Lots to write about, and I mean, LOTS.

Well, I'm back on my blog after a reaaally long time, the last time I wrote something here was in October 2008. A lot has changed in my life since then, and a lot of water has flowed under the bridge over the Vrishbhavati 'river' since. My life has followed a similar course, rushing, gushing and tumbling, with filth and froth to match in equal measure. Its finally time I gave vent to my feelings, and this is the best way to do it, apart from talking to friends about it, of course.

So, let's start off with the filth first, shall we ?? THE YEAR-BACK. The biggest hit I have taken yet in my entire life. Nothing hurt more, and probably nothing will (I'm saying probably because there's still one more loss I might suffer which can be really devastating should it happen). My best attempts to save myself did not bear fruit, and that it happened when I had just gone through the best semester of my engineering life, rankled even more. This setback meant I could not sit in the same class with people who I count as the closest group of friends I could have found in college, a genuine collection of people who did not think twice about my image, my reputation, even my dressing sense(!), when asking me to join into their activities, whether a movie, a lunch, and even an outing outside of town. This setback meant that I would not be able to stand in the same frame as them when the photo for the passing out batch of 2005-2009 Electronics will be taken. This setback has meant that I will probably never enjoy the day I pass out from the college next year, because I won't be passing out with 'Friends' and 'Batchmates'. It'll always be the dark black hole in the bright galaxial firmament that my life has been, able to suck the happiness out of me whenever I think about it.

But you know what the best thing is about life ? It gives you something back for the loss you have suffered, almost like a compensation or an apology for the pain caused earlier, and this gain always comes later. The best part is, as human beings, we never think that something good might come out of the suffering we are enduring. Just goes to show that despite saying we are optimistic and enlightened, we are always among the most pessimistic of beings on this planet. Short-term thinking is the human brain's forte, I tell you, having experienced it first hand over the last few months.

So, what's the froth about ? How does a college-and-hometown topping CAT score grab you ? Calls from IIM's ? Short-listing for the interview round of FMS, New Delhi, the college counted at par with IIM's ? Not nearly enough, I guess. Moving on, how about a GRE score which gets you short-listed for all the top colleges you apply to ? Oh, and by the way, before I say any further, there was hardly any study involved for any of this. Just a plain walk-in for each exam, with the belief that I'll only score as much as I'm capable. Its now become a prayer I live my life with. I quote, "God, allow me to do only as well in this exam as I'm capable of doing". Neat, huh ? Anyways, people, and well-wishers, you need not worry, I'll be studying this time, so hopefully, I should score as much, if not more. And as a tip, always believe that the paper is never tough, its only you who might be lacking, so have faith in yourself.

Oh, oh, stick around, we aren't done yet. The froth has still not flowen away completely. There's the job which I have, as an Apple technical support agent for Macs, and I'm loving it. Imagine, a certificate from Apple certifying you as a technically adept person at the end of six months ? There's not much more you need if you're looking for a technically inclined job after engineering if you have this cerificate. See, a reward which was not visible when I had got the year-back. With the recession around, I have a job, and then one year to stay within the confines of the college, away from the vagaries of the job market while the economy recovers. This means that when I step out, I'll be coming into an economy in recovery, hopefully having more job openings than ever before. A fair situation for me, I guess ? Plus, if I don't want to work, and just decide to study further, as I have already made up my mind to do, I have a standing offer to go to Germany and do further studies there. Life can be good when it wants to be.

