For a Class apart :D

I've graduated now and college is over!! Its been a long time since I have written a post and I felt this was very apt time to pen down my thoughts and to write about the college and batch that means so much to me. I now prepare myself to reluctantly leave for the US with all mixed feelings( trust me: I am sad, happy, excited, anxious, reluctant, eager, scared all at the same time!) to embark on a new journey called research. I try now to reflect upon as to how beautiful these past four years have been and how much I have gained from the institute. I think I echo everyone's thoughts in our batch when I say that the past four years has given us many cherishable memories for the rest of our lives. Enough has been said and written about how awesome our batch is and this is just another humble attempt.

There is a saying I find very apt in this context. “Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened.”- Dr Seuss
I am happy that you guys happened to me, that IITH happened to me, that these four years happened to me. I just want to say "IITH, I am glad you came". I don't mean to sound cliche but I guess choosing IITH four years back maybe was one of the best decisions I took and I say this without an iota of doubt. I say this because IITH means a lot to me. It was here that I made some acquaintances, met some very good friends and some who mean more than just friends. It was here I met guides in the form of professors whom I will look up to even for the rest of my life. It was here that I learnt lessons that cannot be otherwise taught from the sports I played, the events I took part in, the fests and clubs I was a part of and the random talks with friends. It was here that I grew.

As we step out of this cradle where we were taken care of so dearly and commence upon our next journey in life, I wanted to say this. Let us try to bring our institute, our second home glory and pride. Let us try to at least repay in part what we have got from it by giving our best in whatever we do. I am not trying to give advice because I neither have the expertise, the authority nor am I capable of it. But I humbly urge you to consider this. Let clearing JEE or graduating from IITH not be mine or your greatest achievement in a few years because frankly they don't mean a lot to the world or humanity. I really hope to see you guys soaring to newer heights. I wish you more than just success. I wish you all the happiness, love, courage and peace in life. I know it for a fact that many of you are going to achieve great things in life and am only happy that I happened to once know you guys. In the course of these four years I am sure I might have hurt a few of you knowingly or unknowingly and I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me.

To my juniors I want to say this. You are now a part of an institute that is soon going to be among the best in the world, leave alone India. Take pride in being a part of it and grab every opportunity that comes along your way to learn and become better at anything and everything.

Sadly our roads part for now but I hope that they meet in the future and even if they don't, I wish yours gets as beautiful as it can be. To some of you this might sound like incessant emotional ranting but this is just a humble attempt to speak out my heart. I wish you a beautiful life.

Thank you and all the best. Comments welcome.

Internet anonymity

Recent happenings in IIT Hyderabad and the boring thought of approaching midsems have managed to force me into writing a blog post after a long time. A string of mails on the student mailing list and the recent outrage of anonymous confessions have only gone to show the flip side of Internet anonymity .

Internet anonymity has been a long debated topic with its own advantages and disadvantages. In forums like Quora, some of the most interesting and informative answers are given by anonymous users. On the other hand, anonymity can also lead to malicious verbal attacks as one is not held responsible for what one says. I am sad to see quite a display of the latter in the past few days. People in IITH have used anonymity to throw verbal bombs at each other. Some of them have even dared to name the other person trying to defame them publicly out of mere hatred or jealousy. These acts are not only demeaning but also a show of cowardice. With increasing craze in social networking, it wouldn't take a Zuckerburg to track down these posts. I am sure my parents could follow these posts sitting at home. I am sure that some of these people brag about their so called 'IIT tag' back home in front of their friends and family. What is the point of being an IIT graduate claiming to have received a degree from one of the best colleges in the country if you do not have basic moral values? I was reading an article and came across an interesting question I would like to ask these people. Are you so insecure about your own character that you’re too terrified to face the people you don’t understand and ask the hard questions out in the open like a grown-up?

Confessions in some cases are good, as they in some way take the load of a person's chest who is unable to publicly discuss his/her feelings. But it all gets ugly when they turn into cheap display of name calling and tantrum throwing. We are no doubt among some of the brightest minds in the country. But clearly we are not among some of the cleanest minds as shown by these posts and mails.

The fact that these posts are anonymous directly links them to the institute as a whole rather than an individual in particular. As an upcoming institute with the media waiting to pounce on us, we should do everything we can to at least not be known for the wrong reasons if not heard for the right ones. At least I am happy to see that some of the pages have been taken down before becoming public.

With power comes responsibility. It is up to us to act responsibly when vested with this power of anonymity- a double edged sword. As pioneering batches, it is us who should be setting trends to be followed by the upcoming batches. I don't want IITH to be associated with such demeaning acts. Do you?

Comments welcome.

