Movies and Careers

Movies play a big role in our lives. They make us think beyond the known, they uncover truths, they inspire us, they entertain us - They shape the way we look at things. But I feel that it is sad to believe the are 'the way'. They are never larger than life.

Recently, I have been to a movie which had a character that was close to mine... the clash between career interests and parents' opinions! Then flies a comment that I would make my parents sit and watch that movie... to explain to them that I would like to do something else (What was so nice of them was that they were thinking about this when the movie was going on!). That was one of the most shocking comments I have ever heard. May be I was and am over-reacting but that's the way it is.

What I couldn't figure out was - why I would need a movie to tell my parents that I love something. I love nuclear physics , cardiology, neuroscience, robotics, rural development and many more but I never got interested in them after reading a book or watching a video. I started loving them when I could contemplate something that was fascinating or something which raised lots of questions. To the best of my knowledge even my parents know that I like them (because I keep explaining them whatever new I learn). I couldn't succeed in convincing them that I can have a good career even in those fields. That is my failure!

When my love for something is true, it would definitely help me convince people around... I wouldn't convince my parents that I want to go into nuclear physics by showing them a 3hr video, I would better do a research project and show that. It is true movies give me the energy to keep going but I don't like the idea that a movie would decide a son-father relationship. My little mind can't accept it.

--buddi
0255
28 - 12 - 2009

The story behind a dice game

COMBINATORICS

0. Combinatorics – The story behind a dice game

Every day we come across passwords. Passwords for computers, passwords for ATMs (commonly referred to as pin number), number locks, and so on. All of these are combinations; some are combinations of alphabets while others are combinations of numbers and still others use symbols; in some cases the passwords are case-sensitive, sometimes they are not.

Among other examples of combinations we can think of – how your teachers come up with the time table, how a metallurgist tries different combinations of elements to come with up an alloy of desired properties, how a linguist examines the meanings of combinations of letters in an unknown language and so on. All of these visibly 'different' applications come under one roof called combinatorics. Combinatorics (or combinatorial mathematics) is a field of mathematics that deals with problems of how many different combinations can be built out of a specific number of objects.

This field has its origin in the gambling games that played a large part in the European high societies in the 16th century. Whole fortunes were won or lost in a game of cards or dice; something very similar to how the Pandavas lost all their fortunes in a game of dice in the Mahabharatha! In how many ways can a certain sum in throws of two or three dice be scored (haven't you played Ludo?), in how many ways is it possible to get two kings in a card game and other similar problems in a game of chance gave the initial push to develop combinatorial mathematics and the theory of probability.

Italian mathematician Tartaglia was among the first to list the various combinations that can be achieved in a game of dice. His list showed the number of ways 'x' dice can fall. However he failed to take into account the fact that the same sum can be achieved in different ways. For example, if we are using 2 dice and we want a sum of 7, the various combinations are (1,6), (2,5) and (3,4).

In the 17th century, Chevalier de Mere, an ardent gambler, had sort the help of his friend Pascal to determine the division of the stakes of an interrupted game of chance. This marked the first theoretical investigation into the problems of combinatorics. Fermat, a contemporary French mathematician, was also working on the same problem. Their work was followed by valuable contributions from Bernoulli, Leibnitz and Euler.

Combinatorics is extensively used in the field of statistics, cryptography, discrete mathematics, linear programming, group theory, non-associative algebra... the list is unending. Most of the names given above might sound new and not of your understandability. However, it is interesting to realise that the mathematics involved in all of them is the same as in a game of dice. Through a series of articles we will travel with Kabani (a student like you) through the field of combinatorics. We will learn to solve problems from the simplest to the toughest, and enjoy the beauty of mathematics. The only thing that you need to know is how to play a game of dice!

Food for thought -

Simplest Question – In a class, every student is to be given a 2-digit roll number. What is the maximum number of students that can be given the roll number?

Toughest Question – There is a queue of x + y persons at a ticket counter of a cinema theatre. x have Rs20 note and y have Rs10 note. Each ticket costs Rs10 and the cashier has no change to start with. In how many ways can the people line up so that the line keeps moving and no one has to wait for change?

Get the dice rolling... try solving the above problems. Correct solutions will get prizes.

Reference – “Combinatorial Mathematics for Recreation” by N. Vilenkin. Translated from the Russian by George Yankovsky

Great Discovery, Humble Beginning…

NUCLEAR PHYSICS

1. Great Discovery, Humble Beginning…

The 19th and the 20th centuries were the time for the most breath-taking discoveries and inventions of modern science. What was once considered fiction and everything that was ever dreamt of - flying machines for carrying people non-stop from continent to continent, submarines which could travel under water from Pole to Pole even under ice, rockets to carry us to the other worlds in the universe, apparatus to make it possible to converse over long distances without wires, and what not.

The development of science and technology outran the fantasies of the writers and the dreams of the scientists. One of the miracles of the era was the discovery of a mysterious chemical, a matchbox full of which could produce enough energy to propel a large ship for several years! The secret to its vast energy lies deep inside the matter that surrounds us.

At the turn of the 20th century, little was known about the structure of matter. Not all elements had been discovered, however it had been established that all matter was made of atoms. Atoms were believed to the smallest, and hence indivisible, particles of matter. J J Thomson then discovered the electron, the smallest particle of negative charge and soon Robert Millikan determined the mass of an electron to be 1836 times lighter than an atom of hydrogen, the lightest of all elements. In 1898, Thomson proposed that the indivisible atom was a uniformly distributed positively charged sphere, in which electrons were embedded. This proposal couldn't answer several of the questions raised about the plausibility of positively charged particles, stability of the atom and so on.

Becquerel's Mistake

The phenomenon of the luminescence of certain substances when exposed to sunlight is called fluorescence. The French scientist Henri Becquerel spent many years studying this phenomenon. Once he had observed a photographic film wrapped in a black paper and kept in a drawer was exposed. There was no way this could have happened because the substance (sulphate salt of potassium and uranium) he used could have fluoresced in the darkness of the drawer. When he studied more carefully the reasons for the same, he could establish that the binary salt of uranium and potassium emitted invisible rays that could expose the photographic film even in darkness. Thus, 26 February 1896, marked the discovery of a new physical phenomenon which became the starting point of the whole of new physics of the 20th century. It is interesting to note that all of the physics that followed started from this accidental observation. More to come in the articles to follow…

3 People, 3 Lessons Learnt

3 People, 3 Lessons Learnt

These are my experiences as a student and as a teacher. Inspired by the Dead Poets Society, there was no better name I could think of..

