Trip to Chikmagalur

Chikmagalur is situated in south western part of Karnataka. Carved against a mountainous canvas this beautiful place is full of surprises - lofty peaks, sparkling streams, lush forests and bracing mountain air. This district is primarily famous for its commercial crop - Coffee !

I got a handsome opportunity to explore the hospitality offered by Chikmagalur on Dec 22-23, when we planned a weekend trip to Chikmagalur. Getting the stats done and essential food procured, we left the chill weathered Bangalore at 4 am (Sat). Being just 9 of us, a tempo-traveller sufficed. Racing along the empty roads of Bangalore at that odd time of the day, I could find the wind literally freezing me.Having not slept the previous night, most of us got into fits of slumber. But the ultimate word was - "To not let anyone sleep !". And it worked I must say - for everybody kept talking. We took a tea-break and moved on.

A significant activity that occupied all of our minds during the journey was the "Wolf_Game", hats off to Bino for introducing it to us. Each one of us got so involved into the strategy/mindwork of the game that I must say we scarcely noticed it was time for breakfast. We were at Hassan, about 60 kms from Chikmagalur.

We planned to hit Chikgamagalur by noon if all went well. The roads were wide and clean and our driver was doing the best navigation possible. In couple of hours, we got into the Ghat Section, witnessing hilly passages into the unknown horizon. There were yellow grass meadows around and roads meandering uphill amidst them. By 12, Chikgamagalur arrived and we had to head for another 20 kms to our resort - TexWoods. It was surrounded by forests on all sides and offered a spectacular view of the entire Chikmagalur country. This is what their website spoke & I was eager to verify the same. We passed by the Honnala check post and then the road got worse. I was reminded of my childhood strides in Arunachal alongst the hilly slopes of the mountains where the roads used to be just enough to hold a jeep with hill on one side & steep abyss on the other. It was an identical scenario here, our vehicle bumping like it never had done before against the broken tar and tyring ahead. I looked around, it was concentrated vegetation all around with streaks of sunlight lighting our pathways. Desperate to ensnare the view around, I dashed against the camera, but was only partly successful owing to the mighty jerks. There were coffee plantations to be seen around and few cottages, but no TexWoods !! We kept moving and it took a while for our Resort to appear all of a sudden in view. It was relief at the end, we were hungry jackals by now.

We checked into TexWoods and had a refreshing lunch indeed. It was time now to look at the prospects available - we had Trekking, Fishing, Wildlife Safari in mind. But nothing materialized in the end as we slept off at 3 & our souls were woken up only by 7 in the eve. "Let's make the best time of the night at least" - thought we. Following a campfire lit by TexWoods, we had dinner and then sat down beside the swimming pool. I must say this was the best night I had ever been in. We had a full moon, plenty of food/drink by our side, music around (thanks to Bino & his band again !!), Ashish for his professional and fact-filled talk (despite the fact that he had swallowed in gallons and claimed he wasn't high !!), grass on the other side wherein we laid down in peace, forests all around. Noteworthy was the philosophical discussion that ensued (after couple of us decided we were not going to fall asleep so soon) - agenda included/not_restricted to "Defn of GOD", "Universe", "Existential Theory", etc. And I must say our discussion brought out a cocktail of wierd cum logical reasoning, which I would rather prefer to suppress due to an offensive touch ;)

Popular defn of GOD from Bino went along - "When u toss a coin, u get a tail or a head. GOD is the force that eventually decide that !". After a combination of philosophy+physics in the talk which carried us away very far & forth, we decided to take a stroll for a couple of metres to enjoy the forest and moonlight. But there was Ashish - "Come on man ! I am not doing this. Its pretty unsafe at this time of the night..". So we put off the idea, Bino turning around remarking "It's no fun getting along with a guy who's scared..". So we decided to hang around the resort amongst the car park & savour the ambience.

We were just busying ourselves with the surrounding, while I caught glimpse of something dark & hairy moving towards us. "Bloody hell ! It was a dark dog-like creature, having a bushy tail with its eyes sparkling green in the dark. We were petrified, "wat if it was an Wolf ?". "Do you think so" - I asked Bino. "Maybe, bt m not very sure" - was the reply. We suspected it to be a fox, but then it was way too confident & undeterred in its walk. It moved besides the car that was parked and came along the other side, turned around to have a clear view of us. Bino put off his cigarette (lest it be attracted by the fire), me and Ashish stood still pinned to the wall. Not a word to utter, for a moment I had butterflies in my stomach ! This creature then turned back & moved on. We fled into the resort rightaway, but our curious souls never stayed still, we wanted to know what that damn creature was. We spotted it coming along the same path again, then wiling around the resort, swimming pool and looking around as if he was the king of the resort. We took a close look from inside, it wasn't a fox, neither a wolf (for it would have pounced upon us on sight), seemed to be a dog probably wild in nature. Cutting off our endeavour, we got to bed still wondering what it could be. The next day we saw him again, moving along the same place and I managed to grab a image of him (shaky though).

Next day, we geared up for the Jungle Safari at the Bhadra Wildlife Sanctuary. A jeep took us about 10 kms deep into the jungle, which was pretty much awoken by the sunlight and a previous jeep that had passed by. So we couldn't spot anything significant but the ride into the forest was enthralling.

Returning to have the breakfast at the resort, we decided to go fishing and then trek down to a stream in the forest. The idea of a stream amidst the jungle was inviting indeed. We walked along, our guide taking us to the fishing pond where we were given the baits and fishing rods to dip in & let the fishes fool us. We fished, fished & fished, but not a single fish to be fished, oh.. what the fish !! Our guide smiled at us sarcastically- he had caught four of them and we were still not even off the mark ! But more than the outcome, it was a spectacular feeling to sit down, staring into the pond, dipping our unlucky equipment into the water and look at the commotion that followed - fishes frantically closing in onto the bait. After an hour or so, we took a leave. There was a stream couple of kms ahead, with a wooden log over it. We crossed over just for the sake of doing it and then got into the water, beginning the fundamental splashing game. After having gotten drenched & more importantly satisfied that everyone else was drenched, we got out of the stream & trekked back. We were damn hungry by now and I longed desperately for some quantity food. We trekked via a different route this time and then a jeep took us to our resort, tired and hunger-laden souls that we were !

