Branding AIT

Hello AIT

I hope you are in the pink of your health. Me?? ahhhhh....I am doing great as always. It has been long since we last met. The last time we met was when I had to appear for two backlog exams. To be honest, while leaving college I expected that I'll be back soon to meet you, but to clear backlogs, nahhhhh, never. I always dream of our meeting being a grand one, like what it would be like when Sachin Tendulkar or Mark Zuckerberg  would visit their respective school. I truly aspire to become a successful professional in life. A person whom you can actually feel proud of and whose name can be called out in public for setting an example. But, have I made it large? No, not yet. I am far far away for being one of such kind. But, I am very sure that one day this dream would eventually come true.

To those, who do not know much about my profession, I work with Sapient as an Associate. My life's pretty smooth here and luckily I have not been through those horrifying experiences that people share on Facebook ("It's 3 am and still in office"). Yesterday evening, when I finished my work at 5:30 pm, I went back to my flat, changed my clothes, and lay down on my bed with my eyes closed, a breeze just passed by. The same breeze that used to refresh my room (315 G) and made everything look fresh and beautiful. I then asked myself that am I really making you feel proud? Am I really giving my best that people around me ask me my alma mater? Do I really give them a hint that I have been staying with some of the brightest minds of India? Because, in the end I really want people to ask me that. I feel proud in telling them your name. It might be obscure to some of them, but one day it'll shine and will shine bright. I hope that everyone reading this shares the same feeling for his/her alma mater.

By the way, I would like to compliment you that you look better than before. I got to see a picture of the grand entrance a few days back, it looks amazing. Standing tall amid Dighi Hills, you are really a grand structure. As years pass by, more and more people pass out to spread your name. Companies from various industries and sectors now visit you which is definitely helping you spread your wings wide. But, the question is, are 'we' really doing justice to brand AIT? Do we really give our actions a thought that they leave an imprint of our parents, our friends, our college? This blog comes in the awake of some recent activities that I noticed which really makes me doubt if people think that their activities might hamper your reputation.

Let me start with myself, I believe that I am doing a commendable job at my workplace. I don't know exactly but I have acquired something while I strolled in your premises which can not be put in words but it was something, something that makes me feel confident, energetic and something that has definitely helped me in my career. I never scored above 55% but still, I managed to pull off a Bachelor of Engineering degree from University of Pune. Everyone around me here knows that I am honest and committed to my work. But then there are some who are too selfish to think that what their actions might lead to or how does their actions affect your image?. I do commit mistakes but then that does not tarnish your image. To err is human and no one is perfect.

"One will never go to a restaurant again, once he/she sees a cockroach in their food."

I hope the statement made above has made it clear enough about the message that I am trying to convey here. My dear juniors, colleagues and seniors, it's not the building, the gate, the library, the red bold AIT or the cricket ground that forms the Army Institute of Technology, these materialistic stuff is just a small portion. It is us, the students who complete it.

While it is falsely assumed that only IITans can deliver the best, NITs the better and other colleges just the good degree of work, we can actually justify you (AIT) by adding brand value to your name. Dear reader, whoever you are, wherever you are, I beg of you to please reconsider you actions if that tarnishes the image of my college, because one day when I would be on the verge of becoming as famous as Sachin Tendulkar/Mark Zuckenberg and planning my grand trip to AIT, I would not want my evaluator to be someone who judges me seeing my alma mater and it turns out that he once got pissed off by some stupid's sheer stupidity. Instead, I would want you to impress him today so that I can reap the fruits tomorrow. ;) I repeat , do not be so mean that you forget that what you do is a reflection of your parents, friends and your alma mater. 

Thanks and Regards

Nitish Kumar

Computers (2007-2011)

Life's good

Time has passed by so quickly. It has been eons since I updated this blog. Life has changed. Now, I am a graduate. :) I think that I am a very different person now. Not the one you knew 2 years back in college. The one who use to laze around doing nothing, sit on the benches of the football ground with his friends or sleep till 12 in the afternoons. Life is more scheduled now. I get up at 7 am , get ready by 8, reach office by 8:30, sit down on my desk, plan my day and start the execution. Everything is planned and scheduled. Believe it or not, i kind'a like it.

Journey with Sapient has been a roller coaster ride for me. There has been good, bad and the ugly. I am not sure how many of you will agree with me on this, but I would blame my army background for the 'ugly' part. An Army brat is probably too open or honest than expected and accepted by others.  But, the life has been more of good. :) I have learnt a lot,changed myself to adapt to situations, be a bit diplomatic, sugarcoat my words and try to be dear to the biggest of biggest jerks. All this has become a part of my daily takeaways from 8 hours of work in office.

