THiNK - the idea

A Brief History of Change



BC 65 million: An Asteroid Strikes; Wipes out Dinosaur Population, the course of evolution of Life on the Planet Changes
BC 10 million: An ape takes a small step upright; humanity takes a leap forward, the saga of anthropology Changes
BC 3200: An Egyptian develops hieroglyphic writing, the process of communication and knowledge aggregation Changes
BC 509: Roman Republic is founded, political and social setup of human civilizations Changes
AD 1: The Christ is born; A Mel Gibson gets the subject for his passion; Eras of Beliefs and Calendars Change
AD 820: An Al-Khwaizini invents Algebra; Comfort levels of Generations of High School Students to come Change
AD 1492: A Columbus discovers America, the destination of freedom and prosperity seekers for generations to come Changes
AD 1776: A James Watt invents steam engine, an Industrial Revolution Changes the scale of Human Enterprise
AD 1879: An Edison invents Incandescent Bulb Power Equation of Day & Night Changes
AD 1969: A Concorde is airborne; the relative Speed of Transatlantic sound waves Changes
AD 1991: A Manmohan Singh assumes office; a nation’s economic orientations Change
AD 2000: A Y2K bug mania bites computer Systems, the face of Indian IT Industry Changes
AD 2007: A magazine by the name of THiNK is published in BIT Mesra.


Crash! Boom! What the Hell!


Wait a second! I thought we were talking about change here?!
Yeah!

Change.

That's what THiNK is all about.
About stepping out of the cast mould. Away from the mindless rush of life to ascertain one's identity. No, THiNK is not a movement. It's just a thought. Exhorting you to THiNK.

To stay hungry. To stay foolish.

In these two lines lies the paradox of this idea.
Stay Hungry.
For more knowledge. For more of everything in life.
Stay Foolish.
Not dumb. Not arrogant. Humble. plain ol' simble you.

Like all good things under the sun, this idea was born during a time when ideally the idle mind where it sprung to life should have been doing something else. Like studying Electromagnetic Theory. or Linear Control Theory for that matter. But it was elsewhere. Musing to itself, to try and do something different. Something off the beaten path. I think the original idea came to me sometime around idle week following the mid-term papers, when we were preparing to return home and stuff our faces with good food. It went something like this:

Left> so what are we gonna do this semester?
Right> something different?

{ Note to reader:
Left and Right (L & R henceforth) can be freely interpreted as per the limits of your imagination. They are however to be both treated as mutually exclusive integral parts of the author. Suggestions include parts of:
a> the brain
b> vacuum occupying the place of the AWOL brain
c> alter egos - without the obvious political leanings of course
d-z> your imagination?
}

L> let's continue blogging.
R> Na, that was last year's idea. Something else.
L> like what?
R> how about actually writing?
L> you mean like a novel? That will take umpteenillion millennia to finish, and longer to spell-check, proof read, plus it will never be published.
R> hmmm. Point.
L> so what to we do?
R> you temme.
L> ahem. I know this may sound lame, but how about resurrecting Zog's idea?
R> which one? Starting a movie library?
L> No dude. The other one.
R> Ok. You mean setting up a propah coffee shop-cum-eating joint near the library wi-fi hotspot, right?
L> seriously! I am surprised I happen to be connected to you. I am talking about Buzz-In-Town.
R> What! Not that Gossip rag! Isn’t that the reason she buried it in the first place?
L> exactly. Let's come out with something more like, you know, my style...
R> you mean a half-baked re-incarnation of Douglas Adam's writing that no one this side of the galaxy can interpret?
L> uh.........
R> loaded with brain teasers, quizzes, useless trivia, comic strips, smart alec comments on everything under the sun and over it, et al?
L> uh.........
R> that is sure to ruffle some feathers and other appendages of most people that hear about it? That will be another time sink for you?
L> uh.........
R> Well, You are absolutely right. Sounds exactly up your alley. Let's do it. But how are you gonna mange it?
L> uh........., what?!
R> I said, how are you gonna manage it? What form will it be? What will it be called? Who’s gonna do the designing? Who will contribute to it?
L> I think I need to sit down.
R> what you need is another shot of caffeine.
L> yes that will do just fine.

Post Caffeine Ingestion

L> hmm. Name... the obvious moniker will have to serve as a placeholder till I THiNK of something better.
R> and what’s the obvious moniker called in these parts?
L> think.
R> I am.
L> no, THiNK.
R> Huh, why can’t you just say it?
L> i already told ya. T H i N K.
R> oh. Right then. What about the....
L> you know what your problem is? You never...
R> Eh? Which one?
L> What?! Now how am i supposed to know which one?
R> you should. You are the one that brought it up in the first place.
L> ya right. So why don’t you just make a proper numbered list of all of them and we could check later which one it is that we were discussing, or add it to the list if it isn’t already there.
R> ok.
L> as i was saying, your problem is...
R> but what am I gonna call it?
L> call what?
R> the list of course.
L> how about things that aren't right?
R> but that describes you doesn’t it?
L> yes, but not exclusively. Or completely.
R> ok. "Things that aren't right" it is. You were saying...
L> saying what?
R> that my problem number is...
(whispering- x being a placeholder for its number on the list you see).
L> ah yes. Since you ask, just not these down. Firstly …
R> you are dictating a list.
L> that’s right, and you are to be taking it down without interrupting me, get it?
R> ok. Go ahead, make my day
L> ya rite. Ok, where was i?
R> 3rd rock from the sun
L> i mean where as in...
R> Sector ZZ9 Plural Z Alpha
L> Jesus Christ Bananas!
R> Alright, alright. Firstly?
L> God! Yes. Firstly, you never stop
Secondly, you make hyperspace jumps at every pause for breath on part of the other person communicating with you, or trying to
Thirdly, you leave all others confused, dazed and tired from jetlag / spacelag / whateverlag, trying to keep up with you
Fourthly ... what are you doing?
R> … … …
L> hello? I’m talking to you.
R> … … …
L> will you bloody answer me?
R> No.
L? No?
R> N. O.
L> why?
R> I’m trying not to interrupt your stream of thought, seeing how hard it is for you to get into it in the first place.
L> ok. I give up. What do you say we do?
R> are you sure you can handle it?
L> ya
R> absolutely?
L> yup
R> positively?
L> yes
R> lock kiya jaaye?
L> Y.E.S. Is that clear, or you want it in writing on stamp paper, signed in triplicate, attested in duplicate and sealed by legal counsel?
R> Nah. that will do.
L> so...
R> so what?
L> WHAT DO WE DO?
R> oh that? Yes yes.
L> well?
R> ya. catch some carbon based life form, show it how hard it is living the way we do, with this endless stream of ideas and thoughts, focus on the one's about fun, food, enjoyment, college and print THiNK diagonally in bold across it.
L> and?
R> that should be enough to put things into perspective. Meanwhile we can think of more things to shock the living daylights of the poor thing. What say you?
L> Seems like a plan.

Ok.
(deep breath)

So that is something of what went on in the devil's workshop before i manage to dupe Mr. insaneunknown into listening to my latest brainstorm
(believe me; you have no idea why it is called a Brain-STORM!). He further suggested SS (Not the Schutz Staffel, in case you were wondering) & logistics undefined. I decided to call everyone to a war conference at the canteen, threw in the zog as part of a forgotten package deal and Voila! We had the editorial team of THiNK ready. That left the creative group/team/person issue dangling. At which point the lioness was lured in, putting my fears to rest (in pieces…) with sharp measured ninja chops of creativity. Whatever that means. So the next day at the canteen, i managed to dole out the stuff swimming in my mental cavity, between bites and sips of a free treat from idontknowwho. Well, that's that, and this is THiNK now.

What originated as a bored gestation of thought seems to have picked up some wind, even if it should only be from half a dozen individuals, at least it's there.

So come the Ides of March in the year of our lord 2007, THiNK shall be distributed as a PDF on orkut, Gmail and bit-mesra.ac.in (God & Pant Sir be willing).

Dear weary reader, if you have managed to reach here unscathed, drop me a line and I promise to treat you to a coffee at the canteen and a copy of THiNK.
Alternatively, you can also take your revenge by sending in your contribution to bit.think@gmail.com


Auf Wiedersehen
(Google it out if you don’t know German! that's what I did.)

And meanwhile,


THiNK
stay hungry, stay foolish.

IEE : The Initial Years

The IEE club in college was one of the first that impressed me during my first semester. Briefing time is one of the few times when seniors persuade you to do something when you are still officially a bakra. All briefing were a pack of lies, except that I somehow managed to join this club.

No activity in the first year. Not heard of the office bearers till until the end of the second semester. Come suddenly a notice asking all members until third year to pay a cool 100 bucks. For what? Farewell to the outgoing members of the club. What? Are you kidding me? These politician style (well, in Jharkhand and Bihar thats quite popular and more often than not the normal way to get things done) club leaders did not care to show their shameless faces even once, and look at their audacity, they want a farewell. No money paid. Not 'invited' to the 'party'.

Second year saw some activities in the club which could very easily be passed off as a roadshow. Came in touch with some seniors; most prominently Mr. AJ and Mr. AM . AJ had the habit of stoking anyone's dislike towards AM. AM somehow did not quiet get along pretty well with me too (although I appreciate a lot of his qualities including the subtle way in which he neglects people, including me), and I found myself working only with AJ. I decided to pay for a farewell for the outgoing '99 batch seniors. It was a sham. AJ was made the president of the club, AM got the prized IEEE club.

