Friday Food Fiasco

              It was just another Friday for the likes of us. A normal Engineering student trying to enjoy his study holidays, because that's what study holidays are for, right? I wake up according to my daily schedule at 10am, skipping breakfast and occasionally lunch.. Any one with sane taste buds would tend to do that. Our hostel mess somehow manages to treat us with the most bland, tasteless food one would ever taste. Considering the bright side, we at least have food, considering the 3.6 million dying of hunger, a very interesting but harsh statistic I read in another blog. Still, there are students who eat nothing but mess food. Some tend to save huge amounts of money by not eating outside and then spend it all in a day on the luxuries of life, known to man. While others prefer saving some more, and buying a particle accelerator. The perks of being in Engineering 
             Getting back to the point, I'm hungry by this time after running all the daily errands which apparently are necessary to keep us healthy. I run down to the common eatery where you get all three forms of matter, customers can eat, drink or inhale. The management of the said eatery has been changed since I last blogged about the hotel. Very strategically nam
ed R.K hotel (stands for Hindu gods, Rama and Krishna) hopes that naming a business after deities is a profitable venture, or could be the name of the owner. I do not actually know. So, I go down to the counter, take a token which cost me forty Rupees and handing my token over to the cook, I place my order. One half chicken noodles and a chicken kebab. The daily diet. The cook, a very shabby, dark complexioned guy gives me one of his typical 'why the fuck do I work here' face and gets to my order.

            This cook, must be in his 50s, wearing a dull checks shirt with a lungi (a large piece of cloth which acts a towel, Google for more references, and no, lungi cannot be considered as an apron). This guy goes in somewhere and comes back out. Now ready to make my order, he puts all the ingredients in place and starts cooking. He goes back to the inner kitchen and while coming back notices a green chilly lying helplessly on the floor, floor filled with footprints and other pathogens invisible to the naked eye. Without another glimpse, he picks the chilly, strides towards the kadai which allegedly has my order in along with 5 others and throws the chilly in, ever so gracefully. I stare at him, not flinching for once, but the cook has no remorse. Usually, people tend to look around when they do something wrong, hoping no one would catch them. But not this guy, he knew exactly what he was doing. Probably because he has always been doing that(you never know). For once, I thought I would complain to the manager but then I did not want to create a scene, plus I was really hungry and how much damage could a silly chill do? The cook comes back with my order and shouts in your typical Kannada accent, "AAA, CHICKEN NOODLES." I seriously hope that that helpless little green chilly is not in my otherwise delicious dish of chicken, and I was lucky enough. But I still wonder, whose dish could the little green chilly be in?

Until next time, keep reading folks. ;)

Blog Revived

            I agree it has been really long since my last blogspot, and I do not have any excuses but I needed a tiny wee bit of motivation to post another post. Well, that sounds neat. I have been experiencing language and English grammar issues since the past few months, and when I realized blogging could actually keep me sane, here I am, again. Moreover, I'm eager to know about those particualar 2-3 people who open my blog, knowingly or unknowingly triggering the counter which only I can access, giving me the detailed view of the page views my blog has reached on a given day, week and month. So, if you are out there reading this, I'd love to hear from you, blog-reading-stranger :D

            Now, that I'm in a typing spree, I realize what I had missed all those months, for any blogger it'd be relevant. The crisp full fledged QWERTY keyboard, your normal laptop would not sport. That feeling of typing down whatever you wish while the melodious sound of friction-less keys add to the background score and you feel like a real Blogger should. The continuous effortless typing which compels your neighbors to know what mystery lies in the long text the blogger is typing. God, I missed this feeling. Typing on a desktop computer is different from a laptop in many ways. Those who were brought up with a keyboard adore the difference between a laptop keyboard and the desktop counterpart. I prefer the desktop keyboard because it is much more suave and my fingers actually connect with the words I type.

           It is strange how when you are lazy to type, ideas will prevail as Nazis in Germany during the world war, but when you actually sit to type, you tend to be a sitting duck. All of the above topics and mentioned hereforth are irrelevant. I'm officially a third year Engineering student now, also the freshers' party which was organized by us for our juniors was a bash, or so we believe it to be while some disagree. Freedom of thought prevails, and we have no regret. Today being Teachers' Day, our seniors organized a treat for all the teachers of our branch, some of them being jolly enough to break a leg (not in the literal sense). Moreover, the day was a total win win, because a friend of mine and a classmate from first year, approached me in a hurry with an open invitation to join the Quiz competition tomorrow at St. Joseph's (a renowned (or so they say) college in Mangalore).