Take a bow Sachin

As the world bids adieu to the little master, I cannot help but marvel at what a profound effect Sachin has had on all of us. Every he time he walked in to bat, a nation united in awe to watch the magician weave his tricks. It was more than just Cricket for everyone when he batted. It didn't matter where you were from, what your religion was, what you did, rich or poor, old or young, you just  had to love Sachin.

I remember. It was 1998.India visited Sharjah for the Coca Cola cup. Two magnificent Tendulkar innings to single handedly win India the cup was enough to see off the Aussies. It was as if he out there to teach the world how to play cricket. He just blasted the Aussie bowlers all round the park. This series was probably the reason I started loving cricket. I am among the million kids who tried imitating him when walking on the street, who drank Boost just because it was the secret to Sachin's energy.

Then there was the Commonwealth Bank series in 2007-08 down under. Sachin was up to it again. You would think that Sharjah innings was enough to make him an all time great against the Aussies. But not for Sachin, as he added more feathers to his cap. The four that he hit against Brett Lee straight down the ground in the second final is still imprinted in my mind. The only thing that eluded Tendulkar was also conquered as he won the World Cup in 2011 at his home ground to add the cherry on top of the cake. He had practically achieved everything and sometimes he would make you wonder how much more a cricketer can achieve.

Now as you decide to quit the one-day format with just one short of fifty tons, I wish you could have played a few more years. But you probably know what's best. We will miss you Tendulkar. We will miss your humility, your sublime shots, your off breaks, the awkward adjustment of your pants when you walked in to bat. I am lucky to have grown up seeing you play cricket. I will look forward to every Test match that India plays now. Adieu little master.

Winter has Come !

So after a long time, 111 days precisely, I am back with a post. To all the Game of Thrones fans, sorry to disappoint but this post is not about it as the title might suggest. Neither is it about the approaching Christmas winter. Rather it is about the gruesome Delhi incident that I am sure everyone is aware of.

I am extremely shocked and saddened by the gravity of this incident. Just thinking and writing about it sends a chill down my spine. I am not sure what is worse, this incident or the fact that our lives will return to its normal self after a few days until another similar incident. A few days back all of us shed tears for the Guwahati incident and what happened? Those heinous bastards are yet to be sentenced and are roaming free on our streets. What exactly will stop them from doing it again? A lot of rallies will be organized and slogans shouted, but is the government listening? I think its high time that our judiciary system shows some balls. It is ridiculous enough that it took us four years to hang a terrorist and celebrate the so called justice, but whats worse is that an act of rape or molestation results in just one year imprisonment. Come on! The US didn't bring Osama back to their home, feed him and give him a life of luxury until his existence sucked the souls out of their citizens. They just sent a bullet through him without thinking for a split second. That is one of the reasons why it is the most feared country in the world.

The fearlessness with which the Delhi incident took place goes to show how ridiculous the state of safety especially for women in our country is. There was a debate in the Lok Sabha on whether an act of rape should result in death penalty, but that died down as fast as a flash. Why is our government scared to take actions? Why can't they step up, take some extreme steps and send out a message that we are not ready for such outrage. What are they waiting for? A few more women to get raped, a few more bomb blasts to kill us, or is it for Batman??

I would like to share a poem by Farhan Akhtar that he wrote after this incident and I could not agree more with him.

What is this country that I live in?
With no equality
And the quality of life
Differs from husband to wife
Boy to girl, brother to sister
Hey Mister, are you the same?
Contributing to the national shame
Replacing your mothers
With the bent ideology of another's
perception that women have a particular role in society
Fills my heart with anxiety
Where is all of this going?
What will emerge from these seeds that we're sowing?
It makes my head spin
But I'm not giving in
Will keep asking the question 
What is this country that I live in?

What is this country that I live in?
That takes away her right to love
Brutalises her with an iron glove
Rapes her without fear
of there being justice for her tear
We've demeaned our goddesses
Gone back on all our promises
Become a gender distorted nation
Given our conscience a permanent vacation
what do I tell my daughter?
That she's growing up to be lamb for the slaughter
we've got to make a change
Reboot, reformat, rearrange,
and never give in
no matter how much our head may spin
Just keep asking the question
What is this country that I live in? 

I know that this post is not going change anything, but it is with the hope that one day I will get to see an India which is ready to stand up to its citizens and protect them that I am writing it. That one day where there will be equality in our country. That one day where we can roam our streets not with fear, but with conviction and belief in our governance. But as of today, there is nothing but shame that beholds us.

From a sad Indian. Comments welcome.

Mera Bharat Mahaan??

Gre,Toefl,Cat,Gmat,Placements..Now these are some of the things that are commonly heard in hostel these days.Everyone seems to be looking at their life ahead of IITH,ready to pounce out of this jungle,free into the outer world.Now I say 'outer world' maybe because we are so far isolated from civilization(trust me we are!!).But it may also be because somehow IITH seems like one closely knit family.Most of us including myself are ready to leave the country for higher studies.

