I like doing this thing. It's always fun to talk about stuff which define(d) specific periods of time for you, and a good time to review it is the year end. As in my case, I've been doing this post on my blog for the last few years. In fact this has happened every year since I started the blog in 2006, except in 2007 when I was on a 11 month hiatus from using the net. Each year has been different, in 2009, it was my 100th post, and I got my friends to write it for me, whereas 2008 and 2006 were very senti, and were typically me in the olden days. 2010 ironically didn't have a single '!' in spite of it being the period when my usage of exclamation marks was at a global maxima. This year I thought I'd make it a little different, by going on a month-wise review of events, which makes it simple for me, and probably more memorable as that year was quite a linear one for me.
January - So the year began with a bang. Early January was very memorable. I still remember a few incidents very vividly. Watching Aadukalam with Shaileshh, and discussing about how "cocky" the movie was for the remainder of the week. The same week, going to shop at Ritchie street with him, and ending up hogging big time at Pizza Hut! :P Vasuki went off to Hongkong, and gave a lot of stories from there. It was generally a very pleasant month. And then Saarang arrived! Saarang just gets better with every passing year. It did so this year too. KK was at his best. Putting kuthu for apdi podu with CJR, Shaileshh, Hari and co. will definitely be one of the best memories of my college life. Also, watching Virudhagiri with CJR, Sreeki and Webops "Jaichu" Core into 2.30 at night, after Tarang and Decibels finals got over, was insane. There was this slightly funny thing which I did, during Saarang, which almost had my friends in fits of laughter, but I'd refrain from posting more details about the same here.
February - February was more about monotony. One great thing was the news of acceptance to do an internship over summer at IISc Bangalore. But otherwise, it was quite a drag. I must admit, the wait for the world cup to begin was one long long long wait! Nevertheless, the world cup was enjoyed, and was one out-of-the-world feeling. The tie against England was frustrating, but things seldom go the way you want them to, right? Oh, and the t-shirt we presented CJR on his bday! :P :P
March - March, this year, was brilliant! The world cup boiled down to the final here. I got to watch 2 world cup matches at Chepauk, South 'chokers' Africa vs England & India vs West Indies. I forgot to mention the small matter of watching the latter from the players pavilion in the previous line. The India-Pakistan semi-final was telecast in OAT (Open Air Theatre @ IITM), which drew a full crowd. Screaming Thalaiva when Sachin appeared on the screen, gave the feel of a Rajni movie. The crazy celebrations when it was over, defined my day. March, also had, other things in its armory, such as an Elec 'batch' Day Out. We went to Mahabalipuram, and had great fun. Tambola, Intro sessions, Good lunch followed by a playing session in beach waters, it was a concept introduced, and is here to stay. There was also Sivaratri, where I spent the whole night in the temple and didn't sleep until the next night. Brilliant, brilliant experience! :)
April - India won the world cup. India won the world cup. India won the world cup. TamBrahm friends will get this. If Wankhede were a temple, and The World Cup, a thiruvizha, then Sachin was India's utsavamoorthy on April 2. It was such a brilliant sight seeing all his team-mates giving him a ride on their shoulders around the ground. I bet every single Indian choked at that. Following the world cup, was Vasuki's bday video. Shaileshh and I got our friends to make our first music video, was gen fun, and we had great laughs making it. The best part were the music and the guitar sections, where an impromptu guitar chord which Hari knew was modified to fit our needs :D Also, Elec Night happened. Something I am very proud of, this year's event was ahead on various counts from the previous year ones, and we are planning to make it bigger and better the next year. \m/
May - Holidays began. Summer internship in Bangalore also began. Friends started flying out of India on internships. It was the start of a very solo period. The birthday was a very home event this year, as its always been, the bane with being born in a holiday season. The good thing, no treats were handed out! :D It was a period when I also got onto writing Beyond the Stars, a small short story, inspired by Thalaivar (Rajinikant), probably the story I've enjoyed writing the most. You can read it here (http://byondthestars.blogspot.com/). The internship was very subdued, and as it was just the start, not much progress was done. The sober month, was though capped with some good news, of the birth of yet another nephew, another baby in the family => more fun! :)
June - Internship part II. I started getting used to Bangalore life. The food was awesome. I was a regular at Taco's Bells, Corner House (for Death By Chocolate) and the Italian joint near IISc. This was predominantly a period when I started making a lot of good friends from among people who were decent more-than-acquaintances up until then. I must admit, MRB, Big Show, Midhun, Purnima, Astha, Rajita and Aditya gave me a great time at IISc. Organizing Purnima's bday was fun, it was probably the last bday I would organize for quite a while after that. Batchmates from IITM in Bangalore for the summer, made a night trek trip to Skandagiri, and man, what a trip it was. It partly made my internship all by itself. A wonderful trip, and great experience. Then, there was a trip to Kolkata with family, a two-day trip, but great fun, and lots of good sweets. Also, this was the period when except during lunch (read gobi manchurian) at IISc, I was practically lonely. I used to have gen chats with only three people, Purnima, Shreyas and Shruthy, and travel chats with Big Show on the bus and sometimes Midhun. Other friends were in different time zones and chat times didn't match. I thank every person who found a minute here and there to talk to me, as only I know how much that meant to me then! :)
July - I became a workaholic! \m/ There were 4 lab nightouts, and they included periods of sitting in the lab for 35 hours and all, except for moving out for lunch. I loved those first 15 days in July, and working was really fun. I enjoyed what I was doing, and this was when my decision to pursue a research career became more firm. There was a small treat with Prof. Neelesh's (my intern guide) family, and also multiple treats with the other lab mates. I made some good friends among the lab junta, including Rajat, Salil, Sai, Shabbir and Karthik. Taco's Bells continued, so did the Dominos adventures. Also, my project report had begun, and the summer holidays were slowly drawing to a close.
