Where I Put In All My Dreams..

A little bit of Cheese makes it all worthwhile...

2015-04-14T18:56:00.001+05:30

A hurried breakfast.. Or a midnight snack.. Give yourself the pleasure of biting into a piece of bread with a slice of cheese on it - it immediately improves the mood!

And thus ended my few months of depression. You know the worst bit about depressions - you lose your appetite. You need food, trust me. The less you eat, the more depressed you tend to get. And so goes the cycle..

Until just about now.. I ate a piece of bread with a slice of cheese on it! And here I am, happily yapping about it. Actually, I perceived my mood improve. I am feeling like conquering the world right now! Well, that's an exaggeration, (and I am not high!) but yeah, I feel like I can tackle my M.Tech. project now. So that's almost like winning a war.

Believe me, when you need a snack before the day of your exams, or the night before your presentation, or any such shitty day.. Just snack onto a cheesy bit.. And soar all the way through. It improves your strength, lets your brain function better and what else do you need to win?

So always remember, it's cheese all the way!!!

2014-10-14T00:06:00.000+05:30

বেদনা

ঝড় উঠেছিল সেদিন রাতে -

নিভে গিয়েছিল শিয়রের কাছে জ্বেলে রাখা প্রদীপখানি।

সেই নিকষ কালো অন্ধকারে অনুভব করেছিলেম

তোমার আগমন;

ভেবেছিলেম তোমার ছোঁয়ায়

কেটে যাবে রাতের বেদনা।

বুঝিনি সেদিন প্রিয়

সেই আঁধারের হাতছানিতে জেগে ছিল মোহ -

তোমার স্পর্শে হারিয়েছিলেম আমার স্বত্তাটুকু ,

সেই ঝড়ের দাপটে শুনিনি সেদিন

তোমার চোখের বাণী।

শুধু তোমার দুহাত্খানি

কোন সে ব্যথা জাগিয়েছিল আমার পরাণ মাঝে;

আজ ফাগুন শেষের দীর্ঘশ্বাসে

মিশে গেছে তারই মাঝে

মোর জীবন-বেদনা।

Happily Married... A Myth?

2014-04-14T22:04:00.001+05:30

Cases of divorce are growing every day. It seems people do not believe in marriages any more! Why don't we look a bit closer into the whole scenario?

How come marriages sustained in the earlier times? What has changed over the past 50 years? There are several possible explanations. One being that lives are becoming more and more busy every passing day. There is a whole lot of competition out there, and everyone is trying to reach the top. Maybe because this is the age of information. We are so well informed about all the population of the world, how everyone around seems to be successful, that we try to achieve ourselves further than we ever thought possible. And in a way, this is a very good thing - making us push our limits. But what does it do to us in the personal front? It makes us irritable to trivialities. It takes our patience away when we face small everyday problems. We are too busy solving the bigger problems in life! This has a detrimental effect in our conjugal lives. If the partner cannot understand us, our needs and obviously expects too much from us, well, we do not have the time or patience to satisfy them. So off goes the marriage.

Another way to analyze this problem is to look at how the society has changed. We have become more open-minded. Were there no marital problems 50 years back? Cases of divorce or break-ups were definitely less. But does that necessarily point to a shift in human nature? Or maybe it shows a change in the societal structure. Previously the society, especially the Indian society, did not allow for a divorce. The middle or the lower strata of the society did not have the mentality that if a marriage did not work out, you could always opt for a separation. Partners still lived together, acting as a happily married couple to the society at large. The possibility of actually breaking apart was not viable. The career options for women also had a part to play in this. Women were largely dependent on their husbands as bread-earners. If they left their husbands, where would they go? This scenario has changed. The society has become more aware of these issues. Women have come out of their homes and have been free to choose a different career path other than being a homemaker. Now they can be self-dependent. And hence if the marriage creates a lot of problems for them, they can choose the path of a break-up.