In Sapient, my role is that of a business analyst with the Delivery Operations team. I delve deep into numbers, subtract, add, divide and multiply them and report them to the concerned stakeholders. I have to full extend exploited my mathematical aptitude and used it here at my job. My sluggish preparation for CAT did not fetch me a college, but it has definitely helped me to do better here at Sapient. I have come to a recommendation for the children who fear subject Mathematics, there is not substitute to it, it will haunt you for whole of your life. Master it or you are screwed.

Just to set the context, I never thought of writing all this until a very good friend of mine, Manjit sent me an article which mentioned the benefits of writing. I'll close this article for now as there is too much that I have written about myself and there is no point beating the dead horse. I am sorry friend that I could not manage expectations (writing everyday, as I was short of bandwidth), but yes, I'll definitely try to be more frequent about writing stuff on my blog. I'll keep you in loop about all my articles. Please revert in case you have any issues around them.


PS : The paragraph above was pure shit (except Manjit of course), and was meant just to flaunt my vocabulary and the style of writing. By the way, it has got nothing to do with my CAT preparation, it is just the daily jargon, you'll get to listen if you get into a role (in Sapient) that I am in. Thank you Manjit. Thank you all. Hope you enjoy this !!!

Ek Kahani

“Pritam, you have topped the class again. Congratulations!”, said Professor Bhansonare. Pritam, the class topper and Bhansonare’s favorite student, was standing up, beaming in pride. The class students started clapping while Professor Bhansonare continued, “Class, if you ever desire to prosper in life, be like Pritam. In life, studying hard is the only way to come up.”

After a few seconds of applause, the students returned back to their usual silent self. Professor Bhansonare was about to distribute the exam papers of other students. The very thought of hearing Bhansonare’s sarcastic comments irked each and every one in the class. As expected, most of the class had scored average marks. None so worse than Nitish, Bhansonare’s least favorite student, who had failed, scoring only 17/100.

Bhansonare turned towards the back row where Nitish was seated. “Dear students! You know what? Nitish has yet again failed in MATHS.” Nitish hung his head in shame. Professor Bhansonare continued, “Teaching students like you is a waste of time. This is the second terminal exam that you have failed in Mathematics. If you can’t solve simple problems in Probability and Trigonometry, how will you survive in life? I am not sure you can improve now. MARK my words; you are NOT EVEN GOOD ENOUGH TO EVEN BECOME A CLERK. Oh my god, how am I gonna show cent per cent results in the upcoming board exams. This fellow is gonna spoil my reputation for sure.”

Nitish hung his head in shame. This was the umpteenth time that he had been insulted. Nitish was not a bad student. He had excelled in extra curricular activities like Essay Writing and Dramatics, but could never repeat his performance in studies. Bhansonare was harsh on Nitish because he feared that Nitish was an obstacle to the school’s record of scoring 100% results.

During the next annual Parent-Teachers meeting, Bhansonare did his best to convince the principal to exclude Nitish from appearing in the forthcoming board exams and was successful. Nitish was dismissed on grounds of consistent poor performance.

Years rolled by. Bhansonare was now accompanying his 20 year old son, who was about to attend a non-campus interview for a lucrative trainee position in a reputed MNC, Sapiosys Infotech. Bhansonare’s son entered the building to attend the interview while Bhansonare was waiting in the company’s cafeteria sipping a cup of tea. Suddenly, he saw a person calling out his name. He turned around and realized it was none other than his former student, Pritam.

Pritam: “Sir, What a pleasant surprise?”
Bhansonare: “Oh. Pritam beta, is it you? I am so happy to see you here. How are you? What are you doing here?”
Pritam: “I am fine sir. I work as a Project Manager here. I am very happy to see you.”
Bhansonare: “Nice to hear that beta. My son Rupesh, is here for an interview. He is a BE graduate and has applied for the post of a Trainee Programmer in your company.“
Pritam: (Having a look at Amit’s resume copy given by Bhansonare) He has a good academic record, if he passes the aptitude test and the second round, I will ensure he gets selected.

(As they were speaking, Rupesh comes)

Rupesh: Dad, I completed the second round. The interview was tough, I’ve done my best. Let’s see.
Bhansonare: Ok son. Let’s go to the reception and wait there. Maybe they would announce the results soon.

(Bhansonare and Rupesh move to the reception where the interviewer announces the results of folks, who have been shortlisted for the last round. Rupesh finds he has been not shortlisted for the final round)

Rupesh: This is unfair dad. I had done well in the test, yet they failed to shortlist me. This is not fair.
Bhansonare: Cool down son. One of my old students is a Project Manager here, let’s visit him, perhaps he may be able to help.


