It happened that night..

"Life is shit.Out of the plethora of things that i could have done as a software engineer, why did i have to get something which has never been done before in my organization? No one to bail me out of this situation. Boy it's so fucked up. I must have done some terrible sins in my previous life to get such a himalayan task." And it went on and on. If any of you guys haven't been able to get a clue as to what i am talking about, be patient as i would explain in detail.I am working on a BI tool called Cognos, which is the most happening thing in the BI market. Indeed it is a very exciting tool with lots of amazing features. And don't for one second get the impression that i don't love working on Cognos. Life seems so perfect when i keep on getting results with this tool. But the problem arises when sometimes you get stuck. It is that time when you truly understand the meaning of the age-old saying "Life is not a bed of roses".Since our team is the first one to work on this tool, we have been assigned the task of mastering this tool. And so it often happens that when things go wrong ,we spend sleepless nights trying to figure out the problem,in absence of any help. And believe me if anyone ever had the experience of working on something which no one has ever done in the organization, he can better understand my situation(Of course both the excitement and getting mad part). Ok enough of Cognos fundae,let's return to that night.It so happened that i was stuck on what seemed a very simple user requirement, for the past three nights.Every night i was trying everything possible to crack this nut.But this one seemed really tough.I was going completely crazy.To add on to that i had got the deadline from the end-users, which unfortunately was the very next day.Believe me no one would have wanted to be in my shoes at that moment.I was depressed and frustration was clearly written all over my face.I was cursing everything that the Almighty ever created. Believe me the situation was real bad. But then i tried to calm myself down and decided to go out for a small tea-break . And then it happened. And i am so glad it happened.

I was still quite pissed with the entire situation and was shaking head violently to show my frustration.And then she saw me.Kate saw me.I was actually surprised to see her that late in the office.She too seemed to be stuck in some problem and she was just concentration personified.I could see the determination in those dark eyes.I stopped for a moment and started observing her from some distance.I was so lost in her that i completely lost track of the time.She looked so beautiful and captivating. The mere sight of this heavenly beauty seemed to have erased all my frustrations.I thought of quickly moving out before she got suspicious.But it was as if she had hypnotised me that i stood my ground and kept on staring her.I could see that she was herself trying very hard to solve some problem.Often she would get very excited at the prospect of finally successfully solving the outstanding issue. The optimism and anticipation in her eyes would quickly convert into dejection, but soon she would recover and go for the kill again.And every time she seemed more determined than ever before. As if she was saying ,"Bring it on.I am game for you".It was getting more interesting and riskier by the minute.But she was too focussed to notice anything else around her and i was just too much involved in this entire scenario to leave it at the climax.I saw her making so many attempts after that.Forty five minutes later,she had finally achieved and her persistence had finally paid off.With a thump in the air,she rejoiced as if she had won the World Cup. Suddenly she was laughing and humming some catchy tune.It was so much fun watching her.But then suddenly she turned around and saw me.I was caught red-handed staring at her.She shot mysterious looks at me.I thought that i was as good as gone. Oh shit,my angel would think of such horrendous things about me. Shit she would think that i am a stalker.I for once wished that the earth may crack wide open and take me in to save this embarrassment.I was cursing myself like anything, when she looked at me and gestured to find out what exactly was i doing ? I gestured back that i myself had no idea about that. She just laughed and all of a sudden the world again seemed a better place to live in.Though i was enjoying this light situation,i was cursing myself internally and wanted to quickly run out of the place.Before i turned around, our eyes met and remained glued to each other for quite some time.Though we didn't utter a word,our eyes did most of the talking.I was in seventh heaven now and then she smiled,lowered her eyes and looked with those passionate eyes again.I realised that all of a sudden i was feeling extremely rejuvenated.Though i wanted to stand there forever, the unexpected appearence of the watchman forced me to quickly return back to my seat.

As i sat on my chair,alone,i pondered over the sequence of events that ensued in the last one hour.I thought over what happened and why all of a sudden i was feeling so happy about myself,when i was so fucking frustrated an hour back.Without a word being spoken,she taught me something that i probably wouldn't have learnt that easily.One should enjoy every challenge in life.I know it sometimes gets really frustrating, but only when a person has seen the darkness of the night can he appreciate the light of the day.She taught me to give your 110% to everything you ever venture into and not to give up till you have finally achieved the goal.

And that was it.That night i kept braving all the odds and persisted to crack the problem deep into the night,till i finally succeeded and believe me there is no feeling than the feeling of having overcome all obstacles to achieve your cherished goal.That night i got to sleep very less , but it was so very peaceful. And rest assured i thought of my angel every passing second.Really something great happened that night!!

PS: Her real name is not Kate :).

Is it the end if NITTism?

"The outside state quota in all the engineering colleges under AIEEE would be filled on the basis of All India Ranks, rather than the state quotas from this year..".I still vividly remember seeing this piece of article a couple of months back in a newspaper and soon after that i was lost in the pros and cons of this critical decision.Being an ex-student of NITT, i started thinking about the effect of this move on NIT's in general.

