A Beginner’s Guide to Travelling On a Local Train

You’ll Need: One handkerchief (a must), 3 one rupee coins, one 10 rupee note, plenty of cash, headphones, empty purse

Step 1: Buy your ticket

If you have ever come across a joke like the one below and believe that this really works, you are in for trouble.

Engineers may be smarter than accountants. But Ticket Collectors are smarter still (in India!).

Step 2: Reserve thy seat

This is where your most precious item comes into play. Even before the train stops or the doors of the compartment open, drop in your kerchief on your favourite window seat. Now, not even Sheldon can move you from your seat!

Step 3a: Put on your headphones

Whether you wish to listen to Pink Floyd, Jagjit Singh or Enrique is your choice. But putting on headphones is a must. This will help you ignore all the low-profile scums and beggars that come along.

There will be surprises. Don’t panic. You cannot ignore little girls coming with harmless snakes in round boxes to be opened at the right moment (Pandora’s Box!?). Use your first lifeline. 1st one rupee coin. You have only 3 lifelines. So take utmost care while using them.

Step 3b: Take off your glasses

If you happen to be among the self-evident geeks with big spectacles on your nose, better take them off once seated. That way they cannot be kidnapped for ransom. In the worst possible case, use your 10 rupee note.

Step 3c: Know thy train

For more details, look up extension of joke above.

SPOILER (highlight to reveal): On another trip on a local train, the engineers buy 3 tickets and the accountants buy no ticket. Guess who is smarter?

Step 4: Follow the herd

Be ready before your station arrives. Once the train arrives, do not hesitate. Do not think. Just follow the herd.

Durga Puja @Kolkata: My 5

Shubho Bijoya/Happy Vijayadashami to all my esteemed readers. It may be a tad late but better late than never.

This Durga Puja was a special one for me as it was the first time I went Pandal hopping in the heart of the festival: in Kolkata. The list of Mandaps are endless and what I could cover is but a small fraction of the humongous number of Pandals in the city. My list is by no means comprehensive or the final word. However, it does offer a sneak peak into this wonderful festival.

The Third Eye

If there is one thing that Bollywood can learn from these Pujo Mandaps are how to not run out of ideas. From Mandaps made of Spoons, Gamchas (Towels!) to thatched roofed ones, the Mandaps had left no stone unturned. But this one according to me was the mother of all! The third eye representing knowledge encompassing everything else.

Writer’s Building

This is a Mandap with a mission. The catchphrase - ‘Dori Dhore Maro Taan/Raja Hobe Khaan Khaan’ is a clarion call to all the people of Bengal to bring in a change at the Writer’s building: the seat of power of the government. Looking at the enormous structure, one really wonders how much money was spent on this to gain the requisite political leverage!

Para Pujo

With the theme of Para (locality) Pujo, this Mandap was wonderfully decorated. Visiting it during the evening added to the charm. The lighting and the props used for the Mandap were amazing. All the buildings around the Mandaps had been decorated. It wasn’t just the Durga idol but the overall atmosphere that in itself was electrifying (literally! they used electric diyas instead of traditional oil diyas!).

The 10 Hands!

This one was a little hatke. The asura (demon) was in the center with 10 hands attacking it from all directions. Although there was a regular Murti as well at the same place, this was the cynosure of all eyes.

Didi’s Creation

How could I leave this one? Conceptualized by the highly evolved mind of Mamata Banerjee, this was a Mandap with a message. What message? God knows! The Mandap itself in the form of an igloo/planetarium was an outlier. So why did it make it to my list? Because it was an outlier.

Others That Almost Made It

PS: There were many others: Mudiyali Club, College Square, Shib Mandir etc. etc. The big crowd didn’t permit stable photos (with all the pushing and stuff!) of those Pandals. My legs really hurt with all the walking. But it was a good experience!

Movie Review: Dabangg

Dabangg is not one of the regular lovey-dovey romantic type movies that are churned out every now and then by the Indian film industry in Bollywood. High on style quotient and in every manner of word, Dabangg: fearless, this is definitely one of those movies that you must add on top of your must-watch list.

To start with, I was tempted to draw parallels of the movie with The Matrix (dodging stuff!) and Sherlock Holmes (look at the final fighting scene in the trailer: ditto Sherlock Holmes), but after getting warmed up to the movie, one realizes that this movie is much above all that. This movie is going to have a cult following in its own right.

Some of the dialogues in the movie for instance are hilarious (हम तुममे इतने छेद कर देंगे कि पता नहीं चलेगा कि साँस कहाँ से ले और पादे कहाँ से) and really gives you the feel of a देसी "Made in India" (not one of those imported ones that you can find if you walk into any cinema hall these days) movie. Salman Khan embraces the character of Chulbul Pandey aka "Robin Hood" Pandey with ease what with the narrow moustache and the sunglasses which he puts behind his neck जिससे आगे भी और पीछे भी नज़र रहे. 

