On the top of the World

Blue sky, chirping birds, golden gleams of sunlight, cool breeze, a non-perennial water body, tens of telecommunication miniatures of the Eiffel Tower, domes of a temple, church and mosque (all at one sight) exhibiting sovereignty, green patches of moist land serving as the Eden Gardens to many Master Blasters in the making, distant horn of the Great Indian Railways, sailing colors of drying pyjamas and salwaars, an aunt in the neighborhood household exercising to stay fit and the house of my best friend in the very next lane.

I’m truly on the top of the world. I’m on my TERRACE :).

My bonding with this beautiful place began from my school days when my mom expects me to study for a minimum of 15 hours a day of which ten passed at school (But please don’t ask me if I studied at school. Lol). It was the remaining five hours that were a problem at the beginning, till I got on to the terrace one evening with my book. Ever since then, it had turned out to be a companion, a friend, a soul mate and a personal diary. What would one think if you keep talking to yourself all alone! That you have gone mad. Well, yes but not when you are in this place with a earphone playing the favorite song of yours. It knows everything about me from the half yearly exam I bunked in my twelfth standard staying back at my friend’s place watching the Final Destination series, my secret crushes, awkwardly odd fetish ness, the kind of affection I have for my family that even they don’t know, pre defined plans for life (though none has taken off) and the happy and sad moments encountered with my lady love. Most of all, it knows the real ME like no one else in this world have known or would.

Even today if I come home, it’s my assigned job to treat the crows every morning calling out, “ Ka. Ka “. I was so good at it that the crows eventually started coming without even me calling out but my mom says that I’m never supposed to serve them mute (I wouldn’t wonder if my neighbor says that he uses my tone as his alarm to wake up). The non-perennial water body that I mentioned above serves multiple purposes – play field, dhobi ghat (nope, not the Aamir Khan feature film), a place to dump domestic wastes and a water tub for buffalos. I even used to rehearse for my roles in plays and for oratorical competitions earning me a choice to add a good number of certificates to fill my 40 leaf file for placements (which I did). I’ve essayed several roles as an actor, singer, music director, film critic and sometimes a choreographer too which only my terrace knows (Good for the world, It doesn’t). I should mention that we have a lot of peacocks around my place, which would contribute some pride provided the poachers don’t deprive them by seizing their feathers. And not to forget the cat and dog play (at times, it is dog and dog play) which keeps me better entertained than WWE.

I remember a philosopher once being asked which was his favorite place on earth and he replied saying where ever he was. Well, I may not be so thoughtful as him but my mouth would effortlessly utter, “MY TERRACE”.

Entreprise de Reve

More than blogging, it’s to decide on what to blog that is difficult. I’ve been pondering over it for a while and since I’m nowhere near finding one, just thought I’d come out with some random thoughts. Firstly, I’ve been placed in CTS (BITians- read dream company). Since my teens, I have always thought that I was sure about what I wanted in life but it’s when the showtime is on that all the confusion on earth widens leading to chaos (pardon me if the usage is wrong, wanted to add that word in someplace irrespective of whether right or wrong). And the best decision at such moments is to go by the wind, to accept what life has to offer (I know it isn’t optimistic but it could work). I would love to share a few details on what a dream company means at BIT.

Ever since the day I joined college, the only company that I knew recruits in my campus is Cognizant (there are a few others but you can gladly term them ‘negligible’). And so came the final year, I could hear echoes all around sounding “When’s CTS coming?”, “Machan, teach me aps da.”, “They recruited so many in X college and so many in XX college.”, “You’ll anyways get through CTS, Gethuthaan”. The last one is a cliché on which hours are spent in order to otify someone (means make satirist remarks) when he unknowingly utters some word that the other doesn’t know. There is also something called post dinner session which aims at training grads to crack Cognizant’s HR round (our alma mater says cracking CAT isn’t our task, we leave those stuffs to our inferiors at the IITs). Well, I’m not totally against it as it aims at bringing everyone to a state of equality on a medium scale (the robin hood way).

