Year Ending

So...last week of the year 2005, a time to be a little bit philosphical and see what happened during the passing year...what was to be done, what I did, and what remained untouched.
Though in some sense New Year does not mean anything special because in a way each day is a new day and only thing that matters is how one can make full use of it. If it goes as per your wish, then what they call in Hindi is...

"हर दिन अपना बने दशहरा, रात बने दीवाली"

But even then, these type of occasions (say New Year, Dashahara, Diwali or ur B'Day) give a chance to sit, relax and look back for a moment for the things i discribed above, that is where I am, where I should have been and what can i do to be there ,where I should have been :).
Also what I left in between, what I aquired new, and what i need for the coimng year (a kind of wishlist...?)

Have tried to put some thoughts over theses matters at my Hindi Blog (I feel at home when I write in Hindi) and regarding 2006, certainly going to be challanging and defining year of my life.At present, it is the last phase of student life(most probably) and have to enter the MARKET...
seems life will be totally different then, new targets, new environment and less freedom...

Let us see, what Santa brings to me this year.....
Merry Christmas....

Finished with Presentation-I

Today, done with first presentation regarding the OT findings.Was attended by various NGOs of Udaipur (Sewa Mandir, FES etc..) and also some technical people.Went on smoothely. Now remaining with Next presentation at Delhi to be on 2nd , and ofcourse, report writing, which is going to be a big task...
Anyway, at present, planning to enjoy weekend with my Brother at Nathdwara & Udaipur...
Coming Soon, IIFM...

Finishing OT 2...

On the verge of finishing Second Organisational Training here at SPWD's Udaipur office.Right now busy in making report and presentations....have to deliever one presentation day after tomorrow here at Udaipur and the next friday at Delhi Headquarter...and thats the END....have to reach IIFM by 5th, so a chance to spend at least one night at home, while returning.

Got a lot of sweet/bitter experiences and memories of the field visit...travelled more then 7000 kilometers across 6 states(Rajasthan, Jharkhand, Orissa, AP, CG and Guajarat)...got a lot to write here...though my much inclination nowadays is on my Hindi Blog (feel better to write in mother tounge)

Looking ahead at IIFM, it will be the last phase of IIFM stay(& probably the student life, dont know)...and the big big thing.....have to deal with placements as that is the ultimate thing...but anyway, the journey seems to be more important the the destination...because will anyhow reach there, if the journey was good, & till now, it indeed was...

The last two lines seemed to be a bit philosphical...actually I just finished reading The Alchemist for the second time.First time I read it was in March 2004...a lot has changed since then....at that time , i just read it as a fiction, but this time, the outlook was a bit different...Seems, I myself have changed a lot during this period...will write more abt it later

Coming Back

Writing here after a lot many days...dont know why i forgot my way here...may be because i was writing here, on my hindi blog(though not so regularly there too)....

Anyway, i m in Udaipur currently, for my OT II, with SPWD again, where i did my OT I.

The project is related to Bio Diesel and Jatropha Carcus, there may be impacts on environmnet as well as rural livelihood, wasteland development, there mareket potential and the current situation with respect to all these issues.Sounds very intresting. Doing some literature review at present and will be moving to field around 15th october. Will cover the states of Jharkhand, Orissa, Andhra Pradesh , Chattisgarh etc, so a lot of travel ahead.

Alos no Dashahra , Diwali at home this year....just like it used to happen when i was in Navodaya, but there, atleast we had a lot of friends....

Going Home

Exam finished just now.....not very good not too bad...
leaving for home now(weekend)...will be back on August 15, that is Independence day...so looking forward to enjoy these 3-4 days..:))

exam time...

So...its exam time again..with same frenzy of not preparing anything in time and trying to study whatever i can...anyway...that will be over in three days only that is tuesday to thursday and then ...i willl again be a free man ;-)...planning to go home this weekend as there will be an extra holiday on monday for independece day..so can eat some good food for 2-3 days.nowadays...my diet has gone to its lowest level...thanx to "Mess Ka Khana"..it is totally mess..& even cant get breakfast these days because taking braekfast to classes is prohibited now...& i was never able to go to mess for taking it because never getup in time in morning(not before 8:10 for 8:30 class)...

& can see hard times ahead sfter Aug 15, as lots of term assignments are piling up... :(

Sixth Harry Potter

Currently I m reading Harry Pottter & Half Blood Prince…Have reached till 9th chapter…
It is going at its usual pace with Harry reaching Hogwartz for his 6th year…and all sorts of fight against He –Who- Should-Not-Be-Named.:)
But what surprised me most is the fear factor (of He –Who- Should-Not-Be-Named aka Lord Voldmort & Associates) that Rowling has generated in wizard community
It just seems very similar to the fear of terrorism that is prevailing in today’s world.
Though Rowling is British and Britain felt the REAL heat only after 7/7 and I assume that the chapters were written well ahead of that…I believe Americans felt quite like this after 9/11 or we Indians are feeling since last 10-15 years and are now get used to it.
Especially the incidents like Wizards being to conscious about their security, or empty markets and shops depicted in the book.
Will try to write more on it as I proceed.

Wo Beete Din....

Got this article in my mailbox a few days ago...its really heart touching and u will really feel so after reading it.here it goes...

Do you remember those days....

When gulli-danda and kanche (marbles) were more popular than cricket ...

When we always had friends to play aais-paais (I Spy), chhepan-chhepai and pitthoo anytime ...

When we desperately waited for 'yeh jo hai jindagi' ...

When chitrahaar, vikram-baitaal, dada daadi ki kahaniyaan were so fulfilling ...

