Um....

Well, it's been a long, long time since I put up something here. I've made several starts, but have completed nothing that I'd actually want people to read. Anyway, what you're about to read is a set of thoughts that are hopefully (it is after all nearly 5 AM) connected by a common theme, however tenuous.
Ever since I've come to this part of the country, (Jamshedpur, Jharkhand - East-ish India for the Geographically challenged) I've noticed a few things that are different here. Food-wise, this place sweeps the floor with NIT Surathkal's gastronomic delights. Except from the unfortunate fact that the chef seems to own a potato farm, seems to work to the old adage - "when in doubt, fry it in oil", the food here is a world apart from the stuff I was used to. People-wise, I really can't make out much of a difference, except that my new set of friends aren't really interested in the geeky stuff that I'm used to. (Yes, yes. Before my former wing-mates start baying for my blood, let me just point out that we were, and still are, geeks to a certain extent - however much we may deny it) Institute-wise, there's a wide and substantial difference between NITK and XLRI. A clear change (and this is something that took me a while to get adjusted to) is the level of work - At NITK, let's just say that Final year was akin to cruise control on an Autobahn, while my first term here was like clutch-riding through City-market traffic. Also, the things that I do here seem to matter more, but I'm sure that's just me - I reckon that I'm just as insignificant as ever :P
Some things haven't really changed - I still am the source of entertainment in my group, given my interesting origins and let's just say, "unique" (there are several opinions on this one - let me not get pedantic :P) points of view. Some things have - I can now fully appreciate the value of loosing an argument - something that a few years ago would have been anathema to my very existence.
Well, there you have it - a very brief snippet of..... um, I really don't quite know what that just was. Which would go a long way in explaining the title :)

Vikram is now using Facebook in English (UK)

Yes, yes - you did read the title right. After months of sheer, utter, total and complete boredom, I've decided to join the rest of the civilised world on Facebook. If you've been a regular reader of my meanderings over the past few months, you'd have noticed a fair few posts belittling and deriding the entire world of Social Networking. So what prompted the change of heart?
Well, apart from the aforementioned boredom, (see the first line for the qualifying adjectives) I found that I know (OK, not "know know", rather "know of" or "know about") a lot of people, and this is perhaps the only place I can find almost all of them. So whether it's my high-school reunion (which I missed, thanks to me being a self-styled social hermit) or a friend's birthday, I won't be in the dark any more. (hopefully)
However, this does not mean that I'm a fan of the medium. Photos, videos, and random likes/comments are fine, but I don't expect to find myself taking quizzes like "which barnyard animal does so-and-so resemble?" OR "which word suits so-and-so the best" OR even the oh-so-tempting "which character from Housefull do you best identify with". I mean, come on, if anyone bears any resemblance to characters from that awful movie, it's time to lock them up and throw away the key, preferably into an active volcano. Neither do I expect to find myself "poking" friends. (speaking of which, I've never got the idea of a "poke" - what the hell is it anyway?) And don't even get me started on MafiaWars or FarmVille. Raising a cow/sheep/pig/tractor is fun isn't it? NOT.
Time-consuming rubbish apart, Facebook is still a powerful tool (if used properly, and for the "right" reasons), and I was a bit of an idiot to stay away from it for so long. Well, as they so famously say - Better late than never!

Adiós and Muchas Gracias, NITK!

Well, after almost four years, eight semesters, and countless incidents to remember, this is it. This is, in all likely-hood, going to be my last post as a student of NITK, Surathkal. I have a lot to be thankful for - a fantastically diverse set of friends, a set of great experiences that can only be had in a hostel like mine, innumerable incidents which define who and what I am... - the list is endless. A few (material only - friends always come first on any list) activities and places of note that I will miss: Football, GNPD, Endless Ranting about the deplorable Mess, Bureaucracy and what not, Arbit and totally last-minute Trips, Suraj, Amul, Nescafe, Mega Block, SD Canteen...
In terms of what I take home with me, nothing can be more valuable than the things I've learned about myself. As I stare outside my window at the rest of the campus, I can't help but marvel at the transformation that has happened to me, during the four years I've spent here. Every little victory, every little set-back, every little moment of doubt - they've all added to the Vikram Gulati that leaves here tonight. I've made and lost friends, and in some cases, even re-made them. I've learned the art of sharing, the art of giving, and more painfully, the art of speaking (or rather not speaking :D). I've traveled a fair deal, literally crossing streams and climbing mountains :P. I've learned how to appreciate good food, yet developed the art of eating almost anything with a smile on my face. I've learned how to stay positive, and the magical skill of keeping myself occupied. I've also learned how to appreciate the small things that make every single day beautiful - the way the rain falls, the flowers on the trees, the crash of the waves on bare rocks, the effortless flight of an eagle - things that would have escaped a 17-year-old version of me.
As I've said before, I have a lot to be thankful for, and this post, if at all it has any point to it, is simply to say just that - Thank You, NITK!

