Happy Birthday!!

To someone special... truly special..

How swift have flown
To me thy girlish times,
A woman grown beneath
My heedless eyes!
In vain I rack
My fancy to believe
The almanac,
That speaks thee twenty-one.
- Charles Lamb.

Wishing you on this blessed moment, the choicest, prettiest and happiest of everything you come across. The path thy nimble foot take you across, be laid of the most fragrant roses from the garden of Athena. My dear, let the year ahead bring you what you always cherished, dreamed and prayed for.
The solemn prayers of my heart shall always seek the one above, blessings, and care on every breathing moment of your life, so precious to me that these words alone can't describe.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!! :)

Insignia '08, Hackerdom

...And thus began Insignia '08, Hackerdom.

Day: 28th of August, 2008
Time: 10.45 p.m
Location: Room No. C1, Govt. Engineering College Men's Hostel, Thrissur

Scene1:
The work on video editing progresses as the darker hours of night close in. Midhun, eyes swollen with lack of sleep, continues into what seems to be his eleventh straight hour in front of the system. Sailesh, assisting and intermittently performing the job of waking him up from brief accidental siesta, looked as alert and enthu-filled as ever. The job was getting on my nerves. It was our fourth day with the process of preparing a trailer video for Insignia 08, Hackerdom, yet it was where we had left it last evening. The mixing was taking helluva lot time, what with the format conversion of video files, cutting out clips for back ground music etc.

Scene2:
It was 1a.m. The video files and picture slides have been successfully blended in. BGM yet to be added. Midhun on the verge of calling it a day or calling it quit, two others(Sethu and Arun Rushdie) and me peacefully sleeping at one corner of the room, satisfied that our job of filming scenes for the video was completed in time. Krishnanunni, Convenor, Insignia 08, Hackerdom, walks in to view our progress. Anxiety was evident on his face, as he inquired the sleepy workers about the status.
Seeing that there needs to be another two or three hours of work needed on the video to get it completely done, manipulations happen ( :P) , an offer of Puttu and Kadala from Double-X the only hotel open at night in Thrissur. We ( the words Puttu and Kadala woke me up from the slumber instantaneously!) agreed and a half hour later, there it was, steaming hot Puttu and Kadala. Another two hours and lights off....

Scene3:
around 6.45 a.m, 29th.
I was the first one to rise( quite an unusual thing). Woke up the editors and mixers and blah blah and went about my chores. Two hours of sleep taking its toll, as they moved like zombies to begin where it had been halted.

Scene4:
10.45a.m, Seminar Hall, Govt. Engineering College
The Chief guest and other people presiding over the function- Curtain Raiser of Insignia 08, Hackerdom seated on the podium. The official welcome speech, followed by all the other speeches..


Scene5:
12a.m
Time to launch the theme music for the event, prepared by Jain. That was some music! A melodious mix of keyboard, saxo and drums, and many more that I couldn't comprehend.
Our video followed. Cheers from crowd....

Scene5 re-take:
Time to launch the theme music for the event prepared by Jain. Wait! what's happening? a sudden commotion in the rear end of the hall, and there drifts out a large mass of third years.
Reason: Results of Third semester exams announced. Memories drift back to last March-April, the time when we wrote it. Adam's Apple stuck half-way in my throat. The results couldn't have come at a better time than this. Tense faces all around. People scurrying around, searching for internet access. Dubious emotions settling around temples. Eyes glittering, water in them ready to pour out given the green signal...

I hate results!!

bLOg CaMp hERe wE CoMe......

Its that time of the year, when event the rains can't hinder the best from advancing to you. The time when joys come with abound wonders, when depressions and desperation make way for hope and excitement.

Now that you've realized I really do know some adjectives, here's the news- Blog Camp Kerala.
The very first blogger's unconference to be held on a stunning house boat, in the charming backwaters of Alleppey(Alapuzha). And the crowd of bloggers on roll to attend the program is commendable, many of them being true masters at the skills of writing blog articles are viewed read by thousands.... Check out the list to see some known faces.

