Past Perfect to Present Continuous

“The darker the clouds gets, the brighter I shine to outcast the shadow.”

Was the motto of my life till few months back… my life resonated with the path of optimism & positive vibe surrounded it until I came in last year of my degree. I never knew the life will take such a drastic shift and things will shape up so differently with twists & turns all around. But then the destiny plays an important role in a person life and when it comes to me it gets eternal supreme powers to disturb the balance of life.

A month back I was a carefree happy go lucky boy without compulsions and now the mere thought of future perplexes me. The pleasurable college days are far gone and now the wicked world awaits me with an iron rod. It’s not like I’m not getting offers, but the crest for the best haunts me. 

"Lately life has been a roller coaster ride with swings everywhere"

Even the only arena which somehow with unknown reasons accepted me i.e. the blogging world has become a bit intolerant with me as my last post was a disaster in terms of fellow bloggers comments. I always wrote post for the self satisfaction and will keep on doing till I get bombarded with creative thoughts.

"The more you ignore me, the better I do to survive."

There’s so much to write & read with so less time. I’m into my last semester of engineering which was quite a while ago the most awaited semester but now it seems the most dreaded one. The last sem is an off-campus sem where I have to undergo a 6 months long industrial training because a moron some 14 years back while drafting the law of All India Technical Education thought of exposing the young minds to the real world. Few months back the last sem appeared to be full of new experiences loaded with lots of learning, fun & a new life altogether. But now it appears as it would have been the best if the last semester would have never come up in such a fabulous student life. 

"Memories grow more meaningful with every passing year, more cherished & more profound."

Quite true are the above lines as now I miss each & every moment of hostel life. Someday for sure I will craft a post on my hostel life. I don’t know why I came up with this post in the first place, may be at times ramblings help. 

Will be back soon... happy blogging!

Today I Cried

Today I cried

I cried to show my pain

My love & my hate

I cried ‘coz m hurt

M broken & m lost

Today I cried                  

I cried for the tormenting exams

For the sleepless nights & playful days

I cried ‘coz marks won’t matter now

No teachers & no tutor

Today I cried

I cried for the wonderful days gone

For the hard days to come

I cried ‘coz once I was a student

Loving restrictions

Today I cried

I cried to let the feelings flow

Unraveling the hidden me

I cried ‘coz once I dreamt

‘coz once it was only about me

Gustakhi Maaf: An Engineer testimony

Being enrolled in a four year degree course which would have not taken more than 2 years to accomplished if our policy makers would have thought out of the box resulted in mine writing this open letter to the Director-cum Principal of my college. 

Claimer: The post written here after is not a work of fiction. Any resemblance with dead or going to be dead (most likely to be me; thanks to all those scorching sycophants) is purely justifiable.

Sir, with due respect to your position (fair enough to ruin my career) and your age (fair enough to search Yatra.com) please bear with my impudence. It took my conscious more than 3 years and lots of humiliation to finally wake up to muster courage to pen my emotions. I wish you would have mustered the same amount of firmness and willingness to improve which could have laid me to suspend this self immolation task. Nevertheless, everything happens for good as your failure to curtail the wrongs gifted my blog a post to admire for long. 

Have you any idea about the crumbling situation of the college most scientific, modern and engrossing engineering branch? Please stop scratching your head… it has already been nominated for the best cricketing pitch! What, you aren’t able to figure it out the branch name I’m talking off? Mr. Genius, its Electronics & Instrumentation engineering whose students once were referred to as the extra intelligent engineers. Haven’t you noticed the apathy of the college faculty when I used the abbreviation ‘once’? Kindly have an introspection session with the faculty of the respective branch or gear up for the rebellious strike. Let the morons know that the custom of attendance in the lecture comes secondary to the duty of imparting knowledge. 

Dear sir I won’t leave you like that, it took me around 2 weeks and lots of courage to pen down the post. Have you ever been to the college canteen? I will suggest you not to try the daring task of entering it, if the answer to the above question is in negation. I know that the inflation is on a constant geometric rise in the country but then how can you justify the price of a single maggi as Rs. 25 when it hardly comes for Rs 10 in the market?  I always thought that MRP was something beyond which a shopkeeper can’t charge you even a single penny. But then the whole notion of MRP has been modified and transformed into LRP which stand for the Least Retail Price. Aren’t you aware of the fact that the canteen manager charges above the MRP? Please don’t nod your head again in negation, it sucks.

