Attack on IISc !

A bad week for all of us in IISc. The unthinkable has happened ! An armed assailant killed one and injured four others in a daring assault on delegates of an international conference taking place in the J.N. Tata auditorium of IISc. Yet to know whether it is terrorist attack or personal ! IISc security is not a very good one and with this attack it has been proven very easily...

By this time, i guess, everybody knows about the death of Prof. Puri from IIT Delhi. Four more has been seriously injured, one of them, Prof. Vijay Chandru, being a professor of IISc. He is the co-founder of Strandgenomics where Joy was working before going to USA. He has also co-invented, simputer, indian palm computer. He has gone under surgery and is said to be out of danger. All the other injured are out of danger, as per we know.

IISc is still unable to believe that this incident has taken place. 3 weeks back only I attended an international conference at the same venue, J.N. TATA Auditorium ! Can't believe the same place has been attacked while an international conference was being held !

I hope after this incident IISc security will be tightened ! Hoping for the best...

This weekend

After postponing several times, finally I went to meet Nikki, a cousin of mine from Santiniketan. She came to Bangalore last year and is studying in Bishop cotton girls' school. She is a sweet little sis who tries to irritate me and fails miserably ;) I met her near commercial street the day before yesterday. Roamed in Brigade road, had lots of North Indian chat in Cochy's calcutta chat in Brigade road and did some shopping :) Then I went with her to her P.G. house, picked her stuff needed for a day and came back to IISc. She stayed with me in IISc till evening yesterday and then I dropped her back to her P.G. Had an entirely different weekend with her. Showed her around IISc and we took some snaps of my campus. Will upload them soon here.

Joy's MEGA Ride !

Let me tell those who are confused with the name "Joy", this sounds like a girl's name but it's not :) Its 'he' and 'he' is my HUSBAND :D [This confusion about guy/girl name mainly got more prominent in US of A] !

Now that I have introduced you to my husband, I need to tell you few things about this CRAZY person ! He is "The Rider, The Photographer" :) To know more check out his website [http://www.joydutta.com/]. About himself he says "I am a biker by obsession, photographer by passion" and he also says "Live to Ride, Ride to Live" [http://www.orkut.com/ProfileP.aspx?uid=6274223900742522551] ! Now, did you notice something ? You did ! :) I guess, everybody can see his passion and obsession [or should I call it craziness ? ;)] about only two things :) I used to pull his legs saying "Tui to shudhu duto beparei katha bolis [You talk about only two things] !" :D

Well, as if it wasn't enough proof of his craziness, he decided to ride his Kawasaki Concours 1000cc sport tourer from New York, [he was studying here] to California [he is going to join his job in Yahoo, Sunnyvale]. And Finally, he has started his MEGA ride yesterday to make his dream come true. I have been given the responsibility to update his online bike diary so that his friends also can share his adventure :)

Check out http://www.joydutta.com/motorcycling/rides/s2sdiary.html :)

To say finally, he might be crazy about his camera and bike but I am crazy about him even after endless fights that I endure with him :p I miss him very much :( and I am sure he will make his dream come true with beautiful colors :) I believe in him more than I believe in myself !

Back from trekking to Shesha Parvata

I am back from the trek :) It was awesome, simply great ! Though I cribbed a lot during the trek, my fellow trekkers commented, "Her moans and cribs throughout our way up were quite entertaining ;-) but ultimately she led the way to the top." And "Hats off to Priti! Importantly, she has shown great spirit and tenacity" :D That makes me smile from ear to ear :p

I am planning to pen down the experience but I think it will take some time. Meanwhile one of the guys promised that he will write something. He is a photographer and has taken some good shots. Hope to see them soon...

