Operation Bluestar and Compensation Blues!

I had always dreamt of 45 long holidays after the fourth semester.(Even in the first year when they gave me 15 days as vacation,I consoled myself "I'll have fun after 4th semester").Now my sins in 4th semester have caught up with me.Attending compensation classes right in the thick of IPL action can be annoying.I have mine from May 18th to May 30th.I deserve all this.Bunking classes at will was never going to land me in Odyssey.

The following is the history of how I got my compensation classes(Everyone has a history to recount about everything in this age of "Breaking News" and "Exclusives"):

Monday 4:30 PM:It's a boring lab.All labs are.Communication engineering."Amplitude modulation and demodulation"-We keep reading the experiment name again and again till it bores us.Am gifted with an amazing batchmate.Sridhar.He still remains the only one in the world who can listen to whatever I say and still give a smile back.(Even my girlfriend won't).I was once talking about making this blog the best one on the web.He replied without any hint of ridicule:"Ya!It's possible.carry on."His geniality is one reason for my very existence.Our lecturer comes by 6:30 PM.Checks all output waveforms in a hurry(He is a newly married guy).We show the input sine waveform as the output."Great!amazing output".He exits.We follow him.

7:30 PM:The dinner provided at our mess is such that we talk things like "Many in Srilankan refugee camps do not have anything to eat.We are better off getting atleast this".It's always a hearty dinner inspite of the stale food.We keep talking for half an hour,then keep the near-full plates and wash our hands.Going to mess for eating is an extinct habit for us.

8:30 PM:We resign to our rooms.We get ready to write our observation and record note books.To me,labs themselves are futile.These writing rituals are even more so.We turn scavengers to get a black and blue gel pen.We make an elaborate arrangement.A playlist with Rahman and Raja songs is a must.Writing is impossible without songs in the background.When we finish it all,we are half dead(6 circuits,4 wave forms,loads of theory).

10:30 PM:Siva Kumar goes to sleep.Everyone else is an owl.A gaming session begins in Gnani's room.I hate these PC games.I resort to reading some magazine.(Songs again.Rahman is omnipresent).Kaushik watches some English movie in his laptop.(He tries to make me watch English movies.Somehow I feel alienated with that strange Hollywood accent).

Midnight:When all other time-pass techniques are exhausted,guys resort to playing cards.I hate playing cards as much as I hate Slumdog Millionaire as it preaches that Luck governs life.I too am made to join the bandwagon.It's usually me who is the Ass.Inspite of all that,I get involved in the game.After a point,am completely engrossed.Like Slumdog Millionaire.Inspite of all flaws and bad lessons,it pulls you in.

1 AM:We are not done yet.We start proving Amartya Sen right by getting argumentative.Sometimes we discuss about class gals.(Fascination about the opposite sex is incomprehensible yet irresistible).Sometimes it's about Cricket.IPL is a big draw in hostels.But the hot topic is always "Ajith or Vijay?".

Sometimes the chat turns miscellaneous.Here is an example:"IPL-Lalit Modi-KKR-Shahrukh-CSK-Vijay-Ajith-Poovellam Un Vasam-Attagasam-(Someone pulls it back to IPL)-Vijay-Dhoni-Mallya-Dravid-Charu Sharma-Auctions-Money-Politics-Election freebies-Chennai local body elections-Stalin-Karunanidhi-Jayalalitha-Third front-Mayavati-Chandrababu Naidu-Chiranjeevi-(It takes a detour to Tollywood)-Junior NTR-Prabhas-Ravi Teja-Mahesh Babu-NTR(Back to politics)-CMs-PMs-Emergency-Sanjay Gandhi-Sterilisation-Sanjay's death-Amritsar-Sant Bhindranwale-Operation Bluestar".What started in IPL somehow meanders it's way to Operation Bluestar.

It's 3 AM now.Time to sleep atlast!

With such taxing labs,uncomfortable appetite and argumentative nature what happens is:

Tuesday 8 AM:The mobile phone keeps ringing."Some one switch it off"-Jayvel hates being disturbed while sleeping.I attend the call.It's mom.She asks "Have you got ready?".I reply something back in sleep.I cut the call and go back to my dreams.Abdul Kalam is my rolemodel.

Siva Kumar's voice is heard outside.He leaves for class.3 of us,unmindful of the outside world,sleep.

Some smart guys like Jayvel,Pritam,Sivaraman(10 pointer who bunks classes at will) apply for Medical certificates.Dumb fools like me and Vimal expect mercy from the management.

As they say,the rest is history.or taking rest results in history.