Having a refreshing shower & invigorating food, we bid adieu to TexWoods and subsequently Chikmagalur, reaching Bangalore by midnight. Ample fun & memorable stay @ TexWoods accomplished :)

How to Tie the Tie !!

Most of us have had a tough time trying to Tie our Ties, (atleast me) especially during the Placement Interviews and other official occasions. Just came across this useful piece of info which demonstrates the diverse variations of it :
http://www.bensilver.com/style04/knots_bow.htm

Wonder Valley !

The place was aptly named "Wonder Valley", yet another place of fun & team exercise.
A group of 37 assembled at the Wonder Valley to hang out for a day & drench ourselves in a plethora of planning & adventure.

We were warmed up by the organizers there who made us stand in a circle & did those "energizers" which were the names given to such games. It was done to break apart the lethargy and reluctance among the people to freely participate in teamwork.

Dynamic Obstacle Course (DOC) was the next one, I must say this was the best Team Building Event I have ever come across. The whole course reminded me of Takeshi's Castle in POGO, which I had always wanted to try out. DOC though not so vigorous in degree was atleast similar in intention. Four teams were formed out of the 37 and each was asked to choose their own territories to play the game. Each team needs to go through 3 sectors and get to the other side. There are obstacles in each sector and the team needs to use the resources provided; poles and rope, to get from one side to the other.

So we began having a look at the resources we were given - two wooden poles, two ropes, and a drum (nay I call that a Baby). Yes, the drum was a portable one termed as the "Baby" in DOC game. The objective of the game was to carry the baby from one end to the other (of the entire territory ridden with various obstacles), without putting it down on the ground or handling it violently (by tossing him into air, etc..). In addition, all the team members had to also get over to the other end with their respective resources. The obstacles present were crossbars, swings, rubber tyres suspended from trees, free hanging ropes, stones and other artificially created ones. If a team member touched the ground while crossing over, he had come back & start over again. But the worst part said - "If you put down the baby, all of you need to come back to the starting point & begin again !!"

We were given 10 mins to devise our game plan. We needed to use the poles for walking over from one obstacle to another, exploring every possible way we could best beat the obstacles, keeping the baby safe with us. We could spot another team approaching from the other end. So it was going to be based on mutual cooperation. We both helped us in understanding the sectors each of us crossed and about how we overcame the obstacles.

It took an hour for completing the DOC. Having had lunch then, we were ready for the next activity - "rafting" which was to be exciting specially because it was we who were going to build out raft. The raw materials at our disposal were -
* Bamboos (12 ft, 6ft, 4ft)
* Rubber Cylinders (to be inflated)
* Ropes
The life-jackets, paddles were the common accessories.
We were given 10 mins to sketch the design of our raft and get it approved from our guides. Then we needed to procure the stuff & build the raft.
It was a novel experience out there learning how to set a raft and float on it.

Having built the raft, six of us could get into water with four guys paddling, two at front, two at the rear. Being built of merely bamboos and designed like a grid, we were thoroughly soaked in water. After frolicking in water, going out to three-fourths of the breadth of a lake (which our guides told us was about 60 ft deep), we had to return to our base.

We returned thoroughly drenched & the coffee that ensured was relishing indeed.
Overall a different experience for me :)

Catch the glimpse here :

PaintBall @ Yuyutsa..

Two weeks flew past after I joined my Internship @ Intel and my team was already craving for a "Quarterly", which was how our outings were branded as. And so our itinerary finally stood out promising an exciting finish of PaintBall.

The Agenda for the day long (Dec 7) event run as -
----
10:30-12:00 (Comprised of collective team building activities)
12:00 (Lunch)
Post Lunch (PaintBall Game)

Here we go !! 15 of us set out in the typical IT-Garuda Vaahan (SWARAJ MAZDA), the eternally adapted vehicle for transporting all software engineers and IT analysts across the city. The weather in the city was not very promising but then we hoped that we would invent fun @ the end. The talk in the bus mainly focussed on the heroic and highly inspiring starlwarts of Tamil/Telugu Cinema viz - Vijaykanth, Balakrishna, etc..

After reaching the Confident Casacades Club at 10:30, it was now time for us to settle down at a shelter & plan our team building games. Finding a place was difficult, too many groups had already camped with their own agenda.

Having settled down, we divided ourselves into 3 teams and started off with simple ones like Newspaper Building (in which each team was required to build something out of newspapers). Our teams were supposed to build "Bridge", "Charminar", "Cubicle @ Intel" respectively. After couple of minutes, we got some reasonable pieces of architecture, which each of the teams justified & marketed overwhelmingly. For instance, The Cubicle was designed so that it had a Laptop, ergonomic chair, cupboard, labels, shelf & so on. It was overall a commendable team work. We had couple of other games involving linking random sets of pictures (which turned out an exotic fun to my surprise) & a MinersGame in which we had a 3x8 grid of black&white tiles & each team had to crossover from one end to the other, without stepping on certain tiles which had mines lying underneath them. It involved considerable presence of mind & memory.

It was 12 when we ended & proceeded to the Lunch arranged by the Cascades team.
It was drizzling by then & there was a shallow swimming pool wherein hell lots of school kids were tumbling, tossing each other and wildly diving into the water. We specifically spotted a guy (kid ofcourse) sporting a brown monkey cap, sweater, sitting composed on a chair & staring at the kids as if remarking - "What crazy fun are you having out there !!!" (I suggest you check him out in the pics below). It was awesome to see the diverse reaction that he displayed on his little face.

Lunch was a complete one - Soup to Desert, I don't intend to delve into any specific details.

