LAST DAY IN COLLEGE

My last exam in this institute is going to start in less then a week. I should be studying but I am not. I am not the only one, no one is studying. I cannot speak for everyone but if you want my opinion it is this overwhelming thought that is lurching in the back of our heads that is preventing us from doing the obvious. This feeling is the sad but inevitable realization that the end is near.

So as I am typing this new post I am sad because tomorrow is my last working day in college.

Going to college tomorrow is more or less a formality. We all are pretty much sure that nothing much is going to happen. But none will dare to give it a miss, even if that means rising early and reaching class in time (for the first time in four years). Our emotional state of mind is hard to explain. The best word to describe it has to be mixed. We are all confused. We all have mixed feelings. A part of us wants us to be practical and accept that the four year tenure has come to an end; thinking about it will not delay it. Another part is excited about the uncertain future, hoping that it will bring more joy that grief. A class of thought is so overwhelmed by the time spend here that it fears to let go for it is sure that the future cannot be as good as the past. But no matter the feeling one has, one thing is for sure-when we walk out our class after the final bell all of us will turn back to view that empty class room and feel a slight pinch in our hearts.

For it is the same classroom where we have spend so many hours learning, quarreling, sleeping, concentrating, planning but above all having fun. It is the same classroom where all of us have regretted going to so early in the morning, it is the same class room where time seemed to stop when the lectures were going on, it is the same class room where we became what we are. We make now have liked every moment we spend within those four walls but we will not have it any other way. For enclosed within that concrete and cement were the best days of our lives.

It was in this place we learned the tricks of not just engineering but also life in general. We grew up in that classroom, we made mistakes, we goofed up, and we fell down but also got up. It was in that classroom where we met some real special people who became our classmates, our partners, our FRIENDS.

Now when I look back and remember the best moments of my life it is not surprising that most of them occurred in the past four years. This realization reminds me more as to how special my college days have been and how much I will miss it.

As we move on we remember
All the times we spend together
As our lives change come whatever
We has all be friends FOREVER

BATCH PHOTOGRAPH

As my days in my current college draw to a close emotions are running high. Everyone is busy bidding their good byes. They are trying very hard not to leave any stone unturned and are trying to do anything and everything that they might have missed out on. The atmosphere is electric. You feel the energy in the air as well as the pain and realization that it will all be soon over.

As the D day approaches a series of farewell events have been lined up for us seniors. Due to the varied nature of my institute one person can get quite a few farewells. The numerous clubs and societies have their farewells, also some student gives their state seniors farewell, and certain departments give their students a separate farewell in addition to the institute farewell. But without a shadow of a doubt the most awaited event leading to the adieu has to be the batch photography session.

If you think about it, it is not batch but branch photography as each branch lines up one after another to have their picture taken, but somehow the name has stuck and we all like it this way only.

Every year in the month of April us seniors dress up in our best attires to pose with our branch mates and professors. But it is much more than just one picture. It is an extravaganza. It normally spans across three four days to accommodate all the braches as well as UG n PG as a result all of us end up having a lot of fun. Everyone has friends in almost all the branches so we end up going to the main lawn almost everyday.

The build up to the day is arguably better than the day itself. The boys are able to keep their cool but for the girls it all goes haywire. The have the task of dressing up in sarees, which for many is a first time thing. So from a month beforehand they are busy choosing, modifying, and improving their attire. Some even call their moms to the hostel to help them dress up. These girls I tell you :-P

We boys have it really cool. No hassles whatsoever. 

So when the day finally comes the cameras are rolled out. Pictures are taken of all possible objects, of all places, with everyone imaginable. Snaps are taken in the way to the main lawn, in the lawn, in the institute, in the department, in the canteen, on the road and everywhere else. So by the time the “official” photo is to be taken it really does not matter that much as we already have taken pictures with the people who really matter. But we pose again and are able to freeze this lovely moment for eternity.

With this picture we accept that our time in this beautiful place is over, the most important phase of our life is over. But we shall all remember this moment and we have this picture to help us remember.

We came, we saw, we conquered and now we shall remember.

Now I also believe that “a picture can speak a thousand words”.

Figments Of Imaginations

Slumdog Millionaire has swept away the Oscars and made its unknown cast superstars overnight. In spite of such achievements Slumdog has been severely criticized by not just Indian critics but also by a section of the Indian film fraternity.

