Enjoy the path, not just the reward!

It is 2057. You are in your late sixties or early seventies. You have lived your life. You are basking in the benefits of your savings and investments you had earned all the way through. It’s a cool January evening. You are relishing your dinner dessert listening to evergreen voice of SPB from one of Ilayaraja melodies that was composed many decades ago. That 11.1 home theater in your hard earned 3BHK house renders his voice with utmost clarity. You tell to yourself, those meaningful lyric ages are now long-forgotten. Your mind has been blown for the nth time listening to the wonderful confluence. You are transported to a new place. Gradually, the music fades down and there in front of you, appears a Genie.

It appears to be a friendly one. It takes pleasure in the fact that you are enjoying your life and the music. Slowly the Genie gets into a conversation with you. It starts by admiring your house and all those gadgets inside. You are proud. You start explaining to the Genie how you had toiled hard to pay back the HDFC housing loan's monthly EMI for 20 long years. You even quote one situation where you had enough money to settle the entire loan amount as a pre-closure at the end of 15 years, when you were after an on-site trip. But simply you refused to settle as you would be missing on those tax exemptions. You are explaining Genie other such strategies you had adopted to save every penny then. Genie feels impressed. It loves to learn more about you. It next asks for your accomplishments.

You are happy that you have got a listener for your own ‘Once upon a time’ stories. You jump out of your sofa in josh to tell Genie everything, starting from your awesome higher secondary board exams results with a centum in Mathematics. Genie, trying to control its laughter, asks you to proceed. That reputed university you attended; the interview you cracked. That world class organization you were a part of. All those accolades and respect you had earned over the years. Those numerous juniors you had mentored. Few thousands of rupees you had donated to the NGOs for the betterment of the community.  Of the promotions you had got. How good you were as a spouse and how awesome you were as a dad for two kids. How dutiful you were as a son to your dying parents. As you recite your accomplishments, you give yourself a smug pat on your back.

Silence. Genie now asks one more question. “Any regrets?”. Taken aback by this unexpected question here, you look up to Genie and say ‘No’. Genie repeats, “Any regrets?”. Taking some time for yourself you reply back, “Nothing...really big”.  “I’m all ears to hear the smaller regrets as well”, says Genie. Barely being able to appreciate Genie’s humor sense and good choice of words, you start off.

You do not really know where to start with. As random regrets fill up your mind, you commence with: you wish you had dressed better and you had styled your hair better. Genie tries to hide its laughter from you. Epic fail you could call. Moving on, you feel, in addition to spending money on your community, you wish you could also have volunteered your time with few less privileged kids from the society. You wish you could have spent more time with your own kids when they were still kids. Before you could realize that fact, they were grown-ups.  You wish you had taken your parents along with you in their last few years. You wish you had helped your Mom and Dad spotting the specs box and the remote control they had misplaced because of their memory loss due to aging. After all, they had helped you to get back all those items you have misplaced till you were 22 and even beyond!

You wish you had met up your 8^th grade Maths teacher and thank her for all the inspirations she had provided for you to get good with numbers. You wish you could have met her up at the least to say you owe a Thank You. You wish you had presented all those Thank you notes to your friends, relatives and office colleagues who have all contributed in their own way to what you are today. You wish you had realized small things do matter.  You wish you had enjoyed the path, not just the rewards.

You think you are done. Genie goes speechless for a while. Then it starts, “You seem to be a good person. You have stated genuine reasons for you to re-live your life. Here you go! Enjoy!” Genie fades away as that same Ilayaraja’s melody ends. You realize you are in your early twenties; 2013 it is. Vishwaroopam I is still facing issue with its release date. It seems everything happened in a flash. You are confused. You have mixed feelings. You are happy that the things you had wished but left undone, are possible now!! You resume your daily work with just one more new thought in mind.

Enjoy the path, not just the reward!

PS: Inspired from the book ‘Who will cry when you die’ by Robin Sharma & a speech by Salman Khan, founder of Khan Academy. 

Where walking is just not enough!

2012 here comes to an end and a new year is all set to commence where…

Commodities, real estates and service rates will continue to soar up high.