While the travelogue is getting ready, here is the summary of the trek: Trek to Kumara Parvata starts from Subramanya. We left for Subramanya by bus on Friday 11pm. Reached Subramanya at 6am next morning. The trek started at 7am. We trekked up for 5km to reach the check post (10.30am) only to find that we can't go further. Because of Sitaram's incident (my earlier post) an order was issued which prevented the enthusiastic trekkers from going beyond the check post without proper permission during the monsoon. The monsoon is way over but the order has not been withdrawn ! And the person-in-charge of the check post was not ready to let us go without the permission. After sometime another group arrived and they had proper permission letter. We took the phone number of the concerned authority (which btw is very near to IISc and had we known about the arrangement, we could easily have done that) and called them up (luckily we got faint BSNL and Reliance signals). But to our dissapointment, the authority downright denied that they have given permission to any group for the trekking and didnt listen to our requests ! Well, we thought we can look around a little, pitch our tent and enjoy the evening near the check post. However, before surrendering to that idea, we tried one last time. A little bit of coaxing and the person-in-charge agreed saying that we can go with the group having the permission. However, while that group can go ahead and camp on Kumara Parvata, we have to come back to the check post before dark ! Well, better something than nothing. Since we were coming back, we made our bags lighter by leaving the sleeping bags, tent etc in the check post. We took only food and water. The group with the permission letter was getting late having their lunch ! So, we started without them. No problem in doing that, since we were leaving our sleepings bags and tent behind. Without that we cant even think of spending the night on top of the hill ! So finally after wasting two and a half hours we again started our trek. Though our bags were lighter, we were getting tired soon because of the heat and dehydration ! Had to take rest in between, drink water, eat chocolate. We trekked till 4pm, reached Shesha parvata. A nice view of Kumara Parvata (our desired destination) could be seen from there. We rested for 15 mins and then started back for the check post and reached at 6.15pm. It was nearly dark, the sun had already set in. With candlelight and torch we pitched the tent. The sky was crystal clear and we could see lots of stars. Our dinner included bread, cake, guava, apple and milk. It was not even 9pm but we were tired and soon fell asleep.

It was nearly 5am when I suddenly realized the tent shaking ! Well, it was nothing but the howling wind on the mountain. Anyway, our tent was quite strong (we rented it from wildcraft) and realizing that I was safe inside slept off again :) It was 6.45am when I got up. The lighting was superb. We spent the moring time leisurely taking lots of photos. Then, it was time to trek down. It was 9.30am by the time we packed up the tent, had breakfast and were ready to climb down. We thanked the person-in-charge for howmuchever he had helped and started the trek back. 11.30pm we were back to Subramanya, hungry like a hungry lion :) A normal south indian meal tasted awesome ! After we filled our stomach, we were ready to take a bus back to Bangalore. However, it took longer and we were back to Bangalore by 9pm. Back to my room in hostel, I washed myself, soaked the clothes in soap water and retired to my bed with a story book :) It took me a while to feel sleepy :) Tired but not sleepy ! I guess, this is how one feels after spending an usual day...

Photos : http://phansia.fotopic.net/c799224.html

Trek time :)

Going for a trekking today to 'Kumarparvata'. This is the same place where one IIScian, Sitaram, got lost few months back ! I knew him from my previous trek to Anshi National Park (http://phansia.fotopic.net/c586507.html). We were five (Kumar, Ramya, Sitaram, Srinivasan and myself) in that trek. In this trek we was alone and took some trail which he was not supposed to take. Only the native people know the way out of that route and it is visited infrequently ! Donno what led Sitaram to take that route. Everybody, except his father, lost the hope of finding him alive... Kumar, Srinivasan and others went in search of him. Local people also helped but he wasn't found anywhere for 3-4 days ! However, as if to prove his father right, he was found almost after a week - tired, without food for 3-4 days ! This became a news in Bangalore !

Well, I am going to the same place :) But not alone... This time we are four (Kumar, Smarajit, Viswesh and me)... If I dont endup with the same fate as Sitaram's, will update the blog soon ;)

Sad end of the day !

Its so much true: happy and sad moments come one after another just like night followed by day. It can never be always happy for a long strech of time. For the past few days everything was perfect, was having a great time. And then suddenly its gone ! The darker side of life is back again... dont know how long it will last this time. It always happens with me. I know it happens with everybody but one always feels that it happens with him/her. Some things, which you dont like, triggers this beginning of uphappy time. But what can you do ? Its just impossible to change somebody's line of thoughts even if you would want it the most in your life. You can do that to yourself, but you can't force others to do that ! Everybody has their own reasoning, and a quite solid one, for doing or not doing some things. So even if you would want the person to think something differently, you cant do it. We all feel that what we do is always right. At least right to oneself. That's why we do them. But still sometimes some things should be changed. At least when it involves your loved ones ! One should try to forget the past and do something which makes his/her loved ones happier. I believe I would do that if needed. But why is it that not everybody can do it ? Well, the answer might be that not everybody is same. So, even if you want it to change, you can't change it. You can just be sad about these things. THATS ALL !

