Most people say that the college life was their best. It is a period that is supposed to be extremely fun-filled and you end up getting a set of friends that stick for the entirety of life. Somehow or the other, life in college for me was a total contrast to what many think. I had my moments of happiness and moments of dullness; but not to the extent which makes me miss my college and the fellow people whom I studied with.
It all started almost 4 years ago when I was eagerly waiting for my interview letter from SSN college of engineering although I had secured admission in KCG Tech. Every friend of mine entered into the IIT's or BITS or a college of their choice, most of them joining SSN. My anxiety was turning into a desperation. I wanted to get into SSN. How could I study at a place where every person was a complete stranger to me. I still remember the day when visited some of the Engineering colleges on the IT highway and came back home to find the interview letter at the doorstep. It was a mixed emotion; one that showed how happy I was and another that brought in a great sense of relief. The very evening India posted a majestic victory over England - wondering which match I am referring to ??? Its none other than finals of the Natwest Trophy.
Although I was a month late joining the college, I felt a sense of belonging to this place. With so many familiar faces around (we were 16 people from the same school that joined SSN) I was almost at ease right from the very moment I stepped into my allotted bus : Route No. 22. My first day took an unexpected turn when at the lunch interval I was asked by a couple of guys to join the cricket team comprising of freshers that was to compete against the seniors. Not even in my wildest dreams did I imagine this was in-store at the very first day and I gleefully accepted their invitation and played a nice little knock. I reached home at 9 pm. Who has had a beginning like this !!!
to be continued......
May 31, 2006
April 28, 2006
Is everything lost for 'J' ??
Every heart supporting Jayalalitha in this assembly election must have received a severe blow when some of the exit poll results were out in the news channels. Every poll suggested a clean sweep by the DMK led alliance much to the disappointment of many AIADMK fans. Strangely enough the massive political shift has taken place in less than 4 weeks time, when the pre-poll sureveys showed a clear advantage for the ruling government. What could be the possible reasons ?
The major calculation which went wrong for Jayalalitha was the timing of her campaign. She was almost on the last leg of her campaigning when the DMK was still preparing its election manifesto. As a result of which Mr. Karunanidhi, with his years of poilitcal experience introduced freebies, much to the delight of the common man, however, totally unfathomable from an economic perspective. Jayalalitha retaliated by making promises which were not a part of election manifesto. This led to massive shift in the electorate, who were now beginning to see a panicking J.
Every one feels that this will be Kalaignar's last election. This sympathy factor for Karunandhi created a huge electorate in his favor. The man in his own rights is one of the few great politicians which the state has ever seen.
No doubt in the Post-tsunami regime Jayalalitha was outstanding in her administration and directed the state onto the right track. Its because of her efforts that Tamil Nadu is among the top states in India with respect to Industrialisation, Manufacturing, Services and IT. Then what went wrong for her in this election ? Carefully examining, its the things falling in place for the DMK led alliance rather than things going wrong for Amma. The sudden shift of Vaiko to AIADMK was a blessing in disguise for DMK. The Vaiko factor was totally worthless for Jayalalitha. The agenda proposed by DMK was much more lucrative for the tamil public. The presence of powerful ally in the form of Congress has been a major plus as far as the DMK is concerned.
If the exit-poll results are indeed a picture to what is in store, then Tamil Nadu will witness its first coalition government in almost 50 years. The congress, after a long time, will have its presence felt in the state. Whether it is for the benefit of the people, one has to wait and watch. The Democratic Progressive Alliance will have to be on its toe. The DPA has promises which it has to fulfill. It will have a powerful and an aggresive leader of the opposition in the form of Jayalalitha, who would be more determined to come back to power in the next elections. Surely the battle is ON !
The major calculation which went wrong for Jayalalitha was the timing of her campaign. She was almost on the last leg of her campaigning when the DMK was still preparing its election manifesto. As a result of which Mr. Karunanidhi, with his years of poilitcal experience introduced freebies, much to the delight of the common man, however, totally unfathomable from an economic perspective. Jayalalitha retaliated by making promises which were not a part of election manifesto. This led to massive shift in the electorate, who were now beginning to see a panicking J.
Every one feels that this will be Kalaignar's last election. This sympathy factor for Karunandhi created a huge electorate in his favor. The man in his own rights is one of the few great politicians which the state has ever seen.
