The glass flooring

‘Happy Bhoomikampo (HAPPY EARTHQUAKE)” was the update from a college mate I saw the very first time I logged in Facebook after the mighty earth quake. The same night I received a sms from a friend who related the earthquake to the dancing of rajnikanth. I too forwarded the sms to a friend. I regret that.

It was Sunday. Somewhere around 6:15 pm, I was watching Twilight on Star movies. I just heard a sound, no tremors till then I think or simply I could not realize at the moment. My mother who was in kitchen shouted but I was already near the gate. I tried taking my mother and grand mother who were at home at the moment out of the house. By the time I reached a somewhat open area, the quake had already started. Everybody was panicked. There were some who were so much terrified that they could not even understand what exactly had happened. At a time when most of the persons were just immovable and shocked, I saw a collie working as if nothing has happened. May be he believed he had nothing to loose. I also felt that the sound of drums of the Biswakarma puja had grown louder. I don’t exactly whether the people drumming beating it harder or it was the silence that made me feel so. suddenly, I heard a comment” Probol Brishti-er jonno ei ghotona ta hoyeche (The earthquake has been because of the continuous raining)”. Once I contemplating of asking the guy whether he meant that every time it rains, we should have an earthquake.  But did not bother and let him live in fool’s paradise. Today I saw a comment from Mamta Bannerjee in the newspaper. The chief minister also in a kind blamed global warming as the sole reason behind it. I wonder he will further blame the previous left front government in some way for this calamity.

The truth is when a chief minister (She is also a barrister) can pass such an ill-informed comment, what a lay minister is expected to do? I remember back 7/8 years, there were many signs suggesting what actions to be taken during earth quake. The signs were quintessential, on the walls of hospitals, government schools everywhere.  May be it was the disastrous earthquake in Bhooj, Gujarat on 26^th January, 2001. But as they say public memory is short and shorter is the memory of the administion. Most of the people do not know what exactly to do during such a massive earthquake. As the editor of The Telegraph said public awareness must be created when thousands of lives are at stake.

And lastly, for all the smart people who find it amazing, extraordinary, mind blowing, awesome, it is not the experience that made you happy. You are happy because you have survived even after such a disaster. You are happy because you are still able to comment on the tragedy. Agree?

Microsoft shows off new 'Windows 8' operating system - The Economic Times

Microsoft shows off new 'Windows 8' operating system - The Economic Times

My college

After four years of study here I am . Now that I have spend long 4 years in this college, I am at a point to say that this college has given me so much. I don't know how much exactly I have learned engineering but I have really experienced a lot during this time. I distinctly remember the boring chemistry and graphics labs in the first year. But the time outside classroom was all full of fun. The so called industrial trainings were even more fun. The nights spent with friends playing Counter Strike will never come back. Now my college days are over and when I look back I just see faces may of which will fade away with time. I just do not want to leave this college which has given me so much and taught me so much but that is the way it is . Every body comes and goes and what are left are just memories. Spent the last days of college with great fun from my surprise birthday party by friends , from departmental picnic to go carting, everything was just perfect. But now everything has come to an end. Will not see so many familiar faces again together. Now I will come to my college as an alumni. Good Bye SIT. Will miss you.

Life of an Average Indian Male

Life of an Average Indian Male- Part 1

So what's the life of an average Indian male like? I decided to make a short synopsis in this post. First of all, let me clarify what I mean by average. Basically the word is used to suggest that the person is an Indian male, preferably belonging to the middle class, has access to higher education, and does not face any severe hindrances[such as financial constraints] as such. You can say that he is from a well to do family, and has all the facilities which a middle class man does[including a Facebook account and a Smart-phone]. So how does he spend his life and what does he do? Lets begin.

First of all, in all probability, he will attend an English medium private school[hardly any middle class parent will make his son attend a regional/government school]. The school may not be outstanding, but is good enough to provide decent education to the child. Like everyone else, he faces his share of ups and downs in his school life. He is rewarded for his qualities and reprimanded for his misdeeds. He does good in some subjects and excels in a few extra-curriculars. He may be a good cricketer but a poor speaker. In short, he is good in few things, not-so-good in others. He enjoys Sports, but dislikes Chemistry. And so on and on. I believe most children have a similar lifestyle. Of course there are exceptional students and abysmal ones too, but majority lie somewhere in between, like our protagonist.
Lets give our hero a name, shall we? So we will call him Raj[the most banal name used by Bollywood]. Now Raj is entering teenage life. He is already 5 foot 8, and still growing. He gets to know and learn a lot more things. He may have an interest in Computer Programming, or he may be addicted to Mathematics. Perhaps he likes reading Science Fiction, or prefers bowling Leg Spin deliveries to his opponents. Slowly but steadily, he is gaining maturity and evolving into an adult. This is the adolescent period which every child has to pass through. He may develop an interest in the opposite sex[which is normal for every child his age]. He starts shaving soon enough. He participates in Debates, and Writing Competitions. He goes on to represent his School cricket team in a city cricket competition. He scores 100 out of 100 in his class 8 Mathematics exam. His class rank is always in the Top 5. He wins a few prizes, medals and certificates in co-curricular activities. He has a crush on his classmate. And so on and so forth. He does not like certain subjects such as History and Economics, but mugs up everything so as to score good marks in the exams.