August - I went back to Bangalore within a fortnight of my return, this time on a fun purpose, with my friends Prasad, Ram and CJR, for Vasuki's grihapravesam. This was also the time I got back to the cricket field after more than a year. It's always nice when you get back to do something you enjoy so much, as it brings so much of happiness into your life. Got to experience that first-hand.
September - The ARM-TI event got over early into the year. It was something I had been working on since late July, and it came out really good. Also, the event won E2A a lot of bonus points in the eye of our HOD. Airtel Super Singer got over! I was following it right until the end, and so it had to go up here! :P Veppam released, one of my favorite movies of the last year, with some great songs too. There was one quick confusion in between, and I put my head to it really soon to even let the idea erode my head. :-) Cricket went on. We once ran 10 rounds in Chemplast and it was a lot of fun (not really while running, but surely after that). BRM became IITMs Diro, and we were ecstatic, the next 2 months had the director running to ESB for that one A slot to take class for us! :D It was a quite month, but was surely the calm before the storm.
October - Just like how Januarys are associated with Saarang, every IITM student's Octobers are marked with Shaastra. My Shaastra was very good this year, with places in Math Modeling, Watts Up, and Puzzle Champ. The only saddening factor was that, this year's Math Modeling was probably my last math event with Baby, my collaborator with respect to math events for the last 8 years. We went on a Tam gang treat after ages. Eden, my favorite restaurant, was the destination! :) A few movies released for Diwali, and they were all bad :D I think though, that the best part of the year were Rockstar, and the Naga Trilogy. The Naga Trilogy is a brilliant brilliant series, something I loved reading, and the Rockstar was one very awaited album of Rahman, and it broke all expectations, and went miles ahead in the trends it established. Kun Faya Kun + Naadan Parindey + Sadda Haq \m/
November - This was the Kolaveri month. Also, when academics slowly crept back into the picture. The endsems were kind of peaced out, and hence gave me the feeling of an early holiday season. November was not really the month of many happenings. The best part of the month was the quarter marathon we ran at IITM. It was a wonderful experience, which we undertook as part of an initiative by Chennai Runners. It was a very freshening event, and it also made us feel good for a few days after it happened. November was also a month of heavy rains, and long night-outs in insti. There was a brunch treat at GRT, for the entire cricket team, and I think we have all realized that the cricket team is quite high on our agenda, and is something we are all proud of being a small speck in. I would like to thank all my friends in the team, right from And after all that, another semester vacation began! :)
December - Another vacation month. The first half was filled with placements of friends. It was a long long process, but at the end of it, we were all devoid of any unfulfilled longings. It has been a fun month, with a three day temple trip to Thanjavur, Thiruvarur, and my native village, Ganapathy Agraharam. Then there was the usual December hanging out with Shre, Kau and others. Its in progress, and I'd not like to put a decisive review before the entire year is actually over. There has also been a revisit to spirituality, something I totally enjoy. Finally, it has also yielded me my best semester by miles at college in terms of a grade point average. It has been a good good year, a very memorable one, something which makes me wait in earnest for the next.
It reminds me that my next year end review will be drastically different, as a lot of my friends would have passed out, and will probably distances apart. So, it might be a difficult year for me, or I might just be good enough with everything around me. It's been a good sem, the last one, and there are just 3 more to go! GRE beckons, apps beckon, placements, and so does Sachin's 100th 100, which in all probability will come up next year.
