Upcoming Extravaganza

Hello friendzzz….. A few words about my upcoming posts… Well, I had been on a trip to Bengaluru (Bangalore) from 28^th-3oth April to participate in the National Finals of Microsoft Imagine Cup 2010. So through the next few posts I’m trying to share my experiences in those three days. In the first part of the series, I’m talking about my journey from Kollam to Aluva on the 26^th of April. The next parts will deal mainly with the experiences in Bangalore. So here comes the first part, A Journey Through Memories…

(Note: Intelligent Poem II will be posted after this series…)

That Fine Morning….

Ever wondered how that perfect stranger you met one fine day has today become the most special person in your life… Well life’s like that… We never get to realize the flow of time until we reach a later point in the journey. And then it all seems like yesterday- your first meeting, your silly chats, stupid fights, and lots more. You remain wondering how that stranger who walked into your life a few days back has in a short period of time become the most inevitable part of your life- ur closest friend. I get surprised at how I had lived my yesterdays without them, for spending a tomorrow without them definitely seems to be a nightmare.

Every relationship has to stand the tests (seems like tests are not just a part of school and colleges 😛 😛 ). But when your friendship endures all the challenges life has thrown before it, what you get is a person whom you can rely upon for the rest of your life.

But then, not every relationship stands the test of time. Sometimes, as you grow closer, as you begin to understand more of the other person, you realize that you are not meant to be together. And then one fine day, the inevitable occurs. And what is left behind may be memories you like to forget, hatred, grief and what more. Life still goes on and you continue with your search for that special friend, sometimes without realizing that the special person is somewhere around you.

There are these beautiful days with warm sun and cool breeze, when I sit and cherish the moments spent with my dear friends. Some have been really special. I thank God for making such wonderful people walk into my life. And then I think about the incredible journey we had had together. They were around you for a long time, but then there was a special day or a special occasion when you actually began to like that person- when you realized that the person can be a ‘somebody’ in your life. And there began an amazing journey.

But sometimes, destiny plays such tricks that you are put into situations where you are forced to befriend a person. You’ve never liked that person and have never imagined that the person could be special to you in some way or the other. Well then, as the story goes, you realize within a few days that you’ve got a friend there- a friend for life.

And so the most amazing person in your life-‘your friend’ walks into your life in many ‘dramatic’ ways. But ultimately what matters is that you’ve found true friendship for a lifetime….

(This is dedicated to all my dear friends who have walked into my life and created a special place for themselves…. You guys have made my life wonderful in every way… Love you lots 🙂 🙂 :)…..)

Back Again….

Yes, I’m Alive!!!! 🙂 🙂  And that indeed is the biggest news, right??? I know that it has been a very looonnnnng time…. Sorry yaar…. Now I don’t want to present a list of excuses before you…. It is true that I had certain preoccupations, but then I was never short of a topic to write about… In fact I’d lots of interesting things to share with u… But then sometimes it was my work, and otherwise it was ‘laziness’ to put in the simplest way…. The people who know me will be surprised ‘Shabana and laziness???’-But then it is high time u guys understand that I’m a normal human being with all such typical qualities like laziness. It’s just that sometimes I get so much obsessed with my work that I overcome my laziness but there are many occasions when the latter does win… Like this particular situation where I was too lazy to jot down my thoughts….

But then there were some of these good friends of mine, who kept asking me why I wasn’t blogging… They were missing my posts (ah! So sweet of them… 🙂 :)) And it was their continuous requests that motivated me to get rid of my laziness (at last!!!) and so here I’m back sharing my weird and crazy thoughts with you….

And then all those things which I couldn’t share with you in the past few weeks, I’ll be surely writing them at a later time… Now this time, I’m sharing with you my thoughts about one of the most special people in my life…… I know it’s going to be kind of different from all my other posts…. But then I thought let my new innings start with a fresh note… Hope you all like it… And please don’t forget to write your comments…. After all its your support and encouragement that helps me keep going….

