Other Side of Summer

Okay yeah it’s been quite a long time since my last post but hey there wasn’t a lot of interesting stuff going on unless u count the earthquake I slept through and the people flooding the beach shores waiting for a tsunami that never came.

Final year of college. Loads of free time, great opportunity to enhance your hidden talents right? We all know how that went: P

A class trip to hokenagal falls was fun but it kind of opened up on how very well maintained the Tamil Nadu tourism is.  Amazing how the stench and the surroundings can overpower the beauty of the nature. Another being the pool of plastic bottles at the bottom of the falls, it seemed almost intentional. The gods must be mad, speaking of gods; the Avengers taking on the God of mischief Loki himself has been a kickass flick!

If you haven’t watched it yet, I have just this to ask you...are you being tied down held captive by someone or are u one of those people who think twilight is the greatest movie ever?  

Staying on topic, I also caught this movie ‘Leelai’ last night, I must admit I did not have much hope for the movie with new cast and only went to watch ‘cause the music just seemed really good and fine,for Manasi Parekh too.

 I ended up eating my words 15mins through the movie, the actors were a natural and the plot though simple had an amazing screenplay with just the right dash of humor. Shiv pandit gifted with brilliant acting skills can be seen even in his smallest expressions ,Manasi has managed to play her role to the max while Suhasini Raju as Suja has enough screen time to bring out her best. It’s a great film, Do check it out, it’s a light hearted romantic comedy waiting to get inside of your senses and wrestle ‘em.

Anyway the last few weeks were probably one of the most annoying ones for guys from AU deemed, the Anna University postponing the exams and almost seemed as never coming as the rains in Chennai.  The fact of combining all the branches of AU under a common authority seemed like a good idea until the remarkable minds decided to impose it on the month when exams were gonna start. Oh and good luck for all those taking it.

So college at its end now, it has been an amazing experience for me, I’m sure it was for every one of you. Giving you the chance to grow up or at least pretend to, like I did :P .It has been one heck of a journey from being new to the whole new environment of my college, making great friends, meeting new people, joy of results, treat for arrears, it’s been warming to the heart and obviously unbelievable that these 4 years have made such a great impression on our lives now and forever.

 The people we met from college have influenced our lives to a great extent, us no longer being the kids we were back in high school; learning to be responsible ,failing at every possible way and picking ourselves up just to know how to survive & it was these guys who stuck by our side, encouraging or laughing or doing both.  We have come a long way, hard to believe that most of us have even started working considering we were hanging out in bicycles and tuitions just a few years ago holding out our hands for pocket money. Hopefully the many friendships made will always be maintained now that we have the social networks helping us with that. So to all you people out there who are going away on job stuff or higher education, it is always easy to make time for friends and family; it’s all about priorities in the end isn’t it?

 Have a great summer. :-D

Uninvited Interruption

Pongalo Pongal! The village harvest festival celebrated across the country by various names was unusually a very fun event this year.

Again,my not-so-famous college surprised us by holding a 'pongal annual celebration' to which all the students were invited ( compulsory attendance! ) asking us to wear traditional clothes if we wanted to.

Being my final year and everything, I was somehow talked into wearing a dhoti but I was not alone in this embarrassment and I didn't feel like a complete idiot even when I kept tripping over as much as the number of times I bunked college this semester.


Finally finishing my obstacle course towards the auditorium( with nature having it's share of fun by making it a particulary windy day,I felt like Maryln Monroe holding down my dhoti ),
me along with my friends took our seats and waited for the events to begin.

The first event was a debate in tamil,which I completely lost track of when they mentioned the title in Sentamizh. There were a lot of arguments and it seemed like a pretty tough contest when people started walking out; for some reason, they found the outdoors more exciting.Who could blame 'em,pongal was festival of harvest and u can't possibly stay indoors.

I joined my friends outside the auditorium watching the actual pot boil which is how the term pongal came into existence( or so I think); snapping pictures and watching the greenery of my college made it such a beautiful and peaceful experience, when my phone buzzed under my dhoti (i had pants worn under 'em,clever huh? )


You know how fun things(no matter how uncomfortable the dhoti was,being with friends always made it awesome) always had this irritating uninvited spell of bad news like a cat crashing a tea party of pigeons.
Well this day was no different.

