Denial and Sacrifice

Often in life, we face situations when circumstances play villain in denying us some things which we would so much love to have. But, there are other instances in life when we show great will power to keep us away from something which we otherwise love, for something else more important and more lasting. That act of sacrificing fills you with a sense of gratification and satisfaction for your control on your mind and senses. But, then very rarely a combination of these two occurs - when we go a long way to settle our minds to sacrifice somethings, but then the villain circumstances deny us that sacrifice too. This phase of "denial of sacrifice" is the most painful, because you are stripped of the satisfying feeling of sacrifice, and strangely even the things sacrificed earlier by you don't taste that sweet.

PS: A vague representation of some recent incidents through abstract ideas. A cryptic post which only some close people can decode.

Facebook - Connecting people, Killing action?

In the current times, it would be difficult to find a person who has internet access but doesn't have a Facebook (FB henceforth in this blog) profile. Lately, FB became the third most populated 'place' in the world after China and India with over 400 million users. [1] But, as I see FB (and many do agree) that it's just a waste of time. Apart from the possibility of connecting with long-lost friends with no possible recovery of contact otherwise, FB just features shitty apps (I too was addicted to Farmville some time back), fraud quizzes (though some people feel happy that FB knows them so well) and who-likes-what, and who-is-friends-with-who, etc etc! So, it gives some losers enough reason to remain glued to their screens 24-7 (been there, done that).

But, does it end here? Is it just a wastage of time? Didn't I ever participate in a discussion as a series of comments on a status update, or share my inner thoughts through my status updates? Though FB gives power to broadcast your thoughts, but generally it's more of a virtual identity which people create so as to gather maximum number of 'likes' or 'comments'. It is not at all uncommon to find people check their FB profiles moments after they connect to internet, and update their status to reflect "What's on your mind?". After all, when was it so easy to express yourself! Too easy to be a cause of inaction in 'real' life? Yes, I'm talking of posts which though invoke opinions when thought about, but the result of the thought process is nothing more than a series of comments. Because it is so much easier to write a few lines on your status update and initiate a chain of comments, it kills the urge to act when and where it really matters. It's not just about cases like Ayodhya verdict or CWG, which aam junta like us have no control over. But, this is relevant to our own local problems (local to IITD), which nobody from outside is going to come and solve for us. Problems as basic as lack of drinking water or poor mess food in hostels. When we all know that raising these issues on Facebook won't make a difference, but troubling the concerned authorities would, yet it feels satisfying to have registered our discontent on some public forum. Such instinct to take the easier way out has extinguished some sparks which had the potential to grow into a large fire if fanned the right way. May be, it is the path and not the destination itself which guides our decisions after all.

Long time no see!

Aha! My blog! My precious! 2 months since I wrote something down here. I started blogging at the first place to give a vent to my thoughts which keep springing up now and then. So, did I not think anything and let my mind rest relentlessly all these days? No, nothing of that sort! I did one thing and one thing only! I reactivated my Facebook account. So, all the thoughts, which when pondered over had the capacity of developing into full-fledged blog posts, found themselves on my Facebook profile as petty status messages, attracting unexpected number of likes and comments sometimes.

So, why back to Blogosphere? Did I gather enough courage to deactivate (or better, delete) my Facebook account again? No, nothing of that sort either! This time, I am back with a few crazy reflections, which I don't expect someone to listen in detail - the primary reason being that they are crazy at the first place.

Duality Principle

Landing into a new semester at IIT Delhi, it didn't take long to come face-to-face again with some plain stupidities in IIT system. Rejoining facebook has one sure advantage; it keeps you updated with the latest buzz around. And back here at IIT, the buzz word is not Ragging or Girnar (the newest hostel) but Course Registration. In last few hours, I saw my Facebook feed flooded with status updates with some words in common - "kicked out of so-n-so course (in the first class itself)". The kicking out is not due to mischievous students or disciplinary misconducts, but because of 'course overloading', 'departmental exclusivity' or simply an outrageously unreasonable Professor. IIT Delhi proudly boasts of an open and flexible academic system with students being free to choose their courses until they adhere to certain academic requirements. But the add-drop period in the beginning of every semester exposes the rigidity embedded in the system - all due to the convenience of Professors most of the times. e.g. a prof wants to teach a class size of 50 instead of the allowed strength of 75; another one would not like anyone else than mechanical engineers to take the course; another one ready for only post graduate students. I've always been OK with freedom given to profs to run the course as they find it the best for students and the course itself, but it is simply unacceptable on the part of profs (a kind of teachers) to abuse that authority just for the sake of their own convenience.