Now Raj is in Class 10, an important juncture in his life. He sits for his Xth Board exams and scores a decent 89% overall, with 95% in Maths and Science. Naturally, his parents are delighted. Raj is also happy, though slightly disappointed on missing out of an even figure. He joins the Science stream in Plus 2, in the same school, along with most of his school friends.

Most of his friends have opted for IIT coaching at a local coaching institute. Raj also does the same. He starts following HC Verma for Physics, and Das-Mukherjee for Calculus. He dislikes Chemistry just as he did in school, but forces himself to go through Organic, Inorganic and Physical Chemistry textbooks. He tries to follow the study material given to him by the institute, but hardly gets any interest in doing so. His school teachers are average and of not much help in his IIT pursuit. He proposes to his classmate but gets turned down. The first rejection of his life hurts. He feels shattered, and does not understand why she refused to be his girlfriend. He tries to get rid of the pain by watching pornography, which is freely available. He spends hours every day on Facebook, chatting with strangers and playing Mafia Wars.

IIT preparation has become a pain. Still, Mathematics fascinates him and he tries to juggle in between his subjects. His parents forced him to take up Biology as well, since they felt he should appear for both Engineering and Medical exams. 'Why should I do so? I can't become both an Engineer and a Doctor, so why not focus on just one?', asked Raj in a monotonic voice. He got no satisfactory answer, but he knew that many of his friends were also doing the same. His best friend, Amit said ,'Yaar, am trying my luck in both medical and engineering exams. Kahi na kahi to ho hi jayega.' Neverthless Raj finds his current school life extremely dull, and loses interest in studying. He finds Biology extremely boring, and somehow manages to pass in the exams.

The Entrance exam season begins, and Raj takes the IIT-JEE, AIEEE, CBSE-AIPMT, State Engineering and Medical Exams, BITSAT, etc for the first time. He performs decently in board exams and manages to get 84%. However, when the entrance exam results are declared, Raj receives the shock of his life- Failed to qualify in all exams apart from the State Engineering one. With a poor rank in AIEEE, he knows he will not get into a good engineering college. So on the basis of his State Engg rank, his parents get him admitted into one of those million private engineering colleges which have mushroomed all across India in the past decade. The college is far from his home, and for the first time in his life, Raj shifts into a hostel. Raj got into Instrumentation Engineering, because his rank wasn't good enough to Get Electronics & Communication, or Computer Science, the two top branches.

Thus ends Raj's stage of life dealing with Primary Education. Now he is about to enter the stage of Higher Education. And become an Instrumentation Engineer in the next 4 years. Raj is initially disappointed at his performance, but at the same time also eager to taste the freedom and fun of the college life he has heard so much about.

Life of an Average Indian Male- Part 2

*Continued From Previous Post


So Raj finally begins his much awaited college life- he longs to enter the door into freedom. Now he will be free to do what he wishes. Now he can party whole night long without any restrictions. Now he is free to experiment with smoking, drinking and sex. Now he can freely bunk classes without fear of punishment. And what about studying? That too, subjects on Instrumentation engineering? No ways!

For starters, he isn't really sure why he is studying instrumentation engineering in the first place. He isn't even sure why he is in an engineering college. It's just that most of his friends have chosen engineering, and he just decided to go along with the flow. Raj doesn't care. He's entered college, now he is going to have fun and meet beautiful girls. He's a bit apprehensive about ragging however. Nevertheless he shifts into the hostel and eagerly waits for the first day to begin.

