The Final Countdown.

This one goes to all my batch mates, the ones who are about to sit for their final TY exams.

Consider the comparison. 

A 1500 m run. 500 m every year. 

In the beginning, the minds were fresh, so were the bodies. Muscular, young, the run was lithe with grace.


Every lap was 200 m and seven and a half were to be completed.


The first lap was brilliant. It was happy rather. Vibrant and easy. So were the next few. 


But the 4th lap was the test. That is after completing 600m of the race. The body almost broke down. It starved of glucose. It felt like the body was dying. The mind did not know what to do. All that was in the head, in the arms, in the calf muscles, in the thumping heart was a craving for glucose. And glucose supplements were placed at the beginning of the lap. And it would be available only at the beginning of the 5th lap. The mind wouldn't give up. The body had nothing in it. But the will was strong. And the body, empty nevertheless, made it to the beginning of the 5th lap. 


All was well then. There was good refueling done. The body flourished and the legs sprang back to graceful movement. The worst had been surpassed and for that the mind and body peacefully ran the race. 


Before realization could dawn on all of us, we all completed seven good laps in total. A brilliant feat. 1400 m of non stop running. 


The race is not over. It is about these last 100m that will determine the state of the race. And it is all about speed and capacity. Because the body is attuned to the comfortable pace of running. The body will now have to sprint. So let us bolt through these few days guys, and complete grad like Bolt himself. All the best. Crack 'em up!

Nearing the End

With 10 odd days left for the last exam of TY, here are some pics of the Symbi campus where I spent the last three years of my life.

Three years, which were extraordinary.
Three years, which would not have been the same otherwise.
Three years, in which so much happened.
Three years, in which people entered into my life and exited too.
Three years, in which those few gems of people who stuck on, who give me a silent assurance that they are always gonna be there.

Three years, which taught me to be with people.
Three years, which made me live without them.
Three years, in which I came close to knowing what I want in life.
Three years, which I am never going to forget.

A Tribute.

So today is the 10th of March, 2010 and the 2007-2010 batch farewell program just happened yesterday...I am going to take the liberty of posting this in improper and unstructured language as this post comes right from my heart...

I just gave my 6th sem project viva today and was lucky enough to have Mahankale Sir as one of the professors on the interview panel...!! Mahankale Sir is inspiring. Not one day when he has been serious. And if at all, then he has been seriously humourous.

Getting back to the point, the farewell programme was very touching. A BIG THANK YOU to all the second years for giving us TY's such a soulful and memorable farewell. There were balloons, fire crackers and nostalgic songs being played. I was only so much away from being teary eyed till I saw awesome fried rice and noodles. There were pics being clicked everywhere, with everyone, known or unknown. Michael became very popular because of his tech-savvy and awesome camera.... :P ...

The auditorium function had a very special moment with the entire faculty going on stage and singing Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna...very mellow and touching moments.
The speeches that the professors gave were very inspiring, some humorous and some touching...

And for all my batchmates, just wanna say that we all made it guys! It might seem easy, but truly our BBA curriculum was one of the tougher ones in the country (especially with the guinea pig treatment) and though we have copied in exams, bunked non core lectures..i am sure we are a very unique set passing out of this college and i know that five years down the line, we will be highly successful people...

Anyway i realise tht i will be out of this place in maximum, a months time from now..So apart from the professors to whom any words of gratitude are honestly less, I would like to thank all those people who are/were really close to our daily activities, whom we will see only when we come back for convocation/alumni meet(hopefully!)...

1. Dilip Bhaiya- No words can describe how this man manages 200 odd project bindings in a matter of a week. No words to describe how much he earns. Star entrepreneur and a very good human being. Traditional Gujarati or Bollywood tracks from the 80's always play in "Cann Xerox Service Center" in the college basement post 4 pm. Sometimes, we get to witness Gujarati play videos too with the entire gang of Dilip Bhaiya & Co. roaring with laughter occasionally. Also it is more of a family business and coordination is to the maximum. Love it. 


2. Shetty Bhaiyas- Well, the juice bar at the Symbi canteen is quite awesome. The rates were as low as Rs. 5 for a glass of freshlime when i came to this college but have increased to Rs. 7, if I am not wrong. Well the Rs. 2 here matter to a Symbian. They matter because we wanna save money and splurge else where-Scream, Toons, HRC. Anyway, that was really a hyperbole. Very efficient and always loving and supporting social initiatives, the Shetty brothers are quite a sweet duo in our college canteen.


