Be a Rebel!!!!

Every once in a while, something spurs the youth of our country to start a revolution. I may not be justified in talking about a rebellion on the eve of Gandhiji's Birthday.. but then, it is never the wrong time to do the right thing!!!

One such rebellion was recently creating waves in Chennai.. the students of the 'brother' institution of my college have raised many heads to look upon them..(well, mentioning the name of that institution always generates awe, but this time, they were looked upon from a different perspective.. who thought engineering students could be such rebels??!!!) I do not know much about the reason behind that uprising.. I am here, just to predict that something much similar to that is gonna happen in my college, and particularly in my department!!!

Wherever we go, whichever staff we meet, "within the department" (I believe those who read it understand the meaning behind the "within the department"!!!), all they have for is appalling words of discouragement.. I do not remember being such indifferent to a teacher ever in my life!! Usually, there will be a couple of rebellious students in a class.. but when the entire class is rebellious, the fault lies elsewhere.. definitely not on the part of the student.. The only heartening thing about this attitude in us is that, it has brought the entire class closer.. every single person in the class is willing to set aside his/her differences and voice his opinion for the betterment of the entire department.. Of course, we, being in our final year, will not be able to enjoy the fruits of the probable struggle, but our juniors will definitely honour our attempt!! ;);)And in the event of us passing out and going our different ways, who knows, the juniors may even take up the struggle onto their shoulders!!!

Do Gandhian principles have value even today?? U may answer in the affirmative, citing the example of Anna Hazare.. but then, not everyone is born with that amount of patience!!!

Sound like a true revolutionary, ain't I?? KHALBALI!!!!!

The Next Step..!!!

Time has moved on fast.. and is proving to proceed even faster.. Seems like it was only yesterday that I was preparing for my placements, but it is actually more than a week!!! and now, I am an ASSOCIATE SOFTWARE ENGINEER, for ACCENTURE!!! Neither can I believe my own eyes when I type those words, nor can I when I tell them out loud to those who ask me!!!

27-08-2011..Went to face the interview with a lot of apprehensions!! and emerged out of it with even greater ones... I was busy devising ways to keep myself busy the next day- it being a Sunday, and I was rudely brought back to reality by a phone call asking me to be in college within the next 30 mins!!! None can escape reality for long!!! Thinking back, the entire process of getting to college in time seems like a blur to me.. and when I did, it was to meet faces which seemed to mirror my own!! anxiety was very much evident on every face I met. They say patience is a virtue.. I realized that day how very little of that virtue I possess!!! Though we were at the placement cell of our college by 12.30, we were made to wait... and wait... and wait!! It was well after 2 in the afternoon when the results were announced!! Not a soul moved from their places during that long long wait... And when the time finally came, it was dreadfully scary... names were called out... heads rose up in expectancy.. a few stayed high, a few drooped.. as more and more names were called out, there was a sense of trepidation in me.. I was reminiscent of the sorting ceremony in Harry Potter (pardon me for bringing Harry Potter into this too).. What if the my name was not called up for sorting?? What if I were called, only to be rejected by the Sorting Hat that I was called out by mistake!! All sorts of thoughts went through my mind.. My friends beside me went through the same emotions.. I remember how tight i was holding one of my friends' hands!!! All departments were called.. not a single mention was made of Geo Informatics... Fear was mounting within all of us.. Name after name was read... a few pages were turned... still- no sign of Geo Informatics... was no one selected?? where did we go wrong??!!! there was just no stopping the thought machine!!!

