Why is a why asked?

I don't know the answer. But I used to think, the only way you can make others believe that you are a 'curious thinker' is by asking 'Why?' for anything and everything. Newton asked 'Why does the apple fall down?' and Raman asked 'Why is the sky blue?'. These and many other whys have led to wonderful scientific breakthroughs...Naturally, this seems to have led to a popular misconception- anyone who asks 'Why', THINKS...! (or intends to make others think?!!)

Now,why am I bothered about why a why is asked!? Simply because it disturbs me greatly when someone who considers himself smart goes on asking 'why'..without even thinking whether a 'why' is pertinent in that context...! I feel it is necessary to draw the line somewhere...you have to ask 'why's only in X instances and not in Y set of instances...! A conversation with ABC, confirmed my conviction! 'x,y,z have been implemented, x'y'z' could not be completed due to 1,2,3..reasons...' 'Why is that so?'..ok..count++; '1,2,3..are the reasons..' 'Why 1?, Why 2? Why 3?...Why n?' count=count+n;!

By now, it dawned on me that this man went on asking 'Why's because he didnt understand what reason =1,2,3...meant! Well..those werent great equations, those were simple statements...If you could THINK, even a little, all the reasons would have become clear..crystal clear! Does that mean those who dont think keep 'why'-ing?!!

Contradiction?!

3

I always feel 3 is a nice optimal number, when you consider discrete values, that is. The other day, my mother wanted me to buy some fruits. 'Get as many as you want'..she said. And off I went to the fruit seller's...There were nice juicy apples and lovely oranges and pomegranates...I decided to buy all the three..'How many of each?'...Tough question...I thought for a while and said 'gimme 3 of each...'and managed to reduce the price considerably on account of the fact that I was a 'regular customer'!

Pleased with the bargain, I was all smiles as I reached home. My mother looked at the basket and picked the fruits one after another...'3 of each?!' she cried..'Ya..anything wrong?'..'I am tired of telling you..Can you not buy in even numbers?'...'It's not that I dont like even numbers..(!) its just that I find 2 too less and 4 slightly more...So I settle for 3...' It was holding on fine till then...'After all my roll number at school was also 3..' That was a completely unnecessary statement...'Nonsense...Hereafter do ONLY what I ask you to...Dont act smart..' cautioned my mother...

That left me thinking...What's really wrong with 3 and other odd numbers...Ok..am not really bothered about all other odd numbers..(Induction...If 4 is more, 5 etc would also be more!) 3 is my concern.. It's such a compact number (and my lucky one too!)...The letters in my name are 3, my roll number had been 3 for many many years...And there was a 3 in my ID number at college too...Arent these 3 reasons enough for me prefer 3? (Did you notice there are 3 paragraphs in this? and here's the trump...There are three times(!) five 3's in this..)

All for a 100 waala...

Diwali at Pilani is a good deal different from diwali anywhere else...It was our first Diwali at Pilani and quite naturally, we were sad and happy at the same time...Sad because we werent at home and happy for just the reason that it was a different diwali...

No Diwali is complete without bursting crackers...and we decided to go for it...pooling in money, we bought an assortment of crackers..flower pots,chakras and 100 and all other waalas! The whole place was resounding with the noise of crackers...When the fighting rival gangs stopped to replenish their supplies, we decided to take centre stage and burst!!!

First came the flower pots...really cool...Then it was time for a real 'show of strength'(lol!) and we unzipped the 100.exe's...'Who takes the first one?' someone cried and a sense of comradeship overcame all of us as we said 'you go first' to one another...Gathering courage, K and I decided to 'bell the cat'...With lighted 'special' incense sticks,we went closer..It was dark and the streetlights werent a great help..On top of it, there was this unexplainable nervousness...I went near the well-laid series of intertwined bijilis(!) and bent to see the 'lightable' end...No sooner had I set my eyes on that, there was a scream...K was the culprit..She thought I had lighted it!!...Impulsively, I ran back...'Ok..cool it..'I said and ventured again...This time K let out a loud shriek! This happened a few times...It must have seemed very amusing as someone in a gang waiting for their dinner, said mockingly..'Shh..lets wait till they burst it..' We went for it one more time...K walked over along with me and we held each other tightly...'we need to prove a point'..we declared and summoned all the courage we could muster and bent really close and lighted it..We kept looking at it for what seemed like eternity and when the first 'hissss' came, we had already sprinted many yards away...funny, flight hormone...!