The Sweetest Person in My Life

Whenever I tell him that someone is sweet, this person asks me ‘Have you ever licked him/her to know that he/she is sweet???’ I know that it is a poor joke but then I’ve always enjoyed it whenever he said this. But then I can call him ‘sweet’ because in this case the answer to his question is yes. Now now, please don’t misunderstand me- the person I’m referring to here, i.e., the sweetest person in my life is none other than my ‘cute little’ brother. ‘Little’ may not be the right word to describe him because he’s already taller than me. But still he remains as a ‘little boy’ in my heart. Whenever I see him, the memories of the days when I held his tiny hand and took him to school floods my mind.

He came into my life eleven days before my fifth birthday. I still remember waiting in the hospital with my grandmother when my mother was taken inside the operation theatre. And ever since that day April 12^th has remained as one of the most special and much awaited days in the year for me. I don’t have many memories of him as a baby. Since he had some allergy with the climate in Kollam and constantly fell ill, he stayed with my grandparents in Ernakulam till he was four. Whenever we had holidays for Onam, Christmas and in the summer vacation, we visited him. And whenever we returned to Kollam, we took the early morning train, so that he won’t see us leaving and cry. And then occasionally my grandparents used to bring him to Kollam and they used to stay with us for a few days.

He was a cute child and was very fair. We still have lots of his childhood photos. They take me back to those good old days when I used to play with him, when I used to irritate him, and lots more. And then when he turned four, he came back to stay with us in Kollam. He joined the kindergarten near our home. And my father used to take him to school and bring him back every afternoon. Occasionally, I used to take him to school. He used to wear his school bag and water bottle and then hold my hands tightly as we walked to his school. It all seems like yesterday…..

See, how fast time has fled. Today he has grown so big. I’m 5 years older than him, but at times, he makes me feel that I am 5 years younger. He has grown taller, but still I can see the innocence of a small boy in his face. But there are times when he shows his maturity and offers me advice and solutions to problems. He is a bright child.

I never call him by his actual name. I’ve put a lot of nicknames for him.(I’m sorry but I’m not allowed to reveal any of the names here… 🙂 :)) He calls me ‘Itha’, but when he’s in a really happy mood, he calls me “Ithii”. He’s very much fond of cats. So much that he imitates cats really well. All the cats in our neighborhood are his pets. He pats them, feeds them and what not. Sometimes even my mother becomes a ‘cat deewani’. But I’ve never been very much fond of cats, maybe because I’m jealous that they get so much of my brother’s attention. I always tell him that he was supposed to be born as a cat but somehow became a human. But I’m thankful that he was born as my brother-‘my sweet little brother’.

I don’t know when I started sharing my secrets with him. We used to sleep in the same room and our beds were next to each other. So after my parents went to sleep, I used to talk to him. I used to tell him everything that worried me, and even things that made me happy. Sometimes he used to complain that he was feeling sleepy and then would turn to the other side in his bed and sleep. But I still used to tell him everything. I never knew how much he understood, but talking to him surely gave me a big relief. And I used to tell him about all my secrets, my crushes and what not. Sometimes I used to cry. He never said anything, but nevertheless, I used to feel consoled. And then there were occasions when he openly spoke to me, he used to talk to me about his ‘little’ problems, and I used to console him. Our relationship was growing stronger and deeper. If it was not for him, I would never have been able to handle the problems at home.

Now all that doesn’t mean that we had a perfect ‘bro-sis’ relationship. We used to quarrel as often as we could and that too on the silliest things on the earth. We would hurt each other, but then one or the other would soon apologize and the matter came to an end then and there. I could stay angry with my parents for more than a day, but never with him. I loved him so much. Even today, when I get distracted while studying, he warns me. He also gives me advices on dealing with people. Whenever I get upset, he would be the first one to find out.

