Moments of repulsion

I came back yesterday morning. I suppose I was the last Bangalorean to leave NITK. I had a tough time getting a seat on a Bangalore bound bus. Out of the 150 odd buses run by private operators & another 50 or so buses run by KSRTC, not a single one seemed to have seats for Saturday night. Even the Sunday afternoon & night buses had been booked to capacity. The reason for this was supposed to be the summer vacations coming to an end. Wonderful! This was all I needed! Thankfully, some extra buses were added and so, here I am.

I felt pretty bad leaving the place which had been my "home away from home" (Mr.Hosadurga's quote, for which I have this to say - yeah, right) the past 4 years. I could almost hear strains of the song Pal by KK playing inside my head.

Hum rahe ya na rahe kal
Kal yaad aayenge yeh pal
Pal yeh hain pyar ke pal
Chal aa mere sang chal
Chal soche kya, choti si
Hain zindagi
Kal mil jaye, toh hogi
Khush naseebi

How can I forget those high-fives & hugs with which we used to greet each other! What about playing blindman's buff in the lawns, preparing at least a week in advance for the sessionals, strumming guitars, singing in the classrooms (sniff)... Excuse me, while I wipe away these tears (sniff) - my keyboard (sniff) is getting wet (sniff)...

Crash!!!

ROTFL

Before you begin to think that I have slipped into nostalgia-induced hysteria or something similar, let me assure you, apart from a sore throat, I am feeling quite good & would have felt better if there had not been this 'professionally managed' monumental disaster called "Pal - The Last of the KRECians" or whatever it is called ( A rafflesia by any other name would smell as bad ). This 407 MB, 40 minute video is supposed to be a reminder of our golden days at NITK. This abomination was directed by some local 'professional photographers' whose claim to fame(?) is some Kannada serial. Having watched quite a few of these serials, I can tell you that the hallmarks of an average Kannada serial are these:- no trace of a plot, overacting, facial contortions intended to induce laughter ( You end up suspecting that the actors are suffering from constipation & about the 'inducing laughter' part - well, you can't laugh when you are retching, can you? ) and a host of other aspects about which the less said the better.

Coming to the plot of the video... Wait! What plot?

Other deplorable elements of the video include glaring spelling mistakes ('thankfull', 'remmber'(?)), the "Mangalyam" track from "Saathiya" being played in the background while a student is praying in the temple ( kuchch bhi, haan? )... I can't even recollect all of them & viewing the video once again just for completing this post isn't exactly a prospect I relish - so judge for yourself the obnoxiousness of the said production while I sign off, fuming.

My last lab ( hopefully :-)

I just finished the last lab of my undergraduate engineering education ( I am an optimist ;-). Well, there is no feeling of exhilaration here, just relief, plain relief. There is also a hint of tired resignation considering that I got partial output yesterday. Moreover I seem to encounter a strict enforcement of Murphy's Law during lab exams - any topic which I neglect to check out is bound to come in the exams :-(. Not that it matters much. In 4 years, I seem to have become desensitized to all such setbacks. I accept everything with a smile, self-deprecating humour & lots of rants.