Yippeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
It's all over. I have finally completed my submissions for the second semester. It took a long time & a great deal of efforts, some of them on my part, but finally it's done. All the midnight mugs of coffee haven't gone waste after all. I feel as if I'm on top of the world.
Unfortunately, the celebrations of this great feat come with a disclaimer - only the sub-missions are over. The main mission ie the end semester exams still await me. But for now I bask in the glory of a job well done. And once again I steal a quote from the great Roman Emperor Julius Caesar :
Veni Vedi Vici
( I came, I saw , I conquered)
Thursday, April 27, 2006
An obituary: The king is dead..... long live the king
The Dhote 'ketchbook
August 2005 - 26 April 2006
Life, for us privileged students of Prof. N.D. Dhote, usually revolves around a few sheets of A3 sized paper bounded together, normally called as a " 'ketchbook". In fact, it almost seems that these pieces of shit oops ,sorry sheet, rule over our lives. It's like a noose dangling around your neck, waiting to strangle you. They are at the same time our most hated & our most precious possessions. Hated because they are a constant reminder that a lot of drawing is still to be done. And precious because if you happen to lose them, it means drawing all those boring problems all over again.
Thus, the 'ketchbook was a powerful ruler, feared by it's subjects & it's enemies alike. But with the graphics submission done, the reign has ended & we are all free men now. The reign of terror may have been short but after going through it, we all have emerged stronger than before. Our survival through this torturous reign has given our confidence a great boost. We all now know that whatever calamity may arise, it can be survived by a combination of determination, hard work, will, team spirit(in my case) & glass tracing(not in my case). Now we all look ahead to a free life before us. But before that, a minute's silence in memory of the deceased. The king is dead, long live the king.
August 2005 - 26 April 2006
Life, for us privileged students of Prof. N.D. Dhote, usually revolves around a few sheets of A3 sized paper bounded together, normally called as a " 'ketchbook". In fact, it almost seems that these pieces of shit oops ,sorry sheet, rule over our lives. It's like a noose dangling around your neck, waiting to strangle you. They are at the same time our most hated & our most precious possessions. Hated because they are a constant reminder that a lot of drawing is still to be done. And precious because if you happen to lose them, it means drawing all those boring problems all over again.
Thus, the 'ketchbook was a powerful ruler, feared by it's subjects & it's enemies alike. But with the graphics submission done, the reign has ended & we are all free men now. The reign of terror may have been short but after going through it, we all have emerged stronger than before. Our survival through this torturous reign has given our confidence a great boost. We all now know that whatever calamity may arise, it can be survived by a combination of determination, hard work, will, team spirit(in my case) & glass tracing(not in my case). Now we all look ahead to a free life before us. But before that, a minute's silence in memory of the deceased. The king is dead, long live the king.
Thursday, April 20, 2006
Sorry for the delay
A very big sorry to all you loyal readers who happen to read my blog. Fact is that the hostel server is down & rumour has it that it won't be up till the end of the exams. Hence after waiting for a long time, I finally accessed the net from outside the hostel.
Also, I'm sort of busy right now as I have a few activities on hand that are quite time-consuming. And there are submissions to be dealt with too.
Not that I was totally inactive. I did a lot of things worth writing here during the last fortnight. But that I guess will have to wait.
So once again, I take off on another break from blogging. Toh milenge break ke baad. Hopefully that would be soon.
Also, I'm sort of busy right now as I have a few activities on hand that are quite time-consuming. And there are submissions to be dealt with too.
Not that I was totally inactive. I did a lot of things worth writing here during the last fortnight. But that I guess will have to wait.
So once again, I take off on another break from blogging. Toh milenge break ke baad. Hopefully that would be soon.
Sunday, April 02, 2006
Finally the Xearch is over
I've been in Pune for almost half a year & have been quizzing a lot during this time. However, the level of quizzing in Pune being pretty high, I fail to even qualify for most of the quizzes, especially the important quizzes for which everyone turns up. Hence the only way for me to win a quiz was by participating in non-descript college quizzes & hoping for a lucky break. That finally happened yesterday (Saturday).
I had won a pretty decent quiz recently, the AFMC Sports quiz, but that after all was a sports quiz. So officially, my General Quizzing victories column still had a big zero in it. But yesterday I finally managed to open my account by winning the Quiz conducted by the Civil Dept. of COEP as a part of their event 'Xearch - 06'. I agree that there were no regular quizzers competing against us except for Siddharth Dani, that it was an extremely short quiz (it lasted just 4 rounds) & that we only gave 3 correct answers during the entire duration of the quiz. But a win is a win & even though this was by no means the greatest achievement of my quizzing career, I had achieved my target - of winning the first prize of Rs. 500. I know it's not much but it's pretty good if you only have to sit for an hour & answer just three questions. As it is I had nothing else to do & my recent spell of partying & eating out meant that I desperately needed something to balance the widening gap between my income & expenditure. Hence it was a pretty good way to spend the afternoon, even though it would have been much more fun if I could have attended the BCQC meeting as well, which I had to leave halfway in order to participate in the Quiz. But I guess you win some & you lose some. And today I won & nobody can take that away from me .
I had won a pretty decent quiz recently, the AFMC Sports quiz, but that after all was a sports quiz. So officially, my General Quizzing victories column still had a big zero in it. But yesterday I finally managed to open my account by winning the Quiz conducted by the Civil Dept. of COEP as a part of their event 'Xearch - 06'. I agree that there were no regular quizzers competing against us except for Siddharth Dani, that it was an extremely short quiz (it lasted just 4 rounds) & that we only gave 3 correct answers during the entire duration of the quiz. But a win is a win & even though this was by no means the greatest achievement of my quizzing career, I had achieved my target - of winning the first prize of Rs. 500. I know it's not much but it's pretty good if you only have to sit for an hour & answer just three questions. As it is I had nothing else to do & my recent spell of partying & eating out meant that I desperately needed something to balance the widening gap between my income & expenditure. Hence it was a pretty good way to spend the afternoon, even though it would have been much more fun if I could have attended the BCQC meeting as well, which I had to leave halfway in order to participate in the Quiz. But I guess you win some & you lose some. And today I won & nobody can take that away from me .
Wednesday, March 29, 2006
Andre Nel's attempt at sledging
In cricket, all fast bowlers try to intimidate the batsmen in some way or the other. They may do it the McGrath style (use a lot of f-words) or the Walsh style(just stare hard & remind the batsman that he's lucky to still be in the middle). Personally I prefer the 2nd type marginally more than the first. And the latest addition to the 2nd type has to be Andre Nel. Though unfortunately it didn't work out against Gilchrist, as pointed out by Alec Stewart :
"Andre Nel ... idiot. Actions speak louder than words. He's chirped him [Gilchrist] and then gone for 22 in an over. If I was Nel I'd be embarrassed ... look in the mirror and ask yourself a few questions. Have I made an idiot of myself. Have I let down my country? Yes."
Alec Stewart after Nel's histrionics when he attempted to maintain his hard-man image with Adam Gilchrist at Durban
The event was really hilarious & Nel actually was made to look like an idiot. But he still managed to smile despite all this. The game really needs such characters.
