That bittersweet feeling.

Okay so I know this isn't the most ideal thing to do, but screw it.

Spending about four hours on group chat on Skype might seem like a recipe for suicide when you have two homeworks due in less than two days, but trust me, it's just as good as that steamy cup of hot chocolate on a wintry morning when you think the world could not look less morose. Even better.

So do yourselves a favour, find a bunch of idiots who would wake up at 4 am just to talk with you, and be good to them. Its worth burning the midnight oil and spending sleepless nights working on those assignments later. True story.

Closure

(Warning: Senti attack. Read at own risk. Not written too well for the aforementioned reason.)

So I had slept all evening, and was watching random episodes of Friends to while away time. I have, a lot of times, tried to write something here. Something, so that the blog doesn't go dormant. And I couldn't find anything.

And then in the middle of Ross and Chandler's futile attempts to quit the gym, Saniya pings me and reminds me that it was exact four years since she first landed at BITS. Which reminds me that 29th July 2010 would be exact four years from when I first began the BITSian journey (cliche, yes. But cliches are cliches for a reason. No, not playing the pronoun game here, JD/Bing/Pubby.)

Four awesome years. The good, the bad and the downright ugly (transition from BPGC to BPKKBGC being one.) In some regards we didn't change at all, and yet we changed so much. From 'writing lyk dis' to cringing every time someone else writes in the now incomprehensible 'kewl' version of English, from running around shouting on the roads in huge gangs in first semester to calling people three batches junior morons for doing the same, from Orkut to Facebook, from not knowing DC++ existed to being totally addicted to it, we've all transformed. And yet one feels like the time just flew by, and we're still where we were.

When 2006 batch joined, the hostel curfew was 11:00 PM. There was no football field, and Zephyr saw some of the fiercest fights in the campus. In our first few weeks, the A mess was better known as the 'boys mess'. Thinking about the thrill Sanskriti and I got in exploring random nooks and corners of the campus now brings a wave of nostalgia. Dandiya night was conducted in the now awesome badminton court complex(?), and the next day we lost three seniors.

Second year saw us making shiny stuff in MT1 chemistry labs,  copying shamelessly when the instruments won't work in physics, and adding juice and detergent to the same concoction in biology to extract DNA. Second year was the Quark 2008 year. Still remember sitting outside on the last day as the Music night came to an end, wondering what I was going to do for the rest of the semester.

With third year came the responsibilities, whether it be the CDCs, or getting a fest up and running smoothly. The sucky grading system added to the woes. The farewell one whole (in some cases two) year(s) before we left the campus gave everyone something to obsess about. No one dressed up for the now once-in-a-blue-moon DJ nights anymore. And then came the second sem compres, which this time around not just meant the end of the semester, but also the end of time together on campus for the batch as a whole. Whether you switched your semester at the last moment, or you always knew you were going in first sem, it didn't make much of a difference. Cartons packed and couriered, hugs and promises exchanged. The end of the journey was now in sight.

PS2 was a different ballgame altogether. From wishing everyone you knew got PS at Bangalore, to cribbing about the work or lack thereof, to making elaborate plans to go to campus during Waves. To talking about how your strict PS instructor makes you call every morning at 9 30, to putting in night outs to finish reports and applications. To wishing to get back to campus and yet feel a little sad that your stay at Bangalore (or wherever your PS station was) coming to an end.

Last semester on the campus kind of serves as a rude shock. For you're happy that you're back, but it doesn't feel like the same place. You hardly know anyone, at times the only person you know at Monginis happens to be Uncle Sam. You feel like the campus has already forgotten you, and then soon enough you come to terms with it, and start finding new ways to kill the huge amount of free time that you have. Some actually do stuff on their 'to-do-before-college-ends' list, others don't. Single degree students get annoyed with their suddenly all too geeky dual degree friends and vice versa. First years look like a bunch of buffoons, doing the exact same things as one did three years back. Exams and project submissions start losing out to hanging out a little more at Nescafe. Bogmalo trips become a lot more frequent.

