EDITORIAL This published edition of ‘The Wall’ has been an undertaking of mammoth proportions, yet a wonderful experience for all the people who have taken some part in its forging. In this edition, a decent effort has been made to include articles of national and international concern as well as the ones we can relate to in college terms. We hope that a certain standard of writing has been set that will be emulated by future Masons. The talent that is floating around in our college is really astonishing. We would like to extend our sincerest thanks to our Honorable Director Mr. Vijay Patil for funding the magazine and for taking time from his busy schedule to grant us an interview. The same goes to our respected Principal Mr. Bhosle for those priceless words of advice and information. A debt of gratitude to Prof. Devne for taking ‘The Wall’ to the IT age. The majority of work on this magazine was done in the 202 Lab with its wonderful Internet connectivity. A huge thanks to all the teachers in the lab for bearing with our creative talks and outbursts. A whole world of thanks to the current SUC and specially our G.S Abhishek Sharma and C.S Kaveesh Aggarwal for allowing us leeway and time extensions in the making of this edition. A big say of appreciation to all the people who have contributed articles of any sort. Whether they have been published or not is of secondary importance. Your contribution is what makes this magazine so successful. The list is too long, but people you know who you are. So cheers! And finally the Masons themselves, for working endless hours, bickering over minor punctuation errors and commas in the quest to create a masterpiece of sorts. Editor in Chief : Venky aka Venkatesh Sivaraman. Deputy Editor, Legal Adviser : Wendol aka Mohsin. Cover Page Designer: Amit Shetty…for lending that colorful touch. Vivek Ganju, Shilpi Pathak, Srinivas Parida, Pakesh Rakesh and Chakku: you guys are the real bricks in ‘The Wall’. Thanks for everything. A special thanks to Nippun Goyal and Manan for beating the bush and searching for sponsors out there. Do enjoy reading and any kind of negative feedback will not be tolerated!
CANDID CONVERSATIONS WITH THE PRESIDENT AND PRINCIPAL INTERVIEW WITH Mr. Vijay Patil Q. What plans do you have for RAIT in the near future? A. Our main focus will be on improving the computing infrastructure and library facilities. Two storeys are being constructed for this purpose. Improving electronic resources is also something high on the agenda. We are planning to have one full storey with integrated technology and Wi-fi with cutting edge learning tools. Q. Can you give us some details about the stadium? A. The stadium which is coming up right next to the campus will be completed by March 2007. I believe sports are an integral part of student’s development. Campus’ abroad do have such facilities for their students. It will give a good platform for budding talent in the institute. The stadium will start hosting national and international matches from its inception. Q. The kind of support students used to enjoy from faculty before for cultural events is a thing of past, due to this the popularity of Horizon is declining, what do you have to say about that? A. I don’t agree with that. All these years the non-academic activities have been growing in number as well as in size. This is one of the very few colleges that gives direct sponsorship to the student for the cultural festival. As far as the popularity of ‘HORIZON’ is concerned, now almost every college boasts of a festival. There are eight other colleges within the campus who hold their own festivals. Students do have alternative entertainment sources. According to me each ‘HORIZON’ has bettered its predecessor. Q. RAIT used to be famous for its Rock show and now it has been discontinued, why so? A. I myself am an avid listener of rock music. I have grown up listening to Pink Floyd, Dire Straits etc. I have nothing against Rock music per say. But there are some unsavory events attached to rock shows like drug and liquor abuse, and as the head of the institution I am strongly against such things happening within the campus. Q. What is in store for RAIT in the future? A. Historically, India was famous for its universities like Takshashila, Nalanda etc. and the aim is to bring that fame back. The idea is to be the best in the city first, then the country and then compete in the international arena with colleges of the Ivy League. I know the journey will be long but the potential definitely exists. INTERVIEW WITH Mr. U.V Bhosale Q. Sir, our college library doesn’t contain adequate books and journals for the students, what do you have to say about that?
A. I do agree that the library is not in good shape. But this academic year we have procured 30 new sets of text books. Apart from the existing 20 sets. We have subscribed online IEEE journals worth Rs.2.15 lakhs and hard copies of 85 standard journals on workshop and conference. We also have subscribed membership of IIT-B library. Any student interested in using this facility will have to take a letter of permission from me. Q.The laboratories of the college are not well equipped and are not spacious. A. By the next semester, construction of two additional storeys of the college building will be completed which would give us some additional 42000 sq.ft of space. We will be having 8 new labs for EXTC, 4 for COMPS and 4 for IT and 5 for INSTRUMENTATION. We will also be having 2 new seminar halls and 7 additional classrooms. We are also preparing to get Wi-fi (wireless fidelity) for the whole college in a phased manner, starting with EXTC. As far as getting new equipment, we have placed an order for 50 new computers. We have in reserve Rs.10 lakhs for instrumentation department and Rs.5 lakhs for EXTC. Q. Some of the staff members are not well acquainted with their subject. Your comments. A. I took performance reports on the staff by the students. I have also removed 6 staff members last year, who seemed inappropriate for the job. We are going to give advertisements in the national dailies, to hire suitable teachers/professors. Q. The DSP seminar in the college was a huge success. Do you have any more plans of promoting technical events in the college? A. Yes! The event had turned out to be very successful. On the 18th of Jan 2007, BARC is celebrating 50 years of its foundation. They have held out an invitation to us to hold a robotics event in collaboration with them sometime in February. Our college will co-host the event along with them for all other participating colleges. Also we are trying to hold a national conference on wireless communication in Dec 2007. Q. Students often find the office staff very offending. Do you have anything to say about that? A. I have heard about it and am looking into the matter. There is a shortage of non teaching staff and we are trying to recruit people for the same. Q. Your vision for the college and message to students. A. I want all students to give higher priority to academics. Last year the passing percentage for the first year was 62%. I want to increase that number. Also placement records this year were good. But there is always scope for improvement. Most importantly I want to provide a nexus with industries. I am talking with AICTE and UGC to give grants to start research programs.
POLITICAL SECTION THE SELF So, this article is supposed to be on political or relational grounds; but if it meanders towards vague obscurities, do bear with my taciturn self. The perspective to be presented was of the 'youth' in context of the current scenarios. But then I pondered about the 'ought to be’ ideas and found them missing in myself. And then, if I were to make an effort to make you see things in the same light as me, I'd need to have that light! Rimbaud stopped writing poetry at nineteen…Jesus was crucified at thirty-three; Jack Kennedy was shot…at forty-six. I am twenty-two years old. What have I done? What am I capable of doing? Who am I? So I thought I’d much rather write about the everyday musings of you and me! And voila! I had it. Aren't we all doing just that, dwelling in our solitudes....? Is it a bad thing to be doing so? Of course not. But is it the right thing to be doing so? I have my doubts... If people have listened to John Lennon sing his beautiful poetry Imagine, they would understand where I'm coming from when I say that humanity is the biggest religion. I don't think that nationalism is the tour-de-force that would drive today's youth but if it helps bring about a change then I'm all for it. A change for the better, in terms of opportunities, ideas, endeavors but more importantly a change for the self. If politics in this country is in a pathetic condition then that's the nature of it. Like John Quinton said Politicians are people who, when they see light at the end of the tunnel, go out and buy some more tunnel. Politics is about the art of social relations involving authority or power! We live in a world in which politics has replaced philosophy. The idea is to figure out how to make it work for us. Well the fail-safe way is that of corruption, but highly not recommended. The other seemingly obvious one is of being part of the process. Like they say to change the system you need to be in it. Or yet another is of a personal conscientious nature. Wherein one has to take more moral, than practical stands. A middle path some might say, with few compromises; but I think that it is the most implementable. Without the suppliers, the consumers of corrupt money and ideas would choke. But then who's talking... I am the connoisseur of all things that come to me on a silver platter. Of late their consistency has reduced, but hope floats! So then, I think about vindictive plans and arousing oratorical skills that would shake the very nerves of the nation. I don't have them. The next best thing to do... listen to music! Except when fellow students are thrashed mercilessly and terrorist activities are targeted at the innocents my blood doesn't boil. No I’m not thick skinned, I am just indifferent. Like most my age I am striving for a better tomorrow from the confines of my room. And I revel in the time of my pensive trips of psychedelia and a brave new world. So all of my co-revelers in the grand festivity of life take time to see where we're headed as a race. And if you think it can change, you can help it change, then jump right in! There is no dearth of labor and miniscule or non-existent rewards and also, an exodus of bliss. -Animesh Chaudhary