To start with, the three biggest lessons I learnt and the people behind them..

1. Being more than a teacher - Mr. Keating, the teacher from "Dead Poets' Society". He is the teacher, friend and the person to whom everyone looks upto. The one who is ready to stand up for his students but at all times wishes that his students explore their real interests and live for them... Truly one teacher I would like to be!

2. Value what people have - Mr. N G Bhat, my mathematics teacher. An inspirational figure in my life... one person who valued what ever each of us could afford and glorified what ever little we could do. He was the teacher who had taught me to enjoy and appreciate what I study, the person who did things for the satisfaction rather than the benefits we get out of the results. He was appreciative of the smallest of efforts... once everyone in the class got sweets because I cracked a problem, his beautiful solution sheets (with funny comments) for the problems we put in the drop box, his special classes (I was the only student!) for 8 months to help me solve some maths olympiad paper, his vast library, encyclopedic knowledge... To put it in short no one ever has influenced me so much in my life and no one has ever made me feel so proud of whatever little I could do. What ever I am today.. I am still walking in his shadows, trying to imitate him in his clarity of thought, his insights into the subject and tenderness with which he used to handle a topic. Now-a-days after every class I am dragged into a thought of how he would have taught that... I know I can never figure that out!

3. Expectations should have boundaries, never impose them - Blessy Joseph, once my student (even now!) and now a dear friend. She wouldn't quite agree that she had taught me this but it was one of the biggest lesson from my teaching experiences. Probability is a topic of immense interest for me... and a horror show for her and the class. My drive to push the class out of misery of that mathematical dynamite pushed people to the limits of breaking down. That was a big mistake I was doing... imposing expectations! My intentions though good weren't helping much, then I had realised that if I had to impose something - I had to do so gently.

What I have experienced can never be written down, but these are attempts to acknowledge the efforts of all the people involved. I hope one day I will be a teacher I wish to be..

--buddi

1642

04 - 12 - 2009

My Heaven, Your Heaven

My Heaven, Your Heaven

It is always tough to draw lines. Drawing lines at what is yours and what is mine.. most people might not like the very topic but I feel it is extremely essential to maintain harmony and move forward with some one. When I first started discussing this with a few of my 'friends'.. they replied that they understood what I was trying to say but in the end they asked me why I wanted to build walls around myself! Well the truth is they never understood it... My language might look I am talking on behalf of us but I actually speak for buddi only.

Each of us have our comfort zones, each of us enjoy solitude and each of us enjoy company. What varies is what we like and at what time. No one can tolerate a breach into their precious solitude nor can we bear a time without people around. Time and again each of us are tested in this... you are almost always disturbed when you are thinking about something... the answer "Nothing" quickly follows and then.. "tell na..." is shot at you. Caught up! You can't say that you had nothing on your mind (obviously you would be lying) nor can you reveal what you was going on in your head (you are just not comfortable, had it been otherwise you would have been thinking aloud).

Some time back, there was an ad (I think it is of Reliance)... everyone likes to give suggestions. Suggestions are for free. Everyone of us claim to have put ourselves in the others' shoes and tell them what we would have done. It is interesting the way people put it. Sometimes suggestions are very essential to start a new line of thought but ultimately it us who has to make the final call. (@ suk, pur, bmv - this is what makes you special, the decision has always been mine but the thought yours).

One of my friends indicated that most people around me actually always have good suggestions for me as they are few people who are concerned about our well-being. She was very right but I still feel the walls of the heaven are still strong there. When I had asked her, "If that is the case why don't you just listen to your parents and get married, after all they are thinking about your well being?". She was taken aback and I hated myself for shooting that question at her but may be we just need to learn it the hard way...

People make comments on my dressing, spectacles, umbrella, room, books, interests, friends, sports, ACADEMICS. Most of the times the comments are wrapped up in a joke... which I enjoy! Most of those are about things which I don't give much thought about.. I guess I stick to my comfort and almost it never hurts me when one of those comments falls by my side but sometimes people tend to dig into too much of them (esp. about friends, academics) and I start feeling a touch uncomfortable. Why don't you do MBA? Why are you so bad at your academics? Why are screwing up your career? Why are your friends like that? Look at your friends, you are way behind them!... I always feel I have had enough of those, but I guess they will keep coming back until I am washed away like the beach sand. I hope I have the energy to live on with my dreams and interest..

Well, I guess everyone wants to go to heaven.. but even before we actually reach there (no one knows if it exists) we have our own imagination of how it should be. I can bet each of our heavens are extremely different! They should be, after all one is mine and the other is yours! We hardly have anything same in life... from the time of birth to time of death, every single thing is different for all of us, I feel it would be foolish to claim that we think alike or we think something is right for some one. I have just not known any person completely so far!

Everyone in this world will reach great heights. Everyone deserves to and should be given a chance to bloom. Everyone should understand that our 'heights' could just be different and 'heights' are not necessarily academic excellence. There are so many beautiful things in this world which are worth living for... everyone has their own journey. Be a part of everyone's, listen to everyone's and help them move on. To quote from "The Last Samurai" - ".. a small measure of peace we all seek. But few of us ever find". I wouldn't like to hinder my friend's search for peace! Your heaven and my heaven are different! (but I wish to be a part of yours')

--buddi

1428

12 - 11 - 2009

Football, Friends & Films

I have missed so much of these over the past few weeks may be over the months.. Time is supposed to be the medicine, but in my case it is getting worse.

I haven't played football in school for a year now I guess (may be more), which also indicates that all of us haven't met for a year and obviously we haven't gone to any movie together. This is one set... the same goes with all the friends I have.. this is the complaint book for the year.

