Black boy to White boy

When I born, I black
When I grow up, I black
When I go in Sun, I black
When I scared, I black
When I sick, I black
And when I die, I still black

And you white fellow
When you born, you pink
When you grow up, you white
When you go in sun, you red
When you cold, you blue
When you scared, you yellow
When you sick, you green
And when you die, you gray

And you calling me colored?

-Author not known

TUG OF WAR : Legacy of a team that never lost (Part III)

“It’s better to loose gracefully than cheating and winning disgracefully”

Everything in life can be compared to a game and your duty in that game is to play your part. You may call a lot of fouls or you may make a lot of fouls but ultimately what matters is who won and who lost. So just play your game, the referee should take care of the rest. But what if the game really turns dirty?

After the first two victories we were prepared with every possibility of being defeated except by cheating. Some how we missed that possibility. This time again Raghulan became the captain. Our first rounds passed easily and we reached the finals without much difficulty. And as usual one can always expect the best opponent in the finals. Our opponents consisted of people from all the final years from all the courses that were offered in Amrita. Now we didn’t ask for this moment but to get our hat-trick victory we had to win this one and they had to be beaten. We were nervous because we were against a very good team, but somehow they didn’t have much hope in their own capability.

The whistle blew and we felt this great force dragging us, yes, dragging us to the other side. We had never felt such a force before and soon realised that it was a 10 v/s 8 match rather than having eight on each side. We called foul but as always the organisers wanted to get over with it and declared it 1-0. For the second pull the security improved and now it was eight on each side. This was the first time we were beaten, though it was by cheating. We would have gladly accepted defeat if we had been beaten, but cheating was something which really angered us. They didn’t even last 10 seconds during the second pull bringing it to 1-1. As everyone proceeded to the nail biting final pull, we knew we had to win this at all costs and in the end… we did win. The whistle blew and it didn’t take long for it to become 2-1.

“They didn’t win against our 8 even after using 10 men”, our supporters started off. And soon it landed up in a fight, but like I said earlier better sense prevailed and the other team accepted defeat. Now the question comes, why did they use unfair means? Didn’t they have faith in them selves? Were they scared of loosing?

We don’t know. But we know that they learnt their lessons well. My mom always told me, “If you fail in an exam its OK, mummy won’t scold you, but don’t cheat”. Unfortunately some of the other teams still didn’t learn from what happened. Sometimes history repeats itself with great effectiveness and destruction. The world war being the best example to this.

More in part IV.

TUG OF WAR : Legacy of a team that never lost (Part II)

"God makes life tough so that you can show how tough you are."

Winning once meant you simply had to win again because you were the reigning champions and that’s was not at all an easy thing to do. By sitting with the audience one wouldn't feel the pressure of being the target of all the other teams. We don't know if anybody considered us as favorites but we did shock many with our first victory. So it wasn't easy going back to the ground again and you could bet that we were nervous.

This time under Raghulan’s captaincy our game plan was simple – We forget that we won last time, perfect our pulling technique and stay simple. We never wore any extra gear, some of us were wearing chappals, some in canvas shoes and few wore nothing. Our attire was simple t-shirts and pyjamas or tracks.

It’s always the final that freaks everyone out because it’s those three pulls that decide whether you win or you loose. There is nothing in being the runner-up team and its as good as loosing. And this time we had to face the MSc and MBA guys’ team for finals. Again these guys had very huge muscular bodies and we were not at all a comparison to their skill. But I guess within us we were a better team and they were better individually. Maybe they didn’t have a team strategy, because this is what I heard from the spectators who saw what happened on the field. Even though we were simple we didn’t look like strangers to each other and were more bonded. I found that to be a great lesson not only in sports but also in real life.

“You could be a great leader, a great well qualified, well trained, well experienced individual, but if you can’t give your team an advantage with that then it’s all waste.”

“Knowledge, skill and experience are valued only if you share them with others. There is no point in taking all that to your grave.”

