#EE - Curtains Down

Its been quite some time since I have written about electrical engineering. I graduated in the summer of 2015 (after the Kheerganga trek). The final year project didn't turn out to be the showstopper that we had aspired to create, it couldn't even be called a show for that matter. However, all things done, bruised and battered, I was able to graduate with a respectable score.

The convocation was held in the December of 2016 where the dates tied with my civil services mains exam making me skip the entire celebration. My friends and batchmates were gracious enough to flood Facebook with their photos adding to my misery. I collected my degree a month later - on the 4th of January completing the process of me officially becoming an Engineer! (Three cheers!)

The Degree!

I parted ways with electrical engineering when I began preparation for the civil services. A lot of water has flown in the Ganges since then. I may have become a stranger to the details of the subject, yet am a follower of the same path. Moreover, its an Electrical Engineer that writes now not just another undergraduate.

This concludes the chapter on electrical engineering in my life. I look forward to a more exciting phase in the near future.

Till then, a toast to the subject, electrical engineering!

Fountain of Love

“A fountain of joy, hidden in the woods!”

Proclaimed the one-eyed old man.

Seven and ninety years I have made merry,

And lived as God in paradise can.

“For me”, goes the southerner all clad in blue.

“‘Twas the fountain of youth

In caves, I searched a century ago.

Today, I strut around an un-ripened fruit.”

"Ha! My lads, I know the secret of wealth

Deep in the jungles lies a fountain

I will say no more," a third sniggered

"Save that it rests on a golden mountain."

The innkeeper smiles at the boasting men

He remarks at their playful volley

"Gentlemen", he protests, "What about love?

Be there a fountain for such a sweet folly?"

Silence reigns, and a strain is heard

As silhouettes frame the window beside

A couple in the moonlight caught in a dance

Clinging, unaware of the viewers inside.

Hold me tight, don’t let me go

I’ll be yours forever my dear

No fountain shall hold such water

Like the love you sprinkle right here

This valentine's. Happy Valentine's Day. May all of you find love and happiness with each waking moment! :)

Here's a beautiful song for the moment:

La Vie En Rose (Cover) 

Note: All rights for the video rest with the musician. You can contact them on their Youtube channel: Daniela Andrade

An Upstream Story

For long we have been entertained by the lives and memoirs of Defence personnel and their kids ("Army/Air Force/Navy Brats") but rarely has someone shed light on the lives of civilians living in similar locations (though not as taxing) in the remote regions of the country.

I have lived a lot of my life (or rather the early part of my life) in the NHPC colonies in locations ranging from the Eastern Himalayas to the Kumaon Himalayas. I am if you would say an "Energy brat!" (borrowing from my brethren who have grown up with the defence background). Now, for those who don't have a clue, NHPC stands for National Hydropower Corporation. In simple terms, these people build dams on water and then generate electricity. If we stop and consider the previous statement for a bit and remember Geography from our Grade IX textbooks, it'll come as no surprise that NHPC's endeavours are centred around the Great Himalayas or "The Storehouse of Water". The thought of the Himalayas will certainly conjure up a beautiful image for you with majestic mountains rising tall, crowned with snow stretching to the zenith as to the endless horizons on both sides. However, for us they mean a little more than that. For, they are a symbol of a life-bond that we share for having spent some of the most beautiful times in them. 

While life in remote locations might be tough, we get some of the most amazing opportunities not so easily available to the average Indian. It is one thing to visit the 'exotic north east' once, it is quite another experience to live there for over five years. While a visitor gets to indulge in the local customs and traditions for a bit, we are soaked in this culture. As day to day interactions go, a bond is developed not only with the local populace but with people from all over the country who have joined the organization. There isn't much of entertainment in the modern sense in these areas and the prospects of eating out are nil. So, our fun consists (or did) of the regular get-togethers and picnics by the river side. A big dinner for everyone on a child's birthday held at the club is the highlight of the month. Festivals play a very important role -both regional and the more popular ones. Dressing up in traditional garb (even tribal clothes) and dancing to the melodious tunes from instruments that are alien to the eye is a beautiful episode that we cherish for a really long time.

Life is not all dance and merry-making. Troubles and difficulties abound. Apart from the treacherous routes that one must traverse to reach these locations (in a lot of cases), the connectivity on all fronts is quite poor. I know of an instance when in a location in Arunachal Pradesh, a person had to drive 30 kilometres to reach a point where there was a telephone connection! (this is a story from not so long ago). Not to mention interactions with militants - One incident occurred while we were in Loktak, Manipur. My mother was in-charge of the Project school and there was to be a flag hoisting (as there normally is) on Independence Day. On the 14th of August, militants carrying guns (mom says Big Guns!) arrived at the school and warned her not to go ahead with the flag hoisting the next day. They also paid a visit to our home and warned my father for the same (He was at home in the morning, his shift wasn't till later). The person who was to officiate at the flag hoisting decided to stay away seeing the threats and locked himself up somewhere safe. However,with utter disregard for the warnings the flag was hoisted, sweets were distributed and the children sent home, all at 5 a.m.! and that was that. It was here that several instances of firing between security forces and militants occurred during our stay. 