Anyways getting back to the topic,very often me and my friends talk about how India sucks(pardon the usage,but it is the truth!) when compared to most of the world.We stand 95th on the corruption list,have a third of the world's poor and the scam count only seems to be increasing everyday with the coal scam being the latest.Yet after all this we claim that India is the greatest country in the world because of our so called ''CULTURE''.I don't see how our culture is making our lives better.Don't mistake me to be pessimistic.I am just laying out the facts.I know you people might have read about all this but I am still writing it because I find something disturbing.

It is us who keeps complaining about corruption and still it is the same us who don't even hesitate to bribe the traffic police.The mood of the country seems to be complacent.There seems to be a Chalta Hai attitude among everyone.People are almost convinced that Indian future isn't very bright and this is true even among some of my friends who by the way are some of the smartest minds in the country.But this is not true.Gujarat under the leadership of Modi seems to be a perfect example for this.In a span of few years Modi has managed to change the face of Gujarat.I am a great fan of him and I still believe that if we do things right,Kalam's vision of India 2020 may as well come true.

So why am I telling you all this?You probably already know all this! I think there needs to be a drastic change in attitude of Indians,especially the youth if India is to come anywhere close to China.India has the largest youth population in the world and this can only be a boon to us.They need to believe that we are the ones that can bring about this change.Most of us seem to under estimate what we can do for our country.On a small scale our contribution may seem irrelevant but if Mother Theresa had thought like us,things wouldn't have been same for all those lives she saved.I am not saying that each one of us has the capacity to single handedly change the fate of India.All I am saying is if each of us does our bit,India definitely has a better future.It is like Kennedy said,''Ask not what your country can do for you -ask what you can do for your country''.

I don't know what I might do for my country but I am willing to say that I am ready to do my bit.Are you??

Comments and suggestions welcome..:)

The last crusade at IITH!!

So I am back in IITH after a pretty good summer break and the first thing that dawns to me is the fact that this is going to be my last year in this place.Well I'll save my tears and bore you guys some other time.Anyways I see so many changes,some good,some bad and some I really don't care about.The absence of the seniors is possibly the most noticeable thing around.I always knew it was going to be weird without them but now that its here,it certainly is.And how can I not mention the horrible new Mess with its lame so called 'Grand opening'.I am not kidding when I say that even a dog was invited to the opening of the mess.I am pretty sure the new Gymkhana has worked hard to get everything in place,but they sure haven't done a good job regarding the mess.Even after spamming the students with a string of mails,they somehow managed to narrow down on the worst caterer.Guess its just one more thing to put up with.

As much as I was looking forward to an easy going semester,all my hopes were dashed when I found out that I had to take 32 credits making it one of the toughest semesters so far.Thanks to Elec profs its only going to get more hellish.MS applications and placements are only among few of the many things that seem to be bothering me now.Still when there seems to be no light at the end of the tunnel,I am forced to take solemnity in the fact that this is the place that has given me 3 awesome years until now and convince myself that its going to be pretty much similar again.Well in any case all I am looking forward to is one hell of a semester(ironically!!) and saving my ass from the angels of death(you guessed it right!! our elec profs).

So I am embracing myself for one last encore at IITH only as I realize that these days ain't coming back!!

IIT's serving their purpose??

I recently came across an interesting article about Engineering in India and the IITs.The IIT's are premiere institutes for higher education started as a brainchild of the  Nalini Ranjan Sircar Committee. They are the pride of India when it comes to Engineering producing some of the finest Engineers over more than 50 years.


However there have been a lot of debates lately over the standard of the engineers graduating from the  IIT's.Who is to to be blamed for this?The faculty? Or is it the students?I think it is the education system in India as a whole that deserves the credit.After secondary school education,most of the students end up staring at either medicine or engineering as their future prospects.Even students who want to pursue an MBA get into the frenzy of the IIT coaching institutes just for the brand value.So the IIT's end up getting intelligent students but not necessarily ones  interested in Engineering. One should then not be surprised to see the quality of engineers dropping.How many of the engineers actually end up taking a job in their core field?Most of the highest packages from the IIT's are that of the banking sectors and this is too 


The IIT's are being looked at as an option for a safe future rather than institutes for research studies.Parents often force their children into the coaching centers.'Work hard for two years and your future is safe' seems to be their mantra.Even the teachers get frustrated as they are left with the task of teaching engineering to people most of whom are just not interested !!


 A higher awareness at the school level  about various career options available is the need of the hour.Students need to be more aware of the different options they have so that they can choose the field they are going to spend the rest of their lives in without just blindly following the crowd.This responsibility should be taken up by the schools.


Just a thought!