Exam blues,greens and oranges.....

"Humph !!" i said with anguish, making my way out of the exam hall. I was feeling a bit uncomfortable, but i wasnt half as worse i was,half hour ago. I silently made a resolve not too fool around for the next examination at the least. The entire world knows the strength of those resolutions made just after the completion of an examination. I am an ordinary person, and my resolve was just as similar. It is an iterative process that goes on with unfailing regularity. "Dei machi, vaa oru cold coffee adikalam" was all that was needed to dissolve my resolve. Off i went to the Coffee shop (guys,not the barrista !!) to drench my throat with a cold coffee. It was drizzling, and there are days when you wish that u were washed away by a current of water. And the drizzling helped the feeling to get stronger. I looked up the sky, hoping to see God who had committed the unpardonable crime of setting a tough question paper.

On the way, i could see a person smile, i never ever realised that simle can cause such jittery in a person. We sat sipping our coffee (a hot coffee converted to cold thanks to a fan ), a financial crisis acting as a catalyst for this transformation. If at all silence could act as a mode of communication, it was on that day. We were all able to sense each others anxiety with amazing alacrity. I decided to break the ice, and started to talk " guys... ", when they unanimously stared at me. Man !! if only looks could kill, I would have been a dead duck !!! I reverted back to my sanyasi pose sulkily sippin my cup. On our way back our frustration transformed to anger on seeing the smiling face of "Mr.expert in saponification". That guy really pissed me off !!!

We walked with an un(usual) silence that invariably followed any(every) examination. We managed to park ourselves in our usual feelings "spot",a tree-shade which was our temple of confession. Finally,one of us said, "what is our next exam ?". Everyone of us gave the negative nod, though each of us knew very well what and when our next exam was. It was our own stupid way to reconcile to the reality. If at all any piece of paper can rule 8 lives, it was the damn question paper... Each of us had a unique excuse for flunking, Out of portion(ie those which we didnt study), the clocks in exam hall ran at an unearthly rate(no time),the cursed temporary amnesia (we forgot what we studied), optical illusion AKA mirage (read the question wrong),electronic disorientation(calulator failure),tool diruption (A broken nib) and temporal lobe misinterpretations. But we guys werent the hopeless ones who repeated the same mistakes in succession. Our mistakes went in a perfect cyclic order. Never did we fall a prey to sussman anamoly.

After an hour of such so-called retrospection, we finally make up a decision to study for the next examination. The attempt comes to a sudden halt as one of our intellectuals suggested a solution to the problem that hung dauntingly before us. "A paper moderation". Then begins the hunt for the "Mr. saponifier", the biggest man hunt the world has ever witnessed. And Mr.saponifier is a mean customer. He locks himself up with his books in the most obscure places of the insti, with the intention of consuming the book in entirety. Finally we fished him out and put forth(portended) our proposal. After masquerading him with our suggestions, we set him forth on his mission to convince the resective staff. The result of this operation "Temperate" is the most obvious, the answer sheets are due to be corrected by imports from other insti !!!

Providence proves to be the culprit. This extraneous operation subsumes time to such an extent that we wished Mr.Einstein was wrong. We wished hopelessly that time travel was indeed possible. Midnight gong strikes, indicating that there remained exactly 12 hours for our next cold coffee. We started crammin for our next exam, holding every piece of charm that we could conceive of. Night rolls on to day and sunlight fills the room with light and our hearts with consternation and apprehensions. Our scanning of the books had managed to bring sufficient knowledge, knowledge that we were yet again out on a hopeless errand. After a breakfast-less session with books, we make our way through to exam hall, our fingers devoid of its nails. The question papers are yet again on our hands, which better served as napkins to our sweat-soaked hands. All that we could do was to look through the paned window, which unfailingly reinstated the principle of scattering of light,throwing out its spectrum with admirable mix of blue,green and orange......

Of Prima Donnas and Politics.....

People might wonder whats wrong with me as i am churning out more public issues and contemporary topics. I am quite wondering about that myself. So its no point trying to judge whats up with me. But yeah ! one should definitely think about what's happening in our country today. I am not being lopsided or attacking a particular personality. It's more about ourselves that i am speaking about. And the topic is something that all we youngsters should not merely be thinking about, but also act. And my title indicates all about that i am going to say.


As i mentioned about it before, it is not an attack on any particular individual or political parties, but a mere analysis of our involvement in our nation's interest. Politics has been phasing almost all sectors of day to day life. This is acclaimed by almost everybody around so I need not specify its importance. And it's also true that politics is being dominated by the cine sector. The eminent actors who idolise themselves in the people find it an easy entrance into politics and fame. So what the hell does bother u ??? thats what u would be asking now.... well i can list it out....

-> How can a sector which requires high degrees of education and intelligence, be dominated by actors and not by scholars ?

-> How can politicians stand the test of time dominating this long ?

-> What difference would it make if the field was any different ?