The Truman Show !

Just finished watching this movie... And I am amazed ! stunned ! It's simply superb... conceiving the idea behind the movie is just WOW !

I was thinkin of goin back to room... told joy would watch the movie later... but somehow couldn't go without seeing the end... and i am glad i finished watching it today itself... jim carrey is great in this movie... now i can go to room and sleep :)

My Bday !

Finally the conference is over. It was a very good conference. Got to know lots of big shots of the tRNA field. Hopefully this will be helpful for my future :D

Had quite a different bday this year ! Conf ended the previous day and they had arranged some different tours for the attendees. One of them was to Belur and Halebid and I immediately opted for this. But I was not sure if I would go as I had already seen those places when Joy's parents came in 2003. We had quite a nice time back then. Some of the memories are still crystal clear :) And I thought it would be nice to revisit those places if I choose to go. And finally I went and I am glad that I went... It was nice to see those exotic sculptures again... took lots of photos :) Will have to upload them sometime.

I am yet to get back to work after this break :( have to finish some work... also planning to go for some trek :D hope this works out pretty soon...

Busy week !

This week has been really busy for me... First my work presentation on 30th, (which, to my relief didnt go that bad) and then the conference on tRNA which started yesterday. I think, this is the first conference I am attending which is involving the weekend also! And so many talks... however, some of them are really good... And I got to know some well known people working in this field. Overall the experience is always good.

Life is going in a cycle...

Today not getting the mood to write much ! but need to write something... have been working almost the whole day! feeling tired also though slept for more than an hour in the afternoon. had a really stupid and bad dream that time... it combined all the movies seen and stories read this week ! but today morning only, was having a very nice dream and didnt feel like getting up. it felt like more than a dream, it felt so real. after i got up, the dream reminded me of some sweet memories from the past. and somehow that made me sad too ! anyway, a dream is only a dream... but sometimes it feels nice.

Life is going in a cycle... sometimes good mood, good time and sometimes bad mood, bad time ! right now, i am unable to understand which condition i am in... not sad, but not very happy either ! listening to old hindi songs... now playing: lambi judai... (http://www.hindilyrix.com/songs/get_song_Lambi%20Judai.html). I love listening to old hindi songs. recently have started listening to english songs too... i never used to enjoy english songs becuase the lyrics was difficult to understand. but now i get the lyrics from net and enjoy the songs :)

Today, will have to sleep early. for the past few days have been missing the breakfast in the mess. and since i have discussion with madam tomorrow, cant go to coffee board if i am late !

working late !

Its beyond 2am ! can't believe i am still working and not feeling sleepy. maybe bcoz of the post-lunch nap. noone is in the lab... everybody has gone to sleep except me !

today i am feeling much lighter that yesterday. yesterday there was some strain working on me ! was feeling very depressed. couldn't chat with joy also properly. today the mood is lighter and we are having some nice conversation. it feels better. waiting for those days when we will be at the same place... no chatting trough gaim/ym but talking face to face. i want to be happy above everything. and i want to have the peace of mind. here i dont have that with all the complications. i hope life with joy, when we are together, will be simpler than the present life.

need to go back to room now. otherwise wont be able to get up tomorrow. need to be in the lab by at least 10am.

Bored !

Today I have started preparing slides for my presentaion, which btw, is on 30th... Its really a boring job ! Have made some ten slides only. I have two more days to finish making the slides as I am going to give a mock presentation to my labmates on Friday. Waiting for next Wednesday when it will be over finally...

Not feeling very sleepy; slept for about two hours in the afternoon. Donno what to do right now ! No mood for making more slides... will do that tomorrow. Maybe will go to room and finish reading the story which i started last night...

Today my younger brother came home. feeling so relaxed... hope the future is brighter for all of us.

This weekend...

Well, this weekend was better than the last one... went to watch the latest HP movie (The Goblet of Fire) in theatre yesterday :) It was good although I had almost forgotten the story... but one thing is true... books, from which the movies are made, are definitely better than the movies (only with few exceptions and i am yet to find one).