Whenever I tell someone that I’ve a younger brother, the first question they ask me is whether he’s also a class topper like me. It’s true that both of us like the same subjects-Maths and Science. And he gets good scores in his exams too. But he hasn’t become the class topper many times. And I don’t want him to become one too. He is a bright little chap. God has given him some good brains. I want him to use them and reach the position he deserves. He has always been fascinated by airplanes and aspires to become an aeronautical engineer. I know that he very well deserves to be one. I pray that the Almighty give him His blessings.

And then you know something, these days we talk playfully about our future life. I tell him that I’ll call him to my home for dinner one night and make all dishes with cauliflower (He hates cauliflowers!!!) And then he’ll say something, I retort back and the discussion goes on until one of use becomes tired (usually it’s him). We’ve even planned our future vacations!! I sincerely pray that all our wishes become true.

Dear brother, I’ve never met a more wonderful person than you in my life. You’ll always be the most special person in my life. You have no idea how much I love you. I hate it when you become sad. I love to see your cheerful face. Work hard and realize your dreams. May God bless you in every step of yours… Thank you for coming into my life and making my life truly ‘wonderful’…..

(This piece of writing is dedicated to my brother. It’s a small gift from my side as he turned 16 on April 12^th. You have been a truly amazing person, brother… Thank You for always being there with me…..)

Promo….

After the grand success of “Intelligent Poem”, proudly presenting before you its first sequel (I have no idea about how many sequels are yet to follow!!!  😛 😛 ) “Intelligent Poem-II”….. The first poem won much appreciation from the readers and so I thought of coming up with a part II…..

So check out this space for more news………

Tham Jaa….

Yes I wanted time to stay still…. I was enjoying my Friday evening with my parents. We were in the beach. It was a beautiful evening with the wind blowing around us and the waves hitting the shores and then retreating. And there were not many people around.

We sat at a place from where we could watch the sea and the sun which had turned ‘bright orange’ by then. We kept looking at the sun as it slowly disappeared under the sea in the horizon. And when it was out of sight, the sky looked empty. There were traces of orange here and there. The wind began to turn colder.

I always loved visiting the beach, especially on Friday evenings. That was a perfect time for all of us to relax. We used to play with the sand and even listened to music. And as we sat watching the sea and eating groundnuts, we discussed on a lot many topics. We even had gossips. Watching the sun set, we let all our tensions and tiredness sink into the sea with the sun. It was a most refreshing feeling. The calmness of the sea was imparted to us. I wished I could live in those moments forever. But alas, life is never so simple. So as the darkness deepened, it was time for us to leave. As I walked away, I knew that I’d be back soon, to enjoy some more of those wonderful moments…

Here are some snaps that still reminds me about those wonderful moments… Have a look at them…

A Violinist playing in the beach

After the sunset

An Eclipse and Lots More….

Everyone had been really excited about the solar eclipse that occurred on 15^th January 2010. It was the millennium’s longest solar eclipse and all of us had been really lucky to watch this wonderful spectacle in sky.

The mood was no different in our college too. There was lots of excitement in the air. And it all started nearly one week before the eclipse when rumors started spreading that we may get a holiday on Friday. The excitement was more due to the rumor than the eclipse itself. In a college, nothing sounds more important than the prospect of a holiday, not even a solar eclipse. There were serious discussions on how to go home in case a half day holiday was declared. But many ruled out the possibility because the eclipse was to occur between 11:30am and 3pm. Finally after all the debates and discussions, on Thursday night, we realized that all our hopes were in vain- we had regular classes on Friday. But soon there was another announcement – that lunch would be served at 10:10am on Friday.