People will earn a 10% annual salary hike just to get along with the inflation.

The words ‘Cut throat’ will become inevitable in all walks of life.

Hectares of Agricultural lands will continue to be promoted as plots and flats.

Normal paced growth will be outdated.

People will be always pushed to perform at the next level.

‘Work life balance’ will become ‘Work life Integration’.
Some of us will look forward to iPhone 5S release and
few others will continue to wait for 4S price to go down. 

Treats & Parties will get bigger & wilder.

Engineering graduates and IT jobs will become more than common.

Political scams will get innovative every time.

Grey hair and back pain will become part and parcel with people in their 20’s.

Maybe good or maybe not, we have already got into a world where walking is just not enough!

Happy 2013!

Kallikattu Ithikasam - கள்ளிக்காட்டு இதிகாசம்!

இக்கரைக்கு அக்கரை பச்சை என்பதற்கேற்ப 'ஆதித்யா'வுக்கும் 'சிரிப்பொலி'க்கும் மாறி மாறி தாவிக் கொண்டிருக்கையில் மாட்டியது ‘அந்நியன்’ படத்தில் விவேக் சொல்லும் ஒரு வசனம். "என்னமோ கள்ளிக்காட்டு இதிகாசம் எழுதிட்ட மாதிரி, வைரமுத்து மாதிரில்ல நடந்துட்டு இருக்கான் அவன்?"

அப்படி அதில் என்ன இருக்கிறது? சரி! படித்து தான் பார்ப்போமே. 

முன்நூற்றிச் சொச்சம் பக்கங்கள் கொண்ட நாவல்.நீட்டி நெளித்து  நிதானமாகப் படிக்கப் போக மூன்று  நாட்கள் பிடித்தது.

பாதிப்பு ; இன்னும் கூட மீள முடியாத தாக்கம்.

கதைக் கருவில் எந்த ஒரு பிரம்மாண்டம் இல்லை. சதித் திட்டங்கள் தீட்டும் வில்லனும் இல்லை. மறைத்தே கதையை வளர்த்து கடைசியில் வெடிக்கும்  ‘ட்விஸ்டு’ம் இல்லை. 'பேயத்தேவன்' என்னும் ஒரு ஏழைக் கிழவனின் வாழ்க்கைக் கதை. விதி அவனுடன் ஆடும் சடுகுடு விளையாட்டுக்களை எடுத்துக் கூறும் ஒரு எதார்த்தக் கதை.

கதைக் களம் தான் பக்க பலம்.

மனம் நெகிழும் மண் வாசணையையும், முப்போகம் விளைந்து நிற்கும் வெள்ளமாய் விளைச்சலையும், பசுமையான கிராமத்து செழிப்பையும்  அள்ளி அள்ளித் தெளிக்கும் களம் இதுவன்று.

“வறண்டு போன ஒரு கிராமத்தின் வாழ்க்கைக் களம்"  என்று பாரதிராஜா சார் படங்களில் அவர் கொடுக்கும் 'பேக்கிரௌண்ட் வாய்ஸ்'கேற்ப அமைந்த களம்.

தாம் பாலுக்கு அழுகையில் ஊர் மக்கள் உதவுவார்கள் என்று திரும்பிப் பார்த்தால், அவர்கள் கூழுக்கே அழுது கொண்டிருக்கும் ஒரு வறட்சிக் களம். வைகை அணையைக் கட்டுவதற்காக சர்க்காரும், காலமும் தங்களை ஊரை விட்டு விரட்டும் ஒரு சோகக் களம்.

இவ்வாறான  களத்தில் இவ்வளவு அழுத்தமான ஒரு கதையை இப்படியும் எழுத முடியுமா என்று மலைத்து மலைத்து மயங்கியே விடச் செய்கிறார் வைரமுத்து. கதாபாத்திரங்களின் விவரிப்புகள் ஆகட்டும்; கிராமத்துப் பழக்கங்களின் வர்ணனை ஆகட்டும்; அன்றாட நிகழ்வுகளின் சித்தரிப்பாகட்டும்.    பக்கத்துக்குப் பத்து முறையாவது  குறுஞ் சிரிப்போ, புன் முறுவலோ படிப்பவரின் முகத்தில் தவழச் செய்திருக்கிறார்.வட்டார வழக்கை கொட்டாரம் அடித்துக் கொண்டாடியிருக்கிறார் கவிப்பேரரசு .