           I come to the library to gain some quick general knowledge for tomorrow's impeccable event while the brainchild of Mr. Charles Babbage perpetuates me towards itself only to type down this blogpost. Computers have never failed to attract or fascinate me. The internet lab, filled with Mr. Babbage's children is pretty cold with 18 degree Celsius flashing on the air conditioner indicator. Seems about right because the computers here might have a short temper, still running on Windows XP, they're doing quite a job. So, even with no preparation for the said quiz competition, I'm still looking forward for it, provided the Principal and the Head of my department flash a green flag. Until then, fingers crossed. Keep Reading folks, there is more to come. :)

P.S.-If you are wondering, what or who Charles Babbage was, please read on. According to the textbooks of the Maharashtra State Education Board, he was the Father of all computers, and hence the very relevant metaphor. :P and the photo attached is of the brand new RK noodles and my room mate relishing the local beverage, strategically named Tripti. :P

Life, as a Movie.

What do movies teach us? Do they even teach us anything? We have our study holidays, and the only sane part apart from studying (which is seldom done) is watching movies. Today, I end up watching three movies in a row.

The first movie being ‘Barfi’, a beautiful movie which portrays with utter simplicity how love is transcendental, you do not have to be a good looking or even sane for that matter, to fall in love, because as you know it just happens.

The second movie was ‘Unstoppable’, a movie which wanders throughout the plot basically centralised on the idea that a carefree fat guy who fails to take control over his physique and a train, ends up putting in turmoil and unimaginable danger the lives of thousands.

The third movie was ‘Jab Tak Hai Jaan’, again a beautiful movie (most would disagree here) but it indeed was a good movie. The way the person bets his life on love, disregarding everything in life, seeking death. But God or the Universe (for atheists) had other plans which ultimately wind up bringing him together with the lady he adored and showered love upon.

Somehow I can relate the order and stories of these movies to my life, is what I was wondering when I started typing this blog post down.  Also, as the clock strikes 01:59 on the strategically placed clock on my laptop, I think I’m turning nocturnal day by day, or rather night by night because darkness is the only time I think. Coming back to the point, is our life so simple that three movies can reveal the mystery that is longed by most of us?

Barfi, tells me how happy I was back then, when “Love, was it?” was being posted on this blog.

Unstoppable, tells me how miserable and off track I was in the past few months, contemplating life in a nutshell.

Jab Tak Hai Jaan, tells me how things could still be better and there is a future where I can actually dance in a field of Sunflowers with a person (hopefully of the opposite sex).

But sometimes I wonder whether all my calculations and predictions are futile, all this time I have spent thinking on how life is supposed to be lived, but it is nowhere near how I thought it would be. This post, the three movies could make no sense at all in my life. This could be an utter waste of time. Perhaps, these three movies tell something, perhaps not. But, trying to find out what the Universe or God is trying to tell us, is like unveiling the mystery, revealing the suspense, spoiling the eagerness and passion throughout the movie just for a glimpse in the future. We all have that one friend, who spoils the climax of every movie you are about to watch, by watching it already right? This time, God or the Universe is that friend; they already know your future and are trying their best to convey it to you. You can either listen to them, or you can turn deaf ears and live the thrill, because the eagerness is always the reward in a movie. In this case, that movie is called LIFE.

Comments, criticisms are always welcome. Keep reading folks. :)

Internet, Money and Similar Obsessions

When I look at the statistics of the page views my blog gets everyday, I feel compelled to write something for those two-three faithful friends/strangers who make it a point to check my blog every single day without fail. It is true, there has not been a single day with zero page views, because some tom, dick or harry always stumbles on my blog one way or the other. So, for the unsung heroes who make my blog get hits, I dedicate this blog post.

I started blogging in the early 2010 period, when blogging was introduced to my fairly decent brain that had started questioning the ramifications of the worldly life. Since then, my life has gone quite a few changes. A newbie to social networking, and totally addicted as well as attached to the internet, I have done it all. Befriending a total stranger on social networking sites, falling in virtual love with a person I did not know physically existed, downloading stupid screen savers only to find a Trojan Horse virus corrupt all my data, trying to earn money from the internet, and stuff that could not be spoken here for obvious reasons and to avoid controversies. You name it, I have done it. Now, when I look back on all those years I have wasted on the internet only to realize, instead of talking to that cute girl from Hawaii on webcam, if I had skimmed through pages of Wikipedia, would I not be a lot wiser than I am right now? Probably, yes, but would I be a better person than I'm right now? Probably not. 

