Because I knew you, I have been changed for good.

Heres a song from the musical, Wicked. This song speaks my heart about a friend who had changed my life ...this song is dedicated to that very person ..

To this person, if you are reading this, you will know its you ...



Lyrics of the song:
I'm limited:
Just look at me –
I'm limited
And just look at you -
You can do all I couldn't do, Glinda
So now it's up to you
For both of us
Now it's up to you:

I've heard it said
That people come into our lives for a reason
Bringing something we must learn
And we are led
To those who help us most to grow
If we let them
And we help them in return
Well, I don't know if I believe that's true
But I know I'm who I am today
Because I knew you:

Like a comet pulled from orbit
As it passes a sun
Like a stream that meets a boulder
Halfway through the wood
Who can say if I've been changed for the better?
But because I knew you
I have been changed for good

It well may be
That we will never meet again
In this lifetime
So let me say before we part
So much of me
Is made of what I learned from you
You'll be with me
Like a handprint on my heart
And now whatever way our stories end
I know you have re-written mine
By being my friend:
Like a ship blown from its mooring
By a wind off the sea
Like a seed dropped by a skybird
In a distant wood
Who can say if I've been changed for the better?
But because I knew you:

Because I knew you:
I have been changed for good

And just to clear the air
I ask forgiveness
For the things I've done you blame me for

But then, I guess we know
There's blame to share

And none of it seems to matter anymore

Like a comet pulled from orbit as it passes the sun.
Like a stream the meets a boulder halfway through the wood.
Like a ship blown from its mooring by a wind off the sea.
Like a seed dropped by a bird in the wood.

Who can say if I've been changed for the better?
I do believe I have been changed for the better?

And because I knew you:
Because I knew you:
Because I knew you:
I have been changed for good.

Kaustubh - Gauri Wedding Reception Slideshow

Kaustubh - Gauri Wedding Slideshow

Create Your Own

Kaustubh Gawande & Gauri Pandit's Wedding

Indian Ocean - My Latest Love

My latest love has been Indian Ocean - the Indian fusion band. It has struck me so big that I listen to their songs literally ..when I am sitting, relaxing, studying, hanging out ..and they are truly great ...
I love the way they improvise Indian and Western music ... the nuances of it are truly mind-blowing...

Some of their best compositions according to me:
1. Bhor
2. Bandeh
3. Ma Rewa
4. Jhini
5. Kandisa

About the band:

Indian Ocean is a contemporary fusion music band from India. Some music critics describe the Indian Ocean music as "Indo-rock fusion with jazz-spiced rhythms that integrates shlokas, sufism, environmentalism, mythology and revolution".

Members:

Susmit Sen (acoustic guitar)

Susmit has virtually invented a new style of playing the guitar, an uncannily Indian sound where purity of scale reigns, strong melodic lines woven around the drone of open strings. His guitar style forms the basis of Indian Ocean's unique sound. Susmit’s personal vision is towards finding a new vocabulary for his music. His virtuoso talent never overshadows the big picture, but serves the song immaculately, strengthening it, embellishing it, giving it a distinct character.


Asheem Chakravarty (tabla, percussions & vocals)


Asheem showed his rhythmic spark at an extremely early age, amazing musicians who learnt that he never had any formal training. Indian Ocean fans call him “the man with the golden voice”. Amazingly, Asheem sings and plays the tabla simultaneously with remarkable clarity and ease, a difficult feat almost never achieved by Indian percussionists. Asheem’s rhythm structures are uniquely his own, contributing in large part to Indian Ocean’s signature sound, while the melodies he creates are wonderfully different. He loves improvising vocal lines on stage. He plays traditional Indian percussion instruments in completely innovative ways. Asheem was Brought up in an atmosphere of Indian classical, folk and other Indian forms.