So, is divorce or separation the best solution if a marriage is not working out? Or was the previous state of the society better, when divorce was not accepted as an option? This is a debate which has no right answer. For, if you look at it in depth, there is no such thing as a happy marriage. No marriage can make a person perfectly happy. In fact, there is no relationship that serves perfect happiness. A sustained relationship calls for sacrifices, compromises. Sometimes it comes from both the parties involved, while at others there are discrepancies and even one-sidedness at times. It all depends on what you value more in your life - the problems the relationship is generating, or the relationship itself. It also depends on how far you are ready to compromise for that relationship. And yet again, there is no right answer. The situation varies from person to person.

It is definitely better that the society has changed so that we, even the women, at least have a right to make the choice. The question comes finally, which option gives us a little more happiness, a little more peace? The choice is ours to make.

But the concept of a happy marriage is a myth. There are daily problems involved in a marriage, as in every relationship. The situation is slightly more complicated in marriages, since you live with the person day-in and day-out. There are compromises involved, just in order to make it work. And when you compromise, there is a lack of happiness. Giving up something never makes a person happy! Maybe we can say that being in the marriage makes us relatively happier. It is better to be with the person than to be without him. There are complications such as human emotions, and the feeling of love. Not every decision we make is logical. But if we look deep enough, it is always a choice of what gives us a little more mental peace - a little more happiness.

Eragon took possession of my heart!

2012-03-29T14:57:00.000+05:30

No, not the character really, but the book, and the experience it has brought me.

It all started a few years back, when I first started reading an e-book, and for the first time in my life, enjoyed reading an electronic book. The name was 'Eragon'. And it got me intrigued. Eragon is the only e-book I've completed, an achievement in itself. But then, I stopped and forgot all about it.. Until a few months back, when I again saw the book on Flipkart. It was a book containing both Eragon and Eldest, and since I had not read Eldest, I decided to buy it. Anyways I always wanted to possess the actual book. Reading from an e-book can be tiring at times.

So I read Eragon again, and proceeded to Eldest and then couldn't resist the need to buy Brisingr as well. I was spell-bound to the story, the many intricacies of it. I like stories of magic as such, but this is the best of the lot. It has the usual charm of magic and the unknown, but not just that. Not just could I visualize Alagaesia with all of its beauty and misery, but I also was mesmerized by the many facets of the story which brought forth new concepts and new imaginations. Say for example, the "ancient language" or "Gramarye", which expresses everything by its true name - a language in which one cannot tell a lie (though of course it can be twisted to fit one's purposes). It is an amazing concept, and somehow I believe in the idea. It seems plausible that such a language may well exist, but may be lost to us. Then the concept of meditation - to open one's mind to the world, so that one can hear and feel every living being around, from the smallest unicellular organisms to the biggest of creatures. It seems a true form of meditation, something that seems to me closely related to the Hindu scriptures. There lies a large number of such concepts and more.

Another feature of the series is the characters. They are not perfect, not even Eragon himself. As the prime character, he is naturally endowed with almost all the great features needed in a man's character. However, he also has his shortcomings. He is, for example, sometimes very stubborn in his beliefs, as in case of the Urgals. Although it does not directly affect anything of importance, it is still a smudge in his character. Apart from Eragon, however, the other characters have their flaws. They have their fears, their weaknesses and sometimes are quite selfish to their own goals. True that a reader wants the very best in his heroes, but a character only seems real if it has all the facets - good and bad. A perfect character may be bestowed upon God Himself, but no one else can really possess it!

I have enjoyed my read and am eagerly waiting for my copy of 'Inheritance', where the journey ends. And for once, I am not unhappy that the adventure will come to an end. It seems only right that it should happen. This, like any other story should not continue so long that it loses its charm, as mostly happens. I will always have the books to revert to whenever I feel like, after all.

I would recommend this book to everyone who has a knack for imaginations and fantasies. It is a read worth having in life. My thanks to Christopher Paolini for bringing this living magic to my life. Like many of the books I have read and loved, this book has also played a role in shaping my thoughts, imaginations and views in life. :)

Chasing Dreams

2012-03-20T14:16:00.000+05:30

I saw him.. His back turned, walking down the dusty road, his hands in his pockets. He had a confident demeanor, his back straight, his head held high. He is one representative of the teeming millions set out to fulfill their dreams in life. He represents us, the youth.

I could envision myself in him. I could see the same sturdy posture, set out to conquer the earth itself! Racing with the others, trying to make the dreams come true - our own dreams and those of the others. After all, this is what we were born for.