The results had been announced.

It took a moment for the news to sink in,by which time people started using their phones to access the net via WiFi or 3G. Sadly,the site was overloaded with client traffic and we couldn't reach it. The fear of results hadn't really gripped me until I heard people yelling out either about clearing the papers or flunking out.Guys ran holding their dhotis and probably wishing this couldn’t have been the worse time to wear one; to check the results.

I ended up calling my friends who were still at home to get my results,Shramanth sadly was going through the same thing as i was for he was at the theatre watching a movie and so my next try was for Ajay who finally looked up the results for me and my friends.Only then did we all relax, at least a little bit. 


Weeping saree clad girls and depressed dhoti guys flanked the college by lunch.

As for me: It was more like a 'Challenge Accepted' kinda moment. It was a day that was meant to be celebrated,enjoyed and make our throats go sore from cheering and the results wasn't going to stop me from doing just that.


Post lunch was where the real fun began: the mechanical guys of my college rocked the stage with their stand-up comedy while the girls did an amazing job in folk dance.Their positiveness finally made it's way through to the students watching and managed to get them engaged and live the moment.(or should i say 'danced' the moment)

The day finally made a good end despite the poor timing of the results and even though it was on Friday the 13^th ,it was a good day after all.

While the inevitable post-result trauma rocked me with the helplessness of not being able to do anything about changing 'em, it was once again time to take life into control one way or the other. Managing to get my old Tae-Kwon-Do master's number from my friend Murali; I resolved to join my martial art training from scratch.


It was an awkward moment talking to my master over the phone especially when he could not remember who I was, well, I thought that matter would clear up once I meet him.

Met him. still didn't remember. Awkward. Hey who could blame the guy,I hadn’t gone there for what 10yrs or so now.

Anyways, moving on (that's what I told him too) I joined back and it was a good feeling being able to do something worthwhile on the weekends than sitting infront of my computer refreshing the Facebook page every 5 seconds. Yes, I still do that every other day but hey it's any day better than hitting the books,right?




And now

To all you nerds: clearing every paper in the 7th semester with probably a greater percentage than most of us and yet continue to lament.

 So not cool, guys. Careful who u bawl to or prepare urself to be hacked to death with a pencil or bludgeoned with a scientific calculator.

You have been warned.

To you guys who did screw up a bit: Chill, it's not the end of the world; Lot of options left to clear 'em, Shit happens. It's best to move on and doing something about it than brooding and wasting the present moment.

Cheers!

-jkimperfect

To See or Not To See.

I don't know about you guys, but resolutions have never worked for me; be it trying not to oversleep or being a regular at college. The latter being this year's resolution lasted, well it never actually began. I bunked the first day of college after new year's day. I just found it very unethical to be working right after new year's day, don’t u think?

The next day wasn't so bad, I ended up sleeping  through the entire day at college with frequent,not to mention annoying racket from the lecturers.

Anyway, as uneventful as the week was (except for the college making a few resolutions for the students about discipline and what not, which probably lasted as long as mine did) there weren't anything interesting going around except watching India being thrashed around like a rag doll caught in a storm in Australia.That was painful.Very painful indeed.

Im sure the team and every Indian wanted that event to be forgotten or at least make it invisible. For a fact such a a thing may soon be possible.The scientists at Cornell university have theorized that flow of light can be interrupted reaching our eyes and hence making us miss an entire event taking place and also proved it ; 

It’s called a Time Cloak; while other time cloaks involved space alteration such as light bending around objects whereas this one involves altering time itself using a special lens created for splitting light and slowing down one part relative to the other.

True story ;) Imagine the endless possibilities of such time cloaks; surprise birthday parties are never going to be the pressure tasks It once used to be while students can sneak a peek into books and just pretend they knew the answer all along. The cons? Well a lot! but it’s an amazing idea and definitely gains the attention it deserves.

