The Great Escape - Part II

The story continues as promised...

Location - 1st floor, H-8, Tagore Bhavan, SVNIT.

Time - 05.20 am

Situation: Perky. Feeble light starts pouring into the corridors of H-8, stimulating rays of hope among those students who are awake. Encouragingly,other students start rising from their troubled slumber( power is still out... the Quitoes as bloodthirsty as ever). There's more company to look forward to. Nonetheless the hostel seems to be shrouded with dismay. I seem to have overpowered my sleepiness just for the occasion. A few of my friends arise from their siesta and we decide(yet again!) to begin another sojourn to the college gate(if feasible!)


Location - Shit Zone, SVNIT.

Time - 06.00 am

Situation: Desperate. The word used before could be used for the following two cases. 1) The water seems desperate to engulf our college. Shit Zone too has been encroached. The water seems to be flowing at a menacingly rapid pace. It would be only a matter of hours before rescue operations were required( I was day-dreaming about the Army trying to rescue me from the perils of the floods!!).

2) Me and 2 of my friends who set on this sojourn somehow make it up to the staff club without many qualms. A few metres ahead all that we could see was water. The road was nowhere to be seen. But a few people(not students) were spotted trying to move upto the Gate for reasons i couldnt comprehend. These people though werent getting wet simply because they were doing heroics on the median-like structure that separates the main road into 2 lanes. The median is about a metre wide with plants grown in the centre flanked by bricks 1 layer wide. It does take some skill to walk on this 1 brick layer particularly in this situation because there is water(intimidatingly dirty!) on one side and wet soil on the other. The very thought of walking on it seemed revolting to me but my adventurous pals decided to brave the difficulties and we set off despite a reluctant me, DESPERATE to retreat to safer grounds!!!

The walk along the path, as i would put it wasnt without a fair share of thrill. My 2 friends set the pace and i trudged along behind them with a remorseful look. Add to this, 2 dogs coming right behind me( They were not particularly ferocious ones... But i abhor dogs!!) Thankfully people coming from the other side shooed the dogs away. My concentration powers were seemingly at their peak for if i were to put even one foot wrong, things would become nasty(nothing life threatenin of course... but still very nasty... not to mention very dirty!) . As we went forward we noticed that the water was so high that it had even covered the median at 1 point. At this juncture we decided that enough is enough and made our journey back to the staff club. In the end, it proved to be an adventure without many mishaps!!!


Location - AG - 14, H-8, SVNIT.

Time - 06.30 am

Situation: Drab. The hostel isnt exactly buzzing with activity but more doors are open. Many more students are awake now. But its very much early morning blues for most of them. I was bored to the core. I took a bath and lied down to get some well-deserved sleep!!!


Location - Ground Floor, H-8, SVNIT.

Time - 08.30 am

Situation: Irritating. Some idiot(could be one of my friends'!!!) banged on the door without any remorse thereby arousing me from paradise(now... paradise lost!). I didnt exactly arise with a start. It was some time before i actually realized that someone was banging on the door. Once i opened the door the very scene that greeted me was mind-blowing. Every soul in the hostel seemed to be awake. And there were groups of students occupying every inch of the corridors. I couldnt understand for a wee bit of time, what was going on. Then came the enlightening! The water levels had swelled and the water had in fact reached upto a point where the hostel entrance was just a few feet away from the onrushing water. It was just plain scary to think of the rate at which the water had been engulfing the college!


Location - Ground Floor, H-8, SVNIT.

Time - 08.45 am

Situation: Brainstorming. The cell phones kept ringing. Anxious parents calling their wards to enquire about the prevailing conditions. There were rumors of chest high water near the Main Gate. Scores of students could be seen packing there bags with whatever stuff available in the vicinity of their hands. Some of them set on their journey back home. The only viable option of getting out of the college was the Gate at the posterior end of the college. The Main Gate could no longer be treaded upon. My fellow Chennaiites were undecided upon the further course of action. There were all sorts of suggestions and arguments to support them but nothing seemed to be concrete. This pointless banter went on and on and on without any sort of solution coming!


Location - Mess, H-8,SVNIT.