Talking to people over the internet, being kind, humble, truthful I gained quite a few friends from London, Brazil and New York. I talk to them, till this very day and they are equally psyched as I am, or I think they are. The point is, internet has played a major role in my life. First it was, only "project/school work" related, then on expanding my horizon, it came on to social networking, blog, earning money(which I failed at after trying hopelessly), then a few months of virtual silence(no blogs, no statuses, no updates), then again here I am, because internet has been hard wired into our way of life and living without it is simply unimaginable. 

This blog post was no where in sight, until a very good friend of mine recommended that I write whatever that comes to my mind, and here I'm blabbering about stuff that I think about every other day. If I actually start writing all the possible permutations and combinations of the thoughts that run through my brain every single minute of the day, it would be a really long post and I wonder if people would be interested to read that. The typical turmoil of an Engineer is they wish to earn while they work because most of us are spendthrifts or rather are forced to be because of the food we get in the Hostel Mess. Some succumb to betting, some gamble, while some just go on spending till they realize they are bankrupt, and then there's bitcoin. The latest new virtual currency that gives geeks like us hope that they can earn or "mine" money more quickly. Bitcoin is a gamble too, but with the steady increase of currency, one bitcoin is equivalent to a whooping 180USD or roughly 6000rupees. With these kind of figures doing the rounds, I wish I had an extra GPU or an FPGA/ASIC board to mine more bit coins. If only, I had more money this would have been possible. Probably, making money as a student is just not my piece of cake. I'll rather stick to blogging and hope that one fine day money finds its way towards me. And yeah, for the record, I shall try to blog atleast every other day, because the life of an Engineer is much more complicated than you think(and is fun to read at the same time)

Bookmark the page, because I'm back in action. :D
Keep reading folks. :D

The world has a story

Most people in this utterly simple world believe that the world is made up of different elements, which include earth, water, fire, air, metals and what not. What they fail to realise is that, all these elements are just a frail figment of the knowledge we tend to gather while undergoing an intimidating process, the rest of the world calls “growing up”. Science teaches us all that we need to know about how the world works the way we see it, but philosophy, thinking, teaches us how this world works within.

My cousin is getting married this weekend, and to attend this auspicious union, I was asked to take leave from college. I gladly obliged. The story goes like this, while I was on my way to Mangalore, my  mother’s maternal home, I had to cross 30 kilometres of endless farms, forests, small towns and various means of livelihood. That is exactly when I realised, the world is not complicated at all. All that we see in this world can be generalised in one simple term, ‘Stories’. Stories, define the world in each and every aspect a human could possibly imagine. Most of us have not thought the world in the form of stories yet. But, if we try to think that way, a whole new door of probability opens up. Each and every other object, living or non-living is trying to portray a story, the only minor glitch being, not everyone is able to hear the story being told by every object in this world. Every one of us has a story, be it the common college watchman, the soon to be married bride, the guy who washes the plates in a marriage, a hungry dog waiting for food or a stone lying helplessly on the middle of the road. I came across all four of them, though they were silent, and some paranoid, they just didn’t show.

Each one of us portrays a story; though it is impossible for the leaders of the world to hear each one of us, it is absolutely essential to know the mind-set of the people they rule upon. Our planet earth has been through a lot, witnessing various species and revolutions alike. Right now, the Indian youth is at cross roads, contemplating whether partying in pubs or revolting against the corrupt government is the need of the hour. Obviously, the latter part is more essential than whiling our time away partying, but the western influence is far more gravitational than the country itself. This is where, the youth fail. Me, being one of them is also in a similar turmoil, but I hope, with time I’m clearer in priorities. Hope, cannot do much now to the country which is dwindling between corruption and rape cases doing the rounds. What we need is, action. We are in extreme need of the act that could change the scheme of things wrong in our world, and set them right. The world has a story, listen to it, and act righteous.

For further insights, be hooked, keep reading. :)

P.S-The photo attached is of the clueless plate washing guy sitting in the left corner, confused and paranoid all at the same time.

Of the broken glass and a new phone

It was a lazy Sunday afternoon, and like the rest of the Sunday's that I had spent sleeping in the hostel, I wished I could sleep a bit more, at the least till 12, because my usual Sunday routine demanded a uninterrupted 13 hour sleep. You read it right, T.H.I.R.T.E.E.N hours was my Sunday sleep. When you get into the college I am in, which starts at 9 and ends at 5, at the end of the day, you get tired enough to sleep like a log on a nice Sunday afternoon. But, that weekend my mom was here, and I was at my granny's to visit her, and she wouldn't let me sleep past 10 a.m. She definitely would if she understood the turmoil we go through. A good night's sleep everyday of the week is definitely out of question for us.

