Ganpati Bappa Morya!

The ten days of Ganeshotsav were celebrated with pomp and glory all over the country, especially in Mumbai. Hour long aartis took place inspite of the very busy Mumbai life. Smell of fresh prasads had filled the otherwise dusty and polluted Mumbai air. Loud chants of Om Ganeshaya Namaha from the speakers replaced the honking of vehicles on the Highways. On the eve of Ganesh Chaturthi, I was at Bandra at 11pm. I saw a group of Muslims playing dhols and taking an idol of Lord Ganesha home, just like any Hindu would do. That one moment I might not forget for my entire life. Who says there is unrest in India between Hindus and Muslims? Whoever said that should have been there with me. It was a wonderful sight.

Next morning I performed the puja at home and visited friends and neighbours. Every evening I tried to reach home early for aarti. On the way to college and on the way back I saw many mandals. They had spent loads of money in decorating their pandals. At the entrance, however they made it a point to erect a banner of the political parties that had sponsored their pandals. Before visiting Shri Ganesh you had to first say hello to Madam Sonia Gandhi, Mr. Rahul Gandhi, Shri. Balasaheb Thakeray or some MP or MLA. It was all fine until one day. That one day I was just thinking about how much money comes to Lalbaugcha Raja. How rich the mandal is. How much money people donate to the mandal. That is when the following thought struck to me. Amidst all this, we have forgotten the person who laid the foundation stone of this 10 day long celebration, Lokmanya Balgangadhar Tilak. He who revolutionized this festival. Without whom there wouldn't have been a 10 day long celebration like what we have now. What a genius he was. He educated people during this 10 day long celebration. Not only that, but the festival also created oneness among all the sections of the society. It is not just a Hindu festival. It commemorates the beginning of a revolutionary era in our country. Ganesh Chaturthi is an entire nation's festival.

I am sure you readers might have seen a lot of mandals during the 10 day long Ganeshotsav. Try and recollect how many of them had Lokmanya Balgangadhar Tilak's picture among the Congress, BJP and Shiv Sena leaders. I saw only one on a Shiv Sena sponsored Mandal's entrance, but guess whose picture was bigger than Balgangadhar Tilak's picture. I bet you cannot be wrong.

Believe it or not...

On thursday the 29th of August, I went to college after 11am. Since lecture was going on in my class, I went to the library. At 1pm I tried looking out for Rohit, Divyanshu, Salil, Boli, KD and Chaukya. But, for the first time in the history of Electrical batch 2005-09, SPCE, I could not find them. On the other hand, for the first time in the history of Electrical batch 2005-09, SPCE, the guys didn't see me for a complete working day, though I had been in college.
Unbelievable?
Believe it.

Lecture or Torture?

This post is my medium to display my sheer discontent against the weird lecture timings. I really hate it when our Control Systems-2 professor, Ms.Sangeeta enters the class during her lecture, Ms.Swati Lavand's lecture and all the other possible free lectures. At times we have to undergo 3 hours of her torture. I really hate it when she enters the class when she is least expected. Nowadays, she is not the least expected professor because we expect her to enter the class in almost every lecture slot. It is not that I do not want to attend her 2X and 3X lectures, but I don't want to see her face at all. She has the saddest face in the world. Sometimes I feel she has lost everything in life. But then, the person would be most confident as one has nothing to lose. You should be there when she enters the class for a 9am lecture. Her eyes do not look sleepy at all. Be it 9am or 9pm. She has only one expression- "No expression". Sometimes I wonder how one can be so expressionless. Does she feel nothing? Does she feel no fear or pain? I really don't understand.
I have put up a theory as to why she is so expressionless. I think she is the daughter of Gaia (the spirit of the earth). I think her feelings control the condition of nature. Maybe sun shines when she smiles, and it rains when tears flow out of her eyes. But I wonder what would happen if she laughed till tears flowed out of her eyes. I think now I know why Mumbai got flooded on 26th july. Maybe she doesn't emote herself to maintain the equilibrium in nature. So that humans, animals, plants and Salil live in harmony without hardships. I really hope this theory is true because I don't see any other reason as to why she feels nothing.
She is so boring that she can put any person to sleep in a jiffy. You don't believe me? Read the conversation below:
Sangeeta's daughter-Mom, mom, Do you know what a wonderful day I had at school today? I won the first prize in running race at school and I got first rank in the entire standard today. It was the best day of my life.
Sangeeta-Congra....
Sangeeta's daughter-Zzzzzz.... (snort).. zzz...

