What’s on your mind?

Facebook asks me “Whats on your mind?”

Life, Paper, Publication, career, Prioritize, Contact prof, mail, compre, death, Vipassana, Mba, M.S., PS, PS Abroad, Placement, CAT, GRE, G-MAT, Publications for GRE, Work Experience for G-Mat, Civil CDC’s, Am I a quitter? Am I a looser? Wing problems, Who moved my Chivda? Do I love her? Cant manage to read news-paper, A project dat needs to be worked on, Cracked PR T2 – How abt a career in PR? What will she think? P-sentisemite friends, Friends problems, Have not attended a single class post T-1, A NC in HFM? Final CG? Will I cross 8 after graduation? Num-al Pre compre score? T2 marks? Campus Ads, Canada ka prof? A long overdue mail, iTouch, A screwed up Write Up, Fucked up CG, Career in Advertising, Google Reader, Check mail, wassup on Biertijd and Goal..com, El-Classico, Champions League, Test Match Score, Sleep, The thing before Sleep? Do I smell? Bath time? Mess Lite? ANC?, SAC?, Project , Thesis, TIME, Gre Prep, Farewells, 14^th Nov, Movie, Songs, Yanni, Washing Clothes, Kidney Stone, Filtered Water, Rising Expenditure, Rising Weight, Its too early to wake up – SNOOZE, When do I get to sleep next? Why didn’t she call me, Start Up, Learn Piano, Search for interns, Camera, lets smoke, lets get wasted, Depression, Bursts of excitement, Why did the BOO me? Was I that bad? Country, Politics, I haven’t read the news paper for the last 2 months, What should I write about? Lazy, Exercise, Why can’t I get a girl? I wanna go abroad, I hate India, However I say it, I ll always love India, Or will I? Do I? When is the Next House Episode coming? I want new music, Will I get placed? PS @ financial institute vss PS at core CIVIL, Do I like Civil, If I leave Technical side, does it mean accepting defeat? Finishing that unread novel, Blog, Should I become a writer/journalist? I think I write well!!! Time to act,

lite!!!

And then the Biggies

What have I achieved so far

What if I fail?

What if I never make it big?

What makes me happy?

What is that field, to which I can devote my entire life’s work to?

What’s my passion?

What’s my dream?

Am I any good?

Are all the things that I believe to be right really right? Or is my life merely based on false assumptions and unrealistic Aims?

Will I be able to fulfil all the promises I have made to myself?????

In serious need of answers, Do write back, Even an ASDF will be good

How.I.Got.My.Passport E01 Pilot

"How I got my passport" is a mini series based on the real story of 20 year old Student. His childhood dream of flying in an aircraft and visiting a foreign country is about to come true. The only thing that is stopping him is a Passport. This is a story of a boy who fights his race against time in pursuit of a Passport. The journey will teach him a lot. The journey will reinforce his belief in God, will take him trough a roller coaster ride of emotions, show him the ugly face of Indian bureaucracy and make him question his love for his motherland. Interestingly he will end up spending 10 times more money (INR 25,000) than the actual cost making a passport(1000+1500 Tatkal Fee) without bribing a single officer.

Day One:

Basic Stats:
Date for flight: 17th August
Destination: Singapore.

A Glimpse into the future.
It was 17th of July. I had returned home after an internship at Bangalore for one and half months. I had barely met my parents for the last 8 months. After a lazy morning, I was off to paying my college fees. After going through the passport website, I concluded that i needed 2 things

1. A Verification certificate
This is a formal way of 'Sifarish'. You are supposed to get a letter from a highly placed govt. officer saying that this officer knows you and certifies that you have a good moral character. He also has to mention you present address and permanent address in the letter. All this has to be done on his official letter head with his stamp, signature, office stamp and xerox of his ID card.

2. An Affidavit
The stupidest thing I have seen in my life. You have to write on an appropriate Stamp paper that you will not indulge in any illegal activity outside India and other such crap. It has to be signed by a Notary.

I set off to see a Lawyer-cum-Relative to get these tasks done. He further assigned me to another lawyer to get the certificates done. We met a govt. officer who asked us to visit them the next day(The red tape begins).

I also tried contacting some agent for a Tatkal Passport on that day. All turned out to be inefficient. They wanted INR 8500 and promised to get the passport in 25 days. (Leaving no time to get a VISA) So the agent was out of contention.

Thats all for day1.

Review:
Money Spent: 0 INR
Mental State: Happy to be home.

The Strike in India

Isnt all the 'People of Brain' leaving India to settle in developed foreign countries equivalent to what Ayn Rand proposed in Atlas Shrugged? Just like John Galt and others arent these people at Strike against the Indian State?

Beggar and the alms

Why do people give alms? I guess because they pity the beggar and his condition.
Why then do they pay him a meager Rs. 1 coin (some people graciously offer 2). What in the world is he supposed to purchase from it? Chintoo Candy? or Tiger biscuit? And if that buck is useless to him, what exactly does giving a buck signify? I think it is a mere gesture, coming more out of guilt and habit. Isnt it the 'guilt'? The guilt of what the onlookers will think? Or the guilt that I am richer than this guy? If No, if it is really out of pity, then why dont you think of some better places to invest your hard earned money (OR your father's hard earned money) in some NGO which works towards the long term elevation of Poverty? Or, if you want to help that particular person, sponsor his meal, or give him a blanket, or Rs.10, or any think he can actually use. Surely there are better ways to help the beggar than literally throwing a buck in his 'katora"

Some people will argue, We feel a sense of satisfaction.
I will just say one thing. Think!!!
Aren't you hurting a human being's dignity for that satisfation?

Some will say, he is starving, fighting to stay alive, he cannot afford 'Dignity'
I will say just one thing. Remeber by giving alms, you are actually helping yourself (to overcome the guilt) and not the beggar.(1 rupee isnt helping him anyway)

For people who are still not convinced, THINK and comment

The Football Fan

My first nut-post. Its about being football fan. Its a crime to switch your alliances with one club and support a different club in football. BUT WHY? No one says a thing when a players are transferred, No one says any thing when coaches are changed, No one minds a change in ownership as long as the owner has lots of cash to spend. Why then is a 'fan' the only one not allowed to change sides and has to be called a traitor if he does that? Even the flags, anthems, stadiums and primary sponsors change!!!

Nut-Post

Like I promised, I have been lazy about blogging. Here is one more product born out of my laziness to write. Its called a Nut-Post, called "Chotti Chotti magar Moti batein" (courtesy Shaktimaan) in Hindi. Here is the concept

I will write a small paragraph on my viewpoints about some issue and will leave it to the readers to comment on it. It will be just like a forum on some highly debatable issue in each post. Lets hope I will be consistent this time. So if you like the post, or find my ideas too extreme, do write back.