"Andre Nel ... idiot. Actions speak louder than words. He's chirped him [Gilchrist] and then gone for 22 in an over. If I was Nel I'd be embarrassed ... look in the mirror and ask yourself a few questions. Have I made an idiot of myself. Have I let down my country? Yes."
Alec Stewart after Nel's histrionics when he attempted to maintain his hard-man image with Adam Gilchrist at Durban
The event was really hilarious & Nel actually was made to look like an idiot. But he still managed to smile despite all this. The game really needs such characters.
Monday, March 27, 2006
The Sinhagad Trip - II
This is no sequel to the previous one - the cast this time around is totally different except for 3 guys. And also I'd say, it was much more fun.
The Sinhagad trip undertaken by us, the FY students of E&TC has a long history. It was originally planned for the 2nd sunday of January and since then has benn though of & scrapped many a times. The latest occasion was when we were sitting in CCD on Friday the 24th, the last day of T2. But this time, things worked out & the trip became a reality.
Well I may not be the E & TC class topper & nor am I the CR, but I do hold a place of importance in the class. I'm in charge of organising any trip/event/party/any fun thing that our class guys plan to do. In fact if we had an entertainment committee, I'd surely be it's head. Hey that's an interesting idea. Hmmmmmm...........
Anyways, back to the trip. So on Friday we decided to go for the trip on Sunday and almost everybody agreed which is a huge achievement in itself. The next day was sort of a rest day but Saturday night was extremely hectic. Throughout the night me, Amit & Baviskar were sending invitations, reminders & requests to all E & TC students to come for the trip. So what was initially supposed to be a small trip, soon turned into a class picnic with no less than 20 students coming.
We decided to assemble near the boy's hostel at 6:30 AM on sunday morning. And with almost everybody coming on time, we were on our way to Sinhagad by 7:10. By Indian standards, that's very early. We reached there safely enough, despite the extremely bumpy road & with only a small hitch. That was when a few of us (not me) took the wrong route & ended up climbing Sinhagad by road. But they soon realised their folly & joined us at the foothill of the fort.
We started ascending at about 8:10 & kept a good speed in the beginning. But soon the harsh sun took it's toll & one of us (name not given to protect privacy............... okay fine it was Prajakta) started running into all sorts of problems including headaches & dizziness. But we all rallied around her and literally dragged her to the top thus ensuring that she at least completed her first & almost surely last Sinhagad trip.
We reached the top at about 10:10 AM, two hours after we had left. Then began the spree of photo-clicking which ensued for the rest of the day. All of us climbed the arched door that marks the entrance to the fort. That was the easy part, but the most hilarious part was when Shraddha & Sneha struggled & at times almost gave up while climbing down the arch. Boy, did I have a great laugh. The sight of Shraddha, just 2 metres above the ground & yet totally scared while trying to come down was one to remember.
I had already been to Sinhagad once earlier & hence wasn't much interested in sight-seeing. Hence I decided to take a short detour & climbed up to one of the points where cannons were placed & which was totally isolated from the rest of the fort. There I had an awesome time, enjoying nature & feeling it's power to give us peace & tranquility. We sat there for quite a while, chatting & just looking out into the various hills that encompassed the horizon. It was a beautiful place & I really enjoyed every minute I spent there.
But then we had to leave as we had been away from the main group for too long. We joined them soon enough & after spending some more quieter moments at the other end of the fort, we left for lunch. Lunch was pretty good, the 'taak' was awesome & we all had a heavy meal, as a consequence of which none of us was in any mood to roam around & all of usa wanted to return. In fact, most of us (not me yet again) were so tired that they decided to go down by Taxi while six of us - Me, Rohit, Chaitanya, Sneha , Apoorv & Prutha descended down the hill by the same way we came. That took us about 50 minutes, all of which were enjoyable as the sun was hidden by the clouds for most of the time.
After coming back to base, we all left for our next destination - Khadakwasla. This was totally unplanned & as it often happens, it's these unplanned things that give us most of the fun. There we had a total blast in the clear-blue water of the dam, splashing around in the water, trying to hold one's breath & giving bumps to a certain few (unfortunately, that included me) . We spent about an hour and a half there which was for me, the most enjoyable part of the trip.
We then left for home, soaking wet, but happy nevertheless. We reached home safely too, except for the occasional hiccup when 2 of us were fined by the Traffic policemen. But that notwithstanding, it was a thoroughly enjoyable day & one which I would remember for the rest of my life.
The Cast:
Aniket Khasgiwale : (organizer-cum-main target of all the teasing)
Rishikesh Baviskar (the constantly side-schanging sidekick)
Apoorv Vaidya (the financial manager - trust a Kokanastha Brahmin to do this)
Amit Jawade (yeah, he got up early, what a miracle)
Neelesh Balani (dancemaster)
Aditya Patil (the guy who scouted the horizon for a glimpse of SIT)
Kartikeya Lande (the one who managed to fool a traffic policeman once, but was unlucky the next time)
Sagar Gawli (the one who never took his cap off)
Pradeep Patil (photographer-cum-lord of the ring)
Chinmay Kulkarni (we managed to get him into the water finally)
Rohit Pandharkar (the fast guy - fast rider, fast climber & really fast descender. Also the one who was constantly worried about his elevation above sea level as he was trying to calculate the change in potential energy that he would undergo during the trip. The formula he is trying to use is:
delta E = ( (h2-h1) x g x m) - energy spent in neck vibrations )
Expect an answer anytime now.
Chaitanya Salunkhe (the one who started climbing down with Rohit but soon gave up seeing Rohit's speed)
Akshay Khole ( The guy who ate up all the 'dahi'. A very silent guy who managed to evade detection while on his eating spree)
Mayur Sadavarte (The guy who managed to come in time, despite having to pedal all the way from Bibwewadi. Watch out Lance Armstrong, you've got competition )
Milind Deulkar (the one who went up on his bike & came down the same way. Dude I agree it's an awesome bike but can't you leave it alone at least on a trek)
Vaddi Vishwa Shanti (no comments)
Sneha Das (the first girl to climb up & the last one to come down. Hey Rohit, I think she might have the highest value of instantaneous change in potential energy as she spent maximum time on the hill. If I write anything more, I'm dead, so that's it)
Prajakta Pardeshi (the girl who had all sorts of problems but actually had 2 sinhagad trips - her first & her last)
Prutha Shende ( the one who helped Prajakta on her way up & ensured that she never came down the same way)
Shraddha Pandhe ( the one who was really frightened while climbing down just 2 metres. Thank God she didn't attempt descending on foot)
Post-Script : Even though the day was thoroughly enjoyable, in writing it doesn't seem so interesting. I've still got a long way to go in improving my writing skills & I'll try to add more colour to my descriptions in the near future. Hence this post isn't for an outsider who wants to know what we did, but just for the 20 of us who went for the trip & for whom it'll be a refreshing memory.
P.P.S : I request everybody who went for the trip to PLEASE post their comments on the blog. It gives me an idea of how many people actually read whatever I write, as I've taken a lot of effort & time in putting up this post. And this is applicable to everything I write on my blog. So make sure you comment on everything you read. I promise to respond to the comments as well as I can.