While talking about lobbying, how can one possibly miss out mentioning Nira Radia ! The lobbyist here is our placement officer (read CTS campus coordinator), Dr Sankaran. There is one incident that could help you understand the whole case. We had an off campus recruitment by TVS at CIT, the day before Cognizant. And there was a so called motivation speech delivered by our beloved CEO (like in the corporate world) the day before TVS, where he hardly said anything but kept repeating the repeated phrase, “ again and again and again” (God knows what he meant!). Me and one of my classmate were out that time on the process of getting a bus booked for the next day (really a tiresome job in a college like ours, hundreds of signatures). That’s when Sankaran saw us and started yelling asking us to go attend the motivation talk and that TVS work could be done later (perhaps after everything is over).

I used to be astonished when I see books with the title reading, “How to become Ambani in 20 days?”. But now after seeing my roommates preparing day and night barring sleep from logical reasoning to self- introduction, I actually think it is possible that I’ve even ordered for a book titled “How to become Mallya in one night?” (hmmm, expensive affair though). I’m pretty sure that if an outsider had seen our college on the D-day with a thousand students file handed, he would easily have mistaken in for a modern fine tuned version of the Kumbhamela. Unlike Prathiba Patil and Prince Charles fighting to utter the words, “ Let the games begin “ at the CWG, here the decision was unanimous with Dr Sankaran saying “ Now I completely hand over the stage to Cognizant”. The way he said it, I was surprised he didn’t fall flat on the floor (Thank God).

Fine, no matter how the run was, now that the great looking HR hottie has welcomed me on board Cognizant, “All izz very very well”.

The Twilight Experience

(Note- Strictly for the fanatics of Twilight)

That was a dull morning with the sun just starting to rise, we were on a car travel to my native and the worst part was that I forgot to pick up the audio discs. So had to manage with the FMs that were receiving in installments. Seeing me restless, my cousin (more of a friend) offered me a paperback edition of a novel so that I can wail away the time. Though I wasn’t really interested, the cover which had two teens sharing an intense moment tempted me to take a read. Well, I first started with the title TWILIGHT.

A self-possessed Bella narrates about reluctantly moving down to the little town of Forks to stay with her dad and about the people she meets in her new school. Nothing interests her much but her good old truck and a stare from her strange and handsome biology partner, Edward. Anyone who reads the first hundred pages may easily mistake it for a stereo type plot of romance. Yes it would seem, if Edward and his Cullen clan weren’t vegetarian vampires (in vamp dictionary, means they feed only on animals and not humans), pretending to be as everyone else around. And if there weren’t Jake’s pack of ware wolves (phase shifters) trying to match the count of vamps.

Stephenie Meyer introduces us to the mystic world of vampires and ware wolves co existing in the human world (makes me doubt if my room mate who is sitting in front of me is one of them! Well, never. Nice guy!), stretching far and wide through four sequels. She ventures an all new way of narration throughout the plot by explaining things only from Bella’s point of view, except for a few portions in Breaking Dawn.

Talking about the characters, Bella is portrayed dumb all through and she has nothing of her own fondness but it’s all of Edward’s choice (Very well judged as one of the worst characters of the last decade, in some magazine, whose name I forgot). Even when she transforms in to a vampire, the gift she earns is to shield from other’s powers which ironically helps to save the entire clan in the end. She is magnetic to troubles and non-human creatures. A few of my friends keeps saying that she is a total bitch who keeps switching sides between Edward and Jake. All I have to say is ,”Yes, she is”. But above all, she was the main reason for me to keep reading on as she’s an epitome of beauty (Thanks, Kirsten Stewart).

Edward, the cold blooded vampire who’s age is at a standstill seventeen is by every bit a goodie( Even wiser than a lot of South Indian Super Stars). With a stern look and a keen sense to read other’s thoughts, there is nothing that can miss his notice except for the shielded Bella. He falls in love forever with the tempting scent of Bella’s and takes a big deal to control his thirst, which he does with love surpassing. His thoughts, actions and time are spent on the single girl who managed to strike him down in a hundred years of lifetime. To keep it simple, he is one guy for whom any gal would fall for (no wonder Robert Pattinson earned himself a place in Madame Tussauds at 24).

