Hmmm Home...

Just some random things that make homecoming so special.. :)

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Its 4:30 in the morning. I lean out of the fast moving train as it slows down to stop at the outer signal. After a brief hiatus it moves on again, gaining speed and I stand there enjoying the pleasant chill against my face even as the wind blows through my hair, pushing them back in the way I like. As it enters the terminal I lean even further, hoping to catch a glimpse of my parents. And there they are, both of them, ready to take me home. Let me be honest with you. No sight in the world beats the sight of seeing your parents after a long time.

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Its 5 in the morning as you drive out of the station. The roads are almost empty. Papa has brought his own car ( he assumed I was bringing back lots of luggage..lolz :P) and not my (ohk it's not mine. Technically it's mom's.. ;P) cute little 800. As we move to Ajmer Road, I put the car into the 5th gear and press down the accelerator. The speedometer crosses 100. Wow!

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Hardly ten minutes later I am home. And guess what? Bua has cooked me awesome methi ke paranthein ... yummm!!!

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I have been to a couple of weddings in the short stay here. And hey, weddings are fun this time of the year. Pleasant weather, good food, and oh well, this time the chicks weren't half bad either.. ;P. Ok but that wasn't the main point (however important and relevant it might be ;) ). The thing is, I get to spend some quality time with my family away from home. Oh that reminds me, am heading to simla for a week!! :D Finally a vacation with my family after nearly six and a half years!

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Hot water baths!!! you can't even begin to imagine how much I like these. And ghar pe I don't even have to wake up early to have one (unlike the hostel, where the hot water runs out at 10 in the morning, that is, if there was any at all )

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Breakfast in bed!! :D

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I like to read a newspaper first thing in the morning. It hardly ever happens in the hostel. At home, I wake up daily to find my ToI lying besides me.. :)

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And oh, how can I not mention home cooked food! Seriously people before heading to college I was fed up of it. Now I just can't get enough of it. I guess that's the same with everyone though...

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When you want to write on too many things...

Islamic Terrorism and Indian Muslims

Muslims the world over celebrated Eid a couple of days back. It was heartening to see that the Indian ones were quite subdued in their celebrations and that Imams of leading mosques around the country spoke against what is being done in the name of their religion.

India has the largest number of Muslims in any country after Indonesia; yes, even more than Pakistan, the supposed homeland of the Muslims. Indian Muslims are really unique. In any other country, except China, a number of 130 odd million would make them the majority, in India they constitute the minority.

Indian Muslims are also in a position to counter the extremist ideology that forms the foundation of the Islamic terrorism. For quite sometime there has been search for an ideology to counter the extremist one being preached by the Taliban and its likes. The more tolerant, sectarian-violence free Indian Muslim way might just be the answer that we have been looking for.

Of Chief Ministers

I had been following the news about Congress victory in the Rajasthan Assembly elections. It didn't come as a surprise as in the recent past the trend has been to oust the incumbent whenever the opportunity arises. Three days have passed and still there's no consensus on the Chief-Ministerial candidate. Ex-CM Ashok Geholt, the person who led the victorious campaign is the firm favourite. Though he is being opposed by the likes of Sheesh Raam Ola, on the grounds that Gehlot ain't a Jaat. Well now, I don't have any problems as to whether a Jaat becomes the CM or a non-Jaat becomes the CM. The only thing that I got problems with is that the Congress is considering to appoint a Jaat as a deputy CM. Pray tell me, why as the tax payer should I fund the cost of this political gimmick? As if we don't have too many ministers already! The 15% limit that has been put on the size of the Cabinet is being seriously abused. It's high time we brought some structure to our executive.

Another thing which I find ridiculous is Sheesh Raam Ola contesting for the CMship. An 82 year old guy as a first time CM? For Christ's sake, gimme a break! If 60 is deemed old enough for our public servants, shouldn't there be an age bar on the politicians as well? Hon'ble Supreme Court, are we listening?

Civil Services

I had been going through the structure of the Civil Services examination and was surprised by the choice of the optional subjects available. While 23 options to choose from for one optional may sound enough, even a slightly closer look would reveal that they are grossly inadequate. For starters, Computer Science graduates like yours truly are on a disadvantage before we even start the process. Reason: Computer Science is not one of the electives. And neither is EC or IT for that matter. Apparently we don't exist.

Somebody called IAS as the mother of all exams. And indeed it is so. For unlike JEE or CAT, where genius might suffice, IAS examination pattern ensures that you need to have the capacity to carry encyclopedic knowledge in your head if you have to have even the slightest chance of succeding. While it could have been a must-have quality in the earlier days, I don't see any relevance of it now, when all the information is just a click away and when you can generate n number of simulation scenarios as per your requirements. Oh sorry, I forgot, how are the powers to be supposed to know that. After all how can we expect them to know of the internet, when they haven't even heard of Computer Engineers.

Tagged!!

So here I am.. taggeing myself... because I have nothing better to do...