Amit Kilam (drums, percussions & vocals)


Amit’s drumming is a strange balance between the conventional and non-conventional. Largely self-taught, he believes in layering rhythm rather than a heavy drum layer, since he believes in simplicity, not technical wizardry, thus becoming the backbone of the solid sound that the band has. He incorporates Indian rhythms into his drumming in a unique fashion, moving in cycles of 8, 10, 12 14, 16, rather than simple 4/4 or ¾ styles. Not a “psychotic drummer”, he goes easy on the skins, yet his playing is very dynamic. Was introduced to music at the age of 4 by his parents, learning the guitar (hawaian - Indian classical). He is an instinctive musician, picking up several instruments very easily, and he sings also. Loves listening to various kinds of music – Hindi filmi, rock, pop – favorites are A R Rahman, Trilok Gurtu and Deep Purple.

Rahul Ram (bass guitar and vocals)

His experiences as an activist/supporter with the Narmada Bachao Andolan (1990-1995) and while doing his PhD in Environmental Toxicology from Cornell University(New York) (1986-90) have strongly influenced his musical expression. Rahul’s bass playing moves smoothly – from melodic enmeshing with vocal and guitar lines to the more standard laying of foundations over which the band soars. His riveting stage presence is an essential part of Indian Ocean’s electrifying live concerts. His vocals have a raw power, an uncompromising edge that emphasizes the folk roots of the band. Rahul also ends up doing most of the talking at live shows. His experiences as an activist/supporter with the Narmada Bachao Andolan and during his four years studying in the US have exposed him to a variety of musical styles from all over India and the world, and have strongly influenced his musical expression
Bandeh by Indian Ocean

Here's a glimpse of their talent .. song called "Bandeh" in the movie Black Friday which had Indian Ocean's music. Be sure to hear all the nuances of their style ...



Credits:

Images - Indian Ocean - The Official Band Website : http://www.indianoceanmusic.com/

Information - Wikipedia - Indian Ocean: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_Ocean_(band)

Punit Vora for exposing me to their wonderful talent live in concert in Urbana-Champaign.

My SFO Trip over the Spring Break

Check out the pictures. This trip was a combination of a Vacation, A Business Trip, A Leisure trip and A free trip ! ...More pictures coming soon... Venky ...give me the pics of the last day...

Rian, Saakshi - It was an awesome trip for me and I am sure for Venky too.. We had a great time and thanks to you I could combine this trip to get some important work done too ...

Thanks a lot for the amazing and yeah ..I am in love with your Toyota Prius and the SOny Bravia ...Go Sony !

I Fair 2007 - Story in Pics

International Fair 2007 happened on Feb 17, 18 in the Bone Student Center.
As every year, ISA had some amazing food to sell..much to the delight of visitors, for whom food from ISA is one big attraction...

ISA did pretty well and there was a lot of fun lot of excitement involved...

Everybody worked real hard....Here is a story in pics...

45 pics..takes about 5minutes to run...

Enjoy..

Speechless...Sleepless...Thoughtless...

I am about to leave Normal for my beloved home, aamchi Mumbai and people I have befriended for the last 22 years ! 2 hours later I will board the Charter bus for Chicago and sleep is the last thing on my mind right now...

My mind has been wandering around the streets which have seen me grow from a tiny 5yr old kid to a 21yr old about-to-explore-the-world type of a person. I have virtually walked around the whole area thanks to the amazing Wikimapia ( Wiki + Google Maps) I have been pre-living all the moments I will come across when I will strut down those memory lanes and its been a roller coaster process. Words fail me when I have to think about how it is going to be ...but 1 thing's for sure, its going to the best trip of my life.

There have been many times when I have been up at this time ( 4.37am) for assignments, work and also at times due to pure lack of sleep. There have been times I have left my home in Normal for the bus to go to Chicago and catch a flight..but nothing comes even close to what the magnitude and importance of this venture...

498 days it has taken for this feeling to come upon me and this journey has been a true odyssey. 22 years of life, friends, ups and down. This moment has captured it all...in all its true majesty..

All I can think right now is to not think about anything ..just absorb every moment as it comes ..and live it up larger than life itself...

Life doesnt get any rosier than this...

Its time to Think Mumbai, Dream Mumbai and Live Mumbai ...