With AJ as president, I should have expected some freaking activities within the club. I somehow did not want to have majority of his shit, AB (the next presi) was pretty good at that and I was more than happy for him to be that way. One major disaster was the Haldia trip that was organized. RK, AB and myself were the only 2k1 batch guys in that. Rest AJ and another 2k guy (imagine no final year guy came!!!), and a bunch of ignorant juniors. We traveled to Kharagpur and got off in the cold at 4 am in the morning there. Now? AJ announced, " So we shall all use the waiting room toilet". That sentence marked the beginning of the ordeal.

To the unknown, as such railways toilets suck. More so at a non-discreet place like Kharagpur ( the place of India's no.1 technical college) in a poor state like Bengal. I could barely manage my ablutions in those conditions and decided against and bath. Tea at a nearby stall came in handy. We got onto a local train at 6am to a small town called Mecheda. This is somewhere deep in Bengal in Midnapore district, apparently close to the Bangladesh border. The countryside is amazingly beautiful ( I am not amazed by the Britisher' s description of Bengal) but after years of neglect the poverty was stark. We reached Mecheda with our luggage. Where to go? " Ujjwal and AB search for some guest house". Hail Hitler. We managed a small ram-shackled guest house. I suggested we have breakfast at a dhaba. People had it. I did not even try it. AB still swears at me for that meal.
Ok. Now how do we get to Haldia. I should have guessed with AJ at the helm of affairs. Local bus. I could not believe my luck. I traveled with fish sellers and WT (without ticket) Bengalis in the local train. More was in store. We settled at the back of the bus. 18 of us. The juniors were already looking at us in despair. I felt helpless but joked around with them, AJ being the puppet of amusement.

By the time we reached Haldia ( around 120 minutes for 35 or so km), I was nauseated by the smell of humans. Got down and a whiff of fresh air. Now? What to do? Where is the petrochemical plant? Ask the locals. Ok. Now this was the best. I hung onto one of the trekkers which run with at least 5 times their capacity . I was desperately clinching onto the small iron rod at the back end of the trekker. There was some semblance of roads within the potholes, few and rare.
Reach Haldia plant. Grand. Thats the word. We were not allowed to enter as apparently AJ did not confirm the trip with the lady concerned and she had apparently gone off to Calcutta for some official work. Superb. I thought now I had an excuse to beat this guy up. After 90 minutes at the gate in the heat, it was already 2 pm. AJ begged like anything to the authorities fearing a bash up. The authorities relented after they saw our hopeless faces; hungry, thirsty, tired and with luggage. They took us on a bus ride around the campus, gave us a 15 minute hushed up information presentation and served us tea and Marie biscuits. Heavens!! That was one of the meals I thanked God for. Tea was like amrit at that time.

We walked back 2 kms to the highway. Juniors were pretty angry. Completed the 2 hour journey to Mecheda standing in a local bus. I told AB that I wanted my money back and that AJ should not make profit out of this. I got down at Mecheda. Bought tickets to Calcutta for the 18 of us on a local train again.
As I saw Howrah bridge, I thought it was over. I walked across from the station, crossed the bridge on foot with luggage due to traffic. Finally we caught a bus from Bara Bazaar. 2 kms.
When we reached back to BIT after the Pujas, there was a rebellion within IEE. RK and I had messed up our chances for some decent position within the club. I did not go for any activity of the club in Bitotsav, mainly because I participated in it as one of the BABAz.

Finally, the day came. AJ was to go. He was to announce AB as the next president; fair enough. I relented to be present at such a ceremony at first, but then went along anyways. I was to be made some secretary. I kicked AJ that day and on the day of the farewell. It was pretty satisfying.
When AB and I walked out of the gathering at the end of the ceremony as the Chairman and the Vice Chairman, we kept quiet. The shuffle in posts and fortunes and the embedded trust within the silence of our walk changed the face of IEE in the coming year. IEE was never the same again from that day.
********************************************************************************

ps: This article is old was written just between the period I graduated from BIT and was about to leave for higher studies. The club has been renamed as IET now. Names have been abbreviated to preserve confidentiality of the people involved.

NJoy RASHly………..

Legend has it that once upon a time there lived a master craftsman who crafted out a Gurukul for young boys and girls out of 780 acres of dense forest. Unfortunately, he had to leave before his dream was completely realized. Hence, to assist his successors he left behind a board saying “site for swimming pool”. But his successors were oppressive, orthodox demons who chose to ignore it and spread their reign of terror over the Gurukul.
The sands of time dimmed the “writing on the board”. Occasionally some students would notice it and sigh! However one day in a train chugging away from the Gurukul to Bong-land two ladies, who happened to be under instruction there, brought up the topic. One was drunk in the anticipation of getting drunk and the other was perennially drunk. But it was in this moment of disillusionment that they saw clear light. “We must complete the task and relieve our brethren of the bane of boredom and joblessness”……..hence NJoy RASHly was born……
NJoy RASHly is an underground club in the Gurukul. The sign said “site for swimming pool” but Robert Langdon taught us to dig deep (and we did…..literally!!!). It is built in five levels. The first is a bookstore called ‘Biblioklept’. You can find everything here….from second hand text books (no need to say Jai Bajrangi one week before the exams now) to Penthouse. But this is only for deception lest some unsuspecting professor or student stumbles upon it.
The second level is a lodge. This has been built keeping in mind the needs of the fairer sex who have been meted out a not- so-fair deal we all call “in-time”. This provides them shelter so that they too can NJoy the nightlife the club has to offer.
The third level is for the boys to park/hide their beloved possessions i.e bikes. This is the level that is connected by underground tunnels to all the hostels, for easy to and fro movement.
ENTER—level 4----our best offering….the bar, restaurant and disc all rolled in one….where you can NJoy RASHly. Food, drink and ‘accompaniments’ from far and wide…..such that you will never feel like going back……
Level 5 is a tribute to the master who showed the way….it houses an underground swimming pool connected to Subarnarekha…..just in case you want to get a breath of fresh air.


I have told you the tale and showed you the dream…but I can do only so much. You must look for hints hidden near the ‘board’.You must find the path yourself……. only then will the wine on the fourth level taste sweet.

Blogging in the finite universe

Wacky. Weird. Cool. Smart.
All these and many more words pop in and out of your head. Actually, they just flutter through it. This happens when you happen to think of the person I am talking about here. All this and much more is subject to you having actually having crossed paths with the very person in question.

A seemingly simple gentleman. Goes by the name of Ravi Handa. I know him from a few quizzes I met him at. In Calcutta (Yes, I still spell it the old way!), and my college.

Seemed to be a guy who was a veritable source of gyaan on movies, books, music and other forms of intellectual activity that piques the curiosity on engineers-to-be in colleges when they are not busy mugging up for their exams the next day. I’ll skip going into the finer details of what really interests this unique species- engineers-to-be-during-exam-prep-leave. (I speak only for the males, since females are, well exactly that.)
Coming back to the thing I shot off at a tangent from, this frood, is like a real cheer-upper for lost causes. Let’s just examine his case.

Guy Studies (Assumption).
Gives IIT-JEE (Fact).
Lands a seat in IIT-KGP(Kharagpur, the oldest one) (Fact)
Gets a dual-degree course in Computer Science (Assumption)
Spends 5 years on the way to the graduation ceremony.
Decides against treading the beaten path
Takes an extra year at it.
Gets a job offer from some SW company
Gives a few choice Entrance tests for business schools, in hope of pursuing an MBA
Misses the IIM’s, get’s XLRI
Decides to take a sabbatical from whatever he was doing
Tells SW company & XLRI where they can take their respective offers
Joins IMS to teach Gyaan to mortals (spelt CAT aspirants)
Gives the CAT again, since this was actually why he took this path
Now, with CAT over & major load dispelled, goes back to musings on Life, The Universe and Everything.
Calls me up n has a nice chat about the weather on his planet
Discusses his plans of contemplating about not accepting the likely IIM offer that maybe headed his way soon
Causes me to ruminate on all this for the next 3.326 minutes and end up writing this piece

There was a point to this story, but it has temporarily escaped the chronicler's mind.

Never you mind. What just suggested itself to me a few hours ago, was that the fact the people read your blog, and make you think that Hey, someone is finally hearing my point-of-view. And that is exactly causes you poor ‘lil point-of-view to keel over and die a silent, painful, excruciatingly slow death. Sorry for that. The writer ends up feeling, hmmm, what will XYZ think of this when they read it? And so starts the infinite self-destructive loop that trims away whatever worthless thoughts you had starting expressing in the first place. I mean, really, c’mon, what the hell? When you start and no-one visits your blog, you mope that you ain’t getting any hits on the site. And when the stat counter starts chasing it’s tail, ever so slowly, though it might be, you end up moping about the repercussions of your mopings on the net.

Like in case of the frood mentioned above, he simply stopped blogging since most of his students read it and tell him about it too. So, it’s a constant nag, like, what might this be understood as, so on and so forth… the very reason blogging is so much fun is killed if your real-life self becomes responsible for the meanderings of your web-presence.
My way out of this mess is a quote from Ford Prefect, a cool frood from The Hitch-Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (which makes a whole lot more sense than logic mostly).
It mostly says it all.

"My doctor says that I have a malformed public-duty gland and a natural deficiency in moral fibre," he muttered to himself, "and that I am therefore excused from saving Universes."

Time for me to get back to being actively irresponsible and shut my brain off, so as to study for my papers tomorrow.meanwhile, i give you my mantra on how to tackle the papers and other tasks you face in life with no clue as to how to go about them :

Don't Panic

One Year

Here's to an year of blogging.

