Sumit Agarwal aka Ha***

I will start with a very funny thing about him. The login idea that he chose for himself during our orientation period was 'sumita'. He is the eldest among all our Bhais, not only in age but also in his behaviour. Here is a guy with whom one just cant resist to be friends with. Someone who thinks about everyone, who takes care of everyone, someone with very high belief in spirituality, someone who always ponders about the purpose and meaning of life. He is an excellent cricketer, probably the best in our wing. He is someone with immense power(I know this because I have been at the receiving end at some of our friendly fights). And the best thing that I like about him is that he really understands you. He knows what you are thinking and would try his best to make you comfortable. On surface, he has a very carefree attitude but I do believe that behind it, there is a person who thinks alot about all his actions. Of late, he has earned the reputation of being the most efficient bargainer of our wing - Bargain Sumit. To sum it up, he is a friend who one cant afford to lose, someone who will always be there in the hour of need.

Rajesh Kumar Sharma aka ... aka Champs

... has a story behind it which has its origin in our first year. Before coming here, he had read Champak. And he committed the unforgetful error of telling that to our seniors just to find out that a children book became his namesake. Here is a guy whose mere existence can make someone believe in the God. Frankly speaking, the first time when I saw him, I was really surprised or rather shocked. I didn't know god made people like him. His skin was really doing a good job of keeping his body intact. I saw a person who was as thin as a human being can ever be, his eyes buried deep inside his thick specs. And with time, I knew him better and better. I came to know about a person from a small kasba of Madhya Pradesh who is always so simple and so modest. A person without any vanity, a person who is mostly introvert but who very rarely do come out of his shell. Most of the times, you can find him playing some flash games on the internet, or watchig some TV serial or a movie or otherwise sleeping. He is someone who never goes to class and can probably find million reasons for not going but inspite of that you could find people coming to his room for studying. He is someone who never looks outside his plate while eating, someone who is allergic to bath, someone who can make you smile at most unexected times with some most unexpected comments, someone whom you can always trust, someone who is truly Champs.

Amit Chandra aka Chandra aka Bihari

"He who could not be heard". An apt phrase to describe this Bihari who for most part of his life has remain incomprehensible to most of us because of our inability to speak and understand Bihari Hindi. But human beings make up for their deficiency in one field by excelling in other and so has Chandra. Here is a guy who is friendly, experimenting(literally speaking) and at times disgusting (this quality comes from his tendency to experiment). A guy who will be there to ensure you that you get into a difficulty out of nowhere. And if you get into a difficulty, he will be there to ensure that you come out of it. If you are looking for some fun, then you can count on him to join you. And if you are looking for some peace, then you can expect him to bring some unrest. Many succesful pranks which were played by us on some not-so-fortunate beings have been his brainchild. A cheerful, practical and a hard working guy. Truly a Bihari :) .

My wingmates, my IITK family

I clearly remember my first few days at IITK. I remember reaching the Kanpur station, reporting at the counselling service desk, opening the lock of my room, meeting my student guide. I remember meeting my wing mates, some of them were round, some of them were tall, some of them were dark and some were almost white. We were told by our seniors that these IITK hostels would be our home away from home. And after having lived here for the last 4 years, I can see how true the statement is. And if these hostels are my home, then my wing mates are truly my family. They are some of the best friends that I have had till now and I guess would ever have in my lifetime. These are the people with whom I have shared some of the most cherishable moments of my life, people from whom no secret of my life is hidden, people who I can trust with my eyes closed, people with whom I have had little fights, with whom I have had so much fun. I wish like Albus Dumbeldore, even I could put my thoughts in a pensive and could go back to the past whenever I feel nostalgic. But this sadly isn't some Harry Potter story. All good things do come to an end. At this juncture when some of them will move on to start a new life outside IITK, I would like to share my thoughts about them. I would like to share some of the most joyous occasions which I would like to preserve. I would like to make this blog my pensive.

In the coming posts, I would write testimonials for each of my friends, something which I really feel like doing, something that they really deserve.

Ignorance is bliss

It was 10th of March, 2009. We were on our way from Gangtok to Lachung. It was late in the evening and the sun had already set in. The road was passing through the hills with rocks on one side and valley on other. There were six of us in that Tata Sumo and i was there at the back with all 4 seats to myself. Other 7 friends were in the other Sumo. Things outside could only be viewed with the help of the headlight. Otherwise the visibility was very poor. Normally when I am travelling through such a terrain, I am very apprehensive, the valley being the cause of my apprehension. What if the driver take a turn at very high speed and the car gets uncontrolled and we all fall down? Why is the driver using only one hand to steer the car? Why is he talking on his cellphone? But at that time, there was no such trepidation just because I could not see anything outside from my back seat. All I could see was the road and some plantations on its border. The fact that we were travelling through a valley was there in my mind but it didn't surface as if I was subconsciously trying to ignore it. When we were returning back, it was afternoon and I could see the deep valley which I could not that evening. All my apprehensions surrounded me again.