The 100.exe executed perfectly, and we stood there like brave heroes who had just crushed an entire army to defeat! Close by, the 'watchers' broke into a round of applause and those at other tables joined...'Finally..!!' said one...'I never knew it took 2 people, 4 high-pitched screams and 4 feet of running...all for a 100 waala!'

Dare to Differ

There is nothing challenging in being part of a herd of goats. All goats do the same thing, over and over again. What makes life interesting is the courage to stand out from the crowd.

Those who dare to differ are willing to take risks. When we 'take a risk', we are deviating from a set of time-tested 'safe' actions. A time-tested safe action is perhaps the one that has yielded the same (desirable) result every time it was taken by different individuals. When an action cannot be classified as 'safe' it is possibly 'risky'. Over time, the 'risky' action may be included in the set of 'safe' actions.

Also, the percentage of people who want to 'be different' seems to be less..I am unable to come up with an accurate numerical value but by and large there is a greater tendency to follow 'usual practices' (May be thats why they become 'usual practices'!!). This may be attributed to the fact that humans, being social animals, value stability more.

There is a fine line that divides 'being different' and overdoing it. When the whole world wears cotton in summer and if you decide to be different and choose to wear wool...you are clearly crossing the limits of 'daring to differ'! On the other hand, when all students in your class want to do an MBA (whether they like it or not) and you put your foot down and say you want to be a Professor, you are definitely a 'different' soul! In this case, going by what you like (your instincts!!?) lends that 'different' shade to you!

Does everyone have a 'different' shade?! May be yes... But whether they end up being 'different' or not depends on their ability to recognize the 'different' shade and their willingness to take that risk!

A Straight Drive

It has long been my desire to drive one of the better innovations of man...the car...I was happy to start with a modest Maruthi 800 and obtained a licence as early (!) as last December...It was months after the 'Test' that I was behind the steering again...My mother took a brave decision to come along with me for a short drive...Ignition went on well...First gear...full clutch, half clutch, accelerator, this mirror , that mirror...there seemed to be whole lot of simultaneous actions...(multi-tasking??!) Just when I thought I had completed all these, the engine gave up...I looked at my mom...She seemed as patient as ever...'Never mind..try again...'
Feeling encouraged, I gave it another shot....This time everything worked...and the car inched forward...Relief...! There was a sudden violent jerk and the engine gave up..again...! Puzzling...I thought! 'You let go of the clutch too soon...' Wisdom! I gave a stupid smile and started the process again...Things were much rosier this time...First gear, wonderful start and it was time for the second gear...! We were on the road now...'Keep the steering steady' my mom said, frantically signalling....'Yes ma..dont worry...' I said and cautiously stepped on the accelerator...'DONT do that...keep the speed at 20...' There was a slight tinge of exasperation in her voice...all of a sudden, a guy on a cycle sprung out of nowhere....'BRAKKKKKEEEE' The pitch had increased considerably now...I could hear my heart beat...faster by many times...
'Ok..go straight...' Keep it straight..I kept telling myself...I spotted a fishcart going right ahead of me...Attempting an overtake, I swerved a bit...I expected my mom to say something...When I stole a glance at her, she was sitting with her eyes tightly closed and her hands on her head...as if she was about to witness a cruel manslaughter...!! It was too late when I realized the reason for her action...The rear of the fishcart had made a dirty scratch...and the car now seemed headed straight towards a lamp post...My mom pulled the hand brake and and steered us out of danger...!!!
'You need to take more classes...' my mom said...that was putting it way too lightly...'I'll end up becoming hypertensive if I go with her before she gets more training...!' I heard her say, as she narrated the incident to my dad....

Missing the Action

It must be some kind of Murphy's laws at play! When the whole nation was praying for rain in Bangalore, the sun shone brightly and the Australians cruised to a victory...And when it looked like India might just pull it off this time, it rained in...Chennai!!! I've nearly forgotten what it means when it 'rains in Chennai'...I vaguely remember a week-long holiday due to a cyclone when I was in primary school...And the times when our school bus was caught in the flooded subway and we had to waddle across to reach home...!!

