Ankit :: My Reflection

'MRA Cultural Night Performance' - The Video

2009-03-15T01:39:00.006+04:00

The college band - still an unfulfilled dream!! But does that stop the music maniacs in us from getting together and give an amazing performance...never. When we went to the MRA camp in January, 2009 in Panchgani, we decided that in the cultural night we have to rock up the environment, what if we didn't have the distortions or the synths. So here is when the band got together and decided - "Let there be Rock" !!

The band is still not named, but I call it "Rhythmic Karma" :

Guitars: Me(wearing the cap) and Allan

Vocals: Aditya

Percussions: Mahesh

Song: Duur/Doorie Mix by Strings/Atif Aslam

Hope you enjoy the show...let the mosh-pits begin !!

Life is a Joyride !!

2009-03-15T00:08:00.007+04:00

Life is strange!! We work our asses off to get all the joys of life, but never realise that in the process we forget to live life. But what's the definition of life?? Is it to shed your blood and sweat to acquire materialistic things like car, house, etc or to extract the small joys out of it. People never tend to understand it!! They study hard in the Kindergartens, they study hard in the schools and colleges, they work like donkeys in the offices, their books and workstations become more important than their wives and children...but for what??? So that they could get some weight in their bank accounts. Can they buy some sweet moments for their children, a loving shoulder for their wives, a helping hand for their parents.....I guess....No!!

I see the world around me, trying to study it with whatever intellect I am left with and find that life has become a rat-race. People have started to pull each other behind, in order to get in the front. Its a 'Dog eats Dog world' out here. In SITM, the word 'LIFE' has been replaced by another 4-lettered word - 'CGPA'. Fun and Frolic are the taboo words here, for many. Festivals come and go, but people find digging their faces in the books more satisfying. But then, where is the life?? They don't realise what they are missing, for some grades and some zeros in the placement package. But thank God...there are also some people of a completely different cult, who think living life to the fullest is more important than an extra lakh of rupees. And I boast to be a member of that cult. I believe in myself, I know to run ahead, I know to have fun, I love licking an ice-cream more than licking the pages of a book, I know how to manage time for my loved ones, having fun and even studying. Fine...I don't have a startling grade, but that brings me to the niche segment of dynamic people, who know that management studies mean overall development and not just CGPAs.

I know these are just examination blues, that are making my thoughts soar away to newer horizons. But still after completing 4 years of engineering and 1 semester of MBA successfully, I have realised one thing, when you can manage time for listening music, watching movies, roaming with friends, talking with your loved ones and still get time for preparing for exams, you become the real manager. You learn how to make the most out of your life, without compromising on your responsibilities. And that's what life tries to teach us! Its not about being successful in life, its about living life successfully. Joys and sorrows are the most crucial elements of life and when you miss them while running behind your dreams, you don't do justice to your life. So I request all the poor souls out there, you get only 1 life, approximately 70-80 birthdays, about 50 anniversaries and about 280 big festivals to celebrate....missing one doesn't seem a big deal...but analyse the percentage of happiness you've lost and you'll realise what you've missed!! So keep having fun...work and exams come and go, but life comes only once and you won't even realise when it will just pass by...

Current Song: Delhi 6 - Rehna Tu
Current Mood: Peppy

"When Satan Becomes Saint" - The Video

2009-02-17T00:42:00.006+04:00

Hi guys!! This is the video I made as a part of submission to Viacom18. I was supposed to make a video describing myself and tried to squeeze my creativity into this one. With lack of technical support and limited number of softwares the assignment seemed an uphill climb. But anyhow the idea clicked and the video was prepared with the available softwares. More emphasis was given on graphical transitions and effects and one liners were used, to stick to the theme of the video. Many of my colleagues watched and appreciated it. Thanks to all of them!!

Technical Support:

Editting Softwares: Google Picasa, Microsoft Paint

Movie Editor: Microsoft Movie Maker

So just have a look and hope you enjoy it!!

The Sweet 16 Minutes...

2009-02-16T23:52:00.006+04:00

Missing someone badly?? Feeling a lump in your heart?? Are you looking at your cellphone at regular intervals?? I guess you are familiar with this feeling. It happens to all who are badly in love with someone and are thrown far away from them for some or the other reason. In my case it's MBA!! Days really become longer when you are attending the classes and the time flies by in a split second when you are talking to her. As you all know that in MBA the work takes a toll on your private life and the way you manage to sneak in some time to speak to your special ones makes you the real manager. You feel like praying to God, that he stops the time, cancels all the presentations and assignments and provide you with unlimited battery backup so that you drain the last Lithium Ion, in order to express how you missed that special person.

Well then you might be also familiar with the times when your special one is back at home, visiting his/her parents. You seldom get a chance to speak to them because of all the boundations and cold stares of moms and pops. You crib, scream, weep but still wait for the phone to ring!! And when it does, you tend to make the most firm grip on the phone and the tears roll down your cheeks. You say "Hello" in a crackled yet the most sweetest voice and on listening to their voice your emotions just melt away through your eyes. When you hear the sweet whispering voice from the other end, you can listen the last romantic song you heard, playing in the back of your mind. You don't speak for some moments and yet feel like telling everything to her in one go. You feel like giving them a big hug and stay there for a while until the whole world gets lost from your mind. Both of you remain silent for most of the time and still your silence speaks a lot. You have a lot to say to each other but somehow the words don't come out. The sweet tits-bits cover everything and this is how you spend the sweetest 16 minutes of the whole 24 hours. After putting down the phone you feel there were lot of things you wanted to say but now you'd get chance the next day only. But still you feel satisfied and a smile covers your face.

Well, this is my experience told to you through my perspective. You guys might have other experiences too, but I am sure the feelings remain the same. We all try to race with time these days, but the necessity of the hour is to beat it so that you can devote some time to your special ones. Life goes on...oppurtunities and responsibilities come and go...but relationships are more precious than these Os and Rs. So may God bless the lovely bond and hope you keep on getting the sweet 16 minutes, when you lose yourself and the world just fades away in front of your eyes!!

Current Song: Soniyo (Raaz 2)

The Memory Remains...

2008-12-27T02:08:00.003+04:00

As I try to survive the ocean of Semester 2 with 16 subjects, some 4 dozen presentations and infinite hours full of tension, I have started to feel like a zombie or say an android. Life is running on a speedway and each day passes as a PowerPoint slide, in a jiffy. But still somehow I am able retain the human within me, thanks to my pals in SITM, whose support and concern acts like a backbone in this otherwise tense life. As I was flipping through the HTML pages of Orkut today I came across this pic which really gave me a ride through the memory lane. Semester 1 has passed some 2 months ago but still is fresh in our minds. That was the time when we all met in this serene campus and promised each other to hold hands as we started our journey to the pinnacle. But gone are those days!!! Now we seldom find any time to crack a joke, to wink an eye or even to bring a smile on our faces. Life is now entangled between Word docs and Excel sheets. The only thing we dream of these days are routers, switches and UTP cables. We know that this hard work only could elevate us to newer heights, but where are those emotions?? Where are the smiles visible prominently on that photograph?? Life is now only about responsibilities, deadlines, managerial jargons and financial terminologies. Has our life got as pale as the pages of The Economic Times??

Well whatever it may be, but still this pic is the best till now in SITM. This was the first time we got together, laughed, gagged and crashed on the floor. Smiles were like raining from heaven and the camaraderie was just exhilarating. We were converted into a bunch of school-kids, trying to fight our way for the last sip of the cola. It seemed as the whole world is for our taking and the whole earth is our playground, as we rolled on the dust laden floor. We were as elated as we have never been in our whole lives. It all felt like a dream!! But we all know that life comes in full circles. Today the assignments and deadlines have overshadowed the cheerfulness and gaiety and have buried them deep within our hearts. But soon there will be time when we'll break away from the cocoon, let our hairs loose and again join the flight to Joy-villa; holding hands, singing songs and partying like animals. We are ready to play any ball that life throws at us because we know sooner or later it would be us who will be calling the shots and having a BLAST!!

Current Mood: Sleepy

Current Song: Sweet Isabel (Enrique Iglesias)

Why MBA ???

2008-12-23T00:27:00.006+04:00

"The purpose of liberal education is to make you philosophical enough to accept the fact that you will never make much money."

Well...true to its core!! But when I sit for a brainstorming session with what else but my mind on the other side of midnight, it gives me ambiguous answers. The word MBA itself has lots of meaning which spells nothing but ambiguity. It may be Masters in Business Administration in a much generalised terminology but I am sure for many it stands for "Money Baking Art". What can I say....me and my ambiguous mind, which keeps on playing the Devil's Advocate most of the times. Well talking on the perspective of my holy motherland, India's economy is on a verge of meltdown and we are in despair. Everything is rising let it be unemployment or the recession or the number of candidates, trying their lucks in the mighty race for the B-schools. Well as the stats say, the number of MBA aspirants increased from 2,30,000 in 2007-08 to 2,90,000 in 2008-09, and these figures are massive enough to pop out your eye-balls from the sockets.

Well, between all these tussles with my mind, the main question still remains - Why MBA? Returning to Square One, I ponder, what inspires the huge crowd of aspirants towards the holy fields of Business Management. Is it the lucrative salaries or the challenges of beating the deadlines or the attractive profiles they may get, which can leverage their careers to new heights....whatever it may be, but these questions can land even the most prolific Management Gurus into a state of dilemma. Even if we try to poke our grey cells we would be transported to the times when we attended our GDs and PIs, where the same titanic question was asked to us - 'Why MBA?'. Now these days the coaching institute put a lot of effort to flip the pages of Norman Lewis to come up with the choicest of words in order to fabricate the answers of the clueless aspirants, which reflects only flashy jargons and no quality. But gradually the aspirants are learning to deceive the poor interviewers who try to ask this same colossal question.

To show you its practical implication, lets take you to an interview, where the candidate is yet again caught in the fishnet of the interviewer with the same question. The candidate gasps, tries to loosen his neck-tie, rolls his eyes from one corner of the room to other, stacks up all his bullets, aims and fires - "Sir! That's a pretty good question you have asked. Actually, from the day I was born, I wanted to be a business tycoon. In my school days I was the leader of my NCC troop. I have won many scholarships and donated all to the AIDS Foundation. In my college, I have organised many events and attracted many sponsors. In my company I was the apple of the eyes of my colleagues and manager. I was a great team player and my existence in my project was as important as that of the CEO in the company. And soon I'd be starting a new venture to take the country's economy to the level of the superpowers. That's why MBA, Sir.....that's why MBA!" - and the interviewer is impressed.

Now, take a peek into his mind and you will be treated with a completely different scene, and here is where the deceit part comes into the picture - "Well truly speaking I never knew what management or even engineering is all about. Since childhood the only issues that bothered me were the number of wickets I took or the number of goals I scored. I always aspired to become Govinda with semi clad girls drooling all over me. Then suddenly engineering heppened to me and all my dreams went crashing. I landed up with a job in a software company where my existence was as important as that of a coffee-vending machine. As I was fed up with the peanuts I was earning, I started looking for big bucks and that's when my friends suggested to go for MBA and thus MBA happened to me." - and if you go for a survey, this is what every aspirant's heart would speak out. And this will surely be an eye opener for you.

Well, this is a dark truth that anybody may come face-to-face with, but MBA is lot more that that. India is in a stage of slowdown and the country does need a lot of bright minds to kick-start the economy once again and drive it towards the dream of being a superpower. Each and every sector needs the shoulders of the talented management prodigies to grow in a big way. And this is when the premier Indian B-schools come into play, which puts a lot of blood and sweat to transform these rather clueless aspirants into bright managers and leaders, infusing the principles of Business Management into their veins and showing them the right path towards the nation's glory. So I'd like to thank these prestigious B-schools to let us know the real answer for the colossal question - "Why MBA?".

To Bhilai, With Love

2008-12-03T01:21:00.007+04:00

So here I am again, saturated of playing Counter Strike, watching the tits and bits of random movies and abusing my roomie, in front of my entertainment lifeline: my lappy. The Blogger is in front of me with all the hues and shades, gazing at me with sheer expectation that I'd blot it with my scribbles and well, I'll oblige!! So was brainstorming about the matter to write and felt that it's been quite some time I have written something about my holy motherland: Bhilai. Throughout the day I was feeling a bit nostalgic about the days I spent in Bhilai with my parents and once I realised that a tear rolled down my cheek. Shit! I wasn't crying, or was I. Whatever. So I thought to share with you some snippets about Bhilai that haven't changed since I left 3 years ago. And however funny these facts may seem, they are really close to my heart.

Some things that'll never change in Bhilai:

1. With due respects, only here you'll find the uncles talking on their mobile phones on top of their voices as to showcase that, well, 'they've got a mobile set!!', as if the Telecom Revolution has just arrived in Bhilai.

2. In the era of Levi's and Pepe's, only here you'll find every roadside romeo wearing the 'Latesht Ishtreet Phashion' with all the 'Kadhais and Bunaais' on the Jeans and quotes like 'Urbaan Fasheon : Lavi's Geans'.

3. The only way to woo a girl over here is, decorate your 100 CC bike with all the bling-blings, wear silver coloured sunglasses, wrap a 'gamchha' around your neck and go for a ride honking the weird horns. And guess what, the girl is impressed!!

4. Only here you will find hangout places like Civic Center, which remainscrowded each day as it is generally in Kumbh ka Mela and only after staying here for some time you'll realise that 9 out of 10 people know you very well.

5. Only here you'll go out on Valentine's Day, with an expectation to find a girl with whom you'll fall in love, only to realise that the hang-out places are filled with boys, and no species of womankind visible anywhere.

6. Here only two professions are known to the bholi-bhali junta - Engineers and Doctors, and with reference to Engineering only two institutes are known to them, the IIT and the BIT (Bhilai Institute of Technology).

7. The only sector that is growing at a steady pace in Bhilai is the Coaching Class Sector, which is not affected by any recession or the lack of demand and supply, and is now a $ 50 billion market with a growth rate of 157 % annually.

8. Only here you'll find everything from Mama Bhanja ki chaat, Srinath ki pav bhaji, Sharukh ka egg-roll and Deleshious Kulfi and for that all you need is a 50 rupees note in your pocket. And if you have 100 bucks in your pocket you'll feel like buying the whole shop.

9. Only here you'll make true friends in school and as you realise that you've reached college, you'll find the same ol' guys sitting next to you pulling your leg and turning you crazy. And that's the sweetest thing you'll ever encounter. Ah! getting nostalgic again.

10. Only here you'll find life free of tensions, no jamming of roads, no hustle-bustle of crowd, no loneliness, no polluted lungs and minds and relationships that are bound to last forever.

Being out of my hometown for a while, I've realised that may be I've left it physically but my heart is still over there. It doesn't matter, in whichever metro city you are living in, the slow-paced life of Bhilai can beat its fast-life any day!! So as I close my 'An Ode to Bhilai' Chapter, I feel I should take a quick nap now as its already 4 Am and I've to wake up at 7.30 AM. Good Nite Blog!!

To err is Human, to fake is Divine..

2008-11-28T20:03:00.006+04:00

Holy shit!! Really these words deny to leave my tongue nowadays. I have acquired this unusual habit to land myself in soup for no bloody reason. Sometimes I feel that being so good to people leaves wounds on your back. Or am I too idiot to trust on anybody as my friend. To hell with me and my nature. I have realised, people in this big bad world are nothing but bitterness coated nicely with sugar. Really, faking is an art and its not everybody's cup of tea. Not mine, at least. But one thing is for sure, I carry a big Axe by my side which I use to hit my own foot. I am such a weirdo, I arrive late at the utmost important committee meetings and get a good thrashing, and the next time I beat my record again by 5 mins. I have made a good habit to hammer my pride and self respect and guess what, my temper is sky rocketing these days. This Lavale campus is such a romantic place, it feels like lots of Romeos and Juliets would be born over here, but instead it's giving birth to this Homicide whose main motive is to kill his own self esteem. I know I've made this image where people expect a lot from me. But I'm so good in breaking expectations as I was good in breaking the window panes when I was a child. Still thanks a lot to my friends out here and my, again a weirdo, roomie who is able to sustain my tantrums. And thanks at least infinite times to that 'special person' who bears me day and night and never says a word in return. I am improving myself, trying to reduce my frequency of errors and have started to learn how to fake. May be then I'll acquire my sugar coating which would sail me through these hard times and cold hearts!!

