New Beginning

Today is the first day of classes; first day of the first semester of my grad study. I'm happy, excited and all set for this journey! One that I have embarked upon by choice; to pursue my ambition, satisfy curiosity and contribute in whatever manner possible to the vast pool of existing knowledge.

Just a couple of days ago we had a convocation for new graduate students and I can vividly recall what our president (of the university) said. While urging us all to maintain the highest professional and ethical standards of research, she said that we were slowly transforming from 'gatherers of knowledge' to 'creators of knowledge'. We now have the opportunity to explore any and every possible domain of study, not just within our chosen fields but in a wide variety of areas that are now open as never before.

I have not attended a single class till now and yet I can clearly see the benefits of this education system; one which is based on a very flexible plan of study; one which is research oriented and one which can be tailored according to the career objectives of every individual. It is indeed challenging to be a part of this world class institute.

There is little uncertainty as to the ultimate objective of my education and career, both regarding the area and depth. However, for now, I have decided to and am sure to enjoy this amazing new path that leads to it; for it is a new experience, a new beginning, something that I have not known although have unknowingly yearned for a long time now.

The Oath

"I, Abhishek Deepak Bawiskar, a graduate of College of Engineering, Pune, hereby pledge that I shall always conduct myself with dedication, honesty and integrity in the discharge of my duties as a professional. I shall always endeavour to utilise my knowledge of Science and Technology, my experience and skills to the best of my ability for the service of the country and glory of the institute.

In all circumstances, I shall uphold the values and traditions of COEP, respecting the rights and dignity of the individual and as a loyal emissary of this institute shall seek to excel in the chosen field."

Today is different; different in the lives of many of us. We shall all cherish this day as our Graduation Day! Today, along with many other fellow students, I have taken the oath. Tonight I sincerely pray - I pray for each one of us - to the inner conscience within, to give us all strength to uphold this oath taken in a very solemn ceremony.

Perspective

School kids in uniform - right from the elementary all the way to high school... teachers explaining lessons in the typical loud and clear tone... water coolers, playground, tiffin boxes, lunch breaks - 'recesses'... school buses lined up just outside... and of course the buildings... school buildings. Some years later college students - 'guys n gals', seniors, juniors... profs... lectures, pracs, submissions, exams, grades and everything in between...

Not many days back, I dropped my friend to her little sister's school so she could come home in her sister's school bus. She had to show the driver the route to her house on the first day of school. We reached a little earlier than the school got over.

The familiar classrooms, long corridors, painted railings.. everything was so... familiar; though this was not my school, it strongly reminded me of mine. Then again, I guess it's just school time - that time, that environment, that very world of our own in that age! As school kids we are all in such a protected and limited environment; in a comfort zone; in the company of so many peers, friends and teachers; no doubt then that it is our second home indeed!

In our childhood life is simple, life is easy - well for the most of us and barring the lesser fortunate ones; so much so that we are truly unaware of what life is! I'm sure many people, much older than me, would probably say we - people of my age group - are still yet to find out what life is. This is, however, not completely true; and definitely not a function of age. Life is not some kind of a mirage behind which we run all our lives. The mere transition from one phase to another does not and should not warrant us to believe so. So what if our environment and our very idea of life changes from a toddler, to a school goer, to a teenager, to an adult, to old age and finally to death; the very path of life remains unchanged throughout. What this means is simply that we all have to, and will 'figure it out' someday; that we all will gain the 'right perspective'. And how do we know when we have gained this perspective? well, we just know it; we know it when we can, honestly 'look ahead' and know where we're headed.

Having the right perspective does not, in any way, mean that we don't screw up things, that we don't get into trouble or that we don't damage ourselves. It also doesn't mean that we don't stray away from our goals and ambitions, that we don't mess up our relationships or most of all that everything, everyday will be hunky-dory.

In the end, life's a roller coaster - a monster one at that - you can either choose to sit and puke in it or open your eyes and enjoy the ride, or at times switch in between the two; whichever one you choose, when you feel you've seen the entire coaster ahead, that's when you've got it - the right perspective!

Moments

One hour near a tap with dripping water, one bucket, my dslr, tripod and two hundred photos later...

Click here for the complete album.

And of course this was a day before one of the papers of final exam! Somehow exam period is very conducive to creative work - probably the cool part of the brain is just finding ways to please the jerk part which says "study!" :-)

Final Year Trip to Konkan

To view the entire album click here.

Last Wednesday, 14th April, all final year Civil students had gone on a trip to Konkan. We left at 4 in the morning and reached Murud - a small coastal village at around 8.30. Almost no one had slept in the bus and the entire journey was spent singing and hooting and by the time we reached Murud everyone was hungry! Breakfast order had been given to a local family a day in advance and everyone was more than happy to have garam garam upeet, pohe ani chaha (typical hot Maharashtrian breakfast with hot tea)!

The beach was very inviting, so all of us went for a stroll and played a little on the shore and clicked a few photos. Although plans of getting wet were left for the evening. In a short while after freshening up we pushed ahead to see Janjira - a fort built in the sea just off the coast. Sail-boats operate on a regular basis from Murud to take visitors to the fort. After a short ride in the boat we were in the fort. The fort itself was a huge construction project in its time and a lot of it still exists with almost the entire outer wall intact and several important features within.

By half past noon we had returned from the fort. We had lunch at a khanawal (homely dine-in) in Murud. After lunch everyone had multiple barfache gole (ice-candies made on the spot from shredded ice and a wide range of flavours) and lazed around a bit in the afternoon. The heat in Konkan during this time of the year is almost unbearable.

After lunch and a little relaxing we left for Kashid Beach. By 4.30 we reached Kashid. Everyone had fun on the beach and in the water. A few guys played football while others were enjoying the waves. By the end of the evening almost everyone was completely drenched. We all had bath and changed into fresh clothes - some inside make-shift bathrooms on the beach while others in a farm house a little away.

While returning we stopped at a restaurant on the outskirts of Alibag for dinner. We reached Pune by 1:30 am. The return journey in the bus was more or less quiet - many were sleeping and others were simply tired and chatting in smaller groups.

