The Transition

Well to start with I would like to say that, don't let the title fool you at all!!! I have already written a couple of blogs about the change from college life to the "professional" one and as I sit down to write this one, my intentions are totally different (WARNING: I may end up saying the same thing). As I sit here, at my home today, jobless and useless for past couple of months, I have had the time to think, which by the way few people complain that I do a lot! I have the benefit of hindsight. 

Most of us have already received our final semester mark sheet and the others are in the process of getting theirs. Soon the university will have a convocation and we will be officially declared as "engineers". This thought has unsettled me.

One day, I was just sitting at my home, lazing around, no worries, not tension and then some one asked me when will I come back to Patna next. I did not know how to answer that question because I din't have an answer. Earlier it was so easy to say summer/winter vacation but it struck me then that there are going to be no more summer/winter vacations. I would not say that its a bad felling all together, on one hand I am happy that I am going to be earning now, the whole idea of being independent is fantastic while on the other hand the idea of things changing so drastically is little frightening. So I though and I looked back and this blog is the result of that process. 

First year of college is always accompanied with excitement. There is a transition from school to college. In your school you were the senior most and now all of a sudden you are like a puppy lost in the crowd, left out there to fend for himself. I am sure college life is one thing which everyone looks forward too. First year was filled with getting used to the place and meeting new people. You had to brave the rains and then sit and listen to the lectures and also get used to the accent. I remember how everything sounded Greek initially, well not that we were not interested but how to you cope up when "M" is pronounced as Yuuummmm and "N" as Yeeenn. You make loads of friends in your initial days, some stay with you while you just move a little away from few. First year went in no time and before I realized I had loads on my hand.

Second year was the time when we moved into our respective branches. Our one big section was divided into smaller ones. It was this year that we cemented the relations we had formed and made a few new ones. You don't have any kind of tension in the second year, placements are still couple of years away and MBA is just a word that sounds good in news. Two of my friends, Rahul Sharma a.k.a Lallu and Jerry had already shifted out and it was at their place that we had the first house party. One hell of a night of which i still have some vivid recollection. Sidharth Singh a.k.a Sid (though my personal favorite is honey singh) graduating from boy to man and Mohit Morarka a.k.a Muru dancing like a fool with his broken arm (he always had one part of his body in plaster at all times) were the high points of the night. There was also this event of Abhishek Roy a.k.a Roy leaving us in the middle of the road and taking lift in a "shared" auto to get some stuff and never returning back. I remember how much Rohit Pandey a.k.a RP cursed him that day. So second year went in exploration which also included a couple of road trips. I say only couple of road trips cause at that time only Rohit Kumar (Roh) had a bike. So every time we planned something, we had to make like hundred phone calls to arrange for transportation. In class, Piyush (Poppa), Sid, Sarthak (Sexy), Divya, Saumya, Madi ensured that there was never a dull moment but then they were in a different section, in our section we had Mayur (MJ), Toshu, Roh to ensure we had all the entertainment required to cope up with the "difficult and tiring (read: boring)" course. Lot of times it used to end up on MJ, Toshu and me being on one side and taking Roh's case. 

Third year was the time when all of us moved out from hostel into "our own" place. We even got more vehicles and naturally the road trips increased. Personally for me it will always be a big year as I got a car, thanks to Papa and Kushal. Parents generally have this apprehension that once their kids leave hostel they are bound to get "spoilt". This made me laugh cause I seriously could not figure out how much more can we be possibly be spoilt. Jokes apart most of us did better academically once we shifted out. It was also the time when we had more number of parties and the secretary of our building was a constant nuisance. Third year was marked by people doing all sort of things. The definition of fun was changed and just when you thought this is it, everyone said, "bring it on". People throwing up in bathrooms, dancing till late, laughing for no reason. 

The beginning of the final year was a very unusual one. My brother, Abhinav, had decided to join MIT and I was to come with him to Manipal, full twenty days before my course was scheduled to start. To my relief I had MJ and Poppa for company there besides RP, Jong and Roy. Till date when Poppa and me sit together we end up talking about "those twenty days" at least once! Well I am sure Poppa would agree that this is not an appropriate forum to discuss those days. Final year saw us touching new heights in every aspect. We did all that one could possibly think of and before we realised placement season was upon us! The first company to visit the campus was Delloite. Only a few of us got into that! The placement season for us, "less intelligent" ones, opened with EMC. Morarka, got into it and gave us a reason to be happy! It was followed by Sid's Citrix! I remember us shouting "Sidhhhhaaarth Singh Sidddhhhhaaarth Singh" at KC! Soon all of us were placed and we then realised that what every any one might say, we did everything possible there and still ended up with a job in our hand. 

In the middle there were those random/planned trips to Goa. The number of road trips rose. We even played kabbadi at one of the beaches. Saraf's one liners kept us going even on the worst possible days. 

Today, when I pick up my phone to call any one I have to ask my self if he will be in office or not? The transition, so far, has been a smooth one. People have more or less settled down and have become comfortable with their new life. I just hope this is not the silence before the storm and that we continue to be what we have been! 

Cheers and Good luck!

Social cause or a political gimmick

I am not a political guru, nor am I an expert on social causes or rallies. I haven’t even been a part of a cause. I don’t support or oppose the concept of rallies or protest which are organized these days in India. I have not voted even once in my life. My experience might be very limited. However, I do consider myself to be a responsible citizen. I have no doubt that I love my country and understand the problems that it faces. I somewhat understand how things work here. I feel as patriotic when I hear the national anthem as anyone of you would feel. India winning the cricket world cup was as happy a moment for me as it was for you. However, having said all this, I look at my country; I wonder is this how our Father dreamt of it as? Is this what Bhagat Singh gave his life for? When Jawaharlal Nehru said, “At the stroke of mid night hour, when the world sleeps, India shall awake to life and freedom”, did he mean this?

