Delhi through my eye

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Had a busy and tiring week....

Its hardly a week since i returned from Bhubaneswar, but already into my grave, i mean groove. This week was really tough but its just an indication how following week is going to be.

After returning from Bhubaneswar had a days rest and then a quick fire trip of Delhi......it took toll on body, thought i throughly enjoyed it! Its fun to roam around on the streets of Delhi in this chilling cold. There are so many places to roam around in Delhi unlike Mumbai, in my opinion Delhi scores an extra point here. Temperature has gone down considerably in last few days with night time temperature hovering around 10deg, mornings are cold and foggy.

I am back to my project work since last 3 days, deadline is in coming week. I think i am running a week behind, i need to hurry up. Trying to slog! Just few more days of hard work then i am gonna have a well deserved holiday. Missing home sweet home. But for now back to work!

Day 3 - 4 : Bhubanswar

Phew! It’s over! it wasn’t as bad as I would had thought. I was too tensed for last few days. But finally it’s over. Feeling very very light, but again I will I have to get started with project from Sunday.

The presentation was all right. Initially had few anxious moments as presentation wasn’t coming out as I was expecting on the big projector because of the resolution. Just at the final moment I had to shift to my own lappy. Presentation started off well but again the very first video didn’t play, I didn’t show enough of presence of mind to play it on the media player. from the second video onwards I started playing on the media player, rest of the presentation was ok. I was bit worried about the questions might be thrown at me at the end but I successfully distracted the panel by showing a video in the end.

after the presentations I went to Khandagiri caves. it was ok but I was mentally too tired so finished the whole stuff in 2 hrs and returned to the room. now packing is done all set for one more exciting train journey.

Day 2 : Bhubaneswar

Day 2 at ICVGIP was boring. In the morning there were few oral sessions. I came back to hostel after poster session and did not attend the theme session. I had a good sleep in the afternoon. Went out at Rice bowl for dinner. food was decent, ambience not great. enjoyed food with one eye on lizard on the wall next to my table and one eye glued to TV in front of me which was tuned to Aaj Tak.

I m finally done with my slides. Manage to compile all the videos with help of some coding. I will go through the slides few more times now to figure out any mistake. I m getting anxious regarding my presentation. I hope I do well. I m off to sleep now!

Day 1 : Bhubaneswar

Today was the first day of the conference, and I am thrilled by the experience I had. It’s always a great feeling to see the great minds in your field. I was little bit sleepy since conference timing was clashing with my sleeping timings. Talks were good but I enjoyed only few of them rest were just like IITD seminars. I was Badly waiting for food but I was disappointed once again, food was fairly ok! I paid Rs.50 to check my mails for 5 mins. Left conference hall before timing as I was feeling sleepy.
Train reached 2:30hrs late from its scheduled timing. ICVGIP people were present at the station who “escorted” me to the CV Raman college “girls” hostel. Arrangements are good over here, rooms are clean and tidy. My roomie, Gaurav is just like me so didn’t had too much problem adjusting with him. There are too many of mosquitoes so I couldn’t no sleep properly last night, god know how I m gonna manage tonight. my slides and preparation is going on, I have decided to finish off videos tonight. Looking at today’s presentation little less tensed because presentations were ok, but I want to deliver my best presentation here.

It seems tomorrow I will have a lighter schedule at conference so I will come early and sleep.

NDLS - BBS

Missing my camera a lot….I didn’t take it because I already had too much to carry but now I feel camera was must. Anyways journey is fun. I guess I am the person who’s gonna travel the longest distance on this train, starting from New Delhi all the way till Bhubaneswar, right now waiting at Talcher around 2:30hrs away from my destination. Train is already late by 2hrs. It has been great experience so far, on my next long journey I m gonna drag few of you for sure.

Since New Delhi number of people boarded my section and got down at various stations so this is unlike Rajdhani where I get to see same set of faces trough out the trip. I reached New Delhi 1:15hrs before time (very very unlike me) and the train was late by 45mins but it wasn’t boring waiting for train. I made one more train pal, this time it is Prakash, he was just like me stayed at Delhi for couple of years and now back to his hometown, he got down at Sambalpur 1hr back. Thanks to him I got good company.