No doubt in the Post-tsunami regime Jayalalitha was outstanding in her administration and directed the state onto the right track. Its because of her efforts that Tamil Nadu is among the top states in India with respect to Industrialisation, Manufacturing, Services and IT. Then what went wrong for her in this election ? Carefully examining, its the things falling in place for the DMK led alliance rather than things going wrong for Amma. The sudden shift of Vaiko to AIADMK was a blessing in disguise for DMK. The Vaiko factor was totally worthless for Jayalalitha. The agenda proposed by DMK was much more lucrative for the tamil public. The presence of powerful ally in the form of Congress has been a major plus as far as the DMK is concerned.
If the exit-poll results are indeed a picture to what is in store, then Tamil Nadu will witness its first coalition government in almost 50 years. The congress, after a long time, will have its presence felt in the state. Whether it is for the benefit of the people, one has to wait and watch. The Democratic Progressive Alliance will have to be on its toe. The DPA has promises which it has to fulfill. It will have a powerful and an aggresive leader of the opposition in the form of Jayalalitha, who would be more determined to come back to power in the next elections. Surely the battle is ON !
April 2, 2006
A special day !
For all those people who aspire to pursue their higher education in United States the experience which I am going to describe now might be a common one..but it is something which i really cherish and would not forget for the rest of my life..
Monday, tuesday, wednesday and thursday had passed without any overwhelming news from any of the universities that i had applied to for doing my masters ..it was 9 pm, friday march 10, 2006..i started doing my routine checks on university websites to find out whether any of those had released my admission decision..and once again to my disappointment the status pages showed "sent to academic review.." or "academic decision pending.."...my dad lives in riyadh, saudi..and my mom and dad regularly have voice converation (courtesy yahoo) around 10 pm every night..so i left the computer, went to the other room and started watching some stupid tamil movie with my mind still disturbed by the fact that i had not yet had a favorable decision from the universities where i really wanted to study..
at 10.30 pm i heard my mom yell from the other room "Kaushik..............." that was probably the first time i heard her scream without bothering about what the neighbours would think ...my instincts told me it was to do with university coz more often than not its my mom who keeps checking the status pages...she remembered all my usernames and passwords..something which even i found difficult and had to maintain a separate notebook for that ! she came running to my room and told me "Purdue vandhuduthu da..............." which translates to "Purdue has come ......" I was totally confused..i dint know whether purdue results were out or i had an admission from purdue...these were the most nervous moments of my life..i chanted the names of all the gods and goddesses that i could think of including jesus, allah....i looked at my comp..and my heart skipped a beat - dhak dhak ... dhak dhak
it was the best news that i had ever received...it was an admission from purdue...it was a place where i had dreamed to be..and now i have got it ! the status said "recommended by program" and i told my mom i have been offered admission and there were hi-fi's all around..my sister, grandparents all started congratulating me..but my dad, poor man was sitting in riyadh completely unaware of what was going on..all he heard was my mom yelling ..and our hi-fi's..i then told him the news..and i have never seen him that happy in the last 21 years..this was the only happiness that i could have given my parents for sacrificing their lives by living in different countries for more than a decade now..it was Speacial day !
Monday, tuesday, wednesday and thursday had passed without any overwhelming news from any of the universities that i had applied to for doing my masters ..it was 9 pm, friday march 10, 2006..i started doing my routine checks on university websites to find out whether any of those had released my admission decision..and once again to my disappointment the status pages showed "sent to academic review.." or "academic decision pending.."...my dad lives in riyadh, saudi..and my mom and dad regularly have voice converation (courtesy yahoo) around 10 pm every night..so i left the computer, went to the other room and started watching some stupid tamil movie with my mind still disturbed by the fact that i had not yet had a favorable decision from the universities where i really wanted to study..
at 10.30 pm i heard my mom yell from the other room "Kaushik..............." that was probably the first time i heard her scream without bothering about what the neighbours would think ...my instincts told me it was to do with university coz more often than not its my mom who keeps checking the status pages...she remembered all my usernames and passwords..something which even i found difficult and had to maintain a separate notebook for that ! she came running to my room and told me "Purdue vandhuduthu da..............." which translates to "Purdue has come ......" I was totally confused..i dint know whether purdue results were out or i had an admission from purdue...these were the most nervous moments of my life..i chanted the names of all the gods and goddesses that i could think of including jesus, allah....i looked at my comp..and my heart skipped a beat - dhak dhak ... dhak dhak
it was the best news that i had ever received...it was an admission from purdue...it was a place where i had dreamed to be..and now i have got it ! the status said "recommended by program" and i told my mom i have been offered admission and there were hi-fi's all around..my sister, grandparents all started congratulating me..but my dad, poor man was sitting in riyadh completely unaware of what was going on..all he heard was my mom yelling ..and our hi-fi's..i then told him the news..and i have never seen him that happy in the last 21 years..this was the only happiness that i could have given my parents for sacrificing their lives by living in different countries for more than a decade now..it was Speacial day !
