Junkyard

On this Rakhi, Dada (Big Bro) gifted me a soft-toy which is a black monkey. 8)
The monkey has the best ever smile on his face.
Looking at the monkey, one starts thinking that,
"Nothing is ever a big trouble after all...hehe"

Staring at the monkey the other day,
I noticed that the chimp shows some of 'my emotions' perfectly.
Here are a few:



Thanks Dada! It's a really cool gift.

"चुकून चूक झाली कधी तर चूक म्हणुन सोडून देशील,
चुकीच्या गोष्टी चुकुनच घडतात, मला माहिती आहे तू समजुन घेशील.
चुकीच्या चुका करायला कुणालाही आवडत नाही.
पण काय करू चुका केल्या शिवाय माझा एक दिवसही जात नाही!

चुकत-चुकत चालवत राहतो आपली ही होडी सगळे आपण,
म्हणुन बहुतेक आठवतात आपल्याला नेहमी हेच ते चुकीतले क्षण.
कितीही टाळलं तरी घडतेच हातून एखादी तरी चूक,
म्हणुन डोंट सी इट एज अ चूक, इन्सटेड जस्ट चेंज युअर आउट-लूक!

खरं तर चूक कधीच नसते एक अती भारी चूक.
ती तर शिकवते आपल्याला बरच काही, जरी स्वतः असते मूक.
भविष्यात या चुकांचा संग्रह केला तर बनेल एक मस्त नवीन बुक.
म्हणुन बिंदास होऊन मी शिकते रोज नवं काही तरी,
करते दररोज एक नवीन चूक! "

To celebrate the launch of our first magazine, the team byte of our magazine went for a party. :-)

After having food, we went to a nearby gaming zone in a mall, almost unknowingly. :-P (This was the first time I spent 3 hours at such a place.)

I enjoyed a lot & I got to know a lot more.
I was "amazed" at the brilliant idea of the owners of the game zone to draw huge amount of money from the masses.

The basic idea behind it was that: once you enter the zone, firstly you have to buy a card (worth Rs. 100 to 1000/- cash)
The card looks just like one's regular credit/debit card.
To play any game, you have to swipe that card in a slot on that game machine.
Every game has different rate like 10 Rs, 25 Rs, 40 Rs. etc.

When you complete one game, you get a strip of tickets.
The no. of tickets is equal to the points you score in the game.

You have to collect such tickets to get the souvenir of your choice (that essentially consists of teddy bears, pencil boxes, crayons, stuff toys etc.)
The bigger the souvenir, greater the no. of tickets you need to exchange in order to acquire it.
What a great idea indeed!

I bet, the owners must be "Really Rich" by now.

Because, the crowd that it pulled was countless. Age no bar.
All poured a generous sum of money from their pockets to get those gifts.

We got 133 tickets in the 3 hours we spent there. But, we were 11 people.
And the smallest souvenir was a pencil worth 10 tickets.
Nobody agreed to take it. All wanted to have something larger.
My group decided to keep the tickets and come again next time to get more tickets.

So, now you see, the greater idea was this one:
When we asked them if these tickets can be used later, the girl on the counter answered that, the tickets are valid for a life time.
That was the trick. It's simple. They know that out of the greed for more, people would come again & again.
And we have fallen for it.

I just can't imagine how much money these people might be making in a single day.
Not just the game zone owners, but even the managers of the rest of the mall.
I can make this out because, after playing there for so much time, its usual for anyone to become thirsty.
And we had no source of water. We inquired if we could get some drinking water around. We didn't find any.
So, we had to buy the water bottles at higher rate than usual. :(

That's the way they rob you, infront of your eyes, even when you are completely cautious.

Just Kidding! Anyways, but this is how they make so much amount of the Precious $Money$

But, serious thinking apart, I had loads of fun their today.
Still, I haven't decided yet if I am going there again....for those big souvenirs. ;)

I have been working on creating a magazine for my computer department for the last one and a half month. And I proudly mention that I was the editor.

Today was its inauguration day.
And this was my speech, which was appreciated by all.

“Hello friends,

I am Ankita Katdare, a member of the team byte. As my team-mates mentioned, I am here to share a few experiences of the process of creation of The Byte with you all.

All of us have gathered here today for the inauguration of The Byte. But let me tell you, our team was never sure that we would really make this day happen. But today, I am very sure that the collective feelings in the minds of all my team mates can not be put into words.

In fact, our experience is just like reading a novel which is full of different incidents. Each chapter has a different story to tell. Each holds a special memory. Each chapter was a fun-filled learning activity.

The story of this novel rolls back to the initial days of our 2^nd year…

It was our H.O.D, Jethwa sir’s 1^st official lecture in our class. We expected that he will ask for our introductions and brief us about the syllabus. But, instead he started telling us about the various activities that he wished to conduct in the department. All of us were surprised. This was the first time he mentioned about a something called a technical magazine by the students, for the students. From that very moment, it was the beginning of what I can call a new voyage, a new journey………

The team wants to give a heart-felt thanks to Jethwa Sir for so many things…. Right from igniting our minds to think creative, he guided us in every single stage.

He gave us both: the opportunity and the platform.

For all the times we kept disturbing him to ask little doubts and queries.

For all the times we stood in his office to discuss new ideas.

For always being there when we needed him.

