Visa Interview

I recently had my visa interview on June 14th, at around 9:30 AM. This is how it went.

I had a transcript with me in the form of a sealed envelope. I was asked to go out of the consulate, open it and then return. I was then cleared by security to proceed for the processing.

An officer at a counter asked me to give the appointment letter,sevis receipt, ceac page, passport, hdfc receipt, gre report, toefl report and degree certificate. These items were placed in a separate bag provided by the consulate.

I was asked to go to another building where I stood in another queue to hand over the DD of 9$.

There was a long wait after this.

By the time I got my chance for the interview it was 9:30AM. The time as per the appointment letter was 8:45 AM.

The VO was a guy. He asked me to hand over that consulate bag having the basic docs mentioned above.

VO: What course will you be studying at CMU
Me: MS Information Networking
VO: What kind of a course is it ? ( Note that this is what I heard )
Me : I explained
VO: ( The VO is pissed off at this point ) I didnt ask you to tell me what kind of course it is, I asked you tell me what kind of courses you would be studying there.
Me: ( I'm kinda tense since the VO aka GOD is pissed . ) I told him that I would be studying Operating Systems, Distributed Systems , I would be taking a minor course in managerial economics, and database management. ( This is all I could think of that time, I least expected the VO to ask me to list down the curriculum! )
VO : ( The VO is still pissed, a little more than before) You told me that this course is a specialization in networks, and here you are telling me you have a finance related course. Is that something to do with networks too ( kind of a sarcastic tone over here)?
Me: ( A little more tense than before) OK . Some of the other networking related courses are Embedded Systems, Sensor networks, OS, DS, Telecommunication Networks.
At this point the VO was satisfied.
VO: What background do you have that makes you get into a specialization in networks?
Me: I explained to him that Ive been working for Cisco for the past 2 years.
VO: Can you explain the kind of work you do there
Me: I explained . Thinking at the back of my mind as to what the f*** would this bugger understand anyway.

30 seconds pause after this question. A Visa interview usually gets over in that period. And here I was, having a 30 sec pause, killing me second by second.

VO: Who will be sponsoring you?
Me: told
VO: How will he be supporting you?
Me: told.
VO: OK. Your visa has been approved. You will receive the passport in a weeks time.


This is not how an interview would usually be. Most of the other students going abroad for higher studies have reported much rosier stories. I am happy that after all this crap , my visa has been approved :).

5 states again??? - The Wayanad Trip

We were hell bent on making this trip happen. After all this was probably the last trip before leaving for the US. The backhodi gang was gonna split. The first member, Prof Natarajan, left way back in 2009. Bakchodiness had started dwindling in the absence of the great Sri Sri Sri Natarajan. Nevertheless we managed to keep our spirits high and within no time , bakchodi was back to normal. But I must say that I am disappointed with Abhiram for ditching us whenever we planned a trip ( Nandi Hills being the only exception. Anyway your car was more important :D ) .



So Wayanad happened. Sridhar( TN) , Vivek and Rahul ( Bihadi babus ) , Sunil Unn Unn Kumar ( Gulti) , Sreejith( Our Mallu Driver) and I ( Mannina Maga) . Proof that Bakchodi happens irrespective of cast, creed, color, sex ( A line that I thoroughly mugged while studying history&civics in high school! )



We headed out on Saturday ( June 5th) at 6:30AM. Reached Dream House Resorts at Muttenga by lunch time . The place seemed to be in the middle of nowhere. Sridhar received a lot of BCs and MCs . He was in charge of booking. But once we entered our rooms, we were a happier lot. But more BCs and MCs poured in when we realized that the every dish served for lunch was drowning in coconut oil.




We covered Pootkot Lake and View Point at Lakkidi on the first day. Yawn! Boring places. Day 1 was a disappointment. But have no fear, Magic Moments Vodka is here. Guitars + Vodka + Some drizzling + Bakchods resulted in some GOOD shit!










































We went to Edakkal Caves and Meenmutty Falls ( Keeps reminding me of the lungi clad Mellu actor Mammutty :P ) . There was some climbing to do to reach the Edakkal Caves( Edakkal Rock Shelter to be more precise, a guide there corrects every visitor entering the place ) . The climb was no big deal at all. There are some ancient inscriptions on the walls as can be seen in the pic to the left. If you look closely you should be able to find the the figure of a the tribal leader with a fundoo headgear carved on the wall.

Reaching the falls was quite a task. We had to climb down a hill to reach the foot of the falls. The climb back up was even worse. There were ropes tied at strategic points to help us climb . Without these ropes we would have been R.I.P. But All the efforts were worth jumping into the water and standing right beneath the falls. Do not worry. I shall not torture thou by pasting andi clad pics of the bakchod gang....your welcome.