Nostalgia gripped me and took me deep down the memory lane to my school days when i was slogging day and night to get into NITT - my eternal dream ( I never seriously tried for IIT's).Since my brother had already gone through the AIEEE route,i had a fairly good idea about the admision trend in various colleges and the rank one needs to get there.It was heart-breaking to see students from some states with much inferior ranks easily getting the best colleges , while guys from states like Andhra,Rajasthan,Jharkhand,Bihar etc. settling for much inferior colleges and much inferior branches inspite of having much-much better ranks than guys from these more privileged states. Believe me it used to hurt a great deal!! It was such an irony to see that a Mech guy from Andhra was having better rank than most of the Computer Science guys of these states.I used to feel sorry for that guy!! I even had a dislike for the system because they would be allowing NRI's through the DASSA quota, even though they were less deserving because they never went through the struggle of cracking one of the most competitive exams of India. So, reverting back to the moment when i saw the above mentioned news article , tears of happiness rolled down my eyes. Justice and respect for merit at last,i thought.

Then i thought a little more about this decision and how would this influence my alma-mater. First thing that came to my mind is that the academic standards of NITT would increase by leaps and bounds. NITT would be flooded with nerds( Just kidding!!). Finally NITT would start to challenge IIT's more consistently.This new batch would take NITT to the zenith of success. I felt so good to think that the future of our NITT is in bright hands. Inspite of that i had a hollow feeling inside. I kept on pondering further before the answer struck me.

"NITT is like a mini-India" .We NITTians take pride in the unity in diversity as part of our NITT culture.It's amazing how individuals from every nook and corner of the country converge to this temple of education and become friends forever , cutting across all the barriers of caste,creed,religion,region etc.The best part in NITT apart from the education is the plethora of people,cultures and customs that one comes across.I personally from my stay in NITT feel that i know India better know than i could have ever known without this enriching experience called "NITT". It is the diversity that adds colours to NITT's culture. And with this new mode of selection that diversity would surely take a beating.From my experience in the engineering field and the trends over the past few years, i am pretty sure that many states would get wiped off from the scene and NITT would never be the same again.It hurts for me to envision such a NITT.

Apart from this aspect,this new mode of selection also misses one very crucial point.They have opened the doors for thousands of students of AIEEE factory who are being trained day-and-night by the top coaching institutes in cities.But what about the less-fortunate guys of the less-fortunate states who don't have access to such high-quality of education.The AIEEE board,i feel,haven't considered the non-uniformity of opportunities available across India.They are sadly mistaken to assume that the quality of education in the FITJEE's, NARAYANA's etc, in the big cities is the same as the insufficient technical education in the schools of Nagaland (Just a vague example).

I being a student and one who has already personally gone through both the sides of the coin , know how difficult it would have been for the AIEEE board to make such a tough decision. I don't know whether this is a right or wrong decison. All i can say is that this is a tricky decision!!

PS: These views are my perspective on the entire AIEEE scenario now. It is not aimed at any person or state in particular, it is just aimed at the system.

It still haunts me...

The memories of that fateful night still haunt me.Thinking of that dark night still gives me nightmares.Even today i wake up in the dark of the night , terribly terrified, when i think of what happened that night.

I am not referring to an encounter with a ghost or the night before any college exam , where only a night out stands between you and failure, i am talking about what is known as The Death of NITT Dream. Every student who has ever stepped on NITT soil and has even a remote interest in sports dreams of winning the very prestigious RUBY CUP of NITT. I too dreamt of it ever since i first heard of it in the college. I made a good start to fulfilling my dream when my team reached the quarter-finals in second year before we were brutally defeated by our seniors. After giving a very disappointing performance in third year,we were all determined to give it one last try to live those moments of glory in final year.

I vowed to myself before the final year Ruby cup began that i will win this year's cup at any cost. I was at my best through-out the tournament. I gave some scintillating performances with both bat and ball to bail my team of many crisis situations. Our persistent efforts paid off as we reached the finals after toiling in for weeks.With our arch rivals too in the final,it had all the making of a grand final.I too knew that all my efforts would go in vain if i falter at the most crucial stage.I was geared up to rip the opposition apart with my toe-crushing yorkers.But it
was much tougher than it initially seemed.

We managed to make a paltry 59 in the allotted 20 overs because of the high-quality bowling of the opposition.The total would have been much lesser but i was able to pull together some late order partnerships after our famed top order had caved in.We did an excellent task of restricting them to 44-6 in 18 overs.We had managed to contain the opposition thanks to some spirited bowling and fielding by our team.With me and Pada,the greatest bowler to have stepped in NITT,each having one over things were pretty much under control.But then there was another twist to the tale.

