My Entry

This is my entry shortlisted for the finals of Saarang CSR Youth Summit aka Essence.It is a piece written in extreme haste just a few hours before the deadline.Just thought I'll share it here! I found it satisfactory though there was a lot more depth to the given topic which I am of the opinion, is not quite quite delved completely:

'A governance problem in my city: My solutions'

I no longer am a regular citizen of my birth-town Hyderabad but it doesn’t make me any less critical to the problems of the city which I grew up with. Most of the big cities like Chennai (where I currently stay in), Hyderabad etc. share common, inevitable problems that come with the modern urban civilisation like inflated traffic, sewage and garbage management, rise of slums, terrorism, flood management etc. But meticulous planning and implementation on the part of policy-makers and administrators can help make the situation better. The following are a few problems plaguing the city:
• Unmanageable traffic that causes fatal accidents in some cases and loss to productive work hours ruining economy to a considerable extent.
• Sewage overflowing in certain areas especially during flood throwing a spanner into normalcy of city life.
• Garbage problem on the roadside due to lack of motivation and such other problems on the part of municipal employees leading to piled up waste mottling the city beauty.
• Slums are on rise owing to more number of poor people moving to cities in search of employment sort of encroaching on the urban space. They are the breeding grounds for communicable diseases and unrelenting poverty.
• Hyderabad has been attracting a spate of terrorist attacks over the past few years. Those blasts at the Lumbini Park, the famous Gokul Chat area etc. shook the citizens thoroughly. It is one more concerning which needs to be immediately redressed.
• Floods are not, as a matter of fact, as big a problem in Hyderabad as the above but yet, when they arrive, city life is halted to an alarming extent.
• In addition to this, problems associated with burgeoning cosmopolitan circles like night life which more often than not, are reasons for drunken driving, drug peddling, raunchy culture, creating a highly imbalanced social life.

My Solutions:

• To curb the traffic menace, it’s important that a minimum degree of awareness is created among everyone that uses the road. Effective planning of city, fly-overs at appropriate locations, traffic education in schools, motivating people to use techniques to curb pollution and traffic problem like car-pooling, strict traffic supervision, monitoring speed of the vehicles through modern technology etc are a few measures which may alleviate traffic to a large extent.
• Modern science can get electricity out of sewage and garbage. So, setting up board of workers to collect them regularly from time to time to this purpose can be a productive way of solving this problem.
• Slums can be discarded through establishing rapid action committees which work towards betterment of slum-dwellers condition by providing them with compulsory education, employment, bringing them under the purview of various government policies.
• City police officials claim to have an efficient intelligence system in place to curb any impending terrorist attacks on city. But time and again, terrorist outfits managed to break all the rungs of security to make a negative impact on city. People should be made an active part in vigilance of city. Advanced intelligence methods and modern forensic techniques should be made effective use of in tracking down the criminals and prevent future attacks.
• Flood management can be achieved with effective designing of city roads, underground water management.
• Night life is not something which can be avoided or completely gotten rid of for its a matter of people’s right to express themselves, relax and indulge themselves in their own hard-earned money. But when it takes ugly shapes like drug-peddling, it causes immense damage which needs to checked. Enforcement of anti-drugs and narcotic laws should be strictly done. Youth should be counselled, drug-addicts should be rehabilitated and motivated against this menace.
• Child labour and unemployment are other major social problems affecting society. Employment schemes like NREGS should be brought to everyone’s reach and every child’s right to education should be identified and respected. Stringent legal measures should be taken against people who go against these fundamental rights. Humanity of people should be appealed to help the poor in receiving education to shape good citizens of a better nation.
• Women have better opportunities in city than elsewhere. Still, many of them are yet to come out of the confines of their kitchens and take an active part in policy-making. Fifty percent representation of women in local bodies is a welcome move. But thirty-three percent women in parliament and state assemblies is still an unrealised dream which needs to take shape through effective political lobbying. A lot of women are victims of domestic violence even in cities. This is an issue of alarming concern which can be solved by empowering women and strong legal support provided to them.
To create a model city, all the above problems need to be addressed without any procrastination on the part of legislative and executive bodies.

Essence of Saarang!

