The Rain Effect

Some pictures of K when it rains here. Monsoon is seriously the most beautiful and romantic season in Kerala. In fact, there is no Kerala, and for that matter IIM Kozhikode, without the Monsoon. These pictures were multicasted on LAN.






















Click on the pictures to download :)

Radio BakarD Boys

For last 3 months, my satellite radio powered by World Space had been silent while I was on my

summer internship. I renewed my subscription a few days back. But the problem was with the signal. I have shifted my room from D#1(ground floor) to D#41(second floor). In my previous room, I had no problem with the signal. But in my new room, I was not able to align the antenna as there are a lot of concrete obstactions and no place to keep the antenna.

Siam and I struggled to place the antenna but the reciever would only work if placed much further from the varanda. We decided to use a long pole to hang the antenna. Taking the help of the sweeper, we engineered to hang the antenna and utimately managed to recieve decent signal.

Once the radio was up and running, we decided to try if we could shoutcast the sound in the LAN. And of course we succeeded!! To know how we did it, please read below. I think you also should be able to shoutcast live radios following these steps.

(1) I am using Absolute Sound Recorder v3.3.6 to capture the sound from the sound card of my laptop. This a great software in the sense that it can record and store sound in many formats besides capturing direct sound from the sound card. Download it from here.

(2) Connect your World Space reciever and take the line-out from the reciever and feed it into your computer through the line-in.

(3) Run Absolute Sound Recorder v3.3.6 and let all the default options work.

(4) Set-up your SHOUTcast server and let it run.

(5) Start WinAmp and connect to the SHOUTcast server which is running on your computer.

(6) Keep your radio volume at about 15 to avoid amplification problems and reduce noise.

(7) Multicast your server link and ask people to connect to your server in the LAN.

This is how we could SHOUTcast the sound of World Space satellite radio in the IIM K LAN. Now everybody is enjoying World Space for free at IIM K. I have christened my SHOUTcast radio as Radio BakarD ==> The Sound of WorldSpace. For IIM K public, the link is http://172.20.4.16:8000. Connect and enjoy!!

BakarD Blast!!

Back to posting after a good break. It seems that the term heat is catching up, eh Anyways, all these days that I did not blog, I had some very fundu moments. I think I should write covering all those cool events.

Hey, the most celebrating incident was that Siam finally got through Business Laws (BL). The prof considered reviewing the grades and Siam along with some of the other guys, made it through The most funny part of this happy thing was that he made it just by a hair's width!! Anyways, it called for a party. So three "BakarD" (we the D hostelers), Rakesh, Neeraj, Siam and myself decided to go for dinner on 23th. As usual we went to our favourite restruarant Meezban in Calicut. We also had some nice time window shopping and loitering in stores at Shonur road stores.

Sunday was the time for the D hostel (BakarD) fresher's party. We are just 12 seniors and 32 juniors this year. Well, this means we seniors had a lot of load to take. And if there is a party, we are going to be drained out for sure. The other hostels (G, F, E, A, B and C) have fairly kewl ratio of juniors and seniors and the older guys are not much strained. Most of the hostels had already have their parties with gaiety and this put the BakarD seniors in great pressure. Thus now it was almost a prestige issue that we give a party as early as possible.

For more pictures of the BakarD party, please click here.

Hostel D is feeling the loss of some of the great party mongers of last year from '09 batch. Amongst the few left here now, most of them don't drink and party much. But despite all these, we the seniors decided to shower the junnies with all that we could do - booze, food and music. Akhil and Abhik was made the incharge of the food and booze section. I was for the logistics and Siam took up for the DJ. And when the party began, it was a great great show.

The party started at 10:30 PM. It was a great show time with the BakarD boys juniors. We began by worshipping the BakarD Dev (Hostel D gurdian deity). The "get-to-know" seesion was a great funtime. The D junnies seems to have a great profile. We have journalists, teachers, shairs, footballers, guitarists, singers and big big boozers. I am sure it is going to be a great time with these kewl guys. "Jai ho BakarD Dev".

