Wednesday, December 12, 2012

The Ultimate Love...


I looked into
his eyes and asked
why do u love me so much
how is ur heart so vast

how do u read my eyes
how do u see my pain
how do u remain so calm
even when I go insane



he looked into
my eyes and said
'coz u r the greatest gift
I ever possesed

coz u r my princess
my angel, my life
you're the best daughter
One could ever have...

Thursday, October 25, 2012

A Dark Dream ...


Dream..

today I am scared
of myself n u
wishing you would
never come true...

leave me in peace
leave me alone
a scary world
today u have shown...

where no one was mine
and no one I knew
every heart was dark
n every eye was new...

bring me back to the world
which is real and mine
where few hearts r still pure
and few eyes still shine...

Tuesday, October 16, 2012

Relationship Status : Just Friends ???

They were the best friends, with a big heart and even bigger egos.

Every time a big fight would end up with a cold war of 3-4 months where no one would admit their fault or take the initiative to go talk first. Though worried about each other and bugging the mutual friends for each other's updates but they would be loyally holding on to their egos.

However when in the "no war" mode, they were almost inseparable. Together through out the day and on phone at night, they were the closest friends one could ever find.


He : Hey cutie pie, u were asking something?

She : well yeah, we have been together for so long... Don't u think we should redefine our relationship status ??

He : well, we are friends.. what else??

She : u have got many other friends but u r with me most times, so it must be something special??

He : well, no. lets make things straight, u r just a friend like others.

She : well then, I don't talk to my friends at 2am unless urgent. Goodnight 'friend'.

Friday, August 31, 2012

Friends Forever...


When I love u
when I hate u
when I'm trying to
forget u...

when I'm happy
when in tears
when I'm trying to
fight my fears...



when I have secrets
I want to share
when I'm trying things
I wouldn't dare...

when times are good
or they are really bad
when I'm jolly
or I'm really sad...


when I'm trying to
run away from u
when I'm all confused
and have got no clue...

might have never said this
but u are my pride
in every moment of life
need u by my side... ♥♥♥

Monday, August 20, 2012

L♥ve u...

Got a flower from the garden
Pure and innocent like you...
to show my love for you
to say I love u the way U do...

Have always seen you cry
when there are tears in my eyes...
I know I have hurt u a lot
whenever I said u lies...

You have still been with me
I know you will forever be...
I will keep looking for you
If u ever leave me...

Whenever in pain
your touch keeps me calm...
Have got no words to say
How much I love u mom...

Saturday, August 18, 2012

Women's contribution to the Internet

Recently I have been going through an online course on Internet history where big names like Alan Turing, Tommy Flowers and Harold Keen were mentioned who were working at Bletchley Park during the World War II helping to break the encrypted messages used by the German military. The messages were valuable - it is estimated that the ability to break the Enigma cryptography, and read the messages, shortened the war and prevented a significant number of deaths.

I enjoyed the march through time in our course, however, I couldn’t help but ask myself, “What were the women doing while the men were out inventing the Internet?” I was struck by the absence of women from course lectures and taped interviews. I asked myself, could it be true that men did, in fact, invent the Internet?

My curiosity got the best of me so I googled women and the Internet and came up with a hilarious and informative article posted by Soraya Chealy on her Huffingtonpost.com blog titled, “NYT Just Doesn’t Get It: Men, Women and the Internet”. Her blog begins by criticizing an article in the New York Times that states, “MEN invented the Internet.” Thanks to Ms. Chealy’s article, I was introduced to the Ada Project, which is devoted to sharing information about “Pioneering Women in Computing Technology.” Skimming the entries, I read about the many women who contributed to the development of the Internet. I will only mention a few here.

Sister Mary Kenneth Keller
Reading the bio of Sister Mary Kenneth Keller who is thought to be the first woman to earn a Ph.D. degree in computer science, I was struck by the following entry,“As a graduate student, Keller also studied at Dartmouth, Purdue, and the University of Michigan. At Dartmouth, the university broke the “men only” rule and allowed her to work in the computer center, where she participated in the development of BASIC.” “Men only” rule in the computer center? Interesting that women were systematically denied access to computers at major universities.


Barbara H. Liskov
Another woman’s bio caught my eye, Barbara H. Liskov, an MIT professor who “created building blocks for software programming languages that were key to personal computers and the Internet.” Dr. Liskov was the first US woman to be awarded a PhD from a computer science department (Stanford, 1968) and the second woman to win the prestigious Turing Award (2008).