Finally!!! There... Geo Informatics!! First came the name of one of my close friends... and I rejoiced... but definitely not completely.. I am actually ashamed that I wasn't entirely rejoicing with her... but then, I am human!!! my name was yet to be called..!!! My grip on my friend's hands grew stronger... And then, her name was called!!! I was utterly scared... Felt vulnerable.. ( like how Harry felt when Ron was sorted into Gryffindor!!).. :(:( But next followed my name!!! was flabbergasted beyond words!!! I hugged my friend, who was still gripping my hand, both of us happy that we had made it!!! But, the wait was not yet over... a few more friends from my department were still awaiting their results.. so, with crossed fingers, and bated breath, we waited for a few more mins... and finally, the results were out.. we were perhaps the only department to go berserk over the results!! all of us started talking.. na shouting at the top of our voices!!! Almost all of us made it.. one close friend was on the wrong side of Lady luck that day, and had to go back disappointed..:(:(:( but one thing is certain... greater avenues await him... All the very best for that!!!

Here is me... moving on to the next step in the ladder of life.. What does it have in store for me?? Only time can tell....

Fitting Finale...

I intend to make this post as lengthy as possible.. the only kind of tribute I can pay to Harry Potter, and JKR..

Its been just a little over 2 hours since I walked out of Sathyam and handed over the 3D glasses, with tears in my eyes, after witnessing the end of an epic saga, which has been captivating readers, young and old alike, for more than a decade now.. Four years back, when the final book in the most successful franchise ever, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, came out, I was one of the first to have laid my hands on the book.. I had pre-booked for it a month back.. Now, I am reliving a kinda deja vu.. When I finished reading the epilogue of the book, I was met with a sense of loss. And with the final movie out, that sense is a bit more pronounced. I practically grew up with Harry Potter.

Though the first book made it to the shelves in 1997, I laid my hands on a copy of Philosopher's Stone, only in 2001, when I was eleven. And perhaps, that was indeed the right and best time to have read the book, cause Harry too was 11..;) And since then, there was just no looking back!!! I was real quick in completing the first four books in 2 years.. not much to boast about now, but it was something real great back then. At that time, to be entering your teens and having completed the first 4 books of Harry Potter was something to brag about.. and to this day, I am proud of it.. :):) And among the various memorable things of my first year as a teen was the anticipation I had for the fifth book of the series to release!! :P .. though the books in the middle came at different intervals, somehow, when book 7 hit the market, I was 17, so was Harry. People may laugh at me when I say this.. but I find a way of being able to connect easily with Harry and his friends.. (I don't mean the fantasy part, I mean the emotional part).. When I feel down, I pick up one of the seven books to read.. When I am ecstatic, I do the same.. Harry has become part of my life, whether I want it or not.

The movies which came at fairly regular intervals, were a treat to watch.. There used to be so much discussion on whether the director was justified in editing this part, deleting that, including this, etc etc.. The debate never stopped!! Some say the movies are better, others say the books have a touch of originality. Whether the movies or the books, the true winner is the entire series!!!

When you tell the outside world that you are a POTTER-MANIAC, you'll definitely make a few eyebrows shot up.. People stare at you to check if they heard you right... that, being in your final year of college, you still tell out that you read Harry Potter.. Well, to all those who mock the Potter fans out there, no matter whether I am 20, or 80, I will proclaim loudly to the world that I love Harry Potter, and that even now, I would give all my time just to sit and read the series all over again.

When I finished the 7th book for the first time, I was upset. Upset that I will not have another of the books to read.. But, I was consoled by the fact that I can atleast revisit the sense of acceptance and belonging through the movies. But, now that the final movie is out, I am completely lost. A void feeling runs through me. Maybe I am not the only feeling so.. But sure as hell, I will miss Harry, Hogwarts, Hagrid.. everyone!!! The final movie, HP-7-part 2, is definitely an awesome one.. I never had a single regret during the 2 hour span of the movie!! When the end credits rolled out at the theatre today, I refused to leave the hall.. my friends and myself were the last to exit, well after the credits were done...well after the enchanting and bewitching music died down... :(:(

According to me, there are two kinds of people in this world.. one that reads Harry Potter, and one that doesn't.. And I take it as a source of pride to say that I belong to the first category!!

Love you Harry Potter.. You'll live on forever!!!

SIVAKASI!!!!