There are many such anecdotes to narrate and one can only reminisce as one lives in the hustle and bustle of the big city. Even though I have grown up now and am moving ahead with my life, I would love to return to a project, preferably in J&K or Himachal to enjoy the simplicity and fun of the life of the people upstream!

Nimoo Bazgo HEP , J&K 

Photo credit : Wikipedia

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I haven't been able to attach any photographs as none of them are in digital format and the ones I have are still packed in a carton somewhere in the store.

Dr. Kalam's Greatest Contribution to the nation : My thoughts

A little over two months have passed since the people's President Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam breathed his last. Today is his birth anniversary, a day when millions not only in India but the world over are paying homage to one of the greatest sons of the nation. He is recognized as the face of India's missile program and the controversial nuclear tests which cemented the arrival of India as a nuclear power on the world stage.

His achievements are too many to count for at this stage. A few of the more well known ones include his tenure as Project Director for ISRO's Rohini launch aboard the Satellite Launch Vehicle (SLV-III) and as Chief Executive of the Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme (IGMDP). For those unaware of the IGMDP, the programme includes development of the Prithvi, Akash, Trishul and Nag Missiles. The successful Pokhran-II tests saw his fame soar to new heights. These and many more stars dot his glittering career culminating in his election to the Presidency of the nation. 

Elected as the 11th President of the Republic of India, it was here that the next phase of his career began which by far has resulted in the biggest impact on lives all over. A few knew Kalam, the Missile Man, a bit more - Kalam, the nuclear scientist but it was Kalam, the President who influenced more people all around the globe than any of his achievements before. It was his ability to inspire generations with his words and deeds that even today he stands out as an icon for the youth to follow. His is not a story of rags to riches, but that of a poor boy from a small town who changed the very face of the nation and its standing in the world. The fact that his personal belongings only reflect the bare essentials that one needs gives us an example to emulate in our personal lives. No, he wasn't neglected by the state and neither did he have to spend a life in penury. He was a man dedicated to the nation, to public service and to rouse the young generation. There is no denying the fact that he was a 'jewel of the nation' a Bharat Ratna! 

A service to the nation, a service that transformed India's defence capabilities radically, a service that inspired 1.3 billion citizens of the country and millions of others, to that service I pay homage. To that man, I can only say that :

Sir, 

Your life speaks volumes even after your death. It is your hard work, that I take inspiration from. It is your humility and unparalleled dedication that serves as a reminder for me to give a little more each day in order to achieve my goals and to serve the society. It is the utmost friendliness that you demonstrated even in crowds of hundreds that showed me the value of being nice, of helping people and of  smiling. Tomorrow, I look to don my wings of fire as I take off into the world and script my life. Here, I hope to be of service to the nation and the society and when I look up for guidance, I hope to be led by the values that you have left behind.

Thank you for everything Dr. Kalam!

I suggest  that everyone who still hasn't read Dr. Kalam's works should give them a try. I list his works below:

• Wings of Fire 
• India 2020
• Ignited Minds

There are more, but these are the ones (except the last one, which is on my To-Read list) that I have read and found highly informative and inspiring. Why not add them to your 52 week, 52 books challenge?

Picture credit: A P J Abdul Kalam Wikipedia Page

Why Do I Blog?

After my daily dose of Quora and taking a break from the regular and mundane, I decided to review my blog last night. It has been five years since I began blogging on 'Deconstructing the Half-constructed' and it seems that the deconstruction has gone at a snail's pace. A mere five and forty posts over a span of its existence really made me think as to why do I still write here? I was confused. For one. the blog did not have a central theme (it appeared thus!) and there was no coherency - just hops and jumps! I remembered all those well structured blogs that I follow and envy reared its head. The childishness of the past seemed like a rebuke on the seriousness of today. The summary seemed quite disheartening.

While I looked for reasons, I began re-reading everything I had written over all these years. These posts invariably drove home the point. My expressions bore fruit as I relived those moments again. The joys of the past somehow elbowed past all that was rotten. It felt good to be there once more. This gave new meaning to my blogging. Here, I write, 

To express happiness, I scribble

With a tinge of sadness, I write

On boundless love, I compose

To nudge a thought, I opine

and to cherish a memory, I blog!

So, I continue to blog and add treasures to the book of life!

