Rise of H-X International Inc

This idea was crawling in my mind for long. It came into being two days back. I have created a blog http://www.bitshugx.blogspot.com for all hug-xs. I hope everybody contributes to it. It can be a good platform for all of us to stay connected and keep in touch. A kind of group chat. I urge all H-Xs to be active and participate in this online bakar. :)

Missing a BUS !

I saw 'Jab We Met' and thought how could one be so dumb that it missed a train for some stupid reason. I came to know it the hard way ! wo days back, I left for home to attend cousin's marriage with my friend. I had to take a bus from chirawa(15kms from Pilani). I knew that bus arrived at chirawa at 8.45 AM. We were on schedule and reached chirawa by 8.30 AM. As the fate would have it, Bus was on time. We boarded the bus. And as it left for its next destination, I suddenly exclaimed to Prabhat(my friend) that i left my bag on the bus stand. I remembered the exact location where i put it. I rushed to the conductor and urged him to stop the bus for two extra minutes at the next stand(which was a minute later-within chirawa.). Again as i would not like it, the conductor was the most rude i had ever seen. He told straight,"For a second. Not more than that."

And all my hopes of making it back to the same bus with my left over bag diminished. We got off at the next stand, took an auto and hoped that some miracle happened and we caught the bus. Miracles don't happen when you need them the most. And this is how I missed a bus !! For as stupid a reason as to forget to take a bag. There could be a few reasons why it happened:

1. I was too careless

2. five minutes earlier, i put the bag on a bench and went to the nearby shop to buy 'uncle chips'. I DID NOT PUT THEM IN MY BAG. They were in my hand !

3. Just a few seconds earlier to the arrival of our bus another bus arrived and i hurried to get its details. In the meantime our bus arrived and in haste I committed this mistake !

Well ! I think it was the reason no 2 which was the culprit. Human psychology is all about thoughts. I had a bag in my hand before i went to take the chips(and put the bag on a bench). Later i had chips in my hand. Probably i felt no difference. So when in hurry, i didn't think i was lacking something ! That's my logic (seems absurd, doesn't it ?). What do you say ?

PS: Yeah ! After the incident, I scrapped the idea of attending the marriage and returned to Pilani by next bus because there was no other bus for at least two hours. And by then it would have been too late !

Placement Tips : Part 1 : Cracking the Aptitude Test

After writing quite a few aptitude tests and having gone through many rounds of interviews, i think i am capable enough of advising fellow bitsians and may be others as well about placements. There are a few things which must be taken care of, if you want to make it really big. Most of the following observations are in bitsian context -

1) CGPA is the first thing, companies look at from your resume. It's always good to be in a top few but you should try to keep it around 9.

2) Don't ever think you should learn each and every thing you ever studied to go through an aptitude test. You should never even try to attempt all the questions. You should always concentrate on the problems which you can try. Don't bother about the ones you never heard.

3) Try to attempt a decent number of problems, concentrate on accuracy rather than speed ( There may be a few cases where speed might be of importance. That you can guess yourself. (It happened to me while writing Oracle Application aptitude test. )

4) Software companies which come to BITS for recruitment, including the biggest names , generally put a significant number of questions about basic C concepts and logic. So learn structural C well. You can practice logical problems as well. These are generally small problems about probability, permutations and combinations, basic mathematics or small puzzles.

If you consider above things carefully, you should easily go through to the next rounds.

Helpful Resources:

1. The C Programming Language : Kernighem and Ritchie

2. http://www.c-faq.com
excellent website for clearing basic doubts about C. It contains a lot of common problems related to C arranged topic wise. It was of great help to me.

3. http://www.geekinterview.com
Contains placement papers of various companies as well problems and their solutions course wise.

4. Puzzles to Puzzle you - Shakuntala Devi
Probably the best book to prepare for logical questions and puzzles.

5. More puzzles to puzzle you - Shakuntala Devi

again a great book !

