What’s On From Mobile InThe Kolaveri Your List? App to Quest of Microsoft Real Passion pg 2 pg 3 pg 4 pg 10
Work For The Joy, Not For The Applause!
Inspiration can arise from places least to be meaningful in quality, like the mother who expected. I happened to watch an award ceremo- strives to bring up her children with love and pro- ny on television which recognized distinguished tection. Mothers are the success stories in every personalities in all fields. It fascinated me. What household. A mother does not claim to change the better way to define success than to be applauded world but she makes life beautiful for her chil- for your work among such an august gathering! dren. All of us have been made with a purpose to I dream of a day when I would be on such a por- do the things we love and to do it with great love. tal, which made me think. Winning is huge – no doubt. But is it taken in the right spirit? Recogni- Quoting Rashmi Bansal: tion and fame are seen as the parameters of suc- “The journey of a million miles starts cess but are they the only standards? If I am go- with a single step. A casual conversation, a ing to measure success by the appreciation I get, stray thought. You may start barefoot, without I am never going to be fully satisfied. It is a nev- a map, but somewhere along the way you find er ending loop. If, at every step I take, I expect your rhythm. And fellow travelers join in step” someone to say I’m doing great, who am I work- ing for? That pride in one’s work should originate does plenty of extra reading in order to ensure a I hope you find your journey of success from within us. Awards can add to it, but they good lecture to the child who saves up his pocket and pursue it with the right spirit. To the ones who should not enslave us. As Steve Jobs rightly put it, money to give it to the pauper on the street. Yes, have found their calling, I wish you the very best. “Being the richest man in the cemetery does not these are ALSO success stories. Success is the On this note, on behalf of Team Imprint I wish matter to me… Going to bed at night saying we’ve capacity to effect or bring change. We all have you all a very happy new year. May this year done something wonderful… that’s what matters.” the capacity to do that. The method we choose to bring you all that you wish and may the Almighty implement it and our magnitude varies. The child shower his infinite mercy on us. Have a great year. When I look around, I find people doing makes a vast difference to that pauper through amazing work on a daily basis - there are success his thoughtful act. The change we generate has -Asma Afreen S.A. stories all around us - from the professor who III ECE
What’s New In Canopy? Just when you thought Canopy was We’ve got special dis counts for final year stu- just a food court, it decides to dispel your dents! image. To say, Canopy is, in fact, a cano- py comprising a multitude of services. To Or, if you are in dire need of books, make things more clearly to you, read on… be it for educational or recreational purposes, We, at Canopy, have strived to make this a you might want to direct yourself to our – grand franchise in SASTRA University, and thanks to the students, professors and other Online Bookstore: No, we aren’t going fraternitieson campus, we are happy to report after Flipkart. Be it Flipkart or Higginbothams, good success and at the same time, provide we search and find the site with the best offers and the myriad of services that we provide here. discounts, and then direct you to the same. In a way, you are promised the highest economical Online Portal: This is where most rate. Set to begin in the first week of January, on- of the information will become clear to you. line transactions can be made directly using cred- When was the last time you logged on to can- it/debit cards. And of course, there is the promise opy.sastra.edu? If you haven’t, we suggest of maximum convenience of the place of delivery. you do and register ASAP. A concise and easy looking interface would greet you, highlight- -CONTINUED ON Pg 3 ing the options the user could choose from.
Sponsored by Canopy Pg 2 EDITORIAL
The Next Possible Big Bang!
So, exactly what is going to happen on come on 22nd December 2012. Ever again. (SGPA of rubble are hurtling towards a lava pool. December 21st 2012, apart from the fact that is the last thing on anyone’s mind when there is • We will never be able to see the Lok- all of us will be freaking out about the odd se- a hurricane ripping the roof off of your heads) pal bill being passed. At the end of time INDIA mester results the next day? For the uninitiated, • Justin Beiber will never be able to record would still be shamefully ranked 70th in the list this particular date is the sole focus of a vari- another album! That deserves a huge hurrah. of corrupt countries. 70th from bottom, that is. ety of eschatological beliefs. It started quite a And we never have to hear about his gender I think. Oh how does it even matter, we’re all few years ago when archaeologists discovered test, though most of us already have a vague going down anyway. Literally this time though. that the Mayans were supercool people who idea. He’s still doubtful though. And it’s only • Grandparents will never get to know had an awesome method to document their fair. I mean, er, well… you know, that thing. what happened to the protagonist of ev- calendar years. But instead of focusing on the • We never have to see the mas- ery single lame mega serial on TV, though highly civilized Mayan people, a set of dooms- ter blaster take his final bow. He would Kolangal, with its declining TRPs might day prophets started proclaiming the end of have played cricket till the end of time. give the Paatis something to cheer about. the Mayan long count as the end of the world • We can quit worrying about the os- • I can never watch the Bachchan baby as we know it. Adding fuel to the fire was the cillating markets, the dwindling number make her debut movie with a 60 year old SRK or marketing campaign by the makers of the movie of job, inflation and spend money on all a far older Rajnikant. Then again, Rajni can stop 2012 on YouTube which went viral. Some peo- those worthless things we wanted to do. the apocalypse by just telling it once. And his ple even went to the extent of asking astrono- • We can all start a record breaking TV sit- trademark “Chumma Adhurudhila” phrase would mers if all the hype around the date was true. com marathon to finish watching every single actually make sense then. You know the rest. episode of every TV series ever released. Start- When I saw the movie 2012, I freaked out that I was ing with the one about the world about to end. So, going with the original premise that the world is going to die either because of the ground beneath But then, halfway through making this list I real- going to end, let us live every moment to the fullest. me ripping apart so as to drown me in hot molten ized there were so many things I was going to miss lava or due to the subzero temperatures. But then • I will be dead on the day of my convocation HAPPY NEW YEAR! I thought it wouldn’t be such a bad thing after all. and will not be able to wear a yellow graduation So I made a list of the “pros” in the event of the gown after years of slogging. Nor will I be able to world being annihilated on December 21st 2012 throw my mortar board high in the air and watch it get stuck in the pandal that has been erected. -Shruti Srinivasan • Nobody is going to ask you the annoying • It is really hard to feel good about not III BioE “what is your SGPA?” question when the results submitting assignments when you and pile What’s in a Resolution ? What’s in a resolution? That illuminates a bleak future sponta- A mere thought in your head; neously, A path you wish to follow; Yet garlands your soul satisfying your An idea you believe would enhance inner self; your well-being, A thought that crosses your mind as An idea you believe would make a lightening, difference! An idea you believe would make a What’s in a resolution? difference! That momentarily gives you the urge What’s in a resolution? to prove, A question to ponder upon; That envisions a temporary change, A motive that instigates the inner fire, That brightens your path and lightens A thought that gives you the courage So What’s Your List? your face; To step forward ,to lead ahead An idea you believe would make a A medium to answer all the questions