PRe eXaM aNaLYSiS

Dear diary,
        It all starts two days (or is it one) before the Exam. In our otherwise peaceful and happy life here, exams are to us what storms are to a sailor; they make his voyage tough, the sailor battles his ship through the storm and what emerges after the storm is a sailor, stronger at heart, tougher in spirit and with the memories of an eventful voyage.  So, the D-day arrives, which demands actual preparation,not the combined study, which is done the whole one week prior to the exam, which eventually turns into a discussion about girls and stuff that interests us.
      So, we start the preparation. Like the caveman's search for food, our search for knowledge begins:
1. Procurement: The first step involves the procurement of raw material ie. notes. People who were hitherto considered as nerds, book worms, suddenly start gaining importance. People flock their rooms asking them, No, requesting them, for their notes so that they can have it xeroxed. Like a not-too-pretty girl suddenly receiving attention, they realize that it's their time and start doing the inevitable: show attitude. After a lot of persuading, you manage to get your hands on the notes and Eureka!!! Off to the Xerox shop.


2.Filtering: With the raw material ready, you would filter the useless stuff and now are left only with the stuff that'll earn you marks( None of us wants to do any sort of research, right!!)


3.Reading( equivalent to cooking for a caveman): With the raw material sorted out, we get started. This is the toughest part; it is going to be tough when you have very little knowledge of what you're actually doing. Starting from the base, then the concept, then the problems, you would realize that you've made a mistake by starting way too late and then the resolutions. You would say to yourself that from the next time on, you would start off early( Strangely though, this rarely happens). While some panic and black out with the excuse of a 'Defaulter', others struggle; struggle to make sense of the maze right in front of their eyes.


4.Digestion: Now is the time to see if your effort does pay off; if you can manage to pull this off. Rather, if you can digest the stuff you've read. While 'Muggus' have a happy time mugging things, others, in search of true knowledge, run helter-skelter in search of a Guru. Gurus need not necessarily be nerds, but are those who manage to get a deeper insight into the subjects, either through self realization or through nerds.
        
      And then the battlefield: The Examination centre. 
     I think I need to get going. I've got an exam tomorrow; Thanks to my roomie, I can directly start off from step 3.


 Bye.

i (We) aM (aRE) SiNGLE

Note: All throughout I would be using the word 'We' and not I coz here I'm going to tell you what, not me alone, but a major section of the youth thinks about being single.

Dear diary,

With Valentine's Day round the corner, We all say this together," Man!!! Look at us. Another Valentine's Day's gonna go by and we would still remain single". But atleast experience has taught us this: Having a girlfriend is like a villager owning a BMW Car. He has to handle the car with care; bumpy roads, ditches all throughout, and one little damage and it would cost him a fortune to get it repaired. The rest of the village( We single guys) who well know they could never in their lifetime own such a beauty, say in unison," Oooh!!! Look at her. What a beauty!!! How I wish she could be mine one day." The villager then deems himself the hero of the town but at same time starts worrying," kahi kisi aur ki nazar na lag jaye meri wali pe". So the villager starts taking extra of his BMW; showering all his love on her and his money; The BMW, Of Course cannot mint money of her own. In the end the episode leaves the villager frustrated, restless, anxious and any one of the two can happen to him: One, he would spend his life in anxiety, fear that that his BMW might get stolen. Two, if he were a sensible fellow, he would sell the BMW to someone else and lead a happy life using either taxis or public transport for his travelling!!!!!!"

So, saying so We slip hands into each others shoulders and sing aloud:

Yeh dosti koi ladki nahi todegi,

Chhodenge relationship magar,

Tera saath na Chhodenge.

                  Yes, we are those who laugh at a boy trying to convince his girlfriend, talking hours on end, saying," Man!!! look at him. He has ruined his life" but at the same time , deep down we have this feeling: ' When am I going to meet the girl of my dreams'. It isn't that we're gay or something neither are we Calcigeinophobic( fear of beautiful girls). Agreed we're no Tom Hanks to be expecting a super hot girl as our g.f. Agreed we're no Rockstars; We're not cool singers, neither are we dancers (which means no chance of dancing hand in hand with a girl), summed up: We're not famous. Still we're smart, all the same, And most importantly, are happy.But we have this one thing: Relationship -o- phobia. Afraid that relationships might change us, might decrease our degree of freedom, might alienate us from our friends. Also, this is India. Relationships are not easily accepted at home. We have large barriers( based on religion, caste and what not). We're afraid that we might not be able to make a 'Two States' out of our lives. It is these fears, with no base, that leave us single on Valentine's Day.