When there was just one tv in every five houses

When bisleris were not sold in the trains and we were worrying if papas will get back into the train in time or not when they were getting down at stations to fill up the water bottle ...

When we were going to bed by 9.00pm sharp except for the 'yeh jo hai jindagi' day ...

When Holis & Diwalis meant mostly hand-made pakwaans and sweets and moms seeking our help while preparing them ...

When Maths teachers were not worried of our mummys and papas while slapping/beating us ...

When we were exchanging comics and stamps and chacha-chaudaris and billus were our heroes ...

When we were in nanihaals every summer and loved flying kites and plucking and eating unripe mangoes and leechis ...

When one movie every Sunday evening on television was more than asked for and 'ek do teen chaar' and 'Rajni' inspired us ...

When 50 paisa meant at least 10 toffees ...

When left over pages of the last years notebooks were used for rough work or even fair work ...

When 'chelpark' and 'natraaj' were encouraged against 'reynolds and family' ...

When the first rain meant getting drenched and playing in water and mud and making 'kaagaj ki kishtis' ...

When there were no phones to tell friends that we will be at their homes at six in the evening ...

When our parents always had 15 paise blue colored 'antardesis' and 5 paise machli wale stamps at home ...

When we remembered tens of jokes and were not finding 'ice-cream and papa' type jokes foolish enough to stop us from laughing ...

When we were not seeing patakhes on Diwalis and gulaals on Holis as air and noise polluting or allergic agents ...

the list can be endless ... on the serious note I would like to summarise with ...

When we were using our hearts more than our brains, even for scientifically brainy activities like 'thinking' and 'deciding' ...

When we were crying and laughing more often, more openly and more sincerily ...

When we were enjoying our present more than worrying about our future ...

When being emotional was not synonymous to being weak ...

When sharing worries and happinesses didnt mean getting vulnerable to the listener ...

When blacks and whites were the favourite colors instead of greys ...

When journeys also were important and not just the destinations ...

When life was a passenger's sleeper giving enough time and opportunity to enjoy the sceneries from its open and transparent glass windows instead of some superfast's second ac with its curtained, closed and dark windows ...

I really miss .. do u?, i knew u wud do.

OT Photographs

Posted below are some pics fom my organisational training which i completed recently.Most of the pics are frm Orissa(MP & Delhi pics r yet to be developed)....More pics are posted here. :)

Koraput, Orissa 

Malkangiri, Orissa 

Acknowledgement

This post is to acknowledge all those people who helped me in one way or other during two months of Organisational Visit.I m writing them here because it was not possible to incorporate all the names in the report which i will be submitting.

At IIFM, Bhopal

Prof P K Biswas(OT Coordinator) and all other faculty members

At SPWD, Delhi
Mr Vijay Sardana
Mr Pramod Tyagi
Ms Vanita Suneja
Mr Ajay Bhan Singh
Mr R P Agrawal
Ms Pooja
Mr Kanishk

At Vasundhara, Bhubaneshwar
Dr Neera Singh
Ms Rekha Panigrahi
Ms Pushpanjali Sathpathy

At RCDC, Bhubaneshwar
Mr Sanjay Pattnaik

At Vasundhara, Kuchinda & Barkote
Mr Rana Ray
Mr Nihar Ranjan Mishra
Ram Chandra
Basil
Malay

At RCDC, Koraput
Mr Rupen Pattanik
Basant

At Pragati, Koraput
Mr Prabhakar Adhikari

At Parivartan, Malkangiri
Mr Nityanand Pradhan
Mr Nakul Khila

At Gram Vikas, Berhampur
Mr Joe Madhiach
Mr M K Mahapatra

At Sahjeevan, Shahdol
Mr Yogesh Shastri
Ms Suvarna Yogesh
Mr Giridhar Mathenkar
Ms Manisha Mathenkar
Mr Prem Mishra

Government & Bank Officials
DFO, Shahdol
RM, Central Bank Of India, Shahdol
LDM, Central Bank Of India, Shahdol
DDM, NABARD, Shahdol
Officials of OPM, Amlai

Mr Shreyas Goyal, TARAhaat, Delhi

People of different villages, cooperatives,SHGs, Federations of Orissa and Madhya Pradesh, without whose responses,support, feedbacks, this work could not have been completed.

Friends, @ IIFM and everywhere else for being in touch continuously.

& Above all, GOD, Mummy, Papa and Rohit for everything.

Back To IIFM :)

So, back to IIFM after more then 2 months.The old schedule and classes have started as usual.Right now have to choose electives for the term.also, starting of hindi blog is also pending.

The good thing is,net connectivity after 2 months and the bad thing is Yahoo Messenger is not working :( because of newlly installed firewall in the Network....So bad , cant talk with any of trhe friends :(..

Anyway, after starting of fourth term, its time to get serious abt studies and placement and carrier...

Dilli Ki Garmi.....

I m in Hell..(sorry..Dellhi) since last 10-12 days.. & this has been nothing else except a good torture.Kya garmi hai bhai dilli me....bas Zinda hu is taraha...

Anyway the good thing is...today is second last day of OT..havce prepared the draft report and also submitted...Presesntation is also ready & have to deliver it in evening tomorrow and after that,....to home frm night train...hoorraaayyy one week vacation :)

the problem is , these peopel have also invited of Board of Governers for our presentation and that makes me somewhat nervous...anyway...WILL BE FREE TOMORROW EVENING.

My hometown(Manohar thana) has got some rains and it will definitely be coller then Delhi(Or call it Hellhi)
So looking forward to one week of full masti.......