Ada Lovelace
Not only this,  have you heard of Ada Lovelace; she was a mathematician and daughter of Lord Byron. To her credit, she saw beyond the capabilities proposed by Charles Babbage and his mechanical, steam-powered (computer) "analytical engine." She envisioned more than simple computational abilities and was able to imagine the future of computers. Ada Lovelace was also credited as being the first programmer.



Judy Novak
Another woman who deserves mention I think is Judy Novak. She became a member of a computer incident response team in the late 1990's, and went on to write (with some others) the SANS course on Intrusion Detection, which is the worldwide standard security course/certification for people whose job it is to detect network intrusions.


Radia Perlman
Lastly, I would like to mention Radia Perlman, a network engineer who has been referred to as the “Mother of the Internet”. Dr. Perlman earned her Ph.D. in computer science from MIT. She is famous for her invention of the “spanning-tree protocol” which is fundamental for the operation of network bridges.

Women's accomplishments are sorely under-appreciated and underrepresented in discussions of the history of the Internet. The computer scientists mentioned above represent only a small number of the dozens of women who contributed to the development of the Internet and the field of computer science.

Though these people did not get the recognition they deserve, yet there are women who are still silently contributing to the society and technology and will keep doing so... All I can do is silently thank them for their huge contribution to the technology... Don't worry, you won't be forgotten...!!

Monday, August 13, 2012

The Joy Of Eating : Eat Street aka VV Puram

Undoubtedly a big time foodie, I was starving yesterday night and wanted to have some good food during the weekends (mess food on Saturday nights are really bad). So I thought of exploring some nearby food joints when a friend suggested about the less known 'eat street' (more popularly known as VV puram) in Bangalore.

Though not in mood to travel much(due to the traffic) but finally I agreed(I am happy I did) when my other friends who had already been to this place assured me I wouldn't be disappointed about going to this place, and they were right. After traveling for 45 mins approx, asking directions from people & using the gps(yet took a wrong turn), five of us were at VV Puram, which is one of the oldest areas in Bangalore and also house to the “world famous in Bangalore” Eat Street :)

As soon as we got down, the smell of food made me even more hungry and we started with sweets. First we had the "world's best" gulab jamuns (as described by my friends). Our next stop was a shop serving idlis and dosas, and the shops being crowded it took a while for our orders to come. First came an onion dosa which hardly lasted for a minute or two, followed by masala dosa and a plate of idli. Each dish there was tasting so heavenly, I was eating as if I hadn't eaten for months together. :P

Being the gluttons that we are, my friends and I decided to get only one or two plates of various items and share it. That way we could savor ALL(almost) the items on Eat Street :P. Eating the dosas full of ghee made us thirsty and we got 2 glasses of masala coke from the next stall. Our next stop was a stall selling hot 'honey jalebi', the yummiest jalebis I have EVER had. Though I am not much fond of sweets, but surely these yummy things left my sweet tooth craving for more...

Puran Poli
After that, we went to another stall and had some 'puran poli'(for the first time) and got some other varieties of dosa(don't remember the names) which were equally good. For those who don't know, puran poli is kind of a roti stuffed with jaggery and boiled chickpeas. The stuffing is called the 'puran' and the outer covering is called the 'poli'.

By this time I was getting almost full and was sad about actually missing so many dishes out there. We decided to skip the chat stall as we had yummy chats the previous day near our college(arnd 1 - 1.5kms away). Thirsty again, I thought of getting something to drink again but ended up buying some 'masala' pineapple, one of my favorite fruits. The masala being very 'chatpata' happened to change the taste of the fruit a bit but in a good way...

Gulkand Icecream
Now that we were almost full, we had to have some good dessert to end it all in a good way and to our delight we discovered – Gulkand with ice cream and fruits. Served at an exclusive shop swarming with lots of people, we first got one plate after which we went for one more. Gulkand is preserved rose petals, also used in 'meetha pan', very healthy, and in combination with ice cream and cut up fruits it tasted amazing.

Now that we were full, we started walking back when the gulab jamun and 'honey' jalebi stalls attracted us again and we ended up getting one more plate of both, packed few jalebis for one of our friends, got a cup of rabdi and ended our food journey for the day.

Literally the food was upto my throat when we started back to college. However, my mission to taste all the items was yet not accomplished due to limited appetite. So, I will be back very soon to accomplish the mission.

PS : I was too busy eating this time so could not click any pictures. Snaps here is from google.

