Sunday, December 23, 2012

The Untitled Prose part-1: 'Resonance'

Posted by at 10:25 AM


There's lot more than just love, 

that exists between you and I, 
an entity that I want to find, 
with you, the rest of my life.


Hidden beneath the shackles of the world,

Where I stop searching for meaning,
I find answers in a pair of eyes,
and I see a longing, that ceases to die.





Lovestruck, you may call me,

That momentary redness appears to disappear,
Where I look on, hoping I'll find closure,
You emerge there, draped in that light.


The poet finds peace, the poetry he writes,

 Proses,thoughts, building the dreams,
'Resonance' prevails, as he holds his love closer,
A mystic sensation they experience together..



(to be continued...)

Saturday, December 8, 2012

Book Review: My EX Fell In Love

Posted by at 12:20 PM
A definitely pleasing variant in the sea of clichéd college love stories, that departs mid-way for good to come back real strong in the end!





To read a book written by your good ol' friend, is a difficult task- you get sceptical at every turn of the page- what if it ends up disappointing you? What will you tell him then? what if it completely destroys the image of the budding author that you saw in him?
To review a book written by your good ol' friend? Whoa whoa whoa...that takes courage . Trust me, you are walking on a double-edged sword- you cannot let your friend down whilst keeping in mind that your allegiance with your readers should stay true which means, you must give an honest review.

Actually, this whole episode of reading, followed by reviewing, has come to me as a transition. I understand the responsibility of a blogger now. I realize how easy it is to sail the waves of fiction, and how difficult it is to   cross the dark tunnel of reality.

So, not wasting your time any more, I let you read on, my review on Shubham Choudhary's: My EX Fell In Love:

A story becomes a good story once you see the effort. A story becomes a great story when you see the effort and the imagination. A story should however, stay a story to which you can really relate to, because the tinge of happiness it leaves in the end , is what you call, unmatchable. This story is one such story.

The characters are well thought of; Yatharth is one such protagonist which is not someone you would normally find in college fiction these days. He is a over-achieving jerk, not an introvert mute. He knows what he is doing and should do in order to achieve what he wants to. And so when shit happens, it stinks king-size!

Yatharth, together with his friends Sudeep and Vikalp, are here to make you indulge in incidents you ought to have encountered in your life in some way or the other. They are smartest but they can be the blondest, they are jerks but they can be modest, but they are bearable and, of course, 'palatable'.

Among the trio, I enjoyed Vikalp the most. This guy would never stop with his lame humor and would keep the spirit of his friends high, even though he himself is in a sticky situation. To be honest, I was looking forward to get to know more of him whenever a new chapter came by; his character development is ten-on-ten!

Other characters, like Yatharth's Dad, his friend Pratishtha were enjoyable. Sanchita, the EX and Samantha, the EX's friend appeared good in pages.  Yatharth's dad was more of a utopian character cast out completely from the author's brighter imagination, while I would have loved to know more of Pratishtha and her ongoings in life. Halfway through the book you would predict something related to her and...err...well , read to find out exactly what I am talking about *winks*!

 Plotwise, it is a rather simple plot but a fresh one, which is not really something where the protagonist falls in love and the whole universe gets on to help him reach his destination. Yes the small twists in the tale is something I was really missing in the college fiction I read recently. The side-plots, Yatharth's research work and his misfortunes with it are a fun to read. I really enjoyed the side-effects of drinking that savages his work. Small joys in the form of funny instances sprinkled here and there really keeps the book far away from being a drag.

The premises were a little easily let off. The locales mentioned were a little too fictitious and most importantly, at times I was missing the setup and a brief description of the surroundings that usually sets the mood for the upcoming plot-scene. But that's passable if you are not critical about a debut novelist.

Also, the names of the chapters were revealing what's ahead, so I'd suggest you ask someone to hide the chapter names with  black tapes before starting the novel!

My personal favorite instances: Yatharth walking out of a discussion, and coming back briefly-to ask the brand of a jacket worn by Vikalp he liked-only to walk out again; Yatharth and the foreign Physicist's telephonic conversation; Yatharth and Sudeep confessing to their families about boozing; Vikalp and Sudeep's stalling the EX's lover-- and many more in bits and pieces.


Final verdict: An honest attempt in the form of his first published novel, Shubham Choudhary holds the potential to take the transit route from being a popular blogger to a celebrated novelist , quite easily. And I can have faith on him to release his next as soon as possible with another fun-filled story like his first. Yes, with the simplicity and the humor, My EX Fell In Love is all about life- the topsy-turvy joyride and the final outcome that is nevertheless, rewarding.

Rating: ♦♦♦♦/5


 -You can add and review the book here: www.bit.ly/bookgoodreads ,
 -Buy it here : www.bit.ly/booklinks
 -Now available on landmark at just 88 bucks and superfast CoD: www.bit.ly/booklandmark 
 -Like it here www.facebook.com/myexfellinlove

Monday, November 12, 2012

If Only The Thinker Could Speak!

Posted by at 2:09 PM
On the occasion of legendary sculptor Auguste Rodin's 172nd birthday (thanks to today's Google Doodle!) , I am sharing a post with my readers, which I wrote a year back. You can call it one of my first attempts at trying my hands on creative writing on the social networks, so yeah, you can be a little considerate with the quality and the indentation. Read on! 
I have always wondered , "How difficult it would have been  for God , to create this complex living thing , known as the human being...giving us the power of speech , of expression.." . We speak up ,we express ,  and that's how everything gets shaped!
Its hard to imagine a world without languages-the very same ones , which , as some people call it, the incentive  of all conflicts and chaos. Because in some way , there is irony associated with everything !. And I strongly have a fondness for that person who coined this term-irony.
Well , coming back to the topic, every time things go wrong , we have someone around us to blame-for our miseries, our failures and generally we fail to introspect that it was "ME" , or perhaps , my thoughts , or to be more precise , a way I expressed them , that led to all this. Its very understandable that at that point of time , things are too hazy to be seen through , but let's face this: We are driven by our own thoughts, and its always our thoughts which result us speaking for ourselves, letting the world know "What's on our mind!" , and maybe making a mistake , or paving a way for success- everything  depends , on how we speak up-how we express our thoughts.