Rambling Memories of Bhutan

Yeah, as the topic says, this post is all about my rambling memories of the beautiful Himalayan Kingdom of Bhutan. I started my childhood in this country (for which I am really grateful to destiny). The Bhutan life was undoubtedly the golden era of my life. I spent 14 years in this country, in the bowls of the mighty Himalayas.

I can recall everything about this country, from my primary school classes to the long trekkings I participated in. My first school was at Deothang which is 18 kms north of the border town of Samdrup Jongkhar in the eastern part of the country. In this part, Bhutan is bordered with the Indian state of Assam (my home state). After two years in (then called) LKG+UKG, I came to Samdrup Jongkhar Primary School (SJPS). This school holds a lot of my golden memories. It is located in a very beautiful area, just beside a brook and surrounded by hills on the three side. I learnt to speak Nepali and Sarchopa (a local spoken dialect) while at SJPS. I had many Indian, Nepali and Bhutanese friends (sadly, I have no contacts with anyone of them right now). many teachers were of Indian and Nepali origins and were friends of my family.

Life at Samdrup Jongkhar was great. I used to go fishing in the brook with my friends and long hiking into the jungles. I had many dreams in those days about my youth (hahahaha :D). I wanted to be a rocket scientist :). I also founded a football club (called the Junior Rising Soccer Team) which is definitely dead now. We used to have regular matches in the school football ground. I passed my ICSE board class VI common exams from SJPS.

My next academic stop was at Mongar town, which is also in eastern Bhutan. (All these happened coz' my dad had his transferable job). I went to the Mongar High School here, which is located on a mountain peak, overlooking the great Mongar and Chamang Valley. The mighty Kuri-Chu, one of the swiftest rivers of the country flows through this valley.

My worked at Lingmethang, 30 kms by road down the valley. The Lingmethang village is a great picnic location and every weekend that I used to go there was nothing more than a picnic. Although, the village was 30 kms by road, my friends and I loved to hike down the valley. It was great fun. My mind is still flooded with the memories of the winding mule-tracks, the tall prayer flags and the chir-pine trees. O' how I miss all these.

I ended my Bhutan days in 1992 when I had completed class VII and had to join a school in India to complete matriculation. So we came to Gauhati, Assam. My dad is still in Bhutan, one year short of retirement.

Anyone interested to know more about the Himalayan Kingdom of Bhutan from me, please feel free to write to me or leave a comment on the blog. I will contact you with the information required. Tourism details about the country are available in here.

After the golden period of childhood in the bowls of the majestic Himalayas , I come to the plains where I miss the touch of its eternal bliss .. CHILDHOOD DAISIES Every little plant Was a caring father; The swift flowing river Gave me motherly water; The cool breeze was My little sister – I jumped and played with her; The little sweet flowers Were my faithful lovers; And like true lovers did they Weep when I had to leave them alone; The little chirping birds were My most consoling friends; They regale me with their music sweet When in pensive mood I sat; So many mates did I have, And so much love they gave; I did not know then that There was a man so poor, That he needed another man at core; O my good parents, my lovely friends, How I miss you now; But I am so proud, That your love I had found. 20th May 2000

4th term starts...will go heavy :)

Today I had 4 hours of class, starting from 10:40 am in the morning and contnued till 3:30 pm with a break for lunch. The first two hours was really boring. I was half asleep and half awake for most of the time. Almost all the students were doing the same I guess :).

I am really enjoying the SAPM class. The prof seems to be digging new interests out me. I follow his lecture with enthusiam. I really envy this guy. He has great elocution skills and good depth in the subject...at least he can direct the students in the right path. He is the man I am looking forward to for adding most value in my major this term.