Finally, "Kadaikkaradhu kadaikkama irukkadhu, kadaikkama irukkardhu kadaikkadhu", i.e. "That you are meant to obtain, you will not miss, and that you are meant to miss, you will not obtain", so live life happily and remember, that anything that happens is solely for the good. Wish you a happy, prosperous and successful new year! :-)
January - So the year began with a bang. Early January was very memorable. I still remember a few incidents very vividly. Watching Aadukalam with Shaileshh, and discussing about how "cocky" the movie was for the remainder of the week. The same week, going to shop at Ritchie street with him, and ending up hogging big time at Pizza Hut! :P Vasuki went off to Hongkong, and gave a lot of stories from there. It was generally a very pleasant month. And then Saarang arrived! Saarang just gets better with every passing year. It did so this year too. KK was at his best. Putting kuthu for apdi podu with CJR, Shaileshh, Hari and co. will definitely be one of the best memories of my college life. Also, watching Virudhagiri with CJR, Sreeki and Webops "Jaichu" Core into 2.30 at night, after Tarang and Decibels finals got over, was insane. There was this slightly funny thing which I did, during Saarang, which almost had my friends in fits of laughter, but I'd refrain from posting more details about the same here.
February - February was more about monotony. One great thing was the news of acceptance to do an internship over summer at IISc Bangalore. But otherwise, it was quite a drag. I must admit, the wait for the world cup to begin was one long long long wait! Nevertheless, the world cup was enjoyed, and was one out-of-the-world feeling. The tie against England was frustrating, but things seldom go the way you want them to, right? Oh, and the t-shirt we presented CJR on his bday! :P :P
March - March, this year, was brilliant! The world cup boiled down to the final here. I got to watch 2 world cup matches at Chepauk, South 'chokers' Africa vs England & India vs West Indies. I forgot to mention the small matter of watching the latter from the players pavilion in the previous line. The India-Pakistan semi-final was telecast in OAT (Open Air Theatre @ IITM), which drew a full crowd. Screaming Thalaiva when Sachin appeared on the screen, gave the feel of a Rajni movie. The crazy celebrations when it was over, defined my day. March, also had, other things in its armory, such as an Elec 'batch' Day Out. We went to Mahabalipuram, and had great fun. Tambola, Intro sessions, Good lunch followed by a playing session in beach waters, it was a concept introduced, and is here to stay. There was also Sivaratri, where I spent the whole night in the temple and didn't sleep until the next night. Brilliant, brilliant experience! :)
April - India won the world cup. India won the world cup. India won the world cup. TamBrahm friends will get this. If Wankhede were a temple, and The World Cup, a thiruvizha, then Sachin was India's utsavamoorthy on April 2. It was such a brilliant sight seeing all his team-mates giving him a ride on their shoulders around the ground. I bet every single Indian choked at that. Following the world cup, was Vasuki's bday video. Shaileshh and I got our friends to make our first music video, was gen fun, and we had great laughs making it. The best part were the music and the guitar sections, where an impromptu guitar chord which Hari knew was modified to fit our needs :D Also, Elec Night happened. Something I am very proud of, this year's event was ahead on various counts from the previous year ones, and we are planning to make it bigger and better the next year. \m/
May - Holidays began. Summer internship in Bangalore also began. Friends started flying out of India on internships. It was the start of a very solo period. The birthday was a very home event this year, as its always been, the bane with being born in a holiday season. The good thing, no treats were handed out! :D It was a period when I also got onto writing Beyond the Stars, a small short story, inspired by Thalaivar (Rajinikant), probably the story I've enjoyed writing the most. You can read it here (http://byondthestars.blogspot.com/). The internship was very subdued, and as it was just the start, not much progress was done. The sober month, was though capped with some good news, of the birth of yet another nephew, another baby in the family => more fun! :)
June - Internship part II. I started getting used to Bangalore life. The food was awesome. I was a regular at Taco's Bells, Corner House (for Death By Chocolate) and the Italian joint near IISc. This was predominantly a period when I started making a lot of good friends from among people who were decent more-than-acquaintances up until then. I must admit, MRB, Big Show, Midhun, Purnima, Astha, Rajita and Aditya gave me a great time at IISc. Organizing Purnima's bday was fun, it was probably the last bday I would organize for quite a while after that. Batchmates from IITM in Bangalore for the summer, made a night trek trip to Skandagiri, and man, what a trip it was. It partly made my internship all by itself. A wonderful trip, and great experience. Then, there was a trip to Kolkata with family, a two-day trip, but great fun, and lots of good sweets. Also, this was the period when except during lunch (read gobi manchurian) at IISc, I was practically lonely. I used to have gen chats with only three people, Purnima, Shreyas and Shruthy, and travel chats with Big Show on the bus and sometimes Midhun. Other friends were in different time zones and chat times didn't match. I thank every person who found a minute here and there to talk to me, as only I know how much that meant to me then! :)
July - I became a workaholic! \m/ There were 4 lab nightouts, and they included periods of sitting in the lab for 35 hours and all, except for moving out for lunch. I loved those first 15 days in July, and working was really fun. I enjoyed what I was doing, and this was when my decision to pursue a research career became more firm. There was a small treat with Prof. Neelesh's (my intern guide) family, and also multiple treats with the other lab mates. I made some good friends among the lab junta, including Rajat, Salil, Sai, Shabbir and Karthik. Taco's Bells continued, so did the Dominos adventures. Also, my project report had begun, and the summer holidays were slowly drawing to a close.
