Josephite times

The Maapla bench

2011-11-04T00:57:00.000-07:00

A small, overclouded world of a scrabbled desk, a mobile underneath, zillions of pending assignments and a carefree self and an even carefree neighbour on the face of all the world affairs we brushed and chewed aside like a matter of practice… the last bench was something and more. The bench often veiled us (the glorified lot) from the lousiest of the faculty and the spit lectures of the same (virus repellent). It also gave a sweet view of that one girl in the classroom I had (tense imperfect) an eye on (dopamine propellant) and as many girls on the corridor we had our eyes on (jaw opener).

Maapla bench… it was from our very be hated Babu manoharan did I learn the term. Very vividly do I remember the very first day of the college, he visited and asked the whole lot (the same glorified) to shift out of the maapla bench. The etymology ends here and so did his diktat.

The Director’s mandamus was just a one way return ticket to the back bench, so was the lure and luxury of it. The bench offered timeless sleep, the option of an enduring text messaging (often from last of the first row to the last of the last row until the jammers came in), innumerous mokka games of pen fight.. nikkal kunthal , the comfort of finishing off assignments at leisure, the deluxe of doodling under the pretext of taking notes, the pleasure of the FM radio/mp3 tucked inside the full sleeve and ofcourse the plump opportunity of being the first to be sent out of the hall (yet again, the virus repellent).

Heaven had another name in a college often dubbed as hell.

Creativity spurred and lived happily in the shelters of our kadaisi bench. Many inventions and innovations took birth. The most notable were the ways to hide one’s mobile during inspection (if you happen to be a reader who has not studied under Anna University… machan.. free-ah-vidu). The mobile found its way to all possible untraceable parts of the body (self explanatory) and not to forget the false ceiling, shoe socks, wallet(the slim ones alone),under the cuffed sleeve and inside the folded sleeve and what not… but I must admit, the safest was to hand it over to a girl. It was also the birth place of the department’s dance and skit performances (ahem!) (The notebooks’ only use came in the sketching and planning during our cultural).But the best is the bits (teja!! n jk!!).. I would have still not cleared any of the computer practicals had it not been for Jaya's eraser! Owe my degree to it!

But the outside world (read the virus spitters and their immediate victims seated under the virus’ stooped nose) had always had a cynical view of our divination. We were seen as a band of uncivilized, lethargic, carefree, callous, lackadaisical and even ill spirited souls. But, did we care?

But, it would be rather ungrateful if I don’t thank the same outside world for every single sleep inducing lecture (nothing short of heaven), for being very understanding and sending us(in group) out (when we were craving for a break!), the next levels of sending us to the office in-charge (truly adventurous), safeguarding our ID cards (many a thanks not enough), advising us for a life(sure we had a laugh) and for making us what we are( a honest thank you!). And also to the other half in the hall for bearing with us and still helping with assignments/records and et al ... After all, we are a class… aint?

Just miss it… the maapla bench and the maaplae makkal …. Karuvayan (the rapper), uk(lp the origami-ist), jayakumar(darling/joker jaya), binny and jai (Guinness is yet to wake up to the duo’s record sleeping hours), kavi (all in the name), kevin(every desk has his name.. err oliver khan), amirtha, balaji and mani (the world is still spell bound by the trio’s philosophies aka mokkais), chaku (the complete entertainer and a wizardly poet), gnanaprakash(machan), vathuvayan (was he part of the maapla bench?), teja(ghajini), mad(jolly boy), mano(guru) and ofcourse all the lateral entries(they just had to be here or where would have been all the fun?)

Just miss it!

2005-09 batch.

:)

2011-10-15T08:52:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone :) finally i get to post something in my final year of college life at st.joseph's .wow ! i am proud of myself !!712 placed so far n still many companies to come..yet again 591 placed in CTS,yup its whooping !Now we have our sister col- St.Josephs Institute of Technology ,built on the side walks of the long drive way to our col from the entrance .yeah ...not too big ,as you would ve guessed,but its totally air conditioned :) but its right now still under construction n those col students are using our col buses and its crowded than the usual ..:/NEW PLACEMENT OFFICE...with awesome interior designing and NEW PLACEMENT OFFICER -Mr.Satish (Mechanical Dept.).Again theres a change in the examination pattern and internal mark schemes .back to basics,i can say.4 unit tests and one final model ...n no half a day leave :( during the unit tests .OBT back in a new student friendly avatar..(as they call it,trust me its equally bad).n hey theres rumor that our directors son would be the next director (lucky me leaving !) .

New New!

2011-01-15T09:42:00.000-08:00

Posting after a long time over here!its been a year since my last post here n so many changes to talk about.New mess hall for vegetarian gals ,separate canteens(missing sathyabhama anna :() n stores for gals n boys,new buildings apparently built in the same old jail style,new breakfast lanes separately for senior , junior gals n staff (for guys as usual in front of their own blocks:)),new n tough OD allowance(u win a prize in intra col. symp. -3 ODs,else win a prize each time to get OD..if ur just a finalist,forget it!!)last but not least-the ever changing internal mark scheme.
adding to this,i hear tat our buses are gonna run under a speed limiter of 50km/hr very soon...lolz cant imagine how our bus drivers wud look,like Schumachers on bullock cart!. :D
Good news too..531 or something placed in CTS alone n 100 in HCL n some 75 in Wipro n still more to come.n hey i request many more juniors to join this blog n keep it alive as days are rolling am already half way to final year.
so Mr.Administrator plz do the needful :)

A trap or a crap??