Graduation Party

It seemed like just another day, even boring then the others. I thought we are gonna listen to a few traditional speeches and then a little refreshment will follow. I had already got to know that party begins on time. And just half an hour delay is not late enough by Bitsian standards. I filled a form for BITSAA membership. It was the first blow which ripped my heart apart. Suddenly a thought crept in mind, You'll no longer be a student of BITS,Pilani. Within a few days, you'll have to leave this lovely town which has given you so many memorable moments.

Then came the VC address and now it was taking it's toll. I somehow managed to stay calm. It was amazing to listen to him. He used apt words to motivate us. Few batchmets too took the opportunity to share a few of their experiences, some sang and a few others told poems. All in all, it was a great feeling to be there. I was sad but i didn't want to be happy either ! It was an unique feeling, something i may never witness again.. I wanted to enjoy it to the fullest ! Then i witnessed the best part :-), snaps with my dear ones, with my wingies and batch mates.

When finally it got over, I was content. I knew, this place has given me much more than I ever anticipated. So many friends, wingies, lovely juniors and above all a humanistic approach to life. This place has brought man out of this little child. I will always cherish those amazing moments. Those were the best days of my life.

Farewell

कल शाम आँख से एक आंसू नीकल पड़ा था ,
हमने पूछी वजह तो कहने लगा था

आये थे जब तो न सोचा था इस दीन के बारे में
जो अचानक राह के बीचोंबीच पडा था ||

कल लगा था जींदगी शुरू हुई है
कल देखा तो यम् बाहें फैलाये खड़ा था

क्या पाया क्या खोया कुछ न याद रहा
बस अचानक दिल तड़प उठा था ||

लम्हे खुशियों के अनगिनत थे
पर कल लगा वो भी कम थे

मन ने कहा ये शाम फीर ना आये
पर सूरज डूबने को तैयार खड़ा था ||

Psychedelia ...oASIS 2k7 !

Having seen three versions earlier...this psychedelic version came as a surprise as almost all of the evens were on time. Earlier versions saw a continuous postponement and rescheduling of events but this year, it was a completely different story. Though i won't appreciate it too much on count of fun factor yet it was the best managed extravaganza till date at BITS, Pilani. I certainly missed the 'Hutch' stall at M-Lawns which kept the enthu levels high throughout the 96 hours previous time. It was replaced by a boring vodafone stall. Domino's and CCD were a prize addition though. This year saw a remarkable change- in the duration of the festival.

Inauguration ceremony was held on the eve of 16th oct. It made event scheduling quite easy for the controlz. The fire crackers show just after the inaug, the paintball wars, Psychedelic spoofs, beyond magic (naveen shenoy) , Jukebox at C-lawns were a few good changes to name. Still dance floor at S-Lawns was missed badly alongwith a stall by Nescafe and a green grass to rest after dance ! Oasis had a title sponsor in SBI( !). This was again a new thing. Audi events were fun-filled as ever. There were a few glitches yet Lucky Ali rocked the prof show. Everyone in the audi enjoyed it to the fullest.

Well, in short, it was a great bitsian effort, the best in terms of management till date. As it was the last Oasis for me, i wanted to live it to the fullest. That was particularly made impossible by the dull M-lawns. Still i loved it, after all it was my psenti oasis-the psychedelia continues.....
Love u Bits Pilani !

the last time...

May be it is
the last time we met,
but to know that
i have to wait.

life is different
places are new,
i am diffident
i am rue.

Yahoooooo !!

I already had a job, a zero week job offered by Cisco Systems with a healthy package. Yet i felt like going for ' Yahoo ! ' because it could give me a chance of working in hardcore internet application field and a challenging job because they have great competitors. So i went for it. Test paper was very good, almost tough. But i kept the tradition of making it to short lists going. Now i again became confused of whether i should try for it or not. At the last moment, while leaving for the interview, i decided to give it a try. I had three rounds of interviews which lasted almost two and a half hours. First two rounds were technical. They asked few complicated questions about trees and files. Final round was more of an HR. The guy also asked a few puzzles which i think i cracked easily. After that they put up a shortlist of eligible candidates for the online test. Only two guys could make it to the shortlist including me.

Online problem was a little tougher. I fought hard to make the code run. It lasted almost two and a half hour again. I was disappointed as i thought i didn't do well enough. But surprisingly they called me up at VFAST and offered the job. I felt so proud to be there. It was a great feeling. I would always cherish the moments.