பேயத்தேவர் - பெரிய தேவர் - அழகம்மாள் - முருகாயி - சின்னு - மொக்கராசு - செல்லத்தாயி - வண்டி நாயக்கர் - சைக்கிள் தேவர் - மின்னலு - ஒச்சு - ஆசாரி - கருத்தக்கண்ணன் - சூத்தப்பல்லன் - கல்லு முழுங்கி - ஊர்ப் பெருசு - கூழ்மாயி - மோழையன் என்று நம்மூடே நெருங்கி நட்பு பாராட்டும் பாத்திரங்கள்.

அம்மியில் துவையல் அரைப்பு, அம்பலக்கல்லில் முகச் சவரம், சுடு காட்டில் பிணம் எரிப்பு, மாட்டுப் பிரசவம், கிணறு வெட்டுவது, அணைக் கட்டுவது, சாராயம் காய்ச்சுவது, மலர்த் தேர் கட்டுவது, கந்து வட்டி, நாத்து நட்டல், களை பறித்தல், கருதருத்தல், மார்க்க கல்யாணம் என்று ஏகப்பட்ட கிராமத்துச் சரக்குகளை ஏகத்துக்கும் வாரி இறைத்திருக்கிறார் வைரமுத்து. சின்னஞ் சிறு விஷயங்களையும் நுண்ணிப்பாக விவரித்திருக்கும் விதத்தில் - கிராமத்துச் சுவையை நிதானித்து  ருசிக்க முடிகிறது; கவிஞரின் எழுத்தை மெச்சி  ரசிக்க முடிகிறது.

மெல்ல கனக்க ஆரம்பிக்கும் மனது, விதையில் இருந்து வரும் பெரிய மரம் போல் மெதுவாகவும் திடமாகவும் இயல்பாகவும் வளர்ந்து வளர்ந்து, கடைசி ஐந்தாறு அத்தியாயங்களில் தொண்டை அடைத்துப் போகிறோம்.

தான் கடைசி அத்தியாயத்தை கண்ணில் நீரொழுக  நீரொழுக எழுதியதாக ஆசிரியர் முன்னுரையிலயே சொல்லியிருப்பார். “ 'நந்தலாலா' படம் பார்த்து விட்டு சக நண்பர்கள் பலர் அழ, அழாத சிலருள் தானே நாமிருந்தோம்; இந்தப் புத்தகத்துக்கா அழப் போகிறோம்??” என்று திடமாகப் படித்துக் கொண்டிருந்த போதிலும், இறுதி அத்தியாயத்தில் பேய் பிடித்தது போல் பேயத்தேவர் கடப்பாறை கொண்டு நிலைகளையும், தூண்களையும்  பேர்த்தேடுக்கும் பொழுது, வாசகர்களின் நெஞ்சையும் சேர்த்துத் தான் பெயர்த்தெடுத்துக் கொண்டு போகிறார் அக்கிழவர்.

இருப்பினும் நம் திடமான மனதைத் தோற்கடிக்க விரும்பாத நம் கண்கள்,  உள்ளிருந்து "வரலாமா வேண்டாமா" என்று பட்டிமன்றம்  நடத்திக் கொண்டிருக்கும் கண்ணீரைத் தன்னால் முடிந்த பலம் கொண்டு தடுத்து ஒரு ஓரத்தில் தேக்கி வைக்கப் பார்க்கின்றது. இறுதிப் பக்கத்தை வாசித்த கண்கள், தாங்களும்  தம் மெய் மறந்து, சிரமம் கொண்டு தடுத்து நிறுத்தி வைத்திருந்த துளிகளை இலகுவாக வெளியே தள்ளி, தன் இமைகளை மூடிக் கொள்கிறது.
 