Post Lunch was the game that we had planned for - PAINTBALL. I had heard of it from quite a lot of sources & the mixed remarks were :

* It might hurt you at times
* It a tiresome activity
* Ultimate fun

We reached the PaintBall spot & I now knew that all the conceptions I had of the game was going to unfold. So here it was before my eyes, two large netted game arena designed much akin to a military field wherein you are supposed to get into in teams of two with guns and protective gear & shoot your opponents with bullets (which were balls filled with paint). Each arena is basically stacked with bunkers facilitating each gunman to hide & march further shooting down their opponents. The bullets used are filled with paint & leave a traceable mark when they strike a person. So the bottomline is - you are out of the game if you get a mark on your body (helmet, gun or elsewhere).

We played three variations of the game -

1.Dead Man Out
The objective was simple. You team has to shoot down all your opponents.
Ideal strategies need to be followed by a team as to the formation, combat & firing their opponents. Once you are hit by a bullet (the paintball pellet spills spreading color on you), you come out of the battle field & watch the game from outside cheering up your team.
2. Center Flag
Aim is to capture the flag at the center and take it to the opponent's base. The team that accomplishes this first, wins. But hold, its not as simple as it may seem. You need to plan as to who gives the person carrying the flag a safety cover & safeguards him, keeping the opponents occupied by engaging them in crossfire.
3. Double Flag
There are two flags each at the base bunkers (the bunker where you hide initially & start the game). Your have a dual role to play - to capture your enemy's flag bringing it to your base & to defend your own flag. You need to execute this combo of defence & attack efficiently.

The game as such exposed huge fun with situations wherein people ran out of bullets & kept revolving around a bunker, people getting shot from behind without noticing their enemy having surrounded them, shots fired from distance of a meter or so (mind you, it hurts at times, especially if fired from so close a vicinity, afterall the bullets travel at a maximum speed of 80 miles an hour !), getting blows on the helmet (bull's eye !!). There are situations in which an the entire team gets out but for a single person & he is surrounded with all of his enemies pointing guns at him. The game drives sheer amount of thrill and fun.

After having completed our three games of PaintBall and couple of our team members injured (because they were shot at their limbs which werent protected properly & they were struck from a very close distance), we made a move.

We then had some snacks @ the club & returned. The experience we had was amazing, I would suggest the reader to go & try it out. It gives you a hands on idea of how a real combat firing could possibly turn out, without the danger of getting killed ;)

Have a luk @ the pics :


Contact:
Raju - 98454 48955
Sharon - 98456 97673
off - 25559316
http://www.yuyutsa.com

0's and 1's are invaluable

Lost money could be earned, lost equipment could be purchased and so on/ so forth with any physical equipment, but data loss is irreparable and unrecoverable !
Being invisible & virtual in nature, it makes it the most vulnerable thing you can lose (at least for me!)

Want to know why I brag about all this so much ?? Well, this is something which happened to me recently that still floats amidst my senses. It was Nov 15, our semester exams ended @ college, couple of my friends had planned to get over to Bangalore for the famous House-Hunt before we joined our internships there. And so that night, I had my invaluable PC (hard disk rather, I prefer to be bound to the 'data') dismantled. I had plans to come back to hostel in a couple of days (after I confirmed my accommodation) and mail the PC straight to my house. So I left my belonging in my room, locked it up and moved to Bangalore. The house-hunt yielded fruitful results (all that s a different story altogether)

Two days hence I returned to hostel and unlocked my room to find something missing. I had placed one more thing on my cot !! Oh my god, UPS ???????? My 2k APC UPS was nowhere to be found. Scouring over the entire room I could find no trace of it. Was it a theft ?? I couldn't believe this totally. After couple of enquiries around, I accepted my fate and finally did let go. But there was more in store !

It was 23 Nov and I planned to pack my PC up and mail it to Bangalore. It was my habit to dismantle the CPU, remove the hard disk and take it with me (I'm pretty much data-conscious !!), so I removed the slate. "So here it is, very tightly screwed eh ?? Good", thought I and began to loosen the screws subconsciously without looking at what it actually was. "Dhunggg.." popped out the "Floppy-Drive..". Wat the hell !! So where was the HARD DISK ?? I frantically dived into the box and put my hand into all slots, but in vain. "Man, I can't believe this. Is this a planned assault on my PC ??" I was in no way ready to accept the fact, I knew what all my drives housed, 160 GB of heterogeneous data, which I could no way compromise with.

Not knowing what to do, I called up my friend and he gave me the shock of my life.
"RAM irukka paaru da !!". And so I peeped in ...........VOID AGAIN.................... The bloody "whomsoever concerned" had robbed my off my most vital components in a planned conspiracy, while I was away. Such incidents do occur in the hostels often (hard disks, mobiles being the major Area of Interest for the culprits), but that it had happened to me was simply indigestible.

And if you are wondering why I give such high a fuss about my hard disk, here are its contents:
D: - All softwares (A-Z) lined up totaling 20 GB, all of my project source code, documents.
E: - Audio/Video songs of diverse languages totally 40 GB (with the most wildest collection ever)
F: - Photographs taken since my first year in college (so that makes another 15 GB), assorted study materials, misc wallpapers (you could find a wallpaper on any topic you chose to) easily figuring 5 GB, my academic stuff & backups of the work/packages I had done over the last 5 yrs.
G: - Tutorials (placements, misc) spread over 18 GB
H: - Stuff on Higher Studies(GRE, bla bla bla...) which summed up to 10 GB.

Besides, there were two Linux Partitions that held significant data as well. Besides XP, I had Fedora 6 & Ubuntu running.. (This is a rough amount of the data I am able to summarize, there were several others ! My hostel-mates will acknowledge that..)

The next one day I turned very suspicious and began eying everybody who passed by my room as the suspect. I put myself into his shoes and began thinking of "5 good reasons why he shouldn't be the culprit !!!". I wasnt worried about the other components, that I had lost "MY PRECIOUS DATA" was thorning my every moment. There I then emerged as Sherlock Homes unraveled his mysteries @ the end. The only difference - I had no Watson to help me :( I had noticed the bolt of the door being unusually stiff and bent the day I came in, but I dint give it any thoughts. So it was actually forced through and the mastermind had managed to retain the lock in its normalcy. I spotted a stone lying at the far end of the corridor, which was probably made use of ! I was able to interlink events now, but it had no potential use now. Tracing a hard disk in a hostel of 2000 inmates was a herculean (rather impossible) task.