Purri is so busy with his mini project. GOD knows what he is upto.. well, PSG has definitely turned him into the academic and lab in-charge. He has forgotten that once he hated to be at PSG... he has forgotten that he was once ready to play football any moment.. now I guess I have to explain him what a ball looks like. Thanks to Coimbatore which sucked out the little interest he had in movies... on the whole, Purri is heading for a hi-fi project under his guide next sem and then for a Ph.D in VSLI... May GOD help him. Purri was once the class' Thierry Henry.. I guess Henry sounds 'anonymous' to him now...

MBA babu.. when was the last time we had a chat? And the last time he played football with us... I guess I was a kid then. The last movie we saw together was Taare Zameen Par... December, 2007. One thing I am sure of is that this fellow will be the CEO of some company in a couple of years from now, would have settled in Mumbai (or a better place) and will send us an invitation for his marriage... ya, he was once the classmate for 12 years and I have know him for a little over 20yrs..

The Sweet Cousin.. got married and settled well! Suddenly my aunt's place looks so dull and I find no reason to go there when I am in Hyderabad... I miss my cousin. No mid-night ludo games or jokes or chocolate cakes. Obviously the movies went missing long long back! Once we used to talk about the college fun now we talk about her work in office! No wonder the frequency has come down from once a day to once in two weeks. Thats what marriage of a friend does to me.

Anirudh... once the satire GOD, now the PJ GOD. Full time busy creating more virus for McAfee. Seshendra... once the movie database and sweet shop, now in Pune. Sudheer... once the fool like me, now the secretary / head of CEA and what not... busy person these days in IIT. Amoeba is missing!

Uppi... the most hated of all, the most hated by all. I am kind of ashamed to say he was my bench-mate and team-mate for 10 years. He was the captain of the Class Cricket team. The one thing I am sure of... HE IS ALIVE! When reports last came in he was found in an ashram with a thick beard and without a mobile.. he is going to be Sri Sri Sri Upendrananda Swamiji Maharaj.. what ever crap. UPPI where ever you are, keep it in mind that your past will haunt you - you have one moron of a friend in me to tell about all the 'non-sense' we (and you in particular) did in school and life.

The INSEPARABLES - Mote and Idli.. one busy behind his girl and the other busy thinking what to do. Lazy idiots... never welcomed the suggestions like football, walks and so on..

I also miss Chikku a lot. I wish she was still around. Well, one thing everyone suggests... Life goes on, you should live as it comes. I beg to differ here, I don't know how many years I will have to live to make more friends like Uday, MBA babu, Uppu sami, Purri... I still have made some new friends - Mr.Logic, SP, Mimi and Bl, each special in their own ways and close to my heart. I love them. But none of them plays football..

@ Uday - Few months back, we used to talk about 3 fools missing friends and school days. I guess it is just 2 of us now. Surely the world is improving.

On 8th August, 1986 a Rob Reiner movie was released which ended with "I never had any friends later on like the ones I had when I was twelve. Jesus, does anyone?" May be he was right in some sense... friends we have at that age are valuable. I guess I just miss my friends.

Purri, where are you? That movie was your choice...

--buddi

0900

06 - 11 - 2009

The Fields of Athenry

By a lonely prison wall,
I heard a young girl calling:
"Michael, they have taken you away,
For you stole Trevelyan's corn,
So the young might see the morn.
Now a prison ship lies waiting in the bay."

Low lie the fields of Athenry
Where once we watched the small free birds fly
Our love was on the wing
We had dreams and songs to sing
It's so lonely round the fields of Athenry.

By a lonely prison wall,
I heard a young man calling
"Nothing matters, Mary, when you're free
Against the famine and the crown,
I rebelled, they cut me down.
Now you must raise our child with dignity."

By a lonely harbour wall,
She watched the last star falling
As the prison ship sailed out against the sky
For she lived to hope and pray
For her love in Botany Bay
It's so lonely round the fields of Athenry.

"The Fields of Athenry" is an Irish folk ballad set during the Great Irish Famine (1845-1850) about a fictional man named Michael from near Athenry in County Galway who has been sentenced to transportation to Botany Bay, Australia, for stealing food for his starving family.

This is a tune played in the "Dead Poets Society" - my favourite. This song is close to the theme of the movie. This is the first of a series of articles to share few of my experiences as a student and as a teacher.

--buddi

SVYM, My experiences

Swami Vivekananda Youth Movement (SVYM) & Vivekananda Memorial Hospital

SVYM, My experiences

Reading through the entries in the blog, I feel so happy to know about SVYM and be able to watch it action. I have known SVYM for almost 3 years now and it has been a different journey. What started out as a quest has now become an obsession. This is SVYM in my view -

I have tried to become a part of several groups (16 precisely) which worked for varied causes from rural development to environmental awareness. I have been associated with them at different levels but every time I looked back at my experiences with them, something was always missing. SVYM was the answer to all. For the first time, I was with people who had committed themselves to this work for their life-time and at the same time I could see the immediate beneficiaries. Everything was so pleasing!

Viveka School of Excellence (VSOE), Saragur

During my first visit (2007), I was there without any aim and may be that was the reason I couldn't carry back much. But that was first chance to meet Dr. Balu and Anitha akka, who left an ever-lasting impression on me. The passion with which Dr Balu explained his vision of "exploratory park" (that is what it was called then) and Anitha akka's commitment to realize it. One of the lines I remember - Dr Balu says to Anitha akka, "You people come up with the design and we will get the funding. This project should be done before next academic year. No marriage until then!"

My second visit (2008) was more productive in terms of spending time with the teachers and students. Satheesh (Ph.D in Robotics) was with me. Starting with his talk on robotics at VSOE, the trip ended with a 4hr long discussion with Triveni ma'am and Vasantamani ma'am on efficiently using the available lab equipment at VTCL. Satheesh and myself used to dine along with the kids at VTCL and I sure had few of the heaviest meals of my life. We also went to backwaters and that was it - both of us knew we will be coming back for sure. Two lines to remember from this trip, Anitha akka taught me "Chennagadira?" and the second, at the resort at the backwaters, Satheesh asks, "Do you have any cool-drinks?" and the guy there replies "We have chilled beer!" During my second visit, I couldn't see much of Dr Balu or Anitha akka, but I could understand SVYM as a whole. I met two more very influential people Triveni ma'am and Malathi ma'am.

