Tuesday, December 29, 2009

And we are the better Engineers/Students!

After a few months when I finally got the chance to watch a movie in a theater, it turned out to be an absolute cracker! It wasn't exactly Oscar material but an attempt to uncover the truth! Engineering students(MU) would have a lot of expectations but I really felt they were dashed up down right left! The movie took a drastic wrong turn and it turned into some Indian soap opera which concentrated more on guy getting the girl stuff!

Anyway picking up from where Raju left, Engineering as it might seem is not a piece of cake! :P Mechanical Engineering has just won the award for the "Best Field to Rape Students" beating every other branch by a clear margin! No offence to the other fields! Talking as a whole the education system in India sucks! Clearly there's no reminder for it!

I was always told Indians make the best Engineers/Students abroad and looked forward to this famed system! And then a certain realisation came pinching so hard on the ass that you're just left hopeless, helpless and hairless! Sat at the top of hierarchy Mumbai University just seemed like another villain. Numerous abuses hurled at them are trampled and all you can do is "become the part of the system!"

And before all this drama started in my life, I was this hardcore Hindustani like some of my other friends who always believed we'll come back here after a stint with the Foreign countries! The roots shit and usual! Then I made a trip to Germany. Well it took me a split second to reconsider my decision. They clearly had the upper edge. 3 years we went to Germany and couldn't uproot a damn thing even design wise! And we are the better Engineers/Students!

For starters, Techmax seems to have been acting as a catalyst in this ridiculous process! Not that it saved my ass for 2.5 years but students over there use even better books than Tata McGraw Hill which are usually eating the dust flak in the library! The last time I picked up such a book from my library was to study about a monocoque! And we are the better Engineers/Students!

Coming to the main course, the ratta factor seems to work wonders! Get 40 be satisfied! Its actually a very relieving feeling when you see those numbers! Lol! Start studying a few days before the paper and manage to pass without actually knowing what the damn subject is all about! We can't apply unless we're given a chance to do so! Projects at every year should be made an integral part of the syllabus. I'd rather do a project than waste my time on EVS! Frankly all of us by now are quite some experts in Global Warming! Dont need a wake up call every now and then! Assignments are nicely copied! The University loves the small brown packets that come along with parents or the cash that comes with revaluation of a paper! And we are the better Engineers/Students!

Desserts - my favourite part of a meal are the profs! Bloody bad ass haram khors who feel the students should go through the same rigid and tragic procedure that he encountered back in 1975! Really he's wasting his 30 years ka experience enforcing the students to do what he did! One of them actually asked me to maintain a book! Students there actually crave to attend lectures. They do not have attendance issues at all, but bunking will only lead to non-understanding of subject = FAIL! This is not some comparison competition to show that they're better, it shows that we still suck in this rigid system which is considered as World Best! You have to actually run out there to talk to your prof and oh yes, he will give you that typical ego look, say a few harsh words and then usher you away citing you didn't attend sufficient lectures for solving the doubt! And we are the better Engineers/Students!

The one and only reason why we're in demand out there is our capacity to slog it out. Oh yes, this system makes us Expert Sloggers and can finish the job in due time without any hiccups! Oh we can also work weekends and overtime! :P
Imagine what happens when hard work and smart work atmosphere are combined together! Its like the ideal blend of air and fuel for the best power and efficiency of an Internal Combustion Engine! Now that's application! :P

Dont think we can change the system! We will always become a part of the system! My point here is you wanna make India a top country? Let's try and make it better for our kids! Let them have a future of application rather than memory power exams! Let us make them better Engineers/Students! ;)

Friday, May 8, 2009

The 3rd Umpire...

If I were a Catalan, I would dare not write this. If I were a UEFA representative, I would dare not write this.

Football has gone from strengths to strengths. It has certainly reached such a stage that competitions are being won in the vicinity of a single point! Bucketloads of goals are being scored in injury time which have changed the whole scenario over the years. It has become so competitive that along with tactics and footballing talent and inspiration, refereeing has become an integral part of the game. Even a wrong decision can seal the fate of teams causing mass upsets at times.