And then the time flies by and soon you're staring at the day you never thought would come. And then you take the final walk across the campus, sit outside till you can, take it all in for you know that you won't see the campus at 12 20 am again. Not the same way, at least.

And then you go back, and you finish off with packing. And you hope for a sense of closure.

And then you sit and wonder where the time went, two and a half months after you said your final goodbye to college.

And then it rains

The air sits heavy on the head, as if it's all the troubles you face and then more. The heat and humidity do their little dance, in perfect tandem, and you're caught in the middle and you're neither here nor there. And the burden won't go away just as those drops of perspiration won't. You seek shelter but there is none. You spend sleepless nights wondering if this would end. Wishing it would end. Not a leaf moves, and you feel like your eternal damnation lies in these doldrums. Time seems like a crafty thief, sneaks in and out unnoticed and takes away what you've treasured. And it does so every night, over and over again, till the morning arrives.



And then it rains.

All will be good.

(PS. Yes, I love rains. Check this out sometime)

IT'S COMING! IT'S COMING!!!!

(next up: swine flu)

PS. No, I'm not trying to usurp Bing as *the* cartoon-maker.

Pure Sport.

SPREE is here!!!!

:D

http://www.bits-spree.org

Bhande phir se kali kara lo..!

Yes. Quark 2008 might be over, but the marketing, err... thread still lives. So well, one fine day Nimit Mehra (who if you remember was the head of the Marketing and Specials Committee, if you've read my previous post - http://myblog-pranshu.blogspot.com/2008/01/bhande-kali-kara-lo.html. Or if you just know about Q08's structure.)

This story involves me aka Pranshu Sharma aka Akhil Mehta, Tillu aka Akhil Mehta, Sanso aka Sanskriti aka pseudo-Akhil Mehta, Angad Single aka Angad Singh Gill, and The BOSS aka Nimit Mehra aka Akhil Mehta.

Wait, where was I? Yeah. Nimit decides we'll have a trip to celebrate the awesomeness of the best committee BITS has ever had. So he very conveniently tells me to make the plan. Arambol is cancelled, Vagator is our venue. Next, I am instructed to book a cab. So after calling up 8 cab bookers and leaving out the ones who were already booked, didn't pick up their phones, decided to fleece us, I finalized a guy, and so after a bit of bargaining, we had a cab.

All systems go, you might think.

Oh oh. This is gonna be a REAL LONG post. And on Tillu's recommendation:

PS. Do chicken daale tandoor mein, dono zinda the, ladne lag gaye (the joke with which it all started. :') ) Which song was playing in the background?

Ta tananana tandoori fights tandoori fights!

PPS. Do chicken daale tandoor mein, dono weight loss program mein enroll ho gaye. (Tillu's joke, words might have been changed a bit.) Which song was playing in the background?

Ta tananana tandoori diets, tandoori diets. (Note: this isn't a regular tandoori joke, as the joke doesnt end with -ites. But it is an interesting variation.)

Good. Now that Nimit and Tillu cannot avoid reading these jokes, lets begin with the story.

So the story starts with the five of us starting off from the campus without any money. Not too much, that is. All except Sanso. So then we went, on our way, with one customary rendition of Bhande Kali in that same soul-stirring voice, through Tillu's phone. And then we clicked pics, and found an ATM. The ATM didn't work. So we found another. Angad, Nimit and I took some money out, and made TIllu realize he needed money too.

Sanso and Gill then bought chips and Frooti etc while the cab was getting its tank filled with petrol. We started off, which is when we realized we had no straws to help us drink up our Frooti. Result:

Right. So after our Frooti adventures (I didn't have any, I never do. Wonder what happened to the pack they got for me.) Gill enusred his shirt got its share of Frooti too. Anyway, so without any more major mishaps we reached Vagator. Which is where I figured the plan was to climb up the fort, trek more like. My argument was this: I wasn't wearing my shoes (and instead slip-ons, pretty ones at that) because I saw Tillu in bathroom slippers. Apparently he didn't know about this part of the plan either, as was obvious from his comment when he saw the hill rising above us, "Yeh chadhna hai kya?"

