One lonely vacation

This goes back to 2001 when the college had given 2 weeks vacation in december. I had come back from home after taking 3 weeks holiday from college. Literally the moment I stepped into the hostel, my warden informs me that in another week we were going to have 2 weeks holiday. At first I was taking it as a joke but then again the college had decided to go ahead with the idea due to Chrismas and New Years around the corner. At this point I wanted to strangle someone with a telephone, as somebody could have informed me and I could have postponed my ticket by another 3 weeks.

The week went by in the class with the all time low attendance and then came the 2 week vacation. For the weekend I dropped by in Bangalore to check it out but then again staying 2 days in a lodge in Bangalore was enough so I headed back to the hostel. In the hostel the strength had fallen to less than 10%. All my seniors and my batchmates had left for the holidays, the only ones remaining back was me, myself and a friend. For the next 2 weeks we kept having dinner outside in the town and kept watching TV in the hostel which by the way had a really crap reception. The reception kept coming and going so if we were watching a movie chances of not seeing the climax of the movie was very high.

Christmas came and went then we waited for the New years which was really boring as we didnot do anything interesting except taking complete rest and sleep. In college there was nothing interesting to do as the facilities of internet was not available to students then. Also the library was a no entry zone for me. Unfortunately, at that time I had no computer to spend my time with.

During this time, we had some conference in the college which was being held so the campus didnot feel like a graveyard but pretty good quantity of people were around. Nothing interesting was going on atleast for us to enjoy. By the time the classes had started everyone was back busy preparing for the college fest which was to be held in mid January. That was one time I really enjoyed participating as I was able to help in organising different events.

The only main suggestion I can offer anyone is that they should keep something planned in case you do end up getting holidays, like a getaway plan to Ooty or any kind of hill station or somewhere. Another important thing is to use the internet wisely, keep in touch with people and I still hope the college can update the latest schedule of holidays and classes on the internet which can benefit hundreds of people.

Still Bangalore...

I am amazed that the craze of changing name of all the major cities to their local ones have not seized. The latest one is that of Bangalore. Intially Bombay became Mumbai, then Calcutta --> Kolkata and also Madras --> Chennai. So how could the Karnads remain back. Thus Bangalore is going to be renamed as 'Bengalooru' official from November of 2006. So looks like many other cities can follow taking this as an example. The last that I can guess is the National capital city Delhi being renamed to 'Dilli' (It's hindi version). So let's see the renaming game goes on to what level.

The other day when I and a friend were at a Juice Shop, we read a statement that really sent us rolling on the floor laughing. This statement was regarding Bangalore and here it goes: "In India people drive on the left of the road, but in Bangalore people drive on what is left of the road". I am sure many people will be able to understand this statement. The traffic in Bangalore is so much and so still that it is wiser to drive on the leftover portion.

Currently Bangalore stands with the population of 63 lakhs and still growing. Also the amount of vehicles are awsome. 23 lakh vehicles out of which 18 lakh alone belong to the 2-wheelers which by the way is a record in its own for a city to have such a high number. Apart from this 3 lakh and above belong to 4 wheelers. 90,000 Autos which by the way are slightly arrogant and also the fares are to be increased by March or April. At present people pay Rs 5/km and the revised prices are Rs 6/km. Another thing about the autos is the One and half meter and double meter charges. Auto people keep demanding for these when the timings are not correct or when they find a person helpless at a particular remote location were no other auto can be found.

Bangalore has an army of 12,000 buses run by the BMTC (Bangalore Metropolitian Transport Corporation) which cater to 70% of Bangalore population. This is one of its kind which makes profits against its counterparts running in Delhi and Mumbai. What can one say? Advertisements on these buses are also plenty. With this current statistics we know that Bangalore cannot handle the pressure but still the amount doesnot seize but instead keeps increasing.

The IT industries have stopped their growth in Bangalore and are looking for better locations for expanding. Karnataka enjoys something which no other state has, the Bio-Tech Industry which are mainly based here. Credit can be given to the traffic police for handling so much load that has been thrown on them but then again they are humans. They also make mistakes by losing temper and have made strict judgements at times. People can somethings be not friendly which leads to many road rages that happen around the city.