Now for all the GIGO as well as genuine  stuffs circulating around in the net, with ideas being generated every second, we actually get confused: How to choose which one is accurate? Agreed! But my friend , there was a time when people relied on works by great minds-penned down, hard-bound ,and could be found in the library(they still do)!

We must accept the fact that World Wide Web happened in the '90s...but does that mean people before that were less creative? or , were they unable to speak up about their thoughts,  or choose , what was right for them? I think we all need a guiding light for our soul , if not the spiritual way , but to start with, a way which our predecessors have followed-there are  always by-lanes to take or maybe construct a new road  , after you  have walked on the "conventional" road for a long time-but for a start, you can take the "conventional" road , i mean , we all are doing it , we just have to understand , when to leave the road , and construct our own paths using our thoughts and finding a proper way to express them. You cannot whimsically land onto a great idea!
But then again, you might say , "that thinking is way too obsolete buddy." Agreed! Everything, in fact , every view-point is subjective! but then again, an opinion, a thought struck in my mind is all I expressed!

Now with these things going on, and as we actually decide - How to shape our lives ? Why think so much before acting? Which path to choose? Why not become an avant-garde ? Whoa why so many questions to answer?- I stop by this picture of "The Thinker" and , taking a deep breath ,start thinking ,"They considered him such an important personality that they devoted an entire statue to him...if only ,  The Thinker could speak!"

Sunday, October 28, 2012

Rambler's Visit To The Dentistry

Posted by at 12:09 PM
*Chomp Chomp Chomp* AAAAAAAAAAAAFAAAAAAAAAAAAACKKKKK!!!

That's what happened to me , three weeks back. It was the week before the Durga Puja festival, the time of the year where bongs indulge in gluttony with pride and valor. And here I was, standing with a huge cavity on my 3rd molar , thanks to that extra serving of Chicken Tandoori that fateful Friday night, as in midst of all the left-overs, stood a shining white piece of my tooth-etched off and free-useless for eternity.

*Cut to the Puja week*

I was grumpy. I was cribbing.I had a sore tooth, looking enviously at my cousins while they would gorge on to those humongous piece of delicacies of all kinds- it is the time of the year when the Goddess brings down the best possible appetite in all the human forms, and here I was, standing, eating soft, easy-to-eat "eatables" that even a 70 year old would despise. And yes, even my grandpa was pointing towards me and laughing. "The generation of today!! Hahah!" he said while sinfully treating himself to the heavenly taste of Chicken Rolls.

So that was pretty much how I spent my festival this year. My tooth on the right side was doing a two-man job, and I was wailing on, attending to my injured soldier that was once a fearless warrior. It was all messed up in my mouth.


*Cut to the present, the week after the festival*


I decided to take a detour to the dentist before getting myself a pair of new earphones. Not that I needed them but you know, everyone in the college was getting new mobiles after they got placed, so I thought, might as well buy some new gadget to suffice my thirst!

I reached the dentistry, one hour behind my appointment. The woman at the clinic counter gave a stern look and declared, "you'll have to wait." Fair enough, I thought.

After 20 minutes, I was asked to enter the chamber. The doc had a look of satisfaction as he came out treating the previous patient. Here I would like to cut in that 300 bucks were taken away from me as consultation charge before I entered. (I will add up all the expense later)

I was asked to lie down on that green, reclined 'couch'. The surrounding was 'clinical'. Gadgets, gadgets all around! The fun part about a dentistry is that all the gadgets remind you of your childhood- water spraying guns, saliva- sucking guns, guns and guns everywhere. Then there was a gun that would cut  away your tooth , smoothen it to the required shape. Yes I was enjoying. Not.

"How is it like? Does it hurt?" the doc asked.
"Only when I eat." I replied.
"Is it hurting right now?"
"Erm, no."
"Of course, you are 'eating' the air but then it's okay" he snorted.
"Ohh hehahah you have a great sense of hammer, doc, ouch!" I tried to hide my sarcasm.
"Well does it happen that you wake up at nights, startled, because of the pain?"
"No never."
"You sure? Like they show in those horror movies?"
"I hate horror movies doc, but I get the drift." I was hating this chit-chat session already.
"Get the what? Ohkay ohkay kidding, let's start off. I will have to take an X-Ray of your 3rd molar first" he concluded the 'loosen-up' conversation there.

After the X-Ray was taken , he showed me that a huge cavity had formed, near the root, and that's why it will be crucial that I underwent some sort of capping and then filling, else in future  I might have to undergo root-canal operation."What the fudge?! When did my tooth decay to that extent?" I wondered, as the doc prepared for his work.

He slowly scraped off the decayed part of my tooth. It hurt a bit but when my tongue went to explore the site, it found that a neat big crater was dug up.
A hot nurse was busy sucking the saliva out of my mouth-yes exactly how you are picturing it in your head- she used a suction device with a small nozzle tip. I lay there, mouth wide open, with an impulsive "aaaaaaaaaaa" voice ringing in my head.  



The next 20 minutes was utilized in filling the tooth up skillfully and the finishing touch was given after which I was asked to clench my jaws. "How do you feel?" he asked. "Great doctor, thanks!" I smiled. hehehehhahahahahah FOOODDDDD, IMMA GONNA EAT YOU UP BAYBEHH!!!!!!!


So when I came out of the chamber after getting some meds prescribed, the lady at the counter asked me to hand over the folder that contained the prescription etc. Upon giving, she attached a bill at the top of the prescription:

150 for the X-Ray.