First day in college- Raj finds out where his classes are held and begins the day on a good note. Some of his school friends are in the same class with him. But there comes the first shock- In a class of 60 students, there are just 5 females. That too, none of them were worth giving a second glance. Whatever happened to the hot girls shown in colleges in the Hindi movies? 'Hindi movies are all crap,' he says to himself dejectedly. So he is going to spend 4 years like this? Worse, the teachers are horrible, and he falls into a slumber 30 minutes into the first class itself. He has basic electrical engineering, mathematics, physics, chemistry, English and basic Mechanics in the first semester. Mathematics is all right, but he hates all other subjects from the start. 'Come on.' He says to his classmates. 'Why on earth should an Instrumentation engineer study mechanics and chemistry? And what use is engineering drawing to us? How can such funny symbols help us in any way?'

'Dude, all engineering students need to do them. Not just you,' his friend remarks. Raj is disappointed. But he doesn't know yet that things are going to get worse.

The seniors drop in for a casual visit. Except it isn't that casual after all. The ragging period stretches on for a month, and Raj is forced to do all sort of nefarious things which he never thought he would have to. Add to that the dull, insipid classes and the rotten hostel food. On top of it, his room is hot as hell, without any ventilation, and there isn't even a proper playground nearby. 'What mess have I gotten myself into?', he exclaims. 'Is college life supposed to be like this?' Before long, Raj is fed up. Thankfully, the ragging period gets over after a month. But the vapid classes continue. Raj fails to find any good looking girl in the entire campus. The few decent ones are already committed. And thanks to the 90:10 ratio[male:female], he gives up trying his luck.

'It's as if all guys want to get into engineering and all good looking girls want to stay far away from engineering colleges. It's so unfair', he moans. Frustrated beyond all control, and fed up of staying single his entire life Raj takes up smoking and drinking in order to get rid of his depression. Soon, he finds both activities quite pleasurable and becomes hooked. He spends the lazy nights smoking on the terrace of his hostel floor and watching pornographic movies on his laptop. Life is finally becoming good. Though the classes and exams remain as intolerable as always.

First sem results are declared and Raj gets a measly 6.34, somehow managing to pass in all subjects[thanks to his newly acquired cheating prowess]. That result shocks his parents, who till now believed that their child was one of the best. Raj also isn't amused. How come one of the best students in school end up like this? Hadn't he prepared hard to clear the engineering entrance exams? Then why does he dislike his subjects so much now? Why is it that Thevenin and Norton go over his head? How come power systems and fluid dynamics make him feel suffocated? 'This isn't what I wanted to do,' he remarks finally one fine day, after completing 3 miserable years in his college and scoring a series of 6 points GPA. But engineering is that best career choice there is. All engineers are hard working students and the ones who deserve good jobs.

Disillusioned and disheartened, Raj simply bears the pain. One day, he sees that few of his classmates were taking Computer coaching classes. On further inquiring, he comes to know that they are learning C++, Java, Oracle, Dot Net, and other programming languages. 'What for? Why does an Instrumentation Engineer needs to learn them?,' Raj wonders. Then he realizes. Post recession, the 'Placements' situation in college has been dismal to say the least. And the few companies which are coming are all from Information Technology[I.T.]. So acquainting oneself with programming skills will surely help one to get an I.T. job. 'Raj buddy, you should know that people get into engineering just for jobs and nothing else. There is no scope for interest or passion here. We are all misfits here, but we need jobs, which only engineering colleges can provide.' Initially Raj is a bit skeptical about this. 'Is that really so? Can only engineering graduates get good jobs? What about people who are interested in History, or Painting, dance, Commerce, Architecture, Microbiology, etc? Is there no scope for them?' But slowly Raj is convinced that he too must try to get into an I.T. job. He joins the tuition classes along with his friends and tries to learn C, C++ ,DBMS, Java and J2EE. Most of the things go above his head. Not long after, he starts hating the tuition classes as well. But since the placement season is approaching, he goes along with it.

Fast forward to the Fourth Year- the reason why every meritorious student joins an engineering course- the Placements Season arrives. As feared, no core company comes to campus. It's just a few I.T. companies and that too lowly ranked ones. After struggling through the aptitude tests and interviews, Raj somehow manages to get into an 'Unheard of' I.T company. What surprises him is that whatever he had learned during the past 3 years[including the computer classes] was completely laid to waste. The job was related to Software testing, which he hadn't even heard of earlier. There was just one question ringing in Raj's head, as he attended the college convocation programme to get his engineering degree- 'Why on earth did I waste 4 years of my life doing something which I never liked, when I never needed that knowledge to get a job(that too something totally different from my domain)?'

At the moment, Raj did not have the answer. He prepared himself to join the workplace, which was in another city.

Life of an Average Indian Male- Part 3

Last we remember, Raj had joined an average I.T. company. He moved into a house as a P.G. The food sucked, and the place was awfully hot. Still, he tried to get used to the new environment. However the workplace had another nasty surprise in store for him.