The War of Meritocracy: Excerpt from the diary of a soldier The 3rd World War has just begun and it is similar to the second in many ways. On one side of the war is Aryan Singh with his nonsensical agendas and grievous views on the Meritocracy. His policies are simple, eliminating and undermining the superior Meritocracy race. His armies are enormous; he has the lathi wielding and pot-bellied Gestapolice on his side. On our side are the elite Medical Corps and the respected and money minting Tech Brigade. With no visible leader amongst us we might dither and disintegrate under the onslaught of the Gestapolice. There is a slightly biased yet neutral Media Corps supporting us by propagating our views and sufferings to other rebels and affected people all over the country. A few months ago, the siege of Governor House came to an end under heavy losses. Our forces had to fall back to reinforce and reinvigorate themselves. Like it was in WWII, the Gestapolice will not retreat and will try to spread misinformation about the rebels’ activities. A few of our soldiers were nabbed and taken away to the infamous Police Concentration Camps. There was a statement by the head of the Gestapolice, which said that the rebels had used unconventional warfare and WMD’s (Women of Manic Disposition). The highlight of this war has become the widespread participation of the Lady Regiments. They have fought with unnerving ferocity coming under the blow themselves several times. We lost that battle but we will win the war. The country was appalled at the blatant lies on live TV. The Media Corps surely is swaying the tide of the war in our favor. Hitler may have had his Goebbels for propaganda. But we have Rupert Murdoch on our side. Aryan Singh has been trying desperately to avoid a more than Two-Front War. There seemed to be a non- aggression pact between him and the Engineering Army of inferior quality, yet a monstrous force to be reckoned with. It is a slow force to mobilize but they have the numbers: around Two Hundred Thousand including reserves in the state of Maharashtra itself. We are waiting for them to be roused completely now that our Great Patriotic War has encompassed everyone. Then there are the Pharmaceutical Battalions with their Penicillin, the Alumni Reserve with their Pedigrees, and the Dentists with their teeth-shattering technology. We also have the poorly trained nonetheless respected paratroopers from the BSC’s, BCOM’s and the BA’s armed with their Einsteins and Faradays, spreadsheets and complex accounting practices, and their Shakespeares in respective order. The Meds have a secret weapon and this may affect the civilians as well. They can refuse to treat anyone. This is a two-edged sword that may turn the civilian populace against us. But it shall have its desired effects too. For now, we wait for future battles. A tough road lies ahead. But we shall fight on the streets, in the colleges, and the hostels. We shall never surrender. We proclaim forever our right to a meritorious country, not a divided one. We are still waiting for reinforcements from the Engineering Army. -Wendol
ECONOMICS BEHIND TERRORISM The series of events in the recent years has added one more phobia to the already existing long list; the ‘Islamophobia’. The skull caps and the long beards which were longstanding symbols of sainthood now have become symbols of terror. The recent incidents which took place with Indian travelers in Holland or the one involving the long bearded South African cricketer give us an idea about the amount of suspicion or the paranoia of the western world. One really wonders, whether something like terrorism can be attributed to any one particular religion. Does any religious text emanate such strong sense of hatred towards humanity? I guess not. In the history of mankind there have been many violent chapters, but none named terrorism, all for the noble cause of territorial expansion. There were Aztecs, Romans, barbarians but none different from each other. The defining moment in history occurs in late 1800 with the discovery of the most precious thing man would ever consume in modern history “OIL”. Though it is found in small quantities everywhere in the world but it is the Middle East which contains more than 90% of the explored reserves. So much is the dependence on this commodity that it occupies the major portion of any countries import bill. The world on an average consumes 175 quadrillion Barrels of oil with the price of barrel being 72$. The total money earned by producers of crude oil is approximately 126 quintillion $. Oil sector being the least organized of the sectors only a small part of the above mentioned sum goes to corporates like Exxon, British Oil, CONG, etc. and the major part goes to the anonymous Sheikhs. Now for almost the last century the Sheikhs and Middle East on the whole have thrived on the oil money. As a result they have not advanced in any field. Not one indigenously developed product or technology from the Middle East is used in the modern world. They live a vile life of extreme abundance of money. Money, they say is the root cause of all evils, but I guess unearned money is. Where do you think all this money goes? You guessed it right…in funding terrorism and other such activities. To pull off something like 9/11, London bombings or the Mumbai train blasts requires a hell of meticulous planning and an unimaginable amount of money. Whatever or wherever be the incident, the source of money always remains the same. In most cases the funding for such activities is direct; otherwise it is under the name of charitable organizations like Al Rashid. It is a geographical accident, if I may say so that the financers belong to one community. Now on the other hand if we take the cases of nations like Indonesia and Malaysia, the former is the most populous Muslim country in the world and the latter is one of the most developed countries in Asia with majority of its population again being Muslims. The people here are relatively peaceful and progressive. Tourism is a booming industry in both these countries. Both have a stable economy with a GDP around 276004 million USD and 130786 million USD respectively. So why is this huge disparity between Indonesia, Malaysia and the Middle East, even though the people in all these three places belong to the same religion? The answer is simple, the economy of these two different regions are totally different. Indonesia and Malaysia survive on the hard earned money of its citizens whereas the Middle East thrives on the unearned oil money. From this we can interpret that it is not religion that perpetuates terror, money does. All I can say is Islamophobia can only be cured with the discovery of alternative fuel sources or a viable fuel cell technology which will completely alter this economy of terror. -Venkatesh Sivaraman
COLLEGE AFFAIRS College Premier League—C P Yell The most popular event in the college in this otherwise boring semester has been the College Premier League which is a brainchild of the Sports Secretary. We never knew there were so many football fans out there and most of them girls, guess they like to see the guys lolling around in the mud. We have also received support from Dental and Medical enthusiasts. Moving on to CPL as it is commonly called, the matches have been great, ranging from the stunning to the abysmally boring. There are teams that haven’t conceded a single goal to the teams that have let in 11. A few teams are yet to open their point’s tally, while another has had two lucky last minute equalizers and hence draws. So, we decided to make a list of the best players that the league has shown us as of now. The Best Goalkeeper: The award for this undoubtedly goes to Siddharth Lehmann of Arsenal. He has befriended almost all of the strikers (throw in a few midfielders too) in the league. Strikers Beware! Do not go for long-range efforts, just go close to the goal and pass him the ball; he will do the rest. Barcelona is eyeing this player as they want to learn how to concede goals. After all, it is no easy task to concede 11 goals in 3 matches. The Best Striker: We could not home in to any other player but Thierry Barua. This is the person to watch. He is so good that his team conserves his energy and does not let him on to the field for the first 30 mins. He could pierce through the fiercest of defenses not to score a goal but to attend to his fan calls. He also deservingly gets the Cleanest Player award as he is the shiniest after every match. An anonymous source in the Arsenal Team has informed us that the real Gunners are eyeing him to replace Thierry Henry who is always crying about something on the field: referees, players, crowds et al. The Best Defender: There are two in this category. One is the beast like thing that plays for Barcelona. The 10-yard radius around “Tempo Tyson” Bajaj is converted into a boxing ring. The screams that emanate from him possibly reach the Princi’s office. Anyone wanting to finish the season safely may want to stay away from him. A flying bird told us that Kaveesh, the referee, is reportedly frightened going near him; leave aside booking him for some offence. The other defender that we have chosen is exactly the opposite. He can’t run, he can’t kick, he can’t dribble, and he can’t clear the ball. To be precise he can’t play football, but voila! He can do one thing though SLIDE. Mohsin’s Slider from Hell as it is called by his teammates, or Slider Mochine, or much more. We do not how he can see the ball with that curtain of hair in front of him. Possibly the organizing committee should look into this matter. Every Chelsea match is livened by his sliders and the ensuing support of his loyal fans (a majority of them being Barcelona players…something fishy we suppose). We have learnt that after the transfer window he will be played as striker.
Since the ground conditions have been so bad and Chelsea hasn’t been able to score goals, he has been asked to play upfront and slide the ball into the net. The Best Midfielder: We couldn’t think of any particular player for this award, so we decided on the veteran who has participated in almost every match, Kaveesh ‘Whistle Maar’ Agarwal. He is the only guy who can be called a midfielder as he is always in that position with a whistle in his mouth. Whatever happens, he sticks to his position. Proper Midfielder, no doubt. The Best Team: We have to hand it on a silver plate to the Gunners for outlasting and outwitting others in every aspect of the game. Siddharth as goalkeeper, Venky as whatever he plays, Kedia as defender!@?! Arsene Wenger has to learn a few lessons from this management. Arsenal is also helping ESPN-Star Sports in shooting a documentary on How to Play everything from Handball to Volleyball, but not a game of Football in a game of Football. The Best Manager: Siddharth “Chatur” Thaparinho of Chelsea walks away with this prize because he is the only person in the squad who has his post fixed in this otherwise ever changing team. Every man who has been made to resign actually feels happy about it thanks to the convincing powers of Thaparinho. Way to go Chelsea! - The Masons Of The Wall
Horizon 2K6 DJ Suketu DJ Suketu performed on the 1st night of Horizon. It was the first time RAIT got the much needed break from DJ Rajesh. The crowd seemed to totally enjoy itself. The atmosphere reached a crescendo when he played the remix of woh lamhe. The crowd who were not so entertained found an alternative in a messy brawl inside the arena. All in all it was a lively start to the year’s festivities. It was a pleasant change for all leg shaking RAITians from the crowded basement to an open dance floor. Fashion Show It took place on the 2nd night of Horizon. The most glamorous event in Horizon went down well with the audiences as always. Amongst the hoots and claps RAIT walked away with the prize of the Best Fashion Team and Best Male Model while NIFT took away the prize of Best Female Model. no STRINGS attached Strings performed on the 3rd day of Horizon. It was a much anticipated event and it did live up to its expectation. The arena couldn’t have been more packed. The enthusiasm of the crowd never dipped for a moment. The girls went hysterical listening to lead guitarist Adil’s swashbuckling solos. The sky was lit up with an amazing display of fireworks. It was the best event RAIT had seen in the last 2 years. The Big Fight The only intellectually stimulating event in Horizon 2k6. The topic of debate was “Should there be reservation in private sector?” Distinguished speakers like Tushar Gandhi, a President of Reliance & HOD of Political Science Dept. Ruparel College were the bright spots of the event. These speakers with their erudite skills brought out new dimensions to the topic being discussed. Bike Treasure Hunt: It was the most meticulously planned event of Horizon 2k6.The entries totally outnumbered the expectation of the organizers. The event covered the entire span of Navi Mumbai. The participants had a great time driving here and there looking for clues. All in all a great idea executed to perfection.