950 for the filling.

400 for the capping.

300 consultation ch.

All in all, my tooth burnt a cavity worth 1800 bucks in my wallet. I had initally planned to get a pair of Skullcandy earphones, but I had to suffice with Sony. "Close enough" I consoled myself, as my tongue kept on exploring the filling in order to get accustomed to the new member of the yellow family.

F#$K my tooth.

Here is a viral video "David Goes To Dentist" . Watch it, you will like it. And it fits the context well. 



P.S.: The moral of this post is- brush your teeth well, people, lest you will end up making a dentist, filthy rich. And yes, date dentist docs.

P.P.S.: I know that "hot assistant  was busy sucking the saliva out of my mouth" part made you read and think twice. *ghegheghe*

Monday, October 15, 2012

Run Nosey Run!

Posted by at 8:46 PM

O gravity, I bow to thee,
I acknowledge your power, please spare me.
But why would you  listen,you son-of-a-gun!
As my nose keeps running, run nosey run!


I am a shooter, using my nose,
I spray liquid, so quickly I dispose!
I keep shooting, can this be undone?
As my nose keeps running, run nosey run!

Desperately I pop pills, because I am a fool,
"This is a conspiracy!"I wonder,as I lay on a mucus pool,
They haunt me,those scoops of ice-cream,I had under the sun,
As my nose keeps running,run nosey run!

I am reminded,of my childhood days,
When I would swear "I would be a good boy, come what may,
I won't  drink too much of cold water or have too much of ice-cream,
Don't take me to the doctor, lest I would scream!
Please don't scold me any further, Mother,I will be a good son"
As my nose keeps running, run nosey run!


And finally:

Inspired from the movie "Forrest Gump"
which had the famous quote, "Run Forrest Run",
as I fail to understand, if there was any pun,
My nose keeps running, run nosey run!

*Applause*

Thursday, October 11, 2012

Not a Review: The Dark Knight Rises

Posted by at 11:10 AM



An old post which I wrote when I came back from watching TDKR. Well, I did not quite feel like publishing it then... but I do want you to read this, as I had promised some of you right?
So here we go!

I will start in reverse mode:

-Climax: Yes it was epic. Yes it was fun. Yes it gave goosebumps.
   But
It was abrupt.

Bane died a street thug's death.

Cottilard getting a Bollywoodish treatment on her story-telling while she recited her story, thus delaying the detonation and 'gifting' Gordon time to plant the device that stopped the trigger action.

The editor was in a hurry. Classic example of ants in pants. How Bruce saved his ass is a question that was to be answered more than with just a mere 'fixing the auto-pilot mode with a software patch' dash.


Why did Batman not deal with the Gothamite the way he did eventually, a little earlier? He had the resources to do just the same a lot earlier.

-Story-telling: To question Nolan on that segment will be blasphemy, yes I know
   But 
Did he himself not raise the bar with The Dark Knight? 

So, where was the detailing and the patience? Where? He did not let the crucial scenes grow in our mind. 


As a fanboy of his movies, there were many things that were superb, but as a critic, the only thing that was 'whoa-that-is-frigging-awesome!!' was: The Bat.  It splashed on the screen so many times. It was overused. Simple as that.


-The mood was dark. IMAX scenes did their trick, the apathy was visible,
But
Where is the tension? When Bane breaks Batman's back, the hopelessness should captivate the viewers' senses. 

But before we could even think of popping our eyes out just because of the premonition of what is about to happen, Batman was cured, back on his feet and was found doing push-ups soon. 



In the end, I will only say that Batman series could not have gotten a better movie trilogy than what Nolan gave us, and yes, I would easily give the movie a 9 out of 10 and I must admit that the movie exceeded my  expectations, but as the plot opened, it subjected itself to such questions which makes the movie somewhat a 'reachable' one and proves that quote right:

Attainment of perfection makes things fall flat at times.

You are correct, that quote was given by none other than me.

And I will go and watch the movie again in theaters. Why , can you not critique a movie and be a fanboy at the same time? Because that would be perhaps, Christopher Nolan's greatest success that I would concur, very few filmmakers of our time enjoy.

Friday, September 14, 2012

The PLACED Rambler!

Posted by at 10:41 PM
"....And also, who else?!!"

"SSSSSOUMYAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!!!" 

"Indeed!" *nods in approval* "Soumya Mukherjee it is!"


I don't know where in the blog I should put the best moment of my life, at the top or I should have saved it to be revealed in the end. But going by the fact that most you who follow my social updates are already aware of this, I decided to go by my former choice. 


It has been a long long time since I blogged- the second to the last one made me feel relieved of the stress I was dealing with during my vacation. But I had made a pledge that, after the blog-birthday post, I will return as The Rambler only when I get placed. 

I wanted to share my success story. So take this as a combo of self-experience as well as those 'fancy' posts for people who will appear for Deloitte in the coming days(and I would want the latter to happen more as it would get some good number of hits), here we go!


" Can you arrange for a slide-changer, Soumya? "  

"Sir we don't have one." I replied. 

"Uh, okay, well I hope you have a collar mic ready?" 

(This time I thought of being more creative) "Sir we do have but we never checked them as up until now, only the hand-mic sufficed the needs." (so you see, we can't tell whether they would work or not, hence, you can safely assume that- we don't have one) 

"Fine Soumya, that would do. And we would be reaching your campus soon, and will start with the presentation right away."

The presentation was , as I would like to put it, a class act. I have always heard from my seniors that Deloitte people are known for their interactive sessions, but what I saw was something that was truly worth applauding (no exaggeration here). The barrier between the Interview Panel and the students was broken in no time and soon we were interacting as a team. 

That is what Deloitte is all about- people. Deloitte was the 12th company that I was handling, and I would confess that theirs was THE most amazing presentation I saw so far. 

