Viva la Vida

Been a while. A lot has happened since. No point trying to capture any of it, as none of it will be done any justice.

Doing a course on Digital Media Across Asia under Prof. Michael Netzley. A discussion on Web 2.0 the other day kind of re-emphasized the importance of blogging in my mind.

This video is kind of cool. If only the music was cooler. Anyway, watch this -



Will resume blogging by sharing a few poems I came up with for a recent Poetry Slam at SMU. Themes for the 3 rounds were Past, Present and Future. Think it was a decent effort for my first encounter with performance poetry.

In Between Dreams

So my first year in college is over. It’s been over for a bit, and I’ve been meaning to write about it, but well, never got down to it. I was in a very reflective mood sometime ago, and was advised by a friend to take it easy, as there were still three more years to go for college to end. Well, guess that’s true, so this entry shall be the last appendage of the body of my reflection.

So let’s see, what do I remember from my first year in college? Off the top of my head, debates, presentations, meetings, night outs, movies, TV shows, more meetings, projects, more presentations, and more debates. Not to mention, meeting a load of interesting people, and having interesting experiences. Many of which have happened in hostel. I love my hostel. I love the people in my hostel. I don’t love the guard in my hostel. I don’t love the third cubicle from the left in my toilet. But yeah, we have a new vending machine now! Then there’s Clarke Quay. I cannot count how many times I’ve been there with my friends, getting drunk and talking about things that nobody cares, or well, just simply talking about things that nobody cares. Or maybe they do care. We’ll never know.

SMU keeps you busy, very busy. Especially if you want to have a great experience there, you have to be running around a lot. I did a lot of that this semester. It paid off. I got better grades, and had a much better time. I’m more settled there now. Once you realize your way around things, they seem much more pleasing to you. Like debating - I did not enjoy it much in term 1. But come term 2, I spent more time on it, and put more effort into it, and it paid off, with me winning SMU Hammers, our home tournament, and also me breaking at AUDC, my first international tournament. It seems that debating is my new manna. I miss quizzing though. Hope I get to do a bit of that this summer, for old times’ sake.

So anyways, I guess there’s no point reflecting on experiences soon after they are experienced. Hah. I’ll save that for a rainy day, with a fine glass of scotch, an even bigger belly, and grey hair, all hopefully years from now, when college will be but a memory, in between dreams. For now, I’m just going to enjoy what I’m doing. Working hard at my internship, and having a blast with my friends. I’ll also hopefully write more. One hopes.

“They only babble who practice not reflection” - Edward Young

Timestamps On The Day Gone By

7.30 am - Get up. Get ready

9.15 am - Leave home headed for a Quiz.

9.30 am - 30 minutes minimum to kill before the Quiz. The quiz is being conducted by the KQA. A friend called up in the morning and asked me to come. The mailer, as I read later, said "Please report at the venue latest by 9.30 am. Late entries will not be entertained." To those familiar with the KQA, the irony of the above statement need not be iterated. Nevertheless, I land up promptly at 9.25 outside the venue, happy to have kept up my record of never having been late for a quiz. (Wish I applied the same interest to other areas of my life *Sigh*). I find no signs of a living soul anywhere in my immediate proximity. Why am I not surprised? So I decide to take a little walk and return a little later to hopefully find fellow beings there.

9.35 am - I choose Brunton Road to bear the brunt of my mass in motion. (Brunton.. brunt.. aah I crack myself up). For those uninitiated souls who have never been here, Brunton Road is tucked away off MG Road. Whilst on my little walk, I rediscover the beauty of this place. The houses and the serenity just take your breath away. This inspired to me to decide that I will henceforth spend more time devoted to discovering and appreciating the joys of Bangalore. I hope this endeavor of mine actually leaves the drawing room!

9.55 am - I decide to get back, cause just maybe, human life form representing the KQA may have decided to show up. I am not failed this time, as people arrive, I register myself, and 10 minutes later, the quiz begins.