The last day @ hostel was extremely agonizing, I was reminded of the loss every moment, all I wanted to do was - "Get out of this damn place as soon as possible".
I reluctantly wrapped up the "mortal remains" of my PC and mailed them.
And drowned into lamentation, I left Coimbatore with a bitter climax !!

That night I wondered of the paramount importance and value, these random bits of o's and 1's hold. Data loss is indeed the severest of all !!

[P.S. Should the reader come across my hard disk, please do let me know immediately. Thou shall be richly rewarded !!]

Group Study @ PSG Tech Hostels..

Hostel life brings relentless fun and memories long cherished. Being in hostel for FIVE long years gives you a huge plethora of events to talk about. "Group Study" was a concept unknown to me until I joined the hostels. In the initial years, I found everyone pouring the lecturers words carefully into their books lest they should miss out any important points. That was the school-ish attitude in everyone.

But several years hence you find the following :
(Conversation among friends on the most hottest topic a day before the exam - "PROCUREMENT OF NOTES !!")

[Its 4:15 pm and the lab session is over]
Params : Machi, nalaiku test da ? Notes irukka ?
Raga : Pathukulaam da, somebody wud have ! Will go to hostel, have some sleep & start studying ok ?
Params : Dei, avalavo laam thevai illa da. Will start after dinner.
Raga : Seri, but machaan I have already bunked first test da. Need to write tomo test better.

[We go to hostel]
Deepan : Dei, unga kitta notes irukka da ?
Raga : Wat ?? U dont have a ?

[All of a sudden we realize nobody has bothered to even xerox the notes]
Deepan : Seri, seekkaram poi Pallavi Notes laam xerox pannidalaam da.
Params : Machi, enakku oru copy da. Kaasu nee potudu, aparam tharen :-)
Raga : Dei enakku also da. Get one biscuit packet also while coming da.
Arula : One appy for me!

[Varalu just entering the room]
Varalu : Enna da idhu. Oh xerox a ?? Overa padikkadinga da ! Seri seri, whatever u take, get me one copy, ok ?

[So couple of guys go out get the notes xeroxed and return to hostel. After dinner...]

Raga : Dei, start pannalaam da. There's lot to study.
Params : Machi, orey-oru Video song da. Then will start.
Varalu : Aaman da, appa thaan da body warm aagum. Podra podra, seekaram podra.

[And so I fish through the drives on my system which contain limitless collections of video songs of different languages. We begin the first one. And everyone starts to pour out his feelings and demands his favourite numbers]

Varalu : Dei, kaaka-kaaka ondra-renda song podra.
Arula : I want 'Aal-thotta bupathi' da.
Params : Dei, First alizee da.. Wait everyone !
Deepan : Vennengala, its getting late da. Stop it.
Varalu : Tutorial laam periya vishyama da ? Life-la varum pogum. Enjoy pannanum da !!

[Its 10 now. Time for TEA in the mess]
Params : Guys, come for tea !
Arula : Vaada polam.
Vasanth : Seekaram poitu vaanga da.

[So we go down to mess. Have tea & post-tea gossip. Come to room by 10:30. Sit around and stare at the notes. Everything seems Greek & Latin. Not a word to be understood]

Raga : Enna kodumai da idhu !
Varalu : Idhallam class-la eppa da nadhathanaanga ??
Varun : Last class la sonnganga da.
Params : Bloody Eli. Onnume puriyala !
[We study for some time, teasing each other]
Params : Podum-da-ba, lets take a break.
Vasanth : Snack bar polaam da. Vaanga da.
Deepan : Yea, let go.
Arula : Enaku oru chips packet & one kadalai vaangitu vaa da.
Vasanth : Panni, Mooditu vaa !
Arula : Dei, naan konjam neram rest edukaren da.

[We walk to snackbar discussing the lighter moments spent in hostel, about the heroic tales of our Tech-Watchmen, etc. On the way back, we stop at the stadium and sit down to discuss about some issue bothering the country]

Deepan : Come da. Lets begin studying. Lots left.
Arula : Dei, enaku thookam varudhu da.
Params : Me also feeling sleepy da. Shall we study tomorrow morning ?
Raga : Aaman da, ippa padicha no use !
Sreekanth : Dei, Mahesh Babu's new movie super a irukku da ! I am gonna watch couple of scenes in it & crash.

[We walk back to room, watch some video songs and collapse planning to wake up the next morning & study. But it doesnt work. We are woken by arula screaming at the top of his voice]

Arula : Dei goyyalungala ! Its 7 o clock da. Test at 8:30. Wake up !!!!
Params : Oh my god !
Raga : Innaiku aapu thaan..

[We try to wake up Varalu]

Varalu : Machi oru 10 mins da. Romba thookam varudhu !

[And so we frantically bury ourselves through the xerox sheets and try to atleast go through the entire crap atleast once. By 8, we wind up, surrendering the rest to almighty]

Varalu : Poda poda, enna padichalum anga poi bla bla bla thaan.
Arula : Dei, exam endha hall da ?
Ant : Y-202 da !
Sreekanth : Pistu da maama. Database da nee !!
Ant : Adhu engalukku theriyum da. Adangu !
Sreekanth : Its late. Come quick.
Params : Dei, pen, pencil edhuvume illa da !!
Raga : Aiyo, me too da. Evano nayeee suttaan da !!

[And so we leave the hostel at 8:25 sharp in hurry to the exam hall]

Lara Vs Tendulkar

Lara & Tendulkar have been 2 giants I have always rated as the best in recent Cricket era. Now who's best ?? A very complicated question indeed. Both are uncomparable in their own ways, each has his own distinct style and flavour of batting associated.

Nodoubt, Tendulkar is gifted with the ability to play all shots with equal grace & power, but Lara's exquisite footwork at the crease is an equal aesthetic delight !

Here's a page of comments/comparison on the technical-aspects of both the batsmen.
Lara Vs Tendulkar

Expand Your Creative Potential

As difficult as it may be to believe, everyone carries within them the ability to be brilliantly creative. This is a skill like any other, one which must be learned and exercised properly in order to reach its maximum potential. There are no exceptions to the rule; regardless of who you are or where you are from you too have a creative mind that can rival that of any professional. One simply need to learn how to use it!