Being C-Rious

2008-08-29T13:26:00.003+04:00

Now as I am in Symbiosis and as I seldom get time to even take a look at my blog, today I somehow sneaked some time for me to update my dearest blog. As I'm writing this post I feel immensely stressed out and want to share with you some piece of my mind and some piece of .... eh....my frustration. Well first of all it would be news to all of you that I have been luckily or unluckily selected as the CR of the class and it's been some time since I am holding this Holy position. Well, when you become the CR of the class, you have to take certain Oaths keeping your ego, self-respect and prestige in your pockets like "I take an oath to get royally screwed doesn't matter if I work harder than Kallu Gadha or Georgie Bush". But like everything in life, CR-ship also has it's own pros and cons. Pros are like, you can submit the topics of the assignments in the first place and cons are like you have to answer bizarre questions like "kal ka time table kya hai?", "Economics ka PPT hai kya??" or "class ke 3rd row ke 4th seat mein kon se number ka screw gayab hai??". But still I love my job, thanks to my generous and friendly classmates and pals, who keep on happily screwing me all day and still giving me emotional support ki "Arre Ankit! chinta mat kar dard nahi hoga!!".

Pressure is piling up on me heavily. With assignments, presentations and internals all lined up, I feel like an innocent dog in the middle of Jallianwala Bagh, trying to dodge the bullets like Rajnikanth or Jet-Li. But whatever be the circumstances, I love my campus, especially the hostel. You feel like sitting in the lounge listening to loud music and sharing with the pals, all the tits and bits of crap!! But seriouly, when you live in hostels you start valuing friendship more than anything. You will surely find someone in the night who will bear the pain in his a$$ to save yours and make you understand the chapters of Economics and Statistics. So ending up with this post I'd just like to say all my pals in SITM, "Guys You Rock!!". So I think I'd quickly sign off before the lab attendant makes a pulp out of my butt!!!

Book Reviews: 'The 3 Mistakes of My Life' and 'Joker in the Pack'

2008-06-18T12:29:00.008+04:00

So here I am once again to share the pearls of wisdom with the rest of the world. Don't know how much wisdom gets bestowed to you guys, but these posts are surely pearls for me. Well, sitting idle in Business Wait or what is popularly known as 'Bench' amongst the software engineers in an MNC surely has its own pros and cons. The cons being letting yourself kill to boredom while searching arbit images in Google or spamming the mailboxes of your friends by re-sending crappy forwards that you once sent 1 year back, but we won't get much into that!! Well the advantage of 'Bench' is that you try out such hobbies that you haven't tried in the holy 20 years of your life. And this time I've picked up...well...Reading.

So here are the two books that I've read recently and are claimed to be best-sellers, which I rcommend as a must read....

1. The 3 Mistakes of my Life

So our very own ace author Chetan Bhagat is back to recreate the magic of 'Five-Point Someone' and 'One Night @ the Call Center' with his latest venture 'The 3 Mistakes of My Life'. Based in a lowly locality of Ahmedabad, this book capture the story of 3 youths mad about cricket. How these guys start a small business of cricket goods and dream to make it big but get entrapped in the claws of mighty politicians, blood sucking warriors of religions and also get face obstacles in running their business. The story of Omi, Ish and Govind takes you to a roller coaster ride of ups and downs and never makes you keep the book down. You can feel the intensity of cricket in Ish, the insensitivity of a wannabe businessman in Govind and the extremity towards a religion in Omi and all the emotions like love, betrayal, extrimism, hatred, passion,etc that run high as you travel this thrilling journey through the backwaters of Ahmedabad. The best thing about the story being based in Ahmedabad is that in the background it has the essence of all the fiascos - The Bhuj Earthquake, the Destruction of the World Trade Centre in US, The Godhra Killings - while the story moves forward. Really a must read for everyone as it is fiction at its best. Let's raise a toast for Mr. Bhagat!!

2. Joker in the Pack

So, here comes a treat for all the wannabe MBAs and the dreamers chasing the big middle-class-2-top-tier dream. This book tells you about the story of Shekhar Verma, who despite facing the hardships of life and being a mediocre performing graduate, ends up being at the dream-land for many of us, IIM Bangalore and finally graduating from there to end up as an Investment Banker. But hey...mind you...the hardships never end at the IIMs and everything is not as rosy as we think it would be. Shekhar Verma being a graduate from a lesser known college, competes with the stalwarts from IITs and other top-grade colleges and this acts as an obstacle as well as a morale booster for him as he sky-rockets himself towards success and catches his big middle-class dream. Well this will surely help all the guys entering into B-Schools, that to get a six-plus-figure pay packet you can't just cool off your heels and cruise through. You'll have to slog and compromise on your sleep to stretch the limits of your biological cycle and only then you'll end up being succesful. You can say, that the book is to guide you on how to live the 2 years in a B-School successfully and finally end up converting your dreams into reality. A real eye-opener to those who think MBA students live it in style and a must read for everybody with The-Big-Middle-Class-Dream !!

Blog-O-Drama

2008-05-18T15:47:00.003+04:00

Well do you guys know what's the latest buzz in the bloggers' space these days? It's the talk of the town, the clash of the Titans...and how!! Well these days our very own Bhuvan (read: Aamir Khan) and our very modest Shahenshah (read: Amitabh Bachchan) are busy mudslinging at their not-so-favourite co-stars via the latest toys in their hands....their Blogs. I was reading an article in a newspaper recently and read how in yesteryears big stars like Dilip Kumar and Raj Kapoor had their share of differences and still used to keep their differences under wraps. But dudes...this is the era of the New Age Outlaws!! The stalwarts of Bollywood have refrained themselves from public bantering in media but instead have started to take potshots towards other celebs by posting comments about them in their blogs.

Recently Aamir Khan took on our very own King Khan Shahrukh by comparing him with a dog and he even posted how he loves feeding his dog Shahrukh with biscuits. I mean com'on Aamir, we all know that you are a very good actor and how you glorified a dyslexic child in Taare Zameen Par but it doesn't mean that you will start acting like one. Well, you know, there is something called sense of humour and as I went through your post today I felt the post lacked both sense and humour. Do you need a scriptwriter for even cracking a good joke? Well it's nothing like that I am a die hard Shahrukh fan or something but even a witty joke can attract some accolades, but alas, let alone wit...that was the dumbest of humour I found on internet that even blonde jokes seemed more witty.

And talking about Mr. Bachchan, he has commented on the new show that Shahrukh is hosting as "Paanchvi Fail". I mean com'on yaar, I am not able to understand why everyone is so happy taking on Shahrukh. Are these stars jealous that they weren't able to buy an IPL team? Whatever reason it may be but initially I thought Mr Bachchan as one of the most modest stars but I think that the Raj Thackrey episode has affected him in a big way...and even he's doing the same thing Mr Thackrey used to do!! Com'on sir....you are like....the Star of the Millenium, and we know how KBC is very close to your heart but every star has his own time to shoot towards the skies. I think it would be better that Mr Bachchan takes some time off and start visiting holy places instead of shaking legs with the beauties on screen, coz it only makes him think he's still the only star out here. Sir, your time is over now, better search for peace and tranquility at your age.

I don't get what's happening with the stars out here. Recently, there were talks of differences between Mr Rajanikanth and Shahrukh (oh no not again), as they are about to release a remake of some Tamil movie on the same day. Even Salman Khan is in the news as he's not happy with the price that Akshay Kumar is quoting and have started to quote prices bigger than Akki Bhai. Arre Salman Bhai, I mean, think how Akki is delivering one hit after other, and you are having like..."wink and you'll miss me" kind of status in Bollywood, so who'll give you such enormous amount for just showing your bare body and no acting skills. Get a life dude!!

Well don't know what's up with these guys but one thing is for sure...whatever happens, the audience like us gets a lot of spice to savour on, thanks to the stars. So on an ending note I'd just like to say, "Lage Raho Blogger Bhai-s !!".

Terror on the Prowl....

2008-05-18T14:06:00.007+04:00

Sometimes I think that does the feeling of revenge can be so strong that it can overpower human sentiments of love and caring towards each other??? Well when I look inside me I get a negative reply from my heart, and pray to The Almighty that even the messengers of terrorism also get a chance to feel the inner realm of their human selves. I pray that even they could feel the pain in their hearts when they see the blood, human flesh, cries of helpless victims when they execute these deeds of terror in the name of Jehad. I remember a dialogue of Anil Kapoor in the movie "Black and White" when he says that - "Let the terrorists see the faces of their own children amongst the little victims who die due to their inhuman deeds, only then these acts of horror will stop". True to the core!! But right now this doesn't seem to be happening.

13th May, 2008 - Jaipur: This time the city that came in the crosshair of the so called soldiers of Jehad was the famous Pink City of India, Jaipur. Again terrorism rose its ugly head from the dark, where it was lurking, striking at seven places in a time span of 15 minutes killing around 60 and injuring 150 innocent people. Even two live bombs were diffused thankfully, or else the casualties could have been more. Well the auspicious day when people turn out in large numbers to the Hanuman Temple turned out as Black Tuesday not only for the people of the Walled City but also for the citizens of India. May God bless the souls resting in peace and may peace and harmony reign in my holy Motherland and may He punishes the ones who carry out these heinous crimes and may they never live in peace.

Well this incident brings the memories of the ugly days when two blasts shook the twin city of Hyderabad killing 42 people and injuring 50 odd people. The day was Sunday, 26th August 2007. I was in a theatre watching the night show of the movie "Heyy Babyy" just some 5-6 kms away from Lumbini Park where one of the bombs went off killing and injuring many people. My cellphone was buzzing....it was Mom. She gave me this shocking news and I was like completely awestruck. Gradually the news reached to other people in the theatre and soon the environment was filled with fear and terror. In the next 15 mins the whole theatre was empty. We sped to our homes in a jiffy. Phone calls of well wishers started to pour in such huge numbers that even the mobile networks got jammed. My atrocious mind urged me to go to the bomb blast sites, but thanks to my considerate roomies I was stopped on my way. I still remember the days after, when even a single live creature was not visible on the roads of Hyderabad. The public places which otherwise buzzed with life, presented a deserted look. Even I restrained myself from visiting Lumbini Park for more than 8 months. But thanks to the great spirit of the Hyderabadi people, the life didn't stop coz they showed great character and resilience. They showed the terrorists that the fear they try to infuse into our hearts is temporary. They showed how the feeling of love and togetherness overpowered the feeling of fear and terror. THEY SHOWED!!!

Paint the town RED !!!

2008-05-11T20:17:00.003+04:00

And here comes the time to celebrate for the Red Devils as they clinch their 10th Premier League title thanks to the goals from Cristiano Ronaldo and Ryan Giggs. Well, this season had lots to offer for the United fans from wins, losses to brilliant performance from the youngsters like Ronaldo, Rooney, Tevez, Vidic,etc and also this season Sir Alex Ferguson found two awesome talents in the form of Nani and Anderson. Well generally as a United fan I find Arsenal as the closest rivals but this year MUFC had Chelsea as their closest competitors, not only in Barclays Premier League but also the Champions League.

Who could have thought the title battle would not be over till the last day and Manchester United had to face Wigan at the JJB and Chelsea were to face the tricky customers Bolton Wanderers. Still my heart assured me that its gonna be United all the way....and it did!!! A cool penalty from Ronaldo in the 32nd minute and a brilliant goal from Ryan Giggs were enough to snatch the hopes of the title from Chelsea. No doubt the player of this season is Cristiano Ronaldo with 41 goals in all competitions and surely a record holder of all times. But we cannot leave without admiring the contributions of other United players. Unexpectedly Vidic was the talent of the season and showed some ultimate defending skills. Also I've never seen a better defensive midfielder in United than Owen Hargreaves. But the season's victory was the major contribution of youngsters who proved that strategies of Sir Alex can never go wrong.

Well my fan following for United actually started in 2002 and Beckham was my hero. I've seen him score fabulous free kicks and was in awe to see his performance in Champions League against Real Madrid when he scored 2 goals which finally United lost on aggregates. I still regret the fact that Becks is not in United and has joined LA Galaxies, but my heart never left the hallowed Old Trafford. Well this 2007-08 season is coming to an end but is still not over with the clash of the titans i.e United vs Chelsea still left for who is to become the king of Europe. I'll pray with my heart and know that the Red Devils will march through Moscow and surely they will down the Blues to clinch The Champions League title too. And that will do justice to a brilliant season for United and its fans in every corner of the world like me.

Salaam Hyderabad...

2008-05-11T12:10:00.006+04:00

Well starting off with these few words I can feel guilt run down my veins for neglecting my dearest blog. I've neglected it so much I can feel it in the same position as the refugees in the German Concentration Camp, but its time for redemption for my dearest blog. A lot has happened in the past 1 year that it is difficult to recollect and reinstate the forgotten facts and figures into the grey cells of my subconscious mind but still I'd love to share some interesting snippets with you guys out there.

Almost 2 yrs back I came to the Land of the Nizams and in no time it has surely captured my heart. There are somethings that are ever increasing in Hyderabad like the traffic congestion, the stink of Hussain Sagar lake, the summer heat and the disposable income of the peanuts earning software engineers like us but still this place has a special place in my heart and I'd any day love to settle down here. So here I am giving you some quick picks, that will surely catch your unattentive attention once you place your foot on this fast yet laidback place....

1)The broad roads: Well I've been to many of the metro cities in India but mind you I've encountered the widest of roads after coming to Hyderabad. I mean you just need a fast bike and you'd love to zoom it through past the heavy vehicles, but surely expect some raised eyebrows and some unexpected "Maa-Behens-ki"s from the foul mouthed rowdies.

2)Non veg: Dude, if you think you can decieve even your parents for a plate of Juicy Murg Musallam then this place is heaven for you. Mind you guys here at some places you'll find non veg food cheaper than vegetarian "ghaas-phoos". Dont know what magic these guys have in their fingers, you will find the most delicious of non veg cuisines, anywhere from Paradise hotel to Pasha Cheekun Carner.

3)Lingo: "Bahut kaama hai aaj mere ku!!!" -- What the 'F'...you'll think for the first time, but just have your stay over here for some time and you'll feel the same bent in your linguistic skills and even you wont be able to prevent it. Here guys have an unusual talent of adding '-aa' as a suffix after all the bits and pieces of verbal diction.

4)Traffic Sense: It's said here that "Just give them a vehicle and they'll give you Rajnikanth". I mean if you really want to see the scenes of '2 fast 2 furious' out of your TV sets just hop-on to any of the roads over here. Mind you the guys over here have so good traffic sense and so edgy driving skills that next time you come out of your homes you'll have to say "Hanuman Chalisa" that too 40 times to leave your fate on the mercy of the Almighty.

5)Kake da juice corner/Ching Yang ka Chowmein: Surely you'll find juice corners and chinese fast food centres at every corner of the city. Sometimes I feel people over here drink juice more than water. And each counter has so many varieties of fruits that even the fruit bearing Northern terrains of India will be full of shame. And at night if you are really hungry you wont go home disappointed thanks to the Chinese Fast Food centres, doesnt matter if you are Tom Cruise or Tommy Kutta.

6)The-Hi-Tech-Tag: With the sudden inflow of software companies in Hyderabad and also some dumb fools love to be known as software engineers following them here, the city has really transformed into a true high tech zone. Even some places getting names that sound like places from the Star Wars movie like Hi-Tech City or Cyberabad surely reflects this tranformation. Here you will find metal detectors even in front of Chourasia Pan shop and electronic tickets for entry even in parks. These surely helps in turning us to zombies.

7) Stylish Suzanne/Sultry Salma: This city has a right mix of all kind of people. And here you'll surely find your kind of crowd no matter if you are Bill gates or the Great Khali. Talking about fashion this city surely stretches towards extremes because only here you'll find ladies aesthetically clad in Burkhas to snazzily clad in micro minis in equal numbers.

8)The Great Tollywood: I have never seen such large number of movie buffs as I've seen in Hyderabad. Just let your sights wander and you'll see large hoardings of Telugu movie posters where the heroes resemble your next door Rao uncle and the heroines scantily clad showing their thunder-thighs, in each and every corner, towering like colossal figures. Only here you'll find movies like "Sautan ka Inteqam" running houseful for two weeks.