Bits and Pieces

I have not written anything over here since last don’t know how many days and I m itching to write my experiences of field visit. Was in Shedol from 18 may to 11 june and did not had proper net access there.Now i m in delhi and though have net connection here, But the time has not come yet. because still busy with preparation of report here in delhi.From here will go to home and there is no question of net availability there so it seems that regular upates here will start from 4th july only when I will be back in Bhopal.

Meanwhile…my last days in orissa were just great. I went to konark, puri and chilka…Roamed a lot on sea beaches, bowed in front of bhagwan Jagannath and in Chilka….the mouth where lake and sea joins each other were marvellous…Really enjoyed a lot. those details are also pending to be posted here.
Another thing is…my third term grades are out…and to my surprise…I performed better then my 2nd term…don’t know how it was possible but…really miracles do happen. I got 3.52/4.33 and though it is not very good I even did not expected that.. anyway GOD IS GRAET :)

Now…counting my days in delhi…I did not like this city a bit…don’t know why.. but this is not of my type…m staying here at room of one of my seniors(Goyal sir)…but he is also out of station and I really get bored..

Also the 3 hour up down bus journey from home to office to home is really tiresome feel completely exhausted when I reach back…anyway have to just spend 7-8 more days here…

Back to Bhuwaneshwar

I was in field for last 12-15 days....have travelled across five districts of Orrisa (Devgarh, Sambalpur,Koraput,Malkangiri and Ganjam)..had got a lot of expeinces..met with many people...NGOs, cooperatives, SHGs, people in villages.....have so many things to write..but it willl take some time to sort everything out....will write later...

Here Bhuwaneshwar is HOT like anything...though Kotaput was veru cool and I enjoyed 7 days there...m planning to visit Puri this weekend...

for now...thanx to people of Orrisa who made my visit to filed a very memorable experience...(will wrie names some time later).

Over To Bhuwaneshwar

So..i m here in Bhuwaneshwar, the Capital of Orissa, since Saturday.
nice city...but very humid..., temprature is not much , but humidity is like anything....Khoob Paseena Baha Raha hu :)

Anyway....Was free yeasterday, as it was sunday...utilised it inb roaming around in Bhuwaneshwar...saw some temples here...(will write detail abt that later) also saw the museum....but was not of much intrest to me.

The work for which , came here, started today. Met with Vasundhara as well as RCDC people and really...thos epeople are very cooperative...are helping in all the ways possible from library informations to arrangements in field....really thankful to them.

Will be moving to field tom oroow..oit is around overnight journey frm here(in Sambalpur District). Will be there till sunday and frm there only...will move to Korupet(RCDC field area)...will be there again for 1 week & then probably back to BBSR...dont knowabt that..

Will also have to take one day to visit Puri...cant lkeave that after coming so nera...hope get a call from there (Bhagawan Jagannath) :)....hope he ios listening..

i think will get net after 10-12 days now...

My First Income

Today is last day at Delhi...atleat For Time being..wil leave for Bhuwaneshwar tomorrow.

The good thing for today is ...I got my first pay(more specifically it is stipend)....
Because i will be in field for around 50 days...those peole being generous have given me some advance from stipend and accomodation allowance and other expense(Total amount 16,700/- :D)..thats a good amount and i hope my coming days will pass happily..:)

More From Delhi....

Today was my reporting day at Organisation....Got my project and location details.

So Have not to tolarate delhi for much time...Have to move to Bhuvaneshwar on 22nd .will be there till around 20 May.(dont know..how hot will be that city in peak summers),from There will have to move to Shehdol in MP.

The "what i have to do in project" is that i will be studying the NTFP marketing models followed by some NGOs in Orrisa and works being done by them both at field as well as policy level and try to find their applicability in Shehdol Region of MP(or to suggest some suitable model).

Will be getting my tickets and some advance for 2 months :) by tomorrow but still have to stay in that "Kabootarkhana" of Paharganj :(......(thats what we call life)

Hope coming days will be good fuin and learning.

Dilli

Writing this from a cyber cafe in Chandni Chowk.....

This is my second day in delhi for my first Summer training in PG and how tired i m..from Yesterday till today, i dont know how much kilometers i have travelled and how many times i have asked my way to people..and experienced a lot...OF DELHI.

Ask anybody abt any place...& the answer u will get..
"Bas yaha se seedhe nikal jao...aur aage thodi door jaake phir seedhe chale jaana." :) Not even a single person told to go left or right or turn back...

Firstly i had kept my luggage at Shreyas's Oraganisation's guest house but had to leave that in the evening only & then got this hotel at Paharganj.

Yeasterday..first we strolled at Nizamuddin Ralway Station for two hours to get his Honda Activa which he had booked frm bhopal...And dont forget two hours walk to different area around Nizamuuddin to purchase a helmet...had to walk arond 5-6 Kilometers.:(

The after getting the Gaddi we set out to search for my org..and what a address they have given..just the name of the street...we travelled arnd 30 kilometers & fortunately found the location...but the big task was remaining..we both had to go back to his guest house nad none of us knew where wre we had in which direction we had to go...so againa sking an asking and after travelling 40 kilomerters for a distance which was actually 20 Kilometers and passing thru dont know what what streets...and may other know places like..Rashtrapati Bhawan, India Gate janpath Rajghat ..and so on...somehow reached back...

Then had to move back to Paharganj & finally found this Hotel where i m staying right now.

Free for today also ..just raoming arnd in the streets..went to Jama Masjid..lal Kila...and at presently at chandni Chowk...will see a movie at Night. Or may be evening show.:)

let us see what is in store for tomorrow .