Political games have left this city in a very slow developing conditions that can someday paralyse this city unless priority is given to the city and the state. The future of this once beautifully known 'Garden City', 'Pensioners Paradise' and 'IT/Cyber city of India' is at stake. People have to also cooperate to make this a better city.

Justice Sys. & Punishment in India

This topic is to be highlighted and what I will say is nothing new. Everyone knows this and the amazing thing is that the Justice system in India really sucks. Cases go on for years. In India, the law courts are kept slightly different from the police so that corruption might not infiltrate it. But the funny thing is that the Police has the power to manipulate with the evidence being presented in the court and also the accused will be in their possession until presented before the court. So one can imagine the treatment given to the accused when he is with the Police. Royal treatment to those who have money and power while the one who is innocent but without any such facilities to offer can be treated to 3rd degree torture which can make any human accept any kind of accusation that he might have not committed.

This is not a fairytale story but done in reality. One such case currently being talked about is the Jessica Lal case in which their are witnesses but still after 7 years of the case being in the court, the accused have been set free. In the justice system, they say it is better to let go 100 criminals so that no innocents are sent to jail. But it is very easy to say that the vice-versa can be seen where criminals are set free while innocents are put in the jail. The justice system is really weak. Worst is the punishments that are set for criminals. For a rape or murder, the person can goto jail for anywhere between 3-14 years jail but not death sentence. Another thing is if a person is given sentence more than 7 years in a lower court then his case has to be seen by a higher court. This only invites to delay the case.

If criminals are given small punishments then it is comfortable for anyone to murder someone and make a weak case out of it. He will just get 1-2 years of jail and then be set free to do more murders. People make tens of murders before being caught or atleast being presented in the court. The system is weak at many levels which really assist the criminals. Cops are humans and their actions & reactions also are human like so they can be short-tempered, revengeful, angried, confused, changed and ofcourse manipulated.

Why is it that Human-rights organisation keep shouting about Capital punishment being wrong. It is right as long as the person who committed the crime was in his full senses and the murder was intentional. Punishments are to set example to others that if the same crime is done then the outcome is like that. It is to make people realise that crime is evil.

In a regular day life, lots of theft keep on happening as the culprits know that chances of getting caught is minimal. Even if being caught, the chances of getting tried in court is minimal. When being tried in court the case can go on for ages without any results. Also while getting tried in court, chances of getting sentenced to jail is minimal. So eventually the options are better doing some theft and living. This example is only for thieves, imagine what is the procedure for murder accused and rapists.

In India, Mahatma Gandhi's murderer was sentenced after 2 years of his crime. Also Indira Gandhi's murderers were sentenced to death after 8 years of their crime. If high profile murders can take so much time then what can one ask for the crimes committed against comman man. In rape cases, when a victim makes accusations the court and people make it feel as if it was the victims fault and not the criminals. So even if many rapes happen, only a very few are brought to notice depending on the mental strength of the victim and her families.

In my opinion, if we can clearly prove the crime committed by the criminal then there is no need to wait but execute the punishment on spot. If he commits a murder then he can be hanged/shot/killed in anyway immediately so as to set an example. Also if a rapist is proven guilty with full eveidences then he should be killed on spot by the victim so that they can respect the sanctity of women. Major changes are required to teach all the criminal kind and instill fears in the minds of the criminals for their actions so that the same action can never be performed again.

Print vs. Electronic Media

This is one of the most known topics. We have newspapers and magazines which mainly come in the print media. Newspapers have been there since centuries. All kinds of news from around the world can be seen on the newspaper. In school, the teachers use to say we should read newspapers so that our vocabulary and grammar could improve. I guess that is one way we got hooked to the newspapers. I think using the word hooked would be inappropriate as at one time in the world the print media was threatened by the amazing entry of the electronic media.

The electronic media came with the advent of Radio which was popular during the first half of the 20th century and then by Television. Currently for more than a decade the cable television has captured everyones view. We get to see more than 50 channels on TV with channels ranging from news, sports, music, family, cartoons and etc. With everything at our fingertip with remote controlled TVs and their prices coming down in the market, we choose this over print media or that is how it is supposed to be.