August - I went back to Bangalore within a fortnight of my return, this time on a fun purpose, with my friends Prasad, Ram and CJR, for Vasuki's grihapravesam. This was also the time I got back to the cricket field after more than a year. It's always nice when you get back to do something you enjoy so much, as it brings so much of happiness into your life. Got to experience that first-hand.
September - The ARM-TI event got over early into the year. It was something I had been working on since late July, and it came out really good. Also, the event won E2A a lot of bonus points in the eye of our HOD. Airtel Super Singer got over! I was following it right until the end, and so it had to go up here! :P Veppam released, one of my favorite movies of the last year, with some great songs too. There was one quick confusion in between, and I put my head to it really soon to even let the idea erode my head. :-) Cricket went on. We once ran 10 rounds in Chemplast and it was a lot of fun (not really while running, but surely after that). BRM became IITMs Diro, and we were ecstatic, the next 2 months had the director running to ESB for that one A slot to take class for us! :D It was a quite month, but was surely the calm before the storm.
October - Just like how Januarys are associated with Saarang, every IITM student's Octobers are marked with Shaastra. My Shaastra was very good this year, with places in Math Modeling, Watts Up, and Puzzle Champ. The only saddening factor was that, this year's Math Modeling was probably my last math event with Baby, my collaborator with respect to math events for the last 8 years. We went on a Tam gang treat after ages. Eden, my favorite restaurant, was the destination! :) A few movies released for Diwali, and they were all bad :D I think though, that the best part of the year were Rockstar, and the Naga Trilogy. The Naga Trilogy is a brilliant brilliant series, something I loved reading, and the Rockstar was one very awaited album of Rahman, and it broke all expectations, and went miles ahead in the trends it established. Kun Faya Kun + Naadan Parindey + Sadda Haq \m/
November - This was the Kolaveri month. Also, when academics slowly crept back into the picture. The endsems were kind of peaced out, and hence gave me the feeling of an early holiday season. November was not really the month of many happenings. The best part of the month was the quarter marathon we ran at IITM. It was a wonderful experience, which we undertook as part of an initiative by Chennai Runners. It was a very freshening event, and it also made us feel good for a few days after it happened. November was also a month of heavy rains, and long night-outs in insti. There was a brunch treat at GRT, for the entire cricket team, and I think we have all realized that the cricket team is quite high on our agenda, and is something we are all proud of being a small speck in. I would like to thank all my friends in the team, right from And after all that, another semester vacation began! :)
December - Another vacation month. The first half was filled with placements of friends. It was a long long process, but at the end of it, we were all devoid of any unfulfilled longings. It has been a fun month, with a three day temple trip to Thanjavur, Thiruvarur, and my native village, Ganapathy Agraharam. Then there was the usual December hanging out with Shre, Kau and others. Its in progress, and I'd not like to put a decisive review before the entire year is actually over. There has also been a revisit to spirituality, something I totally enjoy. Finally, it has also yielded me my best semester by miles at college in terms of a grade point average. It has been a good good year, a very memorable one, something which makes me wait in earnest for the next.
It reminds me that my next year end review will be drastically different, as a lot of my friends would have passed out, and will probably distances apart. So, it might be a difficult year for me, or I might just be good enough with everything around me. It's been a good sem, the last one, and there are just 3 more to go! GRE beckons, apps beckon, placements, and so does Sachin's 100th 100, which in all probability will come up next year.
Finally, "Kadaikkaradhu kadaikkama irukkadhu, kadaikkama irukkardhu kadaikkadhu", i.e. "That you are meant to obtain, you will not miss, and that you are meant to miss, you will not obtain", so live life happily and remember, that anything that happens is solely for the good. Wish you a happy, prosperous and successful new year! :-)
4 comments:
Aah, reading a life-review after rather long... its interesting that you remembered the events of the whole year :)
lets meet up some time. Discuss the future and stuff. Get myself a place on your next year's review :P
Thats maybe coz we never got to meet this year! :( Next year definitely your in! :P :)
u reviewed this year without a mention of something that occurred in bangalore. I thought that was an incident for posterity. And once in a while, using Bharath in place of CJR would be refreshing. Nice post for an overall mixed year :)
It was not mentioned on purpose.. That incident on the night of August 14, 2011, in that small guest-house, with Prasad, you, me and the TV will remain in my memory, causing scarring imageries every now and then, for the rest of my life! :P :P
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