2009-07-11T22:28:00.000-07:00

Once upon a time....nope this is not a story.i had a chance to visit a village near Madurai.Though i didn't care to remember its name,i at least cared not to erase what i witnessed.
there was this cute little goat decorated so heavily ,that i initially mistook it to be some big flower bundle(ok i know that was a weird simile!).
i could sense its euphoric feelings by the way it chewed over a big bundle of freshly cut grass provided to it.but little did it know the reason behind the ambiance.if u were from south India ,u would 've definitely known what happened next.
poor goat was killed ultimately!!!.
hmmm...so sad.now u must be wondering whether why i am talking about this.
surely am lazy to be a part of any futile social awareness campaign.so, am not hear to convey u any message about jeopardizing animal life!!
All that am doing now is working out analogies with the situation @ college and this story,which i happened to remember,fits the bill.
it was a fine Saturday evening,when a tiresomely boring lab session ended.And there stood at the door way, an enthusiastic friend of mine who had represented our grievances to the director.after listening to her narration of "changes made by our director",i just stood still to think about it,only to be shooed away by our professor.so,on my way to catch my throne in that DEATH MACHINE (our very own col. bus),i just finished analysing about the use of those changes,and the reason behind such a surprising move in THE LAND OF HIDDEN RULES .
The scene at the bus depot was totally euphoric ,with students shouting madly with joy ,i could only relate that situation to what i witnessed ages back .i couldn't help but shout madly like a goat,only to get rid of the lingering sense that we were all being enticed .
I have a psychic sense that this could be a bait to pave a way for far more stringent rules in the future!!....infact i was happy with their rules earlier.can't u guys n gals sense the change??plz..realise that we are only creating a turbulent situation hindering our smooth flight through our years at college!!!

what should be done??

2009-06-03T11:31:00.000-07:00

everybody's weighed down after hearing about incidents like suicide at our own college premises!! first it was a MBA student then following that now we hear about vivek-a first year mech student.
incidents like these really scare everybody ,it makes me wonder about y wont anybody think of their parents for a second before they take such an drastic decision? is this the prize for a parents selfless love??
this kind of an act(suicide) is really cowardly.
first of all ,the boy shouldn't have been punished so badly but at the same time he shouldn't have indulged in a malpractice .
this boys death has definitely triggered back the suppressed anger among the students n it has definitely paved way for some freedom .
from a students point of view ,i agree with with the demands made by the students like banning ODs,allowing cellphones,ipods n other usage .
but from many parents point of view -i would definitely like to know whether if cell phones are really necessary at a place like an educational institution?
secondly ,when asked about what is really bothering about this college
all they say as a reason is "RULES".well i agree with it but hasn't this thing been there in our col. for a long time??
am sure every body who joined this college knew about the fact that its really strict ,
we already knew about the ODs , strict internal ratings , point system n all other stuff
but then y should anybody complain about the sharp teeth after putting their heads into a lions mouth??
now what i am trying to make obvious, shouldn't be misunderstood.i accept the fact that the management is too strict with everything but all i wanna ask those who joined this col is -"didn't u really not know about this college n its infamous ODs??"
now lets leave that apart,
are today's generation of students very sensitive??
what do u think is the reason behind this?? if i were to answer this question i would say
1. peer pressure to compete n taste success in all walks of life is one big reason that leads to a looser kind of an attitude!!
-come on guys n gals !! we have to accept things as they are n neither should we blame it nor should we feel sad about it. i think everybody's aware of the teachings of Bagavath Geetha !
stay cool n still be grounded to the reality .truly typing that helps!
2.secondly ,many have the habit of getting depressed about the future n we should avoid that.who the bloody hell knows about what the future holds for u? stay optimistic about it .
y have nightmares when there's plenty of good things to dream about your future?
3.use of unparliamentary words really hurts
but students please learn the theory of SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST ,pretend to listen to what they r saying but don't actually listen to it!
accept that the mistake is yours, even if its not.

plz act sensibly.learn from the mistakes of others n dont ever dare to commit it!!
there is so much to achieve.

Taggglooooo...........!~!

2008-12-23T07:30:00.000-08:00

Honestly speaking, I didn't know what the "Tagged " in the blogosphere meant, until one fine day, my cousin sent me a link with a set of questions to be answered, and asked me to blog exactly what I (managed to)answer..So here I am..trying to interpret the 6 letter word to the best of my knowledge... Sowmya presents to you - "Taggglooooo" (my own name for it, exceeding the six letters ;-))

1) Pick out a scar you have, and explain how you got it.
On top of my right eyebrow. Got it when I was a kid (I don't remember how old, but definitely was into schooling!)We were off to Planetarium for some "star gazing" but were late by 10 minutes. We had to wait for the next show for about an hour's time. Luckily, there was a park in vicinity - a place where kids run around, and parents chase around...I was getting high on a swing, when an ill-fated boy came in between. Two things happened - he broke his teeth, his teeth tore my forehead. I was immediately rushed to a hospital nearby, stitched back together in place , which ultimately left the scar.
2) What does your phone look like?
Its not exactly mine.It was inherited from my bro.It stays in place with the help of
a black disco rubber band (due to the loose battery).It has none of the accessories it is supposed to have,something which the mobiles promise you.Probably because my bro lost them and naturally,I didn't get to inherit them. Well when compared to my old "antique- 2100"Nokia model, this mobile definitely promises something :)

3) What is on the walls of your bedroom?
Nothing,except for a "mala" my mom got when she took VRS from Bsnl. (Yes, I(still) sleep with my Mom..!)

