Just living it(life)

"Sometimes I get so weird
I even freak myself out
I laugh myself to sleep
It's my lullaby

To walk within the lines
Would make my life so boring
I want to know that I
Have been to the extreme

Is it enough to love?
Is it enough to breathe?
Somebody rip my heart out
And leave me here to bleed
Is it enough to die?
Somebody save my life
I'd rather be anything but ordinary please.
I'd rather be anything but ordinary please."

These avril lavigne lyrics echo my being-ordinary-phobia.Infact I am so being-ordinary-phobic that I fear that I am being ordinary in being being-ordinary-phobic.
and.....OK.I'll just cut the crap and go on with whats happening in my life.(which also fits in the definition of crap,but still..)
I am on a movie watching spree right now.The list goes on like this(in the last 24 hours):The Transformers,War of the worlds,Harry Potter and the Sorcerers stone,Good Will Hunting.
This is how I described Transformers to one of my friends:
"it was cool
except the actress
who was 'hot' "
As for Harry potter,watching this movie for ,maybe 6th time ,gave me the the usual Harry Potter series-is-so-wonderful feeling.I personally feel myself to be very lucky to be alive and in my teens during the release of these 7 books.I first heard of these books in my class 7 BQC elementary quiz --"Who writes the Harry Potter series of books"? and a few months after that I had a sudden realisation(after the movie realease) that these books are very very popular and I was a fool not to have heard of them.From then on,I have grown alongwith Harry Potter.When I first read the first book,I was 13(bday 26 july)-and harry was 11 (bday 31 july).Then harry caught up with me in the next two books,which I read while I was 13.In the 4th book,he turned elder.Curiously though,the next two books were released during late June-early July,and I got them as presents for my birthdays.So he equalled my age in 5th,6th and 7th books.
Its a weird feeling that there arent going to be any new harry potter books,the one I cant describe with my limited vocabulary,but its like Shit-I-am-not-going-to-have-that-same-feeling-while-reading-a-new-released-HP book.

Cartoons-I love them!

Sitting in front of the desktop in a pleasant winter afternoon, sipping my favourite tea(nothing can match the tea made my mom),while listening to my favourite songs---can it get cozier than that?
Right now I finished watching 6 back to back episodes of Fox Television's Spiderman. It was one of the first cartoons I watched back in fifth grade (thats when dad decided he had enough of DD1 and it was time for cable tv). I still remember a morning about 8 years ago when I first watched this cartoon.It was 8am-9am saturday show,and I was getting late for school.My memory fails when I try to remember which episode it was,but I get a feeling it was "attack of the spider slayer".
It was cool,fifth grade.Besides Spiderman,there were many others which still remain permanently etched in my memory---Tintin,for example.I first watched it at 7 am in the morning(Flight 714).Then there was Robocop, Swatkats ,Captain Planet,Johnny Quest,Dinosaucers, and ScoobyDoo! I used to wake up at 5 am every morning to watch The new Scooby Doo movies(1 hour)-- and when my mom used to scold me,dad would say that she should respect how religious I am,thoroughly devoted to my cartoon.
and then there was Hiedi.Simply Amazing.I used to hurry back from school on saturdays to watch this one(1pm-2pm).Even my dad and sister liked it.

