Cricket and Aakash November 8, 2008
Posted by Karan in Uncategorized.Tags: Aakash, Cricket, IIIT
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The journey that began more than three years ago ended today. And what a finish! We coudn’t have asked for something better. Having missed out a couple of years ago, it was a dream come true for me. Yes, Aakash won the inter house cricket tournament in a thrilling on-the-edge-of-your-seats finish.
There were a couple of fabulous things about today’s win. The first, of course, was that we got to kick Agni’s backside. Agni has a very talented team and to beat them was very satisfying. The second was the team effort and discipline shown by Aakash on the field. People stood up to be counted when it really mattered. Rishi’s athletesism, Arpit’s cameo, Ejaz’s stifling line, Ashwani’s comeback, Khatri’s wicket, Rohit’s sixer and of course, Pagare’s overs.. They were all efforts when the team really needed it. Oh.. And yeah, whosoever said that tight matches between top teams cannot be played without bad blood creeping in? Today’s match was played in the best spirits, with an ovation being given to Ruhela as well, as he was playing his last match.
Ahh.. Talking about last match, it was so for a lot of us. Pagare, Khatri, Rishi, Ashwani, me and possibly Pradeep have played our last match for our house. A terrific way to end it, of course. However, there is this tinge in our hearts that we’d never be playing for Aakash again. Playing for Aakash was a fantastic experience. The spirit and the camaraderie in the house was always amazing. Varun, Kochar, Alankar, Kiran… It was a good learning experience to have played alongside these guys. In a way it is reminiscent with a lot of things this year. Leaving the college, placements, CAT…. But hell, more about that later. This is the time to savour our win and raise a toast to all the future Aakash cricket teams!
Amen.
Salaam Ganguly October 8, 2008
Posted by Karan in Uncategorized.Tags: Indian cricket, Sourav Ganguly
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He caressed the ball through the offside as the bowler looked, bewildered. The only reaction I managed was a frown. He stepped down and lofted the looping ball into the stands. I glowered. I scowled when he had the audacity to make the best captain in the world waiting. How could Boycott call him the “Prince of Kolkata”… I would rather have it the “Bum of Bengal”. Did he always have to look like a clumsy oaf, spilling catches and running out himself, in the field? Did he have to get himself suspended on umpteen occasions with his antics? Did he have to look like a school kid while facing Pollock’s deliveries directed at his rib cage? Did the Indian captain have to take off his shirt (yeah.. you heard it right) in the stadium? Did India need that kind of needless aggression?
I was probably wrong.
In my view, the greatest tribute to Ganguly has been paid by his long standing adversary, Steve Waugh. In spite of all the bad things Waugh said about him, he said that Ganguly managed to get under his skin and unnerve the Australian captain. The Australians needed a taste of their own medicine, and not necessarily in the Australian way. The South Africans had already tried that unsuccessfully. For far too long, the Indians were seen to be of the meek and unresisting variety who could be bludgeoned over. For far too long, the Indians were seen as uncombative delicate darlings.
Not any more.
Today, to think about it, it is not just the Harbhajan Singhs of the team who represent this indomitable “Ganguly-spirit”. While Zaheer Khan, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Ishant Sharma, Gautam Gambhir and the like may seem different from Ganguly, they are every bit like the former captain. They can today stand up and look at the adversary’s eye. When I see Zaheer blow out two batsmen after being thrashed in the previous over, I see Ganguly in him. When I see the silent determination in Dhoni’s eyes while handing over the ball to a hapless Joginder Sharma, I can feel Dada. It will not be an exaggeration to say that the combative Bengali has effected a paradigm shift in Indian cricket and inspired a whole generation (and more) of cricketers. So what if he wears his heart on his sleeve?
To use the cliché, love him or hate him- you just cannot ignore him. Indian cricket can never forget him.
Warrior from Kolkata, I bow before you.
Protected: Are current IIITians spineless? September 4, 2008
Posted by Karan in Uncategorized.Tags: IIIT, Spineless
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Rock On: A Review September 2, 2008
Posted by Karan in Uncategorized.Tags: Abhishek Kapoor, Arjun Rampal, Farhan Akhtar, movie review, Rock On
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After a long time, a movie was met by applause at the end of it. After some time, a movie which makes you think. Without being spectacular, Rock On sends across its message. It’s not your movie where you have stand out scenes, but one which slowly but surely brings out some ideas. A movie which grows on you as time goes by.
We’ve all had dreams in life. We’ve all had passions in life. But how many of us have chosen to pursue our passion in life? How many of us have had the courage to build our lives around our passion? When I join that investment bank paying me an eight digit figure, is that what makes me happy? Or rather, am I happy doing that job? Is there a spice in my life apart from the job? Why did I not pursue journalism as I wanted to? Does one have to compromise with such choices in life?