I wondered how I could manage an early lunch after a late breakfast at 8am. I guess that was the hot discussion topic on Thursday night. You see, we never fall in short of discussion topics, especially in a girl’s hostel. Here rumors spread faster than wild firesJ

Finally Friday dawned. We went to college as usual. I took a packet of biscuits with me as I thought I would have them during the 10 minutes break at 12pm. I was sure that I could not have an early lunch. Soon I found out that many of my classmates had also decided to skip their lunch. The new ‘lunch’ break was from 10:10 to 11:10. Some of my friends went to mess for their ‘Brunch’ (‘Br’eakfast+’L’unch’). Some of them sat in the class and completed the maths assignment that was to be submitted on that day. Others just walked around the college. Arrangements had been made in the ‘E-learning’ centre to watch the eclipse through television. So by 11, some of us went there. I started eating my biscuits at11 and soon my friends were warning me to eat fast because according to them once the eclipse started, food would become poison. Since I was not feeling very hungry, I ate just 3 biscuits and drank water.

Soon we noticed that the light intensity was decreasing. We were all excited. Despite my friend’s warnings, I was tempted to look into the sky. After some time, I began to feel irritation in my eyes. I became a bit tensed. And so during that lecture hour, I sat wondering what would happen if I lose my sight. I held my friend’s hand and began to feel it, so that I could recognize her in case I lost my sight. I know it was all silly, but then it was funny too.

During the 10 minute break at 12pm, I went to fill my bottle with water. One of my friends was alarmed at this sight. He warned me not to drink the water, but I was feeling very thirsty and drank it.

Later we were all assembled near the e-learning centre watching the eclipse on television. Many students stood in the corridor and some students reflected the sun’s image using mirrors and watches onto the walls. It was all amazing, everyone was enthusiastic. A telescope was arranged in our college to watch the spectacular event. Some students even went into the terrace to get a glimpse of the eclipse.

Later, at about 1:15pm, we heard loud applause from somewhere and we thought that the total eclipse was now visible. We were having maths class then. We asked Mam permission to go out and Mam gave into our pleas. As soon Mam nodded her head, we rushed out of the classroom into the corridor. There were some students who had strips of x-ray film. One of the students offered it to me and asked me to look in a particular direction. I looked through the film into the direction she pointed. At first I could not see anything. But soon I saw the sun partly covered by the moon’s shadow. I was so much fascinated that I cannot express the feeling through words. I had watched eclipses on television, but it was the first time that I was watching it directly. I began to yell with joy. (Again it was stupid, but I couldn’t help itJ). When I returned to class, Mam asked me whether I saw the eclipse. I was so happy that anyone could read it from my face that I had witnessed the breathtaking event.

Later Mam told us that she had her lunch at 12pm. And she told us that all the arguments of food turning into poison were just superstitions. I felt relieved. I realized that the day had been wonderful with the eclipse itself and all the other beliefs surrounding it. Most of us had to remain hungry throughout the day, but still the spectacular sight of eclipse made up for it. The day was indeed one of its kind…………….

(Note: I would like to thank my friend CS15 who actually encouraged me to write this post. When she saw my excitement after watching the eclipse, she asked me whether I would blog about my experience. And I felt it was a great idea. So thanks a lot dear…..)

An Intelligent Poem

I know what you’ll be expecting after reading the title of this poem – a poem for ‘intelligent’ people about an ‘intelligent’ topic written by a ‘not so intelligent girl’. But friends, you are in for a surprise. This poem has nothing to do with any ‘intelligent’ topic. So why this title????

I’ll explain… There’s a small story behind this ‘weird title’ (as usual :)). I was attending my ‘Intelligence Systems’ class this fine morning. And when our Mam was explaining to us about the various kinds of intelligent systems, my mind somehow slipped altogether to a different world. I was suddenly miles away from ‘intelligent programming’ and was in this new ‘dream world’. I found that my mind was suddenly flooded with a lot of emotions and I decided to jot them down.