Of listening to The Pink Floyd Sound, The Who & The Doors, day-in and day-out, minus the Mary Janes, and wondering about life the universe and everything.

Of learning more about the inner workings of my brain. and realising how utterly pointless the task is. Of enjoying every moment life throws at me. no matter what shade of grey it might be.
I had thought of doing something to mark this anniversary that is typical nikhil kumar verma. different. So, here i am typing from a moving car , actually a trekker, on my way to a splendid buffet breakfast that awaits me at Capitol Hill, one of the better places in the town to eat and make merry. and to consider that in 4 days my end term papers start. and i have to start preparing for those papers.

However, this time around, i know something. that it's gonna work out just fine. some how. i am clueless as to the exact path that i am gona take to leave this place, my alma mater, that has taught me so much. to live. to love. to fail. to getup and face the new day. not from a hope of seeing the greener grass on the other side. no. just cause it's worth it.

When i initially started bloggin, it was more of a fad than a passion. people i knew and respected blogged to express themselves. So i tried too. to see what my POV looks like once its outta my head and in front of my eyes.

Honestly, it was pathetic. I sucked at expressing myself. but, hey i was enjoying myself, and that was what all this was about. my niche. where it was my word against the world's. and my rules. na, not really, it was more of a deluded rambling. a outpouring of random flashes from my brain. reducing the digital divide between me and the rest of humanity. but seriously, who gives a fig about that.

I dont count my self as one of the bloggers i would read. really. i have come across blogs and people who really have the gift of communicating. of letting ideas and opinions flow through words. it really is a beautiful feeling. to learn something about the world from a totally different perspective. The world as i know it. from behind a stranger's eyes. Living someone's else life through their words even though you know nothing about the person. but hey, isnt that what the information age is supposed to be? bring the world and it's people closer. Freeing your mind.
what started as a half witted idea of two morons ruminating over fingerchips and a glass of special coffee on a cold november night an year ago has evolved into something much bigger than just a bulletin board for thoughts and views on life in BIT..

I cant say what it will become or how long it will be around, but here's to BITRIP, an year old and still kicking.
Cheers.

About Time

Well
just heard this from some junior.
BIT is finally showing the answer sheets of the mid-term papers to the students.
Not something to be glad of for all of us, but a giant step forward from wondering about the laws governing mark distribution in the papers.

now this has only been done for 2k6, so atleast the rest of still live in doubt / hope / mystery.
Along with the new colour laminated ID cards they have been issued, the new syllabus structure
( 5 marks for attendance and 10 for project , out of the total 100), there are definitely a lot of positive changes coming around at BIT Mesra.
Let's just hope we get LAN and internet access from the comfort of our rooms in the next semester too.

gotta go study now.
ciao

Mess Food Survival

Are you an incurable epicure stuck in BIT? Did you know that the gooey mess food does to your elementary canal what a fag does to your lungs?? How often can you eat in the canteen, you rich brat??? How long does the home achaar and tit-bits last ???Its time to take control

Here is a quickie you can make and survive the BIT food

LEMON-CHILI PICKLE

> Steal good quantities of lemon, chilies, salt, red chili powder and some black pepper if you can manage it.
> Take the old achaar jar that your mom had given you (clean it if you have the enthu) and put in the lemon pieces wrapped in salt, green chili pieces, red chili powder and pepper.
>Keep this in the sun for at least five days.

Note- don’t be judicious with the quantity of ingredients…its all from your mess bill.

Now this is not particularly tasty but what it does is numbs your mouth so you don’t actually mind the food that much.It’s worth a try…for free sample all you need to do is ask me.

:-)

SUJI.......the fish

Its gender is not externally perceptible so I cannot say if mademoiselle is a mademoiselle or if monsieur is a monsieur so lets just be politically incorrect and call it ‘it’.
It happens to be a new fish I kept…..and it is fondly called Suji because it only eats suji. With a more generous provider it could have had colourful fish food and have an even sillier name.
Suji moved into my room two weeks back and now lives in its goldfish bowl. No, Suji is not a goldfish but hails from the Subarnrekha. It is not a NRI but a localite.
One day a bong friend of mine came in an observed it for a long time and then said thoughtfully, “You know, this fish would be perfect for fillets”. These bongs are crazy…. crazy about fish.
Initially Suji hated me and I considered a forced responsibility but now our attitudes have softened up a bit. Suji swims happily in the bowl and I put in my hand and play with it sometimes (thankfully its not a Piranha).
So go ahead keep a pet…..be it a rabbit you steal from the Pharmacy dept. or a dog you pick up from the road…….it’s an experience worth having…….

THiNK folks, THiNK!

THiNK ,
for your thoughts are integral to your life
THiNK,
to splash your ideas , in the pool you dive
THiNK,
coz after you are gone only your thoughts survive
THiNK,
coz for every beginning, there's an end to arrive !!

THiNK,
to break free from the monotone of every seconds blink,
THiNK,
do not let the ship of your convictions sink,
THiNK,
to unleash the colors of life , from blue to pink,
THiNK,
only what you believe in, not what others about you THiNK!

THiNK,
coz you hold the bridle to making others THiNK,
THiNK,
to resurrect those who've forgotten how to THiNK,
THiNK,
coz to make a chain, we need every link
THiNK,
be a sport, pick up your pens and drop in something , definitely in ink!

THiNK folks, THiNK!

T H i N K - The Orkut Post

Hello People.
Im Nikhil, currently at BIT Mesra,
and I'm launching a magazine called T H i N K (an e-mag).
I am asking for contributions from all, students and alumni alike, and request you to send in all sorts of contributions as articles,stories,humour, POV's (Point's Of View), etc...

More news can be obtained on this project from my blog on the college :
BIT Mesra - Rest In Pieces ( http://bitrip.blogspot.com )

Awaiting your response.

Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.
--
Nikhil Kumar Verma
       T H i N K
Cogito Ergo Sum

Canteen Rush

well what do you know? for the first time since the 2k batch passed
out of the college, the canteen is packed. to the limit.. and with a
Crowd. wow. ok, so i am completely jobless, being in ECE and still
hanging around in the canteen for four hours now. but seriously, for
the first time in the last three years, it feels like a college
canteen during college hours.really weird. had almost given up on this
place. maybe there still is some hope. Ciao. food is here.

--
Nikhil Kumar Verma
T H i N K
Cogito Ergo Sum

Holiday post +

Disclaimer- The reader of this blog is advised not to hold the authors
responsible for absolutely any event that may arise as a result of
having read this blog and getting inspired from it. Sure you are
welcome to do so, but we ain't responsible. You are. And this has
nothing to do with the frustration of being limited to a max input of
838 chars per post by this imbecile mobile.Nevermind.
That is the reason this post is a continuation of the prev one. So,
what else does one write about while trapped in a clinic to have your
eyes checked when you are sure there is nothing wrong with them? I
have finished memorizing all the charts on the walls and have on
interest in the refractive index of the aqueous humour. Hmmm... Now
what? Let's see. The topic i was last scrapped about. What else?
books! The strictly non-syllabus kind.

Holiday Post

Ok people. We finally have the Lioness fulfilling her promise of
giving us ignoramuses a glimpse of life after 6 on the far side of the
G.H. gate. As expected, the girls have turned out to be specimens of
our species that remain beyond our wildest comprehension. So, how's it
going? mLin, control the excitement, or else you may forget how to be
ONE with your true spirit. Answering our dear old pal's comment (spelt
U J Z ), yessir, the undergrad studies here suck compared to
Yankeeland, but its the same education that got you there. Well
atleast it's one of all those factors. We got it, Let's get on with
it, ok? One more thing, if you don't like the indentation or the
language here, sorry buddy. Tough luck. There is a disclaimer i wanted
to put up here a long time ago, and this seems as good a time as any
other,

--
Nikhil Kumar Verma
T H i N K
Cogito Ergo Sum

After 6

Should have written this one looong ago…but better late then never….

AFTER 6…….

So you finished with your tata-bye bye at PMC by 1810 and managed to get your ass inside H-9 by 1815 only to get in the loooong line in front of the ‘sign-in’ register. You curse the system as you wait in line surrounded by sweaty and stinky girls….one signature each day to certify your presence in the hostel. Finally you reach the register…….now begins the search for a pen because some girl absent mindedly walked away with the original. You notice something strange on the register….nobody in your lobby has signed….bang it hits you then….its your signing day…you have to sign for the whole lobby. You have to do it in a clandestine fashion because it caught the warden will give you a hard time. Somehow you manage to forge 10 signatures…….its 1630….

With some hope you go to the food counter….only to be rebuffed rudely…..’chai bajey ke baad kuch nahi milega’ says a fat mausi and leaves…..still hunger makes you persistent and you scrape at the leftover samosa and cold chai……

You reach your room…..your roommate is absent but there is music playing…..not only from your room but from the 10 rooms surrounding yours….its a funny headache you get after you listen to a) Zombie b) where is the party tonight c) hanuman chalisa at the same time……..

You go to take a shower…….only to find the drain clogged with long strands of silky black hair. The wash basin is no better……..egg shells left by some lady who washed her hair with it. You really have to appreciate the variety of things girls will put on their faces and hair…..any thing form ripe tomatoes and bananas to sea weed and algae…….yuck!!