             Now the brighter side. There are facilities which we single guys enjoy exclusively. We see a guy going out with gals and shout aloud," B******d, look at him. Saala yaha pe to ek bhi nahi mil rahi hai. Do do ke saath jaa raha hai." And saying so, we laugh, laugh at our own fate and enjoy. Believe me, We are the ones having more real fun than the guy with two gals. We tease girls, talk about them, obscene stuff, of course and most importantly, we fantasize, about the girl of our life. How she would look, where she is right now and Man! Is she not perfect in our dreams. The commited guys can't actually do this. They're stuck to the same girl.

            Summing up, we would say this," As long as we're single, we shout this aloud,' Stay Single, Be Happy' and we're single not because fate has decided us to be but because we have chosen to be.

            Anyways, Happy Valentines Day in advance.

P.S. 1.  After you finish reading this, make sure you ask god my to bring our 'being single streak' to an end.
      2. The 'summing up' sentence was only written to show off attitude. But, No, We don't have attitude for the fact that We're single.


Bye.

IT To IIT

Dear Diary,
       The 'IT to IIT' Protest that is to be held tomorrow tells one very important thing: hum log haar nahi maanne wale hai. Agreed, the stakes are not pretty high that this event might actually stimulate the lousy politicians who are putting up a real good show out there in the Parliament; seeing to it that the bill would not come up for discussion in the Rajya Sabha. But the message is clear: We would fight till the end for the conversion, even harder, maybe, so that the thick skinned politicians might actually take us seriously. If not us, we would want the future IT BHU generation( I guess that would be the IIT BHU generation by then) to enjoy the benefits.
       IT has always been that neglected child who craved for his mother's attention, and that he got by throwing regular fits of tantrum. Starting from 1971; the time from when the selection here was made through the IIT-JEE, protests were held, 'Dilli Chalo' Andolans performed, assurances given by the politicians, all this for the IIT status; for the much needed 'IIT Standard facilities' and the respect( that the other IITians get) that the IT janta craves for and very much deserves.
       The student participation in these protests had always been high, clearly showing the unity and power that the student community here has. But is the adrenaline gush,that the IT Janta here possesses, enough? Yes wouldn't be the answer. The cheap tricks played by the politicians and the BHU administration had stopped this from happening for the past 40 years. But there has been development.With the bill passed in the Lok Sabha, we're only one step closer from getting the bill passed. Will the bill be passed for the common good or will it be kept hung in balance like the 'Women Reservation Bill In The Parliament', God knows. Rather, politicians know.
     Guess we'll have to wait with our fingers crossed.


Bye.

BooKS:CLoSeST To MaN

Dear diary,
      By books here, I hope you realize that I'm not talking about the voluminous textbooks that talk about Sciences and the laws that govern nature but little about about the laws that run living beings. I know I'm being gross about the textbooks. Agreed, that these books are needed for the civilizations to prosper; But when it comes to books being our friends, you wouldn't want to read 'Concepts of Physics:2' by H.C.Verma when you're upset or something and would want a respite from your world for sometime, maybe.You would rather read an inspiring work of fiction or an excellent piece of literature.So, no offence meant, in any way, to the scientists of the mathematicians or to people who deal with anything in the textbooks.
     Books have this amazing property of teleporting us to a new world. A good author, according to me is the one who manages to do this perfectly. When you're reading a book, you're actually going into the book, standing near the scene and watching the whole thing happen. When you're bookmarking the page and closing the book, you're actually pressing the pass button and telling the book,"Man! I think I'll go live my own life for a while, will catch up with you later". So apt is the description of some of the authors, that not only do you find the book enacting itself in front of you but you would also relate yourself to some character. So now you're not standing there and watching things happen but are a part of the book itself
       A good book is like an old friend who has something new to tell you everytime you open it. No words are exchanged between you and the book, it is only a flow of feelings that take place. The book expresses to you and you reciprocate your feelings back. Books, unlike humans don't change. So you are friends forever. In Mahatma Gandhi's words: A good book is like a companion who you can always cling on to for help and support.
     Now, Why so emotional about books? One, I've recently finished reading 'The Life Of Pi', one of the best novels I've ever read.So much has the book inspired me, moved me that I thought I should tell you this. Two, right now I'm novel free; meaning, Both the novels I've brought from home have exhausted and it is when you're away from something that you realize its importance.
     I should say that being novel free has done me good. I'm able to, rather,I'm having time to look at the other books around me; by other books, I mean Electrical Machinery by Bhimbra, Optimization by S.S.Rao and many many more.
    Cheers to all those authors who helped me shape my imagination, who helped me write and who inspire me everytime I read their works.


Bye.