P.P.P.S : The quote of the day: "If we had so much fun after a mid-sem exam, imagine what we'd do after the end-semester exam"
- Chinmay Kulkarni
The Sinhagad trip undertaken by us, the FY students of E&TC has a long history. It was originally planned for the 2nd sunday of January and since then has benn though of & scrapped many a times. The latest occasion was when we were sitting in CCD on Friday the 24th, the last day of T2. But this time, things worked out & the trip became a reality.
Well I may not be the E & TC class topper & nor am I the CR, but I do hold a place of importance in the class. I'm in charge of organising any trip/event/party/any fun thing that our class guys plan to do. In fact if we had an entertainment committee, I'd surely be it's head. Hey that's an interesting idea. Hmmmmmm...........
Anyways, back to the trip. So on Friday we decided to go for the trip on Sunday and almost everybody agreed which is a huge achievement in itself. The next day was sort of a rest day but Saturday night was extremely hectic. Throughout the night me, Amit & Baviskar were sending invitations, reminders & requests to all E & TC students to come for the trip. So what was initially supposed to be a small trip, soon turned into a class picnic with no less than 20 students coming.
We decided to assemble near the boy's hostel at 6:30 AM on sunday morning. And with almost everybody coming on time, we were on our way to Sinhagad by 7:10. By Indian standards, that's very early. We reached there safely enough, despite the extremely bumpy road & with only a small hitch. That was when a few of us (not me) took the wrong route & ended up climbing Sinhagad by road. But they soon realised their folly & joined us at the foothill of the fort.
We started ascending at about 8:10 & kept a good speed in the beginning. But soon the harsh sun took it's toll & one of us (name not given to protect privacy............... okay fine it was Prajakta) started running into all sorts of problems including headaches & dizziness. But we all rallied around her and literally dragged her to the top thus ensuring that she at least completed her first & almost surely last Sinhagad trip.
We reached the top at about 10:10 AM, two hours after we had left. Then began the spree of photo-clicking which ensued for the rest of the day. All of us climbed the arched door that marks the entrance to the fort. That was the easy part, but the most hilarious part was when Shraddha & Sneha struggled & at times almost gave up while climbing down the arch. Boy, did I have a great laugh. The sight of Shraddha, just 2 metres above the ground & yet totally scared while trying to come down was one to remember.
I had already been to Sinhagad once earlier & hence wasn't much interested in sight-seeing. Hence I decided to take a short detour & climbed up to one of the points where cannons were placed & which was totally isolated from the rest of the fort. There I had an awesome time, enjoying nature & feeling it's power to give us peace & tranquility. We sat there for quite a while, chatting & just looking out into the various hills that encompassed the horizon. It was a beautiful place & I really enjoyed every minute I spent there.
But then we had to leave as we had been away from the main group for too long. We joined them soon enough & after spending some more quieter moments at the other end of the fort, we left for lunch. Lunch was pretty good, the 'taak' was awesome & we all had a heavy meal, as a consequence of which none of us was in any mood to roam around & all of usa wanted to return. In fact, most of us (not me yet again) were so tired that they decided to go down by Taxi while six of us - Me, Rohit, Chaitanya, Sneha , Apoorv & Prutha descended down the hill by the same way we came. That took us about 50 minutes, all of which were enjoyable as the sun was hidden by the clouds for most of the time.
After coming back to base, we all left for our next destination - Khadakwasla. This was totally unplanned & as it often happens, it's these unplanned things that give us most of the fun. There we had a total blast in the clear-blue water of the dam, splashing around in the water, trying to hold one's breath & giving bumps to a certain few (unfortunately, that included me) . We spent about an hour and a half there which was for me, the most enjoyable part of the trip.
We then left for home, soaking wet, but happy nevertheless. We reached home safely too, except for the occasional hiccup when 2 of us were fined by the Traffic policemen. But that notwithstanding, it was a thoroughly enjoyable day & one which I would remember for the rest of my life.
The Cast:
Aniket Khasgiwale : (organizer-cum-main target of all the teasing)
Rishikesh Baviskar (the constantly side-schanging sidekick)
Apoorv Vaidya (the financial manager - trust a Kokanastha Brahmin to do this)
Amit Jawade (yeah, he got up early, what a miracle)
Neelesh Balani (dancemaster)
Aditya Patil (the guy who scouted the horizon for a glimpse of SIT)
Kartikeya Lande (the one who managed to fool a traffic policeman once, but was unlucky the next time)
Sagar Gawli (the one who never took his cap off)
Pradeep Patil (photographer-cum-lord of the ring)
Chinmay Kulkarni (we managed to get him into the water finally)
Rohit Pandharkar (the fast guy - fast rider, fast climber & really fast descender. Also the one who was constantly worried about his elevation above sea level as he was trying to calculate the change in potential energy that he would undergo during the trip. The formula he is trying to use is:
delta E = ( (h2-h1) x g x m) - energy spent in neck vibrations )
Expect an answer anytime now.
Chaitanya Salunkhe (the one who started climbing down with Rohit but soon gave up seeing Rohit's speed)
Akshay Khole ( The guy who ate up all the 'dahi'. A very silent guy who managed to evade detection while on his eating spree)
Mayur Sadavarte (The guy who managed to come in time, despite having to pedal all the way from Bibwewadi. Watch out Lance Armstrong, you've got competition )
Milind Deulkar (the one who went up on his bike & came down the same way. Dude I agree it's an awesome bike but can't you leave it alone at least on a trek)
Vaddi Vishwa Shanti (no comments)
Sneha Das (the first girl to climb up & the last one to come down. Hey Rohit, I think she might have the highest value of instantaneous change in potential energy as she spent maximum time on the hill. If I write anything more, I'm dead, so that's it)
Prajakta Pardeshi (the girl who had all sorts of problems but actually had 2 sinhagad trips - her first & her last)
Prutha Shende ( the one who helped Prajakta on her way up & ensured that she never came down the same way)
Shraddha Pandhe ( the one who was really frightened while climbing down just 2 metres. Thank God she didn't attempt descending on foot)
Post-Script : Even though the day was thoroughly enjoyable, in writing it doesn't seem so interesting. I've still got a long way to go in improving my writing skills & I'll try to add more colour to my descriptions in the near future. Hence this post isn't for an outsider who wants to know what we did, but just for the 20 of us who went for the trip & for whom it'll be a refreshing memory.
P.P.S : I request everybody who went for the trip to PLEASE post their comments on the blog. It gives me an idea of how many people actually read whatever I write, as I've taken a lot of effort & time in putting up this post. And this is applicable to everything I write on my blog. So make sure you comment on everything you read. I promise to respond to the comments as well as I can.
P.P.P.S : The quote of the day: "If we had so much fun after a mid-sem exam, imagine what we'd do after the end-semester exam"
- Chinmay Kulkarni
The party after
By now, everybody knows about the disaster called T2 (refer previous post) which struck me recently. Lesser mortals would have yielded to it & would have sulked & pondered over it for a long time. But me, I'm different. I decided to get over it by having one big blast. Read on...