9)The Un-Ignorable Geeks: Last and not the least you cannot ignore the software geeks like me on the streets of Hyderabad who dont have any idea where they are heading towards, who look like malnourished kids lost in the concrete jungle, who have stopped eating or sleeping and have made booze and cigarettes their closest pals. Just take a look at their faces and you'll surely say : "Even the HONDA ROBOT has more emotions on its face than these geeks."

Home Sweet Home !!!

2007-01-12T14:21:00.000+04:00

This time I’ve decided to pick up from the previous post. Ya, I concluded in the previous post describing about the joy of being at home no matter on which part of earth it is situated. First of all, I’d like to specify that this is my first serious post after joining Satyam Computers Services Ltd and precisely this is the first time I’ve left home and started living without my parents in approximately 20 years. Many of you might be thinking that what kinda bullshit is this coz you have been living without your parents since you were born or you are a living example of Tom Hanks in Castaway or you have left your parents in the same age as Amitabh Bachchan when his parents left him in Deewar. Your’s could be any story but I’m here to tell you mine and it’s a heart rendering story. Heart rendering as such that all the weak hearted home sick guys living out of their homes will face the ultimate torture when they read this and some of them may need a bundle of tissue papers (if you don’t have ‘em right now then just run to the nearest washroom). This story will tell you about how I felt when I returned home, after living without my parents for the first time. So I’ll Start…

On my way back home my heart was singing Lynyrd Skynyrd’s Sweet Home Alabama out loud. As Dongargarh passed, the sweet chill in the air, the dusty winds and the naked kids running on the fields told me that the train has breached the border of my sweet homeland. My heart was beating so fast as if it was giving a direct competition to the home-bound Gondwana Express. When you are in your hometown even the creaky autorickshaws seem better than the Mercedes’ of Hyderabad. And the first view of Mom & Dad’s face after 3 months recharged my batteries enough to sustain all the difficulties for the next couple of months.

Now I’m sitting at my home sipping home made coffee and writing this post. Life @ home rocks when you come back home after a long time. Just imagine your mom is trying to wake you up at 10 AM but you still want to be in your blankets coz its cold outside. Then you wake up with a nice cardamom flavoured tea and bourbon biscuits and then switch on your PC to listen to the latest songs you’ve downloaded last night from the internet. Then you dial your favourite number to listen to the sweet voice of the special someone without worrying about bills coz it’s home yaar. Then you have Linkin Park doing the honours for you by singing ‘Numb’ while you take a hot shower and then slip into your favourite and warm sleeping suit. Now comes the craziest part!!! Imagine your mom bringing hot chapatis and mooli ke paranthes while you eat them with delicious home made bhindi masala, mutter paneer, chhole, achar and papad. Then you see your mom bringing some reddish stuff in the bowl. No it can’t be that…no never…ohh it’s the hot gajar ka halwa straightaway from the cooking pan. Then your mom taking out the Kesar Kulfi she brought for you yesterday…umm it’s melting in my mouth already. Just as the lunch is over you take out the latest DVD you brought to watch your fav movie with your 2600 W speakers blarin’ in glory. In the evening imagine hanging around with old pals, sipping tea and eating hot delicious samosas at your favorite Kaka’s joint and sharing old moments with your friends; about the fun you used to have in college, the girls you used to tease and the teachers you used to irritate…everything. Then going for a long drive to the dhaba around 10-15 kms away, having butter chicken and tandoori roti there and coming back home at 12.30 AM. Then, think about finding some friends in Orkut and chatting with them till 3 AM. Now it’s getting cold and again you can see your favorite bed in the whole world with warm blankets and soft pillows. You slip into your cozy bed thinking about her and without worrying about what you have to do tomorrow. Really life @ home rocks and right now I can feel it.

So I think, I’ve tortured you poor souls enough who are living out of your homes, eating cold and oily food from the third grade cafeteria of your offices, taking tension of the project report you have to submit to your project managers the next day, sleeping in the cold beds in which your mind becomes so numb that you even stop feeling your own legs and finally losing your mind, when you need coffee the most and you don’t get it coz there’s no coffee powder in your untidy and unorganised flat.

I think it’s time to leave before you fill my blog with abusive comments…Ciao…have fun and do miss home – the ultimate place to be in.

PHOENIX

2007-01-12T01:26:00.000+04:00

Resurrection...vzkříšení...воскресение...νεκρανάσταση...بَعْث

Whatever you say, however you spell...still it means the same. Basically, resurrection is a religious word depicting the Christian faith according to which Jesus rose from the tomb after his death. The Gospels state that after Jesus was crucified and lay in a tomb between Friday evening and Sunday morning, he rose, in body as well as in spirit, and appeared alive to his followers. But, right now we are here to give a new meaning to the word Resurrection.

Basically resurrection means rising from death, and today this is really going to happen. No no don't worry, I'm not going to enchant you or show you some hypnotic skills (how can I, I'm just a software engineer and not any Ramdeo Baba) but I'll just let my fingers dance on the keyboard so that I can provide you guys with a new post. It's been a long long time since I last posted on my blog, that's why it was chokin' to death due to lack of posts. So it's time for me to show some magic of my fingers, with some extra magic of the internet and make my blog survive.

But hey hey...life isn't just about survival. It's about how to survive, sustain and succeed without falling apart. Then only one can emerge as a true winner...ok ok enough of this philosophical crap. But anyhow the bottomline is that I've let my blog choke to death for many days, I've let it suffer through fatal conditions and I've never looked back once, for so many days. But it's time to prove the destiny that change is inevitable and that's why I've decided to change it !!! It's time for me to make a stand again...it's time for me to look back...it's time for me to snatch life from the throat of death...and it's time to let the phoenix rise from the ashes.

I've been sitting quiet for many days and was not getting much time to update my blog. Today suddenly while chatting in Yahoo! Messenger I saw Dohare's blog address in it and that reminded me of my blog that had been left unattended for so many months. When I visited my blog I felt so sad and I decided that it's time to rejuvenate my blog and start blogging once again, so that again I can provide all my readers with food for thought. So guys, I've come up with a new look for my blog...hope you like it. Do comment about the look and feel of it, and I promise you that from now on you'll never return from here, without a new post. Chill out and enjoy!!

Feeling sleepy right now coz it's 4 AM and I've to see off Bhalla tomorrow. I see my cozy bed with all warm blankets and pillow and then I think about the cold bed of Hyderabad and think that it doesn't matter who you are and whether you work in USA or Switzerland..............your home, even if it's in the remotest place on earth, is still the best place to live in !!! Yawnnnnn.....zzzzzz

FIGHT CLUB!!

2006-04-16T19:18:00.001+04:00

Guy 1: No No No...please stop, don't do this !!

Guy 2: Why shouldn't I, $#@%, you called me an a*****e !!

Guy 3: Dare not touch my friend, you a*****e !!

Guy 2: I'm not an a*****e, %$@#@, but you both are dead now !!

Guy 3: Bloody idiot 'guy 1', what are you waiting for, lets kick some ass !!

Guy 1: 'Guy 3' you called me idiot, now just wait for your obituary, let's fight !!

Guy 3: Okayyy...ring the bell...hell yeah !!

*Pow* *..wham..* *..thudd..* *..whack..* *..whoaaa..* .....aaahh aah oohh...

Guys the 'graphical' dialogues were brought to you courtesy BIT. Looking at the title don't think that I'm gonna go "blah blah" about the movie Fight Club. Because I never watched that movie after reading the review of it. And there's no need to watch it also. Because my college, nowadays, has been converted into one fight club. So it's a request to all of my friends who may visit BIT to meet me; please bring with yourself things like chain, rod, bat, knuckles or may be a deagle, AK 47, hand grenade, etc. and if you come without that, please bring 4 men with a stretcher. Yes, this is how the condition in BIT is from few days. Blood, gore, no-mercy, etc are the words which could easily be heard inside the campus. Guys who looked like engineers few days back, now seem more like mafias, thugs and gangsters. And they are fighting, whether any solid reason exists or not.

Well, many of you guys must be knowing that these 'pangas' are not rare in BIT. They keep on happening; but this week the word 'frequent' has got a new meaning. On the dates 11th and 13th of this month, not less than 7 pangas occurred, in which students of BIT were involved. Whether it is bashing up a shopkeeper or fighting up with a batchmate, BITians are ahead in any aspect of these street-fights. So let me narrate you some of the recent pangas that occurred here:

11th April
------------

One of our juniors went to the market searching for a photo studio. When he asked a boy sitting in one of the shops that where the studio was, the boy said in a joking way that give me 50 bucks and i'll click your photograph using a mobile. Hearing this, the junior denied and was about to leave when the boy abused him and gave him a slap. In turn, the junior came to the hostel and went back to the shop with some 10-12 other guys, but in vain. The boy was not present there. So they came back. At the midnight, the boy from the shop came to BIT to apologise, but in turn the juniors bashed him up really bad.

On that day, some other 4 pangas also took place in various places of Bhilai where BITians were involved.

13th April
------------

That day, our dearest Jha, Bhalla and Vaidya were sitting in the coffee corner with the girls when Sheshnath stepped in. As they were indulged in their routine enjoyment, Sheshnath, who was sitting alone, got agitated and shouted at them. In turn Jha and Vaidya asked him that what was his problem. In turn Shesh abused them and went away. Later when Jha, Vaidya and Bhalla went to Shesh's room, Shesh abused them again and they did the same. This agitated both the parties and Jha got slapped. Now Jha, Bhalla and Vaidya tried to hit him but some batchmates stopped them and the matter got calmed there only.

On the same day, there was a cricket match between 110s and 50s wings. Adhikari was umpiring in the match and unluckily gave a wrong decision. In turn Patel asked the whole 50s team to walk out of the field and hence stopped the play. Adhikari got irrtated and so was the 110s wing. Both the teams started abusing each other, hence agitated some of the players. Some of the 50s players also delivered personal comments to the opposite team and hence the fight was about to start. But thanx to me and some other guys who did their best to avert the dangerous fight and the match ended peacefully.

So now you can see what all has been happening in BIT for the last few days. Don't take it otherwise coz I'm not criticising the students of BIT coz there are gems like me too ;-) , nor I'm criticising the college coz its still a very very good college consisting students with lots of potential but a bit hot head.

Ankscyclopedia Web Definition
-------------------------------------
Panga : An Indian word depicting a street-fight, that occurs between individuals or groups.

Happy Birthday Blog!!

2006-04-09T15:51:00.001+04:00

Dear Blog

Muah...muah...and lotz of kisses to you. This is your 1st birthday dear so wishing you a very very happy birthday. You've been my best friend for a year and you stood by me in both of my good and bad days. When I was down, you lifted me up. When I was frustrated, you soaked all my feelings and thoughts. When I was happy, you reflected my joy and ecstacy. So, for all the support you've provided to me, I'd like to say Thank You.

But dear AWM, this is just the beginning of a life long journey. You've just started taking your first steps. But there's a long way to go now. With my growth, you will grow too. And my dream is to see you reach the apex of glory where you will stand and shout, "See I have caught your dream and I'm reflecting your success". So son, it's time to walk straight coz one day these steps will help you run with the wind.

Dear blog, in these last 365 days, I've abandoned you, I've decorated you, I've made you laugh, I've made you cry. You were visited by many friends as well as acquaintances and you've succeeded to entertain them. They have blessed you, they have cursed you and even they've written good appraisals on you. Hence, you've succeeded in soaking up their feelings too. In the last year, you saw me turn from a completely frustrated man to a happy-go-lucky person. You saw me being romantic. You even saw me celebrate. But I can't tell how you'll see me this year. But surely, this coming year, you will see a new workstation, a new home and a new me.

So blog, giving you lots of blessings on your birthday and hope that others will also shower their blessings on you. Hope you live long and keep on entertaining the masses like you did earlier.

Only your's

Anks

Hyper-somnia

2006-04-06T22:52:00.000+04:00

..Yawn...*scratch scratch*...yaaaawwnn!!! Feels like my brain cells have pulled over their blankets and are fast asleep. But still I am staring at my monitor like a frozen mummy. Is this insomnia?? Hell no, because I am completely on the other face of the coin. Coz I am suffering from Hyper-somnia. By the way, I don't know if such a word exists or not or may be its my brainchild, but yes I am a hyper-somniac. Well I feel that the word itself is self-explanatory and if you are not able to understand the meaning, then my friend I wonder how are you still alive without a brain!! Okay okay...enough of this leg pulling. Jokes apart, let me describe about the basic characteristics of a hyper-somniac along with examples.

Well in some remote place lives a to-be-software-engineer named Ankit Biswas aka Anks. He is suffering from severe hyper-somnia. Even if his senses reach the pinnacle of unconsciousness, he remains awake doing some useless work on the internet till he drops dead. He has to listen various kinds of abuses from his parents and sometimes he recieves some good thrashing also. But, as all his senses are almost numb, he seldom feels any pain. It has been predicted as the most dangerous disease spreading amongst the youngsters, more specifically amongst engineers. Scientists are unable to find any preventive measure for this ailment. But it is said that a good slap at night and a bucket of cold water in the morning can cure it. Now let me tell you the major consequences of such a terrible ailment:

1.) If you have joined tuitions to learn some musical instrument like guitar, piano, drums, etc and you have morning classes, then dude you will be able to play '18 till I die' when you become 75 years old.

2.) If the time assigned for developing your final sem major-project is 8 AM then surely you'll get a BIG ZERO in the practicals and all your dreams of making it big in the software industry will be shattered.

3.) If you are kind of a romantic guy with a cute but demanding girlfriend and suddenly one day your girlfriend says to you, "let's meet at the Love-Bird park in the morning when the breeze is cool, birds are chirping and we are alone" then in 2 days you will have a nice break-up and you will be spending your nights at a country bar.

4.) If you are having your exams and you have to wake up early in the morning because you've got 2 units left to study, but you wake up just 20 mins prior to your examination then dude rest is history.

5.) If you have your lectures at 10 AM and you find yourself lying on the bed till 11.30 AM, then you'll surely get a good thrashing from your HOD.

These things may happen to a hyper-somniac like me, as yesterday I was called by my HOD because I was having a short-attendance. Just felt like I was an American spy standing in front of Hitler and soon will be shot down with several German made Mauzers. My condition was so bad that if he had shouted on me,
then even Huggies diapers could have become less resistant. But thank God I was saved with a scolding that, if again I miss any of the classes, I'd be suspended for 1 week.

Now the real catch behind the post is that, I am working really hard to stay awake, to be a hyper-somniac, so that I could easily get a 7 day leave. ;-)

Ankscyclopedia Web Definition:
--------------------------------------
Hyper-somniac : An irresponsible person who sleeps the whole morning and wakes at the noon, hence screws his own future.

Lyrical Comedy!!

2006-04-02T23:47:00.001+04:00

Well guys, today I saw a post on Orkut and couldn't stop myself from posting it here. Generally, I don't post these kind of stuff in my blog. But damn, its so funny. Really, I was so amused by it that I couldn't stop myself from laughing and almost fell off the chair. Really I am a great fan of Bryan Adams and sir I really respect you. But the desi version of Summer of 69 is soooo hilarious that I had to post it here. Pardon Me!!

So guys here are the lyrics of desi 'Summer of 69' beautifully composed by...some creative-coz-wanna-be-famous guy!!

Sambhar of '69
------------------

I had my first real six rupees,
stole it from my father's pants.
went to a madrasi hotel,
to eat the sambhar of 69.
Me and some kadke dost,

had it all and we caught bukhaar,
jimy puked, joey got ulcers,
and Bagga ne maari dakar.

Oh when I went back there now,
the food was as stale as ever,
and though it was 1999,
still the sambhar was being served over there,

that was the worst food of my life.

Therez no use in complaining,
when you got no other place to eat,
rushed in the evening to the doctors clinic, but he too was at the toilet seat, yeah

standing there waiting outside,
nurse told me I will wait forever,
oh and when I held my breath,
I knew that I had to use that loo there
That was the worst food of my life.

Back to the sambhar of 69.

Man I was getting killed,
I was full and restless,
I needed to unwind,
I guess nothing can wait forever - FOREVER... NO!!!!

Hope you guys really enjoyed it!! I can see you guys knocked down on the floor laughing really bad. Next time if you want to add up some spice in your college functions just install Limewire , download the Summer of 69 karaoke and sing these lines (considering you have a good voice). Next day you might find some roses lying in front of your room.

