An era..

I have been hovering around the idea of writing a new post. Given the amount of time between now and my previous post, I had plenty of topics to write on. Let me start on the first one.

This semester, I got a chance to read some books from our library. Unlike previous course-loaded semesters, this time I got the luxury of doing something I always long for. Many of the Mr.  Poirots and Miss Marples or even Tuppences which I had read earlier were quite blur...so..I read almost all of the Agatha Christie available. An amazing marathi play 'Khara Sangaycha Tar..' which is based on 'Witness for the prosecution' still remains on my reading list though. William Dalrymple's book on mughals, Lala Lajpatrai's Shivaji were some of the books on my issued list. A book which I enjoyed for most of the time was 'A Suitable Boy' by Vikram Seth. Part of the reason was the amount of time taken to finish the 1300+ pages. I guess it took me around 30% of all my reading time this sem. As the book is based on the day-to-day life of a few families probably its best if it is read in small steps...just like a TV soap.

I have always wondered where would I go if I were given a time machine. I would probably have visited the magnificient hall of a king...may be his coronation ceremony....or may be obtain a bird's eye view on the Battle of Thermopylae....or may be see the glittering city of Tenochtitlan just as the Spanish conquistadors did. But after reading this, I would have wanted to visit the just-independent India. An era when everything was new, everything was developing, when entire country was transforming. Ofcourse there were own set of post-partition problems, but there was an air of freshness around. Rather than being just an answer for 'Who is our first prime minister?', Pandit Nehru would have been governing the nation. 

Going with the title, it is but obvious that an Indian arranged marriage system would be depicted. But the important part according to me is the era in which this story is set. I was amazed by the imagination of the author to depict the details of urban as well as rural life in India in very early 1950s. The story revolves around Lata, a middle-class girl for whom a suitable boy is being searched.  Along comes the narration of Lata's family- the Mehras, the affluent Chatterjis, the freedom fighter turned politician Mr. Kapoor's family. A glimpse of all factors existing during that time is cleverly put on by the author. For e.g. the existence of Nawabs, the zamindari issue, the caste problem, partition grievances, the existance of courtesans and pompous princely states. Several events which have been happening for generations like the Kumbh mela, election campaigns are handsomely written for this time period. 

Each character in this book is unique. Lata the middle-class girl with hopes and aspirations, bold Malati, reckless but soulful Maan, hardworking and ambitious Haresh, serene and calm Pran, wicked Prof. Mishra, bubbly Kakoli, spiritual Dipankar, poetical Amit, arrogant Arun and the list goes on. 

An interesting thing I always do while reading a book is searching for a character which epitomizes the author and I have been successful almost everytime. In this case though, I thought the author would share qualities of both Amit and Dipankar.

Anyways the bottomline is that this is an awesome book and would recommend it strongly.

An hour of mesmerizing cricket!

The final moments in the final test of the three-tests series Aus-SA were indeed mesmerizing. With Ntini and Steyn battling the Aussie bowlers and then G. Smith coming out in a super-hero fashion trying to save his team and then finally the Kangaroos winning the match with a narrow margin...everything was so dramatic. This is what we miss in the ODIs or the T-20s. The preseverence, the endurance put to test.

The pitch was a wrinkled one with cracks and grey spots all over. The bounce was uneven. But really there wasn't much in it for the bowlers too. I could see them struggling to bowl a bouncer with the withered ball. 

There was a countdown after every ball bowled. Ntini played with awesome courage and sophistication. After Steyn left, Smith joined the ring with a right arm broken and a left arm holed with injections. Every ball survived was cheered and congratulated. Every emotion known to human-being was sensed. There were comic moments when Ntini hit the bowler over mid-on...there were tragic moments when Hayden dropped. 

With 10 balls to spare, Austrialians won the third test. Having lost the earlier two tests, this win certainly meant a lot for them. With two amazing teams fighting, true cricket was on display.

On a journey to campus- Pilani

This post is purely inspired from my previous one. I could not resist my temptation to write something about Delhi-Pilani journeys throughout my under-grad life after writing the Goa post.

Well..its a sad story and noone other than Bitsians would sympathesize each other as they are the only ones who overcome this journey of life. 