“You will get only if you give” – I have heard it many times but only Ajai sir made me realize what it actually meant. Thank you. (And as my gratitude for all the stuff he has given me, I started sharing whatever I have and I can. And it didn’t take long to see the fruits of this action when my external hard disk gave up. All the data was there with my friends and it was just a matter of transferring it back. I am talking about 500GB’s of data.)

So like you would have guessed by now, we won the finals. And I remind you again and again, it’s never easy. If you really want to know how it feels after winning a Tug of War match I’ll tell you.

When you are out there looking at the other team, holding the rope tight, not knowing what’s going to come the next second. And suddenly the whistle blows (whether you want it or not) and its show time. You have just one thing in your mind and that’s to pull the rope till the next whistle blows (and also to make sure you are going backwards and not forwards). There is no break, no half time, no foul calls in between, there is nothing that’s comes in between once the whistle blows. You have only two options: forward or backward (leaving the rope is not an option till the whistle blows). Few seconds of this can drain out your body to a great extent (You won’t last for a minute). One by one you will feel your muscles tearing or spraining or the rope tearing your skin, but you just can’t give up.

Once it’s over then you realize that some parts of your body have started malfunctioning and some have started hurting badly. But the big joy of victory covers it all up and though it will sound strange, even with all the pain around you a victory can make you smile (Now you don’t want to know how it feels like to loose). A victory can make your day go sky high!

“Victory makes everyone forget everything and be happy. A failure makes everyone point fingers at each other and the true face of each person comes out. Unfortunately somebody has to loose and somebody has to win every time. That’s the way of life.”

- Multi-billionaire Donald Trump on the TV show “The Apprentice”.

“Loosing isn’t bad as long as you don’t make it a habit.” – Donald Trump

But the guys who win are not those who have been winning always but those who have learned from their failures and are well prepared for the worst case scenario. Going for a something unprepared is like going to for a sure failure with only luck by your side.

Immediately after the finals Sachin bhaiya (MBA) of the other team came to us and asked, “Why do you guys keep winning all the time? I am going to do a case study on your team (jokingly)”, to which we just smiled. Incidentally he was opposite us last year as well.

It was next year when we actually saw politics and cheating coming our way but luckily good sense prevailed. More in Part III.

KAIFHALAK 'MY CAR' HAMDUL ALLAH

All of us have come across dreadful accidents on the road. Some which are really fatal. Road Traffic is hell! It honking, shouting and cursing. Being in the driver’s seat is no more a gentleman’s job anymore. I presume we all agree on this. But recently I made this interesting and for those who haven't been to Muscat, rather amusing observations which I am going to share with you.

What happens is there is in accident in India (with what I have seen in Kerala)?

Let’s consider an accident scene. An auto guy ramming into a car while taking a superfast U-turn is the most common. Now let’s observe the conversation that follows after the accident.

Auto driver: Chai nasham... ravile vandiyeduthondu oronnu eragum bakiullavarkku paniundakan (early morning crazy fellow will take his car and come to make job for others)

Car driver: Nayande mone (Son of a dog) !!! evide noki ada auto audikunnathu? (Where are you looking and driving your auto?)

Auto guy: Ayo... eee roadu eyakku sreedhanam kittiyathayirunnuvo? ( Ayo, you had got this road as dowry?)

Car guy: Autokondu vandiyil orachadum pora.. evande okai samsaram ketille!(He has not only scrached my car with his auto and look how he is talkin now) Mariyathaku kashu thanittu poyikko... Veruthe eniku pani ondakaruthu (Like a good boy pay me and go... dont make me do things)

Other Auto guys: carinu onnum pattiyilla.. saar autokaranu cash kodukku.. etharayum time waste chaithathinu.. Time is money (Nothing happened to the car.. you pay the auto guy for wasting so much time)

The conversation that follows after this is something I don't want to type and surely you don't want to read it either... Some how they settle the matter amongst themselves and escape the cops.

But strangely in Muscat my experience was different. Let’s consider an accident scene where both are cars.

Driver 1: Kaifhalak?... kaif sa thaiwein? Kaif sa chiko? Kaif sa....? kaif sa...? kaif sa...?

Driver 2: Zain yani.. humdul allah.. Kaif sa thaiwein? Kais sa chiko? Kaif sa....? kaif sa...? kaif sa...?

