Treat Nights : Back to back

Now this weekend's been quite enlightening , though i maintained my usual record of doing absolutely nothing with my academic pending "heap" . I actually found out some things which might (will) help me in the future .

Friday night : Trilogy treat at LS . The menu : the most impressive buffet in kgp that i have come across (elaborating not essential) . Came across a hall and dept. senior , Mr. Anup Goyel, 2004 pass-out , working in trilogy for a year now. Talking to him was a nice experience . Got to know of the work conditions in the software industry , how money is not really a factor to consider in most cases , flexible working schedules and only obligation being that of meeting deadlines . Most importantly , how monotonous coding jobs are !! Now i had a feel of it last summer and for parts of this summer as well . So , now i am convinced that i am not taking up a non-R&D or non-management job .

Saturday night : Pandey,Bharath and Katoch's treat at Punjabi Dhaba . Now the 5+ km cycle ride is exhausting enough with plenty of slopes and bad roads . So the food tasted great despite the not-so-hygienic ambience . i actually sat almost on the middle of the road with the sardarji's assurance that he would save me if any truck was about to run me down !!! got a little taste of small town life (now i must admit : the lazy bone that i am, i haven't really gone around in kgp much , though you could argue that there isnt much to see) . However it was a refreshing change from the virtual, cosmopolitan way of life back in campus . After getting back , played TT for more than an hour . So my saturday went to the gallows as well ;-) . Never mind :)

Saturday :
the day when people got great summer training offers (congrats Shubhra !!)
the day when i spoke with my school-friend Arijit , who's in canada (thanks to GTalk)
the day when i finally managed to convince myself that my decision to invest the next 2 years to pursue my heart's desire is actually a rele good decision (thanks to a meaningful tete-a-tete with kundu) .
After all , my priorities were always "kuchh aur , kuchh aur , kuchh aur" ;-)

P.S. "There are two tragedies of life - one is to lose your heart's desire , the other is to gain it." - George Bernard Shaw .
"There are two tragedies of life - one is to lose your heart's desire , the other is not to pursue it when you know it." - Shaunak Chatterjee .

What makes you think ....

'Coming back home after a month-long "sabbatical" stay in kgp' .. i was looking forward to it . Though with the convocation in the insti this weekend , i guess i missed out on something . But then there were old,really close school friends back in town after a long time .... and i was dying to meet them.


Now , the last few days in kgp have been a real waste (almost ;-) ) . For one , i havent studied at all (other than the OS assignment which i completed real quick coz dpc told me of all the loopholes beforehand) . But the main reason is my new found love (OBSESSION is actually the word) for "ONE TREE HILL" . In the last four days , i have watched 22 episodes (the entire first season.. more than 16 hours ) . WHY ??? 'Coz i guess i just didnt have anything better to do and probably i liked the characters very much .


But its only when you get out of your 'holiday' mode back in kgp , that you realize that there is a big , bad world out here where people are still suffering . You see the numerous beggars on the trains (many of them truly not capable of supporting themselves :( .. ) and yet you cant really do much to help their cause . That's why i probably dont give money to beggars 'coz i feel that i will be unjust to the ones i cant give money to (i know it sounds like a stupid excuse .. but you cant possibly give money to every beggar that you meet) .... anyways ..


Now at howrah .. and suddenly arka was at his generous best ... so i gained a chilled "Frooti" in the bargain !!!! As i was laboriously tugging away at its aluminium 'sip-point' , this little kid (i dont want to use the word "urchin") came up to me and started pulling at my shirt . Now i initially adopted my usual "Sorry , but i dont have change" and "I absolutely fail to acknowledge your existence" stance . But the kid was persistent and he even quoted the price of letting go of my shirt (and mind you , he was pulling at it pretty hard now) .. an 'exorbitant' ONE RUPEE .


Obviously , the manipulative side of me decided to play the trust game . I told the kid to trust me and let go of my shirt first ... only then i would give him money . Initially reluctant , the kid finally let go trusting me to keep my word . And obviously enough i didnt give the kid 'ONE RUPEE' .

A few seconds later ....
The kid walked away from me , a little surprised and hopefully happier 'coz he had expected a hard-earned rupee .. he got a fortunate 'booty' of five bucks !!!
I walked away from the kid .. sad .. 'coz i just realized that i probably should have given more money to ensure the kid had a proper meal .

But then thats life ... unexpected surprises ... trying to do what is right but never quite doing it perfectly .... and a chilled Frooti to complement a clear conscience :)

Keeping the faith ...

The solution to a problem so often lies in itself !!
It sounds stupid but is so true . The issue thats been racking my brains for sometime now , finally found a comely solution , thanks to the internet . Its something that i saw in one of the blogs today that made me realize that
"No matter how hard you try , you cannot alter free will . So , sometimes its for the best that you dont do much and let things take their own course .... Have faith ."
Ironically , it was the internet that had indirectly conjured up the problem , in the first place .

Now , that i am smiling again (i am actually as i type these words) , i can see the clouds moving away and the sun shining through . I know the clouds will return , but then all i got to do is wait .. have faith .. wait for the light of hope to dawn once again . And I must never forget that for me - "the harder i try , the lesser i achieve" (only i didnt realize till now that this applied to non-acads as well ;) )
P.S. the theory applies only to me . apply at your own risk !!

And i have had very disturbed sleep last night because some red ants have invaded my bed . So i need to recapture my territory and ensure proper rest tonight at least .

and ALWAYS HAVE FAITH .. because thats what makes "la vita e bella" (life is beautiful)