Sunset at Juhu Beach

It’s been a while
a while feels like ages

Eyes have been looking
been looking for you

I knew I’d notice
I’d not miss

For I have been waiting
been waiting for this

I want to tell you
tell you how it feels

And I have no doubts
Yes Baby, it’s You

- Akky

Solo flights - Paragliding at Kamshet Oct'08 (Photo Courtesy: Rajsekhar Aich)

Light on my feet,
I am ready to fly
Not born with wings,
But I have the zest to try

I am not afraid to fail,
I am not shy
I belive in me and
I m the one who wants to fly

- Akky

P.S: Re-phrasing the moments while I was preparing for my first solo flight :)

Update: Kunal sent me this video of my first flight. Yaaay!

Baby V & Akky

For a moment,
I was lost in another moment.

In that moment,
I lived a thousand moments.

The next moment,
I was back in the moment.

Now for a moment,
I again wanted to get lost in that moment.

Alas, I had found that moment,
Now how could I again get lost in that moment?

- Akky

P.S: Liked this one? Just for fun you should also check “The Moment” which has a totally different flavor. Would love to hear back from you. Click here to browse through few others. You may also like the Quote-Unquote series.

Windscreen on a rainy day in Philadelphia

For a moment,
I was lost in another moment.

In that moment,
I lived a thousand moments.

- Akky

P.S: Liked this one? Just for fun you should also check the “Parody of a Moment“. Click here to browse through few other rhymes. You may also like the Quote-Unquote series.

You cant describe great cosmic significance to a simple earthly event. Coincidence, thats all anything ever is, nothing more than coincidence. There are no miracles. There is no such thing as fate. Nothing is meant to be.

500 days of summer

Having spent the last 3 years working with startups either contributing as a part of a team or  founding one, I can categorically state that there are many dull and not so interesting tasks that need to get done. This is against the accepted notion that working with startups is all about doing interesting kick-ass work.

Over the last two years I have grown from thinking of doing only interesting work to making work more interesting. Although, there is a subtle difference in the wording the latter is more powerful and puts you in control. You reserve the opportunity to choose your own attitude towards your work and thats what works the best.

Recently, reading “Fish! A Remarkable Way to Boost Morale and Improve Results” reinforced this thought process for me. The book is a parable which draws from the success story of the Pike Place Fish Market in making their work more interesting.

Take a look at how the workers have fun at the fish market throwing fish around and bystanders cheering them all the way:

Click here to view the embedded video.

What makes me write this?

One reason was I just finished reading the book a couple of weeks back but its not the only reason. Three days back I was discussing about work with a friend of mine, lets call him PS. PS has completed his MS this summer and now has joined the technology wing of an investment company. With an year of prior experience in a IT company and completion of his MS I thought the company that recruits him would have a specific role for him and he could start contributing directly. This wasn’t to be true and took me by surprise. He would be undergoing a 3 month training program on C, Unix, Java and other technologies and would be inducted by one of the projects in the company. I was stupid enough to ask him, “You still don’t know the work or project that you will be assigned to, how do you feel about it?” He said, “I am sure I would love the work that I will be assigned to!“

Lake Raleigh - (click to see the bigger version)

Trails could reach places
But the road couldn’t

Woods were dark and motionless
But the birds weren’t

Ripples travelled far and wide
But the water didn’t

Time passed and skipped beats
But the moments didn’t

Life will take a turn and shall try to move on
But thankfully the memories won’t

- Akky

P.S: Liked this one? Would love to hear back from you. Click here to browse through few others. You may also like the Quote-Unquote series.

Parktowne Place Apts - Linx Cafe, Philadelphia

I sat
Time flew
It took me
9^1/2 hours behind.
- Akky

Today, I shall be conducting a session on ‘Web Applications’ for faculty from various colleges attending the Short Term Traning Program on Web Engineering at Don Bosco. I have been told that there would be close to 45 faculty members and I am really excited. Primarily because I have always found faculty members to be more curious and eager to learn than students. I had also received some very good response and feedback the last time.

Embedded is the presentation I have made for the session. Feel free to comment and leave your feedback (…although it would make little sense without commentary from *yours truly* ;)

Click here to view the embedded video.

Background:
This is a real™ video of me shot by Sankool while we were traveling back home in a local train. I had pulled an all-nighter the previous night and was probably a reason for inducing this jig. This video is old but still never fails to amuse me :)

April has arrived. OMG! Yes, its already April. But it just feels like last week I had a blast celebrating the arrival of 2009. I am making this post as a reminder to myself and to relive some of the interesting moments in the first quarter of 2009.

January

KFC Ice Cream Sundae

Homemade tasty Aloo Parathas

Celebrated the New Year in Powai by the lake side. After relishing on some crunchy chicken at KFC we headed to the Powai lake alongwith the Ice-cream Sundaes their combo with the homemade Aloo parathas was just perfect.

SocialSync Whiteboard - makes sense?

January, also began on a very interesting note for SocialSync. We had the opportunity to discuss some investment opportunities and set our milestones for the next few months.

Standard Chartered Full Marathon 2009

Running and completing the Standard Chartered Mumbai Full Marathon was another big high. I must say here that unlike the last time when I ran the half marathon I was a tad bit smarter. Although, I did practice for the Marathon and was pretty regular back in September/October 08; I lost momentum and form as December arrived and by mid-December I was in a very bad shape. It was around early January that I made up my mind to run the Marathon smartly by re-accessing the situation based on my limited practice. A few more practice runs and I started feeling better. On the day of the Marathon I feel I did a fabulous job of recognizing my limitations but stretching them enough to complete the Marathon.

February

February was in its true sense an eventful month.

I finally made a trip to Bangalore. Overall I kinda liked the city; wide roads, footpaths on both the sides of the road :),
parks, pleasant weather and row houses. Public transport is bad and very costly at times.

Felicitation at Bangalore Airport

The first day was really long and now I sincerely hope it had never ended – all thanks to the fantabulous escort. Walking the streets of Bangalore and discussing Haute Couture to some unheard and for some unimaginable interpretations of God idols would remain etched in my memory for ages. God save God. Need I say, there was a tomorrow and then yesterday was just memories to treasure.

Yahoo Open Hack Day 2009

I won the ‘Best socially mobile hack’ at the Yahoo Open Hack Day 2009 !!! OYeah!

Me at Yahoo Open Hack Day 2009

Yo! Anil Wadghule

Yahoo Hack Day 2009 - Xen and The Thinking Mind

David Filo, the co-founder of Yahoo had come down specially for the event and was also one of the judges. You would probably not even notice his presence in a crowd of 10 people; he speaks less and comes through as a honest and humble person. The event was very well organized and the atmosphere was ecstatic. I won a 8GB 2nd gen iPod touch for my hack and believe it or not I gifted it to my brother; I am sure he would make much better use of it. The event wouldn’t be complete if I don’t happen to mention Anil who had come down from Pune; and we code jammed all night. I just slept for less than an hour sometime in the morning the next day after I had done justice to the idea I had chosen to work on. Staying up late and writing code comes oh so naturally to me – so I feel I had an unfair advantage among the 300+ hackers who participated.

RangDe - Akshay & Pavan

Pavan having a comfy ride

While in Bangalore I stayed at Prayas‘ place. Being with him is always enriching and thoughtful. Add to it having a blast with his son Pavan (in pic above) and some spiritual discussions with the grasshopper.

The highpoint of Bangalore was meeting some very interesting people and teams working on refreshing ideas

March 

March started off with a lot of excitement. Sushma maasi (aunt) and BabyV (Varsha) were going to come down to Mumbai. I am sure you must have heard of Varsha from me before or read about her on this blog before.

Varsha - Miss Photogenic

I ended my last blog post on her, wishing she remains as crazy as last time and may be shes taken it seriously :) Good for me, I still can play pranks on her!

On our way to Pawna Dam - Lonavala

On one of the weekends Mom, Maasi, Varsha and me drove to Lonavala. The drive was just fantastic. This was also my first time on the Mumbai – Pune Expressway which was a treat in itself. What worked for us was we didn’t have a long itinerary to follow for the trip; we were just looking for a weekend break. On the first day we visited the Karla Caves in the afternoon and later in the evening witnessed the beautiful sunset at Rajmachi point

Sunset at Pawna Dam - Lonavala

The next day we got up late, had a late lunch and headed straight to Pawna dam. The drive to Pawna dam was exciting with steep slopes and blind curves. The lake, boating, the ducks, peacocks and the sunset was just the perfect setting for spending ones Sunday evening. No doubt it inspired me to write this few weeks back.

The last two weeks of the quarter were great fun too. We made some terrific progress on the SocialSync community platform all thanks to Pavan.

The Inspirational - Y Combinator

YC is an inspiration. It took me close to two years to finally take the leap and submit a application – you know I wouldn’t do it if it weren’t for the right purpose, right team, right idea and right time. And this time the summer cycle is taking place in the Bay area; now isn’t that reason enough ;)

Engaged or Married? - Sorry, April Fool :)

Now how could I sign-off without letting you guys know of a very interesting tale. Last week I ended up playing a prank; or rather my friends just drew into it. I ended up uploading the above pic of me and my sister Mamta on Orkut *without* any captions. Within the next 36 hours I was flooded with 15 comments, 5 scraps, 3 calls, 2 SMSs and 1 email – all congratulating me and asking me whether I got ‘married or engaged?’. The timing inadvertently was so right that I didn’t have to scout for a April Fool’s prank ;)

Wrapup

Finally, I am myself amazed of how eventful this quarter has been. Sometimes it makes sense just to take a breather and look back at one’s journey; and this is what I did. Feels good now! I really would like to thank each and everyone mentioned/missed above to make this special for me. I am really looking forward for the next quarter and you can sure expect me to get back and cover it up for you :)

Close to two weeks into the new year and not a single post! Unfortunate but not sad. Things have been chaotic but not totally out of control. Sometimes its fun just to observe chaos as is.

If you are reading this or you have been continuously checking back for updates which you haven’t found then I really apologize for it. I would really appreciate if you leave a quick comment so that I know you were around. Many thanks and have a splendid 2009! Happy New Year :)

Before I go to sleep I am trying to remind myself of what I was missing all this while. The adrenaline of adventure, the energy from the rising sun, the stillness of the lake, the calm of the setting sun, the chill in the late night breeze and the quiet of night. Oh, hell yeah! I dearly missed all of this. Revisiting all this in a single day has been a treat.

Goodnight to me, sweet dreamzzzZZZ!

Finally, I have been able to take a ‘Power Break’ from work! Power Break is essentially similar to what a ‘Power Nap’ is for sleeping. More important you don’t loose grip over your work and come back more focussed. I will be spending this weekend at The Native Place. More updates coming your way soon.. ;)

I feel I am free, albeit for a moment. If only I could tell you all how occupied I have been especially for the last two weeks. Its been really crazy. Now that I have checked off the 3 longest standing items on my todo list, I really feel relieved. By coincidence it also happens to be our Independence Day :)

Are you really interested in knowing those 3 items? Aha.. nope, I surely don’t want to pin them up here to be reminded of them again.

By the way I was just wondering why does August tend to be a crazy month year after year. You remember last year? I don’t know.

Few hours back I was watching this documentary on Nat Geo of 3 guys deciding to walk the whole Great Wall of China from its South Western tip till the Pacific. Thats close to 4500 km and a temperature shift of -40*c to +40*C (Gobi Dessert). Real crazy isn’t it? At the end it was just one guy who made it till the end and it took him 15 months. Other notably fascinating documentaries that come to my mind were finding the source of the Amazon river and locating the mystical place Shangri-La. Those guys finally stood by a puddle and pointed to it as the source of the Amazon, the world’s largest river by volume. I would sure like to do something like that… anyone have ideas? Not sure why? but I am longing for a true vacation already. Come December and I have some exciting plans, though can’t wait that long;)

(Click on the above image to browse the complete album)

What to change?
Simply put I would like to start getting up early (be in the early riser group) and see if it affects me positively. Do you feel the same?

Is something wrong without it?
No, in fact I can go without it. Currently, I consider I have a schedule which allows me to put in the requisite amount of hours in my work and other activities that I want to indulge in. Overall I am happy with the pace of things and I have learnt to avoid the areas which produces the guilt feeling.

I will give you a small example here: Now the ideal time to go for a run/jog is early morning. I have tried my hand at it numerous times and finally settled at time around 9 pm. Now, I wouldn’t say I failed in all the previous attempts because all the times I consoled myself rationally that it was not the right time *for me*. Sometimes saying to myself that ‘I need more sleep as I have slept late’, ‘I am not the early riser kind of person’, etc. Bottom-line: I decided that it shouldn’t make a big difference if I jog/run at evening/night plus I get to avoid that guilt feel of not being able to meet my goals. This has worked wonders for me. I have been able to do all the things I want to in the time I have and surprisingly without the guilt feeling of not waking up early. For all these years I have enjoyed working late nights. I Feel it comes naturally to me. I love the calmness of the night, I love its silence. I feel hitting all-nighters (here, here and so many times) is a trait which I am proud of and has benefitted me over the years.

