ATHENA

I ate lettuce for breakfast!

2014-05-08T20:50:00.001-07:00

Yes, I did! Why? Because, there was nothing else in the fridge. Absolutely nothing, except lettuce and ice. And I couldn't pick up anything on the way to office because I was already late for a meeting -- where I was to present!

So there I was, in the middle of my presentation, thinking of golden brown bread generously spread with butter; or maybe a cheese sandwich with onions and red peppers; and while we are at it, why not some Alu Parathas with chutney? No wonder I gave a very dull presentation which led to all of my proposals being dropped.

So, who is responsible for my potentially career altering presentation being bad and for all the health issues I am going to face due to bad breakfast? I blame the Dept. Of Homeland Security!

As all Air Crash Investigation fans will know, a series of small events leads to disasters. In my case, first, I moved to Bellevue near Seattle -- famous for it's awesome weather. Second, no bank will give me a Credit Card until I have a Social Security Number. It's been 7 weeks now since I have applied for one, but my "case" is pending at the DHS. (I have no clue why -- but from the voice of the nice lady in the SSN office, it seemed as if I was going to be indicted for immigration fraud.) Third, without an SSN or a credit card, no one is ready to give me a car loan or rent me a car at reasonable price. Fourth, since I don't have a car, I have to live close to office so that I can walk to work. But that means living far away from grocery stores or bus stops.

All of these combined, means that buying groceries becomes a four hour "event" where I have to battle rain, wind, freezing temperatures and cancelled or overcrowded buses just to reach the store. And do this all over again on the way back while physically hauling five large bags (because the portion sizes are huge here). Added to this is the risk that I might fall sick due to the cold. I can't afford that right now since I don't have health insurance -- because I need an SSN to even register for one! And so, since it was raining heavily throughout last week I avoided going to the store which resulted in an empty fridge.

And that is why I ate lettuce for breakfast. I hope that DHS expedites my "case" (or deports me -- in which case I will be eating Alu Parathas for breakfast) and I finally get an SSN which will then allow me to get a license, buy a car, have an insurance and ultimately achieve Nirvana.

Meanwhile, I am stocking up on butter lettuce -- I hear it tastes better that regular lettuce.

Travelogue: Kashmir Great Lakes Trek

2013-10-06T08:38:00.000-07:00

I re-joined work two weeks ago after a long vacation and the first thing people said to me was "What happened to you?". I had a very deep tan, sun-burnt skin and looked very thin -- A side-effect of the Kashmir Great Lakes trek. The sun-burns have healed but the tan will probably take months to fade. It will at least take a month more to gain the weight I have lost. And off-course I also missed a lot at work. Was the trek worth it? Hell, yeah!

The natural beauty I saw on the trek is unparalleled to anything I have seen before. The deep blue crystal clear water of the lakes was breath-taking. I saw gorgeous reflections of the adjacent peaks in the lakes and sometimes also of the small melting glaciers. In an ever-changing terrain, each day was a different scene. Cosy pine forests one day, barren mountain sides peppered with snow on the next, followed by meadows with wild flowers and huge boulders and icy cold streams. The camp-site locations were ideal -- whenever, I opened the tent door, I had my own personal view of snow clad peaks. It was also amazing to see the difference the weather can make. A snow-clad peak can look very welcoming in bright sunlight -- the same peak looks very scary and distant when its cloudy.

I woke up every day, packed up my tent and walked some kms to reach the camp-site. If I reached early, I enjoyed the scenery, sipped tea while waiting for remaining folks. At dinner, I hungrily gobbled up delicious rotis and eagerly drank the piping hot bournvita. I loved the simplicity of the trek. The only responsibility I had was to make sure that I reached the next camp-site before nightfall. I had no worries -- meetings, deadlines, the many wedding albums in my Facebook feed, all was forgotten! Suddenly, a large part of my brain was free. I started appreciating the beauty that was around me and simple things made me happy -- the first rays of the morning sun illuminating the snow-clad peaks, the serenity of the dark blue waters of the lake, the flowers dancing to the wind, a card game or singing long forgotten songs with friends all huddled inside one tent.

This off-course does not mean that the trek was easy -- it was a difficult task. Everyday I had to cover 10-15 kms, sometimes climbing more that 2000 ft. or descending 4000 ft. in a day! There were moments when I thought I wouldn't make it to the camp-site. On the first day, we were climbing in chilling rain. I was clad in three layers, but still cold to my bones. My right hand little finger was so numb, that I couldn't even push it inside my glove. I thought I had early stage frostbite! On the third day, I had an adrenaline rush when I took a wrong turn, and ended up climbing down a rock face with very little space to hold on to. I had to face my worst fear, going down a sandy slope, twice! I realized that my willpower and my body are much more stronger than I had thought. I did not have to take a painkiller even once. I was tired, yes, exhausted, very much, but in pain? Never.

I also witnessed what decades of war like situation can do. I heard horror stories from civilians living in fear and equally disturbing stories from men in uniform. Soldiers routinely brave the hostile terrain, weather and scant rations. In some places, people need a permit to go even from one mountain range to another. The contrast of gorgeous natural beauty and reality of life in a perpetual war zone was overwhelming.

Would I go on such a trek again? Absolutely! It's rare to find such a unique experience in anything else!

PS. Adding just a few here. Complete album on Facebook.

Why is Google Plus a Virtual Ghost Town?

2012-10-07T06:46:00.000-07:00

The other day, when I logged into my blogger account, I was asked (by Google) whether I wanted to integrate my account with Google+. Now, why would I want to do that? Will this integration offer me some goodies like, say quick access to my Blogger Stats, instant comment notifications, or some really subtle but useful things like composing a blog in Gmail and sending it to my blogger address (something like athena@blogger.google...) where it will automatically be published? No, not at all. As far as I know, all this integration will do is automatically push my blog into my G+ stream as soon as it is published. Frankly, this isn't useful, because there is literally no one out there!

