Transition of Thoughts

Weaving thoughts into words

Month: July 2009

VIT – the beginning

Ok, guys here is the first chapter of the most beautiful days of my life at my lovely “VIT University”. So here it goes…. 5th July 2005 was the day I began a completely new chapter in my life. Ok for the people who dont know, that was the day we started our lives at Vellore Institute of Technology (I seriously make sure that I tell everyone the full form here especially in Pune because they tend to confuse it with other VIT’s like Vishwakarma Institute of Technology).

Ok, first I should start off from how I landed up at VIT. Till Jan 2005, I was all like “I want to do ECE” (obviously even I dont know why I wanted to do it :P). Then all of a sudden I got interested into Biotech (ok now what was that?.. obviously I didnt have a clue abt it again :P). For some reason I have had a thing to go with the bandwagon many times even though I may not know whats the whole thing about. Mom and Dad obviously were confused and wondering “Oh god! What does our son really want to do”. So they asked many of our family friends to give me a counselling session  about all “GOOD” courses ranging from B.Pharm to BBA. Obviously I was all the more confused after this.

Then all of sudden one fine day on March 21st 2005, one of my dad’s friends told him about VIT. My dad’s instant reaction was like “VIT!!! Where’s that??? Is it a part of CMC?”. Obviously I as usual had no idea. But my dad was finally happy that I had a chance to do Biotech Engg and not B.sc(No I dont say that its bad). But the best part was the way the things worked out. My dad called up VIT on 21st March and asked all the info regarding the course, fees, facilities blah blah!! He sent the documents on 22nd March and I was of to India on 23rd. So basically the next four years of my life were decided in just a matter of 3 days flat!!

I landed on 2nd July 2005 at the Anna International Airport (Meenambakkam). It was my first time in South India. After taking a taxi directly to Vellore, I started experiencing the heat, humidity and air of Chennai. Watching  the ladies with Mallipus, the guys in lungis and also hearing them talking Tamil, it was all a new experience. We reached in about 2.5 hours. The Chennai – Bengaluru highway is one of the most amazing highways in the country. After reaching, we all had to run around for the amazing no of formalities ranging from giving the certificates, getting the hostel, getting the reciepts etc.

In the time Mom and Dad stayed there we went to the Jalakanteshwara Temple (the next time I went after the first day in Vellore was probably in second year ;)). The next day I couldnt go to Tirupati with them because of formalities at college. All these days even though they stayed at the Guest House, they made sure I slept in my room (obviously because I had to get used to the days ahead). It was a really new experience to stay in a hostel for the first time – Ramanujam F-Block (Room No – 535). It was a cozy little single room (with AC – yeah guys I am a spoilt little brat). They left on 5th July. I met them near the Food Court, touched their feet, bid them goodbye and walked back alone to the hostel with tears in my eyes as they walked towards the Guest House.

But in the next couple of days, weeks, months and years I made many friends (some good, some bad, some amazing, some stupid) with whom I lived a life. Arun, Girish, Mohsin, Ranju, Anish, Padhee, Basu, Ahalya, Sruthi, Riya, Atulya, Juvin…(I know I am missing many many names here ) – but all you guys made my four years memorable, beautiful and amazing. I have tons to talk about all of you.  The experiences between me, Arun, Giri and MBL, the fun with anish, padhee and ranju, the emotional talks with ahalya, the business plans, mba and ims experiences with sruthi, the ever  smiling  “riya”,  my dear brother “anish” and above all mine and Ranjus friendship. Then there are also other things to talk about like the experiences of working for Riviera, E-Cell, SEDS and what not. So stay tuned and keep reading to know more!

"The Fab 4"

"The Fab 4"

A month at SIBM

It’s been just a month since we entered the hallowed portals of this institution. I still remember 2nd June which was the first time ever that I came to Pune and that to all by myself. My parents settled in Muscat (yeah I am an NRI) were like “beta you are big enough to go alone”.  To tell you the truth I was slightly apprehensive or probably you can say nervous to say the least about the place, the kind of people, the way of life etc.

My first impression of Pune was like “ok it seems a normal city like any other”. But when I went to the international office of Symbiosis at SB Road I saw the global reach of Symbiosis with students from so many countries. Finally I reached Lavale on 5th afternoon by taxi (had to pay a bomb). Heavy rain with clouds hanging down the mountains greeted me.

I seriously felt that I am going to be studying in some kind of a resort (believe me it really does feel so especially after studying in the heat of Vellore Institute of Technology for 4 years) at 2200m above sea level for the next two years. I slowly started to take in the new surroundings, the new friends, the feeling of being in a double room (yeah I was really spoilt during the 4 years at VIT when I was in a single room!!) and also the feeling of having a hostel in-time of 12 (at college it was just 9 30).