(Rupesh and Bhansonare go to the receptionist and request an appointment with Pritam. The receptionist calls Pritam, who asks the receptionist to give the phone to Bhansonare)


Bhansonare (Explains the situation to Pritam on the phone): This is what happened, they rejected my son for some reason.
Pritam: (After checking Amit’s results with the HR team): Sir, I am sorry. We rejected your son because we are looking for Engineering students who have background in Computer Science or Information Technology. Your son has specialized in Electronics and Telecommunication. I am sorry, we used to recruit candidates from all streams and train them, earlier, but now since we have very less training budget, we are focusing only on a certain skill set.
Bhansonare: “But beta, my son has a good academic record. Furthermore, he has completed a diploma in Information Technology.”
Pritam: “I am sorry again, I have been given the responsibility of recruiting candidates who have basic level skills in C++, Java and other skills. While your son has done a diploma, he still does posses the required skill set as his test results showed. I cannot afford to recruit a candidate who needs to be trained. It will spoil my training budget and resource utilization. We pride here in 100% billable resources right from second month of training sir. Your son does not fit the bill. Sorry to say this. I have a meeting, will call you later.”

Bhansonare (Mumbling to himself): That ungrateful wretch, I gave special attention and support to him in his school days and see how he returns the favor. Bloody wretch...
Rupesh: “Appa, what happened?”
Bhansonare: “Pritam says he can’t help us. I guess you have to try some other company.”


(Walks away in shock. Just when Bhansonare and Rupesh are about to leave, they hear a voice calling Bhansonare’s name)

Welcome 2011

Time has passed by so quickly. It's been eons since I updated this blog. It's not that I was busy, but rather I did not have the urge or passion to write. I know the title of this blog post seems quite absurd, "Welcome 2011", but don't you think that its never too late to welcome anything that you expect to turn fruitful for you.

The year 2010 was an eventful one with its own share of ups and downs. The past year redefined my life for all the right reasons. In my college life, I faced a lot of challenges that nearly threatened to make me give up and quit. I made a lot of mistakes which I never would have imagined. As they say, “When things go wrong, they do so at the most inopportune moment”. Guess I have to get used to the fact that I will make mistakes on and off.

On the positive side, 2010 gave me many reasons to smile. I got through all of my backlogs when it was least expected. I happened to get one of the most lucrative offers offered by IT industry in AIT. Then of course, there was this girl, who could not resist falling in love with me, or you could call it other way round too. I succeeded in many, and failed in some. As they say, “Behind every successful man there are many unsuccessful years”. And in fact, 2009 wasn't good at all. The best part of 2010 came when I realized that I had grown old, old enough to realize my mistakes and learn from them. Bye bye 2010. Thanks for the good and not so good memories. I cherish them all.

2011 has started with a bang. I got my job offer, for which I would like to thank Bhuvanesh Yadav [Helped me to get through the first obstacle], Nikant Ahlawat [kept me alarmed], Prince Mishra [my mentor], Chetan Sood [iska naam arbit hai], Krishna [helping me go techie], Raju & Shekhu [for providing me this opportunity] and all others whose names have been missed out.

On the personal end, I had made up my mind for a new bike, but finally time constraint put by Sapient and Bajaj both, hindered me from buying one. It would have been the sexiest among sexy, Bajaj Avenger 220 cc and that too Midnight Black. I would have preffered to call it KAALIYA. Hope whenever KAALIYA comes, it helps me reach the road to prosperity.

Life at College is just going ok. Looking forward to a great year ahead, second half of which will be spent at Sapient with some of the most awesome people from college. God! Pray that I get increment in my salary this year and that too twice, plus I clear my CAT with 100 percentile [more importantly 100 percentiles in all three sections], and get some 10 to 12 girlfriends more by the end of this year. Bas itna sa khwab hai.

To add to my college concerns, I need to get a passport and a pan card and among them the most important being to clean up the mess i made up with my first semester exams and perform well in the coming exam, so as to get at least 60% in final year. Pray that I study well.