Cricket Ground The mammoth constructional work going around the D.Y grounds may have left people wondering, “What on earth is the management coming up with now?” For those who came in late, the D.Y Patil management, which happens to manage our college as well, is coming up with a world class cricket stadium. By the term ‘World class,’ I mean exactly the same and its going to be operational by March, 2007. In description, the stadium is to have a 90 yard boundary, making it one of the biggest of its kind. The seating will be 3 tiers with around 65,000 to 75,000 seating arrangement. All bucket seats mind you, no benches. Each tier is supposed to have 13 entrances and exists to control the crowd flow. For accommodation; the stadium is to boast of around 45-50 five-star standard rooms. In addition to that, a restaurant at par with any quality five-star eatery will be provided for the benefit of the club members. On the outfield, below the grass, there will be a layer of sand which absorbs water much faster than mud. Below that is a proper network of drainage pipes. These two layers will ensure that the ground dries up in just 2-3 hours even after a heavy rainfall. Taking the example of the famous Lords stadium in London, the media box is to be just opposite to the pavilion to ensure proper coverage. For security, the bus carrying the team will be directly taken up to the 1st floor of the stadium. Now don’t ask me how they will achieve this. Most important for the entire ‘view-happy’ crowd in the stadium, a hanging roof and support providing pillars on the front guarantee an unobstructed view. So if you are a cricket freak and the venue of the next mega match is Mumbai, you know where to head to. - Maroof Fajandar
RED-ROCK ATTITUDE Ego…. Latin for I or self, or simply ‘atti’ as we all view, know, as well as try and test it as. Not much of a difference between them if you ask me. The latter always leads to the former. Conveniently, our academical hangout, RAIT, provides an opulent arena for amateurs to try and test out their respective ‘atti’ expertise…. The RRC, located right in the heart of the campus, epicenter of all the ‘got nothing to do so lets hangout’ species. Now what clearly attracts the engg people over there is mostly the crowd factor, (and we all know how big a factor that is), which the RRC humbly provides as an assorted mixture of ‘babes’ from medical, dental, law, etc, etc… ‘Babes’, which the normal engg craves to see while dragging himself along the ‘babe’ deprived corridors of the institute. Now what word would such a person, promptly from his dictionary, suffix the word ‘babe’ to?... yup… ‘atti’. That’s where the whole problem comes in. Owing to the basic human nature of adaptation and self evolution, the solution takes the simple form of suffixing oneself also with the word…. Yup, you got it right….’atti’. So the incremented egotism around him upon his venture to that place cannot be fully blamed. This is achieved in steps:THE WALK : highest priority. Has to be full-on confident types. THE TARGET : in most cases…. a ‘babe’. THE 1ST LOOK : this consumes nearly 80% of the atti quota. The ‘im so good and your so sad’ look. THE 2ND LOOK : this is where the subject shows a bit of interest in the prey but has to end on a self superiority note. THE NO LOOK : here, interest is displayed in something else altogether. Generally consists of a series of poses where the subject looks at his best. Combine the above steps, and if carried out well, we may have a super stud walking out of the RRC. But as fate may have it, which it usually does in most cases, this image shatters completely upon overhearing the subject utter the all too predictable exclamation:- ‘oh shit, what a babe!!’ Superficial ego, superficial ‘atti’…. Like I said before, not much of a difference between them. The latter leads to the former. - Vivek Ganjooo
Ragging (D)isallowed The very thought of first day in college gave me butterflies in my stomach. It was a mixed feeling of excitement combined with nervousness. As it was a first day everything had to be perfect. Getting dressed up was a problem as an average Joe look was imperative to escape the hawk eye of the seniors, but the same wouldn’t help me to get noticed by the dames in the class. Once I entered the class things were going smoothly. There were some in the class who were narrating the heroics, how they dodged the senior successfully in the morning. Some pundits were giving discourses on how to avoid being ragged. The ground rules were to move in a group, avoid going to unknown places at all cost and to keep the hormones in check, as there is nothing worse than getting caught eyeing a senior girl. As the old adage goes "The mind is not in its place when you need it the most", that is why I guess, I decided to go to the canteen in the break. I didn't know whether it was daredevilry or stupidity as all the thought process now was being controlled by my hungry stomach. Stupid as I was I didn't have a better idea to find the place than to ask for directions from a senior. The senior very dutifully showed offered to escort me to the place. On the way he very courteously enquired about me and how I was finding this college. Helping fellowmen they say is a virtue of highest order and this guy was acting as if he was all the goodness personified. While going we were joined by many of his friends. By the time I smelt rat, it was too late. On the way, two cheerful guys form my class waved out to me. The seniors too invited them for the auspices. I was cursing myself, and the other two were also doing the same. There we were in the canteen surrounded by 10 guys all who were waiting to avenge the things that happened to them in their first year. To start with we were told we would not be ragged but only be given CCPD i.e. Crash Course Personality Development. Firstly we were taught all the pre requisites to be in the college such as the anthem, the salute and the dress code. The sight of a six footed fresher being ragged by a five foot senior defied all logic. Some of our childhood memories were revived as we sang Twinkle Twinkle little star in chorus. I picked up new skills one among them was how to flush my smile. The most challenging part was to make the flushing sound. Then came the aerobics part. I was named sin theta and the other guy was named cos theta and we were told to make tan theta. The finishing act was to ask a beautiful girl out on a date, which I would have done myself eventually. To sum up everything I really enjoyed myself. Moreover it really wasn't a bad deal to do all these things in exchange for the database about the lecturers', which I got from the seniors. So the day ended in a positive note as I had made many new friends and also with a conviction in my mind that I would give a similar welcome to my juniors in R.A.I.T. - Venkatesh Sivaraman
MUSIC SECTION My Two Cents on Classical music v/s Rock music I believe that classical and rock music perfectly reflect two parallel trains of thought that ride in every human's mind. Classical music says; Live within the system. Try to find happiness within yourself. It says, have faith. Entrust yourself to the system. The world is not something that happened overnight. It is continuously changing itself to accommodate you. It says, do not worry. Your actions are never inconsequential, they will never be. The world sees you, acknowledges you. It says, Listen to what they have to speak. You will benefit from their experience. It says; don’t act in such a way as to incite people. It will do the world no good. Doing the job you have been assigned will do more good than you think it does. Classical music conveys the continuous harmony of a System that adjusts itself to changing circumstances. A system that will exist no matter how hard anything tries to shut it off, eventually making it a part of itself. Rock music says; Bring down the Establishment. Do not accept authority for the sake of following tradition. It says, I have seen your so-called ethics and values crumble and fade in the blink of an eye. They are just walls for you to hide behind. It says, I won't submit to the ideas you feed me continuously. I will not fall into a pattern. I will not do something you tell me to, just because it’s being done for so long. It says, Feed me logic. Give me a purpose, I shall follow you. It says, I don't care for your rules. Your rules have brought the world to what it is now. From here on, this is what I think. I don't care if I don't follow centuries of tradition. I won't force you to follow them. These are my rules, my logic. I don't give a damn about what you think about them, I don't care. It says, this is who I am. Accept me for who I am, not who I can become. It says, I am not protesting just to gather a crowd. It is because this is what I think about these things. I don't mind if no one else joins me. I'll protest alone. In rock music, the words are as important as the music. The words convey power. Not power to me, but power to the masses. They say, the world is not as pretty as they want you to think. Go on and change the fundamentals, shake the roots. I won't promise you a world that gives you as much comfort as the one you live in, but I can promise you that you will be the one that will start a revolution, making a world that encompasses the ideals you so strongly believe in. These two trains run amok in our heads each and every day. The frequency of these trains is, what I believe, decides every aspect of our personalities. My journey with rock began only a few years back when I entered RAIT as an FE. I’d been learning Hindustani Classical on the harmonium and vocals for most of my school days and the addition of rock to my music vocabulary wasn’t quite a smooth transition. Changing over from a system of perfectly tuned and perfectly placed notes, onto the rock pattern of experimentation and new sounds is pretty tough. It was Chakku’s rendition of “Turn The Page” at Aakarshan 2004; Demonic Resurrection’s live performance of “Frozen Portrait” at Horizon 2005; Sceptre’s work on Metallica’s “One” and Helga’s Funk Castle’s use of the flute in “Sometimes” at Mood Indigo 2005; and Silent Lucidity’s OCs “Eclipse” and “Perdition” that gave me a view on how enjoyable rock can be. RAIT has given me a completely new vision on music and I’m sure it’ll do the same to you along the way. -Chetan Kale