On the whole the trip was fun, and I'm sure all of us are going to remember this one for a long, long time...

A Little Fun with Photoshop!

The original photo is one of my favourite portraits I've shot - thank you Pooja!

This photo (cropped out of the original one) was edited in PS using channel mixing, photo-filters and saturation control. To elaborate a little, the photo was sliced vertically in 8 equal strips and each one converted to a layer. Individual layers were then channel-mixed or applied photo-filters till the desired effect was achieved. After this, all layers were combined, so as to boost/reduce the saturation of RGB colours individually. Without saturation control, the image does not get the required 'blending' between the strips and attention is drawn to the edges of the strips rather than the subject. Hopefully that effect has almost been eliminated.

This was the author's first successful (??) attempt at such a technique - although that is his personal opinion! Comments / suggestions are always welcome!

Bachelor Cooking (2)

Being a hardcore non-veg lover at heart, I couldn't possibly not post a few non-veg recipes here! This one's an easier version of Chinese style Chilly Chicken; I'll call it Simplified Chilly Chicken, on the lines of the simplified version of their language!

This recipe isn't a quickie but it's not particularly time consuming either.

Simplified Chilly Chicken, Chinese style:

1. Take about 200-250 g boneless chicken (this quantity should serve about 2 people).
2. Wash the meat thoroughly, and cut into small squarish pieces.
3. Sprinkle liberal amount of salt, mix it and leave for a couple of minutes.
4. Put the pieces in a pressure cooker vessel, keep the vessel in the cooker, add some water around the vessel (inside the cooker), close the lid and place the cooker on low flame. After sometime increase the flame to medium.
5. Dice 2 big capsicums and onions (keep the pieces a little large) and cut 3 green chilies into 4 pieces each, exposing the seeds inside.
6. In about 10-15 mins, the cooker should have whistled 3-4 times; if not, increase the flame to maximum. After 4 whistles, switch off the flame and let the lid fall on its own.
7. Heat oil in a vessel (kadhai) and put in the onions and chillies, stir occasionally. After sometime put in the capsicums. Add salt to taste.
8. While the onions and capsicums are getting fried, take out the chicken and check if it's done properly - the meat should be tender and easily broken with two fingers.
9. Put the chicken into the frying vessel and stir occasionally. Add little water/oil from the vessel in which the chicken was steamed, to the frying vessel - this will add flavour to the dish since that water/oil has the juices of the meat.
10. After about 5-8 mins, add soy sauce and pepper as per taste.
11. Fry for 2-3 mins more, switch off the flame and we're done!

Note: This recipe does not have many spices; the only spiciness is from the chillies and pepper, so add lot of pepper or a couple of chilies more for a sharp spicy taste. In should take about 30-40 mins from start to end for this recipe.

Bachelor Cooking (1)

The tittle says it all - a series of posts in which I wish to share some basic recipes that'll be useful to any of you living alone or away from home. Some of these have been taught by my mom, a brilliant cook indeed! Also some of them are a result of my own experimentation at 2 am! I had talked about writing such a series of posts and after encouragement from a friend (yes Shravan you get a mention here like I had said!) I'm finally going to write these.

Here's a basic recipe of Lady's-finger vegetable:

1. Take about 200g Lady's-finger (for one - two persons) and wash and dry thoroughly with a cloth.
2. For each of the long vegetable, cut off the hard end portion; then cut circular slices of the rest of the length (don't cut too thin or thick).
3. Take one/two green chilies, wash and cut them each into 4 pieces (first cut perpendicular to length, then cut each of the halves longitudinally, exposing the seeds inside).
4. Now keep a vessel with little oil in it to heat - keep the flame medium high.
5. After a couple of minutes, put just one or two mustard seeds, and see if it crackles. If it does, then lower the flame and put in two good pinches of mustard seeds. If it doesn't crackle just wait for another minute and try again!
6. Now quickly add the chili pieces, and a small pinch of tamarind powder.
7. Stir a little and add the cut Lady's-fingers.
8. Stir properly making sure the spices spread everywhere. Add salt to taste.
9. Keep a lid over the vessel, and let the vegetable cook for about 5 minutes on low flame. Check in between to make sure it's not burnt, and stir once or twice.
10. Remove the lid, fry some more if needed. When the vegetable is properly cooked, it will turn soft and a few of the thin slices will have become golden brown. Turn the flame off.

Note: My mom warns me that this vegetable has to be properly dried before putting it in to cook, else it will become sticky and messy afterwards, which I totally dislike!

A very quick recipe, just learnt last night and it barely takes 10 minutes, from start to end! Tastes great with chapatis / rotis.

Comments, suggestions and alterations on this and future recipes are welcome! Also, if you do make any of them, I'd be happy to know! Hope I can write more of such.

The Anxiety Finally Ends!

This morning is different from all the others in the past few months..no more wishful opening of inbox to see if there's an admit decision or an update on that..no more checking mails hundred times a day..no more "will I get an accept or not, so and so got an accept, my profile is this, my profile is that" and no more wishing and praying every now and then! The anxiety is finally over.

Last night I got my last remaining decision, which was by far the most awaited one since it was a very high ranked univ. It was a reject. Looking at the brighter side, my destination is finally fixed. This whole process of applications, right from the tests, short listing univs, finalising them, writing sops, filling out all those lengthy app forms online, and ultimately the almost never-ending waiting for decisions...all this has been fun I must admit!

What is a little relieving is that there was a time when I had two options and could not choose the right one, yet after a few days of patience, things turned out in such a way that the choice was very obvious. It was like I had been given the new information as if to clear the cloud of confusion.

At the end of season, my 'score' stands at a decent 7-5 (admits-rejects); and I owe a big treat to my pal 'coz we'd had a deal that if I crossed 5 admits I would treat him and myself to an amazing lunch / dinner at our favourite restaurant!

You've Written This?!

It's around 11pm. We've gathered in the auditorium upstairs for practice of a song to be played in the variety show of our college a couple of days later. We're waiting for someone and in the meanwhile our guitarist and his friend come excitedly towards us saying they've composed a new song! We all listen to it, and without a doubt I know I've heard this tune before, yet it's very refreshing! The lyrics they had composed were amazing and went with the flow of the music very well.