P S - Another thing i hate is to pay for Net...have used to of having unlimited connectivity at IIFM :(

हिन्दी मे लिखने का प्रयास

क़ाफी दिनो से हिन्दी मे लिखने का विचार कर रहा था....नया हिन्दी ब्लोग बनाने का भी इरादा है...पर आज सोचा कि पहले यही पर कोशिश करके देखा जाये...वैसे हिन्दी मे लिखना बदा मुश्किल है...पर यहा से ये काफी आसान हो जायेग... आगे आगे देखिये ...होता है क्या ?

OT Decided.....

So.....the fate of next two months(that is summers) was decided yesterday night....Will be doing a project under SPWD(Society For the Promotion Of Wasteland Development).

The project is on finding markets for some NTFPs and is based in MP only...but will have to report their Delhi Office First.

Getting a Stipend of Rs.4000/- per month :) (that will be my first real earning) + 3000 p.m. as accomodation allowances + AC II class train fare + other incidental expenses. Thats not bad... ;)

Anyway...for now, the biggest pain is End Terms which are starting from tomorrow and i dont know even a damn thing in any subject....Will have to do some real work to get marks in these exams....And for now...writing in Hindi is also postponed till dont know when....

Enjoying Reading Hindi Blogs....

Though nowadays i m deep immersed in assignments...i m addicted to reading hindi blogs.I did not knew that there are so many people writing in hindi over Web....& how cool they write....Some blogs are simply great!!!reading a lot of poems and the good thing is most of them have a desi hindi touch which cannot be found in books.

I m also planning to start a hindi blog very soon...but may be after term exmas......

Links to many Hindi Blogs can be found here.

US Sells F-16 To Pak

This news came last week...I just read this article on rediff on US Policy and what india Shud Do...

"lovely easter gift to india from the US.

moral: proliferate nukes, threaten us interests everywhere, be terror hub, and get rewarded for it. this has been north korea's experience, china's experience, saudi arabia's experience, and pakistan's experience.
suck up to the US, desperately crave its goodwill, allow its odious conversion machine to dictate terms to you, and get slapped on the face. this is india's experience.
simple solution for india: proliferate nuke and missile technology to anybody who wants it, especially taiwan and japan. this will immediately get american respect, much as pokhran-ii did."...

Full Article @

http://in.rediff.com/news/2005/mar/28kanch.htm

 

Field Visit To A Farm Near Siwani-Malwa On 19th March 

India Lost!!!! :(

So…India again lost a match when they were expected to perform under pressure. There are so many questions to be asked & so many to be answered…why did India played only for a draw & not for a Win(when u have so called top class batsman of the world and that too all in form) & just now I read a news…”Laxman & Kumbale out of One Day Squad”…So can anybody tell me what Mr. Ganguly is doing in team…? I think He shud be given some rest & time to think , what his problem is.Let him play some domestic cricket & then he can again make a comeback.
Frm Pakistan’s point of view..they made a great comeback after losing 2nd test ant Kolkata…and the innings by Inzy & Yunus Khan were a pleasure to watch.
In my view man of the series shud have been shared between Sehwag & Yunus Khan.
Sehwag is really becoming Sachin for India…once there was atime when we used to sya..Sachin is gone…that means whole team is gone…the in last few years there were good performnacs frm everyone in the team and team no more depended upon Sachin & now…Its Sehwag…till he is in field runrate moves like anything. Pitch conditions, bowl condition. Lights, sight screen. Pressure…nothing hampers the sharpness of his bat…..!!

Now as one day series in ahead...let us see what India is going to do?

Added On April 1st

Got this in mail just now....

New Maggi Ad:---

• Step 1: Boil one cup of water
• Step 2: As soon as ganguly goes for batting, put the noodles in the boiled water and add the tastemaker.
• Step 3: Stir till ganguly is on the field.
• Step 4: As soon as ganguly is back in pavilion, your noodles r ready to eat.

Days to come....

Was thinking of changing the template since many days...but couldnt get time...even could not write anything here since midterms.This template is OK but i m still not satisfied..will try to change further in coming days.

btw....almost each prof has given loats of assignments.& April first week is going to be full of submissions and presentations...most deadlines are approaching and then there will be exams frn 11th..oh GOD!!!

At present the biggest headache is to decide OT...though it will be finalised on 8th April.....i m still unable to make up my mind whether which sector to choose..:(.I m Confuuuused a lot)

Also...seniors will be departing very soooon.Their last working day is 31st...Tomorrow we(juniors) r giving them farewell...

This saturday will again be consumed by another Field Work in FE...& this time it is 120 km away(total 240)...oh god..that means more then 7 hrs of journey.....Oops!!!

& then ....Holi is coming..planning to visit home again at Holi ;)...thats the advantage u get when u are near ur hometown...while in engineering it used to take me 16 hrs to reach home but now...its just 4 hrs away...:)).we r trying to reschedule classes of 28th..and hope Diro agrees to it.....

Mastiiiiiiiiiii

So Midterms finished just now and i can breath easily..

Dont know how i performed in exams but "I should not look back". Rather see what is ahead of me...

I have to read a lot...watch some movies plus visit home.I missed a lot of Hungama on TV due to thses exams.First Assembly elections then Budget Discussion...but now i will make of all the losses :).

& its party time now. Finally seniors are giving placement party today that means lots of DJ dance+masti.....and that also means preparation of next party...thats farewell which we will give............... so again Dance+Masti...

So i seems i will have a very busy shedule for next week.Oops...forgot studies.. have to submit a lot of assignments next week... :( so will have to work... :(

Shattered Dreams & Hopes....