The funny thing is that with so much Television and Satellite relayed channels, the print media was supposed to be wiped out but still everyday in the morning, people have the habit to read newspapers. There is no loss for the print media currently as one can see people reading newspapers in traffic jams or in buses and trains. So this is one thing that stands out. Yes, I do agree that they must have been affected by the reduction in readers. But still surviving against the electronic media is amazing.

Not only this, in electronic media itself, radio was nearly wiped out from the market but still suddenly there has been a revival in that sector also with major success by the radio channels like Radio Mirchi and Radio city channels on the Radio in many metros. People listen to songs will on there way to work, in cafeterias, malls, buses etc. So due to the resurrection of some of the media types, there is a major scope in the market and predictability of the market share is really unexpected.

Anyways still people know that be it either Print or Electronic media, they will receive their share of the latest news.

Jet Lags

I was not able to put any new posts on the blog for the past few days as I have been suffering through Jet lag. It's been quite a while since I used to get up early in the mornings. So since I have started attending one of my classes at 7 am, I have to be out of bed by 6 am, so the time change has hit me for the past few days. Mostly I will recover from it by this weekend. Anyways life's going on as usual and I hope to put up couple of posts regarding some issues soon. I can also like some opinion from people about what I should write.

Post dept vs. Private Couriers

I have been going through a lot about the discussion and articles poping up on the newspaper about the above topic. Also the other day I was at the post office and whenever I drop by I know the reasons why private couriers thrive. When I was in college, I used to used the postal service pretty well as the person at the counter was friendly and the services used to be pretty good. So never felt bad about the system. But when you look into the other post offices, then there is one thing that keeps poping into anyones head, i.e. it is a government department and works literally at the snails pace and also services are poor.

The private couriers have come up to fill up that void which the Postal service created. The timely deliveries, providing guarantees, delivering when at home (as they call us earlier) and better office timings. Private couriers are also one of the best in expanding there network by spreading their collection centers around the city. So these points and some others reasons kicks the postal service off the top list.

If the private couriers can utilize and improve their services being private then how come the postal service which should be having more network due to the connection to any government department, cannot get things done faster and better. I still say that the postal service can outwit the private couriers without any blasting or destruction of the private couriers. The postal service needs some innovative thinking and then they will be able to capture the market. I still remember one case in which my friend was suppose to receive a 2 kg cake by parcel service run by the Indian Postal Department, but when he received it in 2 days time, he got only 1/2 kg cake. I am not sure whether the cake ran away on its own, or someone kept taking chunks out of it or the postal department was celebrating some party. Anyways that was the only thing needed to lift my friends impression off the postal service. Since then I have never seen him use the postal service for anything be it regular post, registered post, Speed post and definitely not the Parcel service. One can now imagine why postal department is loosing there valued customers. The others who use this service are the old veterans who still believe in the system. I just hope that postal department doesnot break their trust also.

If the Railway Ministry can pull out of losses that it had been making for past 10 years in just a year without even making fare prices increase, then I guess the postal department which is more than a century old like the railway can pull itself out of its current mess and crisis.

Do we have Cell phone Etiquette?

Mobile phones have become a real necessity for everyone currently in this world. Every person is carrying one as the prices of the phones are falling and also second hand phone prices are at disposable price. That is not only the reason for the sudden boom, it is also the telecommunication market which has made people addictive with free calls and free SMSes. These offers are to make people addictive as once removed will still make people use the facility. Not bad marketing strategy by the companies.

Now coming to the topic of etiquette or in more general sense ethics for mobile phone usage. In the West, people know how to use the mobile phone at different places as they are provided with manuals regarding ethics and generally they use common sense. Still there are cases here and there which keep on poping up. In India, we all are facing these issues in everyday life.

When someone is talking on the phone, he/she is not aware of the level of volume they are talking at. They donot realise that due to their conversation on the phone people around them are involuntarily sujected to listen, which by the way may not interest them. The most common places is ofcourse the public places like buses, bus stops, markets, elevators, queues of any kind and many more. This is one of the major problems where people have to listen to all kinds of conversations being made on the phones.