Everyone was expecting that Pada would bowl the last over and let me bowl the penultimate over.But thanks to his nightmarish experience in Wisdom cup,where he was hit for a last bowl six to eliminate us from the tournament,he gave the himalayan task of bowling the last over to me. But i was still pretty cool with it because i was assuming that Pada,as economical a bowler we know him to be, would provide me with plenty of runs to defend in the final over. But as they say -Cricket is a game of surprises. And then we saw one.Pada bowled the worst six balls of his life conceding 13 runs and all of a sudden we were on the recieving end. When i was given the ball,everyone on and off the ground had given any hope of our victory. But i was determined to snatch my dream from the jaws of defeat.Let's see what happened next.

I sent a screeching yorker the first ball and the batsman could not even touch it. 5 balls to go with 2 runs to win.Their main batsman holed out in the next ball. It was getting extremely interesting by the minute. Another dot ball reduced the equation to 3 balls and 2 runs. Things turned in our favour as i took two successive wickets of the next two balls.I was totally exhausted because i was putting intense effort in each ball.But i couldn't have stopped here.I had to bowl one more ball before i could accomplish my college dream.I ran with every single bit of energy in my body and fired the perfect yorker. On seeing that the batsman could not manage to touch it,i fell to the ground thinking that it's over, i have finally snatched my dream from the jaws of defeat. But then the unexpected happened.The batsman ran even though the ball was in keeper's hand.Adverse situations often hamper your ability to think.The keeper for some inexplicable reason did not hit the stumps on his end and threw the ball in my direction, much to my shock.And the fielder who was supposed to backup the throws from the keeper made a complete mess of what was a simple run-out at the non-striker's end.And before we could realise we had lost the match,we had trampled our cherished dream beneath our own feet.The final year juntaa who had already started celebrating as soon as i bowled the ball,suddenly turned silent.The players on the field just watched each other shocked.I too blacked out for some time.Then i slowly regained myself and headed towards the loneliest part of my hostel terrace where i stayed through-out the night thinking about what happened on the field but my mind didn't seem to work.All i could feel that time was a flood of emotions in my heart and the painful tears in my eyes.I lay there whole night feeling so frightened.I tried to calm myself and sleep but the painful memories kept haunting me throughout the night.

A lot of time has passed since that dark night.My friends still regard my final over performance as one of the best bowling spells in Ruby cup.Victory or defeat is a part of the game,they say.I try to think rationally about the whole night.But soon it turns out to be a nightmare.I keep thinking what if i had bowled the batsman out or what if i had mustered the last bit of energy in my body and jumped to stop the wayward throw of the keeper? My mind is flooded with millions of "what if" questions.It still haunts me....

The Big Question ?

Rahul and Chitra joined the same company last year. They started as complete strangers,but very soon they became very close friends. With every passing day their bond became stronger and stronger. Every night they would talk for hours and hours. Chitra would confide everything to Rahul everyday - the fight she had with one of her friends, how her boss was rude to her and what not. And Rahul would always try to cheer her up and solve every trivial problem of her. Despite their busy schedules, they would make it a point to meet everyday. On days when Chitra wouldn't show Rahul would become really upset. He would keep on thinking about her day and night. He would go to sleep thinking about her and would wake up the next morning hoping to see her again.

Rahul was going crazy now. He had no clue what was happening to him. Why was he thinking of Chitra day and night? Why would he stare at his cell for hours and pray that she would be calling him soon? Why would he search for her face in every girl that he watched? He tried thinking rationally about it. But he couldn't arrive at a logical conclusion. He was totally lost now. For weeks he kept on thinking about the same question. One night when he was walking all alone in the deserted streets of the city, something occured to him. Was he in love? Had he fallen for his best friend? Initially he tried to shoo the question away from his head . But it just kept on coming back. Was that remotely possible? He kept on denying it with every possible logic that he could invent. He closed his eyes and the only image he saw for the next hour was that of Chitra and her mesmerising beauty. He realised it was indeed true. He had fallen for her and he couldn't deny it any further.

He was so excited about the turn of events the last night. He wanted to share every bit of information with Chitra , like they always did. He wanted to confess his true love for her. He wanted them to be more than just friends. Over the next week he met her several times. He had spent so much time with her as a friend in the past one year. He imagined what it would be like hang around as lovebirds. The very thought of them being together infused immense happiness in his life. Chitra was perplexed to see this pleasant change in him and was quite curious to know the reason behind it. She even teased him saying that probably he had found his girl and would keep on bugging him to reveal her name, but every time he would shyly just deny it. He wanted her to know that indeed i have the found the love of my life and its none other than you. But somehow he was refraining from letting his dream girl know the sea of love that he had inside for her. Every morning he would wake up and prepare himself mentally to tell her his feelings . But somehow he was refraining from taking the final step. He was totally lost again. Why was he not revealing the truth to Chitra? After days of soul-searching he had found the truth and now he was running away from it? Why - this is the question that kept on playing in his head for the next one week.