But here I stop and ask myself, is this what we were sent to the earth for? To fulfill dreams we don't even fully understand? We are all running toward that goal, but can we really see the end of the line? Do we at least know what holds in wait for us when we make it to the end? Some of us do, a rare few. But ask most of us, we are just bothered with the short-term goals of life. I want to work in so-and-so company, I want to earn so-and-so much, my dream is to buy a really big apartment, I would like to buy a car in the next 3 years, and so on and so forth. Ok, we all want to do all these, but what about the real things that matter to us? You love painting, but you are working in a MNC just to fulfill your short-term needs. What happens in the long-run? We lose sight of our real purposes in life and are just bothered with short-term aspirations.

Don't lose sight of who you are. Don't feel that you need to be like someone else. We have our place in this earth, and we can all excel if we do what we are best at. We actually can conquer the earth. If you like taking care of your family and are best at that, find someone you want to take care of, and take care of him / her. Don't waste your time and energy in doing something you don't like. Yes for short time spans, we all must do things that we don't like, but make sure that it remains for that short span of time only. Most important, friends, don't lose yourself in the great expectations of everyone around you. Do what you expect yourself to do instead. Expect from yourself, but don't let others' expectations bother you. Do your duties, but believe in yourself, in your abilities, and above all your dreams. For it is dreams that make us. Follow your dreams to the end of the world, and you'll be happy in the end. Finally, what matters but your own happiness and satisfaction!

Be happy and work hard to become what you want to be. But first and foremost, realize what it is you really want to be. That solves half the problem indeed!

Changing Moments

2011-06-13T13:29:00.001+05:30

Life's changing yet again. Till now I was a student, and now it's time for me to turn into a professional.Well, I am joining Juniper Networks India as an Engineer 1 in July, 2011. Life's changing yet again!

Today when I reached office, I couldn't find any place to sit first of all. Well, my place had been moved! I was at a loss as to where to go to find my new place! I started roaming around the floor, with a faint idea to ask one of my colleagues whether she knew where I have been moved to! And then I found it. A cubicle for me :) :) :) Well, that puts an end to my sitting in a conference room with a bunch of other people (some of whom kept shouting all through the day)! Now here are my days of peace lying in front of me. And Preethi's cabin is just across from mine, just as we wanted! Awesomeness in itself!

Well, it's time to change my status from studying to working. Don't know how this change will be, but keeping my fingers crossed under the table. :) One good thing is I will be joining a place I know and will be working with people whom I know and who are most wonderful! That is the best thing about Juniper, here everyone is so friendly and helping (just as I told the HR who came to interview me at my college)! If one has any doubt, any small problem, everyone would give enough time to take you out of that trouble. I hope life would be just great here, with lots of work at office, and lots of studies at home! I love a busy life, and I'm getting into a super-busy one!

Another great thing about this company is that people recognize your work very well! They are always praising you in the highest terms, if you have been able to produce some good results! This is highly inspiring! I am really happy to join this company. I am ready to work hard, but I am equally gratified that my work will be recognized. :)

Mahabharata - Kaliprasanna Singha

2011-06-07T19:07:00.002+05:30

Well, since I came over to Bangalore, my passion for reading books has been revived. I am back to my happy self, sitting in a nook with an author's masterpiece in my hand. And they have started regaining their lost position as my best friends!

And here I am, back to my mad passion of buying every book ever printed. Well, that's a slight exaggeration, I guess! But yes, whenever I get bored, and have nothing to do, I surf the Internet to find if there is just another book lying around the corner, waiting for me to get my hands on them. I can't resist this extreme urge of buying a book most of the time. If given a chance, I will just go and browse through a bookstore any day. I've found a new avenue to acquire books these days - the awesome sites on the Net. It started with e-bay, and has expanded to flipkart (they've got a nice collection), boimela.in (a good one for Bengali books, though they charge for shipping) and infibeam.