The accelerated/decelerated camera frames, the panning of the camera and the the background music playing whenever Salman Khan is in a scene that demands some amount of studappa really adds to the zing in the movie. And how can one forget the dance scenes with some amazing lighting (Diwali style? notice the expanding hearts on Salman Khan’s glasses!) and refreshingly unorthodox dance moves (How they move their belts?!) that are unlike any other Bollywood movie in recent memory.

One is so enraptured by the antiques of Chulbul that one really doesn’t seem to notice much of the plot. One does find surprises along the way, not many of course but a few small ones for sure (the death of Chulbul’s mother for instance or the Mango box which very innocuously seemed nothing but a box full of mangoes!). 

Content-wise it wouldn’t possibly add up to much, but it is a movie with some class and some Masala. This isn’t a movie for the film critique to analyse an intricately woven plot. But a movie for the masses that is fun-packed, low on Funda but surely full of clean, pure entertainment! Go, watch it!

OP a la Control Systems

Disclaimer: This isn’t meant to be a technically sound post. Any similarity with electrical devices either existent or non-existent is purely coincidental. The author of this post is not to be held responsible for any content that is either a result of frustrating lab sessions or somnolent lectures.

 

Actuators: I remember the first time I was in the common room. The GSecs introduced themselves. The Warden was there. And then it all started. Everything was set into motion. Who are the actuators? We all know!

 

Motors: I always wondered why second years always did the brunt work. Whether it was making the diyas for Illu, winning the GC or shifting rooms, everything was done by the 2nd years. Then I realized it is all part of a system: a control system.

 

Feedback: Now this is where things get interesting. The unique thing about OP in Nehru Hall is that it is a closed loop system. Not an open loop like in many other halls. If things got bad, OP stopped for a day or two and then the 2nd years themselves went and pleaded their seniors to start things again. Perfect mechanism!

 

Reference: We had 3 common room meetings every week which ran for a duration of 3 hours each. This is the minimum expected of you to become a Nehruite!

 

(Pressure) Sensors: “Was it too much or anything? This is for your own good.” “No sir, peace. Only xyz seemed to be under some amount of load. (Resistive, capacitive & inductive behaviour all taken into account) ”

 

System Output: Nehruite!

 

Note: If some things didn’t make sense, consider it like a 2 port network. All you are concerned about is the input (a non-Nehruite), the output (a Nehruite) and the transfer function (tempo).

A Dozen Ways To Spruce Up Your Summer Vacations

This is the toughest time of the year. 2 and a half months of languor now coming to a full stop. It all started with euphoria, turning to ennui and now ending with a sense of wistful longing.

It has been a wonderful summer for half a dozen reasons.

For one, I could get back to playing Squash after a long long time (Yeah! Kgp has no squash court and half the IITians don't know that such a game exists. One more reason to detest IITs!?).

Secondly, I could get back to doing what I loved doing most. Reading books. And what better way to spend your vacation than in the company of Joseph Keller, J.D. Salinger, Michael Crichton and the like.

Thirdly, I took this as an opportunity to refuel myself with all the good food that I could get my hands on: Chinese, Italian, authentic Mallu fish curry and Bengali Mach Jhol & Posto bhaath.

Fourthly, I discovered that gambling(?) isn't all that bad. An outhouse at Tambola fetched me not just 300 bucks but a flurry of 10 rupee notes so that I could become a bus conductor if I wanted to (Alternate profession?!).

Fifthly, I discovered the joy of meditating on the sea beach with nothing but the waves crashing against the rocks.

Sixthly, I can now do the one legged situps and use the swiss ball to do pushups in the gym (Beat that!).

Those of you who have been wondering what to do all summer and couldn't come up with something to do: there you are. Half a dozen ways to spruce up your summer vacation.

P.S: You might be inclined to think that bloggers like me are incorrigible narcissistic egocentric personalities. But this is just half of the dozen. The other half is yet to come! More in another post.

P.P.S: Ignore the P.S.

P.P.P.S: I love writing post-post-post scripts. [Nested{P}s?]

P.P.P.P.S: On second thoughts, how did you spend your vacations?! Leave your valuable thoughts as comments to this post.

P.P.P.P.P.S: That is 5 Ps!

55er: Was That A Nightmare?

My first attempt at any kind of fiction, let alone 55er. It reminds me of those good old days in Xth when we had 50 words as word limit for notices and messages. Exceed the limit by 1 or 2 words, -1/2. Exceed by more than 2 words, -1. It is 55 now. So let’s see.

***

Ramesh was in a fix. Physics was tomorrow and today is Hindi. Four chapters from literature! But he thought today was Physics! Why do they have Hindi in IITs?! Now only physics could rescue him. He sat down quietly and closed his eyes. As he opened his eyes, he was back in his room!