After I had watched each episode of Spiderman about 4 times,Fox Kids decided to air new cartoons during 6th grade----Ironman,Dungeons and Dragons,Batman,Silver Surfer,Fantastic Four,X-Men,and some others. The Silver Surfer story really used to touch me(it still does).Just imagine an 11 year old boy getting emotional because of the sacrifice Silver Surfer made for his planet! Though I liked the concept and story line of X-Men,it got pretty confusing because the episodes were not shown in continuity.and it was irritating watching D&D because those guys always got very close to getting out of that world.(Those familiar with the story would understand).It was the same feeling which restrained me from watching Silvestre and Tweety,and why I still not like Tom and Jerry.I mean,come on! Let the cat eat its food for once.I used to watch a few episodes,firmly on the cat's side,but then switch off my TV in anger and disgust.
and how ironic it was that my friends named me "pussy cat" back then.(though it was for an entirely different reason-a corruption of piyush to push to pushy to pussy). and how ironic is it that my current nickname is puppy or dog!
Then there was the advent of a totally new genre of cartoons in 7th-anime-when the CT went through a changeover. G.I.JOE,Speed Racer and the awesome Toonami animes-Cardcaptors and Dragon Ball Z.gosh! Dragon Ball Z was too great to be a human creation.( not an overstatement) The concept,storyline,characters . I used to wake up till late midnight for the 12 am - 1 am back to back episodes.When the first saga was over(I dint know there were more),I thought shit,the story is over-it was amazing.But then the next saga started,and whoa ,it was even more gripping.It was more than disappointing when the CT stopped the show in the middle of the storyline.
There were many good shows after that,a new improved version of XMen, Justice League,another Spiderman(though not even close to the Fox Kids one),and Jackie Chan adventures.
After the CT went berserk and stopped all these shows,I turned to Disney.
Now,after 2 years of TVlessness during 11th and 12th,I have turned back to reliving those moments of 5th and 6th on the internet.It feels great.I digged out new episodes of Spiderman,and believe me or not,Dragon Ball Z was the one who helped me get over 'She who must not be named'.(Laugh out loud)
Meanwhile,I am desperately searching for English episodes of Heidi.

Back Home

Its been a long long one and a half month.Rendezvous, Socials, Informals, Minors, all those quizzes, Football matches, Minor 2 etc etc.
Sunday was our last exam. and it marked the end of something which I truly enjoy-night-outs.
Studying, dicusssing stuff like god, aliens, other dimensions , making fun of other batchmates ,those visits to nescafe ,hanging out in the institute during the supposedly odd hours -- all this culminates into an experience found nowhere else. and when the exam gets over,your friends come to you smiling and seemingly very happy say "Aaj to phut gayee yaar".
As for my exams,they went normal,below average I would say.But I have learnt how to "not worry" about the results,and just enjoy life.
Meanwhile, tarasha has become the latest of my friends to "try" to make me active on some social networking site
pretty.tash:
what happened to the old piyush?
cut the crap and be active on facebook and orkut
and be a normal human once again

whoa!
anyways,for now, I am just relieved to be back home.

An Inspiring story

20 years back on September 6,1986 when five terrorists hijacked the US bound Pan Am Flight-73 flight at Karachi airport, and took control of the aircraft. One of the worst hijacks in aviation history it claimed 20 lives; this was the largest toll in a hijack until 9/11. The remaining 375 passengers and crewmembers would not have survived, if the airhostess Neerja Bhanot, was not there.

Neerja Bhanot identified herself as one of the airhostess, who was held at gunpoint and announced that the place had been hijacked. Unfortunately, the three-member cockpit crew of pilot, co-pilot and the flight engineer abandoned the aircraft, leaving 400 passengers and a 13-member cabin crew in the hands of brutal, thoughtless terrorists. Since Neerja was the cabin crew leader, she took over command. Neerja requested the passengers to be calm and obey the hijackers. She served coffee and sandwiches and her charming smile eased the tide of fear that had swept across their faces.

The leaders of the hijack identified himself as Mustaga. He ordered Neerja to collect the passports of all the passengers. Later she realized that the Americans were the main target of the terrorists and in a brilliant move she discreetly collected all the American passports and hid them. There couldn’t have been a better way to confuse the terrorists. By 9.pm when the auxiliary power unit failed entirely and the aircraft was plunged into darkness. Fearing an imminent raid by commandos, the hijackers shouted now is the holy war!! They fired their AK47, till they exhausted the bullets. By then Neerja had opened an emergency exit and a pan Am mechanic opened another. She used all her strength to guide and push people down the chute and while shielding three children; she absorbed the onslaught of bullets into her own body.

She would have escaped by the emergency exit first, but the angelic women gave up her life to save the innocents like a mother. After spent the bullets, and try to escape, the Mustafa and others captured by commandos and sentenced to life by a UA court. Neerja was brave in life, brave in death. The only stewardess, to have commanded an aircraft and held the hijackers at bay, was an Indian.