Megadeth The Journey September 13, 1961, California, Dave John Mustaine was born to a banker. Dave's father was a cruel man who once pulled him through the driveway by pulling his ear with a pair of pliers. At age 4, when his parents divorced, Dave along with his mother and three sisters would travel from place to place to get away from his father who followed them everywhere they went. Dave got relief from all this by turning to music. His sister introduced him to music like Cat Stevens and Elton John, where the seeds for Megadeth's melodic style were planted. Dave got his first guitar as a gift from his sister, which ended with a bang on Dave's head by his other sister Debbie, who apparently didn't like something about his efforts with the guitar. In Feb 1975 Dave moved in with his older sister Susan. Dave once brought home an album which Susan's husband, a local cop, didn't welcome into the house. Dave got clobbered and the album was thrown outta the house. The album was Sad Wing's Of Destiny by Judas Priest. In 1976, 15-year-old Dave moved into his own apartment and dove headfirst into the world of drugs and music. He sold drugs for money and records. This is when Dave came across albums by NWOBHM (New Wave Of British Heavy Metal) bands like Iron Maiden and Motorhead. During 1978, Dave dropped outta school and bought himself his first electric guitar. A fascinated Dave was drawn more and more to the awesome power of the guitar, which instantly made him ‘cool’ with the people around him. People offered him free substances, free alcohol and wanted to be with him. He loved it. As days passed Dave went on playing faster and heavier than his idols. He formed a Speed Metal band called Panic. Mustaine caught a glimpse of salvation through the small time gigs with Panic. By 1981, Mustaine got bored of Panic. His addiction to drugs and alcohol ever increasing, Dave spotted an advertisement in the newspaper, a band looking for a lead guitarist. The band was Metallica. Dave went to audition, plugged in to his amp and started warming up, energy emanating from everywhere, sounds which would rip through any soundproofing. He asked James “Are we gonna audition?” “No, you got the job!” replied an awestruck James. Metallica started playing music, which combined punk and speed metal, which came to be known as thrash metal. Their original bassie Ron McGoveney left Metallica after he got too frustrated by Mustaine’s wild antics in his inebriated state. Mustaine once poured a bottle of beer down McGoveney’s bass guitar. An unsuspecting Ron picked up the bass and turned it on, resulting in an explosion, which propelled Ron to quit Metallica. Soon after this, Metallica moved to San Francisco where Cliff Burton joined as their bassist. Metallica soon was a rage in the underground metal scene in San Francisco. Dave Mustaine was one of the main attractions for the crowds- what with him in his ferocious and energetic bad-boy form on-stage (and off). He was the lead guitarist and didn’t sing a word, yet he spoke more than the vocalist. Metallica had a huge fan following even before they released an album! Dave’s growing dangerous form was getting too much for the rest of the band to take and one morning Dave woke up to find them surrounding him, he looked up and they went “Wake up Dave, you’re outta the band.” Devastated Dave left for Los Angeles, where he stumbled upon the soon-to-be bassist David Ellefson. Dave Mustaine
was desperate to form a band. He wanted to get back at Metallica. Dave and David started auditioning vocalists but none could match the sheer intensity of Dave Mustaine, so Mustaine decided to do it himself. Sitting in a bus, writing lyrics on the back of a handbill, he turned it around to read a notice about nuclear weapons. He stumbled across the word – Megadeath – meaning a million deaths. He thought it was perfect. Thus Megadeath minus ‘a’ gave birth to Megadeth. Kerry King joins as guitarist and Lee Rash as drummer. Kerry King returns to slayer after helping Megadeth on tour. Lee Rash too leaves Megadeth. Jazz drummer Gar Samuelson along with his Jazz guitarist Chris Poland joins Megadeth, completing the first ever proper line-up of Megadeth, set for world domination. During this time, Metallica released Kill ‘Em All, which contained Dave’s work on it. Furious Dave released Megadeth’s first album “Killing is my business... And Business Is Good” in 1985. It was successful for a thrash metal album but Dave was still unhappy- his sole aim to better Metallica wasn’t achieved. Blaming his record companyCombat Records for bad sales he moved on to bigger Capitol Records and released “Peace Sells But Who’s Buying?” A brilliant album by any standard. Lars Ulrich admits to have been a big time fan of the album, proud of what Mustaine had achieved- of course secretly! Chris Poland and Gar Samuelson are fired after the last show of the “Wake Up Dead” tour. In spring 1990, guitarist Marty Friedman and drummer Nick Menza joined Megadeth in studio for “ Rust in Peace”. Their best work to date, as many would agree. 1992 saw the release of “Countdown To Extinction” which debuted at no.2 on the charts. But Metallica soon released “The Black Album” which debuted at no.1, robbing Dave Mustaine off of any sense of achievement and triumph. He didn’t care for the life he was living, he had money, fame, fans, everything, but he felt he had nothing, simply because he hadn’t bettered Metallica. Once, after a show, Dave swallowed a couple of Valium pills and he was rushed to an emergency room. He actually “died” for some time. He was resuscitated but he left substances after that. His tally for going in and out of Drug Rehabilitation was 15. But this was it. 1994 saw the release of “Youthanasia”, which was a brilliant album. 1997 saw the release of “Cryptic Writings”. “Trust” from this album, topped the charts. Midway during this tour Jimmy DeGrasso joined the band as the drummer. Hoping to recreate the success of “Cryptic Writings”, Dave made an album, which marked a more melodic departure from the trademark Megadeth speed, and heaviness. Risk, was released in August 1999 and went on to Gold status but faced a backlash from hardcore Megadeth fans. In May 2000 Marty Friedman left the band due to musical differences (read: Wanted more melody in music). Al Pitrelli was a worthy replacement. Soon Megadeth released the album “The World Needs A Hero” in May 2001. The album marked the return of Megadeth to their traditional heaviness and the metal orientation. Megadeth disbanded after injury to Mustaine’s arm forcing him to abandon playing guitar, for some time.
Megadeth has regrouped and have released a new album containing some of their old works. Their new album titled – “The System Has Failed” consists of work by Dave Mustaine on guitars, Vinnie Colaiuta a Jazz drummer, on drums, Jimmy Sloas on bass and additional lead guitars by Chris Poland. As for Mustaine’s war with Metallica, it has been won, methinks. -Manas A. Karekar Taming the six string No engineer’s college life is complete without learning to play the guitar. Whether it’s mastering the art of “Shredding”, or just learning to play the G major chord, everyone wants the “Guitarist” tab! Going through a vast collection of guitars and finally acquiring one from a store can be quite an adrenaline rush. Alright, so the first step has now been taken, but the next step is just as crucial. While many would end up not taking it altogether, (and let their new “toy” rot within its case.) the others would start hunting for a guitar tutor who would charge anything about Rs. 100 per session to a whopping 250 bucks an hour! (By the way, I charge just 50 bucks for a lecture, so anyone interested can contact me later!) While joining a class for learning the guitar would be good, it does have its downsides. Due to this, self-learning is a new fad amongst guitarists these days. It helps one to go at his own pace, plus learn what he wants to and not what the professor has been teaching his students for the past decade. So what does one really need in order to start the self-learning journey? For starters a guitar! Ready fingers, cause soon they’ll be burning. (A tub of Vaseline would come in handy!), a PC with a net connection, willingness to learn and a little sense of adventure! Remember all the PC adverts claiming the PC to be a good tutor for the kid and all the times we smirked thinking about all that the PC could “teach”! Well, my friend, smirk no more, cause the PC can be a great guitar tutor. You just need to know how to make it into one. For absolute beginners, there are scores of sites giving step-by-step guitar tutorials and loads of others with chord charts, which would familiarize them with the basics and in just a couple of days the strumming can start! Google would spawn about a million relevant hits when the words “Guitar Tabs” are entered in the search bar. Some of the good sites that one can refer are www.ultimate-guitar.com and www.allgoodtabs.com. These sites comprise of works contributed by guitarists from all over the globe. For the bit more advanced players, Guitar Pro software is an absolute must. The USP of Guitar Pro or GP is that it can fragment a song into the various instruments that are or can be used for the song and actually plays their part while indicating the current note on the tablature. Just like a karaoke with a guitar. No how cool is that! A large library of GP tabs is available online for free at www.mysongbook.com. Using this innovative software is bound to add some power into one’s riffing! So go pick up your ax and get rocking! May the lord of rock be with you! In the words of AC/DC, We roll tonight to the guitar bite! - Anshul Bhatia