So, why now?
Right from childhood this has always been in the back of my mind. I have tried but I have not stuck with it for various reasons (they may seem rational while hitting the snooze button but not any more). I want to give it one more shot and for the simple reason that I know I can. But, from my past learnings I also know I can come up with some rationale to avoid it and so this post and a call for everyone who wants to cultivate this habit. So, let not make it an individual struggle but a collaborative experience.

What’s the game all about?
Lets play this game as a team. Remember, together we can.

Format:

• We shall draft the rules of the game together. :) All of them should be personally acceptable to each of us participating.
• We play this game for a fixed time period (say 30 days)
• We won’t make it a closed struggle. We shall publish online our small victories (waking up on time on a particular day) and write about our big failures (not waking up on time on some day)
• Seek active advice from people and allow anyone to comment of scold us if we don’t act by the rules.
• We shall not give up unless we are out of the game (you break the rules more than x times and you are ousted). Winners get accolades, looser feels the shame (but they can give it one more shot if they feel like and emerge as winners)

Hope you get the gist?

Vision
Is this only about getting up early? No, not at all. This is about change. This is a part of an un-named project that I am initiating (its yet to have a name and I am open to your suggestions, any?) Oh yeah, I can hear in the background cheers of… “yes we can, yes we can… ;)”

So are you game?
If you want to become an early riser than this is for you. Please leave a comment below or contact me on my email.

Updates

Barka and Anil have joined in :) Please give them a standing ovation (or better send them some words of appreciation in comments below. Pokes and vampire bites a strict no, lol)

For updates head straight to 42times project wiki project page:

• 30each

If you would like to join in, you can leave me a message below or contact us through the contact page on 42times project.

Take a closer look here on Wikimapia.

Akshay Surve said on Wednesday that he will not be part of the Olympic torch relay in New Delhi this week as … (I am sure you can imagine the rest of the story with references to Baichung, Aamir, Soha and now even Sachin.)

Media (specially, 24 hours news channels in India), please stop being elitist and flash the title of this post in your “Breaking News” section ;) You can also use my head shot with the news :)

Please, I hold the sentiments of everyone who have accepted or even declined the offer to run in the Olympic torch relay in high respect. This rant of mine is only targeted towards the media.

Bachao! Bachao!
I’ve heard whispers
- they are planning
to ravish me 2nite.
Bas tum mujhe
bacha sakte ho!
Tumhari aur sirf
tumhari, Kesari

What would you if you receive an SMS like this?

I have submitted an entry to the N2Y3 Mashup Challenge.

From the N2Y3 website:

The N2Y3 NetSquared Conference brings together a unique mix of people from the public and private sectors to develop and release Mashups designed to provide deeper insight into the social issues affecting communities around the globe.

I have proposed ‘SocialHub – Dashboard for Social Change‘.

Thought behind SocialHub:

If you think you do, when you do you should share because when you share you spread awareness and make people think.

SocialHub is all about aggregating the latest and most popular content from various social change initiatives (platforms, websites, blogs) together and create a dashboard for social change.

SocialHub will act as a starting point for you and me who want to keep themselves updated about the latest and most popular content related to effecting positive social change. In addition this will also be of great value to social change initiatives to be showcased and build traction among its constituencies.

Proposed Status:
This is at a concept level. I would also like to add that like a true mashup its best to hack a version 1.0 and follow it up with an iterative approach to build upon recommendations from the community.

Proposed Roadmap:

To achieve our goals plus build upon learnings from verticals like web2.0 and technology. I would like to propose an approach which is heavily borrowed from ‘popurls‘ and learnings from ‘techmeme‘ and ‘digg‘.

To start with we will feature the latest and most popular content from top websites in their categories. As we move on we will take into consideration click-through, social filtering, recommendations and personalization to leverage the long tail.

Project page at N2Y3 Mashup Challenge:

http://www.netsquared.org/2008/conference/projects/socialhub

I would really appreciate if you could vote for my mashup entry provided you like it. Also do explore the Project Gallery which boasts around 120+ mashups.

Voting ends in the next 24 hours so you need to Hurry!!! (reads like a super-bumper offer).

Voting Rules:

1. Please register and log in to the NetSquared site.
2. Go to the project page. http://www.netsquared.org/2008/conference/projects/socialhub
3. To vote for a project, click on the voting badge or “Add Project to Ballot” link at the top of the page.
4. You may only vote once for a project.
   You must choose at least 5 (and up to 10) of your favorite projects. So please visit Projects link to review project proposals from others. Your ballot will only count if you have atleast 5 projects.
5. Submit your ballot to cast your final votes. Once you SUBMIT, that’s it!

General Observation:

I was going through the mashup proposals in the Project Gallery and most of them (I am generalizing, but thats what I feel) were in BETA. Contrasting it with SocialHub I would say is at the Concept stage. So here are some encouraging words from the Netsquared team:

We want to help separate apples from oranges this year. That is, we believe projects at the ‘concept’ level would benefit from being evaluated separately from projects that are much further along. To this end, please identify which phase you believe your project is in

I would like to add that although SocialHub is in its ‘Concept’ state its very much hackable ;)

Thanks:

I did mail people who I thought would be interested in the mashup challenge for some feedback and support. It was good of some to revert back quickly in support. Thanks. I am still scouting for your views and feedback.

I agree I do a lot of egosurfing and its not just today that I have confessed to it. I have done so in the past.

Today, was just another day and I did what I love to do most on Google. Searched for “Akshay Surve” on Google and see for yourself.

Take a look at the screenshot attached below:

Those links below the first search result are called sitelinks. Here is what Google has to say about them:

The links shown below some sites in our search results, called sitelinks, are meant to help users navigate your site. Our systems analyze the link structure of your site to find shortcuts that will save users time and allow them to quickly find the information they’re looking for.

We only show sitelinks for results when we think they’ll be useful to the user. If the structure of your site doesn’t allow our algorithms to find good sitelinks, or we don’t think that the sitelinks for your site are relevant for the user’s query, we won’t show them.

At the moment, sitelinks are completely automated. We’re always working to improve our sitelinks algorithms, and we may incorporate webmaster input in the future.

The surprising bit here is that Google itself doesn’t have sitelinks under its search result (when I made this post). Google after all is the least SEO’d website ;)

“Seo By the Sea” has a very interesting article related to sitelinks and the patent related to Google’s listing of Internal Site Links.

I always thought that I was sound at White Hat SEO and understood it well. Looks like this would be a good addition to any SEO expert’s resume.

Now let me quickly share the reason I was pleasantly surprised. I was working on a master plan from the start of this year.

• Get to the top of search results for the query ‘akshay‘.
• Get my pics on Google when you search for ‘akshay‘.

The current one at the top is the Wikipedia page of Akshay Kumar. Defeating it would call for a celebration. Getting my pictures in search results at the top is going to be very difficult. Till then you could treat your eyes to Akshay Kumar’s pictures when you search for ‘akshay‘ on Google.

I started at number #10/11 around December/January. Now I am at #5 (here when I search for ‘akshay’, it may vary at your end depending on geographical location). Now I have got the sitelinks featured for akshaysurve.com which surely means Google is taking notice.

I never wanted to realize, what is sky,
I was happy knowing I could touch it someday.

I never wanted to realize, how far is the moon.
I was happy knowing he would come to greet me everyday.

I never wanted to realize, how big is this world.
I was happy knowing things around me is my world.

I never wanted to realize, what is rain.
I was happy knowing even God shed tears like me.

I never wanted to realize, what it is like to win.
I was happy knowing I will get to play one more time.

I never wanted to realize, what people expect from me.
I was happy knowing what I want for myself.

I never wanted to realize, what is right.
I was happy knowing things I wanted to do.

I never wanted to realize, all these things.
I was happy knowing nothing about them.

- Akky

Yes, I am as fit as I ever was (well almost)! Remember of my 4 week training for the Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon 2006 – 21 km and the follow-up stunts which ensured that I couldn’t continue running for months. Later, I did try getting back to running but couldn’t continue on a regular basis.

So here I am back after a good run with an improved timing from a similar previous run before.

So, what next? Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon 2009 – 42 km. Looks like the Bandra – Worli Sea link may be part of the track. Anyone game?

“I have missed more than 9,000 shots in my career.
I have lost almost 300 games.
On 26 occasions I have been entrusted to take the game winning shot, and I missed.
And I have failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is precisely why I succeed.”
- Michael Jordon

P.S.: I will be adding another stream to my website ‘Quote-Unquote’ where I will try to post some of _my pithy quotes_ ;) There will be some you must have already come across on I Am and some which I haven’t penned down before. Post frequency will be 1 in 2 weeks. Would you find it to be interesting? Post ‘+1′ in the comments if so.

Update: Thanks, guys. Here it is » Quote-Unquote

I still feel the same.

Was browsing through some of my older posts and came across this rhyme I posted nearly two years back which still holds true for me.

Would be interesting to know how many of you relate to this particular rhyme?

I had been on a hike to Dhak – Bahiri Caves in the Sahyadris. Though we planned it out as a short night trek it ended up being one hell of a long adventurous hike.

Amit, Mohit, Vikram, Varun and Me started off from Lonavala around 2:00 am at night. We lost our way initially in the city but the choukidars (watchmen) got us back on track. We had to reach Tungarli Dam and follow the trail half-way (approx 6kms) towards Rajmachi. Then take a right and hike towards Mansarjuma range. It took us 3.5 hours to walk in the moonlight with a couple of breaks in between to reach a place which looked like a village. It was breezy and so we though of sleeping for a couple of hours and hike the rest in daylight. We accidentally discovered a Hanuman temple while it was still dark and slept in it.

We got up by around 7:30am by noises around and so tried to figure out our location. We were at a village and it was good to know that we were still on the right trail. We also met another group which were asleep in a school nearby. They pointed us in the direction of Dhak vaguely and we took off so we could reach early. We were still 2.5 hours away from our base, Kondeshwar Temple.

What followed next was following a trail in the wrong direction for another 1.5 hours through the jungle. At a point we were totally confused and couldn’t find a distinct trail. It was then that I indulged in photographing wild flowers.

Finally, we decided to get back to the village and ask the villagers. We had already lost 2 hours, had 2 bread packs and just half a bottle of water. Back in the village, we understood where we missed the trail from the villagers and refilled our bottles. We thought of having breakfast and then continuing the hike. We had our bread with a generous serving of butter and moved ahead.

This time we were on the right trail. We could see the village, the dam, Rajmachi twin forts (Shrivardhan and Manoranjan) and a distinct trail most of the time. It was 11 by now and we were hiking in scorching heat. We followed the trail through the forest and finally got a glimpse of Dhak. There it was standing tall and a delight to our eyes after so long. Finally, we could see our destination and thus pull ourselves through rest of the hike.

–

–

Our next stop was the Kondeshwar Temple. We took rest in the temple for some time and started off for the final stretch. We had grossly miscalculated the time needed to get here. Initially, we were thinking of reaching Kondeshwar by 6am and now it was 12:45pm. The last ST bus service from Jambivali (nearest village) to Kamshet was at 6:00pm. So, we had to make sure that we reached the village by that time.

Most of the last stretch was through the jungle. Feels good to have vegetation to protect you from the sun.

Finally, we reached the point from where there is a steep descent to approach the Bahiri caves. After a 30 feet descent on the right you see a big cave which can accommodate atleast 30 people. From there crossing the rocks and climbing up leads you towards the Bahiri caves.

The path ahead looked dangerous. There was a clean fall of 80 feet of the left and the inclination was around 70 – 80 degrees throughout. The footing of the rocks was a few inches at most places. Me and Amit ventured ahead, others rested in the cave. Actually, they kept a close eye on our movement and guided us along the path when needed. It was 2:30 pm and the basalt rock was hot. No way could we support ourselves on the rock face. Our fingers had a burning sensation each time we took support on the rock. The climb was getting riskier. With no solid footing along the path stopping was not an option. We somehow got ourselves to safer location where we could stand on our feet without taking support from the rock. Next up was a vertical climb and then a rope climb to top it all. Because of the lack of water intake we were more susceptible to cramps. It was then that we decided that we better stop. Lets make another attempt, next time in the morning. Finally, it was a sane decision and we carefully got ourselves back to the cave where others were waiting.

Thats it! We headed back to the village and had some refreshments before hopping onto the ST bus to Kamshet. Journey back home was long (Kamshet – Lonavala – Kalyan – Slow train – Dadar – Borivali) and I reached home at 1:30am. All along the journey I had an incomplete feeling but the satisfaction of not doing something outrightly foolish.

All I want to say is, “I will be back ;)”

Click on the image below to look at the complete album:

E-Week India PLEDGE

If even one of the below resonates with you, please pledge:

Today, I renew my Pledge to an Entrepreneurial India.