I had some doubts regarding the technical facades of this new profile they were offering- Enterprise Risk Services- but soon they made it very clear that their domain was Technology Risk Services, with providing scenarios using the latest technology for their clients that would make a client's system fail- thus pointing out the loopholes in the client's system, and implementing, maintaining the solutions provided. 

I realized, that there was no looking back from there. I started giving some really smart answers in the presentation, to ensure that they took note of me (shamelessly I confess yet again) for future reference. Because it was not just about getting selected- it was about getting selected in one of the most coolest company that we have known, and it was about getting selected in the company that was my dream for the past two years. 

After they discussed the CTC, it was time for them to take questions from us. And I was waiting for one particular, final moment for which I had prepared the whole night before the process. 

And it was as if God had listened to me.

Someone from among the crowd asked, "Sir what does the 'green dot' in the logo mean?" The HR person shot back, "Let me ask you, what does it mean?" Pat started flooding of replies,"GreeneryEnvironmentalFriendlyEcoFriendlySoothingGoodHonesty" and when the chaos stopped, I started, "I would like to add, the dot signifies symmetric growth, and since all the other letters of Deloitte were of the same color (blue), that showed that everyone in Deloitte worked together, as a unit, to produce the output, that is, the green dot that follows at the end of the logo, indicating symmetric growth in all aspects." 

"That is a brilliant answer. Consider yourself just one step away from the offer letter." the HR guy exclaimed. 

I would suggest everyone preparing for Deloitte interviews, that don't take this as a standard answer- the logo is an abstract and awesome style of branding that allows you to think, so you HAVE to be creative with your answer to this question. Bottomline: It makes you think, so you see, the logo stays in your head! Smart, ain't it?


Anyways, after a lot of hooting etc., the presentation concluded. I asked the students to settle while we arranged for the group discussion rounds. In a short while, we started off with the GD , and  I was running around hitherto to ensure the process went smoothly. Here I would like to thank my fellow Placement Coordinators Akshat , Abhimanyu, Sahil , Himanshu and Devaang for being there just to make sure that my workload was minimal, as after all, I was also appearing for the process. "Aaj tu SPC nahi, aaj tu ek shortlisted student hai!" "Baith jaa chair pe AC ke neeche, aur teen lambi saans le!!" you are the best, people! 

Our group was Group No. 6, and we started our discussion on a highly positive note. The best part about our group, what we all realized was, we all had some unique idea to contribute. Yet it was cluttered in the end, when the moderator asked us to come back in a short while to present our final solution. I forgot to add that it was a case study round. 

I realized that we might have messed up a bit, so I suggested to organize our points. The 9 of us subdivided ourselves to 3 teams of 3 members each, one the Analyst team, the second the R&D team and the third the Publicity & Sales team. After discussing who would say what, and working on issues as small as how to notify the current presenter in the Group if he/she exceeded 1 minute of his/her allotted time (the person next to the speaker would tap his/her feet; we had to take this measure as every group would be given 10-12 minutes of time to present the solution). Funny as it seems, it was exciting to take decisions on-the-spot. 

We returned to our room. Started our presentation. "Your ideas were cluttered during the discussion" the moderator said. 

*Short but awkward silence* 

"Sir , we have organized our thoughts this time and hope that you won't be disappointed" I said. 

It began. We executed as we planned. Everyone did his/her part- presenting individual points , and , alerting the current speaker of the time limit. I was so much enjoying the session. 

After we wrapped up, they asked us some questions, and we were asked to leave. It was a good Case Study round. 

They selected 13 finalists from the 81 students(there were 9 groups in total) for the  interviews. I was topping the charts literally. He he. 

*Interview Round*

Since I was the first one to go in, I was losing my confidence somewhat. "Relax Soumya!" the HR dropped by in the room and left. "Y-Yes Sir, thank you!" I was realizing that I was not doing it right. 

The interview began. They were two interviewers in the room (including my previous moderator, the senior-most panelist of the team). Normally you expect them to ask you about yourself. But I learnt a good lesson that day: Never go inside that room with a mind-set, expecting the sequence of questions. Because it will never work. 

"So in which school have you studied in Kolkata?" he asked. I was not expecting it to start this way, as I stated before. But I got a grip on myself, and started answering. "K.V. Ordinance Factory Dum Dum , Sir." I said. "Ohh that must be the place where the NSCBI Airport is, right?" "Yes Sir, just 15 minutes from my home." I was a bit relaxed. And when I get a little relaxed , I start blabbering. 

"So Soumya, tell me about your internship." "Ahhh..finally!" I thought. I explained how I worked on modular programming, developed linux device drivers etc., and what challenges I faced. Mostly they checked my confidence. Then they switched to Computer Networking, where I struggled a bit. But I picked up when they asked me about my favorite layer, and asked me to explain in layman's language, what MAC layer(my favorite layer) did in Networking Model. I was able to satisfy them with my answers. 

Then they asked me about databases, and I was not happy with my response. But one good thing that happened is that in the end, they asked me if I knew Data Structures. 


It was the best ME GUSTA moment for me that day. I knew Data Structures? Man I LOVED DATA STRUCTURES!!! I was on cloud 'nlogn' when I replied, "Yes Sir." so they gave me some problems, some basic concepts on linked lists , stacks etc. This spell went quite well for me, though I might have shown over-confidence here and there. 

Then they wrapped up by asking, "Soumya, do you know recursion?" "Huhuhuhuhuhuhuhuuuu!!!!" I was going to blurt that out like an idiot. "Yes!" I went. "So can you write a quick recursive code to find factorial of a number?" he asked. 

The second best ME GUSTA moment for me. 

It took 21 seconds for me to write that code that forms the basis of all recursive function examples that we compu geeks cover in our courses. I was a bit unsure but I gave an overall 7 on 10 to myself as the interview got over. 