Another example of blatant misuse of power in IITs was uncovered recently about illegal quota system functional in IIT Kgp for the last four decades (whooping!) [1]. Obviously, Directors, Deans and other office bearers were involved; and now we know what kind of people frame rules for the 'brightest' young minds of India and practically ru(i)n their lives as they want. I remember another news about a JEE scandal reported a few weeks back which was equally shocking and shameful. [2] So, the questions are: "How do people of this conduct rise up to the levels of being Deans or Diros? Is the worth of IITs as a 'premier institute of national importance' due to its students or the setup?". These instances of dual standards adopted by faculty raise strong doubts on the process of recruitment for faculty positions itself.

By the way, if you're still wondering about the relevance of the title with the content above, it is because I'm officially a 'Dual Degree' student now, having switched to the 5-year B.Tech + M.Tech. program in CSE. So, this is how my academic log in page looks now:

For those who are still not aware of my tragic life story, I aspire to get into Civil Services after I am done with my graduation (no, that's not the tragic part!). To appear in 2011, one has to be born on/before 1st August 1990, and I missed that mark by a very close margin (being born on 5th August instead). So, I had one full year to spare, for which I preferred an extra year of stay at IITD itself for an extra degree in my hand at the end of it over a full time job or a 'drop' for full-time preparation. The associated irony is that because I didn't want to pursue Comp. Sc. as my career, I have to study it for another year. Funny!

Changing of Guards

I landed back at IIT Delhi yesterday and have been 'enjoying' the humidity floating around me with some friends I've missed the most during last few months. Now another semester is about to start and it's time to let go of the last phase of my life, i.e. the internship. A few days ago, I rated IIT life to be absolutely incomparable to that at MSR (here). But someone has truly said that you start missing something when you start moving away from it. I felt something like that when I realised this Friday that this day onwards, I won't have such lovely and brilliant people around me anymore. I would miss the whole culture of 'Party Hard, Work Harder' culture at MSR, particulary, the Lab Sabha, the PowWow, the perennial pantry supplies, World Cup and the diversity of TEM.

Moving on with life, I guess its time to let go of the FIFA World Cup theme too as it's now long over (YEAH! Spain won, still happy about that!). Just to keep it in memory, my blog used to look like this at one time:

So, as the theme undergoes a radical change, so does the way of life. From the smooth flowing Microsofty Life to the rough IIT Life, the transition is fundamental. Got some lectures to attend in the morning (unlike no strict office timings at MSR), so should catch some sleep! Ciao!

Microsofty Life

The summer break is nearing its end, and so is the internship at MSR. 10 days from now, I'll be back to my home grounds at IIT Delhi, and as I look back at the last 2 months, I realise the striking contrast between IIT (Delhi) life and MSR (Bangalore) life. So, an attempt to list a few as a memoir to the Microsoft experience. (Keeping a count on the positives and the negatives)

Food (yes, for the foodie I'm, this deserves to be the first point):
The regular Paneer Tikka at Mezbaan couldn't find an equal match here. But the variety and delicacy of Idli-Dosa here made me fall in love with Bangalore in a few days. The 'sasta, lekin sabse achha' award clearly goes to the Southie food here. I'm not sure whether the Idlis of Holistic or the Dosa of Sip n Bite would be edible for me anymore. (+1)

Accomodation:
The first week at Bangalore was spent in uncertainty of our resting place for the next 2 months. Finding a suitable place, affordable yet providing satisfactory services, became a heated affair (thanks to our Police Officer (retd.) landlord). While we faced some harsh consequences of being in a language-hostile city, the realisation that however inhuman be the living conditions in our hostels, the life is much smoother and hassle-free there. (-1)