These and many more questions run through your mind after watching this movie. A rock band is just a metaphor. The crucial aspect is being passionate about the thing you love. About pursuing your passion. And Abhishek Kapoor brings about this aspect in a way which no other movie in recent memory has done. He goes a long way in showing how listless a passionless life can become. No using fancy dialogues or scenes to show this- just that non expression on Farhan Akhtar’s face when he got the promotion was enough. Ah… The actors. They were all pretty effective. Especially liked Arjun Rampal and his wife. (Don’t know the name 
) The music was alright, but the lyrics were disappointing. You expect more from a rock album.
So, are you ready to pursue your passion in life? Are you ready to rediscover the spice in your life? Or do you even care about it? Think about it.
Happy Bloggers’ day! August 30, 2008
Posted by Karan in Uncategorized.Tags: Bloggers day, Blogging
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The day we were waiting for is finally here. We had a meeting few days back, which led to the bloggers deciding on contributing their two cents towards reviving the flagging blogging culture at the IIIT. Bloggers’ day was one of the ideas. And here it is – 30th August, Bloggers’ day! Lets all raise a toast on this day to all those souls for whom blogging has served as a chicken soup during some point of their lives.
Happy blogging!
What is Democracy? August 15, 2008
Posted by Karan in General.Tags: Democracy, India
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I had a terrific discussion separately on this with Varun and Pagare a few days back. What is democracy? Is it as simple as for the people, by the people, of the people? 61 years after Independence, people call us one of the biggest and truest democracies in the world. Unfortunately, I can’t fathom how. For a general person like me, what options I have if I don’t like the system? Try make my voice heard, which is pretty difficult. Plunge into politics, which I would not like to do, leaving the comfort of my life. Or just sit back and relax? They say that don’t criticize the system, try and improve it. But is that possible for each and every one of us?
They say that I have all the choices to select my own candidates. But what if I am not satisfied with the choices? What if I don’t deem any of the candidates fit enough? Should I just go and strike out the ballot paper, as Pranav says? Does that serve any purpose?
In early democracies, every decision was passed by the people. It might not be possible today, but is this the best system we have come up with in all these years? Thanks to coalitions, a party might come to power in spite of the people rejecting it. Elected governments take decisions which a majority of the people may oppose. What can people do in such cases, especially when such issues are lost during the time of elections. Governments are selected not on the basis of performances, but on politics, casteism etc.
I seriously think that form of democracy we are following does not serve much purpose.
PS1: This is my 100th post.
PS2: I hope I don’t receive a backlash on this post, just that this issue is eating me up. Hence I decided to post.
Thank God.. August 12, 2008
Posted by Karan in Uncategorized.Tags: gmail, hacked, orkut, wordpress
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That my wordpress account stays! Someone hacked into my gmail and orkut accounts, and just deleted them. It was bad.. Lost a lot of contacts on both of them. To top it all, the guy changes my wordpress password. That was the worst part. However, wordpress has a terrific password retrieval system, and my account’s safe due to it. For all my friends, please add me on maroo.karan@gmail.com on your gtalk! Cheers!
Bangalore 2008 July 17, 2008
Posted by Karan in Personal.Tags: Bangalore, Internship, Microsoft, Summers
10 comments
Summer ’08. Will remember these months forever! Had never imagined that I’d land up with an internship in Microsoft.. And the last couple of months at Bangalore have been as good as they come. Here’re ten memories (in no particular order) that I’ll take back from Bangalore.
1 ) Foosball. We’ve spent hours on this lovely game. Just listening to the sweet sound of the ball hitting the post spurs me on. We’re ready to take on Joey and Chandler now!
2 ) Pagare-Paro-Khatri-Piyush-Saurabh-Prateek. Ah.. What a blast we’ve had. Some memories which stay etched forever. For people who didn’t know this, Piyush is Hilarious (note the capital H) when he gets going. We’ve had nights when we never stopped laughing. Khatri, as usual was his unassuming best, and the victim- poor Paro
3 ) Ooty and Mysore. Undoubtedly, the best trip I’ve ever had. My initial resistance against missing the mock broke down, thanks to the persuasive skills of Khatri. And I don’t regret that wee bit. The all night road trip, where no one slept, the RJ show, the cold I’d caught, the freezing temperatures, the game we played.. Ahh… Life’s good, ain’t it?
4 ) Polo Nest and the breakfast we’ve had there. Needless to mention, Microsoft pampers its employees like no one does. The exorbitant guest house and its breakfast was a part of the story. Those 15 days where we’d pinch ourselves every day, unable to digest the fact that we were being treated like kings.
5 ) July 12th. My birthday 
My friends made it all the more special for me by gifting me a terrific Fastrack watch. Thank you, Pagare, Khatri, Paro and Prateek.
6 ) Work at Microsoft. We’re nearly done. Hurray!
7 ) Brigade road. Every Saturday, we’d reach the road and hang out like crazy. Watch movies, go bowling, eat out. Gosh! Some weekends we’ve had. It’s when you are working that you realize the true value of weekends.
8 ) CAT. And the mocks we’ve given on Sundays. Has to find a mention.
9 ) Gudbud. For every damn thing, we’de bet on this fantastic icecream. One of the better Sundaes I’ve had.