Being a Blues fan, I would take the liberty to say that Chelsea have been on the wrong end of these decisions quite a few times. Be it the ghost goal or the disallowed penalties, it inflicts a deep wound into thousands of hearts watching the game. Fairplay is what each team desires.

There's actually no point apologizing after the match because the damage has already been done. You might regret it till your death but I doubt if teams will ever forgive them after ruining the season in massive proportions. These referees should be made to realise the gravity of the situation they have created. The FA did a wonderful job asking Graham Poll to retire after a string of such incidents. On the contrary you have UEFA who are over-protective of their referees, even smuggling them out of a country to avoid excessive media exposure or fan fury.

What I propose here is to have the 3rd umpire in football. And its not an impossible task. It would rather make the game fair for both sides. The 3rd umpire views the match and can take various important decisions based on TV replays through different angles. The referees and the linesmen and the assistant referee are always using wireless communications. This I believe is the best feasible option to reduce the wrong refereeing decisions. Sensors placed on goal-line to make sure that the ball crosses the line.

Yes I agree that the 3rd umpire will have to take decisions immidiately but they will reduce the effect of a bad decision. Its a wonderful option. Cricket has it, Tennis has it, even American Football has it, then why not football?

Someone once told me, "These wrong decisions always affect the game. But it all evens out at the end of the season. Sometimes you are at the wrong end, sometimes you are on the lucky side." My question to him/her is, "Wonder if a team got really lucky with the referee against Stoke City and then lost a prestigious cup final due to erratic ridiculous decisions of the referee, would you still call it even?"

Friday, April 10, 2009

Qasab V/S Raj Thackeray

2008 was a year of ups and downs for Mumbai City. Though the down outweighed the ups, it's always good to have an optimistic approach! The two major events that shook the city from its very foundations were the 26/11 Terrorist attacks and Raj Thackeray/MNS Outcry in a bid to elevate the home crowd above their neighbours. Both resorted to a radical approach to prove their point displaying the innumerous loopholes in the efficacy of the Administrative services.

Everyday 20,000 people enter the commercial capital of India to chase their dreams. Some of them are successful proving their assiduous labour, some do not make it big and some dreams are crushed to the ground compelling them to face the harsh pragmatism that follows.

The absence of a strict vigil in the Indian Railways, evading the Octroi officials with heavy bribes and an inefficient coastguard make the city extremely vulnerable to foreign attacks. Qasab and his accolades exploited this dent in the armour. They unleashed their fury in various parts of the city holding people hostage, killing them and also eliminating three vital members of the ATS. Terrorism has taken a toll on matters hampering a country's progress in all directions. It has become more of a business today. The term 'Mercenaries' has been twisted into a cruel barbed wire which can be altered to kill. These terrorists can be tracked to various groups who in the name of 'jihad' are just burning money to instill fear in the common man's mind.

On the flipside is Raj Thackeray, The man behind the 'Marathi Manoos". The man who wants to protect the best interests of his community. However the real question is does he really want the best for 'Marathi Manoos' or is it just another cheap publicity stunt to garner public power? I personally believe he needs to be reminded of his job profile of bringing the country forward and not his linguistic minority. A country can function efficiently if its the best man for the job then be it a 'Bhaiyya' or 'Marathi Manoos'. All his caustic remarks about North Indians have sown seeds of communal terrorism and linguistic difrentiation.

All the riots, morchas and TV interviews are the best method to burn public money adding up to the regression of the country.

What happened to Mr. Thackeray when commandos were flown in from 'North India' to combat Qasab? Isn't it his job to speed up the judicial proceedings for Qasab rather than accept ridiculous penalties like "Qasab booked for ticketless travel!"

All in all this was just an account of what HAS happened. Both of them may seem equal on scale but India is suffering double. We have battled past the years to envision a better India. Terrorism has taken a toll on country's economy. To add to it MNS have done nothing but arouse communal tensions. Regional Terrorism suddenly has a new face. The face that hides behind the cover of protecting the people's rights. Resorting to extreme methods, the valour on glory of India is soiled to the darkest cavern of shame.