4) What is your current desktop picture?

A picture taken on my birthday with beautiful memories attached to it - me and bro smiling away to glory. Two pictures were taken - One where I smiled best, another where he smiled best. The first one went into my album on Orkut, the second one on his album ;-) Eventually, the first one also got the privilege of being my desktop picture :)

5) Do you believe in Gay marriage?
Yeah..Actually I believe in marriages that people are left to do freely,be it gay or non gay. I believe that it is human rights..If Gods can marry,why not "Gays"???

6) What do you want more than anything right now?
To get rid of my fear of getting hit by a bike.

7) What time were you born?
Somewhere around 8.30 in the morning on a Sunday , 4th of January,1987.
And I make it a point to sleep till 8.30 on every Sunday possible :D

8) Are your parents still together?
Ofcourse!

9) Last person who made you cry.

*Blinks*

10) What is your favorite perfume/cologne?

Poison (Courtesy : BRO)
Deo - Yardley

11) What kind of hair/eye color do you like in the opposite sex?

Hair colour : Black
Eye colour : Brown

12) What are you listening to?

Was listening to - Jaane do na..
Am listening to - truly madly deeply (savage garden)
Will be listening to - No clue(playlist on shuffle) :D

13) Do you get scared of the dark?
Slightly tensed.Not necessarily scared.I don't attach any particular feelings to darkness.I love candle lights,which come into existence whenever there is a "rare"power failure in our area. I enjoy it for its beauty(especially when they flicker n dance) and not for the "romantic" tag attached to it.

14) Do you like pain killers?
Only when I 'm in pain.

15) Are you too shy to ask someone out?
Yes.I would probably take more time to look at that someone straight in the eye, or starting up a conversation would be a big deal for me.I'm definitely one of those shy types.But all this is when it happens when I meet in person.I am more expressive when I m given the choice of typing or writing rather than talking.Well,thats me.

16) If you could eat anything right now, what would it be?
Rasagula,Mum's Curd rice + Rasam+Potato Chips,MagiNoodles(egg)

17) Who was the last person who made you mad?
The bus conductor of 29C from Chetpet who duped me of my 5 rs..

18) Who was the last person who made you smile?
My mom, who resorts to her own childhood days every now and then, reminiscing this time, about her aunt who is around 83, admitted in the hospital now, and who greeted this 50+ woman as " Usha Kutty...Evlo naal aachu"...! :) :) It is a bliss, when you find a child jumping out someone, with the same yearning look a puppy has in its eyes, when it shows devotion to its master. Well..on second thoughts..do I need a reason to smile?! :) :) :)

*AVM BGM ;-)* The End *Pudupettai BGM* ;-) ;-) ;-)

Note :
Well, I was actually asked to send these questions to fellow bloggers, and they will go through the same stuff I went through . (Yaam petra thunbam,Vayyagamum peruga) (Excuse moi, for the wrong tamil saying! :D) So I thought I would probably paste the questions at the bottom.Anyone interested can copy them and blog them here...Your wish! :)

P.S : I happen to find that, the only other person even mildly close to the V of active in this blog is my nomenclatural clone - sowmya..so this is for you...:) Go ahead..I had fun blogging this...:) :) :)

1) Pick out a scar you have, and explain how you got it.
2) What does your phone look like?
3) What is on the walls of your bedroom?
4) What is your current desktop picture?
5) Do you believe in Gay marriage?
6) What do you want more than anything right now?
7) What time were you born?
8) Are your parents still together?
9) Last person who made you cry.
10) What is your favorite perfume/cologne?

11) What kind of hair/eye color do you like in the opposite sex?
12) What are you listening to?
13) Do you get scared of the dark?
14) Do you like pain killers?
15) Are you too shy to ask someone out?

16) If you could eat anything right now, what would it be?
17) Who was the last person who made you mad?
18) Who was the last person who made you smile?
:)

THE WEIRD YET LOGICALLY CORRECT QUESTIONS

2008-12-11T05:16:00.000-08:00

01.If all the nations in the world are in debt(am not joking. Even US has got debts), where did all the money go? (weird)

02.When dog food is new and improved tasting, who tests it? (to be given a thought)

03.What is the speed of darkness? (absurd)

04.If the "black box" flight recorder is never damaged during a plane crash, why isn't the whole airplane made out of that stuff? (very good thinking)

05.Who copyrighted the copyright symbol? (who knows)

06.Can you cry under water? (let me try)

07.Why do people say, "you've been working like a dog" when dogs just sit around all day? (I think they meant something else)

08.Why are the numbers on a calculator and a phone reversed? (God knows)

09.Do fish ever get thirsty? (let me ask and tell)

10.Can you get cornered in a round room? (by ones eyes)

11.What does OK actually mean?