But, the best part about my life is still left. That is the way it has allowed me to shape myself into a person who can get up in the morning, look himself in the mirror, and say, "yep, that's a definite improvement there from the old fool". The credit for that goes to not just circumstances, but the people who were around me. FAMILY and FRIENDS. My parents are not ashamed of me having suffered a year-back, they are proud of what I have been achieving since then. My father just feels happy that I'm able to afford my expenses really easily, and still have money left over. The happiness in his voice on answering my phone call is the best thing in the world, I tell you. Earlier, he would say, "Son, cut the call, you'll get charged. I'll call up". Now he knows I can easily continue the call on my own. Knowing your father basks in your achievements is an accomplishment which surpasses everything else. Then, my mother. THE pillar of support if ever there was one, she epitomises the saying, "Mother is God, and loves her child unconditionally". She's the Atlas on whose shoulders my world is supported. I don't know what would have happened to me without her in my life. I thank God for having kept her safe and happy all these years, because there's nothing much more I can ask for, except her and my family's well-being. Lest I forget, my brother's been yet another main characters in the play that is my life. He has defined me in ways that I'll never realize, or understand, but I do know its always been for the best.

Finally, on to the final cog which keeps the machinery of my life running at full tune, my FRIENDS. Every person who comes and stays in your life, for even some time, always influences and changes you in some way or the other, whether for the good, or the bad. But, this might sound paradoxical, the change is always for the better. There have been people who I tried my best to be the best of friends with, yet, at some point of time, they left me disappointed. I learned from them, and despite claims to the contrary that I became insensitive or hypocritical towards them, I do thank them in this writing of mine for shaping me into a stronger, slightly harsher individual, whose weakness of being overtly and overly emotional was banished because of them. But more importance ought to be given to people who have, over time, been a good influence to me. Friends, who have shown me the correct path at times when I was lost and I turned to them for guidance. Friends, who held my hands and offered me their unstinted support and friendship at a time when I would have been buried under an unspeakable weight of loneliness. These are people who have never been acknowledged, and while putting their names here, not even necessarily in order, might hurt a few sensibilities, I would not really have minded it a bit. But I think I'll publish that list sometime later. For now, let me just say that this elite and special group of people in my life includes a certain bunch from the Electronics Department - they're a riot, I tell you, including an unkempt fool from a village near Maharashtra, a Malayali who's never short of good words for himself, a 'moti' from the Middle East, a domineering 'Biharin', her slightly scared-of-her boyfriend, a girl who can best be described as a Nokia N95 without the most essential parts, the phone components themselves (everything else works, as far as I know), and a bunch of nutcases who were mad enough without joining RV-VLSI. Apart from this ragged bunch, there's a fatso from Com.Sci., another 'high-flying' character from Electronics, an 'animation' from Mechanical, and a certain love-lorn biker from Instrumentation. There're others, but these are the main and essential players in a decent-sized squad of influences. The others are impact-substitutes, just like in a high-profile football match, but important, nevertheless.

Whew, I just reviewed what I've written. If you've been able to reach this line in one sitting, without pulling your hair, scratching yourself all over to stop yourself from screaming, or just plain getting up and running away like a mad-man, I commend you and your commitment towards me. But don't worry, I won't blame you if you can't do it. I don't think I'll be coming back to this post anytime soon, if anytime at all. From my viewpoint, this post is done and dusted. I'll move on to a different topic next time, and I promise, it won't be so boring. Until the next post, ciao.

The impending rise of Berbatov and United

I'm adding a post after a long time, and I waited so long so that the naysayers regarding Dimitar Berbatov may have quietened down by now.....and its fair to say that as the season has progressed and ManU's players have got increasing match times under their belts, the more formidable and flowing United's play has become.....and the best example of United hitting their stride and returning to playing the delightful attacking football that is their trademark was last Saturday's win at Ewood Park, home of the very stubborn Blackburn Rovers. Its usually the mid-table teams which have hampered United's season over the years, because they play the defensive-and-counter-attack game against the champions, and over the last ten seasons, United have usually come back empty-handed from a visit to the Rovers. This time, however, despite a controversial goal, the Red Devils came out comfortable 2-0 winners away at Ewood Park, with the game being dominated by United for its entirety. United's dominance can be gauged by the fact that total number of shots for the Rovers were an embarrassing five, with shots on target being two. United, on the other hand, stopped keeping count after fifteen, and the best part about this victory was something which I had already mentioned in my previous post, the game play of Berbatov.