Perhaps this is only me. Perhaps only my circle of friends have all shifted (or never switched from) Facebook. Perhaps it is an issue with my (social) network. But, after some web search, I realized that it is not me, G+ is in fact not popular at all. Apparently, the only people on G+ are niche photographers and/or Google employees. Well, then how did G+ get 400 million users? More web search around this reveals that this number is for G+ users across all Google. The number of active users is 100 million; still a huge number for the Virtual Ghost Town, not to mention that the definition of an "active user" here is lame.

No, I don't hate Google, I am actually disappointed. When G+ was launched, it made a lot of sense, at least to me. G+ was supposed to be the "Social Spine" all Google services. It was supposed to be a layer permeating through and giving me seamless access to all Google products. It was supposed to make life easier. Nothing of this sort happened. In G+'s defense, when it launched, it seemed to be a better (social network) product. Good UI, check; selective vs public publishing, check; nice new features (hangout), check. With high hopes, I eagerly created my plus profile. I created circles for various degrees, from friends to acquaintances to people I used to follow on Google Buzz. And then I waited. And waited some more. And then some more. Nothing happened. In-spite of connecting to many people, my G+ stream was barren. Reluctantly, I switched to Facebook, complaining about the signal to noise ratio under my breath.

Is this because Google was late to the social network party? Is this because of Facebook? Is this a classic case of "customer inertia"; users not being ready to switch even though a better option is available because they are simply content with the current level of service (Facebook)?

Or is it because Google is trying to solve a problem that no one has?

PS. Meanwhile, a question for Google

Of Sunday Evenings

2012-09-16T08:45:00.000-07:00

I hate Sunday evenings. It is like the last day of a vacation. No matter how your weekend was, good, fun, bad, the Sunday evening always makes things worse.

If your weekend was good, you offcourse feel bad because it is ending. But the real reason is that, there is nothing interesting left to do. On Saturday, in a burst of effeciency you have finished all weekend chores -- you have bought groceries, tidied up your room, paid your bills. On Sunday, the lunch with friends, the movie you wanted to watch, the book you wanted to read, all is done. And you have already had a lot of "Friends" or "Grey's Anatomy" episode reruns. You have called your parents and assured them repeatedly that everything is fine; that you are not working late nights, going to the gym regularly and eating healthy. (None of this is offcourse true.) You have "synced up" with your brother. If the weekend was exceptionally good, you have also called some of your cousins. There is literally nothing left to do on a Sunday evening.

On the other hand, if your weekend was bad, there are too many things left to do. Your house is a mess and your friends and family are upset because you haven't called or cancelled your plans together. If you were working, you don't even realize it's a weekend till it is Sunday evening. And then you spend the rest of your evening cursing the "Death March" project you were working on which has swallowed yet another weekend.

In short, Sunday evenings are boring. You try to relax and enjoy them, but this leads to hours spent on philosophical discussions with your alter ego or random internet surfing. It's a waste of time either way.

Where do you belong?

2012-02-19T06:30:00.000-08:00

I was looking for some simple songs to play on the guitar. A couple of websites suggested that John Denver's Country Roads should be easy, using some basic chords. While I was trying to play the chords, I was stuck on one line, "Take me home, To the place I belong".

I realized I have no such place, where I "belong". There is a city I grew up in. I lived there for 17 years. My parents still live there. But I clearly don't belong there. Then there is Pune, a city I did my engineering from. Great city. But not so great people, barring a few exceptions. I did not belong there. After that was Bombay. Good campus, amazing friends, learnt a lot, overall had a very good time. So is Bombay where I belong? And now I am in Hyderabad. So should it be Hyderabad?

But the people around you is what makes a place special/different. By this definition, none of the above places qualify. All my school friends and cousins have moved out of my hometown. I don't know my younger cousins, because I am not around them. So, the hometown is out. All my good friends from engineering are also not in Pune anymore. So, it is out too. Same is the case for Bombay. And my new friends in Hyderabad, are, as I said, "new". Its hardly been eight months.

So, where do I belong?

Or is it "Musafir hun yaaron, na ghar hain na thikana"?

Or maybe, I just have had too much coffee.

Adieu, IIT Bombay

2011-06-17T10:11:00.000-07:00

It's time. I am leaving the IIT Bombay campus to take up a job in a different city. So, I need to say goodbye. But, how do you say goodbye to something that has become an integral part of your life?

I spent the last week visiting places inside and outside the campus that mattered to me. With each place, I also remembered the good and bad times. With memories came the realization of how much I have changed.

Three years ago, when I came to this campus, I was a waste. I was an example of what happens when you waste your time, your potential, the valuable four years of engineering on things that don't matter. When I came to IITB I knew nothing, about anything. I did not know how to program or how to solve problems. I did not know what the hell computer science was about! I was prejudiced. I did not value myself or other people. I had gross misconceptions about almost everything. The list is long and rather embarrassing.

IITB pushed me out of this self imposed stupor. The first time I saw the campus, it was raining. I felt as if I had met a long lost friend. I felt free, after a long time. Within no time the campus became a home. I will miss the evenings spent at lakeside, the night outs in SIC 212 and 313, the breakfast table ramblings with P, coffee at H8 CCD, the debates over tea at badalu, salsa classes, the campus at night, the Bombay rains, ....

Something I will not miss is my hostel. My hostel, H11, was most of the time a cause of frustration and anger. In contrast, my department, the KRESIT building, was were I spent most of my day. My cubicle in SIC 212 was "my spot". My life revolved around this place. It has seen everything, and much more.

I have been very lucky in some aspects. I was lucky to have the opportunity to work with my guide. He has been immensely patient with my sluggish pace at research(!). His rare words of criticism were always eye opening. I am especially grateful to him for my stint as a Research Assistant. I learned a lot, both academic and non-academic. I don't regret staying back.