Travel once through the ordinary bus service from Delhi to Pilani and you can travel any other bus route anywhere in the world. Note here I am talking about the bus-service alone that too the ordinary one. Had a Merc journey too  this enduring...there would have been 0% placements.

Anyways..it started with the ISBT-Delhi. Finding the bus was not hard but relying that the bus will take us to the destination was extremely hard. In the event of very few passengers to Pilani or a town on the same route ahead...the bus wouldn't go further. So it was always better to travel in a gang and that too with some bully guys so that atleast money was spared. 

The actual distance was 200 Kms. In normal circumstances, it used to take 6-7 hrs reaching Pilani. Part of the reason was the pitiable condition of the roads and buses devoid of any shock-absorbers.  Passengers occupying every inch of the bus brought with them stuff having horrible odors. In addition to that were the street-vendors selling cut-fruits, coconuts. Dust as it is in any part of India was always omnipresent...n then those pathetic hindi movies on yellow-colored TV screens added to the pandemonium. The volume used to be so loud that it was hard to hear each other. 

Even reaching Pilani was no fun until you reach your bhawan. Fighting your way through the rickshaw-wallahs who sealed the bus-door was the most grueling task. The rickshaw used to very cheap..not even a quarter. Riding through the campus on a mounted rickshaw was the best part of the tiresome odyssey. Had Alexander, who was keen to see his home again, reached Macedonia back after conquering the world....he would have experienced the same feeling. 

On a journey to the campus - Goa

Today I happened to read in the news about the New Year's party in Goa..n suddenly I was reminded about my 4-hours stay there back in 2006. It would have been the shortest stay for anyone in Goa. 

I had gone there to take Recos from my professor who had shifted from Pilani to Goa recently.

The journey however was not that short as I had taken a volvo from Bangalore. Today its hard for me to understand why on earth I took a volvo and not fly there. May be I was testing my endurance. Reaching Goa was not the only hurdle....reaching the remote isolated BITS campus from the station turned out to be worse.

The campus is on a major highway. There isnt any train/bus/taxi stop in the radius of 2 kms. I really had no clue whatsoever. Having no other option...I was about to rent a vehicle. But after some enquiry, got to know that there was a bus-stop on a road nearby..just that no vehicle would go from that road to the main-highway where the campus was located as I had to cross a hill-type pathway. If anyone has seen Amol Palekar's Choti Si Baat in which in sheer desperation he climbs up the hill to meet Ashok Kumar..I too staggered through. Though I should say that this option of clambering the path was selected knowingly as I kind of was curious to see how students, if they travel by bus, reach the campus.

I do not know about other things but overcoming impediments-on a journey to the campus is certainly the facet shared by BITS-Pilani and BITS-Goa students

Sad...Agitated...Shocked...Confused

Finally...after gruelling 59 hours the mission rescuing Taj, Oberoi and Nariman House is finally over. This nightmare...no.... worse than a nightmare rattled the globe all around. I don't think any Indian slept all these 59 hours...there were these brave officers flushing out terrorists....there were these people trapped inside....and there were people like me glued to television praying for the best. I donot remember how many times I actually cried after watching the torments of the hostages.

No one would doubt the Spirit of Mumbai.. which would always remain..but one thing is for sure.. Mumbai would not be the same for days to come. It would be an arduous task to reinstate the prestige of Mumbai. India has lost out on top officers, NSG commandos....we have lost our beloved ones...this loss is irreparable. 

Kudos to all the rescue operators who fearlessly crushed the heartless militants. Thanks to the media who kept the country and world together with the information. One thing which always comes up with a terrorist attack is the wake up call. How many times is thing going to happen? Over the last year or so..India has been terrorised with bombings...and now this fidayein attack. Hope that we act promptly to this wake up call and ramp up our security. Hope that the sacrifices of the brave officers do not go in vain. As civilians..lets join the global war on terrorism...lets be alert and if We See something...we will Say Something.

Small Screen

Small Screen....It has been an indespensible part of our lives. I don't really remember when we got our first tv-box. But I do remember the model ..it was a Crown b/w 20'' television set. It was brought exactly when the one of the first popular tv-serials Ramayan was being aired. Some are curious to see if Tendulkar makes a mark in the upcoming series...some watch it to find out if Prerna meets Anurag..while some just want to get entertained.