Well, so we began the climb, well, began with beginning with the climb. We didn't realize we'd spend more time clicking pictures of ourselves, the scenery, ourselves+scenery, ourselves clicking pics of ourselves that we'd actually spend climbing up, and getting done with it. Proper photoshoot, it was, what with Gill being with us!

And then we reached the fort, where we clicked more pics. A little less walking, a little more clicking seemed to be the mantra of the day. And as soon as you thought things were geting mundane, Tillu saves the day with "Arre! Look! I'm wearing different chappals!"

And so we reached the fort, and looked at what was awaiting us. Brilliant blue with foamy white galloping across it, only to recede after it met the beige of the sand, all of this under the sun shining oh so brightly. (The last was more uncomfortable than beautiful, but you get the point.)

Then after a few more photos, Gill's camera's battery died, which is when we decided to get back to the beach. Now, how, was a tricky question. Just climb down the hill and get to the beach the quickest way, or go back the way we came to remain safe, and not risk slipping and falling down and breaking a few crowns.

Gill and Sanso (ones with sensible footwear) took the first path, while Nimit shepherded me and Tillu through the safe way.

Now this is where Tillu and I had our near-death experience, which almost killed us.

We walked up to the fort, and then we walked down to the road. Tillu slipped twice I think in this leg of the journey. Then we walked to a shop where we bought and drank water, which made Tillu make this obsedvation: "I was really dehydrated. Look, in fact, I've started to sweat now!"

And then we resumed our journey. And oh, earlier we had called the cabwala and told him to meet us at the beach, so we did not have a cab to take us there. Anyway, we then followed Nimit, who took us in this resort, which we circumambulated, only from inside. So we then walked down the innumerable stairs, with the Jamun trees doing their best to provide us with some shade, but falling short. And then we walked towards a spa when Sanso called up to ask us what the hell was taking us so long, after the driver had called up to tell us "Main bus ke paas rukela hai".

So with red faces, and no breath to spare, forcing our legs to go on, we followed Nimit, who then opened a rickety creaky gate, that led to the beach from the resort, and looked at us with his best triumphant look on his face.

To which I replied, "Kya ukhaad liya?" (and that was all me or Tillu could say then.)

And now not wearing shoes really killed me. You see, there was sand all over, and it isn't exactly cool fifteen minutes past noon. And so, with last remaining drag of energy, I ran across the beach, hoping I'd get away with just blisters on my feet, and not serious burns. Tillu wasn't very amused, he wanted to hit the beach. And I wanted to hit him, which I think I did.

Then we went and ate at Mango Tree, which our cabbie called the foreigners' place. Ad then we came back to Vagator, and decided to get to the rocks, go as close to the sea (safely) as we could. Which is when serious doubts about Tillu's state of mind crept in. Lack of sleep and overdose of food coupled with the long walk had made him very, well, confused about a lot of things in life. One of these things was climbing up on rocks on a beach.

Anyway, Tillu got by with a little help from his friends, and was fine. I sang Live forever by Oasis rather tunelessly to myself, and then decided to join Sanskriti, Angad, Tillu and Nimit there, thought I'd wet my feet for some time.

After careful calculation of the distance and depth of the gap between the rock I was currently on and the one I intended to be on, including the factor of slipperiness of each rock in question, for each set of such rocks I had to encounter, I finally reached these guys. And then I almost got swept off my feet once, and I don't mean it in a nice way, more with scary undertones. And then I didn't wanna go back, though the high tide kinda made it rather difficult for us(and even more so for Tillu) to get back to the beach. I had just finished commenting upon how I managed fine with my dainty slipons, when I fell with a thud and just about escaped hurting my back. (In my defence, it wasn't becuase of my slipons as I had them in my hand then, to avoid getting them soaked.)

Also, Tillu fell there too.