Weather:
This one undoubtedly goes to Bangalore. Never during the whole period did I feel that the internship is actually 'Summer' internship. But, sadly, when I was enjoying the pleasant evening breeze in Bangalore, some of my dear friends were burning in scorching Delhi heat. Our rational Deans and Diro turned down a very valid and popular demand to allow coolers in hostel rooms. (+1)

Getting a bit long, eh? Some quickies now :-
OS: Windows 7, never missed Ubuntu (Jaunty or Lynx). (+1)

Music: Winamp playlists earlier, it's Grooveshark, Pandora or Shoutcast internet radio here. (+1)

Internet: High speed corpnet with no blocked sites and no limits, proxy quota is a forgotten concept. (+1)

Email client: Experienced the beauty of Outlook, bye-bye Thunderbird. (0)

LAN: No oDC to grab all kinds of pirated (or dirty) stuff in minutes; no LAN gaming, despite the (work)stations equipped with powerful graphic cards. (-1)

On TV: Football (World Cup was a phenomenon). Cricket-lovers virtually non-existent here. (+1)

Sports: Football, yet again, and because I can run, I'm not that bad at it. Missing volleyball though. (0)

Snacks: Besides the 5pm snacks with infy variety, the perennial pantry supply helped me about 5 kgs weight in about a month. (+1)

Score, anyone? +5, right? Yet, I missed IITD so much at many ocassions. So, what did I miss out above?

LIFE:
Yeah, there is no substitute to campus life. When I joined IIT, some wise man (no offence to the ladies!) said that the coming years would be the most cherished time of your life. Live it to the fullest, while you can. In this brief stint of corporate office life, I entirely realise the truth in his words. Going to office every morning, sitting in the same chair, working on the same project invariably on each day - the monotony of life couldn't be broken even by the lavish Lab Retreat at Lalitha Mahal Palace, Mysore. Life is too smooth here, with some department dedicated to solve every problem of yours (except the research problem you're working on). What makes IIT life worth living, despite the various negatives listed above, is the variety of challenges encountered regularly - from getting a letter signed to winning an inter-hostel competition; and the irreplacable friends that provide you strength to stand tall in every challenge. Though I met some wonderful persons here, I couldn't help missing the always cheerful WindT and the wonderful company I enjoyed there. Anupam and the SPICY gang deserve a special-mention, who are now accessible only at long-distance. A few long-distance friends became even 'longer-distance' due to switching of time-zones, and thereby, restricting the communication options. Without some people, even in the biggest software company of the world, life feels small. The countdown has begun. Can't wait to get back to IIT Delhi.

PS: @Interns at MSRI or elsewhere: Help me to add more points that come to your mind.

Spain or Netherlands?

This is the million-dollar question (literally) at the moment. And probably, by the time you would read this, most of you would know the answer to this big question. But, one thing is certain - we will have a new name on the trophy this time. Here I make another attempt to remember somethings worth remembering about the knockout stage mainly of the biggest sporting event, which reaches climax today (the earlier one is here).

Round of 16:

Germany playing England, and Spain playing Portugal so early in the Cup race were the highlights of this round. While Germany truly slaughtered the English side, Spain stepped ahead quietly with a single-goal victory. While, Argentina and Brazil continued looking good to strengthen their claim for the cup, Ghana ended the American Dream to keep the host continent's hope alive. Two big faults by referees which went against England (for Germany) and Mexico (for Argentina) led to resurfacing of the old debate of inclusion of more technology in the game. Though FIFA President went on to apologise to English and Mexican team, governments and people, the question of the extent of damage these errors caused to the fairness of a tournament as big as FIFA World Cup remains open to debate and discussion.

