Junkyard

There was a discussion at home on the topic that if ultimately anything that we do/create is bound to get destroyed, why do it?
If we are happy and/or satisfied with our current situation, why move ahead?

Well, the above statements contribute to a debatable topic.

But, according to me, following is the answer to those questions.
Once, my friend gave me this poem to read.

It's name was..

"Anyway..."


People are unreasonable, illogical and self-centered.
Love them anyway.

If you do “good”, people will accuse of selfish ulterior motives.
Do “good” anyway.

If you are successful, you will win false friends and true enemies.
Succeed anyway.

Honesty & frankness may make you vulnerable.
Be honest anyway.

The great deeds you do today will be forgotten tomorrow.
Work out them anyway.

The greatest people with biggest ideas can be shot down with the smallest people with smallest minds.
Think big anyway.

People favor underdogs and follow top-dogs.
Fight for some under-dogs anyway.

What you spent years building may be destroyed overnight.
Build High anyway.

Give the world the best you have. Still you may get kicked in the butt.
Give your best shot anyway!

- Readers’ Digest.

Read the new book by Richard Branson:
"Business Striped Bare"

I found this poem after the epilogue.

If you can...

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you.
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting you.
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies.
Or being hated, don’t give way to hating.
And yet don’t look to good, nor talk to wise.

If you can dream and not make dreams your master.
If you can think and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same.
If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken
Twisted by knaves to make trap for fools;
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken;
And stoop and build them up with worn out tools.

If you can make heap of all your winnings,
And risk it on one touch of pitch-and-toss,
And lose and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss.
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they’re gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you.
Except the will which says to them, “Hold on!”

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with Kings-nor lose the common touch.
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds worth of distance run,
Yours is earth and everything that’s in it,
And- which is more- you’ll be a Man, my son!

Rudyard Kipling

Only a few years ago, I am sure nobody thought that television was synonymous with reality shows. But, today scan all the channels and what you are bound to come across are only reality shows, one for each: dance, song, comedy and stunts on every channel.
We have got so used to them that, we will not be surprised if someday we get to know that some guy or girl in neighborhood is participant in one of them.

Just like all other things we, Indians have readily got “used to” one more thing. And that is undoubtedly “Bomb-Blasts”.

Does that term make you shiver?
Does cold-fear grip you, when you read that “64 killed in serial bomb-blasts in Guwahati”?
I know, the answer clearly is, “No. I am so used to reading this. That I just see those headlines or Newsflash and shuffle to another channel.”

But, I know some will agree with me, when I say that I get that prickly feeling when I see those dead bodies, blood all over, and people running around to save others or their own lives.

This is not the first time that such serial blasts are happening.
Any one (terrorists) who is behind this is sure to think that; “We will stay among you and kill you. Let’s see, who can stop us!”
And the truth is that nobody can/is doing anything.
The terrorists indeed create terror.
In Assam, after 11 blasts, red-alert had been declared, still 2 more blasts occurred. I think that proves their prowess, isn’t it?

What I am trying to say is that nothing is safe anymore.
Stay at home or move out, anybody can kill you.
Go to any public place: bus-stands, railway stations, parks, malls, temples…anywhere, you never know that you might just become the victim of just another disastrous bomb-blast.

So, hold your breaths, dear friends, Days aren’t safe anymore.

I have been assured by my college's clerical staff that some mistakes are not to be forgiven. :( A week ago, I have committed a horrible mistake….or that’s what they have made me feel about it.

For the first time in past 2 years, I forgot to return my library book before it’s return date.(I have always returned the books prior to the scheduled date) But, somehow this time I forgot.
When I went to issue some other book, I was notified that I have to return the previous book (about which I was clueless) along with a fine of Rs. 80/-
Some of my friends had told me that such types of fines are to be paid at the end of the session.
So I didn’t bother. Then the next time, when I returned some other book, the librarian started screaming at me, “Go and pay the fine first. Jab tak fine nahi bharoge, book issue nahi hoga.”
Seeing his rudeness, I thought had there been no glass wall between us, he would have practically kicked me out of the library. :P

I was calm that day. I told him that I will go and pay the fine. (Because…I needed the book desperately. I had the paper next day!)
This being the first time for me, I asked him where was I supposed to pay the fine?
After being polite I expected him to be cool. But with more bitterness in his tone, he simply said, “Accounts Section!”

I quickly headed towards the office. In the office, I met another sir, whom I told about my condition. Much not to my surprise now, he replied coldly, “To pay the library fine, you have to bring a written note from the librarian.”
Now, I went back to my so-very-kind librarian. This time, I don’t know what made him so upset…more than before. As I asked him to give me a note, he almost shouted on the top of his voice, “Ye humara kaam nahi hai. Aap pehle fine bharke aao, phir baat karo!”
I was helpless. They neither did let me pay the fine nor issue the book. :(
What to do?

I decided to go to the head librarian. I went to him and told my story.
Thank goodness! He wasn’t rude or impolite at all. Instead he quickly started writing a note for me. Just as he had begun, some other ladies from our library came there talking in the shrillest voices and complaining that they needed a day-off. I was staring at their faces. The dumbest of them all was in the forefront. Now, he left my note and started solving their issue. By now, my head was almost spinning.