*The wait*

I again started roaming here and there ,occasionally playing Plumet 2 and by this time, a good crowd had grown outside the waiting room of the Placement Cell as the panel was on the verge of finishing their interviews.

I was fooling around, bragging how well I interacted during the presentation when the HR called me for a second round of interview. "But why?" I wondered. 

This time I decided I will say a clear 'No I don't know Sir' to whatever they asked that I had no answers for. 

The second interview started off well. With questions like "Why Deloitte?" "What are your qualities?", I was taken, once again, to the intricacies of Networking Concepts. "The OSI Model" he began, and I was quick: "Sir, I forgot the two extra layers that were there in the OSI Model but not in the currently used TCP/IP Model." Seemed as if I was determined not to try too. But they were calm, and asked me, "Okay which all layers do you know? Just define those layers one by one, and explain Transport Layer a bit more." I was good this time with my response. 

Next they asked me, again, about my internship. One note: Do some real good work in your internship, that will help a lot. I worked with Drivers, so naturally they asked, "Okay let's discuss Virtual Memory." 

Ah! So much for the famous non-tech interviews of Deloitte. 

*Cut to 2 weeks back*

"Ankita teach me Virtual Memory please?" my good friend and batch-mate Ankita Mathur got placed in C-DoT a day before, and was fluent with OS concepts. "Ya ya kiddo I got my notes, it will take an hour or so I hope." "Great!" I said. "But you will have to throw your phone away if we get a single ping in the middle." she never means what she says, except for the awesome things she says- about me. He he.

*Cut to the 2nd Interview round*

The Virtual Memory session started flashing in my virtually non-existent memory and I cannot forget how well it was from then onward- they asked me LRU, variations on page table, implementation etc. and I answered almost all of them well. 

They asked a few questions on Database and finally they asked me to show how to delete a node from a Doubly Linked List, which is the easiest thing to happen to a Data Structure fanatic!  

This round sealed my chances. 


*Results*

After the final few interviews got over, it was the time. I had a gut feeling that I am through, but then, going by the previous companies I had sat for, I was thinking, "What if..?"  trust me, this is the worst time of your life...and the best time as well. My buddy Shubham was persistent that I am through. 
More rounds of Plumet 2 followed. 

The HR came out with a list.
He gave a brief concluding speech and opened the list. He started announcing the names.
1..2..3..4..5..and 6. Cheers and hooting followed after every name. 

He stopped after the sixth name and looked into everyone's eyes, including me (who was standing at the front).

And then the moment came. The best moment of my life. Shubham was close by the HR guy. He had read all the names, and tried hiding his reaction the best. But Devaang Jain, my fellow SPC, gave me a quick glance with gleaming eyes. 


"....And also, who else?!!"

*              *            *             *              *             *             *           *

I later saw that my name was on the top of the list, and they did this on purpose. 

Deloitte. Proud to get in.


Wednesday, August 8, 2012

Happy Birthday , The Placid Rambler!

Posted by at 12:34 AM
4500+ views. 

Awesome audience. 

Good hits in Indiblogger and Blogadda.

Encouraging comments on the posts.

Likes. 

Mention in a national daily.



Humble Rambler found a quite nice way to ramble.

What started as a mere blog for reviews, soon found its way to become a place of varied genres. Laugh, ponder, imagine- The Placid Rambler has a unique post every time. Poetry, articles, stories- a little bit of everything is here. I poured all my thoughts  here. The blog became a portal for me where I would 'dump', conjure and engrave my thoughts. 

Take your time, do visit some of my personal favorite posts of the blog:









....and lots more. I am sure you would love to spend your time here. 

Thank you , dear reader.

*Drums roll*


 
Happy Birthday, The Placid Rambler! 

Monday, July 16, 2012

Thoughts, ugh.

Posted by at 9:29 PM
I won't listen.I won't study. I won't start.  And I won't edit this post before posting it.

I don't know on whose ideals I have been riding on so far, nor do I wish to. I might be breaking the glass ceiling above my head or maybe  I might just take a huge fall downwards. I have options. I have advantages. I am not really doing anything to secure myself something great right now.


Yes, the time of my life is here. Fortunately with an un- as the prefix possibly, I am trying a lot, to figure out where do I really belong- shall I stick to my technical stream or simply move ahead and switch to the something that will help me with my plans for a clichéd MBA dream? What should I really aim for? Why should I try? Where could I fail? Why should I succeed? Why so many questions? What is the term used for the fresh odor that comes from the soil after rainfall? Who let the dogs out? 


Honestly speaking, the brain is complex. Our ability to recall is mostly a wistful bane. Bane reminds me of The Dark Knight Rises. In fact, everything now reminds me of The Dark Knight Rises. I must catch it first day first show- what I have been saying to myself since last year- what if I miss it? I don't know why should I even ask.


Books when I got them with me to study in vacations, still snigger when I look at them. Needless to say that the 1000-page thick Cormen is being used by me as a laptop base when I hog on to the social network late at night. I am doing some work- yes, I DO have an EXCUSE! 


Become a Placement Coordinator they said. It would be fun they said


Trust me, as an SPC , I have learned a lot , a lot which I can only share if you catch up with me in person. I have been successful, I have failed. With a partner in the team from the IT department, the fate of 166 students lies on our shoulderrors. Some goals I had set for myself that would reflect on the statistics when they print out the Placement Brochure of 2012-13 batch next year. I want the average package of the batch to shoot up from last year, I want to see those 166 brainiacs (counting myself and the Himanshu Mantri ze IT SPC ) get placed the fastest among all the branches- I want to see some new organizations to visit the campus. Yes it would be fun they said. 


