maggi

There's just something about maggi. No, she's not a girl. No, i've not bought a pet and named her maggi. maggi is maggi, yes. the 2 minute noodles that everyone is so ga-ga about.
whats so special in it ?

well, for boys nothing much . but there's just something about maggi. Its the Ultimate Universal liking of every girl.. the 2 minute noodles are just their liking. Now only god know why. and thats what interests me. You think its a stupid generalisation, ask the ones you are courting or wanting to court. do they like maggi ? Mostly they DO.

i mean how can 'maida', something not too good for the stomach, combined with some 'masala' be the liking of majority of girls ? even the health conscious ones. now the people who're reading this think its a joke. but believe me, if there's a way to women's heart, maggi is one of them . definately.

they fantasize, they dream and they like it. what they fantasize ? some with vegetables, some fried, some with omlette and all kind of experiments .. and when things go wrong, they love it plain too ..

some fantasize making it at late hours, with romance in their eyes. some think about making new languages to describe recipe's of maggi. some share it with their loved ones, some dream of it. they just have a fetish. and thats maggi.
there's just something about maggi. and i dont know why .

the final countdown....

The final week of the college (assuming final exams turn out to be a smooth affair) is turning out to be really unexpected, to say the least. have way down, we've had some nice suprises after the disaster of Open House held on saturday .. (thats a personal thing, so no more discussions)
now then, we get to know the busy schedule ahead.... Monday is the usual day having 1 or 2 classes where arun 'maaroes' some senti to make a point.

Trying to make us remember the bond we share with teachers and more blah blah about respect and not to say bad about them (which is definately true, but being truthful has never and will never be wrong). This makes me think about the 'political correctness' and praising everyone and not saying true things despite you feel that (just for the sake of getting more promotions or more people start liking you or all the things) they call that being practical .. yes .. that is .. being true may not make you rise high but remind you that you never bent low for petty rises in life.... thats what a leader is supposed to do cause when the opportunity beckons, the true will jump higher than the sycophant followers....

anyways philosophy later, its more about the final countdown .. well wednesday comes and so does the final departmental farewell, which is a sweet suprize, with a sweet saying written specially for us on the blackboard (reminds of the school rite ). then teachers inviting us for a snack with them and casual discussion over the cup of tea.. ... then comes a classroom discussion with a beautiful message by the teachers about the 'start' of the new phase of life .... a career and really an optimistism injection which everyone would never forget ...

then comes the dinner at director's house, a special treat by the college (imagine a govt. college with all the bureaucracy all the four years to get a single rupee holding out a lavish dinner for the final yearites as a farewell gift.... something totally unexpected and something really sweet)
such acts of exuberance shows the love the authorities want to imbibe in us for the college and rightly so... they deserve it..

apart from the technical glitches, the poor interaction and a wide gap between the students and teachers, the college has helped everyone learn a lesson or two.
those who wanted achievement got it. those which wanted acceptance among peers, too got theirs. people got what they wanted, be it friends, love, job, power, money (ahh yes, people got that too, by hook or crook or by winning some big competitions) and for more philosophical guys like me, learning... yes .. i got my share of learning about the world and how it is designed and how it works and how to live ....

so, there is something everyone got from the college. the final acts just remind of that and wake you up to say, start loving it ... now its the time what you can do for the college .. so dont forget it .......

confessions of a candid conservative

well, i managed to get an yearly diary of a conservative. am chronologically placing the facts i found interesting.

pre 1990's
Courtesans exist, are underground and illegal. Apart from this fact, i am pretty happy about the human relations and society. Cinema is not a bad thing, after all. (Though some movies showing women in jazzy clothes disgusts me.) The ills of society are the western thoughts coming in the minds of people which considers smoking and liquor is a part of life. For the west it is, being a cold place to live, but india is tropical. No requirement of alchohol for heat or cigar for the feeling of high. I dont think the movements will stand the cultural strength of india. Its ram-bhumi after all.

1990-1995
Education for all is an important thing. I believe its imperative for girls too to learn as much as they want to. (though i am confused what good is education to a woman who will marry a young boy and stay a housewife.. ahh yes. Women are great teachers for kids, too). they have proved alchohol and cigarette are both bad for health, so people may start avoiding it in due course. They say economy should be opened and foriegners be allowed. am really bamboozled by that. why did gandhiji remove foriegners in the first place ? had at that time they thought that foriegners are good for economy, india would not have been so great as it is today. the most proud thing india has is its culture, its people and unity. no foriegner should come and affect us again. SAY NO TO any foriegn material. swadesi banao, swadesi khao...