One night when he was all alone on the terrace he tried to visualise the whole situation. Next morning he would go and propose her and then there would be no looking back. They would be so happy together and they would never fight with each other because they knew each other inside out. He felt so relieved to think about it and thoroughly planned for the next morning. When he was about to leave, he felt as if someone had knocked from inside.He wondered what was going on. Then it occured to him what if she rejects him? What if she just wanted him to be his best friend - nothing more , nothing less? And then he realised that it doesn't end here - things might get still worse. Would they ever be the kind of friends they used to be ? She had shared everything with him including her crush for guys and lots of other intimate stuff with him over the years. But wouldn't his proposal change the equation between them . He tried to rationalise with himself that it won't affect their friendship but deep down he knew that things will change. Now he was staring straight at a very critical question. Should he take the risk and confess his true love for the girl of his dreams or should he keep his emotions to himself and enjoy their true friendship forever ? He thought,thought and thought about his decision for the next few days.He re-lived the amazing moments which they had shared with each other.He remembered how their friendship was the "envy of the masses" and how much it meant to both of them.He perfectly weighted his decision and finally came to a conclusion. Their friendship meant more to him than anything else in the world and he was not going to risk it for any thing . And that was it. He gave up his love for his friendship. Every know and then he wonders what would it have been like had he taken the other route , but then whenever he sees the sweet smiling face of Chitra and how happy her friendship makes him , he just thanks god that they are still together and he forgets everything else.

Sounds familiar?? Indeed it is. People might have different opinions about this scenario.

• Some might say that Rahul was stupid to keep his feelings of love to himself. But guys his gain was much less than what he could have lost.

• Some on the other hand might say that he did the right thing by keeping his love to himself and saving his friendship. But then you have to give love a chance.

Which stand is right?? It is a debatable question. It's indeed the BIG QUESTION!!

My best college birthday - The funny part!!

I had a gut feeling that this last birthday would be a bit different,but i must confess that my friends exceeded my expectations beyond imagination.My friends had brought a cake to celebrate my last birthday in the college.But this cake was a bit different.Normally a cake has only the name of the birthday boy,but this cake was different.It had the name of my long-time crush along with my name.Ok to make matters simple and to maintain that diva's anonymity,hereafter she would be referred to as 'Cleo'.My sixth sense was telling me that my friends are gearing up for something big later in the night.I was asked to cut the cake and the first piece was smeared all over my face.The 'Cleo' portion of the cake was carefully carved out of the cake and handed over to me.I too made it a point to thoroughly enjoy 'Cleo',metaphorically of course.For a moment i visualised that the cake piece was indeed 'Cleo' and accordingly i worked through the beauty of Cleo before finally letting it go inside me.More cake smearing followed and everything looked so perfect.I was having the time of my life with my friends.If anything was ever perfect,it was that divine moment with my friends.But what was i to know that my friends had more tricks up their sleeve.Seeing the expression on their faces,i promptly realised that the night was far from over.My heart skipped a beat and i was just dumb-founded to hear the question that followed next.My friends,led by the mastermind Dada,asked me to call 'Cleo' and ask her out for my birthday treat.I was totally shocked.Initially i thought they were just joking.But soon my i was proven wrong when these guys called her.I was so shocked that i couldn't talk to her.This really pissed off my friends ,but they were not ready to let me go so easily.So they took my mob and called her.I tried to postpone the inevitable by telling that i need to clean myself up before the daring act.Thankfully they agreed to it.We all went to the toilet area where they allowed me to clean myself.But what was i to know that it was another trap.The guys kept on hitting me and shouted "fattu,fattu" to 'glorify' me.I kept evading them for sometime but i knew it can't be done for too long.These guys called 'Cleo' again and i refused to talk to her.But my friends were persistent.I finally agreed to talk to her,thinking that probably my friends aee just fooling around with me and in reality are making me talk to some other girl who is also part of this devilish plan.Here is how the conversation went:(In the background guys shouting "fattu,fattu"... and the mob is forcibly handed over to me)

Cleo:"Hello".

Shishir:"Who is this??"(I was thinking that probably the guys are fooling me,but on hearing the Cleo speak i immediately realised that it was indeed happening.I tried to escape but the guys closed the door and i was left with no option but to talk to her and end the embarrassing situation.)

Cleo:"Hello".

Shishir:"Hi Cleo.How are you?"

Cleo:"I am fine.Happy Birthday".

Shishir:"Thank you."

Cleo:"How are you??"

Shishir:"Not well actually.These guys are beating me like anything."

Cleo:"Ok i am tired now.I will talk to you in the morning."

Shishir:"Fine.No probs.Good night".

And this is how the ordeal finally got over.My friends kept on shouting "Treat,Treat" in the background to force me to ask her for a treat,but she thankfully ended the conversation much before that.But my friends were still not satisfied and told me to ask her out for a treat in the morning.I went all nicely dressed for her in the morning,but unfortunately she never turned up.I finally got a chance to talk to her minutes before the exam in the hall as she sits just before me.I had thought a lot about how i would approach her.But things rarely go the way as you plan them out.This is what i had thought i would say to her:

Proposed Algorithm:

Step1:Start by apologising for the embarassing incident yesterday and blame it all on the occasion where my friends got a bit naughty and did some crazy things.Ask for her forgiveness.

