Gag bag

An incident which happened a while ago.

I was on my way to my semester end exams (which already means we have lots to look forward to. And it was some palkhi (palanquin) day or something, I don’t exactly recollect, but the road to the college was jam packed. As usual, the vehicles outnumbered the traffic regulators by a huge margin, and the latter were having a hard time coping up with all the mess. Now the college chowk (square) was a total confusion, because as luck would have been, the traffic signals weren’t working as well. So basically, it was the normal Pune traffic scenario.

Now there are two types of traffic police. Actually I have no idea whether this is how the system is everywhere, but I find it really hard to believe this. The ones in the white and khaki are the higher ones apparently, and they can give you a rough time, by fining you and looting you off your money etc on any pretext. So they have authoritative powers. The ones in blue however just carry a whistle. They can’t fine you, stop you, ask you for your license. I guess they are only for regulating the traffic. Or they are just amateurs learning the trade secrets. I don’t know what, but that day I saw how people take advantage of the lack of power. Or as we say in Marathi, ‘Mau laagla mhanun kopryaani khanala’ (Taking advantage just cause no ones saying anything).

The ‘blue’ traffic police had stopped one side of the road, and was allowing the others to continue, so that he jam could be solved. In the scene present, he was doing an awesome job keeping his cool in the hot sun and the heat of the traffic and the pollution. But some bus driver from the direction he was stopping had other plans. He stopped when told, but as soon as the blue guy turned his back to him, he started again. The blue guy heard that and blew a shrill sharp whistle. The bus driver didn’t budge and continued his climb up the flyover (there is a flyover just beyond the signal). The blue guy then lost it and went running alongside the bus, forgetting all about the traffic and started banging the bus from its side, calling out vague and totally unheard of swear words (which I think all mean the same apparently). The bus driver just looked out of his tall window, but still continued his slow steady climb. The blue guy then took off his shoe, and threw at the bus. It missed a window just by a margin. Then he took off his other shoe and threw it at the bus again. All this just because he didn’t have the power to stop the bus and fine the driver.

The funny thing to observe was that in all this time, not a single person moved in the other lanes. They were busy enjoying, commenting, laughing, giggling on the whole fun drama they saw. If only instead of signals we could have a one minute laugh video or something like that, all people would stop and not a single one would break the traffic signals…

Lack of power, or rather the knowledge that the other person doesn’t have power to hurt you makes you do stuff which you shouldn’t. Hence, its better we don’t start having this superiority thing inside of you, which makes you think you are better than the other, and just abide the rules and live peacefully and amicably as if all are equal. Equality in all its essence just states this I guess.

This is the second with the unforgiving age title. Well this is because of another dilemma I faced or may face in the near future.
Till now, when walking up to an elder person, or anyone whom you perceive to be elder to you, you normally address the person as 'uncle' ('kaka'), or aunty ('kaku'). But now the problem is as I get older and older, there comes a point when I have to start calling them, I don't know, like, "Hey", or "bhaaau"and so on. In which I don't give out that I am immature and naive and young, and that still I respect the other guy and give him his proper place. Like maybe how our elder generation now addresses their peers and their elder generation. Like if my dad wants to get, say, an electrician home, or a mechanic then he calls up that guy, or goes to that office and directly addresses him. But if I go, I still call him 'kaka'.
Now the problem is till when can I carry on doing this. That till how long can I call others kaka? Or kaku? When should the transformation from me being a youngster take place?
Really. Getting old is no piece of cake!!

This is quite ironic really. I don’t know, its funny, and I can’t believe its been three long years since I entered engineering. And I can’t actually place anything as to what I did in these 3 years. And I still think many a times that it’s all a waste of time. I don’t still know why I entered this, but then it’s not like I whiled away all my time doing nothing. I did still learn many things, and maybe these are the things which are important in life ahead. And it’s not like only engineering teaches these things, these must be the things everyone must be learning at some brink of their lives. But then, graduating one course itself has been such a hell of a time, so I don’t think I can live it through anything else, to really understand if other courses teach the same thing. And this is also for the misconception that it’s only engineering which gives you a “great” mindset. I totally deny that. I think every course has its special place and has its own goods to offer. So puffing yourself just because you did some engineering course is going to do you no good. Cause in the longer run, it doesn’t matter which certificate you hold, but its your attitude you develop, your broad mindedness which carry more weight.

This is my experience, so like always I don’t care what other experiences you may have had or need your supervision in any aspect. Again I state this is more of what my degree course has taught me rather than engineering alone.

Engineering! Upon entering I was mostly in the same flow as that of 10^th ad 12^th. So I hardly cared to think as if I am entering anything new. I always thought that life moulds around what you do. But this was the first thing I learnt (I learnt this pretty late, but ya, still, it was meant to be learnt earlier, so it’s alright). Also, another thing I always thought was that if you do well, or try to be good, life is always good to you. This is true, but many a times you have to be sly. You have to act tactfully rather than just being the nice guy. Because the world is not that good a place where you get everything covered in whipped cream and a cherry on the top.