I am certainly not going to provide answers for these as I dont think i am quite experienced enough to do that. I am just going to provide my perspective. The first one is what perplexes me as it only requires common sense to make out that point. Persons who can hardly communicate in the Lingua Franca, can they contrieve anything that is worthwhile. Of course there can be exceptions and geniuses who can work that way. But is it something that we can leave it to a such an chance and hope that it works out ??? think guys. Imagine people from IIM's and IIT's and other such intitutions as ministers and members of the parliament. No longer will it be humiliating to watch the parliamentary session over a tv :-). No longer will DoorDarshan be required to put up ADs as frequently as they do now.... Guys, if that sounded funny, i can tell u it is not as funny as it seems. We are paying through our noses for a day that they spend at the parliament. It's time that we thought about this factor. Bring erudite people into politics.

The second question is the one that puzzles me the most. How could the Prima Donnas dominate this field so long ?? One possiblity could be because they are the ones that the masses look upto for identifying qualities that they can only dream of. Little do
they understand that the cinematic image the mummers create are just a mere figment of imagination. Already being a public figure they find an easy entrance into politics. If I were a President ( I am already one in my dreams !! )then i would have a special course on politics in all colleges and only Politics graduates could enter into polls. That too after AIPEE (all india politicians entrance exams)... :D Well that remains a fantasy, at least in the near future.



There have been many such initiatives by people who want to reform our politics, but they have neither been encouraged nor noticed. These thoughts of mine are not restricted to me alone.. It's been spoken about these days and there are a few organisations that are definitely going to come up with such a motive soon enough. I am still having the strong belief that more educated the politicians are the better will be their governance.. I also believe that the day is not very far and a time will come when politicians will be PhD s.


Exercising franchise will mean much more to me that day, much more than getting an indelibe ink mark on my index finger indicating yet another five year period passing off monotonically into perpetuity......

An elegy for the diminishing spirit

It is indeed with a heavy heart that i am writing this post. Despite of a busy schedule that i am supposed to follow, i had to rake up some time for this particular post. As u might have guessed this is not going to be one of the comical interludes that i am going to write about. It's about something recent that had pained me to the core. No i wouldnt blame anyone for this, it is a collective blame.



Now this is a question that one has to answer truthfully. Do you happen to recognize this person ???
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No.. isnt it ? except for quzzing purposes not many know this person. To hell with the suspense !!! He is Samaresh Jung,of India who has been named as the winner of the David Dixon Award for the most outstanding athlete of the Commonwealth Games.

During the Games, Jung won two individual gold in the Men’s 10m Air Pistol and Men’s 50m Pistol, as well as three team gold, one team silver, and one individual bronze. He also set three new Games records.The David Dixon Award is named after the former Honorary Secretary of the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) and is the first of its kind for a multi-sport event.All of the 71 competing nations and territories were asked to nominated one athlete for the award. All athletes are eligible regardless of their medal tallies.

The medal honours performance at the Games, fair play, and overall contribution to their team’s participation at the Games.CGF President, Mike Fennell, said he was delighted that Samaresh Jung had won the second David Dixon Award.

"Jung is a remarkable athlete, who competed brilliantly in Melbourne, establishing a range of new benchmarks for his sport, and is an athlete the whole Commonwealth can be truly proud of,” said Fennell.

Samaresh Jung’s wife Anuja also competed, winning gold in the Women’s 50m Rifle 3 Positions event.

After such a splendid performance in the games, He is hardly reognised.. why ?? Lack of publicity from the media. He is certainly not a media hound, but is it fair enough to let his heroics go down the drain. Imagine if he had been in US, he would have been driven right away into the White house for dinner with the President. In India, his name appears in some god forsaken corner of the papers, while actors rock the front page. Who the hell cares if they are jailed or not ? what difference does it make ?? but unfortunately these tit bits sail through amongst people as hot-cakes. Imagine Samaresh being forgotten while some stupid cine actor is being hailed for wearing a fancy cloth or for cutting ribbons for a sponsor !!!

Guys, this is the sad state of affairs today. When are the Indian media going to act fair and bring true heroes to limelight ?? All they have managed to achieve is to get people scorn at Indian sportsmen for not achieving in Olympics !! How the hell do u expect them to achieve when they are not given the proper incentives. The media is what i would again blame this for. They have been very unfair towards anything except for cricket and football. They have chosen to be commercial ignoring the primary ethics. Had they chosen to eulogise such herculean performances, i have no doubts that a man like Samaresh would be idolised in a couple of days after such a show of marksmanship.

It is but natural that this blog comes out with agony and sarcasm aimed at those those who failed to recognise such a splendid performance. Such a propensity for disregarding such splendid acts is what makes me feel bad. This post is a direct result of that agony.....

An elegy for the dimishing spirit of appreciating excellence.......

Abhi jiska dil na pighla , Dil nahi woh pathar hai.....
jo isko samajh na paayae, woh bekar zindgaani hai......

YAHOO

(YAHOO) Yet Another History Of Obfuscation !!!

So friends after a long gap, here i am back with a burdened shoulder... one which weighs heavy on any conscientious blogger. Yes, i am burdened with a TAG yet again, this time the thanks goes to Trinity ... The tag is about some "weird" things about myself. Hmmm.. so whats mystique abt me ????? Let's see......