The time between 1900 and 210o flies in a daze. It’s finally time for dinner and your friends drag you to the dining hall. Another long line is waiting for you. But once the parathas arrive it’s a scene to behold. Manners, etiquettes and all such inconveniencies are cast aside and girls give way to the animal inside them. They jump, they snatch and they fight…..to get two hot parathas. You join in the fun and throw in a few expletives to make the atmosphere more charged. After few such fights you get your food and as you go to the table to eat hungry eyes of girls till waiting in line follow you…….

Back in your room you realize you forgot to fill water. Damn! No way are you going to the first floor to do it now so you dwell in your need. You spread your sheets and get to work. Why the fuck did I take architecture you wonder…….but other girls have a better life. 90% are out with their cell phones huddled in corners talking on and on and on to god knows who. Others not afflicted by the cell addiction are huddled in groups in one others room talking to each other. I am in awe of the ability of girls to talk about practically nothing for hours…..

from your room you get a view of what others are doing….some are dancing for no good reason….some are having a fashion parade and some are simply laughing their heads……strange….damn strange……

so you see….its a weird world in there. From being deprived of food to being bullied by mausis….I bet you expected me to write about the good things in there….like girls moving about in practically no clothes…..maybe tomorrow when I am not so sleepy I will….

Beware: Trespassers will be recruited!!!

This is an old joke, but is still effective...

And if you feel offended.... it's your problem, mate...

One day, three consultants, one from Wipro, one from Infosys and one from TCS, went out for a walk.They were old buddies from an Engg College, and they were together for a college reunion...
For no apparent reason, they went into this zoo and passed a monkey. Being in the same business and from the same college, there was a little bit of a peer competition going on between them - they couldn't resist testing themselves against each other- especially the Infosys guy.
He said to the others: "Why don't we prove who is the best among ourselves?"
Why not, said the other two.

The Infoscion said "Let's have a test. Whoever makes this monkey laugh,works for the best firm".

By mutual agreement, the Infoscion took the first turn.Being a pure logical strategist, the Infoscion tried to make the monkeylaugh by telling jokes. The monkey stayed still.As a more practical consultant, the Wipro guy tried to make funny gestures... no good, the monkey stayed put...
Now, comes the TCS guy... being the practical guy he was always trained to be, he whispered something into the monkey's ear, and it burst out laughing at him.
The other two were astonished.How did this TCS guy manage to beat them? No way were they going to accept defeat so easily.

So the Wipro guy said "OK, let's take another test. Let's make this monkey cry!!"

So there they went again, applying the same methods as before.The Infosys guy narrated sad stories, the Wipro guy made sad gestures,and they failed again...
Then, the TCS guy whispered something into the monkey's ear and lo! Itstarted crying, patting the TCS er's shoulder!
The other two just could not believe their eyes!

So the Infoscion said "OK, you've won twice. If you can win just thisone, we will bow to you. Let's make this monkey run".

And he barked at the monkey and ordered him to run. Of course, it did not move.
The Wipro guy, true to his type, pushed and prodded the monkey- still no go.
So... here comes TCS guy, again, and whispers into the monkey's ear.
The monkey just takes off!
It runs and runs as fast as it can, as if itwas scared to death!

The other two surrendered. Said: "OK, we give up. You're the best among us, and you work for the Best firm of the three. But please,please tell us your secret," they begged him.
"Well", said the TCS guy,"
The first time I made it laugh, I said I work for TCS.
The next time, I told the monkey how much I get paid...so it started crying.
And then I said that I was here for recruitment!!!"

-one of the countless forwards in my mailbox

Reflections: The Bonafide Certificate

As I felt my wallet getting lighter by almost three grands on that hot April afternoon, I was happy to finally have tickets to and from Delhi. It was third week of April, 2005 and the prep leave was staring down students at BIT, Mesra as the lull before the storm. For students from the 2k1 batch, it would have been the last storm before they get to stand up to the Vice Chancellor, on an elevated stage in a ceremony where the sheer number of people being awarded their degrees wears down those attending the function. Nonetheless, I had to brave another storm, one whose ominous clouds had been gathering on the horizon for quiet some time now in a far off land, Delhi.

In the preparation for my visa interview and the associated sanctioning of the loan by the State Bank of India, Ma had called me that uneventful afternoon wondering if it would be possible for me to come down to Delhi to sign some important papers and be present in person till the burden of the education loan is put on my shoulders for the next few years to come. As I quickly ran through the dates, I realized that I had enough attendance in all subjects to deny BIT the previlige of handing me a F* (which essentially meant repeating the class). Also, since the prep leave was just a couple of days away, it was not a bad idea to dash back home and come back in time for the final tyranny, the end semester exams.

As I walked into the canteen to break the good news to my gang, something struck me. It was almost 3 pm and I had another day to get a bonafide certificate needed for the loan. The certificate essentially stated that I was a student of BIT, Mesra and that I had been staying in hostel # 3 , yada..yada..yada..I almost froze. A cold sweat descended upon me. Anything to do with the administration in BIT was a pain in the @$.

Collecting my notebook from the table top, I bid adieu to my friends, not expecting to see them that evening. Walking in the high rise corridors, it was just another day at Mesra. Students walking out of classes, yearning to run to the canteen or the comfirts of their room. Teachers, dispassionate as ever, coming out with attendance registers in their hands with the borderline F* case students meandering around, pestering them to take a lenient view of the bunked classes. Girls, mostly shy, walked in groups chattering animatedly about how some professor looked at some not-so-worth-looking-girl during the lecture and giggled away. The ones with boyfriends, with an air of dominance around themselves, walked out as though the jailbreak plan was almost final when the siren thwarted their plan for freedom. All in all, nothing too different from a hot, sweaty summer afternoon in Mesra.

"Mji ka office yahi hai kya?", (Is this the office of Mr. M?),I asked the peon sitting outside .

To protect the identity of the concerned person, I would refer to him as 'M'.

Without looking up and paying scanth attention to my querry, he nodded in affirmation. Post 3'o clock in Mesra is time up for most of the administration. The peon was no different.

"Ka chahiye? Saahab beejee hain. Thori der me pata karna". ( What do you want? Sahab is busy, check out in some time).

I did not have the luxury of time on my side. It was thursday afternoon and my train left on Saturday. As I tried peeping through the curtain separating my view from the 'officer' who would issue me my certificate, I decided to let go the issue till Friday morning. After all, realistically speaking, I would not have gotten the certificate that day and my request would have anyways been pushed to the next working day. I walked off the main building cursing SBI for making me travel 1325 kms to Delhi just for a signature.

Friday morning was busy and I checked out Mr. M's office just before the lunch break. As I should have guessed, he was out. Anyways, I took the first step and filled in the application form with all my details which included the reason why I wanted the certificate.

Purpose: Visa Interview.

I walked off believing the certificate would be ready the next time I would walk in. Wrong again. At 1 pm, there was no sign of the elusive Mr. M. Infact, he had not shown up since morning. Bravo. I checked in at 1:30 pm again. No luck. At 2 pm, even the peon was gone. These were ominous signs of lurking trouble. It was Friday afternoon and I was leaving the next morning. At 3 pm, I was somehow sure that Mr. M would be in his office. And Bingo!! There he was. Since there is no reason for the administration to come on time or being receptive to the needs of the students, who end up coughing out a fortune for their salaries, Mr. M was relishing a small cup of tea with some 'guest' of his.

"Sir, I had applied for a bonafide certificate. I was hoping that it..."

"When did you apply?", he almost spat on my face cutting me short.

"This morning."

On hearing that a student expects things to be done within a few hours, as they should be, he almost jumped out of his rickety wooden chair. I had breached the invisible line of implicitly questioning the working of this man.

"What do you think of yourself? You think your work is the most important one in the world? Dont people have other issues to deal with?"

I was speechless. The lashing left me with nothing else to speak but to ask if I could expect it the same day. I explained to him how I had to catch the train the next day and why was it important for me to get the certificate. No use. He asked me to come the next day, raising my expectations with the sentence,"I shall see what I can do".

As I walked off despondently, it was another day lost. End of friday with nothing in hand. Saturday morning was my last bet in getting the certificate else my trip to Delhi would have been of no use. Instead of being filled with desparation, I was somehow determined to "extract" the certificate out of Mr. M.

Saturday morning. At 8:30 am I was standing outside Mr. M's office. My train was scheduled to depart from Ranchi at 2:30 pm and I had to leave Mesra by 1 pm at any cost. Going by Ranchi's traffic and roads, an hour is what it takes to travel 11 miles from Mesra to the station. (Looking back, I ride 11 miles now in not more than 10 minutes. Sighh!!).

M arrived at 10 am. I had already started to hate this name which somehow reminded me of stray dogs pouncing on unattentive passerbys. Hence the prefix 'Mr.' is dropped henceforth. As M took his seat, he was visibly not happy to see me around first thing in his weekend 'morning'.

"What do you want now?", he barked.

Now what does one say to such a question? His tone pretended as though I 'needed' something from him which was not mine in the first case. Not trying to mess up, I clarified.

"Sir, the bonafide certificate."

"Oh yes. Why do you want one now?", the cracking tone growing even more restless.

Without thinking too much into his demeaning behaviour or tone, I went along. I had no choice.

"Sir. I am travelling to Delhi for some paper work needed for my visa. I need the certificate for my visa interview".

"Visa? What Visa? Where to? Where are you going?"

"America".

"Amrikka? Why?"

What why? To design fashion clothes for Paris Hilton. Didn't you know that? I was loosing it with his incessant barrage of apparently senseless questions.

"Sir, I am going there for higher studies. For my masters degree."

"Where are you going? How do I know you are going? Whats the proof that you have a visa interview?"

These are the moments when one feels like kicking the person sitting in front, casually sipping his tea and totally cut off from the need of the time.