Time - 10.00 am

Situation: Hungry. Suddenly people realize that they are hungry(I had been hungry for a long time!!) and the mess bell rings to everyone's relief! The mess manager assures that this is the last meal they will provide as the water supply has been cut off!!! People start to panic more, the phones continue to keep ringing, the students continue to keep leaving!! But we, the Chennaiites(the Tamils actually!) continue to maintain the position of confusion and entropy.


Location - Ground Floor, H-8, SVNIT.

Time - 10.30 a.m

Situation: Out of Control. We the Tamils are still in a state of delirium(a strong word!!), as the water keeps coming towards to the hostel. The entrance to H-8 has 7 or 8 steps to climb before we get into the hostel and the water has already come as far as the 1st step. Time seems to be running out. At long last a decision is made by us, the Tamils. We decide to set forth to Bombay(a decision taken despite the floods in Bombay too!!). There are lots of things to be done before we can actually set forth(especially for ground floorers like me.. it meant shifting all my things to the 1st floor!!).


Location - Entrance, H - 8, SVNIT.

Time - 11.30 am.

Situation: Thrilling. After much deliberations our decision came and it would prove to be a quotable case of a stitch in time saves nine!!! We set off on our voyage(literally... wading through the waters!!!) to get off the college campus. News had come in that the posterior Gate was the only way to get out of the campus. So we the Tamils( with the Mallus and a few Kannadigas too!!) started a perilous walk in the water. The straight forward route was via Hostels 1, 2 and 3 but as we could see the water along this road was at least thigh high, climbing upto the waist at certain points. Hence we decided to take a longer route around the Shit Zone, Canteen, H-5,H-6 and SAC. At this juncture there was another turning point. Some of the guys came to the conclusion that the journey out of college would be a wasteful exercise and returned to the hostel. There were also rumors that since Bombay too was reeling under floods, trains were being cancelled etc. But we the Tamils stuck to our decision to get out of the college and braved the rumors, the waters, the wildlife in the water which included snakes, spiders, insects and other 6 to 8 legged horrifying creatures!! The road to safety, in our minds was just a few hundred metres away set with a series of obstacles though.


Location - Away from Perdition, Behind SVNIT.

Time - 12.30 pm

Situation: Nonplussed. Just as we were leaving the campus we were greeted by the cameras and a guy holding a mike talking about the floods in Surat. The reception was not what we expected. We were curious for a few minutes and we wished for a few seconds in the silver screen. But it didnt turn out that way and we set off for the original and primary goal... SURAT RAILWAY STATION.


The adventure comes to an end here... All of us who set off from the college that day made it to our respective homes within the next 24 hours or so... It was the first time i( many others too) had experienced floods in my life and it is one experience i will never forget... It will remain a cherished memory forever in the annals of time!!!

Thanks for reading through.....

The Great Escape!

This entry is based on a true story. Some incidents/names may have been conveniently neglected.

Read on!

Location: The Main Gate, SVNIT, Surat.

Situation: Grim. Monday 7th August,Time - 20.30 IST.

Students(like me) throng the gate looking for ways to escape the onrushing water.But there were others(students,of course,the real "engineers") who were at the gate trying to work out the speed at which water was entering the college and were thinking of ways to build a barricade in order to prevent the water from entering the hostels.

Location - The Canteen, SVNIT, Surat.

Time - 20.45 IST.

Situation: Closed. I mean the canteen is closed. Ran into a few seniors of mine. Talked jovially for some time about the floods that were engulfing Surat and in particular, SVNIT. Came up with all sorts of weird ideas to get out of college but nothing seemed particularly logical. For, what everyone seemed to think of, was an exit via the Main Gate, which by that time had become highly improbable due to reports(rumours??) of chest high water in a place called Sargam Shopping Center which stands a few hundred metres from SVNIT.

Location - Hostel No.- 8, Tagore Bhavan, SVNIT.

Time - 21.30 IST.