I Will:

• Break barriers between industry and academia
• Foster information flow between the sectors
• Regularly include entrepreneurs, industrialists, investors and professionals in campus programs
• Find new and innovative ways for students to experience industry before graduation
• Facilitate faculty interaction with industry
• Work to bring the discoveries of the lab into society
• Innovate in my work
• Consider working for start up companies
• Stop complaining – and start fixing the problems and barriers to entrepreneurial growth
• Change my thinking from, “Why?” to “Why not?”
• Continue, always, to dream big and work to bring those dreams to reality
• Encourage and support others, so that we all might live in a richer, better India.

Take your Pledge here!

Saw “Valu – The Wild Bull”, a Marathi language film. I don’t remember the last Marathi film I saw in the theatre. Did I ever see one?

Valu is about a small village in Maharashtra, which finds itself in fear of a destructive wild bull. Two city officials arrive to catch the bull, which they find far more tricky than they anticipate. They travel with a documentary filmmaker from the city who films their mission. The camera interests and involves the village folk far more than cornering the bull. After many adventures of their own and with the village elders and inhabitants, they finally succeed. The film looks at village life on many levels, ranging from political rivalry, family tensions, forbidden love, all of which is observed with wit and subtlety. What emerges are aspects of the human mind: on one side a sense of curiosity, mystery, competitiveness and friendship, and on the other, abrasive egos, the blinkered one-sidedness of religion, and the tenacious will and need to survive.

Source: http://www.screenindia.com/fullstory.php?content_id=18673

Everyone of us liked the film. Lakshmikant also gave his mark of approval on the technicalities of the film.

Pros:

• Well defined characters and strong performances.
• Universal humor. More of situational and character based humor.
• Compact. Not even for a second did my mind wander away from the movie.
• Beautiful picturization. The village has been portrayed realistically.
• Relief. No fake looking enacting of popular Bollywood movies.

Promo of the movie:

View other promos.

A sure must see after Shwaas.

Did you miss the India Poised anthem? I am sure you will relate to it at some level. It is a must see for every Indian.

Find more videos like this on VentureSprings

Add to it the Lead India spirit – D.O. (Tum chalo to Hindustan chale) and we are unstoppable.

Feeling patriotic before the Republic Day, 26th of January.

Jai Hind!

Was having a not-so-interesting day until I stumbled upon this rant of Zed Shaw. That`s what made me smile. I even wrote him a fan mail :)

Then I continued reading his blog bits and I couldn`t stop smiling. Thanks Zed for making me smile. It is reminiscent to the kind of smile Ravi would evoke from me when he would go on word bashing spree at someone. It was FuN. Where are you dude? Miss you!

P.S: I neither agree nor disagree with all of it. His writing just brought a smile to my not-so-interesting day. I feel Rails solves a real world problem, which is the most important thing.

I am back!

Looking forward to make some blog posts:

• The year that was 2007
• Konkan Entrada
• Year Ahead

Wish you a Happy New Year 2008.

Remember this post few months back? >> ‘Ready for an adventure?‘

Time has come and I am off…

Here is the rough plan:

Alibaug to Goa – Coastal Biking Expidition

Maharashtra is blessed with 720 km of coast line. The expiditon aims to cover 500 km of on bike visiting all the sea forts on the way.

Schedule :
Day 1 : Saturday Dec 23, 2007
Early morning departure from Pune/Mumbai. Aim to reach Alibaug by 9 am. Pune / Mumbai – Alibaug – Korlai – Revdanda – Murud – Janjira

Day 2 : Sunday Dec 24, 2007
Kansa, Diveagar, Srivardhan, Harihareshwar, Bankot

Day 3 : Monday Dec 25, 2007
Harne, Kanakdurg, Fategad, Anjarle, Suvarnadurg, Anjenvel, Gopalgad

Day 4 : Tuesday Dec 26, 2007
Guhagar, Velneshwar, Vijaygad, Jaigad, Ganpatipule, Ratnadurg, Pavas

Day 5 : Wednesday Dec 26, 2007
Purnagad, Ambolgad, Yashwantgad, Vijaydurg

Day 6 : Thursday Dec 28, 2007
Devgad, Bhagwantgad, Bharatgad, Sarjekot, Sindhudurg

Day 7 : Friday Dec 29, 2007
Tarkarli, Nivti, Vengurla, Mochemad, Terekhol, Goa, Fort Agauda

Day 8/9 : Sunday Dec 30, 2007 – Monday Dec 31, 2007
Chilling in Goa!!!

Day 10 Tuesday Jan 1, 2008
Back to Mumbai.

Catch you once I am back.

Happy New Year !!!

Update: I am back. Amit has just posted on his blog about the trip and some pictures to go with it here. It’s a must read ;)

Oh! did I tell you all about the Paintathon I had taken part in? No. « wondering how could I forget of blogging about it » Shame me :|

Remember I was in Ahmedabad in August? There I spent most of my time at Prayas’ place. Some of his paintings adorned his walls and there were others lying in his studio. We also took time out to visit School of Architecture and hang around the campus for lunch. Laxmikant had also come down for the post-production of his film. So art was the flavour of the month. I have always been curious about various forms of art because of the obvious influence of my bro. Painting on a canvas was something completely new for me and I was game for it.

A couple of days before I was supposed to leave for Mumbai, I asked Prayas if we could paint. Felt like he was all ready for it and he was just waiting for me to prompt. He hadn’t had a brush with painting for a long time now. He said lets take part in a Paintathon. “Wow Paintathon sounds cool,” I exclaimed. I was thinking, Marathon… Hackathon and now Paintathon. Next I remember we went out to get a some canvases and extra colors and brushes.

For the Paintathon, we reserved the morning of the day I was supposed to leave for Mumbai. You can read up on how the events unfolded at Manjushree’s blog.

Here are some of the pics:

Here are the finished paintings:

Prayas:

Manjushree:

Akshay (my):

For inquiries to buy and order use the contact form. Offer till stocks last. ;)

Look at the complete album here:

Updated the links to the pictures

Had been to BarCampMumbai2 at IIT Bombay yesterday wearing the socialsync.in t-shirt. Tell me how do you like it?

Here is the reciepe:

Ingredients: Adobe Photoshop, T-shirt printing service, Watch, Mom, Friends, Bike
Preparation Time: 55 mins
Procedure:

• Decided on getting a T-shirt at the very last moment. For me it was around 7:05pm
• Fire-up Adobe Photoshop and start experimenting
• Ask mom for help with colors, placement etc.
• Keep track of time all this while. You can’t expect a shop getting it printed for you after 10 pm
• Freeze on the design only when you are satisfied position and color of all the pixels. (18 mins)
• Call up and ask friends if they have any clue of T-shirt printing services nearby?
• Get your bike and reach the shop with all the PSDs (22 mins)
• Consider yourself more intelligent than the shopkeeper as finally its you who is going to wear it. At the same time seek and value his strategic advice. Its routine for them but special for you.
• Wait patiently first while the negative gets printed (15mins) and then while it gets ironed (2mins) on the T-shirt
• Show it off ;)

Credits:
Mom (Color and Design inputs)
Sankool (For pointing out the small shop at Spencers in Inorbit Mall where I could get the T-shirt printed.)

P.S BarCampMumbai2 and SocialSync.in deserve dedicated posts ;)

Today, I watched Bee Season on Star Movies. The movie was griping gripping enough for me to watch it through till the end. Its a big thing because I haven’t sat through a movie off late on television. It’s different when you pay to watch movies in the theaters.

What I liked most about the movie was the characters, mystery around them and for a change things were inconclusive all throughout.

You can read more about the movie here. Oh, looks like the movie is adapted from this novel.

Update: s/griping/gripping

Am back from an awesome trek to Peb fort via Matheran. It was much needed and was at just the right time. Not sure if I would be able to organize/attend any treks anytime soon. Though, it was my second time to Peb, the terrain was much different than last time.

Some highlights of the trek (straight from our mailing list):

- A Dropout Log of friends who dropped out at the last moment could have also been written. Wat say GuysNGals? though I refrain from it as I believe all of them wanted to come but just couldn’t because of unavoidable circumstances. Hope you guys make it a point to come next time surpassing these circumstances.

- Trek was amazing. We made our move from green cover sometimes as tall as 5 feet, rocky patch and the final dip in the river 3 feet deep (shallow) was just the icing on the cake.

- Since we were fewer in number, we could be adventurous which at times meant we could be fearless and be lost (momentarily) and walk the road less travelled. Need I say that has made all the difference. ;)

- Hats off to Akshat to take that extra step and accompanying us for this trek. He had an implant in his left elbow.Wish you speedy recovery from all of us.

- All along the trek belonged to Bala. I am sure he would remember it for loooOooong and because of him we would too ;) No wonder he has posted the Trek Log too.

- Hip Hip HUrray !!

- Pics from Karthik: http://picasaweb.google.com/7.kartik/TrekToPEBFortNeral?authkey=u99R3-O-8_s

- Pics from ME:

- Browse the complete album by clicking on the image below:

Leaving you guys to read some post of the previous school friend’s meetups:
– Mahuli
– Juhu
– Karnala

Traveling overnight with myself here
with my destination nowhere near.

Sitting alone with an eager soul
I have many thoughts to console.

With innumerable uncertainties
and very few certainties.

Closing my eyes springs so many expectations
Each having a question mark notation.

Can’t keep my eyes closed for long
Its difficult to answer questions for that long.

For a change I stared at the naked moon
And then a lightning thought made me realize soon.

For now if I have the answers I need
Why do I have to answer questions from others indeed.

With this last thought I close my eyes
And soon the tornado dies.

- Akky

Sometimes you can have the most unexpected people in the most unexpected circumstances, to put you on the right track in an unbelievable time of 1 hour 6 minutes and 43 seconds.

Thanks.

You right! Saw the movie yesterday and just loved it.

Chak De India is amongst those very few sports movies from India which look real on screen. For me, the only other movie which holds this distinction is Lagaan. You really feel that the game is on and end up cheering for your team.

[continue reading if you have already see the movie as I would be disclosing the climax scene. I recommend you to go and watch it in the theaters]

Now the most interesting part of the movie. Few week back I had read the review of the movie online. The reviewer said that he hoped India had won the World Cup Final at the end. So, I knew India is gonna loose the Final. Now everything at the end was turning to be too dramatic and in the back of my mind I was thinking whatever it is India is going to loose. Now just before Bindia Naik took the last shot in the decider penalty shootout which made the scores India – 5 & Aus – 4, I said to myself “I don’t care about the review. India just has to win this. Chak De India.” Thats what happened, Bindia scored and Australia missed the last penalty stroke. I am so HaPpY we won.

Today, I really feel like I have done something substantial, something meaningful and something which gives me a feeling of a sense of achievement. Before you take any guesses it’s not related to some of my previous posts.

I am currently in Ahmedabad and day before yesterday I had been to my friend Prayas’ place in the evening. It was just a casual visit but I ended up accepting the challenge of teaching his son Pavan cycling. He had some previous failed attempts at learning to cycle and falling off which was the case on that day.

[flashback _remembering the day when i cycled on my own for the first time_]
I faintly remember my brother and dad teaching me how to cycle. But let me share with you what I rememebr of my first maiden cycle trip. I don’t remember how old I was then but I distinctly remember that my dad had taken me and Mandar to Prabodhan Krida Bhavan to teach us to cycle. I consider Prabodhan Krida Bhavan as my home ground. I played a lot of cricket there and have loads of memories which make me feel nostalgic of the place. Then we didn’t have a cycle of my size and so we would rent a cycle from a shop near the ground. So, we rented two cycles. Now I just loved a cycle named “Rough Rider”. It felt good. Mandar and me had a good understanding and so we would exchange our cycles at half-time. Then we proceeded towards the ground. After an assisted start from my dad I was off on my maiden cycle trip. I was surprisingly taking turns in the ground unassisted and I was so excited. It felt so great. Can’t express it here on the blog as I can’t feel the same now but I surely remember how excited I was. (weird isn’t it?)

[comeback _present_]
Since, yesterday it was raining all day, I had been there to help him teach cycling today. Pavan was playing outside with his friends. Now, I could see his friends cycling all over the place and so it was obvious even he wanted to learn to cycle. So, me and Prayas stepped out of house and were looking out for him. On seeing me he rushed towards us along with his cycle as if to show that he was all ready for the training day. To cut a long story short after more than 7 falls, some tweaking of his handle bar at a local shop, almost crying thrice, giving up completely once and one and a half hours later he was on his maiden trip on his bicycle. The excitement on his face has made me write this post. Though, I don’t clearly remember how excited I was after my first maiden trip, this reminded me of it and I sure was as excited as him if not less. He almost fell off after riding some distance and guess what he was asking while getting up, “Maine chalai na cycle, uncle maine chalai nah, Papa mujhe aa gayi nah cycle chalane?.” We gave him a resounding “YES” unanimously. In another half an hour he gained more confidence and the best part was him showing his mom(who he fondly calls aai) his cycling skills. Finally, I feel a sense of achievement and I am so happy for him as now he can cycle with his friends.