While we were on our way to Panjim, Lita called up! I mean, it just isn't a marketing trip wihtout Lita's input. And for a refreshing change, she actually laughed at my tandoori jokes! :') TIllu joined in too, with the diets version mentioned above. So we all talked to her, and after we had made enough fun of her and her Hindi ("Mera ghar bahut badi hai", for example) we finally let her get to her business. And then Nimit got senti. (Also, I think I heard a faint 'love you' before he kept the phone! :D ) So began reminiscence of the trips this committee went on, the friends we made, the people we bullied, the chores we did, the cash we barganied hard to save, the amazing times we had, on our actual 'Marketing' trip, trip to Vasco to get informals' goodies, trip to Panjim to get more goodies plus get some errands done, and the the trip to Colva, made immortal by Tillu's "Bhaiyya kheer nahin mangwayi."

Anyway, we went back on our way to Panjim, where we went to an undisclosed heaven of all things baked! Though the Opera Fantasy (forgot the actual name) wasn't that great. Bose speakers playing Paper Planes, while you experience chocolate melting in your mouth! Oh, and the Gelatos must be mentioned, especially Melon that Sanskriti took.

And then we came back, after our rather eventful journey, that even included a near-death experience, which, mind you, almost killed me. Did our hisaab-kitaab in front of my hostel, CH4, where Tillu was in grave danger of being caught asleep in front of a Girls' hostel and getting DISCOed.

And that's all, folks. That was how Marketing trip 2 went. As brilliant as any of the other trips we've had. Brilliant buncha hooligans, we were. Even the rather 'sane' ones like Pratik, who couldn't come. And I'll end here now, else Nimit will get super senti and maybe even cry like a baby.

Adios.

Last pic - courtesy Angad Singh Gill

"God made weed, Man made booze": Girls' Day Out.

... AN UNEXPECTEDLY DIFFERENT POST.

There was a trip to Palolem Beach (South Goa) organized for 2006 batch girls yesterday, that is 26th January. Now well, you know the reason for part of the title, and for the first part, read on.

We were supposed to leave at 8:30 AM. But given that many of us woke up at around that time, we left at 10:30 AM, and as we were sitting in the bus we realized that the '35' seater was well, a 31-seater. Anyway, we got 5 stools or something and the journey was fun. It made me realize that no matter how much times change, somethings just remain the same. Like the set of songs you use while playing Antakshari hasn't incorporated a lot of new songs. 'Na na karte pyar tumhi se..' WILL be a. sung and b. followed by 'Thande thande paani se..'

We reached Palolem at around 11:45. So then began woos that quickly turned into ow's, as the sun suddenly made its presence felt.. And then we started to find a spot where we could cut the cake (yes we had a cake, and it was delicious :| ) And so we started cheering for glory and CH4/GH4(J), as we couldn't find amy other subject matter to cheer about, nor was it anyone's birthday, while we frantically slapped sunscreen on to ourselves.

So after all the cake-cutting and eating and wiping-our-hands-clean, we all decided to split up for lunch and then meet up at 3 again. So me, Juthika, Madhura, Tvisha, Sanskriti and Saniya went our way to Cube, this shack with lotsa blackboards with funky stuff written on 'em. After a few non-alcoholic beverages, Sanskriti and Saniya decided to go kayaking. If you didn't hear what she said next, you'd think Saniya went kayaking for about 2 minutes. Well, she had come back as the guy had started asking her about her insurance details, and (this would sound familiar to BITSians), she was going out in the ocean on her own risk and responsibility.

So for the next 45 minutes we watched Sanso transform from a human figure in a kayak, to an orange speck beyond the horizon. (Technically, we couldn't see the orange speck after she 'crossed' horizon.) And then we went wood-oven-pizza hunting, and landed at La Pizzeria, where we were asked what we meant when we ordered for 'Coke'.

After a rather-insipid pasta and a good pizza, we went shopping. (Now I know why I stopped feeling hungry! :P ) So we went into a shop, came out and went into another, tried stuff out and occasionally bought something. Somewhere, we split into two groups of 3 each, with me, Maddie and Saniya together. "Oh! That is SO cute" to "not worth the price" was the general flow of the conversation, when we couldn't manage to strike a deal. Anyway, Maddie bought a dress and a skirt, I bought a kurti and a top, and Saniya too bought a dress.