Ignorance can really be bliss especially when one doesn't have control over the situation. I observe the same thing after the exams also. I am one among those who really hate discussion after the exams. I mean, once you have given the paper there isn't much that you can do. So why to spoil the fun by knowing your mistakes. In any case, one gets to know about it sooner or later when the answer sheets are shown.

I don't say that I always prefer to remain ignorant. Sometimes, some things may go out of control if suitable actions are not taken at suitable time. But sometimes, I do like to defer or delay things, face them only when it becomes inevitable to avoid them. And till that time comes, I prefer to be ignorant.

Sometimes, ignorance is a veil which corners you from the sufferings of the world outside. With so much of grief in the world - wailing of a child on a street, helplessness of an elderly beggar, powerlessness of a patient in a hospital, sorrow of an indebted farmer, pain of a mutilated person- the fact that we manage a good night sleep is possible only because we prefer to remain ignorant to these worldly things which prevail in abundance. At some point of time one must have seen people shivering on roads on countless winter nights, one must have seen people who are in want of treatment but cant afford it, people who are so much consumed in their present that they cant afford to contemplate their future, people who vanish the very next moment you see them. In these times when one feels completely helpless, ignorance is everything that you have to maintain peace of your mind.

A Day In Train

I came back today from a trip to Sikkim with my wingmates (sadly the last trip with them). Needless to say, holiday with 12 of your best friends is always rocking and the ending was to some extent depressing. I just didn't want to go back to the old routine after a week of great fun . And more than that, the thought that this would possibly be the last trip with some of my best friends was dispiriting. Our return journey was by Mahananda Express and was almost 24 hours long. I really have a great liking for the train journeys. Sitting by the window, watching vast fields, wind hitting the face, hair flying in all direction, electricity wires racing along with the train - dipping slowly and rising suddenly when a pole comes, constant rumbling sound of the train, conversations between total strangers. Poori, aloo ki sabji and achaar taste better than usual. Although this time, I didn't have the luxury of eating that. We passed through West Bengal, Bihar and UP. Three of India's most populated and most poor state. Travelling through them in a sleeper class coach is an adventure in itself. At every station, retaining the seat becomes a game. Most of my train journeys have been during night and hence the sight of vast agricultural fields was a little unusual for me. In fact, never before I have seen fields so vast, stretching everywhere your eyes can see. Some of them were green, some brown and some golden. One could also see small muddy ponds created by the rainfall. Children playing in them, animals resting in them, women washing clothes, all in the same pond. In the morning time, you could also see people defecating beside the railway track. You could see huts made up of sand with the roofs made up of hay. You could see India which is far away from cacophony of the vehicles, far away from the pukka roads, far away from the cellphones and ipods. You could see India where drinking water, sanitation and electricity remains a distant dream and about which you realize only when you are passing through them and about which you forget as soon you reach the next station which is when you are again consumed in the game. The night went well as I managed to have a good sleep. When I woke up in the morning, I could see someone sleeping in between the berths, a commonplace thing for Indian railways. Its really surprising to see how train accommodate people and how people accommodate in the train. Few hours later, we were back at the Kanpur station, back to the urban rush, back to the stinky smell, back to the old routine.

Drink for Mallya

I would request all the drinkers and even the teetotalers to have atleast one drink for India's liquor barron Vijay Mallya. After all he did what the what the governtment couldn't do. In a much talked about auction in New York, he paid $1.8 million to purchase some of Mahatma Gandhi's personal belongings. Its really appaling to see so much drama created for the belongings of a man who himself led a life of austerity. The reserved price for them was between $20,000-$30,000 but owing to the hype created in the media, the final price was $1.8 million. The items belonged to some James Otis, a Californian who is follower of Gandhian philosophy. Despite of him willing to pull out of the auctioning and the Indian government registering their reservations, the auctioning firm went ahead. Despite of Indian government going all the way to get Gandhi's personal items removed from the auctioning, they were finally put under the hammer. We could not stop a firm from getting the belongings of the father of our nation auctioned. Its really disgusting to see how much leverage India, the country of 1 billion people has in US.

One blog a day

Two days to go to the exams. The situation remains the same. In fact, I have now decided to write a blog every day(what a great time indeed to frame and implement new rules). I had always liked to write regularly and the only way I think I could achieve this is to make it a rule. And I think that even this much would count as a blog(so much for my rule).

Time to sign off. Bye. And if you happen to read it before 7th Feb, do wish me good luck for my exams. 

Exams are back

Exams are back. Just 4 days from now. And like all other exams that I have given during my stay at IITK, I am least prepared for this one also. And I am still not feeling any tension. Advanced Graph algorithms, Probability & Statistics  and Computational Geometry can try all the weapons in their arsenal but I know that none of them can make me study. In fact, every time exams come, I acquire some new habits. And as soon as the exam would end, these things would no longer remain my habits. Every evening, I am playing squash. I am reading articles and news more often than usual. And I am also reading English August. And the book is so cool that I really dont feel as if I am wasting my time by not studying. And the best part is that it happens every time. I am sure that most of the books I have read have been read before the exams, most of the serials and movies I have watched have been watched before the exams.

Well its just the second midsems. As I always say, endsems are still there to make up the things.