which are well beyond one's control, the doubts still linger on and show their ugly heads time and again. SO the GAME BEGINS!!

2008- eventful year!!

Hi ppl, Happy New Year!! I am wishing everyone a happy and healthy 2009!! After all health is what everyone needs. 2008 has been an eventful and kind year to me. It stands out with several bright moments and teaching me lots of lessons.

I am sure 2008 would have started with many false resolutions for me too (I am sure I am not alone here!!I might have company here). Diving deep into my memory, I recollect many of the sweet moments and some bitter pills swallowed! I had a nice time with Swaminathan (my dept mate) with whom I underwent implant training at my hometown. With my very close friend Venki joining us in the winter break after III semester, we enjoyed our heart out playing cricket with my school friends. Relieved after scoring a decent grade in a terrorizing subject in third semester and wonderful time spent with my friends still fresh im my mind, I stepped into 2008 with lots of dream. Most of the fourth semester passed away under the redoubtable faculties terrorizing me in all possible ways. I still remember their first class warning us of their record of 'gift'ing arrears to most of the students and that was enough to let butterflies flutter in our stomachs. Somehow I managed to pass their subjects. I tried my hand in robotics for PSG Techfest 'Kriya' during IV semester which was a big flop. I learnt a lesson that never assume anything. Prepare for the worst but hope for the best! However I managed to take part in a DSP workshop and advanced to the final round in many technical events. It helped me to know where I stand. But I missed my department symposium PROBE. More than that the most important feature I missed is the rare sight of my department girls in saree:P Later part of IV semester was full of doubts and tested my decision-making capacity. The best thing is to keep things simple but its the toughest thing! Feeling that I have taken the right decision on the summer project, I welcomed my summer vacation.

With the project still not confirmed, I wanted a company which would sweep me off any worries regarding that! I found that perfect company with my lovely cousin Dinesh. I have always a special corner in my heart for my lovely, affable and good-humoured Dinesh. We enjoy each other's company and I laugh for even the worst PJs leaving many wonder why I laugh so much. But thats my relation with him. 2008 remains fresh in my memory for the evergreen trip to Munnar with my family. The first part of my vacation is the best of all time for the lovely time with my school friends playing cricket and Munnar trip. At the end of this trip, I made the important move to Singapore to do my project at NUS. This project would have been impossible but for my Chitappa Ramakrishnan who takes great pain and interest in my studies ( though with lots of scoldings which pisses me off sometimes). With no experience and no background I can only dream of this opportunity and Prof. Anantharaman helped me a lot to get this project. I felt very bad to do a project on recommendation but the ultimate goal pulled me in. I had a great time in Singapore in my Chitappa's home under my lovable and kind-hearted Chitti who impresses everyone with her unbounded kindness and hospitality. She is amazing and unparalleled in showering love and affection. I respect her right next to my parents. I did a project on a topic which was too difficult for a B.Tech student to start with but I was committed to it. I finished the work with the help of my friend Swami who stayed with me there. My cousins toured Singapore that time and I had a great time with them as well though by bunking three days. Because of that I had to work more towards the end to cope with Swami. It was during this trip, I first earned money on my own by volunteering for an experiment. Though I turned into a guinea pig for just $5, it was nice to see the money earned by my work only. 2008 is special in that manner.

Having said that, I troubled my chitappa a lot during my stay there. To point out a few, I lost my cousin's sim card and disobeyed his orders while picking up my cousins from airport (tried to save precious bucks for my cousins) by keeping my chiti to wait after a long journey. Though I felt sorry for my actions, I had a sort of misunderstanding with my chitappa then. Its very easy to feel sorry for all the doings but its tough to set things up. I have always felt bad for that and then learnt a lesson of doing every work on my own and not to depend on anyone.

V semester marked the sports trip to Kanpur representing my college cricket team. In otherwise a forgettable semester for having too many theoretical subjects much to my disliking, I remember this year for a remarkable and note-worthy Diwali celebrations at Bangalore with my uncle and aunt there. I had a great time there and happy that I opened up a lot then. Arti, my cousin, is too brilliant for her age and am sure that she ll do wonders in her life. I had a lovely time in pulling her legs. All credits must go to my raju mama and Bhooma manni for presenting us a never-so-different Diwali! They made a deep impression in my heart and I felt more close to them. But the semester ended on a disastrous note with an exam with questions too theoretical and I knew its gonna be a forgettable one at that instant. With my winter break moving in a reckless pace, I feel invigorated to face more challenges in 2009.

Movie on Mumbai Terror Attack??!!

Well!! I am first of all against the notion that Mumbai Terror attack being compared with US 9/11. Indians are always different from US or any people in the world!!We are more emotional and warm-hearted than any foreign people! We will not conspire any assassination plot of Dawood (one of the many), while many countries like Iraq, Iran, Israel are doing for centuries or coup against our enemies or take strong actions against our detractors because We are sons of Gandhiji!! But we are so used to grave-digging among ourselves that we many times use the term "shrewdness" or "tactician" for such acts.

Well..I dont want to get into that now!! But what I find more shocking is the news that filmmaker B.Subhash planning to make a movie on Mumbai terror attack with SRK (to play Major Unnikrishnan's role), John Abraham and Mithun Chakraborty. Being an Indian, I saw it coming because I know our 'patriotic' Bollywood people!! Aha!! What a beautiful scene it will be where SRK in Major Unni's boots singing a duet with a heroine!! Well, one should not comment on a film which is yet to officially announced and isnt down to sets but I cant stop myself here. Come on its a very sensitive issue!!U cant watch our people die in the film with popcorns in your hand!!It depends on how the director handles the subject and it may be good if he showcases it in the positive note which I am very doubtful of!! Hows that when the police is unsure of the actual proceedings inside the hotels, can a director, who was in no way in action at the spot, portray the real emotions of the Commandos and people who sacrificed their life??

I can see two things behind the idea now- one is Mumbai attack being hyped by the media and the other being the commercial attitude of the Bollywood people!! I am saying the Mumbai attack is much hyped because it wasnt the first terror attack in 2008. We witnessed serial bomb blasts in many cities like Bangalore, Jaipur, Ahmedabad but just because two star hotels and some foreigners were attacked in Mumbai we cannot just overlook the innocent lives lost at other attacks!!

Then comes the commercialisation. Think of this situation- a film of a selfish director with commercial heroes like SRK or Hrithik or John Abraham on a sensitive issue like this turns out to be a disaster and still worser escalating the tensions between India and Pakistan but making money on the graveyard of the people!! Mark my words-their careers are finished and their days will be numbered.

Thiugh some films may improve the relationship and tackle the sensitive subjects in a positive manner, I feel this attack is not for the films. We have already seen enough of it and lets be more sensible and realise that the film is not the right platform for this subject. It can backfire like the infamous RamGopal Verma's Sholay remake!! Think twice before proceeding on the plan further.