 
"சாப்பிடலாம்" என்று அம்மா அழைக்க, வந்தும் வராமலும் இருந்த ஓரிரு கண்ணீர்த்  துளிகளை வழித்தெடுத்து, அந்தப் புத்தகத்தின் மீதே விசிறியடித்து விட்டு,  தொண்டையை லேசாகக் கரகரத்துக் கொண்டு, தூரத்து நின்றே பதில் சொன்னேன், " பசி இல்லை".

Hitting the Crossroads of your Career.

My first post from my hometown, a very small beautiful village it is – Mithilaipatti :)

I am with my lap amidst the copious flora, in our backyard. Already our servant here, who has been watching me for the past two days with my mini black suitcase [ada..lap-top thaanga!] with a wire from it plunging straight to my ear drums, has noticed that I have been watching movies or videos in it almost all the time.

Every time, He gapes for long from behind and leaves after a while without any words.

Graduates pursuing their Bachelor of Engineering, probably towards the end of their second year or possibly in their penultimate year, are coerced to meet the cross roads in their career.

 “Do I wanna take up a job or ‘continue’ studying even after my bachelor degree.?”

Everything remains dormant until one in the group starts out this topic. From then on, Random thoughts start to gush in our till then empty mind.

Umpteen queries arise and they come back with a reply too!

From here on, this post is gonna be just a pure reflection of MY THOUGHTS.

After all, “A man converses the most with himself!”

“What am I really.?”

“Nothing”. :P

“Where do I really fit into..?”

“Nowhere”. :P

“Am I that techie to go for MS?”

“Hey stupid.! You are dying hard to clear your lab courses. Remember!” :P

“Am I a ‘management-Guy’ to opt for a MBA.?”

“First, try to get back those 100 bucks from your roommate that you lent him last semester!” :P

“UPSC”.?

“THE HINDU should mean a lot more than sports page and Friday review for that matter!”

“Or will I get a decent enough job.?”

“For your information, Many nine pointers got placed in TCS last time, you know.? Mad or Wot.?”  :P

So whats all this, man.?

“:P” .

“What will happen, will happen”.

So when this issue subsides slowly, either your friend could have possibly decided what he is gonna do or he might have got even more confused. Both the cases exacerbate the wounded soul.

We call up our seniors, spam their mail boxes, and throng their hostel rooms.

Grab all possible facts and information as we could.

“Okay”, we say it to ourselves – “ Enough of being pessimistic. Let us stop answering questions with a “:P” at the end”.

“MS.?” 

“Masters are predominantly CG-Centric. Would mine suffice.?” :P

“Last time few seniors even with a lesser CG than mine have got into some good universities.”

“They might have got some papers to substantiate their profile.” :P

“If finalized with MS, we have ample time to publish one”.

“Am I technically so geeky to opt for a highly technical Master degree.?” :P

“Come On. Necessarily you need not be ‘that’ geeky.”

“GRE”.? :P

“I enquired seniors. Just we wanna cram few wordlists it seems”.

“Oh. That should not be a problem. If am not wrong, we are used to it for at least a decade. Thanks to State board and Anna University curriculum”. ;)

“TOEFL.?” :P

“If ready for GRE, TOEFL should be a cake walk.”

“Will we be able to survive there - Physically.? Mentally.? Academically.? Economically.?” :P

“We should have to be able to”.

“Cost.?” :P

“Heard it from a senior. It would roughly be 20L(Differs with the univs). We can avail of the student loan. We will be in a position to repay it in a year or two, IF(F) everything proceeds well”.

“Job opportunities after MS.?” :P

“No point returning back here immediately after the course. It pays off well if we continue working there.”

“Listen. Even if we get a Dream job, Our Score would be valid for five long years. We can apply later, with the same score. ”

“Wokay”.!

“MBA.?”

“CAT. A hard nut to crack?” :P

“Yea, without any second thoughts, tougher it is. But, if decided earlier, there are year/year-and-a-half long courses to get into. T.I.M.E will answer, man!”.

