I’m sure that many of the fellow Nittians will be looking forward to breaking their blogging dormancy with the culmination of the most awaited event in college life – the one that affirms your illusion that you are an engineer. So am I. So here go the details of the trip to Trichy where I went yesterday to collect the most valuable paper in my life so far.

I had booked a ticket to Trichy in KPN travels (Knowing People’s Needs or K. P. Natarajan Travels, whatever you want) and was waiting in the office reading “The Brothers Karamazov”. Within about 30 minutes, I could see Kutty (Buddha mil gaya), PK and Srinath enter the office. That’s not all, About 8 more fellow Nittians were to travel in the same bus. At 10, we boarded the KA 11 A 9199. It was a long (10 hours) and sleepless journey where any hope of a slight sleep was promptly shattered by the cries of “Bathroom poravangallam polaam (Thou shalt ease yourself)” by the bus boy. Looking at its brighter side, we could wish Srinath on his birthday exactly at midnight. The talks later ranged from media criticism to mythology, with “guess who” contributing the maximum.

At about 07:!5:36, we decided to get down at the Chatram bus stand and take a taxi to the college (incidentally, the cool song “Taxi Taxi” is running as I type). The taxi went through unknown areas in Trichy and believe it or not, we saw a Kaveri with water! (Yes, it was Trichy only). The cloyingly sweet song “Kangal Irandal” from Subramaniapuram was played adding to my discomfort (tune to SS Music to know why). The taxi reached Lapis and we were quick to dump the luggage at Suren’s room. We got ready fast and reached the EEE department to collect the convocation gowns but skipped the long queue for lunch tokens.

We met quite a few batch mates there including Kaushik Ram, Prasanna, Asish and Mithilji.  We then proceeded to the only open eatery – The Buhari canteen (Uyarthara Asaiva unavagam) and had breakfast. We assembled back at Barn by 10 and took out allotted seats after wearing the crazy gown (Batman meets the Yellow power ranger) that would make any superhero wince. I also met ARS, who was sporting a conventionally fashionable (and hence unconventional for him, though the experimentation continued) hair style The event began at 10:30 and carried on with its dose of speeches and statistics. Medals were awarded for the class toppers, but not before the seated guys got their certificates. I think the ‘inspiring’ speeches need not be covered by me; instead you can do a Google search and hit “I’m feeling lucky”. I’ll just mention that Mr. A. Karthikeyan of EEE department was the only M.S. graduate from the college this year.

After an asynchronized throwing of neckties into the air, we gathered the dusty gown and accessories from the ground and returned them for a reimbursement (Corporate culture showing up). This was followed by the lunch again at Buhari’s and I returned to Suren’s room. I gathered my bag after 10 minutes and set out for what turned out to be a long walk. Me and PK got caught in the rain and somehow reached the Snacky and waited for the rain to subside. This took time equal to the eating of 1 Pav Bhaji. I then went to the Garnet Hostel to meet the third year guys. But before that, me, Srinath and Kaushik Ram spend some unintentionally hilarious scenes from the Vijay starrer “Thirupa-cheeeeeee!”. After the body and mind has relaxed I went to meet the guys – VK, Chidanand, Siddharth and Udaya - as cheerful as ever. I also went through Chidanand’s canvas paintings and whoa, they were just terrific.

The excruciating heat, that I would have labeled “pleasant” a few months ago, had already drained off all the energy. At about 5, I reached the EEE department to meet Rahul Govindan who was visibly vexed over the placement scenario. Vijesh also turned up and I was lucky to meet him there. After ridiculing each other for some 20 minutes, we dispersed. I then had a cursory rendezvous with the faculty of EEE department and left for Garnet at 6. I bid farewell to the third year guys and went to Pearl to check out if I had missed anyone. On the way, I met Piyush Srivastava and talked to him for about 10 minutes. After making sure that I did not forget any final year present, I went over to the Nescafe shop outside Pearl.

I ordered a Maggi there and started to enjoy the panoramic view of the sunset. As I was standing confined within the fences of the shop, ironically, a strange sense of freedom crept up. Indeed, the umbilical cord was cut off from the (Alma) Mater (hehe, I hear your tsks and mchs…). Standing near the same post where we had discussed, a few months before, innovative ways to kill the wasps inside it, I was now sure that a return to the campus was unsure. I had finished the soggy Maggi by now and went to order something that many would not dare to in Bangalore. “Anna, oru Ice Tea”.

