Change is constant

16 posts after my first post on myself, the subject is me again.

Its been three tough weeks post midsems.The ordeal just didn't seem to get over.One thing led to another, worse than the previous experience. I got drained both pyhsically and mentally. Though this change took me by surprise, somewhere in the back of my mind I could see something coming coz I for one firmly believe that if all is going well, as thought and desired something somewhere is seriously wrong. So even though I was hit hard the impact didn't do severe damage. It took me some time to realize what I was being tested for;was it what I firmly believed in and stood for, was it all that I had invested my time and energy in or was it something I didn't pay attention too. Well as I look back I see myself coming out of the mele much stronger. The dots when joined have formed an interesting chain.My beliefs have been endorsed. Im still firm on my cause and few subjects untouched by me have come to the fore.

I coined many one liners during this whole period.  These were the basis on I justified my doing. Yesterday in many ways I wrote the last page of the episode. Today Im relieved. The phase is over and Im back not to my original self but to a different self. I have also been successful in defining this "change" in words.

As the academic year comes to an end I distance myself from many activities. Among all these EDC is and will continue to be close to my heart.

I remind myself; What is better than the vision, the cause.What is better than the negative,the positive. What is better than working hard, working smart And what is better than a long post, a short one!

The metamorphosis is now over…am ready to unleash myself again!

Muddled Musings

~ At times I fail to find company better than myself… so I tread alone. I picked up a cup of cardamon tea from the canteen and started my walk. Cool,strong breeze was blowing across the campus. I went and sat by the lakeside. The reflection of the street lights in the lake was enchanting.The wind seduced me and within minutes I lied down. Was now staring at the dark sky and  gazing at the constellations. I was relaxed. I turned my mind blank and then let it wander. Ideas, thoughts, solutions flew…It never felt so good.

~The next night Pahuja, Doctor(Guptaji) and myself took the route under construction. We reached the national highway, touched the pillar and returned. Dunno what we intended to do. Directionless walking post dinner!

~Dil pe chot: How is one supposed to react when your prof remarks “Arre, Jaspreet aaj darshan de diye.” Fortunately for me Yogesh came to my rescue. He arrived and made his presence felt.(His attendance in class is next to zilch).

~ The hour well spent at CCD,Hub. Cool blue rocks! A lot can happen over coffee,indeed.

~An interesting piece of news : French turn off their mobiles during meals, Chinese call & hang up after few seconds while Spanish are reluctant to use voicemail.But when it comes to Indians, it is the missed call they are (in)famous for. It is supposedly around 20-25%.

 

Blank Noise

Reading blogs(of junta whom I do not know) is always a nice break.Of late I take a break in between reading blogs.One gets to know the viewpoint of those not in your domain.More often than not the subject of discussion between the guys with whom I spend most of my time revovles around our own lives which in most cases is quite restricted. Hence the enjoyable experience in reading blogs. And they blog really well too.

Yesterday evening I got directed to Blank Noise. Its not a personal blog. Its about Eve Teasing-Street sexual  harassment. Its an effort to spread awareness among the dominant half of the human race and to get the other half united and stronger. I wasn’t convinced to post a blog till I read Annie’s blog and most of the 197 comments posted.I am a proud Mumbaikar.Have been one and will continue to be one.In my opinion Mumbai is one of the safest cities for the fairer sex where they are respected for their being.I hope I can continue to say this not just on comparative terms but on absolute basis too.

When I first landed here in IITG, I agree that the negligible number of females in the campus was a turn off. However I came in for a shock to see the treatment meted out to them by the guys out here. Right from day 1 of the ragging session the females were commodified as mere sexual objects. It was at its peak during the first month and there was no difference in attitude during the fresher’s eve too. Even today I condemn what a fellow batchmate did and applaud the response of the victim. Since then all I have got to see is male chauvinism.There have been so many incidents,I do not know where to start from. The females were the topic of discussion on the mess table or jokes were being cracked on their looks.They were targetted in gags,the common nouns being replaced with proper nouns.These very same guys later wish to befriend them.Do these guys have any self respect,in my opinion sorry.

I remember the incident in December ‘04. The football team returning after playing a match at the Sports Authority of India Stadium.It was early morning,around 9. We were 16 of us in the IITG bus.Every good looking female that the bus went pass by had around 20 eyes gazing at her. At times remarks were passed too.It was embarassing not just for the females but also for the others not a part of that group.Junta on the streets could listen to shouts of 3′o clock,6 ‘o clock….Thats street harassment or in milder terms eve teasing. This happened more than once.I made a statement then ridiculing what the guys were doing and even today at times I do get nagged.

