Simply Good Design

Once every couple of days, I come across conversations. Arguments of the iPod vs. Other Players variety. It's inevitable. Some say that the iPod sells short on features. "It's not cutting-edge technology", they say. "I just want a music player that plays music", I said. Here, I was reminded of something Douglas Adams once said.

"We are stuck with technology when what we really want is just stuff that works. How do you recognize something that is technology? A good clue is if it comes with a manual"

My iPod had no manual. :)

Bike Ride

Hiranandani. At night

3 people on a bike

Mohit Gidwani driving

No helmet

Driving rashly

No papers for the bike

No drivers license

It's like a sign that says, "Here cops! Here! Catch me! MEEee!".

Absurd, gratifying indulgence. Joy. Whoopee.

Will some1 give me a job?

No CPI. Some shady-ass department. No scolarship-giri. No behind-the-scenes poltu connections. Dept not open for half the jobs. Don't clear cutoff criteria for the other half. No extra projects done. No extra internships. No NCFM or NTSE or anything.

Will someone give me a fucking job?

Happy Birthday, Dear Blog

Obscured By Words turns a year old today! :)

I shall now pick out memories from the past year - Senti stuff, funny stuff. Pictures. Songs. Everything.

September 2006:
Ride Into The Sun: A poem about Worship and Paganism

August 2006:
Starlight Glade: A place of Dreams

July 2006:
The Kunibre and the Falcon: A Fairy Tale

June 2006:
OMG! You buy CDs? lol!: Music-senti

May 2006:
Let's Freak Out The X-Men!: Our own superheroes!
Lament: Fed up with mordern music

April 2006:
Infected: A Math genius

March 2006:
Kharaashein: A brilliant PAF

February 2006:
Dreamer: Music and Nature-senti

January 2006:
Son of a Ditch: A friend's antics!
Shades of Indigo (Part 1 and Part 2): Mood Indigo 2005. :)

December 2005:
So, What's The Craziest Thing You've Done Lately???: Informals '04 leaflet!

November 2005:
The Birthday Ritual: My Favourite Post! :D
Did you see? The One in Red and The One in Black?: Endsems and Guitars
Whoop De Doo!: The post that started it all!

Aaah. Man. Now I'm all senti! A big 'Thank You' to everyone who reads the blog. :)

Now it's time to return to Endsems.

Drive...!

Today I drove an autorickshaw.

Don't laugh. I did. I really did drive an autorickshaw! :D

Nidhi, Soumya and I were sitting at CCD and we're like "Lets do something crazy today." And driving autorickshaws seemed like just the perfect random crazy thing to do when you're mind-dead thanks to BTP, projects, bla bla bla.

Thus it was decided: We shall drive autorickshaws.

The minor problem was that we didn't know how to drive them damn things!

A short while later, after dropping Soumya back at home, we went autorickshaw-guy-who-will-let-us-drive hunting. The first few guys refused, but finally one nice chap agreed that for 50 bucks he would teach us and let us drive it :D

Then we drove. Round and around Hiranandani we went. It was entertaining. :)

So what's the craziest thing you've done today?

The Awesome Day of Food

All I'm going to do is describe a day. Just a single day. Not even a very exciting day. An ordinary day - but with Food, with a Capital F.

The day started just post-midnight when Kris, KP, Baccha, Emani, Shash and I randomly decided to land up at Rodas for a midnight buffet. So there we were eating. And drinking. And talking. And the desserts were mindblowing!

(An aside: After a while, suddenly, we were beset by Rylan, Surdy and other MI-team croonies. We think that Emani might have called forth his minions! Soon this small infestation gets serious when nearly 15-odd of them turn up. But, in retrospect, thank god (no capitals there...) they came 'coz we had run out of money! :D

So, that was The Day, Part 1: Rodas.

The Day, Part 2 was breakfast. At home.

Breakfast at home is one of the coolest things. For mom is so happy that I'm actally at home, and that I'm eating breakfast, that she goes all out and prepares some wonderfull stuff.

Oh.. I can see you turning green with envy. So, for wont of not getting beaten up, I shan't elaborate.

The Day, Part 3: CCD (or Cafe Coffe Day to some)

The good part of the rest of the morning was spent with Romona at CCD. God knows why she tapkaoed at IIT, but since I met her after a couple of eons, it was good fun. CCD needs no description - we've all been there far too often for our liking. Soon, we headed off for lunch.

The Day, Part 4: Saffron Spice

The lunch buffet at Saffron Spice has always been a fave place to spend 3 hours of the afternoon. It was no different. Ashika came over for lunch and we all went lunching and made fun of all those people in ties. (Damn! Can't do that for too long anymore!).