These were the two points a student can bear with, but what about the placements, a dream every student envisioned. Campus placements not only brightens up the career prospective of a student but also laden her/him with sense of pride and belongingness to the institute. Time and again I was told that the instrumentation engineering is the core of all industries as majority of them are switching to automation techniques for the production. Then why I’m left on the mercy of joint campus placements? Why I’m always asked to look for major IT companies setting aside my own core industries? 

Sir try to teach the faculty art of effective teaching, let them know that teaching if guided by favoritism results in an adverse effect in the mind and soul of a student which could jeopardize the country future as the students are the building blocks of a nation. Merit and not regional background must be kept in mind while rewarding the grades. 

Awake you soul and reason the post.

Myths of being an Engineering Student

• The biggest myth being deep rooted in the neural network of students preparing for an engineering entrance exams is that after completion of 4 years of engineering course he/she will be a proud member of the community of manufactures i.e. will be crowned an engineer. But, in reality only 6 months of industrial training suffixing the engineering is all that it takes to be an engineer. 
•  Engineers are highly paid breed of humans. In contrast, a fresher gets a lower pay package than a diploma holder in a production plant provided you aren't from the herds of " MERE PAPA KE PASS BAHUT PAISA HAI " students.  
• Engineering and management studies are related. In reality, engineering has nothing to do with management. A lucrative salary is what attracts people to management studies.
• Engineers are absolute nerds and geeks who just can't do anything but study. In reality they are the ones who study the least in all their 4 years of graduation.
• Engineering student makes lots of assignments which help them getting closer to their subjects. In reality it’s only the girls who make all the assignments on due date, boys believe in the art of copying. An assignment only helps in getting closer to the opposite sex.
• The one who passes with maximum marks is the one who knows the concept of engineering the best. In reality such students are the one who have mastered the art of mugging. The one who actually knows the concepts finds it harder even to get grace marks.
• Engineering has the most rigorous semester system having no loopholes. In reality, major part of the semesters is spent bunking is needs an immediate revision. 
• 100% placements are all but a trap to get the new admissions.
• An engineering student will know how to repair TV, radio, mobile etc. In reality engineering has a vast network of branches. You can’t expect an instrumentation engineer to debug computer software’s. 

NOTE: Students preparing for Engineering Entrance Exams please never get occupied by the stray magnetic thoughts of getting a GF once you land up in any of the engineering colleges. Better choose other degree courses instead of ruining your dreams.

The Survival Challenge

Campus placements have been the most important part of every engineering student's life. As soon as one enters in his last year, not only his parents but also his extended family and friends start waiting for him to get placed. Everyone dreams of getting into a core industry with a double digit salary. The helpless student is bombarded with questions related only with his placement. The pressure starts taking its toll and the same student who few months back never used internet for purpose other than Skype starts online job hunts. Now aptitude seems to be more important than attitude. 

 

The same student who preaches one night study for three long years starts preparing for companies written exams way before the speculated time. If that wasn’t enough to torment a young technical mind, there comes a hell amount of competitive exams like CAT, Gate, CSIR and others. Adding to the ongoing stir in the meta-biological activity of a student are the major projects which carry with themselves the power to re-shape aggregate percentage. 

On the other hand, parents after spending their hard earned money takes campus placements as a matter of pride and honour. Any news of their ward getting a campus placement is directly proportional to their social prestige. So now it’s not only about winning the game but winning the game with a six to end the match. Mere placements won’t satisfy them, it’s the campus word attach which makes all the difference. 

Here comes the role of seniors, the same students who once took your introduction and more profoundly ragging. They stand like a father figure protecting you from the harsh bitter reality of the professional world outside the four walls of the college. They guide you and more of let you know about the do’s and don’ts of looking for a suitable industry. The last year tests all the networking power which you boast off hitherto. 