Step2:Remind her of a similar incident during the Compskee Photo session and try to relate these incidents and end embarrassment for both of us by confessing my long time crush for her and further adding that "A crush is just a crush,nothing more,nothing less" to cool her down.

Step3:Finally taking this oppurtunity to start afresh as friends.I,coupled with DK,had thought of a pretty 'filmi' approach for this.I would with one hand shake her hand to spark off our friendship and with the other hand in a flash pull out a chocolate from my back pocket and knowing that girls have a special liking for chocolates ,completely take the situation in control.

Step4:And finally ask her out to come for my treat to celebrate our new friendship and my birthday.

Step5:Live the rest of my life with the beautiful memories of that one special date with a special girl.

But here is what actually happened(in the exam hall):

Shishir:"Hi Cleo".

Cleo:"Hi Shishir".

Shishir:"Hey i am extremely sorry for whatever happened last night.Actually it was my birthday and my friends got a bit naughty and that's why it happened".

Cleo:"It's ok,i understand".

Shishir:"Please don't mind it".

Cleo:"It's ok.I understand such things generally happen in the college."

Shishir:"Thanks yaar".(A beautiful smile and she turns back,before i could make some inroads..).

And that is how my birthday chapter finally ended.I explained everything to my friends and they asked me to try again.But i had had enough of adventure and was not ready for any more.As i sit here and recall my last birthday,tears swell in my eyes.I will never forget the love shown by my friends and all the adventures that we did on that crazy night.(Lots of other crazy things happened that night..).I forgot all the pain that i went through that night,how i couldn't sleep for the next two days;all i know is that i would cherish those moments forever,till my last breath.

Most memorable college birthday!!

Birthdays are a special occasion.It's one time of the year that you feel really wanted,loved and cared for.It's a great feeling to have your loved ones and friends gathered around you .But the celebration of birthdays varies drastically over time.While the basic idea remains more or less the same,but nothing can come close to the birthday celebrations during one's college life.Anyone who has had the privilege of college life,can very well tell you the difference.The pleasant mix of love and pain that a college birthday inflicts on you is unparalleled to any birthday experience you had ever before.I too want to share one such memorable experience that i had on my last college birthday on March 25.It was around 11:40 pm in the night and i was shivering with the thought of the things that were about to happen in the next forty-five minutes.Having already seen the b'day celebrations of my close friend DK the previous night,i had a pretty good idea of the things to expect in the next hour.As the dreaded clock ticked close to beginning of the next day,i started my preparations and counter-measures to nullify the shock value of the bashing that i was about to be showered with.I immediately dressed myself in the thickest of the jeans i possessed and patiently waited for the crowd.Then it happened.

The feared NITT juntaa started pouring from every nook and corner of the Garnet hostel.The mere sight of the NITT crowd sent shivers down my spipne.By 11:50 p.m. my friends had all gathered outside my room.I could see the hunger in their eyes.For once i realised how does the 'butchered' feel in the hands of the butcher,how the prey feels at the sight of the predator.We had a light session among the friends.We took some snaps of each other(obviously with me in the focus) and cracked some jokes to lighten up the atmosphere.But then with precision another group came running in and then it was back to the usual business.I,who was smiling and laughing till now,suddenly realised the gravity of the situation.I was virtually dragged to the Ghati Triangle of Death,the preferred butchering place of our wing.What was to follow was a bit comical,not for me,ofcourse!!My friends all started betting and finalising among themselves about how many bumps do i owe them.With mutual consent each one of them settled for the number 22(I was about touch the 22 year mark).I started doing all the mathematical jugglery in my mind.Considering a rough estimate of about 30 guys and an average bumps of 22,i was about to be kicked 660 times.For a moment i thought fainting would be a good option.Probably the NITT butchers would be a bit merciful to me seeing my condition.But i took the risk.As the clock ticked past 12,the show began.The prey of the previous day DK kickstarted the 'ceremony' with a solid slap on my ass.There was no looking back after that!!I was like the temple's bell.Anyone used to come and ring it violently till he was completely 'satisfied'.Enduring the ferocious attacks of most of the guys was pretty simple and with time it grew a bit comical.Once Dada and Mayank were slapping my butt (some might say spanking :) ) with sleepers and it was not paining at all.I started shouting ,"Hit me.Hit me" and everyone burst into laughter.But the laughter was short-lived because the 'bumps-professionals' were soon to arrive on the scene.The mere sight of 'Bamboo' sent shivers down my spine.And he surely lived upto the expectations.The three famous 'butt-hole kicks' that he bombarded on me left me screaming with shooting pain .To add on to that,Islee and Sarkar added fuel to the fire by hitting some of the wildest kicks in NITT's history.When i had satisfied all of them individually,the guys kept on asking for more.Soon the guys pounced on me as a group and i just closed my eyes for the misery to get over.And finally the wait got over!!And then i was surrounded by my friends who wished me,hugged me.I thought the night is over.But what was i to know that the night had just started!!

My Sassy girl!!