"Sir. I have no proof of my visa interview, but I have a letter of acceptance from my university", I retorted back, raising my meak voice for the first time in the exchange.

That did not go down well with M. He shot back, "Get me the proof. Then I shall think about the certificate".

What was he thinking? Was he thinking he could get away with depriving me of my right as a student? Sometimes the best way to cross a river is to flow with it downstream and walk back along the shore. I decided to show him proof. As I ran back to my room to get my hands on a print out from State University of New York ( I was supposed to go there before Carnegie Mellon happened), I was aware of the fact that this might be my last chance at procuring the certificate. Saturday is half day working at Mesra and I had a window of 45 minutes to get through.

"Here it is!!", I spoke as I walked into M's office. He was a little taken aback by my belligerence but decided to look into the A4 paper I handed over to him. Adjusting his huge granny-style rusted spectacles, he read every line carefully. I was confident that there would be no pretext left after this for not handing over 'my' bonafide certificate. As I started imagining driving on the Brooklyn bridge, I was jolted back to reality.

"I dont have time right now. There are many applications which came before yours. The certificate would not be issued today."

"What? What are you talking about? I am supposed to catch a train in sometime", I resisted.

"I am not responsible for your travelling or staying. Go out. Come on Monday".

There is an old adage in Hindi, "Jab ghee seedhi ungli se na nikle to ungli teri karni parti hai"(when its impossible to get work done the right way, hack!)

"Alright sir. I believe you. Just give me what you said in writing. That you shall not issue me a bonafide certificate even after 2 days and for no apparent reason except that your ego is too big. Please give it in writing so that I can ensure, through my means, that I get the certificate today."

Bombed. Numbed. Shocked. Speechless. Disillusioned. Melted. I dont know how to describe M's expression at my statement. He succumbed.

I had my bonafide certificate within the next 15 minutes. After much heckling, I had a piece of paper which would ensure I flew to America at the end of that summer. As the train started from Ranchi station that afternoon, I could almost smell the air in Central Park. At last, I was on my way...


Links to my previous posts:

Reflections: The Campus Placement (1)

Reflections: The Campus Placement (2)

Reflections: The Campus Placement (2)

As promised, the second post did not come up on the 27th. Many reasons for that, but lets get down to finishing the story first.

"May I come in sir?".

One of the persons sitting on the wooden chair looked up and nodded.

"Nice shirt"

I smiled and nodded as a gesture of appreciation.

"Nice tie."

I smiled again. Now was this a trap to get me talking or were they just trying to ease up my nerves? Before I could decide, pat came the next statemet.

"A nice combination, infact!"

"Well, thank you sir, but this is my father's taste."

Looking back now, I'd like to believe that statement was taken as one in which I did not want to take credit for what was not mine. Good for starters.

As for the details of the interview, I'd rather not publish them else some people sitting in TCS might be upset. But I was not asked a single, "not a single" technical question. The remotest relation to anything tech was,"Why is network security important?". I'd like to think that the question was a joke because after three projects in the field, I expected something better. As I walked out after about 20 minutes or so, I was numb. Was it over? But they did not test me. I mean, they simply chatted with me. Good for me because I had not prepared for more than 4 hours in totality for my placements.

That night was fun listening to a lot of other 'interview' experiences. In the mess, on the roof, outside the hostel while walking to the canteen. Animated discussions taking place amongst a bunch of guys passing one, ever shortening ciggarette amongst each other. People were just not getting tired of talking. As it became clear, Shireesh had topped the written test amongst everyone in the country that year. Add to that, he was asked about music in his interview. Looking back, I wish interviews here would be something like them too. But those ones deserve a separate entry..

Next morning I had my HR interview. I was super confident about cracking it. Talking was never an athelete's foot for me and going by how my tech interview went, this one should have been a cakewalk. But as I noted somewhere on my blog, life has the uncanny habit of catching you offguard when you are least expecting it to.

So as I found out, this 'HR' guy asks me my favourite programming language.

"C".

"Fair enough. So whats the difference between a structure and a union".

This is where Mirinda gets it right. Zor ka jhatka dheere se lage. I was not prepared to answer any technical question, be it the easiest one on the planet. Besides, I had never prepared for my placements believing that I would wait for some "better" companies before I warm up. Anyways, now all that did not matter. As I took bouncer after bouncer on my chin, I realized it was time to hook some deliveries out of the ground. The interviewer game me a sample Java code, to which of course, I could not give the correct output. Just before he would say thank you to me and easily strike my name of the list of candidates, he asked a last one.

"You dont know C. Neither can you answer C++ or Java questions. Your grades are fine. What were you doing all this time?"

Now there are some innings when you might be the 11th man coming in to bat. You have not done particularly well in your career as a cricketer and the team needs a sixer off the last ball of the innings to win the World Cup finals. Life always gives you the opportunity to do something about which you talk a lifetime. I took a deep breath and spoke my mind.

"Sir, I had better things to do in the summer than to prepare for my campus interviews, and least for a company like TCS."

Sorry Mr. Pant. I said that. I just did. As I started to reach for my certificate folder to walk out, the half-mouth-opened person sitting infront me spoke with a raised voice, "Like what?"

And as they say, the rest is history. When you are facing the last ball and you know you are good on the leg side, move your legs before the bowler releases the ball. Chances are that me might follow you and then you stand your ground and heave the ball over mid wicket for a winning six. Thats what precisely happened. Though I would not compare winning the world cup to a job in Tea-See-ess, it was definitely a good feeling talking about something I could. I kept on blurting about my networking project, my project in IIT Delhi and DRDO. My guides being the Directors of the institutions themselves. yada..yada..yada..

And so, here I was waiting for the result to be declared at night. I was mostly in hostel 2 with Saurabh Roy and Rajeev Tripathi. Sometime with Birju too. Doesn't matter. Killing time before one gets to hear that you have been hired for almost $5000 as your starting annual salary.

As Mr. Pant walked into the big room opposite his office (I forget the name of it), there was a smile on his face. As he announced that out of the 167 odd people interviewed, 117 had been selected, there was a huge round of applause. Some made it. Some did not. Most of us hugged each other as we heard our names being called out. Rajeev Kunar did not make the mark. As I walked out, Chatto came running in. I congratulated him on getting the job. He ran in to check the name list. As it turned out, he was not hired. Till date, I feel I had heard it correctly, but Chatto took it seriously. He imagined that I deliberately made fun of him. Happens. Things get sorted out with time.

As the ritual of getting kicked began to lighten up the otherwise dead night, it was as if the hostel looby had suddenly became a torture house for punishing the hardened criminals. From kicks, bumps, hugs shifting and to a bleeding Oswal (courtesy Manu Kant), it was a scene to remember. I rarely have seen so many people being soa happy at the same time. Guess it was time to celebrate and harp the fruits of one's labour all those three years.

Amongst the couple of high and low points I recall from our batch were:
1. Gaurav Singh being rejected by TCS and making it to Oracle.
2. Anoop asking people to kick him more when he made it to Infy.
3. Jujhar having to leave the final round of Tata Motors to rush back home (for a medical emergency).
4. Some placement committe people quitting as soon as they got a job.
5. And many innumerable ones which is hard to mention in a single article.

As I walked back: half sore, almost limping back to room 15, it was almost day break. For 116 people from my batch, the job had been finished. I had to get back to my unfinished job...

ps: For many of us, Mr. Pant was a hero. He worked real hard, listened to people and took decent enough decisions to win the admiration of the students. Thank you sir for all that you have done to BIT Mesra. Anyone at your place could and can easily walk off by working a tenth as hard as you do. Good job.

Placements @ BIT, Now

Ok people...
First things first

Here is the scenario as on July 27, 2006
TCS - Written - 250 Shortlisted
Google - 5 Shortlisted
Microsoft - 3 job offers
Tata Motors - 24 Job Offers
Maruti Udyog Limited - 11 Job Offers

Secondly,
Ujjwal, welcome abroad. sorry i had to butt into your memoir series...

As for the rest of the companies, will keep periodically updating the details
If the junta wants the names of those placed, kindly say so
So long
Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish

Reflections: The Campus Placement (1)

Being my first post on this blog, I am glad to welcome myself to the arena. On the onset, this is Ujjwal Moitra from the Computer Science 2001 batch of BIT Mesra and today, the 26th day of July 2006, I begin what should be an interesting rendezvous writing some memoirs and reflecting back on the four years spent in Mesra. My posts would be part of the Reflections series.

July 26, 2004 08:50: As I rubbed my eyes to see the time on the wall clock hanging on the eventful room 15 of Baba hostel ( hostel 3 to the unknown), I realized that the sun was beating down my window and it was time to get to the mess. Although hostel 3 was famous for serving food at insane hours, 9 am was pretty much the time when one should be heading towards the rusted chairs. Gulping down water from big plastic bottle which pretty much everyone carried, I lazed towards Prabir's room for a cigarrete. As luck would have it, it was locked. So was Ankit's, the adjoining room.Crap! Alright, lets get some chai. The chai that was served was no more than a sugar syrup boiled with the cheapest tea leaves available, over and over again. Nonetheless, that was the only option of getting me started for the day.