Situation: Tense. Every imaginable cell phone seems to be ringing. Or someone is on the line already talking with his parents.The whole hostel seems to be in a quandry. Students perambulating here and there without any reason. Insects flying all over the place. Stray dogs wandering around without a semblance of any notion. It looked as though the hostel had pressed a gigantic panic button!!! And then comes the lethal blow. That thing the whole hostel had been dreading. Pardon me its not the water. But it was the failure in electricity supply.Everything comes to a standstill. The hostel plunges into darkness. And then the unthinkable happens. The power is back as fast as it went.The hostel is back to its noisy best. The drone of the insects. Everything seems to back to normal(or is it abnormal??).

Location - Hostel No.- 8, Tagore Bhavan, SVNIT.

Time - 21.35 IST.

Situation: On Cloud Nine! The brief setback received by the students is taken in the stride. Things seem to be going normally.And then the unthinkable happens. Again! The power supply goes off again. The hostel bears a saturnine feel all of a sudden. There is an unmistakable, eerie silence prevailing through out the hostel. Students now find it impossible to sleep. The mosquitoes attacked like a Mongolian horde. Armed with a hiss-like noise they invaded the ears of those lying on their beds.Everyone trying to sleep were singularly made to wake up by the attack of the Quitoes. Nothing could stop them. No one could beat them to pulp with their fists simply because they couldnt see them. Encouraged by the success of the mosquitoes other insects followed suit with varying degrees of success. But for humans, the situation was sadly worse than grim.

Location - The Terrace of Hostel No.- 8, Tagore Bhavan, SVNIT.

Time - 21.45 IST.

Situation: Sang-froid. Incorrigible optimists(Ha! Ha!) continued to remain in their rooms thinking that God would bestow them with power(huh... i mean electricity!).Realistic students realized the depth of the shit they were in and decided to leave their rooms for the pleasures of the terrace. The terrace also had its fair share of problems but they could all be overcome, for, there was not a single individual on the terrace,but groups of studs discussing crazy things amidst a probable life or death situation. There were reports flooding in stating that,the girls hostel had already been broached by the floods. BSNL also started sending messages requesting people to take aid in shelters 20 feet above ground level.Reality was starting to get harsh but students bore a major brunt of it without much trouble.

Location - "Shit Zone", SVNIT.

Time - 02.10 IST.

Situation: Adrenalin-pumping. People feel the need to sleep however terrible the situation seems to be and that's how it turned out for a majority of the hostelites. Despite the gruelling conditions(remember the Quitoes and the power cut) students started to sleep without any ado.Within minutes over 80% of the hostel fell asleep leaving a select few like me to ponder over, what happens next. The time i felt was ripe for an adventure, so, me and 2 of my friends set off from the Hostel. We braved the dangers of the "Shit Zone"(a notorious place where crows gather and keep dropping shit on passers-by) and managed 2 get as far as the Library.The situation looked as though it hadnt worsened, for, the water hadnt encroached a lot of territory. As we came back to the dastardly "S.Zone" we realized that we had overlooked the water approaching from the left flank.We understood that the water in fact wasnt coming through the straightforward main road but had taken a route through the staff quarters and girls hostel.Till that point of time, i had never experienced floods in my life nor had i known that floods had brains!!!

Location - AG-14, Hostel No. - 8, Tagore Bhavan, SVNIT.

Time - 02.30 IST.

Situation: Boring. My friends bade me goodbye and dozed off in their rooms. No one else in hostel was awake except me so it was time for me to sleep as well. I tried and tried and tried for a long time but my efforts were in vain. I just couldnt close my eyelids in the presence of those marauding Quitoes.It was the most boring time i had ever experienced in hostel. Nearly 2 hours passed in my efforts to sleep.

Location - The Terrace of Hostel No.- 8, Tagore Bhavan, SVNIT.

Time - 04.30 IST.

Situation: Still Boring. I made my way up to the terrace again in the hope of finding someone awake. Thankfully i found a few friends of mine in the terrace.We discussed the reasons behind the loss of sleep and decided that we needed to get mosquito coils asap!! Asap in this case meant a few hours at least, therefore, sleeping again was an option that was ruled off, by default. We came to a decision that it was time again to check out the "flood-like" situation in the college and we set forth on yet another journey.