Manju (his mom) wanted to record this moment on video but till then it was dark. You can check a latest video of his on her blog here where he plays the lead protagonist. Now, these are the perks of being part of a film-making family. ;)

To end this post, here is a list of some of my memorable cycle trips:

– Cycle trip to Aarey garden with my brother doing all the cycling on the slopes and me enjoying sitting double seat with him. Though, the journey wasn’t very comfortable sitting on the front rod all the way but still enjoyed it.

– Cycling to Aksa beach in the morning with Narayanan (brother’s friend) and his friends. Never again did my plans of visiting Aksa beach materialize.

– Cycle trip from our farm-house in Mangaon (marked as Surve House) to a distant place Vhira (where my grand father had bought land and a well was being constructed) with my brother and dad. Again I was sitting double seat with my dad most of the time.

– Trips to various Ganesh mandals in and around our locality during Ganesh Chaturthi with my building friends.

Do you remember your first maiden cycle trip…?

Remember this post of mine. Adding a little more to the previous teaser post.

Last couple of weeks have been exciting, challenging, lonely, introspective and fun at times. In all its been an enriching experience to say the least. Are you guys still wondering what I have been upto?

Here is what it is all(_almost all_) about ):

rode on rails, some cool wordpress hacks, explored flex, almost released a facebook app, own two web2.0ish domains now, was on the verge of announcing a contest on the web, washed my own clothes (in no particular order)

We have taken a break from all this and just trying to re-align our goals and our deeds. We are happy to go back to the drawing board and get our act together. So, sorry to keep you waiting for a little bit longer (_may be a bit too long_) before I have something really interesting to share.

Here I am
This is me
There’s nowhere
else on earth I’d
rather be
(credits: Bryan Adams)

(The above post may make sense only to few. Others be patient and wait for some more spice from my side)

Its been ……ages… since we last met. If i remember correctly we last met in stone age. You were Baby puss and i was Dino. Being a dinosaur i barked like a dog. You were too too sweet then. LoL. If you want to read more about our story then plz go here (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Flintstones) if not then call me on 9819319609 and hear it from me.

Left this message for a friend of mine after seeing her offliner. Hadn’t heard from her for a long time now. Lets see what her reply is… ;?)

(will not keep you all updated though of the happenings. lol. unless she replies to this post)

Today, I received this mail in my inbox.

To: akshay.surve@yahoo.com
Subject: Dear Valued Paypal Member
From: service@paypal.com
Date: Tue, 31 Jul 2007 01:32:51 +0200 (CEST)

Dear Valued Paypal Member

Your account has been randomly flagged in our system as a part of our routine security
measures.

This is a must to ensure that only you have access and use of your PayPal account and to
ensure a safe Paypal experience.

We require all flagged accounts to verify their information on file with us. your online
experience and renew.

Go to https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_help-ext&source_page=_home
and login your Paypal account.

Please do not reply to this e-mail. Mail sent to this address cannot be answered. For
assistance, log in to your Paypal
account and choose the “Help” link in the footer of any page.

Paypal

— here is another —

Dear member,
As part of our security measures, we regularly screen activity in the PayPal system. We recently contacted you after noticing an issue on your account. We requested information from you for the following reason:

We have reason to believe that your account was accessed by a third party. Because protecting the security of your account is our primary concern, we have limited access to sensitive PayPal account features. We understand that this may be an inconvenience but please understand that this temporary limitation is for your protection. Please fallow the link below to restore your account access.

Case ID Number: PP-098-556-456

Click here to restore your PayPal account.

Thank you for your patience as we work together to protect your account.
PayPal Account Review Department
PayPal Email ID PP1207

The email looks authentic. You can also see the ‘https’ link with the email which means it is secure. If you click on the link you go the PayPal website where you can signin to your PayPal account. Simple isnt’t it.

BEWARE

I first check the link I have been asked to click on. If the link doesn’t start with paypal.com (or anyother service provider) then I refrain from clicking on such links.

Though, there have been times when I do click on such link just to check how close they are to the real thing. Today was one of those days and so I clicked on the link. Guess what? I had this message from Firefox:

Isn’t that cool. Firefox jst rOcks!

Yeah, I have taken this old adage seriously. How?… (Don’t read, < see to believe >)

Unpacking the MacBook

MacBook keyboard

MacBook

8)

‘COKOMBA’

Rearrange this to form a meaningful word and spoil the surprise OR wait for one ;)

I will be attending the BarCampPune3 today.

The lineup of sessions seems to be exciting. Personally I am interested in meeting new people, people whose blogs i follow, people who i have read about, people who i have spoken to on phone, people with whom i have had email exchanges with and finally few people who i have known. So, all in all its going to be an interesting bunch of people who I am going to meet :)

Hey if you qualify to be among the people who I plan to meet then do use the code ‘aiwa’ when you greet me :p (LoL)

Now I have interesting people to meet at the BarCamp, a Nikon 4600 and I also have a Sansa 2.0gb c250 player/recorder. Lets see if I can put them to some good use :>?

Before signing off allow me to link back to BarCampMumbai posts (2005).

BarCampPune3… here i come ;-)

The past one month has been exciting to say the least. There is so much to write about that this blog post would not do justice to all of it. So as the title of this blog post suggests ‘I am not going to leave it at this…’, I will be making some follow-up posts.

To give you some clue of whats cooking I would like to share some related tags:
pinstorm, treks, salher, lohagad, varun, trekking, entrepreneurship, nirma labs, technoentrepreneurship, startup, goa, school friends, bikes, juhu, rains (did I miss anything ;)

The pre-monsoon showers have hit the suburbs in Mumbai today. In the afternoon it felt like a furnace outside and now its raining later in the evening. Thats Mumbai for you in all its glory.

Now I take your leave and stand witness to this phenomenon.

Oh! Are you attending the workshop, “From Software Engineering To Engineering Software“. I will be taking a session on “Software Engineering and Ruby on a Rails Journey”. Meet you there!

Few months back we had Rakhi Sawant & Mikka:

Now we have Richard Gere and Shilpa Shetty in top gear:

Rakhi looked upset about the whole thing but Shilpa may be liked it :p. Shilpa in her TV interview tried justifying the act by saying “Atithi Devo Bhava (Guest is like GOD)”. Isn’t that giving a whole new meaning to this adage? What was she thinking?

[to be updated]

[to be updated]

[to be updated]

I had to skip my breakfast early in the morning as I got up a little late. I wouldn’t mind skipping some more early breakfasts’ for some real discussion like the one yesterday at night.

Day 2 started with Madhu Bahai’s session on “Finding Fertile Ground”. He covered most of the topics from book with the same name (read more from here). Though, it was his insight and real life experiences were the ones to look forward for throughout the session.

Next up was “Building Cultures and Ethos in New Age Ventures” by Mr. Thyagarajan. We discussed Homestead.com (back in 2001) as a case study. There were considerable number of people who found the hiring, compensation and growth of the company unsatisfactory. Some even commented that the sole reason people would stick to this organisation which strives to provide good culture and thus pays 15% lesser than the industry standard is because the employees attain a comfort level. I wouldn’t agree with this as I strongly believe in the “Employee s come first” philosophy. To add to it Mr. Thyaghrajan also summed some fundamental principle new age ventures should likely follow, which include honesty, work philosophy (fairness) and desire to serve people. I couldn’t agree more with this thinking. Also. he stressed on WIM (what’s in it for me) & WIU (what’s in it for us) philosophy where the employees and employer have a clear understanding.

[updated later]

After lunch there was a session by Chirag Patel of Net4Nuts. The journey of Net4Nuts started with a web based product and now they are into mobile based value added services. He had his own list of Ps which he elaborated on. Few of the things I recollect are:
– Everyone is important. Everyone here involves just about everyone from employees, to customers and to even the accountants.
– Don’t compromise with people you hire.
– Be always aware about the environment you are in.
– Be fast to change.

I was very curious about session on “Fundamentals of Finance for Entrepreneurs” by Bharat Kanani (Sr. Vice President, GVFL). The session was too quick for me to follow or may be it was lack of sleep. The only thing about accounting I know is “Debit the reciever, credit the giver”, thanks to a week of commerce I attended at Narsee Mohanjee College of commerce. I would surely love to do a short course on commerce (do you know of any?). I had years back also tried to read “The Economic Times” regularly while on my bus journey to college in the morning. Most of the time (may be all times) I ended up having a refreshing sleep.

The last session of the day was by Chirag Mehta of IceNet. IceNet is a very well known ISP in Gujarat and very few (may be only one) who survived the competition from biggies like BSNL, Reliance etc. Now IceNet is also into product development with their flagship product Cyberroam client. He had a very interestion story of the tortoise and the hare to share which starts exactly from where the popular story we know ends.

During the day had some long discussions with Prof. Santosh Pullewar, Prof. Surinder Singh (both teach at Indira Institute of Management) and Neelkantappa H. s. I found them pretty receptive and humble.

Need I say looking forward for Day 3 ?

Day 1 of the Techno-Entrepreneurship Program lived upto its expectation.

Here is the schedule for the day: Day 1

The morning session started with Prof. B.H. Jajoo going through the program structure. He stressed on the fact that it was just a getting wet exercise and not swimming. He also stressed on the intensive nature of the program which is very true.

The next session was taken by Dr. Madhu Mehta on the “Challenges of the Techno-Entrepreneurship Journey.” He used slides extensively to illustrate what people think and then he would share his personal experiences and his take on things. His insight and practicality was particularly interesting.
Few of the things he put differently were:
– “There is Business and there are Entrepreneurial Ventures”
– “Me last attitude” expected from an Entrepreneur
(Some of this may make sense only in the context they were made)

Next session of the day was again taken by Madhu Bhai and was on “Appreciating, Analysing and Generating Ideas”. Here he made us think and look at things differently. One of the points he made was first assuming there exists a solution and then think of the solution. In this way one can leverage the full potential of the human mind by negating human tendency.

Next up was a session by Prof. B. H Jajoo on “Innovation Drivers in IT.” I must say this man is in love with his gadgets. He showed us everything from small USB drives, cool LED displays, latest PDAs, flexible keyboards for PDAs, USB HDD with media codecs and a small compass box sized linux box for multimedia (recordings, playing movies and music etc.). Did I miss something ? LoL. Look liked he owned most of it and was showing us things one by on like a magician popping up things from his hat.

Then we had a brief overview of “Elements of Business Plan” by Mr. K. Thyagrajan and Madhu Bhai. One of the things he stated differently from the more well-known belief was that a business plan is first for the entrepreneur and then for others. The premise of this statement was that an entrepreneur should work on his business plan first to think about all aspects throughly and internalize the venture. Later, he can adapt it to VC needs.

Later, we formed groups and discussed a case study of Homestead (www.homestead.com) a company which is out to create website for everyone and affect the lives of many in a positive way. It was really interesting to know about Homestead and its “Employees come first” culture. I believe building such an ecosystem is the trademark of an “Built to Last” company.

The last session was an informal meet with Kaushal Mehta, founder of Motif India a BPO startup. I did have an small interesting discussion with him about how he planned his entreprenurial journey and its much different then what I have/would like to do. (Would share it if I take out some time.)

Overall, I feel the first day is making me feel I have done the right thing by attending this program. I met people from diverse backgrounds, currently sharing my room with an interesting chap named Yatish from IISc (Sree u reading this?), met people who are facing problems with their startups and issues they haven’t thought of before, read case studies and met incubates at NirmaLabs.

Now, all I can say is I would be making an effort of trying to sleep but I have no clue when I would really sleep.

[update]

I did end my post here but the day was still not over and so much more happened before I slept. Yatish and me discussed everything from things that interest us to, creativity, imagination, product design, education, programming, quest to learn, entrepreneurship, cultural ethos of an organization, ideas, entrepreneurship and life in general. We must have wished eachother goodnight for atleast 3 times in between but then again continued to share our views. It was only after 4am that we slept.

The train Journey from Mumbai to Ahmedabad was indeed an interesting one. I am mostly not the one who initiates a conversation with co-travelers and it was the case again. Though, I am not averse to others initiating a conversation. I quite like it.

The lady next to me had boarded the train from Borivali. She had swapped seats with lady initially so that she and her husband could sit together. This guju couple offered me some chikis and chips also the usual whats ur name, what do you do and where are you heading stuff. When the couple got off the train at Baroda it was the lady back again at my side. The lady had over heard our conversation and so was interested in knowing where I was heading. Later on we discussed everything from NGOs, traveling, social entrepreneurship, books, cities and people. This lady I am talking about is Dipti Dhebar. She has been working with an NGO named Pratham Gujarat Initiative (www.pratham.org). From what I learnt Pratham focuses on education for the underprivileged and organizes balwadi for children aged 4 – 14 years. They have a curriculum of their own which she says is practical and more focussed on making the students literate. Pratham had a team of around 50 which decides the curriculum and topics included. Pratham followed a franchise model to reach the masses. She said that the franchisee model has worked wonders for Pratham.