1995-1999
well, these years have seen an exponential increase in western clothing for youngsters. i dont understand how people wear things like jeans. i am disgusted after seeing kuch kuch hota hai and other adventurous movies. Cinema is bad. This concept of making friends between boys and girls is experimental, but not immoral. but clearly this movie has struck every rich kid to find a partner and have an affair. That someday will not lead to moral results, though. i hope the indian values are taught to these kids studying in private, metro colleges and stop experimenting with relationships in teenages. The hot topic of discussion in kitty-parties and social clubs are gossips of girls found walking with a boy or talking with them.

One thing thats good is, the flourish of newspapers and media, which is helping every individual to know, reason and decide.

2000-2005
as i had dreaded, there has been a flourish of rapes, acid-attacks and injustice to the women because of this 'westernisation' of the minds. news channels and media just reports these things everyday. insecurity is eroding more indian values as more and more women wish to support themselves with a partner who can take care of her needs as well as prevent other guy's eyes on her. Discos, too share a hand in degrading youngsters. The boy-girl 'affair' thingy has slowly accrued into middle class (from the richer people), into the other urban cities an schools, apart from metros, and most importantly, into younger brains. immature youngsters in their 13's and 14's have started actively wooing girls (which are more immature and just started with puberty). I am shocked about the advent of MMS and cheap availability of porn, which is degrading values faster than global warming. Fights over girls are common in middle and rich class people with power, though the hot topic for discussion between aunties is not which girl was seen roaming around in the market, but that which girl was seen coming out of a guy's bedroom.

The economy of our country is seemingly increasing,too. more people are becoming rich and choice is increasing. however, i sense a shift in jobs, rather than creation of it. the clerks and 'babus' haven given way to call-centre employees.

2005-2008
Our country is looking brighter in terms of quality of life and i guess globalisation has helped. opening up of the economy in 1991 wasnt a bad idea, after all. Cities have started with movement of no-smoking and ambumani ramadoss, deserves a mention because of his strict stand against smoking. education is as important as water, electricity because of the increased complexity of the business.

Just perturbs me is that great colleges have turned into sex markets (someone told me about the happenings in IIM's, IIT's etc. in which discipline and has given way to sleeping together on same beds, living-in relationships and more). School children have started shooting just like what happens in US. virginity of a girl is lost around 16 (just like britain, where the govt. has urged schools to prevent abortions). india is going the wrong way, yes, but there is no check (atleast western govt. are preventing future cases to happen) ... in the name of freedom, people are leading towards self-destruction. Further, the advent of youngsters in pubs has led to increased drug-addiction.

2009
Moral standards have been decimated. alchohol, drugs and cigarettes are the lifelines of the massive young generation india boasts of. Marriage is no longer required, nor any social bond between youngsters. The middle and rich class have become india, while the poor are still 'bharat'. Bharat still has a society where ladies discuss that this girl was seen walking with a guy, where people mock but in a way care for the society. India is a personal secretive place, where sex is just like money or power, a barter. Bharat still has brothers fighting with the girl's boyfriend to not come near her, but india has brother of the girl wooing the boyfriend's sister for a one-night-stand. marriages end in a week if the guy is unable to satisfy the girl (does anyone remember their parents which are bonded till date, despite all odds, despite differences, they still stand strong, and probably better).

The gurus of globalisation have failed and its proved that all this free market thing is a bull-shit. with western countries thinking of protectionism, indian dogs still wag about their tails waiting for Foriegn investors to come back and give them glory, just like a courtesan waits every night for her customer. if the 'goras' can learn from india, why cant india learn from itself ???? is it necessary india has to learn from the F'ing west ?? they've done so for 2 generations, but to no greatness, apart from freedom .. waht ?? freedom of doing what ?? wearing inadequate clothes ?? f'ing any random chick on the road ?? killing your classmate ? marrying twice and adopting to muslim religion ??

why cant the proponents of freedom abide some rules and live like his/her ancestors did ??
My latest worry now is that bharat doesnt think of becoming india.
Pyaasa still rules with "yeh duniya agar mil bhi jaaye to kya hai ??? " it would continue to do so !

samsara-the cycle

"There is nothing called as NEW.. things just repeat over in a cycle."
A person may find topics as new and relevant today might have been existent in the same form centuries ago, though a person may be able to experience once in his lifetime, making it new. Conan doyle's short story (1890's)on sherlock holme's cracking up a bank robbery is the exact depiction shown in the movie 'The Bank Job'. More generalistically, recession is one topic once seen in the lives of our older generations. We're lucky experiencing it in ours.