Another problem is regarding the ringtones, as the mobile phones have advanced from general ringtones to polyphonic and currently songs ringtones, so has the problems with its presence in the wrong places. Either attending a lecture in a hall or a funneral and suddenly your cell phone rings, apart from disrupting the proceedings it is a really unkind to the people around.

These are the 2 major problems that people have to work on. Every phone has been provided with different profiles so we have to learn how to use it. We have made a habit that in the morning we donot forget to take our wallet and Mobile phone along with us, similarly we have to work on the idea that before any kind of event, we use the proper profiles in place, like silent or vibrator mode.

Another major issue is the proper use of the facilities provided with the mobile phone. We have all heard of the MMS scandals and others. When will humans use technology for a better use. Now companies are asking their employees to come with a Non camera phone so that confidentality is maintained. In call center's they are asked to either keep it switched off or leave it at home when they leave for work. Even the mobile companies have started to create more advance models of phones without camera so that the corporate world can take it.

I am not suggesting that cell phones are evil, I am just saying that they are providing us with better communication with second to second update, therefore proving its worth. But it is us humans who are behind the phone making all the mistakes. If an explicit clip is made by a cell phone, then I guess it was some human who had pressed the button with that intention. The cell phone had not done that on its own.

Intially we heard about accidents which use to occur due to reckless driving as the driver was drunk or really in a hurry or ofcourse lost concentration. Now most of the accidents occur as the driver is on the phone and he has to multi-task by attending the phone call and also drive through the road. Also there was a time when people use to keep their heads tilted trying to talk on the phone by making it handfree. But now people have started buying the accesories like earphone, wireless earphones, handfree set in the car and others. Some people have made solutions by stopping the car on the side of the road so that they can attend the call and then drive. This can be taken to be atleast a more safer way than driving to your death.

I could have added this topic with the previous one about the technology, but since people are using cell phones in an everyday use, this had to be taken separately. In India, when a cell phone is purchased in the market along with the manual and accesories like battery and cover, even a book on proper phone ethics should be given. People in general should learn courtesy and respect.

Technology Good & Bad

This is another general topic which I have picked to talk today. Technology which is good and bad for humans. There is no technology that has been developed which doesnot have a bad side. It is upto the people to know how to utilize the better side. It all comes down to the fight between good and evil. When will people learn that for good things to happen or Evil things to happen, it all comes down to Humans. It is the humans on this earth which decide whether a thing will be used for good or evil.

The most basic example that can be taken is Nuclear. Its main purpose for development was for more power as industries were developing at a rapid pace, we needed more electrical power. Intially instead of trying to generate electricity we end up making the worst use by building the Nuclear (Atom) Bomb. It was the humans who developed the bomb, it was the humans who made the decision to drop the bomb, it was humans who dropped the bomb from the plane, it was the human who got blasted by the bomb. What can one say? How do people still sleep after making a decision like that? That is a wonder. If intially itself the nuclear was being used for generating power then we would have never faced problems like that of Greenpeace activists and other organisations. Instead of spending so much time on developing a bomb if they had spend time on knowing how to contain the nuclear fission then this world would have more opportunity in using the nuclear power.

Similarly many examples of technology can be taken. Another advent is the Internet which make everyone close to each other and has revolutionised todays medium of communication and information gathering. But the down side of the internet is that what ever crime that happen in real life can happen in the Internet world. Forging, Deceiving, last but least identity theft and sooner or later murder... Basically erasing the identiy of the person. But still people donot talk about the bad things about the internet like the Billion dollar Porn industry. Does anyone know that the number one search word in the world is 'Sex'.

Technology has given more opportunities in trying and implementing new stuffs. Like Solar Cells, intially we were using the conventional Electricity powered Water Geysers to boil water for the baths but now or atleast in Bangalore I find most of the houses having Solar Water heaters. I know the reason for the sudden change. People intentions have not changed to good environmentalist but to preserve their Electricity bills. In the long run people have found that they can save a lot of money if they use a Solar water heater. Atleast due to this reason we get to conserve some electricity. But still each country should learn how to utilize Solar and Wind energy. I guess India doesnot have much choice with Hydel as it is nearly coming to a limit of putting them up.