Neerja Bhanot was born on September 7, 1963, in Chandigarh. She did her early schooling at the local Sacred Heart Senior Secondary School. When the family moved to Bombay, she continued her studies at Bombay Scottish and then graduated from St. Xavier’s College. Neerja made a wonderful model as well as an airhostess. For her brave act India awarded her the Ashoka Chakra (Neerja is the first and only woman recipient of the this India’s highest civilian award for bravery). She was also awarded the "Tagme-e-Insaniyat" (Pakistan), the flight Safety Foundation Award and the Medal of Heroism of the National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution (U.S.A.). Neerja's family put her insurance money in a trust, 'Neerja Bhanot Pan Am Trust’, to which Pan Am also contributed an equal amount. Every year, this trust honors airline crew that act beyond the call of duty and Indian women who show exemplary courage as well as compassion for their fellow humans. Neerja died at the age of 22 just 2 days shy of her 23rd birthday.

Interactions with Professors at IIT-D uptill now

Chemistry Lab
Professor(addressing the students,in what most people would describe as a whisper):
Today whe hav ......practical and all ohf you.....
A student:sir,we cant hear
Professor:What I am sayn.........something which no one was able to hear
Another student: Sir please talk a little loudly
Professor:People who dont want to,wont be able to listen.Its an attitude problem.Students these days...something something...I am talking loud enough for anyone...(whatever he said after that is known only to him)

Maths class MAN100:

Students gather in the classroom,waiting for someone looking like a typical geek professor to come and try to teach us something.
Half an hour later
Me:Sir,we all have gathered for our class,but theres no one there as yet.Could you please tell us who would teach us and how long should we wait.
Some Maths Prof:Am I supposed to take that course?
Me: I dont know,sir
Maths Prof:Well then,why have you come to me,go to your course advisers,or the HOD and ask them.I am only concerned with my courses.

5 mins later

HOD:Well even I dont know whos supposed to take your class.Go to the course advisors,son.
2 mins later
Course advisor 1's door is locked.
Course advisor 2 gone for lunch.
Course advisor 3 is doing some stuff on the computer.Enter RP.
Dr.Amitabh Tripathi(course adviser 3):Yes?
RP:Sir,we had a class...blah blah blah ..and no one is there.
Tripathi:so??what can I do for you?
RP:Sir,you are my course adviser.
Tripathi:So what?
RP(Dumb blank face)
Tripathi: Go and ask someone else.I am not responsible for this course.

Computer lab:

Teacher:Well,if you think you understood everything today,and got the commands of Linux ,you can go.
Me:Maam,may I leave?
Teacher:What! OK,So you got everthing right today?show me
Me:Ok maam
Teacher:Do this...do that and blah blah
I show every command,even the ones not taught.
Teacher:Ok good.Now you should just go to help directory and read more about these commands.
Me: !!!!!!!!!!!!!

5 mins later

Me: Maam,I used the command to create a new file named "Bloody boring practical",but instead the comp created 3 new files named Bloody,Boring and Practical.
Teacher(shocked at the audacity):Well,thats because you put spaces b/w the three words.You scan try underscore.
Me:Thank you,maam.May i leave now???
Teacher:no,just keep practicing.
2 mins later theres a file named Bloody_Boring_Practical in the directory.
After 5 mins:
Teacher:Hey! You know playing games are not allowed in this lab.(It was minesweeper)
Me:Sorry maam.May I leave now ,maam.
Teacher(with a sigh):ok go.


Chemistry Class:

5 mins into the class,a knock on the door,which was locked by prof.
Prof Kurur:Hey,You are late.Enter through the back door.
(Then addressing to the class)
"From now on every student who is late will enter through the back door,so I can know who is late,and I dont get disturbed by someone entering through the front door."