10 ) WonderLaa. How Prateek and I conquered every ride. How Khatri, who was trying to intimidate poor Pagare, got bludgeoned himself.
All in all, a fantastic summer ‘08. Looking forward to getting back to college now!
Jaane Tu.. Ya Jaane Na July 7, 2008
Posted by Karan in General.Tags: Jaane Tu.. Ya Jaane na, Love Story 2050, Girls, Love, College
12 comments
On July 2nd, my friends and I were debating : Jaane Tu.. Ya Jaane Na, or Love Story 2050? Ultimately, we ended up watching both.. But there’s little doubting on which one takes the cake. Jaane Tu.. Is a winner all the way. Its one movie which’ll stay with you long after you leave the theater. It’s one movie which’ll tickle your funny bone without wandering anywhere near the ridiculous. It’s one movie which will take you back to the good old post-teen days. It’s one movie you’ll love to fall in love with. A movie as fresh as a Jasmine flower. A movie so real that you want to go and touch the characters on screen. Its something which Youngistaan can totally identify with- Characters, the couple in a mixed group, the problems with it..
Right from the time I left the theater on Friday night, I’ve been thinking about the film. I’ve done a lot in college life, but feel that I’ve missed out on such an important aspect. Forget about girlfriends, I’ve interacted with a very few girls during my stay in college. Forget about frustration, girls in your group bring around a completely different point of view to the fore. Forget about romance, interacting a lot with the opposite sex brings about a fair amount of discipline in guys. Towards the dusk of my college life, I wish I would have improved on this!
Anyways, let me not get too personal. Avoid Love Story 2050. In spite of a lovable Priyanka Chopra and a decent Harman Baweja, the movie sucks. And no exaggeration with the word. Horrendous story, funny sci fi and romance make for a terrible cocktail. Luckily, I slept through most of the second half. Made for much lesser of a headache that night!
Rating:
Jaane tu.. 4 stars
Love story.. 1.5 stars
JAM Engineering Admissions: A Review June 9, 2008
Posted by Karan in General.Tags: Engineering admissions, IIIT Hyderabad, JAM, Rashmi Bansal
10 comments
An year ago, I came across this survey in the JAM site asking engineering students to fill a form about their college. Though I ruled it out as another of those questionnaires out of which results never come, I could not resist filling it up for the heck of my college, IIIT Hyderabad. Last week, the book finally released. And I must say, the book’s not disappointed me at all… In fact, it’s one extremely informative book. Unlike the dumbass India Today ratings, a lot of effort seems to have been put into this review. And to say the least, the results show! So, cheers Rashmi and her team at JAM!
I’ll probably list out the positive and negative points of the book. Positive first.
• There are no rankings, just the division of colleges into categories- A++, A+ and so on till C-. This’ll probably ensure that friction levels are kept to a minimum.
• The division by itself. In most cases, a lot of research seems to have gone into the entire thing. Besides, taking in inputs from engineering students at a popular youth site was a good idea. Though I resent IIIT Hyderabad being put in the A+ category (I think we deserve an A++), I’m still happy with most of the ratings.
• The sheer size of the database- the book manages to cover more than 500 colleges! None of your other surveys have covered this number till date. Who would have thought that your GITAM, CBIT etc would be covered in an engineering survey. The number makes the book useful not just for budding IITians but also those who’re looking at other national and state level colleges.
• The articles in the magazine cover a plethora of topics ranging from the types of engineering, life at engineering colleges, life after graduation etc. For all those who wanted to get into an engineering college but didn’t know why, or those who have no idea of what BE and B.Tech are all about, this is a perfect place to start off. Some of the articles like the one on birthday bumps and treats, the one on placements by Bansal herself, and the one on donation are brilliant! They accurately and vividly describe the actual situation. There are other very good sections like the Editors’ pick, way of living and all.
• The book does a good job of describing some of the major branches in detail. It gives you a fair idea of where your aptitude lies.
However, being a first time work, the book does have some chinks in the armour, though not major ones.
• I can’t say much about other states, but for me, as an Andhraite, there was an error too many. For instance, the spelling of GITAM is messed up with. There are hardly any articles on colleges in Andhra. The book says that admission into NIT-W is still through EAMCET (as well as AIEEE), which is far from the truth.
• Some of the rankings seemed a little unfair. Indore’s GSITS was put at A+ whereas NIT Bhopal is at A. Even considering the advice (given in the book) that national colleges (like NIT Bhopal) be put at one level higher (A+ in this case) while comparing with local colleges, the ranking seems unjustified. The fact of the matter is NIT Bhopal is quite ahead of GSITS.
• The unofficial prospectus gets repetitive after some time. Engineering life is more or less the same across the country, with some variations with place, type of college etc. Considering the above fact, a few articles in this section can easily be removed.
• Articles on topics like reservation, ragging, college fests etc could have been covered.
All in all, the hiccups are far and few in between. The overall feeling of reading the book is pretty positive. I hope it replaces India Today as the primary engineering survey in India. Hats off to JAM for coming up with such a wonderful and useful book. I’ll call it a must have for all engineering aspirants.