And finally Jacob @ Jake, an adolescent lad who phases in to a muscular ware wolf completes the love triangle. There is not much of a difference between him and Edward except that he gives a damn to Edward and his thoughts. Pretty shocking that he eventually imprints on Bella’s own daughter(hybrid). It is this bond that lets the two arch rivals to desert all conflicting treaties and battle as one, against all odds.

Well, it’s not just the three of them but a whole lot of strikingly beautiful vampire clans and a pack of dauntless ware wolves who entwine Meyer’s fictional world. There are not many humans depicted if not for Bella’s dad Charlie, the intractable cop who sticks on to his own not questioning much about the zombie world. Though a lot of scenes keep repeating quite often, this tale never falls short of fantasies and surprises. Above all, this is a saga of everlasting love where everything ends fine, for now and FOREVER.

Changing times, Changing scripts

At times when we get to watch or read the classics, we might wonder as to how the whole plot wouldn’t exist today owing to the changes that has taken place over the years. ‘Change’ is possibly the only thing that cannot be changed. In this tech savvy world of ours, something that seems out of our reach today, becomes outdated tomorrow. So the challenge lies with the script writer to evolve along with the evolving times in coming up with new plots, as the existing ones are bound to be dismissed.

Fine, let me keep this simple. Shakespeare’s masterpiece ‘Romeo and Juliet’ ( I seriously didn’t know anything about the plot of the story until last night, except for the fact that they were a legendary love pair who met with a tragic end and of course the most romantic balcony scene. But thank Wiki, I’m no more ignorant neither am I bliss), is no different from today’s popular flicks but for the climax. The hero and heroine are from two big families in town who hate each other to death and there is one villain who is bound to marry the heroine.

In Shakespeare’s work, Juliet’s friend gives her a drug which can keep her in a death-like coma for two and forty hours and promises her that she will send a messenger to Romeo to keep him informed of the plan. But the message fails to reach him and he poisons himself in grief thinking Juliet is dead. Juliet on recovering realizes what had happened and slays herself with a dagger. The play ends with the line, "For never was a story of more woe than this of Juliet and her Romeo." It is this that makes it a classic. But in today’s blockbusters, the hero would have learnt by a thousand means about the plan and would have battled down some fifty men and carried away his love.

Possibly if Romeo and Juliet had lived in our times, they would have been the ‘lived happily ever after’ kind. Juliet would have updated her facebook status saying, ”I’m head over heels in love with the man of my dreams Romeo but I’m being forced to marry against my wish. You guys got any idea to get us together?”. Then she might have posted a poll on orkut to get everyone’s opinion as to which idea would be the best to be carried out. Finally she would have texted an SMS or a mail to romeohandsomelad@gmail.com detailing him about the chosen plan. Romeo would act accordingly and win her hand, posting a tweet saying, ‘ Just Married. Heading 2wards the Eiffel Tower to spend the most romantic of nights. Will keep u guys posted on youtube’.

Well, this is just an example while there are several other cases which may sound interesting to hear under the current circumstances. It is also a nice trend that several epics are being remade owing to the present times like Raavan(Ramayanam) and Rajneeti(Mahabaratham). The audience, these days are intelligent and know to accept new ventures. This offers the film makers to take their own liberties with the timeline of the narrative. For instance, in the Hollywood science fiction, ‘Back to the Future’ Trilogy, the lead actors travel to different time periods by means of a time machine.

If one travels to the past, he’ll need to reproduce that era exactly as it was while with future, one is subject to experiment on his own creativity as to how the world would turn out to be in the coming years. Either way, the point in time of the plot has a great influence on the script which indeed needs a lot of research and thought to be made possible. To conclude, I wonder for how long would this article of mine sound meaningful!