During our little shopping spree, Preeti had called Maddie up and minced no words (in a nice way) when she had said that we would all meet up at 4, and then take a group pic and then leave by 5. So at around 3:30, when we were done with shopping (we ran out of shops), we made our way back to the beach, and started walking towards the river and the island. Me and Saniya collected shells on the way, and I noticed that the species of molluscs with snake-like pattern on their shells is pretty common at that stretch.

So we walked towards the other end, and the sun's reflection on the wet sand preceded us. The blue, the white and the golden hues all came together to make that one walk thoroughly fulfilling. The characteristic patterns rivulets made on the silt they carried all the way down, the boisterous flow of the water towards the sea, against you as you walk across, and then finally the green and calm of the rather secluded part of the beach. Nature really fills you up with sheer, innocent happiness :)

Also, we can safely say that we crossed a sea and a river to reach an island :P

Then we went back to where everyone was supposed to assemble, and got a group pic taken (a foreigner wanted to click us too :| ), and then we left for the bus. (Not before Sanskriti had a mini-adventure of her own :P)

Amazing trip, and the best beach I've been to. And a long post... :|

Oh, by the way, the first part of the title? Well, I saw a tee shirt that said 'God made weed, Man made booze. You decide who's better', which I was planning on buying for a friend. Thanks for reading :P

I lou my glasses :)

I had broken my glasses last night,
The screw fell out, went out of sight.
My spects were then no more one-pieced,
My vision blurred, trouble increased.

I couldn't recognize people 3 feet away from me
I couldn't tell a P from an R, or a D!
I was asked to count fingers again and again
That whole exercise really was a pain.

The tune in my head was a strange medley
Of 'What's going on' and 'Everything's so blurry'.
Internet and PC-time was antagonizing
As my anti-glare lenses were missing.

Then today, I thought I'll get them repaired
Even when the rain was playing truant and unfair.
I didn't give up, got wet in the process though.
Pakdofyd a Bakra to accompany me to Vasco.

The opticians were really sweet and nice,
They put in a new screw for no price.
The two pieces were then reunited,
Glasses back to business, I was delighted!

The tune in my head aint a medley anymore,
"I can see clearly now", as Marley had sung before.
I can recognize people, and attend classes,
I lou my awesome -wait for it- glasses!

:D

exam time special.

Well, test 1 going on. Last one tomorrow, Electrical Sciences 2. I should be studying right? Tturns out three-phases and magnetic circuits aren't exactly my idea of fun. One thing I've noticed is that my mind notices everything under the sun and more often than not classifies it as 'interesting'. Well, maybe because stuff is being compared with really realy mundane activities like studying. mugging and associated activities.

Oh well, so here's a list of the things I've noticed during the last week, since before T1 began. Stuff that otherwise nobody pays much attention to. Basically exam-time specials:

1. You suddenly feel very drowsy at nights, when you could stay up surfing the net aimlessly, playing games and what not during non-exam time.

2. You start feeling very very hungry at nights (the ones you are up on), and you almost never have any food in your room. And your neighbours are sleeping too. (point 1)

3. The sudden cleaning spurt. You just HAVE to clean or wash your fan/table/clothes/room. Well, maybe it's a girls' hostel thing...

4. You get addicted. To various TV series (How I Met Your Mother being the flavour last sem, this semester its Kyle XY). Or as in my case, ebooks and comics. (Archie! Jughead! Betty & Veronica! Aaah...)

5. Almost everyone (from your college) on your gtalk list has exam-related, very creative status messages. Sample this: "State urysohn's 7th lemma on Gaussian operators in the Argand plane..backwards.." or "aaye saala ... abhi abhi hua yakeen... test 1 ke liye maine kuch ... pada nahi ... class ko ..main kab gaya .... kitab ko kisne pakda ....chalte raho .... rubarooo...". This was mine, drawing upon my QUARK experiences - "motto of the week: padh le bewkoof!"