The Red Fort Govt. Engg. College is represented by a team of eight- Alex, Bristow, Arun Rushdie, Rohit Rajesh, Gokul, Denny and Aswin, Of which leaving Alex, Aswin and Gokul, rest of us are reaching Alapuzha on 14th eve itself.

That said, let me say why am I going there? I use bullets here:
1. Meet new bloggers.
2. Trip in a house-boat
3. Learn more on Campus blogging.
4. Learn more on increasing monetary benefits from ads on blogs and like wise..

The camp is scheduled to begin at 9A.M at Punnamada Boat Jetty.
I sincerely believe that the camp has great stuffs in store for us...
More details when we return....

warm wishes to the success of the Blog Camp and its Organisers for such a wonderful choice of location and themes.

Buzzing off.

stuck and still waiting...

A week more to go.

I'm at my home in Mysore now. Came over

this Sunday(16th morning). No particular

reason. Its been over two months since

I've been home so felt like getting

back.
The state of Kerala is facing the

heaviest showers of recent times, quite

unexpected at this time of the year.

television news report describe sever

loss of grains and other crops to

farmers for whom this was the harvest

season. The 15th of march was no

different.


Kuttimukku fields on 14th, the first foggy morning in two months

I woke up by 10a.m. (pretty early for my

holiday standards). Went to college

after(??) cleaning up. Booked my tickets

and came over to pack my bags for the

trip. Hari (my brother) had asked for the

computer to be brought back home as he

would be finishing off with his C.B.S.E

board exams next weekend, only to enter

a long vacation of roughly three months.

I had bartered Sethu's L.C.D monitor for

my CRT one, thus reducing the bulk of

load drastically. It was quite easy

packing up the whole computer and

peripherals and I finished in about two

hours...

It had started drizzling by 3p.m. There

was a time about a week ago when we had

prayed for a little of rain, but "

ooparwala jab bhi deta hai, chappad

phaad ke deta hai" and thats centum true.

Its been raining for three days now,

with continuum.

My bags and the card box got wet and the

papers were peeling away from the Box by

the time I reached home(at 5a.m next

morning).

The journey home was pretty

eventful. First to mention is about Mr.

Shajahan, a logo and web designer from Ernakulam on

his way to Nilambur. He had had serious

troubles the whole day, missing the

train for which he had booked a ticket,

getting out late from a crucial meeting

and finally ending up next to me en

route! We had a nice little chat midst

of which he laid out a proposal to do

some off-campus web designing for him whilst

carrying on my studies. Seems

interesting, novel, unexplored field

from my point of view. Shall be giving it a

try soon.

Then at about 40kms from Mysore, the

bus had a punctured tire. The

driver soon set off to change it with

locally available tools and some which

he had carried with him( obviously, he

should, its Kerala R.T.C anyway!)


A patient wait for about 2 hours and I

was home at 5 against the usual 3a.m

arrival.

Shall be returning to Thrissur in

two days. Still hoping positively that

the university may postpone the exams

buzzing off

National Crisis!!

View the following photos and etch your comments. The pictures are self-explainatory.


Notice No. 0 : Stars which vanished into oblivion


Notice No. 1


Notice No. 2 : Anxious Parents


Notice No. 3: Them again!!


Notice No. 4 : Primo facto

The creators of the notification are Chacko and Rushdie, the bereaved friends of the missing individuals.

Notice No. 5 : Hoping for the Good

Require Immediate response. All you people out there.......

Helppppppppppppppppp!!!!!!!!

Saami- Doom and Return of a Legend!! The saga continues!!

This is a tale about a boy who struggled through rough times and proved to the world around him that true courage and hope for good is still left on this planet.

Once upon a time, in the distant land of Thrissur Engg. College, studied a smart little young man named Saami. Ardently inspired by the words of great leaders, he decided to dedicate his life to the welfare of common people and his fellow sudents, by landing up in college politics. People gasped with awe when he passed, and he increasingly became a rare item in his own class as more often his duties would keep him busy, as an emerging Red Star.

Then disaster struck. The day was December 31st, 2007. On his way back to hostel, exhausted and weary, Saami was atacked by a gang of ....THE MATTANCHERY MOSQUITOES.