Muthu calling muthu

It was recently(ie amidst my semesters) that I got to watch the Farhan Akhtar and Deepika Padukone starring ‘Karthik calling Karthik’. I loved the way in which the director had depicted the role of a schizophrenic. But that doesn’t limit this trait to just Karthik. Everyone of us have had instants(perhaps more) where we had spoken to ourselves, debated and argued on issues regarding our own but it’s just that we have it under control where as Karthik had lost hold of it.

There’s no better companion on earth than one’s own self. It is indeed necessary to identify the contrasts between our thoughts and actions. And so I’m here typing down what Muthu(M) questioned me, muthu(m) when I got my call.

*Hey dude, why is it that you always wish to do big deeds( those which even the Ambanis and Rajinikanths have failed to) and that you don’t take the least effort, a single step towards it. Remember, thoughts are not meant to be just thoughts. Give it a try. Success or not is the next concern.

*You speak a lot( hell a lot), but that’s just with your self or on the phone or the net. What’s your problem speaking when real people(with blood, flesh and bones) are near you. Don’t you think you play a spoil sport for those who expect you to be casual when in a get together. This in no way makes you a quite guy instead portrays an image of a stubborn. So chill out man, at least the next time.

*Isn’t there anyone else in BIT who could do the dumb job of an MoC? That too an informal one in your voice! Sounds funny. I’ve heard people ask you, who’s the next MoC girl (like who’s the next bond girl). I know it wasn’t your choice but give a damn, for life is all about variety.

*Please don't get frustrated with small things like miss a whole night's sleep because of the confusion as to whether you locked the door or not(happens with you!). You need to trust yourself(ie ME) at the first place rather than anyone else.



*A few might think you’re the best and that you don’t talk bad about anyone but it’s only you and me who know that they are wrong. Anyways maintain it that way. Nothing wrong as long as you could earn some brownie points wit a few.

*You’ve really got a bad taste while coming to choosing clothes. So better leave that to your mom. She knows what suites you better.

*What’s so difficult in posing to a camera that you make your face shrink and give what to do looks, like a kiddo. You really can’t make you seem better than what you are but you certainly can present yourself in a good way.

*You keep talking about pursuing your dream to become an entrepreneur. Fine, that’s good. But it definitely isn’t going to be easy. Stay connected whatever it may take.

*This is enough of telling you what you’re bad at as I myself feel bored. Anyways I know you never feel ashamed to correct your mistakes. So do take the above points seriously and work over it. Wishing you the best. Will sure catch up when you are in real need.

And then the beep went off. Hey guys, sorry if I left you bored and now that I have spoke to myself, please don’t mistake me for a schizophrenic for this is just the censored version of the call. There’s a lot more that I wish not to disclose(For that’s what makes the difference). I’m no Karthik(nor do I have a girl like Deepika beside), I’m just muthu(m).

Riviera Diaries

Any reason to take leave from college didn’t really need to be thought about. Having missed a chance to be there at Saarang’10 owing to the periodicals made it more reasonable to be a part of the Quenchies visiting Riviera’10 , a sports and entertainment fest at VIT. Immediately after the last exam was over, I had to rush to get my things packed and make sure that I didn’t miss anything. It was perfect time to meet the team which had Ram, Ajith, Nikhil, Anand, Paul and Phani. The trip was up to a rocking start when an auto refused to take all seven of us for 100 bucks. Eventually we managed to get one though (Courtesy: Nikhil). There on was a quick bus trip to Cbe and a spicy dinner which I feared could have a counter effect on the Telangana buddy (Thank God, nothing such happened).

Since the journey was planned on the basis of keeping it economical at any point, we decided on travelling in the unreserved compartment of Cheran. While awaiting the train, we got ourselves weighted and purchased the recent editions of Filmfare and India Today ( with a real good cover story) . Fortunately we were lucky to get a seat for all of us in the same compartment. It was quite a memorable travel playing dumb c and anthakshari ( Yup! I managed reciting the lyrics at least) and Nikhil had good fun resting on the shoulders of a sexy aunty sitting beside him. Reached Vellore by five in the morning amidst heavy cold and took an auto to VIT. It was quite tedious to get ourselves registered and accommodated but with Ram there, you don’t have to worry. We had to walk at least three kilometers to reach Subash Chandra Bose block (one extreme of the campus, might be because he was an extremist) before settling for a brief sleep.