Coming over, natural disasters arent new either, though they say the intensity keeps on increasing, to which i'd argue that its not about intensity but population density that's burning in your mind. Anyways, our scriptures (there's no harm in learning good things from them, OK??) too suggest similar things. What i find intriguingly relevant in hinduism is their philosophy of 'yugs'. Kalyug, the current time is suggestive of the kind of societal values we have and believe in. Buddhism comes up with the concept of cycle-the samsara, where an individual keeps on desiring one thing after the other and the only way out of this flowchart is the 'stop' symbol-death. Muslim religion reflects the straightforward, truthful obeyance to god, without any fickleness or hypocracy. Being orthodox in these contemporary times, we expect the rules of its religion to change. Learning from the past, its the same what happened with Christianity during the renaissance. It had become too 'ruly' and systematic for a person to abide. The lesson means that whatever be the religion, its NEVER a set of rules to follow. Its should be used as a guiding light to help the individual choose when in dilemma posed by the question of YES or NO.

Though we may call ourselves to be contemporary, modern or whatever, we still have some kind of 'habits' which may lead to superstitions in our mind. We give modern names to those-OCD(obsessive compulsive disorder), a lingo for the 'older' rituals or superstitions followed by our ancestors. in those days, people killed in the name of god and now they do the same. whats changed is 'lingo'. Begging, similarly dates back to jesus's time (or caesar's time).

oh.. global warming?? thats one issue which has never happened. Well, some staticians and models may help you negate the fact, but yes, that you may call something new.. i'd prefer calling it a new mask of some old issue. compare with recession, though the causes have been always different, the result is the same. bad time to come. similarly, global warming is just a cause. for something not good. (hope i dont need to be more verbose on this, you get it.. thats all )

I cant think of more contemporary issues so i'd stop here. but the point is, there's nothing called as new. not even patents ... (more on that later)

convoluted game of acceptances, rejections and withdrawals...

A time comes in every one's life when he is disappointed for what he has worked so hard for, just like the negative of the 'conventional' camera. later does the negative get developed and then comes recognition, choice and publicity..
but this time, along with the above mentioned, comes madness.

i have tried arranging it chronologically, but believe me, everyday has been a suprise the past 2 months ....

2008
well, its a new game altogether, a game of research. research demands acknowledgment of your work through paper publications in journals and technical conferences. now, during my stay at STM, i had made a research paper, which, frankly, did not seem to me as a great work. my mentor had submitted the paper earlier, but had rejections from many places. my motive was to give a new 'look' to the paper and make it look acceptable.

i remember my initial discussions with my mentor. the work seemed incomplete and uncertain. i was then actually involved in finishing the work, testing and profiling the new algorithm suggested in the paper. a few modifications, in the understanding, also followed. anyways, the point was i was analysing and researching each and every aspect. now, the paper has had it's share of bad luck with lots of rejections from indian conferences (and international one's too).

this paper was finally complete and ready to be accepted. I, personally, wasnt sure of its fate because of a few problems (which i tried my best to cover up and conceal). anyways, it was indian conference level. that was my take.

now, this paper was sent in alwar's international conference. accepted. great boost for us. next I sent it in PEC, but due to internal knowledge of poor quality, another one was sent, while this was withdrawn. next comes selection of a modified version of this paper in amu's national conference and some bombay's international conference. okay .. cool nah !

JAN
then comes the big ones. the paper travels world and gets accepted in international conference in hongkong (conf. names withdrawn, due to google). 5 days later, when i was making mind of visiting HK, comes another suprise that it got selected for thailand conference, the same which had rejected it earlier.. persistence, luck or god? whatever. ... things are good.

FEB
after withdrawals from earlier ones, comes IETE journal suprise that 1 person had liked it and it may be published there. also, a better conference, CNSR, accepts it.
baaki har jaga se withdraw karke, now CNSR is final .. the work gets uploaded on iee digital library. what else is needed??

in the midst of it, i was going berserk... mad. how to make yourself completely mad?? comes, ieee ka journal's partial acceptance..... god knows what will happen the next 2 days...

June:::
the end of this game has been that we cancelled cnsr and did not get through in consumer electronics journal ... be greedy and get nothing ! ..

single ... and loving it

well, its the first time am writing bout my personal life on a public blog, but as most people who know me, know, that i am single... oft am been seen talking about this topic but seldom would someone understand that despite jokes, i am single and just loving it....

the joy of being single is deep inside.. while the external environment and moody neurons tempts to pick up the apple, its just self-restraint to the rescue..
here are some positive sensible things for the guys and gals feeling low on being single:::

1)Independance, democracy and freedom: a partner hampers your right to all the 3 things mentioned in some way or the other.