The uprising against Anjali Waghmare has just made the point stronger. It depicts the loss of trust in the judiciary panel and represents contempt of court. It has just delayed the proceedings resulting in incessant spending of human resource and the tax-payer's money.

Mr. Thackeray has to realise he has undertaken the job of running the country and that doesnt happen with reservation for 'Marathi Manoos'.

In retrospect, the two faces of Qasab and Thackeray are nothing different. Both of them have evoked tensions which have been tearing the country apart leaving it in shambles. They are two sides of the same coin which is proving detrimental to India's future prospects.

This is not directed towards the 'Marathi Manoos' or Muslims but everyone around, "OPEN YOUR EYES!", "SPOT THE NOT!"

Saturday, February 28, 2009

8 Below!

Academy Awards have always established their prestige over the years commemorating motion pictures for their sheer brilliance in all fields. It serves as an impetous for the people in the industry to do better,perform better. But there is a BUT! Recently they have become a farce and have a supreme tendency to overlook films who revolve around excellence and are heavily artistic with their "out of the box" approach.

Every year I look forward to them hoping to see their talent and hard-work rewarded. The awards are for the sole purpose of highlighting the year's performance and not lifetime achievement. Else I am sure Kate Winslet would have won the best Actor(Female) award every year much to the jealousy of Meryl Streep! :P

With Slum-DOG making a clean sweep with 8 awards and people over-hyping the already frenzy crowd with their excitement really made me think. Was the movie that deserving? 8 academy awards is not A JOKE! Have people become that blind that they have absolutely no sense of whats being shown to them? Have people forgotten the awards are meant for excellence and not generation of entertainment! Anyways I thought Tina Fey/Steve Martin/Ellen DeGeneres would anyday make a better host than Wolverine!

Is my thinking biased since I am stuck on a movie which really took my senses away in 2008. Lets put it this way, Oscars are a battle between movies. So if you dont compare different genre's of movies you wont have a winner. Else start a new Oscar for every genre of film. I wonder how many of these events will Tropic Thunder take part in!!

Coming to the clean sweep.

1. Wikipedia lists Slumdog Millionaire as a British movie. Indians dont get so hyper please! Just because its based in India doesnt make it Indian! ;)

2. Wikipedia also lists Slumdog Millionaire as a Romantic Comedy! ROTFL! For those with doubts, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romantic_comedy_film#Later_romantic_comedies
Please check the Later Romantic Comedies List!

3. Did Freida Pinto actually have a role in the movie?

4. How many 12 year old kids would go to a brothel and threaten the pimp with a gun and get his so called GF out of the Flesh Trade only to realise that she's later gonna be banged by his own brother and the Boss!

5. There's Benjamin Franklin of a 100$ note and he's clueless about Gandhiji on a 100 rupee note.

6. A slum-school teaches The Three Musketeers! Great!

7. He's a matka millionaire! He guesses the last answer.

8. If you do feel co-incidences have less odds, the storyline's odds would be 1/10000000000000000000000000000000000000000!

9. Highly improbable concept touching the story of a boy in the perfect chronological order.

10. What was a Krishna kid doing in the slums when there are riots going on! A messenger of peace? :P

11. Why does the host have to be jealous if the kid's winning when he is supposed to generate empathy towards him! What a fucked up character!

12. Cinematography - Amazing! Good Work!

13. Editing - Deserved the Oscar! Great Work!

14. Best Adapted Screenplay - This was a real joke! The movie was way way way too different from the book! Look at the amount ofdifferences! I guess Harry Potter is also a good adaptation then!

15. Music(Score) - A.R.Rahman. Should I be happy for a fellow Indian's success? Hell yeah I am! Did he deserve it? Jai Ho vs Rang De Basanti(All Songs!)/Taal/Yuva/Joddha Akbar/Bomaby and the list goes on.