“Say, we clear CAT somehow. [Don’t laugh. serious]. Will we still be able compete with all those experienced guys in GD and make it through multiple rounds of Personal interviews? Heard It’s now essay writing in some places. Even worse.” :P

“Nevertheless, a rich set of learning experience its gonna be. It will groom us to take up future GDs and Interviews with confidence. Though not this year, chances are that we could make it in an year or two!”

“Say, we made it also through all these [Shhh.. even more serious]. Will we be able to suit in those top notch universities, working 18 whole hours a day, hardly getting any sleep? I heard it seniors say” :P

“IF AT ALL, WE GET IN. Right?” [;)]

“Listen. Preparing for CAT widens our horizons by also allowing us to write numerous other exams. CET. JMET. SNAP. CAT. XAT. MAT. Almost like, /[A-Z]AT/ .” [;)]

“Listen. Preparing for CAT also enables us to take up the Aptitude rounds in our campus interview with ease.”

“Wokay!”.

“Campus Interviews?”

“Heard from seniors that L.U.C.K plays a major part in Campus interviews” :P

“Let us try out our L-U-C-K then!” [;)]

“A senior was thrown out from De Shaw in his final round for not knowing India’s GDP it seems” :P

“GDP aaah? Apdina?”

“I don’t like that company. De-Shaw, PT-Usha nu.. Cha.. Paerae sari illa”[;)]

“So?”

With all these variety of options at our proposal, it is going to be a real tough thing to go with one, for every option has got its own listed set of  pros and cons.

Elimination Strategy should sound sensible.  Better not to take decisions in a hurry. Let us allow these things to sink well within our mind. Let the mind then start eliminating options one after the other, until you are left out with the Least Elimination-Quotient option.

P.S 1: It is more than common to see people getting a dream job, becoming lethargic, dwindling CAT/GRE preparation, finally with a kiddish smile, announces the world, “Let me work for a year or two, just for a change. We can get back to studies whenever we want, Right?” [;)]

P.S 2: Even people with a good GRE score beforehand and a great profile can’t be just complacent enough to not attend any companies at all. They too need to have a back-up, for Pursuing a Masters, clearing away those numerous procedures is never gonna be assured certain.

NOT that The Least Elimination-Quotient option that we have come up with is UNCHANGEABLE and it’s NOT going to be the FINAL OPTION whatsoever! 

“Change alone is the changeless law”.

 “Whatever will happen, will happen.. And they Happen for a Reason….”

 Ultimately, we are left with only two options, as beautifully depicted in this pic. 

And our servant, who was just gaping for long at my black suitcase and moved away silently, many a times, could wait no more. He finally came whispering into my ears, “Idhula Sun TV varuma?” :P [;)]

Catching it Live in Action!

I had already been there once, to see a Cricket match, Live. It was some two and half years back for IND Vs SA Test match. I was unlucky enough that time to have got the tickets for day 4, where SA batted the whole day. To top it all, Neil McKenzie even came up with a century. So, my previous experience with catching a Cricket match Live, was not that entertaining.

I was there again, yesterday at Chepauk for Chennai Super Kings Vs Deccan Chargers IPL T-20 with Sindhu, Muthu [ Sorry Aithan, gonna address yu this way throughout the post ;)], Dakshin & Vicky.

No wonder Calling our country, A Cricket-Mad-Nation. Never did people hesitate to buy that Yellow cloth [Claimed to be CSK Flag :P] for Rs.50 that would hardly worth Rs.5. Many were on a queue to paint their cheeks Yellow for Rs.50 :P. Cricket-Frenzy. Nothing more and Nothing else. We too got in with 2 flags [;P]. We were lucky enough to be on stand ‘A’, with DC’s Cheer Leaders right in front of our Stand. However worse the match goes, we had at least something to watch upon. Contented[;)].

Those high voltage audio systems failed miserably to the roaring Chennai crowd when D-H-O-N-I won the toss and elected to bat first. Murali Vijay was pathetic with his batting and it was Mike Hussey & Suresh Raina who tinkered the dents made by DC’s early bowling attack. Neither did they go for rapid big ones nor did they waste deliveries. Boundaries popped up then and there. They were steady enough to bring in a score of 96 in 15 Overs with the loss of two wickets. That seemed a little petty for a T-20 CSK Home match.