Rains – this is the best or shall I say the worst time to be in this place (depending on how you look at it). This time though the rains have mostly played truant. For the first twenty days or so when the rains were absent everyone was like “oh god where are the rains? We want a relief from the heat. Obviously for me it wasn’t a problem because 35 degrees and no humidity is any day better than the torture at 46 degrees with 90% humidity in Vellore. But when the rains came, even though it didn’t pour exactly, it was a sight to behold. Walking in the clouds everyday literally with droplets of water falling on one’s face (or on the umbrella if one wouldn’t want to get wet) and the visibility falling to less than 50m at times, Lavale becomes like the perfect hill station nestled among the beautiful and picturesque surroundings.

Ok obviously how can I forget the most important thing in all this – studies. We had a really nice induction into the college wherein we got to know about from what one should do to what one should desist from for the next two years. After a slow start, we have started getting loaded with tests, case studies, guest lectures, extra curricular activities (like I am busy here blogging!) and many important things.

As I speak, a test and a case study await my attention. But this is what MBA is going to teach us  – “Learning to manage our time”. Isn’t it?

What a match!!

roddick-federer_1437052c

“Epic”, “Historical”, “Stupendous”, “Legendary” are some of the few hundreds of adjectives people would use to describe the Wimbeldon ’09 final yesterday evening between Federer and Roddick. The brilliant Sampras – Agassi rivalry kindled my interest in tennis way back in the 90s. It was always a dream to watch them play the finals of Grand Slams which would make me skip studies, sleep or even my meals. But after these two retired, my interest in tennis fell dramatically.

Federer announced his arrival when he defeated Sampras in the 4th round in Wimbeldon in 2003. But I knew it would take me quite sometime to decide with which player my loyalties lie. Then came the awesome Nadal,  who ripped his opponents apart to win the French Open in 2005. He went on to win three more French Open titles. In between he silenced his detractors who always used to complain that he was not an all court player by winning both the Wimbeldon and the Australian Open once each. Now I know that all my talk on Nadal shows that I am a big fan of his.

Yeah, his absence in the Wimbeldon 2009 left me shocked and distraught because I knew that he was the only one who could stop Federer’s (No I dont hate him…He is a true legend of our times!) journey to the Hall of Fame. I admire Nadal’s never- say-die spirit, his agility, power and above all his fighting qualities (because he has been the only player to seriously challenge Federer). They have had an amazing rivalry which brought me back to watching tennis. Due to Nadal’s absence, I didnt bother to watch a single match of Wimbeldon till the finals. I always wondered whether anyone had the ability to shock Fedex. But when I heard about Roddick reaching the finals, I was like “This is surely going to be a three set smashing”. Roddick has never justified his true potential winning just one Grand Slam despite reaching 4 finals.

But yesterday he was different. He was determined, ambitious and above all didnt get overawed by his opponent. Despite losing the 2nd and third sets he came back to win the 4th set to show that he wasnt over. The final set was all about “who lost his serve first”. In the end this was a match which officially (if there was any doubt!) put Federer in the list of legends with his 15th grand slam.

It was apt that Federer surpassed Sampras’s record of 14 Grand Slams in front of the man himself – though this time on the opposite side of the court dressed immaculately in a fine tie and blazer. Roddick must be surely wondering what else does he need to do against his man. But when Fedex plays the way he did on Sunday – a man possessed, who can stop him?

Finally here it all begins

I feel elated, happy,  joyous and what not (ok! i am forgetting my adjectives here a bit) to finally start something which I have always wanted to since god knows when. It all began with the Readers Forum column in my beloved Times of Oman about 5 years back. All of sudden I had got this great motivation to write about things which i liked, didnt like, felt about on every and any issue under the sun. Then I think it all ended the way it began (all of a sudden!! – because I guess got really lazy ). In the next 3 yrs the writer in me was in the wilderness mostly because of my laziness. Then again as they say “one shouldnt let opportunities slip out of hand if they come running to you”, I got a chance to be a part of the Editorial committee during Riviera (our splendid cultural fest at VIT University). This was one opportunity I grabbed with both my hands. The experience during working for the souvenir (wow!! the teams we had in 08 as well as 09 – you guys rocked), the revolutionary (obviously because we were the first ones) newsletter as well as Riviera TV Channel 25  finally made me determined to start putting up my thoughts somewhere. But then again the usual laziness started to grip me. But then after coming to SIBM, I heard of a blogging team (now that really interested me) which I really wanted to join. Thats why here I am to begin this journey of words, thoughts, aspirations, feelings and anything and everything about what I feel.

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