***

PS: That is what I call true teleportation.

PPS: If only they could use technology for such useful purposes. As an aside, why don’t they simply filter out the vuvuzela frequencies instead of banning it?

PPPS: Thank God they have no Hindi in IITs.

മൂന്നാര്::Munnar

As I looked up from the book, I could see rain all around. Tall trees towering around us. We were moving through the clouds. But no Velociraptors, Dilophosaurus or T.Rex. Thank God.

It seemed we were in for a dampener with the monsoons hitting the coast just as we planned to visit Munnar. The bad weather notwithstanding, we decided to continue.

Persistence always bears sweet fruits. The next day turned out to be much better. (Better weather == better photos && wonderful trip); The tea gardens around Munnar were wonderful. This is where the Kannan Devan brand of Tata comes from. If you happen to visit this place, don’t forget to drop by at the Tata Wholesale Outlet and take all the Tea & spices home.

You would find lots of waterfalls and lots of winding roads as in any other hill station. But what I was really looking for was being atop Anamudi. Unfortunately, it wasn’t to be so and we had to settle for a peak that was 200 metres shy of Anamudi.

Apart from that, the echo point was pretty good. Never expected such a good echo with so less effort. I really wonder how the cows in hill stations always look wonderful. Such a contrast to the cows in the plains (Different cultures? Different races? Who knows?!)

Other than the cows, the other animal worth mention is the Nilgiri Tahr. Finding it near the mountain peak grazing in (almost!) herds was quiet a sight.

That was about it. Nice peaceful place to spend some time. No laptop. No TV. Just peace of mind.

As usual, I’ll leave you with some of the highs of the journey.

All photos courtesy Sony Cybershot (Click to enlarge).

	LEGEND 1 Tea Gardens 2 Echo Point 3 Cows 4 Bird’s Eye View 5 Winding Roads 6 Waterfalls 7 Rubber Plantation 8 Nilgiri Tahr 9 Jurassic Park

One Night + Day @ Kgp

OK. That was one of the dumbest post titles that I have come up with lately. But you cannot expect more out of a title a la Chetan Bhagat. Nonetheless, my luck hasn’t be half as good as his.

Last night as I went to the canteen for some midnight refreshment, I stumbled upon “Country” who after staring at me for some time finally commented, “Are you staying back for the VLSI course?”. “Yes.” “Lots of girls from outside?”. “Not really, it is the same scenario. Nothing different”. “Oh! (Lot of stress on the oh!) Your bad. People in our time judged the scenario in the first two or three days. If the scene was good, they stayed back. Else, swoosh back home.” (It really sounded like those conditionals constructs in C when he was saying it!).

Anyway, I did land up at a Professor’s home a few days back. But there I said. Life isn’t fiction. The nearest I came to “the man on what not to do at IIT” was flipping across some of his books @ Professor’s residence. “Sir, have you read his books?” “Oh yeah! read it after seeing the movie. Interesting. Contrary point of view.”

Vodka at Insti top? The closest I came to the insti-top was a padlocked door that stood between me and history/Chetan Bhagat, closed allegedly for security reasons. Smuggling question papers out of the Professor’s office? “You can copy if you want to, but do not talk” was how our Maths Professor put it when we were taking a test.

OK. So does Chetan Bhagat represent the picture of an IIT which is extinct and only exists in his dreams? Not really. It is difficult to imagine Chetan Bhagat conjure up such novels out of thin air if not for the vibrant campus life at IIT (That reminds me. Signets! Oh, my Signets!). But it is also equally difficult to equate campus life at IIT with 5ps/imagination of Chetan Bhagat.

It is really interesting how novels capture the imagination of the masses. How one might think of the real world and the imaginary world as running in parallel. One drawing the other along but never meeting each other.

Disclaimer (in the end as opposed to Mr. CB): This post isn’t meant to help you choose which college to join. This is just about: what not to read before you get into IIT.

1/2 Engineer

1/2 Engineer /noun/ An engineering student who has successfully completed his sophomore year at college.

OK. That wasn’t from the Merriam Webster. But there had to some way to commemorate 2 years in IIT Kharagpur. To tell the world, there you are: I am (half) ready.

From … To

For me, it has been quiet a journey. From the first day in Bhatnagar Auditorium where we attentively listened to our Maths Professor blurting out a 50 OKs/minute to the Signets exam when I discovered that taking Electrical Engineering was possibly the worst decision of my life. From the day when I used to crib about grades to the day when I had to fight for grades. From being a freshman in MMM hall to a sophomore in Nehru hall (The much dreaded PAN loop!). From the euphoria of student activity in IITKgp to disillusionment of the poltu in Kharagpur.