Monday, July 30, 2012

Welcoming freshers in IISc...




A very true statement... Time flies by fast... I still can't believe its already an year since I came here... since I became a part of IISc, Bangalore. Seems as if just a few days back, I had come to Bangalore with three bags and an offer letter... a bit scared on how I am gonna survive here (had already heard that everyone here is very studious)...


Still unable to believe that I had already made it to IISc, I was almost reaching Yeswantpur station with random thoughts crossing my mind like “oh! This place is not at all meant for me”, “what if they kick me out after seeing my performance” and all when I received a call from IISc Student's Council volunteer saying that they were waiting for us at the station. I was happy and finally prepared myself to try and survive there for as long as possible (and I am almost half way through).

Hardly a journey of 5-7 minutes and I was already in the campus, green all around with buildings there... seemed as if the buildings have been constructed in midst of a jungle(was good to see so much of greenery after being in city for long). And then we started with fulfilling formalities of hostel and mess allocation, buying sim card,mattress, pillows etc. Admission procedure, bank account opening etc. was at the main building next day. Also, as I had come alone(yeah, I don't need my mom dad to keep accompanying me everywhere... I'm not a kid anymore :D ), I had to setup the whole room by myself... :/ :(

What a happening, exciting & tiring day it was...

Suddenly the alarm rings and I notice ... Whoa... Its 27th July 2012, exactly an year from the day when I officially became an IIScian... Feels as if yesterday I was a fresher and today I am on the other side welcoming the new students... Arrangements have been made for buses to keep shuttling between college and railway station with students, their parents and a few volunteers starting from around 6:30 am till around 9:00 pm.

With volunteer badges, Student's council T-shirts(free for volunteers... yippee!!), IISc placards, IISc banner and a help desk just near the exit gate, we have made sure that spotting us was not at all difficult even when the station was crowded. Seems that due to the large number of students expected(500+), we actually might have to make multiple trips for students coming in a single train.

Though I could not take many snaps(see, I am so busy working here) but managed to get a few nice ones when waiting for the students to arrive(kudos to Indian railways, most train were late). Anyways, I can listen to the train arrival being announced so better I get ready with the placards...


Thought of the day : “In IISc for a few years... but an IIScian for lifetime

Sunday, July 22, 2012

The Obsession with Pink





Yes! Though pink might not always be our favorite color(mine is lavender) but we girls do love pink. May be one of the reason is the way we are brought up. Each time I hear of any of my near or dear ones having a baby girl, the parents will get a whole lot of stuffs in pink, starting from curtains, cushions, bedsheets to dolls, toys and clothes. Not only this, even the walls of the room will be covered in pink. To add to this, everyone going to visit them will again carry some pink shaded gifts for the baby.

When not given a choice, the girl grows up surrounded with everything in pink and starts loving that color. So its not only the girl who is to be blamed for her obsession with pink. A few days back when in a shop, I saw a small girl, may be 4-5 years old with everything in pink starting from her bag, her handkerchiefs pinned to her uniform, her water bottle, clips... everything. Thankfully her dress wasn't pink because she was in her school uniform.


I still remember to have seen the fictional movie Legally Blonde in which the character of a blonde, Elle Woods, played by Reese Witherspoon loves everything pink.Needn't say the way her room looked made me sick for a while. I never say to ditch the pink color, I myself like that color but there is a far more difference between liking and obsession. I too have a dress or two in pink, may be a nailpolish in pink and my love for pink ends there. Its always great to experiment with colors, when given a wide range of choices why be stuck with one.

The color pink has been associated with girls so much that guys in pink do look a bit weird(no offense meant). I know a color should not be such a big deal and guys too like to experiment with colors... but seriously... pink...???!!!

I thought of this entry when suddenly I came across this link http://pinterest.com/suzyames/the-obsession-with-pink/

Starting frompink purse, diamond ring, and sewing machines the pink color ranged to pink boots, shoes,clotthes, gloves and last but not the least... pink hairs. Seems the celebrities are picking pink color for their hairs instead of the usual purple or blue as pink is beleived to keep their “innocence”.

Whatever it is, one thing I have realized, if you want to get across with guys on pink, the only case when guys would go for pink is the music of “Pink Floyd”

Note : All the pics used here are from google.

Saturday, July 21, 2012

The Joy Of Giving : IISc Notebook Drive

Today when volunteering for "help the needy" initiative by IISc, I was reminded of the wonderful experience I had as a volunteer for the "Notebook Drive". 