The gulf countries will never think of Solar power as the power generated through crude oil is more cheap than installing the Solar cells or more like buying them. Anyways when will the countries ever start learning how to care about nature as always nature will return to claim its resources. In the farming industry we utlilize so much fertilizers that the food are heavily contaminated and the soil are lost of its nutrients. If only people try in an orderly way by using Legume to provide the soil by returning the nutrients then we can cut down on the fertilizers. Also worse is that we still have no idea about Recycling, be it the garbage or the water.

This world is going through one of the worst cycles of climatic changes. Very hot summers which led to heat waves and heavy dehydration of people. And now very cold winters with suddenly heavy snowing in some areas. This all has been due to humans and noone else can be blamed for it. We are the ones who are making the Ice caps at the North and South Poles melt. In this process the sea-level keeps increasing and if a tidal wave hits any shore-city, it would not be a suprise. Also heavy flooding is bound to happen in many places. Also droughts are prominent. These all can affect the soil directly and indirectly. Looking at all this I thought Humans will try doing something about it but then again forget that we are not considering on stopping all the mistakes that we have been making.

Coming back to the topic of technology being good or evil. Take Biotech industry for example. If we say something good has come out that can make us look younger for more age then the Bio-tech industry will be hailed good and saviour of mankind. But when the same industry can help in creating Biological weapons that can destroy millions of life then it is deemed unfit and against mankind and will be sealed off for life. It's kind of the same story of 2 sides of a coin.

General Technology that is good and evil. If a regular earthquake hits in the country side then nothing will happen if you are in the open. But when that same earthquake hits a city then the city will come to a stand still due to the falling of building structures. Here I will say that we build the building and it was the building that killed not the earthquake. Similarly with floods, if it happens in a country side water moves comfortable from one side to another and will surely find a medium to disperse. But when a city is built, the same flood can bring the city to its knees. Here I can say these all can be avoided only if more proper Human attention is paid to blend with the nature.

We humans have been able to reach the moon and make such amazing structures. Can we not make better environmental friendly stuctures. With the current statistics coming in, we know that people die more with man-made stuff than nature's fury. We build cars for our comfort to travel but it is us humans who drive at high speeds just to get a straight ticket to the grave. When will people learn from the mistakes of others just to improve ours. I hope this post atleast make people to start thinking about the future for technology.

Memories of School Boards

I completed my school in 2001 when I cleared my 12th CBSE boards. I still can remember those couple of months of heavy duty studying for the CBSE boards, not only in 12th but also in 10th. I can still remember my Dad's words "This exam will decide on the future you want". I guess it does in a way, apart from getting in college. It makes us know how much we like a particular subject. In my 11th, I had taken Computer Science, Physics, Chemistry and Maths as my subjects. I did miss History & Geography when I left my 10th as I liked the history of different places and times. Geography was another topic which is interesting as you know which country is capable in what way. But letting Biology go from my hands was not a tough thing as I never like the mugging or cramming of things. The only thing in biology that was interesting was the Human Anatomy.

During the months for preparation of the boards, all the guys used to forget what was happening around us and really hated if a World cup match was coming on TV, either it be Cricket or Football/Soccer. The pre-board exams of my school were pretty tough as they wanted us to score better marks in the boards. It did really help as we used to get -5 or +5 marks in the boards to that of the pre-boards. Also due to these exams we never felt the tension of the Boards and its major importance. We used to be well prepared. The only thing I still can remember is the last exam of the boards when everyone after the exam would crash for partying straight out of the exam hall. Now that is something people have waited for months.

The other day that is of importance after the board is the day when the results are declared. People prayering, stressed out, eagar for their marks but the more effects of these can be seen on the parents who are in worser situation that the kids. The results are out on the internet and also on the notice boards around the country and in every school. Some really happy,other sad, some amazed at their own performance in some subjects and others shocked at the result coming low. Every year when a board result comes out, there has to be some paper in which the corrections are done pretty strictly as that can be seen by the list of marks of students in that subject taking a dive. I have seen great students taking huge falls while in some cases have seen some others having huge leaps through the marks. Even after getting the papers rechecked, there is no changes except for the education industry eating up the recheck money.