It was while surfing through flipkart that I first discovered that Bengali books are also available there. I was just browsing through the Bengali selections, when I discovered they're selling Mahabharata authored by Kaliprasanna Singha. Well, most might not have heard about it (though those who have studied from West Bengal board with Bengali as first language should have). It is a translation of the original Sanskrit Mahabharata by Vedavyas into Bengali by Kaliprasanna Singha. It is still considered as one of the most authentic translations of the great epic. I was undoubtedly very excited to see this book available. It is available in two volumes, the first costing Rs. 350 and the second costing Rs. 400. Well, it is really a nominal cost seeing the size of the book (about 1100 pages for the first volume). I happily ordered the first volume, and somehow restrained myself from ordering the second volume too. I made a mental note that I will buy the second volume once I have finished the first. There is after all no point buying a book if I am not reading it, especially since there is not much space left to keep books in my PG.

I didn't go to office today on the context of fever. And what should happen, but I received the book delivered to my doorstep the very same morning I bunked office! Now that is called luck! I forgot all about sickness, and started exploring the book. It is really huge, and even before I started reading it, I had this awesome idea of writing whatever I read on this blog, so that those who don't know Bengali or Sanskrit, might still be able to know the entire epic. I don't know how far I will be successful in this scheme, or whether it'll fail like all my similar schemes. But still, it's sure worth a try!

Till now, I have read only through the introduction and the foreword (that contained some Sanskrit verses that I had no idea meant what!). I have just started with the first part - Adiparba (Adiparv). It seems to have even a paragraph on how the world was formed, something similar to Genesis in the Bible, I guess. It is sometimes wonderful to realize how all the religious texts are so similar, in fact same actually in their meanings and messages!

I will start with the actual retelling of the Mahabharata sometime later. I will create a separate blog for that. The entire project will be posted at www.mahabharata-kaushanim.blogspot.com .

But right now, let me get back to my addiction towards books, and what I realized only recently. When I was buying all these books, it was then that I realized that books actually cost so less! Imagine a dress, even a normal T-shirt costs about Rs. 200, even in Big Bazar. One can get most of the books below that range. This 1100-page book cost me Rs. 350 only. It's really very affordable. And look at the amount of information and knowledge they contain. Even story books give us so much pleasure! Like my Dad was saying today, a book gives us company whenever we need it. A few years after you have read a book, you can take it up again and just turn the pages, and experience the amount of joy it gives you. The smell of old books, as well as new ones is just beyond my capability of explaining! I love these books and can curl up with them anytime!

Really, books are one of the greatest sources of pleasure for me. And since I have recently been hooked up with ancient myths, Mahabharata seems a perfect place to start! After all, I've always wanted to know the true story, with all its anecdotes and interludes! I want to know it all!! And I am a very very happy person today! :-)

In Search of Silence

2011-05-20T15:04:00.000+05:30

Sitting alone in a big conference room, with no one around, is a state of utter peace. Well, it lets the mind flow, where usually the mind is jammed by people talking and speaking on phone and shouting to each other. It is very difficult to concentrate sometimes even with the simple sounds of mouse clicks nearby. Sometimes complete silence comes as a bliss. Well, I am blessed with such a silence for the past 15 minutes.

Even if it is only temporary, the peace is indescribable. Have you ever woken up in the middle of the night and only heard your own breathing? No other sound anywhere? The peace of that night is what I want for a single day. No sounds, and I am left alone with myself. What peace, what bliss!

Sometime I just want to sleep. Sleep till I can sleep no more. Sleep as if there is no duty to perform, no time table to follow, no appointments to keep. And when I wake up, it is still a lazy holiday, when I can roll in the bed as long as I want to. I make sure I get these holidays once in a while. Still, I sometimes get very bored by the sheer monotony of life. Doing the same things everyday, and even then there is some dissatisfaction somewhere. There is the need for peace, for some break in the monotony. The peace of silence becomes very necessary in such times.

Silence has a magic of its own. Just give yourself a moment of silence, and see what your mind is capable of conjuring. You will see palaces grander than those of Arabian Nights being built up, and there is the vast meadow of green thoughts right before you. The mind turns creative and builds around itself. I love that silence, when I can think whatever I want. When I can just laze about. That lazy peace is so very very necessary, especially these days. Give me a break!