This was one trip that was in the planning stage for more than a year!! Of course, better late, than never!!!

So it was that we planned to head for Sivakasi from Dindigul.. We were to go to Virudhunagar and then catch a bus to Sivakasi.. and the bus journeys were forgettable ones..;) We reached the place at around 7 in the eve.. and from the minute we arrived at one of our best friend's place, there was never a dull moment!!! We immediately felt at home at her place!! Here is a 'small' account on the fun we had..;)

Day 1:
Since we arrived only at 7 that eve, we stayed at home and did nothing but talk our heads off!! We were to sleep upstairs in a spacious room all by ourselves and once we settled, all that we did was to talk like we'd never talked before!!! If not for the fact that we had been travelling for most of the day, we'd not have slept as early as at 12 that night..;);)

Day 2:
As against the usual roosters cawing at dawn, it was peacocks that did the job in Sivakasi!! One can know it is 6am from their morning cries!!! The city is crowded with our national birds!!! But despite their wake up call, we never woke up a minute before 10!! A lazy breakfast, followed by a lazier bath, made our morning session. We then paid a visit to my friend's school. That evening, we paid a visit to the Bhadrakaali Amman temple over there. After the temple, we headed for having ice creams!!! We didn't sleep till 5 a.m. that day!!!

Day 3:
Having slept only at 5, we were even more lazy that day!!! That eve, we went to watch Avan- Ivan at BIG cinemas. The movie was a forgettable one... but we had a good time together, munching pop corns and drinking pepsi.. we were joined by my friend's sister and her mom.. it was a family outing.. :):) My friend's mom was shocked when we screamed our lungs out during Suriya's guest performance in the movie(the lone good part in the film!!!)

Day 4:
A quite sunday.. Much of the time went off exploring the streets of Sivakasi. My friends would be able to give a better description of the day..;) That night, we went to dine at BELL Hotel, a 3 star restaurant.. Our hosts made sure we were completely full!!! Another bite, and we would have burst!!! So full of food were we!! I had to sacrifice the jelly-ice cream combo cause of this.. :(:(

Day 5:
The day was reserved for eating Chaat!!! We headed for Malgudi Mittai.. I love the name of the place..:):) Over chaat, we discussed to get some souvenir from sivakasi. The brightest idea we could come up with was to get a kurta each..:):) Thats how we ended up getting the same design-same pattern kurta for the three of us from a store over there..:):):) The night went off playing cards..:):)

Day 6:
We were to return back home that night. Most of the day went off in packing our stuff.. The most memorable event that day was our train journey back to Chennai, when the 3 of us sat on the top berth, chatting, smsing mutual friends, pulling each others legs- even after the lights were off!!!;);)

Day 7:
We came to our respective homes!!!

Hope I did justice highlighting the important happenings of our stay at Sivakasi.. This post is dedicated to Subha, Shruthi, Aunty and Uncle.. Never did I think Sivakasi could be so much fun. I'll cherish the time I spent with you guys forever!!!

Field trip!!!!

OMG!!! Am now a final year student!!! Seems only yesterday that I stepped into college!! And here I am..awaiting the opening of my 7th semester of college life..!!!

The last summer vacation as a student is finally at its end.. And fittingly, this was one of my best summers.. the first place still goes to last summer I spent in Trichy..;)The long-overdue field visits in connection with our project finally came into effect this month.. With a lot of doubts and confusions in mind, my friend and I set forth to Dharmapuri on the 19th of June.. The bus travel was definitely an unforgetful one, barring the forgettable Singampuli movie that was screened.. We both had an amazing time chatting late into the night.. girly gossip of course..;) We reached Dharmapuri at 5 the next morn.. and gosh!!! we never thought it would be so cold over there!! I ended up sneezing the entire morn!!! The people at whose place we stayed were very sweet to us.. we felt so much at home.. even better was the fact that they had two kids at their place..!!! and I enjoyed playing with them. The field visit was a success. The officials we met were so warm and helpful.. the staff of IRS definitely need to learn from them. Going from a place where data is denied to their own students (IRS), it definitely was a shocking surprise when we were offered that amount of help!!! Hats off to them!!! Dharmapuri, particularly Pennagaram is a scenic place.. my only regret is that I could not go to Hogenagal, despite it being just half an hour from there.. :( We started back to Chennai the same night.. and oh boy!!! only on that night did I understand the true meaning of the saying- Appearances are deceptive!! The SETC bus, being the only one available to take us back home seemed to be an 'ultra deluxe' bus only from the outside!!! I had a horrible encounter with bed bugs that night.. :(:( I woke up next morning to bites on my arms and legs..:(:(