Location - "Shit Zone", SVNIT.

Time - 05.00 IST.

Situation: Sleepy. As we set forth on the journey we noticed an unusually bright flame from the ONGC refinery. We actually mistook it for the sunrise but soon realised that the sun rises from the east and not from the west!!We made our way through the dark road hoping that no1/thing pounces on us. Thankfully nothing pounced on us. But the spread of the water, as we noticed, was nothing short of relentless. The "Shit Zone" had been encroached upon by the water. Hostels 5 and 6 were already flooded. It was all just a matter of time before the whole campus went under water.....

(To be concluded)....

I-ran, " I(We are) am so scared!!!"

I must acknowledge that i am not an IAEA weapons inspector... I dont hold any grudge against the Americans... I must also accept the grim fact that i do not possess any political clout in the USA or anywhere in the world...

But its high time people woke up....

Iran is a Muslim country( i think it is!!) with a real hardliner at the helm of affairs...
His name is Ahmedinejad... Mahmoud Ahmedinejad... A few of his quotes will make anyone wake up(Even me sitting in the most boring of engineering lectures!!)... Exempli gratia: Israel must be destroyed... Israel must be removed from the world map... Either he's really serious or he is downright crazy.... Thats not for me to decide...

Ahmedinejad has this nagging tendency to make fiery speeches in front of huge crowds thereby drawing lots of publicity...He openly declares that Iran have restarted their nuclear program... This brings in the USA into the picture... The USA starts playing the role of the "Universal Policeman" again... They ask Iran to shut down their nuclear plants... Ahmedinejad continues to defy the US and goes ahead with his program claiming the processes involved are only for the generation of nuclear power...

The US continues to poke its abnormally long nose into the affairs of Iran... There has been no solution so far... Ahmedinejad as ever continues to tread a very dangerous path... Goofy George keeps threatening Iran with the usual unilateral military action... Because they know that no other country will support strikes against Iran( at least thats my opinion!!) The United Nations(of America!!!!) promises to send its team of weapons inspectors to Iran in order to keep a check on the development of nuclear weapons... They are doing their usual stunts trying to prove they are not "puppets" of the USA which is what the UN is, in reality...

Pretty recently Ahmedinejad shifted a bit from his staunch anti-West, anti-US stand by shooting off a letter to the US president..The letter is supposed to be an effort of appeasing the US stand on Iran... It promises that Iran does not intend to develop nuclear warheads... Ahmedinejad has played a deft trump card here... The letter gives ample proof for other countries to overrule any action that the US can take in the Security Council... But this also means that Iran gets time... And could go the North Korea way... These people overcame the US sanctions et al to develop several warheads against the wishes of the US... The US has surprisingly been making Iran a bigger issue than the Koreans who in fact have the real warheads....

Perhaps that is the crux of the issue... Triggering action against the North Koreans could actually lead to nuclear war... And Iran which has no warheads is still only a fledgling nuclear nation.. The US could make use of the Iranian oil before they actually start making the warheads... Sounds plausible...


A few days back i also came across a cartoon in the Hindu which i think might actually be true..It was extremely well crafted... The cartoon expressed in words goes this way... It shows a guy entering the room of the US President with a 18 page letter in his hand( Ahmedinejad's letter is that long!).. Mr. Bush on seeing the letter says that he has never received a 18 page letter from anyone in his life and that he will not read such a long letter... It might be the actual case... I dont know..

If US plans to attack Iran all i can say is all the best!!! But just be beware... First it was Vietnam Then it was Iraq... Perhaps Iran is due next.... Well i meant the drubbing that the USA received at the hands of other countries!!!

Demo of Democracy in India!!

Well it must be a billion years before the earth came into existence... And i think thats the last time i ever blogged.... Is it really so long?? Well not that long but long enough.... So u can consider this entry of mine as "a magnum opus" for some time.... I am still undecided on what to write.... Ok... Its time to enter one area i have never touched upon but i have been much fascinated by it... Make way for my entry into politics ( literally... at least gimme room to blog on it!!!)