Ciao..

Current Mood: Sleepy, yet skittish.
Current Song: Remember the name(Fort Minor)

Some torn clothes, a puddle of mud and Happy Holi

2006-03-20T12:35:00.001+04:00

Salaam namaste Sat-Sri-Akaal guys!! Well this time I've decided to post about my Holi celebrations. But as I moved away from my hometown after Holi and was far away from my workstation, it was quite difficult for me to update my blog. But, I guess this post will be worth your wait. So just be ready for this exciting joyride.

Holi...this name itself fills colours and fun in my heart. But this time, Holi was a bit special for me. You might think that Holi is always special for an Indian, but this time the word 'special' had more sentiments in it than ever. The reason behind this is, probably this was my last ever Holi with all my childhood friends at my hometown, so this added extra excitement in the celebrations. Another reason that added some spice in our fun and frolic was that our exams ended just 2 days before Holi. The 3rd reason - as this is my final year in BIT, it was the last Holi that I celebrated in BIT hostel with my hosteler friends.

So ladies and gentlemen, grab your heart, coz itz time to tell you about 15th March, 2006, the day that staged the festival of Holi. This story consists of 3 parts and I'm here to give you complete insight of each part. So bring your bowl of popcorn and a large cola, select the best place on your couch to sit coz the movie begins now!!

Lights...Sound...Camera...Action...

The images are very graphical, chlidren and heart patients are requested not to view them. Explicit content, Parental Advisory ;-)

15th March, 2006

Part 1 (12 AM) : The First Blood

My Holi started at 12 AM at Bhalla's house. The guys present there were - me, Jha, Bhalla, Vaidya, Ashu and Anand Singh. Now it would be quite easy for you guys to predict what could've happened next. If not, then read patiently.

As I reached Bhalla's house, everyone was watching The Guru on the television. I also joined them, but as I saw Singh present there I started doing what I do best...that is verbally assaulting Singh with all the jokes that we create about him. Generally, we call Singh with many weird names like Mrs Jha, Chuchad, etc. That really pisses him off and on this day the same thing happened. So he decided to go back home. That really triggered all the devils in us. This is how we drew first blood from Anand Singh.

Then came the next step. We started calling our friends using Bhalla's landline that has 4 parallel connections and started irritating them really bad. Hey, don't take us otherwise. We are not that irritating but these special moments make us do these things. Nikhil and Meshram were the first people who were assaulted by us in the phone and as they were not so resistant to our jokes, they simply hung up. But, Jeetu was able to digest our jokes easily and we continued to tease him for 20 more mins.

Soon our energy levels started to drop and we found ourselves on the bed watching the Ajax v Inter match. As I was really tired and Holi was the top most thing on my agenda, I fell asleep. But Vaidya, Bhalla and Ashu continued their masti till 4 AM.

Part 2 (10 AM) : The Dayschi Assassination

I was back from Bhalla's house. I was not getting so much enthusiasm about celebrating holi. Last night's masti was taking a toll on me and I was feeling really sleepy. Suddenly I heard some vehicle's sound coming from outside of my house. When I went out I got the shock of my life. Pauva (Shashank) was standing there. I mean, such an idiotic and crazy character he is, I am planning to write a post on him. Just get this, he does the same things normally that a drunkard will do after he is 7 pegs down. However, I said him to go to Nikhil's house and I'll join him. I called up Ashu and he told me to come to his house. So I got dressed, picked up the colours and went to his house. Soon we were joined by Anshuman and Sid.

Slowly, more people kept on joining us and soon our group consisted of around 20-25 people. We moved to Tathu's house, dragged him outside and splashed colours on him. But our main prey was Pauva. So what we did is that we tore down his t-shirt and tied it around his neck. He could do nothing more than standing and watching. Then we moved to Paari's house and there the Nehru Nagar batch joined us. From there we started our ruthless elimination and tore off each others' t-shirts. Soon there were around 25 semi naked guys standing and looking at each other in a startled way. Then we rode off in our bikes to Chuchad's house, but he wasn't there. So after visiting Jha's house we went to Niket's house.

Damn it...what a scene. More guys and more clothes!! And wow, Chuchad also present there. God is really gracious. We again started doing what we've been doing for a while. We tore off the clothes of guys standing there and also gave the same treatment to Chuchad. Soon we lifted him up and threw him in a puddle filled with muddy water. Chuchad kept on cursing us after that, but in vain coz the executioners(that's us) fled from the spot after practising the Dayschi assassination.

Part 3 (2 PM) : The End of the Suzuki

After fleeing off from Niket's house, I reached my home. I threw my half torn t-shirt and wore a new one. Suddenly a thought of visiting the hostel crossed my mind. Even knowing that the hostelers have created a large puddle consisting of mud, cow-dung and may be some human excreta I dared to think about visiting the hostel. Soon I was on my way. As I reached there, luckily for me the celebrations had stopped. But MP and GT came from nowhere, again tore my t-shirt and cargo pants and threw me in the famous 'puddle'. They smeared me with all the stuff that was in the puddle for 25 mins, and left me there lying like a wounded snake. The Suzuki was down. It felt like the assassin who have executed so many Dayschis in one day was taking his final breaths. My eyes were full of mud and were paining like hell. But after splashing water on my face for some time I felt quite good. Soon I had a bath in GT's room, cleaned myself and returned back home.

This was my last and final Holi in Bhilai and the most memorable one. May these memories never leave my heart. Coz one day the Suzuki will rise from the ashes.

Ankscyclopedia Web Definition
-------------------------------------
Holi (N): A joyous spring Hindu festival that is dedicated to Krishna in some parts of India; in other parts of India, it is dedicated to Kama, the God of Pleasure. People throw colored water or colored powder in celebration. (Hinduism)

Independence Day

2006-03-14T13:22:00.000+04:00

March 13, 2006

*sniff*……….ahhhhhhhhhh (the smell of glory, the smell of freedom)

It is a very auspicious feeling. It was last felt in 1947 and I’m feeling it again. The reason behind this is, my 7^th semester exams ended today on a peaceful note. I never hoped that my last exam could go so well. But it was something I really deserved. For the past 15 days my soul was battered and thrashed, my mind was put to the ultimate test of perseverance and the hormonal levels shot to its zenith. Yeah, I see philosophy flowing out of my mind because when you come back to life after staring at the eyes of the death you get the same feeling. And don’t get it wrong, my exams are not less than Armageddon for me. Well you might be thinking, why I am getting so sentimental when it’s just an exam!! But my dear friend, I repeat, when you are an easy-going person like me and you’ve to clear all your papers for Satyam, then exams convert to the war between life and death and only the toughest survives. Well if you want to know what can happen to me during exams, read this post:

http://ankswebmedia.blogspot.com/2006/03/exams-suck.html

The last examination of UNIX concepts and Shell programming went so peacefully that it was impossible to believe it. Again the synchro of me, Vaidya and Arnab did the trick. Now I’ve started to honour the fundas of team-work that my teachers used to teach me. A li’l bit of shell commands to him, a li’l bit of shell script from him and finally I had a cool 95 marks attempted-2 supplementary sheets attached-answer paper to submit. And as the hooter cried again to put a small full-stop on the 7^th SEM exams, joy and ecstasy ran through my veins and arteries. That’s how the Indians must have felt on 15^th Aug, 1947 and this is how I’m feeling today. I was lost thinking…

Flashback

March 12, 2006

South Africa needs 435 to win the match against the ruthless Aussie side. Wtf, such an intense match to watch and I have 3 units of UNIX to complete. Fight for respect was what the Proteas were doing to retain their pride and glory but here in my room I was busy fighting for my independence. All the angels and the satans of my mind were in a quarrel regarding the topic that should I watch the match or not. But here again my persistence won and I only watched the last 15 overs of the SA innings and hence completed my course on time.

This was my fight for freedom that you’ll also have to fight some day or the other. And when you win that battle, just come here again to pay homage to this post and to celebrate your glory. I raise my toast to Independence Day. Cheers!!!

This Month's Top 6 Desi Hip Hop Tracks - Anks' Picks

2006-03-11T15:13:00.000+04:00

Well this time I decided to post some info regarding one of my favourite genres – desi hip hop. The fact is, desi hip hop is catching up the attention of masses really fast. That’s why desi hip hop is played in most of the clubs and they are arriving as the chart toppers in many places.

Many people tend to confuse desi hip hop with bhangra pop but they are completely different genres and bhangra pop could not match the groove that desi hip hop produces.

So ladies and gentlemen, considering my great taste of music and inclination towards this genre, I proudly present my favourite top 6 desi hip hop tracks of this month which are worth listening (*applause*):

Timbaland and Magoo – Indian Flute

This time Timbaland has shed his hardcore gangster rap image and teamed up with Magoo to put out a smooth desi hip hop club track. Initially I found this song’s video quite funny because the way it has been shot, it shows the Americans’ perspective towards India. I guess, whenever they think about India only Tajmahal and people clad in villagers-like dresses come to their minds. But, leave that coz we are here to talk music.

Rajeshwari has sung the Indian part of this song. The synchro between her vocals and Timbaland’s vocals has done wonders to this track. And yeah, there’s sound of Indian flute too that completely matches the mood of the song. Initially, I found the song quite uninteresting to listen. But now I can’t stop humming it. It has a bit addictive kind of groove in it. So ‘Indian Flute’ is a must download and a must listen for all of the hip hop as well as the club maniacs out there.

Shamur – Let The Music Play

When I heard this song for the first time, it caught my attention. But, when I heard it for the second time, I completely fell in love with it. Nowadays, this track is played in most of the clubs and its popularity is increasing to the top-most level. The beats as well as the ‘let the music play’ part sung by the female voice, dominate the song and Shamur’s voice also suits the rhythm of the track. The video hasn’t been released yet, so no reviews on that. But in the promos, a girl is shown dancing to the beats and I just love that girl. ;-)

So my personal recommendation to the clubbers and the party animals is to download this track and set ablaze your dance floor. You never know, while dancing to this track some buttons may loosen!!! ;-)

Karmacy – Blood Brothers

First time I’ve seen any group embed Gujarati lyrics into a rap number. Whatever they’ve tried, they have done an appreciable job. It seems like the lead vocalist wants to walk on the footsteps of Eminem but this time he has spitted some real outstanding shit. In the video, the strained relation between two brothers (one living in the U.S while the other staying in India) is shown. The one in U.S (the lead singer) raps in English with some real hard-hitting lyrics. But when the other one raps in Gujarati, it sounds quite funny at times but compliments the English lyrics quite well.

My personal recommendation is that, if you are a lover of rap and like Eminem very much then don’t stare at the monitor. Just go and download it. It’s not a club track, but its desi and its hip hop. So in Tendulkar’s language, “now you go get it”!!

Mentor Kolektiv – Pasand

This is another firang Punjabi group and each of them has quite unique names. The best name being DES-C (the lead singer), who gives a new definition to the word DESI. I guess why they call their band Mentor Kolektiv is because the DJ’s name is Mentor and he’s collected a group of punks to form the band. Now let’s get to their music. The song ‘Pasand’ is quite nice having good powerful beats and the way Des-C sings the song is appreciable. But the fact that stands out in the track is AC’s (the rapper) rap. In the video, they are just shown walking past
an animated city in quite funky clothes.

If you are a real bhangra lover and love hip hop in the same way, this track’s for you. But I’ll recommend each and every desi hip hop lover to get this song coz this will inject life to your otherwise boring parties.

Outlandish – Walou (Shamur Mix)

Most of the people might be knowing Outlandish. They have produced many hit numbers including ‘Aicha’ and ‘Walou’. I heard
Walou some years back and I really loved the song. But this time, DJ Shamur has mixed the song and brought it back to us in a special way. Well this time the beats are a bit stronger and the bits and pieces of music are very prominent than before. The Arabic rap in it compliments the English rap quite well and Shamur’s mix adds an extra bit of magic to it. The original Walou video was quite nice but here we are talking about the Shamur mix.

My recommendation is that, just get on your vehicle, speed towards the nearest music store and get the Shamur album. He has also mixed tracks like Don’t be shy, Kangna, etc. So all in all, this album is a must buy for all the hip hop fakers…umm I mean hip hop lovers.

RDB – Aja Mahi (Metz ‘n’ Trix mix)

Ladies and Gentlemen, RDB means Rhythm Dhol Bass and this is such a weird name that it lets me think that only a sardar can keep such kind of names. But hey, guess what?!! All the 3 members of this group are sardars. But I am not making any fun of them coz I really loved the song ‘Aja Mahi’ when I heard it. It’s a very groovy kind of song. It just takes a click on the ‘PLAY’ button to kick you off your chair and land you on the dance floor. I think they’ve tried to copy Jay Sean, Juggy D and Rishi Rich but the song they’ve produced is worth applause. And now about the Metz ‘n’ Trix mix, it is just an extra spicy, extra hot and extra groovy version of ‘Aja Mahi’. But lemme tell you one thing, the video just sux big time.

My personal recommendation is that whether you get the original one or the mixed one it’s up to you and both are good. But I like the mixed one more and I hope you’ll too.

So guys, these were this month’s Top 6 desi hip hop tracks for you. So either you get them from the market or just download them, it’s up to you. But, just check them out and they have got some real treat in store for you.

Ciao.

Exams Suck!!

2006-03-03T22:08:00.000+04:00

"We don't need no education, We dont need no thought control."

Pink Floyd was torturing his vocal cords singing this song when I wasn't born or may be I was just a child, but it returned back to haunt me when I was giving the Operations Research Exam. The another thing that came back to haunt me was crazy statistical arithmatic stuff that I hated the most in my school and college days. But it seemed that, even Grudge was less frightening than the OR paper. The hooter cried at the top-most volume and we were handed the ques paper. I went through all the pages to analyse it and concluded that even getting 20 marks will be impossible. But somehow due to God's, Vaidya's and Arnab's grace, I was able to attempt nearly some 7-8 ques that I thought would fetch me around 60-70 marks and I was saved. But life is such a b*tch. You never know when, what will happen that may change the whole scenario around you. I thought that if once again I prepare so poorly for the exams, then next time there will be no saviour.

"Its result day, everyone is happy around me coz marks have been distributed like free lunches. Confidence surrounds me like a mild aura and seems like there would be no stopping. I reach the HOD office to get my marksheet. He just throws the marksheet on my face and I pick it up in a confused state. When I see my marksheet and the ( * ) sign in 3 of the subjects, I faint there."
Awww...it hurted. I was lying on the floor besides my bed and I figured out that it was nothing more than a nightmare. But it really took the soul out of me. Generally these things happen when you see an 813-page book and try to study a very vast and dreadful subject named Computer Networks.

The clock showed 2.30 at night. I knew that these nightmares may come back soon to horrify me again so I decided that I would better pick up the book and start mugging. So I just prepared a cup of tea for me, picked a pen and opened the book. Suddenly a thought crossed my mind, I threw the pen away, put ON my PC and started constructing this post. Actually I wanted to express how life can kick you in the a** when you are an easy-going guy, less worried about studies and more about the girls in the college and after two and a half days you will be having the BAAP of the BAAPS, CN paper.

But whatever plan these RSU guys may implement, they would never be able to break my soul. You can set tough papers or even you can reduce the gap between the consecutive papers, but we'll study only on the night before. Coz we the easy-going once, would be eay-going FOREVER. Amein.

Rang De Basanti - Movie Review

2006-02-05T23:14:00.000+04:00

Review

Yesterday, I saw RDB for the 3rd time in the theatre. O behen de takkey, the reason behind this is not that I liked it very much. The 1st time I saw it was first day first show at 5.00 AM and as I was sleepless throughout the night, it was difficult for me to be completely awake. Second time Vaidya showed me RDB coz it was his b’day treat and on the same day I saw it for the 3rd time coz I had to show it to my mom. So you can understand that the review will be coming straight from my heart. And hey, it is not necessary that my views will be matching yours. But ye DJ ka promise raha that whatever I’ll write most people will be agreeing with me.

It’s not that I only review Aamir Khan Movies but I have a great affinity towards his movies. The genre of the movies, he acts in, is always different from the rests. And accordingly, RDB happens to be the next jewel of his crown.