Mr. 1/2 Engineer, how is it like to be a 1/2 engineer? 

And now as I enter my third year in college, a strange feeling creeps in me. A kind of responsibility shoved into my hands. The feeling that we are going to be the ones our juniors will look up to. That we were no longer going to be the ones seeking for advice but the ones giving advice. (Frankly, I don’t believe much in this advice/funda business. But nonetheless, I can feel a change). And although I cannot claim to know the A of Instrumentation after 2 years of engineering, I can proudly tell anyone: look, I am 1/2 engineer. You don’t know what that means, do you?

d/dx (e^x) = e^x

But some things never change. Sleeping in the class?! Copying assignments? Or sneaking into the class when half of the class was already dozing off! Or messaging your friend: 08XY1234. Proxy Please. These have stood the test of time! What 3rd year beckons, nobody knows. What it has in store is a mystery. But all that matters is we are 1/2 engineers. Here is some food for thought for you before I sign off.

DCE => DTU => IIT. How Justified?

I was a DCEite once. That was 2 years ago before I cleared JEE and made my way to IIT. That was when DCE was the college where nothing ever happened. Except mass bunks. You could graduate out of DCE and yet you wouldn’t know that you had an engineering degree under your belt. It was all calm out there. But then this happened some time back. DCE got converted into DTU: Delhi Technology University.

Small Fish in A Big Pond

It didn’t sound very good. But well, I thought: it must be for the better. If not, it was possibly a publicity gimmick before the Commonwealth Games. That is all. After all, Indians have an affliction towards changing names. Bombay –> Mumbai, Calcutta –> Kolkata, Madras –> Chennai… the list goes on. If this could be the fate of 3 of the 4 metro cities of India (and that of DIT NSIT too!), then I guess DCE is just a small fish in a big pond. And how did it matter anyway?

A Reason To Protest

There was a catch though. When DCE got upgraded(?) to DTU, the fees got hiked and the student intake increased. Now, disturbing as it may sound, I am sure this wasn’t the only reason for the disturbance. Such events always build up. I could draw an analogy with the Rohit Kumar case. Although everyone at IIT knew of the poor state of affairs of B.C. Roy, nobody really cared as much till the incident. The incident gave them a reason to protest.

The Events

What followed (in fact what generally follows) is a string of protests in support of their cause: candlelight marches, rallies, exam-bunks (as a mark of protest!) and the demands. As an outsider now, all of this seemed a little irrational to me. Why did they want themselves to upgraded to IITs? Didn’t we have 14 IITs already which were struggling to cope up with the existing infrastructure. (Ever tried sharing a room meant for a single person?) If they thought becoming IITs would alleviate their condition, couldn’t they be more mistaken. (And yeah, IITs have proposed a fee hike to Rs 4 lakh a year. Beat that.)

A Pattern

You could protest against the administration in DCE/DTU. Try that in IIT. And IIT without JEE? It may sound very romantic. But let me tell you my dear friends, JEE exists for a reason. And CGPA? Hah! as if it is going to really make a difference. Why decorate the demands with all these when all you want is better infrastructure? Oh, this might also be a nice chance to settle a few personal scores: The Director, the Sports Director and the rest of them. Didn’t we do that in Kgp as well? Who is the present Director of IITKgp now?

Coming to a Consensus

I could really see frightening parallels. This was how students protested the world over. And this was how the administration reacted: almost always. It is almost a pattern. And yet those protesting failed to see it.

I have been a part of DCE. And possibly a part of me is still in DCE yearning for the college life that I had there. But possibly my experience at IIT has made me look at things from a slightly different perspective. And as I write this post, I wonder if the protests could serve their purpose without drowning in the irrational? Could there be a genuine attempt to come to a consensus rather than just being a part of the mob? Could DCEites display a certain amount of maturity in dealing with such matters. After all, they consider themselves the crown in the crown of Delhi.

P.S.1: I am aware that this post might draw some sharp reactions from certain corners. However, I would ask you to ponder on what I have written above before jumping to conclusions.

P.S.2: I changed over from DCE to IIT. Mixed feelings. DCE becomes IIT. Feels a little strange.

Why I Hate Telephonic Interviews

It is not just the weather, but the atmosphere in general. With constant urging from all directions to fix something for the summer so that things can be finalised and the end-semester exam (almost) knocking on the doors, the heat surely is getting to me.

To make matters worse, I have had to deal with this (new to me) format of interviews – telephonic interviews. And I have started to hate telephonic interviews. Here are my reasons:

#1. You’re Immersed in A Movie and the protagonist is going to kill the antagonist when the mobile rings. Tidi-Tidi-ti-ti-Tidi-Tidi-ti-ti. And then the caller-id shows an unknown number. You wonder if it is worth it pausing the movie at the climax and receiving the call. You hope it is not one of those “useless kind of calls which you really regret receiving” and press the green button.