There are some people who are having 10 hrs of class today, classes continuing till 10:30 in the evening, can you imagine? Thank God, I seem to have choosen the subjects very precisely. I don't think I can last for 10 hours in the classes, even if it is the most intereting course.

So, the real IIM life begins now. All formalities ends with my signing of the (bank) loan sheet. The profs have announced their repective projects and the dates of submissions. Hence studies must begin as soon as possible. That means that I have cut on some of my extra curricular activities and devote a bit of energy to my final days of academics....something perhaps I did not do in my first year. So I say, "BD, start your strategic planning right now...".

Anyway, blogging will continue...and so will the BD fundas.

Just Escaped and Kewl...

The registration for the 4th term is over. Thank you God...I just escaped flunking two subjects...infact two vital ones. I must say it a narrow escape. Good God, you love me, eh !!

The Business Law guy has given 16 fuckas.... unimaginable!! As soon as I came to know, it gave me a shiver running through my nerves. I hoped that I am not one of them, although I thought my exams were not anyways bad. I had not checked the grades till Friday, though I reached campus on the 13th, lest I lose my few days of blind happiness. Thank you God that I remain happy still. But I am sad for some of my very kewl friends who had bad luck with this subject. There is some talk about the prof making some mistake in grading and people are hopeful that they might escape the fate...good God, help them!!

All the guys are back and the campus is lovely and lively again. There are 180 junnies joining while 60 are already in the campus for the preparatory course. I am not sure how the insti is going to accomodate them. Two of the hostels which we left in the foundation stage is still under construction and I envisage, they will take another month or so to complete. I doubt the administration might put two guys in single room for sometime...which is not going to be good :(.

With the beginning of the new term, everything seems to be new in the campus...new faces, new courses, new grass on the ground, new room and of course new books. Although I am hopeful for a kewl types 4th term with only 5 courses, I am not sure how will be torrents of assignements, projects and seminars. I am planning for a lot of activities this time and I hope I have them.

I got my first class beginning at 4 PM today...the Security Analysis and Portfolio Management (SAPM) course. As far as I am told, the prof likes to screw up. So I got to be careful not to mess up with him or the course. I know I am doing it the fundu way for the rest of the days...I hope the monsoon of joy never ends.. :)

Come back to life...

Poem for all those friends who does not even care to write a mail...I miss you guys...

HI MY FRIENDS,

COME BACK TO LIFE...

HOW LONG WILL YOU KEEP MUMB

WITHOUT MAKING A SOUND?

WITHOUT YOUR SWEET PRESENCE

LIVING IS SUCH A DISGRACE,

WHEN WILL YOU ASK ME

WHAT PAIN DO I SUFFER?

WHEN WILL YOU DELIVER ME

FROM THIS GRIEVE FOR EVER?

WITHOUT YOUR HANDS

LIFE IS LIKE A CASTLE OF SAND ...

WHEN WILL YOU COME

AND CALL MY NAME

WHEN WILL OUR SONGS

FLOURISH AGAIN

HOW LONG WILL I JUST

PAINT PICTURES BLACK AND WHITE

I NEED YOU HERE NEAR ME,

SHOULD I ASK YOU FROM DESTINY?

SEE IT IS RAINING HERE

BUT WHERE IS THE DELIGHT?

THE GRASS IS GREEN

AND FLOWERS BLOOMING,

BUT WHERE ARE THE COLOURS?

WHO WILL PAINT THE PICTURES?

WITHOUT YOU WHO WILL SING,

WHO WILL PLAY,

COME O FRIENDS,

COME BACK TO LIFE AND STAY...

HI MY FRIENDS

WHERE ARE YOU ALL,

WHY HAVE YOU LET

THIS SILENCE FALL?

WHERE ARE THOSE MAILS,

WHERE ARE THOSE LONG TALES?

WHY HAVE YOU PEOPLE

JUST VANISHED IN TIME?