You can read any number of match reports on the net at numerous football websites, and all have mentioned in glowing terms the handsome contribution of the Bulgarian to United's flowing play for the full ninety minutes. A subtle touch here, a defense threading pass there, a beautiful through ball once more.....Berbatov's impact on the match was awesome, and his stature only grew as the match went on, resulting in the superbly weighed pass to Tevez which was so precise that Tevez just curled it past the hapless Rovers' keeper, without the requirement of a first touch at all. It was perhaps a bit of bad luck that the shot from Tevez was a bit too powerful, the ball ending up hitting the goal post rather than curling in, as the Argentinian and United might have wanted. In addition to this, a through ball to Giggs, whose shot the keeper just managed to parry, another one to Vidic which the defender just scruff ed wide, a pass to Anderson whose shot again hit the post, and a superb one-two with Ronaldo which again ended up with the winger just hitting wide of the goal. Saying that Berbatov tormented the Blackburn defense would perhaps be the understatement of the weekend, because they had no clue as to what magic he might conjure up next. Anyone who saw the game would surely agree that making a mockery of the Rovers' defense with so much ease and grace is not something which most players can do, and that Berbatov did it so well is surely a good sign for all United fans.

That its a cause of concern for teams across England and Europe, in competitions such as the Premier League, the Champions League, the FA cup, the Carling Cup, and the upcoming World Club Championship, is something which needn't even be mentioned, when they begin to first look at United's existing frontline of yesteryear comprising Rooney, Ronaldo, and Tevez, and then add an increasingly potent weapon at United's disposal to the mix, the tremendously talented Dimitar Berbatov. Its fair to say that as the season progresses, and the United frontline begins to gel even more, and start to develop the explosive chemistry such as which was shared by the four strikers of the 1998-99 Treble winning season, scores such as 4-0 and above, even at away games, wouldn't take much imagining. After all, its a common admission in England that if you can comprehensively outplay the gritty hosts at Ewood Park, then, apart from Stamford Bridge, you'll be pretty much winning everywhere, and if United can do it so early in the season, I'd love to watch every minute of the remaining season, whether the game is away for United, or it is at home, because, this season surely, the Theatre of Dreams is going to be the witness of, I believe, a lot of fulfilled dreams for those who are the "Red Devils", whether on the pitch as players, or off the pitch as fans. 

Second day, second blog

Well, today is the second day, and time for the second blog. Hmmm, let's see what we can write about today....something in the news, maybe ?? Or a topic which holds relevant for me ?? Come to think of it, let's just talk about the high-handedness of some of the "officials" which we students encounter on the RVCE campus.
Let's start with the Browsing Centre. Until now, a place where hostelites could just walk in and out of, ever since the recruitment of a person who's physically ( and, by the looks of it, mentally ) impaired, being able to work at the 'BC' now involves searching for your ID card, taking it along with you to the centre, entering your name and time of entry in the attendance register ( we hostelites are fine with the arrangement until this point ), then submitting your ID card at the table ( without doing which you can't even stand with a friend at a computer to access something as important as your VTU result ), and to top it all of, entering the time of departure when you're leaving. A raw recruit, he's just there to attend to the register and keep the chairs in place, whilst I'm tending to believe that he does not have any knowledge about computers apart from being able to play songs ( In the last one week, by my count, he's played a total of, and I'm not bluffing, five Kannada movie tracks and that's it, and that too all day ) and surf the internet, and he lords over us students just because he sits at the attendant's table. A classic case of having an inflated ego just because you work at RVCE.
Another case, with which my fellow RaaG and Rotract members will be intimately familiar with, involves the security guards present on our campus. A classic collection of ghoul-like fools, they know nothing apart from being able to extract money from the students at the first opportunity, all in the name of following rules ( this scenario often pans out with students who are late at the main gate ). If you're sitting at the amphitheatre or the CRC at any point of time beyond 9:30 pm, one of their ilk will come towards you, hooting his whistle and shouting in the local dialect ( which you may or may not understand ), basically to send you off to the hostel. But the real talent of the guards is in the hostel. The closing time is midnight, yet there have been cases when the hostel gates were locked at 11:30 pm and even people who were coming from the BC or the library were told off for coming late. My, my, what a set of intelligent people, don't you think ?? And we are to believe that security has been strengthened on the campus considering the various robberies ( of laptops and mobiles ) and terror threats concerning the campus. All I would like to know, is this, as to how a rag-tag and motley collection of uneducated corrupt fools, equipped with nothing but whistles ( yes, they don't even have sticks or staffs ) supposed to protect us ?? By scampering away at the first sound of gunfire or a bomb blast ?? I only pray to God to prevent a terrorist attack on the campus in the first place, and should the unthinkable happen , to provide some divine intervention on behalf of all the students, because while I don't know much about the guards, but their dead bodies would certainly be impediments to people trying to run away.
More on the remaining "talented" up-starts which the very vibrant campus of RVCE has to offer, in my next update, on this very blog. Stay tuned.....