Fifteen-sixteen years back DD ruled the stage. Hum Log, Hum Rahi, Buniyaad, Gul Gulshan Gulfam were some of the classics. Mahabharat enjoyed the largest viewership. Turning Point gave a scientific edge whereas series like Bharat Ek Khoj, Chanakya maintained the cultural heritage. Zee Tv was I guess the first hindi channel besides DD1. Star Plus was an english channel then.  Steadily but not slowly the tv world has evolved.  One of my favorites (n I guess for many)-- Jungle Book started animated age. Kids glued to Duck Tales, Arabian Nites, Tale spin.  Dillagi- the comedy series based on people and their relationships in an office was a Zee Tv starter. Another big one was Chandrakanta. Though I haven't seen much of Chandrakata...I used to get updates every Monday in school. Alif Laila...the boring one..paradoxically was a big hit.  Summer afternoons..we had Dekh Bhai Dekh, Swabhimaan, Shanti. Tehkikaat, Karamchand jasoos, Byomkesh Bakshi were from a different genre. Hum Paanch, Campus, Antakshari, Sam Re Ga Ma (Sonu Nigam), Parampara, Zee Horror Show, Philips Top Ten, Filmi Chakkar, Saans, Tol Mol Ke Bol were some of the popular ones.

10th to 12th was a period when I had the good old Doordarshan. Dishayen, Suraag, Jaane Anjane, marathi soaps like Gharkul, Damini entertained me these four years. Kaun Banega Crorepati which marked the entry and the survival point of BigB was named the one with highest TRP after Mahabharat. Then the K-series paved their way in people's lives. 

Marathi serials have evolved quite significantly over the past few years. With new channels opening up...the marathi viewers have started transitioning towards marathi tv-entertainment. Awantika, Wadalvaat, Abhalmaya, Saheb-Bibi aani Me, Ghadlaya Bighadlaya, Prapanch have engrossed the marathis.

Though I would have missed quite a few names...looking back I see how well I was amused by this same television set. Just like recalling the college days makes us nostalgic...I am sure the serials and their characters force us to open up our memory album.

Dynamism

BITS Pilani...my alma mater, my ex-abode has been known for its Parampara Prathista Anushashan ...

We have heard amitabh bachchan quoting "mujhe parivartan pasand nahi" in his Gurukul. The same should be true about BITS. The shivering cold, melanin raising sun-god, the PILA(yellow) buildings, the same old edifice, the boisterous BOSMs, the exhuberant OASISs and not so overwhelming APOGEEs.

Neverthless, dynamism is at its heart. The next day after OASIS... is just like an ordinary day. Now, I do not know...may be SAC is used for department rooms. But then...the classrooms were transformed into department/club HQs. Hardly a few hours have passed and you would see the gardener watering the lawns where more than 2000 students rocked on a dance floor.

The test schedule is the same...the same grades...the same courses...the same CDCs..but the CTs(course toppers), 10ps, Aves (averages) change. Shivganga is still the couple place...but the couples change every semester. Blue Moon still is one of the favorite hang-out spots..but the addendum (coffee or shakes) changes with season. The LAN is still the same..but the bandwidth destroying games change. Munnaji reidi is still the same...just that we also get bread-pakoras. Campus is still 100%...just that the salaries are sky-high.

Some of things which I am very fortunate to have seen...the Cent-li and Ref-li...Central Library and Reference Library.. These were in FD-II and still we can see the board "Library Area- please keep silence". Imagine Pilani campus without mobiles. I have talked hours at the abandoned/rusted/pathetic looking telephone-box near the common room. With the arrival of cellphones, gate-calls have become almost extinct. Thanks to BITSConnect, the IPC stay of most BITSian have reduced exponentially. (FYI-- We had non-graphical internet in our first year..n that too only in IPC. Only third year onwards graphical internet was allowed.) There wasn't any SAC, any FD-5 or the lecture theatre complex then. MAL or Malviya Bhawan has been one of the most dynamic bhawans. An abode of fifth year students became a girls hostel which became a boys-girls hostel(Obviously proper care was taken that no interaction of any kind was possible between a resident boy and a resident girl) again was transformed back to a boys hostel.

So, whenever I visit Pilani...I will have to restrain myself from saying -- everything is still the same here. A lot of things would have changed just that they got assimilated unknowingly.