Missing 'rain in Chennai'...dearly!

Still..'Match Abandoned' seemed unfair!...The optimistic in me said, the series would have ended (!!) had India lost...! After all one can never trust these guys!...It was around 2 in the morning when a friend messaged 'Veerappan shot dead'....Disgusted at the disturbance, I messaged back..'Are you drunk?!' and switched off the mobile!! But I couldnt get the thought out of my head...I woke up early, to have a look at the newspaper...Sure enough, 'Veerappan shot dead' made the headlines...I couldnt help wondering what major ripples this would have caused in Chennai...All news channels would be talking about it...There might have been a couple of villagers saying how they were terrorized...and of course, the STF junta on their 'heroic deed'!!! Well...mebbe thats just missing the TV !!! I wanted to hear what the uncle downstairs thought of it..Being a staunch supporter of the ruling party, he would have lauded the efforts of the CM...and I surely missed the discussion my parents and grandpa had on all such important issues...!!! Everyone who came home or called would air their views...and with inputs from all the 'news-hungry' channels, the discussion would rage on....

Missing all the action...surely!

A ringtone!

I never realized the advantages of having a nasty and irritating ring tone for my mobile...The incident that brought about this realization happened on Monday morning. Just as I walked in, a team member cautioned..'Be careful, ur MAN(ager!!)was here till 11 last night...Surely, some problem!'...I had just finished my first round of checking mails, when the phone rang...Good thing these are caller-ID phones, I thought..It was my MAN...and I didnt pick it up..I thought I'd be ready for whatever it was after a cup of coffee...and I went to get one...The phone rang again...it seemed to ring more hurriedly this time...May be there is a direct relation between the speed of punching numbers and the frequency of the ring tone!! (Bad Logic!)..Summoning all the courage I could muster, I picked up it up!...'Hello, What's happening with that thing?'..and so on....The voice at the other end was determined to do all the speaking and as the pitch rose, I shifted the earpiece away from my ear...! crazy MAN...what can I do if the system crashed because of a 'fatal hardware error'...,the hardware helpdesk junta had been completely oblivious to my situation and hadnt come to have a look even after a whole day of complaining! These things seemed to be quite beyond my control! I decided it wasnt my mistake and MAN just cannot scream at me...After all, am NOT an employee (yet!)....The barrage now seemed endless...
On a sudden brainwave,I grabbed my cell phone and let it play the nagging ringtone I had set to irritate my friends...I brought the phone closer to the earpiece so that the MAN could also hear it!!! He responded...'Are you getting a call?'...I was about to say, 'Yes..it's my mom..' but as something struck (wow! a day of brainwaves!) I said 'It's another intern's cell and she isnt here....' It was totally irritating...! It seemed to frustrate him all the more...A sure case of hypertension and BP, I thought!... He couldnt carry the conversation any further and hung up after the usual 'We'll discuss this later!'..and I couldnt bear the ring tone even that long!!!!

A match...

Have a laugh!
As such I was feeling a little depressed that day...It worsened after a ragging session (read meeting with guide!)..What a man..I thought...Does he work or not?! He spent some 2hrs boring details into my head..(I even made a polite request to grab a cup of coffee...just to indicate that am getting tired of the whole thing!)After lunch, the argumentative comments on my previous blog gave little respite...One learned and enlightened soul initiated it and another followed suit...! Just when I started thinking about all that the two had written, the phone rang. 'Hello' a familiar voice said,' We have a TT match in another 10 mins..Care to join.??' I jumped at the opportunity...

I couldnt recollect the last match I played...was it the one I played sometime in 11th or 12th at the stuffy 'Silver Jubilee Hall' of our school ?!Well.. there were a couple of matches in the common room...but not 'real' ones..!