(Both are asking each other. how are you? How is your wife? How are your children? How is your goat and hens? How are your parents? How it this? How is that?.... it goes on... this is the typical Omani greeting.. and mind you.. these guys are always very calm after an accident)

Driver 1: Let’s call the police...

Police is very fast there. One officer turns up in 5mins. After the same set of greetings between the officer and both the guys...

Police guy: What happened?

Driver1: Its my fault sir, I should have been more attentive..

Driver 2: Not at all sir, my friend is being too modest; actually I didn't see him coming...

Driver 1: Oh come on yani.. Why are you taking the blame?

Police guy: Wallah.. Looks like both of you have no complaints. So I guess you can sort the matter amongst yourselves then.

Driver1: my friend how much should i pay you for the damage I have caused?

Driver2: Oh no my friend... I have caused more damage to your car.

Police guy: Ok.. Looks like it’s settled. Now both of you take your cars and move on.

(The drivers are not supposed to move the car from the accident scene till the cops come)

So now you must be wondering what happens when a Malayali and an Omani has an accident... Guess the title answers it for you!

That reminds me. Once a royal member banged his car into a very poor fellow’s Daihatsu. The poor fellow lost his car. To his surprise, the royal fellow bought him the same Daihatsu; same model even though it was out of production.

Brand New Junk!

TUG OF WAR : Legacy of a team that never lost (Part I)

This episode was too big to be a part of 'Beyond just a B.Tech' so I am putting it as a separate one.

Back in first year we were all new to each other except for seeing each other in the mess hall. The were gangs, there were groups and nobody could tell where talent was. Classes had just started and we wanted to do something different before it turned into a routine lifestyle which nobody loves. In college something should keep happening all the time. And so something came up.

Gokulastami! And as part of games Tug of War was an event.

In school I had a little experience as my house Tug team vice-captain (due to my size, captain was a senior guy). That was my first try with the rope. I must say it was a strange feeling holding the rope and knowing that either you will be dragging somebody to your side or worse, you will be dragged to the other side. For the first two rounds we were the ones dragging but after they took us on a ride. I still remember how upset Girish (captain) was. Even though we got 'dragged out' it was a great experience and I personally got to learn a lot about the physics behind the sport.

So what is the first thing you look for when you want to form a Tug team? You go for the big guys. The ones with the power and weight, not the ones with just the weight. So my first target was Raghulan(6'4 tall and around 120kg, from IT). Now thats our hulk! After proposing the idea to him, our primary job for next few days was to hunt for other probable team mates. And yes, it was not that easy at all. We had trials in my room. All the other guys would gather around to see who would be selected and it was real fun watching the show except for the warden trouble. The warden thought we would end up getting ragged by seniors and all (The guy was not even 5 feet himself). So are next find is Gimpson (truly the son of the gym), this guy had muscles at places where one could not even imagine. Then we hit upon Gopu (Mechanical). Now its really tough to compare Gopu or Gopakumar with anyone living, this guy is the only piece on Earth. Never wake him up while he is sleepin and never irritate him, both can end up you breaking something in your body. Sriram (IT) was this guy whom you couldn't move from where he was standing. Then we had Rathish (CSE), Anoop (EEE) and the almighty Devaprasad (almost a twin of Raghulan from ECE). Sad I don't have a pic of the team cause this was one hell of a sight everyone wanted to see. The team was registered and accidentally i was the captain (we hadn't decided who was going to the captain so the first name was taken).

But then we had our own set of problems. Nothing comes easy, does it? Brick walls everywhere. On the day of the event Shriram got fever, Anoop was nicely sleeping in his room. Luckily we had two subs: Ashwin and Upan (later they disappeared into the canteen). I drag out Anoop and Shriram manages to come too. So finally our team is ready and we reach the ground. Now this wasn't expected. The place was crowded with so many people and the sight of eight huge human beings attracted everyone. Seniors hadn't expected a first year team at all.