It's around 8am next day. The tune from last night has been stuck in my head like crazy. I've forgotten the lyrics but need something to keep humming. Before I realise it I've already made up a verse in my mind! Now totally gripped by this, I think of few other lines to express something meaningful and compose it in a manner that it would flow with the music.

It's around 9am. I tell mom I've written a few lines to add to my friend's song in the same tune. She listens, then smiles midway, then says approvingly, "You've written this?! nice!"

Samne tum baithi ho lekin

Baaten kuch hoti nahi...

Palkon mein tum rehti ho lekin

Yaaden kuch jaati nahin...

Teri khatir paaya hai sabkuch

Teri khatir khoya...

Dil deewana hasta hai lekin

Ha kabhi hai roya...

Humsafar tum kehti ho lekin

Humkadam rehti nahi...

Humnasheen tum kehti ho lekin

Humnawa bhi toh nahin...

-abhi

Hopefully my friends and I will sit down someday and weave all these lines (and some more by then) together into a song and record it for fun!!

Pedal Away

Last weekend I happened to be in IITB and so caught up with a couple of friends, one from the Institute and one from UICT. After a nice lunch in 'Paranthas' in the Hira Nandani complex, we were treating ourselves to big ice creams and what not, when these two guys came up with a crazy plan. I was on the phone for a while and just as I hung up I caught the last few words of what they were chatting and so confirmed if indeed these guys were thinking of what I thought they were thinking - turns out they were! By the time we walked out of that shop we had decided to cycle from Powai to Marine Lines and eventually to Churchgate! And amongst us only Darshan had been cycling (in the campus to get from one place to another) and Gubby and I had not been on one for probably 4-5 years!

We decided to leave by 4:30 pm but even by 5 we didn't have three cycles! Finally around 5:15 we left IIT. After about 35 km (from what Gubby found out later on google) of tiring cycling we reached Marine Lines! We celebrated with a good meal of 'Pav Bhaji' in one of Darshan's suggested restaurants. After that we just whiled away some time at the sea face chatting and clicked a few photos.

The journey back was by train, which wasn't as simple as we had expected! From Churchgate to Dadar we didn't have much trouble getting in the luggage compartment with three cycles, but from Dadar to Kanjurmarg (the nearest station to IIT) was fun! Gubby had gone from Dadar only so just Darshan and me were left now. It was only after two locals that we could finally get into the luggage compartment of the third one that came. In the train we realised that the front tyre of Darshan's cycle was punctured. Instead of cursing we just thanked our luck that it hadn't punctured earlier in the trip! After getting down at Kanjur station and talking a little with the rickshaw guys and fixing the fare, we realised later that the guy who fixed a deal for taking both the cycles to the hostel couldn't get them to fit in his vehicle. So there was just one option left - to walk all the way uphill to the insti and then an equal distance inside the campus to the hostel - in all a good 3-4 km! It was close to midnight so without wasting anymore time we started walking. After about two minutes another rickshaw guy came up to us saying he could fit the cycles in his vehicle! After a lot of squeezing and adjusting, we accomplished the seemingly impossible task of stuffing in two full size cycles and Darshan and me into the rickshaw!

Protest Against Protest

"2 py homage & protst against d terrorist act @ Pune, studnts in maha state r wearin BLACK clths today.Lets unite agnst terrorism!4wd dis, dnt brk d chain :)"

How would you react if you got such an sms at 7:35 am, shortly after you've gotten out of bed? I almost laughed out, but am not quite sure which reason was funnier - the sms itself or the last line with a smiley!

I completely sympathise with the victims of the blast, but surely wearing black clothes and urging others to do so is of no help! There are better and more practically useful ways to pay homage such as collecting funds (in one's college or place of work or locality) to try to relieve the financial burden of treatment of the wounded.

And as for protesting against terrorism, I don't understand this whole 'protest' concept in this situation (it may be effective in other situations, mind you) - is it to try to get the government / police machinery to function better / more effectively? Do you genuinely believe that the agencies responsible for prevention of such acts are not already working at the fullest capacity? It would be hard to believe so, given that ultimately they themselves and their families are also the targets of terrorism, more than the common public! Then the remaining lots are the common public and the terrorists themselves. Speaking of the common public, with all the media and word of mouth spreading of news, who's left in the city who doesn't know of the happening? And how many of these do you think will turn a blind eye to something suspicious? And how many of these who are in a state of 'don't care and I'm not getting in this' are going to change their minds because of you wearing black clothes? Finally for the terrorists - I think common sense begs us to believe that those who have silenced their conscience enough to commit such a dastardly act and don't fear the law even, are surely not going to succumb to a mass of public wearing black clothes!

I mean, get real! If you cannot do something practically useful, at least don't resort to such laughable means! Giving moral support to each other or the affected people is all acceptable, but make sure it reaches out to them, maybe by means of a condolence gathering like the one held at the Gateway in Mumbai in memory of the terrorist attack there.

Reject in the Morning & Admit by Night

'Admission decision: Refusal'

Those three words are very depressing if you have applied to a lot of universities for admission and the one who's application status you're checking is way below in your list of ranking. This was how my day began early in the morning on 8th Feb. Now this particular univ was not a very high ranked one but it wasn't bad by any means. The most depressing part was that out of the 12 universities I had applied to, only 3 were below this one's rank, and so a natural line of thought in my mind was that if this university found my profile unsuitable what are the chances that universities higher up in rank would admit me! After a few comforting words from mom and friends I decided to forget about it and hope for something better.

Turns out there was something much better in store for me that day! In the evening I received an email with an admit from Purdue - one of my dream univs, which ranked 7th in the US in Civil Engineering! I was totally filled with joy and just couldn't get a hold of myself! Ironically, now there are just 2 univs in my list which are ranked higher than this one!

One hell of a day I've had; a reject when I woke up and a great admit before going to bed, on the same day.

