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!!

Red Ribbon Express: A Welcoming Initiative

The day began with all the noises of daily chores. In case you've forgotten, I've my parents and family living with me now! But does that mean I am gonna change what I've been for the last two years? Nah!

Ready and reached college for the news that classes have been suspended. And the reason was the arrival of Red Ribbon Express at Shornur Railway Station, about 40 km from Thrissur.The Red Ribbon Express was launched by the ministries of Health and Railway to travel across the nation and throw light on the causes and treatment for HIV and AIDS.

We reached Shornur Railway terminal by 12 noon. And whoa! The queue of visitors to the train was about a km long - twisting, turning and spiraling across the entire platform. The patient wait began as we were determined to see the train and the stuff inside after having travel over 40kms just for it.

At about 1p.m our end of the queue reached entry doors. There were volunteers from various non-profit organizations ,devoted to the treatment of AIDS, distributing pamphlets and stickers on general awareness about the most dreaded disease of this century.
What amused me was the street play by some professional artists who were also volunteers for the cause. Presented with a gist of humor, the play highlighted ignorance of our society regarding safe sexual practices and birth control. The play went on to female foeticides and I could see some faces surprised to hear that foeticide is an criminal offense punishable under law.

The train was totally Malayalified(all writings and explanations were being done in Malayalam). There were illustrious banners and posters on contraceptives, family planning and birth control. While one section dealt with the importance of checking quality of blood while undergoing a transfusion, another was about the safety of disposable syringes.

A map of our nation with red, white and green LEDs on it indicated the concentration of HIV/AIDS patients in various regions. The map was a clear indication of how education is related to health conditions and social outlook about a disease, that could be prevented if necessary precautions were taken.

Also under display were some medical specimen a glimpse of which i leave here.
Blessed are those souls(like mine!) who aren't doctors!
The train was definitely a new experience, and a look at the crowd could easily make one comprehend the results of such an initiative. kudos to the Railways and the Ministry of Health for this venture..

Its Back , Its here!!

The bells have rung. The clock strikes Twelve. Its time to battle!!

Calicut University yet again in action. This time its us, the Fourth Semester B.Tech students who have to battle against the University in the war where the only principle valid is " Survival of the Luckiest".

Third Semester University Exam notification has been released. It "ensures" that the exams may commence from 25th March. Thats just Eighteen days from now. No, I'm not frantic, just a bit agitated that the time given is so less.

18 days are to be spent for split attack on the heavy metal barrage of syllabus. Covert operations like "bits" or "exchange" is seemingly impossible in this battle field. Only way is to fight tooth for tooth , eye for an eye!

Now frankly, I've just got two eyes to give off and there are 6 exams, which ensures the fact of messing up the rest 4 papers, and probably the first two as well, guaranteed. :)

There is DSA( easy to type on a keyboard! ), i.e, Data Structures and Algorithms, STLD ( Switching Theory and Logic Design) and ECS( Electrical Circuits and Systems!). The most dreaded subjects of the Semester. These enemy fighters have been awarded the medals of " Largest Supply Provider", " Minimum Marks Mera Hai" and various other ones.



Our brave comrade Gabbar Singh, who fought against the universities of North India long time ago stated this quote in his movie Sholay " Jo dar gaya, samjho wo mar gaya". This is what my policy is going to be. Nopes, my knees won't buckle, my hands won't shiver and definitely I wont stink from sweat.

If not as mighty as the University, we aren't feeble either. The pre-war prep has begun. The trumpets have been blared, and the sirens are waking up every dozing brain in the vicinity. The hands that carried cigarette butts and "uppu soda" glasses during the entire semester, while idle chatting at Pallimoola, shall now bear the mighty pen and shed one's own blood into the waiting answer papers. Oops, getting way too carried away with the campaign.( Mental note: Play less of "Rome: total war". :) )

I had been to college today. Our hang out, Appachan's corner, was devoid of almost all the Second year guys, the regulars. As my feet took me towards Mech tree, the situation was no different. CCF(Centralized Computing Facility ) was in the clutches of First years and MCA people who were relishing the fact that we are about to face our doom. The sarcasm showed when they beamed at me.

Only people I met who belonged to the same rein were Sailesh, Tony and Merlin. Alas! what was happening to Tony! There he was, sitting with the DSA text by Ullman, concentration heavy on his eyeballs, as though burning the papers with this intensity. The three did not notice me as I walked towards them. It was Sailesh, taking a break( for a brief yawn) who saw me first. His face was devoid of the pleasing smile, and wore a sombre look. Teaching them both was Merlin, looking up at me over the rims of her glasses with dispassionate interest, probably perturbed by my interference.