24th March 2006, Friday:
The Graphics paper in T2 was by far the worst paper of my life. The same was true for many others too but for guys like me whose linework is as dirty as a PMC dustbin, it was totally woeful. In fact I'm running out of bad words to describe my latest (non)performance & since I don't have a Thesaurus with me right now, I'm forced to switch the topic.
As I was saying, I had a blast after the T2. After the exam was over, I returned to the Hostel with my friends. All of them were pretty glum & in order to get over this sad mood, we played some music. And then my friend Raghav just started dancing. That immediately changed everything & soon four of us joined him and converted the room into a dance floor & danced to music played at full volume, paying no heed to the Mech. students studying next door. We danced for quite a while before finally running out of songs. But after the dance came the movie. We all left for E-Square to watch 'Being Cyrus'. This was the only the 2nd time I was watching a movie on the day of it's release. That it was also the day of the worst exam in my life didn't bother me much & I thoroughly enjoyed the movie which I would thoroughly recommend to all those who like dark, witty & distorted movies.
After the movie, it was destination CCD. There everybody drowned their sorrow in mugs of ice-cold coffee & had quite a good time. It was also the venue for an impromptu mobile phone vibration mode competition, which after a closely fought tussle was won by Chinmay Kulkarni. I, due to my awesome cell, was unable to participate. But that was the highlight of the day.
But it had to end sometime. And it ended soon after that with all of us going home late in the evening. But before we left we made or rather re-made a plan which was long overdue - the trip to Sinhagad. More details in the next post.
24th March 2006, Friday:
The Graphics paper in T2 was by far the worst paper of my life. The same was true for many others too but for guys like me whose linework is as dirty as a PMC dustbin, it was totally woeful. In fact I'm running out of bad words to describe my latest (non)performance & since I don't have a Thesaurus with me right now, I'm forced to switch the topic.
As I was saying, I had a blast after the T2. After the exam was over, I returned to the Hostel with my friends. All of them were pretty glum & in order to get over this sad mood, we played some music. And then my friend Raghav just started dancing. That immediately changed everything & soon four of us joined him and converted the room into a dance floor & danced to music played at full volume, paying no heed to the Mech. students studying next door. We danced for quite a while before finally running out of songs. But after the dance came the movie. We all left for E-Square to watch 'Being Cyrus'. This was the only the 2nd time I was watching a movie on the day of it's release. That it was also the day of the worst exam in my life didn't bother me much & I thoroughly enjoyed the movie which I would thoroughly recommend to all those who like dark, witty & distorted movies.
After the movie, it was destination CCD. There everybody drowned their sorrow in mugs of ice-cold coffee & had quite a good time. It was also the venue for an impromptu mobile phone vibration mode competition, which after a closely fought tussle was won by Chinmay Kulkarni. I, due to my awesome cell, was unable to participate. But that was the highlight of the day.
But it had to end sometime. And it ended soon after that with all of us going home late in the evening. But before we left we made or rather re-made a plan which was long overdue - the trip to Sinhagad. More details in the next post.
Damn the T2
Q: What is the main similarity between me & Sachin Tendulkar?
A: Both are woefully out of form.
When I joined COEP & came to know about the T1, T2 & end-semester system, I was pretty pleased. That's because while joining an Engg. college, in the beginning all you hope for is to get an 'all-clear' tag from the first year itself. But further events showed that I was way, way off target.
The T1, T2 system totally sucks. In the first semester we had a combined test in mid-semester which was pretty good as we all did well in it. So this semester was my first experience of T1 & T2 as two separate exams and mind you, it was horrible.
Initially I felt that my T1 went badly, but now after my T2 I know that T1 was much better than the disaster called T2. Much, much better. I didn't feel too bad after the T1 as I was lucky enough to score well in a few subjects. But T2 really knocked me out flat. And the worst part is that I had studied a lot for this test & hence my dismal performance is inexcusable. The only plausible reason I can give for my bad performance is that I had a 'mental block' during the paper, which is totally 'mental'. Hence the search for a better excuse & some better marks still continues. I hope it ends soon.
At least before Sachin's slump.
A: Both are woefully out of form.
When I joined COEP & came to know about the T1, T2 & end-semester system, I was pretty pleased. That's because while joining an Engg. college, in the beginning all you hope for is to get an 'all-clear' tag from the first year itself. But further events showed that I was way, way off target.
The T1, T2 system totally sucks. In the first semester we had a combined test in mid-semester which was pretty good as we all did well in it. So this semester was my first experience of T1 & T2 as two separate exams and mind you, it was horrible.
Initially I felt that my T1 went badly, but now after my T2 I know that T1 was much better than the disaster called T2. Much, much better. I didn't feel too bad after the T1 as I was lucky enough to score well in a few subjects. But T2 really knocked me out flat. And the worst part is that I had studied a lot for this test & hence my dismal performance is inexcusable. The only plausible reason I can give for my bad performance is that I had a 'mental block' during the paper, which is totally 'mental'. Hence the search for a better excuse & some better marks still continues. I hope it ends soon.
At least before Sachin's slump.
Tuesday, March 14, 2006
The greatest one-day match ever
Much has already been said & enough written about Sunday's cricket match between Australia & South Africa. It's still not enough. I've seen many matches, especially one-dayers, but this one was something unbelievable. For a team to score 434 runs in just 300 balls is remarkable in itself, & that too against a strong bowling attack like the South African. So for the other team to successfully chase it is something out of this world.
Till now my favourite one-day match was the 1999 World Cup semi-final between the same two teams. It was a similar thriller, though a much low-scoring one. But now it has to be this match, even though I'm an Australian supporter. So much entertainment in one single match - truly unbelievable.
For two days my biggest regret was my having missed the match. I only got a chance to see the post match celebrations & that made it even worse. But today by sheer luck I walked into the mess to see the TV on & everybody tuned in to the replay of the match. Nothing, not even the T2 around the corner could have prevented me from watching it then. After all, we have exams every other month but such matches are truly rare. To sum it up in one sentence, stated by Tony Greig, it was 'The best one-day match ever'.
Till now my favourite one-day match was the 1999 World Cup semi-final between the same two teams. It was a similar thriller, though a much low-scoring one. But now it has to be this match, even though I'm an Australian supporter. So much entertainment in one single match - truly unbelievable.
For two days my biggest regret was my having missed the match. I only got a chance to see the post match celebrations & that made it even worse. But today by sheer luck I walked into the mess to see the TV on & everybody tuned in to the replay of the match. Nothing, not even the T2 around the corner could have prevented me from watching it then. After all, we have exams every other month but such matches are truly rare. To sum it up in one sentence, stated by Tony Greig, it was 'The best one-day match ever'.
Thursday, March 09, 2006
Guess who's back? .........Back again?
Sorry for the insane delay in updating my blog, but I can say that I have been pretty busy of late. The reason is the college gathering which was held in the first week of this month. Needless to say, I had a complete blast. Here are the daily posts which I should have made then:
March 6 : The skipping party
Yes, the partying isn't done yet. Today evening was the skipping party, to commemorate our great World Record breaking feat. The party was at hotel Sanskruti on the Solapur highway. The hotel provided us with unlimited snacks & soft drinks. No wonder I had fun. I also got a chance to play Kabaddi on the green lawns of the hotel. That I escaped unhurt & unscathed from the game is a great achievement.