This story is about a London based documentary film maker Sue (...kar mere mann ko) who comes to India and finds 5 fun-loving youths namely DJ, Sukhi, Karan, Aslam and Sonia and a political activist namely Lakshman Pandey suitable for roles in her documentary film on Indian Revolutionaries. This movie shows how acting in the documentary film makes them realize their responsibilities towards their nation and make them find that the revolutionary inside them has awaken and they assassinate the Defence Minister coz according to them, he’s responsible for the death of Flight Lt Ajay Rathore (Madhavan).

The best thing about RDB is its fantabulous cinematography and outstanding direction. DJ (Aamir) as the stud of the university again stole the heart of the whole nation by his acting talents, charm and dialogues (tim lak lak tey tim lak lak). Sharman Joshi as Sukhi injected some hilarious moments in otherwise a serious movie. Madhavan gets a guest appearance as Ft. Lt Ajay Rathore and as the love interest of Sonia (Soha Ali Khan). The genre of the movie was very originally fabulous due to complete out-of-the-box treatment by director Rakeysh Omprakash. The soundtracks of the movie are more than a hit and this time A. R. Rahman has delivered according to our expectations. Songs like ‘Paathshala’ and ‘Rang De Basanti’ were already a hit before the release of the movie but the song ‘Luka Chupi’ really struck a cord in my heart. For me it is the best song. The scene of the Golden Temple with the song ‘Ik Omkar’ was simply enthralling. And finally, about the dialogues I would like to say just one thing, MINBLOWING. From the humorous talks of Aamir while teasing Sue to the sentimental messages of the revolutionaries to the discussions taken place between Karan and Ajay about the condition of India (“koi bhi desh perfect nahi hota, usse perfect banana padta hai”), all of them will reside in our hearts for quite some time.

But the not-so-good things about the movie are lack of exotic locations, lack of fashion statements, lack of big star-cast and lack of practical thinking. I’m not complaining that they must have shot some songs in Switzerland but at least in India that also near Punjab, we’ve got very kewl locations. May be the director was showing truth of day to day life by making Aamir wear a worn denim jacket (that was less than ordinary) but how come he didn’t show the truth of practical thinking coz nowadays nobody realizes his responsibilities towards the nation and shoots down any minister. And finally I didn’t like Karan and Aslam in the movie coz their acting was down below par and they failed to perform well with such a huge star like Aamir. It seemed that they were there just to fill up the empty spaces.

Also most of the people are comparing it with the hit movie DCH. But according to me there are simply no comparisons. Both the movies are of different genres and for me still DCH rocks. It implemented new style statements and other movies copy them till now. Just think, when you saw DCH, how you tried the new spiked cut and a small goatee. But as far as the style statement of RDB is concerned, there’s nothing that will be copied in the years to come. May be its true that RDB delivered a good message but in the most impractical way. Most of the kids are quite pumped up after seeing RDB. Let’s see for how many days the mania remains.

Memorable scenes for me in RDB:
1.) When an Air Force Officer comes to Ajay’s mother to return his personal belongings and as she opens the door, looks at the officer and is about to collapse and suddenly a part of ‘Luka Chupi’ is played in the background; it definitely creates some magic.
2.) When the Golden Temple is shown and ‘Ik Omkar’ is played in the background, it adds up to the beauty of the panoramic view of Golden Temple.

Best Dialogue for me in RDB:
When Lakshman Pandey tells about Bismil and he quotes the famous poem 'Sarfaroshi ki Tamanna' I listened to it very carefully and it left me mesmerized.

Mood Indigo (Final Day) - The Aftermath

2006-02-05T22:42:00.000+04:00

PROLOGUE

One night, I was just thinking of something to post in my blog. After so many days of silence, my blog needed something to speak. Then my mind dawned into one recent incident that happened to me on my trip to Mumbai. So I decided to narrate, not only the incident but the whole day. If Chetan Bhagat can narrate a whole night into one book then at least I’ve got the capability to narrate one day into some verses.

So readers, this piece of text hasn’t been extracted from any dark novel. It isn’t a story of any other inspirational person that I wanted the world to know. This is just a series of events that happened in one day, and I decided to wrap it up in a short story. So people, who are not into reading books, BEWARE coz this story can make you sleep, and can work wonders to the insomniacs (…so funny, kicking a$ of my own blog). No, but I suggest each and every person to read this coz these things generally don’t happen in your life in one day.

INTRO

Before I start off with my part of story, let me give you a brief idea about Mood I. Considered to be the most enthralling and rocking college fest in India, MI not only gives you a feel of some downtown place in glistening Hollywood but also gives a complete joyride of a lifetime, with all ecstasy packed in 4 days. Smashing crowd, bustling babes and sparkling glitterati, what else a person who’s young at heart would want. There’s complete freedom to smoke and booze…nobody will bother inside the IIT campus.

There’s something for everyone. Those who are good dancers or singers would get complete kick ass competition in their respective events. Well there are various different innovative competitions also but it won’t be useful to discuss them here. For the guys like me, there is war of DJs, rock competition and the concerts, in which various celebrities come each night and perform in front of packed audience.

But I’m not here to go blah blah about MI, coz its something a person must feel all by himself.

Loading…

STRAIGHT FROM VERSE # 8 (30TH DEC – 4.50 AM)

The rickshaw was speeding at 40 kmph on the empty roads of Mumbai. I was feeling a bit sleepy as well as a bit sad. Whenever the thought of leaving MI came in my mind, the feelings grew stronger. The empty roads were glistening with the aura of the lamp posts. The city, famous for its sweaty winters, was breathing chilly winds that pierced my denim jacket and made my whole body shiver. As the rickshaw was about to reach Kanjurmarg railway station, suddenly I saw some debris covering the road, stealing all of its shine. It seemed like a road accident. Our auto-rickshaw stopped and we were amazed to hear some familiar voices coming out from that debris……

FLASHBACK - FINAL DAY – 29th DEC

#1

Time: 9.30 AM. I washed my face again and again to check whether I am dreaming or not. But it was real. For the first time, I was completely dressed up so early. As I slept at 4 AM, it was quite impossible to even wake up at that time. The reason was that Anusha wanted me to be present at the Tango workshop by 10.30 AM. As I checked my mobile there were 3 missed calls of Anusha and a message that read “Ankit be on time”. But either I’m very lazy or the exhaustion of last night was taking its toll; I was on the bed again. Slowly, with my hazy vision I saw each and everyone of my group (except me…off course) moving their own ways. Suddenly the angry face of Anusha crossed my mind and a gush of energy filled my nerves. I was standing tall. I straightaway left the hostel and soon I reached my destination. Anusha and her friend (I forgot her name) were already present there and, with us, also there were, around 50 odd couples. Man I thought these dance workshops are all crap but this world is full of idiots like me. But the real stunner came with the info that the room that was assigned for the workshop was already full. “Crap”, I thought, sleeping late…getting up early and that’s the reward you get. Soon we were asked to leave the area and come back at 12.30. Anusha and some couple of juniors had their breakfasts but I decided to stick to liquid diet and had a glass of juice.

Time: 12.30 PM. Now, comparatively there were more people on the roads. Music of various club and hip hop tracks filled the atmosphere (yeah in MI you can find DJs playing their fav numbers all over the place). We sped towards the workshop and registered ourselves there. As we entered inside, and took our seats, Mr. Anand Majumdar (great ball dancer – he conducted the workshop) screamed, “Those who’ve attended the rock n roll workshop, stand up”. As I was one of them, I proudly stood up and so did Anusha. But soon came stunner #2. He asked us to leave coz there wasn’t enough space in the workshop, and no person could attend 2 workshops. Now that was crap. We were completely forlorn as we left the room and I was screaming abuses in my mind. As we came out we repeated “Are yaar!” 5 -6 times. Anusha was hungry so we said goodbye to each other and left for lunch.

# 2

Time: 1.30 PM (Hostel Room). Everyone was present there except Gaurav. They were planning something and I was sulking about the shit that happened a bit earlier. They were planning to go to the famous grey market of Mumbai. But as usual, I wasn’t interested (the reason was that, I’ve visited these places quite a many times before). So I went away searching for Gaurav. But lucky me, I found him near the SAC and henceforth we decided to take the LIVEWIRE passes from the SAC counter. We took the passes and then decided to go somewhere. We opted to go to Hiranandani complex as I wanted to buy a mini MP3 player. Soon we were in the complex. After searching many shops, soon I found the right thing at Planet M. I had to borrow some money from Gaurav as I was really short of it (that’s like a ritual for me coz whenever I go out somewhere for vacations, I spend each and every penny and return home with empty-pockets). Now as this was the final day in MI we decided to celebrate and bought some 5-6 cans of beer from HN. But the next thing on the agenda was LIVEWIRE, the most awaited event in the whole MI. In this event, popular rock bands of India perform amidst a crowd of head banging and yelling people.

Time: 4.30 PM. The rickshaw entered the IIT campus and we were continuously screened by the security personnel at every checkpoint. The number of people also seemed more, in comparison to the previous days. Suddenly, a thulla (policeman) stopped the rickshaw. Our breath literally stopped, coz in HN we drank a can of beer each. I thought, “what if the thulla doesn’t let us go inside”. But the thulla was far too generous. He just checked our baggage and asked the rickshaw to drop us there only. So we started to walk and as we reached near SAC we encountered stunner #3. Guys, just visualize this – a tortuous queue of around 500-600 odd junta in front of SAC. Yeah, you guessed it right. It was the queue for Livewire only. So after refreshing myself in the hostel room, I decided to wear my ‘Linkin Park’ tee and we were on our way to Livewire. May be this was my 2nd visit to MI, but this was the 1st time I was going to attend Livewire. Last year one bloody politician died on that day and Livewire was cancelled bcoz of that.

# 3

Time: 8.15 PM. The queue wasn’t moving anymore. And that wasn’t new coz the line was stagnant for over 1 hr. Both of us were having a tough time bearing all the pushes and the forces from both front and back. But we decided not to leave the queue whatever might be the conditions. The suffering junta was frequently crying derogatory slang and abusive chants mostly MC BC. But it seemed that the OAT was overcrowded and they aren’t letting anybody in anymore. Suddenly, something unimaginable happened. There was a hard push from behind, and the force was so strong that the queue actually started to move. The queue was moving like a wounded snake and the people were stumbling all over the place. It looked less like a moving queue and more like a stampede. From nowhere, 2 thullas appeared and started lathi-charging the crowd. Seeking the ultimate opportunity, I and Gaurav crept through the barricade and soon we were in front of the main entrance of OAT. A feeling of triumph filled our hearts as we proudly entered in the OAT.

Time 9.00 PM. The most awaited event started off with magnificent fireworks. The 1st band that was performing there was Helga’s Funk Castle. Truly speaking, I hate that band and their songs really piss me off. But the special effects were so good that I easily bore HFC’s crappy numbers. But yeah, the most appreciable number they played was Pink Floyd’s ‘Brick in the wall’. But I decided to sit calmly and watch till those crazy asses performed. Soon they were followed by the trash metal band, Sceptre. This time I decided to go in front of the stage. In the front there were around 100-150 odd people head-banging there asses out. Yeah, I also joined them soon. But the main centre of attraction for me was the Moshpit (it’s a kind of pit made by the junta itself, in which people run around and hit each other). While moshpitting, I was hit on the shoulder and felt as I’ve dislocated it. Soon Dohare also joined me and started doing his trade-mark head-banging but refused to go to the moshpit. Soon Sceptre played a medley of the best Metallica numbers and that was the best part for me. Soon, as Sceptre left, came the final band named Vayu. It was playing quite good songs.

# 4

Time: 10.15 PM. The lead guitarist, who was a Steven Tyler look-alike, was lost in jangling his electric guitar and screaming (…not singing) his songs when suddenly, ‘beep, beep…’ It was a call from Anusha. She was saying something, but the cacophonous and the loud sound from the speakers weren’t allowing me to listen anything. But I tried to concentrate and the only phrase I could hear was, “right now I’m leaving for Goa”. Suddenly, these words were echoing through my ear drums. Suddenly, the best times I’ve spent with Anusha in MI, swept through my mind. “That’s it, I’ve to bid her goodbye before she leaves”, these words were stuck in my heart and were boosting my adrenaline levels. I just ran out of the OAT towards her hostel. As I reached there I was all huffing and puffing. My heart was beating faster than the drums that were being played in the concert. I was able to hear distant sounds of Vayu performing in the OAT.

Time: 10.30 PM. Anusha was nowhere to be seen in front of her hostel. So I decided to wait outside only coz boys were not allowed inside, as it was a girls’ hostel. But my eyes were impatiently searching her only. I was lost thinking, “Has she left? I should have come here a bit early”. When these crazy thought were bouncing up and down in my brain, a friendly figure appeared in front of me. It was Anusha, standing there and giggling like she always does. “I thought you’ve left”, she replied “yes, I was about to leave but I knew you’d come”. Then both of us expressed rest of our words just by smiling at each other. We sat on the pavement just for some final talk. “I am going to miss all the fun as we’ll leave MI” I said. She said, “yes I’ll too miss it, but we’ve gotta move on yaar”, I replied with a nod. The perfume she wore was just working wonders and it was kind of magnetizing me. We kept on discussing about the fun filled 4 days we spent together, about all the gossips of our college, my previous love life, etc. I wished, if time could have stopped, I’d have stayed there forever. But life works in mysterious ways. Whenever you ask for favors from life, it gets back to kick you in the a$.

# 5

Time: 11.25 PM. I was lost in talking and was indulged in the aroma of Anusha’s perfume when a voice interrupted my thought process, “Hey Anusha, it’s time. We’ve to leave”. I saw a petite gentleman standing in front of us. Anusha introduced him as her cousin and his name was also Ankit. Lucky chap, he’s sharing name with such a great person (that’s me yaar). He was standing with some baggage and standing beside him was Anusha’s friend (I again forgot her name). They were leaving for Goa. I offered help for carrying some of their bags to the main gate of IIT campus. Initially Anusha refused, but I guess she also wanted me to come, so I insisted more. Actually, I also didn’t want to lose the opportunity of enjoying my favourite aroma. Soon we were on our way to the main gate. As we reached the main gate, they boarded a cool cab. We looked at each other for the final time and the cab sped through the congested roads of Mumbai. I turned back and started to walk towards the campus.

Time: 11.45 PM. The campus looked so beautiful at night with all the lights and banners (of the sponsors of MI). The stalls, which generally blared with music in broad daylight, seemed lifeless at that time. But still the roads weren’t empty, as I saw hundreds of rock maniacs returning home after the concert. Suddenly there was a call from Gajju. He repeated the plan of leaving the campus at 12.30 AM (we had a train from Kalyan to Bhilai in the morning). But I insisted that we must leave for Kalyan in the morning. So we decided to discuss about that when Gajju comes back from Bandstand. So I headed towards H – 13, that’s Dohare’s hostel. As usual, his hostel was teeming with life. I waited for Dohare in his room as he wasn’t present there. After some time, Dohare came and we went to the terrace. I swear, the exotic view of Powai Lake and RENAISSANCE hotel from the terrace always sends electricity through my nerves. Some other wing-mates of Dohare joined us soon and we indulged in some friendly chit-chat. After sometime there was again a call from Gajju. He told me to come back soon. So Dohare took his Pulsar and dropped me back to H-3.

# 6

Time: 1.15 AM. I was back in my room. Every group member was present there and they were discussing something. They were discussing about when to leave for Kalyan in the morning. I could see that the plan of leaving the campus at night has changed. Soon I also joined them in the discussion and they told me that I’ve to return all the blankets as I was the contingent leader. Suddenly there was a knock on the door. It was Buksh and visibly he was high coz of alcohol. He said that he would also return back with us, but he didn’t have any ticket. We nodded in affirmation. After all the worthy discussions, we decided that we would move out of campus at 4 AM. After that, all of the group members went to sleep and again I had to suffer coz I was the contingent leader, so I went to SAC to ask when they will send someone to collect the blankets.

Time: 1.45 AM. I was returning back from SAC when I saw Ashish Agrwal and one of our CSIT friends, Sourabh coming from somewhere. They were coming from the IMAX theatre after watching KING KONG. I again repeated the whole agenda to Sourabh and asked him to pack his bags and we both returned back to the hostel. Till then, everyone was fast asleep. I also decided to snooze a bit, but sleep was miles away from my eyes. My mind was fixed on the things that happened earlier. I was thinking about the enormous pain of leaving MI that happened last year. Last year, when we left MI and our taxi sped off, we kept on looking Dohare until he was out of sight; and this thought made me really sad. All these thoughts did a great help and soon I was fast asleep.