Imagine those few exams that we write decide the future for so many people. It is one sad thing as fate can play astonishing games. The worst is current senario where due to the importance of this exam, I have heard of people Suiciding only because of slight bad performance in this exam. The level of importance given for this paper by society, parents, teachers and friends can make a person stress out at that age of 15-18. The amount of stuff to be learned keeps on increasing for each year. The worst is still the weight of books that kids nowadays have to take from Kindergarden onwards till 12th. With so much technology we still have to carry heavy bags filled with books. These antomatically are tickets to health problems. Everything should be to a limit and should be taken care off. I am not criticising any particular system. Just that the system needs to be improved.

Another thing is the pattern of exam we write. In the Indian system of exams, we are habituated of writing answers to each question in an essay style or to the point. We should also be given some points in school itself on how to tackle other patterns of question papers like GRE, TOEFL, SAT etc. I mean the objective kind of questions and other things. We should be slightly given preparation to tackle other kind of techniques. That can be a major help. Also the system should be improved to help students and make them attract studies by different ways like using audio-video presentations. Hope the future has better things instore for the coming generations.

Valentine's Day

I thought of bringing up this topic. Really what's so special about this day, okay not only this day but other days like mother's, father's, brother's, sister's, parent's, grand parent's and etc. I guess you can end up having each day of the year celebrated with something or the other. What I really want to know is that doesn't one love someone for the whole year that they have to show it only on Valentine's Day. Also don't they celebrate their anniversaries that they have to create another day like this.

The only thing that happens on this day which you will get to see in the media is what world records are being broken. From longest time a couple can stay kissing to weirdest way of tying the knot. Getting married underwater, in air while parachuting and other ways. This is the most hype created by the media. Many people make amazing profits out of all this. The greeting card industry alone makes 1 million cards on Valentine's Day. With so many kinds of days being celebrated, the industry thrives and also the media enjoys showing something different.

The major issue is that when a couple love each other, they need not show their love to each other only on Valentine's Day, they can show it throughout the year. Also Valentine's Day is not a holiday so what is the use of celebrating in a manner where people end up taking holidays on their own account. Student's bunk class for just spending time with their girlfriend. Isn't it enough that they already spend time after classes, and now they need to bunk also. With the advent of cell-phones, cheap call rates and free SMSes, they stay in touch with one another throughout the day. What more is needed?

The main point I am trying to make is that giving too much importance to a day is bad enough, try giving the real importance to the relationship. Bad breakups, Hurtful Divorces, isn't their already enough problems in the world that one trys adding more. We are humans with great power of thinking, why can't we sort out the problems and live happily. Everything needs work, nothing gets done on its own.

Sports in India

This topic I bring to you as it is another important thing to be talked about. India's population is above 1 Billion (100 Crores), that is 1/6th of the World's population. Its amazing to find that we donot gain much in Olympics or any games in general. How many people know what is the national game of India. Some may answer Cricket but actually it is Hockey. The only time anyone sees a hockey match in India is when it is in finals or against Pakistan.

The fault could be because of the Media. But the entire blame cannot be on the media itself, it goes on many people. In India Football (Soccer) has been played from ages and the teams are existing from half a century and more like Mohan Bagan and others. But media coverage and money invested by people in the games like Cricket have wiped out the popularity of the other games. Cricket has become the lifeline of India. The money made by the cricket games go to few people who run the BCCI which is a private organisation.

If the media can publicise the other games in India and generate some positive effect, that would really help also. Nowadays many talented players don't play these games as no one can pay good amount of money. This is because there is no publicity of these games. If a Final match is going on of an Indian Football team, the stadium will be practically empty while for some Cricket match the tickets will be wiped out the moment the counters are open. Even if you ask anyone about the details of matches going on, they know that which cricket match happens where. But if asked about a Football or Hockey match they wouldnot even know if it was happening in their backyard. What is all this? We loose major talent due to this. Neither the government is ready to take all of the games under their wing and really spend the money in making things work.

Talking about the government, I remember that when last time there was Olympics in Sydney in 2000, lots of people went from India for that. I mean Government personnel went with teams for representing. There was a Kabaddi team which had gone, but the question arises what was it doing there as this event doesnot exist in Olympics. Apart from this some other players were made to stay in lodges will the officials travelling with them spend time in 4-5 Star hotels and threw parties which was anywhere between 4-10 Lakh rupees (Even if the players lost the event). When we have money the corrupted people end up spending in the wrong places. We really need to straighten things out. Out of 6 people in the world, 1 is an Indian we should be dominating the Sports scene. Hope things get better.