Look and be amazed!!

I was surfing randomly, when I came across this comic strip. The people who used to read this comic in their childhood would love what I have pasted below. Those who havn't read this comic before, U GUYS ARE LOSERS!!!

Look at the drawings here in this comic strip. They are so immature. Looks like a 5th or 6th standard artwork. But I like the way the story flows. So many things have been conveyed in such a small space. Just a few blocks of pictures have taken the story so much further. Don't forget to notice the expressions on the characters' faces. And can you believe this? Chacha Chaudhary had actually trained his horse to run to the police station when crackers were tied to its tail. Insane stuff man! I mean, I have heard of people having a hard time, training their kids and dogs. But this is a horse man! And how can Gabbar Singh be so stupid? He allows Chacha Chaudhary to tie crackers to the horse's tail just because he wants it to run. Chacha Chaudhary*; who is well known for his wit and presence of mind! For God's sake, its Gabbar Singh. The most feared villian in Indian film history. One single comic strip has stripped off Gabbar Singh of his fierce image. If you are a fan of Chacha Chaudhary, you might know that Gabbar Singh became Gobar Singh later. And why not? He deserves the name after what he allowed to happen to him in this comic strip. If you would ask any B.E. Electrical student, his/her view about Gabbar Singh after this comic strip, we would all unanimously say that Gabbar Singh haga!!! The funniest thing I noticed in this comic strip is the 5th block on the 3rd page. Here Chacha is asking the police to keep his 50 grand cheque ready. Do you realize, this is the amount that the government was rewarding to nab Gabbar Singh in Sholay? Remember Sambha saying "sardar, poore pachaas hazaar!"

*Chacha Chaudhary ka dimaag computer se bhi tez chalta hai.

'COOL DUDES'!! \m/\m/

Have you ever come across "cool" people?? I m talking about the ones who like keeping their hair wet, about the ones who perform social service by playing loud music on the N92s in the bus and keep everyone entertained, the ones who keep chewing gum like a cow by moving their lower jaw such that it forms an ellipse if the locus of all points to which the chin moves is considered. It is not at all difficult to spot such people. All you have to do is get into a bus which has many commerce or arts colleges in its route. You will come across a number of these characters. I hate the way they wet their long hair, which is short from the front, but long enough to cover the neck from the back. It is really irritating when these "cool" guys play loud Linkin' Park songs in the bus. Each time I wish I could stand up and say "You idiot, the world has gone far beyond the age of Linkin' Park. Where were you in the last decade??" And it is even more annoying when they try to lip sync the song and try to feel the song by imitating the expressions of the lead vocalist. Sometimes I am really surprised to find guys who bang their heads to Bon Jovi. "Wat do you listen to?", I ask them. "I only like listening to heavy stuff like Bon Jovi", they say. I have at times come across guys who imitate the guitarists on the platforms and streets. Their fingers move in sync with the guitar piece they are listening to. Their faces are worth a watch. They can put Shahrukh Khan to shame with all their expressions. The easiest way to differentiate these guys from normal college going public is by their attire. They wear jeans that have a wierd wash. Faded at some places where they shouldn't have. They have wierd patches on their shirts and pants. These guys listen to music on their headphones on the way to station or bus stop from their homes. But once they enter their preferred mode of transport, every Riteish Deshmukh becomes a John Travolta. I have had many more encounters with such people. If you want to find such people, just stay where you are because they will come to you. Cheers!

Tanumay ka Pachka and he doesn't even know

Conference conversation at 10:30pm on August 5th 2008
......jha nilesh: bye guys... i m goin.
Ganapati K.R.: kk
Ganapati K.R.: bye
tanumay_007: is tht so, which she corrected today during the pracs
tanumay_007: bye jhatu
tanumay_007: !!!
jha nilesh has left the conference.
deepak mohan: yeah
tanumay_007: bye guys i'm going offline as well...
tanumay_007: GN!
Ganapati K.R.: k cool
Ganapati K.R.: gn
Ganapati K.R.: c u tomo
guri has joined the conference.
tanumay_007: cya!
Ganapati K.R.: hahahaha
guri: kya huwa papa ko?
Ganapati K.R.: jha gaya
tanumay_007: kya vinesh bhai kaisa hai tabiyet
Ganapati K.R.: gurudatt aaya
Ganapati K.R.: kaisa hai guri??
tanumay_007: bye!
tanumay_007 has left the conference.
guri: saala mujhe vinesh samjha
Ganapati K.R.: hahahaha
Ganapati K.R.: rofl.....

