Six eventful months: My PSII at HP Labs

completing a project, 10 days at IISc, getting a publication, becoming a graduate and visiting so many places.... eventful six months !! Tomorrow onwards, i'll say i am a graduate. No more a student (well ! at least for now, till i decide my fate) ! Emotions are flowing....mixed feeling...happy for a few things and sad for others. Most painful of all is to leave BITS, Pilani and my dearest BITSian friends behind....how much you try you usually never catch up again !!

I have to rush now... some other time on PS, IISc and of course BITS, Pilani.......my alma mater !


between everything... cheers to a recent computer science graduate from BITS, Pilani... :)

Krazzy 4 : Review

Category: Movie Review
Movie: Krazzy 4
Director: Rakesh Roshan
Cast: Arshad Warsi, Rajpal Yadav, Irfan Khan, Diya Mirza, Juhi Chawla, Rajat Kapoor and Sazid Khan
Run-Length: 2 hours (Approx.)

Rating: 1.5 / 5
Verdict: You need not watch the movie even once. You can safely assume that it's bad.

I watched it yesterday. Abhinay theater reminded me of the auditorium of my college. For a few moments I thought I was back to BITS, Pilani..but reality struck soon !

Krazzy 4 has some of the finest modern day actors and each of them has his individual style of acting. But even some individual brilliances can not hide the loose script and out-of-the-place dialogues. None of the actors were allowed their characteristic style by the script. It seemed like they (the actors) were the kings behind bars.

Movie does not take off even till interval. Even before you are set in your seats, it's interval. First half fails to generate interest to sit through the next. Second half is slightly better (that's why movie gains 0.5 ratings :D ). When it ends, you can't decide whether it was a comedy movie or a melodrama. It is a terrible mix of things. Story is okay but converting such a story into a two hour movie is rather tricky that is exactly where the movie fails to impress.

Only thing worth watching in the movie is the item number by Rakhi (for male audience),SRK and Hritik (for all :D). Surely you would not like to pay a hefty amount for just that.
You don't expect such products from the same director who gave us 'Koi Mil Gaya', ' Kaho Naa Pyar Hai' and 'Krrish'. Well ! Just avoid going to theater for 'Krazzy 4' !!

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 !

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.