My 2014

My 2014 started with a waiting period. It was 14th January probably if i am not wrong, when i got the most important results of my life. And yes, they didn't give me any kind of happiness. Because i was still waiting for one more. i.e. Young India Fellowship. With the news of GSAT - 14 in GSLV - D5 & Prithvi - II launch at around the same time, i wished i could somehow join ISRO. But my promises, commitments were far more powerful than these wishes probably. 
Devyani Khobragade's news was highlight during the same time. Satya Nadella became the well-chosen CEO of Microsoft. But i had an indigestible phase in my life. AP Reorganization Bill passed in Lok Sabha. L Rajgopal's pepper spray, other MP,s extraordinary acting skills couldn't stop it. Mr. Arvind Kejriwal, like a school child resigned to CM post. Most of the shorlistings of IIMs were out without my name. Life was like paused for a moment or two. And just as i heard the news of missing Malaysian Flight, I had a call from IIM Ranchi for HRM programme. Its the first call i received. Reading How Life Imitates Chess on my birthday was one best experience i had in this year.
In March, April & May I had interviews for few admissions because of which i started travelling. Travelled to Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Bhubaneshwar, Ranchi, Raipur, Kolkata & Delhi. Though some places i visited are just for my time pass, I attended Ravindra Bharathi Museum in Joda Sanku, Kolkata on 9th May, probably the best day in my life. Almost 9 states had general elections and at the centre, Modi led NDA formed the government. Ambassador Cars shut down in India. Drove Car on the no entry roads of NCR on the day before the swear-in ceremony of the PM of India.
AP state divided. My dream of getting into YIF was still a fantasy but i could fulfill someone's words of getting into IIM. I got a seat in IIM Indore Mumbai Campus. But i was already set for BITS Pilani.
Just after one week of office Gopinath Munde died. My journey started to BITS Pilani. Completed one semester but am still the same old kid who doesn't know any thing about management.
Had Freshers', Farewel, Oasis, Teacher's day celebrations and more in the one semester i stayed in pilani. Celebrated the Independence day in Delhi for the first time. During this one semester there were many interest things to be noted. One most important thing is the marriage of my sister in my absence. My family suffered in Hudhud cyclone. Many families suffered in Jammu n Kashmir floods. Kailash Satyarthi received Nobel. Mangalyaan was successful.
Experienced watching Fifa world Cup, Demise of Nageshwara rao Akkineni and K Balachander, Retirement of MSD from Test Cricket, love starting in Theatre and ending in watsapp messages, Learnt to smile even when the tide is against us, the pain when our loved ones are facing tough times without power and water, the happiness of living for other's promises and many more which can't just be written in words.
Whatever has happened, People Change... Things go wrong... but life has to go on... And it will...
Good bye 2014...
Wishing every one a very happy 2015...

August @ BITS Pilani

It’s a month and a bit more since my journey started in search of destiny. It all started with departing from home on 26^th of July, Landed on the National Capital Region very same day. Started to Vidya Vihar Campus on 28^th July morning with few batch mates in a tempo-traveler. With few guys being late, started from NDLS Railway Station at 1 PM and reached the most awaited place at around 7 PM. Presented with hostel rooms, we bought some required items for room the same night. And the biggest surprise came the very next day, i.e. my roommate left the college for some reason after coming here. Done with the registration on 29^th July, met many friends and HoD meeting in the evening. Mess was not open and hence Connaught was our regular mess. On 30^th July, we had some orientation and then some meeting with friends, most of whom are known because of the words we shared in social media prior coming to BITS. The very same we had some interactive session with seniors which had some surprise event planned by Raghunathan Sir. On 31st July, we had the time table scheduling which was of no any importance except to create some kind of hype among the students of HD Courses.

And finally the day came. Our classes started on 1^st of August, with the first class being Managerial Economics. And in the afternoon of the same day, we had orientation class with faculty members and seniors of the department of management studies. And assignments and all sorts of write-ups started from the same day. We had some very good lectures and some ordinary too as usual as in every institute. But the real treat of education in the second half of August. People turning up to show their talent in classes, Prof.s making the course a bit rigorous by assigning works individually and in groups. Went in with surprise quizzes, evaluative assignments, term papers, write-ups and what not to name. 

