TECHNICALLY CHALLENGED

We come across such a wide variety of people while staying in an hostel !!! Being a proud resident of hostel from the last 4 years, I have come across a number of people. And the worst part about it is we get to know people really well here!!! And of all those species that I have met until now- the worst have been of this species whom we fondly call as 'TECHNICALLY CHALLENGED SPECIES'.

My first room-mate was a medico. This girl is an extremely brilliant girl and had been scoring exceedingly well in all her college examinations !!! One night when we were busy studying, we decided to make Maggi in the hostel room. Now cooking in the room, and that too on a hot plate was strictly prohibited. That night I took the entire initiative of cooking (Maggi), and happily delegated the task of washing dishes on my room-mate. Next morning every time we used to switch on the hotplate the fuse used to blow off- and would horribly annoy our hostel authorities, since somebody had to come over and replace the wire after every 5 minutes.

Finally, I had to put all my engineering skills to test and I decided to open this hotplate, only to find 2 cups of water inside it !!! I was really shocked to find water inside a hotplate, and almost had a mild cardiac arrest when I discovered that it was because my dear medico roommate had tried to WASH it..

Imagine holding this hotplate under running water, and washing it with a detergent; or still worse, dip it in a bucket full of water. How clean it would appear isn't it????
I still remember spending hours together trying to dry the water with a hair drier!!!


There is one another MBA (HR) friend of mine who doesn't understand how to insert a cassette in a Cassette Player !!! She always manages to insert the wrong side, then the player automatically ejects out, then she again inserts the wrong side, hits the button with full force, vigor and anger, and then finally when even that doesn't works, decides to reverse the cassette or alternatively asks somebody to insert it in the player..

I used to share a flat with her, and once we had guests at home. Those were the post 26/7 days when we had to boil water and drink. But since we had to immediately offer it to our guests, she had to use all her skills to cool it. She had filled hot water it in a plastic bottle, then corked it tightly to make it watertight and kept it in the freezer !!! IMMEDIATE EFFECT U SEE... I wanted to retain this bottle to show her children how primitive plastic used to be !!!

I have also seen her getting confused between a water pump, and a generator. And I was shocked to see that she couldn't identify the difference even when the pump had pipes running in all the possible directions!!!

There are several such encounters with my room- mates and friends, where I am always left surprised to see that people don't understand even the simplest principles of Physics, or Chemistry (or Common Sense)!! And I invariably lose my temper while teaching them these basics.....

However now my patience has greatly increased after meeting one another girl in my hostel!!! Sadly enough she is a engineering student. She had her submissions the other day, and had not been able to finish the drawings, and like every other engineering student she decided to Glass Trace the drawings ( GT / Topo- whatever people call it). And to my surprise she had kept a 60W fluorescent light bulb in a plastic bucket and then covered it with the glass, only to find that the bulb got so hot that there was an accurate round shaped hole in the bucket!!!!


MAY GOD SAVE THIS TECHNICALLY CHALLENGED SPECIES ON THE EARTH!!!! AMEN......

Mi MUMBAIKAR!!

All my 'Urban Blues' start from the time I decided to move in Mumbai. Actually being from a place like Pune, Mumbai was the last place, I would have ever thought of moving to.

And I still remember the day I had first entered this city, with my father, to seek admission in one of the most prestigious colleges in Mumbai.

My first disappointment was while our train was touching Dadar. There were several local trains running along side- which were packed with people. Or rather I should say 'Overflowing' with people. I had always known Mumbai as a city where Local trains are always full, roads are always jammed, and every resident is always in a hurry to reach somewhere!!! All my prejudices were doubly confirmed when I first stepped on the Dadar Station, and was scared to death that very soon even I would be a part of this Faceless Crowd, dying to reach somewhere....

Fortunately and Unfortunately, I got an admission in Mumbai, and most unwillingly I landed in this city, of which I am now a proud resident!!!The spirit of Mumbaikars has always amused me..

Wonder how they manage to commute for hours together and yet be completely happy about it??

How can they enjoy the process of commuting in those overcrowded trains and peacefully play antaksharies when there's not an inch left to move ??

Just how can there be a magnificient bunglow( of some filmstar), right next to a Jhopadpatti???

How can a five star hotel have a small 'tapri', just adjacent to its compound wall, and both being equally crowded??

How can people work for 12-18 hours a day, and still have time left for TV serials, Jogging, Laughter Clubs and Gossips???

How is that a Managing Director of company and a office boy / ordinary clerk travel in the same train, and be completely comfortable of this fact???

How is that you would have several celebrities and filmstars moving around you and nobody on the earth would be exited to see them ???

How do these Mumbaikar's have an extremely intimate friend circle called as 'Train Friends' !!!

How can an entire family of 8 stay in a 1 BHK flat and still have space for others???

There are several such amusing facts that I cant help thinking about.

Believe in me, I have spent endless hours pondering over these facts, but now I realise there's no use thinking over it, I'll never get answers for any of these questions unless I try to be a Mumbaikar myself......

BETTER BE BEASTS

I have been toying with this idea to host a blog since a real long time, but had been procastinating it for I dont know what reasons. But today when I start doing it- the first thing that I wish to share here is my favorite poem "IF" by Rudyard Kipling.

One of the main reasons why I like this so much is the fact that this poem speaks about all the 'IDEAL' things in life, and still it explains that its impossible to be ideal !!! In fact its also impossible to be 'HUMAN'..

If you can keep your head when all about you

Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;

If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,

But make allowance for their doubting too;

If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,

Or, being lied about, don't deal in lies,

Or, being hated, don't give way to hating,

And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise;

If you can dream - and not make dreams your master;

If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim;

If you can meet with triumph and disaster

And treat those two imposters just the same;

If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken

Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,

Or watch the things you gave your life to broken,

And stoop and build 'em up with wornout tools;

If you can make one heap of all your winnings

And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,

And lose, and start again at your beginnings

And never breath a word about your loss;

If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew

To serve your turn long after they are gone,

And so hold on when there is nothing in you

Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on";

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,

Or walk with kings - nor lose the common touch;

If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;

If all men count with you, but none too much;

If you can fill the unforgiving minute

With sixty seconds' worth of distance run -

Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,

And - which is more - you'll be a Man my son!

If this is what it takes to be 'Human', then i would rather be a Beast !!!