[Edit]: For some of my friends who have been / are / will be (in future) disheartened by early rejects, as it turned out, in the end I had 9 admits out of 12 univs that I had applied to choose from, with most of those being in the top ten ranks! Point is, rankings are not everything and admits / rejects are very, very subjective, so hang in there till you hear from every univ you are hoping to get an offer from. 

Ring of Fire - ASE '10

Eight members of the COEP Astronomy Club (along with three members of a local Astronomy group - 'Akashmitra') had gone to Rameshwaram, a coastal village in South India to catch the Annular Solar Eclipse of 15th Jan 2010. Rameshwaram was chosen for its proximity to the Central Line of Eclipse (central line of the belt of shadow; places lying on this line have the longest time of eclipse and the maximum phase, with respect to places lying on a line perpendicular to the central line at that point).

In all, the long journey (around 30 hours one way!) was very much worth the 8-10 minutes of annular phase and 3-4 hours of the entire eclipse.

Click here (web album) for remaining photos of the event by the author.

One Pledge

Over a billion of us - one Pledge
An oath taken countless times
An oath not all remember
India is my country

One rightful haven
Unlike the less fortunate
Who still struggle
To call a place home

We ridicule the system
But at least there's one in place
We cry for luxuries
But at least the basics are in place

Education we crib about
The very same that taught us to compare
We run around for petty things
But at least not for our lives

Our voice is not heard we say
But at least we can raise it
Nothing's going to change we declare
But at least we have the chance to try

India is my country

-abhi

DIY Shutter Release Cable

Since the time I've been trying my hand at astrophotography, I've felt the need to have a shutter release cable. These relatively simple cables sell for anything between $20 to $100 (and probably even more!) online depending upon whether you want to have just a plain 'auto-focus and shutter release' function, all the way up to ones with digital intervalometrs and time lapse options.

However, luckily my camera (Canon 350D or popularly known as Digital Rebel XT) features a 2.5 mm audio female socket for plugging in the shutter release cable. Below are steps with photos describing how to make the simplest cable, inspired by many others who have made similar ones.

1)

You'll need one switch (the red one above is called a rocker switch), one spring switch (the black switch in the photo with a square head), one 2.5 mm stereo audio male connector (in the photo above the black sleeve has been removed to expose the metallic pins behind the connector), a plastic box to house the switches, some wire (depending on how long you intend to make the cable) and a hobby knife (or a swiss knife).

2)

Cut a slot in the lid of the box such that the rocker switch fits in snugly. I preferred to place it horizontally (if the box is held like a TV remote) but you can place it anyhow.

3)

To make the plug that connects to the camera, you need to keep in mind the following-

a) the longest pin is the 'common pin'

b) the shortest pin is the 'full depress pin'

c) the medium pin is the 'half depress pin'

So to just auto-focus (i.e. half depress the shutter button) you need to connect the medium pin with the common pin. To release the shutter (i.e. full depress the shutter button) you need to connect the shortest pin with the common pin.

Now since I'm going to use the cable release mainly when long exposures on 'bulb' mode are called for, I decided to use a toggle switch for the shutter release. Also since auto-focus is rarely required in astrophotography, I've not provided a corresponding switch for that. However, if you wish to provide an auto-focus switch as well, simply connect a third wire to the medium pin and through the spring switch connect it to the common wire.

Remember to wrap insulation tape after connecting the wires to the pins.

4)

So coming back to our cable, once you connect the appropriate wires, put the sleeve back on the connector. Tape the wires to the sleeve as shown to prevent them from snapping off inside the sleeve.

5)

Connect the other ends of the wires to the switch and wrap insulation tape. Now guide the wires as shown and tape them up; this is to prevent accidental snap off as for the connector wires.

Also make a small cut in the box for the wire to come out through, when the lid is closed.

6)

Looks cool!

7)

The best part is, the wires can be just folded and placed inside the box for a neat and compact look!

PS: Taking orders for the above if you don't have the time to make one or are just plain lazy! lol!

Rule of Thirds

The two photos above are exactly the same scene with different composition. Rather the first one is 'as shot' by a friend of mine and the second one is a frame I've cropped out of it.

Composition is arguably the single most important aspect which determines how appealing a photo comes out. The example above illustrates the application (and lack of it) of a classic rule of thumb known as the 'Rule of Thirds'. This rule has been popular since the late eighteenth century, when it first originated as a guideline for painting landscapes. Since then people have found it to create a pleasing effect in many forms of visual art such as sketching, drawing and yes, photography.

The Rule of Thirds itself is very simple to understand. It involves dividing the frame into nine equal parts by two equally spaced vertical lines and two equally spaced horizontal lines. Something very much like a game of cross-n-knots! Now to create an appealing effect, the important or powerful elements of the composition, are placed along these lines or their intersections (called power points). For example the horizon placed along one of the horizontal lines, or a mountain peak placed close to one of the power points etc. This is done to create more interest in the image and an overall harmony, than would have been achieved by simply centering the subject.

Coming back to the example above, in the first photo my friend composed the image of sunset with the sun right in the center of the frame and so the frame is divided into almost exactly equal halves horizontally. This is what is a natural tendency, to put the subject of interest in the center. However, if the scene was composed with the sun placed eccentrically to the bottom right, as in the second photo, it gives a sense of harmony and also the sky with its beautiful shades becomes the dominant part of the photo, rather than a totally dark portion occupying half the frame. Keep in mind that there's no 'extra sky' above the sun in the second photo; it is merely the reduction in the dark area that gives a feel of a bigger, brighter sky. After all, the second photo is merely a part of the first one.

Having said all this, there are instances when the Rule of Thirds does not apply, and breaking it may create some really nice effects as well! This is the beauty and very essence of photography, that there are no real rules to it; there are mere guidelines, and one should keep experimenting and develop different styles.

PS: The author does not claim to have complete knowledge or mastery in photography. This is merely an attempt to share a few useful techniques in this dynamic art form.

Road Rash - sadly not the game!

