'IF'

Now that sunny has given a glimpse of the 'LIFE', we engineers are subjected to, heres a bit of a different take on life.

I came upon this poem over the net, written by the great Rudyard Kipling in 1895. I am too lazy to pen down my thoughts in a poem. i came across it reading about AYN RAND. This was the poem which was read at her grave. Kind of a perfect choice to pay her a tribute.

Anyways here it is

'IF'
If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too:
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies,
Or being hated, don’t give way to hating,
And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise;

If you can dream—and not make dreams your master;
If you can think—and not make thoughts your aim,
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two imposters just the same:
If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build ’em up with worn-out tools;

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss:
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: “Hold on!”

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with Kings—nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much:
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,
And—which is more—you’ll be a Man, my son!


Nothing more i can say, except that the whole essence of life and in a way this blog by three of us (me, sunny and aarohan) is said in so few a lines. My favourite lines are highlighted in a different color. I hope everyone can identify with these modest lines.

NO MORE PROGRAMS AND ALGOS- BACK TO BUSINESS

Studying a silly subject on computers was always the last things I would have wanted to do from the day I had taken up MECHANICAL engineering. Subjects like C, C++, Data Structures, SQL, Visual Basics and now CAD/CAM have always stepped on my weakest nerve. And after 7 grueling semesters, each containing programs and algorithms of varying sizes and blood sucking capabilities, it is FINALLY over.

And what a way to end this ‘percentage lowering factor’, just the way it has been always. 50 marks of CAD (Computer aided Design) and I attempted as much as half of it. Frankly speaking I didn’t even know bits and pieces worth 50 marks including options and of whatever I knew I was so jaded to heave it down my pen.

Of the COMPLETE one hour that I prearranged to write my last rites of computers linked subject, I could only manage to do so in the most untidy handwriting. Even a lame passerby (I mean the supervisor) gave me a bizarre look the moment he saw me scribble some crap on a very good quality Mumbai University Answer Sheet.

The reason of my complete disinterest in these subjects is purely because of the thought that ‘If I were to do all the computer programming, what would the computer engineers be paid for?’ I can’t see this happen to my friends from computer engineering.

However some might claim that a basic knowledge of computers can be handy for any person, but why the f*** do we have to do hard core programming. And to top it all theory straight from mars which only aliens can comprehend from typically available notes and Xeroxes. Ok fine, I know to run my computer, understand standard application programs, play the most complicated of games and also format and reinstall my PC. Isn’t that good enough for a Mechanical Engineer?

The worst part of this story is that; Mechanical/Civil/Electrical Engineers are constantly subjected to repetitive dumbing down by Computers/IT/Electronics/Telecommunication Engineers. I recall of what once a neighbor of my friend once told him after he got into VJTI Mech, “Kyun beta marks kam mille the jo mekanikal (mechanical) liya, kumputar (computer) ya IT nahi milla kya. Mekanikal ka koi scope nahi hai”. I don’t say that computers is bad and mech is the best. The point I am trying to make is that a mech engineer does not get the respect that a computer engineer gets just because there isn’t much money involved into it. Truly this false belief is shaken by the placements figures of my batch. The placement percentage is very high (with almost everyone placed) and extremely fancy packages as compared to what a computer/IT based company would offer.

So all you fellow mechies (if any reading it), the world is waiting for you (Looking at past activities, Pune would very soon have more than 5000 acres of automobile industry waiting for all of you.). For all those who have taken mechanical engineer for the love of it, the opportunity is just the Mumbai-Pune Expressway away.

To end it - Computer Programming for me is FINALLY OVER. I am back to my business – I call it – Mechanical Engineering.

ITS an HONOR....

Hey....... i get a chance to share my ideas and view point on the INTERNET (arguably the brightest idea concieved by the human race in modren era). Thanks to firstly the Internet itself and then to my dear firend DG for inviting me to be a part of this cult (and save me the pain of creating a blog myself). Thats what true friends are for. Secondly its a pleasure to see my name with the likes of DG and SUNNY (Two geniuses who continue to be a source of inspiration for me). Well this post being introductory let me first clear any deceptions that might result due to the names that you come across on this blog.