India widely regarded as the world's largest democracy holds elections every year i think... There are elections for MP's, MLAs', Mayors' n what not...India's government at the Centre is elected for every 5 years but invariably some party pulls out of the govt after a year or so, true to its "secular" credentials or due to its election manifesto which must have stated clearly that either the govt allots it 10 ministers or we are out of the coalition within the next 10 mins ... Indian political parties with their leaders are the best set of negotiators the world can ever produce... Can handle any sort of deal...

Here's an idea of what democracy in India feels like....

- First atrocity is the multi - party system... There are atleast 6 or 7 parties contesting the elections in each state... Often noone gets the majority and there is a hung assembly...

- So we have a 2nd election where they again spend thousands of crores for some stupid candidate(s) who's spent half his life in jail... IF he loses he's sent to jail... Isn't it??

- When its election time each party campaigns for its candidates thereby spending huge amounts of money( where did it all come from??? ) to get to power... And all that for an MLA's post which does not give too much returns... You get a 5 digit salary and a lot of allowances but nothing compared to a top IT job i guess... Anyways spending lakhs of rupees for just getting a rather meagre salary is not why they wanna become a MLA...

- So whats the reason for becoming a MLA??? To serve the people.... Well i guess thats what the Constitution or some other Institution says... So do they really serve the people??? The only thing that they do is forget the constituency they stood in.... So what do they do? They swindle money from the MLA's fund for the constituency and not to mention the regular bribes from bigwigs and others... No wonder they are able to recover the campaign costs so quickly!!!

- And then each party comes up with a so-called manifesto where they pledge to do some great things for the improvement of the people... the state.. the country... what not?? they might even start pledging a fund against alien invasion... So what is the manifesto?? IT is a collection of papers that is thrown into the garbage once the election gets over... Nice definition right??

- Apart from the promises in the manifesto the parties make other promises... Significant promises which are actually implemented to an extent... But goes awry after sometime because some rival party finds out a shady deal in it.... For eg in the recent election in TN... DMK has promised rice at 2 rs a kg... A free TV etc... So the ADMK retorts with a 10 kg free rice offer... And to top it all.... Free Computers for students passing out from the 12th Std.... All this money comes from the govt supposedly.... Where did it come from right before the election???

-The people's mandate is another element that adds a comic touch to the elections especially in TN... For the past 4 or 5 elections or so no party has retained power after a term in power... 2001- ADMK where the winners... 1996- DMK where tyhe winners... 1991- ADMK where the winners... and so on... SO what does this imply??? The people make their choice by cancelling 1 party... And that too by the method of Inky Pinky Ponky Father Had a Donkey... Hope u remember... Luckily( for ADMK!!) a majority of them somehow cancelled DMK out in 2001 so ADMK came to power!!!

- Election Results.... Would have been real fun... But the Election Commission decided to introduce Electronic Voting Machines... Sadists....Have denied fun for the people by introducing Technology into elections....

- Post Elections.... The party that comes into power does some really noble acts....

1st thing that they do is put the Opposition leaders in jail and claim it NOT to be an act of revenge... Cool nah??? If you have a real bad enemy... ITs high time u joined politics...

Then what happens??

And then they(politicians in power!!) live happily ever after!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

People??

Keep waiting for the next election.... The Opposition leaders have already started promising a golden era once they are re-elected!!

The Dogs Bark, But..... The Caravan goes on....

Well when it comes to watching some Cricket involving India, particularly ODIs.... In the hostel TV room of course i am reminded of the above mentioned proverb.... THE DOGS BARK BUT THE CARAVAN GOES ON.... Let me explain a bit more in detail...

I was a bit surprised when i read a few days(or weeks..) back that the sub continent has one of the most educated crowds... That literally means people know the cricket they are watching... I was all the more surprised to see that the writer of the article wasn't some TOI dumbo but an accomplished cricketer- Bobby Simpson.... He had further written that Australia had one of the worst crowds... I don't know whether the things that he had written came directly from his brain.... I feel that the article was written more with money on mind rather than the actual thing that it had to contain....