I've got an interesting year ahead of me. Although I am not sure what is in store, I am confident that this year will see me reach some very important milestones in life. Til then, See ya. :)

I wonder if I am in Love

When can you confirm, that you are in love

When you see her face in your book

Or when you repeatedly check facebook

When you fall in love with the sound of her voice

Or when she seems to be the ultimate choice

When you smile remembering the good old days

Or when you think, you are left with nothing to chase

When you have to gather courage to say the "word"

Or when talking to her, you forget the world

When you start sharing everything with her

Or when you forget to call your brother but not her

When an extrovert guy starts feeling shy

Or when slightest idea of her parting away can make you cry

When you take care of everything you speak

Or when you can’t find anything more sweet

When she talks to you in a shy-low voice
Or when she ignores her friends for you, by choice

Or when you turn into a poet, the most daunting task

Someone rightly said about poem, it’s the feel that brings line

And probably today I set them fine

I wonder if these are the symptoms

I wonder if I am in love?
I wonder if I am in love?

Why D?

If you are reading this, then you know me. If you're reading this, then we're friends -- though some are better friends than others. One of you helped me recently by making me aware of the bitter fact that I suck at choosing title for my blog posts. And probably, he was right. Sometimes I do injustice to the title of the post. Like, talking of the the previous post, there was hardly anything there pertaining to LOVE. But for those who accuse me of writing long posts, I am sorry guys, I can’t help it. I know, after reading the title of this post, you must be thinking that probably I failed again, but not to worry, I’ll prove you wrong. I know it sounds absurd, "Why D?". But, I know that this title is quite fearsome, for AITans at least. For others, let me introduce to this term YD (Why D), which stands for year down or its generally known as year back in other colleges, when you have to sit back home and take a drop for one year to clear your subjects. People in AIT don’t like to face results, 66% of my batch is below 60% and hence gives enough reason to why people don’t like facing the D-day. Last year, I was standing at the gateway of this so called YD. Eleven theory exam in a span of 21 days and three practical examinations is hell of a reason to get a YD. But somehow, I made it through and cleared all of them. These are the words of a man, who didn’t see a single sunset in AIT last semester, not because he was busy studying in room, but because he didn’t want a reason for a YD afterwards and regret. Believe me, it was height of pessimism, I spent half of my time thinking period aftermath YD. My parents still don’t know about my critical stage, but their blessings were always with me, and now I don’t care, even if they come to know of it.

I was not the only one who was on the verge of getting year down. There were others too. Most of us were fortunate enough to make it through, some could not. Some people played a great role in each of our's success. Apart from parents and relatives, there is a third kind of relationship that I can’t stop praising since they helped a lot by providing me with moral support throughout the semester. There were people around me providing me with all sort of help, and I call this category of people, “friend”. Believe me, getting out of such a situation (YD) requires a lot of mental balance, and I bet you can’t accumulate that all alone. I have seen people getting ripped off with mere six theories. I remember people coming to me regularly and asking me to study. Some of them, came drunk some sober, but all of them were worried for me undoubtedly. It’s not just about clearing exams, that make me say that, but there are many more reasons to support the call.

and then I fell in what they call LOVE

Note: This is for anyone who has been in a one-sided love affair. If you have pined over someone, idealized them to the point you question your own worth and felt continuously disappointed by the affection you have not received...this blog post is for you.

My blog “the THIRD eYe” is getting older day by day, and as it gets older, it’s getting cooler. Sounds nice, when people complement you that way. I took up blogging as a hobby, thanks to some wonderful seniors I have been with. Now, I encourage others to take up blogging as a hobby and exercise it regularly. People now value my opinion and often come to me with doubts of different sorts. Believe me, it feels very nice when you come back to your room in the evening, and you are completely tired and when you check for the “Stats”, and there are visitors from all over the map. The “Stats” also provides the administrator with some interesting facts about the blog, like the audience source, most read post and the traffic source. “Farmville” is an all-time hit, the most read post, but there is convincing number of hits on other posts too. Getting complements from people encourages you to write more and more. It feels very nice when people value your suggestions and take it as a word of advice. One of them, an aspiring blogger asked, “What do I write on my blog?” I answered, “Write what you feel”. Yes, and that’s the truth, one of my friends, my old roommate has flooded his blog, either with technical posts or posts on “love”. This is because he is either on phone, talking to one of his many so called “just friends” or he is busy with his routine technical stuff. Today his blog is one of the most read, he lives life like a “Prince”.