The other day i was just scanning the LAN for some decent English movie when i happened to notice a rather catchy title - My Sassy Girl.As any normal guy of my age would have done,i too jumped at the excitement of watching another teen flick and couldn't stop fantasizing about the fun i would be having for the next couple of hours ( for the obvious reasons of course :)).But what i was to know that i was about to watch something that would leave an ever-lasting impression on me.

My Sassy Girl is a 2001 korean romantic-comedy movie that created ripples throughout the Asia and elsewhere to the point that it started drawing comparisons to Titanic.The movie shows the life of the college student Kyun-Woo,who falls for the "sassy"(crazy) girl after crossing paths with the drunk girl on a late-night subway."My Sassy Girl is a genre-bending exercise that throws in elements of the teen comedy, the traditional melodramatic romance,and even some genre parody and blends them into a unique cinematic experience that defies categorization".The aspect of the movie that touched me the most was dual character of the "sassy" girl.On one hand you would be awe-struck to see such a sweet,loveable,innocent,beautiful Korean girl and on the other hand you would be amazed to see her sudden violent bursts,tomboyishness and her demanding and dominating tone.Be it the demanding call from her asking Kyun-woo what was he doing with him in the motel room last night,not knowing that he carried the girl to motel because she was totally drunk or asking Kyun-woo to exchange his shoes with her sandals to ease her pain or wildly searching and craving for Kyun-woo in the railways station,hugging him on seeing and finally punching him for leaving her alone ;the pleasant mix of girl's crazy and extreme character coupled with the Kyun-woo's embarrasment over the "sassy" girl's awkward behaviour is worth watching and cherishing.Despite all the horrible and embarrasing incidents with the girl,Kyun-woo endures as he is determined to help the girl's pain that she has bottled up.No matter what happens,he bites his tongue and trudges on.The best part about this movie was that it succeeded on all the fronts; be it comedy,romance,tragedy,timing or the visual effects,it was flawless in all the imaginable aspects.The direction of the movie is just too good to be true and there are some scenes that one would cherish forever.Be it Kyun-woo bringing rose during class to commemorate their 100-th day anniversary or the best of it all when he candidly offers advice to his girl's date on how to ensure her happiness by following ten rules in her absence,which he had devised from considerable pain,dedication and devotion to the girl;these romantic scenes are a treat to the viewer's eye.The movie revolves around just two characters and both of them have done proper
justification to their roles."From her unforgettable first appearance as a wasted commuter, to her rambunctious bullying of Kyun-woo, to the heartbreak she wears on her sleeve, "sassy" girl displays an unparalleled level of enthusiasm and dramatic range in portraying a young woman whose domineering exterior is but a smokescreen for her own vulnerability.As her opposite, the likable Cha Tae-hyun is the perfect comic foil/underdog for girl's bundle of untamed energy, and his 'constipated' facial expression, when faced with one of her 'outbursts', is priceless".

Hats off to Tae-hyun and Jun Ji-hyun for such a refreshing and touching performance.I just can't wait to watch the Hollywood version of this movie "Love Me If You Dare" starring Elisha Cuthbert and Jesse Bradford that was recently released.But i doubt they would be able to create the same magical effect which the Korean pair so effortlessly did.Let's wait and watch!!

The great college mystery..

Ever since i joined the college , one thing always appeared very mysterious to me..I have been looking for the answers for the past three years..And im not pretty sure that i have got any satisfying answers till now..

Well here it goes..So lets go three or four years back into the past..So what do u guys see??You will see those hardworking individuals who used to work day-in-and-out to make it to the prestigious institutes of India..Most of the guys who have joined this college cleared IIT(ranks not very impressive though..) or missed it by a whisker..I could never actually meet any guy preparing for IIT or any other prestigious institution because i was the only guy preparing for entrance in my small tribal village/town (confused ??)..But i used to hear from my brothers about guys like you all preparing for IIT’s or other prestigious institutions..These were the guys who would study 10 hours on an average and 16 (the real psychotic ones..) as exams approached..I had even heard of cases that these guys were so crazy that they wouldn’t care one bit about the things happening around them..They wont eat properly, they will sacrifice the few playing hours in the evening to study a bit more..In short, there life revolved from one book to another,one tuition to another for those two years..And believe me a guy has to be really motivated to do tat sort of stuff!!

These guys whom i'm referring are no one else..but actually “you,me and almost everyone here..”..So what happened all of a sudden after joining the college ?? Where did that hardworking ability disappear ?? Where did the hunger go ?? How did this sudden transition come is out of my understanding..It pains my heart to see how these guys are abusing the “hard-earned seats” of this prestigious institute..I wonder why did these guys take the pain of studying so hard that time , if all they intented in the end was to let-go of the advantage which this institute offers..