#2. It happens All of A Sudden. A booming voice ready to take an interview informs you that he is going to have a little tete-a- tete with you for 10-15 minutes and that’ll be about it.

#3. Having Taken It For Granted That You Had been Rejected you had completely forgotten about it. Now as the questions start bombing in, you wonder what to do.

#4. You Weren’t Ready For It

#5. A Silence Is a Silence on A Telephone. You can’t show the interviewer that you are thinking. So, you start drawling out answers slowly and (almost as if) from memory. The interviewer listens calmly. Then you feel you are too slow and then you mess up further. You are almost feeling like a helpless lamb being slaughtered not because the interviewer was saying anything but because the silence was killing you.

#6. There Is no Eye Contact. So there is no way for you to tell the interviewer: Hey look at me. Look at the gleam in my eyes. Look at the enthusiasm in me. Can’t you see kitna tempo hai mujhme.

#7. It isn’t as Long as You Think It is. You look at the watch. You have been 5 minutes into the interview and you’re already saying your goodbyes. That sure isn’t 10-15 minutes!

You know that your fate is sealed. You give in to your fate, set a status message on GTalk: “Why do I suck at interviews?” and decide that it is going to be your next blog post. And then you hit the spacebar.

Summer is here but where are the Mangoes?

The Advent of Summer

Summer is back. And with a bang. It has been very difficult attending the afternoon classes of late. With temperatures soaring to 40 degrees and the point of maxima not in sight, the question that is crossing everybody’s mind is: where are the mangoes?

When will the Mess catch up?

The Mess is late to catch up (as usual. What is new in that?). (Tomato/whatever) soup that was being dished out in the winter was replaced with oranges last week! Imagine, oranges in summer! Yuk, it sucked big time. Mess food won’t change. You do what you want – change the administration, mess committee members or hike the funds, but mess food will always be vegetables floating in a pool of oil. I guess expecting mangoes in mess is expecting a little too much.

Apart from being a delicious fruit (what is an orange when compared to a mango. After all, it is the king of fruits!), it has a high nutritional value as well. Mangoes are an excellent source of vitamin C and vitamin A, both important antioxidant nutrients. That gives us one more reason to have mangoes at Mess. (Mess committee members – make a note of that.)

Go Green Go Mango

As a young boy, I have fond memories of eating mangoes (lots and lots of them) so that I could plant mango trees as part of my summer vacation project work (That’s tree plantation for you.) I loved mango juice more than any other form of juice and mango flavoured ice-cream has been my all time favourite.

My Favourites

Gud-Aam chutney (mango in jaggery), a speciality of Bengal I believe can be an amazing dish to finish off one’s lunch with. Not to mention the dozen other pickles and jams that are mango flavoured. Add mango to a dish and you have a sumptuous dish from an otherwise bland dish. This tropical fruit can do wonders.

With the hope that I’ll have lots of delicious mangoes this summer, I sign off this post. Do check out my new Mango Django Jazzonomics template. And yeah, if you haven’t subscribed to Jazzonomics already, you can subscribe by clicking here and continue receiving regular updates this summer.

Subjectivity vs Objectivity

This is a question that has been haranguing me for a long time. Should one put subjectivity over objectivity or objectivity over subjectivity.

The Board Exams

When I was in Xth, I was taught that I had to present my matter well in the Board exams because the examiner got paid very poorly for the answer-scripts. So, I should try and make things easier for him. And that I did, with wonderful results.

However, it has led me to think about the candidates who were as good if not better than me but ended up with lower marks just because they could not present the matter well.

Step Marking

But then came along IIT. Either you get a zero or full marks. Nothing in between. Nothing for knowing how to go about it. They said it was a question of lives. If you designed a faulty bridge that collapsed, you had failed. You couldn’t go around saying that you had designed the method by the right method. It was the classic case of operation successful but patient dead.

They had a point. But what could they expect out of candidates in 3 hours of tense exam? Shouldn’t they be awarding step marks?

Why I like sports

The best thing about sports is the objectivity. You are either first or you aren’t. Either you ran the race in 10 seconds or you didn’t. You either lifted 100 kgs or you didn’t. Nobody can counter you on that point. Either it is or it isn’t. No middle ground.

And why I hate politics

Politics in the generic sense which pervades our daily lives. For me, it would possibly be the Hall, Kgp elections, interviews and so and so forth. I have felt it is all subjective. What may be good for me may not be good for you. What I like you don’t. What is a perfect answer for me in an interview is possibly the worst answer you could possibly think of.

So, is the verdict in favour of Objectivity? Not really. I wouldn’t want to flunk an exam just because it wasn’t my day. I knew the things but it was just that – it wasn’t my day. Shouldn’t you be awarding me for the hard work that I put in through the year? And oh! nobody would be reading my blog if it was either good or bad. Nothing in between.