Silent Lucidity- Our famous college Rock Band The quaint suburbs of Navi Mumbai boast of many things. Over the years, there has been a huge contribution on the musical front too in this part of town. For the lovers of Rock Music and the ones who don't listen to this genre --- there is a new band making waves; a band called 'Silent Lucidity'. Four college goers who came together to make music… this is their story. Students of engineering who comprise of this band are Chakku on vocals, Ashley on Guitars, Himanshu on Drums and Sandeep on Bass. Says Sandy, ”The Band came into origin in late 2004 when we played as amateurs in our College Fest. We decided to continue with it and see how far we could reach with the band. We got the name Silent Lucidity from a Queensryche track. We chose this name after trying out a lot of other ones. Interestingly, Silent Lucidity’s music has a lot of 'feel' in it, which no doubt, gives it a lot of repeat value and a desire for more, a thing that many bands are not able to attain. With a bag full of achievements, this band has made its mark in some ways and is a recognized name in the rock fraternity. Highlighting some of their achievements-They came second in TARASH Bandra and won the SPCOE competition SPACE '06. Some of their gigs include feats with Metakix, Frostwork, Psychomotor and top bands in all over the city of Mumbai and Ahmedabad. They are pretty popular with the crowds that throng ‘Not Just Jazz By the Bay’, at Marine Drive. One of their highly ranked accomplishments is as one of the top 10 finalists in First stage, organized by Go 92.5 FM. For the finals, they played at Polyesters and stood 3rd. This is a triumph in the true sense, as X number of bands had participated from all over India. Their song, which was broadcast on Go 92.5 FM, got an amazingly good reception from audiences all over Mumbai. They are an alternative rock band that finds their influences in Pearl Jam, U2, Creed, and RHCP etc. Quotes the band, "We like to make our own music and we are very proud of the originals we have made until now.” Their debut album entitled EMOTIKON is a sell out with an encouraging review in JLT. What catches your eye, once you meet this band is there unconventional mould with respect to the kind of music they play. Diligent workers with music and academics, they have painted that picture for themselves to look fondly at, and later reflect on their college days with a lot of remembrance. A personal favorite of mine is -- Eclipse, their most popular single, which got the airplay time on GO. A beautiful riff to start with; the whole ensemble of music just takes you to the next level. A good composition, which to their credit is their strongest forte. The band has gotten better with each performance and is a must listen for all who love music. On being asked about their original compositions, they say" We don’t necessarily get together to write songs. It is a natural process. Ashley usually comes in with a riff to the song. We jam together and try to work out something. The lyrics are written by all of us”. Chakku their vocalist remarked, “That individually we may or may not be that good, but what's important is that as a band we make good music.” “We like all the songs that we have made up till now. Each of the song means something to us. The songs symbolize the different phases in life that we have gone through. Says Himanshu, “One of our most memorable performances would be would be the one at KC college in February. We expected the crowd to be a non-rock oriented one. But the response we got was really overwhelming”. Hopefully
that speaks a bit for the changing face of music and revival of an art form. The band’s sincerity comes across when they say that they still have a long way to go. They just want to continue making music and hope that people see it the way they do. Lastly, on being asked about their college, and I’ll quote the response verbatim, --Do you all still think that RAIT is the haven for rock acts as before? “Times have changed and so do people. We don't think RAIT still has the same rock vibe it had earlier. The kind of music preferred by the crowd currently has changed a lot in the last few years. We think the main reason for this would be the lack of rock shows in RAIT.” So for those who are listening, sit up and take notice........... - Animesh Chaudhary and Wendol
Defining music A term as indefinite as nature, music can be used to reflect upon the various facets of life. it encloses in it the rhythm of falling rain, the song of a bird, the breeze from the seas, and the sound of waves hitting the shore, the rustling of leaves and the profound silence of the wind. It is a serenade that flows in a lovers eyes, trembles in a mothers touch, homes a million cries and boasts a million smiles. Music is the intoxicant that the sail needs. It’s like a candle that brings light in the hour of darkness. Just like religion, music is a way of achieving solace. You turn to God when you need Him the most. Music has the same effect. Music communicates what words cant. Words are merely to give a description, but then when those very words are adapted into music, it adds a new dimension to it and new feeling. The highs and lows of a musical tone communicate the joys and sorrows in a persons emotions. An ailing of harmony flowing from the violin, the soulful shun of the guitar, a blissful symphony of the piano makes life worth all its flaws. - Nipun Barua
THE RAIT EXPERIENCE Fate, that cruel landlady, has dealt us our eviction notice. Time to leave, to say goodbye to 4 wholesome years of pure, unadulterated 'raantigiri'. No more RAIT. The very thought is like a ten-ton hammer hitting you right between the eyes. Time to rejoice? Definitely Maybe!!! No more two to four hour commutes (stop laughing all you New Bombay and BARC people). No more journal work. No more submissions. No more term work tests. No more 'jherox'. No more EXAMS! No more VIVAS! But wait a minute...Isn't this supposed to be a senti piece? Hell yeah baby it is!! About to follow are some of my memories about life in this madhouse. Here's hoping most of you relate to them! Aakarshan: Definitely the ultimate symbol of all that RAIT stands for. An event like none other, NONE. The jeering, the applause, the paper showers, the decibel level, the crowd waiting like hungry wolves ready to tear u down at the slightest slip up, the delirium following the end of it all....One thing I remember is listening to the tinkling of the keyboards, while twilight just about made it's furtive way around the horizon, standing with my friends (u know who u are), weary from all the manic dancing and getting that 'God's in his heaven and all is right with the world' feeling. Pretty definitive. (Soppy? Man, it is, I am going soft!) Horizon: 3 days = a massive blur. Now this blur could have been due to: 1) Organizing stuff 2) Excessive fatigue caused by the RAIT 'bench press' 3) Lack of sleep 4) A particular class of alcohol compounds and certain alkaloid derivatives (mostly a combination of the above taken in copious quantities, like there's no tomorrow! All part of our traditional Aadar Satkar....?) Take your pick!!!!!!!!! Add to this the aftermath of the whole affair. Falling asleep while going back on the first train of the morning, and awakening just before your station. There sure was a guardian angel watching over us! Sleeping like a log for three whole days afterward. (Heck, who needs sweet leaf?!) The Canteen: The nerve centre of the college/the control unit, the central processor....(Whatever Maaf!).For most of us, the (smoky and dingy) first stop after landing on campus. The scene of so many 'aalaps'(i.e. banging like maniacs on the tables and letting our vocal cords rip), conspiracies (oh yes!), journal writing sessions, and good old time massacre (sic). One thing I must mention here is Anna's (as from down south) Misal Pav. A stand out dish. One can write complete tomes on this particular thing, but it will suffice to say here, that it has become ingrained into our collective subconscious. Any RAITan worth his/her salt should be a Misal Pav connoisseur by now. Four years of eating the same thing day in and day out, does that to u I guess! All the same, decent food, decent prices.(Chole Bhature, Veg Pulav, limbu paani). The Campus: Was cool when we joined is now AWESOME. Even the staunchest critic has to admit that our campus RULZ! Straight out of the Yoo Ess Af Ay (dyslexia anyone?).The mind-blowing views from the drawing rooms were unmatched. The place looks like something straight out of timelessness in the monsoons....lush wet greenery all
around, the building defiantly standing up to the choicest of chemical infested Navi Mumbai raindrops. Wonder why the campus reminds me of Circe Workshop: One word definition? HELL. The guys trussed up like god knows what in those goddamn boiler suits. One-piece affairs of course. I don't know bout u, but I positively detested it. One of the reasons being was that it was in the basement (for more details, refer 'The Joys of being an FE', by the same author.... (Maaf karna, mere andar ka Tanenbaum jaag gaya tha!)). Worst of all was filing/fitting day, when the screeching of all those blunt files against metal was intolerable. Kinda sounded like Annamika (of 'ketwolk' fame) on amphetamines. Plus you got to smell like Ironman, if the Nirma soap powder ran out near the sink. My nasal hair cringes at the recollection. Very very painful. The Commuting: The journey is an eclectic mix of ‘mirchi’, ‘adrak’, sweat , cotton clothes and cowpiss. One whiff and you are hooked for life. Back for more, without fail. And the time honoured joke which went that 'If someone as much as took a leak on the harbour line tracks, u had a flood coming your way ' (don't ask me who thought of that one...) proved cruelly true every monsoon. Case in point? Vadala Road, (or Vadala port?) Most of us have used Trains, buses, ricks, in no particular order, to reach college, one way that is. The train's now what do I say? A tortoise on dope could have whizzed past those pathetic tin chains called the 'Harbour Line ' trains. Miss one train, and man u had it. The next one would creep in at it's own sweet disposition. A frantic body massage till Sanpada ‘teshan’, where the train would literally purge itself. You were king till Nerul arrived.But one consolation was the Vashi Bridge. A grand sight indeed. And of course, the Andheri-Belapur is the sort of stuff that legends are made of. Cool train, cool people. It was here that I first cut my teeth (The ego has landed...RUN!) The buses? Well, I remember the khunnas between the ‘mashter and me’ over ‘suttey paishe’. But no grudges against the buses, they are cool! Nerul Station: Or Nerul Airport as we call it! Whatta station man! I haven't seen so much granite even in the ad for 'Surendra Granites' that my cable guy assaults me with! Speaking of the station, can Pushpa Snacks Bar(!) be left out? Earlier we used to haunt 'Satya' (so called cos he had a beard) for his samosa pav, until this guy came along on the scene. As Jeetendra would put it "PSB ne hame paala, posa, bada kiya, hamare andar ke bachpan ke poudhe ko jawaani ka pedh banaaya!". You get the drift? The exams: The half yearly pains in the otherwise pretty simple life of an RAITian. Lousy concept. The morbid fear of that proverbial ‘Ek Paper’, in which, ‘lag jaayega’. Every SEM, without fail. There has to be a red herring which would give henna a run for it's money (another lousy one....sorry). That dirty feeling you get when you are just about to receive the paper, where everything you have done dances like Mithun on Speed right in front of your eyes, dissolving into a psychedelic blur. Ditto for the vivas. Only worse, u developed a case of trap jaw as well. Gheraoing every emerging guy... “Kya poocha? Kya Poocha? External kaisa hai?” .Boy everyone sure did have their five seconds of fame on viva day! The vivas were the most challenging parts for most of us, cause they were about possibly the only thing that an RAITan isn't God in (well, most of us anyways) FUNDAS! Swotting and sweating like mad before the vivas, and calling everyone except your grandparents and the examiners themselves for 'questions'. Once inside, it was pretty much pot-luck (matka!) My Dear Journal... : The lesser said the better. Probably the most stressful time in an Engineer's life.