When thought that the winter has passed by, Jammu & Kashmir received biggest snow fall in years, due to the effect of which whole North India is again under harsh cold wave.
It has brought with it, very low temperatures & rains which have ruined the hopes of millions of farmers. Ripened crop on thousands of hectares of land in Punjab, Hariyana and many parts of Rajasthan has suffered severely.
I read in a newspaper last week that farmers had received bumper crop this year(wheat, mustered especially), & the report indicated that if all goes well for at least 10-15 more days, farmers will be able get good money this year but….
Agriculture is the biggest gamble in India…& when everything seems to be alright… even few hours of rain can ruin the efforts of months, and there seems to be no way to fight against this cruelty of nature. After all…nobody expects very low temperatures in February end…and God save Meteorological Department …..There is still no concrete mechanism to communicate latest information & weather forecasts to farmers in remote parts of country. They still have to depend on there own indigenous techniques and predictions & of course…God to get returns of their hard work….
Isn’t it unfair to them….who toil hard…. in scorching summers…in freezing winters with minimum resources…. ?
And what do they get in return….? Only shattered hopes & dreams……

Ground Reality

Another week has passed by but this time got only Sunday off. Had a field exercise on Saturday & that was an experience worth sharing.Here it is.....

we takeoff from college on 9 in morning (Saturday morning & I woke-up as early as 8:30!!!!) Destination…Village Samarda, arnd 35 Km from Bhopal. First we visit a Nursery near Barkatulla University…& then heads off towards Samarda. The village is in interior, 10 kilometer from main road…no other connectivity. We reached at arnd 12:30.
We have already made groups which had to concentrate on various issues & we scattered in the village.

My grp enters the village….my first encounter is with Narendra, He is arnd 8-9 years old, & he says, Namaste sir, when he looks us. I try to start conversation…. abt him, his family, his education. He is in 4th std, has two siblings & his father is a Nakedar (Forest watchmen) with forest department. He also have agricultural land, & when I asks him that who works over land, he proudly says that he joins his mother in fields. He says that there are total 96 students in his school from std.1 to 8th but only one Ma’ssaab (Teacher) we also come to know that there are several television sets in village & also four CD Players,& …which was the last movie u saw, he shyly tells..”Billa No.786”, A Mithun Dhamaka(proves that not Shahrukh, but Mithun rules Indian grassroots still :).

After talking several minutes (when I think that there is nothing more to ask) we move further inside the village. The scene is, that almost everywhere…I encounter my classmates in groups of 2 or 3, talking to villagers.

again I encounters a child, girl this time(arnd 7-8 yrs), but she is too shy, & I only get her smiles in answers to my queries, but I manage to know her name(Puja) ,that her father & mother are not at home, that she also goes to school but didn’t went today(holiday) & when I asked..what abt food, very proudly, she tells that “I prepared it & also fed by little brothers”….

Here, we meets, Vrindavan….he is arnd 30 years old..& after several minutes we also come to know that he is the father of Narendra(the child whom we met earlier). We talk abt the problems of villages & the first among many is connecting road…he did not had to say much because we reached by that road only…& that 10 Km patch (from main road) is pathetic. & this is the condition when this village comes under State Chief Minister’s constituency. He says that whenever elections come...they get huge promises that the road will be made this time…...but promise are promise only.

Regarding other probs…it is drinking water, drainage system, education, health…to name a few.There r only 4 hand pumps in village & only 2 are working. There is a well at forest rest house and once some pipes were also laid to village for water supply but the work halted in between and those pipes are stolen by now & there has been no progress since then.

Regarding health…in major cases they have to take patient to Bhopal & in most cases it takes too much time to reach Bhopal that the condition of patients worsens in middle.

Regarding education as we already heard from that child, there is only one teacher on 96 students & he is also not very regular. We can very well think what a person will teach to 96 students.

There is not much agricultural land with villagers…the other sources of income are..works provided by Forest department, Tendu Leaf & Mahua Collection..

We again start moving & encounters some more villagers…but it is that old lady(arnd 50) years who gave us some bitter truth pills which I can never forget. I m writing her words in Hindi here as that generates more effect.,
“kya hai ye…tum log har mahine aa jaate ho.(I protest that its my first time)..to koi aura aa jata hai…yaha aate hai..ye sab likh le jaate hai..karta koi kuch nahi, mai 40 saalo se dekh rahi hoo, is gaon me kuch nahi badala, kuch nahi hua.(I says that I m a student)…to tum log yaha picnic manane aaye ho. Aaj shaniwar hai na…tumhari chutti hogi, tum ghumne aa gaye, nahi to yaha Samarda me kya milega jot um yaha aaye ho, Abhi 2 mahine pehle bhi ek camp laga tha yaha…log aaye the 8 din rahe, khele-kude, khaya-piya aur chale gaye…kiya to kuch nahi.yaha log aakar 50 baar road kaa naap leja chuke hai,aaj tak road nahi banaya.tum jaise log bhi aate hai, ulte-seedhe sawaal puchte hai..aur chale jaate hai.(an elder person (age arn 65 is sitting near her 7 he tries to cool her but in vain.)

I just listens the grnd reality with bewilderment, unable to answer anything, whatever she is saying, there is truth in her words, & though there is anger in her words there are also traces of pain. also it leaves some questions in my mind
Who gave us right to interfere in there lives? OK we have our studies and field work components but doesn’t asking question like this raise false hopes in their mind? They tell us our pain, with expectation that here is someone who has come to listen me & he will do something for me once he goes back…& what will we do…make a nice presentation…a nice looking report…talk some big words(sustainability. livelihood, capacity building, blah., blah, blah…) and then forget everything. Is it ethical?

Imagine the way we behave with the door to door salesman in cities…and here we are…44 students…attacked a village with just 50 houses with our absurd queries and question, asking the problems abt which we can do nothing (at least at present).