So I grabbed my pencil, and started writing on my clean desk. It was not that I didn’t have a notebook, but I somehow found immense pleasure in writing on desk with pencil. I was sitting on the first row, right under my teacher’s nose. I occasionally looked at the teacher to assure her that I was still listening to her, except that I was a bit distracted. Somehow she did not seem to mind me doing my business, maybe because she was very much occupied with ‘designing intelligent things’. And so did not mind ‘a not so intelligent girl’ getting involved in  a different activity. Finally ‘it’ was born. I thought ‘it’ was a poem, but according to my friend, who also happens to be a wonderful poet himself, it was a song. Anyways, it was neither an article nor a short story.

I showed it to my ‘desk mates’, who are also my best buddies. They liked it and commented that it was very ‘romantic’. And it was one of them,CS31, who gave me the idea of sharing this with you guys through this space. So here I’m presenting my humble creation inspired by a spontaneous flow of unknown emotions. Now that makes a perfect one liner for my poem. So check it out guys and let me know whether it’s actually a poem or song……

(Disclaimer: This poem has no resemblance with any person ‘living’ or ‘dead’ whom I’ve met in my life. But if you happen to find him, do tell me!!!! :))

I search for you –

In the dark

In the rain

On the moon

And in the shade

I know you are there somewhere

Behind the shadows

Searching for me-

The way I do for you

I know the day’ll come

When destiny’ll bring us together

As we stand face to face

With our eyes gleaming

And heart beating

As if it was on a race

The day’ll be one of its kind

With the stars shining just for us

And the moon blessing us

With its white pure beam

Small Wonders

I was actually very much confused about the title of this post. I had to choose between ‘small’ and ‘big’. Finally I decided upon ‘Small Wonders’ because when I was small I used to watch a TV series by the same name. It was a comic series that narrated the story of a robot which lived with a human family. Now you can catch the Hindi version of the same concept, ‘Karishma ka Karishma’ in Disney Channel (I once discovered this while flipping through the channels).

One of the 'Big' Wonders of the World

To begin with, there are indeed a lot of wonders in this world. That was exactly why we had to vote and select the Seven Wonders of the World. The other day I was thinking about the small and big wonders we come across in our day to day life. We are always too busy to notice them. So I just thought I’ll share these new discoveries to you.

I have no idea about how to start off this long list of wonders which I recently observed. Fine, I’ll start from there-Ever wondered how you can always visit my blog from anywhere in the world in a matter of seconds? I know about networks and servers and all that (after all, I study Computer Science), but still think about the whole process-I write my blog, upload it in a server located somewhere and then you get to read it from anywhere you are. Wondered how the data packets in the network (which are actually electric signals) reach the right place in the right format when there are millions of other packets and signals flowing through the same network. I know you can explain a lot of theorems and formulas – but ever wondered how some great people could frame out these theorems with such accuracy-simply on the basis of their observation.

Coming to everyday life, ever wondered, how neatly, a country is divided into states, states to districts and districts to a large number of places. How have we been able to describe the boundary between two places? And then ever wondered how you can listen to a person’s voice through air in your cell phones and how your text messages travel safely through air to reach the recipient. Ever wondered how you get a near constant supply of electricity while it is produced at a place hundreds of kilometer away from your home- and that too enough to light up your whole area and many others? Ever wondered how you can always reproduce a song from magnetic tapes or from an mp3 file?

I know that this list of ‘ever wondered’ questions seems endless. But then there is one thing in common between all the ‘wonders’ mentioned above-they have been created by man. Some great minds framed these wonderful ideas that have provided to be quite revolutionary in the history of mankind. And the impact has been so huge that we rarely recognize them as ‘wonders’.

So what is the big lesson? Look around you, marvel at the wonders and then, then what??Try to find more about those wonderful brains who actually created these. And see if you can actually make some contribution. We belong to an age where we have competitions like Imagine Cup that encourages students to think hard and come up with ideas. So are we actually facing a shortage of ideas? Well I don’t know, but I strongly feel that we still have lots of burning issues in this world that needs to be tackled. Just think how marvelous it can be if you can actually come up with that big idea that can help in making this world a better place to live. Now if you feel you aren’t the right person, then you can contribute by asking yourselves- why things are the way they are? And once you begin the search for the answers, you’ll be amazed at the vast stretches of knowledge that opens up before you. And this will inspire you to learn more and more. So I guess this ‘wondering’ business can actually do some good to you. Before I sign off, here’s another small wonder-how can a ‘quiet’, ‘studious’ girl wonder much?