Friends are a necessary part in everyone’s life. But you can’t just choose who will be your friend and who won’t. You will never know with whom you cross lines at the next instant. And engineering taught me this. Besides, many of the friends are just to come and go. I don’t know, and this is not against anyone in particular, but overall this is the vibe I got. That you have a friend for some particular task, and that’s all. It doesn’t matter to him (and then eventually to me) to be involved in any other activity. Does this mean I become paranoid? But I learnt this too. That it’s not possible to stay a lone warrior. You need those people for those specific tasks no matter what happens. The one who understands this earlier wins the battle. And its not that all are the same way. Some of the people just leave a mark on you, and it’s hard to believe that people meet at you the strangest place and at the strangest of times. Really, just like some angel maybe. But that’s how life goes. You need those miracles to happen.

How to study? I always thought this was maybe the easiest of all things. That you put in effort and you get results. But here it works the other way round. You have to study smart rather than study hard. Its stupidity, but that’s how things work. Also if you want to do anything extra, you have to find your own time. No one cares for you, no one even checks if you are involved in anything else and hence maybe coordinate or adjust anything for you. You have to study at the right time, rather than throughout as we always thought. Also, you can’t always be studying, but rather you have to make your own time table so that you can do the things you like in perfect balance with the things you have to do.

You got to have tremendous self confidence for staying alive here. And you have to be firm on your feet no matter what the whole world keeps on blabbering. Because there are so many decisions to take, that it’s a game of luck and timing rather than only hard work. You got to aim for the thing you want and take decisions in that way, and then it doesn’t matter what you do in between in order to reach there. And this is where the confidence is important. It’s important not to get distracted by the things people keep doing around us, or the things you hear. You do them if you feel it right. Hence it teaches you to be truthful to yourself rather than to others.

Engineering or maybe any degree course offers you lots of time. And this is a reality, which maybe people deny when actually doing it, but all realize it one time or the other. And this spare time is to develop your skills. It doesn’t have to be academic, but it matters that you do hone them, because this is a turning point of your life. And after this you aren’t going to get so much time to think let alone put anything into practice.

Engineering puts you center stage. On a bigger level that is. And you see that all around you, there are thousands of people vying to be the same person maybe in your mind. So it’s up to you how to stand apart from all of them.

Things never happen the way you want them to plan for them to happen to. And this is a very important thing I learnt. I never plan as such, but the little hopes we have don’t always work out. So you got to face the things ahead of you, rather than shrink back and try to go some other way. You have to complete the task at hand; you can’t leave it half done.

At any point if you are low, or think that you just cant make it through, just take some off. Get on your bike/car; go off on a ride alone. Sit with nature, look into infinity. Do the things you like, indulge in your favourite activity. Eat an ice cream maybe. Have a soda. Things will come back to place once you are fresh again. And there is nothing in life which can go totally wrong. Every thing has a certain reason, and yours is to try to find what it is, and how to get over it. Ignoring it also helps in some cases. Till you die, the life is yours and no one can tell you how to live it or what to do with it. You can get suggestions and help, but ultimately it’s your own decision. And this is the most important lesson.

And ya. Extra curricular activities. Its no use shying away from them just because you feel you will waste time doing that. If you want to do it, do it, and adjust the other things to fit into your schedule. Because later on it’s no use repenting. And later on you will never find such a stage to show your talents, so it’s almost like now or never. Just do it!

People change. Their attitudes change. Learn to cope up with that. Be frank, be honest with yourself, and be the ‘you’ you always wanted to be. It’s the only thing which can save you in this world. The competition, the pulling of legs, the cheating and are all a part of this, and they don’t make any difference.

The engineering outlook. I don’t know what this means, but I have heard people talking about it. I think it’s the same you get when you start getting older and know that you have things to do other than just run and play and attend exams. You got to know the hows and the whys rather than just accepting the skeleton and nodding. It’s like asking the most questions, which was the basic things we learnt since school. It’s only that now, you start understanding the reason behind it. There is never the wrong and the right, so go for it.

A load of crap along with all this. That’s the thing I have been doing for the past three years. And a year more to go too…!!! But ya, it’s taken me long, but now I can atleast live in this atmosphere without feeling totally out of place, because at the back of my mind, I always have my happy place in which I can go whenever I want, no matter who comes or what happens.

Actually, these are the years in which we learn what we are. And knowing yourself, being transparent is the most difficult thing to achieve. It’s rather unlikely to totally understand yourself, but the more you go towards perfection, the more happier and settled you will feel.