Rahul was the only one amongst us who had not been to the Brindavan Gardens. So we decided to go there on the way back to Bangalore. We reached just in time for the musical fountain. This was my fourth time at this place. All of us found it boring :P. I reached home by 12 midnight. This was a good weekend getaway. Hoping that we guys reunite again sometime and head out for another one.......soon!

Do listen to a video we recorded at our room during this trip. Purani Jeans :).

5 States

And so the epic trip finally happened. This was going to be big. Sadly this time the group was much smaller. Although we were only 4 of us ( Sunil , Arvind, Sridhar and I ) , it was time for some heavy duty bakchodi.






This was our route :

Bangalore -> Hyderabad-> Delhi -> Manali -> Pathankot -> Amritsar -> Bikaner -> Jaipur -> Delhi-> Agra-> Delhi-> Bangalore ....phewww!

And the 5 states "state machine" is Andra Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh




If I intend to complete this blog , its going to take too long! Hence I am just going to list out the things we did at each place and throw in a few pics here and there. I think that should be enough to burn you folks :D.






Manali:

- Skiing
-Para Gliding ( This was freakkin awesome! You can watch it here - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eN5k3Z2oaMk )
-Rafting
















Amritsar:
-Jallianwalah Bagh
-Golden Temple
- Wagah Border( this was awesome!)















Bikaner:
-Desert Safari
- Camping overnight in the desert















Jaipur:
-Amer fort
-Jal Mahal
-Albert Hall Museum
-A drive through pink city( they are fined heavily if they use any other color on the buildings there!)




Agra:

-Taj Mahal






























Delhi:

-Riding on the metro
-Red fort
-Jama Masjid
-Chandni Chowk ( Chaosss)
-Lotus Temple
-Kutub Minar

A legendary 10 day trip. Unforgettable. \m/

@INFINITY 2009

When I found out that INFINITY 2009 was happening again, a sense of pride ran through me. The juniors were about to carry forward a legacy. It was like the baton of a relay created by my seniors, grabbed by my batch and then handed onto the juniors after us. I was taken back to the days of INFINITY 2007, when my batch had organized the fest. Some of the best days of our lives alright!

This year I had the honor of being invited as the judge for the MOCK PLACEMENT event. My friend and fellow RVian , Sandeep had also been invited as a judge. So Sandeep and I left for RV all set for a new experience of having to judge rather than being judged during the numerous fests that we attended during our college days.

Bumping into old friends, juniors and lecturers was fun. But the funny part was the way my junior Suhas treated us like as if we were his managers. We were given bouquets and given a tour of the department! Duh!! After a lot of convincing he agreed to stop doing that!! Thank you Suhas!!

Suhas was the student coordinator for the event we were going to judge. The second round involved group discussions among the shortlisted candidates. 24 candidates were divided into 3 groups. The topics we gave them included “Don’t kiss and tell” , “Is Parole justified for criminals who have been awarded a life sentence”( It was the time when the Jessica Lal case was hot in the media ) and one more topic which I don’t remember.

The GD pertaining to the first topic involved some hilarious interpretations by some of the candidates. One of them given by a guy was something like this : “You must first talk to the girl, get to know her, talk to her about your feelings for her and then kiss her!” .

10 candidates were shortlisted. I was quite surprised to know that there was not a single 4th year student shortlisted. Either the juniors are much smarter than their seniors, or the seniors were too bored to attend fests. There was a first year student shortlisted too!!

Some more judges joined us for interviewing the students. Rama and Ranjitha from the 2009 batch joined Sandeep and I respectively in our interview panels. It was fun barging questions, both tech and non-tech, at the candidates. It was even more entertaining to listen to some of the answers.

When they were asked about where would they see themselves five years hence, some of them replied saying they would be doing their PhD, or would have completed their MBA and working in some XYZ company. This answer was like music to my ears . As an interviewer it was a green signal for me to reject the candidate immediately. When I started questioning their faithfulness towards my company, it dawned upon them that they had made a blunder. Some of them smiled, while some of them started giving some lame excuses.

We finally declared the winners and provided some important feedback to the remaining candidates.

Although it was a situation where the tables had turned, and I was sitting as the interviewer, its quite ironical for me that in 2 years time, I might switch places and anxiously wait outside a room to be interviewed by a panel for some company in the US after completing my MS(if I do get an admit that is!!! ). It was quite a pleasant experience overall. Keeping my fingers crossed and hoping that Karma will play its role, and help me out when the times comes when I switch back to being an interviewee.

Congratulations to the team of INFINITY 2009!!!

Coorg

One phone call did the trick. I called up a friend, who had the contact number of a Home Stay at Coorg, and voila , the trip was in the making. A long weekend was coming up, which ignited our desire to pack our bags and get out of Bangalore, ensuring that we are no where close to our laptops, or an internet connection for that matter which would result in us checking that “harmless” e-mail that might have been a potential SOS from the manager regarding a bug, or some shitty customer case that was going to make my manager feel a burn in the most remotest corners of a human imaginable.