Keeping the learning on one side, we even had holidays too. On 14^th of August, I, along with one other friend of mine, had been to Delhi for attending the Independence Day of India. And on 15^th August, I had been to Red Fort and saw NaMo speaking in front of jubiliant crowd without any paper and coming out of bullet proof cabin. Cherishing the best moments of my life, I have been to Qutub Minar, India Gate, Rastrapathi Bhavan, Parliament, PMO, Offices of Defense, Home, Finance and External affairs ministries, Lotus Temple, ISKCON and returned back to Pilani the very same night. On 17^th August, We went to Panchvati in Pilani. On 18^th August, we celebrated Janmastami in the campus with the help of Andhra Samithi student body. On 22^nd August, We celebrated first birthday in our batch. On 29^th August, we celebrated Ganesh Chaturthi again with the arrangements made by Andhra Samithi.

Though we are here as one single batch of MBA, some of our friends came out with few different groups. Hiding & surpassing the information, speaking lies, lobbying with faculty and seniors made me feel different here. Though most of those are experienced candidates from Multi-National Companies, they lacked with professional values. And most of the fresher’s I thought about whom I should stand by, were the people who were very sincere and had talent to explore. Found them quite interesting.

Finally the schedule, Cricket Matches, Badminton, Football and many more were making my day to end on a high note. Nothing like missing the home but it would have been good if they were here. 

Common Life

It was as regular a journey as any other day since it happened. But after knowing it was something more. Let me not waste your time. Here is a girl I have just got to know, namely, Shama. At the tender age of 16, She has probably saw life more than any one had. Coming from a rather humble background, her days as a child were so much different from the days that any child has the right over. When all her job should have been to play, her days went taking care of her differently-abled parents. it is something that we go to unimaginable depths looking for, so as to give some meaning to our empty lives. While there was clearly no denying fact that she was the guardian of parent's lives, the poor soul missed out on her childhood. Performing chores like cleaning the soiled diapers, changing rags that they had for bed-sheets over four times a day making the tender skin on her hands puckered, cooking meals, feeding them, cleaning around the house, she left her with no time, neither to take any lessons at school nor to go for playing. She endured it all, day after day, month after month, year after year until she once looked up and found a well dressed couple looking upon her with eyes of affection and empathy. She didn't understand what they were looking for until her mother explained her after they left that they want her to be a part of their family as their daughter-in-law. She felt nothing, having been rendered stoic, bolstered only by the occasional zephyr of faith quietly sweeping past her. Neither did she feel saddened at the prospect of leaving her parents nor did the countenance spoke of the slightest possibility of gladness at finally being able to escape a life of agony. Her eyes narrating a certain sort of woebegone, apparent only to someone who had courage enough to look deep into her soulful eyes, as if she knew.

She was welcomed into her new home with utmost sincerity, love and hope. Hope because that was what had kept her new family going. Hope that she would take care of her husband, bear beautiful kids and take care of the house. Her husband was just 18 and need looking after just like his parents did. He was differently-abled too and not as lucky as kids of his own age to be able to pursue a career or lead a normal life (who decides what normal is, anyway).

Her environment had changed, but her fate hadn't just as she had stepped into her new home, her mother-in-law had put all the domestic helps on an indefinite furlough. She believed that since she was being generous enough to take the only daughter of the family (that never even had enough food to live on most days) in, she had every right to get the most out of the poor girl's miseries, whose family wasn't in a position to say no to the proposition that had been made. She went about her life as though nothing had changed but, of course, something had. She started spending her days cooking meals for her new family with five members, scrubbing the toilets, taking care of her husband and listening to her mother-in-law ramble on about how she was there to bear children so they can grow up and take care of his father in the wheelchair and how she had a stature of not someone more than a domestic help and how the family had indeed done her family a favor by taking an uneducated girl off their hands.