For teaching us the practical ways of dealing with things.

And even for bearing with our immature ways, really sir, the word thank you seems very small to express our gratitude towards you.

As I mentioned earlier, this idea was put forth in our third semester. And it took almost a year to accomplish what we had dreamt of.

In 2^nd year, we faced many obstacles. It was like a hurdle race. Back then, we never thought that this was practically possible. But as one of our team member says,

“Hum to yuhi chal padte the,

unjaani raahein thi,

lekin log judte gaye….

Aur Karwan banta chala gaya!”

We think, These lines describe this journey perfectly.

Now, we had landed in our 3^rd and final year. But, This time with a new enthusiasm and a determined attitude to fulfill the long-held dream. We all know that, in final year all the students are pretty serious about their academics. We too are. But just the idea of trying something new, somehow tempted us. We were inspired. And literally, the past 1 month was like a Roller Coaster ride, which was full of thrill and excitement for all of us.

At this point, I want to convey a message to all of our lecturers. Thank you sir and ma’am for letting us do the editing and designing work between your lectures. Without your help and co-operation, this was just not possible at all. And We assure you that, from this day onwards the so-called “magazine committee” will attend all the lecturers regularly.

Coming back to the story, Initially, We began with lot of brain-storming sessions. First and foremost issue was the naming the magazine. We wanted it to be young as well as technical. And as you can see, the name Byte served both the purposes. So, the name became, THE BYTE.

We proceeded further with deciding the sections and collecting articles for the magazine. Though, it was fun to be working with a group of 12 individuals. You may happen to know that when there are 12 people and all are working on a totally new task ….each one has something new to offer. When so many heads meet, everyone starts having a point.

I think…I am unable to count that how many times we have had real big debates while editing, designing and things where the question was who will do what?

What the team feels is that….the next time we watch a 3 hour movie, we are not going to find the flaws in it. Because now we know that why does the director need 1 or 2 years just to create 3 hour entertainment?

I remember how, we STARED at the monitors for hours while designing the inner pages. We had some real head-ache in settling on for the different page-formats, the borders, the alignments, and what not. Sometimes, we lost lot of data due to those scary viruses in pen-drives or simply due to load-shedding. We always scanned all the pen drives and we constantly reminded each other to keep pressing ctrl s, every few minutes. Sir has taught us a new lesson: Always have two things: Back-up and Buffer.

Once we completed this. We had another very important job. That was of printing. We have gone for a countless no. of times to the printing press. Deciding the best, but low-cost press, the right paper, the proper format. It was all so new. If not for The Byte, It was something we would have never experienced.

Just a couple of days back, finally the 400 copies of the magazine came fresh out of the press. And believe my words; the team’s joy knew no bounds. All the hard work seemed worth it. Infact, It’s a dream come true. As it happens commonly in all the stories, our story too became a success.

On a concluding note, I would say I feel honored to get the opportunity to stand and speak here today. Because if you ask any one of the team members to share their experiences, each one will willingly tell you this story with a different point of view. But, ultimately, all of us are a part of the same story or the same team, the team byte. All the things we have learned in this process will help us throughout our personal as well as professional life.

On behalf of the team, I urge the upcoming batch to be a part of this journey and contribute everything you can. Because friends, trust me, this is worth spending all the time in the world. You will learn while you enjoy. And lastly, when you see your own creation, you will realize its true value.

This is the first time that something like this is happening in our department. For the magazine, we believe, it’s just a beginning. It will improve with every next issue. We need to continue the story…with a greater spirit. That way, It will definitely go a long way.

This was all about our experience.

The team byte wishes all of you a good time reading The Byte.

Thanks a lot.”

Lots of cool new things are happening around. But something keeps me pricking: Why are people less interested in actually doing things and more inclined towards just getting the credit? Nobody wants to share the work. But everyone wants to share the credit. I just can’t understand. Why do all carry such attitude?

What’s more important for the person is that his/her name should appear in BOLD letters, regardless of how much quality work they contribute. Anywhere I go, I find the most common phenomena and that is: No matter what job I do, people should remember my name and appreciate my work. I have to be in the lime-light. All should see me in the fore-front. And I am left bewildered. I can only ask “But why?”

These kinds of people don’t even bother about the person who really deserves to get the applause. They are just bothered about marketing themselves. They keep secrets. They try to somehow make their presence felt. They pretend. They look artificial. They don’t help others thinking that if I help him/her; he/she might get better remarks than me. (What the heck!)

My personal experience says that the one who happens to be the real star prefers to remain quiet. For example: When people give a standing ovation to a dancer, the choreographer standing back-stage feels as if he is on cloud nine. He not even for once feels that he should be getting all the applause. “The man behind” believes in the old saying “Empty vessels makes more noise.”

They say public memory is short. People forget things very soon. If all believe this, then why are some so cautious of making sure that, “My name should be projected.” According to me, doing the work that you don’t think of as work, and enjoy doing it to the fullest is what really matters. The praises or popularity will eventually follow.
But this mind-set is so rare to find. People keep craving for selfish motives. Nobody does anything. I feel sorry for such people. To be precise:

• Can’t we be happy about the rich experience we get in the journey of creating something?
• Can’t we do things out of pure interest, merely as a pleasure or to just learn something new?
• Can’t we live in a co-operative society, rather than a credit co-operative society? :)