09:00: As I walked into the mess, it was uncharacteristically empty. I could see just one Baba sitting at one end of the mess, sipping the half cold chai and reading a local Hindi newspaper with such penchant as though New York had been hit again. To the uninitiated, Baba was a common term used to describe students who had failed year after year to obtain a degree. The mess helper looked at me in amazement, as though I was just landing from Mars. As I tried to get my thinking process started about the things to do that day, the helper asked me, " Ka lijiyega? Anda naahi hai aaj. Doodh bhi khatam. Ka layen?" (What shall I get for you? Eggs and milk is finished). Thank you for the good news, now that I have to prepare my taste buds to 'relish' plain bread. As I asked for butter and bread, I walked to sit with the Baba. Some company is better than none.
As the butter was being graciously applied to the bread surface, out came the question " I thought you were eligible to sit in the campus (shorthand for campus placements). Why did you not go for the company then?". What was he talking about? Company? Campus? In my preparation for GRE, I had totally forgotten that today was the day when Tata Consultancy Services, the messiah of the masses, was suppose to come for recruitment. But who cares? I was not interested in the placement process anyways. As I gathered my thoughts, I wondered if it was prudent to miss a pre placement talk (PPT). "What time is it?", I asked the Baba as though I was a war refugee who had to catch the last us to the camp. "Nau baje tha. Chaloo ho gaya hoga" ( It was supposed to begin at 9am). Crap! I gulped down my last couple of sips of the liquid that was served in the name of special chai.

09:50: Walking into the CAT (closed air theatre) was never easy with big events going on. And here I was, jostling with the crowd pouring beyond the main gate, to get in and listen to someone who would try and convince me to join a company which I never would. And as always, when in trouble in BIT, use the age old paua (jack/source). Most of the placement committe members were good friends and it wasn't long before the head of the placement committe, Mr. Pant, was staring down me with disbelief. I was sitting on the second row from the front;unshaven, in shorts and the T shirt I had slept in the previous night and a half torn bathroom slipper gracing my feet. The sea of humanity around me was all prepared: cropped hair, clean shaven, with pens and diaries to take notes (for what?), and mostly in atleast a decent shirt and pant. Without thinking too much about it, I wondered which section of the GRE preparation book I had to finish that day. As I fooled around with friends, the PPT began around 10:00.
Thats the first impression of the company I have, a PPT starting an hour off schedule. Had it been America (well, I speak from my experience with only Carnegie Mellon, but surely it is the same elsewhere in the States), they would have served Pizza and soda, given away some freebies and started a cool state of the art PPT bang on time. I would love to see that day in BIT when students walk out just because the person suppose to present the PPT is not on time.

11:00: As I walked out the totally uninspiring and boring PPT with Siddharth Mukherjee, the only point that had captured my imagination was some collaboration of TCS with Carnegie Mellon University for sending people to complete their masters degree. The rest of the colleges they mentioned were Jadavpur Univ, IISc Bangalore et al. But CMU. My dream college. Walking past the canteen, it was clear that both Siddharth and I decided to atleast give the first round. It was to be held the hi-tech building (having seen what tech really is, I would urge the BIT administration to strip off that name. Have some mercy!). Fine.

13:30: Having been through some easy computer based maths and general analytical tests, I was waiting for the results to be declared. In my quest to be the cool one, I spoke only of GRE and what it takes to get to America. TCS? Hah..
The saying goes by: Beware!! This is TCS. Trespassers will be hired.
Only two people were not selected for the interview round. That was insane. But that was bad news too. If one does not sit for the interviews after clearing them, there might be repurcursions. And in BIT, where decisions are based not on logic or merit but the whims and fancies of a few, it was prudent enough not to give the administration a reason to play with my future.

15:00: After getting off the phone with my dad and explaining to him that I 'have to' sit for the interview, I got down to getting myself presentable. Shaved. Shirt on. Pants looked good. Tie on the neck. Leather shoes. Heat. 400 people in line. Aah. Time to take a break.

16:00 - 19:00: In the time that I spent in the canteen discussing what kind of questions the interviewers might ask, I saw others were remarkably well prepared. Most of the people had parrot-ed (I take the liberty to create a new term here) staple answers to vomit out during the interview. I felt nauseatic. It was unbearable to sit with people trying to make an effort to get into a company like TCS. Just to clarify, I dont mean to demean people who work there or the company in any manner. But the fact that a company can select 100+ people in a day is proof enough that the selection procedure is flawed. I killed time till I felt it would be better to stand infront of the placement office, where the interviews were going on.
When I walked into the corridor, I saw a sea of humanity. Some glad that the ordeal was over and doling out free tips to others. Tips to chickens on how to escape the butcher in case he comes into the room. Tips which are never ever useful. Tips which you dont remember once inside. But people talked to calm down the nerves.

20:00: Just as my patience was wearing thin by not knowing exactly at what time my interview was, I saw the Bengali manager of the TCS team coming out. As I do at many occasions, and sometimes I regret doing it that way, I charged towards him,"Sir. Are you incharge of the team here?". Before he could reply, I went on " Dont you think it is advantageous to you as well of the people standing here, waiting endlessly, to know the sequence number of their interviews. Can we have some semblence of a sytem here?"
People around me froze. I am sure they were at the point to shout,"We dont know this guy". The manager stopped. Couple of placement committe members looked at me in disbelief. There are some points in life when you dont know whether your words were taken in the right spirit or not until the other person speaks.
"Thats a very good point" and he walked off. Within five minutes, the waiting candidates were given approximate timings as to when their interviews shall be held. Good. Mine was in 30 minutes. Finally, the five hour wait was suddenly coming to and end.
" Tu marwaega beta kisi din. Chup nahin reh sakta?" (Cant you shut up ever? You shall get us all into trouble), retorted Geetanjali. She was on the placement committe and hoping to get through TCS. Fair enough. I should shut up now. But my unusual action on that moment was discussed until my batch graduated.

2130: That was the time when my name was called out. As I walked in, I suddenly realized that with my show off confidence and rhetoric, being rejected was not an option. I had to give it my best shot irrespective of what I think about the company. I walked into Mr. Pant's office and stood outside the attached side room for somebody to signal to me.
"May I come in sir?".
As I stood at the threshold of my first ever job interview, I saw two visibly tired and disenchanted personalities sitting in a hot room with an antique fan rotating from the high ceiling.

What happens next? Well, the TCS placement procedure was spread over two days and hence it is historically correct to end the post tomorrow.

Back

am back....BIT looks so beautiful these days.......green and wet.....people running all over for registeration.......wifi signal sucks.........charge runnin out.........

When the clock strikes SIX

Here I am, stuck at home, and have no idea what is going on in BIT…...so here is some stale bread served in a new packet


We all know what happened to Cinderella when the clock struck twelve. At BIT a different version of this fairytale is played everyday………

At PMC…..

Guys are bidding their final farewell for the day. They generally have a very weepy look on their faces and are trying their best to linger for as long as possible. The girl in the meantime is thinking, “My warden is going to kill me, doesn’t this guy know that there IS a tomorrow”. Other people in groups of 4 or 5 are cracking sick jokes on these couples. The H1 PMC lobby is very active at this hour making full use of binoculars and camcorders!!! The guard’s quandary is a spectacle to behold. If he breaks up the couples he gets to face the guy’s scorn. If he does not Thapa might come and fire him. So he just stands there looking even weepier. Some ME girls can be seen running back (the ONLY people who probably do some serious studies).
But all share one sentiment. Curses for a certain individual (ahem….won’t name anybody….let’s just call him Wicked Step Father). But every time I see his constipated face in the insti I know the curses are well at work.

PS: I, for one, would like to see more action at PMC.......the place ought to live up to its name!!!

To know what happens in the girls’ hostel after six….keep reading
GROWL...
LIONESS 3:16

Slam! Bang! Ouch!

How many of you ppl have driven a car? And how many have dashed a two wheeler on the road? And how many fortunate souls found out that the guy in front is a tholu(police wallah)? And how many of you actually said,"Agar tez chalaaye hote, toh gaadi kya, ap bhi nahi bach paate." before finding out his true identity?

Welcome to the club.... Thursday evening ws as eventful as it could ever be...
Having gone to the reservation office for some tickets, I fell short of cash. Had to hurry home, and en-route, on the busiest mile-long stretch in Jampot, I see this stupid OR14D,8933 Hero Honda CD100SS riding smack in the middle of the road, without a care in the world, with a long stretch of empty road in front of him. I honk him thrice, the third one being as long as Beethoven's Ninth Symphony (The actual duration might be conjectural, but remember relativity?) Some time later, the guy pulls to the left, and I move forward... There's a three wheeler, and as all notorious three wheelers, this one is as erratic in speeding up n slowing down as one could be... I ease into third gear, slow down, and the gap between the tempo's rear and my car increases just a bit...
Whoosh... into the gap squeezes this CD100SS fucker...
And God decides it is time to teach me a lesson (for what reason? I now wonder)... the tempo wallah applies brakes suddenly... The CD100SS goes smack into the rear of the tempo n stops...
I too apply the brakes, and CRUNCH!!! The CD100 makes a nice filling between the sandwitch of 3 and 4 wheelers...
The tempo wallah decides that... I dunno.. He speeds away. The angel of a guy that this fuckfaced biker is, gets down hi sbike, makes me pull over, and with a steady stream of God-forsaken language asks me,"Iska paisa kaun bharega?"
God only knows how these hot-blood surges work, and I wish I can control them.. but at that time I cannot. saying,"Paisa se matlab hai na? Toh hum denge. Pehle hisab lagate hain."
And off we march to the nearby Hero Honda Workshop. The damage is not much. The rear mudguard is slightly bnt, and the horn needs re-wiring... How the horn-wires got entangled into this crunch, I cannot figure out... But the figure that is most perplexing is 726INR... the cost for a new rear mud guard. I immediately call up my dad, and wait.
Meanwhile, this guy, the darling that he is, starts threatening me, right in front of the stud-in-one-ear 25 something owner of the workshop... "Bahut josh hai, nahi?"
"Abhi sab hawa nikal denge tumhari"
"Aankh sar pe chadhake rakhe ho"
"Kismat hai tumhari, gaadi ka daemaige (yeah, he pronounces it that way) kam hai"
"Gadi tez chalaane ka aadat pad gaya hai, nahi?"