"Ehh! Dikhta nahi hai kya (can't you see)?!"
"Mein tere age (gadi) chala raha tha toh muzhe kya pata tu kahan se aa raha hai! (I was driving in front of you so how do I know where you're coming from)"
"Abbe mirror mein nahi kya dekh sakta?! (can't you see in the mirror)"

Last evening, after finally finishing the much dreaded end-sem papers and some whiling away with my friend, I was returning home. It was University Road, one of the few 'good' roads in Pune where average traffic speed is thankfully more thank 50kmph.

I was doing a decent 60 and out of nowhere, this reckless guy comes from behind and cuts lanes and all to overtake - actually overtake would be a much sober word! After going ahead a little, he's back to 'normal' speed because of the traffic. Now I don't generally have this stupid urge, but then I saw an opportunity of overtaking him - rather just passing him, 'coz I was in the first (fast) lane and he was in the middle one. So naturally I sped up. Now this *** decides at the last moment that he should take an acute detour and speed ahead in the first lane which was just clearing up. And as luck would have it, he was in no mood to look into his rear mirror. The result, I hit the brakes hard, honking horn all the way and still nearly collided with the jerk!

Maybe the constant horn made him realise he had just made a ghastly mistake, and slowed down just a bit and steered into the middle lane again. I caught up with him and it was then that we exchanged the above lines in an angry tone, practically yelling at each other!

Just to stress a few accepted things-
1) Guys, the mirrors on a bike are meant for you to see the road behind while changing lanes.
2) Guys, the mirrors on a bike are NOT for you to fix your hair while riding.
3) Girls, the mirrors on your friend's / boy-friend's bike are NOT for you to turn them and fix your hair after getting down. (Or at least turn them back in place!)
4) Guys, removing mirrors does NOT make your bike look 'sleeker' or anything, it'll just kill you someday!

We're Gonna Be Alright!

Wanna hold you close,
Wanna hold you tight;
Just say we're gonna be alright!
Wanna close my eyes,
Wanna feel the night;
Just fly with you,
Through the breeze tonight...

Somewhere so near,
Somewhere within;
I can see see you, hear you, touch you now!
When you go away,
And I hear you say-
"I've left myself with you" - I'll know!

And if the night won't end,
If the dawn won't break...
Just hold me close,
Just hold me tight;
Just say we're gonna be alright!

-abhi

Sweet November...

Punekars have been blessed! Over the past fortnight or so the weather has changed dramatically. What was a very dull and hot weather has transformed into a beautiful lush green day with little sunshine, intermittent pouring of rains and mostly cool breeze throughout the day.

It is not uncommon for the weather to turn around suddenly in this part of the year in Pune, but nevertheless, every time there's a feeling of fresh-ness in it, and spirits are high everywhere! Hope this continues throughout till summer...

App.. App.. and Away!!

Those applying for higher studies abroad will empathise with me on this one. I'm somewhere in between the first two words of the tittle right now! Still have to finalise my SOP, start the tedious online application procedure for each university, and finally send packets of supporting documents - long way to go till I cross the second 'app'!!

I say to myself, this will all be over - soon enough... eight more months and God willing, I would be at the last word - away!

(K)not to worry!

I learnt to tie a neck tie today; yes I finally did!

The happiness in that statement can only be understood by guys who have learnt to tie a neck tie! Or, by girls who would need to tie a neck tie (girls, do you?) or who would be kind enough to tie one for their guy friends (not boyfriends..uh!) - but I seriously doubt the last kind exist!

Anyhow, till date I used to find some friend to help me out; which is to say I would give him my tie, he would return it to me with the knot tied and I would simply adjust the length after wearing the tie like a garland! And I know I'm not alone in doing so - rather I wasn't alone in doing so. More often than not, I would have a feeling of awe and respect for the person doing these complex twists and turns and finally bringing out a great piece of formal wear out of a strip of cloth! Ok that is exaggeration, but I did feel stupefied all the times!

Speaking of the twists and turns, they are not at all difficult, and are far from 'complex'. It is in fact very simple, once you get a hang of it. Today I needed to tie a neck tie, and since I was leaving from home and dad wasn't around, I had no option but to learn to tie one! The internet came to the rescue once again, and after going through a couple of videos I found the right one which shows very lucidly how to tie a neck tie. This knot is called a 'Double Windsor' or 'Full Windsor', which is the most popular knot.




After practising a few times while watching the video I got a hang of it, and could then tie it on my own!

Tying a neck tie is really easy, and guys you should really learn it, specially if you are entering professional life. As for girls, your male friends would definitely be impressed if you tie a neck tie for them, any time! lol!

Sleep vs Time

(My)self Admirers!

It's so irritating when people begin their introductions with "Myself xyz..."!! Why the hell cant they stick to plain and simple (and correct!) usage like "My name is xyz.." or "I am xyz.."??!!

I'm not very sure whether the usage of this reflexive pronoun in such a fashion is grammatically correct or incorrect, but it does sound grossly wrong to me! I'm sure I'm not the only one to feel so!

Forbidden Fruit

Me : So how is it in the hospital? must be full fun na..
Friend : No yaar, gets boring max times.. we're not allowed to do anything major, just assist the docs.. (talks more similar stuff, indicating that internship in a hospital is not really that much fun!)
Me : So what exactly do you do these days?
Friend : I'm posted in anaesthesia, so we have to watch in the OT (operation theatre) how they induce it etc..
Me : Wow.. you know what - I have this crazy fantasy of going inside an OT someday!
Friend : Do you wanna come? You can come till I have my posting! My last day of posting is on Saturday, so this is really your last chance of doing something like this!
(There was a wide 100W smile on her face! And no, she wasn't insane!)
Me : Are you mad?! I mean, you can't really just take anyone inside the operation theatre, can you?!
Friend : Arre it's ok, no one cares! If anyone asks, just say you're an intern or extern, and they won't ask anything else!
Me : But they know you all, and so they'll easily know if someone is extra na? And what if they ask me to pass something to them - I don't even know the instruments and other stuff you use! They'll easily make out something is wrong! What if they ask for ID?
Friend : Arre no one is bothered, the docs and assistants are doing the surgery, and we'll just stay a bit back, and they rarely ask for our help - interns are not valued much re, so we're just watching things only, not doing anything at all - we read books, msg etc, inside the OT, so it's all a relaxed environment!
Me : But if they find out something like this, we both will be in trouble yaar!
Friend : They won't find out, and if they do, max they'll kick you out! Just stick with me, and do everything I do and nothing will happen.. My batch mate has smuggled one non-medico inside once before also!
Me : oh.. let's see..
(Except for the language and detailing, the convo is pretty accurate to what took place!)