My third visit (2009) was the longest and by far the most productive. I was literally taken aback when I heard that most of the faculty were new. But very soon I realized, new faculty meant more enthusiasm. After a quick meeting with Malathi ma'am, I moved on with my idea of conducting a written quiz for the students of classes 5 - 8. Anitha akka was very quick in adjusting the time table and finding convenient periods for me. Towards the end of the day, the maths & science faculty and myself met in the computer lab and discussed about the ideas to improve the students' understanding. That was a good first day!

The second day was very exciting, as I prepared to take 5 classes for classes 7 & 8. The students responded well and in the last hour I joined some of the kids in the ground. PT sir found a spot for me in the kho-kho match but I didn't last for more than a minute. Aniruddh, a 6th class kid, got rid of me. He was the one who had topped the quiz the previous day. He had the killer-instinct, he was way ahead of others. He is a kid to watch out for! Few of us again met in the computer lab, where I demonstrated some experiments on light. The next day I went to VTCL. After watching an English play by 7th Class boys, I moved to the Physical Sciences Lab where with the help of Triveni ma'am and Mr.Vardharaj we conducted a quiz for a few selected students. Then the discussion on use of lab equipments and encouraging the students to take up projects continued. The return to VSOE on Mr.Devdas' bike was good, he took me to the Kabini Dam. On the fourth day, I had a couple of periods on career guidance and handling science projects.

The third trip was eventful in every sense. When I was there, the 40th anniversary of man's landing on moon was being celebrated, we witnessed the longest total solar eclipse of the century and the heavy rainfall in the Western Ghats had filled the Kabini Reservoir and all the gates were opened. These three were very important themes for the classes I had taken. We discussed about India's space mission, how solar and lunar eclipses occur and how rainfall and water management play an important role in agriculture. I was having a great time with the faculty - played carroms with them, helped one of them solve sudoku, had lunch & dinner with them, discussed classroom experiences and so on. I finished reading "The Alchemist" by Paulo Coelho. A line to which I could relate to - "... no heart has ever suffered when it goes in search of its dreams, because every second of the search is a second's encounter with God and with eternity." SVYM was the best place I could read that book. Helping students in rural India realize their dreams has been my dream.

I have picked up loads of memories and experiences in my visits. I couldn't quite digest the fact that few teachers left in search of better jobs. The commitment and vision of the people at SVYM had pushed GRID out of my diary into reality. Whatever, little bit I have tried to do through GRID, a major share of the credit would go to SVYM, Dr.Balu and Anitha akka in particular. Over the 25 years of existence, I can't imagine how many would have been benefited and how many more would have been inspired listening to the story of SVYM. It would be foolish to claim that SVYM changed lives in rural Karnataka. It is not just in rural Karnataka, SVYM built lives everywhere. Given an opportunity I would like to join as a science teacher at VSOE and contribute my bit to help Dr Balu start the Exploratorium. I wish to realize my dream!

--buddi
05 - 08 - 2009


P.S: An edited and better version is available on the official blog of SVYM. Edited by Dr C Anil.

Clay court stories

This was started with (now they are not a part) - I was told a few days back that my writing has lost the 'spice'.. I didn't understand what they were looking for, so no special care goes in here... Writing pleases me!

11. Clay court stories

Clay basketball court, BSRKV... This court was the reason I got those unending oral recitations from my mother (my white shirts used to end being close to saffron). This court was one of the reasons I was given the special treatment on the last day in school (Ms.Nagamani promised me that she would ensure that I don't get the hall-ticket for board exams... I can tell you, the last day couldn't be more memorable. That fear still manages to pain me sometimes, though I claim to have become "numb"). This court was the reason I had to lie to my mother innumerable times saying that I had some special class. This court was the reason I hated Uday & Vijay (I liked them otherwise)... :P. This court was the reason people could bet I would fail.

Getting back to school... I sometimes feel my "soul-searching" would end somewhere around the clay basketball court of our school. I guess I have enough reasons to hate this place enough not to go there again! If I was ever asked to name the best places on earth... this will be among the first 2 or 3. The good times out-number the bad-ones by a convincing margin. Here are a few highlights the players wouldn't have missed...

• The biggest complaint - bench-mates, team-mates and what not - Uday and Vijju, the two people whom I hated most in the ground - they never played against each other or should I say, they never played without each other... that more or less decided three fourths of the team. As the days passed the teams did become a tradition like in football!
• The biggest asset - Everyone of us would take pride in the fact that we never discussed rules. They were there, not to argue, not to be written down. Three boxes on the pillar are the wickets, a measurement (which only Vijju knew!) was the pitch length, some idiotic shapeless stone was the bowler's end stump, over arm throw, speed objection, the kho-kho court the boundary etc. etc. One very funny thing was the no off-side runs... and more over they were given out.. :P
• Cricket is a gentleman's game... no one would disagree. There were these "jingli" Purri, Sastry and sometimes Arvind... who wouldn't play anything other than football. But they were forced to play cricket.. (no one played football then.. they had no other go) and what was interesting was the Purri - Sastry fight for the deep square-leg fielding place.. (where they thought the ball would be least frequently.. thanks to Uday and Naveen they proved it wrong). Purri was a lost character in that world... neither did he bowl nor did he bat but he came for the comedy of Sastry. The aspiring mafia don Arvind proved he was worthy of it.. hit and scare.. and what not!
• Our un-invited guest when we were in 9th and 10th was Mr.Madhubhaskar who had once vowed to kill all of us for torturing him when he was our maths teacher a year before. He was a great sportsman and used to treat as his equalls on ground. Now-a-days when we talk of him, I feel sorry for him.. one thing that pains me
• Hot-spots... Ramu was always the wicket-keeper, he used to run till half of the first ground to collect the ball.. and a throw from there would invariably hit the board and bounce back and everyone used to shout!! Uday and Naveen always in deep mid-wicket, Buddi always in long-on, Uppi and Vijju, the strategy GODs, always at mid-wicket. The most sought after place was the 'dressing room' under the trees.. a boulder to accommodate two.. the commentary and jokes flew from that corner.
• Action.. It was never shot off! Vijju's awkward bowling action.. don't know where he mastered it, Uday's mastery in batting, Naveen's long long sixes.. I used to run and run to get the ball.. Hutch copied that 'dog' idea from here, Nili's lefty 'off-break'... never really turned actually, Ramu's bowling straight and fast... and an action as if it was base-ball, Buddi's innocent bowling which surely had the most expensive as well as the most economic figures, running for water to Avvi's house or college campus, Vijju's running between the wickets tactics... always ensured to get strike at the end of the over... well this is an unending list! But the best action was celebrating a wicket or victory... show your fists and yell... killer instinct, we learnt it here. There were skills we leant.. I guess we mastered.. sledging, cheating, and slogging.
• Infrastructure... Uday's bat and ball.. the brand was Wills (made for each other.. how true!).. sometime Tija's ball took the place... others came in and went.. these stayed.. and will be played with till the very end..
• Repent... there are a few things I would always feel bad for... I never ever hit a six there (I was hit for three). There were matches I scored most of the team score (57 runs out of 65), there were matches I was duck.. I had every experience.. but never that of a six... May be the next match... I will make amends! There was one match I was out in Uday's bowling after blasting him in two earlier matches... he came to me and showed me his fist... SHIT! I thought he would kill me right there... I gave away my wicket.. it won't be that easy this time..