The match started off..and I quickly figured out that my opponent was even less comfortable with the bat than me! It all went on well...and it looked like I'd win easily...great serves..(well..it's relative..)The score was 18-16 in my favour...A few careless, overconfident 'would-be-smashes' landed in the next table to bring up the score to a 18-all...Then..a voice called '18-All..' Acting impulsively,I turned to look at the chap...Hmm..looks good..I thought...and I missed a shot...'This is not going to work..Better concentrate..' I told myslef and netted a serve! Oh my god..am NOT going to lose...Then came another shot..sprinting a couple of times over the net and landing after two bounces...

I was looking at the new referee!

After the match, I tried to spot the handsome referee, who seemed to have vanished into the crowd...He appeared all of a sudden with a cup of coffee and said..'you played well..''Thanks',I said...keeping my face as serious as possible...'Your friend could have fought in the other match..' referring to the mixed doubles we splooched...'May be..',I said....'Ok! nice meeting you..have to meet my girl friend now...!' 'oh ya..nice meeting you too..' I said and packed my bags and left...

Depression....again...!

'Intern'al Wisdom!

Life as an Intern...(it sounds better that way..!)has made me a lot wiser...Some examples...

1.The manager always talks more but understands little..!

2.If the manager can spend over 2hrs talking to interns like me, he probably has no team of his own!

3.Never call your manager over phone to find out if you can meet him...He will most likely be in an 'important meeting'...! always prefer surprise landings (who is checking on whom now..!!)

4.The tried and tested method of ls/dir -ing REALLY works!

5.Company policies should always be kept in mind...Never tell anyone what your 'confidential' project is about...(It's quite a different thing that you don't know much about it yourself!)

6.Whenever asked to explain what you have been doing, dont do the mistake of answering in a single sentence...Go on and on and on...about how you started the system, how you had to 'double-check' and 'cross-check' all details (that shows how systematic you are!!!) and all other things that you think should have gone into that one day's work making it seem that you were working on it 'sincerely' since the time you last met your manager!

7.(B)log files really help! (he!he!)

8.Be a sport...The manager doesnt really mean to hurt you...It's just that he is in foul mood because he had a nasty fight with his wife!

9.Try not to leave office before 8.p.m..After all where else can you sit in peace, listen to songs and browse the net..all free of cost..!!?

10.Call up your manager now and then and ask strange, esoteric doubts. He was never involved in your project and never will be...so no thoughts on this...all that he'll do is..'Read up a bit more on that'...and you can spend the whole week on 'reading' and 'more reading'!

11.If your project involves dumb coding, life has never been easier...just tell your mentor that you are 'debugging'!

12.Presentations have to carefully handled...Act SMART...but dont overdo it!

Then and now.!

Generations to come will scarce believe that such
a one as this walked the earth in flesh and blood.
-Albert Einstein about Gandhi


On October 2nd, I read a wonderful article on Gandhi and watched a movie depicting Kamaraj's life...Undoubtedly, both made me think! Looking at the newspapers, I couldnt help but notice the really huge, ever widening gap between statesmen of yesteryears and the politicians now! The idea of 'service to the nation' has been diluted over the years. It's more of 'self-service' than 'selfless service'....
There is an insatiable quest for power that overrides all other factors. Party ideals no longer play a major role. Politicians today are better known for their brawn power than the brain power....

Where is all this leading to?! Things can be changed only with a revival of true democracy. It calls for greater involvement by people from all strata of the society...Politicians need to be made more accountable...Rowdyism and politics have to separated...We need civilised and educated politicians to lead the country....

It just cannot go on like this....!

Live or Exist...?!?!

Surely,living and existing must mean different things...Putting it simply,living is purposeful existence. Purpose here can be defined dynamically and relatively. The action that seems purposeful to me when I was 15 may not seem all that purposeful at 30 or 40...And the same thing might not at all be termed purposeful by some other person. Perceptions differ. Time and experience are other factors that influence what a purposeful action is for us.

So, why at all do we need a purposeful existence..? A purposeful existence lends a direction to life...It is really a pleasure to proceed in a direction, that is determined by your goals, and tackle the barriers that come your way and ultimately succeed.

In whatever way one defines purpose, it takes guts and motivation to see it to it that the purpose is achieved at the end of the day...! That is because, 'living' does not stop with identifying a purpose...It only starts there.....

On luck and being lucky!

What is luck? I havent been able to come up with a proper definition but there are a few things that, I think, are normally associated with something or someone being 'lucky'...