I was lucky to have a great group of friends -- P, A, K, AJ, and N. They were my family in IITB and SIC 313 our home. Without them I would have been lost. They taught me how to have fun. I will always miss them. I don't know how I am going to survive without P -- my roommate and best friend.

IITB taught me that it is alright to give up today, only to start again tomorrow. I realized that history and past mistakes are irrelevant, all that matters is what you are doing about it now. Apart from family and friends I stopped giving a damn to what other people think of me. It taught me to value and give time to things that make me happy.

Its difficult saying goodbye to something that is an integral part of your life. But, its time.

Adieu, IIT Bombay.

My experiences with Salsa - I

2011-03-05T20:51:00.000-08:00

I have always been interested in dance, and used to learn and perform Bharatnatyam till Std 9. But 10th, 12th, then hostel for engineering, didn't give me any opportunity to pursue dance again. So, when Salsa classes were announced I jumped at the opportunity. Now, Bharatnatyam and Salsa are like chalk and cheese, but that is what makes it more fun.

The classes are conducted by Ekta and Viraj. The demo they gave us at the beginning was very beautiful. Ekta dances very gracefully. I hope I can develop that some day.

Now, Salsa needs a partner. I remembered Vj mentioning that he had wanted to learn Salsa. So, me and Vj joined Salsa class.

The first class was introductory. We were taught only the "first basic" step. I could do it on slow beats but nowhere near the required speed. I was quite disappointed with myself. After so many years of dancing if I could not do the basic step, albeit of a different genre, properly, then I certainly had lost "it". After class I asked Ekta what I should do to improve. She said "practice".

Next day, I decided to use a technique my Bharatnatyam teacher, had taught me. For a difficult step, she always used to break it down into very very tiny pieces/gestures and ask us to practice those first. I did the same thing for the "first basic" step. Within five minutes I realized what I was doing incorrectly. When I corrected the step, I could easily perform at the required speed. Successfully crossing this first hurdle made me quite enthusiastic for the second class.

A different problem awaited us in the second class -- synchronization and co-ordination with your partner. You not only have to do the steps, but also synchronize and adjust as per your partner. If your partner takes longer steps, you have to adjust your stride. If your partner forgets to maintain the height of your clasped hands, you have to try and maintain the correct position. If you cover a larger distance while spinning, your partner has to take a step back and preserve the grace of the spin along with your balance all the while avoiding a certain collision.

The concept of leading was also difficult to adjust to. In Salsa, for certain steps, the guy is supposed to lead and the girl is supposed to do the step only after she gets this lead. Ekta had strictly told us girls, that if we do not get the lead, we should not do the steps. For quite some time, Vj forgot to lead, but I was still merrily doing the steps. A sharp taunt from Ekta made us realize our mistake.

Yesterday we had the third class. We learnt the spin and drop step. There are many spins in Salsa. The one where the girl turns left on the left leg is called the simple spin while turning to the right on the right leg is called the reverse spin. The reverse spin is a bit difficult. Most of the time I was out of balance and moved rightward before stopping. The simple spin was a piece of cake. (Only later I realized why. I am used to spinning on my left foot since all spins in Bharatnatyam are on the left foot.) One and a half simple spin was followed by a drop, where the girl bends her feet and leans backwards, while the guy provides support. This step looks very difficult but is actually very simple.

The toe trick is worth mentioning here. All Salsa steps for girls, if done on toes, look very graceful. But this means that I have to stand on my toes almost throughout the class. This requires major effort, especially towards the end of the class. It will, off course, become easier, after a few classes.

Each class makes me nostalgic. It makes me realize how much I have missed dancing. For those two hours, my mind is free. I actually become optimistic for some time.

Sunday Reading Links

2011-01-09T07:55:00.000-08:00

The list is very diverse today.

An excellent essay by William Deresiewicz: Solitude and Leadership.Although it is a long read, I highly recommend it. If you are short on time, skip the rest of the links but do read this one.
Another essay from the same author: The Disadvantages of an Elite Education
The Facebook-Microsoft Parallels
An awesome blog - NeoIndian. Some very entertaining posts are this, this, this and this. ( via Shantanu)
Inside the secret world of Trader Joe's
Finest hours: The making of Winston Churchill.

Links 1, 2, 5 and 6 were discovered through NYT Op-Ed Columnist David Brooks's column.

I went to lakeside after a long time today. Visiting the lake, coffee in hand, with a good friend, is an ideal Sunday evening.
A frame that I captured:

Sunday reading links

2010-12-26T01:44:00.000-08:00

Some interesting articles I read today:

Articles on the sentencing of Dr. Sen, both support the conviction but argue that the life sentence is too much. The Case of Dr. Sen, Strange Democracy.
Thinking of doing a PhD? Read this grim overview first. The disposable academic.
What If Women Ran Wall Street? (long read)

Day - Fail

2010-10-20T02:34:00.000-07:00

(This is a rant)

It is one of those days when everything fails.