I also shared with her some initiatives like Kshana(with which I have been involved) [www.kshana.org] and Toybank [www.toybank.co.in] with which some of my friends have been associated with and have been successes. I shared the essence of these organization which she found to be novel and interesting. Even she aimed at starting an organisation on her own in years to come. Social entrepreneurship is sure to catch up soon in India and become big as in the West.

She also invited me to one of the Balwadi’s and we exchanged numbers too. She did ask me to call her for any help I need while I am in Ahmedabad. We got into an rickshaw together as her place was somewhere in between Ahmedabad station and Nirma University campus. She also asked me to SMS her once I reach the Univesity Campus safely. Don’t people like her reinforce the faith in existence of humanity on earth?

Did I tell you there was burning smell all over in the compartment somewhere between Baroda and Ahmedabad and for which train was delayed by 20 minutes? Incidentally there was smoke seen in C3 compartment (I was in C1).

Wasn’t it an interesting journey?

Amit was here over the weekend for some placement activity of his. He is an HR (Assistant Manager) in Wipro. The last time when he was here we had a blast. We (me, amit and sankool) went around on bike to explore Mumbai’s night life.Had Pav bhaji at Bhagvati around 2:30 in the night. We spent rest of the night at Juhu Hotel near the sea side sipping coffee. The next day around afternoon Amit and me left for Borivali National Park. We checked out the Tiger and Lion safari where we saw a very cute white tiger. The Lions there were pretty boring. Later in the day Swapnesh joined us and we checked out Gorail Beach. We reached the beach just after sunset and caught a glimpse of the boats on the beach in an unforgettable silhouette. Later, we just passed our time on a ramp which extended in the sea. There was a continuous balmy breeze and the pitch dark sky along with bright stars rendered an unforgettable image in our hearts. For dinner we visited Punjabi Pind at Raghulela Mall. The place just rocks. If I had not been to this place I could say I had never been to Punjab, but can’t say that now. It was FuN.

This time around I was a little busy with things (some deadlines at office) and my trip to NirmaLabs didnt make things easier. He stayed over at my place and had dinner too. Mom had prepared some nice pulav and salad to go with it. We had a marathon session of debate after dinner. I must confess I am not at all good at debates. The last debate I remember I ended up supporting the opponent’s claim. If historical records are to be considered then Amit is a pro. Even then I managed to defeat Amit. Amit said he hadn’t practised it for long (What an excuse). Anyways the next day I had lot of things lined up to complete before I left the city so we couldn’t plan anything in advance. After a lot of confusion (from Amit’s side) we decided to meet at Andheri around 10pm. I somehow managed to reach on time. We decided to have dinner at Alfa. When Amit’s around I can depend on him choosing the menu. We started with Chicken Kutubshahi and Prawn Masala with Naan. Then went on to Chicken Afgani and Jeera rice. Finished with Rose Falooda and Phirni. Had a masala paan to top it all.

Invitation

We both are by instincts adventure enthusiasts. Amit has trekked more than 80 forts in Maharashtra. Some of which he has trekked multiple times. During dinner we were thinking of planning some adventure in the coming months. Amit wanted to trek the Himalayas in August – October. I thought of a cooL trekking cum desi trotting experience. The deal was to start with a set amount of money and set number of days and to try and cover as much of a particular location. Sounds interesting? Here is the formal invitation if you want to be part of this expedition. Pre-requisites include compatibility, excitement and zest to take things as they come by. Shoot me an email or push your comments here.

I will be attending the Techno-Entrepreneurship program from April 9th – 14th at NirmaLabs in Gujarat.

Whats interesting about this program:

• Focus on technology startups
• Sessions introduce a range of topics a techno-entrepreneur should be familiar with (think about)
• Interact with technology entrepreneurs
• Time for myself (as its a resedential program)

Expect detailed notes here on my blog from the program.

Last month I finished reading The Art of War edited by James Cavell. I found the book very objective and meaningful even today. No doubt its recommended in business and managerial studies.

Here are some incomplete notes from the first 5 chapters:

I

All warfare is based on deception.

II

In war, then, let your great object be victory, not lengthy campaigns.

III

Thus we may know that there are five essentials for victory:

(1) He will win who knows when to fight and when not to fight.

(2) He will win who knows how to handle both superior and inferior forces.

(3) He will win whose army is animated by the same spirit throughout all its ranks.

(4) He will win who, prepared himself, waits to take the enemy unprepared.

(5) He will win who has military capacity and is not interfered with by the sovereign.

If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat.

IV

To secure ourselves against defeat lies in our own hands, but the opportunity of defeating the enemy is provided by the enemy himself.

What the ancients called a clever fighter is one who not only wins, but excels in winning with ease.

Thus it is that in war the victorious strategist only seeks battle after the victory has been won, whereas he who is destined to defeat first fights and afterwards looks for victory.

V

Thus it is that in war the victorious strategist only seeks battle after the victory has been won, whereas he who is destined to defeat first fights and afterwards looks for victory. He takes individual talent into account, and uses each men according to his capabilities. He does not demand perfection from the untalented.

The last two lines is the mantra I stand by and follow.

People traveling on the Blue Billion Express and their relatives (more than a billion people back home) had a shocker of a time on the 24th March. According to Reuters, passengers suffered multiple injuries of which some are still serious. Most of the passengers were seniors and on a journey which was touted as their last. There are no reports of deaths.

After the accident, officials were quick to react and have announced that a detailed inquiry would be carried out by an independent body to ascertain the causes of the accident. Some officials blamed a coach of the express . Others claimed that the driver of the express favored senior passengers and did not have the fire power to drive to the destination. One official was quoted saying that “the disaster was waiting to happen.” According to a recent report the losses may touch $35M.

You would do the same only if you had access to our internal mailing list. Most of the time you have witty messages flying here and there on the mailing list. Yours truly, just posted one some time back and he can already hear the LoLs from far away. I hope everyone takes it in the right (milky) spirit ;-)

[Would only make sense to Pinstormers]

Guess what the title of this post means! Did you try linking the title of this post to Monalisa? Oh! you are nowhere near finding the right answer. Pagalisa is what Varsha, my cousin sister calls me. Isn’t that coOL??? LoL, may be not but it sure is FuN to hear. Don’t remember when she started using this for me but its surely been long. Recently, she had been on a vacation to Goa and over the last week and stayed over in Mumbai ver the weekend.

Varsha is a typical Delhite with don’t mess with me attitude. She is FuN to be with most of the time till you play by her rules (LoL). If you try to mess around with her you sure are to be punished. The punishment may vary from Kung-fu chops, bites, katti to calling her mom. We together really have a blast. I tend to compete with her in all respects double it up with more hungama :p. Shes naughty and likes calling and SMSing people from my cellphone. When I had been to Delhi she just happened to call Priya and SMS Cheryl and Ajay Mama. So this time I was careful and kept my cell phone away from her. Last time around when she had been to Mumbai she was offcourse smaller and even more random. She took permanent marker and wrote my name on my wooden cupboard. How sweet isn’t it? I tried erasing those marks but it wasn’t of any use and I thought it was sweet so I kept it as it is. Later, I remember fondly SMSing masi when they left Mumbai,

Varsha ki yaadein Dil, Dimakh aur Cupboard par hamesha rahengi!

This still holds true. I hope she remains like this forever… ;-)

India is currently riding high on its retail boom. Suddenly there are malls popping out from no where.  I have nothing against them but for the last few years weren’t we talking about the lack of space in Mumbai? Suddenly there is loads of space to fit in a micro-city (err… hypercity).

I remember reading a hoarding of Hypercity which said, “From bread to bed.” I found it pretty interesting as it conveyed their message very clearly.

Seeing the kind of investment in the retail sector I wouldn’t be surprised to see a hoarding which says, “From brooms to rooms.”

Once again I planned an annual meetup for SchoolFriends.It happend to be around the same time as last year and an adventure trek too.

I am sure you would love to read about it too…

What started with a casual discussion between me, dazzle, kartik and pratik, finally culminated in one adventurous and eventful outing. Special thanks to everyone who made it to the outing… (in no particular order ;-) Dazzle, Pratik, Kartik, Cherie, Sheetal, Abhijeet, Nihal, Santosh (Nihal’s cousin) and Me (too ;-) !

So what was so adventurous and eventful this time around? Oh hell yeah… everything. The planning whcih was too adhoc… we did what we wanted to and didn’t try to plan things (or try and stick to any decided plans).

Firstly, the train journey (Goregaon-Bandra-Wadala-Panel) was FuN filled and all the while. We switched trains one after another. Ppl stuck to their roles… Cherie (always gigling), Kartik (Gadget gyaan) likewise.

I had thought of hiring a TumTum (10 seater) to get to Karnala which was around 15km. from Panvel. Me and Kartik tried to get a good deal out at the rickshaw stand and fixed it with someone. On the other hand others unanimously (Yup, Cherie has the convincing power…) decided to walk our way to Karnala.

A 15 km. walk was no small deal… eveyone knew that but then I am sure everyon wanted to have Fun (yeh school_friends ka style hai bidu !) We had our share of breaks. Batata vada, sabudana khichdi, chaas and kokam sarbat were awesome at Datta snacks (near phalase phata… 3 km from Panvel) We kept on walking… and walking… yah and some more walking. Need I say it was real hot and the road was pretty dumb but we had years of gupshup to cling onto and yah the usual kheechna-kheechana to do. Oye we topped our own record of 12 km. to the Mahuli base with a rock solid 15km to reach Karnala. Just to give u an idea of the enthusiasm… Cherie and Pratik ran the last 100mt in a sprint… surprised :? !!!!

We got our lunch (batata vada and pulav along with some tasty onion slices) from a nearby restaurant and had it in the Karnala Bird Sanctuary on a circular looking stage amongst monkeys.

After taking a small break we started towards Karnala fort. Again it looked dumb to start with but soon we were on a dirt track towards the top (bcz someone directed that it would be quicker). Quicker it must be but soon we realised that it wasn’t that easy… must be bcz of the 15 km. walk we did before. Anyways it was exciting and challenging to keep us going… though we slowed down a bit. We would take pics at regular intervals all this while. Also this time around we had thick vegetation protecting us from the sun’s heat. Hey ‘Sathiya haath badha, Saathiya’ is one song which would fit very well. We made sure we all reached the top.

The view from the top was exhilarating. Most of the fortification was stil intact. There was a water reservoir at the top from which we quenched our thirst. The water was coOL and satisfying to say the least. We explored few parts of the fort here and there and were ready to start our journey back. We did the customary Jay Gunj at the top before leaving which left us completely rejuvenated to reach to the base again.

The descnt was simpler and we choose the longer (bt comparitively simpler) route this time. During the descent it was more of some coOL music (courtesy: sony erricson and nokia), some groovy moves (courtesy: cherie, dazzle, me and pratik), bum-massage and setting sun. By the time we had arrived to te base it had got dark.

If you feel that was it… then you are wrong. Nope we didn’t return walking back to Panvel… tat would have been too much. To substitue for it we took lift from a truck from the highway. Yah, it was all the more exciting to come back in the truck. We all cramped ourselves in the front of the truck… yup all 9 of us in the front. The truck driver also tried to play some bhojpuri music on our request.

We came back to normalcy (not sure of this) after reaching Panvel station and traveling back home by train.

By the way I didn’t write much about birds bcz we didn’t see any. Yup, its just a namesake bird sanctuary, though it didnt affect us much and we continued with the same zeal to the top.

So how was it? I sure missed to mention a lot of things… but that is the price you pay for not making it to the outing for wateva reasons of urs ;-)

d

Thnks once again for the people who made this possible by comming for the outing. Feel sorry for all who missed this one. Like always, there surely will be a next time ;-).

– I just pulled this from the follow-up mail I posted on our schoolfriends group.

Pics from the Trek:

Click on the image below to look at the complete album:

Updated and Archived so the postdate is not true representative of the actual post date.

On October 8th, I had planned a trek to Peth (near Karjat) with friends (Sankool, Swapnesh, Hardik and Manav). Like all other treks it was awesome. Just the right weather to go for the trek! It was shady during the ascent and drizzled a little while on descent. Last year I had been to Peth-Bhimashankar overnight trek. We halted at night in the caves of Peth fort. This time it was only one day trek.

