Their Days, Our Nights

At sunrise the lifeless boys rise,

Ready for the labourous day ahead.

It comes to one as a big surprise,

How these future engineers are 'practically' dead.

Lectures are just a way to fill pages,

Consuming more ink than mind.

Concepts, theories and discussions are absent,

Bundles of notes are what one may find.

Practicals are just a time fill,

Neatly prepared reports are all THEY desire.

Examinations are a test of mugging power,

Reproduction of notes is what THEY require.

As the sun sets, the lifeless boys change.

The life that was squeezed out now returning.

All the grind of the day now forgotten,

And the fire of youth starts burning.

Desires are fulfilled, dreams are chased,

Life is lived under the moonlight.

Like nocturnal creatures they come out of a hole,

To make merry-revelry throughout the night.

Thus the lifeless boys live day after day,

With tradition and logic engaged in a fight.

They will not lose their passion come what may,

For THEY may have the days, but WE have the nights.

(Dedicated to life at ISM, originally written on December 3, 2008)

PS- "Engineer banne aaya tha, gadha ban gaya"...

Kappa

I ‘met’ a dog today. 

The reason why I say ‘I met a dog’ and not ‘I saw a dog’ is that the dog I met was no ordinary dog. He was a special canine.Very special. He could talk!
Actually, I was on my way to attend the day’s lecture when he stopped me from behind to ask what time it was.I was startled at first.But then he appeared so casual, it made me feel like a dog talking to a human was as natural a phenomenon as, say, old men belching loudly after meals.
“I must rush. Actually, I am late for my lectures”, he said in a hurried tone. Lectures? WTF?Which dog attends lectures? He appeared to be more confusing than any professor I had come across in my life.
He comprehended the look on my face easily.“Don’t be surprised! You think only you guys have brains? We dogs are also very civilized.(Yeah right, that’s why you don’t have toilets and shit on the streets!) My name is Kappa”!(Okay, now I started to believe the ‘civilized’ thing!).”Listen, I am getting late so I guess we’ll catch up later”, he said and was about to run away when I called out to him loudly. “Hey Kappa, come on man. We seem to be mixing up well. Let’s have a cup of coffee and some biscuit leftovers!” He seemed to be offended by the leftover remark, but he agreed anyway. “The human behaviour classes are so boring anyway. What is there to learn about them? “, he smirked.It was my turn to be offended.
During the chat I came to know a lot about him. He was the smallest in his family. He had been good at studies since childhood. After school finished, Kappa’s parents made him give the CIT-JEE (Canine Institute of Technology…..). Kappa came out with flying colours, got into CIT, along with other ‘cream canines’ to embark on a journey to become what every canine parent dreams of for their puppy- a Caningeneer. But CIT was no ordinary place; Kappa had to face extreme competition. At times, he said, it was too much to cope up with. “Only last year, one of my seniors committed suicide by allowing a truck to run over him”! Plus the other devil was expectation. ”My parents are always asking about my CGPA(Canine Grade Point Average).They want me to be the best. So does everyone else’s parents. Someone’s expectations will be shattered. Nobody wants their parents to be that someone”, he said in a low tone, reflective of his dismal performance in the exams of late.
But he had managed to live with it. ”It isn’t total gloomy doomy after all. We guys are good at seeing the upside in everything. We make fun of professors, bunk classes, eat out at the best garbage joints, check out nice bitches (no pun intended) and make the most out of this time of our lives. Although, the fine line between fun and foible is crossed easily. Cigarettes, beer, drugs…you know what I am talking about”. (Hah of course I know, we invented these things you dog!).
He continued…
“You know, placement is not a problem. These days the market is booming. Domestic sector is always an option. Security and Investigation agencies go for the best in the batch, but for a mediocre like me, there are other options like join CIT coaching institute. And these days, many of us also go for the CAT (no pun intended, again) - Canine Admission Test for CIM (Canine Institute of Management). Many others go for CPSC (Canine Public Service commission).And the worst of the lot become professors! (Seriously no pun intended, this one’s a direct remark!)”
“Okay now I’ve already missed one lecture, I can’t afford to miss this one or I’ll fall short of attendance!” he said and ran away.
I was busy pondering over his story and drawing comparisons….

Blast from the past-Part 1:The warning signs

Man... cannot learn to forget, but hangs on the past: however far or fast he runs, that chain runs with him.

Friedrick Nietzsche 

“Train number 2329 Kalka mail has arrived on platform number 2”.

Some journeys begin on a positive note. Most others don’t. My arrival in Dhanbad fell, according to me, in the second category.

“All India Rank 5752”-These four words were the worst four words of my life. They still are, for they had shattered my world of dreams then, and they continue to do so even today.

People around me were congratulating me. Why? What was there to congratulate? I thought they were actually mocking me and my so called success (or the lack of it!).

____________________________________________________________________

“Papa lets find an auto for ISM”, I called out to my father.”Excuse me, are you going to ISM?”, a boy of about my age called out from behind. ”Yes”, my father replied.

“Namastey Uncle, I am from ISM.I am a second year student.”, the guy said. Senior, eh,I thought. And coupled with that thought were thoughts of ragging. A shiver down the spine was natural.

“Name, place, branch yaar”, the senior said.

“Huh,what?”, I thought for a moment.

“Name, place, branch yaar”, the senior, this time sternly, said.

“Varun Tyagi, Ghaziabad,B.Tech Mineral Engineering” was my slow and hesitated reply.

“Ghaziabad,huh?,he said.”Listen, don’t tell Ghaziabad as your place anymore, it’s complicated, but for now, just say Meerut.”

____________________________________________________________________

“Congratulations!” the neighborhood uncle said. It felt like a pinch. Damn you, uncle! “So what do you plan to take up?”

“I’ll see,I have not decided anything yet.”

“Maybe you can get some mining wagerah in that college, what’s its name….”

“Its ISM uncle and I said I have not decided yet”, I said and tried to walk away. But I think uncle was in no mood to leave that day.”You took coaching in FIITJEE, right? Then what happened? My nephew got AIR 624”, the epitome of mockery boasted.

“So what? Should I go and kiss him?” I thought.

“Hmm… maybe I didn’t prepare that well, uncle” was all that came out of my mouth.