Reams and reams of paper filled up with writing by us, ('the human Xerox . machines')Sitting up all night, and struggling over to college the next day. It was a fantastic scene. Everyone was just about everywhere doing just one thing. Writing. We would win all the medals in the Olympics if they ever hold an event called , ,, ‘Synchronized Writing’. “Tera first page hua, to idhar laa..!”. “Mera second page tere paas hai na?.” “Stapler hai kya?” “Kitna pages hai total? (number) Kya?! Maa kasam, chhapo!” Scrapping like school kids over graph papers (especially the semi-log ones) and spare journal sheets. Running around to Xerox that eternally missing Index paper, u almost always never had one. Scales and pencils would do the Houdini on u, when you needed them the most. Then you would just have to wait in stony suffering silence till u could borrow them from someone. The feeling on submitting that last journal every SEM was esoteric. Usually went home inebriated after that (from the joy that is). Students with 'jigars' of steel: Kya main bolu?! Hate them as u might, but the fact still remains that you had to refer to them, at one point or the other. No way out. How the Jigar's guy squeezed in an entire semester's worth into an edition thinner than Kate Moss beats me. Data compression ka baap hai boss! 'Brilliant' Jigar's. One of the more enduring memories was getting them Xeroxed at Chembur. Mast 7-12 rupees mein ek Jigar's. Felt nice. Real nice.God bless Dhiren Gajjar and Pankaj Thanekar, who made the life of the middle class engineering student a lot easier. All the best chapters from the recommended books, in one package. So what if the flow was let's say jerky (to say the least), quite a neat deal. This also didn't escape the Xerox machine's sights. But they really had some cool whoppers. “Do you find engineering as hard as climbing a mountain? Don't worry, we will make it as easy as drinking a cup of tea” has become nothing short of an Urban Legend. Or has it? Just think about it... Chembur: The ultimate pilgrimage site. 25 paise Xerox. Magic. The Xerox ‘gully’. Options hi options. Ingesting the noxious kerosene fumes, and marveling at the technique of the xeroxwallah. The ‘days’: The usual suspects, tie/sari/rose, friendship, traditional... Each held on a stifling Friday. Strutting around like peacocks and peahens from hell on traditional day especially, photo sessions galore. Love confessed. Love professed. Hearts broken. The project report: Sheer Nazi torture. Racking your brains as well as the library for material. Thinking of line expansion strategies. Struggling with that hideous abomination called MS Word. One 'enter' keystroke and boom! Where did it all go? One spacebar depression and watch the lines repel each other as if they were magnetic, leave alone the formatting and 'bullets'. Scouting around for the best printout prices, where else? You guessed it! Chembur. Getting the copies bound, and lugging them back, and then marveling at the sheer volume of work (we actually typed all this?!) RAITisms: Now this deals with those typical words, why words, they can be rightly called as figures of speech, which only an RAITan can comprehend. They usually had an obscure and quiet beginning, but once they gained in momentum, nothing could stand in the way. Usage generally spread like amoebiasis contracted after stuffing yourself with the Bhajji Pav outside Vidyalankar, to other colleges. “Scene”:
Think about it. Brilliant word, I love the feel of it as u loll it around your tongue, and then expectorate. Extremely versatile, it had it's origins somewhere amongst the Nerulites. It then spread to A div, and then there was no looking back. Ekdum hit item hai boss. Journals ka kya scene hai yaar? Arre nahin mila, scene ho gaya yaar Dekhte hain kal scene kya hai Abbe sun, yeh scene hai.... Bahut kharaab scene hai yaar.. And so on and so forth “Maaf”: The baap of all words. The Altaf Raja of all Rickshaw tapes. The ....well Maaf! This has been immortalized by dare I say, our batch? HELL YEAH! Just one word, but so many meanings...just the inflection of your voice can make it convey a wide range of interpretations. One is eternally grateful to Farooqbhai for it's large-scale popularization... rampant man, absolutely rampant. Reliable sources tell me that it has caught the fancy of the Americans too....what next? Usage: • Nahin samjha, to maaf hai yaar! • Maine do chapter chhoda… maaf! • Kya maaf item hai yaar tu... • Woh book maaf hai re....jigar’s/students lele • Lecture maaf… The best use of this word is when it is used solo. No embellishments. Just do this at home. Say MAAAAF! Do you feel it?! DO YOU FEEL IT....?! Care a two bit damn about things. So hang it all, I don't care....all these and much, much more distilled into one four letter word.... and what's more you can safely use this at home, right in front of your parents! Brilliant Catharsis. My favourite word, currently (no prizes for guessing why!) AD-BR: Had to be. For such an epic train, there had to be an epic abbreviation. For those who came in late..(apologies to Lee Folk), it stands for the Andheri-Belapur. All the way from AD to BR. This, train is a legend. Of course the morons traveling in it were too. God have pity on the ‘uncles’ who used to suffer (both English and Hindi usages to be inferred) with us. Horrible decibel levels all throughout the journey, all the way. Most of the discussions during the practicals would involve decisions regarding whether to 'take' the 4:13, 5:17 or 6:23 AD-BR...they used to be very serious, with all of us divided into camps and gesticulating earnestly, and the profs thinking we were so deeply engrossed in the intricacies of whatever we were doing, or rather supposed to be doing. Probably the 'besht' prank in the AD-BR was to catch some poor unsuspecting junior and make him sit in the midst. Then one guy would start “Telefon ki ghanti baje tring tring tring” The whole gaggle would join in, "Telefon ki ghanti baje tring tring tring” "ke bhaiyya!"
"Telefon ki ghanti baje tring tring tring” “O bolo!” “Telefon ki ghanti baje tring tring tring” The ‘victim’ would look as confused as I did when I got my CP-2 paper. And then the entire group would pounce on him, and tapli the living crap out of him, saying “Phone kaun tera baap uthayega?!” Suckers would fall for this left, right and centre. Note: Other colleges may beg to differ with the above Para but Maaf...woh unka scene hai… (The following paragraph is pure mush you stand warned !!) I could go on forever. Trust me. There is enough material to do so. But, like all good things this one too has to come to an end (modesty anyone?!). Along with an engineering degree, I guess each one of us has also got a Masters in Management. Sounds corny? No. It isn't. Interacting with such a wide cross section of people, you tend to learn something from everyone you meet. Interpersonal relationships. Time management. How to judge people. How to get along in life. How to take it on the chin and move right on. It's been much more than just an education; it's been an EXPERIENCE. Do yourselves a favour, guys. Keep in touch with your 'group'. It might be difficult, it sure is, but I guess it's the only way to stay grounded and closer to who you really are. One things for sure. I know I am gonna have a lump in my throat every time I listen to Axl Rose sing, “Where do we go? Where do we go now Where .do we go” To all the people I have known, it was, and continues to be a privilege. Thanks for everything. Hope you find your pots of dollars at the ends of your personal rainbows And yes “May the Force be with you” -Your Friendly Neighbourhood resident Lowlife, Tapan. Note: The above moron can be contacted at tapanhoskeri@hotmail.com (The author is an ex-student of RAIT who has passed out in the year 2001. We are proud of the fact that we had seniors who could actually write. SO GET UP AND GET A LIFE…)
A TRIP TO HEAVEN Writing this article is like putting your hand in the lion’s mouth. I mean who on earth is sane enough to write an article on something as controversial as our college’s office. The office of any college is the epitome of the disciple and organization to be followed suit in the college. “No wonder our college is so organized”. Getting a taste as simple as getting your fees verified can give Goosebumps even to a ‘SEPULTURA’ fan. Stepping into heaven alias the office (pun intended) can ironically put even a priest (student) to shame. Firstly, the timing of the office people after 3 years in RAIT has still not gone down with me. They seem to work whenever they feel like. Secondly, after struggling your way to the counter to reach her majesty (female behind the counter) finding a shortcut through the serpentine queue, ‘her majesty’ in to busy discussing how her son fared in the HSC exams or how she was ‘about to trip on the RAIT stairs’. Where has all the morality and decency in the world gone to? Just when you seem to be going right, the staff finds solace in making you run your ass to the aunty in Xerox at the drop of a hat. Communication with any office staff makes you pull your hair out and scream to god ‘Why me?’ Honey and nectar (saltier) seems to be dripping from the few heated words, you exchange with them. Unlike heaven which in full of bliss and angels, our college seems to offer just the opposite… Finally, stepping out of the den is like finishing with a war just seem to hence given unto. All drenched in sweat, humiliation and self pity, I can just pray and full relieved by the fact ‘I’M NOT THE ONLY ONE!’…HAIL RAIT. - Manan
GENERAL AFFAIRS Giving Advice "The only thing one does with advice is to pass it on. It is hardly used by oneself‌"
Oscar Wilde
How good we are at giving others advice! We dish it out free and give it to all who pass by, "Come take its free!" we shout, put our arms around broken hearts and not so broken ones and spend hours counseling! But when it comes to same advice being followed by us, halters and blindfolds suddenly close our otherwise all seeing eyes. Two days ago a friend of mine, lawyer by profession was keen I meet his son, an engineering student who wanted to be a journalist. I spent a delightful evening with the young boy and at the end of the evening was convinced the boy had all the makings of a writer, "Keep going!" I told him, "the path is rough ahead; you'll make it!" "Uncle!" he told me, "you're so understanding, I'm sure your children are lucky having you as their dad! What do they want to do?" I told him proudly what they were doing and then told him my younger one loved animals so I wanted her to be a vet. "But what does she want to do?" he persisted. I frowned as I told him she loved to dance and wanted to continue learning to dance. "Can you imagine anyone wasting their life doing something like that?" I laughed, and then realized the boy was frowning at me. It was while I was driving back I realized how easy it was to churn out stuff but how different to follow: Dr. Dean Ornish wrote a bestselling book called 'Stress, Diet, and Your Heart'. It was a good book. In it he talks about how to manage stress, how diet promotes a healthy life and why proper stress management and good diet affects ones heart. He should have been on top of the world. He had just turned forty. He was fit and healthy and the book soared to the top of The New York Times bestseller list. So what was the problem? Where was the joy and fulfillment he so desperately wanted? He was working more than 80 hours a week, what with speaking, promoting his book and working, and he was exhausted. A wake-up call came in a conversation with a flight attendant. Dr Ornish had just barely made it in time for his flight and he collapsed into his seat. A flight attendant noticed his frazzled state. She remarked, "You look harried." "I feel harried," he admitted. The attendant tried to encourage him. She said, "I just read a book that might help!" she said, "It's called 'Stress, Diet and Your Heart..!" The good doctor looked at her in astonishment as she told him that the book had some wonderful
stress-management techniques that he might try. He didn't dare tell her he had authored the book and the worn out passenger she was speaking too was someone who had not followed advice he had given to millions of others. At that point Dr. Ornish decided to make changes in his life he so desperately needed. What about you and me? The words we have dished out? How about recalling all the advice we've given others and start following them ourselves? -Robert Clements (The above writer is a journalist who writes for newspapers and magazines all over the world. In our very own Mumbai he writes for the FreePress Journal.)