Coincidentally I happened to come across some factors that trigger the creativity cycle in us.

Start a journal. True creativity stems from the ability to analyze and imitate the world around you; simply saying that something happens it not enough, it is necessary to understand the how and the why as well. In your journal try to select one item from your day which you deem to be the most memorable and record it in as much detail as possible. Try to describe what you were thinking, feeling, smelling, seeing and doing when it occurred. By gaining a deeper insight into these events you will gain the ability to look deeper into all aspects of life and eventually to use these extra observations in creative ways.

Attempt to make something from nothing. Pick up a piece of wood or soap and a carving knife and see where your hands take you. It is not necessary to have a blueprint in order to do this; your hands have a creative ability all their own and will find their way with or without your help. At first your creation may appear to be abstract rather than to contain form and figure; however, over the course of time they will begin to take on definite shape.

Participate in a community theater production. This is particularly easy if you are a part of a religious organization, as they often put on several varied performances throughout the year; this is particularly true of one that seems to have a large following of younger children involved.

Build a treehouse. It is in youth that your creative potential is the greatest, simply because you have not yet learned that certain things simply cannot be done. Building a treehouse will serve to remind your mind of happier times in which you were able to run free and you did not yet learn how to place restrictions on your mind. You may be surprised at what your finished product will look like by the time your creativity is done with it.

Take time every day to daydream. Imagine things you would like to do, things you do not want to do and things that you will do. There is only one rule; during your daydreaming time you are not allowed to be practical. You cannot think about what is on your to-do list or what the latest problem at work is. This is your time to allow your mind to explore its creativity in the form of free thought.

Why do we blog ?

It 2 years since I started blogging and have enjoyed being a part of this social network of bloggers worldwide. Its been a refreshing exercise typing out all that you hold and perceive in your heart & mind. My personal penchant to blogging can be attributed to my initial passion for writing pieces of literary tidbits that started from an "Autobiography of a Rock at a sea-shore", which my english teacher lauded to my sheer surprise, when I was in Std-VIII. Pen & Paper has given way to Electronic-Exchange of information and blogs are a perfect place to ease your nerves. "A complete relief from stress !"

I would like to the readers to delve into the reasons why they blog and drop in their comments and experience.

A popular description of blogging runs as - "We cannot live for ourselves alone. Our lives are connected by a thousand invisible threads, and along these sympathetic fibers, our actions run as causes and return to us as results".

Find out more on origin of blogs/Blogging Culture:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blog#Blogging_begins

My Experiments with the "Indian Passport System"..

I write this lovely handsome column to unravel all the travail I underwent ere getting my passport issued to me !

[Statutory Warning] : The column being lengthy demands lot of patience !

It was Dec '06 when I dreamt of applying for an 'INDIAN PASSPORT', much unaware of the consequences and challenges i would be faced with. Before proceeding further, I here's a succinct run through my profile.

Name : Parameswaran R
Born : Kolar Gold Fields (Karnataka)
Native : Tiruvannamalai (Tamil Nadu)
Education (Till X) : Various Vivekananda Kendra Vidyalayas (Arunachal Pradesh)
Education (XI-XII) : DAV-BHEL School Ranipet (Tamil Nadu)
Post-Graduation : PSG College of Technology (Tamil Nadu)

The Passport Application demands two proofs to be attached namely :
* Proof of Identity (Birth Certif, X/XII MSheet)
* Proof of Address (Ration Card, Bank Pass Book, Voters ID,..)

Episode 1: On 16 Dec '06, I arrived at the Passport Office, Coimbatore and got the particulars filled/attached. As matter of fact, these places demand great deal of forethought. If you realize the absence of a document, a photo to be attested, Xerox copies, etc there's no way you can come back & apply the same day, after being eliminated from the queue. After couple of hours, I neared the certificate verification counter & I was palpitating rapidly with skepticism on the outcome. The fellow present there glanced over the documents and uttered "Idhu enna pa ? Hostel address laam kudukka koodadhu !! " (translation: hostel address shall not be accepted), I told him my parents were temporarily serving in Arunachal Pradesh and they are not supposed to present it as their Permanent address. "No, go away & come here with proper documents" - was the firm reply. It seemed that he spoke only 2 sentences per day and expected no further questions. I was frustrated to the core as it was this office which gave me information to furnish my hostel-address with relevant proof. "Forget it.." - I convinced myself and returned with a dozen photocopies of filled passport forms & documents which were rejected.

Episode 2: Since it was getting hard for me to find a proper address at Tamil Nadu, I chose to fill in 'Kolar Gold Fields', my place of birth (Karnataka) as the permanent address.
"Should work out well this time" - I thought. After repeating the same procedure that can be summed up in as few verbs as "fill-in/affix/xerox/queue", I lined up at the counter. My man barked "Karnataka address-laam aagaadu pa, it is OTHER-STATE, apply there, go go !" (translation: Karnataka state addresses shall not be accepted). This was too much to bear. I couldn't believe that 'Indian Passport System' was so devastatingly De-CENTRALIZED !!

Episode 3: It was March ' 07 by now & I had an important exam ahead which demanded a Passport urgently. I had no choice now but to apply through "TATKAAL". Popular comments poured in - "Tatkaal-la apply panna just 1 week-la passport kaeyukku vandudum", "Police Verificationnae irukkadu, passport direct-a vandudom"! (translation: If you apply via the tatkal procedure, you will receive the passport within a week, avoiding any police verification that normally happens!). Having decided thus to go by Tatkaal I started enquiries about the procedure.

As per the rules of Passport Application via TATKAAL, following are mandatory documents :
* A Verification Certificate, from a officer of high rank employed in Central-Govt or
of a exceedingly high public business concern
* An affidavit from a lawyer, stating acceptance of certain terms & conditions
* Proofs of Address and Identity

To my profound surprise, even the passport office at Coimbatore gave me contradicting explanations. Some said no such Verification Certificate was required, that the Passport Regulation has been relaxed and henceforth. Another hindrance here was that the Tatkaal applications are not accepted by the office at Coimbatore, one had go all the way to The Regional Passport Office, Chennai. Irked with the response at the office, I decided not to depend on the Passport office for enquiries and learned from some of my friends that a 'Verification Certificate' was indeed mandatory.