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Stupendous run: Cheers Team India

Nobody expected them to do it, not even the firmest believers of unexpected events. Team India, powered by SIX SIXES of Yuvraj Singh set mountain like target for the British. Though they bowled badly, yet the English could not get the target. That was some fantastic batting from Indians. Now they had one more hurdle to cross which seemed even bigger. They had to beat tournament favorites South Africa to get into the semi-finals. Now it almost seemed impossible that they could get past Africa who have so many powerful hitters and a deadly bowling attack. The belief only strengthened when Indians were restricted to just 153 of 20 overs. They seemed on the verge of exit.

But then an amazing display with ball and south africa were 5 down within 6 overs !! Then it seemed like they had done it. Just then Morkel and Boucher reminded of worst of India's problems of not getting the lower order wickets soon enough. Fortunately this time, a bad shot from Boucher saw the ball hitting stumps after taking an inside edge. South Africa were so badly ht by the blow that they suddenly shifted their focus to getting into semis by getting 126 runs. But the destiny was somewhere else. They failed and could not even get 126 in 20 overs. It was the worst ever chase by South Africa which i have witnessed.

Some impeccable bowling saw India reaching into Semis. Now comes the biggie. They have to get past the unbeatable Aussies to get into Finals. But in this shortest form of cricket everything seems a reality. With every Indian player putting his best efforts, beating Australia seems a reality. Australia have a deadly record in the big matches whoever the opponent is. We can only hope that it's different this time. These younger Indians deserve to be their in the Final. Cheers Team India.

I hope you will make it there. Best of Luck :-) !

How did they do it ? : India vs Pak T-20 !

First goal for India must have been to make it to the next round by restricting the run-rate and stretching the Pak innings beyond 14.4 overs. It was as good a goal as winning. But not many were optimistic when India were tottering at 48-4 from 9 overs. But some good work from Uthappa, Dhoni and Pathan saw India reaching a respectable total. Well ! 141-9 from 20 overs was supposedly not good enough especially when the opposition was Pakistan who had the consistent Salman Butt, blazing Shoaib Malik and the devastating Afridi. India had no experienced bowler other than Agarkar and Harbhajan who were nowhere near their best in recent past. So the odds were heavily against India. Yet they were able to pull off a thriller and managed to keep their record of being unbeaten against Pakistan in world cup intact.


Pakistan looked vulnerable right from the beginning of their innings. RP Singh, Sreeshanth, Agarkar, Pathan and bhajji ; all of them managed to keep the run-rate below 6 till 17th over. Just when it seemed that India had clinched the match, came the devastating over by Agarkar who gave away 17 , leaving 12 required off the last over. Sreesanth gave away 10 of first four balls including two boundaries. It looked like India lost it miserably. Just then he managed a dot ball to Misbah-ul-haq. Now everyone was on his feet waiting for the last ball, with the scores tied. Sreesanth pitched it outside the off stump with a decent bounce and Misbah mistimed it and ran for the ONE run which was not to come. Sreesanth made no mistake in taking the bails off at the other end thus leaving every INDIAN in delight.( BITS common rooms were just one example. Everyone was shouting like anything. People were hugging each other and a few even danced.) So the match lived up to its typical reputation.


Since you can't leave it tied in a T-20 match, a bowl out was still in there. Everyone was again surprised when India gave away the list of its five bowlers : Sehwag, Uthappa, Harbhajan ( !!!) with Pathan and Sreesanth. Pakistan stuck to its regular five bowlers. But soon it became evident that Indians were a lot wiser. All three surprise selections did hit on target while their counterparts were nowhere near the stumps. Uthappa took a bow taking his hat off as he rattled the stumps and everyone went in a tizzy when Afridi missed it as a reply !!

So India proved to be a better side at the end. But a lot of questions remained unanswered.
1. Why could India not score big ?