It's THAT Time Again...

Yes, Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to the greatest show on this vast (read: NITK campus, all xxx - can't seem to recall the exact figure, but rest assured, it's HUGE - acres of it) Earth. I have the solemn (and unilateral, because I'm sure half the people reading this are going to denounce me as a heretic, be-littler, blah-bloody-blah) honour of introducing to you the Student Union Elections as the headline act for tonight. Please take your seats, and be prepared for the sheer grandeur of the setting, the relevance of the dialogue and the solemnity of the script. Welcome to one and all, once again.
Frivolity aside, let me describe the significance of this event in the life of the average NITK-ian. Since NITK is an amalgamation of students from all across India, and ultimately these said students are the ones that vote for the Union (and other) leaders, an election here is bound to reflect the, ahem, "vibrant" nature of the Great Indian Election. As in the real thing, coalitions are the order of the day. Situations like Region 1+Sub-region 2+Part-of-Region 3 vs Region 4+ Sub-sub-region 5+ Break-away-province 6 are common occurrences, with each important party (yes, "party", like the BJP/Congress/etc.) choosing representatives, leaders, negotiators, spies, secret weapons, counters-to-secret-weapons et al. Constituency visits, in the form of late-night meetings in the various blocks; Campaigning, in the form of door-to-door visits; Propaganda in the form of videos, pamphlets, agendas and even manifestos; Reservations in the form of a "Girls Rep" (recognising the fact that with 1/8th of the population, they need the representation - see how prescient we are?) etc. are all to be found in this democratic exercise. Again, reflecting the true nature of our multi-faceted country, negotiations for potential alliances are long, tedious and often fruitless. News from a day before may as well be a year old. Partners are swapped with an orgy-like frequency, friends are made, lost and made again. When the very future is at stake, (and I'm talking long-term here - ONE whole year of proverbially running the show) can you expect anything else? Can you? Huh? Huh?
You don't agree? Oh you foolish, cretinous, half-witted moron!

P.S. Since we're (Final years) almost done with this place, we aren't officially involved in the process - which is what led to this post. It's easy to write about events that you are disconnected from... :D

Why?

Prologue: Lists upon lists of endless numbers were splayed across his screen. Frantically, he began searching through them hoping, rather, expecting to see his. After a few futile minutes, he was forced to admit the happening of the implausible. The Earth had just given way, and he felt himself falling, falling to previously unfathomable depths...

He didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He was still unsure of what had happened, and and he couldn't even begin to conceive why things had turned out the way they had. He didn't quite know which way to turn, for every direction seemed as forlorn as the last. Needless to say, he had not a clue of what to do next. All he knew was that he had failed in the one place he was sure to succeed. Around him, some of his friends were understandably ecstatic, happy that they had managed to overcome impossible odds, odds he disdained, until now. A few sympathised, but their plausibly soothing words only served to rankle him further. The question foremost in his tortured mind was this - "Why?"
Why, after he had spared no possible effort? Why, after all the promise leading up to that fateful day? Why him, the darling of the punters, one of the few, almost certain to coast to victory? Why?
For days on end he sat, staring despondently at the endless trickle of bad news. Lists, e-mails, news, all of it seemed to be directed against him, aimed at adding insult to already sore injuries. Professional or personal, no realm of his existence was left untouched by the blight. Everything, everything seemed to be out of place. As he stood looking at himself in the dusty mirror, in the derelict sanctity of his room, one thing became very clear, not unlike the coming into focus of a distant landscape. He had had spells of inconsequentially bad luck before, the lessons from which still reverberated in his cluttered head, but never before had he realised anything with greater clarity. This was simply not meant to be. Rationalism be damned, this was just not going to go his way, irrespective of how much he felt he deserved it. He realised with a sense of awe previously unknown to him, that he had been guided by Fate.
Never one to believe in destiny, he prided himself on the fact that he was a faithful follower of Logic. For him, cause and effect had a precedence over all other beliefs. If he worked at something, he succeeded. That was all there was to it. The concept of luck existed merely to placate those who obviously did not deserve what they did not get. Like much else in his world, this belief had also been turned on its head. Unbidden, the image of an all-sentient being, pulling at strings not unlike those used to control puppets, filled his head. He realised that the image was more than just mere symbolism - this was the way things were, the answer to that most fundamental of all questions - Why?

Epilogue: A short while later, his screen was filled with yet another list of numbers, representing hundreds of his fellow competitors. Predictably by now, his number did not figure on the list. Unlike the previous five times this had happened, he smiled to himself, closing the lid of his computer. There was not a trace of disappointment or despondency on his usually emotive face. There was however, a calm serene expression - the expression of someone who knew the reason why...

Buzz Buzzzzz...