# 7

Time: 3.30 AM. Suddenly there was some commotion in our room. I looked with one-opened eye. Everyone was busy packing bags and checking if everything has been packed or not. Now I felt really frustrated coz nobody’s was bothered to wake me up. I got up, shouted 2-3 abuses and started to pack my bag also. Actually it was a bit late so we were acting as swiftly as we could. Soon an IIT guy appeared and said that he was there to take the blankets. Soon we went with that guy and kept all the blankets in the store room. Now everyone was ready with their bags to leave. Gaurav went to search Buksh and returned with him. Quite visibly he was still on a high and he lifted his suitcase over his head just as a coolie would do. But we’d the responsibility to control him so we were just scolding him so that he doesn’t act weird. Soon we counted all the baggage, locked the room and left the hostel.

Time: 4.15 AM. We were on the IIT campus roads soon. I was singing, “I walk a lonely road…” by Green Day while balancing my luggage. MI was finally over but still we could see many groups singing and dancing around the bonfires. But we weren’t so lucky coz we were off to home town far from all the fun and frolic. We were looking for auto rickshaws but there wasn’t a single one on the roads. So we didn’t have a choice except carrying our luggage to the main gate which was 4 kms from the hostel. So we started off the journey carrying all the baggage and singing songs. After a 25 mins walk we reached the main gate. A guard on the main gate stared at us as we went out of the campus. It was quite cold outside and unlike Mumbai, the roads seemed empty. May be bcoz Powai is in the exteriors of central Mumbai. Soon 3 autos came zooming and were standing in front of us. We decided the fare and all of us left in the autos. Utkarsh’s auto went first and we were 3rd and the last one to follow them.

# 8

Time: 4.50 AM. The rickshaw was speeding at 40 kmph on the empty roads of Mumbai. I was feeling a bit sleepy as well as a bit sad. Whenever the thought of leaving MI came in my mind, the feelings grew stronger. The empty roads were glistening with the aura of the lamp posts. The city, famous for its sweaty winters, was breathing chilly winds that pierced my denim jacket and made my whole body shiver. As the rickshaw was about to reach Kanjurmarg railway station, suddenly I saw some debris covering the road, stealing all of its shine. It seemed like a road accident. Our auto-rickshaw stopped and we were amazed to hear some familiar voices coming out from that debris. We got off the auto and saw Utkarsh collecting some scattered items on the road. It just took a fraction of a second for us to understand what has happened. Soon I ran to the auto and with the help of Patel, lifted out Baba from the auto. The auto was lying there upturned and it seemed as if a train has collided with it (the dent was so enormous). We came to know that the auto driver was drunk and he didn’t saw a taxi coming and turned the auto. Both of them collided and the auto did some 2-3 somersaults before landing on the hard road. But still Utkarsh just had a jerk on the neck. Budha aka Abhinav aka Mutharri was bleeding profusely from 2-3 places. Baba’s condition was even worse. He was unable to walk and a large blood clot was visible on his leg. He had his teeth clenched very hard and severe pain was visible on his face. We thought that he has fractured his leg so he was allowed to rest on the roadside.

Suddenly rage and anger was injected in all of us. So Utkarsh turned back and rewarded the rickshaw driver with a smashing slap. Soon Gajju joined him and hit the driver with a big punch. I was also all pumped up and wanted to get a piece of the action but as I lifted my arm to hit him, I saw blood oozing from a wound on his forehead. I stopped at that moment only. But whenever, these action shows happen you’ll find some audience there. Some of the shopkeepers and taxi drivers soon gathered around us. When the rickshaw driver saw the mob he fled away from the scene. As we saw this, we had an innovative idea. We broke the windshield of the auto and turned it upside down. We abused all the rickshaw drivers standing there and decided to take Baba to a nearby clinic. Baba was in so much pain that we felt that anytime he might collapse. So Utkarsh, Gajju and Gaurav decided to take him to the clinic. They lifted Baba and put him in one of autos and left to find a clinic. I, Sourabh, Budha and Buksh decided to take the local train to Kalyan with all the luggage and rest of the guys said that they’ll join us soon. So we all went our ways and met at Kalyan station at 6.50 AM and our train arrived at 7.00 AM. When the train departed from the station we all thanked God that nothing went much wrong or else we couldn’t have caught the train at time.

EPILOGUE

When all these happened, at one moment all of us thought that we won’t b able to catch the train and it will be difficult to return back coz we were already empty-pocketed. And just imagine of travelling by a Mumbai local train when one of your friends is drunk and the other is severely injured. Just think of a time when your shoulder is severely aching coz you were hurt in a Moshpit and then you’ve to lift one of your friends, who’s injured.

Till the present day we thank God coz He saved our friends, as the collision was so strong we could have lost one of our friends. Thank You God…without you life is a dead-end.

Current song: Luka chupi (Rang De Basanti)
Current mood: Tired and Hungry

SATYAMITE - "The Truthful"

2005-12-07T15:27:00.000+04:00

The above pics show SSCET, Bhilai (Shankara), where this story is based.

Prologue

Ladies and Gentlemen, guys and gals…no need to hold your heart. This isn’t an emotional story that’ll make your heart run away from you. This isn’t a romantic story that would melt your heart like a heated chocolate. This is my story that’ll represent a part of your life. You’ll find yourself in this piece of literature actually or virtually, and surely can relate yourself with the characters. So no need to fasten your seat-belts; just be patient and read.

Once upon a time…

Flashback

7th October… it seemed to be the darkest day of my life. Last night, I was rejected in the L & T interview. Rejection…such a strong word. Still it was the truth!!! My head was killing me. It seemed as I was one of the soldiers lying wounded on the battlefield. I switched off my cell coz I didn’t want anyone to show sympathy towards me (I knew they were calling up). I simply hate that feeling. I decided not to go to college. I didn’t want anyone to treat me as a loser. Anyhow, gathering all my focus and confidence (which was as low as grave), I started thinking what I’ve to do next. But my mind was unable to give answers. So I decided to chill out and turned on my PC. My 2600 W subwoofers were blaring but still I was unable to listen anything. I was lost thinking…

“Oh God! What happened wrong? Was I the weakest link? I gave my best shot. I tried everything to impress the interviewers. But where did I screw myself? Now I am so low in confidence that will I be able to bell the CAT?”

So I decided not to pressurize myself and went to sleep. In the evening I met Jha. He was obviously happy as he got selected in L & T. He explained to me how he has become a celebrity overnight (getting selected in a company while studying in BIT is an even bigger achievement than being the Indian Idol). At least his future was now secure.
He told me that how his cell flooded with messages and calls throughout the day, how he became bankrupt ;-) giving treat to everyone. Anyhow after greeting each other, we left.

Next day the college was boring as usual. Everyone told me how Smriti cried in the class yesterday and that really pissed me off. I mean, at least after such worse circumstances a person must take a day off (just as I did). But Smriti is far too sincere. Dr. was the main person who injected some confidence in me and told that Satyam was coming next week. Now, it was the time to tighten up my belt and to be ready for the war. Satyam here I come!!!

12th October – Dussehra

Time: 4 P.M
It was a very quiet sunny afternoon. I was practicing the Satyam question paper I downloaded from the internet. The only sound I could hear was the sound of birds chirping, from some distance away. Suddenly my mobile started ringing in its cacophonous style. It was a call from Tathu.

Tathu: Hello…Ankit!
Anks: Yeah Tathu…bol

Tathu: Nishant sir has called us. We’ve to go Shankara.
Anks: But when…and why?

Tathu: He said that Satyam HR people are coming and they want some volunteers
Anks: But dude, I’m sitting in the test…how I can be the volunteer.

Tathu: That I don’t know, but Nishant sir has called us.
Anks: Ok then pick me up at around 5.30

Around 5.15 PM Tathu came and we set off to Shankara. It was a damn good college. I was there for the first time. It reminded me of the ‘Gurukul’ in the movie ‘Mohabbatein’.
When we arrived there we came to know that HR people are coming and there is going to be a meeting.

At 6.30 PM they arrived. And consequently the meeting started. Actually Satyam people wanted some volunteers who could invigilate in the 15 odd test centres and provide guidelines to about 700 candidates regarding the test. Me and Jha present there were in a state of confusion. We decided not to give our names coz as we were giving the test we weren’t able to invigilate the test. So we humbly backed off.

Some of my precious time got wasted, but one lady HR personnel was so beautiful that the time was worth wasting. Also when we were returning at around 8 PM dussehra had started in many places. The firecrackers and the colorful rockets were bursting the sky apart and such fascinating scenes really elated me.

14th October – Online Test

For the last 4-5 days I was putting in my 200% mugging things up, practicing n cramming up various numerical tackling techniques. The online test seemed to be an uphill climb as we all were oriented towards the orthodox way of giving exams. Thoughts of not getting through the examination were crossing my mind continuously. But still I was focused…at least this time.

Finally its D day. In the morning I decided not to pressurize my mind and hence listened to some soft sentimental Sufi music. My test was to start at 12 noon and my test centre was at the Sify iWay, Chauhan Estate, Supela. I reached there at 11.30, but came to know that the test was delayed by 1 hr for each batch. So we were indulged in doing lukkhagiri and pakao-ing each other. About 20-25 people from my branch were already present there, so passing time wasn’t so difficult.

At last my turn came at 1 PM. I logged into the site and entered my id and password which was provided earlier. The standard of the questions was good but my hard work was paying back. I solved 11 out of 15 questions in about 20 mins and the rest 10 mins I checked my answers again and again. At last when I clicked the submit button a page opened that displayed that I’ve passed in the test. I printed that page out and left the counter. In the next batch Jha, Bhalla, Megha and Sweta gave exams and luckily everyone got through. At the end of the day many were excited because it was their first opportunity of getting recruited. But in my mind there was only one thought that, yet again I’ve cleared the test and may the heavens smile upon me this time coz the next step was GD, and it was my first one in the higher level.

15th October – GD and PI

“Group Discussion”

On the eve of 14th, my success in the online test wasn’t the sole achievement. On 14th I also learnt how to tie a necktie… all by myself (yeah you heard it right). That I thought was an even bigger achievement.

So it was the BIG day. I wore formals and took a while to decide which tie would go with it. Ashish called me and said that he would come by 8 AM to pick me up as we were to reach Shankara by 8.30 AM. Well, punctuality is not one of my traits but because of Ashu I had to leave for Shankara a bit early. I knew how these recruiters love to come late from the pre-decided timings. I’ve experienced it twice and I also warned Ashu about it. But then also we reached Shankara by 8.25 AM. It was amazing to see about 500 students who have cleared the test present there, completely in formals. Mostly BITians were to be seen, so it felt like home.

We were asked to move to the central library as it was the only place that was able to accommodate candidates in such large numbers. It was a huge library. In the library, I got a great job to do. Nah…not reading, but tying the neckties of my homies. Yeah, it was not even 12 hrs since I learnt it, around 8-9 people came to me with their ties. May be a feeling of pride crept into my heart that time. Inside the library it seemed as a large scale get together. Looking at such scenes, we get a live example of high unemployment percentage in India. It was the same scenario, where Jha was indulged in what he does best (...aaaa); Vaidya, me n Bhalla were as usual indulged in daily routine BC. Nikhil was as usual, a victim of our verbal molestation, Arnab n Snehal were quietly indulged into their intellectual discussions, etc. All in all, by this everyone was trying to reduce some tension created in their minds.

At around 10 AM the Satyam HR people arrived. They had a list of all the candidates who have cleared the test (500 to be precise). As soon as they arrived, they told us that they aren’t going to conduct the PPT then because of lack of time and told us that only selected candidates will later attend the PPT. Now they started to call names of candidates in random for GD and unluckily Bhalla got stuck in the 1st group. I literally saw sweat burst out off his forehead. He went to stand with the other lucky-1 people. Slowly and steadily I saw the library getting empty as I waited patiently for my turn. This wait seemed to be the longest. Suddenly I heard my name…”Ankit Biswas, id no. 315”. Darn…my turn was here. Got group no 14. I also went and stood with other 9 members of my group. Again wait was on the agenda. But this time wait was in front of 6 consecutive GD rooms. Luckily I got 5 BITians in my group (including me) out of which 3 were from computer science A; me, Agrawal and Gore. Rests were from Shankara. We decided amongst us that we won’t indulge in any harsh arguments and keep on supporting each other’s views. Now this was tension at its zenith. Man, I am not going to let my GD become a fish market.

“Group no 14” there was hoarse voice calling. We stood up and marched inside GD room no 5 in troops. Inside the room, there were 2 middle aged men sitting who were the moderators. Chairs were arranged in form of a crescent and I chose to sit in the corner-most chair. I don’t know why it happened but as soon as I sat on my chair an elated mood preoccupied me. Now I was buzzing with confidence and shed off my tension outside. The moderators initially asked us to introduce ourselves. Then he asked everyone to suggest topics of their own. Everybody gave their share of ideas. When asked to me I gave 2 topics – “In India, a person can either be honest or successful” and “Tough times never last, but tough people do”. But it seemed that the moderators were untouched by our hastily thrown topics. They had ideas of their own. After baking amongst themselves they served the topic hot – “Is the division of states (like MP and Chhattisgarh, for e.g.) good or bad”. A guy from Shankara started to mumble something and after speaking for merely 30 seconds he idiotically stopped. I guessed this as my moment of fame and grabbed it for the sake of benefit. I started off – “I think you are right my friend but this topic like every coin has 2 facets. But if you are on one face, then I am on other”. Then I told why division of states is bad, because the education is suffering a lot. People are not getting free seats during admissions in the good colleges of MP. Then I explained how corruption has increased quoting examples. But the other members were stuck saying how division of state is good because Chhattisgarh is getting the major share of electricity. Damn, that was sick!! Only 2 members of the GD (including me were supporting ‘division of state is bad’ thing). However the GD ended and the guys who didn’t spoke much were awarded the opportunity to conclude and they did. At last a sarcastic comment from the moderators (not to me, of course) – “So you guys want to divide the nation into 1000 small states. Don’t you know ‘Unity is strength’”? As we left we shook hands with each other. And now it was time for a break.

“Interview”

Time Check: 12.00. I had my small brunch and indulged in chatting with friends. Everybody was talking about how they crapped up in their GDs. I was getting miscellaneous examples of fiascos in GDs given by every person present there. It seemed that we had all the time in the world to waste and hence chatted on irrelevant issues varying from the campus of Shankara, Jha & Anand Singh (u know what…he he he!!), significance of Professional Tutorials and yes, of course, GIRLS. Now as seconds passed by, the heart started to beat in a faster rate. At around 1.00 PM we decided to go back in the library. Till then it was cloudy outside and the weather became pleasant. As we reached inside, hell, the HR people were already present there. They were there to announce the names of the candidates short-listed for PIs. I felt air pass my respiratory cord in quick successions. My hands were cold. “Oh god! Make it my 3rd interview in a row”, I kept on calling Him. They started to call names and I started to feel the pressure, more and more and more. “311 Manmeet Bhatia, 314 Garima Sancheti”…oh man, what the…is my name there? Am I going to give the PI? Com’on…com’on…com’on......”315 Ankit Biswas”. Hell yeah!! The feeling just can’t be ignored. If I wasn’t selected, all these days of shedding sweat and mugging could have went in vain. As the HR personnel announced all the names, they said the short-listed candidates to stay and others to leave. I saw guys, mostly intellects (or in our own words…phodus), move out and that was shocking. So now the central library buzzing with 500 candidates were teeming with merely 103 short-listed ones. However, the HR people distributed some forms and asked us to fill that loaded 3 page forms in the next 15-mins. Urgency took the better part of our happiness and we were again indulged in some work. I don’t know why these companies ask these crazy questions in the forms as they can easily ask them in the interviews. Soon we submitted our forms and indulged ourselves in some last minute mugging.

