Inter IIT

I never thought I’d be missing the Inter IIT so much. Yes, it’s the Inter IIT Sports Meet. It is a proper noun for us, almost as though it were a person. And I miss it as though it were indeed a person. 

While skyping my team-mates Sharada and Anvita yesterday, I realized how much I longed to be back there, with them all - may be not play, but just be around - cheering the teams and lukkha-ing otherwise. Every morning since the Inter IIT has begun, I find myself eagerly waiting for yesterday’s results. And before I sleep, I always wish them luck for today’s match! It’s like I am in sync with IST, just for this little while! :)

Those were the days, really. Inter IIT practices went all the year round (well, at least all the odd sem round), but the Camp in December was the most enduring and perhaps the most fun part of the sem. All work and no play - just the definitions of work and play changed :) Rather, quoting from the movie ‘Iqbal’ - they became one! Daily schedule used to be - play, eat, sleep, play, eat, sleep... ad infinitum. To add to it was the unending lukkha, cheerful treats and prolonged chit-chatting about anything and everything. Probably that’s why us team mates were all so close. And still are. I remember the really really senior members of the team calling to wish us luck before finals, to scold us at times, and in the end, treat us :)

I have not been much of a player, in general. I did play badminton at school but that was it. For recreation. Maybe for exercise. But these guys (and girls) showed me what competitive badminton is like. When I saw them preparing before the match - both warming up as well as planning, during the match - improvising and keeping up their spirits, while maintaining ultimate composure, and after the match - well, for them it was almost always a victory, but at some mishaps - holding their head up as they congratulated the winning team, huddling with team mates and resolving to better their records next time.. I was happy to have met Real Champs. Their sheer love for the game and their passion for victory were enough to inspire me every day, to do my bit for the team. I can almost hear Mittal shouting ‘tez, tez, aur tez!’ whenever I think about Inter-IIT practices!

And it was not just about badminton. All teams practised really, really hard for the Inter-IIT. It was like the educational institute suddenly seemed like a Sports Club or a Sports Academy! Meeting everyone for lunch and dinner, listening to them discuss this year’s plans, chatting with the senti senior members of the team and motivating the freshies (while intro-ing them a lil :D) - it really felt like we were one contingent. One. And it’s a feeling that comes not because of the chant (or war-cry) we have, not because of our similar tracksuits, not because we walk in a cluster behind the IITB flag holder and not because we all look askance when the IITB contingent leader shouts ‘Dahine dekh!’ It is a lot, lot more than that.

Even as I write this, I know they’re all up there. Trying to do their best. Kicking, smashing, racing, bowling, sprinting, spinning, tackling... Vying for the Championship. Keeping up with the spirit of sportsmanship, I’d only say, ‘May the best man win!’

And here's to the baddy team (2011) :)

Thanksgiving

Yeah, I know,  this is belated thanksgiving. Partly because I was thinking - oh come on, it’s not a big deal, I haven’t celebrated it in 22 years, I don’t need to celebrate now! And partly because I was busy with projects and submission work (#grad-life). On second thoughts, however, I thought I should. Because thanksgiving impresses me as being a ‘festival by the people, of the people and for the people’ - something I haven’t found s explicitly, yet, in the long line of Indian festivals.

It all began when we had a project submission on the Monday just after the thanksgiving break. Working in a group of four, me and my Indian groupmate didn’t care - we were not supposed to celebrate/plan/etc. Thanksgiving. We were worried how the other two groupmates - both from NJ - would handle the submission work. And seemingly impossible though it seemed, the two undergraduates in our group finished their work - and it ain’t a small thing when it comes to designing and simulating circuits and laying them out using Cadence! - before leaving for the thanksgiving holiday! Without a single complaint. Without any of us having to push them to do so. We were astounded both by their dedication and team spirit but more so by the kind of hard work they put in, before going home for Thanksgiving. I almost remembered my first year at IIT, when we completed a project “before time” to be able to go home for Diwali! :)

Yes, Thanksgiving is like Diwali for the people here. They all come home together, meet their parents (becuz most of them are studying, living alone etc.) and relatives, cook and have special dinner together and spend quality time with near and dear ones. Quite similar to Diwali - we go home, eat faraal, burst crackers and have a gala time as well. But with a difference. Unlike Diwali, Thanksgiving has undergone a change and has no more remained the traditional festival to thank god or ‘do traditional stuff’ but has become a day when people explicitly express gratitude to whoever they believe deserves it. May it be friends, dear ones, employers(!), and lots of unknown hands which help us live day-to-day life peacefully... making me remember the short story - ‘An Impossible Dream’ - I read for my board exams. The author of the story (Art Buchwald) tries to spread the message of love by thanking people who (usually) do thankless jobs - like his cab driver, the postman and the waiter.

