The Phoenix's Song..

The role a teacher plays in life is one which can't be sufficiently explained in words. But what are bloggers for, if not to attempt to express the inexpressible, procure the non-procurable and measure the immeasurable? Here goes.. Anyone who hasn't had a teacher who changed their lives cannot empathize with this post. For now, let's forget that particular lot and focus on those who, like me, have become what they are, thanks to a teacher, at some point of time in their lives. The aforementioned Guru, who made such an impact on me, was DVN sir. He taught Maths, Physics and Chemistry. To the others, that is. To me, he taught far more than what anybody else has taught me-apart from parents- in life. The reason I learnt that much from him was probably because he didn't preach much. He simply practiced-and still does, I know. He commanded respect, never demanded it. Beginning of 10th std, I was a girl who hardly cared to attend classes-bunked at every opportunity I got un...

World expo, Shanghai: On November 18, 1999, the Chinese government officially decided that Shanghai would bid for the 2010 World Expo. With support from home and abroad, Shanghai won the bid on December 3, 2002, at the 132nd General Assembly of the International Exhibitions Bureau. The world exposition is for the first time being hosted by a developing country,creating a record for itself. Beijing Olympics overall cost: 4.2 million. World expo, Shanghai: 42million. Expected visitors: 70 million. Cab drivers trained to speak English, about a 1000 new cabs. The entire city tidied up-an understatement-for the big event, also taken into consideration is the convenience-and inconvenience-of the residents of the city. The plethora of events being conducted inspires even as it slaps you across the face that Mumbai was supposed to be the next Shanghai- and at the current rate Shanghai is pacing ahead, we have to work really hard to get anywhere close. The staggering improvement made by Chi...

7:12 a.m. I stand on a pavement opposite to my college, waiting for a comrade to turn up. Breezy morning. A woman weaves a basket behind where I stand. A man is cutting wood, right next to the woman. 3 guys enjoy a smoke and conversation. A boy cycles his way to school. A vintage car passes by. An old man carries a heavy bag and walks towards his destination. The birds suddenly demand attention. A family are on a trip-the car is ringing with music, the grandfather driving the car! The same vintage car passes by again-I'm not too sure. I turn around, the woman is now arranging the baskets, the man has done such a good job with the wood, I think he makes them thin enough to weave baskets, but I don't know if that can be done.I'm hoping I will get to see him make the wood into thin strips so I'll know for sure. And they're now listening to the local news on a transistor (I presume). A lady and her colleague walk past me. The lady talks about her son's studies. The...

What has changed, and what remains unchanged.. First for the changes: We have only senior lecturers-surprisingly, all the junior lecturers who handled a few of the 7th sem subjects previously have been replaced, and we are glad. We have SEVEN hours theory in a day. 9-5, on two days of the week. Now, this is something I've never, like never done in my life before-attending 7 hrs theory. If you think 'final year' is supposed to be light, think again. Lab groups- CCN lab commences next week. ADC lab started this week. We had a good laugh after the lab, thanks to preksha's bag and overflow of creativity from Poornima, Mallika, Shruthi Rao and yours truly. My lab group has 1 new member-the remaining 3 of us continue.. and Sannan, for the first time is not gonna be in my group in either of the labs this sem-lets see how it turns out to be. The then freshers and the present 3rd sem guys occupy the adjacent classroom-and I'm trying to get used to having them around-it's...

Just another ordinary friday evening. A clear sky. A slight breeze, enough to keep you cool, not enough to give you chills.. A cleaned room. New books in the closet-some specially acquired ones. New course books too. A new wallet placed on the table. A photograph(also on the table) which brings a smile always. The frame which brings memories. Maggi noodles. A phone. A computer with unlimited broadband, and touch wood, continuous connection for quite sometime now. A brother in the adjacent room who comes to me when he needs help, and looks up to me. Who also quarrels. Who knows me like how I know myself. Quite the contrary of another ordinary friday evening, if you ask me.. such evenings are rare, moments when I get to enjoy the silence, be my own company, experience tranquility. Peace!

There is no upside in screwing up things you can't explain. -Captain Roy Montgomery.

The Indian Rupee gets a symbol-woot!-thus distinguishing it from other countries which have the rupee as their currency. But, they say, the symbol will not be seen in print on our currency notes-not just yet. That will take a while, and I can't wait for it. Getting the symbol means international brand recognition, the INR joining the elite club of currencies like the Japanese Yen, Euro, the British pound or the US dollar. And, how can I forget, it was apparently designed by an IITian. Congratulations, Pranab Mukherjee and the ministry. One way to go about the international popularization of the symbol is printing and circulating, and another is branding the symbol on keyboards. So once the symbol is passed by the required authorities, we're gonna have the symbol on Indian keyboards-cool eh? For some unfathomable reason, I'm all excited about the INR getting a symbol! It somehow comes off as very 'Indian', because of the adaptation from the Devanagiri script. A ...