If people can’t estimate how quickly fate can strike again, then let me tell, how bout a gap of 20 mins. Man, at least give me a break of say half-an-hour. But alas, my turn for interview came at 1.40 PM. I descended downstairs and patiently sat on one of the chairs kept for waiting interviewees. Vinita, Neha and Niket were already present there. So I started chatting with them and asked various questions that could possibly be asked inside. Now another dreaded 30 mins wait was ahead. I don’t know how much these recruiters like to harass these young, easy-going, poor, burdened, pressurized engineering kids, which they keep on doing again and again.

Finally it was my turn and I was called by the interviewers at 2.10 PM. I entered inside humbly and then suddenly I realized the tension has taken its toll. There were 3 interviewers inside – 2 madams n 1 sir. I most stupidly said – “Good morning sir…good afternoon ma’am…good afternoon ma’am”. It was really embarrassing. However I occupied my seat when I was asked to. Then I got a compliment about my handwriting. Then they asked how I generally manage time and learn programming languages. Then there were the usual HR stuff. Then came my tech interview round. I was asked which is my favorite language and I said OOP in C++ and Oracle. I generally don’t mention JAVA because I’m a real loser in this language even if I’ve been learning this since last 15 months. The interviewer drilled 15 questions from C++ and Oracle like raining bullets. But man! I was damn prepared. I’ve worked for this days and nights out. I answered 14 out of 15 questions as I missed on what is a ‘cursor’ (in Oracle). At last one ma’am told me about the bond policy in Satyam and also asked some more questions to check my credibility, which I answered tactfully. Then I said thank you and good day and left the room.

The dreaded WAIT

My interview ended at 2.35 PM. After me there were like 80 more candidates. So I decided to hang out there and check out the campus. Outside it was getting darker and darker and it seemed that a storm may arrive in the evening. But still I went to the canteen with Gaurav and had a Dosa and a cold drink. And then we went to the library which was then divided into two halves – one consisted of the guys who had already given their interviews and the rest were waiting for their turns to arrive. I occupied a seat where some of my friends were already sitting there. So I started chatting with Vinita and Garima and teasing Anusha as usual. Bhalla was already present there bugging people by his sick PJs. Sheshnath and Rajat were on the other side of the table, listening to mp3s in a Sony Ericsson K700i. But it seemed like the time have stopped flying away. Boredom and tediousness were ripping apart their boundaries and the tension was playing a game of hide n seek in my mind. Different moods were mixing up like a cocktail of whisky and vodka and impressed the same effect on me; I was feeling very dizzy as well as drowsy. So I decided to take a nap.

Time Check: 5.00 P.M. I was wide awake and now the crowd was growing in my side of the library. The no. of people who were waiting for their turns was now relatively small. I was feeling a bit uneasy sitting inside so I moved out of the block. Rolled up my sleeves, loosened my tie and started strolling in the garden. It was now very dark. Soon I was joined by Manmeet Bhatia and Manjwani. We started discussing various topics and making fun of each other. Literally, we felt as if clocks have stopped and the tension was taking its toll. Suddenly it started raining. We were about 100 m away from the block. So we started running towards it. Till we reached the block we were half drenched.

After such a long wait, now some of the familiar faces were present there. Some were bubbling with joy and some were crestfallen by their performances in the PI. Anshuman told how he had to face some bouncers of questions whereas Ashu was proudly describing how he flattered the interviewer by his witty answers. Jha was nowhere to be seen. Most noise was coming from the table where around 18 girls were chatting and giggling (…BIT gals are famous for their ultra-loud chats and giggles). At around 7.00 PM, Jha came there and told us how the interviewer bowled him out by some very difficult questions. He was more sure than not, that he won’t make it through this time. Akshat, one of the electrical engg students of our college somehow knew that he was already selected. Now as most of the friends were present there, we indulged ourselves in some real ‘masti-khori’.

The Grand Finale`:

Time Check: 8.00 PM. Suddenly there was some commotion. Everyone came running inside the central library and placed themselves in whichever seats they found. The reason behind this was: the HR people were coming up to tell us the results. Man, the tension that these moments inject, brings the whole previous chapters of your life in front of your eyes. Will the shedding of all sweat, blood and tears, sum up to a null? Will I attain the same results as the previous ones? What will happen if the candidates with lesser calibers get selected? While all these questions were jangling in my brain, my thought process was interrupted by a voice. “So guys we’ve got the names of the candidates who’ve been selected as our future employees, so I’ll announce the names and no clapping please”. Again was the same scenario. They started announcing names and my heartbeat picked up pace. I dropped my head on the table as if I didn’t want to hear the names. I heard Ashish’s name being taken, then came Rajat, Siddharth, GV and many more. I was numb at that time. Suddenly, Bhatia’s name was announced – “Manmeet Bhatia, 311; Garima Sancheti, 314… (dhak…dhak…dhak)…Ankit Biswas, 315”.

Anks was speechless. Tears were about to roll out of his eyes. But joy and ecstasy conquered the tears and prevented them from coming out. God! I am selected in Satyam. Then again there was an announcement for the candidates who weren’t selected, they were asked to move out of the hall. Everyone stood up and started hugging each other. Rajat again unleashed the beast inside him with a bear hug on me. I saw Anusha came and congratulated me and asked me “mujhe congratulate nahi karega“. I was getting happier as I was realizing that many familiar faces were going to join me in Satyam.

Then the HR personnel asked us to take our seats. Then they told us about the training, salary, bond period, etc. After addressing the candidates the HR people decided to leave. Now for us, it was time to leave. My cell phone was ringing continuously as my classmates wanted to know, who’ve got selected and stuff. Soon Asfia, Sweta, Anupam and Anushri called up and congratulated me. Anyhow, I was on the top of the world.

We came out of the block and it was raining heavily. It seemed as if the Gods were showering their blessings on me. We decided to celebrate the moment by getting drenched in rain. Getting wet in the rain at about 9.00 PM when the weather was a bit cold and to add on it, the joy of success; it was an outstanding combination. We got on our bikes, roared the engines and zoomed away, leaving the dark Shankara campus and some lovely memories.

Aftermath:

I was congratulated by my relatives. Phone kept on ringing and I kept on attending the calls. I called up Dada Bhai, as he was my mentor and the main person who guided me on tackling of PIs and GDs. He was really happy.

The major consequence came the next day. Giving parties at the coffee corner extracted even the last penny from me and I was literally bankrupt. A series of parties followed soon and till now it’s continuing.

Epilogue:

After reading this short story, some may think that getting into a firm isn’t a big deal, but mind you buddy while you study in BIT, it is!!! This story took 10 days to form and 10000 prayers to reach the desired destination. Thanks Mom, Dad and God. Special regards to Dada Bhai, without whom this couldn’t have been possible.

Thank you, for giving your precious time and taking pain to read my work.

Thanks Satyam for recognizing my capability and giving me opportunity.

Thank you, everyone!!!

P.S: Please pardon the writer for his poverty of intellect and mediocre level of vocab.

29th sept - another tough day...

2005-10-01T02:34:00.000+04:00

It has been many days so I decided to post. Generally it has been said that u can know how the day is going to be when you wake up in the morning, all by ur intuitions. But this time it was a lovely morning!! Had my share of breakfast provided by MTV n [v], coz the real type never fits into my daily routine. Music is my food, music is my soul... Anyhow dressed up and left for college at around 10 AM. Thats the time I always leave and hence fail to reach college at time.

As I arrived, I found that the networking lab had already started. Anyhow I entered the lab like a thief and grabbed my usual seat. Vaidya was nowhere to be seen. But surely saw his bike in the stands. However, I started TELNET and logged into my TELNET login. As it was just the second class, everyone was excitedly using the 'wall' command. Damn..it was cool. I started off writing 'halla boool...'. After that my 15 inch screen was flooded with broadcasting messages. GT's b'day today!! So broadcasted the b'day message for him. Suddenly, from nowhere Vaidya appeared. He also started taking his shots on this ass-kickin broadcaster service, by sending messages of the famous laughter challenge like 'pehchaan koun....'. Abir was as usual indulged in you know what....!! But suddenly a message came that shook us all. It said 'Jyotsna missin u Jha..'. We were dumbstruck, but still inside laughing out loud. From then only we started off teasing Jha by Jyotsna's name.

Next part of the college was as usual boring, but the word boring gets a new meaning when (with due respects) Mr. Ramesh Kumar takes 2 periods in quick succession. I need 2 pinch myself 2 b awake in the class. Same happened again, but the twist came when he asked that if I was understanding or not. But u know me...I confidently agreed. I was saved that day.

It was 5 PM. This is the time when sun decides to set while throwing its orange pastel colours to paint the earth, the bustling sound of dudes and gals fill the corridors of the college and the feeling of seniority fills the heart while I see my juniors.I love this feeling!! I grabbed my bike n reached coffee corner where I savoured on a slice of cake and a glass of iced tea. Then I vroomed down the streets of durg at abt 60 kmph.

As I reached home, it came to my mind that I have to do the online payment for JMET. But the songs of Nirvana, Linkin Park, Salaam Namaste..flushed the memories out of my mind. Ohh...my god, its 6.30 PM. I had 2 meet Asfia n Mukherjee at Tulec 2 discuss abt the project. So arrived there n asked Shanty sir to guide us. He gave some hi-fi ideas that bounced off my head. Anyhow, after discussing abt the project it was time to leave. Having forgotten abt the payment, I shot off towards the Pool Heaven...to hang out while beating up guys with the pool cue(in the game..of course).

Time check : 9.30 PM. What a time waste. Suddenly I recalled tht the payment work is left. Again flew in my 115 cc bajaj caliber( aka street hawk) to Sid's house. But man..i got doomed, Sid was not at home. He was hanging out in sec -9. Thats when the messiah smiled on me(as then I thought like that). Ashu called me up. Asked me that lets do the transaction via ATM. I said lets do it...But f*** the ATM. But it had already decided to 'mercilessly torture' the JMET aspirants as it was doing tht for abt a week. However, completely crestfallen we found ourselves in the hangout zone of 'Krazy Kool' in CC eating cornettos. Time check 10.45 PM. As it was getting late we rode thru the dark and silent pathways of CC towards home.

This was my another normal day with yet no time for CAT praparation. But surely I sleep with ambitions in my eyes and a dream that tomorrow surely will be better with lots of time assigned just 4 CAT. But surely this post helped you in your reading skill, if you are a CAT aspirant.

Today, 1/10/2005, 4 AM. Feeling Sleepy....

Mangal Pandey "The Rising" - A Sneak Peek

2005-08-12T22:20:00.000+04:00

Intro
------
Based on the historical backdrop of 1857, this movie narrates, in the words of director Ketan Mehta, the story of a brave sepoy Mangal Pandey, from the 34th regiment of the Company Army, who started the first revolt against the British government, countering the use of cartridges greased with cow and pig fats and gave rise to the struggle of independence in India.

Spotlight
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The movie takes off at Barrackpore dist, Calcutta, 1853 which was the headquarters of the 34th regiment. The director has blended the essence of Bengal as well as the nostalgia of Victorian times successfully. As each bullet is fired in any part of the movie, the DTS sound system of Venkateshwara Talkies is blaring with glory. While watching the movie, the first things that come to our notice are the awesome gigantic sets and the magnificent yet realistic costumes. The digital technology being used for the Sati scene and crowd multiplication is really of high quality. The Rising shows Aamir Khan in a new, much-hyped getup, which didn’t quite impress me, as he looked more as a tinker. But he really deserves some laurels for his outstanding performance. It really filled some patriotic feelings in my mind and that will surely capture the true spirits of the oncoming 15th august.

Ketan Mehta did a great job in casting the foreigners as they did their job with complete dedication, especially the guy who played Capt. Gordon. I don’t know, on how many assumptions the story is based but it really does complete justice to all the historical characters and dates. Ketan Mehta has also portrayed the social evils that existed then and the British govt. being against those evils; for that he really needs some applause.

Black holes
--------------
The movie being directed so well, fails to clinch the audience to their seats because of a weak storyline. In some parts of the movie I was forced to say “aaaaaa…”. In some parts, as I noticed, the director failed to present the historical flavour as it seemed to me quite modern. I mean there is no necessity to show Mangal Pandey drinking and dancing with the gypsies just for the sake of filling some ‘masala’ in the movie. Surely this movie will act as an educational medium for the students, so some scenes need to be deleted. Ya, I am talking about the scenes having a tint of eroticism in them. Also, Mangal Pandey’s character has overshadowed other characters, even the character of Tantya Tope who was a person of more historical significance, according to me.

The songs in the movie, except ‘Mangal Mangal’ and ‘Tumhari adaon se’, were quite unnecessary. Some songs were not even placed according to the circumstances. The songs speaking truly were quite boring. I guess, for the first time, the maestro A. R. Rahman has failed to reach our expectations. A job poorly done, sir.

Talking about the performances, both the actresses, namely Rani Mukherjee playing the prima ballerina a.k.a ‘tavayaf’ and Amisha Patel playing a widow, did a poor job. Both of them having very short roles and the presence of Aamir Khan, could be the causes of the fiasco. But still, they also join the list of failures with A. R. Rahman, according to me.

Rating
--------

I give the movie 6 out of 10 stars. Guys, you can watch the movie once in the theatre, but never watch it on CD. Plz post your comments, and do give some rating.

An Encounter with 'Shaan'

2005-08-09T00:43:00.001+04:00

SHAAN - The Singing Sensation
--------------------------------------

Shaan, a household name in India; when sings extracts the harmonies from even the dead souls. Gals go nuts seeing him in concert, and guys see him as their idol. Man, such ravishing looks and the voice ohh gosh, whom I regard as the Nightingale of India. Every Friday night, as the gods of violence step down to my abode, with Armageddon on their minds and taking my mom as the divine warrior they together kick the living hell out of me even if I bring the thought of watching T.V. at 10 P.M in my god damn brain. That's when Sa Re Ga Ma Pa is aired on national television. Com'on mom Shaan is not your son, but I am.

But then also I admire Shaan as a great singer. Such versatility and such stability in singing, that couldn't be just god's gift. This is the perseverance of a determined man that has been rewarded.

Miracles do happen in small places
------------------------------------------

It is said that 'miracles can happen anywhere'. In this case I completely agree with the statement. Sometimes I stand aghast looking at people who say this place very boring. That’s may be someone’s perception that I cannot change, but GOD DAMN IT, JUST CHANGE YOUR BLOODY MINDSET!!

One Saturday evening, my dad came to me. My local soccer derby had already started. But what’s in his hand? My results, or some kind of proof of my wrongdoings. Am I a perpetrator? Would he break the ice? “Beta”, he said
“This is your pass for the Shaan concert”. Oh those words, as if honey bees humming their religious chants; thousands of pearls bouncing on the white marble floor of the Tajmahal. WAIT A MINUTE! You said whose concert? Am I listening the true words? Oh god I’ll surely faint now. I am holding the pass of Shaan’s concert.

With a gush of adrenaline and wave of excitement I went to join the derby with an aim to kill. It surely rewarded me with 2 goals to end my weeklong barren run.

D Day – The Concert
------------------------

“ 2nd May - It's my b'day! ”

Jayant, a friend of mine and I decided to go to the concert together. “Is it going to be crowded?” he asked. My stern face and deadly gaze said it all.
On first sight, it seemed as they have organized a Kumbh Mela. God, am I going to be lost in this crowd?

Inside we were reunited with Bhalla. Oh f***, I’ve never seen such big stage in Bhilai. Suddenly there was a great uproar, which reminded me of the same mania that I saw on T.V when AC Milan became champions of Europe. Is that Superman? Is that Mr. Incredible? Sure, he was!! The chants for Shaan tore the skies apart. Jayant pinch me yaar! But I knew that was true. He was in front of me!!

Starting on with ‘Kal se koi’ he completely grabbed and glued the audience to their seats. He was just like a candle in the wind, singing such melodious tracks for which some guys would just throw hundreds of bucks to buy the CD. The Sunday night breeze gave an extra ecstasy to savour on. Many chartbusters like ‘Tune mujhe pehchana nahi’, ‘Bhool ja’, ‘Tanha dil’, ‘Kuch to hua hai’, ‘Mai aisa kyu hu’, ‘Le chale’, etc followed soon. Man, this moment needed to be captured in heart for rest of my life. But who knew what was coming next…

“Jayant, this is the opportunity of a lifetime, we gotta do something, we gotta meet Shaan”. He was humming his final tune. No barricade, no security was going to stop us. This was paranoid. Somehow we reached near the stage. Oh gosh, about 40-50 people were already on the stage yelling, “Shaan we love you!” while the ‘Tholas’ were busy denying them. The next sight was a complete shocker. The wooden ramp on which junta was standing collapsed as the Berlin Wall. I helped a little girl to attain her balance as she was completely on me.

