Will you be my friend ?

Blog III of Thirty Days – Thirty Blogs series

This is the thought that has been bubbling in my mind for some time now. Having recently shifted my base with no close friends around, for past few weeks, I have been busy trying to find new friends. The fact that I am an introvert, shy and look like a very-serious guy is not helping me at all in my efforts.

This is not the first time though that I am going through such a phase. In the past also, when I newly joined NSIT, STM or TAMU I had to go through similar phases. I have come to look forward to them because after every phase come some new friends. The beauty of this life (and I would talk about this in next blog) is that you keep meeting some very interesting people and forge relations with them that hopefully shall last for your complete life. Every time when one thinks that perhaps his/her friends list is full, one comes across another gem of a person. Right now, it is my time to be patient and look out for friends.

My list of attempts for finding friends include forcing myself to not eat in my cubicle, go out and socialise, giving smiling faces to passersby (probability increasing exponentially with decreasing distance from home/office) and using some existing friends. Trying to balance existing distance relations and forging new ones is never an easy job. Hope I succeed in it again !

PS: If you live in surrounding areas and are looking for a nerdy friend to help you fix your PC and network problems (cannot think of any other VP for myself), please contact me.

You know you are back in India when..

Blog II of Thirty Days – Thirty Blogs series

Here is a list of real-life situations you would find yourself in only in India. You know you are back in India when..

• ..stewardesses welcome you with a big grin and a Namaste.
• ..you simply cannot make out which lane of the road are you in.
• ..you hear your name being pronounced correctly.
• ..on hitting the road, the first thing you realise is the persistent honking.
• ..on asking for drinking water, a security guard gives you his own bottle.
• ..on asking for a public urinal, a transport official directs you to a staff-only restroom.
• ..a custom officer lets you breach the security cordon for a bribe.
• ..your friends and relatives enthusiastically take you to the ‘newest’ mall for window-shopping.
• ..you have to fight your way in & out of public transport.
• ..you hear a blaring sound on public system announce “Kripya yatri gan dhyan dein..”.
• ..you find spices and oil in your dish like water in a fish.
• ..you realise that people in the same bus stop are speaking in at least five different languages.
• ..you can spot street side sellers standing 3 feet into the road.
• ..your well-wishers hug you as if you were/would be gone for years.

DISCLAIMER: This blog article neither opinionates nor attempts to interpret above situations. It is subject to reader’s own opinion as to what might have been the underlying reasons.

Thirty Blogs in Thirty Days

Since my last blog entry, a big change has happened in my life. If my life was a car, then this would have been equivalent to a gear shift. And as I make this shift from academic life into professional life again, time is ripe to bring in many other changes in my life.

One of those changes would be amount of time that I devote to my leisure and non-technical activities. Academic life especially at postgraduate level is tough on your schedule. It is equivalent to working 10-12 hours daily in a regular job with no leaves to take and no weekends to spare. And to make matters worse, academic work does not proceed at the rate of your regular job. You can encounter wrong turns, dead ends and what not.

One of the things that I have been wanting to do more often is blogging. Unlike what the gap to my previous entry (4 months) might suggest, I have not been running short of things to blog about. In fact I have been maintaining a list of topics in my to do list. And to kick-start my re-blogging I thought why not take a cue from Morgan Spurlock and start a Thirty Days series of my own. So for the next thirty days, I would attempt to write a blog every day till the next thirty days. If things get tough on weekdays I would hopefully cover it on weekends.

$P

Driving test ki kahani, meri zubani

Subtitle: The story of my driving test

The story starts about three weeks ago, while in between fervently typing my thesis and preparing ppt, I decided to go for driving test under the misconception that my IP was about to expire in few weeks. I was a bit anxious but nevertheless went in boldly. The lady asked me to parallel park which I did with ease. I was elated as if nothing could stop me from getting a license now....

But that extra confidence cost me. She asked me to reverse and in a bid to show off, I started backing from very close to curb and as fate would have it, I hit it. Moments ago, Anudit had hit the curb in front, no big deal I thought, well the lady did not agree. "We consider curb to be a car and you have just hit a car so no license for you". Five minutes into my test, I had managed to flunk it without even leaving DPS complex. It seemed like a big joke.

