(A fraud post, in keeping with my current way of life)

There are so few people in the world who know what they want to do, it is a pity/waste/crime to keep them from doing it. For whatever reasons.

What's eating Vinaya N?

Apart from a report that a snail would say is going at snail's pace and segmentation faults that drop in unannounced, bug you the whole day and then disappear without giving you the satisfaction of having driven them away, it is this. Is it right to do unto others what they do to you? On one extreme, you can sink down to the level of the lowest human you meet, letting him get what he gives. And on the other, you can decide to take the high road, letting people take advantage of you in the process.
The answer, as usual, lies somewhere in between. In defining limits. A lower bound below which thou shalt not sink and an upper bound beyond which though shalt not be nice (My language affected by too much association with the people of a certain room in the department and re-watching I Dream Of Jeannie). And while the theory seems sound enough, the devil is in the (implementation) details!

No, I am not brave.
Bravery is doing something despite your fears.
I have no fears to overcome.

No, I am not a monk.
A monk gives up all desires for something higher.
I have no desires to renounce.

No, I am not ruled by emotions.
I do not get carried away by joy or drown in sorrow.
A smile and a frown are all that I need.

Yes, I am the undefeated King.
Not because I have won all my battles
But because I haven't fought any.


(The mind moves in mysterious ways on a Sunday afternoon)

Some things in life are only possible in a college hostel.

Spending hours sitting on a structure suspended between the second floor and the terrace of the department, gazing at the night sky, discussing life, the universe and everything...

Deciding on a whim to go to the faculty building roof at 12 in the night (inspired by five point someone?), half expecting to find people drinking vodka. Climbing 6 floors, making our way through dark corridors (feeling very much a part of a detective novel) looking for the way to the roof. Only to find that though the roof is very much there, the only way to get on it is to climb down a rickety ladder.

Four people. Three guitars. Tuned to three different pitches. One song (Uthe sab ke kadam...). Girls Hotel terrace. Again past midnight. It must have been cacophony, but to us it was pure music!

Past 1 A.M. Basketball court. A bunch of super enthusiastic classmates, most of whom had never touched a basketball before. And one of the most enjoyable games of basketball ever, despite me being blinded halfway because of broken backup specs. Surprisingly, I have one more pair to spare. When did I become one of those people who have a second backup for everything? Noooooooo I didn't, this just happened to happen.

M Tech second year students ready to play anytime I whip out a sponge ball (a very cute birthday gift with the original yahoo smiley drawn on it). 20 somethings who are soon going to take up responsible jobs actually making faces at each other, the same faces that tiny tots 20 years their juniors make in play school. Going from lab to lab, asking people to narrate their love stories or lack of them. Water fighting in someone else's lab, wetting some innocent non bystander's keyboard in the process and making a sworn enemy out of him until he gets a chance to wet some other innocent non bystander's keyboard. Hiding each others keys, purses, mobiles...

Damn! I am going to miss it all. Terribly :(

Been a while since I got back from the ski trip. An amazing week filled with trains, rocks, snowfall, snow, skis and fireplaces. Snowfall is breathtakingly beautiful, snow simply amazing! Rock climbing is a little scarier than I thought but as much fun. Skiing is a lot more hard work than I'd ever imagined! But once you learn enough to be able to zoom down the slope fast enough to get the feel of a free fall, there are few things better. Presenting some random snapshots of the week.

Whether they were coming back from lunch, dinner, skiing or a short 5 minute stroll in the sun, the moment anyone entered the room they made a beeline for the fireplace. A small stove kind of a thing that ran on gas, it was a life saver! Frozen body parts, frozen gloves, wet socks, damp shoes, there was nothing it couldn't set right. I'm sure none of us have looked at God with as much devotion and hope! And even incidents like someone's shoe catching fire could do nothing to lessen it. I dried and re-dried Anjali's gloves so much that they shrank a couple of sizes at least. Varun and I had planned on giving one glove each to our respective kids so that if they ever meet at Kumbh Mela... But Anjali liked the shrunk version so much, she took them away :(

It amazing how one snowfall can turn a barren mountainside into a thriving market! Suddenly there were shops, snow mobiles, snow carts, yaks and scores of instructors. What was more surprising was the number of tourists that suddenly sprang up to meet the supply. Oh how I envy people who can turn up in Manali on a Thursday, on barely a day's notice! Took a short yak ride up the mountain, my yak being uncharacteristically reluctant to climb. I wonder why. Also slid down the mountain sitting inside a truck's tube. Reminded me how much fun simple things can be. Also discovered that the inside portion of a truck's tube is not as spacious as one would like it to be.

Chandigarh. Never seen a city so obsessed with cleanliness. Even the railway station is clean. The lady in charge of the waiting room actually drove us and our baggage out so that the room could be cleaned. Waiting rooms are meant to be cleaned. That people use it for waiting is only incidental, a nuisance at best. The platform cleaner was no better. Neither we nor our baggage came up to his standards of cleanliness and so we all got doused with water. He would have scrubbed us too if only we'd let him! Only when I landed at Lucknow station and was welcomed by a cow and the accompanying smells did those little inconveniences seem worth it.