RePuBLiC DaY: DiaRY oF a CoMMoN MaN

     Waking time today wasn't the usual 6:30am. No rush hour. Could spent the entire day with my family; Thank God India became a Republic.Woke up pretty late, at about 9( I had a really long night, for obvious reasons, you know) and the first thing I saw as I opened my eyes: a smiling Priya holding a cup of coffee. How I wish I could see my wife smile so sweetly everyday. She rarely smiles on a working day. Rather she rarely has time to and I rarely have time to see her smile.
     Did my usual chores very slowly enjoying every part of it.Then the Republic Day Parade. Me, Priya and kids, we do it every year. We watched the parade and the cultural programmes that follow, together.Initially, it was the four of us. Ten minutes pass by, and my kids go out to play. Ten more minutes, and Priya who was fulfilling her responsibility as a wife by sitting along with me says," Honey, I know how much you like this but it really is getting pretty boring. I think I'll go sleep for some time. Wake me up at 1, khana to banaya hi nahi maine". How could these people not like all this stuff? Watching the events with the current like feeling flowing through my spine all the time; I really felt patriotic.
    Any Republic Day resolutions? Yes.I'll try to be a responsible citizen. And how will I do that?I don't know. Maybe, as an LIC agent, I would make people have their lives and precious things in their lives insured so that their loss wouldn't leave them completely devastated. Yes, I know this is silly but what else can I do on my part? You wouldn't expect me to sit at the India-China border and stop the Chinese infiltration into India.No.I'm not meant to do that.If everyone does his part responsibly, I guess the country would've gone way ahead than where it finds itself right now.
    Spent the entire evening playing with kids and then teaching them Maths. How I wish India would've become a Republic not on on a single day but on multiple occasions. Had dinner together and had to go to bed early. Can't have a long night today!!!!
    Oh god make sure, atleast from the next time, that holidays fall either on Saturdays or on Mondays; Not like this in the middle of the week.

ThE 'RaBDI' THEORY

Dear diary,
       'Pahelwan ji ki lassi' is the best lassi in the world(to me,that is). After a heavy meal at some restaurant, lassi going down the throat is what I would call ecstasy. Now why this sudden interest in lassi? Let me tell you.
      Along with the sweetest lassi served, 'the icing on the cake' is the Malai and Rabdi on top.I was always in the habit of avoiding Rabdi and maybe, asking for an extra helping of Malai. I don't know why I disliked Rabdi, I felt it ruined the taste of the lassi.But recently, I developed a special liking towards Rabdi and I find myself looking forward to the Rabdi more than the Lassi itself.Why this sudden change? Has the Rabdi changed? I don't think so.This shop is quite orthodox. Things don't change here.Or have the DNA strands in my body decided to change their orientation so that I start liking Rabdi. Not possible. I guess genetic mutations take place over generations. The answer is simple: I've stopped having preconceptions about the taste of Rabdi. That is when I coined the 'Rabdi Theory'.
      "Like the way it happened to me with Rabdi, if we were to look at things and people in life without preconceptions, we might actually change our opinions about them".Who knows, we might be liking the very same person whom we had detested earlier.Not necessarily because they've changed but maybe because we've started looking at them from a whole new point of view or maybe, without preconceptions.The proof to this theory lies in the fact that we aren't programmed machines who wouldn't do anything beyond their coding but are creatures with feeling, and feelings tend to change when we start things anew.
  Life does teach us a lot of things.


Bye.

ReaLitY Vs FAnTaSY

Dear diary,
       How would fantasy be defined? Fantasy, I guess is living the life of our dreams. A life, which does not contain things we are not happy with, in which things happen to us which we pretty well know wouldn't happen in reality. Summed up, fantasy is a life in which you are your own God, you control things; how they happen and what happens.It isn't the world that is going to do the decision making for you.
      Then what is reality? Reality is what actually happens to us. Scientifically put, it is the earth moving around the Sun, the Sun moving along with the Milky Way in this infinitely vast universe with us moving along with them.
      Now comes the question: Why do we fantasize? rather Why do we have to fantasize? The answer, I guess, is simple: in search of happiness. If reality and fantasy were to coincide, I wouldn't be calling that a life, that would be bliss. Come on, we all know there is no person on this planet Earth who is so very much satisfied with his life,with his day to day goings, that he would say,"I don't have the need to fantasize.I don't live a perfect life parallel to reality. My life is perfect".A sadhu who has attained inner peace would be fantasizing of his place in heaven at God's abode. Brad Pitt would be fantasizing of a chick hotter than Angelina Jolie. A bald man would be fantasizing of himself as being Baba Ramdev someday. No one is an exception.
    Do we have to fantasize? Isn't it dangerous? I mean, if fantasy dominates Reality in our lives,that is when you are down with schizophrenia( a psychological term that has got something to do with delusions).I wouldn't say yes for an answer. The sense of euphoria experienced when we fantasize of being someone we have dreamt of being someday, but couldn't be, is worth the risk taken. Life is this balance between Reality and fantasy and we're all heading towards the same common goal: 'To merge Reality with fantasy'.


Bye.