You are rudely woken up from your sleep by the incessant high pitch chatter of the cleaning crew. They are talking sitting right in front of your room. You get up, open the door, tell them to lower their volumes or talk somewhere else. They stare at you like you have committed a crime by sleeping after the sun has risen. You stare back at them. They grudgingly get up and leave. You find your way back to bed, but now you cannot sleep. The adrenaline has done its job, you are fully awake.
Some time later, in a half asleep state you are awakened by your roomie (You had told her previous night to wake you up). She says she is going for breakfast. You cannot sleep, so you decide to at least have breakfast. Roomie informs that it is "Daliya" on menu. You hate eating that. (Daliya!! Why is it even on the menu?) So you try to sleep again. You can't.
You get up. Grab your toothbrush. Before going to the sink, you glance out of the window in the corridor, the lone source of natural light and ventilation in the hostel. Your turn on your heels and you slip and fall. Your ankle is sprained. The toothpaste is all over your hand. You get up and inspect the floor. Their is some kind of grease there. Your knee hurts too.
You check the the processes you had started previous night. They are all complete and the logs are all generated. You decide to drink your coffee before analysing the logs. You head out and almost slip again. You grabbed the window frame at the last moment. You didn't fall but your elbow hit the wall. Now your ankle, knee and elbow hurt.
You buy coffee. There is someone new at the coffee counter. You don't taste the coffee immediately because you are busy talking on the phone. When you taste it you find that it is just hot milk with about a teaspoon of espresso in it. You curse the new man. ( How difficult can it be to make coffee?? It is just pressing two buttons on the coffee machine in succession!! ) You curse yourself for being so dependent on coffee.
You call your mother. ( You had promised that you will call in the morning )
You end the call after about an hour of arguing with her.
You finally decide to analyse those logs now. You analyse logs, gather data and turn to plotting. Your laptop keyboard stops working when you switch to Windows. Those plots are very important for your work. You restart your laptop. No change.
Meanwhile, your ankle, knee and elbow still hurt. Determined to not ruin your day, you pop in a painkiller.
You decide to take bath. The water in the geyser is stone cold. Why? Because the cleaning crew used up all the hot water!!
You decide to eat in the mess today, to save time. The mess is serving yellow kidney beans. ( You couldn't see the menu because the hostel website won't load. ) You decide to eat rice, the dal is tasteless.
You wait for tum tum. It is full.
You are still hungry. You decide to eat a samosa. It is cold.
You come to lab, login to gmail. You see your friends offliner. The shakti mess was serving bheendi today. ( That's one of your favourites.) You read this while you are nibbling the cold samosa.
The painkiller hasn't had any effect. Your ankle, knee and elbow still hurts.
The day isn't even half over.
It is one of those days that makes you rant on your blog at 3pm.

Photography - I

2010-08-29T06:14:00.000-07:00

Its been a long time since I blogged.
The last couple of months were confusing, and not to mention very hectic. Just to give you an outline - One month before MTP report submission deadline I realized I had nothing to write (in spite of working), then pulled night-outs just to finish my MTP; all the while the background score playing in my mind was "To join or not to join", cursing myself for my naïveté, had sleepless nights thinking; tried to spend the remaining time with my friends who were all going in different directions; tried to complete all the confusing thesis submission formalities; spent an awesome weekend in Pune with family and friends; came back to realize that my MTP was a lost cause; still tried to cover the bullet holes with bandages; tried hard to look unfazed as one by one all my friends left the campus all the while feeling that I was stuck in a time warp; wrote a bad report, gave a bad stage 2 presentation; rushed home apprehensive about how my family will feel about my decision of not joining(the job), was relieved when I found an unexpected ally in my brother; came back to IITB, officially joined as "Research Assistant", was disappointed to find that RAs are lowest in the hierarchy in IITB, even below the students; tried not to get angry with IITB bureaucracy as the joining formalities dragged on; was living out of bags for a month since I did not have a cot or a cupboard (thanks to P, I at least had a place to stay); - and (deep breath) then as the days rushed pass, gradually the adrenalin levels came back to normal.

So the current status update is: I ditched the job I had got through campus and joined as a Research Assistant in IITB(working with my MTP advisor)

Now, back to the subject of this post.
I have a new found passion for photography. Now - a - days I scout for "subjects" when I am walking. I use SONY CYBERSHOT W220 that my brother owns. (Can't buy an SLR, I am already deep in debt.)
I am a novice photographer. I don't even understand all the technicalities. Still, below are some of snaps I clicked over the last few days, that I like.


Crab at the lakeside

Walking on the edge


Split wooden log and water crystals


Victory


Fractal

Can you suggest some interesting subjects?

Maddu Mess

2010-04-03T09:28:00.000-07:00

Where do you get awesome dosas, vadas and excellent coffee at 5am in the morning? People in IITB might guess correctly. It is none other than Maddu mess.

For non-iitb'ians, Maddu Mess is a place in Powai, very near to IITB. It operates from 4.30am to 7am only. It serves all standard southie dishes like, dosas, vadas, idlis, etc. We had been hearing about this mess since the first semester. But somehow, the plan of visiting Maddu Mess never materialized. (The range 4am to 7am, is the time when I can definitely be found sleeping.)

Six of us (Me , P, A, AJ, K, N) planned to go to Maddu Mess on Friday morning. As it is impossible to wake up at 4.30am in the morning, we decided that we will take a night out. (For the uninitiated, a night out means spending time in lab at night, pretending to be working. Considerable work happens only if it is less than 24 hours before the deadline.)

All of us had a very nice dinner of variety of rice dishes, with curd that we had ordered in SIC 313. 313 is a happening place now-a-days. At any given moment, you can find atleast one of the following things: a couple of flutes, many laptops, empty tea cups, slippers; and atleast one of the following in progress - a chess game between AJ and K, P talking on skype, A mining youtube to find ridiculous songs and playing them, and N sleeping in his chair.

After dinner, I came back to my lab, SIC 212. I was determined to find the memory leak in one of the processes in my project. I was dead set on finding it. Since nobody comes to SIC 212 these days, I was assured of the peace and quiet that I needed. I started digging in the code. I browsed through Java documentation, release notes, third party APIs, etc. I read some informative articles on "dos and don'ts" of multi-threading. As advised in many articles, I read about java memory profiling and decided to use the techniques. And voila!! I found one possible cause of the leak. It was a bug in jdk itself. (I thought-"Hushhh... Thank God, the leak is not due to some pathetic code I have written.") Excited, I wrote a workaround, restarted my process, and went to check on our warriors in 313.