The very night,21st June, we started for Dindigul, the other place we had to visit as part of our field visit.. and this time, we were clever enough to book tickets in an AC bus.. and we were also lucky enough to watch Singam movie!! Being Suriya fans, it definitely was a treat..:):) We were to stay at a senior's place at Dindigul.. a place called Pattiverampatti..(hope i got the spelling right!!) and the place was an entire world of its own!!! and the hospitality that we were bestowed- complete awesomeness!! we had an entire room, with an awesome dressing room and bathroom, and with our own tv!!! it was completely furnished like a hotel room!!! We were able to enjoy such luxury all thanks to one person!!! We even had a car to take us around!! ;)

Of my visit to Dindigul, the most interesting one would have been to GANDHIGRAM UNIVERSITY!! I was gaping with open mouth at the entire stretch of the pristine campus!! And true to Gandhian ideologies, the men there were dressed in Khadi!!! It really is relieving to know that Gandhian values are still being practised and taught. Awestruck was I when I saw a banner reading "Department of Gandhian thought and Peace science"!!! The sculptures in front of many departments were intriguing and kept one guessing as to what they meant..:):) The next day afternoon, we departed for Sivakasi.. We were at a loss of words to thank our hosts for being so kind on us and treating us as their own family..:):)

And now, SIVAKASI...
No.. I'd need an entire post for that!!!

Fun in the Sun... and Rain...!!!

WARNING: This is gonna be one helluva long post!!!
People with little or no patience are requested to kindly skip reading!!!


Well, I'm back to chennai now... came back yesterday night... this was perhaps the shortest trip of mine to trichy.. :(

So, what inspired me to write this blog?? It was the trip that I had mentioned in the previous post. My friends were planning this for quite sometime.. but things fell into place only now, and we carried out the plan with perfect execution... :):) Of course, when you actually hear about the trip, you won't think it to be something as great as my bragging seems to indicate..:P

This is it- my friends and I had been wanting to go some place that was a day's journey from trichy and come back home the very same night. Since the closest place to home is Madurai, we decided to head for ATHISAYAM theme park in Madurai..:):) And till the eve before the trip, all of us were filled with apprehension and anxiety!!! Why does one have to be anxious about going to Madurai for a day, will be the first thought that comes to anyone's mind. The main thing that all of us were jittery about were that we were going there by car!!!Well, the fact that Anandh is an amazing driver is well known and accepted... but then, to err is human... so, all of us had our fingers crossed... Also, I had something extra to fear about!!! I was going on the trip without my parents' knowledge!!! ;)

So, start we did.. on 1st morn, at 7.30 from Trichy.. I can never forget how much I laughed seeing Hari's attire that day!!! Well, Anandh too was in his casuals.. but Hari, his casuals and his hairstyle are one rare combo!!! And only that morn did I know that, Mani, one of our friends from Coimbatore was also coming directly to Madurai... It was assured that we were in for a gala time!!! It was a comfortable fit in the car.. Anandh and Hari were in the front, and Srinath, Srinithya and myself were at the rear... We had so much fun... none of us slept a wink during our ride.. en route, we stopped to take pics... The photographers in Anandh and Hari, came up with some funny poses for everyone to give... Hari even came loaded with a tripod stand for his camera!!! :D:D