2. Who should open ? Sehwag failure saga continues.

3. Can Dhoni return to his hitting days ?

4. Did India not miss the BIG THREE, especially the master blaster ?

5. India fielded better. When will they be best ?

6. Why didn't Pakistan hit right from the start ? Were they Helping Indian to get through [:D] ?

Anybody for answers ???

<<>>

Movie Review: Life mein kabhi kabhi

Got to watch it previous night. Good, in one word. Well ! let me explain a few things which make the movie stand out. A very fresh plot , at least for me because i haven't heard or seen this story in recent past. Then new comers as well as the experienced ones showed their acting skills quite well. Movie runs in a flashback. It is about a bunch of college friends who bet Rs 200/= to be the happiest among all of them ( notably 4). Movie shows the paths adopted by each one of them to get Money, Power and fame. But at the end everyone gets to know that whatever they did was of no use. They were nowhere near happiness. Aftab concludes with the definition of happiness," Happiness is nothing but the absence of sadness. If we are not unhappy, we automatically become happy."
So in short, a nice movie to watch with nice direction and great music. "Hum Khushi Ki Chah Mein" by Zubin Garg and others, is a terrific song at a very right moment in the movie, my favourite today :).

Rating: 7.5/10

6 companies..18 rounds of interviews and a Job !!

21 August: 11.55 pm -

They don't take you if you answer each and every question. If you are a girl, you can get a job even if you don't answer any." says dejected ranga. Then he suddenly says," Cisco results are out. You...Vishal ... Vishal gupta...right!! You made it to CISCO !!"
I exclaimed : "what!!". I didn't believe it. I was trying to confirm it with himanshu that i heard swagat, vaibhav etc shoutingto inform me. Nikhil came rushing thinking of being the first one to inform me. So Vishal finally got a job.

It all started when i got a call from the search giant for a telephonic interview after giving up all hopes for it. I was scheduled to be interviewd two days later. I tried studying a few things and the time came. I got a call sharp at 2. I did decent enough. And a day later we came to know that i too made it to the second short list with 25 other guys.
The next day the employers were on campus. I faced three face to face rounds with kind of expected questions and did reasonably well in the first two rounds while i think, i don't want to talk about the third and the last one. And as expected i didn't make it to the final list.
So the count was 4.

I didn't make it to the shortlist of the next two- one, the most known company in the IT industry and the other- highest paying on campus in IT field. But it was not the end of the world !!The very next day i made it to the database giant's shortlist of candidates. Interview started two hour late than the scheduled time.In the meantime i got to know that i made it to yet another short list- Interview was scheduled at 1. Then started the big day- probably the most hectic in my entire life. When i just either waited outside or interviewed with sharp minds. At the end of the day i felt satisfied and hoped to make it to the final lists as i thought i had done a good job. Mind you, COUNT WAS 12 by now.
But as they say... once in a blue moon, again ?? yes ! I didn't make it to either of the lists again. I didn't lose hope and kept trying. The next day was the day to remember. I wrote the apti cum technical test with least of interest but still I GOT SHORTLISTED AGAIN. The joy was shortlived as I came to know that interview was all about a topic which we never paid attention to. Anyways, i faced two rounds and i'll discuss later how i handled the interviewrs but at 11.55 my wingie informed me that i had made it to the netwoking giant's Final List. So it sorts of happened again with me. I got yet another thing which i was least interested in or i must say which i least desired for. This is fate , this is destiny. I accept it with all true heart and hope it turns out to be as great as anything else could have been.

COUNT IS STILL 15, Got Job too... but what about the other three rounds !! Watch out.