I started walking towards the bus stand as the sweat started to go into my head. I, again, met Vijesh and Rahul at the snacky and it was 7 when I left the campus. I took the first bus to the city and the headache had already started to show. The journey was very tiring (so tiring that even now I feel tired to think of a shocking adjective) and I managed to reach the KPN office at 8:35 after having 4 idlis at Hotel Saravana Bhavan (Not THE HSB, this is Oattal SaravaNa Bavan).  I dozed off at the office for about an hour and woke up just in time to board the bus. Again, I could meet a few Nittians on the bus, notably Alo, who I had not met since 8th semester. The sleep that day was uninterrupted except for a stray call from a person named Bharath Subramanian* who called me at 10:30 and started talking about Wireless connectivity and Wall-E.

I reached Madiwala, Bengaluru at 0700 today after a decent sleep and took an auto back through the radically different streets, amazingly, never once stopping at a traffic signal.


——————————————————————————————————————————

*: star

Most of you might have read this.

Below is a Inaugural Speech for the new batch at the Symbiosis BBA program, Pune delivered by Chetan Bhagath.

“””””

Good Morning everyone and thank you for giving me this chance to speak


to you. This day is about you. You, who have come to this college,


leaving the comfort of your homes (or in some cases discomfort), to


become something in your life. I am sure you are excited. There are few


days in human life when one is truly elated.  The first day in college


is one of them.  When you were getting ready today, you felt a tingling


in your stomach. What would the auditorium be like, what would the


teachers be like, who are my new classmates - there is so much to be


curious about. I call this excitement, the spark within you that makes


you feel truly alive today. Today I am going to talk about keeping the


spark shining. Or to put it another way, how to be happy most, if not


all the time.

Where do these sparks start? I think we are born with them. My 3-year


old twin boys have a million sparks. A little Spiderman toy can make


them jump on the bed. They get thrills from creaky swings in the park. A


story from daddy gets them excited. They do a daily countdown for


birthday party several months in advance just for the day they will cut


their own birthday cake.

I see students like you, and I still see some sparks. But when I see


older people, the spark is difficult to find. That means as we age, the


spark fades. People whose spark has faded too much are dull, dejected,


aimless and bitter. Remember Kareena in the first half of Jab We Met vs


the second half? That is what happens when the spark is lost.   So how


to save the spark?

Imagine the spark to be a lamp’s flame. The first aspect is nurturing -


to give your spark the fuel, continuously. The second is to guard


against storms.

To nurture, always have goals. It is human nature to strive, improve


and achieve full potential. In fact, that is success. It is what is


possible for you. It isn’t any external measure - a certain cost to


company pay package, a particular car or house.

Most of us are from middle class families. To us, having material


landmarks is success and rightly so. When you have grown up where money


constraints force everyday choices, financial freedom is a big


achievement. But it isn’t the purpose of life. If that was the case, Mr.


Ambani would not show up for work. Shah Rukh Khan would stay at home and


not dance anymore. Steve Jobs won’t be working hard to make a better


iPhone, as he sold Pixar for billions of dollars already. Why do they do


it? What makes them come to work everyday? They do it because it makes


them happy. They do it because it makes them feel alive. Just getting


better from current levels feels good. If you study hard, you can


improve your rank. If you make an effort to interact with people, you


will do better in interviews. If you practice, your cricket will get


better. You may also know that you cannot become Tendulkar, yet. But you


can get to the next level. Striving for that next level is important.

Nature designed with a random set of genes and circumstances in which


we were born. To be happy, we have to accept it and make the most of


nature’s design. Are you? Goals will help you do that.

I must add, don’t just have career or academic goals. Set goals to give


you a balanced, successful life. I use the word balanced before


successful. Balanced means ensuring your health, relationships, mental


peace are all in good order.

There is no point of getting a promotion on the day of your breakup.


There is no fun in driving a car if your back hurts. Shopping is not


enjoyable if your mind is full of tensions.

You must have read some quotes - Life is a tough race, it is a marathon


or whatever. No, from what I have seen so far, life is one of those


races in nursery school, where you have to run with a marble in a spoon


kept in your mouth. If the marble falls, there is no point coming first.


Same with life, where health and relationships are the marble. Your


striving is only worth it if there is harmony in your life. Else, you


may achieve the success, but this spark, this feeling of being excited


and alive, will start to die.

One last thing about nurturing the spark - don’t take life seriously.


One of my yoga teachers used to make students laugh during classes. One


student asked him if these jokes would take away something from the yoga


practice. The teacher said - don’t be serious, be sincere. This quote


has defined my work ever since. Whether its my writing, my job, my


relationships or any of my goals. I get thousands of opinions on my


writing everyday. There is heaps of praise, there is intense criticism.