The first blog ever

Well, I don't really know whether this is a passing interest for me or something which might develop into a habit over a period of time, but for the moment, let's just be content with the fact that I have finally decided to take the plunge into the world of blogging.
At this point of time, for me, an important topic to talk about is the start of the new English Premier League season, and all the associated transfers which happened over the last few weeks. I suppose, as a Manchester United fan, the most important transfer has to be that of Dimitar Berbatov, the Bulgarian forward. The start of the season and even the end of last season had shown that the team needed a new striker, one who operates up-front in more of a situational and positional manner, unlike the workmanlike play of Carlos Tevez and Wayne Rooney. Many people might have thought of playing Christiano Ronaldo as a forward, but let's face it, we have only three players to play on the wings, which include Ronaldo, Nani and the still-sharp-but-ageing Ryan Giggs, and as we all know, United prefer an open play compared to the more direct form of football played by some other teams , notably Chelsea and Arsenal, and with Ronaldo as a forward, United's ability to dominate the game has been seen to be severely diminished, as the team is not set up for the direct form of playmaking.
With Louis Saha constantly on the doctor's table, the lack of a point-man in the final third was starting to hurt United, which is why the urge to sign players such as Berbatov or Klass Jan Huntelaar, strikers who prefer to stay in the "D", waiting for that one opportunistic moment to strike. While Nistelrooy was a player in this mould, what sets Berbatov apart from the now Los Blancos striker is his thinking and team spirit, which allowed him to really setup good plays while at Tottenham in conjunction with Robbie Keane. Nistelrooy was more of a player who'd wait for the final cross or pass to reach him, while Berbatov actually gets involved in the initial play in the final third, which helps his team-mates realize and create opportunities to score, as they are able to link up with his thought process and render that final cross or pass, which can be the difference between a play which ends with the ball cleared from the danger area or the ball being at the back of the net. He did this a lot at Leverkusen and Tottenham, and perhaps this is the most important reason why United were so desperate to have him, Berbatov's own sublime skills and composure in front of goal notwithstanding.
Now that Berbatov's at the Theatre of Dreams, comparisons with the legenday Eric Cantona are inevitable, considering that the temperamental Frenchman and the moody Bulgarian have similar styles of play, and with Berbatov at 27 and announcing that he'd prefer to end his playing career at Old Trafford, its very likely that the man will be a legend among United's fans by the time he hangs his boots. Many had compared last year's United team to the one which won the Treble in 1998-99, and that team was able to win the Double. I think what was lagging was, and this might sound a bit corny, Berbatov, and now with him at United, I, as a United fan believe, notwithstanding the capabilities of teams either in England or Europe, that this is the season of the Quadruple : the Premier League title, the UEFA Champions League, the FA Cup, and the Carling Cup. Here's to probably the best team which we, the fans of United, have ever seen. Cheers, and all my fellow legion of fans, all the best for the new campaign. Let's hope all that we've wished for comes true, come July 2009.