The first is the prior history of the case(!) in question. Consider an object, say a hanky, if it has brought 'luck', some 8 out of 10 times it was carried, then it becomes 'lucky'! This means, the probability of something being 'lucky' (or 'unlucky') is a measure of its frequency of its use..(lol!!!)That brings us to an interesting point. Does this imply that the more we use an object, there is a greater tendency to classify it as 'lucky' or 'unlucky'?! Not really, we do not associate 'good luck' or 'ill-luck' with ALL the things that we frequently use. One's only pair of slippers may be 'unclassified' whereas the colour of the shirt may be classified as bringing 'good or bad luck'! Thus, the basis for classification of objects cannot be quantified in simple terms...

So much for 'lucky' objects. As for people being considered 'lucky',they either get what they want (or what WE want) with little or no effort (according to US!). There also exists another basis for classification. The guy who went out for a walk and came back to find his office at WTC destroyed is 'lucky'. The man who was run over by a bus when he was on the pavement is definitely 'unlucky'..These indicate that certain situations and their effects on humans influence the classification..!

However difficult it may be to define 'luck' or being 'lucky', I believe luck(!) exists...How then can you explain how you passed when you hardly studied (lol!!!)or how miserably you failed after burning a good deal of midnight oil!!!Ok..you might say,you were smart in the first case and didnt put in quality effort in the second case...but then...in each case, it could have happened the other way...Why did it happen THAT way..?!!
Just 'luck'...pure 'luck'!!
This was begun with something in mind...that got lost midway...blame the proj and my laziness!! ;-) just luck!

Looooong time no blogging!!!

Never knew I'd become this busy..(!)It's actually not the project...which by now,has seen more installations and uninstallations than actual work..It's not that I installed and re-installed for the heck of it...I was ASKED to do that!!! Whenever something didnt work as it was supposed to, the universal solution seemed to be 'Uninstall..restart (if needed)and re-install!!' Though this tactic fixed some errors..it also made matters worse in some cases...I would have laughed at the whole idea of fixing a bug by just uninstalling and reinstalling...but now that seemed the easiest way out!!!
Once I had to install a toolkit, and there was this irksome message on its console..'Product not installed/configured properly'...There wasnt a great response when I uninstalled and re-installed...It still gave the same error! The error details were all too esoteric. Something failed and some nice huge dotted expression exception...(someone's throwing and catching code was now working!!!)...I decided not to rely on the 'technical details'...which only depressed me further..java.lang.etc.etc..was definitely not a great help to install a silly toolkit! I tried finding some 'leads'...At the end of some 2 hours...I had something to work on..'some plugin.xml' was the culprit..!I ran a search for that god forsaken xml document....The things that stared at me on the screen sent a cold shiver down my spine...What nonsense!!! what is the ERROR here?!!
Frankly, the whole document made little sense...some plugin, some version and some other incomprehensible stuff...all within strange tags!
A cup of coffee was invigorating...!!! Deciding to rely on my common sense,I went through the xml doc again...ignoring all the things that didnt make sense the first time! All of a sudden, my eyes fell on something seemingly innocuous...'version=2.0.1'...Nonchalantly, I clicked the folder I had installed the zipped executable in....what I saw, was most exhilarating! the toolkit was version 2.1.0...and here was the statement that made the whole install a nightmare!!! I was already feeling like a pro..(lol!!!)with that ingenious troubleshooting!! When I changed the version and restarted...nothing happened for a while..After what seemed like eternity...'updated plugin.xml,error in config' was the message on the console!
This is going to require more skills,I thought...Unwilling to give up, I decided to uninstall, re-install and then make the changes...just for one last time...
After some 20 minutes,one more cup of coffee (this time black!) and loads of prayers...I got to see the error-free console message...'Product installed properly, config saved..blah blah..' I was filled with a deep sense of victory...and decided that I had done a great deal of work for the day and left the place!
The next morning, my mentor called me for a meeting...'should not forget to tell him about last evening's episode..' I made a mental note....and marched triumphantly to his cube..He asked what I had been upto, whether I had installed the toolkit and if I had started using the toolkit...With a sense of purpose, I began..'Sir,I had lots of problems in installation...'He patiently listened to the whole story..( minus, of course, the coffees and chilling-out phone calls I made!) On hearing the whole episode, he said..'Good Work! keep it up..' and continued..'Are you sure there was no mention of it in the README?'....that caught me unawares..Not wanting to seem careless, I said, 'No Sir, there was no mention about it!'...'Fine then..carry on..' and I vanished out of his cube! I returned to my machine and checked the README, just to see what it had, apart from the usual instructions...At the end of it, a small line in italics caught my attention..I didnt remember seeing it the first time I read the README...It said..'Please check the version numbers in all plugin and feature files before running the application'!!!!!
I was only glad that my mentor, a busy person, would most likely not find the time to download the toolkit, install it AND read the README!