12.Why do birds not fall out of trees when they sleep? (tonight I will stay and watch)

13.What came first, the fruit or the color orange? (seed)

14.What should one call a male ladybird? (No comments)

15.If a person suffered from amnesia and then was cured would they remember that they forgot? (can somebody help)

16.Can you blow a balloon up under water? (yes U can)

17.Why is it called a "building" when it is already built? (strange isn't it)

18.If you were traveling at the speed of sound and you turned on your radio would you be able to hear it? (got to think scientifically)

19.If you're traveling at the speed of light and you turn your headlights on, what happens? (I don't have a change to try)

20.Why is it called a TV set when theres only one? (very nice)

21.If a person owns a piece of land do they own it all the way down to the core of the earth? (this is nice?)

22.Why do most cars have speedometers that go up to at least 130 when you legally can't go that fast on any road? (stupid, break the law)

Pssssshhhh...It's story time...Just Listen !!!

2008-11-07T22:50:00.000-08:00

The Story of the Pencil

A boy was watching his grandmother write a letter. At one point, he asked : ' Are you writing a story about what we've done ? Is it a story about me? '
His grandmother stopped writing her letter and said to her grandson : ' I am writing about you, actually, but more important than the words is the pencil I'm using. I hope you will be like this pencil when you grow up.'
Intrigued, the boy looked at the pencil. It didn't seem very special.
'But it's just like any other pencil I've ever seen!'
'That depends on how you look at things. It has five qualities which, if you manage to hang on to them, will make you a person who is always at peace with the world.

'First quality : you are capable of great things, but you must never forget that there is a hand guiding your steps. We call that hand God, and He always guides us according to His will.

'Second quality : now and then, I have to stop writing and use a sharpener. That makes the pencil suffer a little, but afterwards, he's much sharper. So you, too, must learn to bear certain pains and sorrows, because they will make you a better person.

'Third quality : the pencil always allows us to use an eraser to rub out any mistakes. This means that correcting something we did is not necessarily a bad thing; it helps to keep us on the road to justice.

'Fourth quality : what really matters in a pencil is not its wooden exterior, but the graphite inside. So always pay attention to what is happening inside you.

'Finally, the pencil's fifth quality : it always leaves a mark. In just the same way, you should know that everything you do in life will leave a mark, so try to be conscious of that in your every action.

- As written by Paulo Coelho in his book
"Like the flowing river" --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
*Applause Please!!* for this beautiful piece. Paulo Coelho, my all time favourite author, once again leaves me jaw-opened with this piece. I term his writing as "serene" and "pure". He is the writer, who taught me how to read signs, how to trust in life, and "maktub" - It's written - a belief in destiny and a greater belief in God. My thinking took on a new dimension and ever since I read this, I've been pestering every bookish person I met to read this piece. The extent of truth portrayed with such an aura of simplicity still baffles me... I took some time in typing this from the book, verbatim..I just thought I had to spread this message. Hence this post... :-) :-) A great excuse for contemplation... Hope you guys enjoyed it as much as I did.
My favorites of Paulo's :
Maktub,it's written - "The Alchemist"
Love Simply Is - "The Witch of Porto Bello"
Good and Evil - " The Devil and Miss Prym"
unique=Mad? ! - "Veronica decides to Die"
Perennial Thoughts - "Like a flowing river "
In search of true Love - "The Zahir"

My Dad told me this, when we were into a politically non-conflicting religious discussion. I don't know who quoted this...

"For those who believe in God, no explanation is necessary... For those who do not believe in God, no explanation is possible...! " [I again go :O :O :O Whoa!! :P ;-) ]

P.S : There was no "This story is from Paulo's Book" and people who have read it already can skip it if you like, at the top, because, I knew quite well that people who have already read it, won't mind reading it fully, a second(nth?) time. . . ;-) :-) :-) Bliss ? ? Of course it is... !~!

- s()MS!e

Coffee? No please..!! :)

2008-11-01T06:46:00.000-07:00

Every time I think of something interesting to blog about, something or the other keeps coming up,to an extent of making me forget what had initially set off my writing sensitivities. . . This morning, one such incident happened. But this time, not letting the other things come in between, I decided to blog under an ASAP Code.Here I go....
The title suggests that this post has something to do with the following things :
1.Coffee
2."NO"
3.The person saying a "NO"
4.The person saying a "NO" with a "Please" tailing behind
5.And the reason behind the "NO", with or without the tail.

Before I drive a few of my readers "crazy" and a few"crazier", let me start off with what's bothering me this time, that I'm here to give a new post in this entirely new blogosphere :) :). The Idea of "Polite" Refusal is what is bothering me...This might give an impression to a few that I'm fast approaching the insanity threshold.Maybe you're right, but no one's stopping me from saying what I got to say.. ;-)

Ever since I was a kid,the first lie I was made to utter was "say no,when your heart and mind correlate for once,prompting you to say an YES..! For instance, an aunt in a flowery Saree came up to me and asked me if I would like some juice. It was something like a silent prayer answered, when my heart prompted me to say "yes please", but the dagger throws from mom made me refuse with the "tail" attached. Its not about whether I wanted the juice very badly or not. It's just that for a person who doesn't really want the juice, the NO would be meaningless, as the many aunties in the flowery ^(power) infinity sarees would naturally assume that the person was just being formal.Think about it! The next minute you end up hearing a cackling laugh coming up from the kitchen, followed by a shrill voice commanding you to take it, and stop being so formal . So whether or not, a person really wants what is being offered, he/she has to struggle a bit before making them understand the "real NO". Wouldn't it have been easier if there was no such concept as "Polite refusal", that people were allowed to speak their mind and say yes or no as and when they felt it coming and not out of a forceful , most probably reversible outcome? And most importantly, not being mistaken for "the first time YES", which happens to be the underlying thought behind this post. I don't think anyone "normal" has ever given it a thought. So..what's going on ? ? ? Why does this refuse to leave my head? ???