Indeed, in this world of busy-ness, as my friend puts it - ‘Everyone’s fighting a battle everyday’ - so unless you voice your feelings of gratitude, love and support, you really do not have much. Good or bad as it may seem to be, no one has the time to keep worrying about oneself completely, let alone about others and their feelings. And yet, everyone is craving for that happy feeling in one’s heart. Thanksgiving tells us to say that out loud - give love, hope and support, do not hesitate to ask for it as well and most importantly, be thankful for it - of the people, for the people, by the people.

P.S. We did this little exercise (with friends) in Ithaca, it went awesome :)

Life, Liberty and Pursuit of Happiness

Yes, you heard it right when you were learning about the 'Declaration of Independence' in school. Little did you know these words would keep banging on your head once you graduated. At college, 'Life' was always good, you had lots of 'Liberty' and you didn't have to 'pursue happiness' per se. It was there all around - on your friends' faces, at the lousy hang-out places you always went to, in the engine of your bike, in the books in your bag, in the music playing from your iPod, in the eyes of the special someone in your heart and needless to say, in your wallet.

One fine day towards the end of my final year at college, I was suddenly shook by the thought - OMG, I am graduating. I will have a job, I will be responsible for myself and soon, for my family. Everyone will look up to me for guidance, support and making sense. Though these thoughts soon vanished with the bouts of 'happiness' obtained from countless job treats given and taken, crazy nightouts, worse hangovers and morbid goodbyes, today, I was once again overwhelmed by these three words. Because when I received my US VISA, the first thing Google told me about the US of A is these three words. Not skyscrapers, not super duper machines, not snow, not California, not Niagara, but these three words. And my thoughts flowed endlessly...

Life - Really, does anyone understand what this is all about? Breathing in and out, is just a sign of living, they say. Then, what IS 'life'? I don't think it is what your parents gave you. I don't think it's the experiences you've had or are going to have. I don't think it's the person who you are or what you were destined to be. I don't think it's the kind of work you do. I don't think it's the people who you met or the girl/guy you marry or the girl/guy who broke your heart. I think life is an endless pursuit of knowledge and the sense of feeling for something. I see life everyday when the sun rises, I hear it as the sparrows chirp, I feel it from my Mom's happy face making tea in the morning. I sense it through my Dad's rustling of the newspaper. I stare at it when the maid's 2 year old daughter asks her if she's tired and needs help. I laugh with it when I meet my friends in the day, I rock with it on the guitar, I sip it through the 'naariyal paani' I drink and gulp it down from the shared cake on someone's birthday. I sigh with it when I listen to the news about floods in China, and marvel at it as Japan stands up on its feet again. Yes, I feel 'life' because I feel it. That's it. That is also probably why they say, 'stop thinking, start living'. If I do not make an active effort to know, to feel, I can't hope to have a good life. Simple. Feel it for yourself.

Liberty - It's supposedly the other side of the coin which has 'responsibility' as one side. Liberty. Freedom. Opinion. Choice. Free will. Yes, I am entitled to all these. But just this is not enough. I must use them as tools. As a free individual, I can choose my home, my partner, my job, my principles, my ideals, my friends, my habits. However, some questions always lurk at the back of my mind - Am I making optimum use of these? Or am I safeguarding my interests at the cost of others' liberty? Am I hurting someone only because I want my own free will to prevail? Is this price really worthy to be paid by someone for my free will? And most importantly, am I really answerable to anyone at all?
Try thinking for some time.
The answer is yes. I am answerable to myself. I am answerable to my parents, my friends, my relatives, my colleagues and to humanity at large. That of course, does not mean I have no freedom. The freedom, however, comes with a price tag. Therefore, the next time you choose the wrong over the right, think of Liberty granted to you.

Pursuit of happiness - After a wonderful movie about this, really makes little sense to use words to explain. Pursuit of happiness is a way of living life. Living like a sage is one. Working to make your family happy is another. Both will attain happiness, but through different paths. In the recent spirit of the term, pursuit of happiness is, in fact, the standard way to achieve 'Inner Peace' :D
That's what we all want in the end. We strive to be happy. We work for it, we run for it, we talk for it, we walk for it, we even kill for it at times. Of course, it's not wrong to pursue happiness. But there's a great danger of losing 'current' happiness for 'future' happiness. When was the last time you played with your children? When was the last time you read a story to your aging grandmother or even your aging parents? When was the last time you helped your little brother build his project, or your mother with her grocery? You probably sent them to the best school, best class, best hospital and best old-age home. They did deserve it, but never asked for it. All they asked for is all those things you don't remember doing. Once they ask for it, you'll realize there isn't a charm in it anymore. Similar is the case with pursuing happiness by the wrong means. The bubble will burst some time and you'll be left with nothing you once valued. So, pursue happiness but make sure you'll enjoy the happiness you're pursuing!

For now, I will just pursue these random thoughts for some more time... :)