Excuse me....

That day started off like any other.And went on like any other too...what came at the end of it was most disheartening. It was on this day that me and a friend of mine decided to have a look at Kempe Fort...something we were asked 'not to miss'...especially the majestic Lord Shiva housed in that complex...
It was a such a tough day at PS...Already looking half dead and totally famished we showed up at the doors of Kempe Fort!....
We first went to some 'imported gift items ' section that was awesome! and then to the various other sections....It was at the footwear section that the unthinkable happened...Not really keen on the different types of footwear(!!!)..I was staring into space waiting for my friend to make her selection....Suddenly, quite out of the blue...a voice called out from close quarters 'Excuse me...' It wasnt clear whether it was addressed to me or not...After all, there were so many other people there!!! I decided to give myself the benefit of doubt...and took a few steps towards the next section...'Excuse me..Excuse me...' The voice seemed to follow me...this time, there was a chappal in sight, being waved frantically at me...That made be thoroughly disconcerted...and I found myself glaring at the woman who had the guts to commit such an atrocious act...!Before I could even open my mouth...'How much do these cost???' Her question angered me all the more...Who did she think I was??? A salesgirl?? Nonsense!!!!
One part of me went mad with rage and wanted to scream and tear the woman's head off...while the other part...giving a wry smile..said..'It was just a mistake!'
Noticing the look on my face, the lady had one of those sudden enlightenments...'I'm realllllly sorry...verrrrry verrrry sorry....' and it went on for some time...'It's alright..' I said and forced a smile...!
Blessed is he who learns to laugh at himself...! I realized how true that is!!!
Later,when I got to see the REAL salesgirls...Man!!I WAS astonished...They were more hep than anybody else in the complex...!!!! Strange are the ways of the world!

Yet another test post!

What's wrong with the blog?!!
------This is a check !-----

A Weekend over!

It's always the same feeling. Before even one can sense that a weekend has begun..it's over! Some attribute it to the TGIF (Thank God It's Friday) syndrome...characteristic of the soft class! There was never this 'weekend feeling' when in Pilani...Every day was like any other! (lol!)
The Forum was a great retreat...Somewhat similar to good old Spencer's, it definitely brought in the 'Unique Singapore' feeling! KFC proved how difficult it is to remain a vegetarian...! Frankly, we didnt spot the other good restaurant upstairs that had a 'Salem Kitchen'! The shops (or rather the price tags on all goods!!..) would make even a compulsive shopper think twice!!!
Just how people could afford to spend so much money on the goods there (some were,well..atleast acc to me...totally not worth the money!) 'No Compromise' may be a policy which a good customer adopts....but dont we need to make sure that the thing bought is actually worth the money paid?!...This is simple logic! Simplicity needs to be the order of the day! Not extravagance ! Well...there is really nothing we achieve by an ostentatious show of wealth...(well-acquired or not!)

Sunday rambled away at the Commercial Street...THE place to be...I was told! A greater number of shops, more number of people, in comparison to the Forum,...and the some haggling , though in a milder form, at some shops!! Came up with a good optimization problem....With a constraint on the money you can actually spend...how would you end up buying more items that actually are useful(!) and those that look a lot costlier (!!!) than they are...On further analysis, the second constraint doesnt seem very logical...What's the point..as long as it is useful to you...albeit for a shorter duration,Why would we worry about it 'looking costly'?....Moreover, the flaunting part comes into play...Why would we want something to 'look costly'..unless, of course. we are just showing- off...