This conversation took place between a medico friend and me last Wednesday. This was big - she was offering to covertly sneak me into an OT! Too tempting to resist; I did give in!

Yesterday morning, as decided, I met her at the hospital gate, and we drove inside, parked, and were walking towards the hospital building. In 10 mins, I was in a corridor, leading towards the OT area. We removed our shoes, and she took me to the MOT - some place where they just dump their bags, have cupboards etc - sort of like a retirement room. So far so good - in case someone doubted me, I could still just say that I've come to meet my friend and cook up some explanation as to why I was meeting her in the MOT and not the canteen! She then asked me to wait while she arranged for the OT gown, mask, cap and slippers. Ironically, and conveniently, all this became my cover for sneaking inside, rather than the patient's protection against infection! Now I was fitting in the crowd - no one could even see my face, and I could easily pass off as one of the interns. I just had to keep my mouth shut, and stay behind the crowd with my friend.


Then the guided tour started. We went straight inside an OT where a surgery was in progress. I was bit unsure at first, but everything was more reassuring in a few minutes. The surgeon and his team were quietly doing their job, the nurse assisting them, few interns simply sitting in some corner chatting, talking and texting on their phones etc.. It was true - no one cared or even noticed my presence! My friend and a couple of her friends started discussing something about the surgery and why it was done etc (there was a hilarious turn of understanding in some time, read ahead) She then told them I was a non-medico and they gave a surprised "aha?!" smile! I clicked a few pics of the room with my cell. I was watching the surgery on the LCD on the far wall, and at times going closer to the table and looking at it. I then asked my friend what it was all about. She said it was a vaginoplasty and that they were repairing and reconstructing that area etc.

Then after a while we went to the adjacent OT, where some poor guy was being operated upon for oral cancer or something, and they were operating his mouth and lip area. Funny part is, there was music playing in the OT - yes, music! either the radio or someone's cellphone was singing some hep hindi song! I couldn't resist laughing behind my mask!

We returned to the first OT. My friend and her colleagues picked up the case file and again started discussing something in little-understandable medico lingo! She came laughing towards me and spilt out the new understanding - the patient was a guy (!), who had testosterone intolerance, and hence his male organs were removed, and now they were constructing a vagina! She said even she hadn't seen such an operation before, and it was uncommon, if not very rare.

After sometime we went to see a couple of other patients being given anaesthesia prior to the surgery. One of them was an old woman and the other a young man. On the whole, the experience was great! One of the reasons, admittedly, is also that few people get to see the inside of an OT unless they are on the table themself (!), or are of medico background. Indeed forbidden fruit is sweetest!

Prayer to the rain gods!!

Firstly, for the record, I stand on the thin line between a theist and an atheist, or am rather an agnostic. (I'll leave it up to you to wiki for these terms!) However, I do have one strong prayer to make - to the rain gods, if any - please run a vacuum cleaner in the sky, for astronomers all over the world, amateur and professionals alike, would like to enjoy a grand celestial show this month! (Yes, of course the solar eclipse!)

This eclipse is the longest total solar eclipse that will occur in the 21st century, and will not be surpassed in duration until June 13, 2132.
The following is part of a pdf on NASA's website, showing the path of totality over a small part of western India, near Mumbai (click to enlarge). The totality band is around 250 km in width, and the time of totality increases as one approaches the central line of eclipse.
(Similar maps for other areas can be downloaded from NASA's website)

I am very excited about this eclipse, as it would be my first total solar eclipse; if the clouds don't decide to screw it up completely that is! To watch totality, a few friends from college and I are planning to go to a friend's home town, Nandurbar. It is supposedly a dry place year round, and does not receive heavy rainfall in the monsoon. Latest updates are that the sky is still pretty clear there, but we are all keeping our fingers crossed!

Forgiven, Not Forgotten

During 11th and 12th, or rather while preparing for the IIT-JEE, we had a great group of friends; still are, just that we have all scattered into different colleges and can't meet so often etc. Anyhow, back then, after we were done with all our exams, some of us had gone to Solapur for a few days, upon Abha's insistence, to stay at her place and have fun! We sure had a lot of it, and just one of those cool things was her brother showing us videos of a band- 'The Corrs'. We had all heard them for the first time, and more or less everyone liked it; the guys can attribute part of the liking to the pretty girls in the band! I recall vividly how Piyusha, Abha and I had instantly loved a couple of songs like 'So young' and 'Toss The Feathers'! Abha had probably heard them before, but was equally enthu this time around!

After the trip, I used to enjoy a few songs by the band, but didn't much care to listen carefully to their other songs. Today, about three years later, while simply trying to listen to 'different' songs than I usually enjoy, I came across a few more good songs by the same band. One of them, which I find very apt somehow, and people close to me will agree, is called 'Forgiven, Not Forgotten'.





(Yes, all the girls are pretty! The one singing is my favourite though!)

The lyrics are not much fancy, yet strike a chord, and the music is a bit soft in the beginning but picks up well after the first stanza.

All alone, staring on
Watching her life go by
When her days are grey
And her nights are black
Different shades of mundane
And the one-eyed furry toy that lies upon the bed
Has often heard her cry
And heard her whisper out a name long forgiven
But not forgotten

You're forgiven, not forgotten,
You're forgiven, not forgotten,
You're forgiven, not forgotten,
You're not forgotten

A bleeding heart torn apart
Left on an icy grave
In their room where they once lay
Face to face
Nothing could get in their way
But now the memories of the man are haunting her days
And the craving never fades
She's still dreaming of the man long forgiven
But not forgotten

You're forgiven, not forgotten,
You're forgiven, not forgotten,
You're forgiven, not forgotten,
You're not forgotten

Still alone, staring on
Wishing her life goodbye
As she goes searching for the man long forgiven
But not forgotten

You're forgiven, not forgotten,
You're forgiven, not forgotten,
.
.
.
You're not forgotten,
You're not forgotten,
No, you're not forgotten.