With no gal to wait for, we guys were quick at getting ready and sneaking in to the hostel mess for breakfast( Why couldn’t BIT provide such food!!!). From vadas to coffee, we left no item untouched. Once again it was a 3km walk back to the epicenter but this time with the sun, the view was brilliant. When we reached our destination I felt a bit disappointed to see the place with very few around. Only after a while I noticed a crowd jogging towards us marking the end of the Green Marathon, sporting identical T-Shirts with a message (Could have ran! Would have got a T-shirt!). We checked out with the schedule and decided to walk in to the Ambedkar Audi for Scrabble (It really wasn’t my idea). Kept trying my best to get a few answers right when someone walked in and said that we had a guest. Even before I could look up, I was able to hear Paul exclaim ,’Laxmanaaah!’. Yes it was VVS Laxman. He just peeped in for a while and left.

The Scrabble thing didn’t catch up well with me. So Paul and me decided to walk out to have a look at other events. The entire place was totally different from what I had seen an hour ago. Cool guys, smart gals, jarring music, announcements over mic (My part. Ain’t it?), adventure buddies crawling through tires, couples walking hand in hand, men tuning guitars and quite a lot that I failed to notice. Surging ahead a few yards, we reached the marketing challenge zone where stalls where laid on the sideways with a huge crowd in front of each one of them. The reason was because they didn’t sell any product but paved way for fun providing a chance for everyone to earn money (to lose as well), like the Casinos. I later learnt that there was a stock market functioning with indexes of each stall’s share price where you could buy and trade shares( Wow, what an idea sirji!).

We finally ended up watching bands perform light music till 1pm when Ram texted us that General Quiz was about to commence. So we rushed in to find everyone waiting eagerly to crunch their cranium but the quizmaster arrived quiet leisurely. Had a number of interesting questions but with all brainy ppl around it was just a learning experience(Hoping to compete one day). Then we all left to the informal stage area to have some food stuffs making up for the hunger. We returned back to have a sneak in to the finals of light music. MCC was truly brilliant in handling the crowd that everyone danced along and they took away the honors. But Ram really loved Ethiraj’s band (So did I) who hummed most the time with just one keyboard. The rest of the day went on roaming in and around the campus while Phani had been to Devi Sri Prasad’s Show(Golti thing) which had performances of Sneha and Nikita (Kodana Kodi, Saroja) as well.

I was the first one to wake up next day that I managed to get myself ready before others could wake up. If not for Nikhil, everyone else were quick in getting done. Clicked a few photos while walking back to the venue. Me and Andy took part in creative writing but nothing creative creped out of me. Walked in to Holmes Alone( as in Sherlok Holmes). It’s an event where they play you a crime video and introduce you to the characters who enacted it. You’ll be given a bio data of all of the characters, a detective’s notes, sketch of the crime site and recent calls list of the victim. You need to find out who the murderer is and what was the motto with proof. You’ll be given time to question the characters in person as well. I enjoyed it thoroughly as I came out with a few correct assessments. Spent the noon session with Nikhil, participating in Tamil Anthakshari. Surprisingly made it to the final too. In the evening me and Nikhil went on to Vellore while others witnessed Shaan perform.

The third day passed on with nothing planned. Walked in to everyplace we found and tried having as much fun as we could. Never to miss out the basket ball matches that took place. Was great to watch ppl dunk so casually. JAM was sort of good. We had to pack our bags by 4pm to retrieve our caution deposit( Getting that by returning the mug and buckets is another story though). Met Yuva, one of my best friends at school, while walking out. Was a masti three day trip except for missing out a chance to see Kamalhassan and Parvathy Omanakuttan(Miss World Runner up) that evening. But we somehow made up by watching ‘Goa’. Funny flick. Caught an air conditioned bus to Sathy by 11pm thereby bankrupting everyone of us. Reached BIT with a few pennies to spare but nothing did matter when we had to look back at the past three days( Life at BIT a reason too).