Confronting the question, as to which post would I consider as my favourite, I'll say there are so many that listing them here becomes irrelevant. You should stop being lazy (Look who's talking or rather typing?) and explore the blog to find out more.

P.S. For all those who care, the childishness still remains (Some things never change, I guess!)

A pinch of Uttarakhand: Kumaon

Having already written an ode to the most beautiful place on earth (jealously guarded opinion) i.e. Nainital, this time I wish to go beyond and step into the hills and vales of the beautiful land that is Kumaon -my homeland

Mere words are unjust, I hear the songs fall short,

As they recount the beauty of the land - Kumaon.

Young mountains strive to best their own,

Hidden from sight, valleys and creeks swarm below.

I look further, like majestic turrets of a fort,

Carry caps of snow and glisten gold.

Ponds, lakes and waterfalls too,

Marks of beauty in hues of green and blue.

Smudges of clouds painted above,

Affectionately placed by the Creator with love.

Hush, the scenery lies, a hum is heard,

Nestled in the flora, a beautiful bird.

I stand rooted as into the unknown, it takes off. 

Mesmerised by the beauty of the Abode of the Gods.

Reflections from the Naini Lake

A view of the Snow-capped Himalayas from Ranikhet - Almora Road

An inscription kept outside a Hotel in Almora

View from Dolma, Almora

All photos taken on the trip home, to Ranikhet-Almora-Nainital

Get you to smile, maybe

I'll sing you a song

whistle a soft tune or,

rustle up a new melody, maybe.

Tinker with some tools; tall

build you a castle, in line

decorated with roses and lilies, maybe.

Call the circus, host a show fine

Make the clowns go round a-round

Jump on the trapeze, break a leg, maybe

Voyage with the treasure map, bound

in search of pirates' gold, you at the wheel

'Aye, aye Captain!' I'll shout, maybe

Or simply , with a promise, I shall kneel

and hold you close, gentle after;

get you to smile, maybe.

Like A Red Rose

#This29th

Beauty like the red rose

brimming; A scene, spectacular to behold.

Enchanting, withholding but, pulling close

My lady, I see  like the blossomed red rose

In eyes, precious. A smile pure gold,

Seems a fairy tale, in a joyous and dreamy abode.

Lose a beat or two( O! Yes!) as she looks my way

My lady, a beauty ,more than a blossomed rose.

Image Courtesy : Google Images

# EE - Summing Up Two Years

Decisions – the triggers of forks in the journey of our lives. A right decision today could propel you into a successful world and one in the wrong direction can send you tumbling down to the sunken depths of hell.

But wait! Let us lay philosophical doodling aside and come to the discussion at hand – Electrical Engineering – two years gone, two to go (O! God!)

Many have pointed at a small splatter on the pages of my life history, centered somewhere around July 2011. I answer their raised eye brows with a shrug and the hopefully meaningful phrase “’Cuz I wanted to!”

“But why Electrical Engineering? “they press on shamelessly.

And I meet their eyes with a small shrug and move on.

Electrical Engineering - A diverse field of engineering studies that deals with electromagnetic phenomenon and their applications in everyday life.I guess this line just about sums it up. So far, so good. It has been a tough ride, tougher than most (I guess!). The course has been hard to crack and the professors harder (True!) . Though the going has been tough, roughing it has been interesting and fun in itself. Another unfortunate thing that plagues me is the fact that I never seem to score good in subjects I like and vice - versa! It happened in school and hasn't ceased since. But, let us not drift off the beaten path (or rather the path that beat us). Here are some of my experiences with the subjects so far :

#Basic Electrical Sciences

Average. Still the toughest subject in your first year. The simplest laws had me reeling in pain (proverbial). 

#Electronic Devices and Circuits + Linear Integrated Circuits + Digital Circuits and Systems

Interesting. Easy. 

#Network Systems Analysis

Circuit laws back to haunt us again. We thought they were done for good in the first year, yet they resurfaced and BAM took us down again.

#Power Plant Engineering

It takes a lot for us to understand electrical stuff and they shove in thermodynamics and its minions. Good that the subject was easy.

#Electrical Machines (I + II)

It is like WW I and WW II combined with the nuclear bombings and even then you would have to throw more than a million tonnes of TNT everywhere. AC machines, DC machines, static machines, rotating machines- MACHINEESSSS!! (whew, that turned me upside down!). Apart from the blood sucking and flesh devouring monster that it is, the subject is highly interesting, my favorite so far (no marks for guessing my scores in this!). It is truly worth reading and enjoying so far as we do not have exams.

#Control Systems

Highly interesting . The Prof once said that it is quite easy to get a cent percent score in this subject. B%$^ Please ! We could not even manage 50% in the mid sems.