Instant remembrance of one of my favorite songs...
My folks, my friends, my sweetheart and all those eagerly waiting for me ..."Here I am...on the road again...there i am...up on the stage....here i go ...being star again ..there i go ..Turn the Page !" ...

Truly its time to Turn the Page and live out the past in the present...

Fuvoo .... My Newest Passion

Folks, its been just a little while but I have been bitten by the new Fuvoo bug.
Fuvoo... never heard of it right .. I am sure you havent ..

Fuvoo is a website launched just today and you would be surprised how much you guys can relate to it already...

SO heres the ball in your court .. Fuvoo is a project I have been working on for some time with Rian ( Virtual Karma ) being the mastermind behind it.

SO what is Fuvoo, after all ?

Remember how the likes of YouTube and Google Video have suddenly created a rush of entertainment options for surfers all over the world ? Fuvoo is something that takes this one step ahead.

Fuvoo is what brings the best of everything from Google Video, YouTube, Grouper and their likes together...

Ever wondered how lost you are when searching for online videos... IF you do not know .. there are 900 years duration of videos being served up at your fingertips right now ( Correct me if I am wrong Rian ). So what are your chances that you will land up hitting the video you want ? Yeah the searches work well, but with so much of spam videos also being uploaded, the woes are getting worse.
So why not bring the best from all these sources and serve up to you, as a user, what popular demand says...Computer Geeks would call it Video Bookmarking but I would definitely want to call it "The Cream of it all..". If the user population is big enough and diverse enough..there is no reason why Fuvoo should not have some of the best videos dug up from Google Video or YouTube or etc which would otherwise never have been unearthed by you as a user.

Its like you are part of a community thats constantly working to get you access to the best of the videos available on the web. Videos that you, in your busy schedule would never have found time to uncover.

So, how about a tour of Fuvoo right away..

Head out to www.fuvoo.com , Register yourself, start viewing videos, Start uploading videos and yeah..dont forget to report the nasty ones or the ones that are no longer in action...

Feedback, as always, is boring for the writer but invaluable for the person intended for..so push in your feedback and let Fuvoo take you for a tour of Google Video, YouTube, Grouper and whatever you may know of...

First Hip Hop I Loved

The first Hip Hop song I loved..the video is pretty good too...

Try & Catch me Ridin Dirty...Would love to say this to the cops someday....;)

-- Enjoy

Niagara Falls Trip with Pooja

My recent trip to the Niagara Falls from Buffalo with my sweetheart Pooja and our biker buddies, Ojas & Prashant. Omkar being the latest addition to our team of 4. Set off from Buffalo where these guys study in SUNY Buffalo, we had the time of our lives watching one of the wonders of the world in complete awe. Every picture says a thousand words and I have 338 such pictures...So get ready for a treat of a lifetime ..

Program Manager Intern,Customer Experience Team,Expedia,Bellevue, WA --- The Journey

Thats a really long description of what I am actually going to be in the Summer of 2006 in my Internship. Well lets start from scratch.