What is your opinion? Subjectivity or Objectivity?

The Physics of Weightlifting

After months of practise, hard work (typical ain’t it?) has yielded results. The medal at open IIT Powerlifting reaffirmed some of my beliefs of the alchemical process

1. Mentors play a very significant if not pivotal role.
2. One has to be inebriated by hope and leave the rest to chance. (I am not much of a believer of a greater Force, but I do believe in the chance mechanism)
3. Independent thought is necessary in any endeavour.

Although some of my readers may argue that all you need to do for weightlifting is eat eggs and lift weights, I am afraid that your view of weightlifting is at best naive. For the IITian, it is always doing with understanding.

A Question of Torque

Any layman could tell you that you have to balance the weights if you can hope to lift any significant weight. If the weights aren’t balanced you are going to have a tough time. If we assume the rod to have homogenous density, then the length of the rod should be equal on both sides.

Minimizing the work done

Why is a bench press done with an arched back? To minimize the distance travelled and hence the work done (W = Fs). As elementary as that.

Components of Force

A deadlift is always done with the shoulders and the arms in the vertical plane. What does it ensure? You get the entire force of your arms to be working against the gravity. The moment there is an angle, the horizontal component of force comes in and energy is wasted.

Yin and Yang

The grip for a deadlift is always complementary. If one hand  grips the bar with an open palm, the other with a closed palm. As you can see in the diagram below, this way the horizontal component of the force gets cancelled and the bar remains in firm grip.

Ok, so that is how an IITian would lift weights. I hope I have changed the viewpoint of many who believed that weightlifting was all brawn and no brains.

Will ADAM eat Apple?

It is always what I thought IITians did. Not join run-of-the-mill jobs, not go for higher studies but do something that is arrogant, brash and unconventional. But it wasn't always to be that way till Notion Ink's ADAM gave a reason to believe so. Dubbed as being an iPad Killer, ADAM (what a name to choose!) is all set to hit the markets in June this year.

Here is how ADAM fares when compared to the Apple iPad. Estimated to be $300 to $800, what with all all the features - multi-touch, swivel camera and brightness control, it is going to be a steal.

As is the culture in Kgp, the profiles of those from Kgp has been stripped down to the longitude and latitude of the rooms they occupied. Insanity apart, a brief outline of the team can be found here.

Before I sign off let me leave you with an interview of Rohan Shravan on Technoholic which will let the reader absorb and immerse in the "awesomeness" of this new gadget.

Bow

Bow has been ruminating over the dregs of Illu. It'll take some time before he gets over it.

Batti Department - Part 1

Exams. That time of the year when you wish there wasn't any light. No Batti. No Batti Department.

Going by Batti Department's reputation though, you could have exams even if there wasn't anything to test.

Technically speaking, Instrumentation Engineering is a subset of Electrical Engineering. Some say it has the best of both Electrical and Electronics. One could argue that the placement chart of Instrumentation Engineering almost eclipses all other departments. So you need to slog as much. They say the grass is always greener on the other side.

Here is a question to my fellow mates not from the Batti Department. Could you in 4 years of your stay in Kgp connect a circuit which even vaguely resembles the one below?

On first glance, it would appear that we were hatching plans to blow off Batti department. But I can assure you, cunning as we may be - we too have a heart. This is a DAC and an ADC converter encapsulated into one single assembly. We had to assemble that in a span of 2 hours or face the prospect of spending 2 hours in the library which IITKgp proudly proclaims as being the largest of its kind in Asia.

That is Batti Department for you.

Before I sign off on Part - 1, let me leave you with Batti Department's Profile on Orkut.

Batti Department

about me:	I am the most feared department in Kgp. That should do.
age:	Although I am 59 years old, the average age of Professors in my department is more than 60 years.
birthday:	Officially, it is May 1950, but I like to celebrate it during the end-sem exams.
location:	In a naxal hit area called Kgp, though even the militants are somewhat scared of me.

Rest of the profile isn't that important. In case you are interested, you can search "Batti Department" on Orkut and read the rest of the story.

Cheers!

PS: I am assuming that there will be a sequel to this some time in the future, though I cannot really promise one at this point of time.

Writing about Writing

Recursion

Being an engineering student, one always keeps coming across recursion. Recursive functions, recursive acronyms, recursive photos and what not. Recursion has become a part and parcel of my life. So why not a recursive post? Can that be theoretically possible? Can I write about writing?

About the writing process

Many of those who have read my blog ask me to write on topics far flung. What would it be like if I wrote a book? What it be like if I wrote on the Copenhagen Summit? What would it be like if I wrote on something that was completely unrelated to me.

The truth is - I cannot write on something that I do not know much about. And I find it difficult to do what journalists frequently do - make a bharta out of ideas.