Went out for dinner today with my friends. We went to 'kolkata food', a small bengali restaurant... had nice meal there, followed by rasogolla and gulab jamun... then we walked back and it must have been more than 2 kms...

Have got a bad cold ! it got worsened by the AC in the theatre last evening :( had covered myself properly and still couldn't avoid it ! i donno how i am going to get rid of this cold ! bangalore doesn't suit me :((

lately have been thinking what if i was given a chance to go back to my past and make some decisions which wouldnt lead to this life ! for sure, i would have wanted to do two things... one, never accept phd offer of iisc (maybe a project-assistant post and prepare for gre from here, but not a regular student), and two, learn some indian classical dance :) i still wish i had learned that in my university. there was ample of chance but never thought seriously about it at that time. now that i think of it, i feel i have wasted a golden opportunity :( well, life is irreversible... otherwise, i wouldn't have been sitting in this lab now :(( life sometimes is boring here in iisc commuting only between room and mess and lab ! donno what else to do... no going out (except for dinner on some weekends)... i remember my first year and miss that so badly :( life was fun at that time with joy being here. it has never been the same after he left. i remember i was so happy when i got the chance in iisc (of course, never thinking about the consequences which were to come). i donno how we didnt see it coming. sigh... just the thought of all the good times we deserve together but are not having makes me very sad :( and i donno how long i have to be here before that can be achieved ! is it two years ? more than that ? or less ? time will tell...

Too much work followed by a movie :)

Yesterday was a bit hectic day ! had to finish my paper revision... which I did and sent to my Prof. in Kolkata... now waiting for his reply. In the meantime have to do some other work... my work presentation is less than 2 weeks away and I have to do some more work before that. lets see how much I can manage...

Watched 'Indecent Proposal' last night... got so bugged up with the revision that had to take that break. It was a very nice movie... very touchy theme. The lines which impressed me most are:

Diana: "If you ever want something badly, let it go. If it comes back to you, then it's yours forever. If it doesn't, then it was never yours to begin with."

David: "I thought we were invincible. But now I know that the things that people in love do to each other, they remember. And if they stay together, it's not because they forget. It's because they forgive."

Love is hard work !

Joy sent me a link today which he got by googling for 'love is hard work' :) One quote I sent him yesterday inspired him to do this !

anyway, the article titled 'Why Do You Work So Hard?' was a good read... It says "There remains this enormous and wicked sociocultural myth. It is this: Hard work is all there is." One has to read the full article to see what the writer means to say !

I like reading humorous articles too. check out http://www.melvindurai.com/ if you too like humor columns...

Why LJ ?

Blogspot is good, but with one shortcoming... that is 'password protection' ! I want to keep some of my thoughts to myself only and blogspot is no help to that... so the way out is to use Livejournal for that specific purpose :)

Great ! I hope to update both Blogstop and LJ regularly ;)

IMPOSSIBLE !

Was supposed to work and finish off the paper review ! but didn't do anything after dinner :( started chatting with joy (which btw is still going on)... and while doing that updated my profile in orkut :)

Read some very nice quotes today... will post them here sometimes... have used some of them in my profile... I liked this one very much : 'Nothing is impossible, even the word IMPOSSIBLE says I M POSSIBLE' ! what do you say ? one more : 'LOVE is Hard Work, And Hard Work Sometimes Hurts'... yeah true ! and who understands this better than me? and you, joy !

Can you believe this ?

Visit the following site to read an interesting article:
http://nripulse.com/profile_DrKumar.htm

It's Monday again !

Sunday nights are always a little restless for me as I HAVE to get up a little earlier on Mondays. Why ? I have my MUST discussions with my guide at 10AM. But even if I put alarm, invariably I get up late... Today reached the lab at 9.30 and had time enough to make a plot for the discussion which didn't last long because she was busy :) anyway, have to do some other work and get back to her in the afternoon to finish the revision of my paper !

It was very cold last night ! coldest day of this month till now :( i guess its going to be bad this time... and added to that my room is damp ! i was literally shivering in my room. that is the reason dont feel like getting up in the morning... anyway, time to get back to work !

First blog

Writing my first blog ! Have long left the habit of writing... but i guess its time i start it once again... so here i go without knowing at this moment what to write :) its sunday evening with nothin to do ! so passing my time by listening to Jagjit Singh (Badi nazuk hai yeh manzil, mohabbat ka safar hai...).