An incident I don't wish to recollect

Had been to college today for the alumni meet today. Met many of my friends whom I interacted with. While having a chat with the close ones, they teased me on this incident. Thought of documenting the same. All my classmates know this.

It was the first semester.

We were in the chemistry cycle of which computer science, basic electronics, chemistry etc were the subjects. Everything was new. The college, the lecturers, the students. Everything. Ours was the first batch. We boast of the freedom we got for the same reason today.

Three months had passed. We were familiar with one and all. The zeal of new college was in each one of us. People can say that we were like one family. I could've described it better if I was a poet. Duh!! It was a startup college. (Ah! Thats me!)

There was this electronic class that day. I won't disclose the name of the lecturer. She was explaining some electronic component and its working.

To be frank, analog electronics never entered my brain. Still I'm not sure why a transistor behaves exactly opposite if you increase the voltage? (I'm just blabbering gibberish! I don't recollect even the doubt I had those days, though I can google n get it back. I'm lazy)

That was another typical electronics class wherein I tried to get the sense out of it but in vain. So I guess I started thinking on my own lines of things that interested me.

I don't know what I did after that but I guess, I smiled as the output of my thought process or someone around would've cracked a joke or I was indifferent to expressions.

The lecturer took it in the wrong sense and screamed in the class.

Lecturer: "Now Sandesh, mind yourself! Behave! Don't do that again or I shall take severe action on you"

Sandesh: "Me??? eh??"

Lecturer: "Don't act smart! I would throw you outa the class if you do that again!"

Sandesh: "Ma'am, but what did I do?"

Lecturer: "Shut up and STOP staring at me. If you do that again, mind you, things will not be right!!"

And she continued.

Till date, I still am not able to figure out what was her intent in acting that way! Me checking her out vulgarly? eh! come on! I wouldn't do that to any girl on this planet to the best of my knowledge.

I could draw up these reasons:

1. She could've really felt I was checking her out!

2. She saw someone doing that in the class and couldn't directly convey the same to them and I was the scapegoat she found. (Similar such incident happened with a different lecturer though)

Nothing happened after that. She continued with the class, I was startled for a moment and continued thinking on foolish things. She didn't complain to any one as any other lunatic did.

Thankfully, things were fine after that. Good thing is that even she forgot the incident and started to act as if nothing had happened that day, till the day she got married and said "Good Bye" to the college (must be in our fourth semester)

Thanks for reading my grief! Keep looking for the next post.

A post on the account of Independence Day.

Thanks for the cursing. I'm back with this post. I think I always begin my posts this way. Should change them from the next post. (Grrrrr! Its never ending)

Okay. Here is another post on Independence day. Here is another nostalgic incident I wrote on the account of Independence Day four years ago.

People who are loathsome the whole year, become alert in the second week of August just like Kannadigas get alerted on the first week of November. Independence strikes their mind like how a mouse gets alerted seeing a cat. Patriotism rises from all the molecules of their blood.

Politicians talk of the trio Gandhi, Nehru(?), Subhash Chandra Bose. How we gained Independence picking rare incidents from their history texts. Some of these Rang De Basanti patriots take the name of Bhagat Singh, Chandrashekhar Azad & all the British branded extremists; Taking a void oath of re-iterating the drama to abolish today's political condition in India.

Poor kids (so called future citizens) are made to toil in schools with weird aerobics exercises to entertain the politicians and the chief guests. They're also made to hear the bi-anual patriotic speech of how Gandhi led the freedom struggle. How Subhash Chandra Bose formed the INA, etc of which many of the kids are in no mood to listen under the scorching sun.

Check out the parody, we snatch the independence of the kid and force them to attend the school (first half). I still see many preferring to be at home if not attracted by the sweet/confectionary distributed at the school.

For many of us, who passed through all this and are now working, we enjoy the holiday and never bother to think anything about the independence struggle. We'd rather bother discussing our office chores/ share market trends/ real estate ratings rather than discuss independence. Thats the liberty we get gaining the independence.

Again for some fraction of us who work for IT/MNCs we do not have a holiday and are forced to work. Some of the benovelent, do declare a holiday with a catch of getting paid in double if somebody supported the clients abroad during the holiday. People do get attracted for the extra money. (I'm not saying you should forcefully take a holiday on I-day, its your wish)

Some of us plan to go for an outing, getting embarassed by the beauty of nature not forgetting to describe the same to the collegues with a pinch of ego. Some of the married couple take this chance of a long weekend and head to their natives.

Some of the poor chaps who do not have an option, toil at their workplace. Many of them do not know about I-day, even if they know, they hardly care for it. Its not that their insulting it, they simply do not have an opinion about it.