2)Give and take: believe me, a relation is a give and take thing(unless one of the partners is so stupid and idealistic.) IF YOU ARE just a little SELF-Centred(and i bet everyone is the one who does believe he isnt, is fickle), you'll end up sucking in it or making a compromise, which you may regret someday in life. so forget it dudes ..

3)tension,tension : oh she must have messaged ... her call .. i have to pick her up and drop her. her dog has died ... need i say more ????

4)okay u think you get chance to flirt, roam around and do fun things in your free time?
the catch is that people not in a relation feel desperate in their free time while those in one, realize that they need to free their minds from the thoughts which occupy the mind of a person in a relationship the whole 24 hours.

5) health, financial and lot of scientific hazards you get exposed to:
more of time on the mobile is fatal to the brain. it decelerates your learning process.(now you wonder why single people are smarter and more cash rich than you ?? )

stupid american studies (lack of projects in america is a reason for such studies, more on this later)
suggest that fucking a girl is directly linked to dissatisfaction in an individual. more you fuck, more you are dissatisfied with your life (which means more the probability of you committing suicide if that thought ever creeps into your mind.)

a person in a relation reading this still thinks he is not prone to any of these needs to look into the mirror and face the reality.

those who are single, just love this time cause life wont offer you this opportunity again. its great to be single, so just dont let your senses rule your mind and make a drastic mistake...

wooo-hooo

ok .. this is a very general topic.... but i'll start with the basics ..
things to do to grab her attention :::
first of all, its a tricky and exact science, this process of courting a girl. no matter how much you may practice, you are bound to make mistakes . its how you can cover and get things for your advantage.

1) praise, praise and lots more praise (be subtle in words, though)
most guys know this .. but commit the error here. telling a girl you are sexy is no praise. its a clear indication that you are trying desperate attempts at gettin it. the secret lies in not in this flirty praising, but being really specific and intelligent while using this.

2)making the girl laugh ..
we are not dealing with raunchy jokes that might be great sitting with friends, nor poor jokes happening in everyday lives. we are looking for something really universal, one liners (cause the shorter, the more easily they understand) or something applicable to the occasion. here, being impromptu is the best thing, if its your piece of art. well, this one is easy, but some thinking to what kind of thing the other person may like would be useful.

3) getting to know her friends
the best way to a woman's heart is through people who know her. behaving great with her good friends helps you in times of distress and we've seen lots of movies to support this thing. no details..

4)suprize, suprize.
every girl likes suprizes. playing on fear (this doesnt mean playing a prank. here you realise the girl that there she is misunderstanding you), adventure and unexpectedness does wonders and fast-tracks relationships. this doesnt imply using this trick often, but suprise is the best way to rejuvenate or kindle up relations.
a piece of caution is that though there may be some rebellion observed on the face, but the more intense the feelings, the more you'll succeed.

5) when there is nothing for the girl to talk about, this is the BEST time.
this is the climax usually. when the girl has done her share of talking and then things turn towards you. this is the time. make her feel comfortable and ask her deep stuff. compared to boys, the girls know their limitations, there strengths n weaknesses and you just have to pay attention to the details. deep-talk really clarifies and gives an opportunity for the girl to think about you. and when things come to you, depending on the girl, you have the choice of being cocky or just carefully using similarities to your advantage.

6) emotion...
once the girl asks any kind of emotional support from you, THIS IS THE TIME. people have found their long-time loves by just lending a shoulder. and this it the best way you can show your love and care for the girl.. so its a tried and tested formula, too. end topic.

7) be a good listener and never start off with your stories (no matter how hard it seems)

what else, have forgotten many things while writing this, but anyways,
things like attitude, carrying yourself, mentality of the girl(some are just too immature to realise your love), confidence, where you look (ya .. that is a major turn off sometimes) are really important when you are seeing.... but everyone knows that ..rite???

its really important to :::

be slow (yes, if you are in love, you can wait),
lookout for hints,
never fight a lost battle
and dont randomly try any girl (which sometimes may end up using you for her benefit)

most importantly, for the lovers and one's who would be in love soon,
i'd say::
"agar kissi afsane ko anjaam dena ho naamumkin, to usse khoobsurat mod par chodd jaana"
dont lose heart, cause the author has lost many battles but is still full in confidence ... lol ..