There were matches we won with 20 runs to defend, matches we lost with 70 runs to defend... but we always won the entertainment and the desire to play again and prove a point.. we were the "B-section"... we grew up there, we fought there... that muddy court, surely the place to be...

I am still hanging around there somewhere... I guess we all are..

--buddi

0006

18 - 07 - 2009

What my friends wrote...

The following was the RG written for the hostel nite... Not everything needs to be true!!

Praveen aka Buddi

Less on food; more on work!
Intentional insomniac!!

In 'perfect sync' with ppl he has good understanding with.
Powerful shooter of football

Fault finding nature

Coffee addict (indeed Aztec) had his own coffee making ingredients at room

Character who can pack a quiz to get the intern he loves!

The rate at which his beard grows is faster than that of his hair.

The one incident many people might remember involving Praveen is an accident on his way to Mahab only cycle. He was on course along with Normal and Gay on cycle at midnight when he suddenly crashed into a stationary lorry. This accident left a nice sovereign on his face…

One of the best footer players in the hostel…. But still, he managed to get himself injured in practice matches leading to schroeter during his first 3 years. Too much enthu to play footer but at the end of almost any day’s play, is caught with some physical ailment owing to his random schedules of footballing. Here is a guy who b(r)ought more footballs to the hostel than any other sports sec ever had….

Nuclear physics God….. He published a paper…… He is very interested in Nuclear Physics and regrets not putting up a decent fight with his parents during his admission into IITM but thanks to that we have a wonderful friend…. one of those different guys who realised he is in wrong place quite early. He had to sacrifice a Japanese intern in Nuclear Physics due to Mech dept…. Die hard hater of Mech dept…

Books…. His room has more books than the hostel library…. He insists on reading a book of his own rather than someone else’s book.(?) with all these books in his room, you will never find a place to land your foot…. Once during Shaastra, he gave his room for five friends they neatly racked up the books so that all of them could sleep there…. As soon as buddi got hold of his room, its back to normal in less than a day..

He had more dinners in CCD in 3rd year and tiffany’s in 4th year than in mess… if we count the number of times Praveen goes to mess in a month, it will be around 45 and most of them during tea-time.

A person who doesn’t fear to voice his opinion and straight-forward in his approach (most of the times), though it lead to problems. Wrote mail to IVil group on its structure(including profs.) and the work going on, in the most satirical way possible which unfortunately was forwarded to the “Dons”(profs…this is wat he called them) and later had to meet them, luckily no after-effects.

On the whole: "A fine (but superior) human being with immense potential; currently wasted in external soul searching."


The contributors - Django, Seshu, Normal, Gay

One Day

One Day..

I knew I would meet someone great some day,
I knew all my innumerable dreams would take shape some day,
That some day would arrive 'one day'

I was told and rightly,
"If you are looking for a star in the sky,
don't wait for a starry night,
look into the glaring sun,
you would have just found your star!"

However foolish you might call,
the sun remains the brightest in the sky...

That 'one day' arrives today,
with the wait now put off
here I start wondering -
What took me so long?

--buddi
0253
02 - 09 - 2008

My dream team..

My dream team...
I dreamt a lot, I dream a lot, I will continue to... it is exciting. The innumerable possibilities and their consequences are so pleasing. Sometimes I feel I can survive just with my dreams, sometimes I fear I will be lost and forgotten in my dreams. Whatever it is, here is another of my dreams. My dream team.

16 people for the 16 places.

The King - Satheesh - I can't think of anyone better, he is the best team leader I have had and I don't see anyone filling his shoes any sooner.

The Minister - Anirudh - the humorous, friendly, hard-working and what ever possible. He is one of my best friends and advisors. There are few people who never take 'no' for an answer, he is the first one of that kind in my team.

The Rooks - Vijay & Kavya - I consider them to be the 'odd-ones' in the team. They like to be on their own. They are always working and do it the way they like it. They are not the 'ideal team-members', but still they do have the much necessary strong shoulders for the team.

The Bishops - Swathi & Bhavani - No replacements possible. Swathi's passion for her subject, Bhavani's committment to work, Swathi's smile, Bhavani's jokes, Swathi's PJs (?)... unique. Two very different persons, two different routes - I guess they justify their presence as bishops. Who takes the black square or the white one.. yet to be decided! Most of the times, your intent to do something or help someone is more than enough. It is these, around whom the interest levels in the team would keep running around.

The Knights - Uppi & Ravishankar - the work-horses of the team. Both of them are people who live up to their words, innovative in their approach and hence 2 of the 3 creative geniuses in the team. They do all the running around which most people would hesitate to take up.

The Pawns -

Uday - He is God. I have no explanation as to why he is a pawn, may be just that we almost never shared common interests. After being his team-mate for 5 yrs in school, I realised that there wouldn't be another Uday in my life again. He is a must in the team though I call him the 'crib-God', he is a God in several others.

Purri, Idli, Yeshwanth - The 'maalum nahi' trio. They are several times better than what Vijju has shown them as to the Orkut community. Purri is the 3rd creative genius in the team. Idli is the only-one who will support even if you say "murder Idli". Everyone of us look up to Yeshwanth, for his timely jokes, untimely bluffing... a comedian at mouth, a 'human' at heart.