#Power Systems

Only if you are interested. Otherwise a big pain for your existence.

#Electromagnetic Field Theory

It is good! Easy too. But it has a lot of vectors...loads of them. So if you are bad at vector calculus, be prepared.

#Electrical and Electronic Measurements

Nothing to say actually

Reading back, I feel a fresher might never take to his/her heels and never consider electrical engineering after my rantings. Do not worry. I actually enjoy the subject. Though everyone expresses their sympathies with us (it usually happens before the Machines examination), I am proud to say that one day I'll be an electrical engineer.

To this day , I do not regret my decision (though it may seem otherwise).Many a times during the counselling days, people had advised me to go for Computer Science or Civil Engineering. Yet, till date I do not find anyone who ever recommends Electrical Engineering, no one except me! 

One does what one is passionate about. So, choosing electrical was never crazy. It was the best decision I took so far! #EE #YouRock

And I would like to end this post with a word of advice to the commoner :

A lot people say that electrical engineering is dangerous as you have to be near wires that carry current etc etc. For you my friends, true we work with dangerous levels of currents, true that the experiments in the power systems lab have voltages in the order of KVs (that is kilo volts for you!) and true that shocks kill! But, do not worry, all work is done in a safe environment and we are engineers and not unintelligent beings who won't know when to touch a wire and when not to!

So please, do not scare others by saying and I quote verbatim " Electrical toh dangerous hoti hai, isme toh taaron ko chuna padta hai" which translates to " Electrical is dangerous. We touch wires in that."

Honestly, have you heard about insulation i.e. i-n-s-u-l-a-t-i-o-n (Google it) 

Story of my life - Bad connections

Internet! The most widely used technological development today has permeated through to all nooks and crannies of our lives. It has become the source of knowledge (quite in competition with printed books which it gobbles by the million daily). Be it on the personal computer, the cellphone or the tablet we've come to consider it an integral part of our lives and an important part it is too.

But, what happens when the bond you cherish is weak i.e. when your internet connection needs a CPR every now and then?

Well, that is the story of my life! After the tall promises that stretched the truth to the breaking point, I decided to go for a Govt. internet provider and had the BSNL 256Kbps connection installed.  Little did I know that it would bring as much joy as sorrow - not just to me but to a lot of people , especially N. This is how a lot of our Skype conversations have commenced :

A: Hello

N: Hello?

A: Helloooooooooo Can you hear me?

N: Can you hear me? 

A: Hellooooo

N: Hello Hello Hello?

(%$^&$*%&^*$^$% ) Disturbance in the signal

Skype : Internet Connection problem. (or) You are offline 

and then we return to Google Talk, where to our luck the following message is displayed - "Not connected."

Then comes the mechanical part of the conversation : Switching the modem on/off,restarting the system, hitting yourself!

A little while later N . calls 

N: Internet not working?

A: Nope. Sorry

N and A: (Curse the BSNL people)

It is worse when this happens in the middle of a conversation:

N: You know an awesome thing happened today?
A: What?
N: .............................
A: N.? What happened?
N: ..............................
A: N.? Are you there?
Skype: Internet connection problem (or) You are offline.

Arrrrgh!!

Too much of a trust on Govt. services can prove hazardous as, the people BSNL employs for troubleshooting take their own sweet time coming to rectify your problems. (It maybe that the number of complaints is large ). 

Much to my surprise/anger the same problem persists in the esteemed Govt. Uni. that I attend.While the wi fi connection was feeble in the first year , now, the hostel network has taken to switching off between 10pm to After - I - sleep pm/am. This leaves us with the customary phone call where the curses and insults are directed towards the college now instead of BSNL (I suspect BSNL is the network provider here too!) And so I wait out the time for a lucky connection or sulk and go to bed.

This is my life - hanging by the thread of a bad internet connection.

The Unnamed Poem

This was written some time back. After constant motivation, I decided to give other poetic genres a try. This is again another experiment in poetry. I hope it is satisfactory for the audience. However, I shall beg mercy for not being able to name this venture.Hope it is good.

Long as the shadows grow,

A ragged figure crouches down

Oft I have seen him bend and break

A pile of papers for a bed, dirt his crown.

A smile so infectious, he waves,

Yet the kid scoots, searching eyes hidden away.

Disgusted, seems the baker across,

Locking the wares, a closure to his day.

The banker invades the old man’s land,

Treads the insignificant with calm and ease.

The smile undying, still ; Pass as you will,

He never complains, but joyfully shares a piece.

Secrets spill out , he pulls out a wrapper

A forager’s victory , his eyes shine bright

Contentment in each morsel, the counted few

I see ,as I draw my curtains close for the night.