Finally caught some breathing space to write a post about Saarang and the "quintessentially essential Essence" (as my co-coords at newsletter liked to call it!) that kept me occupied those four days. My thoughts on this experience are quite mixed up.Should I have just gone around, had fun, tripped more as a newzie coordinator and put a li'l more peace in life?Well..maybe! I couldn't catch more than 4 hours of sleep every night those 4 days. It was pretty grueling that way. In retrospect, that's a very enticing and too-painful-to-have-squandered-it kinda thought. But then, was Essence that bad after all that I lose my sleep over thinking what I missed elsewhere? Not really..I got to meet and befriend quite a good number of people from different parts of the country, from both engineering and non-engineering backgrounds. I got to be a part of some highly intellectual discussions like the special session we had with Dr.Arun Shorie (He liked my question!!! :D) ,panel discussion with bigheads like Vibhu Nayar, Sasi Kumar etc , a field trip to Mr.Elango's model village, Kuttambakam. Each of these was greatly different from what I am usually exposed to. They did trigger some really interesting train of thoughts in me about issues ranging from sexual abuse of children and women, unemployment and illiteracy, microfinance etc. It was quite an enriching experience but then I would be totally lying if I said I didn't miss being with my friends and let Saarang take over me completely.

All that I enjoyed in Saarang apart from Essence are the professional shows. I had my own sweet time on stage emceeing the Choreo Nite (Apparently, I seemed like I ran short of adjectives :( at the end of the show). SEL show was awesome but come to think of it, Sonu was better.No regrets in missing the Rock show for I got the much needed rest from all the madness only then. All in all, it was a highly hectic Saarang that left me totally exhausted and being a workaholic that I am,satisfied.

Ishqiya

One of the mind-blowing movies I watched lately. Absolute originality and boldness of the plot hit you like a splash of cold water. Its razor-sharp characters and unconventional plot keep you hooked till the end. Very well-cast movie with Vidya Balan stealing the show inspite of the presence of seasoned veteran Naseeruddin Shah and Arshad 'Circuit' Warsi .A special mention to the totally awesome music by Vishal Bharadwaj!

First Encounters!

The first few days of the semester can be real fun in class. It is the time you get to know a totally new person wearing the mantle of a professor from really close quarters. Trying to figure people out has always been of great interest to me! Based on the policy they put forth which they say is going to be adhered to as strictly as Barney follows Bro Code or our Parliament follows constitution for the rest of the semester, one can easily draw a map. I end up liking a few,compromising with many and in very rare but not impossible cases,absolutely loathing a few which makes up for very intriguing first encounters :)

19!

No,it's not a movie in the league of 7 or 8 or 21 or 2012!It's what I happen to turn this very day,3rd of January.It was a special birthday celebrated in a train for the first time for I was traveling back to IITM. I didn't miss bumps at all for it was one helluva bumpy train journey [:P]. I had my dear friends by my side,Nitya and Shreya waiting for the clock to tick 12 though I missed my family very much.And thanks to all the friends who made it a point to wish me at that time of night. Last year, at the same time,I had all my batch mates in hostel coming to wish me. It is more or all less made up for with all those calls and SMSs! [:)]

And by the way, my new year resolution:Blog more!!

A Quick Autopsy!

It’s a wee bit strange to find myself in a fix wherein words don’t flow as easily as they used to for a blog post. Not that my life over the past one semester had been any less juicy or eventful. It’s just that I was trapped in what I would like to call a ‘blog freeze’. Every time I started a new post on a few occasions, I wasn’t just inspired enough to finish it. Funny as it may sound given the fact that I had swell of my time this particular semester marked with a lot of firsts in my IIT life, new friendships, old bonds –a few battered and a lot more strengthened, new adventures, new discoveries-both about myself and non-self, bittersweet memories, new revelations all making for a remarkable third semester in the life of a sophomore.

The biggest of them all being my first GPA 9 :D ( I seriously can’t help sounding eager/nerdy here for I waited too long for it and now, too excited to shut up about it :P )followed by my first ever Shaastra coordship made all the more special by the fact that a lot of fight went into it. The event under discussion here is ChemicalX. We did manage to rise to the occasion when participation went beyond bounds and people just didn’t stop coming well after we ran short of question papers. All’s well that ends well is what is popularly said! Ours was a pretty small team comprising 2 coordinators and a volunteer and it was a great experience to have been able to shape the event as we wished to with very little pressures from anybody outside our cosy small team. The fact that ChemicalX was just into its second edition very oddly grouped under ‘Unwind’ to much of my perplexity must have added to our much-cherished freedom. We managed to put a good show after all! [Looking forward to your comments on it, Varun! ;)]