Everything was going just how her mother-in-law had hoped it would until one day a friend of her, Manju came to her house to meet her daughter-in-law and spotted some marks on Shama's forearms. Upon inquiring, Manju learnt that Shama had been cleaning the house wearing an expensive coat that Manju's friend had gifted her and so she had let her have it. A long exchange of dialogues ensued in which the mother-in-law called Shama all sorts of names and told Manju that she had it coming. Manju saw how wrong her friend was to be beating up a child, who she brought away from her house promising her parents that she would give Shama the place of a daughter in their lives, for such a petty thing like that. Manju understood as did her friend that Shama was like a god's gift to them and their only shot at his son having a reasonable life ahead of him and yet Manju neither jumped to Shama's defense nor tried explaining to her friend that she's been abusing the child and punishing her for something that was the fault of none, but the fact that her only son was going to spend all his life in a wheelchair.

Let us not even try to tell ourselves that we understand the kind of life Shama has waiting for her. But not standing up for someone who has been silenced so much that she doesn't remember having a voice, made me feel just as guilty as the one committing the crime against her. To stand up for someone who clearly needs it is not as easy as giving a lecture or a suggestion. Feel responsible not in writing up these kind of articles but in finding the ways to stand by the side of people who are in absolute need. Guess you might be waiting to see the end of the page. Concluding my part with hoping to see a change.

First Step towards Destiny

I am on the way making it to the national capital region... And just after looking at the date, i checked BITS Pilani website to see if i got the admission or not... Don't know if I am fortunate enough or not yet but I was offered provisional admission into Master's degree at BITS Pilani-Pilani Campus... Before the same I had some other results which I felt some of them went against me... Actually I must be very thank ful to two people, one of whom suggested me the idea of doing MBA, convinced me about my capabilities and the other who prepared thouself for preparing me for the exam... Also I must be oweful to another two people, one of whom was my host at all the time and the other who made me stong by criticism and many thimgs... My first result was into waitlist at Young India Fellowship... Thanks to potti for letting me know about the programme but couldn't make it to the final admission since its impossible to convert the waitlist into admission in YIF... My second result was of a doctoral programme at IIM Raipur... Though it was one of the best interview I ever faced, I knew I won't be able to make it to admisson since they openly told me that there is no good scope for research in India in the topic I chose... Third result was of one more doctoral programme at IIM Ranchi... And evem for this, I knew I am not going to making it to the admission since they said they don't have proper professors to guide me... Next result, also the only hope of making it to IIM is of the result of PGDHRM at IIM Ranchi... Had to wait for about 2 Months for the result and finally I was again placed in waitlist... Though almost all the results which were declared till now were not against my performance, I feel I had missed out opportunities that were in my hands... And today, as its time to feel a bit happy for the result, there are no one with me to share my happiness... Have been travelling for the past 10 days continuously just to forget my loneliness and stare at something new... buti couldn't make it happen... Not exactly I'm happy with my position, not exactly I miss some one, not exactly am sad... like a bag having mixture of every feeling, moving in d search of destiny... Though I couldn't make it to the IIM, which I promised to one, I was successful in getting into one of the premier institutes of repute... Hope u read this and feel happy with my performance...

A bag of Mixed feelings

It was 4 AM on 14 jan, 2014 and I just couldn't sleep anymore. As it was raining since previous night though not so heavy, it was a bit wet n very cool outside. Even then I got out of the home and started to move the trees n wood to a place to burn n by the time I finished it, all the family members woke up and somehow the celebrations on a lohri day started. Though every one were enjoying in their own style, I really donot know why am I unable to enjoy myself in the party. I was so eager and curious about my CAT result. Though am smiling, I knew I'm not so comfortable with that. As the clock is getting nearer to 9 AM, I just started to look for the result but the server was so busy and I'm unable to get my result. After a good long struggle, I'm able to get through to the result's page at around 9:40AM and I'm really elated to see my result. It was 94.48 percentile. I was just surprised after looking at it and told the same to my mom, dad and other relatives who were present at my home for festival. Mom was a bit happy but not the rest. Even mom felt that I'm going to leave her to study. All my happiness went in vain just after that moment. I'm not even able to share that with the closest thinking that even they will feel the same. And till today I didn't let anyone know the result. I shared very many moments, happy n sad, with the one I always want to be with. But I couldn't do the same this time. Don't know how the time passed by. It was February now and I still couldn't let my close ones know about the result. N today, after the last IIM announced its shortlist for WAT and PI, I feel I can never let anyone know about this result. Happiness of having eyes is only for a moment when u get to know that they bring tears in life. Guess it is the magic of life.