My mind starts a retort,"Teri maa ki %@#$*..."
but audibly I only say,"Agar tez chalaaye hote, toh gaadi kya, aap bhi nahi bach paate."
At which his eyebrows rise. And his cheekbones. Danger signals.
And he looks every bit of the corrupt sipahi that he is. And I am scared. Shit scared.
Literally quaking all over. Then the stud-in-my-ear guy says softly,"Pay him off. Right here."

Over the next 3 hours, dad settles the problem. Gets his bike repaired by a local mechanic, who's an old friend of his. Costs some 400 bucks. And I get just one warning from my dad,"Next time, make sure it isn't a next time."
He is sort of relieved, I guess, that no loss of life/limb has occured. And the bill isn't in 5 figures. Like the one last year.
What had happened was.......
But that's another story...
worthy of it's own post.

Till then,
Safe driving

-ONE

Movie Mania SE

I'm back...
After watching another movie...

Taxi 9211
Yeh kahaani hai in do chapter ki...
So it begins, the not-as-bad-as-the-movie narration being provided by our very own Sanjay Dutt.. who's had too many interesting chapters in his own life...
The subjects are John Abraham, a rich brat who's Dad leaves everything to his best buddy, and leaves his son a pauper, or so it seems... and Nana Patekar, who is a taxi driver, but lies to his biwi that he's an LIC agent... and to keep up the lie, he parks his taxi 2km away from home every night... and doesn't take passengers to Andheri... afraid that his wife might see him...
The END.
That is where the story ends, and looking at my watch I realized not even 15 minutes had passed... The rest of the characters ar just for filling in the gaps.. though I must say.. John's girl does have some booty... (can I hear some wolf-whistles out there?) There is a will, a locker ki chaabi, some stupid lawyer, Nana Patekar's cute wife... If Bollywood could have churned out a bigger mess than this, it was PHP... the movie has a sort of a message for public, though... It is a rhetoric about how ppl always kosofy the world, their kismat and baaki saari duniya but the fault lies entirely within... blah n blah...
Verdict: Watch it only if you have got NOTHING else to do... and you have loads of cash for chips n popcorn...

Cube 2 (HyperCube)
This is an ok types movie... involves strange unimaginable laws of physics... nothing much to writ about...
There are n number of people trapped inside a cube like structure which leads to 6 other cubes, each of which lead to 6 other cubes.. and so on... the catch being that each cube belongs to a different fourth dimension... The movie's pretty ok... though certain elements seem to be a repeat of Cube, as in the characters seem to be stale... the analyst who undertands other's psyche... a crazy angry man, who's got demons of his own... All in all, a let down on Cube...


Ice Age 2::The Meltdown
Hilarious... If you can understand English, it is a must watch for you... age no bar...
Manny, Sid and Diego, alongwith that squirrel-with-his-nut are back to entertain you more in this sequel.. where Manny gets a girlfriend, Diego discovers he can swim, depite being a cat... and Sid becomes the 'fire king', albeit solely for a night... the movie's hilarious... Sid singing 'Food, Glorious food...' which is a vulture song... or Sid being pounded by kids in his summer camp... If you don't like the movie... you're probably somebody's grandsire cut in alabaster.

There's another movie that I saw.... Lion King 1½
But.. again.. it's time for my afternoon siesta...

adios

-ONE
..and I don't want the world to see me,
'cuz I don't think that they'd understand
When everything's made to be broken,
I just want you to know who I am...

Movie Mania

GOD knows what was wrong with me...
Over the past two months, I kept making mistake upon terrible mistake ... of watching the baddest, shittest movies possible just in the hope that I'd stumble across a gem of a movie ala Shawshank Redemption...

So, for all those (lucky) ppl who've not seen the following movies, here's a review outlining why you should(n't) see them:

Fanaa
God! Kajol's amazing in the movie. The firt half builds up to a point where you start expecting Hollywood-like treatment. Alas, it's a yahraj stable product, so you'll have load of snow, melodrama and most of all... heart wrenching scenes... (Kajol's dad, played by Rishi Kapoor, floats under a frozen lake while she looks on...) By this point, you just start praying that when the rush to get out of the hall starts, you're the first to reach the exit... Imagine.. A terrorist who falls in love with a blind girl, screws her so badly she gets pregnant, then leaves her in the lurch just hours after the musical-lovemaking (no pun here, the entire sex is camouflaged by a song), and reappers Tom Cruise style at an airport only to be half-killed by the Indian army...
And then, in the wilderness of Kahmir, he stumbles across a door, Lo and behold! it's kajol, and she's got her eyes back, it seems...
the rest of the muck is anybody's guess... ohh.. the movie ends when Kajol shoots aamir Khan.
Yes. She shoots him, and he dies. :P to all those gals who want to watch the movie for Aamir...

Phir Hera Pheri
GOD!!! Not again...
Better take the movie Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels from me... save yourself from mental agony... pithy poor and downright shoddy, PHP is as crass and poor an attemp at a remake as any...
The movie opens with a item number, and that's where my interest ended. The item number was so damn laughable, yes you got it right, it was comic... and that's about all the comedy in the film...
with kucku-doo-koo-s all over the place, and baboons who scare better than gun toting goondas... the entire movie's a mess.... unless you call Baburao Ganpat Rao Apte's dhoti coming undone, a comic masterstroke...
You got money to waste.. give it to a beggar.. not to the cinema hall for this movie.

I've got a thing or two to say about Taxi 9211...
But that'll have to wait.. I gotta finish my forty winks first
adieu

-ONE

Orkut Chirkut

May God bless Orkut Büyükkökten ! This Turkish software engineer created Orkut, a social network service, for Google. It appers to be the next big thing on the web. And for jobless individual like me marooned at home, it is manna!

In my twelve years of schooling, I changed my school 12 times(no, I wasn’t that bad in studies, my dad got transferred a lot!). I made a lot of friends but lost touch as I shifted to another town. Now, thanks to Orkut, I get to meet them(albeit, virtually).

There are a plethora of communities and everyone is sure to find something they like. From your college community to one of your residential colony. In fact, once you start exploring it becomes very hard to stop. Soon you will enter into a competition with friends on who has the maximum friends, scraps and communities. Scrapping leads you to redifine your definition of privacy but nobody seems to mind that.

So what are you waiting for, become an Orkut Chirkut today!
(for interesting trivia visit Wikipedia)

Update.:for the sake of one...:.

Hello folks...
If you are wondering where I was all these days, I was busy enjoying...

After a Loooong time I've had some time to myself... (NO summer training, NO begging with Sasmal-the-monkeyhead for grades, NO prepare the reports on time,....)
which I spent sleeping, eating and marvelling in the oh-so-"private" world of Orkut...
and of course .. playing AOE.. stretching my abilities to the extremes, winning just ONE game (1v3 hardest RM) out of more than 15... Life is tough even in the Unreal, I must say...

Talking about computers, there'll be a series (actually just 2) ACM lectures on coding practices, and some miscellaneous stuff which would be (I hope) of interest to ppl interested in computers...

For ppl who are fed up of opening other ppl's Orkut profiles everytime they wanna scrap them, there's a cool free software for u.. check out: http://www.scrapboy.com
It's a 24MB download, so be patient.. or else, just wait for a few days and it'll be available on email for free....

Yawn...
These days.. I'm off to sleep b4 midnight.. weird.. strange things happen when you fall in love, i guess...
g'nite

-ONE

Get Moving.....

There are times in BIT when you get so sick of the place that you want to take a rocket and zoom off to space. However, for people with moderate budgets, here are some quick getaways…..

Disclaimer: these are strictly for nature lovers. If you are into pubs and swanky places….don’t even come close to BIT……you’ll fall into depression!!!


Jonah or Hundru falls-- Jump on a bike( for 2 or 3 people) or rent out a trekker( for bigger groups) and zip off to these falls. Leave by 9 or 10 in the morning. They are about 30km away. The drive is pretty pleasant except when crossing small bastis. Here people are always ready to exhort money on the pretense of some pooja. Once you reach there just jump in the water. It is advised not to hang around the crowded area but to find a secluded spot with your friends. We had taken some marinated chicken from H-4 and cooked it in an open coal fire. Yummy!!! Add on some booze and you’ve got a perfect party!! Start back by 4 in the evening and you will make it by 6. Winter season is a good time because you can lie around in the sun but if you’ve got guts go during the monsoons.

Rukka Dam—this one is close by. Must be around 10km. Same mode of transportation as above. Even auto waalas agree for Rs 300. Make the autowaala wait otherwise you will have a hard time finding transportation for the return journey. Take your swimming trunks because the water is verrrry tempting. Do take along your fishing rod (bamboo stick with a nylon thread and a hook in my case!!). Fishing during winters is a bad idea because then you will be the only person eating the earthworms!!