Although the accommodation was taken care of, there was still one thing that we were still unsure about. We needed to reach the goddamn place! Bus tickets! Being able to make reservations 2 days before the long weekend was one achievement, but getting the bus tickets definitely entitles me to receive the Nobel Peace Prize , what when Obama got it for doing nothing!

Tickets check… Accommodation check…. 4 buggers ready for some bakchodi at Coorg….double check!!!

I knew the guys were gonna kill me since I had booked the last row of a ksrtc ‘deluxe’ Rajahamsa Non A/C. But this was a case of incompetence helping competent folks like me. The god forsaken website had some glitch, and although our seats were the last ones left as per the website, we ended up getting seats towards the middle of the bus. Thank you ksrtc.co.in, you saved my ‘butt’.

Our home stay was in the middle of a coffee estate at Napoklu. The owners of the place were very hospitable. The rooms were perfect, and the service was great. They arranged a cab for our tour of Coorg. We had already made a list of places to be visited prior to leaving Bangalore. Our first stop was Dubbare. This was the most awaited part of the trip. Rafting!!! We had one heck of a driver with us. The roads were pathetic. Despite that he was driving like a maniac. No wonder there were two punctures in the course of our 2 day stay here! Rafting was great fun. It would have been way better if the rapids were actually rapid! There were 3 points along the river, that provided the rush that we were looking for. At the second rapid, something exciting happened. I was thrown overboard. I did manage to hold onto the raft because of a rope along the sides of the raft. As the raft kept moving forward, my legs kept thumping against the rocks beneath. The guys finally managed to pull me in. Just a few bruises on my legs, nothing major. But the fact that I had something awesome to narrate to folks when I get back from the trip was satisfying. There was a fourth spot where we rowed against the flow of the river, towards a rapid , and once we reached it, we stopped rowing and allowed the rapid do its magic. This fourth spot is not open to all. The guy who accompanies the people, gauges the bakchodi quotient of the group in the raft and then decides to take them to this spot.

The queue for rafting was quite long. We had to wait for about 2 hours for our turn. Our driver hence suggested that we could check out the Buddhist temple at Kushalnagar which was close to Dubbare and get back for rafting. When we got back to Dubbare we realized we were the last batch, and the organizers were waiting for us. It was courtesy his freak like driving that we managed to squeeze in the visit to the temple and get back. As soon as the car stopped, we literally dashed out of the car, put on the safety gear, caught hold of an oar and jumped into the raft.

On the second day, we left at 8 for conquering Tadiendamol. This was a part of the trip that I was really looked forward to. The home stay folks packed lunch for all of us. The trek was simply amazing. At the starting point, we found a couple of sticks left by previous trekkers, while some of us just made them for ourselves from some of the bushes nearby. The weather was perfect for a trek. I thoroughly enjoyed capturing the scenes that Tadiendamol had to offer. The feel of the breeze after reaching the top of the peak was invigorating, more so since we took our shirts off as soon we reached the top!

After the trek, our driver picked us up and took us to Cheluvara falls. He recommended this place since it is less crowded compared to the other places in Coorg. He was telling the truth alright! When we reached there, there was one other group present. That’s it. Once they left, the falls was all ours. It was the kind of place where we could stand right beneath the falls. After the tiring trek, the natural massage here was legen…wait for it…dary!!

I found Talacauvery to be a serene and enchanting place. A temple rests on the top of this mountain. The temple is built around the source of the river Cauvery. There is a flight of stairs from the temple to the highest point of the peak.
We were in the midst of the clouds, with the wind blowing in full force on us. We got down after a while, and proceeded to the ‘thelas’ close to the temple. The mirchi bajjis and hot tea seemed like the elixir of life.

We had already checked out of the home stay before leaving for Talacauvery since we would have to go directly to Madikeri to catch our bus after Talacauvery.

All in all, Coorg was a package full of awesomeness.

Peaceful Pondicherry

I booked the seats on S.R.S Travels through www.redbus.in based on the feedback given by some of the kind customers who took the pains of getting back to that site after their journey. Some mentioned “excellent” and some “very good” which made me choose this bus( well.. did I have any other choice? The feedback for the other god forsaken buses were bad, very bad , and worst :P ) .

It turned out to be pretty good. My little cousin Suraj came to Bangalore that morning form Manipal. He made sure he came to my place by 8 so that we could catch our bus by 10:30 near Madivala . The seats were comfortable, the AC was working! , it was a video coach, and they didn’t play a Tamil Movie ( haleluyah to that! )

We reached Pondicherry ( aka Puducherry off late) by 6am. Grabbed an auto asking him to take us to a decent hotel. I think we must have travelled about 4km from the bus stand to reach the hotel he recommended for which he charged a whopping Rs60/- . The auto rates are a** rap*** in Pondicherry ( this coming form someone who has been in Bangalore for the last 5 years says it all ) . We stayed at the Devaki Elite. The location of this hotel is ideal. In the heart of the town , and close to Rock Beach(more about it later).