Just as every other year, -Follow my intuitions. difference! A chance to rebel; most of you have probably -Appreciate the beauty in What’s in a resolution? An idea you believe would make a made a list of this year’s reso- small things. That gets us attracted; difference! lutions. Most of us don’t even -Endure the worst days with That gets us to behave like an enthu- What’s in a resolution? remember the previous year’s courage. siast, I think I know! list; our resolutions mostly end -Smile like a new born. A feeling that impersonates a budding It’s a gamble,a chance to play with up being the to-do list for the -Believe in miracles. artist, But a game not bound by the rules of month of January and the Ma- -Breathe more deeply. A feeling that an amateur has when his luck, yan calendar predicts that the -Love everyone uncondition- work gets recognized; A game souly dependant on your urge world would end on 21st De- ally. A feeling though temporary could last To sustain,to grow for thy benefit cember 2012. If that is true, I -Work with passion and fear an eon, A game that gives only one side to a don’t think anyone would want less. A feeling so spontaneous, coin; to waste it by following strict For these are the things that An idea you believe would make a A game that makes you trust, diet schedules or by vowing make us happy, after all we difference! An idea you know would make the to spend less time on social all strive towards that one What’s in a resolution? difference! networking sites or to clean thing but in different paths. That could last,that could help that messy room every day. You look into a new horizon,a fresh -Shwetha Srinivasan Instead, this year I We need to stop snuggling beginning; I ECE have got some better things into the comfort of familiar to put on my list. Things things and make life chang- that need not be crossed off ing decisions without any fear. the check list every day. After all, if the world does end, I resolve: you can take pride in the fact that -To laugh more. you made life easier for others -Spend less time worrying by being your super awesome about self. Let’s hope for the best! insignificant things. -Shed all my inhibitions. Happy New Year folks! -Win the love of as many people as -Mowshimkka possible. Renganathan -Eat like a child. III IT
Sponsored by Canopy Pg 3 SPOTLIGHT From A Mobile App to Microsoft
Sanjeev Gopinath , curently employed in internship at IBM Software Labs. After clearing Your facebook group on Placement Prepara- MICROSOFT, is one of our illustrious alumni about five to seven tough interview rounds, I made tion was very useful for the 4th years. What from the 2007 -2011 batch. Designer, Program- it! I had to write Test-APIs for licensing of the Ra- made you come up with something like that? mer and App developer Sanjeev Gopinath tional range of products. It was very challenging, SASTRA students are like unpolished diamonds. has quite a few skills to add to his repertoire. as the potential impact it could create was huge. We have a great innate potential. But due to lack His mobile application Bunk Bazaar was a of proper guidance from immediate seniors, some huge hit in our college. Bunk bazaar helps More than anything, the company’s culture in- of us tend to lose on bigger opportunities which students bunk efficiently and yet keep their fluenced me a lot. IBM was celebrating its IITians and NITians grab! We are very good attendance hovering above the safe zone. 100th year. To be working with some of the with our basics, communication skills, etc. The It has received over 24,000 downloads on brightest minds in the world (my 2nd line man- dots are all set, but we aren’t aware of connect- getjar.com and also received rave reviews ager was from Apple Inc.), and to chat with ing them. For example, we are very good with from students across Sri Lanka, Canada, my then colleagues, great IBMers like Grady data structures, but when given a tricky problem, Pakistan and Bangladesh. Being an open Booch (Father of Object Oriented Methodol- we take time to come up with the right solution. source enthusiast and avid programmer, ogy), etc., was a ‘top of the world’ experience. Sanjeev served as an executive member of I wanted to break this. I planned to share the little GLOSS during his stay at SASTRA. His tricks, tips and potential traps that I had learnt dur- Facebook group “Placement Preparation” ing my past interview experiences, so that tough was very successful, providing sound advice problems are no longer a surprise to SASTRAites. to those who were going to face placements. The placement group also enjoys support from Your application BunkBazaaar was a huge hit Tushar Verma, Ravi Teja, et al., who actively en- in college and has won laurels everywhere. Can gaged themselves in solving problems with juniors. you tell us how you go about making mobile apps To be frank, I never dreamt that the group could and a few tips for amateurs on where to start? become a great hub for collaborative learning with the participation of more than 1400 SASTRAites. Mobile application development has been gaining I sincerely hope that this tradition continues. a lot of popularity. It’s primarily because of the increase in the number of handheld devices in the How has your Microsoft experience been so market. With technologies like Symbian, Windows far? Phone 7, Android, iOS, mobile space is increas- It’s one of the best I ever had in my life. ingly the preferred platform for many developers. My learning could have already exceed- ed the amount of learning I gathered in my Mobile application development is not just about Could you share a few of your placement past 2 1/2 years. Every day is new and chal- developing any other application. It’s got more experiences? lenging. Feels like home, a new beginning. to do with understanding technology, your users, target market, pricing etc. Hence, a good idea will Nine of us who got placed from SASTRA are definitely be a plus if you are planning to go big. I still remember the question Mr Dominic David, rocking at Microsoft. The kind of grip on tech- President of KLA Tencor asked me. It was the last nology that SASTRAites display at Microsoft The number of devices supporting Java is infi- round wherein I had to come up with an efficient is tremendous! All thanks to the ecosystem of nite. J2ME + NetBeansIDE Visual MIDlet fea- algorithm. I was so focused and almost tried what- learning that SASTRA provided us. Without that ture is a great development combo to explore. ever I knew. I optimized almost 21 times, and Mr it’d have been a very tough time, believe me :) Touch interface is something worth experiment- David said, “Come up with the next one, and the ing with too. If you get an app right, who knows, job is yours!” I felt dry, exhausted, my mind re- What are the important things that you have you might become a millionaire real soon. fused to work, and I finally gave up! I lost the offer. learnt from SASTRA University? A lot! One of them that kept me going was this... You were an intern at IBM and you also I got selected in TCS. And, when I heard the “Being in an engineering college is all about either served as the IBM Campus Ambassador for news that Microsoft might visit our campus, spending time or investing time; your call will de- our college, could you elaborate on that? I worked vigorously. I used to spend sleepless cide your fate, it’ll keep you from rest of the crowd” nights preparing for Microsoft and managed to IBM is an amazing technology company. Its con- work at my office too. I tried to maintain my Keep in touch! Facebook: Sanjeev Gopinath, tributions to the world are huge. Some of IBM’s health with a lot of sprouted grams as supple- Twitter: @Sanjeev_MSFT, Email: t-sgopi@ technologies like AIX, System-Z, PowerPC, and ments. For me, it was the last mile of a 10 year old microsoft.com smart computing have always fascinated me. I dream of getting into Microsoft. So, I made sure wanted to go one step ahead in understanding the that I was prepared enough to face the toughest. enterprise world from IBM’s standpoint. So, I ap- During my 6 months stay in Bangalore, I at- -As told to Girish Koundinya plied for the IBM Campus Ambassador program tended and cleared a lot of off-campus in- III ICT and got selected. It gave me a lot of internal con- terviews too. Some particularly interest- tacts to network with. Later on, I applied for an ing ones were with Amazon and Verifone.
What’s New In Canopy?
