All speculations regarding the popularity and all questions regarding the concept of the Indian Premier League have been laid to rest as the event has taken the nation by storm. And Kgp was not to be left behind. Even as the beginning of the event coincided with the endsems, there still were many takers for the newest form of Cricket entertainment. So much so that this time, a new concept of “streaming” the matches has taken off in Kgp. Just as the match time approaches, the DC main chat room is filled with demand and supply of match streaming IPs. Kolkata Knight Riders and Chennai Super Kings have emerged as the two strong teams so far, while the Mumbai Indians and Deccan Chargers have been letdowns.
Just waiting for the giant spectacle at the Eden Gardens on 29th when the Riders take on the Indians. The tickets are already here. By the way, after the EC dudes of our wing confirmed that they wouldn’t be able to go because of their GV, it took me only 5 minutes to sell their tickets, with a profit of Rs. 100! It seems that a lot of Kgp folks are going to be there for company at the Eden.
Amidst all this, there was a totally new (but deadly) experience of an exam with unlimited time duration. The Modern Control Theory paper was even more terrifying than already expected. To make matters “worse”, prof said that we could take as much time as we wanted. After five and a half hours of simulation, coding and calculations, I decided that I could take it no more and walked out of what definitely was the biggest torture in the name of exams!
There were dreams and promises to begin with and so were some big expectations. But what lay ahead was mostly an unknown territory which although appeared thoroughly clear from different perspectives. But it was never supposed to be a completely smooth sail. Even if the waters are calm, the boat still has to be directed properly.
At some point of time, my personal dreams were even hard to ascertain, leave alone taking attempts at materializing them. At times I have been made to believe that I shall let life come to me and bring something for me rather than setting out and seeking something on my own. Either way it has been a win and lose situation at the same time and I am yet undecided on this issue – how to approach life? Whenever I do choose a path, its not long before bumps are felt in between and there appear to be voices calling back. Of late, whatever I have pursued, weren’t much in conjunction with my personal dreams or goals.
So much has changed in the past year. The world is so very different. The people around don’t appear same as they were before and perhaps nor do I appear same to them. Every thought has been subjected to endless analysis and every action has been followed with incessant retrospections. But when I look back I do believe that what I aimed at was satisfaction out of what I have done and this I might claim that I have succeeded in achieving.
But above all, I have enjoyed each and every moment thoroughly. The simple reason for that is I have felt passion in whatever I have done. I always believe that to achieve any goal, what a man requires is determination along with passion. I have never felt that I am wasting time anywhere, although there have been occasions when I have been deserted because others felt the other way. Things have gone out of control but I took due care to keep myself under control. And when I have failed in that too, the results haven’t been good. So, at some level it is the fight with my own inner-self that has kept me going forward. And as long as this fight continues, I believe that every goal is too small to achieve.
Now the visions of first year are coming back again. The day when I made my first formal entry inside Patel Hall – the Tea Party. The day was made to coincide with the Gymkhana prize distribution day, when Patel had won the Sports GC. The very first tryst with Patel was indeed a memorable one and in many ways we had with us what many at Kgp crave for – the GC. In formals we marched from Netaji to Patel with a non-stop tempo shout and “sloganeering”.
After a wait of three years, Patel has repeated the feat. This time though, no Hall even is coming close to us. As of today, 5 Golds have been won and golds are expected to be won in badminton and TT as well. If everything goes well, we should finish with 80 points, a record in Sports GC. Combine this with the current top spot in the Tech GC and a possibility of finishind 2nd in soc-cult, it has been a dream year for Patel.
Hope to see all the three GCs next year!
What does life mean to an individual? In many cases, the course and outcome of one’s life appear to be decided by the factors around. Right from the childhood, it is the family and other close ones who play an important and in many ways a decisive role in shaping the future. In most of the cases your thoughts get molded in such a way that are in similar lines of the aforesaid environment you are in. So, where does the sense of individuality then come in? Its not in your hands where and amidst which circumstances you are born. One is deeply influenced by the kind of education he undergoes. But that too is not in your hands. It depends on the thinking of your family and more importantly their resources. And since your career and future course of life largely is decided by your previous educational exploits, many would safely assume that it is not totally in your hands what you become.