Now, where do I get this certificate from ? As per the instructions on the form, only officers of the following rank were authorized to issue the above said letter.
* DSP/SP/DIG/IG
* Colonel (in service)
* Officer in the rank of Chief Secretary/Chief Advisor to the Central Govt
* Minister of Cabinet (Central) Rank
* Sub-Divisional Magistrate/First-Grade District Judge
* General Mangers of Public Sectors

And the certificate was a crucial one in determining my life thereafter. It was issued as a favor (not as obligation) only if the above officer was well-acquainted with the candidate & the background of his family.

I spent the next few weeks wandering across all prominent offices at Coimbatore, "DSP ", "SP", "District Tahsildar", "RTO" and several more, hunting for a remote possibility to get a certificate issued. I tried also through many influential people. I was desperate to get it done at any cost of money. Demands at all corners ranged from Rs 2000/- to 8000/-, just for a single certificate !! But all ended up in the drain. The primary reason stated everywhere was that :
* I had undergone my education at numerous places, so people were reluctant to
accept.
* If I was found indulgent in any issue later on(after acquiring the passport), the
officer responsible for the Verification Certificate would be
prosecuted(irrespective of his rank!!) and this would blacken his career.
* My permanent address at Karnataka posed as great problem.
* Recent serial blasts at Coimbatore, caused the significant authorities to follow
strict rules and not issue unwarranted certificates to anyone.

"Damn it.. !!!" - it was after 2 weeks of continuous labour just before my semester exams that I concluded - "This was not going to work anyway !" And I had to either quit or figure out a better way. My semester exams were about to commence, with meagre days of holidays left.

Episode 4: I decided the OTHER-STATE issue was going to wreck me constantly, so I resorted to apply in Karnataka. Reaching Kolar Gold Fields(KGF)-(Karnataka) on April 11, I gathered a passport-agent "Jambu", to file in the application at the Regional Passport Office, Bangalore. I had to seek his help because of the very less time left before my exam.
Never did I know Jambu would emerge as the source of a bunch of grim situations later. He said he had a good rapport with the concerned authorities at Bangalore & that I would receive the passport within a span of 10 days. "Relieved at last!!" - thought I, but there was more to ensue.
Me semester exams ended & then followed a college trip. I hoped that my New-Passport would await me @ my birthtown !!

Episode 5: I returned from my trip on May 9 and headed to KGF, where I was told that as the Passport Office at Bangalore was being shifted to a new place, my application could be filed only on April 30 and hence the police verification documents were pending. I could feel myself losing my temper. But I decided to wait. Days passed by, it was May 15 and there was no trace of any police verification happening around. Jambu had messed up with the entire system. The documents for Police-Verification had been dispatched at the Passport Office @ Bangalore, but lost midway !! It was an additional burden for me then to follow up the entire process chain to see if anything had been overlooked anywhere, but I could find no trace of the missing papers.

It was already May 20, and I had to procure the passport soon. There was only one way out now - "To hasten the already applied procedure through Tatkaal..". This meant that though I had applied by the normal procedure initially, I could convert the application into Tatkaal (by remitting the additional amount) and get the passport issued in a short time. Judging that this was the only feasible solution now, I started looking around for the same dignified strata of officers to issue me a 'Verification Certificate', this time me being in Karnataka, denial was next to impossible !

Through known sources, I managed to get a Verification Certificate(VC) from the First-Grade Judge at KGF, I also prepared an affidavit. The VC had to be issued by the concerned officer in his official stationery (Letter Head,etc..) and a photocopy of his Identity Card had to be attached. All these were completed except that the judge declined to type into a Letter-Head saying that judges weren't supposed to use Letter-Heads(doing so being an offence under Law). So, the VC was typed in a green-paper(the officially used stationery at court). Thus, things seemed to be getting solved so far, but not yet, not yet !!

Now, I had to apply at the Regional Passport Office, Bangalore in person with the VC, affidavit & other docs, paying the additional Tatkaal fees of Rs 1500/-. I had to leave to Coimbatore for some work the day before and hence arrived at the Passport Office, Bangalore on May 22 to complete the work.

I was told that this was the new building at Koramangala, shifted from M.G Road. The building seemed new and impressive indeed, but I was shocked to see the infinitely-long queue (hyperbole regretted, it was about 600-700 mts)outside it. There were people on both sides of the building lined up right from as early as 5.30 am. As I stood in the queue for Tatkaal, I was surprised by a two police constables who demanded 200 rupees from a man & made him stand right at the front of the queue ! This was followed by another transaction in which the constable got the documents/application & went in to file in by himself, in exchange for a sum of 800 rupees. People in the queue were undoubtedly annoyed with these acts, but there was little that anyone could do.

After an hour or so of queue-dwelling, the counters were permitted access and I got a token issued for my Tatkaal form. I entered the building then, waiting for my # to be summoned and gathering all my prayers rushed to the examination counter. A lady there checked my VC & Affidavits. And she remarked - "Where s the letter head on the VC ? We can't accept VC s in such a form.. Did u check the instructions ?" I was petrified ! Yet another hurdle.. I tried to explain her that it was a judge who issued the VC & he wasn't supposed to use any letter-head, but she remained adamant and argued violently. I resigned from the counter dejected & tried to meet the Public Relations Officer(PRO) for enquiries. I found a constable there as well, allowing only those to meet the PRO whose VC had been approved. I thought I had to get in illegally & so dashed in avoiding being noticed. The PRO listened to my plight patiently but said - "I am sorry, even judges do use letter-heads.. Please get a fresh one !" And so the day ended in turmoil !!