Things turned topsy-turvy in the final five overs. Raina seemed devastating with his powerful shots. Every single Chennaite was basking in his batting. All of us were Shouting, Clapping, Screaming, Cheering, Roaring, Toasting, Dancing and Waving with every ball DC fumbled to field, every catch they dared to drop and every boundary CSK did hit. And we reached the zenith of our bubbly world, when Albie Morkel intensively punishing Ishant Sharma, for three back-to-back sixes, clearing it off the ground. Sun seemed to shine for CSK @ their home, with a defendable 165 in the kitty.

But no later, Sunny Sohal pillaged CSK bowlers and proved that sun was shining nowhere in favor of the home team in that Day/Night match. With six fours and four sixes, he was fiercely pushing the balance’s needle towards DC’s win. No doubt, he earned the wrath of everyone by making us remember the Chennai-28 dialogue, “மச்சா, அவன் எப்டி போட்டாலும் அடிக்கிறான்டா”. 50 in 5 overs; 70 in 7; Things were moving far and completely out of control for both for CSK players as well as supporters. Almost everyone there lost their hopes until Sohal did let Jakati's ball hit the stumps.

Things started reviving back from then on. Spinners began to contain. More people started to get back their hopes, with Jakati’s incredible catch. Jakati and Randiv took it with the same pace till 13 overs. Fifty plus runs needed from the final seven overs. Ashwin proved too good for DC’s middle order. Sun again seemed to pop its hand out to say a ‘hi’ to the Super Kings. Muthu was having his drink with his cap resting on his right lap. And that’s the point we got a wicket. That’s it. He denied standing and dancing with us many an occasion for that he had to change the cap’s position. Entire crowd went with Bol-Lin-Ger. Bol-Lin-Ger, throughout his over and they even went mad with Bollinger cracking the middle stump of Skipper Sangakara.

Spinners started draining and pace men emptied the battery of Chargers, in style!

DHONI-'A-man-with-the-Midas-touch' was irrefutable one more time in the pages of Cricketing History.

Thanks to Sindhu & Muthu for that exhilarating and entertaining Live Cricket action.

A special thanks to Ramiya & her cycle test, for letting me in, in place of her [;)].

A memorable evening that was!

Adieu, Anna University!

Whatte life man!

Fantabulous four years that was. This post is a heartfelt token of love and gratitude to each and every individual who has been a part of my College life. Best phase, should say.  This post is meant to quote few unforgettable moments of this phase which made these four years fabulous.

When we joined, we were clearly intimated this life would be on only for four years. But still, we could not digest ourselves with the fact that those four years have flown this fast. Random thoughts fill up my mind as I pen down this post, on this last working day.

 Fresh guys and gals from school. Entering into the Vivekananda auditorium along with our parents. A sense of pride brimming through all our faces. It all began on 13^th of August, 2007. From then, till date Anna University has been the Home for us. It has always exceeded the expectations in every single aspect it could. We were not just ‘satisfied’ with the way things went. We were ‘delighted’ indeed.

Heavenly Food; Earthly priced # CEG Canteen.

A thanks from the bottom of my heart, rather stomach to all my day scholars’ MoM for their blissful food # Day scholars’ Lunch.

The ultimate Guru # Gurunath.

Hi-Speed Net. AC. Working 24*7. What else you ask for? # RCC.

The only place that we never miss before the Semester exams # Madhya Kailash.

The one street apart from the college that we have loitered the most # Kotturpuram.

Hearty Thanks to Meena Ka, Priya Ka, Aruna Na, Saravana na, Bala aka and Kanna for the healthy support and the lovely food they provided with, Every time # Local Guardians.

‘Treat’, ‘Treat’ & even more ‘Treat’ # Three words that kept us going through out.

Heavily Enjoyed # Two Industrial Visits.

Placement Celebrations # Two batch parties.

Ever cherished # Two Pondy Trips.

Eventful Trip # NSS Camp.