After all the playing came the dancing. However, today I was content with watching others dance. I'd had enough of it already. Then there was the felicitation function followed by dinner which was really good. After dinner, all of us had a get-together which we really enjoyed. That lasted till 11:30 PM afetr which we had to leave. But the fun wasn't over yet. We had a great time on the return journey on the bus, singing & shouting all the way back. A great day.
After all the playing came the dancing. However, today I was content with watching others dance. I'd had enough of it already. Then there was the felicitation function followed by dinner which was really good. After dinner, all of us had a get-together which we really enjoyed. That lasted till 11:30 PM afetr which we had to leave. But the fun wasn't over yet. We had a great time on the return journey on the bus, singing & shouting all the way back. A great day.
March 5 : The 78th annual Regatta
Today is the day most of the college has been waiting for. The Regatta is one of the most popular college events & notwithstanding last year's tragedy, many turned up for the show. I had to go really early to catch a seat in a good position. The show was awesome. The Kayak Ballet was awesome & so were the Telematches which consisted of a huge fireworks show. However, being a staunch 'Say no to fireworks' activist, I felt bad on seeing the number of fireworks they were cracking & even worse when I realised that they must've been doing this everyday in practice. I can still feel the polluted air in my lungs.
After the Telematches came the Mashal Dance. And even though I had seen the guys in practice, I was thrilled by the actual performance. Everything was almost perfect, not a single error. Hats off to you guys. Somehow the Mashal Dance guys are always under-rated, don't know why. Maybe because every FE ite wants to be a part of the Punt Formation. But after today's show even I felt like participating in the Mashal Dance. But that feeling soon ended when I came to know that they had practised for as much as 18 hours daily during the last week. NO WAY am I doing that.
And then finally we come to the PF. As I'd said earlier, these guys were great in practice. So the finale came as a bit of an anti-climax to me. I had seen these guys perform much better in practice & felt let-down by the actual show. However the show they put on was still a great one & everybody who was watching it for the first time love it. The PF brought an end to the Reagatta & in fact the whole Gathering.
All in all, the gathering was a great experience, a once-in-a-lifetime (actually 4 times in a lifetime) event. I had a lot of fun. I just can't wait for next year's gathering.
After the Telematches came the Mashal Dance. And even though I had seen the guys in practice, I was thrilled by the actual performance. Everything was almost perfect, not a single error. Hats off to you guys. Somehow the Mashal Dance guys are always under-rated, don't know why. Maybe because every FE ite wants to be a part of the Punt Formation. But after today's show even I felt like participating in the Mashal Dance. But that feeling soon ended when I came to know that they had practised for as much as 18 hours daily during the last week. NO WAY am I doing that.
And then finally we come to the PF. As I'd said earlier, these guys were great in practice. So the finale came as a bit of an anti-climax to me. I had seen these guys perform much better in practice & felt let-down by the actual show. However the show they put on was still a great one & everybody who was watching it for the first time love it. The PF brought an end to the Reagatta & in fact the whole Gathering.
All in all, the gathering was a great experience, a once-in-a-lifetime (actually 4 times in a lifetime) event. I had a lot of fun. I just can't wait for next year's gathering.
March 4 : Gymkhana day
The day began with 'COEP Shree' - a bodybuilding competition. Needless to say, I won hands down. All those who actually thought the previous sentence was true need to consult their nearest psychiatrist.
After that there was the 'Mr & Miss COEP' contest. Also in today's itinerary was the Awards distribution function & the play 'Conditions Apply'. As I was absent for all this, let's move on to tomorrow.
After that there was the 'Mr & Miss COEP' contest. Also in today's itinerary was the Awards distribution function & the play 'Conditions Apply'. As I was absent for all this, let's move on to tomorrow.
March 3 : Variety Entertainment II
The day began yet again with cricket. However I couldn't do much batting today & had to be content with fielding practice. But still, a good start to the day.
After that I went to the college to see the variety entertainment programme. It was the same programme as yesterday, but today the audience consisted of SE & BE ites. They were literally swinging with the songs & dancing with the dances. This inspired the performers to put up an even better show. I really enjoyed it once again, despite the repetition. Of course I wasn't meant to be there, being an FE ite, but I've never paid much attention to rules & the fact that even the college doesn't helps.
Then came a 3-act play performed by the college students. The play was 'Moruchi Mavshi' & the title role was brilliantly enacted. The play was very good, totally hilarious & never boring. It was a totally enjoyable experience. I was all the more pleased for one of my friends, Raghav, played a major role & he pulled it off pretty well. Great job dude!
After that it was supposed to be Karaoke night. I was somehow convinced by my friends to sing & I duly enrolled to sing 'In the End' by Linkin Park. I know this comes as a shock to all those who have endured or rather suffered my singing. How I managed to be convinced is still a mystery. However, I must clarify that, contrary to popular belief, no terrorist group had asked me to sing in public. No terrorist group would attempt such a devastating
feat. However the public got bored of the Karaoke night & brought it to an end before my turn came, thus averting a disaster. Instead of Karaoke, we now had the public dancing once again to popular dance tracks. Which obviously means that I was dancing too. However it soon came to an end, so I got to dance for only 2 hours.
This was once again followed by dinner. Of course I wasn't supposed to have dinner tonight as it was the turn of the SE & BE students, but I slipped in nonetheless. Tonight's dinner was made a bit more interesting by the Rabri drinking competition we had. I performed miserably, drinking only 5 cups of Rabri while the winner drank 13. I'd never been so thoroughly beaten in any eating or drinking competition & I promise to put up a better fight next time.
Yet again I was in no mood to go to the hostel & found myself at the BC again. The PF guys were still practising & I stayed on to watch them. I had a great time, gazing into the night sky, looking at the stars, the planes & also the PF practice. The PF guys put on a really good show tonight. And so did the Mashal Dance guys. All this meant that I was at the BC till about three AM. After this, the PF practice ended & I returned to the hostel.
After that I went to the college to see the variety entertainment programme. It was the same programme as yesterday, but today the audience consisted of SE & BE ites. They were literally swinging with the songs & dancing with the dances. This inspired the performers to put up an even better show. I really enjoyed it once again, despite the repetition. Of course I wasn't meant to be there, being an FE ite, but I've never paid much attention to rules & the fact that even the college doesn't helps.
Then came a 3-act play performed by the college students. The play was 'Moruchi Mavshi' & the title role was brilliantly enacted. The play was very good, totally hilarious & never boring. It was a totally enjoyable experience. I was all the more pleased for one of my friends, Raghav, played a major role & he pulled it off pretty well. Great job dude!
After that it was supposed to be Karaoke night. I was somehow convinced by my friends to sing & I duly enrolled to sing 'In the End' by Linkin Park. I know this comes as a shock to all those who have endured or rather suffered my singing. How I managed to be convinced is still a mystery. However, I must clarify that, contrary to popular belief, no terrorist group had asked me to sing in public. No terrorist group would attempt such a devastating
feat. However the public got bored of the Karaoke night & brought it to an end before my turn came, thus averting a disaster. Instead of Karaoke, we now had the public dancing once again to popular dance tracks. Which obviously means that I was dancing too. However it soon came to an end, so I got to dance for only 2 hours.