Some interesting tit-bits…

We started late (anyone cud have guessed that ;-) and Manav who is in Pune joined us from Karjat. From there we hired Vikram(10 seater) to reach base village of Ambivali. This journey was coOL and enjoyable. Lots of PJs + stories to tell eachother. On reaching Ambivali we quickly asked for directions and started out trek. None of them had an idea of Peth except for me. I just told them that they won’t believe me when I point out the fort to them. Primarily because it seems impossible at start but is pretty doable. You just need to have a trekers mindset. My favorite line is always “We trek only to a point from which we can return safely.” I say this just to make them feel comfortable. Also, I only choose treks which are comfortable to first timers. So, on the whole I make sure they reach the top (touch-wood).

The initial part of the trek is crossing a mountain and getting to the plateau from where you can get to the base village of the fort. It is only then that you get a clear view of the Peth fort. No first timer can believe we would make it to the top of that fort. There was Hardik who thought I was joking, Manav and Swapnesh knew I was serious but had no clue how and Sankool who knew I was serious and there would surely be a way to the top. Their perspectives tell you how seasoned trekers they are. We took a lot of snaps here. Next we reached the Peth base village and had nimbu pani in a house and also asked them to arrange lunch for us when we come back.

Now from the base village we started our ascent of the fort. We missed a right turn towards the top and ended up taking almost a half circle of the fort before we realized and to our luck we were guided by two females who were carrying firewood back to the village. Its fun getting lost and then finding your way back again. We were soon on the right track and were gaining altitude soon.

We reached the gate of the fort soon and did a customary ‘Jay Gunj’ which is a salute to Chattrapathi Shivaji Maharaj. Next we visited the caves. Now there was another interesting thing which is fairly unique to the Peth fort. There is a secret(everyone knows about it though..) tunnel to get to the top of the fort which is just superb. At the top of the fort it always feels amazing. You feel victorious and satisfied at the same time.

The descent from the fort was also exciting and we did it pretty quickly. This time we didn’t loose our way to the base village. Also, it drizzled just right and for the right time so it felt good. We had our lunch in the village and then just lazed away for a few minutes.

On our return journey we were quick and didn’t take a halt. We were back to the base village of Ambivali just before it got dark. We were damn tired by then. We lied there on the road for sometime just to let the feeling seep in. Then we tried to take some pictures of ourselves sleeping on the road in a formation. After a few pics we could hear Vikram ( the 10 seater ) making a vroommmm sound and approaching us. We boarded it and it took us back to Karjat station. The journey back was unforgettable as it was nice and coOL by then and the ambience was moonlight. I could not stop myself from singing “So gaya yeh zahan…. soo gaya asssmaaan …. ” ( I am sure others surely wanted me to stop.. for obvious reasons but I went on… .>!

Manav got a train back to Pune quickly and rest of us had to wait for another hour. Travelling in the train was also fuN and I started a story telling session which was quite interesting. Hardik (dukh bhari kahaniyaan) and Swapnesh also shared their own stories. By then we reached Dadar and then in sometime to our sweet homes.

Yup, every trek is truly unforgettable and unique :D

Pics from the Trek:

Click on the image below to browse the album:

I just happened to visit BASES Entrepreneurship Kickoff 2006-2007 after reading a blog post on meebo. Chk this:

The BASES Entrepreneurship Kickoff aims to bring Stanford students, venture capitalists, and entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley together with a mixer and panel that will kick off a year of entrepreneurship at Stanford. The panel will address issues in entrepreneurship through the shared experiences and perspectives of the panelists. Panelists range from venture capitalists to entrepreneurs in the mobile apps, web 2.0, and social entrepreneurship arena.

Other information:

• Indian and Chinese food will be provided for attendees.
• A raffle will be held for various items including an iPod.
• Also present to build awareness for their events will be other Stanford student groups related to entrepreneurship including the GSB High Tech Club, the GSB E-Club, LASES, and others.

Look whats on the menu :p ?

Never before had I been to a GaRbAa night. Except for one forgetful evening when I had been to one around 10:15pm and it got over by 10:30pm. :p

So this year (29th September) it was my first time and like all other things was unplanned and was decided at the last moment after some coaxing from my colleagues (Hardik, Ashwini and Pawan). I just happened to say ‘yes’ and then the next thing I remember was changing in to a shirt given by Hardik.

Ashwini made a couple of phone calls to ensure a pass for me was available. So me, Hardik, Pawan and Ashwini left for Mithibai college where the event was. Reshma, her dauther Anoushka, her husband and brother-in-law were going to join us at the event.

I was sure I would not be able to pick up the steps naturally. I am not a born dancer ! But I knew if someone gave me a crash course I may pick it up. Inside the music was loud and everyone were all enjoying. I was coOL… good music, coOL people and gr8 looking guju babes around :p

Among us Hardik was a pro and so was Ashwini, Pawan had two left feet and I had one ;-)

Hardik and Ashwini joined a small gang and started dancing. I was warming up (;-) and just trying to let the beats seep in. Suddenly the music stopped and looked like the show was over. Unlike my previous experience this time I knew they would start again bu this time without the loudspeakers. It would just be the band and no vocals. It wouldn’t make a big difference to me.

I said to myself I am not here to see others dance… I wanted to try dance too. Hardik was extremely supportive and encouraging. He told me, “Akshay you need to learn the steps before the band starts playing again. Its your only chance!”. I said, “Fine! I don’t care whether the music is playing or not…just teach me now.”

So, there he was teaching me his favorite (and now mine too) move called ‘Popat’ while others were taking a break and resting. I was trying my best to match up to what he was try to teach me, but it wasn’t working. The flow wasn’t there. I would somewhere go wrong on the turns. There were people who were seeing us dancing with no music but we continued. Also, not all were interested in watching us, my steps were not that amusing.

So, to cut things short it wasn’t working untill… I came up with this algorithm.

Algo: POPAT_GARBA (2 – 4 : This is how its signaled :)

(Intialise: Face to the center of the circle formed)

1. Take a step towards your right. ( This may also look like a step and a half )
2. Now take a 180* turn in the clockwise direction
3. Take another step, this time towards your left and stop
4. Now take a step towards right.
5. Now take a 180* turn in the anti-clockwise direction
6. Take another step, towards your left.
7. Again take a 180* turn in the anti-clockwise direction
8. Now take a step towards right.
9. Now take a 180* turn in the anti-clockwise direction
10. Take another step, towards your left.
11. Again take a 180* turn in the anti-clockwise direction
12. Continue from Step 1 untill everyone decides to change the step. Also, even if you miss any keep continuing.

This may seem childish but I am sure people who are not well versed with Garba (lik me) may find it useful. Also the key here is taking the turns in the right orientation (clockwise/anti-clockwise).

“Gandhigiri – is it still relevant?”, is a simple question which you need to ask yourself and find your own answer. (I am trying to do the same here)
Gandhigiri to me is adherence to simple but powerful values of truth and morality. Questioning Gandhigiri is questioning the relevance of these essential values. People (sometimes even me ;-) fail to realize the potential of Satyagraha and non-violent protests (or just prefer to ignore). Blame it on myopia. People want to see favourable results instantly and so tend to use other means (read by hook or by crook). I just hope people regain their belief in the effectiveness of non-violent protests. For me the best part of non-violent protests is that we maintain our composure and compel others to pay heed to our request.
I like the term ‘Gandhigiri’ and in general I do like buzz words (read Web2.0 etc). They give you a fresh perspective to look at things. Its like repackaging of sorts to cater to the tastes of the new generation. Bole toh… Zhaakass !

“Speak only If you can improve upon silence.”

I am not as busy as to use it as an excuse for not blogging.

What’s Your EQ (Emotional Intelligence Quotient)?

The Quick and Dirty Career Test

I guess I have chosen the right career… :p?

Starts unknowingly,

Flourishes skeptically,

Culminates decidedly

and then…

Fades gradually.

– Akky

Does anyone agree?

To start with I said to myself, “I have tried the Half Marathon! Why not try the Hackathon too !! – 22nd July”

I was not sure of taking part in the hackathon as i had never treid RoR, there was still a week to go and not many participants had signed up on their wiki. Even then I just happend to put my name there in the list of participants. There was a faint chance of me going for the hackathon if Shweta (intern at my office) would join in as she has been trying out Ruby on Rails (RoR) for over a month now. I asked her and she was going to leave for Hyderabad a day before the hackathon. I had almost left the idea of joining the hackathon as i had to work a lil harder the same week to meet project deadlines. To cut things short I was surely going to miss the hackathon. Later in the day (I guess Tuesday) something happened (I am not sure wat) but I decided I would give it a try. So, here I was having no clue of RoR but wanting to attend the hackathon a core no-frills geek meet. I took a 15 minute tutorial (LoL) from Shweta on RoR and also got the Agile Web Programming with Rails book (thnks to my office). I would read the book while travelling in the bus and late at night. I could only read it for 3 days.

It was around 11am on 29th July and I typed the first command to start a project in RoR… $ rails mars

If I do not discuss the positives from the event then I won’t do justice to the thought behind organising such an event.

To keep things short

People !

- I met quite a few interesting, friendly and like minded people around.

- Vaibhav Domkundwar from Better Labs who was one of the organisers, was really interested in the proceedings and made everyone feel comfortable. One of the things he stressed on was taking this initiative forward. He also discussed the future potential of the applications with each one personally. He even discussed about his latest initiatives like dealplumber.com and how he wanted the Tech community in India to develop and grow.

- Satish Mishra again from Better Labs made sure that everything was in place. Later after the hackathon he also shared his views on what Better Labs was all about and their india2.0 initiative.

- Pratik who also happened to come down for BarCampMumbai was participating. I had read his blog and even commented on the BarCamp posts. Never happened to to know/speak him (didnt happen to start a conversation with him at the BarCamp). He has been actively involed wtih RoR for around 3 months now. BTW he won the hackathon !
Learning !

- Yup, being there was a learning experience. Though I was not sure of how I would fair at the hackathon but I was sure that I would try to experiment with RoR for 24 hours. Everyone present was helpful and alway ready to share what they knew.
IDeas !

- Everyone was working on their own ideas. The positive vibes around were contagious. Being there was really encouraing.

Future !

- I am sure something like this will catch up soon in other cities too like the BarCamp. Looking forward for more of such geeky encounters.

Deliverables !

- I would surely be realeasing Mars soon to the open source community. This is going to be my second initiative after Qikblogger and I am excited.

Thnks !

Yup, thnks to the organisers and congratulations for a super-successful event.

The MaRaThoN has just begun ;-)

Have been following Ruby and Ruby on Rails(RoR) for some time now. Today (in the last 24 hours) I finally treid it out live at the hackathon. Ruby is coOL and Ruby on Rails is even coOLer! Like there is no smoke without fire… RoR really stands up to the hype (wateva) around it.

I also liked the whole concept of a hackathon. Cheers to Better Labs for initiating it and hearty congratulations for its success.
More about it later…

Hey I was selected as the SiLver Hacker at the hackathon after the evaluations ! Cheers !!! I built a planet application using Ruby on Rails in 36 hours and named it Mars (any guesses y ?). You can know more about it here.

I guess I was waiting for a excuse (?) to start using RoR. Now I am sure its going to be a MaRaThoN run with ruby for company.

Yup I am at the punehackathon !

Hackathon.in

A no-frills geek meet, an effort from Better Labs, a tiny geeky company in Pune.

Check some live pics and action at http://punehackathon.pbwiki.com/FrontPage

This is a test post for my application Mars which I plan to build as a part of the hackathon

Remember my post ‘ iNcLuSiOn of name in VoTeR LisT ‘ a couple of months back ?

Today, i recieved a mail in my inbox saying,

Your online Application no XXXXXXXXXXXX dated 2006/05/16
The name of has been included in 42-Goregaon Assembly Constituency in Part No 88 at Serial Number 958

wOw now even I can vote. By the way whom shall i vote? This is a question I have been asking myself as there is not much choice. Haven’t found a suitable answer yet.

To blog: dilema surrounding voting

Treks are usually unique. Not only the place but also even the whole experience is always unique. To put it straight Rajmachi was not just a trek but a complete adventure.
An adventurous trek in the rains

Another weekend and another monsoon trek in the sahayadris. I was sure it would be rocking especially considering the rains were here in full swing. The destination this time was Rajmachi, which has twin forts at the top.

Picnic/Trip

I traveled from Mumbai to lonavala. Didn’t have a clue about people who would be joining in for the trek. Seeing the trek group (me, Amit, Anand who was wearing just slippers, Anu and Amit’s mother) I thought it wasn’t going to be a gruesome trek. I thought it would be more like a trip/picnic (a fun day out).

A gypsy was waiting for us at the Lonavala ST stand

We would be going by jeep to the base (Rajmachi – ‘machi’ is a place at the plateau of the fort). Therefore, it would save us the long walk but then we would be missing the opportunity to get wet in the rains.

The ride in the gypsy starts…

We all got into the gypsy. It was difficult to fit into the gypsy considering a couple of heavy weights (yes including Amit). The person driving the gypsy started the music at full volume. The volume/noise was near deafening. Initially it was getting into my brains but later I liked it. I guess it was trance from my very limited (negligible) knowledge of music.