He fought them back bravely, him against nine(perhaps!!) but one of the savage beasts found its destination, Saami's leg. The mosquito made the strike before Saami could barricade himself.

Gasping for air after the galactic war, Saami realised with shock the emergence of a small inflammation near his toe. Irritation soon set in and unable to stand it anymore, Saami plucked at the lump and it burst!!

As days passed by, the swelling in his leg increased though he seldom bothered about it. Busy with his routine, Saami had totally forgotten the pain till it became excruciating. Upon his friend's insistence, he soon consulted a doctor who immediately hospitalised him.

Friends are a boon and sometimes a real pain in the ...

Friends and family poured in to visit the fallen warrior, with empty hands. The sufferers were the nurses of the floor as prying eyes often lurked around them and jackals in saint's disguise sought every oppurtunity to talk to them.(no offence meant :) )

A dying patient needs care even in his death bed

The D-day, as Saami dreaded, finally arrived. A white clad lady came into his room rolling a wheel chair, taking him into the mystery land of OPERATION THEATRE. His friends ran behind him untill they were blocked by giants called attendants near the Op-T.

Lead Unaware

Seconds turned minutes and minutes ran to an hour and a half. Saami emerged as illuminant as before, out of the glassed entrance(or exit!! whatever!). The doctor, exhausted after the minor surgery was soon brought out supported on either side by the attendants. His final words were" It was a miracle. The boy shall live."

Victory is thee

Our joy had no leaps and bounds. Messages and calls came pouring down like the water in Niagra. Friends and family celebrated a new dawn for the " boy who lived".

Walking towards a new dawn(Hopefully!!)

Soon came the day when he parted from the comfort of the hospital bed. His eyes wet with tears, throat choking to let a final word out and hands trembling as he slowly let the door to Room no. 212 slide back to its latch.Heartbreaking Moments

And then.......












He lived happily ever after!!!


****************THE END**********************

Merry X'mas and a Happy New Year Guys!!

Currently writing this from a DELL Inspiron 2650 laptop borrowed from my dear friend Safir here.
Its been the four longest months of my life, since the last time I had been home. The longing for such a return had become unbearable over the last few weeks with dark clouds of exams hovering over our heads.

As soon as the Christmas celebrations at college ended the first thing I did was to stuff my back-pack and book the tickets back home.

Coming to Christmas celebrations at college, we had two distinct celebrations-one in our class and the other in the dept with all the students from the 4 years getting together.
Christmas celebrations in class were as colorful as it had been the previous year. The event started by 2 in the afternoon, with the representatives announcing it officially. Then came the moments of exchanging the Xmas gifts to the secret Christ-mate. The gift I presented to Ardra, my Christ-mate, was an assortment of 25 items, ranging from candles, ear buds, thread, soap to shampoo and pickle(??). A hoard of laughter followed every item that was picked out of the gift box.
Then followed the best part of the show, food. There were pastries for everyone and so was softdrinks. Don't know about others, but I surely got my tummy-full!!

Bristow and Denny showed up in the middle of the program. Bristow was dressed as a modern day pirate while Denny was Santa Claus.


Bristow looking a bit better than actual!!(Just kidding!!)

The pirate narrated the story as to how hard it had been for him to get all the way to Switzerland and get hold of Santa, convince him to make a visit to our college and stuffs...:)

The program winded up as soon as it started as there were the union games going on at the other end of the college, with second years(i.e, us!!) about to play fourth years in the finals of throw ball and volleyball. The former we won and the latter we offered as our parting tribute to the final years.


Human pyramid by the final years at the end of day 2, Union Games

Speaking of the departmental celebration, the thing that comes to my mind immediately is the preparation of the Christmas star. Seven of us took up this task with Bristow overseeing the whole process. It was finished in about four hours time.


Whats Xmas without the TREE!!

For the first time all the classes of the Compsciz Department were getting together to celebrate Christmas. Except for the food(pastries and soft drinks) everything else was arranged by us with assistance from our juniors wherever they could. Seniors condescended to help out wherever they could, in odd jobs. There were various cultural programs organised, with instrumental support from first years.


Late-nite practice sessions for the big day! Jerry rocked the Party!!

