Wings of Thoughts

I'm back!

2009-03-03T08:27:00.000-08:00

Blogs,social networking sites,professional networking sites,messengers...each one asking for a share of my free time!Well,perhaps I've learnt the art of time management on the internet too now and hence back to blogosphere!Did I hear anyone clap?

The last two years of exile were primarily dedicated to a bit of exposure to the corporate world and it has been quite a learning experience for me...the good, the bad and the ugly-I've experienced it all(or so I would like to believe!)and have come out with a few more grey hairs to boast of!

Also, I'm back to Kgp and it surely feels like home even though the campus seems to have changed quite a bit!As I get ready to go back to school in a few months,here's promising for yet another time to remain connected...Cheers!

Alu(da)

Living a Dream....

2007-05-11T21:39:00.000-07:00

For a brief period of time i was kinda disillusioned with the blogging concept...thus,even as the thoughts whizzed past,the flow of words was restricted.But,over the past couple of days,the feelings and emotions have overflowed...and i'm overawed by the situation!!!Perhaps these words will help me sink in the feeling...the feeling of "a great achievement",the feeling of togetherness with friends who are soon to bid goodbye,the feeling of having come to the end of....perhaps the best period of my life!!
Even though i'm basking in the glory of the HBS success,a pall of gloom seems to have set in...as i walk down Scholars Avenue,friends and even mere acquaintances stop to congratulate me on "having created history"...i return a smile,but soon realize that i might well have met the person for the last time in my life!!Perhaps,i'm a bit more nostalgic because i've been more closely attached with almost all the components of the campus community...but,as it goes "all good things must come to an end" and my life would be no exception...just a subtle happiness and pride at having lived the KGP life in the best possible manner...
The good,the bad and the ugly...in the last five years,i've seen it all...and each moment spent in this campus has transformed me into the person that i am...the life has truly blossomed with the company of such wonderful friends i made over the last five years...muthu's status msg is true to every word..."came with dreams,leaving with memories"!!
here's raising a toast to this wonderful association i've had with the lovely KGPians and with IIT Kharagpur...i may be at some remote corner of the world,but just a call away for you all...will miss you!!take care and god bless you all!!
Alu(da)

of orkut,movies and reunions...

2006-08-30T09:46:00.000-07:00

How dull it is to pause, to make an end,

To rust unburnished, not to shine in use!

The famous lines from Lord Tennyson's famous poem "Ulysses" describe my thoughts in the best possible manner...Final year in the campus has proved to be a real dampner till now...absolutely nothing to do,totally "vella"...but perhaps this has given me an opportunity to seek pleasure from the smaller things in life...

Orkut's become more of an addiction now and i compliment the entire team of Google for ruining the lives of the net-savvy "nerds" of IIT...and movies have never been so entertaining a pastime...Omkara,Remember the Titans,Before Sunrise,Dil Chahta Hai(what better way to celebrate Friendships' Day!!),Fanaa,Chup Chup Ke,MI3,Phir Hera Pheri...all in the last 4 weeks...that might not sound too surprising for the movie buffs reading this post but i guess it will when i mention that i've seen only 3-4 movies in the last year!!!howzzaat??

But,amidst all this "activity",had some real quality time reuniting with some old friends and seniors...their homecoming was a perfect occasion to celebrate the bond of friendship we share and what better way than reflect on the golden moments over a mug of beer!!!

And as i still search for better ways to kill the free time,the heart yearns in desire to get back to the old hectic lifestyle...

cry of the social animal...

2006-04-30T01:23:00.000-07:00

"Dhuti porio na, shaari porio na
churidaar aar nighty poro re
arey dhuti shaari porile mone poira jaay
ekdin bangali chilam re

baul gahiyo naa, bhaatiyali gahiyo naa
pop aar disco gao re
arey baul gaan gahile mone poira jaay
ekdin bangali chilam re...."

[Everyone wears the churidaar and nighty nowadays instead of the dhoti and saree coz the latter remind us of our bengali origin
Everyone sings the pop and disco songs nowadays instead of the baul or bhaatiyali songs coz the latter remind us of our bengali origin]

A rhythmic song that was being sung by a baul in a crowded Hwh-Kgp passenger train...It may have proved to be the bread earner for the baul, but certainly left me pondering over the thought expressed so succinctly!!
Should we call it an aping of the western culture that has forced us to forget the traditions and values of our society??Or is it a phase of change that is setting in to bring about an age of modernisation??lets ask ourselves this question and seek the answer from within...

a thought to ponder over...