For starters: myself "ARROWS" a name i acquired moreso because people at my college found it awfully painful to call out AAROHAN everytime they needed me (which they very often did); and not because of any quality that i exhibit.... infact if you take arrows to be synonymous with speed, that name could be a perfect antithesis to my characteristics. The name of the creator of this blog took me by shock when i heard it first; for i have known him for the better part of our lives and people fondly called him Deepak/Gudda but never had anyone thought of calling him DG. Another example is our very own "Sunny" rings some bells, well if you think this guy is gonna add sunlight to your life...... you are in for some big surprises, he can light up your life to such an extent that before you can even realise you are blinded.

Well thats it for now, hope to keep my presense being felt more often than not. In for some gooooooood time with my school buddies doing something together..... last time I did this was in FE when we set out on a mission to create our first robot (with nominal inputs from me).

On a mission to spread good will,
call me aarohan.


P.S.- This couldn't have ended without the mention of our friend Junior aka JUNAID who is very busy for most of the time and a little busy for the rest.

Reference book for LIFE

The very first thing I would do here is apologize, apologize, apologize(ok no rakhi sawant here!!!!!) for venting my frustration out in the last post. Was kind of irritated with everything out here, so vented that on my blog.

But looking towards the brighter aspect of things I once again feel there’s some hope left and maybe things will look good someday. Or maybe we will start looking at things in a better manner.

Nothing particular in my mind as I am writing this post, too tired and bothered to think about anything in particular. Just waiting for the exams to get over(too early to anticipate this I guess.......but yes) so that I can get down to some real stuff(my project at TATA Motors).

Another important thing going to happen tomorrow, for the first time in my life (well second time technically) I am going to drive a CAR. No pride in this fact considering that I am such a car freak and I haven’t been behind the wheel all these years. Feel like a waste bum on this planet, when I compare myself to Fernando Alonso(i know a bit too ambitious) considering he made formula 1 debut when he was 19.

Anyways finally the day will be tmr, for which I was waiting, I guess all my life.Too weirdly emotional considering my iceman like image when it comes to any emotion. But this is how I am when it comes to CARS. Dunnno why but I just feel very calm inside when I talk think or drive CARS. The feel of a power house under my control, the noise made by the engine (particularly F1 cars), just seem to calm down all the worries and frustrations in life. The most melodious music in this world is a Formula 1 engines roar. No rock music can beat that melody of 80,000 band members working in precise synchronism. And the fact that every weekend there are 22 such competing bands, makes this rock concert the most melodiously powerful one than anything played at Woodstock.

Anything which is comparable to it, I guess is the music of Pink Floyd and Nirvana. I just love these bands, for some unexplainable reason. Not that I am talking in comparison with other bands, but the fact is that I have not liked anything after I heard these bands, of course Iron Maiden being at the same platform. Maybe they have raised the minimum acceptable level to a very high value(see PL's showin)

Same is the case with novels, I started of with Erich Segal kind of novels, preaching sacrifice, love and all crap. Liked them. Moved on to read Jefrrey Archer, was a big bore. Always hated sidney sheldon for no obvious reasons.

Came across Ayn Rand's Fountainhead. Loved it. Then hated it for making my life miserable. Didn’t sleep for nights asking questions to myself, fell ill (literally I mean it) finding the answer to every ‘WHY’. Life became hell. Finally gave up.

Came across Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged. Read it. Re read it. Got most of the answers. Started worshipping myself, these two books, life and everything around me. Life became much more calm, composed, organised, content, and above all HAPPY. Learnt the meaning of many words like LOVE, MONEY, LIFE, HAPPINESS, EMOTIONS, MORALS, VALUES, INTELLIGENCE and above all "ME". I still read it when life becomes turbulent, calms me down, helps me find all the answers. I call it my REFERENCE BOOK FOR LIFE.

Anyways I think the flow took me a bit too far away. Time to get back to memorizing(not studying). After that back to dreaming a formula 1 career.

My first ever blog entry

Firstly, this is my first ever blog entry. This is surely gonna raise some doubts about me changing for the good. Due credit to my image to indulge in all kinds of dumb things(including watching a lot of C Grade movies and a lot of chamdi giri) and never doing the right things at the right time and place.

So reading a sensible book or a novel was almost out of question... And look at me now i am Writing. All I hope now is that DG does not kick me out of here for all the non sensible stuff thats gonna feature on this blog after today(read up "a place which i own"-- hehehe i m sure to invade into his privacy and make a hell out of it (joking)) But as it is said "All Bad things come to an end, and then the good things start" (I just made this up)

SO HERE I GO ---

SPONSOR ACKNOWLEDGMENT:
Worried by DG's online behavior, the way he abused almost everything in life including experiences in life, college life, sick profs and shitty vivas, I thought he needed some online help. Believe me i have been listening to the same ol' crap for the past few years now. I am sure Engg. has done this to my friend. I owe this blog entry to DG and i m here to help you. Its my way of "ehsaaan utaarna" because it is unarguably believed that I have spoiled DG, but he surely has taught me some GOOD things in life..... Thank you dost!!!!