Yet with all the life deep sarcastic realities touching and moulding the soul, the student keeps on with a wide smile of his which he gained over the years of tough path and narrow blocks. He never misses to catch the glimpse of first year girls and ask them for a formal cum informal introduction. He continues to bunk most of his lectures and sleep in rests, completing his 8 hour of sleep which he missed last night as he was dedicatedly playing Counter Strike. 

Dedicated to all those 3.5 lakhs fellow final year engineering students other than the chosen few ( IIT’s and NIT’s) who will soon be churning out action plans for facing the life biggest challenge- the survival challenge. Prepare well and do wonders in your life. 

Important: Help me in getting an internship cum training into any core instrumentation company. 

Anti-Ragging Affidavit: A Curious Outlook

For past three years I have been submitting an anti-ragging affidavit for getting myself register for the next academic session in my college.

The affidavit in bold letters read: Undertaking from the Students as per the provisions of anti-ragging verdict by the honorable Supreme Court that I have read and understood the directives of the Honorable Supreme Court of India on anti-ragging and the measures proposed to be taken in the above references. I understand the meaning of Ragging and know that the ragging in any form is a punishable offence and the same is banned by the Court of Law. Also, I have not been found or charged for my involvement in any kind of ragging in the past. However, I undertake to face disciplinary action / legal proceedings including expulsion from the Institute if the above statement is found to be untrue or the facts are concealed, at any stage in future. And lastly, I shall not report to ragging in any form at any place and shall abide by the rules / laws prescribed by the Courts, Govt. of India and the Institute authorities for the purpose from time to time.

Every time when I see my peers and other students outside the notary office fulfilling this impracticable yet noted exercise I ask myself a question… will a sheet of paper help in solving the menace of ragging? 

I know an affidavit is more than just a mere sheet of paper; it’s a legal agreement of yours with the state laws whose violations may get you in deep trouble. Still, the question remains intact, does the possibility of getting punish stops one from committing crime? If making laws would have served the purpose than our society would have been crime and criminal free. There would have been no need of police to grab the criminals, lawyers to get them convict and judges for announcement of punishment. Isn’t it? 

There’s also another question peeping in my intrusive mind. What’s the difference between ragging and a healthy introduction? Ragging in form of any violent activity can never be justified. But does asking a junior about his/her name falls in the purview of ragging? I won’t talk of other courses but as far as engineering is concerned majority of the students enrolled aren’t from the same city and hail from across the country with varied family and cultural backgrounds. And, thus seniors act as their guardians, friends, counselor and motivator in a new environment. There are colleges across the country where the institution itself organizes introduction party. Also, the same is true when you join a new workplace. So ragging and introduction can’t be seen with the same glasses.

I’m of the opinion that instead of framing laws government, lawmakers and institutions should devote more time and energy in creating an ambience free of criminality in the pensive minds of students.

Also, is ragging a one sided affair?

Yeah almost it is a one sided affair. I never heard something like a junior ragging a senior except in Munnabhai MBBS. But, have heard many-a-times a junior using the special power vested in his/her hand for settling personal repulsive disputes. The voice of the senior is heard only after his being expelled even when he did nothing offensive. Isn't such a callous law against the basic tenets of democracy? 

Summing up the post, laws without creating awareness will die out in affidavits like such.

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Creativity- Gone Forever ???

“I was born intelligent, but education ruined me”

For years it was just another satirical quote on our public education system which I hardly notice and understood. But, believe me its shadow conceals something deep for which a person needs to uncover the layer of pseudo-intelligentsia from his eyes.

I remember once my cousin brother made an inverted painting of ship when we were still in knickers. He explained that it’s just a normal ship only travelling inside the water. I guess that day he might had been engulfed by soul of innovators behind submarines.

Creativity plays a major role in sharpening the behavior and shaping the future characteristic of a child. Fortunately, we all are born creative. Unfortunately, the refinement process which we undergo in later stages of life kills the basic notion of being creative.

All around the world the public education system is much or more the same; it’s livid and morbid designed only to make us a human machine. Quite amazingly we spend two forth of our life learning how to be perfect and in the process we forget the basic definition of being perfect. Idiotically, our mind is alluded to became captive of the notion that mistakes would result in failures which would subsequently end our life.