Then, being too full to walk, we headed over to rest for a while. But, no fear, for just a couple of hours later, I met Shashi, the man eternally in shorts.

The Day, Part 5: Yoko's

:D

Stake at Yoko's. Need I say more? :D

Is there more, you ask? Well, indeed there is.

The Day Part 6: Birdy's

Chocolate Mousse. BWHAHAHAHhahahahah! :D :P

So, that was The Day of Awesome Food. It shall go down in the annals of history as the day when the Great SD ate twice his weight in Food.

Jealous?

Peace

When do you fly
Up high in the sky?
When do you fall
Down against the wall?

Rise of the Sun
Fall of the Day
Sound of a Gun:
Blown away.

Cloudbursts and rain
Colours and pain
The holy green grenade
An excuse for insanity

Angels or mere men
The End is the same:
A good man is dead
Or a friend lies in bed

The world goes on
With or without you,
Just another thing
That matters only to me.

Nankhind

Six souls, brave as Nature
All alone in the wilderness
The Sun, no stars and a mountain
And some of them, topless :P

The gal, she was brave
The fat man raved
And the old, tired as ever
Yet on they did go,
All the way! Bravo!
And at the end, they were glad as ever!

And Lo! They saw it:
The Azure sky, the hidden myst
And a cloud that formed
A thin-ledge ridge

An Emerald Mountain
Did listen to their gait
Of thick forests and thin mountain trails
And ripped souls they did speak of...

Ride into the Sun

The Pagan Lord
Looked to the Stars
Of future s'ord
And Endless Mars

Of Blood Red Streams
The Stars did speak
Of Roman Legions
Conquering, all the seek

The Silver Sickle
Would crash and sway
Priestess of the Moon
Would fade away


The Moon is gone now
The Sun comes in
And shines o'er everything
Both big and thin

Yet gone, it is not
She hovers in the sky
Hidden by the Sun's Gaze
The Moon, Pure and White

And centuries must pass by
When pray, we do not
Then the Moon we'll see again
Nature's True Child's only Lord.

Starlight Glade

Lets go out and play
In the Starlight Glade
Where the shadows hide only green leaves
And the full moon shows the way

Lets go to the ocean
Of flowers, white and grey
Feel the wind blow through your hair
As the world stays away

Lets go to the rain, child
Where the tear-drops fly away
Rush in through the clouds
And wash away the pain.

The Presentation

It was the final week of my internship and all the interns had to talk about what they've accomplished.

So there we all were in the presentation room, prepared slides, et al. My turn was last.

One-by-one the interns went up and said stuff. Some stuff. I didn't actually listen to anyone. And then my turn came. I went thru all my material in my head. Confidently I stepped up to the front.

Incidentally, I wish to talk about the human brain. It's a great thing, this brain of ours - It starts working the moment you are born and never stops until you stand up to speak in public.

So, returning to the presentation, there I was, ready to start, my head a perfect blank! Embarrassing isin't it?

Thankfully, mine is a rather fartile mind, and I managed to crack some typical iitian-dayas which gave me the time to regroup and actually remember things.

All in all, my presentation went pretty well, actually :)

The Kunibre and the Falcon

Is there anyone who doesn't love fairy-tales? Let's have one here!

There was once a little bird called the Kunibre. Tiny as it was, it was a smart one. And there was also the Falcon, proud, strong and majestic. Trying to achieve greatness, flying to the highest clouds on his own wings.

Once it was decided that there should be a King of Birds. But how should one decide? The wise old Owl decreed that the one who flies closest to Heaven will be crowned as the Majestic King of the Birds.

And so they flew. And the flock admitted defeat, for none could fly as the Falcon. And then as he descended from his Majestic flight, the little Kunibre was spotted on his shoulder.

Everyone lauded at the little bird who did nothing and yet flew the highest. The Kunibre was thus graced with the Crown. He had won. He had achieved Royalty without the f(l)ight!

And this is where we come to a full circle.

There was once a little bird called the Kunibre. Tiny as it was, it was a smart one. And then there was the Falcon, majestic as always, trying to achieve greatness, flying to the highest clouds on its own wings.

Everyone wants to be a Kunibre.

I'd rather be the Falcon.

Invisible Sun

Is there an Invisible Sun
That shines down on us
And bathes our rubber souls
With a simple complication

Close my eyes
And look inside
I have been working
In the workshop of my mind

Here comes the night
As dark as my soul
Her hair was long
Her dress was tight

Must have been dreaming
Must have been blind
How could I know
She would be so unkind?