Three weeks fast forward, I am fervently preparing for an interview, and in a whiff of sleeplessness and desire to utilize the 2 'free' chances I was left with, I decided to give the test again. People ahead of me had cleared the test and it seemed whole world would laugh if I flunked it again. The lady (same one) seemed to have some sense of humour as she said "You are here again" while entering the car.

Time came for parallel parking and halfway through, i realised I was not going to make it. I boldly asked her "can I do it again". Second time it worked fine. Backing, no problem I backed one feet away from the curb. And finally we went in for a real test ! I remember looking in my mirrors like crazy as I did not want even a single point to be deducted in observation. Twenty minutes passed by in seconds and as we reached the DPS office there seemed to be some stiffness in air. The lady said dejectedly "you needed 70 points for passing". I thought damn, I failed again. But like a reality show anchor, she announced in what seemed utter disappointment, "..and you scored 75". I remember that the first feeling I had in my mind was not excitement but relief. By the time I was headed back, I was already thinking abt San Antonio and parents. Now if only job interviews were like this...

Preparing for a travel shoot

While there are several lists online on things to do to prepare for any trip and you bet have I got one of my own, but today I am going to discuss list of things to do for a travel shoot.

Travel as it is, is a very exciting experience for me. I simply get my highs thinking about what all things would I get to do/see/EAT (but of course). Equally exciting is to ponder on how am I going to ensure that all those beautiful memories are captured on the card in my Olympus E-330 camera for the one in my head ain’t that reliable. Apart from my diminutive experience on this, I have also received liberal tips from fellow travellers and read some in various photo magazines. I have compiled some of them below.

• Gadgets: If you are anything like me (read as an amateur yet wannabe photographer), you would probably have a DSLR with lens(es) and filter(s) and flash(es). It is important to stick to the age old adage of travelling light. Carry only as much equipment as you think is going to be necessary. If you are in a theatre and sitting twenty rows away from action, you may not need wide lens at all. Similarly a bulky 300mm tele lens might be unwarranted for when you decide to go to a nearby pub to catch in the festive Halloween atmosphere.
• When going gets tough, creative get going: Cost of changing lenses, weight of carrying units might be factors that you need to consider before you decide to carry that something extra. I have realised that I get more creative when faced with obstacles. To get a wide angle shot with tele, I use pano-stitching feature in WLPG, Autostitch. Some point and shoot have this feature inbuilt. I have not carried my camera charger for ages, I carry TWO spare batteries instead and shoot using optical viewfinder to cover 3-4 days of photography easily.
• Get prepared: Once you have decided on what all to carry, pack them in neat bags days in advance so that you do not forget them in a hurry. Forgetting your shades is nothing compared to forgetting your camera. Also make sure you have all your equipment ready. You might not have time or chance to charge your batteries or clean your lens while travelling. It is a good idea to keep a poly bag extra for your camera for rain/dust protection. If your trip involves a road/rail/air journey to reach the final destination, pack all your spare gadgets in and fit your camera with the lens (wide is a good option for this) that you are going to use during the journey.
• Be well informed: Now this sounds like a no-brainer but it is surprising how many times people start researching about their venue for travel only on the day of travel. Many famous spots require prior reservations or are open only on certain days and times of year. Beaches & mountains look good at sunrises and sunsets while a city centre has its own charm during night times. Still lot many venues require you to appear well ahead of schedule to be able to secure a vantage point. Kathakali dancers appear hours ahead of dance time to perform make-up which is equally interesting to watch/capture. Being a day early at McLeod Ganj cost us the opportunity to see Dalai Lama in person.
• Plan your time & stick to it: This kind of follows from above but is still important enough to be repeated. Remember your travel buddies would love you for waking them early or hurrying up things (no matter what they say initially) if you can ensure them good places to watch the ‘stuff’ from. A prime example is the flag exchange ceremony at Wagah border. Even though it happens daily and can seat thousands of people, still all the prime seats get occupied as much as TWO hours ahead of schedule. Similarly to see Kochi fishing nets working, you need to be up at 4am in the morning. No other time of the day would do !
• See through your trip: One last thing that I would leave you with is the ability to see through your trip. It sounds crazy but if you do it, you would not believe the immense yet unperceivable benefits that can be reaped. Booking your tickets on the same side of vehicle for a return journey allows you to enjoy scenes from both sides of the journey. If you are headed south on Konkan railways, take the seats on left to be able to watch Konkan coastline. If you are going to a famous place, check online for the cliché angles that photographers use to capture that place. You might wanna try capturing some new angles. You can yourself think of other such examples of seeing through.