Many of them believe that because Slumdog depicted the poverty of India and stamped the prejudiced opinion of the West about India it was able to win over the jury. In other words Slumdog showed the gora chamdi wala’s what they wanted to see. Such an argument is not entirely untrue. This year Sean Penn won the best actor award and was truly surprised for having "wrestled" past the come back kid. On receiving his award he even commented “You homo loving sons of guns”, clearly advocating the academy’s basis towards gay right movies. May be poverty also greatly appeals to them.

But curse Slumdog as much as you want for not portraying the “shining” India but one cannot overlook the fact that the rising and shining of new India is being depicted thoroughly in main stream Indian cinema, may be a tag bit too much.

When was the last time that a big banner bollywood flick that its lead protagonist as a poor guy? Sure the cinema of 70’s had an Amitabh Bachchan born into poverty, cheated by the system who finally defying the system and becoming the angry young man. But cut across to today and invariably you will find the lead man to be born into a rich north Indian family who instead of attending class in college roams around with the hottest chick in campus but soon after campus fit into the family business earning the laurels of one and all.

sadly all the big banners have a pattern. The Yash Chopra camp picturises its movies in beautiful Punjab where everyone has huge kotharis and acres of fertile farm lands. Karan Johar makes movies for the NRIs in places where you will find NRIs . UTV which till now was a breath of fresh air is kind off following the same path with movies where the “hero” does nothing for a living.

Farhan Akhtar is many times credited to make movies for the youth of this country. But even in his work the artists are from metros living a very comfortable life(on their dad’s money off course).

I hail from a fairly affluent family, but even then it was ingrained into me and all my friends fairly early that we being from the service class and being born in India had to struggle. Studies if not everything in my household was given importance and no one ever( especially my parent) cut me any slack. Even my friends from business families knew that they had to be shrewd to succeed. This obviously does not mean that we followed our parents’ advice like the holy gospel or that our childhood was deep ingrained in books. We had our share of fun, our share of papers were flunked, our share of unparliamentary activities were committed but there was always a level to which we were allowed to screw up, and we were well aware of it. But do our directors portray it in their work. You yourself are the best judge.

Some may argue that we live our fantasies, our dreams through the silver screen. Thus they are allowed to be larger than life. That is true if you consider cinema only as a form of entertainment but given the fact that we are born in the multimedia generation and have successfully traded books with electronic media as our primary pass time, the highly influential world of Indian Cinema needs to become a bit realistic and cannot simply be the figments of imaginations of a chosen few.

I AM CHANGING

"Change is the only constant"

The world around us, the people around us, circumstances almost everything changes. It is also natural that we individuals will also change. Change here does not just mean physical growth or mental maturity. Many times an individual may also witness a paradigm shift in his way of thinking and approach towards life in general.

Such a change can be a dangerous one. For it defies the natural order of things. A change like this is opposite to the acquired changes. Normally as we grow older our mind starts functioning in a particular way. We acknowledge certain class of things and refuse to accept another. Our ideology and thinking gradually mature into either fundamentalism, fascism, liberal or any other type. But this development is gradual. From a state of indifference to a state of confusion to a state of believe, we all go through the same stages although the destination might be different.

But once a while people "change". There might occur fundamental change in there believe, working and relationships. Such changes can actually "change" a person and make him into something that he or she actually is not.

I too am changing into something else.

I am at a stage where i could not care less for certain things. My priorities are changing and i no longer believe in being completely honest. I am lazy enough not to blog for two months although i had the time. I am selfish enough not to indulge in certain activities because they provide aesthetic pleasure only. I am now ready to say something and mean something else.I am not me anymore.

It might be the realization had my previous tactics in life did not serve me well in certain fields that i am resorting to alternative methods. Although many times change is for the better this time i feel i am trying to mold into something i am not. May be i am thinking too much but the plain fact that for the first time i am writing a post about myself in particular and not about us in general proves how much i have changed.

I believe that in life you are always in a state of predicament. The mind constantly debates which path to take among the various at hand. Same with this mortal. A school of thought says that the changes happening are for the good only. It is essential to ensure progress and not repeat the same mistakes again, but another thought is much more blunt- "screw everyone, you be yourself". The path i will eventually take is unclear as of now,but one thing is for sure I need to pull back things a bit. Starting with being a more active blogger.

"Change is good when it happens by me change is bad when it happens to me"