Indian Republic Day - Proud To Be an Indian!

A Billion people...
Dozens of Religions...
Hundreds of Languages...
Thousands of Cultures...
Even more Outlooks...
Far more Aspirations...
A huge lot more Talent!!

A Blooming economy...
An ever Evolving culture...
A Prospering population...
A geographic Marvel...
A sub-Continent in itself...
The largest Democracy...
A world of Dreamers and Doers!!!

Proud to be INDIAN!!!

Vande Mataram
JAI HIND!!! Forever and ever more!!



Indian,
My Country,
My mother,
My protector,
My sustainer

I have never been so proud to be an Indian. The warmth of the day still burns and the flag flutters even as the day has almost come to an end. Today, when the united India turns 63 on this 26th of January, the Republic of India has stands proud and unequaled on more than a few aspects. The world does and forever will watch this huge population of diversity as can be seen NOWHERE else,
growing as one,
thinking as one,
singing "Vande Mataram" as one.

India faces challenges faced by no other nation in the world. Its one Billion citizens share not one or two  but 1,652 languages, innumerable cultures having its roots deep in the history and from around the world. A logistical, technological, in fact in all ways, a huge nightmare. Add to that the fact that it is the world's largest active, participative democracy with over 738 million eligible voters employing nearly 7 billion goverment officials as election personnel.
The voice of a billion heard and heeded.
A land Of  the People, By  the People, For the People.

With climate of all ranges, geographic features of all kinds from volcanoes to glacier, from flood plains to the Thar Desert 9th largest in the world, from 5717 km of coast line to 8611 m high mountains, with 3 oceans and thousands of rivers, India has is blessed with all that mother nature has to offer. Vivid views, vibrant biodiversity, a wonderful climate and being able to watch both the sunset and the sunrise from the same spot is definitely thrilling!

Still holding fast to the high ideals of our freedom fighters and the never to be forgotten Mahatma Gandhi, who truly was a "Great Soul", of secularism, peace, love and tolerance. A military strength to be reckoned with and yet one which never wishes to use its might. A technological marvel, which,  even in the face of millions struggling (which is nothing to be proud of),  is forging ahead with a steadfast pace towards even more technological dominance with a space program that is among the best in the world. A space program for the people, technology with humanity as its priority!

Bharath Mata Ki....

JAI!!!

As Promised

As I promised just yesterday, here I am writing about the future.

Today was a good day with a wonderful session on the Indian space technology by the former deputy chairman of ISRO followed by a quiz and a modification of a treasure hunt. ( My team grabbed the first prize , a bottle of Fanta and a milkybar for each of us, SWEET!!  ;-) !! )

But, obviously, that is not what I've planned to talk about. Its the future! Not just future, but our future, ie, each of our future. Let me just cut to the chase ;-)

Today, I spoke with two of my friends, one from my college and the other , I met at the program. I asked the former if he chose Engineering by choice. He said, he had no preference to engineering or electronics. He told me his plan is the management field. He took engineering because (according to him) having an engineering degree would give him a better base to get a good job after an MBA.

The second one, he took Aeronautical Engineering. I asked him the same thing , did he take it by choice or chance? He said choice and I salute him for that.

So few these days actually know what their heart yearns to do. And even fewer have the guts to pursue it. During the finals of our "IEEE Best Fresher" contest, one of the guys told that his passions were management and journalism. When "cross-examined" further by the judges on this topic, he was at his wits end because he had already told that he loved journalism and that he would try to take it as his "side business". Then, when he was asked if he would forfeit a 10 or 26 lakh per annum job for jouranlism and he said no! That is the value that many give to their passion. I don't know him personally and hence can't say if what he said was the complete truth. All I can say is passionate people are hard to find. Especially in engineering colleges (and medical colleges too) these days.

Whenever I'm out for an IEEE meeting or any other program, I'm always on the lookout for such passionate people, and I just started ranking them on a star basis, 1 to 5.  I wonder when I'll meet a 5 star guy (or girl, of course!)

If you think you are worthy of a star, come talk to me. No, I don't have anything to give for you, nor do I have much contacts or talents that might come in handy, but I will always treat you with a certain kind of respect for "Being Who You Are"!

That said, there are some people who are passionate and truly committed to learn and enjoy the subject to the fullest.
And to these people ,
KUDOS!!
Keep doing it!!
Keep being passionate!!
Keep LIVING the true LIFE!!!
Think Different!!

Once upon a time, there was a blogger ....

Once upon a time,

there was a blogger 

who went by the name Diff.Thinkr and fortunately , he's still alive and in college!!

Hey guys, its been such a long time since my last post and just now I deleted 2 of my old posts that I started writing but left after a single para. But this time I'm determined to complete :D

Life has been fun so far. College has presented itself lots of wonderful opportunities, great friends and new insights. A new outlook, a new openness, a whole new world to explore.
And amazingly, a good number of my friends are open minded enough to listen and even accept many of my ideas! 

