What? LTGTR,asweliketocallit,isanundertakingbyagroupofenergetic,joblesspeople.Itisa fortnightly magazine, at present, dedicated to providing a public forum for people to showcase theirfiction,artwork,oranyotherformofcreativeexpression.Inaddition,weprideourselvesonbeingareliableandconsistentsourceofunbiasedcontent.Inadditiontoprovidingnewsandliterarycontent,wealsoplantoexpandourrangeofactivitiestowardsamoresocialinclina-tionbyfocusingonvariousissuesthatplaguesociety,byformingrelationswithNGOsandlike-mindedorganizationsthatstriveforthebettermentofoursociety,andeventuallybyorganizingcampaigns for improving literacy,healthandbasicawareness.Weplanto inject freshmedialikephotojournalismandablendofonlineandwrittencontentintoourmagazine,keepingupaconsistentreputationforhighstandardsthroughout.

Why?Becausewewantto.Becausewefeelthateverybodyshouldhavetherighttospeakout,andbeheard.Andinthiscause,wewanttoprovideamediumthatcangivethemthatfreedomofexpression,andanaudiencethatwillbebothreceptiveandcritical.

If thissoundstoohigh-winded,orunreal (“anaudiencethatwillbebothreceptiveandcriti-cal.”weknow,)believeus,eventually,thiswillbethecase.We’rehopelesslyoptimistic,atmosttimes,buthaverealistsamonguswhoarenotafraidtopointoutexactlywhatiswrongwithourplans.

Becausewewanttomakealotofdifference

Finally, because we’re ambitious. We believe in acquiring a skill-set that will stay with usas experience for the rest of our lives. And working under deadlines, amidst diverse re-quirements, is what helps us garner them. The struggle to not compromise on qual-ity even under pressure can sometimes bring out the best in a person. Trust us,we know.Wecreatethenecessity,andinventionwillfollow.(Clichéd?Youtellus.)

(Wefeeltoolazytowriteanymoreatthemoment.)Later.

-theLTGTRteam.

FollowUsOnFacebook

IwritethiswithTheScientistfromColdplayplayingendlesslyinaloopinthebackground.Ijustcan’toverthisonestanzawhichgoeslikethis

“Nobody said it was easyOh it’s such a shame for us to partNobody said it was easyNo one ever said it would be this hardOh, take me back to the start”

I’mnotsuperstitiousbutitisdifficulttoignorethecoincidencethatjustasIsetouttowritesomethingforthenewLTGTRthatIshouldhappentohearthissong.Foralloureffortsthelasttimearoundtocreateamagazinethatwouldinterestandentertainyouwhilestillmakingyoumoresensitivetothingsandpeoplearoundyou,wefailedtobuildontheinitialmomentum.Whenwestartedcertainlywedidn’tthinkitwouldbeeasyandcertainlynooneevertoldus itwouldbesohardtosustain it.Sowedidtheonlylogical thing, which is to go back to the drawing board, analyze our mistakesandstartafresh.Well,we’rebackandwe’rebigger.Muchbigger.Withanewteam,sleekerlookandamorecontemporaryrangeofissuesaddressed,thisyear’sLTGTRtotouchheightsnoonehaseverreachedbe-fore.Alsocomingbackaretheoldcolumnswhichgeneratedsomuchinterest& controversy the last time around like Spotlight, RumourMill, Best ofFacebook.

Kickingofthingswiththisfirstissuewewelcomeourfreshersandwelcomebackalltheothers.AnothersectionthatImustaskalltoreadistheoneonPracticeSchoolIasstudentsfromourcampussharewhat’sbeen,tosaytheleast,avery interestingsummer.SongOfTheWeekisnowrenamedas Audio Highlight and has comments from the writer along the lyrics.Look at the spotlight to know two more super-interesting peoplefromcollegeandnottomentionthemosthilariousBestofFacebooksection.

Itstime

TheNew Year dawned for theworld on the 1st ofJanuary.ButforBPHCitdawnsonthe2ndofAugustasthestudentsreturnedfromtheir“homesweethomes”to register themselves forwhatwill beaneventful se-mester.Thehustlebustle intheMainBuildingremindsone the opening scenes of a movie when they show Mumbai’s famous Chatrapati Shivaji Terminus on theback of a sunrise and say “Yeh Mumbai hai. Yahaanroz hazaaron log aate hain apne sapne poore karne.”