Raj was unlucky enough to have a demon in disguise of a boss. From the worst day onwards he was treated like a slave, made to work incessantly for 12 hours at a stretch. Even when he finally trudged back to his apartment, he would still have some work left over for the day. The work kept on piling, and Raj was handed one assignment after the other. He scarcely had time to eat, let alone relax or entertain himself. Moreover, he did not get along well with his colleagues. Most were engineers from Tier-3 colleges who did not understand anything about the work or the project they were working on. At max, they could perform Control+C/Control+V jobs. Raj himself found it quite difficult to cope up with an I.T. environment, though at least he knew the basics. However working on a Java environment was tough for him. Still he slogged on, day in and night, without any breaks.

Raj lost track of time. His state became even more disheveled than before. 6 months passed, an year, and then two. There was no scope of any promotion and Raj hardly got an increment in his salary. Perks were few and far in between. But the worst part was the monotonous nature of the job. He had done practically the same thing every day, each week for the past 2 years. And now he was fed up. He desperately wanted a change from this hectic work routine. He couldn't even remember when he had last gone to watch a movie or taken a day off. Plus all this work was taking a grave toll on his health. The smoking and drinking did not help either, apart from relieving his momentary tensions.

One fine day, as Raj was wondering around the aisle of his office floor, he noticed 2 of his colleagues talking in low tones. He tried to get closer without looking conspicuous. He was a bit surprised to see them solving Mathematical problems in their exercise books. That was clearly not related to the work they were supposed to be doing. It was then that the word MBA struck his ear. Raj gathered his nerves and spoke to the two guys about their current occupation. They admitted that they were preparing for MBA entrance exams during their work hours. Moreover they remarked such a practice was common throughout the country, as many I.T. professionals avoided work to prepare for MBA exams. Raj was suddenly excited. He could feel the old enthusiastic feeling of his pre-college years come back to him. This was what he needed, to rise the corporate ladder, to get a decent salary, a resplendent house, a beautiful girlfriend, maybe even the Honda City he had dreamed of. And the key to achieve his dreams was this simple degree- MBA. Why hadn't he thought about it earlier?

Without wasting any more time, Raj enrolled for Sunday classes at a local coaching institute. He spared 2-3 hours every Sunday for the classes, and tried to revise the basics of English and Mathematics whenever he could get time. He started slacking off in his work, so that he could concentrate on his work. Mock test season started, and Raj started taking mocks, confident that he would be amongst the best students in the country. However, to his shock, he could only manage a paltry 77 percentile in his first test. Frustration grew and so did Raj's anger. Now he started ignoring his friends, family. He had only one goal in life- MBA from a top institute. He solved as many problems he could. But try as hard as he might, he could never go above 85 percentile in mocks. 'Forget it, I will score well in the actual CAT exam,' Raj consoled himself.

CAT came and went. So did 5 other competitive exams for which Raj appeared. Now came the agonizing wait for the results. Finally, the D-day arrived. 89.37 percentile overall in CAT. Raj felt as if someone had shot an arrow which pierced his heart. How on earth could he have scored so low? 3 of his colleagues had scored above 98 percentile and had resigned from their jobs. Raj was mad with envy. However, he still filled up the forms of a few 2-tier Bschools, and managed to secure admission in an average Bschool, which offered decent placements[according to the prospectus]. Raj was so desperate for a profile change that he did not bother to inquire about the details of the bschool.

Finally, Raj bade his dull I.T. job goodbye. 'Its time to go back to school,' he smiled.

Fast forward 2 years into the future.

'Sales and Trading? What on earth is it?,' asked Rahul, Raj's cousin.

'I have no idea. But the company was paying well, so I opted for it,' Raj replied.

'But are you sure it's the right choice? Will you like the job if you don't even know what you are supposed to do?'

'Does not matter. Whatever it is, it will be better than that damn I.T. job, am sure of it.'

Saying this Raj took up his new job.

2 months later.

'What is all this crap? What on earth am I doing here? All this finance numbers and additional accounts data makes no sense to me at all,' Raj moaned. 'Corporate finance? Banking regulations? Its all nonsense to me. Is it so hard to find a job which one may like doing?'

'But how could this happen to me? MBA was supposed to bring me riches, and unlock the gates of happiness and wealth. Everyone is running after it, so it should be a valuable degree. But I am feeling just as miserable, if not worse in this new job. Just what on earth went wrong?'

(Taken from http://satwinderspeaks.blogspot.com/)