Also, the highlight of this blog post is that I bought a new freakin' phone. Due to my previous phone's indecent behavior of switching off according to its own will, and the spontaneous nature of my awesome Mom, I ended up with a swanky new Android 4.0 phone which supports temple run 2, and a bet with Shreyas that if I score 50,000,000 within this semester, I could eat all that I want in the newly opened "Fresh and Honest Cafe" and the "Snake Shop" downstairs. So, as much I was into my swanky new phone playing Temple run 2 all the time, I managed to hit a record 6 million, and as soon as I hit that six million, a football came flying in through the glass ventilator, shattering that glass to a million pieces with pieces flying right beside me. There was an eerie silence for a few seconds, with abuses flying later towards each other. All this while, I was wondering, "So that's how it feels to be on the receiving end of a glass break." It was pretty intriguing, because all that happened in a matter of seconds, and I did not notice a small cut on my nose when my friend pointed it out. Blood was flowing as if, all hell was broken loose. The guy who had hit that million dollar kick came running to see if any of us were hurt, only to be invited to a welcome of some of the world's deadliest unpleasant words.

Arjun, was the infamous footballer who had managed to hit right through our glass ventilator. I mention his name because, I had to give up to his incessant request to mention his name in this post. I sincerely thank the almighty to not ruin my swanky new phone to the millions of pieces of flying glass. Along with the new phone, came the revolutionary new software called "Whatsapp" and communication no longer cost me more.

And by the way, the new phone I bought is a Sony Xperia Tipo a dual sim phone for Rs. 9500/- and it is pretty good, as of now.

P.S- The attached photo is of the broken glass pieces that shattered to the powerful kick of Arjun Sreedharan and then later broke into two pieces while trying to pierce my iron clad skin, but in vain. To contact Arjun Sreedharna, here is his facebook account.
https://www.facebook.com/arjun.manutd
and for fun sakes, here is the profile of the person with a strong muscles and an iron clad skin. :P
https://facebook.com/ashishvirar
Until then, keep reading folks. :D
Photograph Courtesy-http://facebook.com/sevenseasonsphotography

Insomnia=A New Blog Post. :D

When you are a blogger, there comes a time called "The Writer's Block", or rather the bloggers block or a "clog", where no matter how hard you decide to blog, you just simply cannot. You either get bored to start your computer, or you can't find the right words to express how you feel, or you are simply lazy. In the past few weeks, I went through all of the above phases and when sleeping I realized that I haven't blogged for two straight weeks, this little piece of fact just wouldn't let me sleep or because I slept for 13 straight hours the night before. After about an hour of tossing and turning, I finally take out the computer to type just so that I could get a good night's sleep tonight. With almost half the hostel asleep at 2:22 am, and a super fast internet connection in the middle of the night just adds the fun of blogging.

So, what happened in my life in the past two weeks was not much interesting. In fact, not interesting at all. This includes boring lectures, sleepy Sunday's, an unexceptionally interesting sports day to which I thought I should blog but later forgot. But, now that  I do not have much to say, I would preferably blog about the unexceptionally interesting sports day. Our college had organized a sports day, a day where the physically fit could showcase their talent in a variety of events, and whereas the less fortunate with a huge diet and a flabby stomach (people like us) were persuaded to take part and attend for the following two reasons. 

1. To show that a lot of people have attended and participated in the whimsical sports day.

2. Read the first point again.

The day (half of which I attended) turned to be pretty alright when me and a group of friends went to eat in a restaurant which we thought was exceptionally costly but turned out to be the other way round. Hotel Ballal Tourist, had a restaurant which was totally empty, with only the five of us in the Air Conditioned part of the restaurant. The food was pretty alright, with prices not so steep but above average. The service was pretty quick, but I suppose only because the hotel was empty.

And as the clock strikes 2:45 am, I start feeling sleepy. I finally had my fill of blogging, and now I think I could get a good night sleep unlike one of my hostel friends, who claimed to have Insomnia and who used to write poems when he could not sleep.

Meanwhile, in the photo attached, you can see the perks of technology. People text or facebook each other even when they sit next to together. :P That is Shreyas Bhat and Ankitha Shetty caught in action at Hotel Ballal Tourist. :D :P

There is lots of similar, like minded, crazy stuff coming. Keep Reading Folks. :D