This requires more analysis though! Solving the problem with just one constraint is difficult enough...as there always seem to be more 'optimal' solutions...Are we looking out for a heuristic approach here ?(lol!) Well...depends...(Isnt that the BEST answer you could give when you have little idea about the thing in question??!!) Another thing...next time I buy a toothpaste, do I need to solve the 'complicated' problem!?? This means, the type, importance and role of the item we intend buying needs to be accounted for....somehow..!
The optimal solution....is still a dream!

Musings....

I have always wondered...Is someone made vetti or becomes vetti of his own free sweet will...?! I havent been able to decide...There are some cases when people are generally jobless...They would definitely prefer working...but alas, they arent fortunate enough...Are these guys bored of being vetti that they want to 'work' or do they really enjoy 'working..'??! I don't really know..
Then there is this other class of people who prefer to be vetti...People in this category do have some work..something like an assignment submission or a project presentation...but still...even hard deadlines (man! am reminded of RTS !!) cannot make them work...They have no qualms about missing deadlines...their sole aim in life is to remain 'vetti' !!!
We might all fall into either of the categories depending on the situation!!! For example, when we are (over)burdened with assignments opting not to submit some seems natural! (lol!) . This is not strictly the second type...though a variant of it! PS (in some cases!) can be classified in the first type! Students WANT to work...but the technical and intellectual level they look for is hard to come by!!! (lol! lol!) ( am not talking about any station or anyone in particular!)
The bottom line is...am happy analyzing (!)the two types rather than trying to find out whether am vetti by choice or by no other choice....

Contd...

So much for the evaluation components! PS life has many other dimensions too....and am just beginning to discover some of these. First thing..Bangalore is such a great place to be in, especially after those 4 gruelling years in Pilani. Must say that Pilani was a lot cheaper (lol!) but Bang has an unbeatable charm. Compare this with the ever-hot n humid Chennai...It's not just the climate, there are definitely other factors. An incident to make my point clear...We were travelling by auto the other day and only when we reached our destination did we realize that the meter wasn't working...The surprise was...the auto driver DID NOT fight...simply said that he should have been more careful and accepted the money we gave! This, surely, can only happen in dreams to auto-patrons in Chennai! .... and not just the auto-drivers, gen junta here are damn friendly..! !

The rest....in next!

PS-2....BITS style..!

PS life is ever so interesting...what with all kinds of evaluation components that we just cannot get rid of...don't seem to understand why we need to be giving a quiz(!) ...pathetic questions based on the station...One of our questions was...'How many people work in such n such wing of this company....Isnt there a limit to these excesses?!

Right next in line was GD...lachcha to be precise....And the topic was...'BITS Admission System..'
Have lost count on the number of times this topic featured in the bhawans' GD sessions ! The topic being so familiar...was just not sufficient to carry on the 'discussion' for more than 10 mins. It was then that the PS - Instructor mentioned that there were 10 more minutes left....(Nonsense! that seemed like eternity!) ...Continue man...now what?? Do we need entrance examinations?? Or do we keep a ceiling on the number of students who can come from a particular state?? No no..that would not be fair...As with all GDs...this seemed to be meandering on a different course....Does ABC college in XYZ state follow a 'good' admission procedure....? Man...Why does BITS need to worry about it??!! and then on courses in BITS...first the admission..and THEN the courses...doesnt that seem logical?! One peculiar thing about this GD was that there WAS a conclusion...(!)..a pretty interesting one too....It was to let only some students take an online entrance test...The test takers would be those who had a minimum percentile (decided by BITS) in their board exams..!

Coming back to the issue of evaluation components in PS...esp PS-2...it sure requires some thought! The first quiz...on the PS station can easily be done away with...ok..GD's neednt be scrapped...thats a nice entertainment...A whole evening can be killed on the pretext of GD...!!
Guess even seminars have to be put up with...but that depends on whether you are really doing work or not...In case the PS project is similar to the sops and lops in BITS...then what can you actually present for a mid sem seminar?! This is not to say that all sops and lops are vetti...but majority seem to be..!

Well...there is more to the story than this.....will continue later...!

Well...

Let's see how this works out.....Just a test post for now!