The dirt track begins

After a short ride towards Rajmachi, the dirt track began. Due to the rains, the track was sticky and at some places, it was so sludgy that if one stands he would have his feet shin deep in mud. It was exciting. The driver of the car was none other than Afzal Khan (also know as Afzal Paani).More about him here. It was an 18km ride to Rajmachi. It was full of turns, streams crossing the track and slopes (where sometime we had to get down and walk). One stream was a feet deep and had enough force. Seeing Afzal maneuver the car through the rocky terrain of the stream was an experience in itself. There were times when the back portion of the gypsy would wobble on the mud.

Trek

Yes, finally we started our trek (Amit’s mom stayed at the base). The trek was not strenuous at all, as we took a ride to the base but the scenery it offered was breath taking. Greenery everywhere and pure white streams of water add to it the occasional drizzle and wind.

Food

Food in treks is always special. It surely tasted different. The menu was Nachni chi bhakri, paneer burji, usal, kanda, loncha, thesa, dal ani bhat (read in marathi).

Ride back to Lonavala

Ride back to Lonavala was roCkinG ! This time we (Amit and me) were on the back of an open Gypsy and Amit was shooting Afzal maneuvering his car on the track.

Road Trip

Imagine a dirt track racer on the highway and the road. May be u guessed wrong. On the road he was completely chilled out, no hurry no speeds anything. However, whenever he would get a chance to show his skills in maneuvering the car through the traffic he was spot on. He was driving his car as if we would ride our bike through the traffic.

All in all a complete experience!

Pictures taken from Amit’s camera can be found here.

Life is interesting,
interesting enough to keep you hooked

Life is fast,
fast enough to miss it completely

Life is alive,
alive enough to make its presence felt

Life is postitive,
positive enough to give you hope

Life is real,
real enough to take it seriously

Life is naughty,
naughty enough to play pranks

Life is smart,
smart enough to oversmart you

Life is precious,
precious enough to value it

life is cute,
cute enough to caress it

Life is mysterious,
mysterious enough to explore it

Life is Life,
LiFe enough to live for it

-Akky

Today, I had been to my alma mater (read Don Bosco Institute of Technology) to conduct an introductory seminar on DSpace – A digital repostitory system and its prospects as a part of the CRAVE initiative.

It was intersting bcoz:

- always feels gr8 to be back in college.

- interesting to address an entusiastic batch of students eager to know more.
Just a little about DSpace and why DSpace:

- For a quick example to which everyone can relate to, consider the final year theses the college produces at the end of each year. Is there a way students can surf through all the previous works? How about the research papers, publications etc. the students and professors attempt to write. Most of them are lost. A digital repository will enable the institution to manage its intellectual property. To read more about  DSpace try www.dspace.org
- Personally I would like to get my college name here > DSpace Instances Worldwide

- More about the seminar and various topics discussed on the CRAVE wiki [not updated yet]

What I do not want to stress about Mumbai:

- Spirit of Mumbai

- Kudos mumbaikars ( helpful, can handle all this…, wateva )

- will fight back, strong-hearted, pounce-back, etc

- will continue as if nothing happened. ( ppl wud try getting in the trains before it stops and before ppl who want to get down at the station board off the train )

- Hats off to Mumbai

- Salaam Mumbai

Yah, a lots have been said about Mumbai and its attitude (I am not commenting on the Readers’ Digest Survey). We get to hear a lot of this when catastrophic events like the recent blasts (which have become quite regular) happen. I must say this only helps in ego boosting (which is needed, but only sometimes). I am not questioning its credibility as I stand with it but on the ground level, it does not help us or will not help us in the long run.

Just for a small analogy, let’s compare Mumbai to a human heart. Consider each major catastrophe as a block in the heart. In the past month, we have had at least a couple of blocks with around 80% blockages. Now, what we do (all that fighting back and coming-up again stuff) is a by-pass surgery. Though it works *fine* with our heats but is not the right thing to do considering Mumbai is going to livelonger much much longer than what a human heart has to.
What we actually need is to think of a long-term policy of dealing with similar situations. Disaster Management + Futuristic Research. Call it anything…. I don’t care but I need the government to take measures for avoiding future mishaps. Consider the proposed Metro Rail project facing a similar situation in the future. I would propose (if only the government would listen to me) not to build one if the security measures are not in place.

What needs to be done? [This is a random list…]

- Disaster mgmt.: Dnt. expect the government (read police, ambulances, etc) to arrive at crime scenes in flash. It would be highly unrealistic. We need to help ourselves at that time. Simply put it is bringing order to disorder.

- Security policy: Should involve some highly effective security measures and not asking a pandu (I dnt mean any disrespect to Police Hawaldars…. I respect them for what they do for us and I am calling them ‘pandu’ very fondly) to carry a metal detector in BEST bus. I know we can do better.

- Infrastructure and Resources: Need I stress on this? We (mumbaikars) face it, talk abt it, realize it and forget abt it!

- Government + Statehood for Mumbai: I am not blaming the Government (I m not Advani). I feel Mumbai should be awarded statehood. I m not sure of the implications it would have on politics, India, ppl etc. but all I need to stress on is that Mumbai needs special treatment. It needs special attention and constant care considering the way it has shaped up.

- Visionaries and Thinkers: Yah, I seriously feel the government needs to employ visionaries and thinkers to come up with ideas and feasible solutions. (and not rely on some random ramblings of a blogger ;-) )

I am sure you must have seen the latest ad-campaign from adidas – ‘IMPOSSIBLE IS NOTHING‘ for the 2006 FIFA World Cup. I must say its quite interesting like all of their other campaigns. Though I have nothing much to say about adidas and its campaign. What I want to share is something I noticed.

Have you seen ‘Shabash India’ the new TV Series from ZEE TV. It says ‘Namumkin Kuch bhi Nahin’. Does it sound familiar? Nah ! Now if you transliterate this into English it would be ‘Impossible is Nothing’. Think abt it ;-)
Surprising isn’t it ?

LoL

Hope its jst a coincidence and not a rip off ! ( but then u never know )

As rains in Mumbai got close to their performance on 26/7, people were reminded of the devastation and various experiences they had. Everyone has a story to tell, some incident to share, some touching moments and numerous memories.

I remember my post (not really mine) on 26/7.

So here, I am sharing my adventure of 26/7 and its aftermath (more for the interesting read and for archival purposes).

The day started normally as any other regular college day for me. I sure must have been late. It started raining heavily in the afternoon and soon we were relieved from our lectures and we all were so happy. Then followed lots of adventure…

- Most of them just collecting on the ground floor lobby and observing the rains. – Some making plans to stay overnight. I m sure they did not mean it but just thought of it as something adventurous.

- I, Manav and Pd ventured out after lot of hesitation. Many people on the road, traffic around, natural wave pools, I m sure u can imagine.

- I remember walking towards Saki naka in a little more than waist height water. Though it was fine for me, it was a little tougher for others. We also devised a simple way of making our way thru… it was moon walking thru the water. A funny incident I remember was tat a man was struggling moving in the opposite direction pushing something with two hands, which we could not see. I innocently asked him, “Neeche kya hai, Bike yah cycle?” LoL

- I remember we did climb up some metal structure to sit on it for sometime. Later I found out it was a fence and a big enough gutter alongside which we happened to jump over.

- Rescuing some DBITians (1 boy and 4-5 galz) from the BEST bus which we found was strangled on the way with water flowing with a very strongly and even making the bus drift.

- Going back to where the bus was to get others (who did not come with us the first time), as we realized the flow of water was very strong and was increasing.

- By then most of the students and Profs had come back to college.

- Me and Manav going back outside to get something to eat for others from the back-gate of our college. Having garma-garam tea at a stall and buying a few vada-pavs. Finding the same gate locked on return and no one around. Finally, climbing that 15ft. high gate to get in college.

- Spending overnight in college and doing all sorts of things… playing, singing, trying to call home, trying to sleep on chairs but finally settling for removing the curtains (courtesy me) and using them.

- Our journey back home. Walking some of it. Getting lift for the rest. We were first offered lift by a Sardar who had been giving lift to people all night.

- Walking the distance from western express highway to home actually made me realize the extent of destruction. Number of buffalos I saw hanged to death was moving… OMG this can go on.

- Our locality was in ruins. The floods had deposited a silt of 3-5 inches, which had covered the completely concrete jungle. I never expected something like this to happen near my building and locality.

- Getting our lives back to normal.

- I remember me and a couple of others in the underground tank of our building trying to empty it of dirty water so tat we wud have clean water coming in the next morning. We would fill buckets and send outside. It was pitch dark inside but we were having FuN… singing and swimming too ;) . Others had gathered on the outside and were encouraging us. There was an uncle who turned out to be a complete showman shouting some hilarious slogans. One of them was… ” Bastiwaloon andar gaye nawjawanoon ke liye bajao taaaali…,” tat too so loud tat all the flats facing the tank would easily hear.

- Surveying the damage around…!

- Cleaning the underground tank with Bisleri water… LoL

- Playing the guitar… actually just strumming the guitar randomly. Got it from one of the ground floor flats as their place was in complete disarray.

- Taking a bath (almost) in the open as our building had ordered a tanker for everyone to enjoy after cleaning the silt accumulated!

- Nothing to do for a couple of days. No idiot box and no Internet. Quite an experience.

- Some false alarms and rumors sent shockwaves around and on one day, I could see hundreds of people running on the road in from of out building… LoL

- Finally, Hats off!to the Spirit of Mumbaikars.

BE Final Exams

As us usual they were unpredictable, unsatisfactory and unreal.

After exams !

The vacation started and I was already bored. Felt a void of sorts as nothing was left to do (as a student) and lots of expectation and aspiration of my own and others to be fulfilled. I now know its easier to be a student and best to remain one. I am not very sure how to remain a student but I can try.

Treks

Yup, the rains were here and so it made a great season to trek. To add to it the exams were over and so needed some real valuable break to get over them. Planned couple of treks in quick sucessions to Prabalgad and Matheran-Peb (hey any1 thinking of gifting me a Flickr PRO account :p). It was an amazing experience like all treks are. They had a nice mix of exploration and adventure. Add to it the overall green ambience and some rain showers when they were needed. Surprisingly we even discovered water bodies on both the treks which were the icing on the cake. Water really has a relaxing effect on muscles but then getting out of it and continuing becomes doubly hard.

Hey if u fancy trekking and adventure do let me knw. I love to go on treks with first timers. Their entusiasm just rubs on you.

School Friends Meetup at Juhu

One of those spl moments u dare not miss. ( To give u sneak peek of the FuN we had, here is a snippet of one of my mails on our groups after the meetup, for friends who missed the meet! )

In the water… all were behaving like kids. Yah smaller than our
school days. Splashing water on eachother… one by one ( taking turns
) in targetting others. Some scared of water ( may be the
she was not sure of the water quality… comeon believe me it was very
clear as if filtered LoL). To cut it short we splashed water, ran
behind eachother, fell completely in the water at some point of time
played cutting the cake in water… yah and 15
meters sprint in the water too. LoL . Mst be like 1.5 hrs in water.

–~–

Finally, we were joined by Sunny, Romil and Dheeral ( good to see they
took the efforts to reach there) for dinner at Paratha House. It was
FuN talking abt everything from school, sensex, hedge funds, ca,
commerce, ex-flames, particularity, eating, vassoooli, capacity and yeah rains.

Thnks to all who made it to the meet. I am sure no one cud hav askd
for more… and everyone looked happy by the end with glistening eyes
and hunger for more such meets in months to come.

Heres a pic. (Sorry for the link to Orkut album.) This is one of my favorite pics. Just love the feel of it!

Suffered from Flu

This was something completely unexpected. LoL ! No one wud but then I never thought of flu as evil. I thought flu is whn u feel feverish for a night… take crocin and continue with ur life the next day. It turned out to be quite an experience too. Cold, sore throat, weakness, joint pains, fever, heaviness in the head all together. All this also meant I missed my weekend trek but then on the otherhand lots of other things to talk about. Behaved like a kid (a very very small one), slept most of the time, askd mom to take a holiday..:d. Lost track of the days and wished Shwetha on her birthday a day later as if i was wishing on the same day and she reminding me tat i sud actually wish her belated happy birthday. I also finished reading ‘The Google Story‘. Had been to college too after feeling a little better.

The Google Story

The most striking feature of the Google story for me would be that Brin and Page were not in it to make money or had BIG plans. All they wanted was to provide a better search tool. Something which was not available then and Google was their pursuit to fill in this void.
Pinstorm !

Yup ! I have joined Pinstorm. If you follow my blog then you must have read about Pinstorm in one of my earlier posts.

[more about it later… ( abt pinstorm, ppl, interview, first day, first few days, etc. )]

Hm… I feel thats it! Did I miss anything? Let me knw !