I waited and waited. Finally, the “madames-e-sdmp” went away and he just wrote 3 words “Pay 80rs fine” and signed on a scrambled paper. I left his office thinking…what if he would have written that note 15 minutes ago!
Now, I went back to my dearest section in the college – The Accounts. I quickly found the sir. He said, “Oh! You’ve got the note. Go to the sir seating in the that office.” pointing towards a cabin.
For the first time that day, he welcomed me with a bright smile on his weary face.
And said, “Don’t you know I don’t deal such jobs. Go to the queue outside. And pay the fine to the madam sitting inside the Accounts window!”
I left his office without uttering a word over this.

The window was closed. I opened it. It was the same lady who takes our annual fees with a lot of fuss and chaos. I thought, “Yeah!” 
I showed her the note and the money. It was hard for me to repeat my sad-story before her. But I didn’t give up. I repeated with a lot if “enthusiasm” this time.
She looked at me for a while. Then said, “I don’t have the receipt. I have sent a boy to bring it. But he hasn’t returned yet. You will have to wait. Or else come tomorrow.”
See, now you can know why I think that this was the most horrible mistake, I ever committed at the college. :P

My friends were getting late because of me. I gave up this time.
I issued THE book on one of friend’s library card. Thanks a lot for that friend!
And I left college….cursing the staff, imagining myself writing at this blog and with a question: Can’t my college authorities employ some kind and intelligent staff?

And remember, no matter what,
RETURN THE BOOKS ON TIME!

While writing these lines I am unable to control my laughter.
It just happened that I got to know one more thing that people are copying from me.
So I quickly began to write this post.

If I start writing the list of things that I find people copying, I am sure of myself getting bored, because I think it’s really horrible that people simply and blindly try to copy someone or pretend something else, which is far from their original self.
Initially, I used to get irritated when I noticed that, if I do something one day, the same thing is done by someone else, the another day.
But, now I feel different. I am actually amused at the fact that people actually want to actually copy 'MY' stuff. :)
Many might have encountered such people around them. Because after experiencing this many times, I have started to think that these copy-cats are on a "search" or a "quest" where they keep looking for something they could possibly copy. :D

"Copying is so un-cool and just anything....but original is so cool."
Why can’t people stop being Xerox machines?
Why don’t they behave as they are – the true self?
Can’t anybody tell them that when they copy, they make a fool of themselves and appear more stupid than what they actually are?

To put in my GenX lingo: I’ll say: Come on people, get some life for you and even for me.
At least try to be a little original!

What happens when you see that a person you really admire behaves abnormally?
What happens when you realize that "All that you want is, the person you really like should be alright"?
What happens when you begin to understand that you are ready to do anything for that person if it helps?

That's what I felt in an incident, two days back.
That incident taught me a lesson about time.
(So less we have and So much we have to do)
We read so many things about importance of time.
But, now I know because of an experience that this is serious business.
People don't write blah blah blah. They experience. They think. They know. So they write.

Every moment really is very very precious.
We all know, that we really don't know what's going to happen next.
But still we seem to ignore this fact and take things for granted.
Somewhere inside, we always believe that no matter what, the next moment is bound to be secure
and that nothing bad can really happen.

I have a friend whom I have admired for a long time. She is a gem of a person.
But now I know that she is in the true sense a genuine person (true at heart, true at words, true in mind and true in soul).
On a trip from college, she became seriously sick. Though now she is very well.
Only I know how much I have prayed (only because I felt so) to God to make her a normal and healthy person again.
We both know that we are good friends.
But now I know that a person like her is very rare and special.
Anything for her.... a thousand times over.
Get well soon friend.
After all, we have to do a lot of maahol together. :)

Dilemma is a situation that requires a choice between options that seem equally unfavorable or mutually exclusive.
We had a group discussion session in our college a few days ago. My GD went well.
But, after listening to every person's GD, I was left in a dilemma.

Some of the common topics of discussion were:

Corruption in Democracy.
Professionalism v/s Family.
Love Marriage v/s Arrange Marriage.
Bringing Religion into Politics etc.

Now, my issue over dilemma is that: In any sort of GD (i.e. either job-related, competitive, or general), what are we supposed to speak?
Should we choose the topic that has more sub-topics to shoot, the ones on which the others can't possibly argue or contradict? Or should we choose the topic that we strongly believe in?
Is the discussion only for winning over others or to impress the interviewer or for superiority among friends?
I just don't get the whole point behind it then.
According to me, the interviewer or the judge would like to watch and listen the clarity of one's thoughts, the language, the moral values etc. in a job applicant or a GD participant.
What's the use if one starts discussing about things that he/she personally opposes, but is supporting that idea in a GD just for the sake of getting more points or because he thinks that doing this will put them on forefront?
This is rubbish. This is cheat.
For e.g: In one GD, I heard students of my class supporting Corruption because they thought that they had more points to speak about. The worst part was that, the teacher concluded it saying, "Listening to the GD, I draw a conclusion that corruption is good at individual level i.e. It gives a short-cut to do some jobs and after-all everyone has certain selfish motives.".........and I was left spellbound.
Some of the students were told in a Workshop on Aptitude Development(WAD), that if you see that the other group members have chosen a certain topic, try to choose the other or one more contradictory.
Because that way, one gets more examples and more input of to speak.
(May be, this is not what they told at WAD, but, that's what the students extracted out of the workshop.)

My dilemma still continues because I am confused about what to speak, where and when? :D
But, I know a thing for sure: When I build my organization, I would never give a job to a person who has:
"Dakhwayche daat vegale aani Khanyache daat vegale!" :)
I think, in any kind of GD, we should speak out the truth at heart.
That way, we cheat no one and make sure that the conclusion of any GD ends on a good note!

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? :)