Swetha - Why the hell is she here? I don't know... I have got used to her so much for the 22years I have lived, that I feel it is impossible to do anything without her being involved in it someway or the other. I have no better reason.

Sudheer - Enthusiasm at its peak... can it be better.

MLN Sri Harsha - I don't know him much, but the few times I have met him.. he has left an ever lasting impression. He is calm and composed and a great person at heart.

After mentioning 15 names, I am tempted to mention mine and thats the way it is. How can I think of a 'dream' team that has all my favourites and not me along with them..

I have a few more names whom I would like to include in my team, lack of place is a issue. They are (in the order of preference) Nalini, Shilpa, Padmapriya, Ardra, Mrudula, Praneeta and Aditya. It is interesting to note that while the team is male-dominated one.. the females in the additionals team out number the males by a huge margin. I have never worked with Aditya, my brother. I enjoy a special chemistry with him, communicating mostly with whistles and sign languages... in the very near future, I think he will be in my main team. Many people would question my choices, especially about the exclusion of a few of people... but this is the way it is. These are the ones I like to work with, I like to be with.

I have one more dream... do something that will put all of my team members at one place, but they still continue to do what they are most interested in. I often dream of helping people realise their dreams. This is my aim in life and I am still miles away from finding out how I can do it. This one bothers me, bothers me a lot. Can't help myself yet. Whatever stupid ideas I come up with are my attempts to achieve this... for one day in my life if it does happen, there would be nothing else left to achieve.

Hope I realize this dream, at least in my dreams.

--buddi
0846
6 - 5 - 2009

My friends owe me..

My friends owe me...

I have written here to let out my excitement, to let out my anger, to tell about my love, my hatred and so on... this one is out of frustration. My friends owe me too many things.. I am fed up of making diary entries. This is a highly "censored" and mostly "slang-free" version... if you want to read the original, be my friend for a year and it will be delivered on phone.

Yesterday, one of my friends left to her home... her last few lines being "I owe you some money and we also promised a treat, we will try to fulfill all the promises in the next semester... ". Why don't people realize that 3 months of vacation is a long time, I have been waiting endlessly for their treats and I don't have accounts on how much weight I would have shed thinking about all these. My grandmother keeps complaining about my diameter.. and so I complain. Here is a memory recall test for me... this is what my friends owe me.

• Starting with my first friend - my cousin... she owes me 3 chocolate cakes, 6 softies and what not. She is yet to give me a treat for the job, marriage, laptop (a pen drive is not a treat), Harry Potter books, photos I have taken, "dabba", teaching her to play cricket, giving her the bump on forehead, telling how 'hopeless' she was, not disturbing when she was sleeping, bleeding pinches I got, telling that her high-heels looked good (do you think that I was right), helping her eat 'well' at home and at parties, accompanying her to movies... Shit! I don't want to waste my blog space for her. Forget it.
  

• 56 ice-creams & a partnership... This is an interesting bit of statistics here which consumes most of my RAM these days. This friend had promised me as many as 56 ice creams so far (as per an agreement, details are classified.. :P, ice cream is more important) and promised to be a partner in the proposed ice cream factory (not my idea). Of the 56, some 7-8 have been given so far and when will the rest come... I am waiting. The business plan draft is ready and if it starts going, her share of production will be my treat, I guess. I am counting and 3-digit numbers are 10 times tougher to remember, so please start putting the ice-creams and company when I plan to eat.

• 3 sips from a Coke tin... Vijju, the one and only Vijju owes me this and has been pending for 9 years. It is high time... I have never asked him too much for being made to look like a fool for so many years whenever I was with this guy and another idiot. Keeping it pending for this long is bad. I agree he has sponsored Sprite a number of times at 5th Avenue Bakery, but Coke is Coke.

• 500 GB Memory in my brain & 2 hrs a week... the other idiot here. He has dumped so much about movies into my brain. Forget about the movies, the reviews and analysis would weigh a simple 500 GB of text files in my brain. Is it grey or white cells to add? I know whom to ask. I can't tell how different I am (I wouldn't call screwed up) after watching the movies he suggested... Dead Poets Society, Philadelphia, Forrest Gump, Shawshank Redemption, Crimson Tide, Straight Story, Seven Samurai, Yojimbo.. I don't even remember the names, I need memory. This idiot put me to Coke. According to him, Pepsi tastes like soap water... that was enough. Every week I spend at least 2 hrs looking for Coke. I want a payback!

• 2TB HDD (& 10 Mbps net)... Purri, this PSG fellow owes me a 2 TB HDD to live up to his expectations of providing him with all the football videos and movies he wants to see. For all the crazy movie names he mentions I would need a 10 Mbps net connection to download from the torrents or what ever non-sense he talks about. Luckily, I don't understand any of the torrent thing and I am spared of the movie download. For now it is the football videos, I am planning to ask him for some service charges and trust me, that would be a killing!

• Manuscript... I had promised one of my friend that I will publish her first book. I have my funding part ready. I am also finding out details of how to publish a book. All I am waiting for is the manuscript. It is not about the publishing, I just want to read the book.

• Blog space & Web Albums - I would like to write lots and I have to abuse a lot of people. All my friends owe me some blog space to share my views about them, you don't want to humiliated publicly. Infinite photos I have got in my comp, I can't spare anymore space for these. Too many important things and too less space. I just want to write down every memory I have before I end up being an amnesia patient. Don't smile, I have got few symptoms showing up and thanks to the IIT.. it will ensure that. I have too many things... I am losing it fast.
  

• Creativity & more friends... this is not something, people have promised me but I guess it is their moral responsibility. They have stolen my creativity. I am out of ideas to write something here or in Reading Between the Lines. They have set a few standards which hardly any one touches and looking for these I end up lengthening my list of non-friends. All you people, who are reading this you better help me...

Other things that no one has promised but still they owe me... football (all the B-section walas are you reading?), live music and dance performance, Vijju's autograph, a trip around India...

Well, I have cribbed enough I guess. I am feeling more relaxed now.