(some examples…how people were asking questions there…”Aapke yaha BPL families kitni hai?”, “Aapke yaha family planning hoti hai?” & the poor fellow is wondering over the words “BPL” & “family planning”).

How can India Feel Good when a village, just 35 kilometers from State Capital, constituency of State CM has not got proper road connection, have a school with only one teacher, have no employment and no water (whatever bloody interdepartmental & governmental conflicts are there)?

One question to myself…I m writing all this stuff, so big words…but once I get a job ..will I think abt them…will I prefer to go & work in a village like that? I don’t know….

The "Class" of 2004-06(Me- Last Row 4th From Left) 

DD Quiz & 2nd Term Grades

So Today was a good day finally. Though started on a bad note but….all well that ends well :)

First…woke up early (at 7:30 & that too when I was getting up at arnd 9-10 since last 9 days, full Kalpataru week) & then when was getting ready… came to know that 8:30 class will not be there (professor informed only early morning).

So disappointed on losing THAT precious 1 hour sleep… OK….no probs…went to class at 9:30 & again…no class …Prof on leave. @#~&@&$#..If all this would have been informed earlier…I could have enjoyed 2 hours of sleep. So bad.

Me & Bhaskar had to leave for Doordarshan Quiz, & so missed last 2 classes (with permission) & left for Doordarshan Kendra at 12.I was too anxious & excited for the quiz & a bit nervous also but nothing was ready there. All the three teams had arrived in time but those people were not ready. & so waited…& waited..& waited. Meanwhile got some makeup…but had not eaten anything since 8 & was feeling so hungry (Nothing available in canteen there).

Finally it started at arnd 3... & the good part starts now…The quiz was too simple (especially for Bhaskar) & we cracked it like anything. We managed to lead from the first round itself and finally the difference between us & first runner-up(MANIT) was 70 Points. Felt too happy but…. no incentives for winning…no prizes…no certificate…not even claps... Nothing & the telecast is also far away(25th March). OK… again no probs..

But one more surprises was remaining…when came back to collage… found that All second term grades r out (except UB). Heart Beats increased…& noted down grades somehow....OGPA 3.28 (compared to 3.03 first terms). At least a bit improvement.

QT was my Waterloo again (worst performance). If had managed well in QT…the OGPA would have been much better. This term has no such bad subject...let us see what happens ….

Now abt coming 2-3 days…The good thing is.. ..no 8:30 class for full week :)
But the workload will increase now with much more assignments + term projects and Mid Terms r also approaching. So shud start study by now…….

P.S. - Today was Valentine's Day. ...Feels so bad when someone asks..."what u did today.....something special":(.But not for me.Wait n wacth(others).Till then Lagey Raho India :).

Kalpataru Ends....

So, Kalpataru comes to an end with yesterday’s final function & with this comes end of holidays & classes will start from Monday.
Anyway the good thing for me was winning second prize in OpenHouse Quiz contest (Intercollege) as I did not took part in any other cultural or sports activity.
The week saw a lot of GBMs by the class on the issue of conflict with staff (their attitude & behaviour). First it was decided that we will only organize & not participate in any of the event which continued for starting 2-3 days but later due to PEER PRESSURE the decision was taken back.
On Monday I (along with Bhaskar) have to take part in a Quiz at Doordarshan, Bhopal. The other teams participating are MANIT, Bhopal & SATI, Vidisha. The Quiz is based on Indian History & Culture. I have to prepare well for that & WIN this Quiz.

Thought On A Quote

Quote:
"You Learn more from Failure than you can from Success."

- From The Book "Brand Failures" By Matt Haig.

Thought:
I should have been a Genius by now!!!!

A Bad Day..A Book..& A Movie.

Kalpataru is just 3 days ahead & the campus is warming up. Also thanks to cool 'n' warm sunny days the climate is too good for sports.

But I m Feeling so bad! Today was really not my day.First, in early morning hours (around 2 A.M.) I lost my carom doubles match (against Virendra & Lokesh), played very bad & missed even simple chances.Then slept at arnd 3 and slept like anything. Missed first three lectures!!!. Though second one was free

.

Then in the evening, had Volleyball Matches. We managed to win the first game of three sets by 2-0(against faculty) but then the next match was with seniors & we lost it by 2-1. Performance was not too bad but I think there is some jinx working when we play against seniors. In the whole year we have lost three times(100%) in volleyball against seniors. Though they say that they also never managed to win against their seniors & that means that there IS some jinx.

Cultural Prelims will start from tomorrow & I m participating in every event except Dance & Singing(hope i can do some better there ).

I have started reading “Da Vinci Code”…& the thrill is really gripping from the first page. Have reached till 100th page now & cudos to Dan Brown , he has really done a lot of homework on novel. All those puzzles, anagrams & theories seems so realistic (on first page he claims that all this is true, should I believe him?) I will also try to get hold on his earlier works.

Also Watched Movie “Page-3” yesterday. Once again a good piece of work by Director Madhur Bhandarkar & and a true portrait of so called High Society. If this is what they call “Mumbai Life” or “Fast Life” is, then I m really sorry for those people.Konkana Sen Sharma is marvellous in her charm,eyes,looks, acting everything.(once again a "Sanwali Bangali Bala", after Rani Mukharjee, Bipasha Basu...). These Bengali girls r really good!!!.

Memories.......

I have been in hostels since I was in 6th standard. It has been around 14 years now outside the home & as far as I remember the longest duration for which I stayed at home continuously during this time was arnd 3 months.