Anyone who's into a bit of economics will be familiar with the term scot analysis. This post is somthing similar to that i guess, a scot analysis on myself... Now that forms the first strange thing about me.. i prevaricate crazy analogies. Sometimes the homosapiens around me tend to think that i am thinking too much, a bit too much to their comfort. I tend to talk esoteric sometimes with such crazy and unearthly analogies. But i can hardly refrain myself from conglomerating my ideas once i get into such thoughtful moods. I think i owe this attribute of mine to Rand... Gosh !!! i am getting into one such spell.. so lemme jump on to something else...

My taste for movies and books have been often come under serious contemplation. Most of my friends detest cartoons while i am fida over them. Movies are serious stuff in student life and i find myself out of tune with most the movies esp tamil and hindi.
While i felt Aalavandan and Kurudhipunal are good,i was declared tasteles.. and when i said KNM and Zinda were crap, again i was sent to the corner...As if that isnt enough, i undergo futher tirade with my choice of books... The list isnt too big.. i read Tintin,Aestrix,Phantom and Ayn Rand. That makes things more obfuscated doesnt it ??? On introspection even i myself tend to think that i am a random mix of thoughts.


The most weird thing about me is that my moods dont fluctuate... I am quite stable to all aberrations around me but certainly not impervious.Boon or bane, i remain DC(electronically speaking :D ) at all times. Singing has been strictly restricted to my bathroom and what i sing is classified info :D... i play table tennis and badminton and carrom board and chess and cricket and football, but no where near tolerable at either of these. After a display of my talents for these at college, the college team decided to go without these sports for the next four years.... oh did i forget to mentioned that i haunted the MC desk for almost all college functions since i was the only guinea pig available :(...

And if u have the patience to read this far then prolly u might actually be tending to think that i am crazy !!! And guys, i assure you...I am not just crazy, i am SuPeR CrAzY !!!

AS the tradition goes i might have to tag sombody.. the burden is passed on to

Meetsankar

VIVEK

Swathi

A Thin Red line

This post is about a person whom i used to meet almost everyday on my way to college. No, he is not know to me, and i never did bother to find out about him. I could have if I wanted to, but I havent tried so far. But he does have a gravitational pull around him, which is due to his attribute of speech. It is on a bus that i see him, everyday, almost sitting at the same place each day, with almost unfailing regularity. He has a pleasant face with a curved mustache,a typical charachteristic of a south indian. His mannerisms arent what one would call as gentle. He has a grotesque way of presenting himself. Perhaps that was one which made me look towards him for the first time.

He speaks usually of his days at Army and at New Delhi. Plus he is extremely repetitive, because, unfortunately his co-passengers are never the same. Perhaps, they might even avoid sitting near him after listening to his heroic extempore once. His speeches include, as I said, about his army experiences and his heroics. He says that he can shoot as well as any olympic gold medallist and in fact better than them. He then goes on to say the story of how he managed to down a wild fox from quite a distance. I always used to think
Either this fellow is as good as he claims to be or the saying "as wise as fox" is false

The fox must have been stupid enough to get killed by this character !!! And he is usually returned with a sarcastic smile each day, yet he manages to say the same stuff to some poor unfortunate guy, who in his ignorance manages to sit beside him.

But his words and more importantly his tone of speech made me think of somthing more imortant. I used to take his speech as "trumpet blowing" and him as a conceited person. But then a thought intrigued me, what exactly is the difference between Ego/conceit and self respect. Self respect does not stop with the respect that u carry in others' eyes. It also stands for your admiration of your own abilities. Whats wrong in respecting and stating your own superior abilities ???

Let me move on to a detail analysis of self respect. It has to understood that self respect has a braoder scope than what is usually asoociated with the word. If a person says that
I am good, I can do that, I am confident of that, Thats too easy for me, I ll do it better than many around

These words are often despised by most of us. We immediately brand him as ignorant and arrogant. And what if he does manage to stand by what he claimed ? We immediately say He's good . But whats the use ? He is too conceited. I was no exception to the thought. I had branded many a people as a conceited fellow. But now, as i come to think of it, I feel that i was too hasty. Too much bad influence from the surroundings.I now begin to feel strongly that proclaiming your achievements and capabilities to others arent exactly bad.

Come to think of ego or conceit. Theres not much difference between ego and self respect. These are in fact separated by a thin line. What i say might not be true or could be corrugated facts... but hell !! its my blog and I can write what i feel... So coming to my thoughts on that.. The difference is very minute. When one says "I can do it" it can be his self respect. But when he says "I alone can do it" it shifts a bit to become Ego. Again " I can do better than X " it shifts marginally into the self respect spectra. " I wont allow anyone else to do it" and "I cant bear others doing it" goes into the Ego domain.

Hey, able to spot any demarcation ?? well, I am trying hard not to be influenced by my prejudice. Perhaps this is what Ayn rand has been regularly mentioning when she says about the people of the "mind", the capable ones who run the society by virtue to their merit and demand the respect they thoroughly deserve.This discussion has stemmed from the fellow at the bus, prolly I should thank him when i see him in the bus tomorrow. He did give me a tough proposition to work on. In fact i am now looking forward to meet him tomorrow .....