Talk about discovering particles faster than speed of light. I guess, the scientists never thought of 'life' as a particle. William Henry Davies once said:
" What is this life if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare."
Life puts us in such a fast lane, that all we can do is race.
But, now that I have settled into Cornell, I have some time on my hand. So, I decided to take a step back, stand and stare down my memory lane. Not to find out if "I have made it large", but to know if "I have enjoyed it to the fullest". Looking back, I am still confused about the answer, but I did remember a lot of moments that took my breath away.
10. Reading the News in School
When I was in Class 10, my school started the policy of news-reading after the morning assembly. 3 students would come prepared with the International, National and Sports news of the day. It was something that was appreciated by teachers and students equally, except of course, those who had to present the news in front of the entire school. I chose the Sports section. There were very few stories worth mentioning that day - Badrinath had scored a half-century in a first class match between England A and India A, Michael Schumacher had won the Italian Grand Prix and France had beaten Slovenia 2-0 in a Euro Qualifying Match. It was customary to take a chit with brief notes jotted down to look at while presenting the news. For some reason, I had forgotten to bring mine from home and there wasn't sufficient time to make one. So, I started speaking the news from memory. As luck would have it, the news came out perfectly, leaving the audience happy, with a loud applause for my efforts. It was a day when my memory power had made me popular with teachers and students alike.
9. The Navy Quiz
In my schooldays, I was enthusiastic about a lot of things, but quizzing has to be my first love. After narrowly missing out on the Bournvita Quiz contest, I was still searching for that one challenging quiz that would redefine my quizzing experience. The opportunity presented itself in the form of an INS Chilka Navy Quiz in my Class 9th. Top quizzing teams from 8 schools of the state were participating in the event. I had as my partner, Jasaswee Das, of BQC fame. The quiz took place in front of officers and cadets from the base, who were all dressed in white Navy uniforms. To add to the tension, the stage was freezing cold. With every correct answer, there was systematic clapping from the audience for 5-10 seconds - in the Navy style. As the questions started coming thick and fast, we were up to the task, staying in 2nd place till the last round - a rapid-fire round. After the top ranked team had answered 7 of their 8 questions, we had to answer all our questions to win. It was perhaps one of the most comprehensive rounds I have ever seen. Starting from ancient history, the questions went from politics to music to sports to literature. We answered them all in tandem, till the last question popped up: an obscure flag to identify. In one of those hail-mary moments we guessed Afghanistan, our only guess in the entire quiz and it paid off. We had become the champions. It was a moment when I realized quizzing was something more than just an event to me.
8. A Summer with my cousins
During my childhood, the one thing I looked forward to every summer, was visiting my grandparents' house. All my cousins would come too, and, me and my brother would have the time of our lives. We used to play video games (Ninja Turtles, Contra, Super Mario, Tank, Baseball) for hours together, play cricket on the roof the house, in the house and break more than a few stuff - clocks, mirrors, antiques,etc., support India in cricket matches, play hide and seek, play cards - the list is endless. A few summers, my uncle would organize a family picnic to a fun place - a beach near Konark, Nandankanan zoo, Puri. We used to play in the ocean, make sand castles and break them too, eat sand-laden chicken curry under car headlights in the evening, pose for photographs - I wish those summers would come back again.
7. Bungee Jump at Whistler
I have always wanted to think of myself as an adventurous person. But most of the times I have obeyed my parents in not displaying dare-devilry. However, my spirit got the better of me last summer, and I simply could not resist a 130$ bungy jump at Whistler village in Canada. The bungee jump spot was off a bridge located 60 meters over the glacial fed Cheakamus River. The exhilaration I felt, simply standing above that gushing river was spine-chilling. Four of my friends jumped before me - each more dramatic than the other (remember Vipul). I was harnessed up and ready to go. For some cruel reason, the jump officials decided to have sodas and let me sweat and shiver for a little while longer. Let me tell you something: there are several ways to hide your nervousness, but trying to act cool is not one of them. My name was called and I walked upto the ledge. My friends took a few snaps which later came out zombie-like. "5,4,3,2,1" and I was gone - like a parachutist jumping behind enemy lines. It was the most surreal feeling I ever had. I felt free; free of all thoughts. Then, it was over, and I was swinging like a pendulum. But in those 4 seconds, I felt the full force of God's greatest gift to man: adrenaline.
6. My first crush
Ok. This is definitely going to sound quite silly. It happened when I was in Class 7 at school. There was this girl, whom I saw after the assembly, one fine Monday morning. She had a petite nose, and the most beautiful eyes I have ever seen. She was like your ideal girl next door. Imagine my surprise when I found out that she was in-fact in my section. Duhhh. Back then, I did not know what to do if you got a crush at school!! (Usually a sensitive topic to discuss at home.. ) Well, "ignorance" had never stopped me from doing stuff before. So, I started planning my moves. It took me about a year and a half to find out stuff she likes, what she did in her free time, etc (don't laugh!) By then, I realized I needed help to make a good plan. So, I used a social network analysis to find out the common high degree neighbours between us, i.e. I talked to mutual friends. So, using their help, I was able to talk to her for the first time after like 2 odd years, on a completely arbitrary topic: "Do you have an extra pen that I could borrow ?" She answered "No". Booh-hoo! Within a few months, she got to know about it from one of those mutual friends and dismissed the thought pretty quickly (might have been a rumor though). That was the end to my Little Manhattan story in Bhubaneswar.
