A GLIMPSE OF THE GLORIOUS PAST !!!!!

Hello people,

Its been a long time since  I last wrote something for you all to ponder over. But this time, I am here with my own story.I shall be sharing  my experiences during the last few months, especially during my 2nd year of Engineering.

My 3rd semester was really eventful for me, as I got my branch changed to Civil, which I really enjoy pursuing.The first few months were quite hectic, as I had to cover the missed portions of the academic curriculum.  But I had immense faith in myself and I kept on with my hard work. I was happy as I could identify myself amongst my branch mates very soon.I had a new room mate as well, who belonged to my own branch. With the blessings of God and the support of my parents and friends, I performed well in the semester exams.Our semester got over on the 26th of November,2009 and I was back home to enjoy my vacations.

I underwent a technical internship during this winter break at MECON LIMITED, Ranchi in their Civil Engg section. It gave me a great opportunity to have a close look at the corporate world , enhancing my interest in the branch. Those 3 weeks were quite hectic, though highly beneficial I suppose.

JANUARY 2010

And then , I had to return back to Manipal for my 4th semester. Leaving home was no more  a challenge, as Manipal is no less than a second home. All philosophy aside, it does feel bad, but maybe, I’ve learnt to acclimatize myself to changes in life by now.

The fourth semester kicked off quite nicely. I involved myself in a project under a faculty member of my branch. A great challenge awaited me  and that was the German Certificate Examination. I had been learning German since last 2 semesters and the time had come to show how much I had imbibed during the “sleepy” two hours of evening German classes, after a hectic Engineering Survey Lab till 5pm, twice a week.

I had to strengthen my concepts, though managing things at the last moment is always difficult , as you all know. Amidst assignments, classes and all other engagements, I had to strive hard to devote time to study German, which was actually negligible. but yet again, the faith in me kept prompting to me  “Go ahead, you can do it”.

And then, it was one day before the German exam, the 30th of January, I remember quite well.The auditions of Aria (the Pre- Revels) were going on at KC  i.e, Kamath Circle, the great evening adda of Mitians ( information provided for non- Manipalites only, I know I don’t need to explain Mitians how significant KC is in our lives, especially guys!!!!!!!!)

And by the way, I feel I haven’t mentioned that I have great interest in singing. My friends do appreciate my singing, some of them might kill me if handed over with a revolver, as I sing too frequently in my room, at a pitch sufficient enough to disturb people residing in the opposite wing as well.

And so it was, the auditions were going on and I was standing there at KC ,staring at the people performing, consoling myself that I shouldn’t sing tonight as that would cost me too much time before the German exams. I could not study for German until the last day as I was burdened with drawing assignments , which take almost 2 evenings to complete( for me). My heart was throbbing and simultaneously, I was just pondering over which song could I have sung, had I not been packed to this extent. And suddenly I had a beautiful song in mind  “O mere dil ke chain” and I started singing it to myself in a nearby room there, where the organizers occasionally came. One of them, seeing me singing to myself, asked me whether I was a participant going to perform next, but a weak denial came out of my helpless mouth.

But then a sudden realization overcame my constitution that said ” You should perform, whatever may happen tomorrow” .I quickly called my friend, Kartik, to download the karaoke of the track and there I was at the venue, to sing the song, with my 10 minutes of preparation, amongst my fellow competitors who seemed to have been preparing for the occasion, ever since they were born. And my chance came, I sang my heart out before the crowd which applauded me well.

My friends(not me!!!!) were confident enough that I would definitely make to the pre- final round,but unfortunately, I couldn’t. But I have no hard feelings because I got what I wanted, i.e appreciation from unknown people ,stopping me on the pavement & congratulating me for my brilliant performance that night.

And then I came back to my room, completely exhausted, both mentally and physically. I hardly could study anything.I could see the pity, Kartik, who was also appearing for the German exam,had for me, seeing me head towards the toughest battle of my life unprepared!!!! The next morning, I just revised the basic concepts and my prior knowledge helped me the clear the German exam…Yes people, I can freely admit now that I know German.” Ya, Ich weiSS Deutsch”.

FEBRUARY

The next month, February was really hectic as the IAESTE internships were about to be released. I was busy making my fact sheet and application in the best way I could, even the day before the first sessional.!!!!! Although my sessionals went quite well, I couldn’t get through the first round of offers as all of them had been bagged by the seniors.

I was disappointed for sometime, but then I had a new project in hand.A group of five of us had registered for a National Level Working Model Competition, at Nasik, which was being organized by the Institution of Engineering & Technology, Mumbai. We were making a new design of  lifting bridge using mild steel rods to give it the actual look. The design provided for the simultaneous passage of road and water traffic when the bridge rose to the lifted position by counter weights mechanism.

It was an exciting experience designing the various parts of the bridge along with my friends, staying awake up til 4 am for almost 15 days in a row, discussing various aspects of the bridge. We worked hard for the model, even sacrificing our Holi  for completing the model, in the MIT workshops.

MARCH

I had to go home to meet my elder brother who had come  from Munich after 8 months , though we were meeting after a year.During this period, my friends went to Nasik where they did quite well.Our model was highly appreciated and we were asked to present our idea in the form of a technical paper, which would be published, as said by one of the judges. I shall be working on it in some time from now.

And then, we were all back to Manipal, awaiting the 2nd sessionals, quite sure to screw them this time( as our busy schedule didn’t allow us to study during the last month). It passed by somehow, definitely not up to the mark, but I hope I can make it up in the 3rd one.

I had applied for the second round of IAESTE offers before going home. By God’s grace, my application was selected for my first choice,Malaysia. Yes!! I had been selected for a technical internship to MALAYSIA during July 2010. It was a dream come true for me. Everyone was so happy over this accomplishment of mine.Even I felt very confident and happy. But unfortunately, I had to decline the offer later due to my health reasons. I have to undergo a surgery during my holidays, so I can’t leave India. Why surgery?? is another long story which I might share, sometime in future.

After all this, I wanted to take a break, so i just chilled out for a week or so until two days ago, when I again involved myself in making a Water Rocket. It works on the principle of water pressure and Newton’s Third Law. Launching the rocket at the MIT Quadrangle in front of so many people was a great moment for me. My rocket worked wonderfully and our design was appreciated as well. I felt as if  I was a space scientist for some time.

That’s all people until yesterday. I shall be coming up with some articles in the near future. Hope you enjoyed this one…..and please, do comment. your comments are like rewards, be they good or bad, I shall accept them from the bottom of my heart……..Cu ….Take care.

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