Here comes the rain
Now, showered in pain
Nothing remains
Except the Invisible Sun

OMG! You buy CDs? lol!

I love buying music. CDs, tape, vinyl. Anything.

And that, people tell me, is stupid.

The usual argument goes something like, "Abbe why would you spend 500 bucks buying something you can get free off the lan?", or maybe, "It's not worth it!".

Sometimes, people just laugh and think that I'm plain loony to even consider buying music. "It's useless". If Music is essentially useless, so is life.

But regardless of what people say, I still keep buying music. My house still fills up with CDs. My drawers still fill up with tapes. And I'll tell you why. When you really love your music, it's not too much to ask to go out and actually buy it. To support the artist you idolize. To me, music is much more than the 500 bucks I shell out for it.

Yes, I know. Most of the money goes into the coffers of the music company and very little goes to the artist. It doesn't matter. If you don't buy atleast some of the music you go crazy over, then you're just cheap man.

And, trust me on this, when you go and buy a CD and listen to it, the music just feels so much personal. Sure, I have a hard drive loaded with a trillion songs. But I still pop in the old Metallica and JS CDs I brought as a kid. And it definitely reminds me of old times where I'd stay up all night listening to the same songs over and over and over again.

My entire music history, all there. Aerosmith, Metallica, Joe Satriani, Deep Purple, Straits. Everything. All the album covers, the little boxes. The scratch marks from when I'd drop it. Some things in life, you just want to keep forever. My Music is one of those things.

Now, I'm not asking that you go and buy every little bit of music you listen to. But when an artist's really worth it, buying a CD makes sense. I think you'll agree with me on this point. Perhaps I see music as something worth purchasing.

But anyway, at the cost of repeating myself: if you love music, go buy it.

Or atleast shut up when I go and buy it.

The Feminist

After a hard day
The busride back home
The jarring gives you a headache
If you get a place to sit, that is.

She gets on the bus
And glares around
Surveying the place
As she stomps over to the front

The ladies are all seated there
The front of the bus is their domain
She spies a lone man
Sitting proudly among the reserved seats

A scowl crosses her face
Her menacing gaze fixed upon him
"How dare he?" She wonders
"Male Chauvinistic Boor"

He senses the death look upon him
And gets up to let her sit
And then as he stumbles up
She lets a gasp at her own selfishness
As she spies his amputee legs.

Gunda

This Bollywood blockbuster has taken the world by storm! Physicists everywhere are striving to understand the physics and dynamics of Mithun flicks. Linguists and other language scholars are pouring over the dialogues. No one knows what the next step will be. How will humanity respond?

Take those spectacular sound effects. Those millions of violins in the background, tearing your eardrums out, just trying to tell you, "This is a sad sad scene. Please please start crying now." Or the mighty DISHOOM that echoes across the halls as the hero beats up villians by the dozen. Consider the roaring DHISHKAOON after every gun shot. Even if the gun has a massive silencer attached to it!

And, what about the music? Apparently, the last movie that Kurt Kobain saw was B-Grade Bolywood Flick starring Govinda. He couldn't take any more - The ease with which Bollywood stars slide their hands over the guitar, playing it without pressing any of the strings, their faces twisted with ecstacy as they sing out their "tunes"! It was just too much.

And let's not forget the customary chase and action sequences that take place towards the end of movies. Choreographed to put dare-devil commandos to shame. Poor Neo would never have dared step into the Matrix had he known that the best way to dodge a bullet is to sway wildly, scream, and run towards the villian in slow motion!

As clearly demonstrated, the best way to survive a bullet shot is to sway even more wildly, raise the pitch of the scream, stumble and fall. The bad guy then goes through some "haha sucker" dialogues. After that, you can simply get up and thrash the bad guy, no bullet wound or anything!

And, i'm not even going to get started on the dance sequences.

Well, it'll be ages before we can make head-or-tail of these brilliant blockbusters. But let's not worry about that. Pick up the TV remote and hit that big red button which reads "Power". Then go outdoors and enjoy the rain.

Let's freak out the X-Men!

Ever wondered what kind of "super-powers" we'd have if we were mutants? Well, wonder no more! Here's what we'd be (in)capable of:

Real life person: Saurabh Das aka SD aka Me :D
X-Name: 1-Dimensional Man
Abilities: Thinner than air, able to slip through walls, can turn invisible by turning perpendicular to you,...