The students were seated on four corners in the order of the year they belonged to and a game like balloon bursting was organised. What was missing were the fireworks, and that started immediately!




Everyone, especially the first and the final years enjoyed the max. The programme was a giant success as could be comprehended from the praises we the second years received from others.



There were songs sung by students from all years. The one that received the healthiest applause was the one sung by the final years which ended up in cacophony and chaos.

As final word, Mobin from S7 thanked all the juniors for making his batch's last Christmas celebration at college memorable.

A photo session followed and that was the end for yet another wonderful day at GEC.

"We are what you dream to be!!"

Hopes Alive...Again!!

Seriously, I don't believe in these online calculators that churn out computed oututs based on answers to multiple choice questions but of course what just came over as a result for one particular test is highly encouraging!!!

Check this link out if interested, and post the results as comments....

Your True Love Will Find You Eventually

You definitely put yourself out there a little - but you could be doing more. If you're truly looking for love, try doing more things and meeting more people. You don't have to actively look for love, you just need to stay active. Be out there a little more, and the right person will find you!

Will Your True Love Find You?

Relax??What Does That Mean?

Its been a long time since I have had the opportunity to scribble anything. The way things around me were moving was so fast that I was finding it difficult to catch up in this long race.
A lot has been happening in the very few days that passed by.
A welcoming news in this regard is that we, the S3 Compsciz are about to embark on our semi-annual tour. And the destination--?? Land of Mist Kodaikanal and the The scenic bliss of Hogganakal.

Let me leave here a glimpse of what we are about to visit and relish.
First up- A foggy morning in Kodai.


Last one whole week in college was spent by us on planning the destination, the expected expense listing and arranging facilities upon reaching the fore said places.
We are leaving Thrissur on 31st eve around 7p.m and thus will start another episode of fun and joy unplugged, as its been happening from the time we got together here. this is just another leg in our memoirs.
Here's a view of the coir boat in Hogganakkal, that stars above all attractions associated with this place.


Expected number of people on this trip is somewhere between 40 and 45 and thence its a Herculean task of arranging all attributes associated to this tour. Work was split and teams of people were sent around with specific purposes like checking out the travel expenses and booking the transportation necessary, getting official consent( the toughest of all jobs was this!! ), planning the itinerary and deciding the stay.

A Teacher from our college is expected to accompany us in our excursion and his Family will be giving him company while he's with us. :)

Sailesh, Priya, Merlin, Tony and myself were engaged yesterday in persuading the staff on accompanying us lest the trip gets cancelled as it is mandatory as per the regulations by the State Government that teaching staff is to assist the students in "Educational Tours and Industrial Visits". :0

Bristow, Ashith, Sethu, Rogen and Others were engaged in the strenuous task of organising local arrangements including transportation and everything.

We all are very keen on the outcome of our work and expecting the best to come our way, hoping that everything will move as finely as its been till now. Awaiting with Crossed fingers(in literal terminology :))

that's it for now.
more details after getting back from the fun trip.
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I'm currently at Mysore, back home for the festival of the year the Dasara Celebrations. Here's a glimpse of the Procession that shall take place tomorrow, known as the Jumbo Savari.More details on Mysore and DDasara in Next Post.



Sadly though, I will be missing all this fun as I am getting back to college by morning the day after, meaning that I've to leave Mysore by evening tomorrow.

Yesterday was memorable day. It was MY parents' 21st Anniversary!! Now you would ask why is it special!!??
Well, its special for me because they are my parents and the best in the business!!
We had dinner from Mysore's very own Green Leaf restaurant.And, a thrilling offer was made to me yesterday on account of the occasion- I will be provided the necessary budget to get the mobile phone of my choice!!!

Well, to speak of Mysore, every house I saw today was in the festive mood of Navami and people were seen decorating their homes, offices and vehicles with flowers and offering Puja at Temples.

It is true- Cultural Heritage is What makes us, Indians, Special!!!

That's it for now,
Buzzing off

My Early Blog Posts

Check out the following link to view my first attempt as a blogger.I presume blogger.com had removed that blog of mine and just returned it back as soon as I started my new blog.:)

http://devidasblog.blogspot.com/