Everybody Lies...

The title is a quote from the famous American TV series, 'House MD'. It comes from the central character, Dr. House, who is portrayed as a genius yet totally misanthropic doctor. The other characters also have very strong and individualistic personality traits, yet everything seems to fit in very well! The series is basically a medical drama, with each episode involving an intriguing case which otherwise seems to be unsolvable. Also, as expected, the characters evolve and inter-relationships are developed throughout the course of the series.

Although all the characters have admirable qualities, the icing on the cake is House. He is shown to be mostly void of emotions; or at least prefers not to show them. He is unmoved by other people's, specially his patients', pain, grief etc. He also behaves secluded, and shows as if he is immune to pain - both physical and psychological, although he suffers from both!

Undoubtedly, after watching a little over hundred episodes (over five seasons) you tend to develop a connection with the characters - you tend to rather find connections within the characters. Least of it, even if you aren't obsessed with it, you can't help overstepping the thin line of believing that what you see is just a fictitious concoction. Of late, I've started admiring the character of House, and wondering how peaceful it would be to simply cut off contact with one's feelings and desires. However, 'simply' isn't all that simple after all! Or maybe I just owe this feeling to the roller-coaster of thoughts clouded in my head over the past few months!

Drama in the wild...

Following are episodes from my recent visit to Tadoba National Park, 625 sq km of protected forest, under the Project Tiger Reserve.
(Click here to see the entire album of photos)

Episode One:

It was around 5:30 pm. We had just arrived at Tadoba that afternoon, and it was our first safari. After seeing some of the more common animals and birds, all of us were wishing for the sight we came all this way for - a tiger in the wild.

The driver and guide took us to a part of the forest which was a common spot for tiger sighting, owing to the little greenery and shade left there (it was peak summer) and also a small puddle of water. As we were driving past the area very quietly, each one scanning the bamboo for any movement, we heard a high pitched sound - the alert call of a Sambar. The driver immediately slowed further and the guide quickly drew our attention to something in the trees, something we all strained our eyes to see and finally the shape was clear - it was a kill; a dead Sambar. The guide told us that the tiger would be close by, guarding it's kill, and would head to the water now that it was exhausted chasing its prey. Soon all other jeeps arrived at the spot, and everyone was very quiet, with all engines switched off. There were more callings of the Sambars - alerting each one in the area of the assassin!

Finally after sometime we got the first glimpse of a pattern of black stripes, perfectly camouflaged in the trees - it was a tiger, approaching the waterhole as expected. Much later, it came out of the cover and we could see her face.

It was a female, as explained later by the famous ornithologist and wildlife expert, Mr. Kiran Purandare. Notice that the face is slightly oblong (not very round and flat) and the absence of frill around the face - these are ways to distinguish between male and female.
After coming out a bit in the open, she went and sat in a sort of private area, near the waterhole. We were all very excited, and wished she would come out again. Soon enough, she emerged out of her hiding, giving us a nice photo shoot!



The entire episode lasted about half an hour, and after giving us this confident look, she went deeper into the forest, out of our sight within minutes.

PS : The brightness of the photos is intentionally not increased much, to preserve the original experience.

Episode Two:

It was Day 2, around 6:30 am. Early in the morning, at first we were greeted by a beautiful peacock dance! However, we didn't spend much time there and were on our way ahead, when we saw something very interesting - a sloth bear, out in an open field!

It was breakfast time (not us, the bear!) and the bear seemed to be very playful about the whole act of finding and feeding on it's favourite dish - termites! Actually the bear seems to be almost smiling if you observe the partially open mouth!

It was totally unaware of (or atleast showed as if it didn't care about!) our presence, and was just running around, sniffing the ground with it's ultra sensitive nose. As soon as it found something interesting it stopped and bent down to feed. Within seconds it would again continue with the running around; we took it as a dance put up for us!


We all took plenty of photos, did some video shooting, and then finally left to proceed ahead. Our friend was still in a happy mood, running around on his playground!

Episode Three:

This happened a few hours after episode two, ie around 9.30 am. While passing another common tiger-sighting spot, we heard successive calls of Sambars. There wasn't any visible prey, but sure enough a tiger was close by.

This was the longest we had to wait to see a tiger; for almost an hour we were just sitting quietly in our jeep, listening to the alert calls and anticipating where the tiger would emerge from. There was a waterhole and for sure it would come out and drink at it, the question was only 'when?'! Sometime in between the forest department's tanker came by to refill the waterhole (there are many artificial waterholes by the roadside that are filled regularly in the summer to provide water to the animals and birds in the scorching heat) and this created additional disturbance. It meant the tiger would only take longer to come out in the open.

The patience paid off; he finally came out to drink and cool himself! Notice the round face and frill around the face, indicating a male.

However, there was a series of quite understandable thoughts in his mind, which were as follows. As soon as he came out, he saw jeeps full of people at a distance, waiting and climbing on seats to have a better look. As he approached the waterhole, he started shying away.

We were all sulking, about how a great opportunity was lost. But this was not to be the case. As he neared the forest line, he changed his mind again! He turned towards the waterhole, and gave us that same confident look!

(The above photo is different from the first photo in this episode! The intentions are the same though - it's clear who's the boss here!)

The adult male finally came to the waterhole to have a dip and sip.

He settled in, and quickly gave a few poses, before he felt uncomfortable (maybe due to so much human presence) and left the open waterhole to return to his forest.


The whole event unfolded before our eyes in less than a minute flat! A friend had taken a video clip, which actually has continuous clicks - clicks of my cam's shutter going off; I took close to 30 photos within that minute! 18 of the best are finally retained, and are there in the complete album.

Episode Four:

This is a very small episode, bringing out the livelihood or rather dynamism of the smaller world. Just after the tiger from the above episode left the scene, our attention was drawn to some movement on the ground, very close to our jeep. A chameleon was posing proudly!

The chameleon then went for a quick bite. Its prey seemed to be fighting for life, but was no match to the sheer strength of this reptile!