I have been hunting for internships since a long time. The earliest I can remember is Jan first week when I started my hunt by spending probably 6 hours on perfecting my resume. Resume is perhaps the first and the only impression that can get your foot in the door of companies looking for interns. So I made my resume had all the right words at the right places that would impress a recruiter. Once through that I started applying online to companies that hire interns for summer. Sooner or later it was a case of brute force attack as it is known in the Computer Security circles. Monster.com, Craigslist were inevitable. I was applying day in and day out. No replies though. March ended and April signalled that Summer was close. Summer course registrations opened in school and I had to register for courses as I was starting to lose hope of anything happening regarding my internships. Slowly but surely my graph of mean daily applications dropped from 10-15 to about 2-3. These were signs of deteriorating inspiration and energy. Life was moving towards another unsuccessful attempt and I was looking ahead towards another semester in school. The same schedule, the assistantship work and all the rest.
And as luck would have it, my brothers employee referral in Expedia, Inc worked and I got an email from their Recruiter about Request for a Phone Interview. That was perhaps the much needed spur of inspiration. Got the email on Thursday, April 13.. I scheduled my interview for Tuesday April 18th giving me enough time to prepare for the interview. Prepared decently by talking to my brother about the expected questions and what kind of replies they expect from bright candidates. Brushed up on my projects in my undergrad and previous semesters in ISU. Tuesday arrived and the interview was scheduled for 1pm. I had been waiting impatiently since 1230pm. No call until 1.15. I started getting kind of even more impatient. Finally I get a call from a number starting 425 - thats Bellevue Washington, the Head Quarters of Expedia in US. I knew this was the chance of my life. A make or break situation. I was a little apprehensive about how the interview would go and the formal way of talking. But suprisingly, the interviewer, a female, was very very polite and sweet and made the interview more a conversation than an interview. She asked me many things about my current projects and past projects. She asked me about my interpersonal skills, conflict management etc. Towards the end, she was talking much much more than me in giving me information about the policies and procedures in Expedia. It was valuable information and more importantly, it was indication that she was enjoying talking to me. The interview lasted 45 mins and it looked like I would get a positive response for the next step. I was told I would hear from the HR by next day about what's next. I had put in my efforts and it was upto HR to decide.
Surprisingly, I heard early the next day that the interviewer enjoyed talking to me and they would like me to visit them for a series of on site interviews. So I arranged my school work and decided to fly April 22, barely 3 days after my phone interview. I was really eager to nail it as soon as possible. I flew out to Seattle on April 22 and had my Interviews scheduled for April 25, Monday. This again gave me time with my brother to brainstorm and prepare for the in-person interviews. Monday arrived with much anticipation and excitement and tinge of nervousness. The interview loop as they call it, was a round of 4 interviews back to back 1 hour each. 10-11, 11-12, 12-1, 1-2pm. This schedule seemed really heavy and intolerable. But the interviews went pretty smooth and we in fact fell short of time at the end. This was a big indication that the interviewers were enjoying talking to me. I was interviewed by officials in all cadres from a Program Manager to Group Program Manager to even the Director of Program Management in Expedia. They were really the cream of Expedia officials. I felt honored to have even got the opportunity to talk to them. It was an invaluable experience. The interviews were wrapped up by 2pm and I left for my brothers apartment feeling pretty confident of my time with them. I appeared in all for 5 interviews ( 1 over the phone and 4 on site) and its surprising and weird that all my interviewers were females and so were my recruiters. That would perhaps, after all, help in explaining why I did so well....The next day I took flight back to ISU for remainder of the Spring semester and submissions etc. I was told I would hear back from HR about how the interview went by the end of the week and their final decision.

By the time I returned home it was Tuesday evening and I was expecting the unexpected. I was ready to take any decision equally merrily although I really wanted it to work out successfully. And then the recruiter's magical email saying she wanted to talk to me in detail over the phone in the evening arrived. She did not tell me if I was selected or not. This added greatly to my impatience. But the very fact that she wanted to talk to me was an indication that I got it. Finally she called me in the evening on April 26 2006 and uttered the magical words, "Congratulations Kedar , We are pleased to select you for the Program Manager Intern position for the Summer of 2006", I hardly heard the next few things she said as I was soaring beyond all imagination. I was literally dancing and jumping around the campus much to the surprise of people around. She spoke about the offer and the other things about the contract. I just said "Yeah Yeah" as I was still beyond my senses. She understood and said "I can imagine how happy you must be , and we are happy for you too." Later she spoke about the compensation during my internship. They offered me much much more than what I was expecting. That threw me into the clouds again. I had barely got back to senses and there I was again soaring high.