--buddi
0716
4 - 5 - 2009

Just when I was about to type my name.. I decided to use this chance to say to "sorry" to a dear one. Hopefully, it reaches the other end... I could never dare to tell that.

Tea served hot..

10. Tea served hot..

All of us talk about being in the wrong place... at least I do. I have written a hundred times about it I guess! But there are few people who choose not to complain and even fewer who make their way out... he is one of them...

Purri was one guy who always made his presence felt, this holds till date. Once in a while he reminded the teachers that he was there in the class with his laughter, his left-footed tackles and soft finishes, his participation in the cycle-meetings outside the school campus... he was omni-present! Well... in most of the cases he found himself in the “wrong” place at the “wrong” time...

How many times did he get thrown out of the class because laughed at some joke from the one and only Sastry? I am sure Purri didn't know so many numbers back then... oops! no, he was good at mathematics as far as I remember. Courtesy: Tution Point. That place had an epic in itself, do ask purri about it... I somehow believe that the 'little flesh' you see in his cheeks these days is because of the swelling he carries from those days...

Purri was a creative genius and continues to be (if PSG has spared him)... almost everyone knew what he was good at and what he was really bad at. Now how good would he be at remembering things.. take history for example.. he was a horror for the teachers! He struggled in exams, often setting the lower cut offs no would could ever cross. After repeated requests to improve his scores he was under real pressure... then he did the inevitable.. Came up with his answers. Creative answers.

For a question “Write short notes on Boston Tea Party”. He went on write that “Boston was a scientist who gave a Tea Party after he got the Nobel Prize for his scientific discoveries...”. The answer was read out loud and clear to everyone in the class. Everyone laughed... we laugh till date. It was emabrrasing for him... I wish I felt sorry for him. Purri carried his creative talent to PSG and is popular around there impressing upon the faculty. Back in school it was Social studies and today it is Very Large Scale Integration (that VLSI in short.... Purri did you know that??). His creativity is definitely taking him places...

After all the years I have known him... I can say that he may not be the best academic I have known, but he is surely among the best friends I have made. He is among the 2 or 3 people I know who misses the school days... who wants to be back in school and play football... who remembers every single detail of every single day just as it happened...

--buddi
0537
23 - 4 - 2009

2 birthdays, 2 different days

2 birthdays, 2 friends.. 2 very different days

Just 2 days apart.. 2 of my best friends had their birthdays. I wouldn't call them "celebrating birthdays", one continues to hate the job and the other continues to work on the assignments..

For one I didn't even bother to give a call to wish, but late in the evening I took the pain to send a message (just to feel that I was not as "dumb" as him) to which he responded as expected... No response! I knew it. I have known him for 12 years.

For the other's, I had been planning for at least a couple of months... read books to select from, chose gifts, selected cards and gift wrappers... finally and unsatisfactorily decided upon a few. Her friends bought her a cake and I talked to her in the early hours of the day. She was happy (I think / hope). I have known her for about 12 months.

Two very different friends any one would call... two very similar friends for me. Both listen to the unending trash I talk about and most importantly very very patiently. Both talk love and life and keep me going. They are my friends and what they do is very pleasing for me! I have written volumes of 'Reading Between the Lines' and wanted to write one more.. after 2 months I realized that I had wasted enough time trying to capture them. All that came out was 3 pages... far far away from reality. Well deadlines were so important earlier but not now.. no regrets not to have finished it this time. They are too big for a few lines on paper, but then I wouldn't stop writing (as I always tell). My proof-readers, editors and reviewers are most important of all - these are the ones! The best and dearest of mine is in the making and it will be a long time when it may arrive.

One of my friend asked me "U love him so much, dont u" .. Yes was my answer. I love a few more of my friends as much as I love them but few love me even more and here they are. They make me feel important and alive. They know every single failure of mine and celebrated every success of mine. They are special.

Happy Birthday to you both and "I am always there for you"

A cup of coffee?

--buddi
1244
19-4-2009

Two statues outside the museum..

9. Two statues outside the museum..

Class 9 had a disastrous start for us.. few of closest classmates like Vijju, Avinash, Tija.. among many others were thrown into the newly created E section. Lots of attempts failed to get them back to the best B section!! However, that year was arguably one of the best years in school for most of us.. as Vijju had confessed recently that section had helped him a great deal in 'all manners'... you should be intelligent enough to guess what he meant by that!

What follows is just one more of those memorable experiences... some where in between the academic year, we had an excursion to Nagarjuna sagar dam. When we started from school, Vijju and Avi joined us in our bus while the rest of their section was in another bus. The class teacher of their section, Ms.Geetha was very friendly and was our class teacher in Class 2. For her it was pretty obvious that these guys would be along with us.. and she never had any objection.

On the way, we had good fun.. occupied the last three rows of the bus.. Naveen, twins, Uday, Tija, myself, Sastry and many of whom I missed here, were there.. we got some cards from the bus driver (thanks to me) and had a long journey till there. I remember sleeping in the last seat of the bus and infact I fell down while i was sleeping.. :P

At the Nagarjuna Sagar, we got into a boat and went to some island.. don't ask me what was there.. we never cared! After reaching there, a head count was taken.. Vijju and Avi were there in the E section lines for the second time during day.. then we were taken into a museum, all it had was the statues.. half of them didn't have heads while the others didn't have limbs... it was boring, to say the least! Then Vijju puts himself into work.. he calls me, uday and Avi and says "lets go have something..". And 4 of us silently slipped out of the museum, went to the nearby canteen and had some samosa and followed by a drink. When we were done, we started back and then vijju says, "You go ahead, i will have something more and come"... explainable from his apetite and his liking for food. Vijju and Avi stayed back..

As the rest of the students came out of the museum, Uday and myself joined the lines and all of it went unnoticed. Then a head count was taken, 2 boys missing from the E section.. Geetha ma'am came straight to me and asked were they were. My reply was a broken line.. I don't know.. she knew I was lying. Meanwhile, these fellows were seen walking back casually and one teacher after the other took turns to shout at them... it was funny, and even more funny when we thought of how we had escaped. After the drama, Dattatreya sir was asked to take care of them... and..