...wait a sec.. I'm the author here! I get to choose some really cool powers for myself, while keeping everybody else as lame as a dead-duck! I'll come back to me a little later... ;)

Real life person: Avinav aka "Nigger"
X-Name: Super-ego-man
Abilities: Capable of talking about himself for hours and hours! He has been known to defeat an entire Nation by boring them to death with his long-winded and self-flattering speeches! If you see him, your only hope is to RUN... or alternatively, you could pick up a pair of ear-plugs.
Arch-Nemisis: All deaf people - They can get close to him without suffering permanent brain-damage.
Sidekick: [none currently; the previous one ran away]

Real life person: Prady
X-Name: The Human Egg
Abilities: Still hatching....
Arch-Nemisis: Hard floors, high walls (remember Humpty-Dumpty?)
Ultimate ability: After eating a trillion eggs, he can turn into "The Incredible Bulk". His eyes pop out and he grows huge! So much so that now he doesn't need to find eggs any more - they gravitate towards him!

Real life person: Anirudh D. Patil aka "Baccha"
X-Name: The Calculating Fiend
Abilities: Can factorize 7-digit numbers in his head, can multiply numbers faster than most computers and it capable of many more murderous mind-bending mathematical feats. People cower in fear when he starts spewing out figures!
Sidekick/wife: Mathematecia ;)

Real life person: Grishma Rao
X-Name: Radiation Goddess
Abilities: She radiates (atleast she claims to...), she has "followers" (2 palm trees) and she gets high on a single beer!
Sidekicks/Super-Weapons: A guitar and a chocolate bar (They rhyme). Can you imagine any1 using a guitar as a weapon? Yeah. Exactly. She plays it like a violin. :P

Real life person: Nidhi
X-Name: Cheesy-Termite Girl / The Cheese Queen
Ability: Is capable of consuming mountains of cheese. Her powers rival those of spiderman, only much cheeseier. Her webs of cheese are feared by criminals and evil-doers everywhere!
Sidekick: A bucket of cheese. It follows here everywhere she goes!

I'd better stop here (The world won't be able to take much more!) - But do drop a comment by if you come across other mutants who deserve a spot in the spot-light :D

The Velvet Underground

I am tired, I am weary
I could sleep for a thousand years
A thousand dreams that would awake me
Different colors made of tears

Universal Laws

Today, after struggling with my computer, vacuum cleaner (at home), stupid broken-down car and other stuff, I claim to have learnt a lot. Like:

1. Inanimate objects can be classified scientifically into three major categories: those that don't work, those that break down and those that get lost.

2. Never fight an inanimate object.

3. It is a grave mistake to allow any mechanical object to realize that you are in a hurry.

4. The better the customer service, the sooner you get to speak with someone who cannot help you.

Were Your Parents Like This?

(Click to Enlarge)

FF

Just outside the prof's office:

Me: Sir, I wanted to speak to you about the CMP course grades.

Prof: Yes, yes. Ah I couldn't have passed you. Your marks were too low.

Me: Sir, but I did well in the endsem paper. I'm pretty sure I should be passing atleast.

Prof: No. You got only some 4 or 5 marks in the endsem. You wouldn't have passed in my wildest dreams!

Me: Sir 5 marks is way too low. I'm positive I have done better. Sir, could I see my endsem paper?

Prof: No, that is against institute policy.

Me: Could I atleast get my break-up of marks?

Prof: No, I can't show you that.

Me: Sir, what did you keep the passing marks at?

Prof: Sorry, but I can't tell you.

Prof: Now please, I'm a little busy with all these seminars. Perhaps you should come some other time.


What do you think?

Lament

We are the music makers, and we are the dreamers of dreams.

Imagine there's no heaven, It's easy if you try
Imagine there's no countries, It isn't hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for, And no religion too
Imagine all the people, Living life in peace...

You may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will be as one

- John Lennon

-- x --

Yo some people say I'm whack, now if that's right
I'm the freshest whack MC that you ever heard, in your lifetime
My slick accapella sounds clever with the beats
Boy I'm the deepest thing since potholes to ever hit the streets

It just seems like musicians nowdays want to sell a few records and put out a perfume line, and I think it's so sad that there are so many musicians who don't want to change the world... Music has been so much more.

Only sick music makes money today.

Infected

Baccha's fallen sick. He's been infected. With mathematics!

Here's a conversation that took place over breakfast:

Me: hmm... I wonder which is the smallest prime number more than a million. Baccha is a million and one a prime number?

Baccha: What? How do you expect me to calculate that?

Amost in the same breath, less than a second later...
Baccha: No it isn't. 101 is a factor.

Me (completely befuddled): gaaa!!!

A short while later, in my room:
Baccha: SD you were born on August 14th right? Which year?

Me: Yup; '84.