My Internship starts May 22 2006 and goes 12 weeks until Aug 11 2006. I will be staying with my brother in Bellevue, Washington barely 10mins from where Expedia North America's Head Quarters are located. I am going to miss school and my friends here. Summer is perhaps the best time to be in ISU and I am going to miss that. But I am glad that I will be missing it for a greater purpose in my career and life.
Here, I would want you guys to know that people underestimate the importance of an internship.Especially for people who want to work in the US after graduation. An internship gives you the much needed corporate exposure in addition to the financial benefits. But perhaps the most important of all benefits of an internship are the prospects of the internship converting to a Full Time job in the same company. The basic purpose of companies hiring Interns and giving so many benefits is conversion to a full time job later on. This is an investment for them and getting a good fresh graduate from school who has already been ramped up to the organisation's policies and work ethics saves them a lot of time and efforts. I hope I do well during my Internship so that they can think of me to be eligible and appropriate for a full time job later on. But thats for later, right now the task ahead of me is to do the best I can in my Internship in Expedia Inc in Bellevue, Washington as a Program Manager Intern in the Customer Experience Team.

India Night 2006- A Journey to Remember

The introduction goes like.. " India Night is perhaps the most vibrant of events on campus...and gives ISA the opportunity to showcase talents in areas like singing, dancing etc.."

Yeah, thats India Night for you .. Songs, Dances, Medleys ... it's time to Disco ..

India Night 2006 happened on 8th April 2006 in Bone Student Center, Circus Room. 3 hours of music, dances, fun and frolic.

ISA's contribution to this event, except the organisation and logistics, was a 10minute Medley of Songs & Dance & a 7minute Fashion Show.

The medley include some of the most popular numbers like Dhoom Machale Dhoom, Kajra Re, Dus Bahane, Paathshala. Top top it off,as usual, ISA had the audience tasting the patriotic flavor with the song "Hindustani" from the unreleased film "Dus", the Sanjay Dutt-Mukul Anand duo blast which did not materialise.




Tip: Hold your mouse pointer over the pics to know more about them

The dances were a minute and half sequences with people hopping in and out on to the stage.

Although the dance were barely 10minute long, the practice for the dance must have gone beyond 40hours easily. Thats the way it is, some people have grown so old and unenthusiastic that they need to be pushed into participating ! So be it, this time we had a good turnout of participants.

The dances were being set by looking all over the place for videos, long lost videos being hunted down virtually from anywhere in the world ( the web makes this easy ;-) )

So the dances were set and the list was :

Dhoom Machale Dhoom : Myself, Ruchir, Dushyanth, Punit
, Vennela
Ban Than Chali : Venkat, Pranali, Akash
Paathshala : Myself, Punit, Dushyanth, Venkat
Kajra Re : Myself, Grishma, Punit
Dus Bahane : Venkat, Pranali, Akash
Hindustani : Myself, Punit, Abir, Akash, Dushyanth, Ruchir, Pranali, Grishma, Vennela

So the stage was all set and our performance was set for 7:30 pm. Prior to our performances, the South Indian dances like BharatNatyam, Kuchipudi etc were scheduled. We were worried that the crowd might lose their interest after going through a patience test like this... But there was no better way to cheer up the crowd than from our peppy numbers ..

After a long long wait of 2 hours including a 30minute delay which was even worse, we got our turn to rock the stage.

It was turn for the fashion idols of ISA to burn up the stage with traditional, western and a fusion sequence...Traditional was lighted up by the popular Karunesh number - Punjab, the western was marked by the Raaga number Dont Be Shy and the fusion sequence rocked the stage with the sizzling number "Come To Me" from Bluffmaster. Antoinette D'Souza, our very own ISA@ISU Alumni and now ISA's Faculty Advisor was our fashion designer and the choreographer too.
The diya-effect at the start lighted up the whole room and captured the audience.
It was a Fashion Show well executed with some nice sequences and some great attire.

Fashion Show Troupe: Grishma, Akash, Dushyanth, Sindhuri, Vennela, Vinay, Ruchir, Abir, Pranali, Sridevi, Zaheer and a couple of African Americans in the fusion sequence.

Once the fashion show was done, we had to collect our thoughts which were totally destroyed by the awesome splendor shown by the participants in the Fashion Show.

And finally it was time for the dance medley. The medley began and within no time it was over ! It was like a hurricane which hit the audience and before anyone could gasp a breath, it was over. Everyone had done a splendid job but there were a lot of minor goof ups too ! We enjoyed the dance and so did the audience... All we could hear were screams and screeches of "Woooooo...Ohoooo... Yeahhhhhhhhh..." and lots and lots of whistles and claps...