6. Eye for detail. Makes itself really prominent these days. Like today i realized that my corridor inhabitants possess all kinds of locks. Like 107 uses a 7 lever lock, and 119 uses a real tiny one, one that you might put on your suitcase while travelling. I realized i have a 6 lever one. And the average i think is between 5 and 5.2 levers per lock in my corridor.
Or that, you suddenly find yourself making B-plans for the local nescafe/monginis outlet. If Monginis increases its stock of veg sandwiches by x%, then they would last beyond 9:30 pm. Hence more food for us, and more profit for 'em.

7. The perennial in Top-10-exam-times. The weather. It always is beautiful outside the evening before a test. Especially brilliant if you haven't touched the subject. Would've put power failure as another essential phenomenon, but well, these days it isn't restricted to exam-time and hence has lost out on its slot.

8. Overall increase in creativity. The status messages provide a glimpse. The simultaneous and exponential surge in flow of creative juices in students' minds mainfests itself in forms like newer posts on different blogs (ET, JD updated theirs already), people redecorating their rooms, revolutionary ideas of bugging the hell out of someone etc etc etc.

9. Exam time is when all your old friends decide to come online at the most inappropriate time(or is it really inappropriate?). You can't talk to them, as you have like 70% of your course left, yet you can't not talk to them. Sigh!

10. Boredom. And that oo, whacked boredom, the kind that makes you go all whacky. Like I was so bored once, I went to my (10 pointer) neighbour's room and did all kinds of keede there, including bouncing a ball on her wall. When she finally managed to get me out of her room, I kinda umm, went and tripped our corridor's main switch off. :D Twice.

Well, so long. I really should get down to those transformers now. Additions to the list are welcome! :)

Bestaluck for all your exams/results
Pranshu

(P.S.: I just realized I use 'well' a lot of times...)

bhande kali kara lo..!

in the pic: all the akhil mehtas. me, puneet, nimit, akhil, pralav.

Ok. So this post is all about our marketing trip on 25-01-2008, friday. Well, our motive was to promote Quark '08 (http://www.bits-quark.org/) in Goan colleges. And so Nimit, our respected and feared Marketing Head, Member-of-Organizing-Committee ordered all of us to be at the main gate at 7:15 sharp.

Now, before i continue, i suppose you must know the main characters in this story. These are:

1. Akhil Mehta aka TylerDurden aka Tillu. 2nd year. Bigshot on DC. And the reason for the title of this post.

2. Lita Das aka Bhonpu (according to NIMIT). 3rd year, very highly noticeable. And her 6 feet plus height is not the only factor.

3. Puneet Gupta aka Akhil Mehta. (reasons will be clear to you once you are done reading this post). 3rd year. by far the quietest 3rd year. Especially useful when you need wisecracks to be well, cracked.

4. Pranshu Sharma aka me aka Akhil Mehta. ME.

5. Pratik Mandrekar aka Akhil Mehta. 2nd year, quiet Honda Activa (aka Kinetic Honda) driver. Smart 'local Goan'.

6. Pralav Dessai aka Akhil Mehta aka Driver Bhaiyya. 3rd year, 'local Goan' guy again. Drives the car well, including situations where a sonic boom occurs very close to his left ear.

7. Nimit Mehra aka Akhil Mehta aka THE ORGANIZER aka THE MARKETING HEAD. Boss, basically. The 'senapati' of this vaanar sena that went all around Goa on Friday.

So my day started with Lita whispering (for a change) at my door at 6 am to wake me up. So then finally we sign out of the campus by around 7 45 am. Now the plan was that Pratik and Puneet would go on Activa while the rest of us would be in the car. Then we realize the guy who rented us the Honda Activa (aka Kinetic Honda) needed to be dropped off to Vasco. So with me and Lita stuffed on the front seat next to the driver we almost reached Vasco following Pratik who had the bike-guy sitting behind him. And then we realize, that we could have just left Puneet at the campus gate and continued.