March 24, 2006
Something to be pleased about !
Enough has been said about the dismal Indian batting performance (once again !) and India's meek surrender to England in the concluded test series; a series which certainly belonged to the visitors and one which has elevated them to the No.2 Test team in the world, without doubt.
Although Indian seniors (I wil refrain from mentioning the names) let India down on the crucial final day of the test series, India can take pride of the fact that they have a potent FAST BOWLING attack which would help them perform better overseas. The emergence of Munaf Patel and Sreesanth has bolstered the Indian team which was always deprived of genuine quick bowlers. The ability of these two players to bowl wicket taking deliveries and constantly operate in the corridor of uncertainity is really heartening to see. In a series plagued with drop catches, the two bowlers kept pegging back at the batsmen and reaped huge rewards for showing great patience and perserverance.
Another heartening fact is that Dravid was willing to play five bowlers, contrary to the expectations of the cricket pundits. This reflected the Australian way of thinking and although India went on to lose the game, it was a bold step forward in Indian cricket. Probably the question to field first after winning the toss on a sub-continental wicket is debatable, but there must have been a definite strategy behind this; whatever it was it didn't work out in India's favour.
Cometh the Onedayers, India definitely has the upper hand, at least we wont see so many drop catches. With the bowling attack of both sides looking very potent and incisive, the seven one dayers should provide a fascinating contest between the bat and ball. The sub-continent heat will test both sides and the players must remain extremely fit to last the gruelling battle!
More to come.....
Although Indian seniors (I wil refrain from mentioning the names) let India down on the crucial final day of the test series, India can take pride of the fact that they have a potent FAST BOWLING attack which would help them perform better overseas. The emergence of Munaf Patel and Sreesanth has bolstered the Indian team which was always deprived of genuine quick bowlers. The ability of these two players to bowl wicket taking deliveries and constantly operate in the corridor of uncertainity is really heartening to see. In a series plagued with drop catches, the two bowlers kept pegging back at the batsmen and reaped huge rewards for showing great patience and perserverance.
Another heartening fact is that Dravid was willing to play five bowlers, contrary to the expectations of the cricket pundits. This reflected the Australian way of thinking and although India went on to lose the game, it was a bold step forward in Indian cricket. Probably the question to field first after winning the toss on a sub-continental wicket is debatable, but there must have been a definite strategy behind this; whatever it was it didn't work out in India's favour.
Cometh the Onedayers, India definitely has the upper hand, at least we wont see so many drop catches. With the bowling attack of both sides looking very potent and incisive, the seven one dayers should provide a fascinating contest between the bat and ball. The sub-continent heat will test both sides and the players must remain extremely fit to last the gruelling battle!
More to come.....
March 17, 2006
"Cricket is getting bizzare"
"Cricket is going bizzare..." thats what Herschelle Gibbs had to say when he received the Man of the match award in the recently concluded "greatest one day international". Flat tracks, small grounds and unskilled bowlers - these are the attributes which the cricketing pundits associate the modern day cricket with. Leave alone one dayers, even the test matches are beginning to go the batsman's way !
Its really disappointing to see no contest between the bat and the ball. When you look at the pitches provided for the India-Pakistan test matches (spare the Karachi wicket), just goes to show the mindset. It seems the bowlers are there to provide the batsmen with a full meal; help yourself, or as Boycott says "Buffet" bowling.
Gone are the times when the order of the day was "Win the toss..bat first..pile up runs..put pressure on the opposition". Today's cricket is about powerhitting. I will not be surprised if a team playes eleven batsmen. All you need is someone to roll their arm over, a genuine batsman or a bowler doesnt matter, they are all going to get tonged anyway.
But will that be cricket ???? Time wil tell.....
Its really disappointing to see no contest between the bat and the ball. When you look at the pitches provided for the India-Pakistan test matches (spare the Karachi wicket), just goes to show the mindset. It seems the bowlers are there to provide the batsmen with a full meal; help yourself, or as Boycott says "Buffet" bowling.
Gone are the times when the order of the day was "Win the toss..bat first..pile up runs..put pressure on the opposition". Today's cricket is about powerhitting. I will not be surprised if a team playes eleven batsmen. All you need is someone to roll their arm over, a genuine batsman or a bowler doesnt matter, they are all going to get tonged anyway.
But will that be cricket ???? Time wil tell.....
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