Recently, I came into contact with one of my schoolmate. I have been talking to her a bit more than I do to others. So, people around me in hostel and on Internet, have become quite suspicious of me. Since, I had discussed the same with some of my friends, hence one of them asked me to write a blog post on “love”. I told him that I could not do so, since I love writing on topics I pursue interest in or have acumen for. Since, I have never fallen in love so writing on such an abstract topic would be impossible for me. And truly speaking, the topic seems to be limited, I mean you don’t have much to write. You will probably agree on the same view, until you have seen my dear friend Dexter's blog. He has written some 6 or 7 posts on love. It’s not like that I haven’t tried it yet, but it’s been difficult for me to write even two paragraphs. On the other hand, he has been writing versions of the same post, “An open Declaration of love”. I wonder how he finds description in there. I simply can’t, but sooner or later a time comes, when you start feeling it. Dear reader, don’t get excited and keep reading and don’t ever ping me or comment below the post, asking her name. Mind it!!! By the way, you will do justice to the post if you consider my affair to be absolutely one-sided.

A Football Match

Sounds like another home assignment to a 6th class student, I know that’s what you must be thinking of. Being an Indian, I do not expect more than that from an Indian. A football game is limited just to his fantasies and fake essays and stories where he himself chooses which side to win. But here it’s none of those fake essays that you might be thinking of.

Recently I got a lifetime opportunity to watch the National team playing a friendly match against Yemen in the Balewadi Sports Complex, Pune. I could not afford to miss this one. Match was scheduled at 7:00 pm on 13th of October. We reached there in time, got ourselves tickets (Rs. 300, the most expensive available). There was a different entry for people with different tickets. There was a board which asked people with 300 wala ticket to enter. We entered and took the stairs which went upwards to the top of stands. I was left a bit behind, when one of my friends, who had already reached the top, came back and held me tight and told me that I was about to witness something which will leave me spellbound. So, I got an idea, that I was going to confront something stupendous and sensual, I didn’t want to ruin the moment. I took a deep breath before I could grasp that scene into myself. As I stepped further, I could see floodlights flooding the stadium with light and making the green look bright green and red, bright red, in short it was unbelievable. My limited vocabulary hinders me from explaining the feel further. It might not sound a big deal to you, but for me it was.

The stadium on a whole appeared like a 3 year old child’s den because it was splashed with bright colors all around, but in a regular fashion. We went and accommodated ourselves in the best seats available. Since, we had the costly tickets, so the view from our seats was very much clear and we could see the whole ground in horizontal (F6 view for those who play FIFA). There was one Ghati commentator, who was trying his best on mic. In front of us we had the Yemen dug-out and beside us there were some odd 30 supporters from Yemen. Everybody was waiting for Sunil Chettri to appear on the ground, his hat-trick in the previous match against Vietnam added to his fan club. Soon both the teams came in the center with their respective flags and a FIFA flag of course. National anthem of Yemen was played followed by Indian National Anthem. Game started with Yemen supporters cheering for their team and yelling at the top of their voice, soon Indian supporters started too. Game had hardly started when Yemen hit a goal, taking a lead of 1-0. I will not go into the details, or it will not be different from the 6th class student’s homework. Apart from hits and misses, there was lot of drama, including an own goal, bookings and other stuff.

That stadium has a capacity of 20,000 and I guess the attendance was hardly even 3000. Most of the stands were empty. Had it been India vs. Kenya cricket match, I am sure the tickets would have been sold 2 days back. Indians are crazy about Cricket. World's most popular sport Soccer is not much preferred in most parts of the country except West Bengal, Kerala, Goa, Punjab, Sikkim, Manipur, Mizoram, Meghalaya & a other few states. Quite expectedly, when FIFA.com wants its followers to name their countries all-time best football XI, not a single entry is found from our country. If we are asked to select nation's all time Cricket XI, it is blatant obvious that not less than hundreds of thousands of entries from India would jam the website. Our country has definitely produced quality footballers of highest international standard, but still the audience support is missing. Even that day, as always the crowd was part of the supposedly rich “yo” and “dude” generation (the ones you see in “youngistan” and “fastrack” advertisements).

Is it so, that football is considered a poor man’s game since it requires such limited infrastructure that you can start playing anywhere and anytime. The entire professional kit, shin-guard , socks and shoes would cost not more than 2-3 k, on the other hand the cost of a good bat alone surpasses everything that is required in football. But Indians(read people in the sub-continent) usually have the tendency to buck worldwide trends, here mostly it’s the street urchins playing cricket, almost always with a rubber ball while a piece of wood from a broken down piece of furniture serves as the bat. There is no luxury of wickets and a bunch of items usually serve as a replacement for the batsman’s wicket, a two wheeler perhaps , an abandoned wall sometimes, unused bricks from construction site or on many occasions the stump of a tree(mostly in the countryside). As for the bowler’s wicket a chappal or a piece of stone usually does the trick.