-CONTINUED FROM Pg1 Recharge System: After becoming a registered user, you are expected to “charge” or “recharge” your account. The balance avail- Or, able would extend to, at present, two services Travel Services: Also set to become (food and LAN). Makes life simpler doesn’t operational by the first week of January, this it? We had imposed a minimum recharge would include cab services, bus services, to amount to 200 INR earlier. Not anymore. local places, and also destinations like Chen- In the end, we hope you just reach out and nai and Bangalore at the time of open holidays. clasp our extended hands. Your support and en- couragement would only help us in setting up Food: Ah, it again comes down to the further ‘extensions’, for which our minds are food now? Well, Canopy promises to offer the brimming with ideas. In the end, we as a team food services with the same flavour - the - ser are still mainly a student body, and it’s been a vices that have made us well-known since the pleasure doing good business so far. We hope very beginning. We are also happy that the re- to make things better in the semesters to come. cently begun parcel system has become quite a hit. With your support, we anticipate mak- -The Canopy Team. ing two slots for deliveries per day, compared to only one we’re doing right now. We also plan on expanding the food court in the future.
Sponsored by Canopy Pg 4 SPOTLIGHT In The Quest of Real Passion
Drumrolls please! We have, amongst tain memories and incidents that have not yet life and my memories, with a blend of fiction. us in this campus, a novelist. It’s official. faded. I decided to capture all these memories How do your writing sessions work out? Final year Mechatronics student, Sanjeev in a novel but how this would be possible, I had Ranjan’s novel “In course of true love”, not been sure back then. After coming to SAS- I had no problems with my writing ses- has been selected for publication by Srishti TRA, I resumed my writing in the second semes- sions. I also had loads of time doing everything Publishers and Distributors. With the of- ter. Due to some personal problems, I suspended that I wanted to do. Time management was nev- ficial release date being the 2nd of January, my writing. I resumed in September 2009. er really a problem, but I can say for sure that we get down to interviewing this achiever behind this novel, there were numerous nights in our midst, and finding out the ways of sacrificing movies, or sitcoms. I used to write the writer. And this writer, in particular... soon after coming from classes, but most of the writing was done in the solitude of the night. Sometimes, I also wrote in the early mornings, when the entire college was asleep. What did you do once your manuscript was ready? Did you have pre-publishing jitters? Yes, of course, I had pre-publishing jitters. In India, publishing a novel is not cake-walk. You need a bit of luck, great amount of patience, per- severance and a good script. One has to be very I had always loved reading books and the writer’s careful when sending a script to publishers. Now mind always intrigued me. What is the state of mind that the novel is coming out, it seems that my of an author when he/she writes a book? This cu- patience and hard work has paid off. I’m really riosity ultimately beckoned me to pen stuff down. happy to see my name on a novel’s cover page. Nature, and everything in it, inspires me. Personalities like Steve Jobs, Sachin Ten- What are your next steps? dulkar, A. R. Rahman and their works also in- Tell us a little bit about yourself. spired me to do something productive in life. At this moment, my novel is up for pre-order and I am awaiting the day it reaches the read I am a final year Mechatronics student. I hail Tell us about your new book. Its main er’s hand. I am eagerly waiting for their re- from a small town of Bihar, called Siwan. theme? views. I’m experiencing some exciting yet Quest of quality education took me to Boka- nervous moments. Apart from this, I have to ro, where I completed my higher secondary. “In Course of True love!” is a school time love focus on my Engineering project work for I consider myself to be a non-conformist and story that I have painted over a canvas of in- my last semester. I am very sure that I will be a voracious reader of novels. I’m also a keen nocence and friendship. I have also raised writing more, but at the moment, it would be observer of human behavior and usually like certain bizarre questions pertinent to society too early to comment on my 2nd Novel. (:P) mentoring people in solving their problems. in the novel. Does love happen at the age of 16 or is it a mere passing infatuation? I have Team Imprint congratatulates Sanjeev Ran- What drove you to become a writer? What, kept the language very simple and hope read- jan on his achievement and wishes him good or who, are your inspirations? ers would empathize with the characters. luck for his novel and all future endeavours. It was not until the twelfth grade that I wanted Is the story based on real life incidents? As told to Mowshimkka Renganathan to become a writer. I still remember the mo- III IT ment when I was returning from Bokaro and Well, I must state - Every fictional work in the idea of a writing a novel first struck me. this world is an author’s biography in some Life in Bokaro for two years left me with cer way. The story is certainly inspired from my THE HOUSE OF SILK When it became publicly known that really picks up the pace. All of the well-known suppose, where corpses are introduced before The Doyle estate had authorized Anthony and much admired characters namely My- commercial breaks to captivate the audience Horowitz to pen the next Holmes novel, I was croft, Mrs. Hudson, Moriarty, Wiggins and the and capture TRP targets(his own words), cer- rather apprehensive. Having never had the op- Baker Street Irregulars make their appearance. tainly introduces quite a few. The marked differ- portunity to peruse any of his prior work, I was ence from Doyle’s writing is clear where only afraid that his treatment of the character, due one corpse and a fiery hound would be enough to which I had become an addict of fiction- to pull readers by the lapels through the pages. al literature, would be shoddy and unworthy It may be a trick of my mind, but pages of of even being mentioned alongside the other Doyle’s works exuded a very distinct aura of sixty. The Doyle Estate, however, had indeed British superiority. A word here and another made an excellent choice as regards the author. word there were enough to paint a vivid pic- ture of the Empire at the pinnacle of glory, in The Game’s Afoot the era of cobble-stoned streets, gas lights, and The case begins with Holmes and Watson hansoms. Doyle certainly had it easier to depict lounging in their old haunts, 221B Baker Street, the atmosphere since his characters lived in the in the winter of 1890. A Mr. Edmund Carstairs same time as he did. It must have indeed been visits them and narrates as to how he is being difficult to paint an accurate picture by using hounded by a member of The Flat-Cap Gang of merely what was ascertained from the works of Boston and how he had encountered them pre- historians and records, but Anthony Horowitz, viously. While investigating this, they stumble to no less credit, does it quite admirably. This onto an unrelated phrase “The House of Silk” is the second work this year which has made and also onto the inevitable corpse that usually me wish the original author was still alive. The makes the center point of all mystery stories. And first one being, naturally, Messrs. Spielberg it is only the first of many. Holmes himself gets and Jackson’s “The Adventures Of Tintin”. pinned for one of the murders and the two cas Doyle Vs. Horowitz es “The Mystery of Flat-Cap Gang”; and “The The story certainly is horrific and lives up to - Girish Shenoi House Of Silk” gets intertwined. It is precisely its marketing tagline. But, Anthony Horow- III MCT at that point that I found that passage of time itz, as a side effect of writing for televisions, I became warped and distorted, since the book