Wars have psychological influences, they say. The aura was intimidating. My hands reached for the hereditary DSA textbook passed on to me from elder brother...

Guess I won't be here for a brief period from now.. Until we meet, pray that I survive the shelling and encounters with the University and return home, my bloggerworld, with all physical organs intact!!

A Giant Leap Year ahead!!

The day was 29th February year 2008. The only leap year in our b.tech life.
As decided before hand, almost all of us had worn black attire to mark this auspicious day.

(It is said that leap year is the time when its girls' turn to propose. At least I'm sure I wasn't proposed neither on this day nor on the valentines day that preceded it!!)

We were smoking our brains out deciding what to do to make the day memorable. There were suggestions of mass bunking(as usual!) for the entire day and going for a movie, having a gigantic snack-time at Wimbies and many more. As I could remember, It was our ex-rep Sailesh who came up with the idea of going all the way to Kaiparambu, where Vidya Engineering College is situated, to attend Perizia, the tech cum cultural fest organized by the computer Sciences and engineering department.

Despite some initial hesitation, we finally decided to give his plan a try. Soon a crowd, numbering between 20 and 30, stepped out from the ongoing Environmental Studies class( yes, we do have this!!).

As was obvious, the gathering of "blacks" caught everyones' attention en route. It so happened that, at Shakthan Thampuran Bus Stand, three people from our group strayed off to have some snacks. Not realizing their absence, the rest of us boarded a bus to our destination. The trio, upon their return were making frantic inquiries about us, when an elderly looking man asked them(obviously noticing the dress code)," Are you among the black cats who just left now??"



We reached Kaiparambu by 12 and waited for the three individuals to catch up. Getting to the college was no piece of cake as we walked the 2 km stretch leading there under the scorching sun. A cargo jeep soon came by and some of us could manage a lift in it till the college. The rest, however, continued tirelessly.

Events at the college were ion full swing as we reached. Hiran came to meet us upon informing. Some of our seniors were already present, participating in various technical and otherwise contests. The participation was free and so I gave my name for Quiz, Programming in C and Mobile Photography, along with others.

Quizzing was never this easy. I was in and out of the lab where the event was being held even before I realized. One or two correct answers and that was it!! The words " You are terminated Mister" beamed at me!!

Next in line was the Programming Contest Preliminaries. Almost all of us took part in it. Vinu, Raman and myself were lucky enough to get through into the finals along with our seniors and some other guys. The final was a nightmare and the question was waaaaaaaaay out of my logics!! Sat for about 3 quarters of an hour and finally wrote the following and came out:

#include
main()
{
printf(" good luck with the event! with love from GEC Devidas\n");
}

:)


It was for the first time that I was participating in a photography contest. This event was more thrilling than the rest, frankly. The task was to click few snaps and present any two that were related to the event "Perizia". Here I include the photos I submitted:





Meantime Rushdie and gang were busy preparing for the Ad-Zap event. While we were "busy" with the programming finals , rest of our company left the place to Neetha's home. We soon caught up with them for the photo session that followed. Neetha's identical twin sister, Neema was also present.

The day had , unknowingly become, memorable with all these unexpected turn of events. There were certainly some newbies among us who would other wise restrain themselves to the class. And surprisingly, there were more girls in the group than us!!


Not all are here!

Another page added to the diary of GEC memories, bookmarked to cherish!!

B.R.A.I.Ns- Lost in Transition??

Here is a diary excerpt from the days when I joined GEC. I was just glancing through my old entries and found this worth putting up. Execuse the vocabulary. These entries were enerally written in night (about 2 A.M.). So here it goes....
""
Its been some days since the last time I wrote anything here.. I'll try to brIefly explaIn what all happened In the last four months of my college lIfe:

I joIned the college on 9th october,06.As Is my character I made some frIends on the very fIrst day Itself. Jeevan was my fIrst mate here. He Is a nIce dude wIth good attItude.I dont have much to say about hIm as he left the college soon to pursue hIs Interests as a commercIal pIlot.Soon I met wIth Rahul and Arun RushdIe tallest IndIvIduals of my class who shared common frequency of thought and thInkIng as me. They had become my good company tIll the cultural fest of the college began-Confluence 06. These two were partIcIpatIng In a dance and they made new frIends whIle the practIce sessIons were goIng on.The brIef perIod of solItude.That was when I had close encounters wIth the thIrd kInd- back benchers. The prIced posItIon In any class where the brIghtest braIns are found. A place of hIgh rIsk actIvItIes IncludIng graffItI work on benches, readIng novels and magazInes whIle the class Is In full swIng, and at some raretImes, studIes...
The people I met here were Arun s always called "ArunS", Raman or RamakrIshnan, RohIt Rajesh, Jerry BrIstow and last but the best among all-Sethu.We constItuted the last two benches of the class.One fIne day, whIle on a tedIous work of graffItI, Sethu suddenly saw an already etched word on the bench-B.R.A. whIch stood for Back Row AssocIatIon. ThIs acronym sparked a lIght In us thus leadIng to the formatIon of the group. But sInce the name of the group had a multiple meanIng which was more popular, I came up wIth a suggestIon of addIng an addItIonal term to the name -"INcorporated". TakIng the fIrst two terms of the newly coIned word we thus had the fInal name of the group as B.R.A.I.N; thus levelIng wIth Abdul Kalam's popular quote about the braIns of the class.
We the founder members had veto powers, meanIng that we can decIde on selectIng new members to the group and decIdIng objectIves and operatIons and all..
Soon enough the membershIp of the group rose from 6 to 11 and from 11 to 22 where as the onlIne communIty opened In the same name has 26 members as on 12:47 AM 1/27/2007.
FollowIng our lead two other groups were formed In the class; frontbench Intellectuals or FBI, and cenral bench IdIots or CBI. InterestIng event to mentIon here Is that CBI soon merged Into BRAIN and thus the next objectIve at hand was to merge the front benchers In the league of these last benchers!!!
We have been partly successful In thIs venture as can be seen from the omnIous drIft of people from fIrst benches to the last benches durIng the dry lectures of graphIcs and other sImIlar hours.ThIs Is by no means a groupIsm In classrooms as we Intended the formatIon of thIs funky group purely for fun unplugged.
One abIlIty that braIn apprecIates Is of crackIng poor pathetIc jokes popularly known as 'pj's or chalI's. As In fIle, Raman holds the record for beIng the most entertaInIng chalImaster for three consecutIve months(onlIne statIstIcs).


A recent picture of hard-headed brain members

SpeakIng of the members of the group, the person to be mentIoned prImarIly Is Sethu.He Is a gIfted graffItI maker wIth a unIque knack for creatIng excellent quotes and onelIners. To revIew hIs artworks, a vIsIt to the last benches of the class Is necessary. He has already fInIshed total graffItIIng of a bench and handed It over to the FBI to realIse the artIstIc valour. He's currently occupIed on another sImIlar project and Is scheduled to release It before "february 14th".

Arun s Is an InterestIng character wIth lots of enthusIasm for learnIng newer thIngs In the new atmosphere. He had complted hIs studIes In Jamshedpur In BIhar.Though born wIth the gene of an Intellectual, he's an ever charmIng character radIatIng an Innocent smIle which were, untill recently, been furnIshed wIth braces.Me Raman n Arun sIt In the second last row of the class.


a rare sight..

Jerry n BrIstow are two characters who need to be mentIoned together. They are cousIns and good frIends and have been In each other's company from class 8th onwards. BrIstow In case I havent mentIoned here yet, Is a bombastIc character In short. a rare collector's Item Is what I would call hIm as. He's got a charmIng personalIty and Is surely a man of ladIes, rIghtly called PUSHPAN meanIng flIrt!!
He's been nicknamed "Pushpan " as he's seen constantly In the vIcInIty of beautIful ladIes wIth hIs copyrIght protected seducIve smIle.Jerry on the other hand, Is bIt more composed character, nevertheless competItIve.In the short tIme we have had together whIch Is actually InsuffIcIent to judge hIs character I have started consIderIng hIm as a man of word, adequately composed of the x factor necessary to be a braIn.
RohIt Rajesh n me myself have got many a thIngs In common. We have had an almost equal academIc career and have got settled wIth almost the same rank. He's got a brother and lIves near mannuthy about the same place where I lIve. And importantly, whenever there is a chat we almost say the same thing together( you know, it gives goosebumps!!). An acad by nature as I presume and stIll contInues to tIckle the funny bone.
I suppose thats It, thats us the braIns!!!! hear it world, we RULE!!!!
"""

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!!"