The mood was dull in 313. So to bring some life back, I requested A to teach me cricket. (Do not be shocked. I really don't know how to play cricket. I always thought, and still think, that there are better things to do.) P and K also joined in the teaching. A few days ago, KPL-2 was organized in our department. With so much enthusiasm in the air, I started feeling that I am the only one who does not know how to play cricket. So, with a tennis ball and a keyboard handrest as bat, Cricket101 began. I made significant progress in batting. The bat actually touched the ball 60% of the times. But my bowling action (or so they said) was very disappointing. The ball always went in the same direction with same speed. Soon, A, K and P gave up and I returned to my lab.

To my dismay, the memory leak was still there. I cursed myself, I cursed java, I cursed multiple core processors. Then began another cycle of debugging, reading documentation, scanning known bugs, using profiling tools that I wasn't even aware of, and waiting for the dreaded OOME. As the night progressed and OOME kept on occurring, philosophical issues started cropping up in my mind. I started thinking about issues which have been haunting me for the past few days - why am I in IITB, where will I be after three years, what plan does fate have in store for me, whether my brother will get married this year, whether my eyesight will fail and I will have to give up reading at 50, and whether I will have enough teeth left at 60 to devour cakes and pastries. Contemplating over pastries, I realized that I was hungry-it was 4.30am.

We set out towards the Market Gate. N and K had been to Maddu Mess before. Turning off the main road, we entered a small lane. Turning in an almost invisible entrance between two shops, we entered an alley which was hardly three feet wide. It was an alley between two houses. Crossing some more similar back alleys, we reached the mess. It is housed, in a room, a little bigger than a 2-seater room in IITB hostels. It was a bit early, we were the first customers. We immediately occupied the lone bench.

Soon the dishes started rolling out. Initially there were piping hot medu vadas. It felt so nice to eat the vadas with the tasty chatni and sambhar. It was followed by one of the best onion dosas I have ever had. Some of us also tried out the egg dosa which is equally good. Then came the dal vadas and idlis. We tried all the dishes available. To top it all, I had excellent coffee which was also served southie style, with a glass and bowl.

By the time we finished eating, the alley in front of the mess was packed with people. Atleast half of them were IITB students. After paying the bill, we started walking back towards the hostels. That was the hardest part - walking after you have had such a nice breakfast.

PS. The memory still leaks.

Can you repair the Projector?

2010-03-30T06:58:00.000-07:00

While in mess today, I was, as usual, busy reading ET. I did not notice a girl silently take seat in front of me. After some time, she said, "We have xyz celebration today in TV room. You are welcome to join. ". Since, I am in no way related to xyz, I politely declined the invitation. I thought perhaps she mistook me for someone else.
The real reason came to light soon enough. She said, "You are a Computer Engineer, right? Can you repair the projector in the TV room?".
I had never imagined this would happen to me. It is even bad than this: People’s Responses to the fact that I am a Computer Science Major

आयुष्य म्हणजे...

2010-03-27T22:43:00.000-07:00

आयुष्य म्हणजे...

आयुष्य म्हणजे... समुद्राची लाट
कधी खाली तर कधी वर
शेवटी किनार्यालाच मिळायची आणि विरून जायची ||

आयुष्य म्हणजे.... रात्र भर प्रवास करणारा चंद्र
कधी सावलीतुन जातो तर कधी सुर्याला झाकतो ||

आयुष्य म्हणजे प्रवाहाला कापत जाणारी नौका
जाते जाते जाते ... आणि अदृश्य होते ||

आयुष्य म्हणजे... प्रवाहपतित झालेला एक ओंडका,
सागवानाचा असो किंवा बाभळीचा, दगडाला अडकायचाच ||

आयुष्य म्हणजे google chat

कधी available तर कधी invisible... ||

आयुष्य म्हणजे ....

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तो अडकलेला ओंडका

तो प्रवास करणारा चंद्र,
ती विरलेली लाट ,

तीच ती क्षितीजापलीकडे गेलेली नौका.....
-- [Amhi bhampak (aka D, P, A, AJ) + AC, March 2010]

(नव्याने उदयास आलेल्या 'आम्ही भंपक' आणि AC यांनी मरीन ड्राइव वर बसून केलेली एक भन्नाट शीघ्र कविता !!!)

PS. D = thats me.

Battle Scarred

2010-03-01T10:59:00.000-08:00

New recruits in the army are called Fresh Meat. They are always eager to go to war and prove their mettle. They are eager to experience the adrenaline rush. They think that their ability will help them achieve glory.
On the other hand, soldiers who are experienced, are reluctant to go to war. Because they battle scarred. They know that war is more a game of chance, it does not matter on which side you are. Forget glory, even survival depends on things that are out of your control. The weather might be against you or the expensive ammunition might fail. Or you might be unlucky- a stray bullet could kill you- you were just at the wrong place at the wrong time.

Reading

2010-01-21T11:50:00.000-08:00

http://www.nybooks.com/articles/23531
Sample this: Loss is loss, and nothing is gained by calling it by a nicer name.

On the other hand, you have different lines.

2009-12-30T12:19:00.000-08:00

It is said (and generally practised) that when palm reading you should read a women's left hand. But, whenever I had wanted to look at the lines on my hand, I have always instinctively traced the lines on my right hand. Now, I am wondering whether all these years I was looking at the wrong hand.

No more Dramas...

2009-12-26T12:38:00.000-08:00

I have decided not to watch any plays, dramas. Last time I went for a play, it completely messed up my brain(and my grades). Performing Arts(any kind) for me is, what alcohol is for an alcoholic who is trying to quit; even one peg leads to a downward spiral. Similarly, even watching one performance brings back all the happy (and not so happy) memories.

I know it is going to be difficult.

Waiting for Godot

2009-09-19T21:34:00.000-07:00

A few days ago I was visiting a mall with a friend. There a shiny pair of earrings caught my eye. They reminded me of the Escher's Knot. I immediately bought the pair. Then after sometime realization dawned. 'Buying a pair of earrings because they remind you of Escher's knot' is classic geeky behaviour.