Have stayed in various hostels, in rented rooms, single or twin shares basis, hostels with up to 20 guys in one single hall, rooms with very good neighbors & landlords, rooms with worst landlords, mosquitoes, with or without fan, Common or separate toilets & many more.

Ate food at different messes, tiffins, self made sometimes and sometime by cook also.Ate rubber like chappatis, tasteless curries, pani & kankad wali dal.

Tasted & seen so much in life, met with of many people, made many friends, guys who never studied & managed good grades, guys who only studied but were never able to get good grades, guys who were great painters, dancers, singers.
Many memories are associated with my hostel life (both in school as well as collage). Some were really joyous and pleasant at that time & now also, & some were dreadful at that time but seems funny now. What i felt to leave home for the first time , then how was it to go 2000 kilometers from homeland to study @ God’s Own Country for 2 years, whose language & culture was very much different from mine. Then there was Engineering Collage…the fear of ragging & The Ragging. :)

There is so much that I can write some thing on each event & moment. So I have decided that I will start writing all my past memories, memories which are deep inside my HARDDISK.

The problem is, I don’t know how and from where to start so I have thought that I will start randomly and write whatever comes to my mind. Also one more thing I m uncertain abt is should I publish it on blog or shd write on paper. Hope I can get an answer soon from inside.

Not Much Intresting

I have not written anything here since 2-3 days.Cudn't find anything intresting to write.Republic day went on as usual. Flag Hoisting, Director's Message(4-P Theory), some songs etc.....These holidays spoil whole schedule of life. Since last 10 days some day i wake up at 10 in morning,then on another , when class is there, i have to some how get up at 8-8:15. Even missed 2 classes on Monday.I really cant controll my sleep.Work load was not much this week...neither much assignments, but it will not be the same next week. & KALPTARU is also coming (just one week in between).
I m not getting any good book to read.Planning to read Da'Vinci Code.Let us see what constructive i can do in this weekend.(i m not very hopeful).

P.S. - Today there was a Case Discussion in Marketing Class on the growth of Motorcycle Market in last decade in India & how it cannablized the Scooter market share.My point was (i did not mentioned it to Prof. but to friends at Backbeches), Imagine "Dhoom" replacing Bikes by Scooters in it.(I believe John Abraham will be replaced by Farooq Shekh & Isha Deol by Deepti Naval).

Lucky OR Unlucky ?

I was just thinking of, how lucky & unlucky I m to be living in this era .....Some observations:
Lucky:

• I m always connected to world, be it my parents or brother or friends or anybody for that matter thru one or all of mobile, net, telephone etc.( my parents waited for 6 years to get a telephone connection)
• I have access to unlimited number of opportunities in various field which i could not have thought of if i had born 20 years earlier.
• Computer & Net r really blessings.they have improved a lot in services, produtcs, information and many other sectors.Net has given real freedom of expression & information sharing.I can write whatever i want & share it with others.
• There r 'n' number of entertainment options available to me.
• Transport facilities has improved a lot in last 2-3 deacdes.... but so has population & pollution.

Unlucky:

• No place is safe.I can be attacked anywhere by some terrorist, samshed in some roads or train or plane accident or just can be caught by any new diseases, cure of which has not been found yet.
  
• There is no privacy.Big Brother(or someone else) is always watching.(Ask Shahid - Kareena).
• With refernce to no.2 in 'Lucky' column...though there r 'n' number of opportunities..there is no security of job and livelihood.
• I m loaded with information which is of no use to me.
• The world has become more cruel.There is no roof for emotions but only selfishness prevails(in most of the cases).

& Some Future Predictions:

• It may be possible that i may have to leave my beloved earth & shift to some other planet after some years.Land rate on moon may increase.
  
• There may be a good business scope of Oxygen Bars & Fresh Water(or a substitute of it) pills(in condensed form).
• Main characters of Juarrasic Park Part 9,10,& 11 willl be Tiger, Lion & Elephents.

Suggestions for additions to these lists are welcome.

Secrets

Never Ask ,
A Woman.....Her Age,
A Man..........His Salary &

A Student.....His Grades!!!!!

Tum Aur Main

I got this Poem in my mailbox.It is too hilarious.But U must know Hindi to enjoy it.

***MUSHKIL HAI APNA MEL PRIYE***

mushkil hai apna mel priye, ye pyar nahin hai khel priye,
mushkil hai apna mel priye, ye pyar nahin hai khelpriye,

tum MA 1st division ho, main hua matric fel priye,
mushkil hai apna mel priye, ye pyar nahin hai khelpriye,

tum fauji afsar ki beti, main to kisaan ka beta hoon,
tum rabadi kheer malai ho, main to sattu sapreta hoon,
tum AC ghar mein rahti ho, main ped ke neeche letahoon,
tum nai maruti lagti ho, main scooter lamreta hoon,
is kadar agar hum chup-chup kar aapas me prem badhaenge,
to ek roz tere daddy amrish puri ban jaaenge,
sab haddi pasli tod mujhe bhijwaa denge vo jail priye,

mushkil hai apna mel priye, ye pyar nahin hai khelpriye,

tum arab desh kee ghodi ho, main hoon gadahe ki naal priye,
tum deewali ka bonus ho, main bhookho ki hadtaal priye,
tum heere jadi tashtari ho, main almunium ka thaal priye,
tum chicken-soop biryani ho, main kankad waali daal priye,
tum hiran-chaokadi bharti ho, main hoon kachue kichaal priye,
tum chandan-wan ki lakdi ho, main hoon babool ki chaal priye,
main pake aam sa latka hoon, mat maaro mujhe gulel priye,