Are you enjoying your life?

This topic comes to me whenever I see the people around me. I am not talking about only about enjoyment in ones life. This is more in relation to money making and other things. It is natural for anyone to take up jobs which offer better pay. The question here is what are you going to do with all that money. Ofcourse you will try spending it but here's the catch, you are busy making money. Therefore you are stuck in a vicious circle.

Instances is what people want. Okay, I see people in Bangalore leave for their jobs in the morning around 7-8 am so that they can make it to their offices which can start anywhere between 9-10:30 am. So well done if one reaches on time in traffic conditions of Bangalore. Once in the office, people are busy trying to meet deadlines or finishing up with their work. If anyone finishes his job by 5pm he is lucky to be back home or somewhere enjoying sometime. If you leave late, you are tired enough to just show up at your home and have dinner. Then you crash for the night. This process continues throughout the week. When weekend shows up, and you have 2 days holiday then thats another blessing to spend time. Even if you get only a Sunday off then you atleast get to relax. But what happens, some chores are left, like paying bills, getting this and that etc. So life moves on. Currently this is the way of life.

There was a time when we knew which day used to pass by, but currently we have to keep track of which week or month passes by as everything is zooming past us all at a fast rate. People have to learn to respect their life and earnings. Once I heard from a senior citizen, why are you cutting on sweets and salty stuff. He said "Have it now because once you get old you will end up with Diabetes or High blood pressure, then none of this can be taken. If you are planning to enjoy later in life, then forget it". Those days are gone when people were healthy in their 60s. Now crossing you late 40s are itself scary and a challenge.

I am not saying to spend all you savings. Savings is an important part of life but I am just saying that one should know how to have some fun when you have the age also. Stay in touch with friends and take care of your loved ones. Life expectancy is nowadays reducing a lot. Even if Medical field have found many ways to save human life then also thousands die each day due to Technology which itself brings good and bad events. Also major diseases keep poping up in different times. Another example, Small Pox and Polio was a problem once in the 70s and 80s. It has been nearly eradicated due to the hard work by the medical professionals but we have ended up with deadly diseases like HIV and AIDS, now Mutated Bird Flu. Anyways once we get a solution to this, we will end up having something more dangerous. It is nature.

Back-benchers to teaching

This is the beginning of another weekend and today words seem to be distant from me. So I plan to pick something from my past which might interest some. Since I can remember, the back bench of my class always was meant for me. I clearly carried out my tradition of being a back bencher in college and also currently in my institute. But in school, the teachers had come up with an idea which was the rotation technique. They purposely tried to keep 5-6 rows of benches so that the students don't go farther away from the staff standing at the front of the class. Also they kept making each row rotate to the next while the back benchers come to the forward row. This idea was very successful but since always students have tried out-smarting the teachers and have come up with awesome ideas. To escape this the back benchers started sitting on the last bench on that day of the week when class time-tables used to be heavy with no breaks. While the lighter days of the week with labs and extra curricular activities used to lead us to sit on the 1st or 2nd rows. That ofcourse solved some of the problems. In college, as long as you make no problems on the last bench by disturbing the staff, you will remain King of the back bench.

The only lose of being a back bencher is that you have to work on your grades better than anything as one tends to not listen in classes. Either be regular in studies and stay ahead of the staff teaching you or else pay attention sitting on the last bench which is amazing if you can attain that goal. In college, some staffs' teaching used to be captivating enough for people to listen to their lectures. This is where I can say a quote (origin of saying not known), "Top students or Geniuses don't make good teachers, love for teaching or imparting knowledge in an interesting manner can conquer all the students". This is a fact which can be seen even today. I have seen my friends who can make you understand a topic in 10-15 minutes while a staff has tried to get that same topic in your head in 1-2 hours class but in vain. Teaching is all about Passion.