Note :
Any theories are welcome in the comment section , as long as they don't end up confusing me even more. Sorry if my first post in this blog itself left you all scratchin' your heads away... :)
*Apologies!*

Pookalam and us

2008-03-22T09:35:00.000-07:00

Pookalam and us

Which's the most happening place in our college??.. Ask this question and 10 in 10 will come up with an inordinately obvious answer... " MESS HALL". And the entity which jazzes up the place is... well.. it's not just the ocean of trophies.. but also the strikingly harmonious arrangement of petals done painstakingly by the Mess hall workers at the entrance. Just as we enter the hall.. this arresting phenomena livens up our mood and even creates a good appetite!... One is awestruck by the appetency of the men/women behind the work as they come up with a new and bewitching pattern of arrangement each and every day. The scene becomes even more special during festive seasons.Am sure none will forget the Pongal decor. If one has to save some pleasant memories of the college.. the 'pookalam' would certainly find a unique/special spot in our hearts.

But... do we enjoy such sights..? Am not sure how many even stop to notice it. Should we blame the rough weather or should we blame ourselves for being either myopic or hyperopic and not seeing the actuality..? Guess.. it's time to put our naked eyes and our naked hearts to some good use and come out of the false canopy. We've learnt in these years that nothing's gonna change/improve by complaining... Whenever we voted for change.. change was either defeated.. or change was given a temporary post and was dismissed later citing inefficiency. Hmmm... The weather is rough.. but let's sail along.. let's at least try.. No use moving against the wind. Let's move along.. But, let us not fail to miss the rainbows that appear and go during the rough stay. Let's start to enjoy the stay...coz... it's soon gonna end.

Hari.

New examination rules sux...big time...management running outta options ????

2007-09-10T17:26:00.001-07:00

I hate the college's stupid rule, Where the students' answer papers gets examined 2 hour's after the commencement of the exam and if he/she hasn't written well, he or she has to stay back and write the entire paper till 3pm. it is so disgusting !!! i had to bunk today's exams .

Hari adds...: this is a desperate move to improve the college's pass percentage... but the college could have looked at some alternatives and could have held a meeting with students and parents.. I personally think that the management has run out of ideas!.. This so called rule( I'd say punishment) would work out with school children but not with college students... It's high time that the college understands that the students are all grown up adults and not kids.. "He" would be a "good" "school principal" than what he is now...But it's a very good idea for the school children... only thing is that this rule will not be appreciated even by the school children!!!
Shibs adds : To make thing's worst you are not even awarded extra internals for the open book house. If they would give a reasonable internal marks then i don't mind sitting back :)

trainging program !!!

2007-09-09T08:56:00.001-07:00

The placement training program was worth it. I presumed it would be another boring session with tons of reading and writing. but on the flip side it turned out to be really good. Although Ramya madam periods were a bit sluggish and went at a rapid pace. Mythale madam rocked to the core espec. the GD and the interviewing programs. i am glad our college organizes such program in the middle of of all all those rules and regulation....waiting for more sessions in de the next sem !!!!

Story of Prakash

2007-08-11T06:01:00.000-07:00

Once upon a time there lived a little boy called Prakash... He was jealous.. jealous of his friends.. coz they all had the privilege of going to a strange place he always dreamt of going to.. The strange place had chambers filled with enthusiastic children chanting something which appeared to be some sort of slogas to little prakash.. What fascinated little prakash was that all children looked alike and he couldn't see any kind of difference as they were all uniformly dressed. He wanted to see himself in that uniform. The strange place was called as Education temple by his village heads..his friends called it "school".. But the orphaned boy's aunt and and uncle called the strange place a stinking creche where children are locked up all day.. They warned Prakash about it and ordered him not to go near it. But Prakash was adamant. He wanted to enter the educational temple at any cost. His aunt decided that time has arrived to send Prakash to an education temple. But the education temple of the Aunt's choice was located far off from the village in a city called Chennai. It appeared strange for Prakash that this Education temple had no children.. it housed adults.. but these adults were carrying those similar bags he had seen in his village.

................................................But, in this so called Education temple... his dream of reciting those slokas was crushed and little prakash was put to work!

This is not an imaginative story... This is the real story of Prakash who serves "Appalam" in our Mess Hall... There are many Prakashs living in our college serving water and pickle... And whenever I sight them doing things they shouldn't be doing.. I feel ashamed to study in this college . Hundreds of students are taught about circuit breakers, switch gears and all those wierd stuff... but.. why can't the Management teach these little Prakashs A..B...C...D...?

These are some NGOs I know which deal with child labor... I'm not sure whether they'll help.. But do call them and tell them about the practise of child labor in our college... Don't hesitate and make way for a strong case..