I know there will be sections who would say “hey college life is for fun..blah-blah”..point accepted !! Totally accepted !! But is it only for fun ?? These guys are the best brains in the country..But wat is the use if you never intend to use it and just go the so-called “cool college way”..Our main aim here is to learn , make ourself technologically sound and at the same time concentrating on the non-academic stuff also..But their are some losers who do neither and just kill time by doing all bullshit activities ..Why guys ?? Why?? Where has that motivation gone ?? It really amazes me how do these guys manage to fail in the exams here..And the guys i'm referring to are the ones who defeated lacs and lacs of students all over India to emerge victorious..Many of them are state toppers itself..One reason i have often heard from people is that “Hey the college syllabus sucks , thats why i don’t study “..Now this statement suits guys who , bored of the shitty syllabus , do something creative on their own and learn lots of interesting stuff outside..The ones to whom i'm actually referring to are the guys who use this lame excuse to justify their “becoming cool and carefree” in the college..These guys are the ones who “abuse their hard earned seats”..

It is totally my perception..may even sound bullshit to some..But this is something i strongly disapprove becuase i believe we have been given the chance to study in this prestigious institution for some special reason..And the worst part is that this problem does not belong to any one particular institute in India..It is present everywhere including the big guns like IIT’s..It is indeed sad !!!

Still searching for the answers to these questions ,that have eluded me for so long…

Shame on you Bollywood!!

Ya shame on Bollywood !! What has happened to Bollywood ?? Don’t they have enough talented and creative writers and directors who can come up with new,original ideas rather than outright plagiarism..Lets delve deep into this matter..



My first encounter with this unseen aspect of bollywood was not “plagarised” story , but “plagiarised” music..And it was none other than our own Anu Malik..Boy he is undoubtedly the king of this field..I had often heard that lots of hindi movies are inspired from Hollywood movies..And getting inspired is still ok , but bollywood chose the path of completely stealing every idea of its counterpart..I remember the first movie where i myself witnessed plagiarism was “Pyaar to hona hi thaa“..If you remove some Hindi “mirch-masaala” which they added to give it an Indian flavor..Apart from that its ditto “French Kiss“..Then a couple of days back i saw a movie called “Philadelphia” and immediately it struck my mind that i have somewhere seen its corresponding Hindi version..After pondering for a while i rememebered that “Philadelphia - Homosexuality +Heterosexuality = Phir Milenge“…I felt like researching a bit more on this topic ..So i came across a site with a link called “Bollywood Inspirations..” and i was shocked to see the list of movies that had all been copied from Hollywood..Some of those were the movies which i was very proud of ,thinking that this was something totally Indian and original..I am pretty sure you guys too would be shocked to know that “Rang-de-basanti” which looked so-very Indian is also one among them..Its plot was copied from the 1948 drama “All my sons“..Sad indeed!!What hurts even more is that Bollywood people will never ever confess and accept that “what I’m dishing out has already been dished out in the “firangee” version decades back“..And they so proudly present it as if its their own creation..The one that deserves special attention is “Koi Mil gaya..“..If anyone of you saw the interviews of Rakesh Roshan , he used to say that the idea of this movie came to him from his 3-4 year old nephew/niece (don’t remember exactly..)..Why din’t he say that it was copied from the 1982 movie “E.T. the Extra Terrestrial” and a bit of “Forrest Gump(1994)“..(not pretty sure about this part though..) Then there are the big names like Dhoom,Hum Tum,kaante and the list is truly endless..

Now the million dollar question is Why?? Why does the Bollywood resort to such cheap means ?? Indians are not that creative and lack originality..Na i won’t buy that!!One of the possible reasons as i got from Wikipedia is :
“The Hindi film industry centered in Mumbai, commonly known as Bollywood, is an extremely prolific industry. Because films are often made quickly, on limited budgets, there is much incentive for certain scriptwriters and music directors to plagiarize. In some occasions, they may mine their own work, lifting riffs and themes from earlier films, imitate successful South Asian songs or films, or copy movies or hit songs from other countries’ film industries (such as Hollywood, the Korean film industry, the Malayalam film industry, etc.).”..Fair enough !! Personally i think rather than copying movies in totality , it will be better if we copy their approach of picking new stories..My experience says that most of the good Hollywood movies are derived from some novels or some real-life story..(Monster..)..Why can’t the Bollywood do the same ?? We have some excellent literature that has been going un-noticed for centuries..I’m pretty sure if they concentrate on translating Indian novels into movies then we can expect lots of “Devdas” like-movies in the future..I will be personally very interested in the Bollywood writers make more “Guru” like movies on real-life stories..If hollywood can make “Beautiful Mind” on John Nash , just imagine a similar movie on Ramanujam will be an equally big hit..I’m really excited to see the movie based on Gandhi’s son about his view on his ideal father..that will be one heck of a movie..The sad part is that Indian juntaa is not game for such serious movies..They still want to see actor-actress dancing around the trees..Thats why probably art movies never really became that popular in India..Hopefully Bollywood will stop imitating Hollywood and show the true magic of real Indian movies to the world!!

It's a boy-girl thing!!

Well this blog is about one of the interesting articles i read in some magazine a couple of years back..

