Notice

Alright, this is rather late, but I haven't been posting at all since Jan '06, since I started a new blog . So if you've been coming here wondering what ever happened, sorry for the lack of a head's up.

Why I dislike Newswagon

This post is partially a reply to someone who asked 'What else could you expect from NW?'
I treat NW as a single entity, without targetting individual members.

The mandate of Newswagon (NW) is unclear. I checked on the NITK website, their page hasn't been modified even once. So presumably from the title of this club, I'll assume they are responsible with bringing out the news on campus.

NW is probably supposed to be the NITK's press club, bringing the latest news and happenings of campus life to the students, as well as talking about the latest buzz and moods, people's opinion etc.

So why do I dislike it?

• It isn't news. It comes out once a month at best. So most of the information is outdated. In any case the content is more of an exercise in condescencion than in portraying 'news'.
• It tries to be funny, rarely ( but not never) being successful.
  
• It relies on gossip to hold it together. Indeed, NW editions are like chocolate chip icecreams we get in the mess. Most of it is plain old vanilla: nothing exciting, the very basic and mundane variety available, generally last-preference stuff. The news on who's dating who or whatever are like the choco-chips, which makes it suddenly interesting for people to read. Remove the chips, and youjust have plain vanilla.
• It refuses to be direct. NW somehow refuses to call a 'soil-relocation device' a spade. I mean, why the secrecy necessary? To protect someone? If it's so sensitive then it probably shouldn't be mentioned.

I can understand gossip is news too, and it has to be a part of NW. However the rest doesn't need to be plain old vanilla. I also understand that a lot of events in our college are not that great, someare downright shoddy, but how far will pooh-poohing these events get anyone. I've never heard anything positive from NW, about what should be done ( Usually all you'll find is one wise-crack per event mentioned).

I think once upon a time NW managed to be humourous when reporting on events. The present NW is trying to be the same, instead of inventing their own style.

The NW recruitments consist of essays and stories. I have never seen a single worthwhile essay put up by NW on the walls of NITK. You'll find some essays and stories in the Vitruvian, but that still has nothing to do with NW. So then what is NW trying to prove by holding such recruitments? Clearly it has a grand literary image of itself, however it never gets down to putting it on paper. Humour and sarcasm are not the end all and be all of writing skills.

NW might say nothing worthwhile happens in college to write about. So it's not their fault. Strange, most of their members are part of some club or the other. So their own club events are ridiculed. Another point is that lots of things are going on in college, that can be written about. Very few people are aware about the grade conversion and transcript situation and its relevance. Students are not aware about internship opportunities. The fact that the STEP area was merrily ravaged for a naturopathy centre was mentioned in passing. NW prefers to be a ticker tape of what took place with a pinch of condescension that the 'literati' tend to possess. Was there an article that asked students their opinion? Did NW try and rouse any sentiments, even if it meant that students would forget in a while, at least that few minutes of outrage? That's what good writing is about, that's journalism, that what it means to be smart and aware of things around you. Has NW put up an article explaining about who and why we have to thank for the net connection, as well as why its so unbearably slow at times, and what people can do to make it faster? Or will NW just pass some wise-crack about the whole thing?

What? No one takes NW seriously? Of course not, NW doesn't take itself seriously! Its true, NW is supposed to be fun, but that doesn't mean its all fun and games. I don't make a claim that NW should stop making fun of poorly-handled events, that no one is interested in who's dating who and all, but why on earth does it limit itself to that?

I honestly believe NW can re-invent itself, depending on what vision it has for itself, or maybe merely trying to achieve the vision it had for so long.

The intention is merely to serve as a kind of wake-up call... I don't expect any response from NW, but sincerely hope it does include some more positive and useful writing than what it currently features.

Myopia

Now, I've ranted about my dear college , which recently regained its prestigious position in India Today's top ten engineering colleges. Hurrah. If you remember, we are up there cos of our placements.

So here's my tryst with what makes my college a sought after destination.

I had decided to sit for core companies only. Which translated to Bajaj Auto being the first company I was looking at. They sucked. They corrected our test papers by re-circulating the answer sheets amongst those present and rcalled out the answers. They were the pits, and I wasn't interested in working for a company that doesn't care how i hires its future.