THE GIRL NEXT DOOR There she goes long curly hair, dusky complexion and wearing that beautiful dimpled smile on her face. If you haven’t guessed it by now, then yes this is about my first love. It took me three years to finally go up to her and just say the words, “Hi there!” That’s right you guessed it, she didn’t pay any attention the first time. I tried again, but no she was paying attention to some other guy right next to me. Over a point of time I was finally introduced to her. I have seen her smile, laugh out loud and enjoy herself. But undoubtedly it was the day that she cried that I fell in love with her. Women cry for no reason at all. That beautiful face with that gorgeous smile turned ugly in five seconds flat!!! When a girl cries it is difficult for a guy to react. Should I say,” shut up! And stop making a seen,” or am I supposed to hold her till she stops crying. I chose the latter. Then like stabbing me with a knife she said the F-word one day. “I have always liked you as a FRIEND. I have loved your company as a FRIEND. I cherish you as my FRIEND. You are so special to me as a FRIEND.” FRIEND!! After all that I have been through that’s what I get. That was definitively THE END of my love story. If you are wondering what happened to her, well she is dating a FRIEND of mine right now (God do I hate the F-word). - Arvind
Subliminal Messaging There are ways to escape a barrier no matter how strong. Some follow the straight path, some may twist a bit to penetrate the barricades. The oldest and most infamous way is that of deception; whether used by a spy for his espionage or by a diplomat for a deft subterfuge. One of the not so glorified arts of deception, which has made its way into the system and is affecting our lives in some way or the other is the technique of Subliminal Messaging. A Subliminal Message is a signal or message embedded in another object, designed to pass below the normal limits of perception. These messages are indiscernible to the conscious mind, but are alleged to be perceptible to the subconscious or deeper mind. There are two schools of thought about how much of the message is perceived. One of them argues that only the simpler features of unconscious signals can be understood. Whereas, the other one states that much more is perceived than can be verbalized. The effectiveness and frequency of such techniques is debatable though some say that it may have an effect when the message is goal-relevant. No matter the claim, the technique is used in almost every field; say in popular entertainment, advertising or propaganda. The movie ‘The Exorcist’ was accused of manipulation of its audience through the use of subliminal imagery. The movie featured such images, particularly in the form of ‘Captain Howdy’, a white faced demon that appears on screen at various points during the film for split seconds along with other images. The creators may have used it as an aid to the horror by hitting the unconscious. In the movie ‘Fight Club’, there are various instances where the silhouette of Brad Pitt appears for a flash of a second before the appearance of his complete form. This was used as an aid to the story where the process of narrator’s split of personality is depicted using Subliminal Images, which might appear as a sudden process for a novice viewer. Perception of subliminal messages is a type of subconscious cognition. It cannot be done consciously. During the 2000 US Presidential campaign, a television ad propaganda for Republican Candidate George W. Bush showed words (and parts thereof) scaling from the foreground to the background on a television screen. When the word BUREAUCRATS flashed on the screen, one frame showed only the last part, RATS. Though no penalties were assessed in this case, the effect that this had on the hotly contested election is unclear. There is another form of this technique specifically used in audio format commonly referred to as ‘Back-masking’. The definition says that it is an audio technique in which sounds are recorded backwards onto a track that is meant to be played forwards, producing sounds that may sound gibberish to the conscious mind. Though some believe that the subconscious can pick up these messages. The concept of backward masking is not new; in fact it has been exploited since the dawn of radio. In the early 1920s, the BBC began broadcasting it on the radio for the first time. It became a regular phenomenon after the Beatle John Lennon, under the influence of cannabis, played the tapes for ‘Tomorrow never knows’ in reverse. He enjoyed the sound of this song being played backwards, shared the technique with other Beatles who included it in many of their songs. Since then, this method has been used by many artists for various reasons. Some have used it to avoid censorship like Frank Zappa who used this technique to include phrases which his publisher deemed inappropriate. Some used it to make artistic statements like in Enigma’s album ‘The Screen Behind The Mirrors’ the song “Camera Obscura” contained sections of Andru Donalds reversed vocals from ‘Modern Crusaders’, an earlier track from the album.