This was once again followed by dinner. Of course I wasn't supposed to have dinner tonight as it was the turn of the SE & BE students, but I slipped in nonetheless. Tonight's dinner was made a bit more interesting by the Rabri drinking competition we had. I performed miserably, drinking only 5 cups of Rabri while the winner drank 13. I'd never been so thoroughly beaten in any eating or drinking competition & I promise to put up a better fight next time.
Yet again I was in no mood to go to the hostel & found myself at the BC again. The PF guys were still practising & I stayed on to watch them. I had a great time, gazing into the night sky, looking at the stars, the planes & also the PF practice. The PF guys put on a really good show tonight. And so did the Mashal Dance guys. All this meant that I was at the BC till about three AM. After this, the PF practice ended & I returned to the hostel.
March 2 : Variety entertainment
The day began with a different kind of entertainment. For a cricket buff, I play very little of the game. In fact I hadn't played cricket since the last summer vacations & that seems like an age ago. Hence I was more than thrilled when I got a chance to play cricket early in the morning. I got a chance once again to experience the thrill of batting. Batting gives me a pleasure unmatched by anything else. Once I pick up the bat, it's as if I'm isolated from the outer world. The only thing that matters is the ball that I'm facing. It gives me such satisfaction & peace that nothing else even comes close, not even listening to Comfortably Numb by Pink Floyd. The joy of batting is second to none. And if you're batting well, well it's icing on the cake.
Yeah I know what you're feeling - 'Who the hell does he think he is, writing about batting as if he is a great player? Enough of this bullshit, get on with your day.' So in your interest, my dear reader, I move over to the next thing I did today.
As I've said earlier, today was the day of variety entertainment in the college. The show began at 1000 hrs, commendable considering that it was only half-an-hour late. It consisted of various songs & dances woven around a common theme - life in COEP. It was extremely hilarious & the dances were good. The only problem seemed to be the crowd which consisted of FE ites & TE ites & which seemed largely uninterested. Nevertheless it was a great show.
Then came the evening & possibly the best part of the day - the DJ nite. Once again we grooved to the beats of the latest numbers for almost three hours. And despite it being a cool night, I was yet again drenched with sweat. I had danced non-stop for the entire duration so this was expected. What was unexpected was the fact that towards the end I was dancing almost hysterically, like a man who's having a fit. I have since been asked many a times why I was dancing like a madman. I still haven't found an answer.
After the dance came dinner. No, not in another hotel but this time in the college itself. During the gathering, the college even serves dinner for a night. And the food was pretty good too. Hey, I eat in a hostel mess everyday, so such food is bound to taste good. After dinner, I was still in the party mood, so intead of returning to the hostel I went to the BC. There I saw the Punt Formation guys practising their show. Have to say, they did a good job. But after the day's exertions I was soon tired & returned to the hostel for a good night's sleep.
Yeah I know what you're feeling - 'Who the hell does he think he is, writing about batting as if he is a great player? Enough of this bullshit, get on with your day.' So in your interest, my dear reader, I move over to the next thing I did today.
As I've said earlier, today was the day of variety entertainment in the college. The show began at 1000 hrs, commendable considering that it was only half-an-hour late. It consisted of various songs & dances woven around a common theme - life in COEP. It was extremely hilarious & the dances were good. The only problem seemed to be the crowd which consisted of FE ites & TE ites & which seemed largely uninterested. Nevertheless it was a great show.
Then came the evening & possibly the best part of the day - the DJ nite. Once again we grooved to the beats of the latest numbers for almost three hours. And despite it being a cool night, I was yet again drenched with sweat. I had danced non-stop for the entire duration so this was expected. What was unexpected was the fact that towards the end I was dancing almost hysterically, like a man who's having a fit. I have since been asked many a times why I was dancing like a madman. I still haven't found an answer.
After the dance came dinner. No, not in another hotel but this time in the college itself. During the gathering, the college even serves dinner for a night. And the food was pretty good too. Hey, I eat in a hostel mess everyday, so such food is bound to taste good. After dinner, I was still in the party mood, so intead of returning to the hostel I went to the BC. There I saw the Punt Formation guys practising their show. Have to say, they did a good job. But after the day's exertions I was soon tired & returned to the hostel for a good night's sleep.
March 1 : Traditional Day
I had never ever worn a traditional outfit in my life. NEVER. Not even for family functions. And I never attended traditional days in junior college. Hence today, for the first time ever, I'm wearing a traditional outfit, thanks to Rohit, from whom I borrowed it. And I must confess, the only reason why I never wore traditional clothes - they are too uncomfortable- proved to be false.
I am one of the lucky guys at the hostel who managed to get hold of a traditional outfit. The others, notably my classmate Rishikesh Baviskar, had to stay back at the hostel wearing a disappointed look. Hence I was pretty happy when I slipped on my Kurta when I realised that it had no buttons. This led to panic - I was soon running all over the hostel searching for spare buttons, but they were nowhere to be found. Then I asked one of my friends whether he had a safety pin. The confused look on his face said it all - a safety pin???? How the hell would I have a safety pin? But I was determined to attend college and continued my search for the elusive pin or button or rather anything which would help me out. Then came divine intervention. Another one of my friends emptied his pockets and out popped a safety pin. Despite consequent investigation the origins of the pin are still obscure. But it WAS a pin & it was there for the taking & I grabbed it with both hands. Soon I was on my way to college.
The atmosphere at the Boat Club was amazing. I had never seen so many people there. Some students had taken the idea of traditional day a bit too seriously & hence there was a bullock cart outside the BC, loaded with students in traditional outfits playing Dholaks. And along with the traditional music there was also another kind of music - a DJ was playing at the BC. This was the first time I'd seen a DJ perform in any college, but then COEP is a great college after all so one should expect the unexpected. And the DJ gig soon became a regular feature - he surfaced at the the BC 4 times that week.
And now comes another first. I had never danced in public. NEVER. But the music was inviting & the fact that everybody else was dancing was even more so. Soon I joined the bandwagon & started swinging to the music. Hell it was fun. And the fun soon grew, when Rishikesh & other friends of mine came to the party. They had totally failed to obtain a traditional outfit - even the guy who rents sherwanis at the hostel(yes there is such a guy, great business sense I must say) had run out of them. But then somehow they got hold of the white caps worn by Muslims & came to the BC wearing those. The fact that they wore T-shirts & Jeans & also that none of them was Muslim was inconsequential. They joined me & we all had a blast, dancing like we'd never danced before.
Those who know me know that I never drink soft drinks, except on rare occasions. Well, today was one such occasion. After dancing for almost an hour and a half, I was drenched with sweat from top to bottom. In such a condition a soft drink is hard to resist & I gave in to the temptation.
Soon it all ended. The DJ packed up & left. I left too, & along with my E & TC classmates went out to eat after which I returned to the hostel. The eating out has to be a peculiarity of our group. If all of us happen to be free, we always end up going out to eat. This means that we have eaten at almost all the restaurants on JM & FC roads. This coupled with the fact that I'm a hostelite means that I have a lot of meals in hotels. If this continues, at the end of 4 years, you can expect a book from me titled 'Restaurants in Pune'. Till then, make do with this blog.