Baccha: hmm... lets see... were you were born on a Tuesday?

Me: WTF? I have no idea... Why? How? Ok lemme check...

After checking the calendar...
Me: Baccha you freak!!!!! How the hell?

A person infected with mathematics remains human, but they may become very calculating.

Death Knell

It's been done. Years later (not too many, mind you) when India is once again down in the dumps, when the economy is once again in shambles and when all educated, smart and deserving are fleeing the country in hordes, people will look back and say, "That is the decision that ruined the country. The final straw."

What am in ranting on about? 50% reservations in elite institutions. That's what. The decision - it's mindless, trivial, idiotic, ludicrous, irresponsible, mindless, moronic, laughable. This law signals Death for IITs, for IIMs, for hard-working people, for the Country.

It's amazing how ministers unfailingly manage to harm the country in order to gain a small number of votes. It's amazing how no other political-party *ever* opposes such thick-headed behaviour.

Just slightly off-track: I read in today's paper that private schools might get reservations too! What next? Jobs? A conversation at Google: "Hey we need 10 PHD dudes... but 50% of them must be incompetent as per govt laws. Now we already have 5 dudes but we can't find any OBC PHDs! Does that mean we can't hire any more people?" Duh!

So once again coming back to the point I was trying to make: In IIT, many people have mixed reactions when asked whether they would like to go abroad. Many say that they would rather stay right here. Just overnight that has changed. And it's going to happen everywhere. Why would we stay here if all the govt wants to do is make life difficult for us. And then later they say that IITians are deserting the country. It never strikes them that they're actually driving us away.

And they speak in lofty terms of "lifting the backward people", about the injustice done to such people, etc etc. What about the injustice done to us? What about the injustice done to the thousands of hard-working, smart people? No talk of that ever crops up. I guess we just don't constitute a large enough vote bank.

The Lost Road

Do you want to be where I am? Many say they do.

"Do you like it here?", I ask myself. Silence. No reply returns.

Why would you like it here? Why would anyone want to be here? No sovereignty. Never a free reign. Everything is controlled. Everything is sober. Here, Freedom exists - only in a textbook.

Shall we dare the dragon?
Merciless, he's poisoning our hearts
How shall we leave the lost road?

Time's getting short so follow me
A leader's task so clearly:
To find a path out of the dark

Sometimes I wonder if there's a way out. A trivia perhaps. I have seen none so far.

Spread your wings and fly away
Fly away, far away

Pull yourself together
You know you could do better

You're a free man.

And I stop now. There's a portal here. Back to 3 years ago. Is that the right path? To some it is. To me it isin't.

But I look ahead. Far away, there's a tiny beacon of light. And in one stroke the light gets faint. It's still there but it seems farther away. I shall strive to get there. There's still 7 months to go.

That's how the world works. Punish the industrious, support the unbefitting. Go read the papers.

Pull yourself together
You know you could do better

Deja Vu

It's been 3 years in IIT and i've seen plenty of PAFs. But today was something else. It was reality. I have never seen such a performance. Everything was so perfect. The streetplay, the music, the choreo, dialogues. The whole concept.

And you know what? - I can actually connect with the theme. The entire audience could connect with the theme. There's no doubt that inspite of everything, inspite of being "The cream of the nation", we IITians are in a sorry state.

We despise our classes. We dislike oue professors. We barely take part in anything. The only thing we have going for us are our friends. And thanks to IM, online forums and video-games, that may be gone soon too!

It's not difficult to see that something is seriously wrong. It's only recently that I've stopped watching movies, stopped playing video-games and actually gone out and done something. I hope today PAF was an eye-opener for atleast a few people.

The only creative or worthwhile thing I've done in IIT is Mood Indigo, for which I recieved a Special Mention tonite at the awards ceremony. But none of us, nor Neha, nor Abir, nor I went up to recieve. It was a protest. A silent protest against the fact that undeserving candidates have been awarded Institute Colours and a silent process against the entire selection procedure. Will people ever wake up? Will they ever dare to take some action against the politicization of every little thing in insti?

Which again brings me back to PAF. People keep saying that PAF is a waste of time and effort. They keep saying that we are no good at putting up a show, that the whole concept is flawed, that people are unhappy working for it.

Screw all those people who say that it's a waste of effort. It's not. It's a chance for an entire hostel to come together, for many hostels to come together, and prove that we are good at something. To show that there's still some spirit left in us. Let the barking dogs be - it makes little difference. We know that PAFs are worthwhile, that it is unique to IIT and that everyone who works in it is, at the end of a performance, overjoyed and previliged to have been a part of it. Kudos to Hostels 1, 4, 9 and 11. Hats off to Anshul Singhal. It was a great show. Even after putting so much into our own PAF, which was critically acclaimed as one of the best ever, we are not sad to take in second place. This one was that good.