There have been a few more incidents which involved guys whom I call my friends. A few anecdotes being narrated with pride. Some feeling sad about the fact that they weren’t at the right place at the right time. I have expressed my discontent to them at times but till date there has been an insignificant change in their approach. I also recollect the scene at Pizzeria where we were an extended group.Kisses were flying from one table to another.Add to this the numerous incidents of the digital media being used to breach the private space.I also fail to explain the behavior of some of my friends towards their only female colleague. You might not hold her in high esteem, why the need to ridicule her. Why initiate a dialogue which will lead to ill feelings?Why nag those who befriend her?  Despite having accepted their fault, a few fail to correct themselves and a few still flow with the tide.

This proves a fact that good quality education does not suffice.What is needed is a change in mentality,the process of thinking.Your attitude towards the fairer sex should change.Learn to respect them.And in some cases its better they learn the hard way. I wish the same for some.

Courtesy the links on the Blank Noise blog I realize the gravity of the issue and how widespread this problem is. I guess I never realized this or put much thought into it…Is simply being a woman can at times be an invitation?

After the sudden spate of rape cases in the capital, Samna, the Shiv Sena mouthpiece carried an article that asked women to wear less skimpy clothes. An opinion poll was conducted by TOI. Around 65% of those voted agreed with the article. Categorize this junta as educated middle & upper middle class who log on to the net frequently. This should be a good indicator as to where the problem lies. I was of the same opinion too till yesterday. I do partly blame the elctronic media for the change in culture however the bulk of the responsibility lies with the male folks. I felt sad when Annie and Neha noted a few dos and donts not only to ward off a few hooligans but also to protect themselves for being blamed for being the victim,for the “invitation”.

Making note of what Deep has to say, its also important for families to treat their sons and daughters at par. At some level, the discrimination that stems in the family leads to an unhealthy mentality.Female folks need to be made independent and self sufficient. Its the development of the aptitude and the attitude.

Ek Onkar

Around Mid Jan I happened to read an Indiatimes blog which talked about Sikhism. The subject was such that only an individual with a good understanding of the Granth Sahib and the Sikh history could attempt answering the various questions. I scraped (chirkutting) the link to Deep who on 26th Jan reported for work and mailed me his views. His mail dealt with the concept of God and Religion.He reasoned the existence of God to the uncertainity in our lives.
Consider the birth of human race and the changes since then.There have been many unexplained happenings to the dislike of mankind. The reasons for failure ,the fear for one’s life,loss of material wealth, lack of a broader vision,natural calamities are among the many reasons for the belief in God to have spread around. We attribute the unknown to a supreme being.

~Recollect the first time that you were introduced to the system of God and religion.How many times do you pay a visit to the Temple,Masjid,Church or a Gurudwara…before xams, during fests,feasts, when one is experiencing a rough patch in life, for a happy family life ,
you wish for success in your career and a few more.There is restlessness. All these are beads on the thread of fear.

Religion as a discipline; the code of conduct that brings together a group of people. A force that that can make someone belive in the other.Credit this to the fact that Man is a social animal.
Religion is nothing more than a set of rules. Junta with varied skill sets spread all over the globe believes and follows the same scripts. Your faith in them is reinforced when when you taste success and are satisfied with your proceedings of your life.Any discomfort and you question them till you are convinced by some theory and hypothesis.At times one tends to believe in something only because it does no harm to him albeit one might not be “impressed” with the conept.

~I earnestly belive in a structure that exists on this planet. Its definitely dynamic and can be attributed a logic too. There is a need for equilibrium to exist for without which there is an imbalance which disturbs the aura of the individuals involved. The humanrace can be categorized on the basis of how one
strives to survive. There is set of individuals believed to be intellects, who lay the rules of the game. There are those who religiously follow them. Then there are a few who think otherwise,few
bend them,some set their own rules and rest evolve with the rules.

~Give this structure the look of a corporate model:Various divisions with people specialised in their field.They put in efforts to meet the requirments of that division. Together with the other departments they deliver to their customer.The management structure is a pyramid.At every stage we have a leader who guides his team. As we move up the ladder we reach the board of directors
headed by the chairman. For the firm to pocket profits the contribution has to come from all quarters. All divisions may have varied styles of working but the ultimate goal is to serve the customer and increase profits.A part of this profit is redistributed among the very same employees as incentives. This cycle continues and the firm grows. There is a need for the firm to have a vision and a code of conduct. The
Chairman inspires among his team members his goals which percolate till the bottomline. Now, raise the scale to the world order.Put in place God as the Chairman and Religion as the vision.Various religions as the divisions in the structure.You stick to the discipline and goals of the department,one suceeds both on the professional and personal front which leads to the growth of the firm.