How ironic is that? Ask any scientist about the number of failures he met in his career and the answer will astonish even the hardest human being. Creativity might lead to mistakes which may further bring on failures but failures are the only door to invention and discoveries. You cannot find a new way to your home unless you look for alternatives. Following the same path will only lead to same results.

We had a great legacy of Gurukul system of education in our country where students enrolled were being mould according to individual creativity. It never emphasized on creating junks of students who are good for nothing. Unfortunately, in a mad race to out-due our western counterparts we got the system changed and now like rest of the world we too are following a global system of public education, made only to create a new class of clerks in post- industrialization era.

“Success comes from bad experiences and a bad experience comes from failures.”

Today, I felt being deluded when the teacher coordinator rejected a minor project report of not only mine but the whole class citing reasons that were hypothetical. We were asked to look unto her words as axiom and follow the century old regime. Her remarks were quite naïve and pungent when she ordered us to reallocate the font size and modulate the content of the report. It was a serious blow on the creativity of students.

As a matter of fact, the so called brilliant students getting top ranks will one day have to work for a college drop-out who was busy nurturing his creative outlook out of those goosy lectures. 

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Those one hour.. Part 2: I'm still in search for an effusive creative spark.

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First Job Interview PART 1

T&P cell coordinators for EIE told us, the 3rd year students, that the very next day Indian Army would be conducting a job fair in Indo Global Group of Colleges and would be recruiting students under the University Grant Scheme. I was in two state of mind then, firstly being a senior-most T&P cell coordinator from EIE I wasn't aware of this important notice. And, secondly should I go for the job fair? Well, I got the answer to mine first question very soon after meeting Madam Suman, T&P cell teacher in-charge for EIE. She said that she had sent me a message, which never reached me though, and was waiting for mine reply. In the meantime 2nd year student came to her and she eventually gave them the charge.

The next lecture was the library, a free class, and so along with few of mine classmates I went to Nescafe for some refreshment. I met Atul there and we discussed about the job fair at Indo Global. He was carrying the copy of the actual notification sent by the IGC to our college. After reading the whole notification I came to know that the entry to job fair is only by invitation and 8 colleges of PTU including our's have been invited. We group of friends made up our mind to sit for our first job fair.

The next task was to gather the transport information... that whether our college would be sending there buses to IGC for the job fair or not? As always the answer was in negation. I went to our T&P cell second in command and verified the same but he only gave me the same old reply,"Rachit, I am sorry.. college can't provide students buses for the next day job fair". He asked me to personally meet principal and convey him the student plea. I went to principal office, only to be stopped by his PA. This man has a strange character... he think himself as the principal and not his PA and try to solve all the matter brought for principal guidance. As his behavior is, he jumped into the scene to grab the limelight. He told me that princi is quite busy and would not be able to meet me for an hour. I saw mine watch...it was 3.30pm at that time and after an hour college would have got over and then meeting the princi would not have served any purpose. I told the PA not to talk like an idiot and allow me to meet princi..only to evoke his until now hidden ego. I wasted mine 15 minutes arguing with him but in vain. I drop the idea of asking the college authorities for providing the students the necessary transport facility for the job fair.

Now, mine next task was to get the IA application form attached by student section. Without wasting time I went to mine HOD office. EIE HOD is a true gentleman, he is always there to help his department students. I got the printout of the form from his office. I went straight to the SS only to see crowd of students already present there to get there form attached. A fellow student told me the exact procedure..it was more or less similar to what I have listen for government offices...it was a three step procedure....firstly the form would be signed by the SS dean.. then the signed forms would be sent to princi office for his signature.. after that the photocopy of the forms would be taken and then finally we students would be given back our forms. The whole procedure would be taking around an hour. And I was not having that much of time. I went to a known employee and asked him for his favor. He asked me to wait for 5 minutes and after that gave me mine college file, which I would be needing up for filling the form. He also carried personally mine file along with the form to SS dean and then to princi office for there instant signature.


Part 2 of the post to be published tomorrow