Just Before PsentiSen Began: 28th July, 2007

This is not so usual for Bits,Pilani to face long powercuts. So it came as surprise to us(the old ones) and shock to the parents of newly admitted Bitsians. While trying to cope with hot and humid pilani night, most of them thought this is what their son/daughter was supposed to face for the next four/five years. BITS officials were having a hard time to push through such an embarrassing situation.
Between we old ones knew, this was not going to last much longer and hence were trying to find a way out to enjoy. At 10 we decided to look out for some place to hang out. And imagine where did we land up !! Four of us took benches (of redi) outside Vishwkarma Bhawan to get some REST ! Sooner we realised that they were too narrow to serve the purpose. I suggested we move to Patel Chowk (or say Shankar chowk) to have a SLEEP. Idea was welcomed by all as we quickly moved there but we never moved there to sleep of course. We were quite usually enjoying such an unusual situation and hence rounds of laughter went on till we realised that it was 2 at night. You might agree, sleeping on a chouraha ( Circle) which is at heart of the place is not usual. Finally two of us (not me) went to sleep and other two tried the same but failed. Then me and Aman decided to walk to Nutan to have a 'Morning Tea' since it was 4.45 A.M. We thought we'll come and wake the other two since the morning walkers were passing by. But when we returned they had already left. Then both of us also decided to have a little sleep in rooms. (as electricity supply was normal since 2 A.M.)
But it was definitly another memorable night at BITS and a perfect start to leisured PsentiSem.

Predictions Come True: Team India Does it !

So,it gives me great pleasure to state that my analysis of Team India didn't go wrong as they knocked England off in the second test match at Trent Bridge. And of course, they did it in style, taking bullying head on( the pink jelly beans incident, aggressive sreesanth) yet defeating them authoritatively. But as the newspaper analysts say, Indians have a very bad tendancy of losing the advantage overseas. Future will tell whether they can defy all odds to emerge winner just after 1986 , last time India won on English grounds. Let me predict once again, they can do it and yes, They will do it this time around.
Cheers !!

इंडिया vs इंग्लैंड Ist टेस्ट मैच

It's been long since Indian cricket team played well. They failed miserably in the first innings against the inexperienced England pace attack. The Sachins, Dravids and Laxmans could do no good to the Indian cause and they conceded a healthy lead of 97. Inexperienced Indian pacers did reasonably well again in the second innings to get England bowled out on 282. But the lead made sure that India gets nothing less than 380 as the target to win the First Test at Lords !
Then came the biggest surprise. A paradigm shift appeared in the Indian strategy to chase the target !! Every Batsman came with a positive frame of mind, trying to play his natural game. And India seemed in contention. Remember India has almost never been able to withstand such situations - facing a huge target 0f 380 and almost 4 sessions of game yet to be played. But the final day at Lords seemed different, with Indians trying to go for the kill and England were definitely worried when Dhoni and Laxman were rattling the attack.
Well ! This was definitely a new thing for the game followers. I liked the change really very much( that's why wasting my imp time in discussing Indian cricket - giggle). If India adopts such strategies always then they are sure to lose less matches. If they continue to play the way they did on the fifth day, they will definitely win the last two test matches. Lets see, how long does this new REBELLION thinking survives. But in the meantime lets get happier because they finally saved the first test match.

Talking India

India, is not the name of a country. It's a feeling of a billion people which is generally seen scattered around cluttered in so mean problems. But it comes to forefrunt when there is a need. Be it a natural calamity like the quake in gujrat or be it the foreign challenge to Indian sovereignty.

Why are there so many problems around us then ?

The root of the problem lies with the common man, The 'aam aadmi'of India. We Indians feel very proud while talking about our great cultural,mythological and scientific contributions to this world but mostly feel embarassed to tell these to others. We ourselves don't know-why ?

The Indian Politics

History tells that India is a country which has seen so many great leaders like Mahatma Gandhi, Sardar Patel, Netaji etc.(Some may argue on few names)But their days are gone. These are the days when a dreaded criminal facing charges of National disgrace announces his candidacy from a very town of the same country ! How could all this be allowed at all ?! President's post is seen merely as a RUBBER STAMP. Corruption and crime are at their life time best in Indian politics.

Booming Economy

Yet the dilemma is this. Economy is racing to attain a splendid double digit growth in spite of all these. This shows the true potential of New India. Someone has rightly said - ' Next Bill Gates would be an Indian.'

Behaal Sports

Country of a Billion could not produce a single sportperson who could win an Olympics gold medal in an individual sport event ! Even the game recognised as 'religion' cricket could give us just one world cup till date, that too long back , despite having the richest cricket board in the world. What to talk about the national game then!! The problem here is mal-administration and misuse of resources-nothing else.

.... To Be Continued some other day when I feel Indian again ....