16. Music(Song) - Rahman and Gulzar. Did they really understand the lyrics of the song? Or did they need subtitles!

17. Are 15 and 16 deserving after Newton Howard and Zimmer broke all records on last.fm even beating Enya!!

18. Sound Mixing! - WTF! After such pathetic background score, sound mixer also gets an academy award!!

19. Its just a picture of an ignorant India sold to the western world. Are we really that ignorant today?

20. Are we still that backward? Dont Indians compete at the very pinnacle of world level. Even a downtrodden person like the household maid can afford a cellphone!!

21. Why is it that the western world enjoys watching a rural india when we have so much to boast about. Our tourism, our history, our culture, our unified spirit, our cricket, our hospitality.

22. Why dont you support your country rather than support the movie which depicts only 1% of what we are and what we are capable of. Dont forget American companies crave for Indian students. Why?

23. Why is that there is a sudden increase in brain-gain?

24. Why is it that international companies have started setting their bases in India? Why is it that IIT and IIM is still better than Stanford or Wharton?

25. Why is India still being overlooked by our own people? Why are we crushing our own heritage?

I wish I had written this earlier. I do not recall parts of the movie due to my excessive watching of movies. And I definitely dont want to waste another 2 hours watching shit. Even my dog can point such things out. This is not a biased review of the ultimately "Flawless" movie but a pure look through of the mind. Some people might just push it to the back of their head citing the element of fiction, but what my real question is that does it deserve 8? Havent you seen better movies over the year. This year's Academy Awards were a total disappointment and really killed their importance and status. Take some time to think about these 25 things I have mentioned and then comment. 8 was really not called for. When 2 would actually suffice. Does Slumdog Millionaire really affect your mind so much? Does Slumdog Millionaire score greatly amongst the multitude of excellent films? Does Slumdog Millionaire have the key elements to bag 8? Does Slumdog Millionaire seem flawless? Think about it! ;)

Monday, February 16, 2009

Dead or Alive?!

Facing death is inevitable. Though its like a long holiday but the timing should be appropriate. I am sure no one wants to die a virgin! And no one wants to die at a young age. The way I drive my car, 80% people have refused to sit with me, 19% have forced me to drive through crowded roads and I couldnt find the daring 1%!!

Anyways in just 1 day my path with death almost crossed!! Ironically twice!!

Incident no. 1 -

It was a sunny Sunday morning. I was on my way to Shivaji Park for football. My 800 did a good a speed at Priyadarshini and I cut a lane into the Sion Flyover. The traffic was moderate on both ends. A white Indica followed me at close distance. For the very FIRST TIME in my life I genuinely though "Aaram se chalata hoon." My speedometer pointer didnt cross 55 kmph and I was enjoying the cool wind. I crossed the top of the fly-over and looked ahead. A Honda City speeding ahead in the wrong lane followed by a fully loaded Truck. I was like "FUCK!!!, aaj tu gaya beta!" The Indica was also catching up on me. I could imagine myself as a victim of some trap set by Jigsaw in Saw 8 being crushed to death. I braked gradually hoping to escape it. The Indica was inches away now. The City was also quite near. I closed my eyes for a moment and opened them. At the very last moment the City and the Truck cut into their respective lanes!! PHEWWWW! My heart slowed down. My legs were actually trembling and I had problems pressing the clutch! Anyways I escaped from the jaws of death!


Incident no. 2 -

This was the same Sunday night. After Mama and Mota had Sex on the Beach we left from Orchid. I was waiting on Parth's Accent(Dude I really love that car! How much are you selling it for?) bonnet while Deep parked his car. Suddenly Parth starts driving. I grabbed his wipers and he screeches! My heart was in my mouth...I was swearing loudly on the road! And suddenly he brakes! I pulled of a wiper as I slipped off the bonnet. The momentum threw me ahead. I was trying to run on the road. After twisting my ankle twice that day my figers seemed to be crush. Parth stopped inches wide from me. I really thought that was the end of me! With a Swift swooshing past in the other lane, even a small movement of the steering would have caused me to die!


Twice in a day I evaded death! It was luck by chance but I sucked life's and danced! :D :P