Our plan for the first day was to check out Auroville. Breakfast was good. While Suraj went for a standard masala dosa, I picked my personal favourite , Rava Masala , slurp!! We were all set to explore Pondicherry . We hired an Activa for 150/day. Awesome deal. I would suggest this to any tourist for two reasons. First, as I mentioned earlier , the rates quoted by the autowallas made me laugh at them . Secondly , Fuel is way cheaper than other cities. You need to keep a deposit of 500 bucks, provide a copy of the driving license, and submit some ID card. Auroville is about 10km from where we stayed. A nice ride to Auroville, but once you get off the main road, the road leading towards auro was bad! This road was infested with firangs. We asked a gori mem for directions, she was kind enough to lead us to the entrance of the visitors’ centre while we were kind enough to only follow and leave it at that :-P.



The visitors’ centre had a gallery showcasing photographs of this place. A walk around this place lets you learn more about Auroville and its values. They have a mini theatre that plays a movie about Auroville. Once you watch the movie, you are issued a pass that gives you access to an area close to the Matri Mandir. A building in the form of a sphere , lying at the centre of Auroville. The interiors of this sphere is supposed to be completely formed of marble, with a crystal ball at the centre. The sun’s rays are electronically made to concentrate on this crystal ball . Anybody can get into the Matri Mandir, provided you take an appointment two days in advance(if I remember right).





It was freakin hott . Its about a 20 min walk from the entrance of Auroville to MatriMandir. After getting back to the entrance, we had some exotic juices available at a stall there. Hibiscus juice and another one made from some flower I don’t remember. Funky coloured juices, but what was of more importance was the fact that they were cold.

Got back to our hotel, gorged ourselves with food, and dozed away to glory for the next 3 hours or so. But having read some blogs and checked some photo galleries, I knew that Rock beach was beckoning .



We set out again at 5:30 PM. Rock beach is just a 10 min drive from our hotel. There is a road called the “The Promenade” that runs along the seashore, with huge black rocks forming what is called the Rock beach . This road is closed for vehicles in the evening enabling the people of Pondicherry to use it for their evening walks. The moment we entered this place, the first thing that came to my mind was the beautiful Corniche Road of Abu Dhabi, the city where I spent the first decade of my life. Images of time spent at this wonderful place started flowing through my mind. Well, the time spent at Abu Dhabi would probably call for a separate blog entry all together.





Coming back to Pondi, although the aesthetics of “The Promenade” cannot be compared with “The Corniche”, this one carries its own charm. Plenty of restaurants, and shops lining the streets on one side, while a path for pedestrians on the other side, with the rocks separating this path from the Bay.







The Promenade has several statues and buildings that belong to a bygone era. A war memorial, A black statue of the Mahatma, with Nehru’s right opposite to it. But the most picturesque of them all is the Light House of Pondicherry standing tall and handsome. Unfortunately it has been closed for visitors since several years.










Paradise Beach was our next stop on the second day . In order to reach this beach you need to take a boat from a spot which is about 5-6 km from the city centre. A 15 min ride on the boat takes you to paradise beach on an island. The beach was not too crowded. It had a shack were you could cool down after some bakchodi in the water. We spent about an hour there.





















We spent some time shopping for souvenirs in the evening. This shop called PUDUMAI on the Promenade( somehow this name sounds very posh to me, fyi its called beach road too :D ) is a good place to check out . A section of the town is called White Pondi. This is the area where you can check out French architecture and admire the well planned lanes .


A cute little 24 hour café called Le Café is present on the Promenade . It’s a nice feeling to sit there, sip some hot coffee or chocolate, and gaze into the vast expanses of the Bay of Bengal. The brownies were delicious.





There is some history to this place too. It used to be the Port Authority office for the French. There are some photos in the Café that depict the days when it was used as a port. A ride along the Promenade from one end to the other, some jobless roaming across the town , followed by Dinner at Pizza Hut marked the end of our trip. Thus ended the 2 day sojourn at Pondicherry. We left the next morning to Chennai to catch up with cousins.



If you are looking for a weekend getaway , I strongly suggest Pondicherry. Its not the place to go for if you are looking for adventure. But if you want to spend a weekend of relaxation then this is definitely the place. By the way I also got a massage at an Ayurvedic Centre which was truly rejuvenating. The punch line that Pondicherry Tourism uses is quite apt. You have to go there to appreciate the title “Peaceful Pondicherry”.