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.