Some of us who believe in Karma, are indifferent be it, I-day, any festival, their own B'days, anniversaries & what not? They just live their life as it is.

Sometimes I feel its a shame to have an independence day for the country but at times I'm glad we finally had one after all that happened through these years.

Even the freedom fighters would laugh at us celebrating this day if they know the reason.

Many of us post on social networking sites that we celebrate Valentines Day, Friendship day etc etc but why not Independence day? Well thats the state of the country today. Its with the generation. Can't really help it.

There are more amusing behaviors which I haven't listed too.

Again to quote myself ironically, all of this is the liberty we get with the independence we gained 64 years ago. This is the only reason why I can write such a post. Its again the bhikshe of the freedom fighters.

Sometimes I feel like

If you want to celebrate something, celebrate it every day, every hour, every minute, second, milli, micro, nano, femto.... any goddamn unit of time.

If you want to change this, you need to change it from the grassroot. Rather than preaching kids about independence, create interest in them regarding the same. Share stories of small incidents which would act as seeds of patriotism in them. Explain them what the real India is. They would be surely keen on listening to all of them. After you've sown the seed, you just need to provide them with the manure of more resources to learn like library/movies. They surely would cultivate patriotism within.

It would rapidly change the condition of the country. It might again reverse the brain drain and hola, we might again go back to the Golden era.

Do this and every kid would be eager to participate in the I-day celebrations. The future generations would also be eager.

You may feel I'm exaggerating (even I feel partially) but I feel atleast some part of it is true. It is worth a try.

Say what?

What all can you attach to a country?

Here goes an SMS I receive very frequently from many of my friends.

Wat s India?

"A nation wr pizza reaches faster den ambulance & police"

"wr u get car loan @ 8% but education loan @ 12%"

"wr rice is rs. 30 but sim card s free"

"wr people worship Goddess Durga but kill their girl child"

"wr olympic shooter wins gold, govt gives 3crore, another shooter dies der fighting wit terrorist govt pays 50000"

"rumors r spread faster dan wind".

Really, INCREDIBLE INDIA.

Hmm. Go through it once again if you want to.

I have many friends who religiously forward such messages as if it is the greatest truth on earth. Is it really the truth? Probably you've received an elaborated version of the same message.

Now lets discuss. Is India the only place where pizza is delivered faster than ambulance/police? Its the same case with any country. Take any metropolitan city. There are traffic problems and you tend to get late sometimes. You gotta plan if you seriously have to stick to a schedule. This rule will not hold good in rural areas where you can find ambulances but not pizza corners.

People do not know of the rules/clauses provided by government. The govt, atleast theoritically provides so many provisions for basic amenities and education. Though many say (even I partially agree with) thats only on paper & not on action, I recollect one of my friend working in a leading hospital, explaining me the clauses provided by government where common man can utilise in resolving his health anomalies. Many do not know such clauses exist. People need to be made aware of such things. I'm sure we have such clauses for almost all fields including education, administration etc.

Instead of taking example of some bank lending loans for cars n education, one simply can't invalidate these clauses.

Rice is costlier than sim card? Come on... Compare things which are comparable. Its again the same outside as well. SIM cards are one-time commodity (atleast not as frequent as rice) and has less significance than food which is recurring commodity. Note that through SIM card, they loot money by tariffs you pay frequently. I'm sure, many pay more than the rice you eat.

Worshipping Durga and killing girl child. This has some sense, but female infanticide also exists in gulf countries as well. One such incident happens outa 1000 and thanks to media in glorifying it. Not all people who worship Durga kill a girl. Stop attaching the country for this.

Olympic medallist getting more than a soldier? Compare the cricketers who are looting money when compared to the medallist. He'll look pale. All these are just food for media. Don't you know the benefits you get being a soldier? Allowances in almost everything under government. Dignity of serving the nation better. The discipline one gets being trained in armed forces. Don't forget the things you get in the so called Military Canteen? Just don't compare the lifetime benefits you get to one time award for a medallist.

Rumors spread faster than wind in almost all nations. It would be even faster in any country with huge population.

If you are a person who think 'The concept of countries, states, regions is bullshit. Its all in the people', I sometimes agree with you; The post ends here for you.

Taken for granted that you're not that kinda person mentioned above, Bharata (India) is one such country everyone should be proud of. Of course, every person of every country should be proud in that sense.

We've given the world so many things. Its not fair to degrade our country this way. It is also not fair to boast on the past and not doing anything which would take it forward. Think in those steps n contribute your bit in serving the nation.

PS: This is just another random post with no order. Its pure rant. Do not try linking any of the paragraphs. Might not make sense.