I was mentally out of lane, not knowing what to do now. To get another VC on a letter-head was impossible, for the Judge had clearly stated that issuing any such content was illegal & would endanger his career & subsequently mine as well. And so, to find another person to issue a VC was ineluctable now. The next day, as a matter of luck, few officers from BEML(Bharat Earth Movers Limited) arrived to meet the judge on account of their personal errand. And the judge promptly introduced them to me & asked them if their GM (General Manager) could grant a VC. The people agreed & in an hour I was at the BEML Administrative office, lined up to meet the GM. After dozens of questions on my private affairs and the proof of urgency for passport, a VC was prepared, but it wasn't on the GM's letterhead, rather on the normal BEML company letterhead !!!! I knew this had to be clarified then & there and asked the people , but to my ill-luck GM's LetterHeads were locked up somewhere & the concerned people were on leave. "Tough luck" - I thought, hoping this would suffice & create no further problems at the Passport Office. I went in to meet the GM in person who asked couple of questions about me & then signed the VC, giving me the photocopies of his identity card.

Off I went the next day to Bangalore, this time prudent enough to line up well-ahead in the queue. I underwent a series of procedures all of which were a replica of what happened on the day-of-denial(of VC). To my utter astonishment, everything seemed to go fine & I paid the tatkaal fees, got the receipt in my hand, which stated the date of issue of passport as May 29 (by hand). "But my boy !! Not yet", yelled my fortune deity - "you are not yet done !". As I inspected the receipt more closely, I grew ferocious. My name was incompletely printed devoid of the surname. "So, was it going to carry over to the passport as well ? This would make things still arduous". I called up Jambu and blasted out at him for his "meticulous" work ! He persisted saying - "Saar, passport-la correct-a varum saar ! Neenga worry pannadinga" (translation: Sir, you don't have to worry, it would be printed correctly in your passport), but I wasnt convinced. I glanced at the Passport's database & found my surname missing there. It was evident that my wise agent had demonstrated sheer negligence while filing in the application. As a matter of fact, it was not Jambu who had filed in the application directly but sent it across through another travel agent at Bangalore. "Oh my goodness, this ignorant drone was a SUB-SUB-AGENT then !!" I left to Coimbatore that night warning Jambu a dozen times of the problems if passport got printed incorrectly & told him to make the change by himself or through the concerned travel agents.

It was the May 29 & I arrived at the Passport Office, Jambu promising me heavily & earnestly that the name issue had been resolved. The dispatch of passports was done in the afternoon (after 3 pm) and the recepients had to wait inside a hall where they were called out by names. After an hour or so, my name was called "Parameswaran Raman !!" I was excited ("Jambu has indeed done it!!") and rushed to get the passport. I opened it ("I must admit it was a great feeling.."), and behold !! The details ran over as :

Surname : ---------------
Given Name : Parameswaran

I was beyond my senses to react. "Jambu, yet again proved himself !". I called him up & demanded explanation. He said that the Travel agents have mis-entered the name in the application form. Not willing to depend on Jambu anymore, the next day, I decided to file in a Passport FORM-II (which is meant for any corrections to be made in the passports already issued) by myself. Had the mistake been on the part of Passport Office, I could have got the passport replaced for free, but since it was an incorrect entry in the application form, I was charged an additional 500/- for the surname to be added(in a fresh passport ofcourse!).
Completing these formalities, I received my new receipt stating a fresh passport would be dispatched in 15 days. "Fifteen days !!!!" - was too long. They said the tatkaal status was not valid now. If I needed to hasten the process, another Tatkaal Application (1500/-, VC, Affidavit,etc..) would be required.I chose not to spend any more money & called up Jambu to get my passport moved out in a day or two. Following his repeated excuses, I then decided to meet the travel agent in Bangalore.

And so, it was two of us, Jambu and me, who sped to the Travel Agent's office at Coles Park, Bangalore. The agent there took out his records & showed me that he had filled in the name exactly as Jambu had mentioned in his paper. So, accusation flowed onto Jambu at all ends, mine being the worst. I yelled at him for all the mental agony he had caused, he was speechless. He asked the Travel Agent if he could help. But, the agent had an explanation. "You should have come to me immediately when you realized the passport was incorrectly printed. I could have got it right then. But you dint, so I am helpless". I was adamant that something be done. The agent then agreed to move out the passport, in not less than 5 days with an extra sum of 700/-.
I was confident of not rolling out a penny to the agent. "What goes out now must flow out of Jambu's pocket" - I thought. The agent then agreed, I made Jambu pay the amount and left the office.

Seven days passed by & there was no trace of any speedpost anywhere. I grew impatient and growled at Jambu helter-skelter, upon which I was told the passport had been speed-posted and would arrive in a day or two.

And, "alas it happened !!!". I got my passport in a healthy state & with proper nomenclature inside. The Passport office had also mailed me my old (cancelled) one.

These few days of ordeal led me to all major corridors of the Indian Passport Application Process and I am tempted to title it as "My Experiments.."

Sentiments Exemplified

I have liked the poem "Highwayman" by Alfred Noyes ever since i heard it.
Lend a glance to it..

http://www.potw.org/archive/potw85.html

Mini Marathon ..