Sponsored by Canopy Pg 5 SASTRA UNPLUGGED
PRELUDE TO DAKSH
On 29th November, 2011, the almost- wind ride specifically designed to win them was made by the Daksh team itself. That is be- last day of the odd semester, a group of people over to Daksh (though their claim of being the sides the point, though. The t-shirt is a glaring met in Tifac auditorium. Their meeting was qui- second largest in South India is stretching the red colour, and the general complaint is that the et, unobtrusive and brief. As the whole college truth past breaking point). There will be surprise shirt isn’t sober enough. Deepak, head of M&P, collectively pulled up their socks and tried to decorations all over campus, exciting games begs to differ. “The aim of the shirt was to at- make up for the entire semester overnight, these and events being organised every weekend, as tract publicity. It has to be bright. It has to be no- people realised one of the targets they had set well as workshops by eminent personalities. ticed.” He has a point. Every time someone com- for themselves according to a rigid timetable. The aim of the workshops, specifically, is to mented on, or cursed the colour, or even thought Who were they? Well, that group was the Daksh teach us the basics of any process, theory, or twice about it, they just reaffirmed the team’s Team, led by Vishal Patwari. And they were there concept, so that we are encouraged to research work. After all, any publicity is good publicity. to unveil the official website. Daksh, as we all The veracity of this claim can be answered by know, is conducted in the even semester, in Febru- the M&P team. Every Thursday, without fail, ary. It is notable for having an event for everyone, they meet to discuss the regimen of action for right from the hopelessly academic to the Bunk- the coming week. Chalking out all the pos- ing Record holder. Be that as it may, their prepa- sibilities, they plan and execute everything ration still seems way ahead of schedule, right? on short notice, working around the clock to Not so. Preparing for a tech-fest requires a lot meet their draconian deadlines and still catch of groundwork, such as gathering sponsors, re- enough sleep to make it to class on time. viewing and learning from last year’s mistakes, more about it, even before the actual Daksh There was a rumour about how the clashing dates deciding which events to hold, the people to weekend. This enables everyone going through of Pragyan (NIT Trichy) and Daksh might ad- conduct them, organising collaborations (like the website to have an idea about how to at- versely affect us, in terms of crowd-pulling. To the Daksh-AIESEC workshop), and most im- tempt problem statements. And that’s not all. quote Akshey, of the Compsense cluster, “that is portant of all, marketing an impressive line-up The 2nd and 3rd years of the M&P have com- their loss”, as we have brewing here, ladies and to everyone (seriously, they mean EVERY- posed a Daksh song, which is due for market- gentlemen, an event that you will never forget. ONE). The last bit requires a gifted team of per- ing any day now. There is even discussion of the suasive and determined campus ambassadors Daksh-man, the event mascot, who will be seen Disclaimer: Daksh and all associated events to go from college to college, convincing them everywhere this February. Nishant, from web are student organised. Any presence of that they are hosting THE event of February. design, hinted that there was even more to come teachers, real or otherwise, is purely coin- We, at Imprint, asked various people of team with a confident ‘wait and see’, although with- cidental and of a benign-sentinel nature. Daksh what their goal and vision for Daksh ’11 holding details. In short, by the time February was. Without exception, they all promised a draws to a close, the entire college will be wait That’s not it. Team Daksh plans to bring tech-fest that would wash away any opinions we ing with bated breath for 3 days of Daksh 2011. you more.Keep looking for posters and other had about Daksh so far, and set a new bench- Despite all this, reader, if you think you can out- announcements to know more. mark that future generations would use as a run or escape the mania, you are wrong. Many touchstone. The publicity team is pulling up at of us have seen the Daksh promo t-shirt. A -Tara Narayanan all the stops, because as far as internal public competition was held to select the best design f II Mechatronics ity goes, SASTRA students are due for a whirl for the promo t-shirt, but in the end, the design Coming Soon..
Kuruksastra, more affectionately known Overall Coordinator- as KS, is our inter-collegiate cultural fest which Rohit Subramanian (+919626026707) has evolved into one of the biggest cultural fests Dramatics- Sneha Ram (+9195845007670) in South India and has created a niche for SAS- Eastern Dance- Gayathri Ravichandran – TRA as a major powerhouse on the cultural stage. (+919884458008) Conducted in the month of March, KS is one of the English Lits- Sridhar Ganapathy last cultural fests to be held before the end of the (+919786351807) academic year stressing on the fact that though a Fine Arts- Shilpa Murali (+919840221683) first impression might make the best impression, Hindi Lits- Nijesh Prakash (+919789348412) a last impression makes a lasting impression. Music- Vijay Krishnan (+919884509321) Photography- Srikanth Iyer For those who came in late, KS is where (+919791481292) the clusters of Arts, Music, Dance, Literary Tamil Lits- Vharoon Ravi (+919952864966) & Theatre Events in English, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu Lits- Vamsi Krishna (+919003572446) Telugu come together to deliver a spectacu- Videography- Dinesh Sekar (+919840073148) lar show resplendent with host performances Western Dance- Vaishalli Mohan and Pro-Nites for the duration of three days. (+919962794733) And for all the KS veterans: you have already When it comes to entertainment, no mention of Despite KS being the time of maximum en- witnessed the merriment that is KS. Dancers per- KS will be complete without the acknowledge- thrallment any student will have in the entire forming with great finesse; the college music team ment of Pro-Nite. For, Pro-Nite is when a host duration of college life, a few people do make belting out mellifluous tracks alongside their own of luminaries like Naresh Iyer, Karthik , Benny the mistake of applying for permission and compositions; literary events which put to test Dayal, Suchitra and Shankar Mahadevan have en- leaving for home. And end up missing the ex- one’s wit and knowledge; drama to bring out the tertained our students and on ascertaining the en- perience that is Kuruksastra. So, be present to thespian in you have all manifested into a single thusiasm of the students, even the ‘only-cash-no- witness the entire duration of the fest to have theme of unadulterated fun to satisfy the connois- cheque-celebrities’ are happily convinced to give the fondest memories of college recorded. seur/craftsman/wordsmith in every single person. an encore (at least till 9 PM which is our in-time). P.S. Despite the severe budget restric- Most importantly, KS is that time of the year The theme for this year’s KS will be 12. Event tions and economic state of the students, it when you can let your hair down (please do not preparations have been underway since the start still is not an excuse to ‘borrow’ pens for- take this expression literally, our college stress of college (while preparations for exams have ever from the event coordinators. Please es on clean and short haircuts) and bask in the been started only the day before the exam) which do return the pens once the event is over :P warm glow of the entire college revelling in a are a firm indication for the huge success that potpourri of entertainment and merriment. KS 12 is going to be. All ideas are welcome - Shriram K S And at the same time, encourage the spirit of and are to be submitted to the following people: III year, EEE participation amidst all the cutthroat competition.
Sponsored by Canopy Pg 6 INSIGHT Where Are We Heading?