I can think of several possible reasons why this is so, but all of them appear as weak and lacking in evidence as the next one. One may also say that Indians as a whole tend to be less sporting and prefer to hide their bodies under tons of clothing and sit inside a house. This is partly true as our Olympic record till date shows, but there’s no reason it should apply to Football in particular. Most of the Arabian countries share our passion when it comes to hiding your body under clothes and not participating in sports but they still have good Football teams none the less. Then there are the usual accusations about Cricket being a lazy man’s game (a game where Tea is served in between sessions!!) and how no other country plays it, but people obviously choose to overlook Golf in this argument (The laziest game in the world, which also happens to waste a lot of precious real estate), which in-spite of it’s lethargy is quite popular worldwide. So no reasons seems to satisfy enough, if you have any please do mention below.

I think that I can easily categorize football fans in India into three categories, one “The true blue fans”,  two “The wannabes” and three “The don’t cares”. People who belong to the first category, like one in the picture on the right regularly follow football, whether it’s local, international or club and at times may have played themselves. The “wannabes” wake up to football during times like these and watch the game because everyone else is watching it, their knowledge of footballing talent is usually limited to well-known names like “Messi”, “Rooney” or “Ronaldo” which they like to profess to others by wearing cool t-shirts. There is also the desperate need to appear “cooler” than the guy next door who only knows about the “desi” cricket and it’s other “desi” avatars. Then there’s the last category who would happily watch a Bangladesh-Pakistan encounter during the world cup finals, these are the die-hard cricket fans whose hatred arouses when he comes to know of the fact that no one bothers to report news about the Santosh Trophy when the World cup is going on.

Things like these intrigue me and convince me that the lack of popularity of football has in fact nothing to do with any of the things listed above and has in fact more to do with the fact that cricket in India is subjected to the grants and donations of a benevolent organization like the Government of India and soccer is not. The condition of buses to take the two teams back to their hotels after the match, said a lot about the arrangements made for the team. I bet I travel in a better bus than that one carrying the players. After a good finish in the Commonwealth Games, I hope that Govt of India should concentrate more on sports(other than cricket) and its players rather than flooding out money to corrupt people like Kalmadi. 

How long cricket dominates other sports is a question only time can answer. Hopefully the beautiful game(soccer) will indeed take its roots in India.

What an idea, Godji!

“What’s your take on Ayodhya verdict?” pinged me one of my juniors on Facebook chat. I went blank and could not think of a sensible answer instantaneously, so by the time I could make up an answer, I asked him the same question back. He seemed to be satisfied with what the three bench judge had passed. I thought after the verdict came, it would be over, but to my surprise the whole blogosphere was flooded with reviews on the verdict. Bloggers are busy making passionate calls for maintaining peace and harmony, the whole of cyberspace is flooded with tweets and blogs for peace within minutes after the long awaited Ayodhya verdict. I know I am doing the same but it’s just a written matter that is not related but written by one man and hence united.

In my opinion, this verdict was a test of religious tolerance. The judgment seems to have been decided in favor of Hindus and Muslims praying together, which is the hallmark of our composite culture. It seems judges have gone the extra-mile in trying to settle the case and also come up with a workable formula where no side gets absolutely heartbroken or feeling that there is any sort of injustice with them.  Sincere thanks to the public who themselves want to come out of the shackles of communal riots which have taken a lot of lives by now. Some say judges made a “diplomatic” judgment, where no one lost and no one won.

TV channels are making the scene worse. I have been avoiding watching news channels, but does it help. No!!! I think the noise decibels were getting to me. Does shouting out the news or questions/ comments make everything more credible? Most news anchors certainly seem to think so. Both TV and print media simply try to make the conditions worse by arousing the emotions. Like the next day TOI said, two parts went to Hindus and one to Muslims. It could have been presented a different way too. It is not expected of them. I wonder why they try to play tricks and give a wrong view to the public. A Newspaper reflects society and hence is expected not to misinterpret the verdict. No harm with that as long as the people remain peaceful. I hope that all sorts of media live up to our expectations.

Whatever be the restriction imposed by the authorities, the virtual world literally experienced the meaning of “freedom of expression”. They had no reservation in mocking and making fun of politicians, media and even the judiciary. Interesting, most of the blogs were spreading peace and harmony rather than hatred. One of the bloggers declares IIPM to be the rightful owners of the land. The blog mentions IIPM to own the land much before Mughals invaded India , forget Britishers, further mentions IIPM’s legacy to date back to days of Nalanda-Taxila and affirms to possess banner-ads as proofs. Funny, ain’t it? Some guarantee a better judgment than three of our esteemed qualified judges, they recommend a hospital to be made in lieu of mandir or masjid, which will serve the general public without any sort of discrimination. I liked a suggestion, which I would like to share with you. It was building of a structure which is probably visited by every sect in India, be it a Hindu or a Muslim. It is like every other religious place, where the respective religion is practiced. But it pertains to a religion which is followed unanimously by every Indian citizen. So, the religion I am talking about is cricket, and its temple is cricket stadium. It doesn’t sound feasible as the place of contention holds a lot of religious significance.