Music, sports, friends are the most important things, and they complete the fourfold life of ours, with a degree certificate one hand, and a job under your belt... (of which the latter two aren't that important, just that they are necessary for a good life) :)

Pan cakes vs the "Ghaavan/Dhirda"
I made these pancakes the other day for the first time. And my, were they good...!!! I was totally mesmerized by the taste, and also the very little effort it requires to make them. I had seen them in sitcoms like Friends, and wondered how they would taste. And I really loved them. All that a typical family can have against it is that it contains egg. Other than that, its the normal batter stuff we require. Just that calling it a "Pan cake" gives it a hip status.
A dhirda, ghaavan also are equally good. And if had with the right side dishes like chatni etc, they are insurmountable. But suppose you offer a kid an option of dhirda and a pan cake. He is bound to go for the latter one. Its a reality, and we all know it. Why so????
This I have no clue of, but be it whatever, one thing I am sure of is that I ll never have to go empty stomach at any time of the day, if I have an egg, and some self raising flour. I have learnt the secret of filling my stomach the western way...!! Which like all occidental stuff is impressive yet elementary...!!

Writing has always been a passion. And ya, I enjoy it. I accept that I am not very good at it. But I have seen the worst of the worst, and hence I know what I write can surely be palatable.

The first thing to know is that you have to have confidence in what you write, and have confidence in your style. You should not get affected by the writings of others, and you shouldn’t try to change it to make it agreeable or impressive (maybe except in exams, where all you are trying to do is to impress the examiner to get good marks). But that shouldn’t be the basic idea otherwise. You must have faith in your own style, because writing, like your personality, is an identifier.

Another thing is that you should know the basic idea you are going to try to elaborate. I don’t mean to say that it should all be worked out, because while actually penning it down, we get newer and better ideas, and in the flow, you come down with amazing stuff, which is way way better than actually having everything worked out beforehand. Of course, this doesn’t come intrinsically to most, but over the course of time, it develops automatically. And then, no matter what the topic is, you can write wonderfully provided you have the basic idea of what you are going to write about. The thing to remember is that do not have the total body of the document already decided, because then you cant stray away and maybe come up with better things on the spur of the moment if all the points are laid out. But try to maintain the flow. Never jump from one point to another, and come back to it later to finish it (unless you are writing it in the order of time of events). Besides this, always see to it that you aren’t being repetitive in aspect of usage of words/ideas/phrases. That totally decimates the weight of your text.

Another thing is, don’t try to be too showy and flashy. Don’t try to give away more than you actually know (except if you are writing engineering papers or giving an engineering viva), and do not at all use words whose meanings you have no idea of. It really can embarrass you. Like don’t be a thesaurus, and draft the document as if it’s some secret script. Keep it simple and lucid. It will automatically be more impressive without sounding too desperate. Keep the sentences small. And conversely, avoid too many conjunctions. Because you tend to forget where you started off, and then end of in some totally different tense, different voice, different mood. Remember, that writing is totally different compared to speech. In speech, you may change the meaning by expressing it differently, or by actually acting it out, by signs of hands, by exclaiming or questioning, or by actually persuading the other person by saying it two or three times in different ways. But this is not possible in a writ text. You can imply it only once, and that’s it. So you have to make the reader understand what you mean in that single line, and hence writing is difficult. Remember that..!!! For this, hence, understanding and application of punctuation marks is very important. A very good example about the effect of punctuations I always like to give is this one: 1) Go slow, work in progress. 2) Go, slow work in progress.

Always give examples. Examples help the reader make analogies, and hence help him more in the department of understanding. And they make it more homely. Hence the reader can relate more to the document. And hence he automatically gets attracted and carries on reading further, which is the whole point finally. Don’t try to sound to convincing as well, that decision should be left to the reader. Your idea is to put forth your views, and keep the subject open for further thoughts.

Inclusion of figures of speech, rhymes, poems, quotes, phrases does add to the respect a reader gives to your text, but beyond that, it’s all just ornamental. If your text has a certain genre, like comic, serious, thoughtful, and casual and so on, then include anecdotes or maybe say some lines or thoughts which lead to that genre. Like jokes, puns or playing around with words in comic text obviously makes your script more demanding. Use swear words or slang sparingly. The language you use directly implies to the character you may have.

You also have to think about your grammar. And spellings (if you aren’t using spell check like me i.e.), because those are the ones which can totally make or mar your writing. I have gone through the Diamond comics and believe me, they are pathetic. As against that, the Potter series was just so winsome because it was simple yet error free. Always maintain a structure for your sentence and follow it. That is, the subject, the action, the object; and also have a correct spot for time and place if applicable.

And lastly, if you know the language, only then attempt to write in it. I know many of us have to actually write in English while we are not that adept with it. But that’s the rule, so you have to go with it. Or else try to revolutionize in order to accommodate your demands. But remember, no matter what language it is, if you don’t follow certain rules, you are bound to spoil the effect. So be natural, be simple and be smart. Because fluency in writing can earn you accolades you never can dream of.

This is of course my point of view. Not that it’s totally right, but ya, I have never had tomatoes thrown at me, so it does have some credibility. Whatever be it, keep penning down your ideas in your own sweet way, and hone your talents while doing so. Who knows, we may just have another Longfellow or a Rowling amongst us!!!