The Zoo—my favorite Sunday getaway. It opens at 9 in the morning. It is an eye-treat for those of you who have grown up seeing big city zoos with very few animals and only people. Here the case is reverse. A wide variety of animals in the green surroundings…enough to drive any nature lover mad! There is a cute pair of elephants that roam about with their keepers and if you are on the lighter side they will even let you ride. There is a cafeteria but the food there sucks. Worry not; Madhuban is only a stone’s throw away. A word of caution- it may seem very secluded and you may be tempted to do ‘things’ but be careful about the keepers….they pop out from the least expected places!!

Sorry ppl...

I'm sorry ppl...
I was going through a bit of a bad phase.. So, I decided to give up blogging...
Heck! I can't do that.. I owe my sanity to this blog... It is one place I can call the administration a mule, and still get away with it...
For all those poor souls who felt relieved when they read that I left blogging, I'm back, with a vengeance...
I've been given a very raw deal by BIT this time, having had to answer a back aper when I didn't deserve one...
So, BIT will get it back, with interest...

So, keep reading, and keep posting ur lovely comments...

-ONE
"I am Sir Oracle. Let no dog ope his lips when I speak" - The Merchant of Venice, Shakespeare

Update 0.0.0.:BYE:.

Goodbye folks...
it's been a truly wonderful and encouraging (though rather short) journey to have blogged my heart out.. and to receive all those comments...
IT was a great experience...
Due to "unavoidable circumstances"... I'm completely disillusioned with stuff... Hence I'm giving up... There's more to life than what I do.. take a leaf outta my leaf ppl... DON'T screw ur lives...

Work hard... Play harder (sorry, couldn't avoid the cliche...)
and ohh.. flirt your heart out..
would like to see more authoirs on this blog...

once again.. BYE

(for the last ONE time.....)
-ONE

BIT & Blogging

I was just hanging around, jobless, doing nuthin.. and thought..
Just how many BITians di i know who blog?
couldn't really exceed counting on my fingers..
so i decide to be a good boy n do my homework.. and here are the results...

am just posting the links for blogs by or for BITians.

Enjoy..
http://bitrip.blogspot.com
http://bit-mesra.blogspot.com
http://facelessind.blogspot.com
http://etscientia.blogspot.com
http://ujz.blogspot.com
http://gyanpipasa.blogspot.com
http://shabda123.blogspot.com
http://souniteya.blogspot.com
http://kkkishore.blogspot.com
http://anti-reservation.blogspot.com
http://booksireadrecently.blogspot.com
http://mr-tourist.blogspot.com
http://amythology.blogspot.com
http://coolrythms.blogspot.com
http://theeliteclub.blogspot.com
http://beanengineer.blogspot.com
http://knowthecodes.blogspot.com
http://causeandtheeffect.blogspot.com
http://bhargavatham.blogspot.com
http://underconstructiontilleternity.blogspot.com
http://room73.blogspot.com
http://bhangargubbi.blogspot.com
http://www.aeonity.com/anishmitra
http://www.aeonity.com/khadke
http://insaneunknowns.blogspot.com
http://theconfuzedphilosopher.blogspot.com
http://atulprasad.blogspot.com

Rain

It's finally raining in bit...
Feels like the monsoons are finally here.hope it aint just a two day affair like about two weeks ago..
Man, this place comes alive...
Even though the reason i may be here isn't really a very pleasing one, the greenery and the weather just make you smile.
People, be ready for the lush green lawns and the wonderful breeze when u get back..
As also, for the powercuts, Stomach trouble and smelly drinking water...
Oh Well, What The Hell!
Who cares....
guess i'll go run amok with Adi's camera tomorrow.. let's see what transpires...
Peace.

Memories of first year

You hear a lot about college from your elder brothers and sisters. You imagine this place with no uniform, no parental guidance and very little studies, in short, a place where the party never ends. But this dream bubble gets brutally popped when you enter the gates of Birla Institute of Technology (they should add a :ENTER AT YOUR OWN RISK board there).

For the first five minutes you see nothing but trees, trees and more trees with hostel buildings peeking from behind done up in gay(pun intended) yellow and spotted with undies. Finally you reach your own cellular jail. And then your warden says the two magic words “IN TIME”. Things get worse with the stuff they call food and hell holes called toilets.

First day of class, hope rises again. With buoyant steps you enter the building. A swarm descends upon you- SENIORS. From the next day on salwaar kameez, oily hair and bathroom chappals become your style statement. They make you sing, dance or act the fool anytime anyplace. At night you sob your stories to parents and hope you had never left home.

After the first week something happens….something they call orientation. You get used to it. You tell yourself, “It maybe bad but it is what I have to live with now”. And then the fun begins…..

You share your sorrows with your jail mates. You form a team and have fun at Techneek. You enjoy the sad show at Fugia. You experience the joys of free SMSing. You slip off to Subarnrekha right under the guard’s nose. You learn how to study the night before the exam and still get good marks. You learn to play the guitar. You come across funny words like PMC and BABA. Seniors don’t seem so bad when they hand over notes and treat at CCD.

College campus is a place where rumors spread fast. For one whole week you gossiped about a girl from your hostel getting married even when she lived as a happy spinster in the next room. You hear one day that your room was raided and enough stuff was found to earn a narcotics officer a lifetime achievement award. In reality not even a room heater was found!!!

Suddenly you realize that this jungle is always abuzz. Drishyant, Genisis, Dope Seminar. During BITotsav you wish you had Hermione’s time turner because you have to participate in 4 events at the same time.

And now as you finish this blog entry from home you can’t wait to go back. The place has somehow grown on you. The administration may be cold and apathetic or plain non-existent (except on registration day) but the students take care of the rest. The best soldiers are the ones that take the hardest obstacle course. So cadet tie up your boots for another action packed semester !!!!!

Missing you...

This is so embarrasing...
I'm actually missing BIT...
never has this happened before...

Campus is the same...
VC is busy meeting students with F*s... parents of students with F*s... Pauwa cases... HCL managers... and all sorts of riff-raff that roam the Earth...
Sasmal is busy imitating a grand mal seizure everytime a student goes to get his F* changed...
but then he's calming down in the afternoons.. or so it seems...

Munna Dhaba seems to be in a bit of news.. Rumor has it that the WiFi signals have been caught on laptops in the aforementioned site...
Though what were laptops doing in Munna Dhaba, that too in the evenings... is anybody's guess...
Tha's good news... People have started investing in WiFi adapters for their desktops so that when the WiFi LAN is launched.. they can play all sorts of multiplayer games to their heart's content... and at unimaginably high data transfer rates...


okay ppl...
the examination schedule is out...
I gotta heck it out...

meanwhile... u guys keep doing whatever u're doing...
Aloha.

-ONE

Mass Rape in BIT

This is true...
All it takes is a coupla days in the campus during the summer... and you'll get an idea as to how many young, innocent (and not-so-innocent) lives being mercilessly reaped...

It starts with the end sem results... A flurry of randomly given D's and F's... (imagine landing with a D, after having scored 24 in the mid-sem) was not enough...
The past two years, BIT has decided to garnish several GPA cards (and thus grate several careers) with an F* or two... (I know for a fact that an NRI guy, an executive member of the Unesco Club, received 5 F*s this semester, which subsequently got converted to 5 Cs thanks to his aunt, who's an MLA)...

And that's not all... This summer there are 319 people (reportedly) appearing for the Engineering Mechanics exam... 151 from 2k5, 150 from 2k4, 16 from 2k3, 2 from 2k2... the figures may vary slightly... but the essence remains the same... BIt has turned into a minting machine, with GPA cards being manipulated day-in and day-out to fill the coffers...

Here's more news...
The clown that we have for a Dean (Academic Co-ordination), the one who jumps like a baboon everytime you appraoach him with a request or an apology, seems to have realized that people will kill him very soon.. what with frustration mounting
due to the F*s... so he's started diverting people to the VC... who at least seems to be the last sane person left in the administration...

What can we all do in the face of such mindless tyranny?
(Post your ideas in the comments section)

-ONE
(Give me a rod, and a place to pivot it; I'll strike down BIT)

The Return of the Pachyderm

Hello people.
Im still alive despite contrary wishes of a few hundred people.
Was just away sleeping ,etc... leading a pachydermish life.
The ONE (He wont lemme name him here) was surprised to see me online lately and even more on doing so in person. Hence the title...
It's been a long time since the cuppa coffee over which this blog started...
Lots has happened since then.
btw, from this point on this is gonna be the uncensored completely opinionated BIT blog. if u want plain facts, then u can hop over to BIT Mesra Times. To quote Adi,we are only Journalists there. Here, we are opinionated facetious morons.That us.

Coming to new stuff, caught GVS necking someone the other day at the OC.
It was a shock. i wish i had a camera. Mohit, Devarsh, You guys listening?
Others things have been happening too, like Hercules making me realise that im not an elephant really. na. more closer to a beached whale. so i have a diet of a crustacean now. Man! gotta go torment my body under his expert guidance now.

Morrison Lives !

Update 6.6.1.:technIEEk 2006:.

Hello ppl...
I'm back...
First all.. sorry for being away for so long...
was busy with my summer training... now that it's almost over... i'll be more regular w/ the blog...

the most happening thing that belongs to the campus seems to be technIEEk 2006...
sems that the ppl wh are organising it are in full swing...
Nadu from Chennai, Anish from the US, Adi from Mumbai,Khadke from B'lore... looks like all corners of the country are joined by this single thread...
Gmails are flowing thick and fast... and rumor has it that IITB's ROBOTICS event's prelims (North-East regionals) shall be hosted by us...
good...

BITians are Orkutting quite frequently these days...
Rumours in BIT is an especially good community that you should check out...

yawn.. I've just returned from my training...
am tired...
will post more later...

-ONE