Dhyuthi 07 - My Event Synopsis

Three magnificient days celebrating the annum mirabilis. Days that shall be embossed in golden letters in the history of the institution. Days that will remain afresh for years to come, in the minds of the people who witnessed it.



The Golden jubilee celebrations of the college, which commenced on the 28th of November have finally come to an end today morning, 1st December. The preparations for the same had started months back and the program was coined the name 'Dhyuthi' which means light. Over 700 colleges were invited for this grand event and the crowd that turned up was well beyond ten thousand.

I was a volunteer in the Reception committee for the program. There were other committees as well,viz., the committes for Local arrangement, Media, Food and Accomadation and so on. In addition there were general volunteers who took care of any odd job that turned up. The co-ordinated function of these committees under expert leadership of seniors is worth applause.

On 27th , at around 3p.m, we embarked on a bike rally through the city to proclaim the beginning of the function the day after. Two on each bike, carrying posters and leaflets , soaring through the heart of the city, beeping horns and catching attention. It was an effective mean to express, i must admit, as all around people craned their necks to see us passing.



The day One began with off-stage events like Painting and Creative Writing. The Inaugural function began at 6p.m. Noted South Indian singer Karthik( one who sang in 'Boys') and cine director Kamal were the guests. It was followed by a musical concert by Karthik himself which got the crowd tap to the beats played by music director Benet and his team.



As the rights for photography during the concert were solely for the media committee, I do not have any clips to put out here, but here is his autograph he signed for me during a break between the songs.



The Reception committee had put up an Information desk at the entrance to college and I was chiefly assigned to be there, reciting the Event Schedule and helping out people who seeked any kind of information regarding the program.



A remarkable feat I achieved during this program was to mingle with a new lot of friends, people whom I often see in and off the campus, but never known in person. They were largely from other departments, but the GEC-ian spirit was present in all of us that made us bind for the common cause, hand in hand.

The schedule of the on stage events for day 2 is as given below.



The only events I could manage to see were 'Step and Synchro' and 'English Drama'. Step and Synchro is a unique program in which two dancers, with a dark screen separating them, dance in perfect synchronisation to the music played. The crowd responded with cheers for perfection and mistakes were accompanied with booing.

Here is a design that was made in the Rangoli event. I was amused!!



College wore a festive look and colorful lights illuminated every nook and corner of the gigantic campus.



On day 3, another information desk was put up near stage 3 which evidently helped me in watching the Movie Spoof event. The characters from various movies acting for a common story was hilarious. Next in the list was the event which was most anticipated- Radio Mango 91.9 FM's RJ Freak-Out. Final participants for it were selected earlier in the prelims and the 16 finalists performed with excellence.
A minute was given for them to present any performance they wished and scores were given on the basis of the same. Singer Franko, Producer Shogun Ravi and the scriptwriter of the movie 'NAMMAL' which was shot almost entirely in our campus were the judges. The participants presented unique bits of humour and 7 ( +1 selected by sms votes) were let into second round.
In the second round they were to reply spontaneously to the situations presented, such as 'selling a pre-paid connection to Musharaff' , or reaction when 'you win a 10lakh rupee lottery'. The crowd roared with laughter and encouraged the best of the best.

The valedictory function which was presided by Babu Palisseri, M.L.A was followed by another musical concert. The programs that followed it were sensational and pulsating and as the events progressed to dawn of Dec 1, sleep was no where to be seen on any face and all that remained, once the event of all events finished was the unanswered question- when next??

Here's a pic of the masterpiece work that was set up in the college campus by some students.




It was a wonderful experience and a remarkable feat in my campus life, the memories of which will stay along with me for very many reasons than above. The sense of pride on being able to contribute my two penny worth in this jumbo event is not expressible in words.

Truly, proud and honoured to be GEC-ian!!!

Battle Royale!

Whew what day it had been!

The following write up may seem a bit exaggerated but, hey, thats how I like to view it and thats how i shall put it up!

I'm speaking of the Association Cup Cricket tournament we have in college. The matches are held annually, between the students from 4th year to first year and cricket matches are held between the teams of these years, belonging to the Compsciz family.

Yesterday ( November 20th, '07) was the day we had our match with the 4th years.It was our first match in the qualifiers and there was too much pressure on our team, facing the seniors.

The day was off due to some need-not-be-mentioned problems in the college and we spent the first half registering for the 3rd semester university exams(truly, thinking of it gives me creeps!)