Quarter Finals:

4 matches, 4 South American teams - 1 in each. And the one team that went through was not expected to reach the Semis before the kick-off of the World Cup. The giants - Brazil and Argentina subsided to let Netherlands and Germany to go through. While the Dutch team impressed with consistent passing and constant attacking to perforate the Brazilian defence, German team continued to crush their worthy opponents mercilessly to rise to the title of World Cup favourites. Ghana failed to become the first African team to end up in the last 4 due to 'Hand of God', first and 'Bar of God', later. Gyan is going to regret that missed penalty all his life for sure. But the early exits of Argentina and Paraguay at this stage denied some naked runs (Paraguan defeat came as a disappointment for many excited males) [1], [2]

Semi Finals:

Diego Forlan led the brave Uruguan side so far with his skilled gameplay, but a short lapse in concentration of defense gave the Dutch team an opportunity to break-in twice in 3 minutes. Many people wished the other semi-finalists (Germany vs Spain) to clash in the Grand Finale instead. The star-studded line-up on both sides raised the expectations to a heated competition. But as the game kicked off, Spain took lead and played their game of passing in the mid-field and waiting for the opportune moment. They never allowed Germans to take control and raise the pace of the game to their advantage. Spaniards succeeded in getting to the Finals with another low-scoring victory.

Third-place Playoff:

I missed the first half of the match as I failed to get back to MSR from Mysore in time, but according to a friend (Apoorv Gupta):

"Yesterday's match was awesome... lots of aggressiveness, and a lot of bad passes etc. combined to make it one of the most entertaining so far." But, surely Uruguay deserved the extra-time, which Forlan had almost won with his almost-perfect free kick as the last shot of the match.

Now, its time to enjoy the colourful closing ceremony put up to mark the culmination of another edition of World Cup! I'm going to miss the World Cup so much, so many memories in the '3rd floor collaboration room' of MSR! My intern experience would remain incomplete without the mention of these football matches. :)

When should the Bidding end?

The day started out normally as it has been for about 8 weeks now - Getting up, leaving for Microsoft Research and working on the same project from morning till evening (night). Lately, the difference is me reaching office as late as 1 pm, due to the longer sleep required after the evening football (playing, not watching) sessions. Lately, the difference is me still confused where my intern project will lead to, because of some unorganized mentoring. Lately, the difference is me not happy at the place which probably is the dream for some of the best in my stream. This difference is that I wanted to write myself out this time. Not because I don't have people to talk about it, because I am lucky to have them and I've talked my heart out to them, but I wanted to talk about it to myself. So, I want to pour out some of the thoughts my mind has entangled itself into.

One thought that troubles me is our decision-making process about our goals and the path we take to strive for them. One such process took place when my intern started here, when 3 researchers and me sat for a 'brainstorming' session for hours to find a project of my interest. But, the session failed to churn out an intern topic that interested me. One possible reason could be my misplaced interest which was to do something that involved more than pure coding, which involved actually going out to the field to study how the technology we develop is being used, which could make my stay here different from that at IIT Delhi, which could make it meaningful to be a part of Technology of Emerging Markets group. So, at the end, I agreed to start upon a project for the sake of my internship half-heartedly, and throughout my stay here I've thought, what if I would have taken more time to decide. Now, the internship will end in a few days and won't have a strong influence on my future, but the issue still troubles me because of the 'what if', because I'm standing at a stage where the crucial decision of my career path needs to be taken, because I would certainly like to avoid the regret of 'The Road Not Taken'. So, how much time, patience and energy should we spend on actually finalizing the decision, so that it doesn't cross the optimal limit when we start wasting those resources on deciding and not executing the decision? How do we hit the best trade-off between the two conflicting motives? When should the Bidding end?


Meanwhile, a Ted talk in which Dan Ariely asks, "Are we in control of our own decisions?"

Weekend Trips (Part 1) : Cochin

Date: 27th May (Thursday)
Time: 2 pm

Pragun pings on Gmail to lure me in his plan to spend the coming weekend at Cochin. He starts explaining how 'God' place Cochin is for tourists by citing the attractions there (won't reveal them now itself, read on!). The long list of fascinating spots on Wikitravel page on Cochin enchanted me to say 'YES' to the plan, and the first weekend trip outside Bangalore for me was to be at a place more than 500 kms far.

Date: 28th May (Friday)
Time: 2 pm

Tickets available, minor packing to be done. No work done today. A bit of facebooking and email checking followed by lunch, and its time to leave. Pragun picks me up and we leave for Satellite bus stand, Bangalore.