An article in ‘The Hindu’ threw light on take computer science in twelfth? CBSE of- called India’s fight for Independence where we one of the most prevalent issues – Education in fers innumerable course but I don’t think many had to sit and learn by-heart about the Swadeshi India. The article said kids in the fourth grade schools in India offers any of these subjects. We movement and The Quit India Movement. Quite did not know who among Mahatma Gandhi, must not be afraid to break free of run-of-the- conveniently, we forgot to learn why the British Rajiv Gandhi, Indira Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi mill courses.The survey also showed that kids were able to conquer us and how they had us at is alive and that is ALARMING! We live in a are not sensitive to socially relevant issues. This their mercy for such a long time. We learnt that it society that is exam oriented rather than knowl- is something I think all of us see every day, be was the ‘Divide and Rule’ policy that brought us edge oriented. Nobody cares if you are the best to ruin and sadly, it is still that policy that prevails in Physics lab, but if you get an 85 in physics, here, for example, the North versus South divide. you are GONE. You tell your parents that you History must not teach us what we can get from have scored the highest in viva, it doesn’t mat- the internet; it must be taught in such a way that ter, but you tell them that you got 40/50 in a we do not make the mistakes our forefathers did. theory subject, the entire household becomes grave and your parents start talking about how Finally, my vision 2020 for India is you are going to get an ‘A’ in the subject and simple. I dream of an India without preju- at the back of their heads, complex calcula- dices. I dream of an India where every field is tions will take place as to how if you lose this respected and no profession is considered bet- one grade, you will end up with an 8.45 instead ter than the other. I dream of an India where of an 8.6. Oh, the HORROR of getting an 8.45! there is reservation at the school level and not When it comes to schools, every single parent at the college level. I dream of an India where wants their kid to get a centum in maths! Maths its citizens can convert information to knowl- has to be the one subject every household wants it the “which city is cooler” or the “north versus edge and hopefully, wisdom. Economic growth their kid to excel in. Subjects like English and south” or even the “look at that girl, is this how and getting rid of poverty will follow automati- languages are subjects that have been given least a girl should behave” stereotypes. Children pick cally. It is not impossible; it just requires every- preference. Rote learning is present everywhere up on things that happen at home, and this does body to do their bit. My resolution for 2012 is in India; the degree of rote learning varies from not exclude the prejudices. Independent thought to do my part for our country. What’s yours? place to place. I think more time should be spent has to be encouraged. Moral instruction classes in a lab than in classrooms. Twelfth graders in at school taught us what amazing women Seetha India are expected to join a professional course: and Ahalya were. Yes, they were pious women engineering or medicine or law etc. Where are but theseclasses must tell us how to conduct our- -Harshini Mohan the vocational courses? Why force someone selves in public, how to not be prejudiced or hold III EIE who LOATHES maths to do engineering and a bias against any person/thing. History classes why force someone who cannot stand the sight taught us what happened rather than what we can of computers (other than for leisure purposes) to learn from the past. We all remember the lesson “The only catch about education in the US is a Catch-22!”
Let’s take this from the top, shall started to loom in front of my eyes when my scenario the chances of getting a good job which we, in the typical Indian education style. seniors, helpfully (*sigh*) uttered those cursed will fulfill your potential and also pay as much Teacher: What is a Catch-22? And where words like “GRE, SOP, LOR” and what not. seem a little bleak. Companies are no longer in did this phrase arise out of? (2 marks) Those countries affected by recession are pin a rat race to get the creamy layer of the candi- A typical first bencher will go ahead and say,“A ning their hopes on Indian students to en- dates from top universities. It is now the students Catch-22, coined by Joseph Heller in his novel ter their country in their academic pursuit. It who are pursuing companies for employment Catch-22, is a logical paradox arising from a isn’t just the America, mind you. Even Austra- • The US senate is against firing of situation in which an individual needs some- lia, the United Kingdom, and Canada are also US nationals instead of people from oth thing that can only be acquired by not being in hoping that there is no reduction in the annual er countries. The senate is also consider- that very situation; therefore, the acquisition “export” of students from India. The measures ing cutting back on H1B visas, the ones that of this thing becomes logically impossible”. introduced to attract Indian students include: permit students to study on American soil. Simultaneously, a few of the moderates( not first • Canada plans to focus on attracting a • Some schools have offered students less bench, not all the way at the back either) will larger number of Indian students by actively financial aid and scholarships than they expected/ speak of how said first bencher has “mugged” promoting its colleges in India. Among the deserved. In fact, the University of South Caro- the answer, word for word, while the casual advantages that Canada offers to Indian stu- lina offers no scholarships at the master’s level. last bench snooze fest slumbers on, carefree. dents is the fact that they get on the fast track Even in the case of an institute offering schol- Well, all that said, let us actually put things into to the job market and permanent residence arships, the probability of funding decreases perspective here. After all, it is the newsletter, • UK just recently increased the fee to as even more if you apply for the spring semester. and not just your average bi-weekly magazine. much as £9000 for higher education. The Prime And that is exactly why going abroad is increas- A few years ago, the United States of America Minister David Cameron said that raising tuition ingly becoming a Catch-22 situation. Countries was the land of Hersheys, marshmallows, $1 fees would mean two things: “It will make sure have started welcoming Indian students as an pizzerias and $30 Dosas at Saravana Bhavan. our universities are well funded, and we won’t influx of trained professionals and financial in- And then, *drumroll please* … we grew up and continue to increase the fees for overseas stu- flow. But the average Indian student is scared words like recession became a part of our vocabu- dents. Yes, the foreign students will still pay to get into the icky situation where he might lary. The year 2008 dawned onAmerica with a hous- a significant amount of money but we should be unable to pay back his educational loan ing market correction, the subprime (mortgage) now be able to keep that growth under control.” crisis and the value of the mighty dollar declining. • Not to mention the fact that loans Write to us at [email protected] for any By the time recession hit the world, and its true have become easier to obtain combined with queries related to GRE and any topics that you meaning revealed, Lehmann Brothers declared the increased flexibility of students with- re would like to read about. Enough of a break now, themselves bankrupt, the Emergency Econom- spect to selection of courses and institutes. dive right back into your Barron’s Guide, go on. ic Stabilization Act (2008) was passed, and we Feeling good? Think you have a watched millions lose their jobs on account of shot? But wait just one second! -Shruti Srinivasan Black Monday, not to mention the hefty bail- • Most of the European countries which III BioE out packages the U.S Government handed to seem to be viable alternatives to the US are badly the most needy. None of this actually seemed to hit by the recession and none of them allow stu- matter when I was merely an on-looker. It only dents to stay on for more than a year. In the present