5. An Evening Stroll on the Brooklyn Bridge
It was only a couple of weeks ago, that I happened to visit New York City to attend a workshop. As they say, a trip to NYC is always incomplete without a visit to the iconic Brooklyn Bridge. So, one late afternoon, after admiring the hoopla of one Wall Street, I obliged them. Walking down by the side of the East River, the fleeting glimpses of the Brooklyn Bridge raised my excitement to new levels. After walking for a good part of an hour, I reached my destination. Flanked by Brooklyn on one end and Manhattan on the other, the Brooklyn Bridge had started to put on its best outfit for the night - it was sparkling with lights. As the sun went down, the scene from atop the bridge was simply breathtaking. The gently ripping blue waters of the East River played perfect foil to the glittering Manhattan skyline, forming a picture-perfect scene. Romance was in the air, as I took photographs for a young couple on their honeymoon. They did return the favour too :) Strolling across the bridge, I could hear the title song of Kal Ho Naa Ho play countlessly many times in my head. It was a moment that will remain close to my heart forever.
4. Saturday Night Out
In my 1st year, at IIT Kharagpur, I had as my wing-mates some of the best people I have ever known. There were guys who studied a lot (read Devi, Dada, Prabhu, well me too), there were guys who were womanizers (read Pratik, Avinash and Marut), there were guys who were tech geeks (read Teddy, Anubhav), there were guys who were studs (read Saurabh, Umakant, and Sanjit) - they were the perfect friends. Every Saturday, we had our mess off, and so used to go out for dinner... on cycles. Ordering some of the most eclectic dishes, having mimicry sessions, the stories about the girls next door...Boy! was it fun! We used to come back and watch an English movie suggested by Anubhav, which we would often rave about the next day (like LOTR, American Pie :P). On the odd occasion, we also saw movies playing in the Netaji Auditorium, viz. The Killer and Dead Man's Chest, played dumb-charades in the corridors, heckled Prabhu by stealing his slippers, locking him in the bathroom or messing with his head using Peter Answers. I guess having Friends like these, made F.R.I.E.N.D.S the best thing I have seen on TV.
3. Winning the Prime Minister Gold Medal
Five years at IIT, were perhaps, the most challenging ones of my life. Having a low rank in the JEE, meant that I was admitted into the Ocean Engineering and Naval Architecture Dept - not my dream choice. But I never gave up hope. With the support of my family and friends, and of course, hours of hard labour, I did effect a branch change into the department of Computer Science and Engineering. Since my schooldays, I had a fascination for Computer Science, simply because I was quite good at it. So, I could easily adapt to the difficult yet interesting CS curriculum at IIT. In my 5th semester, for the first time, I broke into the top 10 rankings in my batch. So, I decided to try and move up the list. After several ups and downs, it came down to the last semester. I was placed 1st but only by a narrow margin of 0.02. Two subjects and an MTP in the 10th semester. I could afford an A in only one subject, the rest had to be perfect. However, owing to my desire not to study in my last semester, I messed up my endsems. Of the two subjects, one was easy and the other was tough. In the easy one, I expected to get an Ex but missed it by a whisker. So, I gave up all hope since it was difficult to land an Ex in the tough one. But, thanks to some generous relative grading, I pulled off a miraculous Ex and won the Prime Minister of India Gold Medal. It was that special because it had not been a cakewalk - Arkosnato gave me a good fight. As for the medal, even though I could not collect it from the PM himself, my dad did and well, I am happy.
2. Sachin with the World Cup
Most capped cricketer, most international runs, most international hundreds, only ODI 200* - all these stats were incomplete without the one : World Cup Winner. If ever there was a role model that I admired, it was Sachin. And if ever I had a dream, it was Sachin with the World Cup. Mesmerizing the world with his stroke-play, humbling the world with his attitude, Sachin is like a magician, performing extraordinary tricks, not with a hat, but with a bat. But, for this seemingly superhuman individual, winning the World Cup had always remained an elusive mirage. He came close in 2003, but not close enough. Then, there was a debacle in 2007 which left me doubting how long he could go on. But like true superheros always do, he rose and played like a champion till he became a champion. On the night of April 2, 2011, he lifted the World Cup. He was crying and so was I. Its hard to describe that feeling, but everyone who ever loved Sachin, had it that night. The Little Master has done it all. Now, I can die in peace.
1. The Summer of 2009
Ever since I started reading about it in Geography books at school, Europe has always been my dream destination. I got a chance to live the dream when I went to ETH Zurich for a summer internship. As goes with most university internships, you get a lot of free time, and so it was the perfect opportunity to explore Europe. The magnificent vistas and snow-clad peaks of Switzerland, the soothing serenity of the French riviera, the resplendent colors of the Monaco harbour coupled with the winding street circuit, the sheer magnificence of the Eiffel Tower, the artistic beauty of the Louvre with the enigmatic Monalisa, the romantic feel of Paris, the symbolic significance of the Vatican, the colossal grandeur of Rome, the cross of cultures at the Piazzas, the scientific marvel of the Leaning Tower of Pisa, the fashionable boutiques of Milan, the dreamy waters of Venice, the torrid history of Berlin interspersed with its architectural brilliance, simply left me with a sense of unfettered fulfillment. Though I never met a Simran, this Eurotrip will remain close to my heart till my last breath.
Thinking about these moments, made me realize something very valuable. Sometimes we have already had the extraordinary life that we always dreamed about, all we need do is remember the moments that have made us who we are, and life will be beautiful again. As Ferris Bueller puts it: " Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it".
With that thought, adios !!!