If I take it all seriously, how will I write? Or rather, how will I


live? Life is not to be taken seriously, as we are really temporary


here. We are like a pre-paid card with limited validity. If we are


lucky, we may last another 50 years. And 50 years is just 2,500


weekends. Do we really need to get so worked up? It’s ok, bunk a few


classes, goof up a few interviews, fall in love. We are people, not


programmed devices.

I’ve told you three things - reasonable goals, balance and not taking


it too seriously that will nurture the spark. However, there are four


storms in life that will threaten to completely put out the flame. These


must be guarded against. These are disappointment, frustration,


unfairness and loneliness of purpose.

Disappointment will come when your effort does not give you the


expected return. If things don’t go as planned or if you face failure.


Failure is extremely difficult to handle, but those that do come out


stronger. What did this failure teach me? is the question you will need


to ask. You will feel miserable. You will want to quit, like I wanted to


when nine publishers rejected my first book. Some IITians kill


themselves over low grades how silly is that? But that is how much


failure can hurt you. But it’s life. If challenges could always be


overcome, they would cease to be a challenge. And remember - if you are


failing at something, that means you are at your limit or potential. And


that’s where you want to be.

Disappointment’s cousin is  frustration, the second storm.  Have you


ever been frustrated? It happens when things are stuck. This is


especially relevant in India. From traffic jams to getting that job you


deserve, sometimes things take so long that you don’t know if you chose


the right goal. After books, I set the goal of writing for Bollywood, as


I thought they needed writers. I am called extremely lucky, but it took


me five years to get close to  a release. Frustration saps excitement,


and turns your initial energy into something negative, making you a


bitter person. How did I deal with it? A realistic assessment of the


time involved movies take a long time to make even though they are


watched quickly, seeking a certain enjoyment in the process rather than


the end result at least I was learning how to write scripts, having a


side plan I had my third book to write and even something as simple as


pleasurable distractions in your life  - friends, food, travel can help


you overcome it. Remember, nothing is to be taken seriously. Frustration


is a sign somewhere, you took it too seriously.

Unfairness - this is hardest to deal with, but unfortunately that is


how our country works. People with connections, rich dads, beautiful


faces, pedigree find it easier to make it not just in Bollywood, but


everywhere. And sometimes it is just plain luck. There are so few


opportunities in India, so many stars need to be aligned for you to make


it happen. Merit and hard work is not always linked to achievement in


the short term, but the long term correlation is high, and ultimately


things do work out. But realize, there will be some people luckier than


you. In fact, to have an opportunity to go to college and understand


this speech in English means you are pretty damm lucky by Indian


standards. Let’s be grateful for what we have and get the strength to


accept what we don’t. I have so much love from my readers that other


writers cannot even imagine it. However, I don’t get literary praise.


It’s ok. I don’t look like Aishwarya Rai, but I have two boys who I


think are more beautiful than her. It’s ok. Don’t let unfairness kill


your spark.

Finally, the last point that can kill your spark is isolation. As you


grow older you will realize you are unique. When you are little, all


kids want Ice cream and Spiderman. As you grow older to college, you


still are a lot like your friends. But ten years later and you realize


you are unique. What you want, what you believe in, what makes you feel,


may be different from even the people closest to you. This can create


conflict as your goals may not match with others. . And you may drop


some of them. Basketball captains in college invariably stop playing


basketball by the time they have their second child. They give up


something that meant so much to them. They do it for their family. But


in doing that, the spark dies. Never, ever make that compromise. Love


yourself first, and then others.

There you go. I’ve told you the four thunderstorms - disappointment,


frustration, unfairness and isolation. You cannot avoid them, as like


the monsoon they will come into your life at regular intervals. You just


need to keep the raincoat handy to not let the spark die.

I welcome you again to the most wonderful  years of your life. If


someone gave me the choice to go back in time, I will surely choose


college. But I also hope that ten years later as well, your eyes will


shine the same way as they do today. That you will Keep the Spark alive,


not only through college, but through the next 2,500 weekends. And I


hope not just you, but my whole country will keep that spark alive, as


we really need it now more than any moment in history. And there is


something cool about saying - I come from the land of a billion sparks.


Thank You.

“””””

I just Loved it !

I got a job in Yahoo!

Thanks everyone for wishing and helping for me.  In fact the whole job getting thing hasn’t sunk in yet.


Some of the messages like ” Good luck , Little one “, “Dude all the best , dont worry abt results and give the best shot’ and ” dei u will clear , do it nice ” , still rings in me

PS: Special thanks to all my wing mates who took extra care that I get enough bumps