Backward messages are usually unintelligible noise when played forward. Many musicians have deliberately recorded backward messages into their songs for relaying a message or to poke fun at themselves or at critics. A few bands have, indeed, advocated Satanism or violence using Back-Masking. The Led Zeppelin classic ‘Stairway to Heaven’ if played backwards bears the words ‘ Oh here’s to my sweet Satan’. QUEEN’s ‘Another one bite’s the dust’ is also supposed to contain a pro-marijuana message - ‘It’s fun to smoke Marijuana.’ though the claims were denied by the artists. Whether intentional or by accident, the phenomenon is certainly detected in the system. Other bands accused of using this technique include Slayer (in their album 'Hell Awaits'), AC DC, The Eagles, Pink Floyd, Prince, Rush, U2, the Rolling Stones, Cradle of Filth, Metallica and of course the legendary Ozzy Osbourne. Others have relayed messages of goodwill and peace through this process too. It’s inception can also be seen in popular children’s programmes. The movie ‘Aladdin’ and the immensely popular ‘Popeye the Sailorman’ song also contains messages in reverse. Even the popular computer games are not untouched by this phenomenon. We know that time is not reversible, but now we know that music is. Usage of Subliminal Messaging is regulated by laws in the West. In the absence of a proper authority in India, we do not know the amount of such secret messages that we have been bombarded with. It’s time that the viewers, listeners and the authorities concerned take some steps to curb or regulate these sort of activities. - Punk-hil B
BHU Jo ukhaadna hai BHU mein ukhadenge” – in Roshan a.k.a. Mone’s words…after losing our very first match at the VJTI basketball tourney [We have an old habit of winning this tournament every year] It’s been one and a half years since BHU happened. BHU was no doubt one of the most memorable trips RAIT has ever had, PERIOD! And I am pretty sure the remaining 44 guys on that Kamayani Express would vouch for me if I said so. Sitting here in London awaiting my master’s results, I decided to pen down at least a few of the memorable moments we had at Institute of Technology- Benaras Hindu University. All of it seems like a blur at this point, but I am going to try my best to relive those 5 days when we rocked BHU…. Read on… It all started a few days back, when Nishant Anand (the then GS 2005-06) had passed on a call from one of the organizers at “Spardha 2k5” inviting us to this big national level sports meet for engineering colleges. I clearly remember it was on the Fr. Agnels Football ground, where I received the call. I don’t exactly recollect who we were playing against, and I told my players about the call. One of them seemed excited but I personally felt it was a long shot. I never imagined that VP was actually going to sanction the kind of resources required for such an extravagant affair, would easily take half a lakh or more for 40 odd guys, booking tickets, plus Horizons was in a month, a new basketball court was in the offing, there were too many ifs and buts. But somehow things fell in place, and VP did not seem to mind, within the next few days we were getting student concessions for our train tickets & completing other formalities, special thanks to MR.RAO RANE of our office, …giving due credit to Shesha’s song…. RAO RANE…RAO RANE… RAAOOO RAANEEEE☺ … (SING it in the tune of RAM JANE… lol) 25th Jan- Departure The atmosphere, needless to say was electric, when I reached Bandra station. There was already a huge crowd, a huge pile of sports kits and bags in the centre and apna public scattered around idhar udhar. The cricket, basketball, badminton and football teams were on the official list…. Carom, baseball, goti and langdi teams would be made at BHU. Then there were those who were coming because we were getting attendance. MR.SHESHADRI KRISHNAMURTHI (the then CS) and MR.AMALRAJ (the TREASURER) SOMARAJAN had deserted Nishant, it was January 25th…. And HORIZONS 2k5 was Scheduled for the usual first week of March. Obviously, Nishant wasn’t coming, so that was one very important football player lost. SARNATH, the most important basketball player was down with Jaundice and a few others couldn’t make it. So we weren’t exactly taking our strongest sides, but we were going to give our best shot, and basically have fun …and so we boarded the train... about 44 guys plus ONE FE… MR.AMIT DHANAVADE. Obviously he was going to be our favorite target for the next five days; he was dirt as far as everyone was concerned. But he had had the courage to tag along… amongst so many seniors, mostly final year students, with a few 3rd and 2nd year guys, and that counts for something I guess. The train started on-time, and the usual ragging scene ensued. In the train, Dhanno inaugurated affairs with the FE anthem, followed by other stuff ranging from pole-dancing to taking responsibility of the cleanliness of the bogie. Once we got bored with him; there were the 2nd year guys. We discovered talent during the journey, not sporting talent, instead musical geniuses in the form of John Anthony who sang “Ye raat…..” from AKS. Those who were not present on that Kamayani Express, can ask him to sing just the first two words of this song, and you’ll know what I mean. Another hot favorite was Mone’s Chingari Bheegi Dekho with his innovative dance steps. The onward journey was quite uneventful; our FE kept the bogie spotless and managed to collect some change even, courtesy of some
passengers on board. Though there was quite a panic in the bogie when AMALRAJ farted, the situation was soon brought under control. Playing cards, rolling hash and a few joints later we arrived in the wee hours of Varanasi. At the station, there was a bus waiting for us, the guys who had come to receive us seemed quite dejected to see us. It was later that I learnt that they agreed to pick us up with the promise of some hot chicks from “Mumbai”. Anyways, we arrived at our hostel, BHU has about 17 hostels, on a sprawling 1600 acre campus (RAIT is 40 acres). Limbdi was the name of our hostel. Being the biggest group, we were given one heeuge fuckin hall. All of us settled in a while, and after the usual formalities, were given the schedule for the next 4 days… it was going to be quite hectic, if we lasted till the finals that is. Our first match was basketball, against the HOME team. Luckily it had been scheduled for the evening, as it was ****ing cold in the mornings. During the day we explored the campus, some 6 cricket grounds and a few football grounds scattered across the campus, traveling from one ground to another was usually on a cycle rickshaw. The place was very picturesque, in fact we managed to get a glimpse of a couple of peacocks at our hostel.
THE LEGENDARY BASKETBALL MATCH The main basketball court was right in front of Limbdi, so we were quite early for our match. Some team from Madhya Pradesh was playing a team from Rourkela. All of them seemed professionals; we seemed like a bunch of kids I thought, except for Amalraj, he was OK… “Uncle” he would soon be named. Ours was the last match of the day, I was a bit nervous. It was going to be under lights, it’s always fun to play under lights. The match before ours was still on and the BHU team hadn’t arrived, the crowd was just beginning to pour in. IT-BHU was supposedly known for its basketball team, the ****ers had national-level players from their MTECH courses as well, basically, we were screwed. I indicated everyone to start our warm-ups; it was quite cold, must’ve been about 13 or 14 degrees. So, we started warming-up in a corner, oblivious to everyone, in our sweatshirts and tees, doing our usual stretches, trying not to show any signs of nervousness. The match before ours finished, and BHU took to the court and started their warm-up. The crowd was coming in hordes now, and a cold shiver went through my spine. I did not want to show any of my players that I was nervous; otherwise what would my players think? Soon enough it was time, I announced the starting five. It would be Vijigish, Amalraj, Roshan, John and me. I gave my prep-speech, remember telling my guys that we were anyways the underdogs, and had absolutely nothing to lose so we just needed to give our best shot. A very short prayer followed, with the ball in centre and all of us huddled around…. all hands in the centre over each other, and a short loud burst …1… 2…3… TEAM!!! And so, against the MOST offensive and hostile UP crowd that I have ever seen; covering almost 90 % of the court, and our 30 guys in a small corner, the match started amidst lewd calls and severe hooting. Game time…Jumpball… our possession… Mone passed the ball to me. BHU players went back to their defensive positions… and we advanced forward… as I approached the 3 pointer line, not able to resist my old habit of trying to take the first shot of the game, took aim and hurled the ball towards the basket….KHAACH…the sweet sound of Ball swishing through the net… 3-0 RAIT lead BHU… the CROWD went DEAD, that was probably the quietest moment of the game…I loved that silence….and our guys burst out … “atta kasha vaattei.. mala baarra vaattei” ☺….
Within the next few minutes, with every basket that we scored, the crowd got increasingly violent, calling the crowd offensive was an understatement now. Pulling our pants down at throw-ins, lewd remarks, it was a wild mob. The referees were no good either; fouls were being whistled by the minute, rarely in our favor. But we had a game on our hands, luck was on our side, not only were all the easy shots being converted, but even the difficult ones seemed to find the basket. We were putting up a brilliant fight, in-fact we were leading by about 5 points all through the end of the second quarter. I had never seen these guys in such form, we were playing like GODS. 3 pointers were flying both directions, Roshan always seemed to find a way through the BHU defense, and John didn’t even have to bother as his lay-ups start even before the 3-point line, Vijigish was in usual 3-point shooting form, and we were keeping the defense tight as well. We kept our lead intact until the third quarter when, thanks to the brilliant calls by the refs, I found myself and soon to follow Vijigish, fouled out. Vinay went in place of Vijigish and Parag for me. It really did not make a difference. The bench was playing equally well and BHU was trying everything possible to cut down the lead. By the end of the 3rd quarter, the score was 38-33, our lead intact. All we had to was to keep up our defense tight and the game would be OURS! I could swear that I even heard a few shouts in our favor from the crowd. Amalraj had become the crowd’s “Uncle”, Roshan for some reason had switched sports and become Mahanama and John a.k.a Abraham was not complaining about his new found fame either. Things were falling in place, and we needed to concentrate on the game. Substitutions followed to keep our players from tiring. Amongst us we had a bright young star, Mr.Mayank Singh. When things could not get any worse; Mr.Mayank Singh showed the finger to the crowd. I don’t know why he did it, what compelled him to do it, but I am pretty sure he regrets that decision to his life till date. What happened off the court is probably too gory to include at one of the most exciting phases of the game and so let us leave that part for some other time… 4th quarter; both sides were showing signs of fatigue and this was the last 10 minutes of the game. It was our offense and both sides hadn’t scored for sometime now. Our guys were trying out all kinds of moves, Vinay’s legendary under the basket reverse lay-up, Parag’s three pointers, Amals bull-charging lay-ups, Mone’s jump shots, Johns near-dunks, it was all working out for us today, it was our day! The problem with most against-home matches is not even the cheating referees, but the time-keepers. Since they keep the time, they own the pace of the game. They were scoring once in a while and after an exhausting 5 minutes or so, the lead was back to a 4 point one; 44-40, hey but wait a minute!!! There were still 9 minutes of play left??!!! WTF…!! So the BHU guys were cheating even with the time-keeping, it was painful but we really couldn’t do much, we had to win this match on their turf on their twisted time games. The fatigue was beginning to show on us, and after a few more “fouls”, and 7 free-throws later the score was 50-49 with BHU in the lead. The time on clock just before the free-throws was about 2 minutes, but as expected the time remaining on the clock was now changed to about 15 seconds, not 2 minutes and we went on to lose the game… I am not going to even begin to describe the look on our faces, or explain why I swore at the captain of the BHU team, or explain why I cried my heart out on the phone to Sarnath explaining what had happened or why the BHU players could not really meet eye-to-eye with any of us, or why everyone from the crowd came and congratulated every one of us, how John became Abraham and found himself a female fan following, how Amalraj became “Uncle” or any of those things, all of this did not matter, we had won the match in everyone’s eyes, except on paper of course, everyone knew it, we had given the crowd a match that they would never forget, we had turned into heroes in a matter of 40
minutes, we had created a “reputation” for RAIT, we were no longer some random team from Mumbai, R.A.I.T had arrived at BHU…. - Vasant Narayanan
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