Time: 4 pm

The bus to Ernakulam (yes, Cochin is just a set of islands; Ernakulam is the main city) leaves the bus station and the trip to Cochin is finally a reality! The gruelling 15 hrs bus ride is going to be hectic, but what follows keeps the excitement high! Hereafter, this post will turn into a photoblog because pictures speak much more than words. (No more on Facebook, so it will be pretty much same as an FB album.)

For the whole collection, visit Cochin Trip in my Picasa Photo Gallery. 

Satellite Bus Stand, Bangalore

The long night in the bus

And we reach Ernakulam as the dawn strikes, ready to head to Allapuzah (Allepey)

  

As we enter into the backwaters to explore God's own country!

 

House boats - luxurious, yet natural

 

Happy Me! :)

 

Kanav demonstrating some 'intricate' details of duckweed.

  

The group of 'tourists'

  

 

Boiled Tapioca : Vegetarian seafood

  

Inland waterways are lifelines of people there.

 

Wherever you go, our network follows! :)

 

Magnificence!

  

Haunted!

 

Swimming in Backwaters

  

Under construction!

 

Port of Cochin

  

Wah TAJ!

 

Fishing nets of Fort Kochi

  

Colours and Culture

  

Canopy of Greenery

  

The trip ends with a brief but enjoyable stint at Cherai beach.

  

And finally, some of my best attempts to capture the scenic beauty and serenity of Mother Nature - at its best!

  

  

 

World Cup - the First 10 Days!

First two rounds of the group stages are almost over, and most groups are now standing at a very interesting point where it looks almost impossible to predict which 2 teams would go through. Many predictions have failed and some of the biggies are struggling to qualify. Some minnows which everyone expected to be beaten have shown great resilience and brought down super powers to their feet. So, here I present an account of the first one-third of this huge tournament.

Group A (South Africa, Mexico, France, Uruguay):

The runners up of last world cup are struggling very hard to get through to the next round. Their qualification requires a win in their last group match supported by some goal difference equations in the other game. It looks like France is bowing out as they did in 2002 WC, where they were defending champions.

Mexico made a major upset by beating France 2-0 and are now prepared to book their next round ticket. Uruguay looks good too with a 3-0 victory over the host and are cheered by their coach's claim that the team is capable enough to lift the trophy again this time. The journey of the hosts also appears to end in the Group stages itself.

Probable qualifiers: Uruguay, Mexico

Group B (Argentina, S. Korea, Greece, Nigeria):

Argentina has made a strong statement of their current form with victories in both the games, one of them being an emphatic 4-1 over Korea when they dismantled Korean defence completely and this WC saw its first hat-trick. The team looks in great touch with good coordination. Messi has been a bit unlucky with scoring, even after having the highest number of total shots in the tournament. Maradona's boys are doing wonders on the pitch, and the legend could be seen kicking the ball once or twice in the manager's box too.

The fate of other teams is largely dependent on the last set of matches, with no clear predictions possible.

Group C (England, USA, Slovenia, Algeria):

The team looking the best on paper - England has been a huge disappointment with 2 dull draws. With the first one to be blamed on the shameful miss by Goal-Keeper Green, the second one showed lack of motivation in their attack with a frustrated Rooney in the front. Slovenia and USA played a very entertaining match with the first half dominated by the former and USA making a great comeback to end the game in a draw, though USA were denied a valid goal by a panicky referee. Any two of England, USA and Slovenia have equal chances to get through.

Group D (Germany, Ghana, Serbia, Australia):
The group started off with a crushing 4-0 victory over Australians, but the same side was brought down by Serbia a few days later in a major upset. Germany vs Serbia saw some rough refereeing with a total of 9 cards, two of them leading to dismissal of Klose. Another group with no clear qualifiers, we have to wait for a couple more matches to finish.

Group E (Netherlands, Japan, Denmark, Cameroon):
Netherlands have put up an impressive show with two wins and a sure qualification. Cameroon, even after playing some motivated football, are out of the cup race.

Group F (Italy, Paraguay, New Zealand, Slovakia):
Except the defending Champions playing in the group, nothing interested me particularly. But, Italy are playing like a team of old men, with no spark.