It’s time to stop acting like fools, and think like a human, a responsible citizen, for the prosperity and development of the nation. Let no one be compelled to prove his/her patriotism alone. Why should a single community suffer when all pay the same taxes, when all are governed by the same institution. It was one of the most awaited judgments in known history. Though people are satisfied with the verdict, but the fact that this dispute has invoked unprecedented frenzy and passion in the past, it was expected that no judgment can completely satisfy any of the sides. Everyone should hope that the issue is over. This, our motherland, gives equal shelter to people speaking different languages and following different faiths. After all, Ayodhya means “a place of no war”, and hence another bloodshed or conflict over the issue in future is not expected.

Before I Graduate

One sided love, silent mode mobiles, bus stand comedies, gatherings at BABA, walk on the MG road (AIT) to catch a glimpse of 'her', those embarrassing defeats in lan games, night long Aakriti practices, crossing fence, the height of water tank, bribing Rodrigues, sleep on roof after cut outs, canteen foods, escape from lectures, birthday treats, last minute preparation, night long bakar sessions, random plans to trip to Lonavala Khandala Lavassa Singhad, wait for the torrents of the new episode, feel of being an Indian when people go crazy in world cup matches in Raman Theatre, group studies when a single book is split into 6 pieces unit-wise, taking away attendance registers from teacher's drawer to increase your friend's attendace to save him from fine, taking 2 hours to sip that 500 ml packet of milk in front of the girls' volley court, overnight study for next day exam, late submissions, term work problem, waiting for 14^th February, crazy trips in search of food at 2 in the morning, standing in a queue in front of registrar office for forms, shortage of pocket money and attendance, will all become things of past.

The college experience flies by so fast that we’re often stuck standing in line for graduation wondering where the past four years went. One vaguely remembers meeting his best friend when he held your back after your first daru party and you kinda remember that all-nighter you pulled to get 3 term papers done in one night. And the rest is all a blur of arbit parties, walks of shame, and begging your friends for money.

Before one realises it, he’s out in the real world, working a real job alongside real people, wondering what happened to no-class Saturday and OMR at Mayur and I know very well that it ain’t fun.

It gets pretty easy to get caught up in it all and unfortunately we forget to be young and crazy. That’s why, with only a little time to go until we hit the pass out parade, I’ve put together the ultimate list of everything that a fun-loving and fearless man, should accomplish before he or she graduates.

1. Do an illegal drug :- You spin my head right round, right round. When you go down, when you go down down !

2. Confront a fear :- Doesn’t matter if it’s a fear of heights or a fear of ragging, figure out a way to face it head on just once.

3. Apologize to someone you were mean to in school or college :- A quick Facebook message apology will brighten his/her day. You have seen my doing so, believe me it feels good.

4. Make a real girl friend who is really just a friend :- Let me be clear, it should be like as you don’t want to ever see her naked and she doesn’t ever want to see you naked. No points if you’re related.

5. Get a job :- Something very essential. To unplaced friends, I want to you to be positive. You weren't hired doesn't mean that you weren't qualified. It was not your loss, it was their loss, that they missed you. It's impossible to know why exactly employers choose one candidate over another.

6. Figure out what kind of drink you actually like :- Guys, life is beyond Mayur. You should be so mature and adult that you can tell your date, why you prefer one over another.

7. Take a road trip with friends :-The destination doesn’t matter. Nothing brings friends closer than an endless road trip.

8. Try an exotic food you can’t pronounce :- I don't have an explanation as to why did I include this in the list. But recently I had gone to a restaurant, “Marakkese”, and this name made me include this in the list. Please comment below in case you know of any such exotic dish.

9. See a band show :- I am not talking of usual band performances that almost every AITian must have seen. I am talking here for something big, some known band.

10. Go 24 hours media-free :- Try this, the most difficult thing to do. That means turn off your cell phone and shut down your computer. With the exception of getting tagged in photos of nude children, that you can’t de-tag right away because one of your friends has done it, you won’t miss anything.

11. Run for a cause :- You’ll have an awesome time and feel really, really good about yourself. Do it, after a 12 hour nap, of course.