And so... I Ramble On (a note on the 4 MKUSteers)

2011-01-18T23:38:00.001+05:30

Inspired by the comments on my last post, I just felt like rambling on.. :) Thanks to my very best friends, The 4 MKUSteers... That's 3, leaving me.. ;) So, let me write something about us...

MKUS stands for Merin, Kaushani, Ujjwal and Shreya.. Our small group was formed due to our attachment to IE-E&C, Manipal. That's where we got to know each other so well. But it developed into something more than knowing each other last semester. It all started with a dinner plan, that was to be followed by a regular text of: "Where to have dinner tonight?" We became the dinner pals, and then lunch pals, and then general meal pals :) It was more than meals, though! It was endless amount of fun! It turned into meaningless jokes, hearty laughs, long walks, emotional blackmails for accompanying to movies (sorry, boys ;)), chatting on and on and on, and finally stupid (and not so stupid) plans about opening our own company! Life was fun at Manipal all throughout.. But it turned into super-fun during the last semester.

So here's an account of all four of us:

Merin: My bestest friend ever! And the person I'm closest to. :) He and Ujjwal are the geeks of the team. And believe me, the way they behave similarly, I have named them "Twins separated at the Mela"! Merin is too good in whatever he does. Seriously, he is one guy who is good at studies, electronics, writing, singing, playing guitar, playing football, playing TT, all at the same time (did I miss out something??) !! And he's also superb at cracking PJ's.

Kaushani: That's me, and what can I say about myself? Except that I'm the least geeky of them all!

Ujjwal: That's the second geek of the group! And he's another PJ cracker! I absolutely love his poems ;).. Beware of him when he drinks! Or you'd be tortured by his poetic senses.. Only joking! He's one of the nicest guys I've seen. And he's too good in electronics! :) Oh and one more thing, keep a bit of distance when he and Merin are together! Or you'd be in the middle of a torment of discussions that you'll have great difficulty in understanding!! They're super geeks, guys!! But super fun too :D

Shreya: She's one of the sweetest girls I've met. We find respite in each other when the boys start their geeky discussions! :P We make quite a team in pulling the boys' legs. She's another Harry Potter fan, and I remember how we blackmailed the boys into accompanying us for the movie! She's a real Brainy girl, and her notes saved us all during the exams! She's one of the greatest friends I've made in my college life! And Shreya, how's your Spiderman Grass doing? I hope you've taken good care of your pet! ;)

It has been a great fortune to make such friends! And I hope we remain the bestest friends forever!! :)

-Kaushani

A New Start

2011-01-18T22:38:00.001+05:30

Shifted to Bangalore!! Interning at Juniper.. And am writing disjointed sentences.

Well, it's the last semester of my B.E. and I have to do a project this sem. I've joined Juniper. It's a new beginning, and life has started changing. Even though I have tried to cling back to everything that was so familiar, it is really of no use. My daily routine has become:

Get up at about 8 in the morning and get ready for office.
Go to office at about 9.
Work, chat, study.
Have lunch.
Work, chat, study again!
Come back to my PG at about 6 in the evening.
Sit with my laptop, try to study a bit, but usually that's of no use.
Have dinner.
Sleep.

Kinda boring na?

Found out a bus route to my office today. Finding out new stuff. But apart from the time at office, life is really boring. I guess I'll start writing here a bit, so that I can talk my heart out :)

~ Kaushani

Life Goes On.. Or Does It???

2010-10-29T20:33:00.000+05:30

Like my friend put on her status on Facebook :

"Missing old times and feeling sad bcoz its never gonna come again :("

Old times are never gonna come again.. Like my grandpa used to say, every moment gone is never gonna come back again. And I feel that so much today when i miss him the most! When he went away from all of us, we didn't know we'd miss him so much! Life goes on, but does it? I seem to forget him all through the day... And as the days pass his grief becomes less and less to me. But does it?

Last night I again dreamt of him. And I cried like mad again! Couldn't cry out loud. 'Cause I was sleeping after all! But my heart pained like the first day I got the news.. He hugged me in my dreams!! And I cried in his arms. I miss him so much! I can't believe he's gone.. forever.. I repent all those moments I spent upstairs at Bandel. I should have spent those moments with Nanai and Tatai, like Dad used to tell me.