Meeting film actor Boman Irani as a part of being an Extramural Lecture Series Coordinator is the next big event this semester. We got to interact with this charming, versatile and totally down-to-earth artist at very close quarters. Fighting mosquitoes at the BEGH chatting away to glory with one of the most sensible and sought–after actors of new school of Bollywood thinking has certainly been a helluva experience for me! And editing the department magazine has been an experience of its own sort. How strong the readership is still what I’m trying to figure out though! [:P]

As the 3rd semester drew to an end, came a chance to be a part of the placement team as a representative. It was again a paradigm-shifting sort of stint which did make my winter vacation a little more occupied than it otherwise would have been. It was fun work alongside presenting me with a chance to observe the placement scene from close. I also tried doing something by which I mean learning, more about Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) but I think there’s still a long, long, long way to go in this regard [:P] Now that it’s all over, I’m back to doing what I’m best at! Laying back with a book in hand, watching T.V like a maniac complete with quarrels over remote with my very sweet [:-/] sister and hogging on home food like there’s no tomorrow missing the friends and IIT once in a while.

Back into action!

Well...this is the first post taking birth in 381 Sharav,come to think of it,first in IITM for I started this blog last summer back home during the painfully vetti phase of the vacation.Why now after conveniently forgetting it and let it get rotten unupdated in the hugely complicated and crowded blogosphere on the World Wide Web for about a month?Majorly because so much happened over the past one month that kept me from writing a new post and this friendly piece of space online holds every right to be informed about all that for it stood by me in those friendless moments of vacation.Its time to vent out my high-5 moments,frustrations and surprises spanning over the past month on this platform.

It was obvious to me the moment I entered the sprawling campus how much I missed it for the last 3 months.Good to be back,truly!But I do miss my mom and her constant reminders of when to sleep,what to eat etc. now that I am back to being on my own again which means unlimited chatting,movie and gossip(!!!) sessions with friends late into the night or a formal insti coords meeting or skipping breakfast at the drop of hat and of course,new courses,quizzes etc...By the time I stepped in,the hostel is already filled with 'freshies' with vacuous faces,still having the JEE strain written about them.What I realized during those few PDPs,(Personality Development Programmes-a clever euphemism invented in IITM for ragging) I was a part of was that its rocking to be a senior,the wise one doling out few words of wisdom,in a "been there,done that" manner but in a way its dampening as well,as you now very well know how things work around that you no longer have that beginner's enthusiasm about the insti and people here.You know what happens at every fundae session.You will have realised that fundae-putters are very much human quite long ago.And most of all,you will have learnt how to figure out the timetable,all the shortcuts from CRC to hostels,mess and departments,you no longer have the opportunity to get psyched over the vol interviews because you are a pseud-putting coord now.You are done with your first Shaastra and first Saarang.Its no longer 'Enjoy while you Explore'.But yet 2nd year is in a way,hectic and eventful for me in a totally different way.It dawned on me why Chemical engg is 'the peaceful' branch.Its definitely not grades having had a phenomenal PMT where I learned in ways more than one, last semester.Its our lacking labs in 2nd year that earned us the tag of peace-putters over the years in the insti.(I always smirked at that tag.)We have two interesting PMTs this sem and nice(read sane) professors teaching them.Latest development being my getting into the EML and Saarang newzie teams.EML has been a nice experience so far and Saarang team,I am yet to be initiated.I totally enjoyed getting back with my friends again.Nitya is no longer as shy as she used to be.Sonya is dancing more than ever.Freshie night fundaes,Spark classes etc.Shreya is staying part-time in hostel and full-time in CFI.Getting to know more of spunky Maiya.Ramya is my new roomie and Amulya,my new math class benchmate,her new straightened hair,a butt of my comments during the pained moments of MA202.ID and BT classes,going by the tradition,are yawnfully boring.HS is my favorite so far.Indian National Movement and Constitutional Development.We have an NRI visiting faculty who likes screening Satyagit Ray's movies in class.I enjoy the process of coming up with some decent points for discussion in her class.

Kaminey is awesome and so is The Shawshank Redemption(I know I am way behind times but better late than never,isn't it?)TBBT is perfectly nerdy and HIMYM,'legendary'.Summing up,I'm back to being alive again!!!