2006-04-20T06:26:00.000-07:00

The scriptwriter wasn't on a 2-month holiday...twas just that he was in a contemplative mood...reflecting on the various facets of the Kgpian's life in the campus. Perhaps, being at the helm of student affairs brought him closer to the feelings and emotions of his fellowmates and made him realize that perhaps the campus culture has changed a lot since he first set foot out here...ofcourse, as they say, change is the only constant thing in this world but pondering over some of the incidents that have occured in the last couple of months, makes me feel as if we are headed in the wrong direction...perhaps the rivalry among the students is no more "healthy" as we claim...perhaps the "tempo" is being expressed in a wrong manner...

today, when i walk down Scholars Avenue as just another student, i feel guilty at having failed miserably when this problem needed to be addressed and when i had the chance...although the adulations have poured in from all directions for a job they describe as "well done", but deep down in my heart i feel the void...although my conscience consoles me from within for having put in my best efforts...

my sincere wishes to the new council of office bearers and i truly hope that they serve the gymkhana and the institute in the best interests of the student community...and here's to all those kgpians who might be reading this post--above everything else, we are Kgpians...let's not destroy the campus culture by the petty rivalry that recently seems to have set in...

P.S: for those whom i kept waiting for two long months, a sincere apology from my side...hoping to remain connected to this blogworld coz the daily schedule has now become almost ten times less hectic!!!

Flashback--Episode 1

2006-02-13T01:53:00.000-08:00

After the GATEcrash yesterday and some chaos management late in the night,i'm back to blogosphere as promised--to take the readers of this little space of mine through a journey that promises to keep you all hooked on to this blog for the next few posts atleast...so without wasting any time,lets get started!!!
None of us may have foreseen me as the VP,TSG except for my Geography teacher in school...Mrs. Bhowmick had predicted that way back in 2002 when i had cleared the IITJEE and had little idea about the gymkhana...quoting her "the last VP from Durgapur was way back in 1989 and somehow i feel you are going to be the next one!!!" and the very next day after i was elected, i was back in my hometown to meet her...just told her "Ma'am your prediction has come out to be true..."....She hugged me and said "So you've become the VP of IIT Kgp...i'm really glad"...a moment i would remember forever in my life...
If any of you have happened to check the "about me" column in my blog profile ,you would have found "never an idle moment in life is what he craves for" as the first words...and this coveted post of VP,TSG of IIT Kharagpur has given me just that...just to go back to the month of April,2005...a day after the official taking over of charge:
Knock!! Knock!!i hear a banging on my door and waking up from my slumber,find my watch reading a time of 1:00 am...the newly appointed president of one of the halls asks me to accompany him to the security office as there had been a "raid" on his hall premises and immediately my mind shouted out "CHAOS"!!!That was perhaps a rare occasion when three VPs had to get together to exercise control over the situation--Saket,Souvik and myself...and just as if this incident wasn't enough,while we were at the security office,another call asking for a raid on another hall...Shew!!!I knew what to expect in the year ahead...If you're still in the dark about the incident being talked about,this should make it more clear...a few days later,i was appointed member of one of the weirdest committees you would ever hear of--the "liquor destroy committee"!!!
Perhaps there's a jinx that's yet to be broken...the day after the official take-over of charge has always been chaotic for the newly appointed VP...It happened with Saket(i don't remember the incident disctinctly) and with Souvik(the suicide case!!!)...God knows what's in store for the next VP!!!

Keeping the first post a bit short,with a promise to remain connected...well,as i said...its still a busy life for me,you see!!!

flashback...

2006-02-01T14:35:00.000-08:00

The date:3rd April,2005
The time:Around noon
The venue: Technology Students' Gymkhana,IIT Kharagpur
The occasion:Gymkhana election results

The last 100 votes yet to be counted...I've a slender lead of 11 votes over my opponent in the Vice-Presidential election race...the only Gymkhana post where the IIT community seemed to have come up with no clear verdict...The narrowest victory margin i had heard till then was 1 vote way back in 1963...and somehow i felt this one would create history...A tense atmosphere outside the gymkhana building with every soul eagerly waiting for the suspense to come to an end...the heart was beating an uncountable number of times every second for me...A sudden roar of "Aludaaa" and the long wait was finally over...a rush of people around me and the congratulations started pouring in...never had the ringtone of my mobile phone sounded sweeter,never had those friendly hugs felt warmer!!!Almost a year has passed by and what a year it has been...almost a celebrity status has been conferred on me...a life where you attend 3 meetings a day on an average with the topmost authorities of the institute and answer innumerable phone calls...where you're interviewed by the media during every major student-related activity...where the entire campus looks upto you for a solution to any student-related problem...where you are the only student whom the entire campus claims to know...There have been quite a few requests pouring in for me to share my experience of being at the helm of student affairs in the campus...and hence this post is a prelude to the series of posts that are to follow in the next few days,entertaining these requests...so keep checking and i promise to keep you all posted on the year that was!!!

an amazing journey comes to an end...