Those were the tips from my side. Please share things that you do before you set off for any photo trip.

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Har Dil Jo Pyar Karega

In an earlier post, I talk about how love for one and all defines the essence of good character. You might think that what has got into this nerd who keeps on talking about love so persistently. But frankly, it is just a set of coincidences. So lets get going with it.

Har Dil Jo Pyar Karega is a phrase in Hindi which means Every Heart That Loves. Apart from sharing the title with a moderately popular Bollywood flick, this blog has got nothing else to do with it. The trigger incident for this happened a week back. It was a normal day full of mind boggling research, exciting classes, equally exciting job and lots of cycling around. In night time, my roommate Captain Haddock (name changed on request) comes upto me and says that "I have got something to discuss with you". Now when a roommate says this to you, the topic under question can vary widely from "What to cook for dinner tonight ?" to "Who is supposed to vacuum room this week ?" to "Which nubile woman to have for room wallpaper ?". I was naturally indifferent. What shook me out of this indifference was the revelation that our Mr. Roommate was no longer in control of his heart.

Apparently there was this new girl in block (and if you know anything about statistics of likeable women in postgraduate studies, you would know that they stand right next to endangered species) which had set his heart fluttering. He had been meeting her now & then & apparently needed some guidance from me (poor soul) on 'how to take things further'. Now Mr. Roommate has not got a reputation in these matters and it was very much unexpected.

In India, it is still common for people to undertake what is referred to as "arranged marriages" where your parents choose a spouse for you. Depending upon family, you may get to have no or substantial say over these matters. These marriages are considered different from "love marriages" where you yourself set the ball rolling by choosing your spouse yourself. Marriages of latter type unfortunately still have a stigma attached to them and many people voluntarily stay away from it for reasons ranging from not wanting to hurt parents to not wanting to get into the mess.

Statistically (atleast in my times, I am sure statistics have changed now), many such romantic relations would bud in college time i.e. undergraduate studies (note the disclaimer earlier). Therefore if you find a person's status as single after graduation, it might either mean you did not find somebody good enough (btw, statistics for likeable women in undergraduate are far more encouraging than its graduate counterpart) or else you plan to make it an "arranged affair". And this was the reason why I found this piece of news a revelation.

Whenever i think of that incident now, I am reminded of this phrase which is a constant reminder that every heart is capable of love.

So my concept of normal day has been modified to include a 5 minute status update over this 'critical matter'. As for our Mr. Roommate, he gets to share my pearls of wisdom (he is very soon going to realise that they are virtually none) over wooing girls. Best of luck Haddock.. !!

Houston Rendezvous

After a long hiatus, a specific event coupled with some free time at my new job allowed me to blog. I recently visited Houston. It was strange in that I had been there so many times but never had enough time or opportunity to explore it like a tourist. Countless times I would just shift from my airline to ground shuttle (or other way round) with just about enough time to take a walk in the airport terminals. I used to while away time browsing its many terminal shops and take photographs. Once I had been to the roof to watch the Houston in its full glory and twice I have took free rides in its terminal shuttle.

My longest stride in Houston would have to be a couple of blocks long walk in Houston downtown while waiting for a bus. Having said this Houston will have a special position in my heart. I spent my first night in this Texan airport having been unable to catch the last shuttle. Houston is in some sense a lifeline for all Aggies to rest of the world being the nearest international airport with cheap rides available on weekends.

Naturally I was very much lookin forward to visiting Hosuton properly. It is a feeling that you get when you have that first talk with one of your acquaintances which leads you to know him/her better and thereafter you become friends. The trip travelogue would probably be reserved for another blog but to tell in short, I loved it.

Houston is a huge city with very extensive road system catering to it. Houston has a black majority and is #1 obese city in US. While downtown offers skyscrapers (Chase tower is 4th tallest in US) and exuberant nightlife, La Galleria provides shop-till-you-drop experience. Museum district is full of museums on themes that one can imagine and lots of well-maintained parks with well planned activity centers. Houston Gulf area has San Jacinto monument - symbol of Texas freedom, Kemah boardwalk along the bay and NASA Space Center. Alas but for the smart management of Houston transit, no weekend buses run for gulf area and hence a poor graduate student like me had to contend with keeping it on hold for another trip. Wait ..did somebody say another trip. Maybe the management guys were smart after all.