~ However I also believe that such a system can never function smoothly.Variation has to exist. If all mortals deliver there shall be harmony lest they are at war. All of us make a difference to our own being.

Laws,Theorems and Axioms.

-If you change queues, the one you have left will start to move faster than the one you are in now.

-When you dial a wrong number, you’ll never get it engaged.

-Once you have grease all over your hands, your nose will begin to itch.

-Any tool, when dropped, will roll to the least accessible corner.

-If you tell the boss you were late for work because you had a flat tyre, the next morning you will have a flat tyre.

-When you are taking your bath and have soap all over your body, the telephone rings.

-The probability of meeting someone you know increases when you are with someone you don’t want to be seen with.

-When you try to prove to someone that a machine won’t work, it will!

-The severity of the itch is inversely proportional to the reach.

-People with the seats at the furthest from the aisle arrive last.

-As soon as you sit down for a cup of hot coffee, your boss will ask you to do something which will last until the coffee gets cold.

-If there is a possibility of several things going wrong, the one that will cause the most damage will be the one to go wrong.

Sidhuisms

Here is my collection:

1.That ball went so high that it could have got an air hostess down with it.

2. There is light at the end of the tunnel for India, but it’s that of an incoming train which will run them over.

3. Experience is like a comb that life gives you when you are bald.

4. This quote was made after Ganguly called Dravid for a run, sent him back midway and Dravid was run out in the third test against the West Indies at Barbados.”Ganguly has thrown a drowning man both ends of the rope.”

5. Sri Lankan score is running like an Indian taximeter.

6. Statistics are like miniskirts, they reveal more than what they hide.

7. Wickets are like wives – you never know which way they will turn!

8. He is like Indian three-wheeler, which will suck a lot of diesel but cannot go beyond 30!

9. The Indians are going to beat the Kiwis! Let me tell you, my friend that the Kiwi is the only bird in the whole world, which does not have wings!

10. As uncomfortable as a bum on a porcupine.

11. The ball whizzes past like a bumble -bee and the Indians are in the sea.

12. The Indians are finding the gaps like a pin in a haystack.

13. The pitch is as dead as a dodo.

14. Deep Dasgupta is as confused as a child is in a topless bar!
(I remember Sagar writing to me during some lecture in I guess Roys or was it Agrus …)

15. The way Indian wickets are falling reminds of the cycle stand at Rajendra Talkies in Patiala,one falls and everything else falls!

16. Indian team without Sachin is like giving Kiss without a Squeeze.

17. You cannot make Omlets without breaking the eggs.

18. Deep Dasgupta is not a Wicket Keeper, he is a goalkeeper. He must be given a free transfer to Manchester United.

19. He will fight a rattlesnake and give it the first two bites too.

20. One, who doesn’t throw the dice, can never expect to score a six.

21. This quote was made after Eddie Nichols, the third umpire, ruled Shivnarine Chanderpaul ‘NOT OUT’ in the second test at Port of Spain T&T “Eddie Nichols is a man who cannot find his own buttocks with his two hands.”

22. Anybody can pilot a ship when the sea is calm.

23. Nobody travels on the road to success without a puncture or two.

24. You got to choose between tightening your belt or losing your pants.

25. The cat with gloves catches no mice.

26. Age has been perfect fire extinguisher for flaming youth.

27. You may have a heart of gold, but so does a hard-boiled egg.

28. He is like a one-legged man in a bum kicking competition.

29. The third umpires should be changed as often as nappies and for the same reason.

30. Kumble’s bowling at the moment is flat as a Dosa.

31.Told about Geoffrey Boycott: If he were put in a bucket full of nipples he would
come out sucking his own thumb.

32.If ifs n buts were pots n pans there wud ve been no tinkers.

33.If my aunty was a man he would have been my uncle.

34.When you are walking with grown up dogs you shouldnt pee like a puppy.

35.Andey aur Vaadey to todne ke liye hee hotein hain.

This was one nice break in between preparation for the tomorrow’s xam.I must thank the admin for scheduling the six papers in six days.Working on Saturday is more peaceful than
six papers in five days.