As expected, this entire action took place within a minute, but we were lucky enough to be very close to it to see it from start to finish!

चार ओळी (४)...

रंगं सावरलेस हरकत नाही...
चित्र रंगवलेस कधी, विसरू नकोस...
वाट सोडलीस हरकत नाही...
वाट पाहतं कोणी, विसरू नकोस!

-अभि

चार ओळी (३)...

ऐकत रहावेसे वाटे जेव्हा...
बोलतेस सारे जपून-जपून...
चिंब भिजावेसे वाटे तेव्हा...
पाऊसही पडतो मोजून-मापून!

-अभि

Trek to Torna

Few days back, an email initiated by greysith was doing the rounds of inboxes of almost all active members of the college astronomy club. The content was simple - proposal for a trek; one day return / overnight, depending upon the crowd. As an avid trekker in the Sahyadris we had falconer, who suggested "Torna". He has himself been there 3-4 times (maybe even more!) and I had been there a couple of times (not very significant since he easily outranks me as a trekker!)
After much addition / subtraction to the list of people, we were finally down to seven guys, and had five bikes amongst us. Also, due to the widely accepted 'girl-girl affinity' which is very high in such situations (I'd call it "girls of any feather flock together!") all the girls from our group eventually chickened out! (alternate debated variations to this - 1)girls' version : nothing like that, we just had our own individual bindings... 2)enthu's version : abba, 'coz of your foot-in-mouth disease all girls are out! lol... 3)greysith's version : (nodding to enthu in approval) ya! lol...)

So, as per plan we all met early morning in our college. By early I mean 6.30 am, +/- everyone's deviation, ranging from falconer's '-10 mins' to...well, not-to-mention's '+30 mins'! The five of us with bikes (greysith, falconer, moiyyad, nikkit and I) were to roll off from college together, and pick up the two pillions (enthu and vrd) on our way out of the city.

Primary destination : One Mr. Lole's farm, in a village called 'Nasrapur' (where we usually hold star parties for college students and general public).
Distance : 50 km from college.
Secondary destination : A village called 'Velhe', which is at the base of the hill atop which is built the prestigious fort Torna.
Distance : 20 km from the farm.

The ride to Nasrapur was simply amazing, mostly on the Mumbai-Bangalore Highway, NH4 and partly on a small diversion off it. The cavalry consisted of an Appache (greysith riding, enthu pillion), a Gladiator (falconer ridding, vrd pillion initially), a Flame I think (nikkit riding, vrd pillion later on), a Passion / Splendor (moiyyad riding) and a Bullet (my machine). After reaching the farm and one glass of sweet tea down, we started for Velhe. We left greysith's bike at the farm for lack of fuel (he hopped on as my pillion and enthu shifted to another bike). The road to Velhe was a beautiful, torturous country road, with occasional bullock carts and villagers carrying haystacks, to add to the effect! Finally after reaching Velhe we parked our bikes at Mr. Lole's contact's place. Our trek began.

With falconer leading the way and me sticking near the tail end, we all trekked up the very same hill that the great Maratha warriors once climbed. After two hours of climbing, with few halts in between and around two-three litres of water down everyone's stomach, we reached the top. Snacks and lunch was finished with delight after a big appetite! Later on few settled for a nap and the rest went on to explore the fort. After an hour or so we were also up on our feet, wandering around, clicking photos and taking in the nice breeze. Some of the photos I clicked, including two stitched panoramas (each one of 3-4 photos) which I found worth keeping after processing, are pasted below.

Panorama 1

Panorama 2

Fortification facing ridge going to Rajgad (Budhla Machi I guess)

Behind, from left : vrd, greysith, moiyyad
In front, from left : falconer, me, enthu, nikkit

Someone who posed for us, but flew off by the time I could change lens and get a better photo!

Earlier, right after lunch we had realised that we were almost out of water and would have to fill up our bottles somewhere on the fort. There was a small tank of water, not surprisingly the home of tadpoles and their friends, and if that wasn't enough, appearing green because of the thick algae at the base of the tank. Greysith and I proudly filtered around six bottles of water using nothing but a hanky! The water was free from major suspended particles, and didn't taste so much bad either! This would be my second time of filtering and drinking "green water" atop a fort (proudly again!).

Photos clicked, bottles filled up and with a sense of accomplishment, we all started our way down. Just as we were exiting one of the gates of the fort, enthu started a 'ghoshana' and falconer and I strengthened it, with everyone joining in chorus, to let the Sahyadris know that the great Maratha warrior Shivaji Bhosle shall always be remembered for generations to come.
Maharaj, Praudh pratap purandar,
Kshatriya kulavatauns, Gobrahman pratipalak,
Sihasanadhishwar, Maharajadhiraj,
Chatrapati Shri Shivaji Maharaj ki... Jai!
Jai Bhavani! Jai Shivaji!
Jai Shivaji! Jai Bhavani!
Hara-hara Mahadev!

We traced our path back and were at the base in just over an hour. Riding back was equally fun, but almost all were now tired and hungry! On our way back, after a while, greysith and I swapped seats and he tried the Bullet. We swapped again after sometime and finally reached the farm. We were welcomed with tea and 'jambhul' which I must say were refreshing! Our host made us feel comfortable on his farm on a mat with blankets. At around 9 pm we sat for dinner- a very typical yet delicious dinner of 'pithla-bhakri' along with potato gravy and rice. Soon after, we were in bed, chit-chatting and later falling asleep under the sky. We had originally thought we would get to see a brilliantly starlit sky and possibly also do a bit of astrophotography, but the clouds had something else in mind. It was so overcast that we could barely see a few constellations and even all the stars of any single one! Greysith did try to photograph something despite the odds, but I'm not sure what he managed to get. In all, it was a great trek, and a great trip with friends. We got up in the morning, and again after a glass of tea (not so sweet this time; we had requested that after the first tea itself!) hit the road to head back home.

This time, however, every kilometer of NH4 flooded my mind with memories... memories of my bus journey from B'lore to Pune, on the last day of the last year that went by... memories best left out of this post..