Being a member of IEEE, is proving very useful and has opened a lot of new avenues to explore and, possibly get lost in too! Our college's cultural fest "Dhwani"  completely rocked (I simply can't find a better word to describe it! ) 

Ok, I'm ending this short update and hopefully, the next time I write, I'll be able to remember the "different thoughts" that I still keep getting. (I keep forgetting them :(  )

The Essence of Onam

Another Prosperous Onam has arrived at our door steps at Kerala.
A celebration of prosperity and life.
Of the harvest and the bounty of nature.
Of the vibrant colours of the spring and the mouth watering treats.
Of the refreshing fragrance of the blossoms and the sweet chirps of the birds.

But today, regretfully,even this celebration of life too has been commercialised!

Pookalam (Floral Carpets) ,one of the most integral parts of Onam , is inarguably one of the most enjoyable activites of Onam. Traditionally children (mostly) went around collecting flowers, wild and grown, planned, designed and set the pookalam. Since a couple of years, flowers can be bought taking out ,in my opinion, the most enjoyable facet of making a pookalam, ie. collecting flowers with friends and family. And now its possible to go walk upto a flower shop, pick a design, hand over the money and they'll come and setup the whole pookalam! Where's the fun in that?

One might argue that this is aimed at all the companies and such who put up pookalam. Yes its true that most ventures setup a pookalam in their offices often incorporating their own symbols. But, if you can't invest a couple of hours for this then why bother even putting up a pookalam?

On to the next issue. There aren't any flowers! My sis and I spent a lot of time searching for flowers along the roadsides and were hard pressed to find enough flowers for a decent pookalam. That said, it turned out pretty well at the end.

This year I was feeling a bit adventurous and went ahead a step further and made this.....

Yes, an "Electronic Carpet" if you may.....

Hope the years to come will preserve or even revive the age old traditions of Onam........

Notes to the Future Me - The Little Girl

If you are wondering about the title, I'm leaving this post to the future me so that one day when I read my old posts, I would remember these occasions and moments and they might come in handy at the time.

Well, here goes....

For my college admission process, I had to go to Trivandrum. We went by train and near our seat was a small family, father, mother and a girl of 4-5 years. Her (the girl's) name is Shangari. They were from Mangalore.

I usually don't play around with small kids. I think its more a result of my circumstances than a choice but that's a whole another story..... On with the story, the girl was very much interested in playing with me and we did so for the next 4 hours, almost the whole length of our journey. She was an astonishingly smart and bright girl.

At the end of the journey, she was woken up (she was made to sleep for sometime) and she bid me farewell by wishing me "Study Well". To think that a 4 year old wished me so was so very surprising to me. She was told earlier that I was going to college but I would never ever even have dreamt about such a wish. Thank You dear.

Afterwards, I was just wondering how weird and wonderful it would be to meet her again after many years. I hope so.....

A Breath of Fresh Air

Its been a long time since my last post. I've been trying to find the reason for this but still not so sure about it. But what prompted me to write this is a very timely poem sent by my English Teacher Vijayalakshmi, affectionately called Viji miss....

Go placidly amid the noise and the haste,
and remember what peace there may be in silence.

As far as possible, without surrender,
be on good terms with all persons.
Speak your truth quietly and clearly;
and listen to others,
even to the dull and the ignorant;
they too have their story.
Avoid loud and aggressive persons;
they are vexatious to the spirit.

If you compare yourself with others,
you may become vain or bitter,
for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.
Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.
Keep interested in your own career, however humble;
it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.

Exercise caution in your business affairs,
for the world is full of trickery.
But let this not blind you to what virtue there is;
many persons strive for high ideals,
and everywhere life is full of heroism.
Be yourself. Especially do not feign affection.
Neither be cynical about love,
for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment,
it is as perennial as the grass.

Take kindly the counsel of the years,
gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.
But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings.
Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.

Beyond a wholesome discipline,
be gentle with yourself.
You are a child of the universe
no less than the trees and the stars;
you have a right to be here.
And whether or not it is clear to you,
no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

Therefore be at peace with God,
whatever you conceive Him to be.
And whatever your labors and aspirations,
in the noisy confusion of life,
keep peace in your soul. 

With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams,
it is still a beautiful world.
Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.

Max Ehrmann c.1920

I'm on the very brink of another phase of my life, college. I've been busy with a couple of huge projects the keystone of which is Coders On Cloud. But I must admit that a couple of thoughts have been in and around my head and raking it pretty well. One of the latest just happens to be about my image in the eyes of my fellow beings. I know this goes against all that I've ever written on this blog or elsewhere but I guess every once in a while a rock has to give way to bring a fresh breath of life to a sleeping cavern of treasures. This poem did just that and for that I'm speechlessly grateful to her.  

To be precise, these are the words that mean the most to me

If you compare yourself with others,

you may become vain or bitter,

for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.

Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.

Keep interested in your own career, however humble;

it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.

And I can truly and wholeheartedly vouch for the fact that those words are indeed true to the fullest. And now I'm as happy as ever to be me.

On a side note, I think it is high time for my "Most Influential" article and that will be up next.