It’s 10.30pm on Jan 9^th 2012.After a hard (boring) day at college presenting project reviews which went surprisingly well by the way, especially after a bad start in the morning when i was asked to go home and think about being a responsible final year 'coz i didn't bring my ID card (those damn Id cards);As tempting as the offer seemed, i chose to stay; Yeah i'm definitely getting too soft, 

So here I am blogging right before the day, that many anticipate to be when the results for the Anna University deemed colleges are released or rather end up dramatically and symbolically saying “You Shall Not Pass!”

while many wish that event just never happened using the Time Cloak;

Anna University

It's coming guys,the results are coming. As a wise man once said 

"Exams may come,Exams may go; But we go on forever." 

Yes that wise man happens to be Ram Kumar Elavarasan.


Goodnight everyone.

The Year Gone by:

Well folks,It's 31st December 2011 and it's my second attempt at blogging already,all you party-hard freaks make sure, you make it count,with the alleged doomsday thingy in 2012 ,it is a good excuse to get into trouble
and you stay-at-home people,Do NOT miss the movies lined up on tv! Especially Inception! 


Looking back, this year had some of the most interesting events ever,It's fair share of scandals,disasters and fun.


Every Indian would cherish the year 2011 'coz The cricket world cup finally made it's way back after two long decades!

It was an amazing feeling watching Dhoni smack that ball over the stands soaring to a six while the crowd remained still for about half a second before the realization that the game had ended with the Indians now taking their well deserved victory from the Lankans.And many claim,it was only possible 'coz Superstar Rajnikanth was among the spectators.


On the grim side,the tsunami of march 2011 and the unrest in the middle east reminded us of how fragile life is.



The death of Osama bin Laden: the man the world feared,the Dictator Gaddafi were the most noted 





while Michael Gough(Alfred in Batman before the Nolan version),the beautiful Elizabeth Taylor,The talented Amy Winehouse and our very own Dev Anand were mourned.

The demise of  Steve Jobs and Dennis Ritchie claimed to be the end of the legendary era of ancient visionaries but not the end to technology.
The technology as we know today was initiated by Ritchie while Jobs crafted, developed and whoa! did a lot of  other insane things and created every teenager's and gadget geeks' their dreams and every parent their nightmares

While the death of so many greats was a mark on 2011,it did not fail to highlight the good things in life,
The world celebrated the wedding of his Royal Highness Prince William and his longtime girlfriend Kate Middleton on April 29th.





while Anna hazare fasted.

fasted, 

fasted,

and fasted :-/








Though the lokpal bill is still yet to reach a proper draft suitable for the people,we can be sure that this man would not rest until  a perfect and strong statement of the bill is made.


His courage and determination has inspired the youth and adults alike in his and the nation's struggle against corruption and is now one of the best youth icons.


Though the government is far from doing anything about corruption except help it grow;be it anyone at the Centre; we being the victims,we must take the first step and should hereby stop downloading movies,songs and other pirated stuff online.And do not bribe the cops on stopping your vehicle,give him a lecture on Hazare and he might set u free,just might. Hey,don't look at me.Not eating isn't gonna help ;)





Finally as the world went through economic crisis over and over again,The Indians shared the anticipation and eventual joy with Abhishek Bachchan on his new born baby girl with Aishwarya Rai.
No,I'm not gonna make any jokes about the paternity thing.Oh wait.





The past year as i mentioned earlier was one with mixed actions and reactions,disasters and triumphs, good movies and Ra.One.


Speaking of movies,it was definitely the best year of comic book adaptations which is going to be even bigger the following year 2012! Comic book geeks and Scarlett Johannsen fans are gonna wake up everyday of the new year striking off one day from the calendar countdown to "The Avengers"



Oh and who could forget "Why dis kolaveri di?"  The song which was aimed at the 'soup boys' gained international attention and possibly the most unexpected hit this year claiming the song of the year by CNN and most viewed award by YouTube.It also spawned many versions but the original remains unmatched(in no specific sense).