2006-01-27T07:44:00.000-08:00

The third post of my blog was long due,especially after some encouraging comments flowing in after the first couple of posts...but my busy schedule prevented me from letting the thoughts fly,much to the disappointment of many bloggers,especially my ever-curious wingies(one of them created a blog just to post a comment on mine!!)...and just when people had started nurturing the notion that i have quit from blogosphere,here's a new post to prove them wrong...
As the saying goes,"all good things must come to an end"...so has my association with Spring Fest-the annual cultural festival of IIT Kharagpur....a passion it has been for the last four years,ever since i was a volunteer in SF'03-perhaps the best fest Kgp has seen till date...this long association has brought out the best in me and at this juncture,i feel that i can say "i've given everything i could to SF"...
i still remember the statement of Rana during SF'03..."the sight of people enjoying in a fest where you've played a significant role,provides you with a feeling of satisfaction that is unmatched!!"infact,i've always looked upto the team of SF'03 heads...Rana,Saket,Saunak,Satwik,Balan,PG...a deadly combo!!!and why i say SF'03 has been the best in recent history is that twas a 5 day fest...and was pulled off in great fashion.we tried our best to make SF'05 bigger and better...and even though we might have come close,we couldn't eclipse the memory of SF'03....
the lessons learnt from SF are for life...you face some of the weirdest situations ever....what do you do when you learn that the host for the fashion show can't make it owing to a bout of diarrhoea and the show is due to start in an hour's time...while lighting the candle during the inaugural evening,you find out that everyone had been so stupid to miss out on arranging for the matchsticks!!!
i would be missing those several nights spent in the gymkhana,missing the company of those whom i've worked with all these years...infact,i've had the pleasure of working with some of the Gods of SF....osama,dwivedi,podu,manas,apro,ssg,adi,shauryada,maxi,somani....the list is endless....i thank you all...
tis been a great experience...and for all that i am today,i owe it all to Spring Fest....the true spirit of youth!!!!

(P.S: there's perhaps lots more to share about SF,but that's best done over a mug of beer!!!)

when the heart skips a beat...

2005-09-29T20:06:00.000-07:00

I've always been skilful enough in concealing my feelings and emotions from the outside world...not because I'm too fond of privacy of my personal life but because of a strange fear that my feelings may be misinterpreted. Even as I'm typing away these words, the mind seems to be pinching forth the question "Why??" But as always I follow my conscience which has flashed the green signal to go ahead...
What’s the state of your mind when the “special someone”, whose company you’ve always cherished and who’s so very close to your heart, prepares to sail across oceans?? What if I add on to your misery by saying that you won’t be able to enjoy her company and the charming, beautiful smile of hers for the next one year (or maybe more)??Does this make your heart skip a beat??
It sure does…for most of us, I presume. That’s quite a simple assumption considering the fact that given these situations, you would be missing her like you never have, with every passing moment. The mind may try to exercise its control over the heart but it is sure to fail on such occasions!!
I wish I were like the bird that stares at me through the picturesque depiction on the calendar lying on my study table…aided with wings to fly across oceans and continents to be with her. But, alas! Neither can I fly like the birds nor do my responsibilities out here allow me to spend some moments with her before she sets sail…
The song “Aadat” seems to be expressing my feelings in the most appropriate manner at this moment. But, however far you may be in terms of distances, you’ll always remain close to me…Here’s wishing you success in all your endeavours and hoping that all your dreams come true…Keep smiling always...Bon Voyage sweetie!!!

to start off...

2005-09-19T09:04:00.000-07:00

Recently,a reporter of The Times of India had approached me to comment on the blogging culture in IIT Kharagpur...Though i wasn't a blogger till then,i did put forward my comments which incidentally got published.Realizing the fact that nowadays the net-savvy students out here prefer to read the "blog of Anne Frank rather than the diary of Anne Frank", i've finally got over my laziness to create a blog of my own...
Perhaps a nice way to get over the midsem blues...Speaking about midsems,they have brought in a welcome break from the busy schedule i was running over the last few days...although i ought to be studying vigorously at this moment to make up for the inattentiveness in the lecture classes,here i am, typing away some "silly" words intended to be the "wings of thought"!!!that's the way i am...a bit impulsive at times and allowing the mind to rule the heart at other times...the present moment is a result of the former,while the next would be an example of the latter...as the mind seems to be saying "a bit of studying would do you a world of good!!!"