After a long forethought, i decided to give it a try. PSG-Tech "Mini Marathon" was scheduled to kick off @ 7 am yesterday. Making my pair of shoes available the night before, i dashed into my slumber @ 1 am. I was diligent enough to see that any resolutions made by the toughest minds in the world were bound to liquify before the tyrant of all emotions, passion and sincerity - "SLEEP" ! And so had to be cautious enough to set in an alarm & two reminders at 5:45 am to make it to the Marathon.
Things went on well, i woke up successfully and gazed out from the veranda. I could some "Aarva Kolaar Jantoo" jogging around the field and yelling "Machan, Vaa da.. Warmup Pannalaam..". The first years block was a 'cacophonous mess' with most of the guys exchanging their anticipations on the Marathon and bantering each other on his outfit and mannerism.
I put on my shoes and moved on to the stadium to get my chest number, "385" - pronounced the volunteer there. Pinning it to my chest, i wiled away the few odd minutes watching the preparations going on around.
It was 6:45 and the Physical Director voiced the rules for the race. The whole track was 8 kms long, meandering across the campuses of PSG-Tech Hostels & PSG-IMS&R respectively. I wondered if i would be able to complete the race !
By 7, the principal flagged off the race & the crowd tumbled through the road ahead. The initial 15 minutes were a total chaos with people speeding across excitedly as though determined to win the race. It was a dense swarm of shoes tottering on the tar ! After a mile and a half, the crowd diluted to my satisfaction, as few souls remarked "Machan, Mudiyala da.. Ipadiye odna deadbody thaan! Ambulance kooda kidayathu da.." Most of the guys slowed down within some distance, panting out. My senses started abusing me for tiring them at such an hour when they ought to be buried in the bed. Not wanting to stop, i continued carrying myself in brief trots.
The mob diminished in front of me, with few struggling at the same pace as mine. The sight of track stretching way ahead into the PSG-IMS&R campus wringed all energy out of me. It was highly tiresome to run around the football ground, watching the "co-panters !" It was probably half the distance when i thought i would come to a stop (not withstanding the 5 km continuous run), well aware of the fact that once i lay my legs to silence, i would find it a herculean task to start-off again. I came to a standstill & it was an eternal bliss for me then. An auroral warmth hit my face drenched with sweat. I turned back & spotted some fellas dragging themselves towards me. Not wanting to deteriorate my position which i guessed was beyond a hundred, i started off.
The next few minutes pricked me like hours with each step desiccating me to extremum. Moving along in ant's shoes, i completed the race at 7:55 - duration of 55 mins. I wondered what position i would be in, which i expected would be in three-digits :) I chuckled @ this very thought. The man @ the endpoint, handed over a chit to me & i glanced over. "58" it said, so this these senses of mine managed a decent finish,"Not bad", i thought.
Being intensely evaporated, i dashed on a chair waiting for the elite members to receive their medals & trophies. My turn came after quarter-an-hour & i went up to collect my Certificate of Participation.
The race though weary, was a tonic experience indeed :)

I Wish Life Had an Undo()

I am led to wonder as to how mechanical & monotonous life has turned into, after the advent of the so-called ground-breaking invention in the recent past - COMPUTERS !
Designed to be an eternally faithful servant of mankind, these Silicon-Creatures slowly are beginning to gobble much of his time & human virtues ! Who ever foresaw that our human-brain could fall into an abyss, ruled by these twin-state machines ??

Population Explosion is widely talked of.. What do you think of the propulsion in the no of computers ?? The rate at which they are multiplying is staggering !! Every school, organization(charitable & moneymaking inclusive), grocery shop, mall, etc .. seems to be computerizing its habitat, benefits of which may seem manyfold of course, but the essence of human-life dwindling away into these "binary-hearted demons" ..

Every child in the wee-days of his life, is introduced to the most important members of the society namely "Mouse", "CD", and worst of all "EMail & Internet".. He is taught to see the world through the web, depriving him of the much brighter one outside his window !! Gone are the days children played "Hide & Seek", typical Indian Games like "Chor Police :)", etc .. Children these days are beginning to view these as rather kiddish acts .. "We are modern and smart.. We play Games on the PC.. They are much challenging.. And we dont get exhausted.. Most importantly, i dont get scolded by my mom for getting my clothes dirty" - they claim !! "Isn't that intelligent?". The brain receives all the attention ("Strategy,Shooting,Combat !!), while rest of the body rests in undeterred peace relishing the periodical cookies and sips of aromated drinks .. Forgotten are the games played in open air, around the trees and thick bushes.

Yet another virtue i found getting extinct is the habit of writing, "writing in one's own hand". People earlier spent considerable time displaying their handwriting on diverse kinds of manuscripts, testsheets, letters, bills, addressbooks, diary etc..
What do we do these days ?? Its exactly what i am doing right now , TYPING out my heart's voice !! Had i been in an era couple of decades ago, i would have emptied all of this in a handsomely handwritten diary !! But today things have changed.. Handwriting s considered to by ugly, cumbersome & hence branded as outdated.
"TYPE IT OUT MAN, use the NOTEPAD !" goes the revolutionary saying !! Man has forgotten and literally lost the power of writing.. No more is the "PEN" mightier than SWORD, the soft-KEYS that our fingers lie upon the whole day are the ones to talk about !! We thus end up tapping frantically on the lifeless keys, yelling the Verdana language on the screen which we then happily print out ..

How long has it been since you wrote a letter (strictly handwritten i mean) ?
Couple of days? months?? years ??? The Advent of EMail has literally trampled any possiblity of a paper-work being carried from one place to another. I wonder how the Postal Service still survives !! The fact that doesnt percolate throught most brains is that human-handwriting conveys far much an emotion to the reader than what a congenially designed "font" ! When you write, "your identity remains & the handwriting speaks aloud in your absence !", but when you type-out, you merely send out bits of information sans-emotion.

Our lifestyles have staged a dramatic metamorphosis, we lie curled up infront of these twin-state machines, earning our livelihood and confining our life of laughter and joy amidst our sober workspace !! For hours together we haven't sensed the joy of rain, the soothing spray of evening sunlight or the bitter cold in winter.. We have been centralized ! We have forgotten how the world was, before all this happened !
All we know of is our machine, where we login,type-in, logout!

I wonder if life would ever windback to what it was created to be like !!
Someone, rightly said - "I Wish Life Had An Undo Function()!"

Up and Running !

"It was all over !" - my long awaited registration for the 'Graduate Record Examinations' was completed successfully on Sunday, Jan 28.
I had chalked out a fairly neat schedule for this day, which was meant to commence with an attempt to wake up early (early == 8 am), visit the "Tech-Pillayar" temple and then dash for the internet systems in our LAB to ease myself with the registration !
With commendable efforts i managed to get myself seated at my registration desk by 10 am (delay regreted !!). I could sense butterfiles in my stomach,that multiplied with every page that was refreshed in "ets.org" . The fact that it was going to be a crucial and highly significant registration in my life was a thought that bid me think a dozen times before i hit any "submit" button. Meticulously entering my personal proforma & credit card details, i competed the registration thus marking my destiny to evaluate me on June 6, 2007.