And the best of all? - It carried a clear message. Even if it inspires some people to wake up, to do something, it'll be enough. It's stirred me up, that's for sure.

Kharaashein

Kharaashein. A production by Hostels 6, 10 and 13. The best PAF i've ever seen. It was amazing. Over 150 people on stage, 15+ voiceovers, and an effort by more than 300 students! It felt great to be part of something so good. Ofcourse, the music team didn't do anything great, but we did support the PAF in the end with some nice background scores.

The chawl is nearly complete. Just a few hours to go!


Prod work in progress: Making the chawl!


Fine Arts: The finishing touches on a backdrop


Matkifod during the final performance


Figuring out the music


The Peacock Dance: Vibrant Colours


Firedance - The last choreo


Post PAF Celebrations


It was an amazing experience. A great show to everybody who took part. Hope we win!

Cricket

"I just wanted to find out who we were playing."
~ Warwick Armstrong, Austrailan Test captain, seen reading a newspaper while fielding in the deep.

Cricket is India's National Timewasting Activity. And, man, is it good at wasting time or what? No other activity (with the exception of sewing) comes even close. And while fanatics and zealots claim otherwise, it remains true that - "Cricket is a game, which the British, not being spiritual people, had to to invent in order to have some concept of eternity." (A wise man indeed said this!)

Just the other day, a friend of mine went to watch the India vs England match, An English batsman hit the ball very hard indeed. Up and up the ball went, and then at the top it seemed to hang motionless in the air, poised like a hawk, fighting, it seemed, a heroic but fruitless battle against the chief invention of Sir Isaac Newton. Finally it landed right into his sleepy palms. He was ecstatic! Now why anyone would spend an entire day, shouting themselves hoarse, in the sweltering heat, watching ants move around and getting dehydrated in the process is beyond me. And to celebrate after going through all that? That's just plain loony!

What is cricket? Organised loafing. That's what it is.

A century? Yeah.. that's the length of a test match.

As for me, I do not play cricket because it requires me to assume such indecent postures.

PS: Don't kill me Kris!

War

Forever have I been here,
Forever have I looked out from behind these Cold Eyes.
I protect your way of life, Your culture;
The very things You find "most important".

Not benevolent; like a God of Old, I demand Sacrifice
Both sides must praise, Both sides must give;
Both sides will praise, Both sides will give;
You will die so that I may live.

Many times have they tried:
To declare me dead and bury me,
But I adamantly refuse --
Nothing lives forever; Except I.

Thinking about moving...

An oft heard conversation goes something like this:

"Hey SD... you've mis-spelt the URL of your blog. It's 'available'."

And then, I'm forced to explain: It's not a mistake. It's deliberate. What happened was that I was trying to find an address but every one I tried was taken already. Frustrated, I typed 'nothingsavailable' into the little box. But as luck would have it, some minstrel already hath registered it! Now I was peeved. In irritation, I mis-typed 'nothingsavaliable' as an indication to the world that, really, there are too few words around here.

But I now grow tired of going over the same long-winded story over and over again; So just today when someone "politely" pointed out the same, I drew upon my vast knowledge of the English language, and said nothing.

I think it's time to move to another blogspace.

Dreamer

Gazing through the window at the world outside
Wondering if Mother Earth will survive
Hoping that mankind will stop abusing her sometime

I watch the sun go down like everyone of us
I’m hoping that the dawn will bring a sign
A better place for those who will come after us this time

If only we could just find serenity
It would be nice if we could live as one
When will all this anger, hate and bigotry be gone?

I’m just a dreamer, I dream my life away
I’m just a dreamer, who dreams of better days

I’m just a dreamer, who’s searching for the way
I’m just a dreamer, dreaming my life away

Ozzy Osbourne, Down to Earth


Me? I'm daydreaming, longing for the outdoors, for a trek perhaps.

A Call to Arms

It's about wars. I hate wars. What is it good for? Absolutely nothing. It's barbaric that countless innocents are wasted away for something as illogical as a religion or a differing point of view.

And it's not just war. We're ruining the Earth. It used to be so pretty.

Have you read the papers lately? We really have the world fouled up. Acid rain, toxic wastes, holes in the ozone, sewage in the oceans and on and on.

The only bright side to all this is that eventually there may not be a piece of this planet worth fighting over.

I understand my tests are popular reading in the teachers' lounge...