Punit did an awesome surprise stunt at the end of Kajra Re...by falling flat when Grishma was showing off her grace

Minor goof ups here and there but it was a terrrrrific and thoroughly enjoyable dance...

Once the dance was done , it was time for "Sparsh" the Retro band to rock some of the most remembered Bollywood numbers. Sparsh, a Chicago based Retro band was performing with a full set of sound equipment which took about 2 hours to be set up and tested. They played some really amazing music and there were we againd dancing like mad freaks in front of the stage. The band was playing and we were dancing as if we were some other dimension. For some time, we had forgotten we were in US. Sparsh had actually made us "touch" back to our Indian roots of music and dance.

By 11, we had wrap up the show and clean up the room and India Night had come to an end. The 3-4 hours had gone by in no time and we were speechless at the end as to how the evening actually went. Nobody had a clue how time flew. Alas, India Night had to end. No more practices, no more rehearsals no more of the fun that we had during practice... India Night and all of the time before that we had spent in preparing has been unforgettable and will remain to be so. Now we can look at the videos of our dances and laugh our hearts out at the goof ups, but deep within we will be remembering all the good times we had ...

Cheers to India Night Participants ...!

You can watch the videos at the following URL:
http://video.google.com/videosearch?q=india+night+2006

Or
View the Video here Itself...










-- Pics have also been uploaded to Yahoo Photos. Click on the Link below to view them

India Night 2006 Pictures

Life @ 65mph

As my last post said .. this was the dawn of the real "journey" that I was so used to...A journey that I relish, I cherish.

So it began at 830 am 24th March 2006 from my apartment. I was all set to hit the road and I was super excited about the drive. The weather was sunny and cool but enough cloud cover to keep the glare away from the roads. The initial few miles were extra cautious but as I got more and more comfortable with the car.. the feeling started to sink in..

The First Road Trip in the US ..all my myself ... nothing beats that feeling... A cult classic song instantly hits me " Nothing else Matters..". Me, my instincts and the car... It was all I needed... and of course, music had already started playing and was soothing me with every sweet beat...

The first song I played was Yun Hi Chala Chal Rahi... this sums it up when it comes to my attitude when I am driving ... Just keep going ..miles after miles .. go where the road leads you ... where the Journey itself is the destination...


For all of you who thought I was going alone on this venture .. you guys were wrong ..I had a companion with me and he was with me right through my whole journey... I had a lot of chat with him ..This was the first time I conversed with him for so long .. This individualhas been monumental in my life and perhaps the most loved. Just his presence is so exciting and lively. Meet Jazz .... my girlfriends pet male labrador. Jazz has perhaps been the key element in bringing me and Pooja together. Although I miss him like anything... almost as much I miss Pooja ..sometimes even more ..I decided to have him accompany me ...
I had a lot of complaints about Pooja to him and this was a nice time to have a nice chat.

In no time, 2 hours had passed by I was nearing my destination, my internship job interview at Oak Brook, IL. 123 miles from my home... in 2hours and 21 mins I was in their parking lot.

Time to focus on the job ahead. Quickly collected my thoughts which had wandered several thousand miles over the last 2 hours. The interview was a good one and seems a positive reply awaits me.

Once the interview was done, I headed back. I knew I would enjoy even more when I would be returning back. But there was much more in store on the way back.I was cutting through the I-55 S miles after miles .. not a bit tired or exhausted... the music kept me going .. coffee and chips were handy too.


Then came the adventure part. In no time, there was snow fall all around. It was raining really heavy and the visibility was low and blurred. I could barely see about 2-3 cars in front of me and going at 65mph it was a good idea to slow down cruise at 50 or so.

Once the snow did its bit, there was rain. Rain made its entry and it is absolutely amazing how sheer speed defies gravity when it comes to water on the windshield. And in absolutely no time my car was zoooming across the Interstate at 65mph bathing in all the sunshine.

It was such an amazing sight to see everything - all the sun, the rain and the snow... just about everything I could have wished for.