I am one of the lucky guys at the hostel who managed to get hold of a traditional outfit. The others, notably my classmate Rishikesh Baviskar, had to stay back at the hostel wearing a disappointed look. Hence I was pretty happy when I slipped on my Kurta when I realised that it had no buttons. This led to panic - I was soon running all over the hostel searching for spare buttons, but they were nowhere to be found. Then I asked one of my friends whether he had a safety pin. The confused look on his face said it all - a safety pin???? How the hell would I have a safety pin? But I was determined to attend college and continued my search for the elusive pin or button or rather anything which would help me out. Then came divine intervention. Another one of my friends emptied his pockets and out popped a safety pin. Despite consequent investigation the origins of the pin are still obscure. But it WAS a pin & it was there for the taking & I grabbed it with both hands. Soon I was on my way to college.
The atmosphere at the Boat Club was amazing. I had never seen so many people there. Some students had taken the idea of traditional day a bit too seriously & hence there was a bullock cart outside the BC, loaded with students in traditional outfits playing Dholaks. And along with the traditional music there was also another kind of music - a DJ was playing at the BC. This was the first time I'd seen a DJ perform in any college, but then COEP is a great college after all so one should expect the unexpected. And the DJ gig soon became a regular feature - he surfaced at the the BC 4 times that week.
And now comes another first. I had never danced in public. NEVER. But the music was inviting & the fact that everybody else was dancing was even more so. Soon I joined the bandwagon & started swinging to the music. Hell it was fun. And the fun soon grew, when Rishikesh & other friends of mine came to the party. They had totally failed to obtain a traditional outfit - even the guy who rents sherwanis at the hostel(yes there is such a guy, great business sense I must say) had run out of them. But then somehow they got hold of the white caps worn by Muslims & came to the BC wearing those. The fact that they wore T-shirts & Jeans & also that none of them was Muslim was inconsequential. They joined me & we all had a blast, dancing like we'd never danced before.
Those who know me know that I never drink soft drinks, except on rare occasions. Well, today was one such occasion. After dancing for almost an hour and a half, I was drenched with sweat from top to bottom. In such a condition a soft drink is hard to resist & I gave in to the temptation.
Soon it all ended. The DJ packed up & left. I left too, & along with my E & TC classmates went out to eat after which I returned to the hostel. The eating out has to be a peculiarity of our group. If all of us happen to be free, we always end up going out to eat. This means that we have eaten at almost all the restaurants on JM & FC roads. This coupled with the fact that I'm a hostelite means that I have a lot of meals in hotels. If this continues, at the end of 4 years, you can expect a book from me titled 'Restaurants in Pune'. Till then, make do with this blog.
Tuesday, February 28, 2006
WE HAVE DONE IT!!!!
Firstly, my sincere apologies for being so late in posting this. But I was a bit busy in organising a sports quiz so I apologize.
And now to begin. I have already stated before that during practice we had already broken the skipping world record. However for it to be ratified by Guinness, it has to take place before at least 2 judges & 1 legal representative. That's why we had assembled on Sunday the 26th of Feb at seven-thirty in the morning - to show the world that we have what it takes to break the world record. It was the final step in the completion of 'Mission Magical Manouevre'.
The record attempts began at about 8:30 AM. The first few attempts were unsuccessful but we never lost hope. We then had a small break after which we again started with our attempts. And finally on our 10th attempt we managed to skip 14 times - thus creating a new world record. The existing World record was 12 jumps by 220 people & we broke it by jumping 14 times & that too with a total of 292 students. Now that's one hell of an achievement.
And then we all went nuts, giving high fives, congratulating everyone, giving hugs & hoisting the organisers, Sagar, Nachiket & PC one by one on our shoulders. It was a great moment, all our hard work had paid off & everybody had a blast. Soon we were dancing, singing & getting group photos clicked. It is simply unforgettable.
Many people disagree with the name of the event - 'Mission Magical Manouevre'. But I think it fits the bill perfectly. Because it may not be magic like getting a bunny out of a hat but 292 people coming together, jumping together, succeeding together & celebrating together IS Magic.
And now to begin. I have already stated before that during practice we had already broken the skipping world record. However for it to be ratified by Guinness, it has to take place before at least 2 judges & 1 legal representative. That's why we had assembled on Sunday the 26th of Feb at seven-thirty in the morning - to show the world that we have what it takes to break the world record. It was the final step in the completion of 'Mission Magical Manouevre'.
The record attempts began at about 8:30 AM. The first few attempts were unsuccessful but we never lost hope. We then had a small break after which we again started with our attempts. And finally on our 10th attempt we managed to skip 14 times - thus creating a new world record. The existing World record was 12 jumps by 220 people & we broke it by jumping 14 times & that too with a total of 292 students. Now that's one hell of an achievement.
And then we all went nuts, giving high fives, congratulating everyone, giving hugs & hoisting the organisers, Sagar, Nachiket & PC one by one on our shoulders. It was a great moment, all our hard work had paid off & everybody had a blast. Soon we were dancing, singing & getting group photos clicked. It is simply unforgettable.
Many people disagree with the name of the event - 'Mission Magical Manouevre'. But I think it fits the bill perfectly. Because it may not be magic like getting a bunny out of a hat but 292 people coming together, jumping together, succeeding together & celebrating together IS Magic.
Sunday, February 26, 2006
Chakravyuh 2006
As I have stated earlier, I was a part of the organizing committee for 'Chakravyuh - 06' the premier quizzing event of our college. Since there were not too many guys to help out, I had a lot of work to do in organizing the quiz. That took up a lot of time during the last few days. But the way things shaped up today, I believe it was worth it all.
The day began with 'Abhimanyu' the Intra-college quiz. I had a pretty good general round in which I scored 7 points, which made me the joint leader with Kapeesh. Then came the speciality round in which Gaurav Singh scored a stunning 15 points. His brilliance left me with a tough task to achieve in my speciality topic - Test Match captains of India. I scored 10 points which was pretty decent I guess. But the prize was won by Gaurav & he deserved the great trophy which was awarded to him. As for me, there's always a next time.
Then began the actual quiz which had a long elims paper, during which we indulged in our favourite quizzing pastime - pulling Gaurav Singh's leg, though we went about it in a very decent way this time around. After that came a media quiz by Kapeesh, which was good. Then began the Chakravyuh finals, starting with the 'Chakravyuh' round, a great innovation thought up Abhishek who really made easy an extremely complex round. Then began the IR round, during which I started feeling unwell & hence left early. So though I didn't see the end, it was a great day of quizzing. Can't wait for the next edition.
The day began with 'Abhimanyu' the Intra-college quiz. I had a pretty good general round in which I scored 7 points, which made me the joint leader with Kapeesh. Then came the speciality round in which Gaurav Singh scored a stunning 15 points. His brilliance left me with a tough task to achieve in my speciality topic - Test Match captains of India. I scored 10 points which was pretty decent I guess. But the prize was won by Gaurav & he deserved the great trophy which was awarded to him. As for me, there's always a next time.