Mr. T.V. Murali, Director,
Action for Child Labour Cholai,
3-A, C.G.E.Colony,
Old Beach Road ,
Thiruvanmiyur, Chennai-41.
24410265
..
2.
Ms. Sudha Sundararaman, General Secy.,
All India Democratic Women?s Forum, 13 Mosque Street , Chepauk, Chennai-5.
28511231
fax-8511819
3.
Dr. A. Peter, Executive Director,
Applied Interdisciplinary Development
Research Institute (AIDRI),
10 Nelson Manickam Road , II Floor,
Choolaimedu, Chennai-94.
24832873

The complaint can be lodged to the metropolitan magistrate in the area.. In fact, this is the legal procedure to be followed.. but the complaint has to be substantiated with proof/documents...

If anyone has a really good idea to solve this issue.. please have a say!

Can someone give me an explanation?

2007-08-08T07:47:00.001-07:00

Indians are of complaining nature.. and we complain for anything and everything. We try to find faults in what not?.. Whatever the measures taken by our government..we feel dissatisfied. But there is a bunch of Indians at st.joseph's who differ from the whole lot. They keep mum for a lot of things which affect them. This same bunch of Indians inspired by films made by Shankar and Mani would go on debating on the corrupted politicians and officials in India.. They want some Robin-hoods to be born to save them. This same bunch would urge their fellow citizens to actively take part in the democracy by sending e-mails and SMSes. But this same bunch of Indians have failed to check the wrong doings at their own door steps. You might now start wondering what the wrong doings are and what the hell is being said here...I'll come to this question a little later.. Now let us look at things which are very familiar to us but never aroused us to question about them

..................................................... We all know that the hostelites pay twenty five thousand rupees in addition to the prescribed fees each year.. This twenty five thousand rupees painted in black is accumulated in the backyard of you know who.. When I asked this question to an hostelite he said that this money is adjusted as tuition fees for the sports quota students who are admitted free of cost. So.. that's how black turns white. But why should the hostelites pay for someone else...?
Also one wonders.. what happens to the the book fees we pay each semester. We pay Rs.3500 inclusive of the exam fees(900 rupees). So the 2600 rupees is supposed to be the book fees. But if one goes by market values.. the books would cost only in the range of 1000-1500 rupees. One at least expects to keep those books with himself/herself... but you aren't allowed to take away those books as the book bank scheme is in practise. This scheme of things cannot be understood by itself nor can be explained by the so called progress of mind.
But what surprises me is that no one seems to bother about these... We take all these for granted as we take the Solar system for granted.. So... please start complaining and don't shy away from things.. these things affects you..

when parents are torchered !!!!

2007-08-06T09:59:00.001-07:00

well, for the ones who study well and in the good books of the faculty need not to worry about it !!! but then for mediocre students like me its a nerve rack.. when one end up getting back lots !!!! here.. one's parents are torchered to the core. poor parent's have to come all the way to college and if they fail..they will be treated badly.

And when they do come to the college... they will be treated badly by the year in charge and co....One of the things I hate about the college

slept off in the exam hall

2007-08-03T04:16:00.001-07:00

Oh..this is one funny incident i ought to quote. For one of my mid term exam's I was actually caught for sleeping in the exam hall.

As usual was shaky for exam for I neva touched my books the previous day. I treid to get to something in my head in the morning but could not do so as every little word looked greek. Finally i entered the exam hall with lot of hesitation wondering what to write. As the examiner gave a away the paper i was for certain i wouldn't clear the paper but wanted to avoid getting a digit mark.

so I wrote for a page and just dozed off. The next thing I could remember was my H.O.D shouting at me and the entire class looking at me.. for a moment I dint realize what was happening around and I am like... sir it's not my fault.. I am not feeling well!!!! the guy was in mixed reactions, didnt expect such an answer....and he was like....well then take rest !!!!

How to keep yourself engaged in the Exam hall

2007-08-01T02:46:00.000-07:00

This paper is dedicated to a small chunk of guys
who have failed in all their attempts to lead as an
example to the other studious students
in this college.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT:
My sincere thanks to a set of lateral entry guys, guys from the CSE and ECE department who have inspired me to write this paper. I thank them all for standing by me in all my tough times and encouraging me to finish this paper when I was receiving thousands of murder threats from the toppers and the studious students who form the majority of this college.

Now coming to the topic...How to keep oneself engaged in the Exam Hall during the Mid semesters/Model exams.

Our college has made it mandatory for students to sit for the entire duration of the exam and rules are rules... you've gotta obey them.After a lot of research and some personal experience I've come up with a set of fool proof methods to keep yourself engaged in the exam hall when you've come totally unprepared.

When you receive the answer script,quietly count all the pages and check whether 44 pages are there..well you would end up with only 32 pages..Quickly look at the 19th instruction given to the candidates on the instruction page... what is it written...? can't you believe your own eyes..?
The 19th instruction is that students should check whether answer book contains 44 pages..The 19th instruction is one of the10 highlighted instructions on this page. Think over this paradox for sometime...you'll soon find the answer.. The 19th instruction is meant for the Anna University answer book... Whuf!!.. you were about to ask the hall suptd. for those missing pages..didn't you..?