It's been a while since I was last here. How many of you missed me? OK, wrong question, I was being a tad optimistic... Sarcastic answers notwithstanding, (why don't you put them in the comments section - I'm quite bored honestly, and could use some entertainment) here's why I've chosen to occupy a few more kilobytes in the blogger.com servers.
As I'm sure you'd have noticed, Google launched yet another service, aimed at making us incapable of communication beyond 20 odd words - Buzz. They haven't actually said that it resembles Twitter, (that 160 character marvel that seems to be the by-word for the socially-urbane folk today) but it's quite obvious that they hope to steal some of its thunder. Not too mention that of Facebook, (though how much is questionable, given the lack of easy access to visual stimulus - something that most guys love looking at, for reasons best left unsaid) Flickr, and a whole host of other services I really couldn't care less about. As far as I'm concerned, anything that encourages us to communicate using lesser words and with more (read random) people is something to be avoided like the plague. I'm not saying that Google Buzz will end up being as degenerate as some of the other "social" networking websites, but I'm not too optimistic. I hope that I end up liking it, because it sure as hell can be an excellent past-time.
However, there's a bigger question here. Has the world moved on from means of communication where you actually need to write something (as opposed to looking like you're training to be the world's most reticent Trappist monk) to forms where any bit of extraneous information is a bit too much, and things like "liked blah blah movie, so-and-so person hot, direction OK, story sucks" actually sound verbose? Even E-mail, something that was considered rude, curt, and overly business-like not so long ago, seems like verbal extravagance. I shudder to think what we're going to come up next. Maybe it'll be a form of gesture recognition. Wave once, and you're hungry. Wave twice, and you want to go see a movie, apart from eating dinner. Wave thrice, and... well, you get the point. We're going to be reduced to using gorilla-communication techniques in the not-so-distant future, unless we're careful. I bet Darwin would have a hard time explaining that.
Granted, there are some merits to the new social network, but I really don't think that "likes" and "pokes" fall under this category. Call me an old-fashioned fool, but I genuinely believe that friends ought to mean something more than the odd comment on a wall/homepage/whatever. If you consider someone to be your friend, spend at least a few minutes writing something that doesn't look like a newspaper headline. But then again, what the hell do I know?

You Know That You Need A Social Life

I realise that NITK isn't exactly a bohemian hot-spot and that I don't really fit the party-hopping stereotype, (as my sister loves to point out - "you're soooo boring!") but this December was a real social low. Here's a handy list to know when you need a new social life:

1. The only messages you get on your phone are Google Calendar reminders (pick up such-and-such form, pay so-and-so bill etc.)
   
2. You keep your phone switched off for nearly two weeks and don't miss a single call/message/S.O.S./whatever (even the said reminders choose not to arrive!)
3. The only sound your phone makes is due to the morning alarm.
   
4. Your cell-phone balance (of Rs. 30) remains nearly the same for over a month.
5. You spend a lot of time staring at a nearly empty GTalk list, wondering who is still undisturbed (read not-yet-contemplating-justifiable-homicide) by your boredom.
6. You start writing about random events (you should read some of the drafts on this blog - even I find them nonsensical)
7. You find yourself alone on New Year's Eve (even my parents and sister decided to give me the slip :D)
8. Your childhood friends become extra-busy, so much so that you are cut off mid-sentence with promises of "I'll call you back" which never materialise.
9. Your favourite songs are those about heartaches, loss, sadness, rainy nights and silence.
10. You open your mail-box on the hour, every hour, hoping for some signs of your friends.
11. Your only mails are from News and Techno-geek websites. (apart from regular Calendar reminders :P)
    

The high point over the past three weeks would have to be a brilliant vacation that I really enjoyed. Apart from that, it was a bit of a depressing end to the decade. Thankfully, things are beginning to look up, now that I'm back in college. Happy New Year!

The First of The Last(s)

Another day, another week, another year and yet another semester. Just what makes this particular one worth blogging about? (here's the part where I like to delude myself that this blog has some standards...)
Well, it just happens to be the last semester (hopefully) that I shall spend at NITK, Surathkal, my second home for the past three and a half years. Today, I began my eighth semester with the usual frustrating queues for paying mundane fees, something that can easily be avoided by the tiniest bit of computerisation. As I finished every frustrating formality that could be possibly devised, I realised one thing - that however much I may gripe, crib or complain about the procedure, there is going to be a part of me (in this case, a very very small part) that will actually miss such tasks. I realised that this was probably the last time I was going to stand in a line, trying to get past reluctant people with shouts of "final year, final year". And then it hit me - It's going to be one long semester of "last-times". The last Inci, the last Engi (already over, courtesy our administration) the last time we sat on the terrace, the last time on the beach, the last time at the temple, the last time at the top of the lighthouse, the last time getting high on cheap booze. (for the more experimental among my friends!) I also realised one other thing - I don't have to feel bad that it's the "last time". All I need to do is ensure that I stay happy, and try to enjoy every moment of this semester. Sure as hell, it promises to be like no other. So, here's wishing all my fellow "final" years - Happy new year, and a very happy last semester! May this be the best "last-time" ever!