mushkil hai apna mel priye, ye pyar nahin hai khel priye,

main shani-dev jaisa kuroop, tum komal kanchan kayaho,
main tan-se man-se kanshi ram, tum maha chanchala mayaho,
tum nirmal paawan ganga ho, main jalta hua patanga hoon,
tum raaj ghaat ka shanti march, main hindu-muslim danga hoon,
tum ho poonam ka taajmahal, main kaali gufa ajanta ki,
tum ho vardaan vidhata ka, main galti hoon bhagvanta ki,
tum jet vimaan ki shobha ho, main bus ki thelam-thel priye,

mushkil hai apna mel priye, ye pyar nahin hai khel priye,

tum nai videshi mixi ho, main patthar ka silbatta hoon,
tum AK-saintalis jaisi, main to ik desi katta hoon,
tum chatur rabadi devi si, main bhola-bhala lalu hoon,
tum mukt sherni jangal ki, main chidiyaghar ka bhaalu hoon,
tum vyast sonia gandhi si, main v.p.singh sa khali hoon,
tum hansi madhuri dixit ki, main policeman ki gaali hoon,
kal jel agar ho jaaye to dilwa dena tum bel priye,

mushkil hai apna mel priye, ye pyar nahin hai khel priye,

main dhabe ke dhaanche jaisa, tum paanch sitara hotel ho,
main mahue ka desi tharra, tum red-label ki botel ho,
tum chitra-haar ka madhur geet, main krishi-darshan ki jhaadi hoon,
tum vishva-sundari si kamaal, main teliya chaap kabadi hoon,
tum sony ka mobile ho, main telephone waala chonga,
tum machli maansarovar ki, main saagar tat ka hoon ghongha,
dus manzil se gir jaaooga, mat aage mujhe dhakel priye,

mushkil hai apna mel priye, ye pyar nahin hai khel priye,

tum satta ki maharani ho, main vipaksha ki lachari hoon,
tum ho mamta-jailalita si, main kwara atal-bihari hoon,
tum tendulkar ka shatak priye, main follow on ki paari hoon,
tum getz, matiz, corolla ho main Leyland ki lorry hoon,
mujhko refree hi rehne do, mat khelo mujhse khel priye,

mushkil hai apna mel priye, ye pyar nahin hai khel priye,

main soch raha ki rahe hain kabse, shrota mujhko jhel priye,
mushkil hai apna mel priye, ye pyar nahin hai khel priye.

Wasted!!!!

It is holiday since Friday.Friday was for Id & Sat & Sun as usual weekend.In weekdays , i always dream of weekend, & this one brought one additional holiday but now i m bored.I m bored because i m not doing anything. it is not that i had nothing to do.I Could have done a lot of thing in last 48 hours, i could have started some of assignments, could have gone thru last week's classes, other then studies.., could have finished a book or two, could have washed my cloths & arranged my table, could have gone to meet Om Bhaiya n Bhabhi....& the list goes on.I can count many more things but that will not help.What i did all was, watched around 4-5 movies & read arnd 45 pages of "Life Of Pi".So Sad.
Why does it always happens that my all assignments r finished just minutes before deadlines ?(Japanese call it Just In Time Approach,& so I, Very proudly).Why i m so careless abt all these things?
This is not the first time i m thinking over this issue but i think if i m like this, i will be like this only. OR can i change? If i look over last 5-6 years i have changed a lot of my habits but those were minor issues.This one needs a complete change in presonality.

If anyone can suggest me something....u r welcome.

Is It Possible?

Can there be a time, when Robot will be as common & household a thing as personal computers are today? Can there be a time when human beings might have to face a revolt by machine due to unfair treatment & attitude of human being towards them.& above all , is there a possibility , that future machines(robots in perticular) might have emotions.
There are numerous sci-fi movies on all thses concepts & latest in this row is I-ROBOT.
I saw the movie today. Set in 2035, it really made me to think over all these points. After all , nobody had thought of so profound use of computers just 20 years ago & Internet even did not existed, except in some labs, but they r reality today.
Can a robot feel emotions like anger, fear or trust?What happens if some fine day,I wake up to know that the machine which used to serve me till yesterday without asking or questioning starts talking abt its rights?(or do machines have rights?)Will we be able to fight them or manage them if they go out of control?
Only time will answer all these questions but one thing is sure that whatever happens, MAN have the capability to go along the situation, survive under drastic circumstances or rather fight them & HE(we) will find one way or another to come out of the problem.

Old Friends

Today i got a call from Reman. We were talking after almost 8-9 years.We were classmates in 9th & 10th but after that lost touch & got in touch just few months ago, thanx to Internet.
Really how exciting does it feels to talk with someone from our old times, remebering old times.
But what i was thinking is, why dont i fail to keep in touch with frineds or anybody else , once we r separated.Is that the problem only with me or the world is like that only.
I remember, when i was leaving Kerala that time, everyone made promises to everyone else that they will keep contact(even signed a lot of slam books), but never wrote to anybody, neither got any letter from anybody.
Involved so much in daily life that never bother to think abt those ,with whom i share many happy times.

Though times r changing & being in touch is much more easier now then what it was just 5 years ago,thanx to Net & Mobile, but the inner voice & will is much more necessary then anything else.

& now abt the chat i had with Reman,we both just talked abt old, times, friends, teachers.I think i can never forget Kerala, & I learnt a lot abt life in those two years i spent over there.
I really want to visit that place again and reinvent those times. Lets see , when i get a chance for that.

My First Post

So i have created my blog finally.
i had thought(or say decided) to create it in September last year and kept on postponing for no reason & the D-day finally arrived today.
It simply shows how lazy i m(i know it since time immortal).
now i just hope and pray that i can continue it over a long period of time.