WHEN WILL YOU COME

AND REPLISH AGAIN THIS EMPTY LIFE,

WITH JOY AND HAPPINESS,

AND SING AGAIN OLD RHYMES?

THOSE RHYMES OF OUR TOGETHERNESS,

OF THOSE OLDER TIMES ?

Google Spreadsheets::Rejoice Linux users

This post is taken from on my Linux blog: http://linux-business.blogspot.com

Great news!! Google does magic again, and this time directly on the head of the gaint called Microsoft. The search engine dude is out with its web-based spreadsheet. The application is up for testing here. Google Spreadsheets is surely going to be a direct hit to MS Excel.

Although the program is not as sophisticated as MS Excel, but the idea is great and ingenuine which is bold enough to sent Micrsoft trembling. But the best part of it is that it is a web-based application and it goes along with you wherever there is Internet and you have access to it. Not only this, it is possible to collaborate work on realtime basis with guys editing it realtime over the Internet.

Sounds great, isn't it? Now let us discuss the drawbacks. Anything web demands bandwidth and realtime means huge bandwidth. Hence the application can be expected to be a bit slower than MS "Desktop" Excel. So clearly, you might not get much out of it without broadband.

Also, while Google Spreadsheets can import Excel and CSV files, you would most probably have issues when you’re already dealing with very large spreadsheets, as may be the case when you already have several hundred rows or columns of figures. But then again, you probably won’t have to handle such large sets of data online unless you really have to.

Whatsoever, when google does anything, it does give shivers to guys like Microsoft and joy to guys who wants the best things in the world for free. So Linux guys can rejoice for now that google is up with something which is absolutely free.

For now, the Google Spreadsheets is under "Lab" testing on limited basis. So if you want to be one to get a "taste" of the test, just visit the site and leave your email. Feel free to do that..click here to go directly to Google Spreadsheets.

From Mumbai to Calicut:: Mumbai Dude to Mallu Dude

I took the Natravati Express from Lokmanya Tilak terminus at Kurla on 12th June for Calicut. As the train started to move, I somehow felt a tinge of saddness decending upon me...yes, I will miss Mumbai. My summer of 2006 has come to an end and I was going back to God' own country or rather God's own institute, IIM K.

The journey to K however was a wonderful experience. I did not know that Natravati takes the Konkan Railway's route. Konkan Railways is perhaps the most beautiful railroute in India. I had travelled this route by the Mangala Express. My first train journey to the south was really memorable one. I had never seen such natural beauty in my life. The route winds along the Western Ghats and the fertile belts of Maharastra and Karnataka. You will get to see many amazing scenes, waterfalls and a lot of greenery. I did not have a camera then or else I could have created a huge album of the sights.

The Delhi-Calicut route has the highest number of railway tunnels. I was told that there are around 52 tunnels, digging through the hills which had reduced the rail distance by around 40 kms. This rail track is perhaps the finest projects of the Indian Railways and deserves a heritage status.

Anways, my Natravati journey was made exciting by some fellow passengers in my compartment besides the natural beauty of the route. All of them were Malayalies travelling from Mumbai. These were very jolly people. One of the guys threw a jigsaw puzzle challenge he had created and I was asked to solve it first. I simply could not solve it in the stipulated time. But it was a nice time-pass.
These people made merry throughout the night. I had my berth at the top and I slept much. But these guys kept awake throughout the night, sharing jokes, various life experiences, songs and hobbies.

The train could stop on the way sometimes for a crossing thus giving me time to capture some of the beautiful sceneries. Besides, I kept using my camera whenever something great struck my eyes.

I got down at the Calicut station on the 13th morning only to find that there was a strike in the city over the gasoline price hike. I was wonedring how to reach the campus when an autowala came forward with a proposal to carry me to Kunnamangalam for Rs. 200, around Rs.100 more than the normal rate. I had no other option but to concede.

You know what greeted me as the autorickshaw turned for the hostel? See the picture..

For more amazing pictures of my journey, please check out my album here.