NBD or the NoteBook drive is one of the great students initiative at IISc like many other social & environmental initiatives that include help the needy, tree plantation etc. The objective of NBD is providing notebooks, stationery etc., to poor students who otherwise have to drop out of their schools simply because in course of filling their stomachs, they fall short of money to buy notebooks. NBD, started in 2002 by a group of students in IISc. Every year during May-June volunteers collect money from the students and faculty to support government schools in and around Bangalore. The support is not in money but in useful items such as notebooks, pens, utilities for drawing etc, given to the government school students.
 

This year too, it started with donation stalls outside all the three mess during the dinner hours. Beside busy schedule of everyone here, it was nice to see people taking out some time for the society and the amount of donation was generous. With the donation of around 6-7 lakh INR started the planning on what copies and stationaries should be brought in what quantities.

More than 25000 different copies and stationaries including pencils, eraser, sharpener, scale, pencil boxes etc were all kept in the staff quarter.


Though the distribution was scheduled for almost a week covering 26 different schools in and around Bangalore, I could volunteer only for a day and the experience was wonderful. Almost 10 hours on road and in schools, the experience was worth the time. That day we covered 7 schools and gave notebooks & stationaries to more than 700 students ranging from class 1 till 10. Starting with a very small school which was run in a single room, had just 15 students, class 1 to 5 & 1 teacher, we ended with a govt school which had more than 150 students, classes 1 till 10 and was divided into two campus, primary school & high school.

The journey that day started at 8 am from the college with 4 people on 2 bikes, one person sitting beside the driver's seat & two people sitting at the back of the tempo along with all the stuffs which included notebooks, stationaries & sports item for each school. Every school, however big or small, welcomed us with a big smile. The happiness and smile on the face of the kids on receiving the stuffs was worth thousand words, especially when some sports items including cricket bats, balls, frisbee etc was given for the school. Though not many, but I managed to capture a few smiles.

Each of these schools got lunch from Iskon under the 'Akshaya Patra' program and when at the third school, it was already 12:30pm. Thus when offered for lunch, we could not resist the offer and had lunch with everyone. With tasty sambhar, rice & curd, we were content with our stomach & at our hearts (seems the sambhar given there was better that what we get in mess).

By the time we all came back to college, it was around 5:45 in the evening and after being on road for 10 hours on a sunny day, we were all dead tired. But at end of the day, it all seemed worth.

That day I realized the true meaning of "the joy of giving". I realized that day happiest people are not those getting more but those giving more, that like love, joy also increases on giving. 

 
A beautiful and inspiring quote that sums up the essence of the NBD, is by Henry Drummond "There is no happiness in having or in getting, but only in giving" and the second "True religion ...is giving and finding one's happiness by bringing happiness into the lives of others."

Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Wanna be in L♥ve ...


Though I don't know you much
but u make me feel
its end of my sorrows
my wounds are gonna heal...

All I need is your touch
and everything feels so good
when I needed a friend,
by my side you stood...




Dunno what do you feel
but I have now known
you're special to me
not just in the "friend zone"...

It has been so long
now I can't ignore
my feelings have grown
and I wanna be yours...

Dunno you love me or not
but I want you to be mine
so I can be forever
in this L♥ve so divine ... ♥♥♥

Thursday, June 14, 2012

Why so serious...??


Seeing so many people around in stress makes me feel everyone is forgetting these days how to smile... So a few lines by me on adding humor to your life...

“When life is not fair
when lots of problems are there
try to have a laughter
it will make your day brighter

when your heart is full of pain
and everyone seems insane
when your power begins to wane
laughter brings you back to lane

when some one seems depressed
when someone's life is messed
go to him once in a while
and remind him how to smile”


Friday, May 25, 2012

"The white swan" ♥♥♥

(Based on the story "The Swan Lake")

was dreaming last night,
the opera was on
I was laughing & dancing
I was the white swan...

caught in form of a swan
I am a beautiful girl
with a smile on face
                                       and hairs in curl...


swimming through the water
waiting for my knight
who would rescue me from here
and make me his bride...

I see my prince charming
for my rescue he comes,
confidence brimming on his face
and love in tonnes...

Lo! here comes my evil sister
she's black, she's my twin
with her charm and wit
his heart she tries to win...





And, she lured him away
am heart broken & I weep
have got no words to express
this grief is mine to keep...

No hopes to live anymore,
am taking my last breath
caught in form of a swan
my freedom is my death... ♥