When I boarded the train I was too tired since I had slept late in the night, so I took nap for good 2 hrs in the train. I tried to read “The monk who sold his Ferrari” but it isn’t my type for sure. Didn’t have any food trough out the journey since I could see that food was too bad, so I am still alive thanks to those biscuits and some Samosas. I worked a bit on my slides after Sambalpur since I was alone in the compartment, my preparation is far from done. I need to put up good efforts in next couple of days to pull out a good performance. it’s a new phenomenon to me to see train running in Zigzag manner, it has already changed its direction 5times, and I guess once again it is changing so count is 6 so far. So far its 29hrs on board looks like another 3hrs to go. But have already become a rail-fan, because rail is fun.

The Nightmare

Last two nights are like nightmare. Every 15 mins feel like running to the TV room and the heart is present in mumbai. The magnitude of the events are so huge, that it is unbelievable. I am finding it really difficult to express my feelings because i am numb.

Leo's? Yes, come'on how is it possible? all memories are like pictures in front of my eyes. Bade's that's place were i threw my last treat. On my normal mumbai day one of these could easily be my late evening hangouts, lucky that i wasn't there in mumbai. It's hard to believe those guys walk the same lane as i am used. Its kind of angry feeling how can they come to my home and just shatter every thing?

Had my heart in my mouth looking at those video of van running and killing people, faces of terrorists are terrifying. Cant imagine what must have happen who experienced this live. My salute goes all the heroes born and died during this difficult time. All the forces have shown tremendous commitment and courage.

I think the aftermath of this whole thing is going to be a crucial one. Politics has already started which is usual in our country. But for god sake guys please forget every thing and stand together to show them that we are one. Show that the glory of mumbai and our nation cannot be demolished so easily. Lets just stand like The Taj with the crown on the head which refusing to go down even after 100s of explosions, lets just stand like oberoi tall and handsome.

वन्दे मातरम!

Sunday Funday!

Looking at number of people appearing for CAT every year, its like a region across the youth of the country. I tried to be the part of CATism but failed to do so, for me CAT turned out to be Carefree Aptitude Test. CAT was bad for me this time(miracles don't happen to often), But that i can least expect if i had solved merely 10 question just one day/month before. Never the less i enjoyed the day!!

It was fun traveling by blue line(managed to save some money, that was the fun part of journey). It took two buses and one auto before i reached KV3. Later after the paper the journey to LP was smooth one, though i don't remember the route no. of any of the bus i took :-). Return journey to IIT was again by blue line and this time it was 507, yes i remember.

Later in the evening i went to Hauz Khas Village, It was fun to sneak into the park without permission. Experimented with some night time photography by the lake side. It was fun looking at the pics. The price i had to pay was the scolding from the guard at the gate!!

After coming to Delhi my direction sence has got a 360 degree spin. Lost my self after coming out from lake side and had to take auto again to go back to Hauz Khas Village. Had dinner at naivedyam. Food was as good as always, and the ambeience was perfect to end the day.

So my escape from IIT was simply great, but it has left a big hole in my pocket which will take at least a week or two to get filled up!

TESTing Time

So the final count down has begun, last few days for semester to end. So the workload is increasing day by day. From my past experience i have learned that this is the most difficult phase, one needs to be both physically and mentally fit. I am just trying to find my mental peace to keep myself going (for physical fitness, god is always there!). At times it becomes really difficult to keep your self going but you need some one who understands the situation well and helps you out, i am lucky to have such people around me (Thanks!). I am ready for the endless days and sleepless nights, but to keep my self ignited is a challenge and still working on it.

Finally some progress in project (only 22 yards going by ant feets). Delhi is nice and chilling, adding further to my coffee bills, but i am enjoying it. Placements are just in front of the nose, i am a lil worried because not prepared for it. Blogging is becoming difficult because of semester end, trying to keep it going.

Happy to see india win 2-0, very very sad to see Sourav go! it's so unbelievable that i can't take it. Spending good amount of time reading Sourav literature. After all i have learned a lot from that great man. I hope i successfully tackle this TESTing time.

CAT is coming, cool escape from IIT after a long time.............