I was still contemplating, when P pinged me, asking me whether I wanted to watch a play by the Motley Group. I immediately said yes. Later Vj also joined us. I pacified myself thinking that my 'geeky behaviour' was just a small incident and watching a play would, you know, sort of nullify it.

I have been interested in dramatics, performing arts in general, since school days. So, I knew about the Motley group. It is the theatre group founded by Naseeruddin Shah and Bejamin Gilani. The group was conceived 30 years ago. They had planned a festival to celebrate their anniversary. We could catch just the last performance, the play 'Waiting for Godot'. This, incidentally, was the first play produced by the group, and was revived for the festival.

'Waiting for Godot' is considered as one of the finest plays written in the 20th century. The author, Samuel Beckett, a Noble laureate, was known for his abstract writing. If simplified, the play is just a depiction of events that happen as two characters, Vladimir(DD) and Estragon(GoGo), are waiting for Godot, who never comes.

The play is a black comedy. At one time, DD and GoGo decide that they will commit suicide by hanging themselves from a tree, since they have nothing else left to do. For sometime Pozzo, a landlord, and Lucky, his slave, keep them--let us say--entertained. Time and again, after fruitless efforts in keeping one engaged, DD and GoGo keep reminding themselves(and the audience) that they cannot leave since they are waiting for Godot.

The acting by all the four actors (Naseeruddin Shah, Benjamin Gilani, Akash Khurana, Randeep Hooda) was superb. Some memorable dialogues from the play:

Pozzo: One day I woke as blind as the fortune.

Another one:
GoGo (to DD): ...Blaming your boots for the faults of your feet.

And the best one:

DD: I did not leave you.
GoGo: But, you let me go...

Although most of the people don't understand the play(I am one of them), do not miss a chance to watch this play. Watch it for excellent acting and for great dialogues. If nothing, you will at least have a good laugh.

After the play, as it was quite late, we stopped at a roadside restaurant for some snacks. From where I was sitting, I could see the traffic island on the road. Close to it, a bunch of guys were sitting on the divider. All of them were well dressed; some were merely sitting, some were staring at P(quite a few readers will agree), and some of them--were smoking. I sooo envied them. From a distance, it looked as if they are actually enacting a play.

The earrings incident, 'waiting for godot', and watching those guys on the divider, all these things got entangled together and resulted in a big mess in my mind.

Exams and Antibiotics

2009-09-14T00:22:00.000-07:00

It is midsem season. And two days before the midsems began, I started sneezing. Generally, I do not take any medicines for common cold, cough etc. I believe, that these things just need time; they will go away, when they want to. (I call this Naturopathy.)
But since midsems are around the corner, I decided not to take any chances, and immediately started the standard antibiotic dose. Everything seemed normal, cold was under control, cough had reduced and I did not have a fever.
Then yesterday morning; I had my first paper; I felt light-headed. Everything seemed mixed up. I could not concentrate. In the middle of writing the paper, I started thinking about Princeton(University). And then I wrote, -(-3) = -3. A few more silly mistakes later, (and after ensuring that I score very less, even after solving everything), the paper was finally over. Then I had a good lunch, and went of to sleep.
I woke up in the evening, with a bad headache. Went to lakeside, in the hope that fresh air might clear my head. Came back, watched a couple of episodes, and went of to sleep, without even opening a book.
And when I woke up today morning, it was a full blown attack. Bad cold, cough, headache, runny nose, watery eyes, everything. I couldn't do anything. I Frantically searched for some 'Symptom reliever' medicine. Discovered that I did not have any. I decided to go and buy some. Cycling is very difficult if you are sneezing every 5 seconds. Taking the 'Symptom Reliever' has made everything worse now. Everything is again mixed up. I cannot think clearly. Currently I can not even type a line without sneezing. And I think I have had a memory loss. Few minutes ago, I was trying to solve a problem. After some time I realized there was a small tick near the Question, meaning that I have already solved the problem earlier. But I don't remember when, where and how.
That's it. Now, I have no other option left but to go to sleep.

A walk to remember...

2009-07-06T00:29:00.000-07:00

The other day I was coming back from my lab at around 2 am in the night. As always I was listening to music. It was raining. The rain was such that, if you have an umbrella, most of the rain is blocked, but a few rain drops do reach you. I switched off the music; and put my earphones away.

Now I could hear the rain drops falling. I could hear them falling on the road, the pavement and the leaves of trees. I could hear the distant sound of water rushing out of a pipe, falling from a height. There was the rustling sound of leaves as the trees swayed. And there was the sound of my steps; ... pchak, pchak...., as I deliberately stepped into puddles.

The road was completely deserted(The Semester hasn't yet started). The street lights had illuminated the tree tops, but the light was unable to penetrate any further. The weather was such that it made you forget everything; past, present, future. You feel strangely elated. You wonder why you are feeling so happy.

I slowed down my pace. I did not want this walk to end. I began wondering, is this how a symphony is created? Every component perfect; no matter how small. Every sound correct - the right note, the right pitch. And just a little amount of magic, which combines all this and you have a wonderful piece of music.

Mumbai Darshan V - Gateway, Colaba and the PV fairytale

2009-06-21T06:11:00.000-07:00

Slightly lengthy. Read at leisure...

Since a last few months I had wanted to visit the Gateway of India. But every time a visit was planned, some thing or the other (meeting with guide, etc.) would prevent it from happening. But this time me and P made a full proof plan. We also persuaded A, AJ, and AK to join us. So, today we had a wonderful trip to the Gateway, and some parts of the adjoining Colaba and fort areas.

P, as usual, took the responsibility of waking us up at 5 am . Thanks to P, I woke up sharp at 5, dressed quickly, and was ready by 5.20. So were P and AK. But A, and AJ, took a considerable amount of time to get ready (make up, perhaps?). We managed to get on the local at around 6 and reached CST at around 6. As it was Sunday, CST was almost completely deserted. With AJ acting as guide we took the most probable road and started walking. The streets were empty, except for an occasional taxi or a BEST bus.