Yup back after a short hiatus. Its been an eventful month and a half. I was never short of topics to post on the blog but then decided to postpone a little and post them here at akshaysurve.com instead of my earlier hangout. Finally, I ended up posting them nowhere and so the short break. As I said its been an eventful month and lots of thing to blog about I would surely outline them in the next post.

Keep chking !

Hi friends,

I would be closing down my blog here and moving to a new space.

Though I would continue blogging and sharing my thoughts. Now it would be at…

http://www.akshaysurve.com/blog

Expect some posts soon. Also do leave your comments there ;-)

It was nice using blogger.com for blogging and it even inspired me to start Qikblogger.

regards,

Akky

Happy Blogging!

I am 22 and I have still not got my name included in the voter list… oki so I am jst another youth whose not interested in politics and strongly believes ‘es desh ka kuch nahin ho sakta‘.

Then, you are wrong! I am jst the opposite. I am interested in politics… (anyone ready to give me a ticket(?)) and sometime in the future I may even go to the extent of the ones in Yuva… let me also say I wont do anything as bizzare as the ones in Rang de Basanti.

So what am I waiting for?

Well here it is…

http://ceo.maharashtra.gov.in/

I am waiting for my inclusion in the voter list by initiating the process online. I tried it last time and nothing happened. I have tried it again. Hope this time everything happens as mentioned on the website.

Appeal:

This is my humble appeal to everyone who sees this. Make sure that you register your name in the Electoral Voting List. If we can make a difference then why count on others. Lets CHOOSE.

Update: (Because of the recent comments in this post)

Let me make things clear that nor am I the ‘Cheif Electoral Officer’ neither do I work there, so avoid sending your voting information to me. This post only conveys that I made an online request for the inclusion of my name in the voter list. I thought it was clear from the content of the post but after the recent comments on my blog I thought of mentioning it clearly.

Along with that let me also add that after making a online request for the inclusion of my name I received a confirmation of the same later. You can read it here ‘Now even I can VotE !‘.

So, for everyone’s benefit let me share the procedure I followed:

1. Go to http://ceo.maharashtra.gov.in/

2. Now click on the appropriate link on the right under ‘Online Registrations’:

3. Follow the procedure listed in the subsequent pages.

4. Keep your fingers crossed.

According to my mail records:

12th July, 2004: Application for the Electoral Roll

Thank you for Applying online for inclusion of name in electoral roll
Name:Akshay Surve ID:XXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Please follow the link below to confirm your application for inclusion of name in electoral roll http://ceo.maharashtra.gov.in/applnConfirm.php

16th May, 2006: Autoresponder from CEO

To,
Akshay Surve,
Your Form No is :XXXXXXXXXXX —————————————————————————————–
This is a System generated mail. Please do not reply to this E-mail Id

28th July, 2006: Your Application to CEO

Your online Application no XXXXXXXXXXX dated 2006/05/16
The name of has been included in 42-Goregaon Assembly Constituency in Part No 88 at Serial Number 958

So, I would request everyone to follow the procedure on http://ceo.maharashtra.gov.in/ website and in this process you may leave me a small ‘thank you’ note here in the comments section if you found this information useful. (Please avoid giving me your voting details along with it ;)

To start with I must say BarCampMumbai was as coOL as its theme ‘Bindaas Geeks | Hackin over Vada Pav’

Some highlights :

• 3 simultaneous tracks named ‘VadaPav, Bhaji on the Beach and … don’t remember the name (?)
• I just loved the wiki-like scheduler at the venue. Stick a note with ur name and topic on the board. I moved my my note thrice ;-) . Finally I just let it be….. and then Tarique moved it to the best slot (first on after the lunch break)
• Loads of people who I knew but never seen/met in person. http://barcamp.org/BarCampMumbai#ConfirmedParticipants
• The food… :p
• Some thoughtful sessions
• My talk (…LoL! Now I can say Been there | Done that! … a nice experience for me)
• … Lots more… check the BarCampMumbai wiki for what others had to say.
• The conference extended after sessions too. Mahesh Murthy from Pinstorm decided to drop me and Barkha home. We ended up at his office and him showing us around his coOL work place. By the way his was one of the coOLest talks at BarCampMumbai. (Don’t tell me you missed it :p)

What I presented @ BarCamp ?

Topic:

TagSurfer – Extending the TagCloud

Motivation:

Unlike categories which are strict in nature tags are flexible. Flexibility of tags also comes from the fact that we use multiple words (keywords) to define a single item.
eg: barcamp barcampmumbai tagsurfer hacks

Now I would love to have a mechanism by which I could actually find some related content or may be just digg through the right content.

TagClouds is a good way of doing it. Its intuitive and looks good. But seriously its just 1D… I click on one tag and I am jst shown entries tagged with that particular tag.

As the number of tags entries (or no. of entries in your blogs or photoblogs ) increase one would surely need more intuitive UIs than TagClouds

I did give examples of del.icio.us and flickr in my talk. I also commented that deli.icio.us doesnt allow me to search for entries tagged with ‘ajax and css’. Here is what I meant. If I search for ‘ajax css‘ in the search box on del.icio.us I am given with links that are tagged with ‘ajax or css’ and not necessarily with ‘ajax and css’. Try ‘ajax on my bookmarks‘… you wud be shown links and on the right presented with ‘related tags’ links . Now this is interesting. If I click on the small ‘+’ sign beside scriptalous I get all the links tagged with ‘ajax and scriptalous’ only. (… correct me if i m wrong :)

Newways…. more importantly TagClouds are jst 1D! and there is a lot we can do to improve them…!

Proposed ‘TagSurfer’:

TagSurfer is a TagCloud with added functionality of surfing through the tags. Its more like getting deeper and deeper within the tagcloud.

Here is a small limited demo: http://akshay.zeeblo.com/soc/ *Check the right panel with heading tagsurfer.

• Just hover your mouse over any of the tags… * DO Not Click :d
• Number in brackets show the no. of entries you would find after surfing that tag
• Superscripts show the order in which you surfed
• Top panel with images resembling ‘<’ – Back and ‘o’ reload
• Lots of functionality could be added like if you surfed through a few tags and then clicked on one then you would be shown entries within that path only.

  eg: ‘barcamp -> barcampmumbai’ is what you surfed through and finally click on ‘hacks’ you would be shown entries tagged with barcamp and barcampmumbai and hacks

What it used:

PHP + Prototype ( ;-) Ajax )

Yup this was my first attempt to incorporate Ajax. TagSurfer needed Ajax and thats why I used it. It wasnt redundant at all.

Acknowledgements:

Pradeep for allowing me to make a presentation for TagSurfer on his laptop. And Mohit, Abhishek, Atul, Ajay, Hitesh, Ajay, Narain, Kiruba, Murli and everyone who attended for making BarCampMumbai a reality and offcourse RocKiNg!!!

Download:

http://akshay.zeeblo.com/tagsurfer.zi (http://www.akshaysurve.com/projects/tagsurfer/)

• Edit the tagsurfer.php file to customize font sizes and color
• Add <div id=”tagsurfer”>&ly;/div> to you template to get TagSurfer.
• Copy the whole folder to you Wordpres directory and then enable the plugin in admin section.

Comments:

There was a lots of discussion during the talk and even later. Things like ‘folksonomy’ to … collaborative filtering all came up and were spoken about. Now I know what ‘No spectators , Only participants’ means ;-). People were not just listening but were also thinking and improvising.

Hey …still open to discussion… would surely like to hear from you.

Requests:

Do wish me luck(I desperately need it )… my Final exams starting on 18th of May.

[Update] Some picks from flickr:

Would be leaving for BarCampMumbai in a few minutes. Would be showcasing TagSurfer at the un-conference. For those who hav no clue of BarCamp try >

http://barcamp.org/BarCampMumbai

Well, not many would know of it, me neither. Its the first time that a BarCamp would be held in town and so it would be a coOL experience for me to. Have worked hard ( 2 nights and 1 day :p.. bt i gues its lots during the time of examz).

Wish me luck.

I am sure I would find familiar faces ( ppl whom i knw (been following their blogs) bt they themselves having no clue of me… wud be strange :d)

BTW : still gotta setup everything …. guess wat still I hav to mak my presentations … LoL

Hope things fall into place.

Cheers.

I feel ‘NiGhT MaRnAa’ comes naturally to me. I can easily relate to all nocturnal beasts.

I guess it all started during my brothers’ architechture days (or may be by birth bt it was then that i realized my potential). He used to work on his sheets and I would just give him company. Later, I started night maroing to study. Its always FuN to study at night. I like the quiet around.

Presently, I have found comfort in coding(programming) at night. Well, I can code at any time of the day but its different whn I code at night.Its just me and my computer. Sometimes I even play some soft easy music in the background when I am designing (or may be whn the quiet tends to eat me). I even happen to love the sunrise. It feels so empowering to me. So, I make sure I see the sunrise and then sleep :d

So what makes me think of this…? Well, jst another routine night maroing for me. This is what I am thinking right now…

All around me I see,
Me , me and just me.
-Akky

‘NiGhT MaRnAa’ in Eng-Hindi means ‘Spending a Night’

Akshay,

IT’S YOUR BIRTHDAY!
19th April

THINKS HAPPY THOUGHTS!
LAUGH AT LOUD!
TODAY ALL THE DAY IS JUST FOR YOU !

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

Thanks & Regards,
Campus Recruitment Team
Patni Computer Systems Ltd.
“Akruti” 5th floor, MIDC Cross Road No 21,
MIDC, Andheri (E), Mumbai 400093

The mail is as it is… C+C C+V. The grammar and typos have not been done while copy pasting :-)
Anyways, feels gr8! Hats off to the HR Department but they need to do *something* more to impress me. ;-)

GOD is somone I would like to remeber in BAD times and thank in GOOD times.
-Akky

[my answer when asked by a frnd in a chat conversation... :d]

it was FuN!

[update comming soon]

Plz dnt ask me Y? AND it is not bcoz of any recent *EVENTS*

I have decided…. once and for aLL….!

I am closing down this blog NOW !

I just dont understand why did I share my existence with YOU (read as VIRTUAL WORLD)

I am REAL and I guess I should act REAL.

so here I close this DOWN.

BTW: I still have http://akshay.zeeblo.com as a formality working.

Finally, I cant gainsay that I didn’t enjoy the journey.

Thnks!

Yup, now I do miss my college a lot… !

Few things tat I miss:

Going late and checking out the reactions of each and everyone (starting from my mom in the morning… to watchman, frnds, profs… wow now tats wat i call pleasure)

Playing………..yup all this sem we(… not me mch as I had a *smaLL* incident with my leg… ) have been playing cricket, badminton,…. and one could find everyone there, even ppl u wud guess dnt knw anything of outdoor games.

Giving seminars, wrkshps……..oh yah there wud be atleast some activity put up once in every two weeks which wud be fun and interactive.

Sitting in the library after college (… didnt do this mch as the college session wud end before noon… :d)…. oh ya even this is a FuN pass time

Sitting in the e-lab on the DUCS m/c’s (esp. Launchpad < tats the name of a m/c) and having FuN

Havent taken case of anyone now for weeks together which is a really bad signals…. as it would mean I wud be geting on with this thing really seriously whn i join college (hope this is taken as a warning (chetavani and not a dhamaki))

Its alawayz interesting interacting with Profs. and considering its the last sem. i surely wud miss them aLL

How can I forget all my frnds……. c’on I reallly miss all of you….oh yah really… kasam se. i hope even you do! Plz do giv miss calls atleast….?

Finally I miss my coLLege…. I luv DBIT (… and tats not bcoz its my final year)!

So DBIT i wud be comming soon… ;-)

Yup, HoLi hai !

When i was *small* HoLi for me started weeks before the actual day. Baloons were the IN thing then and we used to be split up in tolis with lots of ammunition (water guns, baloons, etc. ). Then later came the days of plastic bags … yah even those were coOL esp the 1-2ltrs once. I even remember the India-Pakistan fights (between our building and the adjacent one… each wud consider their building being India offcourse). How can I also forget digging the hole for burning holi and gather around it till it abates.

I also remember the entusiasm of RaNgPaNcHaMi in our building… the colors, the pulling, the scramblings, the small fights, the drags in muddy waters, eggs too, sliver paints, songs (yah songs too), davats,.. i can go on and on and on. Those were the oLd days… good oLd days ;-)

Now HoLi for me is this > http://flickr.com/photos/ak47surve/tags/holi

its FuN and Yummmmmmmy (…and thnks for this to my cute Mummmmmmmmy)

I m surely missing the RaNgPaNcHaMi… and jst raring to be *small* again.

…any guesses why I happend to make this post…?

LoL… cant believe they happened… bt feels so good that they did!

[more of this laterz]

DBIT_FrIeNdS meet at Adolph’s place >

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ak47surve/sets/72057594076983158/

[posted later]