Democracy seems to be the most loved and loosely used word these days. People can do anything these days in the name of democracy. You are not happy with the government – protest, you are not happy with your employer – go on a strike, you are not happy with the marks awarded to you by the board – shout slogans, after all you are living in a democracy, that too the largest one, so you have the right to protest.

It’s true that right to protest is one of the basic rights in democracy. Democracy, after all is, “of the people, by the people, for the people.” Everyone should get a fair chance to say what they feel. After all, the entire purpose of democracy is defeated if we can not speak our mind out. Democracy, in other words, gives us freedom. Freedom to express ourselves, freedom to live our lives the way we want to and freedom to do what we please but of course within legal limits. It is not wrong to say that today democracy is probably one of the best gifts that we could have got. We can say that we are gifted to be born in a democratic country. Right from the time we are born, the constitution assures us, at least theoretically, that we will not be oppressed and are free to have an opinion.

Off late, we have seen a lot of protests being organized at large scale, to either curb the menace of corruption or to bring back the “black” money or just because someone is unhappy with the management of his company. As soon as someone realizes that there is some social problem another person is already protesting for the same. While I am not against the freedom guaranteed to us; we all must understand or at least try to understand if we, as a society, are ready for such a freedom. Are we, in general, responsible enough to carry the load of this freedom and the responsibilities that comes with it on our shoulder?

Today, we like a leader, not for any other reason but just because he is famous and we have been told by our parents and more “informed” peers that he is an honest and true leader. We don’t even stop to ask ourselves what exactly are the values that the leader stands for. If someone asks us, we simply say, “Oh, we believe in him and what he says.” A lot of times we don’t even know what the leader actually says. Since, we live in democracy and are entitled to our opinion; we just make an opinion without even considering various factors. Again, I am not saying that this implies to all of us, but then I am sure you must have come across people or at least heard of them or seen one on TV who are protesting or are part of a large gathering and when you ask them that what exactly are their demands, the best reply that they can come up with is, “Oh, its ‘something’ about XYZ, I don’t have much idea but I know this is a noble cause because my friend told me so and I am here just with him!”

I agree protests are the integral part of democracy. A lot of times we need protests to keep the government in check and get a point across. At times a simple plea or a letter is not enough to get you justice or to ensure that your point is heard. No one ever questioned the candle march for Jessica Lall and the slogan “Justice for Jessica.” However, we as responsible citizens should not misuse this “luxury”. We should be aware of the issue at hand.

I am of the belief that the power to protest should only be exercised by a person when he or she truly believes in something, however major or minor it might be. For every individual the magnitude of the issue varies according to ones need and position. There is nothing wrong in standing for what you believe in and your point should be heard. It is never wrong to stand up for yourself; however one should be responsible enough not to misuse this power.

This power to protest when misused becomes a menace and a tool to cause unrest. It no more remains a just cause but merely a political gimmick. I would just like to ask you one thing, where should we draw the line? When should we stand up and say enough is enough? How do we ensure that we don’t get carried away and end up being on the wrong side? When do we start to say, this is it, you can not gain sympathy and support under the disguise of social welfare? Time has come for each one of us who claim to be a proud Indian to stand up for our beliefs but at the same time make an informed decision. It is only when the people start to separate the good from the bad, genuine from fake and light from dark; will the country rise.

Only when every citizen becomes responsible and worthy enough to carry the “burden” of democracy on his shoulder shall the country rise.

*DISCLAIMER*

There is no intended reference to any person living or dead. Any  such resemblance is purely coincidental. 

Life beyond "everything"

Well it is that time of the year again, the board results have been declared, the college results have been declared, new set of graduates have been introduced to the world and people are ready to face the challenges that lie ahead of them. Some of us are looking forward to it excitedly while others are wondering what will happen.

My last four months have been really hectic and a very learning experience. Some call it as the life from the other side of the fence. In my opinion, once you get to the other side, all of a sudden it strikes you that you are solely responsible for all your actions. All of a sudden you feel that a huge load of responsiblity has been placed on your shoulder. People whom you would have never expected to get serious, become really serious. 

Today, as I sit in my friends' flat and see them pack I realise that this is probably the last time that all of us will be sitting together with absolutely no tension and nothing to worry about. This would probably be the last time that we all will sit together, one guy packing his bag and others just taking his case. 

Time does fly by. While most of my friends will be goin to Pune, there are still few of us who will be scattered here and there. As I sit down to write this blog, a friend enters the room and says that he feels like going somewhere and without thinking twice we just get up and go. 

I still remember how we joined college in first year and all of us were still so raw. As time progressed, bonds were formed. We became like a close knit family. Initially, we had just one bike, Rohit Kumar's avenger, I remember how we used to make calls everywhere to arrange for bikes so that we can have a road trip. Slowly our "collection" grew and we ran out of parking space. The party place shifted from Dollops to Deetee.We had our own "transport manager", Mr. Mayur Jain, who ensured that all of us got back home safely. 

Today, as the time to say good bye comes closer, I hope sometime in future we all can get together and look back at everything we did and laugh about it. Slowly, we all get involved with work and everyone starts their own life. It is weird how lives which at one point looked glued together are going to become independent now. 

Hope to see all you in future and I hope that we can pick up from where we all left. Wishing all of you a lot of luck, love and happiness. Good luck.