The road is lined up with a mixture of new and old heritage buildings, some of them even dating back to the 19th century. We were moving with a leisurely pace, watching the buildings, clicking a lot of photos. The old buildings were very beautiful. The 'Vatcha Agiary', founded in 1881, and the 'David Sassoon Library', built in 1847, were some of the oldest buildings on the road. The famous BMC building, Elphinstone college building and the Jehangir art gallery were some of the noted buildings. The'Regal' cinema theatre also lies on the way to the Gateway.

The Gateway was, as expected, magnificent. And since there was no crowd, we could see it from all the angles. There was a large number of pigeons, picking at the feed, which the onlookers had strewn on the ground. We found these pigeons a little aggressive; they flew directly into our face in large numbers. The sea around the Gateway is really very dirty and it smells awful. It makes one sad to look at all the dirty plastic bottles and bags floating on the water. The smell did not allow us to linger around for much time.

The 'Taj' is directly behind the Gateway. The repairs going on are clearly visible. I must mention that the rooms, from outside, are not inviting. I wonder how they are from inside. Then we moved on to the smaller interior roads. We were wondering about the property prices in the area, when I came across Tom. He was strangely silent, he did not purr once.
Cute बोका na...

It was well past our breakfast time, so we started searching for some place to eat. Since it was a Sunday morning, everything was closed. Following P's intuition, we chose a direction, started walking and soon ended up in Colaba causeway. We found a small eatery and ordered some sandwiches. After some bearable sandwiches, some badly prepared tea, we left the place. (We also had a good lemon tea, which was actually prepared by AJ.)

We came on the main road and discovered 'Theobroma', a bakery cum chocolaterie. There we ate amazing pastries and chocolates. The coffee mousse was the best pastry I have ever had. Do visit this place once, it is on the Shahid Bhagat Singh road in Colaba causeway (The same road where the Leopold cafe is located).

All charged up with calories we headed on to the BSE building. We wanted to visit the (empty, since it was Sunday) Dalal street. Once we were in that area, we had a disagreement on which road to take. Being IITians, each of us applied his own logic and algorithms to come up with a different answer, which resulted into our going around in a complete circle round the BSE building. We finally found Dalal street and saw what happened to some of the brokers since the market nosedived.

The BSE building is an overwhelming sight. Although it was Sunday, the ticker tape was still displaying the stock prices. We were only allowed to take photos from a distance. We couldn't even go near the Bull. After some time the policemen stationed near the BSE got restless, so we moved on and took a by-lane. We ended up in front of the Bombay University building. Then we went on towards the high court, then took the road encircling the 'Oval maiden'(the one which has the statue of Mahadev Govind Ranade.) Next we went on to Mantralay(secretariat) and then to the Vidhan Bhavan, all the while clicking photos, with permission.

Soon it was time for lunch. 'A' being an ardent fan of Sachin Tendulkar, we decided to go to Tendulkars . We were one of the first customers of the day. We had thought that the food there might be prohibitively costly, in which case we also had a plan B ready. But the prices were reasonable (for the brand name) and the food was excellent. We ate to our heart's content. Do try 'Lee's punch', it is one of the best Mocktails I have had. The ambiance is very good, the song collection was great.

While eating, our discussion somehow turned onto the 'P and V operations for a semaphore'. Someone mentioned that it is difficult to remember whether P stands for wait or the signal operations. Then P told us the ultimate method. Now, as it happens, the name of P's fiancee is V. So P remembers it this way: P was waiting for V to propose. Then P told us how the events of that fateful day unfolded.

Disclaimer: The events described below were told to me, I was not a witness to them. Hence I do not take any responsibility for their truth value or correctness.

On that fateful day, it was raining heavily. V was at home and was bored. So, he decided to make some tea and barged into the kitchen. After straining his memory to remember the ingredients and some extrapolation to determine the quantity of each ingredient, V prepared the tea. But on drinking it, he found that it tasted awful. Suddenly he had a brain wave; he remembered that P made very good tea. So, he decided to propose to her on that very same day. V walked to P's house, thinking that P might be alone, so that he can propose right away. But alas, the door was opened by P's mother. Another brain wave hit him. He told P's mother that there was a vegetable seller some distance away from the house, who was giving away free onions with potatoes. P's mother rushed out, thanking V for the information.(At that time the prices of onions had skyrocketed.) With the coast clear, V finally proposed to P.

Fairytale, isn't it?

All the way back to IIT, we teased P and discussed about what we should see on our next trip. When we got down at Kanjurmarg, it started raining; the perfect end to a perfect trip.

Mumbai Darshan IV: Gokhale Road, Thane(W)

2009-05-24T09:31:00.000-07:00

Being Sunday, P and me decided to do some shopping today. We wanted to find a particular store, on Gokhale Road in Thane(W). The road right outside the station turned out to be the one we were looking for. Once there we quickly found the shop of interest. It was good, and we were satisfied with our purchases. A 'stitch here and a stitch there' was going to take an hour, so we decided to explore the Gokhale Road.

We found that Gokhale Road is quiet similar to a certain road called 'Laxmi Road' in Pune. It has similar kinds of shops, showrooms of big brands and factory outlets with permanent SALE signs. It has the same crowded footpaths, half occupied by dazzling size zero mannequins and the other half occupied with ladies scrutinising the displays in shop windows, followed by their husbands carrying the shopping bags with lost looks on their faces. Any empty nook between shops or on turns was occupied by hawkers selling cheap essential items; showing their goods to some customers while simultaneously bargaining with the others. Add to this a bus stop with a long queue and two way traffic without a divider. What particularly made me remember the 'Laxmi Road' were the people; 90% were typical middle-lower-middle class Marathi.