Anyways my doubts regarding that article were confirmed ( actually yet again!!) in the hostel TV room... The 31st of March saw India taking on the English in Faridabad.... The English had put up a modest total of 226.... India were off to a very decent start with both Sehwag and Gambhir getting off to good starts.... India were 61 without loss at the end of 13 overs i think... Chasing 226... Thats a very comfortable way to chase against any team in the world... There were no murmurs of disapproval or anything of the negative sort going on within the TV Room... The opening duo were providing enough entertainment...

Then came the 1st wicket... Sehwag fell to a rather ordinary ball.... His poor form stretches longer... The TV Room goes bang with a bang "Oooooooooooooooooooo!!! Shit..... Salah.... Or something of that sort!!!"... A few balls later Gambhir commits suicide by playing a half hearted shot that no cricket lover would wish to see.... I dont think even the bowler would have seen the replay again!!! If some one gets out in that way there is a reason for the people to get angry... Thats what happens exactly in the TV Room.... Already a few of them are rising up from their seats... India are 70 for 2.... Still very much in the game...

Then the skipper goes in a rather awkward way... Tries to scamper for a non existent single... Run Out...India 72-3... It is here that i started feeling really let down by the people in the TV room.... The English bowlers were bowling a very tight line and length giving away very few opportunities for the batsmen to score runs... No wonder Dravid had scored just 5 runs of 23 balls and after the fall of Sehwag India had scored onl 17-18 runs in 8 or 9 overs.... Runs were coming at a premium... Dravid has been the mainstay of the team for a long time now... But once his wicket fell people actually REJOICED in the TV room... For the sole reason that he had been playing slowly... Not that he wanted to play in that manner...

What most people in India is action all the time... They want the batsmen to keep on scoring or the bowlers to keep on taking wickets... Which is possible only against a team like Kenya i suppose... One cant expect that to happen an English even if its a depleted one...

Then came the next blow.... Kaif comes in... Defends 5 balls solidly... Then gets lbw plumb in front to a ball that keeps pretty low... A ball he would have easily put away if it hadn't been for the uneven bounce of the pitch... Kaif too has been going through a lean patch of late... India are 80-4.... And suddenly the TV room is nearly empty... There are just 6-8 people watching the match.... And those people watching are the ones who make me really pissed off... They are the ones who act as though playing cricket is the easiest thing to do in the world... Though i have never seen them play cricket till now....

India are 80-4 as i said... The remaining people in the TV room are now actually supporting England... When India were 61-0 these were exactly the people who were shouting Go! India Go!! or something of that sort... And suddenly when India were down in the dumps they start calling for the heads of those who failed... Not that they are going to be dumped ...

This shows how poorly educated our supporters are( educated-- in terms of cricket!!)...They support India when we are going great guns... And desert them once they are in a disastrous situation... In local lingo people who score goals in both the sides of the field... :) And just think of that article written by Bobby Simpson... Recently even, MS Dhoni complained of lack of support to the team...

People dont realise that the present Indian team is going through a phase of rebuilding... They have lost Ganguly, Tendulkar and a lot of other senior players recently... But still they have performed very creditably at least in the ODIs... India have won their last 6 ODI's and 14 of the last 18... And they have won 14 ODI's in succession while chasing targets... Thats not a bad record at all... And as far as Tests are concerned... India have been putting a decent show... In the last 3 Test series' they have won 1, lost 1 and drawn 1...

Despite all these decent results there is always pressure on the team to perform... People want them to win all the time... Though they know very well that its not possible.... Still every time India lose people call for the players to be dropped... Such is the expectation that people have on the players...

And i am very concerned to see that though this state has been producing a huge chunk of the Indian fast bowlers in recent times, the knowledge of cricket in general is very poor... The main reason i got pissed off is because of people from this state... And one more thing i noticed was that most of the guyz changing sides where ones, who belong to the branch that Rocks!!!

No kidding guys... Dont worry MEN IN BLUE... The Dogs Bark... But the Caravan WILL MOVE ON!!!!