New Department Library Assistants

Today, Salil and Divyanshu were appointed as the representatives of the class to take care of the department library. They will have to take the responsibility of issueing books and perform the hamaali ka kaam, previously performed by Tanumay successfully, because they still have not returned a book. I see that Anupa ma'am is a really smart lady. By not returning the books they borrowed from the departmental library, they have been left with no choice but to waste their precious break time in the department library issuing books, TWICE A WEEK. I wish someone does to them, what they did to Tanumay. Now that they are the representatives, they would be responsible to make sure that the books are returned safely. I don't know about Divyanshu, but Salil will make sure that the books come back in time and I know everyone will return the books in time. Life is more precious than books.
You should have been there when Tiyasa was told that Salil and Debu are the Librarians for B.E. It was hilarious, the way Pratik Malpe revealed the news to her. 'Ab tu books kaise maangegi?', was the incredible question raised by the (v)wise Pratik Malpe. It ended with a wonderful reminder, 'Tanumay to books tere ghar tak pahunchaata tha'.
Nilesh and I could not stop laughing. Ishita's face was worth a watch. She looked like a politacal party worker whose leader had been branded heretic. As for Salil and Debu, I wish them good luck for the post of Library assistant. May your new posts set ashine your CVs!

National Park Adventure

Before I start writing something, I would like to wish all the readers of this post a very happy friendship day. Friends really make life so simple. It would be very stupid of me if I would say that I can die for friends, but the truth is that, I can't do without my friends either.
By the way, I went to Sanjay Gandhi National park today with my sister. She had invited two of her friends along. I was very excited because, I hadn't been to that place before. We decided to visit the Kanheri caves instead of the lion and tiger safari. I personally preferred the safari though. But who cares about what I say?
So we bought our tickets and very excitedly walked towards the caves. We saw some beautiful streams and rivers on the way. The rain water drains down the hills through these streams. The strems are sparkling clean. However, there are a small settlements inside the national park and the people staying there have totally dirtied the place, if you can understand what I want to say. We hadn't walked a kilometer when my sister was all drained out and asked for lift. A very kind couple were courteous enough to offer 2 out of the 4 of us a lift. So my sister and one of her friends left; leaving me and her other friend, because we wanted to walk. He claimed that he loved walking and his CV said his hobby was walking (yes, you can laugh if you wish to). On the way we crossed a few more streams. After another half kilometer, I could see my sister and her friend coming back. I was surprised to see them. They didn't have a ticket to enter into the forest. The ticket was with us. So they were not allowed to enter by the officials and they decided to walk back to find us.
Now that we were all together, we entered the forest. Once we entered the forest area, the roads became lonelier. It was more silent and peaceful in there. We saw few langurs and monkeys. And because we didn't get any lift for quite sometime, we had to walk. Then, we finally decided to sit near a stream and eat some cucumbers. There, I spotted a water snake. A very beautiful snake. It was greyish in colour with a checkered pattern. The steams also had a number of crabs.
After a pretty long time and some 3-4kms of walking, we reached the Kanheri caves. We sat there and filled our stomachs. I had to eat bread and jam when others were eating garma garam vada pav (I HATE JAUNDICE). My mother had been very sweet to pack me something to eat on the way in the morning.
Talking about the Kanheri caves, they are really cool. The state government has done whatever it can to maintain this place. Even most of the people tried to maintain the cleanliness of the caves. There are buddist caves just like ones you would come across at Ajanta caves in Aurangabad. However, the speciality of this place is the rain water harvesting system that the monks had created.
There were beautiful waterfalls and streams on the way from one cave to another. We climbed higher to reach a plateau from where we had a wonderful view of Malad, Kandivali and Borivali, right uptil the creeks in the west, a very breathtaking view (quite literally). On the other side of the plateau, we could see Powai. This place was cool, windy(with good prospects of wind power generation) and something you would not have expected to see in Mumbai city.
The Sanjay Gandhi National park is really the lung of Mumbai. If it wouldn't exist, the pollution would have killed us by now. After spending an hour at the plateau and viewing some wonderful places, which cannot be put into words, we started walking back. We got a lift. All 4 of us. It was really fun. Then, in just a few minutes we stepped out of the jungle into another jungle.
If you ever go to this place, just watchout when you exit the main gate of the national park. It is surprising when everything green around you suddenly changes to grayish concrete. The silence is overpowered by the horns of the buses on the highway. The lonely forest roads are replaced by the overcrowded Western Express highway. I had a wonderful time at Sanjay Gandhi National park. I suggest all of you to visit this place. But please take me along when you go because I am looking forward to visiting the place once again!