We decided to have a quick bite before collecting our purchases. We went into the nearest 'Mc Donald's'. It had been a long time, more than a year since P or me had been to a McD. Once we settled with our burgers and fries, we noticed that we were very out of place. We were surrounded by families, most quadrangular, mums with kids, dads with kids and more kids. The McD, to which I frequented in Pune, used to be packed with college students, at any time of the day. We started feeling a bit uncomfortable with so many 'families' around. We hastened up, and got out as soon as the table next to us was occupied by a bunch of 5 yr olds.

We found some interesting 'ठाणेरी पाट्या' on shops. One was named 'लता चाहा' with a sign which read 'आज चाहा विसरलात का?'. A shop selling Denims and Pants, was named 'Bottom(बोटम)' with a crude painted sign saying 'Mosquito nets available here'. But my favourite was a shop with the name, 'त्तृषा शांति गृह'; no adjectives, optimised, straight to the point.

Naming Ceremony

2009-03-29T11:34:00.000-07:00

Today, I attended the 'Naming Ceremony' of my cousin's twins. Actually, I was a bit reluctant to go, since I would have to sacrifice my sleep. But, I had to, since I was the most important person, apart from the twins, offcourse. We have some very weird customs. It is a custom that babies should be named by their father's sister. Now, clearly the parents must do this. But, customs are to be followed. Since, I was the only sister currently in the country and was also in Bombay, I was given the honour.

The twins looked very fragile. I was scared even to lift them. They were peacefully sleeping when I reached. In the process of trying to put the babies into their new clothes, they woke up. And then they started crying, it was so adjusted that the amount of noise remained constant. Imagine that the sine wave represents the amount of crying. Now, imagine two overlapping sine waves, which are out of phase by 180 degrees. Result, a lot of crying.

After the babies were put to sleep, the ceremony started. My job was to say the correct name(pre decided by the parents) at the right time. The ceremony mostly involved all the women in the house. The father was reduced to a mere photographer. At the end, I bent down and said the name in one of the baby's ears, and suddenly punches started landing on my back. I was conveniently not informed about this custom!! This was repeated again for the other baby. (More punches. But I was prepared this time. I successfully avoided some of them.)

Later, I was paid my bribes, twice, for saying the correct names.

Mumbai Darshan III: Dadar and The Postt Graduatt

2009-03-15T11:04:00.001-07:00

Bored with malls, P and me decided to go to Dadar on Sunday. We planned on doing some shopping and site-seeing. As usual we decided to start early and avoid the evening rush. But perhaps everybody thought so, and the CST bound local was completely packed.
On reaching Dadar, we quickly asked around and found 'Suvidha', which some friends had recommended- "good variety and reasonable" they said. But we were disappointed, since Suvidha's concept of casual wear did not match with ours.(Should I say IIT wear??)
With shopping wrapped up quickly, we headed towards 'Dadar chowpati'. The view was really awesome. It was a little before sunset, and the sunlight had made the sea glittering.

The Bandra-Worli Sea Link made a great view.

After spending some time praising the view, we decided to explore Dadar. We chose a road and just started walking. After few minutes we reached the famous Shivaji Park ground. As usual, the outside katta was full. Inside every inch of the ground was occupied by people playing cricket. (I wonder how they manage to keep track of their cricket balls!!) Some footballers were also there. (A sign of the changing psyche of the Indian Youth? Crap... Perhaps they were not able to find their stumps, so they decided to play football instead.) We ate some chat inside the ground, and came out through a gate to find 'MeenaTai Thakare' smiling at us.

The Shivaji Park residential area is really nice. Its peaceful in spite of being so close to the main road. The Old fashioned bunglows reminded me of my childhood days and of the fact that many years ago this area housed the middle classes of Bombay. Offcourse, now there is atleast a luxury car or two in front of every house. Also, in the parking space on the roads you can find almost all models of car brands.

We wanted to see 'Matoshree', but there were a lot of policemen at the entrance of the lane, so we cancelled our plan and decided to return to Dadar station. At the station we took a different entrance and ended on an unknown foot bridge. We tried what little knowledge of the station we had, but soon we were circling the same place. After some time, we decided to try and find the familiar entrance. In a bid to get out of the station, we landed on platform 6. Before we could get out, we were asked for our tickets by the TT. We had those coupons which can be used only within 1 hour of punching. We tried to explain, we showed him our coupons for the Kanjurmarg-Dadar journey, but the TT dragged us to the office.

When we reached the office, he took out some receipt book and said, "Apko fine to bharna hi padega. What do you do?"
P said,"We our students of IIT Bombay."
"Which year?"
I replied "First year. Sir, it is not the case that we were going to travel without ticket.We were searching for the platform near which the booking office is there."

He said,"I am also a Postt Graduatt. I know my responsibility. You don't have a ticket with you. And you came on the platform were our superfast trains stop." I thought,"Our superfast trains??Does he own the railways??".
He continued,"My job is to check whether you have your ticket or not. And since you don't have it you will have to pay the fine."

"But sir, we were going to buy the ticket."

"Why didn't you buy the ticket at the entrance?"

Since we our students of Computer Science, P tried to reason using Logic,"Suppose my train stops on platform no 3. And I want to catch another train from platform no. 5. Now, there is a booking office near platform 5. Then why should I go to the booking office near the entrance, if I can buy the ticket near platform 5 instead?"

"No. No. You must go to the booking office near the entrance, buy your ticket, and then come back to platform 5. I am also a Postt Graduatt." I thought,"If you were, you wouldn't be working as a TT. But perhaps you are a Postt Graduatt, from Bihar."

He continued,"This is written in the rule book. You can read it if you want. Let me suggest you something. This rule book is available at the stalls outside for Rs 5. Buy one and read it in your free time."

We knew we couldn't win an argument against him and it was getting late. We paid the fine. The Postt Graduatt TT gave us directions to our platform. We politely said, "Thank You" and left.

We soon caught a local and reached IIT without any other 'events'.

[Update: 'Matoshree' is not in Dadar. @Shantanu: Thanks for pointing this out. See comments for clarification.]