Kane and Abel

Kane and Abel by Jeffrey Archer was the 1st book i read after a barren spell in which i could touch nothing but academic stuff.... Started reading it on Saturday and finished reading it yesterday... This was my first read of a Jeffrey Archer book and there is no reason for me to stop reading his novels... Kane and Abel was a compelling read... You just cant stop turning the pages.... In short, its ADDICTIVE!!

Me being an amateur in the field of reading novels felt from the very beginning that it was one meant to be finished off as soon as possible... I hadn't heard of many favourable reviews of Archer's works but he's been a famous author nonetheless with his own share of controversies( I think he was sentenced to a reasonable term in jail!!) I started off as i had literally no other options left, except for an imperious 700 page book on World War II which had such a tiny font that it would have taken a few years for me to complete...

The book deals initially with the lives of the 2 protagonists, Kane and Abel, in their youth.... The book is divided into 7 parts if i remember right, with each part describing the events taking place in the lives of the protagonists in a particular time span... William Lowell Kane is born, son of millionaire parents who's family has been into banking since his grandpa's time... Abel is born in a village of Poland as Wladek Koskiewicz who loses his mom while giving birth and is fostered by a poor family... Both of them excel in studies and find very few rivals to compete with...

Life then changes drastically for Wladek who finds himself ruined after the devastation of Poland in World War I... He loses his friends, relatives and everyone he knows and is frisked away to a camp in Russia... He escapes from the camp with the help of a stranded doctor and makes his way to Turkey... In Turkey he's on the verge of death, but is saved by the British Embassy officials who then transfer him to the Polish Embassy...

All this time William Kane has had the luxury of spending quality time with his friends... He also makes a handsome sum of money through his shrewd investments... But his father also dies in the sinking of the Titanic... William is groomed as the heir to his father's bank and he rarely disappoints....

Abel meanwhile makes his way to the USA with the help of the Polish officials... He grows climbing up the ladder in the US...

What happened then?? What was the relation between Kane and Abel?? Is it a story about 2 friends who make it big in life?? Or is it a story that concerns a bitter rivalry???

All these are for u to read and find!!! As i said before this is a must read!!! Try to lay your hands on it whenever you get the opportunity!!!

A very poor entry... I know... I have been running outta ideas of late... So please do suggest a few ideas!!!

Choiceless Childless Choices( Tagged!!)

This is yet another personal post which i am doing just because 1 of my fellow college blogger's

S.L.N.Chaitanya

has requested me to rise to the occasion and write about a girl( yes, i am straight!!) who i would prefer as my life partner... I must thank him for giving me an opportunity, at last, to use my brains for such a noble but of course meaningless purpose..

Eight qualities for my MS.PERFECT seems to be a bit on the higher side but god willing i shall put my brains to this difficult test... And hopefully come off with flying colours!!!

Here goes!!!

1) Must have a fair complexion
2) Tamil speaking
3) Long hair
4) A decent ability to sing( Don ask me why!!!)
5) Fairly intelligent and smart!!
6) One who can understand my way of life and move along with me!!
7) Must have some knowledge of football or any sport in general!!
8) A not-so-religious girl!!(Thats asking too much... as most tamil people are highly religious and never fail to wake up in order to worship their deity.. But well i can always wish for 1 who departs from the tried and tested routine... can't i??)

Those elite people of the supposedly " soft" gender who get to read this blog( I put it as elite because i know i serve only a few clients!!) , please take this up as a challenge... I will settle for a girl who has only 6 of the above mentioned 8 qualities( or is it rarities??)... If you are still lagging behind the benchmark don't worry... There's plenty of time left... You know i am just 19 years old... So all you femme fatales have time aplenty to achieve the goals i have set...

So are you game??

Since this involves passing on the baton to eight different people, i hereby declare those unfortunate souls to be as follows:

Sidin Vadukut ( I know he isn't reading!!)
Krishna Prakash
Manu Raveendran
Rithwik K
Sandeep Prakash
Vivekanand Muthukrishnan
Sanjeev PCH (He's too sensitive... Hope he puts up a good entry on this stupid subject!!)
Anubhav Agarwal

Come on people... I have passed on the baton... The blog's in your court now!!!

I still have a valid doubt... Does any female read my blog??? If yes please do post some comment!!!