Group G (Brazil, Portugal, Ivory Coast, N. Korea):
I'm watching a very happening match in this group right now. Kaka has been sent off with some random pushing and shoving. North Korea played a brave game against Brazil, entertaining with their super-defensive gameplay and still managing to score once. Brazil have qualified with a formidable win over Ivory Coast. Which team among Ronaldo's Portugal and Drogba's Ivory Coast will be ousted in the Group of Death, is yet to be decided!

Group H (Spain, Chile, Switzerland, Honduras):
Personally supporting Spain for World Cup favourites, it was a disappointment to see them lose against Swiss side. Even after making so many efforts on goal, they failed to score due to poor misses by Torres at times. Swiss took advantage of the few attacks they created and scored to win the game.

Disclaimer: The post was written during the Brazil vs Ivory Coast match (Group G, 21 June, 12 AM). All the predictions and possibilities hold for that exact state of world cup only. No updates will be made as the Group stage progresses further. The next account is awaited after completion of another set of 10 days.

World Cup Fever

32 Nations - 1 Cup!
The biggest extravaganza in the sporting world is about to begin. As the countdown timer moves from 'Days' to 'Hours', the excitement is mounting to higher levels.

A tournament bringing together the best players of the most-played sport in the world is all set to make new records this time. To list a few, this is the first time the Cup Finals is being played on African soil. 2010 World Cup offers $ 420 million as the total prize money, a 60% increase on its 2006 version [Source: Wiki]. WC 2010 is expected to become the most viewed sporting event in the world, exceeding the Olympic Games also. The cumulative audience of 2006 version is estimated to be over 26 billion, which is bound to rise this time [Source: Wiki].

The first part of the '2-day' opening ceremony has just wrapped up, featuring a list of musical bands, Shakira, K'naan and Black Eyed Peas being the most known (to me). Personally, the opening ceremony failed to impress me as it kept everybody waiting for K'Naan and Shakira. The earlier performances became monotonous and the short speeches in the changeover time felt useless and redundant. A better finish could be given by putting in more technology and mixing the tradition and culture intelligently. (Compare: Beijing Olympics opening ceremony)

Okay, now let me stop the critical part of me, and let the excited part take over. As the world went frenzy over the last month with countdowns and analysis running across all media, expectations and speculations building up, claims and quotes from the people who matter (coaches and players), the D-day is here. Even the internet giants - Google and Twitter have coloured themselves in the festival.

Why it has aroused so much interest into me, I accredit it to my growing interest in Football (with Cricket growing boring than ever) over the last year. Having followed the EPL and Champions League last season, I'm now aware of the big names in the sport. Football, being a club game largely, doesn't feature many International matches (compare to cricket). But, thats what makes the World Cup more exciting - to see the best fighting their way to glory with their club teammates (e.g. Kaka & Ronaldo) turning to opponents, and arch rivals turning to teammates (e.g. Gerrard, Lampard and Rooney). Unfortunately, many big names would be missing the competition due to injuries; Beckham, Ballack, Essien, Ferdinand, Nani, Obi Mikel, to name a few with doubts hovering over the fitness of Drogba, Robben and Pirlo. Some of them form the backbone of every team they play for, and their absence certainly would mean a loss in the quality of game we're expecting.

Now, coming to my personal favourites, I consider Spanish team to be the strongest contender. Not only is the team star-studded with a line-up with all of the players playing in the top European Clubs (Barcelona, Real Mardid owning most of them), but their strongest advantage is their understanding of each other's game due to their sticking together in the club football either as teammates or opponents (Leaving the exception of Torres, Fabregas and Reina, all of the team plays in Spanish League). But, the South American giants - Brazil (FIFA ranking 1) and Argentina (the duo of Messi and Maradona) have all the caliber to lift the world-cup again. (Brazil already holds the record with 5 cups).

Among the players, Messi has been my favourite, due to his skills on the ball and movement off the ball. This short man has spearheaded Barcelona's attack for long now, but has been criticized for not-so-good performance on Argentina's side. I hope he changes history with some clinical finishes, spectacular dribbling and accurate crosses in this World Cup.

But, all this is on paper and champions are created on the field. What matters is the 90 minutes of game-play.   All predictions may fail as some magical moments of brilliance strike or luck plays hide-n-seek with talent.