A few miles to go and the journey was to take a pause ..yes .. a pause ..this journey can never end .. just a momentary pause until I am back ..burning the rubber and living it up .. Life @ 65 mph

My First Car Rental in US

Cars, driving, long road trips ... I guess I had left all that behind in India.. Its been almost 8 months since I have gone out on a drive all by myself ... those were one of the very very special moments in my life ... the steering wheel in the hands ( or hand), sweet soothing music tantalizing my senses and wind gushing into my ears at the same time and some splendid views of nature all around ..and last but the most important ..the sweet sound of the roaring engine of the Maruti Esteem ! Oh What a Fine Sight to See !

Life was in a fast lane in India but here in US, it has certainly been slow if not almost standstill...

But the spell has finally been broken. A spell that someone must have cruelly casted on me. Finally, I have the opportunity to get my hands on to another beauty of a machine ...a 4 legged beauty with lots of attitude and style.. Thanx to the Internship Interview I have in Oak Brook on Friday at noon. More than the interview I am excited about the driving pleasure that I am going to experience.

All my driving experiences, adventures, follies and screw ups flashed in front of my eyes momentarily when I rented the Chevrolet Aveo today. Sweet memories with some of the greatest of pals of mine have suddenly become alive...

Its time to hit the road again. This is my chance to bring out the instincts within me that have long been subdued. This is my first car rental in the US and perhaps first of the many more to go...

Dont be surprised if someone zoooms by your apartment tomorrow ... it could well be me ..

Where Eagles give up ..BE IT2 takes over...

This post comes straight off from my Engineering College magazine. It was the last year of engineering and separation was inevitable. The college festival was close and the magazine was to be published soon. My HOD turns up in class and asks for someone with writing skills to write an article about the class. The experiences of the class over the past 4 years. Candid experiences expressed in the most honest of ways and words...
So there I was, a lone stander... the one to take the initiative and to take up the gauntlet to write about my class ..the class of BE IT2.

The article did appear in the magazine and people seemed to like it... at least thats what they said .. Now your turn to glance across my 4 years in engineering ..

The Article is Available Here :
http://www.pvppcsi.org/yearbook/?nBatch=12&nYear=2005
---

Life has come off a full circle and its time to look back at the most challenging yet the most enthralling 4 years of our lives. It’s a common one-liner that goes like “ An engineer is sure to have a booked seat in heaven because an engineer has already been through hell”. However true that may be, we at BE IT2 have discovered heaven amongst the so-called Hell Of a Life at Engineering. Truly, we at BE IT2 have seen it all.

Rolling back to the days in FE, there are a few things that will remain etched in our memories forever. Workshops, especially filing, engineering mechanics that scared the hell out of everyone and continues to do so for newcomers, subjects that will never add any value to our resume and a lot many things more that gave us the real taste of what engineering feels like.

Although FE was almost a non existent year with respect to stuff outside the academics and hence in true terms it was very much un-engineering-like as a typical engineering semester is 3months of attending + 1 month of submissions and vivas + 1 month of PL + 1 month of examinations But what it helped us with was that it proved to be a great pushing force for all of us towards each other.

The guys (galz included) started showing their true self only in SE. It was surprising to see the talent and the skills that a prospective engineer could possess and it amply illustrated by the wide spectrum of skills that our guys started showing. Its always said that once into engineering, do only engineering.. if you can do even that much successfully, you’ve done more than enough. But we believe in doing more...more than the norm.

But a few add on words like infamous, irresponsible that have been synonymous with us, have scarred our reputation a little. The staff and especially the professors have considered IT2 to be a shade erratic than the others at certain disciplinary matters but we, unanimously, need to say that its all been totally unintentional and just a part of some fun n frolic that we’ve tried to have. But, here its important to mention that academics have always been a forte of our class but we have proved our mettle equally in arenas like Sports, cultural activities, organizing and handling responsible positions at various events. As it is famously put, “ The strength of a man shows when he’s put in deep tumultuous waters and not when he’s relaxing by the shores”. Hence, we’ve delivered when it really mattered.
By the time TE arrived, we already had a few tremors with some of us having had to go through the shocks of an year drop and some had the nightmares of KTs which looked inevitable in a sense. Slowly, our class strength of 60 odd was shredded nearly remained to be of 40, where we stand right now in BE IT2. But wherever we stand right now, we can proudly say that we have carried not only ourselves but also those unlucky ones too, right through all the ups and downs.