But to me this is only the flipper side of the coin. As you grow up, your thoughts get expanded. And more often than not, you are not left with one narrow path to follow. After a certain stage your family no longer acts as a force in pushing you in a certain direction. And when there are to choices of paths to take upon, it is your own thoughts and decision-making prowess that comes into play.
There have been times when the situations around have forced me to act in a way I would not have done, had I gone totally with my inner-self. But again, there have been times when I have taken upon some decisions without looking around too much into the external conditions. Decisions which didn’t turn out to be the best for me. There have been regrets over them but I have moved on trying just to look into the positives out of them. It is not easy to gauge all the possible consequences of your actions. So I won’t burden myself by thinking that I didn’t look too much into the consequences before I undertook the decision. Of course, people around will raise questions in case of a failure. But that too happens only when something has gone wrong. It is then that everybody realizes that the task had better not been undertaken. But to warn of it in advance is beyond their anticipations as well.
So I have been doing what I have felt I can do the best. Within my limitations I have tried to make the most of my capabilities. Whenever I have let myself down, I have only gained further mental strength. But I try not to let myself feel down when others have questioned my capabilities and actions. As I said, I believe I have my own limitations and I need to do the best I can within that. Anything beyond that can be tried upon but not with any anticipation or fear of success or failure.
Better not to look for answers in the dark. Chances will come I know, just have to grab it. Moreover, there are so many questions and you can’t really decide which one needs to be answered first. I don’t know what this amounts to. Perhaps, being a perfect planner with foresightedness, having some serious visions for the future. Or probably someone trying to live in the present without expecting too much from life, and taking into stride whatever comes by. Just have to find out how much do I keep oscillating between these two contrasting virtues as time passes by. However one thing always is there in my mind, whatever I am some day, I will have lots to look back to but nothing to regret.
Some pics I took during my visit to my school on the occasion of its Golden Jubilee. A glorius journey of 50 years indeed!
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| The statue of Swamiji at the Entrance |
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| The Golden Jubilee Hoarding atop the School Building |
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| The Eternal Cool Amrakunja |
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| The Decoration on the School Building |
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| With Tapan Maharaj… The coolest among all of them |
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| A serene view of the Shivananda Bhavan… My abode in class 8 |
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| The Bridge across the pond |
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| The beautiful Dahlia at Turiyananda |
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| I stayed in both these blocks of Turiyananda in classes 9 and 10 |
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| The picturesque view of Turiyananda across the pond |
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| The pond on way to the Junior Section |
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| The Junior Section Assembly Hall |
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| The Junior Section School Building |
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| My first Hostel – Advaitananda Bhavan |
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| The memorable TV watching spot in Advaitananda – Can never forget those Mahabharat episodes on Sundays and the 96 World Cup |
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| The Vivekananda Centenary Hall |
After so much of effort, so intensive a planning and so huge a participation and a flawless performance, a gold was what everyone was talking of. Don’t understand what went wrong, but the Hall is frustrated with the judging in the English Drams. A bronze was not definitely what we deserved. What pains most is that SN’s play was rated above ours. A big salute to Sandy and Amod in particular who had something to be proud of in their final year in the Hall.
Following is the mail I wrote to the English Drams people. With the expectation that we will definitely have a lot to cheer for in the coming days.
Well, this is the 2nd time in the year that I have to say this. I haven’t yet forgotten how distraught the whole Hall was after the bizarre judging in Illu-Rangoli. We had put in such a magnificent effort there and so getting a blank there was indeed painful. But then as they say, its time to move on. We have been doing everything we could during Illu and will leave no stone unturned again this year.
But English Drams this year was a new height attained and beyond doubt a defining moment in the history of the Hall. It took enormous tempo and professionalism on the part of Sandy and Amod to put up such a great show. I guess we have done justice to their talent with our performance this year, their 4th in this Hall and have definitely given them something to look back to. But for the rest of us its just the beginning. We have many more heights to attain in the coming events, not just this year but in the years to come as well.