Know what, he used to tell me all those nice stories about his life. Maybe I'll narrate them someday for all of you to read. He was a person the like of whom I've never met anywhere. The most virtuous person! I've met so many people, but never seen one having such a personality! I wish I could make him proud someday by being like him. I wish he could see me become an engineer, he wouldn't have to wait even a year. Oh, why did he go away? Why do people have to go away? I know everyone has to go away some day. But why? I can't believe he's gone. I wish he would come back and hold my hand again! We all need you badly Tatai, more than ever right now. Please don't leave us like this. Please guide me through my life. Please help me make the right decisions. You are the only one who believed in me when everyone else had lost their faith. Please love me the way you always did. Please tell me all those stories again...

I love you Tatai, and no one can ever make up what I have lost in the last one month!

Fairy Tales...

2010-10-02T23:00:00.000+05:30

Remember all those fairy tales Mum used to read you to bed? Or those "Once upon a time..." that you read with eyes round like a saucer, that had those beautiful princesses meeting the most handsome and chivalrous princes you could ever fathom? How these stories ended with "... and they lived happily ever after!" and you slept contented under your blanket.

And then, how you grew up with time and learnt to unlearn these imaginations that came not from the brain, but from the heart. They died before ever blooming out. You learnt how to struggle for your life, for after all, the world demands "survival of the fittest".

But then, life does not allow for fairy tales, and we are not fairies. In the fairy tales too they struggle, they kill the fiercest monsters, but whatever they may do, they always win in the end. And that's what matters. People write stories about these princes because they win. If they didn't win, no one would write a story about them, would they? After all, history is written by the one who wins!

My life used to be a fairy tale, till about a month back, when everything started going wrong all at once. But that's another story, and will be narrated some other day maybe. Well, the fairy tale did not have a oh-so-perfect ending. Because I invested all my will, but couldn't take away his pain. I saw him suffer, and I pained inside. I prayed to my dearest Gulgul, I asked him to cure him take whatever may, but somewhere something went wrong, because nothing worked, as it usually does. I am a very lucky person, but all my luck failed this time, when I needed it the most.

Don't know when I have to say goodbye to him. Hope it's longer than it seems. Hope against all hope that he gets well again, and I may write happily that all God does, He does for the best only! Because, I can't see what's the best behind this so far. Whatever comes, please always remember Tatai, that I love you the most, and wherever you are, I'll still hold your finger tight when I sit on your shoulder, and we'll walk home the big lobster once more, and you'll narrate me to sleep the story of "Toka-Tuki". Oh, I so wish all those days were back again, and I so wish we were all sitting happily at Bandel, loving each moment we spend together!

Essays

2010-08-22T02:10:00.002+05:30

Here, I have decided to write essays and post over here. I think that would help me prepare for my exams as well..

Do comment on these essays when you see them posted, people..

Look Out!

2010-08-21T18:15:00.000+05:30

Well, this is for all you guys out there. Never fall in love with a girl. They suck your blood out and leave you an empty shell. You try to please them, you try to take care of them. But all they try to do is mold you according to their choice, with no regard to what you may feel about it. They say they love you, but they love no one but themselves.

So look out before you jump into your failure guys. The world's a tough place, and girls are the most complex entity you may ever find!

Mum's song!

2010-02-26T19:11:00.002+05:30

Here is a song from one of Mum's albums, 'Dur Nilimaye' (produced by BSP, 2003). Lyrics and composition by Subodh Ganguly. The song is titled 'Oi jhaubon painer phake phake'. Do check it once guys!!

India... Yesterday.. Today.. Tomorrow?