Day light Saving

I think India should opt for day light saving timings by moving clock ahead by atleast 30mins (1hr even better). This will not only help economy but also will help me save some day light in my life and help me complete my sleep without missing any lectures!

The Unsung Fighter

The day came with the shocking and emotional news of Kumble's retirement. It was unpredictable end of the strongest pillar of Indian cricket. Everything he did was so characteristic till the final hour of his career where he stolen the limelight for the first time in his career. For that one hour cricket had taken the backseat and Kumble was driving the show, millions of eyes glued to him, hundreds of cameras focused on him to catch one final click. One could see the emotions on the face of Tendulkar who handed over the cap for one last time.

He was the greatest servant of Indian cricket and the unsung hero. Critics said that he is the leggie who cant bowl leg spin and the most boring batsman, but never the less his stats suggests he is the biggest match winner for India. For him the personal achievements were secondary, he played for India everyday of his glorious career. He knew the value of the blue cap which he always kept on high, also on that one last day. He ended the way a soldier would like to leave the battle field, consumed to the one last drop of blood. He returned to Kotla just to because India had chance to win if he was added to the equation, he delayed the decision to make sure the team mates don't lose the focus from the game. One can never forget his heroics at Antigua where he bowled with broken jaw to take the wicket of Lara, he returned to India on the next day with satisfaction that he did his best before he left. Six year later he played his final test with 11 stitches and unbearable pain but with same brave heart.

His final words before he stepped down summed up his attitude over last 18years. It was great to see Anil in limelight for the first and final time, his last wrong'un undid every one. The Big screen on Kotla reflected the emotion of cricket lovers all over the world just in four words "jumbo you are awesome!"

Haapy Diwali

hmm....Finally i am home for Diwali. Its nice to be with your people for such grand festivals. Decision to come to Mumbai wasn't an easy one, it was trilling. Not knowing 3 hours before the flight that i would be boarding the same. But finally i made it and that's what matters.

It feels bad that almost half of my holiday is over. But never mind i will make full use of remaining half. Two days were hectic with shopping, "fooding" and meetings (with relatives!!!!). Mumbai looks great during festivals i m loving it...

Phew...!

After a while got some breathing space. Finally exams are over and the history repeats itself again, exams were "ok" as usual. I hope don't get the minor copies as long as possible to keep up the good mood going. But again truth is gonna come out some day. Why to worry about that some day let's live for the day. So it's "chill" day today.

Decided to watch a movie but disappointment hit me for forth consecutive time....I think i am not going to watch Hindi movie for a while now. I watched "Hello" and was awful to watch just like the the novel. Before that i had seen "Mission Istanbul" which became Mission impossible for me, "Welcome to Sajjanpur" did not welcome me at all and had a good kid-nap while watching "Kidnap". So now i got nothing to do but to get back to labs on my "chill" day.

gotta start working from tomorrow, i got lot to catch up. Seem like this is gonna be my second diwali away from home. Feeling suffocated here, will try to breath some life in coming few days.

Dada's inn was refreshing, he hasn't said the last thing yet four more to go. Feeling sorry that i couldnt go for Moholi Test, but Delhi Test i will surely go with the hope that India lives up to the record of seven consecutive wins at this very venue.

Roller Coaster Ride

Some one said life is a roller coaster ride, hmmm.....that's so true. Last few days came with few bad news and few good ones, but at the end of all we should move on time doesn't stop for any one. Nothing is permanent. Feeling better after "TEST"ing time last week. After many days enjoyed cricket infront of TV and had saturday outing with gelato's. So it's exams time at IIT, time to spend little more time with books (which i am not currently). Waiting for exams to get over, Semester to get over and eventually M.Tech to get over............ :-)

Hats off

Heard about Saurav's retirement yesterday, it was more shocking though I had predicted it in my earlier post (I guess dada follows me too), it sent shivers through my body. Finally curtains are down on the whole Saurav Ganguly saga.