After loitering around the campus for the rest of the day without any specific purpose what-so-ever, came the moment we were eagerly waiting for.
The match started at about 11.45 or so( I was not there to see it commencing). The 4th years were to bat first and the match was scheduled for 12 overs. Our team came up fairly well with about 30 extra runs and as we watched the batters put up a appreciable score of 96 runs from 12 overs at the loss of 7 wickets. It is indeed an unassailable total to chase for the team to bat next, or so did it seem at that time.



A small drinks break followed and soon the second innings began. Our team incurred the loss of two early wickets as the score board ticked staggeringly.
But soon the situation changed as Jerry came on to bat as number four in the order. The team was losing wickets at one end, while at the other Jerry stood like the rock of Gibraltar, picking up one's and two's and converting them to three's whenever such a situation was provided.

The score boomed towards the end of the innings as the target now became 30 runs from 18 balls. Another batter was lost and we were clinching to the final straw of hope. 10th over and the one following it proved good for the team and as we entered the final overs of the match the win was attainable at a run per ball.
The dramatic situation grew unbearable and all of us, the viewers, were standing impatiently as each ball was thrown. Jeers and cheers accompanied each good ball and each good drift.

The match reached its climax with the runs levelled, or in technical terms, at a draw. We had another ball to face and another run to chase and none other than the blaster Jerry was at the batting end.
The final ball of the match pitched and swivelled to his legside, what seemed to us the onlookers as a wide, but Jerry the Stakhanovite had forced his bat to give it a nice little flick as it raced towards the fine leg fielder. The crowd( not many, about 30 or so) erupted and ran into the ground, hoisting Jerry and Ashith( batter at the other end) up in air.

It was one hell of a match and the tension had paramounted so much that it eased in this show of victory. We all headed towards the canteen in a processsion and the talks on the exciting finish continued there as well, all the while sipping soft-drinks and sip-ups.
Jerry had hit a massive 44 in our pile of 97 runs. It was truly an exciting finish to an enthralling match!! Rest of the team had put in their two penny as well as none of our batters were dismissed on a duck and none of our bowlers returned without a wicket!

Three cheers to US!!

P.S: the day was quite special for other special reasons as well!!

'Dam!!' Its Gorgeous!! Peechi dam, Thrissur

Peechi Dam( Reservoir) provides for the water supply to more than half the population of Thrissur district. Thanks to the Weather phenomena happening some where in Indonesia, the state of Kerala has been receiving heavy rains for the last 10 days. The water level in the dam has reached the apex thus making it essential to lift its "shutters", which control the level of water stored in the reservoir.

We, a gang of 12, took this as an opportunity to relish in the lap of nature overlooking the region surrounding the dam. Cars, belonging to Rohit and Bristow were arranged for immediately, and congested though we were, made it to Peechi which was roughly 17kms from Thrissur City.

It was drizzling as we reached Peechi. We approached the location directly over the shutter where from one could actually feel the rumble of water gushing savagely through a narrow gap of 20 Inches to the surface 50 feet+ below. It was definitely a view of a lifetime seeing the water in the adjacent reservoir touching maximum level for the first time in 20-25 years. I remembered Samuel Taylor Coleridge's words,"Water water everywhere, not a drop to drink" as in this case we could not reach the actual water body because of restrictions by the authorities.:)

It was followed by a hike into jungle nearby. We went on narrow forest paths, where on only one person can walk abreast,all the time awestruck by the sheer power of water, the force of which hitting rock bottom was deafening. Our trek through the jungle came to an end at a small rivulet where in we halted and took rest. It was getting dark(6.30p.m) and they say, in jungle night falls even before one realises. :)

The trek was loaded with many funny instances of people quoting doubts on a small motion in the nearby bush mistaking it to be snakes and all. We soon returned back to Civilisation and made our way to the bottom of the fall.Jets of water formed mist all around upon meeting with the base ground and it was a wonderful feeling relinquishing all worries of the day and letting mind float over the beautiful waves that were being created and destroyed every moment.
Kerala is truly, the God's own Country.


Everyone chose to stay for the night at my place upon compulsion. Ramakrishnan was given birthday bumps at 0000hrs as he is turning 19 today. As always, we sat around debating on a field of common interest and the talks went on till 2 in the morning when we called it a "day" and went to sleep.

It was one rare experience all together and a real nice getaway from our busy schedules in and after college :).