Surrounded by security personnels he sped away to the Green room. What the f***, I was unable to get even an autograph. What am I supposed to do? I was completely crestfallen.

The Encounter
------------------

“Ankit, lets go home yaar”, discontent and dejection was reflecting from Jayant’s face. But the club manager is his family friend, isn’t he? Suddenly, there was a light in the almost dark situation, as if somebody has drawn a hole in the sky’s black canopy with his Deagle. Suddenly there was P.O.D singing “Youth of the Nation” in my mind! Suddenly heart was beating at the rate of 90 beats per min.

Our sources informed us about his base camp in Bhilai. Next sight was of a white Honda City roaring on the silent roads of Bhilai in the graveyard shift, as a mad bull. “Ankit, 110 % there is Shaan in that car” Jayant yelled. And the next moment we were in our running shoes. Jayant grabbed his Splendor and raced it as if it was ‘Hayaboosa’. The most amazing fact was that, there was no crew following their car. First time we were passing through the lonely road of 32 bunglows and I wasn’t gazing at the B.I.T girl’s hostel. I asked Jayant to overtake them in order to prevent any kind of suspicion. It was a sine qua non for us. A look at my watch: 1.45 A.M. We arrived at Sagar International hotel before them. Oh heavens! The Honda has arrived. Now I need a kick on my a55 to believe my eyes.

Shaan came out of the car and found two statuesques namely Jayant and Anks standing at the entrance. Words were not coming out! “Shaan nice to meet you, we are great fan of yours.” Saying this we gave him a bear hug each. Spellbound we were!! We took our shares of autographs and saw the popper hurriedly disappear to his business suite thru the lobby. Cool isn’t it! But alas, time to leave. Again a look at my watch: 2.15 A.M.

Again we were racing down the Durg lanes and cherishing the moments of glory. But suddenly he screeched the brakes of his bike. “Ankit lets take a snap”, Jayant exclaimed, but we were doomed as there was no camera (we guys are dumb-a55e5). Saying this we raced to B.I.T. The hostel was buzzing with life at such a wee hour also. But man such ill luck nobody had a camera and the guys who had, were asleep. All we were able to get was a Nokia mobile phone with camera. Again we raced back to the hotel. The babe who was the lead singer of the band was chilling in the lobby. She was sooo HHHOTTT!! We got all our guts suddenly from the heavens and approached her. What info we extracted was that they were about to leave. As we were indulged in some friendly chat, we saw Shaan coming out with all his baggage. “Arre, you again!!” Shaan queried. “Ya, sure we want to be the last guys to see you off,” I answered. Then we conducted our high profile photo shoot. There was a message printed on my t-shirt – ‘Thank God for making women…or else who would do the washing, cleaning, etc’. Before going he said, “Always respect women”. Then we shook hands with him and he boarded the bus and disappeared through the dark silhouettes of durg.

Time check: 3.10 A.M. We knew that Armageddon would occur tonight as we reach home but anyways both of us were smiling from the heart. Then we roared the cold-hearted engine of Jayant’s ‘Splendor’ and zoomed to our homes tearing the roads apart.

Linkin Park Biography

2005-08-06T21:57:00.000+04:00

Linkin Park is a six-piece California nu metal band in the vein of Korn and Limp Bizkit

Band History
----------------
The band saw its and first beginnings in emcee/vocalist Mike Shinoda's small bedroom studio, where he and Brad Delson recorded the band's first material in 1996. The two had attended high school together, where they met the band's drummer, Rob Bourdon. Shinoda hooked up with DJ Joseph Hahn while studying illustration at Art Center College in Pasadena. Meanwhile, attending UCLA, Delson shared an apartment with bassist Phoenix, who left the band after college and returned a year later. At this point, they named themselves Xero and recorded several demo tracks. They never got signed, and the project floundered. Then Shinoda decided to hire a vocalist, and put out an ad. They got Chester Bennington, a transplanted Arizona native who started making records when he was 16. 'When I was two, I used to run around singing Foreigner songs - there's tapes of me doing that... since I learned how to talk I've been telling everybody I was gonna grow up to be a singer.' laughs Bennington.

The band called itself Hybrid Theory after the addition of Bennington (the idea being that they were a hybrid of rock and rap), however, due to a trademark issue with a band called Hybrid, they were forced to change their name. Some discarded ideas (serious or not) were Clear (the band's favorite), Probing Lagers (which they thought was the lamest), Ten PM Stocker (because they would record every night at 10 pm at a place on Stocker Street) and Platinum Lotus Foundation. Eventually, they settled on Lincoln Park, suggested by Bennington because after band practice he would have to drive past there to get home. However the domain 'lincolnpark.com' cost more than the band could afford, so they changed the spelling to Linkin Park. However, it has also been suggested that the name 'Linkin Park' was suggested so that the band would appear right next to Limp Bizkit at record stores.
Working with an independent label, the band recorded the album Hybrid Theory EP, which featured 'Carousel', 'Technique', 'Step Up', 'And One', 'High Voltage', and ‘Part of Me'.

After being signed to Warner Brothers in 1999 their first album, Hybrid Theory, was released in 2000. It was the top-selling album in the United States and New Zealand in 2001, with the hit singles 'One Step Closer', 'Crawling', 'Papercut', 'In The End' and 'Points of Authority'. The album is notable for its absence of profanity, in contrast to many other nu metal bands' songs.
Linkin Park were part of the Ozzfest in 2001, touring along side Marilyn Manson, Slipknot, Crazy Town, Papa Roach, and Disturbed. Linkin Park have also created their own tour - Projekt: Revolution, and on it have toured with Cypress Hill, Adema, DJ Z-Trip, Xzibit, Mudvayne and Blindside.

In 2002, they released a remix album of their Hybrid Theory album, called Reanimation, as well as releasing a remix version of their song, 'Points Of Authority'.

In 2003 their new studio album was released, titled Meteora, which debuted at #1 in the US and UK, and #2 in Australia. It contained the singles, 'Somewhere I Belong', 'Faint', 'Numb', 'From The Inside' and 'Breaking The Habit'. Later in the year, they joined forces with fellow nu-metal band Limp Bizkit and Metallica for the Summer Sanitarium Tour 2003. From this tour, Linkin Park released a new CD/DVD set called Live in Texas. This set contains tracks from their three previous records, and was filmed on location at their Summer Sanitarium performances in Dallas and Houston, Texas.

In 2004, Linkin Park created the Meteora World Tour. This tour included Linkin Park, P.O.D., Hoobastank, and Story of the Year.

In 2004, Linkin Park was touring with Snoop Dogg, The Used, Korn, and Less Than Jake on the main stage, and No Warning, Ghostface, Funeral For A Friend, M.O.P., and Downset on the second stage as part of Projekt Revolution 2004. They also had a travelling DJ, Z-Trip with them, along with Irvin the Urban Action Figure.
On November 30, 2004, Linkin Park released Collision Course, a collaboration with rapper Jay-Z featuring rap-style remixes ('mash-ups') of songs from Meteora and Hybrid Theory using lyrics from Jay-Z's repertoire. Collision Course debuted at #1 in the US, but only got to # 17 in the UK. In Holland Collision Course made it to a 7th place. Their first Collision Course hit single 'Numb/Encore' reached #1 at the Free Record Shop Download Charts in Holland.

Members
-----------
§ Chester Bennington (vocals)
§ Mike Shinoda (vocals/sampling/guitar/keyboard)
§ Joe Hahn (turntables, samples)
§ Brad Delson guitar
§ Rob Bourdon drums
§ Dave 'Phoenix' Farrell bass

Discography
---------------

Albums
§ Hybrid Theory EP (1998) US Sales: 1000 (only 1000 printed)

§ 500 copies reprinted for the first 500 people to join LPU

§ Hybrid Theory (2000) #2 US, #4 UK, US Sales: 8,000,000

§ Reanimation (2002) (remix album including Hybrid Theory and older tracks) #2 US, #3 UK, US Sales: 1,000,000

§ LP Underground v2.0 (2002) Unedited songs A.06, Dedicated (Demo 1999) & My December, Pts.Of.Athrty (The Crystal Method Remix)
; With you & High Voltage live (Gift to join in LP Fan club)

§ LP Underground v2.5 (2003) Fixed Hybrid Theory EP & LP Underground v2.0 songs, two Reanimation Songs & a New High Voltage Remix (Gift to join in LP Fan club)

§ Meteora (2003) #1 US, #1 UK, US Sales: 4,000,000 Meteora was released as a combo pack including a 'behind the scenes' DVD disc, as well as just the Meteora album.

§ Live in Texas (2003) #23 US, US Sales: 500,000

§ LP Underground v3.0 (2003) Audio Tracks of DVD Live In Texas (Gift to join in LP Fan club)

§ LP Underground v4.0 (2004) Sold My Soul To Yo Mama Mr. Hahn's Instrumental (with partials of Papercut), Standing In The Middle, Live versions of Breaking the Habit, 1Stp Klosr & a mix of Step Up/Nobody's Listening/It's Goin' Down (Gift to join in LP Fan club)

§ Collision Course - (Mash-up album featuring rapper Jay-Z's mixes of songs from Meteora and Hybrid Theory) (2004)

Hit singles
-------------
§ from 'Hybrid Theory'
§ 2001 'One Step Closer' #24 UK
§ 2001 'Crawling' #16 UK
§ 2001 'Papercut' #14 UK
§ 2001 'In the End' #2 US, #8 UK
§ 2002 'Points Of Authority'
§ from 'Reanimation'
§ 2002 'High Voltage/Points of Authority' #9 UK
§ from 'Meteora'
§ 2003 'Somewhere I Belong' #32 US, #10 UK
§ 2003 'Faint' #15 UK
§ 2004 'Numb' #5 US, #14 UK
§ 2004 'From The Inside'
§ 2004 'Breaking the Habit' #20 US, #39 UK
§ from 'Collision Course'
§ 2004 'Numb/Encore' (with Jay-Z) #11 US, #14 UK

Videos
--------
§ One Step Closer

§ Crawling (at the Dragon Festival)

§ Crawling (The Brothers Straus)

§ Papercut (International)

§ In The End
§ Points Of Authority Live footage (International)

§ Pts.OF.Athrty (Points Of Authority Remix), CGI

§ Enth E Nd (In The End Remix)

§ P5hng Me A*wy (Pushing Me Away Remix)

§ FRGT/10 (Forgotten Remix), CGI

§ Wth>You (With You Remix), photographic animation

§ Somewhere I Belong - live-action plus CGI. This video for features some surrealistic creatures moving from a painting that may have been inspired by Salvador Dalí's works - possibly The Temptation of Saint Anthony (1946) or The Elephants (1948).

§ Faint - monochrome concert-like footage, directed by Mark Romanek

§ Lying From You (Live in Texas)

§ Numb

§ From The Inside (International)

§ Breaking The Habit, traditional anime

§ Numb/Encore (live)

§ Points of Authority/99 Problems/One Step Closer (live)

Awards and nominations
------------------------------
§ Won Favorite Artist - Alternative Music; 31st Annual American Music Awards; Sept 16, 2003

§ Won Best Group, Best Hard Rock; 2002 MTV Europe Music Awards. Nominated for Best Website.

§ Won Best Foreign Rock; Swedish Hit Music Awards; November 17th, 2002.

§ Won Best Rock Video; 2002 MTV Video Music Awards (In The End). Nominated for Best Video of the Year (In The End), Best Group Video (In The End).

§ Won Best International Nu-Metal/Alternative Artist; ECHO 2002 awards in Germany.

§ Won Best Hard Rock Performance (Crawling); 2001 Grammys. Nominated for Best Rock Album, Best New Artist.

§ Won Best Foreigner Artist of The Year; Finland's 2001 Emma Awards.

§ Won Best International Newcomer; 2001 Kerrang Awards. Nominated for Best Video, Best Album, Best Band in the World.

§ Nominated for Favorite Artist - Alternative Music; 30th Annual American Music Awards; Sept 1, 2002

§ Won Best Rock Video (Somewhere I Belong); 2003 MTV Video Music Awards.

§ Nominated for Best Rock Video (Breaking The Habit); 2004 MTV Video Music Awards.

§ Won Viewer's Choice Award (Breaking The Habit); 2004 MTV Video Music Awards.

§ Won Song of the Year — Rock Alternative Radio (Numb); 2004 Radio Music Awards

§ Won Artist of the Year — Rock Radio; 2004 Radio Music Awards

Some One Liners

2005-08-05T00:03:00.000+04:00

• A priest was praying for guidance: Oh God, grant me this knowledge: what is the meaning of life?For a while, Creation was silent. Then a booming voice, sounding severely pissed-off, shouts from heaven: Read the F*#kin FAQ!

• A man is in the hospital after getting drunk and swallowing 120 coins on a bet. Doctors monitoring his situation say, so far, no change.

• Santa tripped on a broken curb and went to the hospital.After examining him, the doctor said, "I have some good news, and some bad news for you. First of all, you'll never be able to work again."Santa replied, "Okay, now what's the bad news?"

• An application for job came in with an applicant's picture attached. She was a pretty blonde. On the back of the picture was hand written: "Picture on front".

• What's the difference between me and a Viking?" Olli asked."No idea, said Ville.""When the Vikings used to come home after their wars, that's when the real drinking began. But when I come home after a few drinks, that's when the real war begins."

• Never give me work in the morning. Always wait until 4:00 and then bring it to me. The challenge of a deadline is refreshing.

• As an inspirational measure, a boss placed a sign in the restroom directly above the sink. It had a single word on it: THINKThe next day, when he went to the restroom, he looked at his sign, and right next to it, above the soap dispenser, someone had carefully lettered another sign, which read: THOAP!

• At weddings old aunts used 2 tease me saying: You are next, you are next.But they stopped it since I started doing the same to them at funerals!

• Two little old ladies were attending a rather long church service. One leaned over and whispered, "My butt is going to sleep.""I know," replied her companion, "I heard it snore three times."

• Teacher: Four beautiful girls are walking on the road. Change it to exclamatory sentence.Student: WOW !

• People who do lots of work...make lots of mistakes,People who do less work...make less mistakes,People who do no work...make no mistakes,People who make no mistakes...get promoted.

• May you die in bed at the age of 95, shot by a jealous spouse.

• Father talking to his son: Son, you should never lie. One lie begets another lie, then another lie, and before you know it, you're a lawyer.

• Pappu: Mom, when I was on the bus with Dad this morning, he told me to give up my seat to a lady.Jeeto: Well, you have done the right thing.Pappu: But mom, I was sitting on daddy's lap.

• Woman sends knickers to the launderette but they still come back stained. Next time she sends a note: Use more soap on clothes.Laundry man sends back a note: Use more paper on your arse.

• Mom: Where r u off to now?Son: I`m gonna join the army.Mom: But, legally u r only an infant.Son: That`s all right, I`m going to join the infantry.

• Customer: Waiter, what's the meaning of this fly in my tea up?Waiter: I wouldn't know sir, I'm a waiter, not a fortune teller.

• The Smiths were dining out when his wife noticed a familiar face at the bar."Honey," she said as she pointed the guy out, "That guy at the bar has been drinking like that since I left him seven years ago."Her husband said, "That's silly, no one celebrates that much!"

• In a survey, 80 percent of women thought their ass was too fat, 15 percent said their ass was too thin and the other five per cent said they didn't care - they would have married him anyway.

• I've invented a fly spray that doesn't kill flies; it makes them so sexually active, you can swat two at a time.

Ankit's Web Media

2005-04-09T23:41:00.000+04:00

Hi, this is Ankit Biswas. My blog is dedicated to all my well wishers and hence I am posting this for my friends and wellwishers.

I always wanted to have a page so can you can know about me. I am doing my B.E in Comp Sc and currently placed in Satyam Computer Service Ltd. I love rock songs and I am a real kewl guy. Ok ok dont get carried away.My hobbies include playing soccer,net surfing and lotz of other things.Well i've aspired to become a top notch business person and for me sky is the limit.

Thanx For visiting.May God bless the strong bond that gels us together called DOSTI .

Regards,
Ankit Biswas