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Not since Nikola Tesla (the real pat- Without C, we would not have modern tech- more to come have changed and will literally ent rights holder for the invention of the ra- nology...at all. The humble creator of C which change the way we live our lives every day. This dio) has an innovator come, made a mark and he called “quirky, flawed” was and still is an was the man who brought the virtual world under whose passing away went so unrecognized. enormous success and also is the fundamental our fingertips. Numerous are the innovations and Have all of us seemed to have forgotten the building block of every programming or script- Apple products have become almost ubiquitous. ‘R’(Ritchie) in K&R’s “The C Programming ing tools such as Java, JavaScript, Perl and PHP Language”? In an engineering student’s life, we etc..Apple’s Mac OS X series of operating sys- Having said all these, it brings us down to asking call this book the de facto standard for program- tems are Unix Based and it forms the roots for the question, “Was the death of Dennis left too ming... we may even refer to ANSI C as “life”. the famous Apple’s iOS. Every bit of software unrecognized but that of Steve Jobs was all cer- We recently lost that “life-giver” on October that would enable you to read a webpage on the emonised and publicized?” Well, as a matter of internet today has a trace of dmr’s DNA in it. fact, yes it was. But as budding engineers and as (dmr being Ritchie’s username or screen name). part of the technical community it is up to us to render a collective eulogy and pay tribute to both A week earlier to losing this great technolo- these geniuses who have contributed to a massive gist, the world witnessed the demise of another extent to the way we live our lives today and also Tech Giant: to brief up about him, well… There understand the fact that that as much as Steve’s were four “apples” that changed the world-the works were accoladed so should Dennis’ works. first one was that which seduced Eve and from Dennis Ritchie thus being “the king of what was then onwards mankind was deemed imperfect, largely invisible” received very little media at- the second was that which fell on Newton’s head tention unlike Steve Jobs who is nevertheless, and brought forth the idea of GRAVITY to the “the king of what was visible” or probably “the world , the third was the half-bitten cyanide apple efficient translator” of the language that Ritchie which killed the computing legend Alan Turing laid down, a clever “distributor” of the change in and the final one was “THE BY(I)TE into THE technology through the language built by Den- APPLE” that made the world think different. nis Ritchie, and an intelligent “packager” of the the 12th, 2011 at the age of 70. Dennis Mac The creator and co-founder of this “Apple” was technology, in ways that reached the broader Alistair Ritchie, born on September 9, 1941 STEVE JOBS whom we lost on October 5,2011. world and thus made his mark in the techno- at Bronxville, New York, US was the proud logical world. In a way, if Steve Jobs was Walt creator of the C programming Language and Born in San Francisco and adopted by Paul and Disney then it was Ritchie who gave him (and also the key developer of the UNIX operating Clara Jobs, Steve Jobs learnt rudimentary elec- many others) the paint brush. Ritchie laid the system, one of the most powerful multi-user tronics from his father who worked as a machinist foundation and Steve built the skyscraper. Thus and multitasking computer operating system. in a lasers company. He later grew up attending both their achievements need equal mention. Homestead High School in Cupertino, California He was born to Alistair Ritchie, a switching and enrolled at Reed College in Oregon, USA Dear Dennis Ritchie, systems engineer for Bell Laboratories, and where he merely “audited”(just experienced the Jean McGee Ritchie, a homemaker. Ritchie academic course but elected not to be awarded a #include
Do you really think that we, the youth, are people! But, we had no problem with Volkswa- cupying half the road with his newly bought In- doing justice to the present day developments? gen opening a big factory in Pune. We have no nova, Scorpio, Fiesta, SX4 etc., which he bought problem with Volkswagen selling the Beetle in simply because he could afford the luxury. If you think of brand names from India, the India for 20+ Lakhs, when it is sold in Germany first names that may come to a normal- engi for about 6-7 lakhs! Outrageous. neer’s minds are software giants Infy and Wipro. However, we fail to acknowledge the fact that We fail to recognize the intent Mr. Tata had India produces almost 5 lakh engineers every the pioneers of engineering and aviation indus- in making the 1-lakh car. He couldn’t stand year as compared to Europe’s 1lakh and a similar try in India were the Tatas. Back then under the a normal Indian family of 3 or 4 riding on a small number in America. And the best jobs we c British rule, the Tatas created a platform help- scooter in the rain, tribbles n fourbles as we can offer these fresh and probably brilliant minds ing today’s youth to lead a comfortable life and call it. Think of the safety of this family! Tata is in Infosys and Wipro where they are made to we don’t even know that! Tatas have not only simply wanted to give them a chance to travel provide cheap labour chiefly to foreign clients. created jobs for engineers and clerks alike, they safely, at the least cost possible. This is inno- have also opened premiere educational institu- vation. We simply fail to recognize this intent. Our focus has to move from services to prod- tions like IISc, TIFR, etc. to help the youth get a We are worried that our cities will get clogged uct development. We can of course pro- chance to be exposed to world class education. with more cars. Well that’s true. Just take a mo- vide services, but that shouldn’t be our ment to look at the types of vehicles in any traf- main stay, the so called “core competency”. It is the Tatas and Birlas that have made fic signal. More than 60% will be private cars India what it is today.We openly criticized owned by software professionals, and the worst And it is up to us to give direction to our generation. Ratan Tata for coming up with a 1-lakh car be- part is that they would be driving alone. And if cause we feared it would increase traffic as cars is this very “professional” who complains about would become affordable for even ‘normal’ the unruly traffic forgetting the fact that he is oc
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Very few of us are lucky enough to for the first issue, not just with the content part, 6. What are the problems associated be able do what we love and Vignesh. V of but also with publicity. We had to create a sense with buying second-hand cars and why is third year, Mechanical, is one of them. Cars of suspense and get people excited about it. your focus on second-hand cars rather than have been his passion for quite some time the new ones? and he has managed to capitalize that to come 4. What are the main parameters you up with an exclusive e-magazine, CARMA look for while rating a car and what is the Second-hand car purchasing is not an easy gig. which is India’s first free auto e-magazine. math involved? It requires a lot more planning and is actually Here’s an interview with him regard- Yes, in The Pitstop, we do evaluate cars. We de- more crucial than purchasing a new car. In ad- ing CARMA and his passion for cars. veloped a document called the parameter sheet dition to picking a manufacturer, a model and and we take a copy of it along whenever we a place to buy it, one also has to contend with 1. First, tell us about Pitstop. How did review vehicles. Our parameters include every- decisions such as mileage, condition and age, you think of it? What drove you to think of thing from exteriors – design, headlamp and tail none of which is a factor in new cars but are im- something like Pitstop? lamp styling, ground clearance, wiper motor and portant considerations when buying a used car. sprayer conditions; interiors – dash quality, inte- The Pitstop had its focus only on used vehicle The Pitstop is an auto-related blog that evaluation because we always felt that focuses on evaluating used and exist- it was a segment that was complete- ing on-road vehicles so that it can help ly ignored. You have auto-related TV out second-hand buyers and a section shows, magazines and websites that of first-hand buyers as well. It was review upcoming cars, but there is no started by my best friend Praveen and medium to review the cars again a few me in June 2011. years after their launch to see how they It was more like a flash idea which hit have been performing and what the us- me when I was driving. I immediately ers feel about them. Even though now contacted him and told him that we we have expanded to covering new should do something about it and we cars as well, the roots of The Pitstop actually ended up doing it. A big portion won’t be disturbed and every issue of of credit goes to him for this as he was CARMA will have a used car review. equally interested in the idea as I was and that gave me the drive to go further. 7. You also mentioned about job opportunities in CARMA. What kind 2. What made you think of an of job opportunities are there at pres- e-auto magazine? How long has ent? this been in the pipeline and what is your expected response from its Yes, from time to time we do have readers? some openings. At present, we are look- For all practical purposes (inclusive of the bud- rior design, instrument cluster, utility space, rear ing out for publicity correspondents from dif- get), an e-magazine is the best solution. Also, since leg space, comfort, driving position, boot space; ferent universities and cities that can help us it is electronic, the reach is way higher than print. and also performance parameters – time taken out with publicity. This way, we can increase You just can’t measure the reach of an electronic from 0 to 60 kmph without a/c, 0 to 60 with a/c, the reach as well. Most of the publicity work magazine because you can’t keep track of how and owner calculated fuel economy, clutch play, would be online on Facebook and Twitter. where all it is circulated – which is a good thing. throttle response, suspensions and ride quality. 