1.30 pm - The quiz is done, and the results are out. I had taken part in the general category and got the highest among college students present there. Woot! But no prize for moi. Only the overall winner, whose paper I ironically ended up correcting, walked away with his wallet substantially heavier. But yeah, we KQA types don't quiz for the money, though the occasional iPod's have been accepted with glee!

1.45 pm - Happy with my little achievement, I decide to go down to the Barista on MG Road, grab some lunch, and read a book.

2.30 pm - Still eating, still reading.

3.30 pm - Still reading.

4.30 pm - I decide to get back home.

4.45 pm - I get down near home, and realise that the auto meter was rigged. But due to limited fluency in Kannada, my anger is restricted to hurling of profanities in English. Auto driver doesn't understand a word, but is highly amused by me. I finally give in, and pay him what he doesn't deserve.

11.45 pm - Teleport 7 hours since last timestamp. I decide to blog, inspired by a comment by my friend that my blog entries must have all been typed under the influence! I think this entry will confirm his suspicions!

11.50 pm - My day comes to an end. A night ahead, full of endless possibilities beckons!

11.51 pm - Time(stamps) up.

The Wait

It is quarter past 3 in the morning, and I am staring at my computer screen so intently that all the colours seem to merge effortlessly into one. After many minutes of intense battle between my eyes, my brain, and the screen, my brain surrenders, and I slowly delve into a state which may be likened to sleep. This is not a first. This has been the case almost every night for the past few days. "Sleep is for the weak" someone once said. Well, if not sleeping makes you strong, I'm closing in on Schwarzenegger! Now, you may be wondering what possesses me to combat the will of the human body. Well, the singular reason for the above iterated nocturnal pattern is "The Wait".

I am waiting for something. Something which I thought would arrive much earlier. It hasn't arrived yet, and my life hangs in the balance. What I am waiting for may not be relevant , but it sure has made me re-evaluate my entire mental character. I have realised that waiting for something I really want is not my cup of tea. I'll have it as soon as possible, thank you very much. And express delivery will be duly rewarded! Which led me to blogging my thoughts on this whole issue of waiting. I was waiting to make another entry into my blog, and I thought to myself, why wait?

I could try and sound pseudo-philosophical and state the oft stated claim, that all of us are waiting for something in our lives, and that this wait continues for all our life. But I think I'll choose a slightly more ground level approach to this topic and share my two cents worth on this topic. So then, why is it that many of us crack under the pressure of a wait, while the rest of us simply do not let it get to us? And also, does a wait make the end result sweeter or just plain sour? You know what, I don't think I really know the answer myself! I hope I do get to know soon enough. I can't wait!

So on that unbelieveably pointless note, I shall sign off, by quoting the great Mark Twain. I think his words summarise what I had started off trying to iterate. Anyways, over to Mr. Twain -

"All good things arrive unto them that wait - and don't die in the meantime."

Life Is Passing Me By

Just went and finished off with CET Physics and Chem. It was much better than Maths!!

Hmmm. Now I'm feeling a little flat. I don't really have much to do. Have to start studying for Comed, but yeah, there's a tiny little problem. I don't really wanna!! Hopefully SMU's admission letter comes through in the next week or two. Then I can show Comed my finger! Oh btw, the fool is back in town. Yes, Vivek Iyer has now permanently shifted his residence from Pune to B'lore. Now we poor, unsuspecting B'loreans have to face him!!

So like the title of my post says, life is passing me by. I have nothing much to look forward to as of now. And btw nandini, stop writing such amazing pieces on your blog. It makes mine look just bad!! And also, publicize my blog a little!!

p.s. - Out of goodwill, nandini's blog may be viewed through the link I have created. (Now you definitely have to publicize my blog!!)

Quite An Exciting Few Days!

Well, in the past two days I have:

1. Banged a car, thus causing total damages of Rs 1.5 lakh to my car, as well as the other car!

2. Finished off with my interview with SMU. It went off pretty well, and unless chink's have a vile sense of humour, I really hope to get in.

3. Flunked CET Maths big time.

So anyways, going to write CET Physics and Chem now.. man why do I even try?