So here it goes..The article was a survey that gave its viewpoint on a topic and accompanying figures..Well the topic dealt with the growing number of love affairs at school and college level and the figures showed the success rate of such relationships..I was amazed to find that only 3 out of 100 love affairs at school level and 12 out of 100 at college level finally translate into marriage in India..Phew!! The figures indeed are very discouraging for the so-called “love birds” of schools and colleges..Well let’s delve deep into the topic and find if that’s indeed true and if yes what are the possible reasons for the same…

As pretty much everyone of you would have seen and experienced that the facts mentioned above are indeed true..I have myself heard of 100’s of love cases of our seniors in the college but have only heard of two being converted into marriage till date..So what can be the possible reasons for the low conversion rate ?? Well personally i think that the major reason for this poor rate is the sincerity of purpose behind it..My personal opinion is that most of the people in college engage themselves in such relationships because it serves as a status symbol for them..So they are never that serious about the relationships..No wonder the success rate is that poor !! In case both the parties are doing it for boosting their status in the college , then its perfectly fine because it is harmless..But the problem occurs when one of the sides is just fooling around , riding high on his/her fake relationship while the other party is very serious about the issue and is really committed ..Then it gets really ugly !! And its very unfair on the other person because he/she has been used as a “status earning tool”..Nothing more,nothing less!! ..That can be indeed very damaging !! Most of these affairs don’t last that long and even if they survive the four years very few finally meet their destiny !!!

Being in 21st century i’m pretty sure boy-girl being from different backgrounds shouldn’t be a reason for this poor rate..Of the other possible reasons i can think of is probably we are not mature enough to handle such delicate stuff and we need more time..I’m not sure how much this funda is applicable to the college affairs , but it is surely very much applicable to school affairs..Whatever the reasons may be , it is sad to see such a low conversion rate in India ..Hope you guys can further throw some light into this matter!!

I'm still waiting!!

Sitting alone in the dark of the night,
I'm reminded of a friend ever so bright.
That pushes me down the memory lane,
And all it gives me is pain,pain and more pain.

Reminded am i of those colourful days that we shared,
The midnight teas,chats and night-outs that we dared.
Those were the best days of my otherwise dark life,
Those were the days of friendship and no strife.

What was i but a troubled soul,
devastated by the ones close to my heart.
Then i met you
and my life seemed to re-start.

Life seemed so beautiful with you around,
Life turned to heaven,sorrows were nowhere to be found.
Like a teacher you changed my life forever ,
but how was i to know that happiness was meant for me never.

Inexplicably you turned your back to me midway through,
i was left wondering whether its a bad dream
or is it for true???
Devastated was i , my world tore apart
How stupid was i , thought that will never ever part.

Days,months and years passed,
I kept waiting ,still hopeful.
Hopeful tat we will be someday re-united by fate,
Hopeful tat we will be the same old pals , my mate.

The painful wait kept getting longer and longer..
but you my friend were nowhere to be found.
The painful wait kept getting longer and longer..
those sweet memories still exist in my heart and all around.
But still hopeful am i ,that you will re-surface to ease my pain,
But still hopeful am i,that defying all odds,we will meet again.

A tribute to courage, a tribute to Anne Frank..

Ever since i saw the movie "The Freedom Writers" and heard a reference of Anne Frank and her famous diary,i wanted to read this timeless classic "The Diary of a young girl".And thankfully i finally got a chance to read this world classic- "a powerful reminder of the horrors of war and an eloquent testament to the human spirit".

The book shows that how a young thirteen year old girl matures beyond her years during her stay in the "Secret Annexe"-the secret hiding place where she stayed for two years to escape the brutalities of Nazis against Jews.The book takes one through the different faces of her personalities - her self-critical approach,her self-awareness,her innocence , the purity of her heart,her desire to be loved and to have a partner..But above all,the books shows that how the war leads to the degradation of human spirit and crushes it beyond recognition..People have a misconception that maturity is a function of time , but Anne proved it that the circumstances and your response towards them matures you rather than time..The courage the eight people in the "Secret Annexe" showed in the face of hunger,boredom,constant cruelties of living in confined quarters and the ever-present threat of discovery and death is really exemplary..The thing that touched me was the way in which Anne has presented herself and her pure,innocent thoughts..She totally captures the thoughts of any thirteen year old-boy or girl - their transition phase,sudden mood swings,sexuality,innocence but Anne while being like all of them is still much more..Contrary to her age she is highly self-aware of her personality and has matured enough to see herself from someone else's point of view and to constantly be self-critical of her in a positive way to improve herself with every passing moment..

I love that part of the diary where she gets romantically attracted to Peter,but gives it up all in the end to heed to her daddy's advice , thus again acting beyond her years..The part of the diary that really touches the core of my heart is the one where she silently craves for motherly love and where she is constantly embarrassed and scolded by everyone in the hiding , but she doesnt react to it and keeps the whirlpool of emotions inside her..

She indeed rises above everything - the holocaust,Judaism,girlhood and even goodness and has thus rightly became a totemic figure of the modern world..

I salute you a thousand times you brave girl!!