CONTENTS:
1) What is a Blog?
2) Why do you need a blog?
3) Who needs a blog?
4) Where do you need a blog?
5) What are the advantages and disadvantages of a blog?
6) What are the application of a blog?
...............Why the fuck you fuck up at a blog?????,..............................

Bibliography: Some one else's blog.

blog... blog.... and some more of blog.......

Probably this is what we will write in our university exam paper if a question were to be asked for 5 valuable marks after attempting 35 marks ka paper. Woh 35 mark bhi classes notes ki daya hogi...

And life goes on... 6 semesters have past , add one more to it after a month and then just one more to go..... Imagine I will be an Engineer.... Who knows everything of Mechanical Engineering ... Believe me (and then save me from being killed by DG , species of my kind are becoming extinct)

I guess I have been studying a lot these days..... I better shut this crap before I go crazy.......

Study hard..... Before you see this place ROCK again...... Still wonder why do people think it is super cool to really rock something or the other.... Till you find the reason KEEP ROCKING>>>>>

Signed-
Sunny

Bricks in the WALL

This post comes on the onset of another important and punishing time, the PL's. This implies that the most boring and demanding times lie ahead, but also the most useless efforts have gone by. Yes I mean the VIVAS.

As always I was the least prepared (by my own standards) this time, but this time I also cared the least. Dunno why, but as engineering is coming to an end, I am becoming more complacent in my attitude towards scoring marks. Not complacent towards studying but towards the exams and all the crappy systems and procedures.

I tried to figure out an answer to this in the past week. These answers raised more questions than before but helped me to feel free from the little feeling of guilt that was coming along with the complacence.

My first two vivas were a cake walk. The great HOD was not present during my viva and the external was fed up with her which was evident from her looks and mood.

The last viva’s preparation was very tiring, irritating, boring. Was not in a mood to study at all, had been awake all night, not studying just doing faltu time pass. The viva was as expected, no luck this time, was kind of screwed.

The last one forced me to think, are we really “learning” something? Isn’t there a fundamental difference created by us between learning and studying? Are the ppl from whom we are “learning” worth it? Or are they too, just another victims of the rotten system tat has been invented not to nurture creativity and skills, but to suppress them and promote social justice and equal opportunity. Aren’t we mere puppets of this system, we being sacrificed to portray to the world that INDIA is progressing FAST?

The ppl who “teach” us, are they worth being called professors? The meaning to the word teacher has changed such drastically that today good for nthng assholes who don’t have anything to do, who know they don’t stand a chance in the competitive industry, so they “teach to earn a living”

So the primary importance is earning not teaching. Anyways, is justified in todays money centric world. But aren’t we all responsible to make it money centric as well. Our misuse has made money a thng which is damned and condemned for everything wrong that happens. Isn’t it our own incompetence that’s to be blamed? Haven’t we made money more important that morals, values and work? Money after all is not an evil, it’s the value one man can pay another for his knowledge, productivity, creativity, all of these becoming extinct owing to the monotonous “general” procedures of inculcating knowledge in every “different” human being in the “same” manner.

And be it any profession, I thnk the worst impact is on the education related fields. Considering the scenario here I just remember the pink floyd video for another brick in the wall. Where kids are being tied to their benches in a factory similar to a car production line, a monotonous growth procedure being laid on them by a teacher.

The whole scenario looks so similar to a MASON building the wall around the centre of creativity and talent, the bricks being the teachers who are used, the MASONS are left for u to figure out.

I still remember the day my friend Chintan Shah told me, u will find a Vikas Nahar, a Deepak Gupta and a Chintan Shah everywhere u go. Just the faces will change, the personalities will be the same. If u can deal with all of them today, tmr will be easy. Thanks Chintan for that wonderful lesson.

Sometimes things just look so out of place that I start thinking this way. The problem being that I just think in this way, when things are out of proportion. Under normal times, we just accept things as they come, compromises driving us, general procedures ruling our actions.

I hope i will be the one to break this WALL some day.