Expect the Unexpected !!!

I know that the title is a bit confusing- after all how can you expect the unexpected ??? What I actually meant is that at every step in your life, you should be prepared for ‘shocks’- they may come anytime. I’m sure you people have enough common sense to understand which ‘shocks’ I’m talking about here. But still, you should also be careful while handling electrical appliances- you may get a ‘shock’ from there also.

The ‘shocks’ or ‘surprises’ in life may be for the good or even for the worse. If you get a wonderful surprise that makes you happy, like if you win a lottery or if you get to know that the college reopeening has been postponed, well, then there is nothing to worry about. Enjoy the moments to the fullest, provided you’ve got the news confirmed.

But I’m talking about the ‘worst case’ here, which unfortunately has ‘the highest probability of occurence’. And quite interstingly, the worst cases have the most significance, maybe due to their high chances of occurence. I guess that’s why in ‘Analysis of Algorithms’, we’re always concerned about the worst case performance of algorithms. Now that was for all my dear Computer Science students……

Okay fine, I’ll be serious now. After all, I’ve given such a grand title for my post. So I got to get at least a bit serious na ??? Well, according to me, most of the ‘little’ as well as ‘major’ surprises in life come from the people around us. Other sources can be accidents, illness, deaths, disasters, etc. which are controlled by the Almighty. We get some of the ‘worst surprises’ from the people whom we love and trust the most. At some point we find that they have broken our trust due to their selfish interests. We then realise that we were being used. And that realisation leaves us shattered. We are left wondering- what is to be done, whom to trust, how to face the person again and thousands of such questions pop up in our mind. But then there’s something which we never realise- we may have given a similar disaster to another person. We never realise the pain until it happens with us.

But if you are someone who always ‘expects the worst’, you will be always prepared for such shocks. It’s not at all a ‘pessimistic’ behaviour because being on your guard has nothing to do with negative thinking. It’s all about being ‘alert’ and ‘careful’, when dealing with people and situations. If you are alert, people can’t betray you easily and even if something of that sort happens, you won’t be too shocked or depressed as you had always been expecting this – even if not from that very same person.

Another interesting phenomena which I’ve observed simultaneously with ‘bad surprises’ is, quite ironically, ‘good surprises’. When someone good suddenly turns bad, someone bad turns good. ( I guess that’s how the balance between evil and good is maintained in this world !!!) The last person whom you expected to help you out from a situation will quite surprisingly be the first one to lend you a hand. Seriously friends, haven’t you had such strange experiences in your life ??? Well, I’ve had lots and that’s exactly why I’m sharing this with you today.

I am not going to narrate any particular incident here. But once a person, whom I assumed as my friend, disappointed me. Then it was another person, whom everyone including me had tagged as a useless, good for nothing fellow, who came to my rescue. I suddenly saw his new face. He wasn’t good at one thing, but he was more than good at another- and very very few were actually aware of this fact.

So now I’ve learnt some good lessons. The most important one is that you must never think that you know everything about another person- however close that person maybe to you. Everyone has good and bad faces. We must have seen only the good shades of some people. Love them, trust them, but be aware that the dark shades are always there. And in the case of people whom you belive are bad and good for nothing, remember that there are no such creations on earth. Never judge someone from the opinions raised by others. If he has done something wrong, never make a final judgement about the person. Give him another chance – because you never know about the situations that forced him to take such an action. Try to find out about the person from different sources or go and talk personally with him. This, I guess, will save you from some of the worst surprises later. But most importantly, always ‘expect the unexpected’….