So anyway, I wasn't selected, and the next day I sit for TATA motors. Now this is the dream company for mech, provided GE doesnt hire (and they didn't). They have this online test and it was hard. Managed to get through, did well relatively. Then they had a Group Discussion in which I hardly said much, still got through. Then two rounds of interview.

Wait, I didn't get to the second round! In the middle of the first one they realise I have myopia beyond their medical norms. So they apologize and kick me out!!!!!

I even asked them if they'd take me if I got an MTech and directly started working in a Lab. No siree, I'd never clear their medical test.

Well, to cut a long story short, there was a possibility of LASIK, so they called me back and re-did my interview and ave me the job. But it was too late, I had already made other plans as soon as they booted me the first time. Plus they said something to the effect that I could go through the remaining interviews if I intended to get it done. WTF? I can't tell you that NOW for crying out loud. Then they extended the time frame for my surgery. Great, thanks a lot guys.

So anyway I have a 'job', sort of. Just have to shine a coherent bunch of beams down into they 'ol eyeball and I get 5.3 lakhs a year. Not bad, huh? Well anyway it was a fun experience.
Especially the night after :), but that's another story.

The skies are often stormy and dark,
Our days sometimes engulfed in pain,
Yet, every cloud has a silver lining,
So, I stare up through the blinding rain.

Do they use a stopwatch?!?

Another long hard day at the Institute. I just want to rush home, but the thought of traffic sours my mood. Oh well, that's the way it is. So I take a deep breath and ride out the gates.

Pretty soon I'm going at 60 kmh, which is the limit by dear Kiney can go at. Im weaving in and out of traffic, enjoying the game of correctly predicting the best path to take, successfully avoiding the autos with UFO-level maneouvres. I'm still going, when, damn it, the signal up ahead turns red.

I turn the engine off, and coast to the white line that has a pathetic, eroded ' STOP ' painted beyond it, and beyond that an even more invisible 'zebra crossing'. I can't stand it. I'm not moving. I'm restless. Some dude on a Pulsar stops next to me. I look at him, and then at the CUTE chick behind him. We both check each other out to see if we're being checked out. It's a quick look, averted since we were so hopelessly obvious. Why do we doubt it. Why don't we admit it? We both adopt the disinterested expression. I look back at the guy, guilty. He glares.

Another guy coasts in on the other side. I pretend to ignore him. I see his head turn. I look towards him. Our eyes meet. We exchange ... The Look. That challenging expression peculiar to childish men. I stroke my kiney, silently urging it to back me up. The count down begins!

One last look at the girl, and a glimpse of the guy's fuming face.....

And we're off!! I'm on full throttle, and I'm winning. Kiney's have a faster acceleration, at least mine does, initially. However, I know they will eventually catch up, but somehow I've seen they often don't. Not everyone is a psycho like me. Anyway, the road' 's free ahead of me, and I can see the signal. It's green. I'm almost there.

The light turns yellow. OH NO!!!!! Will I make it? should I? Shit.... I slam the brakes, and stop a bit beyond the line, while the signal turns red.

What's the big idea? I mean, do they time how long it takes for a guy to travel from one signal to the next, so that when he leaves the first one, they can EXACTLY stop him at the other. This isn't one-off, I've had this happen so many times. Nowadays I try to push my bike to 65 to make it to the end of the previous green light, but no, they've estimated my speed envelope, and made DAMN sure I have to stop at every signal, wasting my speed and time.

Sheesh.

Oh well, as long as I those cute girls keep stopping next to me.....

Sadness and Sorrow

Recently in college I started watching a series called Naruto. It's a Japanese cartoon, about a kid named Naruto who wishes to become a Hokage (Ho-ka-gay, not a-j) which i think is Great Ninja or something.

The soundtrack has a beautiful song named 'Sadness and Sorrow', composed by Toshiro Masuda, who I think has done most of the first soundtrack. Its currently my favourite song. It's more a song of regret and something else I can't place, than grief. Coupled with a scene where a young Ninja dies and with that soundtrack playing I had tears in my eyes.

Thought I'd share it, is all.

Reservation Issue: My own two cents

Well a lot's been said about this.