Honestly speaking I never judge the true effort with the standings we get. For me, the biggest moment was when such a big crowd from the Hall got together for the tempo shout after the play, the biggest I have seen till date. For me, the satisfaction was when people from all around, across different Halls congratulated me for our performance. For me, achievement was getting huge cheers from the audience during and after the play. Believe me, many of our seniors who in their time had put in all their efforts will be so proud of us when they see or get to hear about this play. Some of them have already congratulated me. It was a complete team effort which brought so many people from the Hall together. That’s what we live here for. That’s what being a Patelian is all about.
So let these petty judgings not deter us. We only have one direction to move and that is – Forward. We are not going to look back. We are here to show the world what we have within us. Results are just a part and parcel of these events but what should matter the most are the great moments we had working together. And no judge can snatch those away from us. So, some on guys, be proud of what you have done so far and let us complete this journey which we have embarked upon, with a new high, never as seen before.
Sadness has its own virtues indeed. I tend to look deep within myself. Everything around seems to have something to offer. The existence of each and everything in this world has a meaning. The answers to some perennially unanswered questions seem to be coming from some directions. If I ever had misgivings regarding my own existence, justifications seem to come for that as well. What I am in this world for. What my existence means for myself and for others. While I am here, through my actions and inactions I need to be in coherence with those meanings.
In general, one needs to be jovial. The belief is that its the happiness that keeps you going forward and explore new things. But at times I do need to take a pause in this journey of life, full of pace. To look back and ponder whether I have been able to do justice with my life or not. That in a way gives me more strength to face challenges further, which are surely going to be more demanding. These challenges just can’t be expected be come any day and hit hard right into my face for which I was largely unprepared.
Left for Cal early in the morning with Shiv and Marathe. This was the first trip to Cal by road. But the event wasn’t without its share of drama. Just before leaving, I searched everywhere for my camera but could not find it. Left with a hard heart trying to keep cool. It wasn’t until late afternoon on my way back that Mandal informed me on phone that the cam was in Bollam’s room.
I left Shiv at the Braganza’s and he did all the purchasing and packing work, I went off to meet Mr. Ajit Sen, who is co-ordinating the Kumbh Mela activities. Had a nice discussion and now the full plan is in place. Looking forward to making this a big event.
Just missed out on having a unique experience of having breakfast, lunch and dinner – all at the Sher-e-Punjab Restaurant on the Highway. Had the first two but at the last moment, the Product Design treat got shifted to TP.
And yes, journey to Cal by road is a different experience altogether. You never realize when the 2.5 hoors have passed!
A big day for me and Patel. We bought musical instruments worth Rs. 62000. Thanks again Patel Alumni. Proud of you!
Moments come and go. Every moment is associated with a certain sense of expectation and anticipation. These expectations are not fixed and every next moment might have a new one associated with it. But the common attribute of all of them is that we keep looking for something which can fill those various voids. The voids which we seem to pick up from various facets of our life. To no person everything seems to be complete. These voids are there for everyone, from a rich to a poor, from an intellectual to a fool, from a noble to a peasant, from an honest person to a swindler.
So, voids are there with everyone. But where do these voids exist within us? That does vary, and that is what defines the character and traits of a man. This in a way is a just a different way of looking at life, proffering that you are not defined by what you possess but by what you don’t. And this consideration can be best applied when you are to look at your own self. For others to judge you, they can’t really find those “voids”, as they are essentially within you and your superficial appearance and behavior don’t really reveal them to others.
The voids may exist in our nature so as to affect our behavior and dealings with other people. They might exist in our appearance, thereby affecting the way others behave with us. But the biggest and the most obscure voids exists in one’s mind. Better to say, we create those voids for ourselves. Such a conundrum is life that we often forget to realize what is really important for us and what is not. In reality, life itself presents these voids to us, in a more or less similar manner. It only varies in the way how we perceive them.