The Tempest

He stood fearless as the storm raged. He could not give in to the dust and dirt that the storm wind threw at his face. He had atleast a dozen of lives depending on him. Everytime the wind hit him on his chest at the speed of a jet plane, he wished he didn't have to face it again. But everytime he thought of the lives that counted on his, he knew that he could bend but could not afford to break. As he looked around, all he could see was the dust that the wind carried with it.

He could not see his cousins who stood tall beside him amidst the choas. They had been with him for a very long time. He had lived there ever since the day he could remember. He didn't know who had given birth to him, who his parents were. All he knew was what he had learned from the ones that had loved him the most; his cousins. They had told him that if he had to survive, he would have to be big and strong. They told him that he was special. But he thought otherwise. He had a hard time learning the trick of the trade. Everytime he tried to surpass his cousins, every inch he grew taller, they made sure he wasn't the tallest or the strongest one among them. Every ray of sunlight was precious for them. Every drop of dew felt like Elixir of life. When he bent down, he could see nothing but darkness on the forest floor.

It was just like today. But for now, he could not see anything around him either. Dust had blinded him. Today he was holding his ground, fighting with the storm wind. But he didn't know how long he would last. His body was aching. The storm was breaking him from the outside. But he would not break from the inside.

Suddenly, he felt a shiny ray on him. The sun showered smiles on him through the gray clouds. Little drops of rain followed. The wind stopped blowing. The dust settled as the nectar like rain drops trickled down his bruised body. He could now see what the storm had left behind. He looked all around him. His great cousins had fallen. He was standing all alone. He felt like a man stranded in a desert.

Suddenly he realized that he had managed to protect the lives that depended on him. And as the birds spread their wings and flew off his branches, he could do nothing but smile. He then realized, what his cousins had told him had indeed been true. He really was special!

Dil ki baat zubaan par

This is my first post of the year 2008. I know, I m really late but its that time of the year again when i can do nothing else but study coz the rest of my friends are also doing exactly the same thing. So i end up finding solace in this world wide web n start thinking about wierd stuff to post in my blog.
I can't believe that I am in the third year of engg now. It seems as if I just joined the college n met Rohit, Salil, Divyanshu and Amit at the entrance when I was waiting for Gurudatt. What a day it was. I was so scared that day coz I was entering an entirely new territory where all I knew was an encounter with the final year students could be hazardous to health. We had the most coolest BEs when we joined the college. Very cool n talented guys. I really missed those guys when they left the college.
In SE, I made some new friends in FE trical. Wasn't very close to them. But thanks to a few guys like Siddharta n Yaseen, I met Ashwin n Nandan, two gifted guitarists, who really need to work on their stage presence.
Now I m in TE. Have made more friends. TE trical is the best class in the entire college. Some of the most talented students in the college study in my class. Inspite of these varied interests among the students, the class is still a unit. We dun hav groups. Polls in the class are useless. U just hav to ask one person and that is exactly what the rest of the class thinks. I dun think any class is more unified than ours. If u think otherwise, ask Bharat Raut.
3 years have just passed by like a dust storm. And you might be wondering as to why I havn't mentioned anything about the semester exams that take place twice a year. Thats because, I hardly care about them till 4 days prior to the exam. Thats wen the actual studying takes place. For instance, my first exam is to be held on 23rd may n its 19th may today, 7:35pm to be precise.. ;P

Wish me luck!!