Aaaargh. I HATE exams.

This morning I had a wonderful dream. By holding my arms out stiff and pushing down hard, I found I could suspend myself a few feet above ground. I flapped harder, and soon I was soaring effortlessly over the trees and telephone poles! I could fly! I folded my arms back and zoomed low over the neighborhood. Everyone was amazed, and they ran along under me as I shot by. Then I rocketed up so fast that my eyes watered from the wind. I laughed and laughed, making huge loops in the sky! ...That's when someone woke me up and said I was going to miss the exam if I didn't get my butt out of bed; 2 hours and one screwed exam later, here I am, sitting in misery, and I just remebered I haven't eaten yet. Life doesn't get much worse than this.

That's one of the remarkable things about life. It's never so bad that it can't get worse.

I shan't elaborate anymore.

Just a passing thought: Did you ever realize that Calvin rocks?

Infinite Loop

This is the song that never ends,
Yes it goes on and on my friends!
Some people, started singing it, not knowing what it was,
And they'll continue singing it forever just because:
This is the song that never ends.....

Uncyclopedia rocks!
http://uncyclopedia.org/wiki/Infinite_loop

Deadlines

"Do you have an idea for your story yet?"

"No, I'm waiting for inspiration. You can't just turn on creativity like a faucet. You have to be in the right mood."

"What mood is that?"

"Last-minute panic."

An insight into my work process.

Why do we dream when our thoughts mean nothing?

I don't want to pay any dues in life.

I want to be a one-in-a-million, overnight success! I want the world handed to me on a silver platter.

Surely you concede I deserve it!

Take It As It Comes

Time to live, time to lie,
Time to laugh, time to die

Take it easy, baby, take it as it comes
Don't move too fast if you want your love to last
You've been movin' much too fast

Time to walk, time to run,
Time to aim your arrows at the Sun

Go real slow, you'll like it more and more,
Take it as it comes, specialize in having fun

I saw a most incredible movie yesterday. It was titled "The Doors" - A movie about the life and thoughts of Jim Morrison. It was the most mind-fcuking movie I've ever seen. The ultimate story of sex, drugs & Rock 'N' Roll.

Stood before the morning's light
And asked myself:
Am I trapped again?
The more I try and see
More the circle follows me
Chasing empty signs of life
There's something fighting me
The song will set you free.

Son of a Ditch!

Rylan's antics are great entertainment. On the bus ride back from Ahmedabad, however, he outdid himself.

We had stopped at a shady motel for food late at night. Now this place was really run down and shabby. The only reason they stayed in business was 'coz they had commission with the bluddy bus drivers.

Rylan enters the dining area and out of the blue, the first thing he orders is a 'Cappuccino'! The poor waiter-dude just stares back at him, completely baffled. Soon, Rylan gets up and heads to the latrine. On the way, he recieves valuable information - "It's dirty!". A dirty toilet! What were that chances of that I ask you?

Consequently Rylan heads to the woods. He comes across a ditch. Not far enough from the bus, he decides that the other side mush be reached. He ponders upon it for a while. "Hmm. It's black. It's not reflecting anything. It's not moving. Must be a road ya?". Thus firm in his conclusion, he jumps in.

As it turns out, it was not a road. It was, infact a drain. A little way upstream was that very same public restroom that was too dirty for him. He had jumped into a slimy sewage ditch! Ewwww. (And also, hahahahhahaha! What a dumbass!)

Finally Rylan manages to scramble out. His first words as he pulls himself out? Not "Help!" or "Ewwwww!" or "Waaaah!", but he says, "I have lost my footwear in there." WTF?

Unfortunately we weren't witness to this great Rylan-giri. We came to know of it when Chinmay comes running and shouts, "Need water! Lots of water!"
Us: "Is it an emergency?"
Chinmay: "Yes! Rylan has fallen into a ditch!"
Us: "???"

Well folks, if you ask me, this story deserves to go down in the annals of history alongside "George W. Bush" and "Boy Bands" as the greatest joke ever. Such is the story of "Rylan and the Ditch".

Moksha

Chaos 2006 Moksha: Come get blissed.

Chaos is this tiny little cultural fest hosted by IIM Ahmedabad. It's a totally lukkha and informal fest and a lot of fun to attend. Chaos 2006, Moksha, was no different. So, from Thursday last to today (Monday), all of us had a ball.

Too much took place to write about, it was like.. music . solo vocals . wicked games . story building . graffiti . rangoli . western band . cricket . booz . snooty lit junta . coffee . dumb c . lukkhagiri . what it eez? . tattoos . crappy obscene songs . fundoo bus ride back . mr & ms Chaos . TV sets . Rylan's ditch incident . and more stuff.

