Europe!

The next posts are dedicated to my trip to Europe, made after a lot of contemplation as to whether the trip deserves the honor of a separate blog, but eventually deciding against it. I have tried to make the posts as descriptive as possible, trying consciously to diverge from my usually overly analytical and contemplative style, since I am talking of places, not ideas.

DISCLAIMER: At a couple of places however, I have not been able to refrain about putting up my thoughts on some of the things I saw. You may read them as my travel memoirs, although I must confess that I am new to the writing style for this descriptive format. Frankly, I have not found reading about people’s travel musings even mildly interesting… However, since I wrote these for myself to read later in life, I have written so as to evoke the imagery of the location in my mind. Writing seems to clearly be insufficient to describe all the places I see, and my laziness permitting, I hope to upload a few pictures as well.

NOTE: My trip started on the 8^th July dawn from Mumbai, and will culminate in my flying off to Pittsburgh on the 3^rd August. I have made the narrative conversational (to myself :P ), and in an effort to make it informal, have not mentioned a date at most places. Read on…

Memories: BITSAT

Some of the best things you get in life are the ones that you plan the least for. Call it Murphy's law or whatever. Take getting into BITS for example. All of 11th-12th was spent in preparing for the JEE. The BigDaddy of exams, the thing which was going supposed to change your life forever. After hundreds of hours of misdirected preparation, when I finally gave the JEE-mains, I knew that I was not going get a seat of my liking at an IIT of my choice, or for that matter, I wasn't going to clear the Mains at all. (This doesn't mean that I didn't shed a tear when the results came out ;) )

BITSAT was just an aside to the main story. A till-exam-day neglected poor brother of the JEE, for which I wasn't even sure whether to appear or not... I remember, my family had a holiday planned out at Mahabaleshwar, immediately after the BITSAT. So I was kinda looking forward to that, the exam being a minor hiccup in the euphoria of FINALLY being free from all entrance exams! Who in the lord's name would go to godforsaken Pilani, or the tourist haven of Goa, leaving a seat in the COE, Pune. Pune, the Oxford of the East! Pune, my hometown! If I was to leave Pune, it had to be to go to an IIT! I even seriously contemplated retaking the JEE next year.

I know BITSians will not like this, but in my pea-brain, BITS did not figure in the list of must-do things! I think, this was more because of the environment than because of my own doing. I did not know even one student who was at BITS at that point in time. Later, when I decided to go to Goa, I had to dig out contacts of contacts of contacts who had passed out from BITS 15 years back. So much for the BITS network! Also, I think, the BITSAT being in its first year, I didn't know what to expect out of it, what the cut-offs for various branches will be, and so-on.

For the record, the exam went well. I scored 305 (later re-evaluated to 309) and I remember cursing my PC, coz I was so sure that at times, all options on the Maths test were wrong! But who cared, right, it was all over in 4 hours or so. Yay!

After the exam, I remember driving back in the car. The radio was playing 'Zaraa Zaraa' (The song still takes me back to that moment!). Not even 20 minutes on the drive back, we were held by the traffic constable from aamchi Mumbai. Mama, so to say. Oops, stupid Puneite me, who cares for seat-belts in the post-exam euphoria! So then ensued the pleading, the 'Mama, Punyahun alot, lakshat nahi ala.. Jaudya naa..' Typically, he retorted with, 'Udya gaadi station warun gheun jaa, fine bharun.' (Take the vehicle tmrw from the police station, after paying the fine.). Then, the path of least resistance. Bribe the fellow :)

My mood (and pocket), considerably lighter, I headed back home, where a delicious Mom-made meal awaited a ravenous me!

Turns out, the heavens had conspired to make it the biggest day of my life. It shaped the course of the next 4 years. 4 wonderful years; and when I think about it, its not just 4 years, but my entire life! Looking back at all the wonderful experiences I had in Goa, I would not trade that for anything else. But that makes for an entire different series of posts...

For now, some of the best things you get in life are the ones that you plan the least for!

Select / Reject

While keying in a text msg, I realized that in the T9 dictionary, select and reject comprise the same keys.

Interesting, eh!

New questions!

Do humans always need to worry? Or is it just that I have an OCD which makes me worry..

Now that admits to colleges have started coming in, a new decision facing me is whether to stop at an MS, or continue working for a PhD. If only an MS, then take a job, rite? A job to recover the amount of money spent. Then after that? I want to be back to India again... When will that be? 2 years from now? 5 years from now? Or 10 years from now...

How long should one stay away from the ones he loves most in search of a more satisfying career? So eventually when I come back to India, how likely is getting a 'that' good a job in Pune? Or will it always be a compromise between a job you love, and the people you love??

As usual, for now, this decision should be pushed back till the last possible moment!

Just...

Iran is years away from building a nuclear device.

So Iran is a threat, eh?

Iran is just years away from building a nuclear device.

...Comment by a British minister.

How the just changes the tone of the sentence...

Honestly, does the west have a god-given right to decide who holds what weapons? Please can someone help me out here...

Back to Blogging!

I have not written here for a really really long time now. Primarily, the question being, is blogging a waste of time. I guess it is. More than a waste, it is a pastime (or timepass, as Indians say). And frankly, I have not had much of free time to while away as such. ;)

Anyway, lets hope this marks the beginning of a new year, full of blogs! Coz I know that my audience missed me. I have been inundated with questions as to why I have not posted for so long. ;D

Cheerio!

Hope for Atheism

Why is it that we are born as of some particular religion? I mean, does one come into existence knowing all about the Bible, or the Bhagwad Gita or the Guru Granth Sahib? Just because my parents are of one particular religion, makes me a member of it too. Isn't that ridiculous? Shouldn't I have the right to make an informed choice of what religion I do want to follow?
(Maybe religion and informed choice are paradoxical in the same sentence ;) )

Given this, we should all be born of no religion, and be allowed to make a decision later in life. That way atleast, we'll know how many members actually support Christianity, or Hinduism or blah... Lots of those people might want to make a choice of not choosing any one particular religion, or even becoming a practicing atheist. Is that even allowed? Can I be a registered atheist? Is that so illogical?

Apparently, even in the US of A, I cannot hold public office if I am a declared atheist. Is that fair? Shouldn't I be declared worthy or unworthy of any post based on my morals, my past behavior etc. rather than whether I believe in some doctrines first preached centuries ago?

Recently, there was a case where someone sued God. It was dismissed saying that he has no 'registered residence'. Although this lawsuit may sound frivolous, it is highly symbolic. All through our childhood, we are influenced by teachings in the name of 'God', our Nanny says, "He is watching everything from above", or "the final redemption is in His court". As a child, its not in my control to make people stop throwing random ideas at me in His name. Shouldn't someone be answerable?

The bottom-line, I feel is, if people are brought us as believers of reason, I doubt many of them would turn to organized religion in the hope of comfort or happiness. An idea is: we should all be atheists by default.

Till now, atheism has been under the wraps more or less. Never in history has the spread of information been so fast as now. Now, more and more people are being exposed to atheistic ideas through sitcoms (eg. House MD, Boston Legal), through the internet, through books etc. Atheists are portrayed as reasonable people, who bear no evil in heart and have an excellent set of morals, more so even when compared to religious folk.

This makes me think atheism has a lot of hope in the future. With more and more people 'thinking', religious fanaticism (or even subscription) should ebb. Maybe the world would end up being a safer, more peaceful place...