12. Learn to manage your own money:- It will make that transition into real life and make it smoother.

13. Take your parents out, probably for a nice dinner, because they deserve it.

14. Start a blog about your life and update it regularly :- Sure it seems self-centred now, but you’ll be grateful ten years from now when you can reflect on your life when you were really living it up.

15. Learn to drive :- This is the easiest in the list, I guess and most of us already have already accomplished it.

16. Donate blood :- There were only 15 in the list, but this was suggested by one my my close friends. AITans very well know the reason, but its a humble appeal to all reading this blog post, donate but do not get caught in any awkward posing photograph, but in case you get caught, please do not let your friends analyse the photograph, and if they do so, please stop them from editing it and make some weird marks on it. Till now it was acceptable, you still are safe, but please stop that daring guy from uploading it on some social networking site, because my dear friend after a while you are about to get hurt very bad. For those who don't know what I am talking about, that is a long story, could eat up the whole blog post. But dear readers, If you think donating is scary, imagine being the person who needs it during a blood shortage.

I myself can boast of completing 11 of them, eagerly waiting for my first salary, to take parents out for a dinner. Haven’t run a marathon yet, going media-free seems impossible and there are some others in the list too, yet incomplete. I would love, if people respond by sending their scores.

P.S :: Dear readers please feel free to add to the list, I know many things are left that one should accomplish at least once before graduating. Comment below and I would add it to the list, if it is worth it. This blog post seems incomplete and yes it is. But sincere thanks to all those who contributed to this post. Many were approached, but few turned up for help. If Sood can help, so can 'you'. :P

Thank you...

7 Mistakes

My blog is one year old today....and even me.
I am no longer a kid. I have matured.

I have learned more this year about websites, blogs and the INTERNET than I ever thought I would want to learn. Lots of what I have learned, I have learned through my mistakes. Some of what I have learned, I have learned from other people's mistakes. Got opportunities to contribute to some technical blogs as well. For this post, I got some help from few of my favorite bloggers. So, as I start my second year of blogging, here I present few common stupid mistakes Bloggers make in their First Year:

1 – Apologizing for not writing:- Either create a posting schedule and stick with it, or decide to write when you feel like it and do that. But don’t go into the land of wishy-washy and spend the first paragraph of each post apologizing for not writing in days. No one cares all that much. Because most of the blogs have only one reader, "The writer itself". Just write. An apology says, “I’ve already messed up bad.” Your readers rely on you to entertain them in some way. Don’t let them down!

2 – Checking your stats hourly:- Here is the deal. Stats are a good barometer for some things. Especially if you have a clear-thinking mind. Or if you are approaching your blog experimentally and viewing your stats with a marketer's mindset. But if you are mindlessly checking stats all the time, looking at the counter, then it's time to step away from the computer. Go play with your pet in the garden. If you want people to read your blog you have to be out there participating and contributing to your own blog regularly.

3 – Looking for rescue:- Desperation shows. I read something about Google page ranking, and learnt that the rank of your page goes high if you have got links of other web pages on it. If you are working too hard to get links and recognition, its in vain. Bloggers don’t rescue. They are way too busy. Bloggers are a motivated remarkable bunch of people trying to help and entertain their readers! If you get linked, it’s probably because you have written something good. And then, you have to keep continue writing good.

4 – Comparing yourself to six-figure bloggers:- “One of my biggest mistakes in blogging has been quitting and changing.” Throughout the year there's been a swing in my mood about changing the name of my blog from "Nitishonomics" or "Integratoronomics", trying to copy "Swaminomics" of TOI. Finally, I had to settle with this one, that too copied.

5 – Over-thinking your posts:- Over-thinking a post has got to be like burning the cookies. They still have a sweet taste, but it sure is tough to chew on. Some of the best posts I have written have been completed in one flow without wasting much time.

6 – Under-thinking your posts:- But I am also a big fan of editing and taking extra minutes to re-write. (I spend hours on posts when I am passionate about them. But that’s my personal approach to blogging. And I love doing it!). Though it contradicts with the upper one, but try avoiding both of them.

7 – Last but not the least :- I came to know of this one from one of my best friends, that before you start composing, try reading the minds of your readers(in case, there are any), frame posts that might generate a substantial amount of interest in them. My last post on corruption proved to be complete failure, it was so boring, even one of my analyst could not read it in one go.

So, I guess I am committing the same mistake again, that is the current post is also getting lengthy as usual. Hence let me wind up saying that if you are a blogger, feel free to share your own mistakes! (And if you’re not a blogger, well, you can still share some of your mistakes, too.)...Thank you!