Teaching is one of the most respectful careers as you help mould thousands of life but the problem comes with the idea that teachers are not paid very well. Therefore many never choose this as a career option. Worst is that even the ones who choose donot take it seriously. 3 people in this world can mould a child at a young age to anything from Good to Evil. They are the child's Mother, Father and Teacher. The responsibility is huge, but very less have been successful. I still remember the name of the staffs who have taught me from school as they are people who you cannot forget as they devoted their attention without any selfish reasons. I still pay my respects to all of them whenever I am at home. Noone realises thing in this world until its late.

About my certification courses

I am currently studying at Indian Institute of Hardware Technology (IIHT) in Bangalore. I have been completing courses like MCSE - Microsoft Certified System Engineer, CCNA - Cisco Certified Network Associate, Sun Solaris Administrator, Comptia N+ , Ret Hat Linux Administrator and finally with Oracle DBA course. Usually people go along with 2-3 selections. When I was attending , I wanted a strong background in Networks and its Administration. Most of the courses provide me with an opportunity in different platforms. Taking Oracle DBA was more as I wanted to know Database Administration also as System Administrator it is necessary to have a knowledge of most things. The only thing left is all the exams I have to appear after completing my courses at the institute.

When I was doing my 4 year Computer Engineering at the University, I thought it will be really into computers guessing about Software and Hardware. I learned more Hardware on my own with the help of my friends who taught me how to take apart a whole computer CPU and assemble the whole package. Apart from all that I was also able to learn in the hostel about networking with other computers creating our own small LAN network which by the way was destroyed into many pieces by the college authorities without prior warning. Reason for destroying the network was not a sufficient one, even proof was not shown. In the end an apology from the college authorities was given without any compensation on the 300 meters of LAN wire that was destroyed as multiple cuts were made throughout the wire. That's life, isn't it.

The Hardware part which was going to be taught in the college was cancelled in the second last semester and we were asked to attend another computer language lab. So finally in my batch I had people who had no idea what a RAM or a Motherboard or Hard Disk looked like. In a college, computer science engineering basically means Software Engineering. (PERIOD). The amount of Languages they teach is for the IT industries. This is where I kept trying to make out what is the difference between Computer Science Engineers and Information Technology Engineers as both branches are taught side by side. Apart from these branch all the other basic branches of engineering are having scope in the IT industry. I saw more than 500 people be selected by the IT companies and maximum out of them 200-250 were from the IT and computer background only (including B.Tech CSE, IT, MCA, M.Tech CSE etc). So finally every kind of branch people are being accomodated in the IT industry. What will happen if they think of going to their core companies. They will be having Nil experience related to the core field. There will come one such time.....

Something about myself

Its been quiet a while since I wrote a post on the blog. My Internet connection was down for sometime due to some fault on the Optic Fiber cable line. Anyways I am back now and thought it is better to talk about myself first before all the incidents that took place in my life. I am currently 23 and still studying. I have graduated in Computer Science Engineering branch from Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT). So currently I am studying some certification courses like Microsoft Certified System Engineering (MCSE), Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA) and some others. Sounds easy but after all the course that I am studying at Indian Institute of Hardware Technology (IIHT), I have to appear for these certification exams which usually end up have passing or clearance marks anywhere from 65% to 80%.

I have spend 14 years in clearing through school and then high school. After that I spend another 4 years to graduate from a technical university. Now I have been completing this for the past few months. Looks like my studying spree will continue for sometime. I plan to take up a job for sometime and continue with it for some experience. Once I feel in the next few years that its time then I can go on to finish my Higher graduation. I used to think that I should master in my field making me more technically sound like mastering in Networking or Computer Sciences, but during my time in college my classmates and staff have suggested me on doing MBA. I kept thinking since every person on earth is currently finishing up with a Bachelors degree is doing it that is why I am being suggested but the main reason is due the interest I show in Management handlings. Anyways I guess the future will tell me about it.

All my classmates are getting settled with a job somewhere or other. I am still glad that they are in touch with me and also their calls keep coming. I duly ask for forgiveness sometimes for not calling them on a regular basis. Most of them have ended up with great jobs, mostly Information Technology sector. I am sure they will thrive a lot in their jobs and knowledge. Actually just a day or two back I received an invitation to one of my friends Engagement which is being held in the next few days. Looks like some are planning on tying a knot, hope the best for their future.