And then we realized the road through the jungle to Vasco had a huge huge hole in it. So Pralav tried getting us all back on a road. And I tried saving myself from being squished between the door and Lita while Lita shouted out stuff like "Hum nahin bachenge... we can't reach Vasco.. we can't reach GEC (goa engg college)... Akhil Mehta! Shut up Nimit Mehra.. Pralav bewkoof look at the road. Akhil Mehta!.."

We survived. And soon were on our way to Goa Engineering College. We reached there before 9, when the classes start. I got a good audience. Told them all about Quark, the events, the workshops, the special nights, and I told them that a London troupe of jugglers who have performed at Olympics 2004 were coming to our campus (http://www.feedingthefish.com/), and that magic shows are not just "pulling the rats out of habits" (double-slip of my tongue). So we finished with our job and soon were on our way to RIT (forgot the full form).

So we were having fun, singing songs, making Pralav change the radio station every 30 seconds and laughing uncontrollably whenever Lita would say something and Nimit would try to counter her point. "Akhil Mehta!... Nimit bewkoof.. Pralav do not drive fast. I wanna sleep... Akhil Mehta!.. Itna tez nahin... Radio chalao bewkoof!... Akhil Mehta!..." No matter who took her case/did something that annoyed her, Lita would utter 2 words "Akhil Mehta". Hence all non-Litaeans belonging to Quark-teamus kingdom, Marketingae phylum and Friday-teamus Order have a genus name of Akhil Mehta.

Well, our respected and revered and feared and non brain-severed boss was having a good time too. We all are very scared of Nimit. And we all respect him a lot. And he is a good boss. And he is not getting married to Lita. He was totally cool with us teasing him with her. And he totally was not avoiding being in the same vehicle. Pralav will not be the chauffeur of the newly-married lovebirds. Me and Tillu will not be the two witnesses needed to register a marriage. Nimit is well respected by all of us. So, he was laughing and not calling anyone a 'dumba$$'. This is when Tillu decides to tell us all about this song which is now our marketing anthem (as Nimit put it). "Bhande kali kara lo".

Now, this song fills you up with the same feelings as "aie hiphopper' and 'tic tic tic tic tic tic' do. Bhande in Punjabi means utensils. The feel that comes in this song, is unmatched. You gotta listen to it to know what i mean. Ultimate song!!! Totally cracked the Punjabis (Nimit, Tillu and Puneet) up.

Anyway, so we were continuing with "kali-karaoing the bhandes" ie our going to college, meeting students, handing them flyers worth 11 bucks each, being reminded not to be so generous with the flyers as they were expensive, put up our posters on top of every other techfest's posters, talk to some more people, and then run to the car/activa, where Nimit and Lita would mock-fight with each other. ("gimme my wallet Lita" "you give me my cellphone first" "ek haath de, ek haath le" "Im throwing your wallet outside" "Lita..." "bewkoof..."). And the rest of us would just be content with having a good laugh at their expense.

And so we continued with our trip, and then stopped in Madgaon to have lunch. Which is when we got to know Tillu speaks brilliant chaste Hindi. He told us he had just missed winning a Hindi poem-reciting competition on Hindi Diwas. Later Nimit told me the piece of Hindi literature which he had brought to life with his serene and captivating manner of speaking was "machhli jal ki rani hai".

So well then, on and on we went. Lita went on about Akhil Mehta and Kinetic Honda. I was well, just very happy 1. Tillus shorter than me 2. Litas crazier than me. Pralav was amazed Eeshan was right about what would happen on friday (he had imitated Lita very well, I believe) and happy his speedometer's 'kaanta' had the capacity to go upto 120 and not get stuck at 100. Nimit was happy we were done, and that since he was not in the car, his case would not be taken (quite wrong though, Tillu me Puneet and Pralav had fun). Puneet and Pratik were well, themsleves. All cool and calm and quiet. Enjoying the show. Tillu was being Tillu and happy that for once Lita was not yelling his name out once every 2 minutes. We had another round of Bhande kali kara lo.

And then we came back to campus where Lita finally got her Kinetic Honda and I got to sit behind her. We covered the entire campus, I believe. Hoping someone we know would see us. Which they did. :D

Brilliant trip. And our boss is going to blog about it too!