While typing 'visit' I had initially hit 'c'  so I wrote cis--, which reminded me that I am yet to contact Cisco- thus the hallucinating engineer that is me. Find my thoughts cluttered much whatever you read so far? Yes, that is how things are 'organized' in my head, deal with it. And I need a name for the soundtrack that is stuck in my head the movie of which I am unable to recall. Total Recall will release on 3rd August. 


I love her, and I miss her. 


Flushed in my blog, my thoughts , my emotions. I found a place for someone in my heart- that is one good thing that has happened in the past few weeks-among many other things. I have support of my peers, my parents for my work, most importantly, I have her support, I have read a lot many novels to amaze myself how well my reading speed has improved. Yes I love her very much- those late night chats, the thought of being loved back-- yes flipside has a flipside too.  And Flipkart is doing a great job with their logistics. 


And I need a new wrist watch. 


The clogged head. The humor quotient hitting new lows. Maybe I should expect less from myself. Maybe this is altogether natural. But if you too are a fellow final yr-ite my friend,  I know how you too are dying to watch The Dark Knight Rises the first day itself. Joking, I know that you are psyched too. So let's face it, I don't know what will happen, but whatever does, never regret your decisions. And also, I am confused as to how I must finish this post. 


I am feeling better now, though.




Friday, June 29, 2012

Movie Review: The Amazing Spider-man

Posted by at 5:47 PM




The brilliant action sequences, speedy screenplay and intelligent direction makes it look so grand that I can easily tag this as THE BEST SPIDER-MAN MOVIE EVER MADE. 


For a concept that is familiar to everyone, they surely had to do what has not been done previously: Character-buildup. And that's where it scores so well as it adds ample depth to the plot. 


Andrew Garfield doesn't step into Tobey's shoes; he creates his own universe that makes Tobey forgettable. This spidey is swift , looks more intelligent and is equally vulnerable. A lot has been put to make this click, and you will never ever want to compare Tobey with him. Even if someone with you tries to do it, you would shut them off by saying, "don't bring that up shh! Lemme watch this treat" :D

The high point of this movie was the way it connects to the viewers. The sense of cooperation that is displayed by the citizens of NY City in the end, is what a super-hero movie should be about. They are simply not the onlookers, but when our spidey needed them the most, they contribute their efforts to help him(won't act as a spoiler, so I will shut it here) . The background score makes the final 20 minutes of the movie a superb experience.

One forgivable low point would be the sheer need of keeping some aspects of the plot under shadows: Irrfan is definitely having some secrets as he keeps bossing around our Dr. Connors who deals with the Cross Genetic research. I am hoping that he is coming back as the-- decide for yourself! And do sit through the first few minutes of the end credits. 


Overall: This movie surely calls for a multiple viewing in theaters, with convincing action and scintillating CGI, The Amazing Spider-man is an amazing form of entertainment! And Part-2, COME SOON!
Rating: 8/10 

Sunday, June 24, 2012

Twin Reviews : David and Dibakar

Posted by at 1:31 PM


Rewatch: The Game (1997)
Perspective surely changes when you re-watch a movie after a gap of 7 years. And this one was no exception. I would vote that the '90s was the era of the thriller genre- Se7en ,  The Sixth Sense, The Usual Suspects, Fightclub- you name it, they excelled it. 

And David Fincher's 'The Game' is no exception; the ending is almost a perfect one and there is never a dull moment in the movie. Sean Penn excels as always, and Michael Douglas plays quite well as the present-day Scrooge-ish protagonist who is, despite all the wealth he possesses, a loner. Until he is given a recreational service offer- CRS by his younger brother as a birthday present. CRS offers their clients a specifically tailored experience, clinically titled- 'The Game'. What follows is an expected sequence of twists and turns that surmounts to a convincing shock a psychological thriller should provide.

Why to go for it: Michael Douglas+ David Fincher+ Sean Penn+ Thriller= a must watch!

Low points: You might feel some events as left unexplored, perhaps some over-the-top moments too.

Bottomline: Watch this if you haven't already; a thriller flick that stays in mind long after the credits have finished rolling. You would even want to watch the climax more than once.

Rating: 7.5/10 















Movie Review: Shanghai(2012)

Being a patron of political thrillers and an ardent fan of Dibakar Banerjee, Shanghai sadly, disappointed me.

Because when you carve a niche among your viewers, you simply have no choice other than living up to their expectations. And you simply cannot expect to gain praise just because of some shady awesome cinematography and crafty direction.

Because there is only one thing that surmounts as a blunder- the abruptness. Why?

Why would you end the movie as if you were dancing to the tunes of the producers?

Why would you make it seem as if you were bound on a deadline?

Why would you not explore more the sheer idiosyncrasy which you unraveled at the start of the movie?

A lot many questions. With no satisfactory answers.

The only good thing I could make out of this is- maybe, THIS is the message Dibakar wanted to deliver: how the expectations of the aam aadmi is always built by the promises of the political sharks, but gets shattered once the phase of elections reach a conclusion.

But sadly, he had to be smarter to deliver this message. And hence, the insufficient addition of the satire to mount this conclusion, backfires.

Rating: 6.5/10 - only because of Kalki Koechlin's strong performance. 

Thursday, June 21, 2012

Being Thursday!

Posted by at 10:25 AM
Hello!

I said, HELLO!

Well, I thought it mellowed down so-- anyways, what's up? I am finally here you guys, can you see me? Missed me? Cribbed about me? Felt glad about me? Anything?! Anyone?! DRATS!

This is me- Thursday-named after that mighty God who is sadly getting punched in the face nowadays by a green giant.
I have something to do with Jupiter-yes, the biggest of all the planets in the solar system you see. But this is the irony of my life- I am associated with the mightiest, yet I am finding no identity among the rest of the daydes (days+dude)! Not even those pig-heads of twitter commemorate my presence! Life is sad.
This funny pic has no connection with the post whatsoever. Yeah whatcha gonna do 'bout it?! 