Then began the actual quiz which had a long elims paper, during which we indulged in our favourite quizzing pastime - pulling Gaurav Singh's leg, though we went about it in a very decent way this time around. After that came a media quiz by Kapeesh, which was good. Then began the Chakravyuh finals, starting with the 'Chakravyuh' round, a great innovation thought up Abhishek who really made easy an extremely complex round. Then began the IR round, during which I started feeling unwell & hence left early. So though I didn't see the end, it was a great day of quizzing. Can't wait for the next edition.
Finally it feels like I'm in college
During your schooling life, you always dream about how college would be. You just can't wait to get out of school & into college, thinking that college life consists only of hanging out with your friends, bunking lectures & hot girls(especially for guys like me who are from a Boys school).
Thinking on similar lines, I went for the first day of my junior college with great expectations. But it proved to be great dud, not just the first day, but the entire 2 years in Junior college. First we'd feel great on having bunked a lecture but the college campus was so depressing that we never attended college for months on end. That's when I realised that college life in Nashik is useless & that to enjoy an ideal college life I had to shift to some other city.
This led to my coming to the 'Oxford of the East' - Pune. I'd secured admission in a very reputed college & really looked forward to starting college. But once again, the first semester proved to be a total dud. Being in an E&TC division, I just HAD to attend lectures regularly, as everyone else did. And there were no other extra-curricular activities to distract me from the annoying truth that it was turning out to be like school all over again- with the fun part excluded.
However, things have changed drastically this semester. I'm taking part in numerous activities, regularly bunking lectures to watch movies, surf the net or just to chill out at the Boat Club. And also convincing others to take common-offs, which has to rank amongst my greatest achievements as our division consists of a large number of total Nerds. The activities I've mentioned include the World record attempt at skipping(see previous post), organizing the ZEST sports quiz, helping in organising 'Chakravyuh'(see next post), participating in various quizzes, playing in plastic ball cricket competitions at the Hostel & being a part of the College Chess team. In fact, I'm so caught up in all this that I really can't remember the last lecture I attended, though my attendance sheet shows something totally different(Thank You Proxyman Pradeep).
Hence my day consists of getting up early, going for skipping practice, attending a practical(if possible), scouring the net for questions for the quiz, going for skipping yet again & then chatting with friends & playing chess late into the night. THAT is what I call an ideal college life. Thus I'm pretty happy with whats going on now. I just hope it never ends. Now never again shall I say that college life sucks.
Thinking on similar lines, I went for the first day of my junior college with great expectations. But it proved to be great dud, not just the first day, but the entire 2 years in Junior college. First we'd feel great on having bunked a lecture but the college campus was so depressing that we never attended college for months on end. That's when I realised that college life in Nashik is useless & that to enjoy an ideal college life I had to shift to some other city.
This led to my coming to the 'Oxford of the East' - Pune. I'd secured admission in a very reputed college & really looked forward to starting college. But once again, the first semester proved to be a total dud. Being in an E&TC division, I just HAD to attend lectures regularly, as everyone else did. And there were no other extra-curricular activities to distract me from the annoying truth that it was turning out to be like school all over again- with the fun part excluded.
However, things have changed drastically this semester. I'm taking part in numerous activities, regularly bunking lectures to watch movies, surf the net or just to chill out at the Boat Club. And also convincing others to take common-offs, which has to rank amongst my greatest achievements as our division consists of a large number of total Nerds. The activities I've mentioned include the World record attempt at skipping(see previous post), organizing the ZEST sports quiz, helping in organising 'Chakravyuh'(see next post), participating in various quizzes, playing in plastic ball cricket competitions at the Hostel & being a part of the College Chess team. In fact, I'm so caught up in all this that I really can't remember the last lecture I attended, though my attendance sheet shows something totally different(Thank You Proxyman Pradeep).
Hence my day consists of getting up early, going for skipping practice, attending a practical(if possible), scouring the net for questions for the quiz, going for skipping yet again & then chatting with friends & playing chess late into the night. THAT is what I call an ideal college life. Thus I'm pretty happy with whats going on now. I just hope it never ends. Now never again shall I say that college life sucks.
Wednesday, February 22, 2006
Hey Mr. Guiness, we just broke the world record!
Those who have been reading my blog regularly will know that I am a part of the Skipping World record attempt by COEP. The existing record ie till approximately 6:00 PM on the 21st of Feb 2006 was 220 people jumping on a single rope for 12 times. But that is history. Because yesterday, we created a new record with 240 people jumping on a single rope for 13 times. And all the efforts we had put in for almost a month paid dividends.
I was constantly asked by many why I didn't participate in Punt Formation, for that was obviously the more glamorous event. But the reason why me & in fact most of the students joined skipping was a BE guy called Nachiket. He came to the hostel one night along with his friends & gave us a truly inspiring speech. After that it was impossible to stay away from skipping. And 240 people coming together for a common cause is a big deal indeed. At the start there were a few skeptics, since such a big feat hadn't been attempted in the 150+ years history of the college. But he believed that we could do it. And on some days it seemed that only he believed that we could do it. But he persisted & now the results are visible. But it would be unfair not to mention the names of his support staff, especially Sagar who continuously egged us on and PC (Pandurang Chate) who along with Nachiket had the important task of rotating the rope. And also all the other seniors who helped us & prepared us for this event. And throughout all this, never did any of these guys lose their cool, never did they behave rudely & never did they do anything that would hurt our morale. THAT is called management. Kudos to you, you guys have really done a great job.
But it's not over yet. That's because we have only broken the record in practice. We have to do it again on the day of the event, in front of the press & other noted dignitaries for it to count as an official world record & so that it can make an entry in Guiness. But that no longer seems daunting, as we know that we have already done it.
And a final word to those who think the record is no big deal - I agree that getting together 240 people is not that hard. But finding people like Nachiket & Sagar is. Keep it up guys, you rock!
I was constantly asked by many why I didn't participate in Punt Formation, for that was obviously the more glamorous event. But the reason why me & in fact most of the students joined skipping was a BE guy called Nachiket. He came to the hostel one night along with his friends & gave us a truly inspiring speech. After that it was impossible to stay away from skipping. And 240 people coming together for a common cause is a big deal indeed. At the start there were a few skeptics, since such a big feat hadn't been attempted in the 150+ years history of the college. But he believed that we could do it. And on some days it seemed that only he believed that we could do it. But he persisted & now the results are visible. But it would be unfair not to mention the names of his support staff, especially Sagar who continuously egged us on and PC (Pandurang Chate) who along with Nachiket had the important task of rotating the rope. And also all the other seniors who helped us & prepared us for this event. And throughout all this, never did any of these guys lose their cool, never did they behave rudely & never did they do anything that would hurt our morale. THAT is called management. Kudos to you, you guys have really done a great job.
But it's not over yet. That's because we have only broken the record in practice. We have to do it again on the day of the event, in front of the press & other noted dignitaries for it to count as an official world record & so that it can make an entry in Guiness. But that no longer seems daunting, as we know that we have already done it.
And a final word to those who think the record is no big deal - I agree that getting together 240 people is not that hard. But finding people like Nachiket & Sagar is. Keep it up guys, you rock!
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