8. I infer from the name that CARMA focus- CARMA was in the pipeline for over 2 You can actually find this param- es on cars, can we expect something for bikes too? months. We realized we needed to expand eter sheet online in our website. Definitely. Very soon, in fact. On our last- on and make something bigger and that was The math behind it is quite simple. Every pa- line meeting, we decided to expand to cover- when we came up with the CARMA brand- rameter is rated on a scale of 10, an average is ing bikes as well, but not immediately. We ing. We carefully handpicked our team which taken, and rounded up to one decimal point. are planning to wait till a few more issues was complete somewhere mid- November. release. Timely announcements for recruit- If you are talking about the response to the first 5.If you were to buy a second-hand car, what are ments of content writers would be made on issue release, it was pretty good. Very glad about the 5 things that you will absolutely insist on. our website, facebook and twitter profiles it! About the general response, I’m expecting an increase in reader participation – which would 1.A test drive for sure – this will help you get a whole We, from Imprint wish Vignesh and his include more people writing in about their cars, feel of the vehicle. You can judge the transmis- team at The Pitstop and CARMA the best sending us some cool automobile related pic- sion, steering, suspension, engine condition, etc. of luck for all their future endeavours. tures that they clicked, asking us for sugges- tions on what car to buy, etc – but it would 2.Check all the electronics involved. You can read the magazine at http://autocarma.in/ take a few issues for that increase in number. or follow its blog at http://autopitstop.tumblr.com/ 3.Check for exterior body rust. Rust is cancer for cars. Follow The Pitstop at https://www.facebook. 3. What is your target audience with re- com/autopitstop and CARMA at https:// spect to CARMA? How is CARMA not going 4.Wheels. They shouldn’t be bald and www.facebook.com/PitstopPublications to be a run-of-the-mill magazine? over used. I’d definitely not want to spend another 20k on a good set of wheels. Write to them at [email protected] Our target audience would include anyone who can read and has an Adobe Reader in his com- 5.A very fundamental issue – the background of Connect with Vignesh.V at https://www.facebook. puter. Since it is electronic, the reach cannot the person selling that particular vehicle and the com/theVVR or contact him at +919500768435 be measured. We try to maintain a sort of bal- reason behind the sale. I’d definitely not want to ance with the choice of words so that we con- buy a vehicle caught in some scam and have the po- -Harshini Mohan nect to the youth and also the professional world. lice seize it from me later. There is no database in III EIE I’m very confident that CARMA wouldn’t end India that keeps a log of such transactions involv- up being one because of our highly dedicated ing vehicles. Even if you’re purchasing through team. Having some of your closest friends in the a used car sales company dealer, the problem is team does help you out a lot. We worked hard not solved. Those dealers are merely middle men. Two roads diverged in a wood, and I, I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the -Robertdifference. Frost
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Note: If you find this article to be a the subjects but the experiences I endured and out of the crowd, to be the best in the industry, I series of unrelated events, my apologies. One cherished, the enemies I made, and my increas- need to join every inch of loose hangs in my life needs to learn to float with the clouds; I have ing FB friends list. It’s like I get some time to to figure it out. The series of unfortunate events not tried to preach the pathway to peace. This sit back and analyze my personal stats and find that wake us from our lives has caught me into its is just a remembrance of the resonance within. some patterns in it! That’s what we chemists mystic pattern, here on the soil of SASTRA. And When people join SASTRA, the first thing are good at. Finding patterns in data, so that we definitely not probability. My life at SASTRA they do is crib about how they miss “city life”. might get a paper out of it. So what are the Les- addresses this directly to that intimate part of my Be it, Chennai, Bangalore or Bombay! Initially, sons learnt from this December vacation? Life is self which does not obey the conventional logic. I did too. Certain symptoms start to rise. At the statistical in nature. Knowing my current state It has developed the capacity to initiate silence, core of every SHANman’s heart, there were, and I cannot predict the response to a situation with to tickle my inner waveform that projects itself to always will be, the sound of ecstatic drumbeats. certainty. I could probably increase my wisdom- the `shadows of mystery that have been engulf- I have experienced the laughter of those sounds. data of possible response. Bohr’s Theory of hy- ing the thought process in their pseudo wings’. Made me mad! Made me eccentric! But not a drogen atom is definitely not a good analogy! There was a guy who wanted to know how it rebel. And I wish to lend a scoop on the path to- Flash-back time! The odd-sem academic days. is to be under flames. He took a heavy dose of wards that serpent’s beat. The ancient people say Yes, I had got my thoughts on Schrödinger’s cat pain killers and set himself ablaze. Third degree it’s a rare combination! Beauty and wit! In cama- experiment clear. Bridge to the wheel of life lies burns. He recorded the whole scene. He got a raderie with the path of that river, we get a new in your inner home. People are idiots. I started new life out of fire! This Poetry has descended land (Tirumalaisamudiram) that holds us, and seeing the world as a series of Verschränkung. into me, I can feel the music! Let the strange ex- our lives, for four years! Please don’t get into any Sometimes, no! Most of the time, It’s always periences of this land start sinking into your soul! opinion that I am trying to flatter SASTRA so that good to be sad and depressed. And this place India needs enlightened engineers, let your ego my boss Asma accepts my article! And people, if gives you a lot of chance to be so. Tough aca- grab this music and not miss it! ” In the words the article is out of design, don’t blame the design demic program, Competitive research environ- of one of the most dangerous men of the 20th team. Blame me, I am sending it very late. Way ment (OMG! My batch mate is doing a cool century, “Every great person has become great beyond the deadline. Every winter I make it a project in some lab, obviously one feels the fire only in the moments when he has not been.” point to stay back in SASTRA at least for ten days of the situation), a totally different life style, a Experiences over the course of three years, re- of my vacation. For what joy? An improvisation. life away from beloved ones etcetera. So make peated failures in my lab experiments, tangled Has anyone noticed the thin line that separates this opportunity to get into the core of your mel- organizational skills, broken mathematical equa- ‘aloneness’ from loneliness? An empty mir- ancholy. It’s like the heart of a rose flower. A tions, depressed Sunday nights in the hostel, ror is the perfect description of the hostels dur- soothing feel. Makes us do something really early morning jogs in Vallam pudur, midsum- ing the vacation. No early morning coffee and worthwhile to undo the stimulus that set forth mer night stars in SPS terrace, Fuera Football, life becomes an ancient tree. No more stressing this condition. Pathway to obsession. Silences. Departing seniors, a track of ants on my study on metaphors. I hope my implication has been I have always been fascinated with the famous table and many such small and big things that figured by now. Solitude makes things clearer, head fake story by Dr. Randy Pausch. His last happened in my life have sprinkled reality onto and at times fun. Seriously. As Fateh Ali Khan`s lecture redefined the way people live their lives. my conditioned state of consciousness. People alarm wakes me up in the morning, this feeling What is my head fake @ SASTRA? With refer- like Sankaracharya, Jiddu Krishnamurthy and of ‘aloneness’ shapes self-discovery, accelerates ence to that, it’s true ordinary people have hob- Gurudjeiff were not preaching nonsense. Their my life and rhythm. I fit into the category of bies, families, commitments, responsibilities. words have been engraved into my life though classical mechanics and I show some chaotic Others have that one thing that hits them hard. this unique experience I have obtained here. behavior for certain ranges of the systems pa- Between and beyond, it runs. One is obsessed This is crazy! Hohenberg and Khon are amaz- rameters. Aah! A power cut! Might delay my with that thing. That thing is what music is to ing; I’m still not able to understand TDDFT. submission time and shoot up the editors’ BP. Kurt Cobain, cricket is to Shoaib Akhtar, DNA is The music, resonating stillness, echoes through to Watson. They are said to have discovered that -Anantha Narayanan my mind and reminds me of the odd semester one thing that defines them. Even though I have III BIOT that I had sailed across. I’m not talking about not that one thing as of yet, I realize that to stand
UP !