But I am pissed. I am angry. And I will tell you why. Look at all the other days of the week-how special they are to you :-

Monday- The villain in your life- you crib about it, feel blue about it, and OUTRAGE over it! But it grins all along the way, and enjoys this infamous identity. Like that rustic dude of Bollywood once drunk-danced to the number- "Naam badnaam hai, fir bhi apun ka fame hai". Yep, that's Monday alright!

Tuesday- The mellowed down aftermath of Monday. Slightly less talked about, but you still feel like this is the most neutral dayde among us. Like that actor in a supporting role who knows right from the beginning that he WILL be friendzoned, yet manages to fix everything, this dayde knows he will be remembered! Lucky arse.

Wednesday- First of all, I am particularly pissed of the fact that this dayde somehow booked the mid-week seat. I mean, where did you come from. India? Did you frigging bribe  Pope Gregory or something? Bollocks! People surely remember him, I mean, why would they not? "Mid-week crisis"-is what they call to commemorate Wednesday! It's like he is looking at us in the eye and saying- BURRRRNNN!!!

Friday- AAARGGHHH!!! Rebecca, you almost succeeded with our ploy in degrading the name of this dayde, yet somehow, things backfired when you went too robotic with your crap. Of all the days, the most loved, the most longed, the most enjoyed day is-Friday, Friday, gonna get down on a-- ah phuss..
People  party hard on this day, they stay up late at night-partying, playing counter strike over LAN, movie marathon and what not! Anything-any form of amusement. F for fun is F for Friday.

Saturday- *No comments*
Sunday- *No comments with a middle finger*

So this is it. This, my friends, is what you have done to me! Where do I fit in? Hell, even wiki cannot decide whether I am the fourth or the fifth day of the week! I am what some of you pretend to be- Forever Alone. But I don't realize why? Why don't you love me? It is only because of me that, that Fuuucriday happens,  Y U NO see that?

I have no hope on you guys. I guess the God will do something about this- probably in the Avengers' sequel. Keeping fingers crossed. And yeah... I , EXIST AND I WILL RETURN *roars like Thor*. 

Tuesday, June 12, 2012

Internship at Hyderabad: The Tatkal Hunt

Posted by at 6:35 PM
" No need to delay your journey till Friday, you can leave next week as early as possible. "

What can come out of an internship better than this ? That your mentor appreciating your work, you get your certificates well on time, and to top it all, YOU GET TO LEAVE FOR HOME EARLY! Yes , it was a party mood that final day.

*le wild popup window called life appears*

" So how are you planning to leave ? " we were asked. "Umm, tickets are not getting confirmed by any means, that I know. So Tatkal will be it, I guess. " I responded. I had that memory of my first Tatkal experience clean in my head (and cleaner in my blog , the post can be read here )   , what it takes, so it was decided. I was aware of the situation. I was aware that I might need to stay up all night.

*le me at the station*


It was 11pm.  I along with two of my pals reached Kacheguda Railway Station. It was deserted. The parked auto-rickshaws were giving us that "Whatcha looking at, Nigga?!" look.  Some food stalls were open and  people had made a sleeping couch out of the whole platform.

On inquiring we got to know the agenda of the next day Tatkal booking. It was simple. Get enlisted and stay up all night under the stars and perhaps some rain, till the counter opens. "Piece of cake" I thought. Yep, I had stepped on a shitty piece of cow-dung cake.

We decided that we would be sitting near the gates. There was an atm counter adjacent to it. I sat on the steps of the counter, stretched my legs, drained a bottle of Coca Cola down my throat . I was all set to live tweet the event.

This is what I tweeted (forgive me but this is twitter, you reserve the rights to be crappy):

-Moskyoto Protocol. 


-Thinking to go n watch a movie, the clock has stopped, as usual.


-Cartons of soft drinks being loaded unloaded nearby.... rob kar lun kya.. :}

-Two dogs running around playing their own football hehe

-A flash mob is desired right now. Gabbar Singh tracks wil do. :}

-I am thirsty and I *gulp* it.

-Battery just went from 90% to 50% . Faak.

-Currently being chased by dream. I had named that dog dream.

-*goes and sits inside the atm counter* aaaaaahhhhh! thandi thandi aaaaahhhh! :}

-The mood here calls for some Hitchcockian setup for a thriller sequence!

-I am not liking the way that auto vehicle is looking at me... like some badass gulti villain. Fight between me and it soon.

*battery starts to die here*

-No i wont connect the charger, i wont, i efffing wont!! #_#

-Chalo brightness aur kam kiya jaae.

-Battery ki aatmakatha likhunga apun.

-Ab aayega maaza..... 250ml bottle mein. @_@

-Missing IPL already. Haha, NOT!

-Windy night. A polybag is stuck in my frame. :}

-*le wild notification appears* The battery is getting low... 15% or less remaining. Aah, so it begins..

-Twitter and the thumbs conspired to assassinate the battery...

-Ze dude playing ze sentiyaap minor scale Bolly tracks of ze 90s. Yeah u get the idea? #_#

-"Jis din teri meri, baat nhi hoti,din nhi hota, raat nhi hoti" really dude, like, that gay , huh?

-Ye ye ye aaya ek Kurkure ka packet aur jaake Mr Tyrannosnorus ke nose pe huhuhu kr diya

-I was a panda, bear in my past life. Yep. I was. The dark circles are the proof.

-Mogozdholaai? Theek taai! :D 

-Yo hipster nigga dude is now playing Justin Bieber Baby baby ooh mofo chinese mobile yo high high volume

So that was the last one, when my battery died. And that was when I decided to read Tolstoy. Can you imagine? Hahahaha, TOLSTOY AT 2 IN THE MORNING HAHAHAHA.