Now, who is going to get into an IIM? If you have poor English, I don't think so. Do you think a man who has lived in a dhoti all his life in some tribe will make it through the interview without killing a few of the interviewers with laughter? Do you think an under-privileged person has the resources to be a debating champ/ basketball champ / topper all at once? Highly unlikely.

So the OBC guy who is going to be able to get through that interview is one of the elite anyway. Its just that his ancestors were backward, is all. That is why an OBC reservation to a VERY elite institute like the IIMs is meaningless.

However, it is also true that getting an IIM call is a matter of amazingly narrow margins, and landing a seat after the interview is also difficult, Thats why the OBCs are fighting for any gain the can get, and the remaining students are opposing the reservation, quite rightly. OBCs deserve help in getting into the mainstream, but not the OBCs who get through to IIMs and IITs.

I believe that 90% of people with a lot of money will do anything to hang on to it. This is what has led to the Zamindari systems and such, with greed leading to the milking of the already poor farmers, this is what you see in any big company, this is what the US is doing. Everyone uses their power to keep it, which often means suppressing others.

This fight is going to be projected as a have vs have-nots thing, but trust me, its the have's that will win. And your fellow OBCs who count amongst the haves are going to laugh all the while in IIM and IIT, and like any typical graduate from there, merely work for dollars without giving a FUCK about the really needy people. If someone really wanted to help the poor, they are doing it, poor OBC for OBC, Rich for OBC or SC or ST, whatever. The number of OBC IIM graduates has very little to do with the whole OBC's financial status, I suspect.

Another thing I'd like to point out that if a person has been given a reserved seat into an undergraduate institution, then he HAS been brought to par with the rest, just like it was intended, subject to personal hard work and all. The SC/ST get 7 books from the library, as opposed to my 3. So that guy has one book per subject. I have to buy or borrow for the remaining subjects, whatever, which I may or may not do. Who's fault is it if he can't pass the IIM test CAT, or GATE? He had the seat AND the books.
Thats why the idea that this bastard (and similarly an OBC) who is potentially as good as a non-reservation undergrad, needs reservation is preposterous. Its WRONG.

In my opinion the OBCs are now standing like beggars, this applies only to the anti-protesters. They may soon get alms, and should quietly accept the outcome ( i.e. whether the reservation gets implemented or not). If they get it, lucky them, pity for GM. If not, they're no worse off. This anti-protest thing is what converts them to the kind of beggars you don't like to see. The truly useless desperate bums who think the world owes them a living, and refuse to try and make it on their own feet.

I am sure that many jobs and opportunities are decided based on it, in the sense that a person from one community looks out for his own community, which is a kind of reservation, merit be damned. And it happens in all castes. IIM-B, looks out for its kind of upper-class yo people with a proper accent and all that. I've heard that India's leading research centers are filled with Bengali's, which is a tribute to their intelligence, however I know its easier to get in if you are a Bengali.

Tat is the gist of it. I am sorry that people are being given a reason to be divided, that instead of solving the inequalities in primary education, higher education is being tampered with, and that if the reservation comes through, you can't hate the OBCs (I am assuming this was initiated in the mind of Arjun Singh, NOT by OBCs) and its luck for them.

Sunset

So the last of my exams as a third year Btech got over today. The first thing I did with my freedom was drink some orange juice, and then head off to the beach.

Now, usually I go there at about six fifteen, walk from the entrance near the ATM all the way to the one near NITK STEP. Its great fun, walking with the waves lapping at your feet. And occasionally drenching your shorts. So by the time I walk the whole distance, I reach the entrance near STEP (and close to the girls' block, I might add) at sunset. I watch the sun go down, praying for a clear horizon so I can see the Sun hit the water... rarely happens. Then I turn back and head to the hostels, picking up some fruit from the grocers on the way.

Well, today I learnt its the time just after sunset that's the best time to be on the beach, when the sky is in various shades of blue and red, and the whole air seems to become golden or pinkish. Its that calm dusk mood, that... subdued feeling thats so nice, relaxing. Great to be with your friends too, right then. The sand looks different, the water... its simply amazing!

So from now on, I'm rescheduling my beach trips to just before sunset till a while after :). And since I'm in final year, I'll be doing that a lot!