Never knew a movie which I already saw could be that exhilarating when seen in such an atmosphere with our Friends # ‘Chennai -28’ for Agni’07.

Besant Nagar. Thiruvanmiyur. Marina. Kovalam # Beaches that kept us breezy.

Dan Brown. Chetan Bhagat. Kalki # Authors who kept us busy.

Traditionally healthy # Red Building.

Dancing to the tune # Techofes Concerts.

Just serving your humble mite for that one real Big event # K!

India won the 2007 T-20 WC, the year we stepped in; India now have won the 2011 WC, the year we step out # Two beautiful reasons to feel proud as an Indian Cricket Fan.

#Department Stories.

Insert your Pen drive. Copy Stuffs. Pass it on as fast as you can # Labs that threatened you to clear.

Redirect the outputs to ‘output.txt’.  Open and show the hard-coded value from ‘outupt.txt’ # Labs that threatened you to pass.

Insert. Delete. Update. Everything works mam, except Display :P # PDS lab demo.

One of the essential things without which, B.E degree certificate of many of us would have been in stake # Vijay R Kumar’s Xerox.

Toiling hard for the department function # aBaCUS.

#Hostel Bliss

Art of ‘Celebration’ # B’da Bashes, Cakes & Celebs.

Art of ‘Sharing’ # Right from the toothpaste, slippers till Interview Shirts, Pants.

Art of ‘Adjusting’ # Manage with the available two left-legged bathroom slippers.

Art of ‘Decision making’ # Decide to wear the jean you washed a month before over the jean you washed two months before(though it stinks bad)

Art of ‘Snoozing’ # Snooze the alarm for every five minutes from 7:20 till it ticks 8:20

Art of ‘Patience’ # Waiting for your friend to return from mess to get back your umbrella during rainy season.

Never return back the bucks you borrowed # Financial Business Management.

Compulsory ‘Poojas’ for Every new Laptop in Hostel # Censored secrets.

A wing. Seven Nokia mobiles. Two Nokia Chargers # Effective Resource Utilization.

English. Tamil. Telugu. Hindi # Any Movie. Any time.

Never ending Carom matches.

None fails to be present in the TV rooms. No one affords to lose Enthralling Entertainment # ‘Vijay’akanth movies.

Dumped in. Discuss the movie though you are finding it hard to breathe inside # Share Auto Ride after a second show.

Four steps to reach First floor # Climbing and jumping the Hostel block’s wall.

Gradually decreases with the advancement of semesters I to VIII # Frequency of going home and tendency to study/Attend Classes.

#CEG

Fresh students from the school. Employees of one of the top notch companies of the world. ‘YoU’ made the transition.

‘YoU’ made us handle the extreme pressure on the other hand you kept us Relaxed most of the time.

‘YoU’ made us spend 500 a day; Also made us save 50 for a week.

‘YoU’ made us 9 pointer one time and 7 pointer the other time.

‘YoU’ taught us lots and lots more.

So here I go thanking ‘YoU’

for the Lessons ‘YoU’ taught;

for the Transitions ‘YoU’ made;

for the Freedom ‘YoU’ showered;

for the Platform ‘YoU’ floored;

for the Friends ‘YoU’ bestowed with;
for the Seniors ‘YoU’ had;
for the Juniors ‘YoU’ brought;

for the Job ‘YoU’ offered;

for the Confidence ‘YoU’ empowered;

for the Skills ‘YoU’ honed and ultimately

for the Life ‘YoU’ blessed.

    Thank ‘YoU’, CEG!

You mean a lot to all of us :)

Adieu, Anna University!

"I" & "We" in IV :)

Here I go blogging the second, Final, most traveled, highly enjoyed and the Cooooolest IV of our College life :)

It began there with the end of our Second review and beginning of the pre-IV shopping spree!

Jerkins.

Earmuffs.

Trekking bags.

Gloves.

Shoes.

For those guys who bought the aforesaid items, Renganathan Street and Saravana Stores were their saviors; for the rest, saviors were ECE guys ;)

Whomsoever the savior is – We were on our toes to embark an Awesome IV :)

36 Hours Train Journey was nothing more than the following things in Cycles:

DumbC.