In fact, there are very few authors who write about things they have no or little knowledge of. Take bestselling author Chetan Bhagat for instance. All his novels have been influenced by certain incidents in his life. Take any author. Amartya Sen doesn't write about Rocket Science. He writes Economics. Ramchandra Guha doesn't write Black Swans and Malcolm Gladwell doesn't write about Objectivism. This was something I really got clear when I browsed through the books at the Kolkata Book Fair.

Writing as a Hobby

It is very difficult to write on blogs as if it were your profession. Had I been paid to write like JK Rowling is, it would have been a different affair altogether. But till then, writing is my hobby - not my profession. So if you find me missing from Jazzonomics for few days in a row - you might find me busy with some crazy new hobby that I picked up or possibly reading some novel that I thought is a must read.

Freedom to write (Freelancers?!)

Writing has genres. One who writes on Jazzonomics (whatever the genre may be!) may not be competent enough to write on Scholar's Avenue or Awaaz because it involves a different kind of writing. The kind of freedom that a blog offers isn't available everywhere! One cannot write one's mind on Scholar's Avenue as one can one's blog.

Figuring out

If you still haven't figured out what the whole point of this post was, that is what I was trying to point out!

(Where else could I have my readers skim through lines of complete non-sense?)

P.S: If you are still trying to figure out if it was "writing about writing about writing about ... " aka whether it was a recursive post, you are probably on a wild recursive chase.

Kshitij 2010: A Review

Kshitij was bigger than SF. When I mean bigger, I mean the numbers. Kgp was crowded like hell during Kshitij.

This Kshitij was different. Instead of attending guest lectures and going to Mega-shows, I decided to participate - in quizzing, my new-founded love from SF. Not that I am any good at it - but basically I really enjoyed the experience. It was a lot of fun.

8 quizzes (I participated in 5) in a span of a week drew me into quizzing. We decided to form a permanent team so that we didn't have to look for people when we had quizzes. We are still in search of a fourth member.

Then a quiz blog was started where we would be posting questions daily. This way we would remain in touch with quizzing on a daily basis. You can check it out here.

I have started attending quiz club meetings and surfing the quiz blogs and the Wikipedia. So, basically I have taken up quizzing in a big way. 

Now if this hasn't convinced you about my interest in quizzing, here is a photograph of my room-wall that will quell all your doubts.

Quizzing all the Way!!

Kshitij had delivered. It had all the big sponsors. Lots of participants. Kgp wasn't Kgp for a few days.

But I pray to God/Ktj Core Team that it doesn't get any bigger.

P.S: Since Quizzing was the only thing that I did during Kshitij, I had very less to write about it. I'll be visiting the Kolkata Book Fair this weekend. Hope I'll have more to share then. Till then, Ciao.

Spring Fest 2010: Some Dreams Come True

As I sit typing this post at 1130 in the night, I wonder what it would have been had it not been for this night. My almost pre-decided post on SF would never have come thanks to some really Makhau show by the SF Core Team.

The Core Team hadn't got a thing right this time around. It seemed that SF was back to its old ways after the 50th anniversary of SF last year. The final day of the programme however was something to cheer about, cherish and take back from the 51st edition of SF.

Core Team: Live Up to Your Standards

First the Skid Row row. People said the Core Team didn't have much ado here. But as they take the credit for Pritam's show, so do they take the blame for the Skid Row row.

Then the timings. SF has never got it right. I guess it never will. Waiting for 3 hours inside a jam-packed Open Air Theater with an angry audience was really the heights. Waiting, waiting waiting.

And how can one forget the website. Kept changing. Kept loading. Kept crashing. But one could never find what one really wanted.

I have friends in the Core Team. But I think I must point out the shortcomings. The image of Kgp is at stake.

Quizzing, JTGW et al

5 high quality quizzes in 2 days really aroused my interest in quizzing. The questions were elusively simple - yet not easy. I am seriously contemplating increasing the size of my team from 1 to a seizable number so that we can rock quizzes in the future. Do let me know if you are interested in joining us!

JTGW was a close shot. I think we had a chance if we applied ourselves a little more. As they say, there is always the next time.

Luck By Chance

I think no phrase epitomizes today's evening better than the above phrase. There seemed to be nothing this SF that could compare with Indian Jazz Suites - some show that really stood out.

But as it turned out, Pritamda accepted a last ditch effort by the Core Team Members to come to Kgp. Rumour has it that Jal was cancelled because of security reasons. Or possibly they had surplus funds after Skid Row got cancelled. Whatever be it, the gamble paid off.

Not only did Pritam, Anik (winner of Sa Re Ga Ma television show), Sohamda and (not to mention) the beautiful Monali grace the stage, they did so with style putting music to the rather tribal Tempo Shout that IITKgp has been doing with for the last 50 years!