There are still some more interesting things you'll find on the instructions page.... look carefully at the very first instruction.. what does it say....? It asks you you to write your Registration number..the same as given below... But the registration number given below is 64380912751... It's not yours..!!!.. look again at the instruction and you'll realize what has been asked by seeing the two key words "type" and "example".
Coming to the very next instruction..the instruction number 2. It asks you to get the answer book replaced if 1.stitch thread is missing,2.it is not stapled,3.The page numbers are not in order,4.The serial number of the answer book is not printed at the top of the title page.
Hmmmm... you can replace your answer script for all of the above reasons except the 2nd one.
There is no stitch thread in our model exam answer scripts. The question of.. page numbers not in order does not arise at all as there are no page numbers printed on our answer scripts.
And...the serial number... just search for it on the title page..you'll be searching all day.
By now...you'd have had an interesting session with the instruction page

Now.. moving on to the title page... It's time to fill the title page. Start with your registration number.. Here you ought to remember that you need to be very careful in writing your regn number on the dotted lines... even a slight deviation.. can cause rejection of your paper for evaluation?.. well,you'd be only pleased if it happens.. but actually it spoils the beauty of it.. doesn't it...? Now take the scale and "draw" your regn num on the dotted lines. After this..we move on to other sections.Here..we can show our artistic works.. Adapt different styles of writing to fill each section..Now disturb your neighbour(don't care whether he's your junior/senior)..Ask him the date,time and also ask him whether it is AN/FN... Give him a wry smile and move on with your business.

After filling in the title page.. wait patiently for the Hall supdt. to sign on your paper.Do not make any attempt at looking into the question paper in the mean time.. After you've got the Hall supdt.'s ink on your paper... say a prayer aloud and look at the questions.. Read the question paper for two times...If it's Greek and Latin to you.. just say adios and go to sleep.. If by chance a word or two appears familiar.. it's time for some superlative creative writing.. Borrow a black pen from your neighbour and write the question in block letters. Now..start developing on the question itself... start your answer by addressing and analysing the question. Make in sentences from the words and phrases in the question. Repeat this procedure with the other questions as well.

Some hall supdts do not allow students to sleep.. At this juncture...to pass 3 hours is a real challenge with people all around you busy writing.And it gets even worse when your neighbour is of the same trait as of you... you both have to look at each other and pass the entire 3 hours. If your neighbour is busy writing.. then it's a kinda entertainment for you..especially if he/she is a fresher... You should look at these people taking the exam so seriously...The things they do... the way they use different colours of pen,sketch pens and some even use glittering pens and whiteners..the way they panic at a difficult question... the sorta gimmicks they do when they find a easy question... and how hurriedly they fill the pages...it's a real entertainment.Now start staring hard at your neighbour's paper and make strange gestures...this would annoy him/her like anything...By this way you can pass time with ease.

Having companions in the exam hall who are of the same trait as of you is an added advantage.You people can make pre-Exam agreement by which you people would turn back and stare at each other and confirm that each of you are not attempting to write and are behaving strictly in accordance with the pre-exam agreement.

During the last few minutes of the examination.... please don't forget that you're writing the "model exam" and not the university exam...coz some students go on putting all the question numbers on the answer script expecting them to be out of portion questions...This act must be avoided. Else the teachers would have a nice laugh in the staff room.

After finishing the writing part... start counting the unwritten pages and this would absorb some time..Now borrow the calculator from your neighbour and subtract the total number of unwritten pages from 32....Aaah..alas you've given some work to the calculator.Now fill the 'number of pages used' column.

If you still have some time left... try this damn interesting play. Do you remember the bar codes on of your ID card.. Well take your ID card and start looking at the bar codes.Imagine the bar code to be white strips in the black background and start counting the number of white lines..38?40?..count again and each time you'll find a new count..Now take the calculator again and find the mean. Try this with the back lines in the white backdrop....

When the Hall supdt. knocks on your bench..ask him to wait till the mean calculation is over and if you're finished with it... hand over the paper.

CONCLUSION:
All the methods prescribed in this paper are tried and tested methods and if you have any difficulty in implementing them..please let me know.

Hari.

दे truth about my col

2007-07-26T05:31:00.000-07:00

Shibs:

St.Joseph's College of engineering. When I first made to the college I was glad to be in one of the most prestigious colleges. After two weeks I found out the bitter truth. The college is one among the most pathetic colleges in Chennai. Firstly it’s got the worst set of rules. Rules that that makes no sense. Girls and boys are not supposed to talk to one another, for some reason the director thinks it’s a sin and hence all cultural programs or project work or let it be any simple program, we are banned from doing it together.

Secondly they say punishments are banned in the educational system but over here you have something worse than that, known as office duty ( abbreviated as OD ). Over here what one has to do is stand outside the office with the ID and tie from morning till dawn and it gets even worse if you stay in the hostel. Sadly nothing can be done about this because the director has links with almost everyone in the educational system, or maybe over the country.

The next ones are to watch out are the blockies and year in charges, a set of buffoons who are hired for no reason, they are the biggest pain in the ass. If you end up scoring low marks in any of your papers they will immediately call up the parent and let them know about it and immediately ask them to come over to college. Ask them to meet the director, who would give an appointment at 10 in morning and will come at 3 in the afternoon.