1. What does your user name mean?
alien: go back to school if u dnt know this.. lolz..

2. Elaborate on your user photo.
taken a long time back.. i look as if i am lost in thoughts.. philosophical kinds..

3. How many comments do you have?
on wat dude?

4. What's your current relationship status?
all of you.. join facebook.. i jus joined the group...'awesome people who are single for no apparent reason' .. well, does that answer your question?

5. What exactly are you wearing right now?
a red tee and boxers..

6. What is your current problem?
i wanted to bathe but there's no hot water in the hostel.. :(

7. What do you love the most?
if it's what/who, then the answer is my family... else, spending time with my friends..

8. What makes you most happy?
hmmm.. a good coffee, when am with friends, eating good food, reading a good book, listening to music... you get the drift, don't you?

9. Are you musically inclined?
i think so.. currently listening to Hold on Hope..

10. What would you do if you woke up one morning and found out you were on cocaine?
finally i wud be able to compare the effects of cocaine and marijuana.. ;)

11. If you could go back in time and change something, what would it be?
wouldn't take science in 11th..

12. If you MUST be an animal for ONE day, what would you be?
tiger..

13. Ever had a near-death experience?
not yet...

14. Name an obvious quality you have.
am a good speaker..

15. What's the name of the song that's stuck in your head right now?
Never Too Late... 3 Days Grace

16. Are you happy today?
yeah.. leaving for home in a few hours.. :D

17. Who will cut and paste this first?
i guess Sid, though he'll curse me a lot.. ;P

18. Name someone with the same birthday as you.
salmaan khan..

19. Do you have a secret crush on someone?
not as of now, ask again in a couple of hours or so.. ;P

20. Do you have a garbage disposal in your kitchen sink?
mere hostel mein na toh kitchen hai aur na hi kitchen sink.. :|

21. Have you ever been in a fight?
yeah..

22. Have you ever sung in front of a large audience?
ohh yes...!! 3rd grade mein :P.. i still rem the song.. jee haan main hun khalnayak.. lolz..

23. What's the first thing you notice about the OPPOSITE sex?
physically: face, otherwise: their manner of speaking...

24. What's your biggest mistake?
bola toh re.. 11th mein science le li..

25. Say something totally random about you.
i am totally awesome.. ;)

26. Has anyone ever said you looked like a celebrity?
yeah..

27. Are you comfortable with your height?
yups..

28. What is the most romantic thing someone has ever done for you?
Wrong time dude...

29. What are your favourite smells?
baarish ke baad mitti ki smell, petrol, whenever my mom's cooking something good, of freshly brewed coffee...

30. What's something that really annoys you?
hypocrisy

31. What's something you really like?
spending time with my friends..

32. Do you give random hugs and kisses?
hugs: yes, kisses: i wish.. ;P

33. What's the latest you have ever stayed up?
10:30 am

34. Have you ever been rushed to the emergency room?
naah..

And I tag you:

Marvin

Piper

Anvita

Prabhu

Mads

Youjus..

Home Calling!!!

ohk fellas... am off to home finally.......

come this monday, and i wud be off to my favourite place.. to my favourite city....

And as quite a few of you were expecting, no these are NOT my last days in college.. don't know wat the future has in store... but one thing is for certain.. would be coming back.. whether for the last time or not.. dunno...

48 hours to deaprture.. yipee!! :)

Of Food and Faculty

It's not often that you get to know the blokes who teach you outside the classrooms. More often than not, our interactions are just limited to the classrooms. I have been quite lucky in this respect that I have got to interact with a couple of faculty members outside the classroom environment over the last three and a half years. But what happened a couple of nights ago ws truly amazing. All of us sitting in the cafeteria, it being our last such get-together. A number of us were leaving for home the next day, and more importantly Sobu wasn't returning to college. He had been offered an internship at Qualcomm and would be in Hyderabad for the next semester. Anyways, lets not digress from the topic. So yeah, there we were sitting in the cafetaria talking from anything to everything under the sun when Manu, the guy who runs the cafe at night joined us. And well, he had some insight to offer on the food habits of our faculty members...

prof. shiv

A pretty fixed lunch... generally includes a daal, bhindi and jeera aloo.. just 2 chapatis (surprise surprise!!).. and lots of green salad... and yeah a strong coffee to top it off...

prof. mathuria

A daal a day is the motto for him... 30 days-30 daals... no deviation whatsoever... gets his veggies from home only..

prof. srivastava

Never eats in campus.. always goes home...

prof. banerjee

Well well... yeh to subah ka doodh bhi brajwasi se hi lene aate hain.. so u can guess ki khane ka to kya haal hoga.. no wonder raat ko bhi cafeteria mein hi dikhte hai... apparently, mrs. banerjee, doesn't like to cook..

Next we asked Manu kis sabse zyada kaun khata hai.. and well.. the list wasn't surprising at all...

pk chopra, prof. anil roy, kumbar....

prof. sinha (Daddu) and prof. Jotwani were among the rare eaters... while rest everybody was almost a regular..

I wonder what happens next, now that brajwasi has finally decided to close its shop...