It appears that this wasn't the first time Pritamda was at SF. The only difference with his visit 15 years back was that he was now on the other side of the fence. Not entirely though, as he did spend some time with the people on the crowd!

All in all, it was wonderful to have something to cheer about.

And as the saying goes

All is Well That Ends Well (Or Rather All Iz Well!!)

Winds of Change: CCD in Kgp

Just in case you didn't know, Kharagpur has a brand new Cafe Coffee Day. Not that it is something to be really proud of or boast of. But I am just stating the facts.

The Pre-Kgp Days

The fact that Kharagpur didn't have a state of art eating joint had surprised me in the first place. Whenever I thought about IIT in my Pre-Kgp days, images of CCDs filled with geeky people in specs sitting on tables involved in some esoteric conversation would come to my mind.

One imagines a lot of things before going to places. Unfortunately, things aren't always as you imagine them to be.

As a "Faccha"

So when I finally landed up in Kgp, I was in for a shock. Even I (who has an amazing capability to do with any kind of comestibles and rarely make a fuss about it) found the Mess food Yuck!

So on Saturdays when the Mess would be officially closed, I would go have dinner at some eating joint - Sahara to start with, Billoos, Veggies/Eggies or some Canteen or the other. But rarely could I find the kind of food that I was looking for. Or for that matter, that ambience to sit down and Bhaat.

A lot can happen over Tea Coffee

One golden rule which I learnt at my first visit to CCD was - More isn't merry. If you dish out the bucks aka $$$$, you wouldn't necessarily get what you seek.

As I sat down on the table wondering how the fellow who passed by me could dish out 2147 rupees (yeah, I remember the figure) to have coffee - I knew it wouldn't be long before I got my answer.

The stuff that I ordered (Chicken Pizza and Garam Masala Tea) arrived 20 minutes after I ordered.

The Tea was a bowl of hot water into which I had to dip the teabags and put the milk, sugar ... blah blah blah. Although I knew this was the latest fad --- I never knew I would have to pay 20 rupees for preparing a cup of tea.

The pizza although yummy just went on to show how ignorant those people were about Mathematics. For one, their cuts didn't go through the center. On top of that, the cuts didn't go through and through. So I really couldn't apply the Pizza Theorem. As a result, my poor friend to be satisfied with whatever he had ordered (which was just about palatable).

But those people are here for a reason

They know how to do their business. As we finished our plates, we found something written on the plate.

Would You Like to Have Some Coffee?

That was written on his plate. Inscribed on my plate were the words "Want Some More?" in funky fonts.

My roommate says that Bengali blood runs in me. Even though I have lived out of Bengal all my life, my nature is the same. So as I sat back to enjoy the ambience, my friend ordered some more and hmm... had it not been for me... I really wonder how much he would ended up spending.

Our bill ended up at 200 bucks and I really marvel that we could have so much after all for just about 1/10th that the other guy ended up paying.

The final verdict

If you are looking to grab some coffee during the upcoming fest, you might be have to wait. I really doubt if there would be any space in their for Kgpians, let along non-Kgpians (Have your coffee before or after the fest!). It is the hottest thing in campus presently and its going to take some time before things begin to settle down.

And if you are looking for some good Water Tea, I would advise you to head off to Tikkas which is hardly a 10 minutes walk from CCD.

Ciao!

Confessions of A Goodie Goodie Kid

STATUTORY WARNING: All characters and incidents depicted below are purely from memory. The description is not very accurate. The reader is advised to take what is given below with a pinch of salt.

12 Years Ago

I was made the line monitor. It was a very responsible post. The class being seated in 4 columns, I was in-charge of the discipline of my column. (Imagine! Poor me)

My first real responsibility. I wanted to be up to the task. No mistakes.

Library period.

"Line. Please make a queue".

As is the tradition, shouts of "He's not making a queue. Why should I?", "Why a Queue?" followed.

"Raveesh, this is your last warning."

The rest they say is history.

I reach the library last along with Raveesh, am at the receiving end of what not and my mind is swirling with what not.

Luckily, the missing button on my shirt was attributed to loose threads. I was the goodie goodie kid.

7 years ago

I am new to the class having changed my section. I get into a fight with one of my classmates. After a 15 minute tussle, I manage to "nail" my opponent. (Apparently, his shirt got stuck in a nail). As he attempts to fight back, the inevitable happens. There is a screeching sound and before we realize what has happened his shirt is torn into two pieces.

Nobody discovers my misdemeanor. I was never rebuked for the incident. I was the goodie goodie kid.

Now

I am no longer a kid.

But when I watch kids being reprimanded , I think - "Why can't they be a goodie goodie kid?"

P.S: What happened between the 12th year and the 7th year? More goodie goodie stories later. Possibly when the time is right. But for now, this is it.