Good day.

5 Cards.

Wonder Cake.

Literature.

Lays.

Ass.

Naps.

Snacks & Snaps.

Agra  was TaJ and tAj Only.

We

Stood before,

Sat over,

Rolled across,

Jumped above,

Leaned upon,

Hooked down,

Lifted & Group Clicked the TaJ to the fullest of our desires.

Bus drive from Agra to Delhi – That was ‘the’ Journey :)

It was a couch like thing at the back, where we 20 Guys were lounged. Most laughed Out part of the traveling times should say.  We were on high spirits throughout and at times when we were exhausted, we all unanimously had one rejuvenating impetus,

“ அடிங்கடா  ARP a ”.

MilMan & Mr.Tensing, under the skilled captaincy of Mama, were on a ‘special’ ride and were enjoying ‘it’ to the core. They emphasized to the world, the true magnificence of little finger ;)  Thanks to the Traffic police, who stopped the bus and saved the rest.

The journey, despite its entire fun, gals-guys duel, water bottle throws, unbearable anthaksharis[;)], also saw some exciting moments, immense planning, extraordinary coordination and perfect execution. No one knew whose bag they were carrying along. But everyone was sure that they will get their bags :)

Shimla – Sudden Change in temp from Agra-Delhi the previous day; All of a sudden you are on to single degree temperature. For the first time in life, You see snow to fall on you!

You catch them, feel them, and somehow make yourself believe that you are in a Snowland! Gradually the intensity of the fall increases. Entire trees over the area are starting to cover up with snow. Whites all around!

For a while, your hand without Glove, seems not to be yours! You are not able to do what you want your hands to. May it be the Cars, Roof tops, Roads, Street lights – there was snow everywhere!

With even worse Cold in the evenings, temperature getting in to Negative, we started to Manali! Ten hour journey, up the hills. Freezing Cold.  Few of us even enquired the Coffin rates, for we thought it would help us the day after in Manali! [;)]

Manali – was not as Cold as we panicked. Thank God. We were back to 2 C, when we reached it that morning.

With over four layers of dresses within our jerkins, we were also made to wear the extra Jerkin and Boots which they provided. We were totally amused at our own attires!

Except for the roads, you have snow above your knees on either side. That was the Occasion! You go, get yourself struck up in Snow. Pick a few of it; throw it on your friends; Pull them into your snow pit. Guys were really elated to take up a chance to throw the Ice on Selvamoney sir[;)]

Vashisht Kund, Hadimba Temple, Mall road and the Night Stay in Kushboo Resort!

Temperature went till -6 that night!

A Room. A Bed. A Rug. Four Guys. You fight hard to stay inside the rug all the time. An inch of your body exposed, You freeze!

AV and Mama – You made my head froze! [;)]

Next day saw Mr.Careful’s Knife-less B’da Celebration and some wonderful Photo Shoot. Gang Clicks, Solo, Snow – Everything was captured! Kulu was nothing more than a single Photo session. Then it was a hungry, food-less travel the whole day, down the hills.

Things turned topsy-turvy post our Evening food. It was hours of Dancing Spree!

Best part of this non-stop dance is that Every single person participated :)

Would you ever believe that HariHaran, Jagadish and Iyer srini joined for an amazing ‘vangi-potu-kuthu’.? [;)]

‘Emotion’ MLS was declared the super performer of the day for his ‘Chinna Rasavae… Chitterumbu enna kadikuthu’ [;)]

Those three hours were the most enjoyed part of the traveling times. It lasted not for long, as once again we were on a verge to miss the train, now in Chandigarh. Literally, we missed it this time. Thanks to our ‘Singh(a) Kutti’ who helped us catch the train in next station by driving @ 90-100 Kmph at One O’clock in the Night :)

Delhi – India Gate – Photo Shoot – Karolbagh - Shopping – Back to Singara Chennai via another 36 hours long travel.

That was ‘the IV’ :) Greatest of Times. Sweetest of Memories. Thanks to All who were a part of it.