Among the most glorious chapter in the history of Indian cricket is now into its concluding phase. In many ways his career was different than the fab four (or I would call it fantastic five), he struggled, he struggled more and then he struggled even more but at the end of every struggle we saw a new Saurav who was braver, stronger and more importantly "positive". Unlike Tendulkar he was never perfect, unlike David he was never dependable, unlike Laxman he was never soft-spoken, unlike Kumble he was never patient but he made for everything which these four never had and thats why they call him "DADA".

Its amazing to see so many people dislike Saurav, but why??? Leave aside his personal records Saurav has offered a lot to the team. How can we forget the phase Indian cricket was going through during match fixing when Saurav took over the captaincy from Tendulkar who put up his hands, and guess what Saurav did it in style. Five years down the line Saurav skips a match and people start doubting his commitment, and he was removed him from the team? Did people think the same for Tendulkar five year back??? I don’t hate Tendulkar but he always remained the most loved lad of the country (and rightly so), but does Saurav deserves to be the step-son of Indian cricket? Saurav waved his T-shirt at the balcony of Lord's (so called home of cricket) and they laughed at him! when Flintoff did the same at Wankede they didn't object. Saurav was just proving that all grounds all over the world should have same respect if Flintoff can do it in India why can he do the same in England and he did it. Was he the only one who believed India should have same respect as other cricketing nations like Australia, England, etc? Many felt Saurav was selfish and self-centered, I would like to ask those people why would he bat at no.6 and not in top order when he was captain? He never complained about the same unlike some of the team members!

I believe that this is Saurav's call and not BCCI's, because till date he has not allowed others to write his future. He was sacked because he was responsible for it, he was recalled because he knew he had fire left in him which he proved too. BCCI wanted him to quit two years back but he didn't give up and we all know what happened, Man of the Series in the come back Series overseas, Man of the series again in ODI series, can this be fluke? He proved him self wise again by taking decision at right time. When asked as to why he was the most scrutinized among the Fab Five, Ganguly smiled and replied, "Probably people didn't like my face.", No Dada we love you!

He had spark, courage, attitude, rivalry, spirit, style, fearlessness and many more qualities, which were missing in Indian cricket before he entered. MS shouldn't forget the team India he is driving today was build from the scratch by Saurav. Though Saurav will retire soon but his qualities and contribution will remain with Indian cricket for years to come and will not retire. No true cricket fan will forget him. Saurav has still got more to offer to Indian cricket and he will do so.

Thanks Dada you have been my inspiration in life in more ways than one! I wish you the best for rest of your life....

Disturbing

I was going through TOI after a log time read the front page news about Hindu orphan was raped and burnt to death, article was pretty disturbing. Almost every page had a news about killing, murder and stuff. Crime rate is surely creeping upwards.

Wasn't feeling well yesterday. I think i have been really harsh on body with my unhealthy food habits. its becoming increasingly difficult maintain my daily nutrition requirements because of many reasons some are avoidable and most are unavoidable. Lets see, trying my best to keep up with it. Also no work-out after first two days!!

Started with studies but there is so much to do, also multi-tasking is becoming increasingly difficult. Minors are approaching so its time for long hours with books. Facing the same old game of ugly politics and internal competition, but now i am used to it :-)

Over all situations is some what disturbing need to find my way through...

Yawn!!!

Had a boring day... Worked a lil but not in mood for "work out". Heard Ganguly is back, i hope he makes this count with a big one. I admire him for this very quality to come back strongly and prove your critics wrong. But sooner rather than later he should realize that time is not on his side.......

Running

Had an eventful day. As I mentioned race-day began but had a cold start to the race but need to speed up. Could not play tennis in spite of reaching to the tennis court (the most difficult part). I tried running with Sher, it was a good experience but surely an exhausting one. Then went out for dinner to GP, food was ok but had fun. Feeling better after two days of work out.

New Start

After a while i am back to my "blogger's place". Thanks to IIT life which really takes toll on your activities and you. I have decided to write frequently if not everyday. So this is my new resolution at least for next few days, lets see how much i follow.

Came back from Mumbai yesterday, had another amazing "home sweet home" experience. Life becomes so fast when i go down to Mumbai, three days are surely not enough. It takes at least a day or two to get rid of hangover, so yesterday was rest-day and the "race-day(s)" begins once i finish writing. Last nights tennis experience was great, hope to have more tennis action in nearer future.