The best time that we have had has to be the year of TE where we realized the strength and the unity in our class. Although we have a close kinship for some individuals we always stand as one whenever such a need has arised. The unity that IT2 has maintained right throughout, has been exemplary to say the least.
To account for the numerous special events, happenings that we have been associated with over these years, is indeed a roller coaster ride and gives us an enigma. Although it’s impossible to quote each one of them, here are some of them that come strikingly to our minds. The very first moment of great camaraderie that we can recollect has to be the class anthem that we found which befitted us, was the famous Satte pe Satta song , “ Pyaar Hume Kis Mod pe Le Aaaya..” This song really conveys the mentalities that we at IT2 had. Life in engineering is so devoid of glamsham that we were starting to get alienated to the wonderful pleasures in life. The song fittingly explained the plight that we were in. Ever since then, this song has remained to be the IT2 Class Anthem, there couldn’t have been a better one to be so. So much so that sometimes the professors got the taste of it while in lectures too…!
Guys especially have gelled together that we fondly call the IT2GANG, and it’s a heck of a group alright. Gangsters we really are, but we ain’t bullies. IT2 GANG is the lifeline of IT2... The best place you can find the hangout of IT2GANG is a bench you ask anyone in the college and you’ll get it right. Its been long christened to be the IT2 Bench.

The other striking event that we at IT2 are proud of, is our involvement and participation in the Blood Donation Camps organized annually in college. We claim to have had one of the maximum donors classwise in the year 02-03, this also illustrates that IT2 has a soft heart to go with the brains and the brauns.
IT2 has always been a trendsetter of sorts…trends for others to follow. There ain’t enough space in the magazine to count for all that IT2 has done. attITude ha? That’s where IT comes. The list of unforgettable events carries on and on and on.

However it’s been a heck of a journey of 4 years and already there’s a lull that’s setting in that such a wonderful journey has to finally end in dispersal. Soon it will be time to bid farewell to the class that added life to engineering. There couldn’t have been a better platform for us to have launched our careers from. Without the group, Engineering would have been only Engineering, a dull banal experience, it would never have been a journey… an odyssey that unfolded itself semester by semester, day by day, hour by hour, moment by moment …unfurling all that it had in store …the class brought each one of us truly alive. We’ve enjoyed so much because each one of us has made a difference to each other. This article and especially our degree should be dedicated to our camaraderie and more than anything…more than even the graduation success and the adventures interspersed within. It’s been the friends that have made an everlasting impression in each other’s minds and souls and which will give out a perfume for the rest of our lives…wherever we may be …whatever we may do.

“Be IT spirIT…Be IT attITude …IT2 has it all.”

4 years in life called Engineering

Engineering was heaven amidst hell. Truly, interspersed between all those heavy duty assignments and submissions were some subtle moments that will be cherished forever. Words truly betray when it comes to giving an account of all the fun in the sun in those 4 years of life.

I have put together some of the best moments of those 4 years into a slideshow. I guess the slideshow will speak which would otherwise need thousands of lines of blogging.

Heres the Link to a Journey of 4 years...

Note: Please Download the Zip file and Save it on your hard drive, Unzip it to a Folder and Run the Slideshow. Some words are explicit.

http://www.ilstu.edu/~kmgawan/yeh_hai_hamari_kahani.zip

Into the world of blogging

Frankly, Blogging never appealed to me. I always thought of blogging as a waste of time to put up some crap about yourself which 99.99% of the worldly population would never care to even visit, let alone sit and read it. But going through a few blogs of my near and dear ones, blogging has finally hit me. This is my first post and there will be plenty more to come...

Here I go...