Both of them were made to kneel down in the lawn, infront of the museum, in school uniform, at a tourist centre for about an hour... photographs were taken of them not only by us but also by tens and hundreds of other visitors. No one passed by with out laughing at them.. it was fun, it was humiliation, it was one of the golden moments...

If you were ever talking about interesting punishments, I can bet on two things - this would be right on the top and the second, Vijju would figure in every single event of that list..

Lots more to be written...

--buddi
2340
04 - 03 - 2009

Long after you are gone

Sorry for the photo quality
Long after you are gone - DOOMSDAY (03 - 07 - 2008)

Long after you are gone

Long after you are gone
I think I can see you around
lots to talk and share
but it would never happen

Long after you are gone
I think those smiles will still be with me
lots to listen to
but it would never happen

Long after you are gone
on a breezy winter night
with the lights still on
I think I will still feel you around

But I was sleeping for long
for one thing I failed to realise -
Long after you are gone
I wouldn't be there for so long

--buddi
1125
09 - 06 - 2008

A phoney attempt...

At the end of this effort
I have a question for myself
what is it, that has come out?

nothing special at all
all is left to be declared 'a PHONEY attempt'
for I can never understand her
"I am far from where they are"

for this person is bigger than life
she is the leaf with a thousand veins exposed
she is smile on my face
she is the Smile

attempt after attempt fails
all attempts, I make, only DEROGATE her
all of it just dissolves away in tears
all of it just falls apart

you could still question
is that all?
I don't want to be CURT
I just don't want to be

but I knew I would never complete
still I know I would never complete

yet I make this MELANCHOLIC effort
when she is still around,
for long after she is gone -
I wouldn't be there for long

for I want to carry ahead
a handful of memories
a handful of blessings
and a handful of lessons
O! she has showered over me a lot
I don't know what to choose

Need I ask for more
need I live to long for more
I do -
the least I can live for
stand for her reason
stand for her

May all her dreams come true
May she get all she asks for
she will lead a happy life
I know she will lead a happy life

I would tell 'her' memories
Please stand by me
for you define me
for you I live
for you make me live

attempt after attempt fails
this was just another attempt

--buddi
0302
9 - 7 - 2008

The accident and later...

The accident and later...

My transition from a care free human to a careless, out-of-the mind idiot..

I like to test my extremes... I mean it is not all about testing extremes but just doing what I feel like doing... be it when I played football when I had 103F fever, be it when we went cycling some 35km up and down, be it when I slept for some 15hrs in 9days, be it when I walked for 20km when I had nothing else to do, be it when I went into the road race with a damaged knee ligament, be it when I played football immediately after blood donation or be it when I...

This list would never end. I wish it doesn't. This is how I have grown up, this is how I lived. Every bit of accomplishment in my life has been on these lines. It gives satisfaction, a sense of achievement... it gives the will to go for the extra bit. My friends have taught me this. They showed me what it takes to be a winner.

Ever since i met with that accident few people have started telling me that I should n't be like that... but I have always been like that. I know it hurts physically and usually it is me suffers but it rarely matters! At least not at this age...

It has been a strange transition for me.. the transition from a care free human to a careless, out-of-the mind idiot.. it is irritating to listen all their comments and what not. But on the back of my mind I keep telling myself.. these are the people who care, people who love, people who want to help... these are people who build my life piece by piece.. these are the people who make life so memorable... these are people for whom I am a priority... I am not sure whether I deserve alll the love but one thing will remain true for as long as I am live..

I love you all! I have told a few, I haven't told many..

--buddi
2330
4 - 2 - 2009

A Cup of Coffee?

A Cup of Coffee?

"A cup of coffee,

a stroll to an unknown place,
a rain walk,
a bouquet of flowers,
beautiful memories..."

Borrowed from *******'s card - A card everyone deserves!

A cup of coffee? The best message that goes out of my phone... and the best message I have ever received! There is something special in a coffee, I have never seen a face other than a smiling one having a coffee. The technical details of any coffee are always a let down! Blended with chicory, high contents of caffeine, has over 600 varieties of carcinogens, causing anemia, and so on. But still people take it and take it happily. I haven't met anyone who complains about coffee...

Whenever my message is sent to the "Coffee" list in my mobile (it has 6 contacts) at midnight, I know it is going to be a good one hour ahead. And when I am into the celebration mood the message reaches "Coffee big" list. Everyone shares their experiences - good and bad - just tell what ever you want. A great time to vent out anger, to share the joy, to have friendly argument, to get fatherly advice, to shower motherly love and to have fun, loads of fun. It is a great feeling to see people talking while having coffee. It gives great satisfaction to be a part of those fine moments. And this feeling knows no boundaries when you are the one who has called for the 'meet' - a meet with no agenda. Usually I like to sit at one end of the table and I listen to them... but there have been times when I become really talkative (when only 2 or 3 of us are there) and people have suffered... :P

Lots and lots of variants of coffee - Espresso, Cafe Latte, Cafe Mocha, Cappuccino, Chococinno, Madras Filter Coffee (or the Kaapi Nirvana), Cafe Americano, Cafe Caramel, Frappe, Macchiato. Irish Coffee, Aztec, Ethiopian, Cold Sparkle, Iced Eskimo, Trpocial Iceberg, Devil's On.... as far as I remember. Different tastes, different colours, hot and cold but the spirit of coffee is always the same. I have known people more and more over these cups. From acquaintances to the best of friends everyone becomes someone you know better. I have relished every second of these meets with my friends. Sometimes attended by only me and sometimes by almost everyone. These are moments when people put behind all the deadlines they have to meet and the time tables they have drawn for themselves, these are the moments I live for. I wish everyone has as many of these as possible. Just share and enjoy. Live the moment!

Well, Coffee Day is right - A lot can happen over coffee!

A ritual I followed for over a year, in its final days - tough to stop and also tough to push in new memories into the already crowded brain! A comfortable compromise in the end. But somewhere the message is still delivered once in a while... I miss the meets, I miss the replies... "No. :-)", “Already at tiffanys”, "Hmmm... not tonight..", "Hmm...I dont think i can make it”, “In tiff only :)”, “Just had :)”, “Yes.”... where do I go now? where do I kill that one hour?

A cup of coffee?

-- buddi
0731
17 - 01 - 2009