3. The Bhaiya Gang- Well, walk into the SCMS(UG) office and you will find a serious formal environment.  Straightforward and sweet. But one place where this is enthusiasm, fun and a lot of energy is the pantry. The pantry is the destination of all the Bhaiyas! I will not name them because I might just miss out one or two, but they are quite a gang. Eight of them, I think. Well they are damn cool. They are like the firemen of our college. Chilling in the pantry, but as soon as the bell of fire rings from a faculty cabin, or a student just hits of the siren shout, they are there on the job! And they are super efficient, available from 7 am to 8 pm and all of them live far away! Hats off man!


4. The Didis Gang- Well, has anyone ever noticed our campus, our frikkin' huge campus to be dirty...hardly! This is all thanks to the day and night mopping, cleaning and dusting that these didis are upto day and night all over the campus- SID, SCMS(UG) and SIMC(UG), Campus Plaza, Amphitheatre, Gym Foyer, Basement, Canteen and the list goes on....Again they are available from 7 am to 7 pm.


5. The Coordinator- Sharmista Mam! Two words of hope. Two words of reassurance. And two words of divine intervention when the going gets tough in college! Sharmista Mam, the entire batch is thankful to you! 


6. The Seniors-Let me not start the list. Because anyway this post is longer than usual. So to all of you who know me, all you seniors, please know that in some way you guys inspired me, taught me and comforted me in this rapidly developing environment of Vimannagar. And for all those who are my juniors, you can really ask my seniors about this place- it was an uncivilized forested area. Today, I searched for Vimannagar on Wiki and it said that Vimannagar is the silicon valley of Pune. Ha! Go Vimannagar! And this is for the seniors, a multiplex is expected at Dutt Mandir Chowk soon, thanks to Lunkad Realty!


7. Talking about Vimannagar, let me tell you something about people outside college who have put in daily doses of sweetness in my life. The Uncle and Aunty at Rasoi, the Uncle at Ganpati Mandir Chowk who was always there at 4 am to give me the "jaago re" effect with the amazing 'adrak chai' after sleepless nights and of course Venkataramana for the amazing and economical breakfasts and coffee! All in all Vimannagar turned out to be a very homely and peaceful township. Will surely come back to find this peace when I retire and be a teacher at SCMS(UG)!!! (Though I think that this place will become very trendy in terms of lifestyle over the years!) 

Well that's about it from my side. I thank each and every friend of mine for being there in times high and low. Some of us have met up less in the last year or two, some of us yet meet everyday. But the memories will always stay. The friendship too. 

This is a wannabe poem/song written for all my engineering friends from all that I have heard from them.

Baithe baithe bore hue hum,
Timetable bhi yaad nahin,
Shaam ko date pe nikal pade hum
Practicals ka pata nahin!

Practicals ka timetable, 

Aur attendance ke loche,

Professors ke mood swings,

Aur ATKT ke lafde!

Class mein attention pay karne ka naatak,
Teacher ke saamne band hota hai saala mere dimaag ka phaatak,

Raat raat ko samjho books se kaisi anaab shanaab,

Circuits aur softwares, arre pak gaya mera dimaag!

Practicals ka timetable,
Aur attendance ke loche,
Professors ke mood swings,
Aur ATKT ke lafde!

Chaar saal ka jail hai bhaiya ratte maarna shuru karo,
Drop ki darr se toh boss, mauj masti kurbaan karo,
Engineering mein aa gaye par engineer banna nahin,
Career,MBA,paisa,placement, kucch sala pata nahin.

Practicals ka timetable, 

Aur attendance ke loche,

Professors ke mood swings,

Aur ATKT ke lafde!

Semester ke end mein toh neend kabhi mili nahin,

Submission dates ko sunkar udhar hi meri vaat lagi,

BCom ke doston ke lifestyle se hui jalan,

Rajnikanth ke picturon se ho gayi excessive lagan!

Practicals ka timetable, 

Aur attendance ke loche,

Professors ke mood swings,

Aur ATKT ke lafde!