The next one is the internal marks, most colleges end up giving good internal or at least a minimum of 14 of 20, so it’s easier to pass in the paper but colleges end up giving even 5, and it get’s worst if you are in the bad books of the faculties.

The worst part is no one is ready to voice their opinions, if it’s faculties or students. Sadly the director has a way to shut everybody's mouths. What I feel is.. surviving four years in st. Joseph’s college is a talent….

Dedicated to all those who survived in the college and the one’s are planning to join hell….

This is something you probably won’t find anywhere !!!!

why our coll's compared to a prison

2007-07-06T06:02:00.000-07:00

There's a popular cine song in Tamil...

"Mani adicha soru, ithu Maamiyar veedu"

The song refers to the scenario in a prison. The song can be modified as

"Mani adicha soru, ithu Jeppiar veedu"

This suits our college... There are many a many reasons for a josephite to feel he/she is in a prison...

SIREN:
Well.. the siren sound.. for every half an hour or so constantly reminds you that you are in a jail..even if you'd forgotten about it.

SECURITY:
The high rise walls/compounds...The Block in-charges(jail-wardens)...Monitoring from the terrace.. All these stuff makes one feel he/she is in a prison... Hey... what do you think about the sexy attire our security guards are sporting.. Looks like the security of the prison has been handed over to the military following the failure of the local policemen(many have had successful attempts escaping from the campus)

LOCATION:
The remote location of our college speaks for itself... It's a norm that prisons are located far away from cities/normal life in places such as middle of a rough sea(We'd have seen this in many films)..But our college is located in the middle of nowhere.Anyone who wants to escape is a fool..One has to walk miles if he wants to reach the main road.There's not even a nayar kadai(tea shop) in the vicinity like one SVCEites have got.

CLASSROOM BLOCKS:

The classroom blocks have always reminded me of the cellular jail in Andaman..

Just try to imagine and you'll see the connection.

RULES:
Hmmm... the dress-code can be compared to that of the uniform in the prisons..
The ban on electronic equipment reminds you of the same kind of rules imposed in the prisons..
The strict(esttttt) rules and consequent punishment for breaching it all reminds you of the jail.

The other notable comparison that can be made is the colour of our buses(It seems it's going to be painted white)..The buses which appear like a municipality bus catching stray dogs will now on be looking as Police vans loaded with criminals( Joining this college can be termed as a crime)

Also there are no trees and no hide-outs in the campus...

Also... life in this college is so dull and grey! and in no means better than a prisoner's life..

Some good things about our college

2007-06-11T05:14:00.000-07:00

As this is the 1st post.. let's start on a sugary note.Hmmmm... I guess this is a really tough one. Well... it's good to start on a good note... but where to find good things in a college like ours. When you get three spoons of sweet syrup and two spoons of bitter-gourd juice... you'd only complain about the bitter gourd juice and never even think about that three spoons of sweet syrup. This is the case that's prevalent in our college... hmmm someone seems to say that even the bitter-gourd juice is good for our health.Well one can see mixed reactions to this issue.. Let's stop debating about the Good V/S Bad in our college and save it for a new post.Let's get along with the topic and let us try finding some really good things about our college.

HOSPITALITY

There's a popular saying in Tamil

"vanthaarai vaazha vaikum thamizhagam".

It means the land of Tamil is known for it's great hospitality as anyone who comes to this land in search of prosperity thrives and is benefited by the land. We should admit that our college has been following this tradition. Anyone who comes to the college is welcomed with warmth. We should appreciate the efforts put in by the staffs of Mess department.

TRANSPORT MADE COMPULSORY

Many would have different say on this. I'm sure most of the boys do not like idea of coming to the college in the college owned bus.But there is a positive thing about it. Hey don't you feel a lot of fuel being saved because of this.While the world leaders are coming out with out of the box ideas to curl global warming, our college has silently shown the way for others to follow. If public transport/unified transport is made compulsory in all colleges and even in industries/companies the emission of CO2 can be halved( hey! please don't brand me as a flatterer..I know I'm making too much out of it.. but these are all facts)

FOOD

It's needless to say anything about this. Most of us attend the college for this.. So I don't want to read much into it.

PLACEMENT

Well... the placement record is good and is improving year by year though EEEites are kept at bay... Everyone knows about the placement record and the type of training given in our coll... So let's not waste too much time on it.

REPUTATION

The college has got a good reputation.. atleast among the parents(We should never care about other college students calling us school boys and shouldn't be upset when a guy from another institution comes and asks us to help him wear a tie)..Aaaah.. I hope everyone remember what Jeppiar said on the inaugural day.. I'd like to quote him "If you are a josephite, then the mother and father of girls will come in queue to marry you"(Hey.. stop thinking like that... he did mean the girls marrying you and not their parents... We know him nah...)

TIMING

I guess we are the only set of lucky guys to come back home around 4 pm. Every other college student comes back only at 6 or 6.30 pm. I think it's nice to come back early than to go to the college late.

SPORTS

Though the students from academic line are not encouraged to cross over to sports.. our college is far ahead in this department and it's one thing we can be proud of.

Hmmmm I guess I've got some goody things about our college,,Also I didn't throw any light on the infrastructure and facilities available(Everyone of us fell as prey on seeing those mighty buildings and let's not revive our foolish act by reviewing about those mighty buildings)..If anyone wishes to add more he/she is welcome to do so..

Hari.