We went as part of the music contingent and also participated in Fine Arts events and Lit & Speaking events!!! The most fun thing was Story Building, but that deserves a complete description (so later). Mr & Ms Chaos was really good. Oh! And we made a rangoli! How cool!

In the end we did win the Chaos Trophy. Man those guys at IIM must be super-pissed at us - we come as a horde, take part in everything and win it all. Just the last line uttered by the compere/organiser said it all: "Aur fir se. Yeh log furniture ke tarah pade rahte hain. Cricket khelte hain. Aur jeet bhi jaate hain. Ms Chaos goes to Tanishta from IITB!" :D

Chaos 2006 Moksha... i got blissed.

The Beautiful Guitar

2006 AD. Coming Soon.

Yes you heard right! Acoustic Dusk is back! And it's huuge. It's an all new effort to bring the music scene back to life.

What's wrong with it now you ask? Well nothing really... it's just that other clubs have shot ahead and we've sort-of remained an "artists' club". That's changing now. When I see everyone pitching in to paint posters and the fact that the music room is always noisy... We're finally starting to take our music seriously.

Of the music room, someone once said, "Here we kill more songs than mosquitoes." Very cynical. Well - not anymore. Many bands are starting to sound pretty good now. The T-Shirt is coming out, we're getting a good sound system for AD, the website is under construction. And we now have a logo!


Uh.. my point was.. well whatever. Jamming is fun. Music is fun.
So Rock On!

Spring Cleaning

Every once in a while, it becomes a necessity to clean that cave I live in. Not 'coz it's too dirty or anything, but mainly because people around start getting suspicious as to where all the rodents are coming from. :P

Well anyways, once a sem, I turn my room inside out, remove the dirt and push everything back in. The room is still filled with loads of crap, but it's clean crap now :)

Here's the Spring Cleaning Process of Jan 2nd 2006. Starts off around 4:00 PM.

Step 1: Removing stuff from the room and dumping it in the corridor.


A lot of stuff, isin't it?


Waay too many guitars! Yes: It's true... My room is like a graveyard for guitars. People generally come in and dump guitars there. 5 of them are in view.


Mark Knopfler and a Czech Shotglass :)


Me and the CG Web Badge [And if you're asking... yes I have now cut off those amazingly cool locks of hair :(]


My music system. 5.1 Bose Speakers, A subwoofer that's bigger than most PCs and a harmon/kardon amp!!! Waay Cool!!! :D :D


A close up


Well.. time to get to Step 2. sigh.

Step 2: Clean the room.

Avi tries to solve a Rubik's cube whilst we clean. He didn't succeed. (See that confused look on his face?)


The Brave Muskeeteers: Baccha and I
Ofcourse Me being as "adept" at cleaning as I am, Baccha had to do most of the work. Thanks BTW.

After Step 2 is done, we move on to:
Step 3: Look around and praise self at the brilliant work done :D
And also celebrate a little and stuff like that.

Who's the King huh?


Step 4: Putting stuff back
The desk is now filled!


Aaand those guitars are on the bed. People! Please take your guitars back!!

Look closely: In the pic you'll notice a shiny red epiphone elec guitar. Yeah.. that's mine. Awesome isin't it?

So.. we finally end at around 9:30 PM. Man... a job well done :P

World Procastination Day

Today is World Procastination Day.

“Hard work often pays off over time, but procrastination always pays off now.”

~ www.despair.com on Procrastination

"That's Cool."

~ Hyde on Procrastination

“You can't say that word on television!”

~ The Consor Board on Procrastination

“Procrastination is like masturbation; it may feel good at the time but you're only screwing yourself”

~ Salman Rushide on Procrastination

“Tomorrow is the day I stop procrastinating”

~ Anonymous on Procrastination

“Never put off tomorrow something you can put off today”

~ A wise old man on Procastination

uh.. I'll finish this article later ;P

Shades of Indigo (Part 2)

Here's more pics... this time of Face Painting and The Shuffle Demons. The Shuffle Demons put up a really rocking show! Cheese on Bread?

Shades of Indigo

Click on the pictures to enlarge them ;)

Dive In!

Archit and I and the Santa Hat :D

Shariq

Splash and I

Splash and the Smiling Duo

Freshie Orientation

Photoblogging :D

Fine Arts for PAF

Emani and I

Eating (Sub treat)

The Bill is 6 feet long! (Sub treat)

Happy Birthday to MI: The Cake and the OCs

Resting

Livewire: This is Mood I