AAP ki Sarkar... Government in one week...

• First & Foremost thing is that the leader taking a metro to come to make the oath as Chief Minister of the National Capital Region.
• Fulfilling the dreams of Delhi people, CM signed the paper to allot 20 Kilo Liters of water for all.
• Government banned the VIP culture in Delhi.
• A subsidy of 50% on the Electricity Bill for all those who consume less than 400 units & also started auditing Electricity companies.
• Started helplines for parents to report problems in school & also the culture of school volunteers for checking the cleanliness of school, supply of water at their place & presence of teachers.
• Started 45 Port cabin night shelters for the homeless & the aged.
• As a part of strengthening the security for ladies and children, started late night inspections at bus stands, auto stands & police stations.
• started the process for simplification of VAT to reduce the price of grocery and other important needs of the people.
• Surprise inspections at 10 government hospitals by the Health Minister did stun the hospital staff.
• 1500 new auto license for the unemployed SC/ST as per supreme Court order & 5500 new inter-state license to autos for helping commuters from nearby states.
• The Chief of the party & the state has denied a 5-BHK Duplex government house & insisted to see for a small one.
• The party is now getting ready for Haryana Assembly Elections & for National Level Elections in about 20 states.

This is the progress of a debutant party after forming government in just 7 days. And this is what was just lacked in the previous government. i.e. the commitment.

I will be much more happy than what i do feel now if this continues for a long run. And i hope all these schemes will be made available for the needed. i.e. water bill and electricity bill meters for every individual house, port cabin night shelters at every corner of delhi and many more as such.

A Review on launch of GSLV D5

Cryogenic technology is quite complex and only a few in the world have mastered it. ISRO got its measure of technology for the smaller Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) quickly. It has had 25 textbook PSLV launches and is now widely considered the best vehicle in the world in its class. However, the GSLV had only two successful flights out of seven, which were with Russian cryogenic engines. The US had forced Russia to deny India the technology and ISRO had to content itself with seven cryogenic engines but no technology transfer.

It is the first successful flight of the indigenous cryogenic engine.

"This shows that we can master any technology," said S Ramakrishnan, director of the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) in Thiruvananthapuram. The PSLV does not have a cryogenic engine and can only put small satellites, weighing just over one tonne, into geosynchronous orbit.

A cryogenic engine, which uses liquid oxygen at -253 degrees Celsius and liquid hydrogen at -183 degrees Celsius, can develop the thrust needed in the final state of the rocket to put satellites, weighing two tonnes or more, into a geosynchronous orbit. Mastering this technology is essential for any space power as launching heavier satellites requires cryogenic engines even in the lower stages of the rocket. "The 1,000 seconds of the GSLV flight was achieved with 1,000 days of dedicated work," said K Sivan, GSLV mission director. Only five others have cryogenic technology: the US, Russia, Europe, China, and Japan.

The repeated failures of the GSLV had baffled ISRO engineers as the rocket was very similar; even simpler in some senses, compared to the ever-reliable PSLV. But critical components, many of them developed by Indian industry, had failed in the GSLV. Three years ago, ISRO put everything behind the GSLV and conducted a thorough review. It created special facilities and put a rigorous test regime in place. No ISRO launch vehicle has been tested as thoroughly as the GSLV-D5. "We have done whatever was possible," said MC Dattan, director, Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre in Thiruvananthapuram, "And so we were very sure of the success of GSLV."