We easily passed all the initial rounds and reached the finals quite effortlessly but happiness was short lived. Our opponents in the finals was a team filled with all the body builders and weight lifters of Amrita (both MBA and B.Tech). We decided that we would just give it our best short. The whistle blew and we were literally waiting to be dragged over the ground but that never happened. Basically we were just balancing their pull and it took a few seconds to realize that the rope was not moving either ways. I realized this and screamed 'PULLLL... PULLLL'. Trust me, there is nothing better than being on the winning side. The rope just came in nice and slow. And then the ground rocked, a shocking victory even for us.

Our first victory taught us to be together, to respect our opponents, to be there for each other, to do what you are supposed to do (do your karma and the rest will be taken care of) and take a days leave in advance cause your body is going to scream with pain. Gimpson and Rathish had skin come off from under their feet others had sprains all over the body but we were all happy, very very happy. I loved this team cause it had variety, it was diverse and it was strong.

Our first victory was sweet not just because we won but for the way our opponents of our finals (the muscle puffed guys) treated us. When they called us to the gym we were pretty sure this was going to be a nice ragging session. But to our surprise they wanted to teach us weight lifting and body building. They were in their final years (what gentlemen, loved their behavior) and they wanted to ensure that Amrita continued winning the weight lifting and body building medals in the future. They could have screwed us royally but they didn't do that and instead they treated us with respect and dignity. I will always remember this. It was a great lesson for all of us.

In the next three years we lost a few players like Gopu (leg injury for 2 yrs), Devaprasad (in final yr) and Gimpson (left the college). We had new additions like Gurumoorthy (ECE), Sathyan (ECE) and Joshwa (IT). But even then the winning streak didn't stop. More in Part II.

"Brick walls are there for a reason... they ensure you get something only if you badly want it"

Fishy Fish Factory

For the past few months its trolling in Kerala, which means that the fishing boats can't go out into the sea for fishing. Now this means that all the fisheterians (hope I spelled it right) are going to find it hard getting what they want. Most of the fish that arrive in the market are not fresh and come from Tamil Nadu. And if you sell fish for a living then during these two or three months you can earn enough to build a brand new house.

Time to introduce my dad to you. This gentleman will stamp on the brakes the moment he passes a fish market. He knows the names and taste of each and every fish far better than any bio student. There have been times when he took me along with him to the Muscat fish market and I would leave the market carrying one king fish in each hand of my height. So you can imagine the rest. If you are still not convinced, once he packed fish from Kerala and took it to Muscat in his baggage, yes that's right he had fish and strangely customs at both places didn't stop him even once. Luckily my mom convinced him not to try such things ever again.

So this time while we were in India, one day we all go to the fish market in Kottarakkara. The instant we start exploring the days catch one guy from one corner shouts, 'Saar don't worry, catch is bad, I have your number, if something good comes I will let you know'. So my dad ends up giving his number to three of them. One day dad gets a call.'Saar, we have prawns today and kingfish, if you come fast its yours'. You can imagine the rest. Dad puts on a T-Shirt, takes an umbrella gets into his car and off he goes...

Probably in the near future you will have cool ads coming...

'Receive latest fish updates from your local fishmarket. Call 1234 and register,, Rs 30/month. Special discount for vodafone subscribers'

or

Calling 5678....
Hello.. welcome to Fishy Fish Factory..
Press 1 for fish updates press 2 for ordering... press 0 to talk to our fisherman executive
(press2)
press 1 for Karimeen press 2 for King fish press 3 for prawns press 4 for crabs (press 1)
Please enter your house number (40)
Please enter your credit card number (7689087677898993)

Total cost is 777/-
Service charge 10%
Delivery cost 5%
Special fish tax 15%
Grand Total 1101/-

Confirm Deal?
(y)

Thank you for ordering from Fishy Fish Factory. Looking forward to sell you more fish..
May you catch a big fish...

"Isn't it getting a little too fishy?"

Tell me why

Why is it always so tough to leave India?

I have lived around eighteen years of my life in Muscat but every time when it comes to leaving India my heart gets heavy. There is something special about this land that I can't describe. Maybe its the friends and other emotional bonds... maybe its just me who feels like this!