There were a lotta funny incidents throughout.. to quote a few, at the toll plaza, Anandh forgot his car's number and had to get down to check it... and also, none of us knew how exactly to reach the park... It seems the previous night, the guys had been doing some research on the shortest and optimum route (network analysis in real-life!!!) to take using GOOGLE MAPS!!! And during our journey too, we never stopped to ask for directions... all we did was use the moblie!!! ;)TECHNOLOGY PUT TO USE..:):)

And we reached the park at 10.30, and since the time we went in, there was simply no telling how much fun we had!!! The guys were keen on getting us completely wet... Though we girls preferred to sit by the pool, they dragged us in, pushed us from behind and made sure we weren't idle!!! :D Anandh, a pro swimmer was busy taking lessons for the other 3... and Hari and Mani, who can never be without pulling each others legs, whether on land, or in water, were the centre of attraction!!! Whatever they did- pull the float-mats, or dunk each other in water, a few kids tried immitating..:):)

And to add to all this, the weather was awesome that day!!! It started raining and it was so damn chilly that one had to get inside the pool to stay warm- courtesy: the absorption-radiation of the concrete basements..:) Having ice creams when it rains is always a great feeling... and we did that too..:):) We decided to make our money's worth and went a lot of times on a few rides.:) The 'Family raft', 'Dry raft' and ' Aqua bowl doubles' were some of the rides we frequented. The 'Wave Pool' was good too... Whatever ride it was, whether it was the thrilling ones or just lazying around in the shallow pools, we had a great time out there!!!

We went there when the park opened in the morn, and didn't leave until it was after 5 in the eve. And we had to head upto the city of Madurai to drop Mani off, for him to board a bus back home... and it was 6 in the eve when we were back on track to trichy.. The ride back was even more fun with an awesome weather.. we made stops again to take a few snaps..:):) It is always fun to join together and make fun of someone.. and though it usually is Hari who gets caught, this time it was Srinath's turn!!! Solid 3 hours of teasing him!!! The poor guy would've strangled us if given a chance..!! :D


And so it was that our trip to Adhisayam and back home, was safe and sound!!! Thanks to Anandh for his calm, careful and assuring driving skills..:):) We started at 7.30 in the morn and came back when the clock struck 9...:)

A day out with friends is always fun... none can deny that... I'm really glad that I went on this trip... Thanks to the guys for planning the trip, and thanks to srinithya for convincing me to come...:):) Love you all!!!:):):)

Home away form Home...

I had signed off in my last post saying I will pen down my thoughts only after my visit to Trichy... well, surprisingly, I'm writing before that itself..:):)

It is the third day of my visit to my hometown... and the first two days were really packed with memorable and fun-filled moments... I arrived on Sunday afternoon, and I have been occupied since then!!! The first visit I made was to my aunt's place... this year, I had a little niece in addition to my 8-year old nephew waiting for my arrival!!! And OMG!!!! she is such an angel!!! Time really flies by when u are in her company!!! She is just a year old, and has a charm about her that can mesmerize even the most hard-hearted of people... And true to her name, she recognizes music of all sorts and dances to it too!!! A wonderful sight to watch... one will never get bored!!!

Other than my cute niece and my naughty nephew, I had a wonderful time the past two evenings with very special person..:):)Time, somehow seems to fly whenever we get to meet!!!:(:( How I wish I were able to freeze those moments!!!:(:(...sighssss... Well, right now, I am writing this post from my best friend's place... Had a great time with her Grandad too:):) I'll be staying over at her place for the night, or maybe, a couple of nights..:):)We have been talking our heads off since today eve!!! A lotta gossip to catch up to!!! ;) We have planned a trip with a few of our very close buddies for tomorrow... hopefully everything goes according to our plan..:):) Keeping my fingers crossed now..:):) I can never help but feel a sense of satisfaction whenever I'm in Trichy..

Simply put, Trichy is a HOME AWAY FROM HOME!!! :):):)