Indian space engineers enjoyed the fruits of two decades of tireless work on Sunday as the indigenous cryogenic engine performed flawlessly and injected a 1.9-tonne satellite into a Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO) with high precision. The rest of the three-stage Geostationary Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV), which had seen several glitches and aborted launches over the last few years, also performed exactly as required.

Now then the GSAT-14 satellite is being maneuvered over the subcontinent into a geosynchronous orbit 36,000 km above the earth. Precisely 16 minutes and 55 seconds into the launch, as the satellite separated from the final cryogenic stage of GSLVD5, it was an emotional moment for everybody at the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO). Current and former engineers at ISRO even think that this is the agency's finest moment, much more significant commercially and for the development of indigenous technology than the Mars Orbiter mission.

“Without performing GSLV, ISRO's future programmes would have been seriously affected”, said ISRO chairman K Radhakrishnan.

City Wakes upto Red Sea

Vizagites literally woke up to a bloody Friday morning as the seas off the coast of port city turned red. Beach goers left shell shocked when they witnessed the strange phenomenon of bleeding sea as the entire coastal water of the city of destiny turned red in color.
While this phenomena left vizagites equally stunned, scientists, however said that they don't consider it completely unusual and listed the most probable reasons for this change.
some of them to note are the erosion of soil, red tide, discharges from rusty boats & ships and besides all these pollution may be the main reason. Scientists said it must be probably because of the presence of Artificial Nutrients in sea water.
A Pani puri vendor at R K Beach said that he has doing business there since 4 yrs but didn't come across this kind of strange occurrence. He had observed the red tinge from Thursday evening and it was at its very best on Friday morning and it remained red-hued till the mid- friday.
Wake up my dear friends. Wake up before things happen. yesterday it was kurupam market, today its about beach and tomorrow it may be some other thing. Wake up before the City of Destiny loses its prominence in this global village. don't make it just a page in the book of history.

A note on Water Subsidies by AAP

I'm very glad that AAP's government has started to keep their words from the outfit. And one from those stated is Subsidy of water. I just want to let everyone know the fact of how this subsidy works. Through subsidization, the government thinks of the short term gains. When one can take a deep look at the scheme to subsidize water for those consuming less than 20 Kilo liters of water, they can find that it must be done only through a metered system. But the people who are in requirement of subsidies are mostly either unmetered or with defective meters. Hence the real challenge is that those outside the water supply system must be connected to it. Laying down pipelines in every locality, installation of taps in every house can only be provided by a healthy board. Thus it must be noted that the water subsidy has completely ignored the weakest section of Delhi. The poorest of the Delhi have been kept out of the water subsidy scheme i.e. Localities without a pipeline, households without a tap, households without a meter, households with defective meters are not entitled to any subsidy. Households in the NDMC area, particularly of those lesser paid employees, households in Delhi Cantonment area have all been kept out of the water subsidy. This subsidy ignores the weakest and includes a small layer of people with metered consumption. A very large number of people in Delhi have no water connection and are not covered by the free water scheme. They are reliant only on tankers. A very large number of unauthorized colonies have no pipelines and are yet to be covered by laying of water pipelines. There are no individual house connections and hence they are outside the purview of the free water scheme. Many of the cooperative housing societies have bulk connections, Individual flats are not metered. They too cannot obtain free water. Some of Delhi’s middle class whose connections are metered and who keep their consumption below 20 Kilo liters i.e. 666 liters per day alone are entitled to the free water scheme. Those whose consumption exceeds the 20 kilo liters mark would be charged for the entire consumption with a hike of 10% in tariff. Delhi thus can be divided into four categories. The first is those who have no taps or pipeline connections. Second are those with defective or no meters. Third and fourth category are those with functional meters whose consumption is < 20 Kl of water and > 20 Kl of water respectively. The scope of the benefit has narrowed down to just some of the households falling in one of the above four categories i.e the third category.
Thus one (not only the people but also the AAP government) must note that its not only the subsidy that is needed for the poorer but also the basic working infrastructure and good board to control the proceedings.