After 2 mins that student comes through the back door.
Prof Kurur:Now thats the differenece b/w a theorist ,and an experimantalist.Some scientists just put the theory,and then try to verify or test it.The experimantalists,on the other hand,first see the results,then come up with a theory,to explain those results.Your friend there did the experiment.He is the one more knowledgable than you now.You,who all just sat here,and just thought about the consequences of coming late.
Me:!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Being a Facha...part 3

No. of Classes got late for :3
No. of non-males talked to :2
Girls shortlisted :0!
No of pens lost:3-4

The first week of classes will be over today,and I have had many weird experiences already.Example: No matter how hard you try --- like sitting besides the likes of abhinav,archit and anupam,havin a good 10 hours of sleep before coming to class,having a full 20 mins shower,coming by rickshaw etc. etc.----you are bound to fall asleep in CSL 101 class.That cozy AC room and the boring course,combined with Prof Sen's monotonous tone, nullify the effect of all your preparations.
To talk about other courses,I'd like to reaffirm that Im probably the dumbest fresher.Losing my watch,mobile,bag etc etc.Well the only other thing left to do,which I duly completed,was attending the wrong lecture!That happened on Monday.
I am sitting here right now because of an announcement that we dont have a mechanical class today,which I forgot,and...walked into an empty classroom.So I had nothing else to do and I stormed right into the CSC to blog and propound my myriad foolish acts.
OK.Enough with self-critisicm.
I made a new friend in my branch--her name is Preeti.But as it turned out,it was not a smart move.Because all my floormates starting connecting me with her,which was the most false(or falsest,whatever the word is) allegation I ever got.Especially RP,usne pareshaan kar diya meri kheench kheench ke (whatever that means).Maybe he just doesnt like the fact that I already have the number of two girls in the campus while he has none.Another thing I'd like to mention is that I have made a promise(to myself)that I wont make a gf in the first year.Thats why I emptied my shortlist.
I played chess yesterday,where,archit(although I dint play with him) reinforced the fact that he is a big show-off.I played 2 matches,winning one and got hammmered by a CS guy in the other. So my career record stands at 5-3-1.
I'll take a leave now,and write whenever something interesting happens,as is bound to because the weekend is up next.

Things not to do at IIT-D

1.Attend the wrong lecture
2.Forget taking your towel while going for a bath
3.Ask your 6 foot tall,broad rajput friend to wash your undergarments
4.Sit 3 hours in the libary doing sums like:
prove a*0=0

solution:
a*0 = a*(0+0) = a*o+a*0
adding 0 on both sides
a*0+ 0 = a*0+a*0+0
hence a*0 + 0 = a*0 + a*0
which gives us a*0=0
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
(courtesy:Elementary Calculus by Kenneth A. Ross)

Being a Facha...part 2

Right now its the second day of my classes,and I just have another half hour before the start of my next class.
Yesterday we had 2 lectures,one of computer science and the other of quantum chemistry.The latter one was surprisingly interesting,and the fact that it was taught by the coolest professor I ever saw, helped.
I improved my chess record at IIT,winning 3 consecutive games against 2 opponents.It currently stands at 4-2-1(win-loss-draw),but that hides the true picture,because I trying to avoid playing with pradeep,who has already beaten me in the only match we played.It would be safe to say that the mosquito menace has reduced,maybe because of my new weapon-- The Tablefan.
I also issued Physical Chemistry by Peter Atkins from the library,and had an interesting experience during that,which you will find at the bottom of this post.
I used to write the section of THINGS TO DO in the end of the post,but now there are suddenly so much to do,that it would take me more time to write about it than actually do it.So,I thought of a new section,which is,perhaps, inspired by Five Point Someone.

Things not to do at IIT

1.Drop you cellphone in the hostel garden
2.Forget your watch in a friend's room
3.Get your bag accidently exchanged with someone else's at the library counter
4.Put your things in that stranger's bag
5.When you give the bag back to its owner,forget your keys while taking your things out of that bag
6.Even if you have to get the bag exchanged,do it with some hot girl you want to befriend,not with an Mtech 1st year auntie

Being a Facha..part 1

Mosquitoes killed:4-5(one is still in my book struggling b/w life and death)
Mosquito bites:11-12 (war is on!)
Girls shortlisted:6
No. of rooms slept in in last 2 days:4
B'day wishes from outside campus:7
Ppl whos lives are in danger for forgetting my b'day:3