2010-02-01T23:33:00.005+05:30

I have a question. Why hasn't India produced any great sages in the past hundred years? Prior to that, there seems to have been a constant effluence of sages who shook the spiritual life of India. Has then, India forgotten its own self, its own culture, its own essence?
I think we have Westernized ourselves a little too much! We follow Western ideals, Western culture, Western fashion, Western food, festival and even Western freedom! I do not say that we should not follow any idea or ideal that is good, but we cannot afford to lose our very own self in doing so. We cannot and must not think our own ideals to be inferior to Occidental ideas. We have forgotten many of our own ideals in our trial to follow the West. And believe me, These ideals were good. They spoke of the heart, the soul, the infinity and eternity of God.
They taught us tolerance. Tolerance is one of the greatest virtues of the human soul. It teaches not only how not to fight, but also how to sympathize, how to accept. India has grown through the centuries based on this virtue. Our ancestors accepted all infiltrations to India. They never spoke against another religion. They accepted all and grew along with all. Today, we have, most of us, lost this virtue of tolerance, of forgiving. We think we are living our life, we ask for freedom. But we never learn to forgive. We try to take revenge. As Gandhiji said, "If everyone tries to take an eye for an eye, then the whole world would turn blind." It is not untrue. Revenge does not make man gain anything. Forgiving gives a man peace. We do not have the right to cause another pain. If a dog bites you, you cannot bite the dog back. Otherwise what difference is there between you and the dog?
That worst thing that could happen to India has happened. We do not believe in God any more. We have become the so-called Atheists. The masses say, "can you prove God?" No, we cannot. But then, how do we prove that we even exist? How do we prove that all that we are seeing is not a dream, that we may wake up from any moment? We cannot even prove that we are living! Has any of the so-called Atheists never prayed? In danger, it is that higher power whom we submit to. Every person does so. Then are we not being hypocrites?
We have forgotten even how to love. Above everything, we try to find our narrow gain. What will I gain from this? But this is not love. There is still eternal love that exists - the love of our parents. That never degrades. They can give up everything they have, even their life, for their children. They do not even need a reason to do so. But we have lost that love for our fellow beings. India, its religion, and its culture has always taught that love. A century ago, when a visitor came to the door, the common man greeted him with pure love from the heart. They could even give up their meal to feed their guest. Now-a-days, when we have a guest, we wonder why that person is budging in on our privacy.
Why are we submerging ourselves so much into another ideal, that we are forgetting who we are? We can only mimic others, we can never be them. We can be ourselves, though, and we can excel in what we are. Let us regain what all we have lost. Let us learn again to tolerate, forgive, love, respect. Let us be Indians once more. Our nation needs us. If we are lost in false attractions, then so is our nation lost. We cannot afford to lose what we have, because we have a treasure that no one else has. If we do not preserve it, then we are idiots. Let India rise again, in her own glory, and not in the glory borrowed from someone else. Let us be ourselves.

This post is influenced by 'To the Youth of India' by Swami Vivekananda - my pathapradarshak.

Snake teaches a lesson!

2009-09-13T03:13:00.000+05:30

2 days of extreme fun with microcontrollers!!!

Merin and I took this challenge to complete the hardware and code to build the classic Snake game (that you are oh so familiar with!) on an ATmega16 chip in a little less than 2 days' time. It was really an eleventh hour project, as we had to present the game today at the event Microlite in Techtatva '09, our tech fest at MIT, Manipal.

But this made the project all the more exciting! Imagine our condition when till 10 last night even the hardware wasn't working properly! But then went on the battle more vigorously, and the mighty humans won in the end! At about 4 o' clock in the morning, we finally finished our code and got it fully running.

The event was today at 2 pm. It was fun showing everyone the game and getting appraisals.. Well, we didn't win the competition. It turned out that others had not only designed better but had incorporated more than a single game on their chips. But really speaking, it didn't matter to either of us! Well, it seemed more important that we had built the game in so short time and gave us enough confidence that we can do it anytime! Who else had designed their games so fast???

Sometimes winning isn't all that matters!! The work we had put in is going to pay off someday, I'm sure! But the best part is that we learnt something and learnt it so fast! That is what is going to count in the long run. It's fun learning new things, and even more so when you have the impedance given by a deadline to complete it. We'll keep learning and I know we'll win in the end!!

So why this blog?

2009-09-13T00:55:00.001+05:30

Well, nice question! As the name suggests this blog is all about my dreams in life, and maybe some of them come true! :)
I believe that dreams are the building blocks of all our achievements. If we keep on dreaming, then someday we'll see them come true. I wanted to share my dreams with you all. That's why I made this blog.
So, now it's time to dream together and make them happen in front of our very eyes. Welcome you all on this journey...