This two-letter word in English has more mean- the page and can add UP to about thirty definitions. ings than any other two-letter word, and that word is ‘ UP .’ It is listed in the dictionary as an [adv], [prep], [adj], [n] or [v]. If you are UP to it, you might try building UP a list of the It’s easy to understand UP, meaning toward the sky or at the top of many ways UP is used. It will take UP a lot of your time, but if the list, but when we awaken in the morning, why do we wake UP? you don’t give UP, you may wind UP with a hundred or more. At a meeting, why does a topic come UP? Why do we speak UP, When it threatens to rain, we say it is clouding UP. When the sun and why are the officers UP for election and why is it UP to the comes out, we say it is clearing UP. When it rains, it soaks UP secretary to write UP a report? We call UP our friends, bright- the earth. When it does not rain for awhile, things dry UP. One en UP a room, polish UP the silver, warm UP the leftovers and could go on and on, but I’ll wrap it UP , for now . . . my time is UP! clean UP the kitchen. We lock UP the house and fix UP the old car. At other times, this little word has real special meaning. People Did that one crack you UP? stir UP trouble, line UP for tickets, work UP an appe- Don’t screw UP. Show this on to everyone you look UP in your address tite, and think UP excuses. To be dressed is one thing but to be book . . . or not . . . it’s UP to you. dressed UP is special. If you argue, you can kiss and make UP. Now I’ll shut UP!
And this UP is confusing: A drain must be opened UP because it is blocked UP. We open UP a store in the morning but we close it UP at night. We seem to be pretty mixed UP about UP! To be knowledgeable about the proper uses of UP, look UP the word UP in the dictionary. In a desk-sized dictionary, it takes UP almost 1/4 of
Sponsored by Canopy Pg 10 THE BRIGHT SIDE “Kolaveri (noun): Murderous rage (literal or figurative)”
An Internet phenomenon has swept Bug bug-u. Oh my bug-u across the globe and with it, has brought many U showed me BOW “ alternate versions to the fore. We are speaking, of course with reference to ‘Why This Kolaveri 2.English R&B Remix Di’, and its numerous not so faithful adapta- The English R&B version by a London tions, which are equally interesting and catchy. based Indian named Arjun is garnering hits as Why This Kolaveri Di has such a far reach- you read. True, the Anglicized version com- ing audience that the Oxford English Dic- pletely veers away from the original story and tionary is planning to include the word in boldly substitutes scotch for whisky, but it does their 2012 edition. Also, a flash mob in Auck- the original but more playful and natural, tells so with gusto and comes away a winner. Arjun, land, New Zealand danced to its tunes re- us that Nevaan is all of 4 feet tall, but is mak the composer has stuck to the tune, and yet add- cently, which has also made it to BBC Radio. ed a pinch of his own music to it. The quicker, Now, we look at some of the best ver- ing waves in the field of Internet phenomenon. peppier version is custom-made for a party envi- sions of Why This Kolaveri Di… From the moment it surfaced on the Internet, ronment and will find admirers in the tweens, if 5.Chipmunk Version this version has been catching the eye of one you can call it that. Clearly this is recognised as Alvin and The Chipmunks don’t just and all. And we have great expectations from the the international version of Why This Kolaveri sing in the movies, they now perform covers progeny of one of the best singers of our time. Di and hence makes our list of the top versions. of viral Internet songs as well. Or so it seems, 3.IT Version as the Chipmunk version, which is perhaps the Yes, you read it right. There is an IT 1.“Why This Kolaveri Di” best version without any amend in the lyrics version, with modified lyrics to suit the - work And of course, last but not the least, the original. of the classic original. The squeaky voiceover place environment. And though this does not The song that has given millions of Soup Boys makes the appeal universal and is an imme- have an official video, the lyrics are more hope all over the world. The song that is now talked diate hit with the younger generation, some- than sufficient to send everyone into guffaws more about than Justin Beiber himself, if you can thing the original was unable to quite achieve. of laughter. This version sums up workplace call him a guy that is. The song that has over 25 4.Nevaan Nigam Version humour in exactly one stanza. A sample - million views on Youtube and has won the Gold- When Sonu Nigam lends his voice to en Youtube award for most viral video of the year. something, we know it’ll be a soulful and deep “Kaila Mouse-u(”illa illa only English huh”) We bring you, the classic, “Why This Kolaveri rendition. But when Sonu decides to do one bet- Hand-la mouse-u Mouse-la code-u Di”, to complete our five top versions of the song. ter and lets his son Nevaan Nigam have a go at Code-u fulla error-u Why This Kolaveri Di, you might have doubts. Empty life-u project come-u -Niranjan Murali But Nevaan assuages all fears with the cutest Life reverse-u gear-u III EEE version till date. The video, which is similar to
Editorial Team: • Asma Afreen S.A. III ECE • Aishwarya H.S. III CSE • Niranjan Murali III EEE • Oishee Sarkar III ECE • Shankar Ganesh III IT • Sai Sharad Raj II Mechanical Correspondents: • Anantha Narayanan III BIOT • Ashwin Bharathwaj III ICT • Harshini Mohan III EIE • Mowshimkka Renganathan III IT • Shruthi Srinivasan III BIOE • Swetha R. III ECE • Tara Narayanan II Mechatronics Design and Illustrations • Arvind Viswanathan III CSE • Girish G. Koundinya III ICT • Vikram Raju III Civil
Vikram Raju III Civil
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