Naturally, I started feeling groggy in some time. And then, the clock struck 4. I don't know if I really slept it off or I was teleported in future, but the crowd suddenly became active. 

Some expected chaos and "kya bhaiya , beech mein nahi ghusne ka bhaiya" moments later , I found myself inside the reservation office, at 7 in the morning. When I had listed my name, I was on the 9th position. But then, observation played a pivotal role and I saw that one of the counter was empty . I pounced on it, like, literally , pounced to form a queue, and was placed on the 3rd spot in the queue. I got a feeling that I might get through this time. 

*le another of those 'le' messages appears which you would read and laugh anyways*

The clock struck 7.50 am. People were getting hysterical. Some were hyper-ventilating,  while others were busy securing their spots in the queue. "It is time" I figured. And as the ominous red LED clock showed 8 am, I instantaneously turned to a sweat reserve.  When my turn came , I thrust my requisition slip in the counter. As luck could have it, only 2 berths were available , and the gulti Uncle sitting inside the counter grinned at me saying "kya bhaiya, masst luck bhaiya" . The war had won, with red eyes and empty stomach as it dawned upon me- YES, I AM GOING HOME! 

Friday, June 1, 2012

The Faith Story

Posted by at 6:15 PM
(01-06-2012)


< Inspired from a tweet by @Urban_Sanyaasi on twitter >




It was the usual morning- of dust, soaked earth, and fragrance of flowers that was in accordance with the locality. He was tired and looked frail. He had traveled. But the journey was not that hectic as it appeared to have left the weary marks on his face- marks of pain, marks of distress , marks of losing hope.

He looked out of the window. The crowd was growing. "Must be time." he wondered. The holy place looked holier that day- dressed beautifully, yes it was a special day. Also, a general holiday, and all kinds of people - the corporate slaves, the travelers, the opinionated and the makers of the society, could be seen flocking up.

He looked around. The room was dark. Ominous. He had shaved. He strapped the holy band around his forehead. That's how people would blend in,  in midst of all the running and biting around for money, power and fame, for once, to bow down  to the Almighty , as  they would put their faith on. He too had faith, and perhaps, his was the strongest of them all. He clothed himself carefully, and stepped out to join the mass.

The sun was merciful, aware of the event. People were chanting hymns, and moving forward , for their tryst with the Almighty. He was finding it a little too difficult to walk. His thoughts were forcefully weighted like him, with precipitates of what he had learned in his life, how he had questioned his faith, how he fell and who were there to reach out to him in those dark times.

He had put his faith, like everyone else. He was alert all this while. Finally, he  reached the gates. He could see people rushing past him, and a sudden feeling of containment crept inside him. He shivered a little. Chill ran down his spine. Sweat buds formed colonies on the holy band on his forehead.

He entered the gates. He could see the alley, packed with people. The alley was fragrant amidst the flea market of faith. He looked at the temple, it was majestic. He closed his eyes.

He chanted a prayer. It was calm all of a sudden, as he experienced his closure. He opened his eyes and  looked at the temple. He reached for the switch that was strapped around his torso, and detonated.


Wednesday, May 30, 2012

People

Posted by at 10:55 PM
(30-05-2012)
People. People see people. People look out for people. People sense the need for people.

People.

People find people. People rejoice people. People celebrate people. People propel people. 

People.

People condescend people. People fight with people. People bring down people. People accuse people.

People.

People expect from people. People stop expecting from people. People want people. People heed people.

People. 

People surround people. People choke people. People cast people. People separate people. 

People.

People read people. People understand people. People support people. People connect with people.








The collective identity-People.


Sunday, May 13, 2012

Internship at Hyderabad: A Week Later

Posted by at 9:57 PM
(13-05-2012)
Time flies. In my case, it was swimming in the vastness of  delectable sambhar that my taste buds were savoring every morning, noon and night. The flavor of curry leaves and mustard seeds has done wonders for my palate. And being a bong, I am glad I am not having trouble feeding my tummy at Hyderabad, to say the least.

The change of hostel

Kacheguda was too far from the place where we were interning. It meant a  rigorous journey of 1.5 hours to reach a destination that was not much of being a Final one (ignore the allusion). We were commuting 3-4 hours in buses and autos, and this had to be stopped. So, when the 5th member of our team joined us on 8th of May, we decided that it is time we cut the distance short. 

Caption This!

Result: We were now staying 15 minutes from R.C.I. 

Avengers happened finally, in 3D

I was not really looking forward to watch this movie  the way I am waiting eagerly for The Dark Knight Rises, but twitter and FB made me determined, to catch it in theaters (in 3D). And Hyderabad has quite a reputation when it comes to 3D screens. Therefore, I booked the tickets while at work, for the evening show on 9th (the next day). Fun fact: The same day we searched and found our new hostel,  and shifted our base. So it was quite a hectic day. Thankfully, our boss had given us a day off.

At Prasads Multiplex, Hyderabad.

Avengers was a  treat to watch. Superb CGI combined with a tight and convincing script and some good  humor made it a great experience. Robert Downey Jr. and Mark Ruffalo were at their usual best. Downey's timing was impeccable, and Hulk was mightier than ever. All in all, a memorable movie, which calls for a second viewing.

Soda shops on the streets of Hyderabad are present in abundance. I guess they are more in number than the SBI ATMs across the city. One thing I enjoy everyday is the journey in the Diesel Autos. They play groovy Telugu tracks, which rock as the vehicle rocks along, and the best part is that, I don't understand any of the lyrics!
Auto-Ride! \m/


Wrapping up

Hyderabad is a big , busy city. It never expects much from you, but the convergence of different cultures and ethnicity makes you let it grow in you. 

Time to sign off , as I get the documentation of our first week of internship work ready. 

P.S.: In the land of food, I am with four strict vegans. Yes, I STILL DID NOT TASTE THE HYDERABADI BIRIYANI! *sulks* 
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