Well it was my first week in what aman sarcastically desribes as "the premier insitute of india". and theres too much to tell.It was more interesting than my last 3 months put together.What a contrast it has been---- From that what seemed like an year of solitude to a whole new world altogether.Hundreds and thousands of new faces,loads of new friends,new places to explore,new thrills to experience,new professors to admire,new classes to sleep in, and a whole new set of girls to chase.
Let me start by introducing my roommates.The room that defines and reaffirms India's status of cultural unity.Welcome on board my blog --Pradeep George Mathias,the guy who doesnt know hindi and Raghvendra Pratap Singh,the Rajput from UP.
Pradeep is from Bangalore and his dad is a professor in IISc,Bangalore.He is supposed to represent India in The International Informatics Olympiad in Egypt next month.He doesnt speak hindi,and that, as you might guess,is a lot of fun.He is a Christian,and pretty studious and most importantly,modest.He might help me in my quest to improve my english,and maybe my gpa too,if I ever get out of track.
If ever someone had to choose a roommate very different from pradeep,and good in qualities that he lacked,he would choose Mr. Raghvendra Pratap Singh a.k.a RP or Raghu.He is strogly built guy,and the fact that he is a rajput is no contradiction.He is VERY fond of girls,got a good sense of humour(especially in pulling legs,if that makes a sense),has his headphones on all the time and has almost all the attributes of organisms called hunk in common slang.He was the one who taught me how to use the washing machine,and he is the only guy I know jo sid ki baja sakta hai without getting a reaction from him.
As of now,I have abandoned all plans I had of changing my room before coming here.
Yesterday I had my Intro with the seniors,and they made me aware of an all new designation I had. I am a "facha" a term derived from FRESHER BACHA.I am also a "matka",derived from MTech.And as a resident of Hostel Jwalamukhi I am an IC,a term which uptill a few years back described us as Instiute Champions,but,quiet expectedly,changed to INSTITUTE CHUTIYA.
to be continued...

All quiet on the Sports Front

It seems like ages ago when i last watched EPL-Thanks to two years of study without TV .The season starts in august- and by then i'll be in my college,where I suppose i'll hardly get time to watch news or just scores,let alone a full 90 mins match.Euro came and went in no time,and to be honest, it wasnt that interesting. Wimbledon was great and did quench my thirst a bit.Formula One has been a disappointment,unless Sutil or Fisichella quell their love for an early bath and decide to stay on the track for a little longer.As for cricket, the little entertainment the One-day format provided is further reduced,thanks to a certain event named IPL.Its not difficult to guess what will happen to the test cricket,if the recent drawn test match b/w SA and ENG is anything to go by.
I was just thinking that Hockey is so dour that it doesnt even deserve a mention here,but I just saw Indians hitting Paks with Hockey sticks in a match-----atleast the guys are clever enough to acknowledge that following the phrase "beating ur opponents" literally is way more appealing to the public.

"Welcome to England, if anyone is out of form or hasn't played in a while, don't worry, we've done everything we can to make sure you get into form as soon as possible."
Andrew Caddick's tongue-in-cheek response to the pitch in Taunton where the South African batsmen made merry in their tour opener


As for real life(I mean outside TV),today it felt particularly pleasant playing football.I was playing ok,and then I scored a hat trick inside two mins,surely have not done that before.and the first goal was from a header,the other two were one-on one counter attacks.added a fourth later on,again on the counter attack.
Well I went to play after promising mom that it would be the last time before I go to college,but I bet i wont be able to keep it by tomorrow.

"I was drinking my cup of tea and spat it out. We were watching live and then all ran into the dressing-room to watch it on the telly because we were not actually sure we'd just seen that."
Stuart Broad on the the reaction to Kevin Pietersen's switch-hit

The Beginning

well...here i go.hello.for years i have been thinking of making my own little diary.but for some reason or the other i hesitated.i took the initiative many times,but i always wrote not for myself,but for others.like i wud take care how it wud look if someone else reads it.
Now i've decided these posts are gonna be for me,and i will be fully honest.I cant just spend the golden teenage years of my life without putting it in writing.