Sorry for the loooong post. More to come as the tournament progresses and the champion gets crowned a month later (11 July). Meanwhile, enjoy the videos as we approach the kickoff of the inaugural match in a few hours (strongly advised for those who are still not pumped up with energy, excitement and enthusiasm).

Introduction - Zara Hatke!

This is how I introduced myself to Microsoft Research India Lab through a broadcast email. Don't miss the surprise at the end.

______________________________________________________________

Hey all

I am Vikas Prajapati, an intern in Technology for Emerging Markets group. People find it convenient to call me VP. I have completed 3 years of my Undergrad studies at IIT Delhi in Department of Computer Sc. & Engg. I belong to a place called Rawatbhata (one of the nuclear power plants in India is located there).

I’m not great at hobbies like painting, music or other artistic stuff. But, I am a Volleyball player and currently a part of IIT Delhi team. I enjoy watching almost all sports (golf, motorsports excluded). So, count me in for all plans to watch the upcoming Footy world cup. I listen to different kinds of music ranging from Indian Classical, Bollywood, Oldies to Rock depending on the mood and atmosphere. I have been active with SPIC MACAY IIT Delhi Chapter with an aim to work towards promoting Indian culture. I am a foodie and can consume all kinds of food in large quantities provided it is vegetarian. So, feel free to invite me to anything that involves food! :P I am known for cracking lot of PJs. Feel lucky that you have been spared in this mail. I do a lot of social networking. Find me on gtalk, facebook and twitter as ‘vikaspraj’. I am a bit of computer gamer too who enjoys playing the classic games like AOE-II, CounterStrike, NFS-MW and FIFA. (Probably we can organize a tournament sometime :D)

I hope to spend my intern here to learn as much as possible from all the brilliant minds around me.

Cheers
Vikas Prajapati aka “VP”
(The Thing)

The following poem (yeah, it does rhyme! :P ) preceded the individual introductions. You just read one of them, but can't disclose the others (privacy issues :P ). So, here it goes:

(L to R: Abhinav Uppal, Jasy, Nitesh Mor, Me)

The fantastic four

Jasy, Vikas, Abhinav and Mor

Have just become a part of TEM core

Mor the machine-lover,

Jasy the reader-traveler,

And Abhinav the thinker, the silent composer.

Led by PJ-champ Vikas,

They’re all so smart, yet bindaas,

Such a fine fit to the group of the emerging class.

Vikas digs volleyball

Jasy talks of the Great Wall

Mor hacks code, and Abhinav sings songs for all

Their brains now sore

Of trying to rhyme more

Read on, as they introduce themselves in tradition… the fantastic four.

Hello World

Yes! Being a li'l bit associated with the field of Computers, those must be my first words after my birth in the world of blogging. This blog has been in dormancy for long now, as I created it long back in March 2009 after some really interesting reads on my friends' blogs. But all this time, I have given in to my laziness and a self-appeasing argument of no-first-blog-golden-idea. Also, I had always found some way to while away my time which I could have put in to write out my thoughts. So, what conspiracy on behalf of the universe did it take for me to start it finally.

Firstly, the issue of time! If you are a regular Facebook user and were a part of my Facebook friend list, you might have noticed this on your wall some day (31st May, Quit Facebook Day):

 " Quitting Facebook! Had become very addicting...almost like Smoking for some ppl. On No Tobacco Day today, bidding adieu (permanent or temporary, don't know) to Facebook! Lets find some new addiction! :) "

Now, after spending a week away from Facebook, I guess I'm over that addiction. This attempt at blogging is my first in direction of discovering that new addiction. An addiction - which can serve some purpose after all. Through this blog, one of my aims is to revamp some of my self-expressive skills through writing. Also, Facebook left a loose end which I could pick up in the blog and gave me a good enough idea for my first blog. Moreover, a lot had been cooking in my head lately, which I could not find a proper place to put after the demise (deactivation) of my Facebook profile. Hence, in my future posts, you can expect some pretty spontaneous ideas that sprout in my mind and this is probably the first place where I scribble them because of my high proximity to internet almost all the time.

So, by any chance if I have aroused your interest in my thoughts and personality, stay tuned! :P

Peace and love,

Vikas