But with the song having a distant Rajnikanth connection,I for one am not surprised. enna rascala! 






On a personal note,This year was a year were i had opportunities come my way and take a detour at the last minute; The phrase "a blessing in disguise" had a replacement with the "curse".
But in the long run,it was a year where i could put forth the lessons learnt in 2010,be a better person and stronger in the face of defeat and humiliation.


Getting partly run over by a bus in September and leaving behind a few friends and family who ended their journey this year,it is a sad but inescapable truth that life is fragile and we must move on with courage and hope in our hearts.


Santhosh Sampath,The boy who laughed at the face of his end,his optimism and determination touched many not only in their hearts but their very soul and he continues to live within us, among us.


It is this wise but crazy boy's philosophy of being so energetic and powerful in his optimism that every struggle should be met,faced,defeated and then poked in the eye ;)




The year ahead is going to present it's set of challenges,it's hardships,it's threats and trials!
It is up to us to either scorn,evade or look at it straight in the eye and say "Bring it on" 'cause u've already won when you know that you will get past this.


And with this; I, end this post by wishing you all
THE VERY BEST IN LUCK AND MAY YOU SURVIVE THE NEXT YEAR WITH A SMILE ON YOUR LIPS AND HOPE IN YOUR HEART


HAPPY NEW YEAR 2012!

Thane,Don 2 and Late night Shawarma ;)

It's 2:05 after midnight and here i am publishing this post midst the howling wind outside,Thane apparently wants it's presence felt.(The cyclone Thane ie.)
Rain always got me excited and made me feel like the child i once was (or still am)after so many years; The cyclone is said to cross Chennai today, 30th December,two days b4 the New Year 2012!
Woohoo!

okay,so probably the cyclone would just weaken and ruffle up the city ever so slightly and move on; not  unlike the disappointed fans; after India losing the boxing day test.
Having said that,29th DEC didn't have a great start to the day due to the above mentioned but hey,i finally got to watch Don 2:the king is back!

Me,Shramanth,Kanishka and JP 'rolled' to the theatre in a matter of minutes giving us about 10mins before the show started but only after Kanishka showed-off his brilliant driving skills.No,seriously.

And finally the movie begins and we start enjoying SRK's punch dialogues and fast-paced car chases and combat sequences not to mention the on-screen presence of Priyanka; but that was not all me and Shramanth ended up doing.We were given the responsibility to play interpreters to our  low-on-Hindi friends.
The movie was a good watch,ignoring a lot of logical flaws; it was a very interesting one,the reviews from JP and Kanishka was also good and hence proving we did a good job at interpreting (or that we just left the bad stuff out)


With new found energy after the movie,the drive back was even more insane(yet fun) especially with the high wind and a light drizzle.
It was 9.30pm and we all were running a little late, plus we needed a place to have dinner.On our drive back,we realised the only place that served hot stuff without a/c were local fast foods.As tempting as it seemed,we didn't have the mood for a 'feeding frenzy' but more for a light dinner;
so, ended up at the Arabian Delights at Roundtana,Anna Nagar.
Sadly,it was devoid of grilled chicken :( and we each had a special chicken shawarma plate instead which made up our 'light dinner' (like we had a choice).


The greasy white sauce stuff with pieces of chicken and the roti -thingy they served it with was delicious! It made good eating and we were full with the richness of the sauce.Though Gordon Ramsay may have had few things to say about the plating :P

The wind which had slowed down a bit on our drive to the hotel had picked up once again and hence we decided to get home and get some sleep.
Yeah folks, i couldn't sleep at all and decided to blog about it. This being my first post and all,cut me some slack :P


Ending this post by mentioning:

• Try Don 2:the dialogues are great and so are the action sequences;definitely worth it,More than makes up for the debacle that was Ra.One
• Thane may be fierce but that's still no reason to be messing with my TV's cable,
• Cricket fans! Agle match dekhlenge yaar!
• and finally,delicious as it is; don't have special shawarma plate for dinner,it gets you hungry after like half an' hour and makes u crave for home food :-\

Goodnight everyone.