Just as this line is engraved in stone in its truth,so it is forBPHC. Every semester somenew stu-dents come and many old ones re-return to this infant of the BITS family. There is energy, and asparkle in every eye I see. A sparkle that hope-fully will not get lost in the midst of the mo-notonous routine that sets by midsemesterfull with people watching movies, beatingpeopleontheirb’daysandmostlycursingthesystem

This year, promises to be the most eventful intheshorthistoryofBITS.Withfestsofallsortsfrominter-college to intra-hostel, from cultural to sports all linedup.AlsoaddingupisthenoattendancesystemwhichhasbecometheUSPofBITS in recentyears.ThisisBPHC’schancetoachieveitspotentialandputonashowthatwouldfirmlysetitontheIndianmapwhich is overloadedwith slurry of colleges. This isBPHC’schancetocomeoutfromundertheshadowofitsmothercampus,andfinditsownplaceinthisabsurdly competitive world that we find ourselvesin.Thegroundworkhasbegun…intheformof(waitfor it… ) “PEARL 2010….The biggest fest in AndhraPradesh”(Yes….youheardthatright…’pearl’…Istilldon’tgetwhyitwascalledthat).Whilecriticizedbymanystudentsofourowncollege(forreasonsrangingfromshoddytshirtstoinsanebudgetcuts)….thefest,contrarytomostreports..wasnota‘complete‘disas-ter.TheProshowswere,ingeneral,appreciatedbymost,andsomeeventsdiddrawinadecentcrowd.Although itwas a far cry from fests likeOasis andWaves…..Ifeelthattherewasatleastsomeinitiativetaken..Idonotmeantounderminetheeffortsputinby various people during those particularevents.Pearl was a wakeup call to everyoneand the response had been generally positive.So there is always a chance for improvement.

Therehavebeennumerouspositivestobedrawnoutfromthesepast2years..Thesuccessfulestablish-ment of the clubs, along with other departments and divisions likeRAF,EdBoardtonameafewisbynomeansameagerachievement.TheidentificationofawonderfullytalentedpoolofstudentsinMOSTofthefield;particularlyindance,musicandphotographyisthekeytoallfuturetargets.Thisissupportedbythe

results in various Fests around the coun-try. We certainly have announced ourpresence to the world with a bang.

But enough about the past. Lets focus on thehere and now. The sports facilities have some alongwaysince2008,andwehopetherewillbeanincreased participation from the students.This se-mesterwillprovetobeveryeventful,withapleth-oraofnationalsportsfests(BOSM,Jntusportsfest)and cultural fests like Oasis, Waves and Moodi.

Andfinally,aheartywelcometothenewstudentswho have joined BPHC ( Anti –ragging forms andthelikemakethistheeasiestwayto‘welcome’youtothecollegeandmakeyou ‘feelathome’ ) .Forall of youwhoare even remotely homesick( basi-cally all of you), take heart in the fact that this isanewchapterinyourlives.Alotofyouguyshavecome feeling depressed that you’ve not made itto IIT and this was the next best option. We’renot going to get into the usual ‘ IIT vs BITS ‘ de-bate(That’smeant for theEd-board ).We’re justgoing to remind you that this is a chance for you to startafresh;makenewfriends,getinvolvedintheclubs.Thinkofitasyoursecondcoming.Thesearethe years where you’re going to figure out whatyou want in life. So sit back and enjoy the ride!

Welcome to the best years of your life.

Let’sgetthisstraight.Inceptionwasn’tabadwatch,notintheveryleast.Thingis,Idohavesomeissueswith a Nolan film, just as a rule, if you will.He’s a good film maker, he works with goodactors in Bale andMichael Caine and his films aredifferent from what Hollywood feeds us generally.Butmymusingshaveverylittle,ifanythingatall,todowithhisfilms.WhatIfindfarmoreinteresting,isto observe how people respond to a Nolan flick.Do note however, that these categories would apply to people watching any kind of movie, just the fact that they’re soveryprominentafteraNolan movie. Here’s a few I’ve managed tocome across,

* The desi. He’s never heard of Chris Nolan, (he’sprobably seen The Dark Knight, dubbed or no really

doesn’t matter) and he’d rather watch SonamKapoor ina salwarkameez than Inception.Healsohasa‘thing’forAngelinaJolie,thoughallherestrictshimselfistowatchingYoutube(ReadMetacafe)videos,andabstainsfaithfullyfromafulllengthEnglishmovie.

* The hypocrite. He hasn’t understood anything inaNolanfilmeverbarringtheendingcredits,butthefirstthinghedoeswhenhegetsbackhomeispostonFacebook how awesome the whole thing was, and givesita5starrating.Activelyparticipatesindiscus-sionsthough,restrictinghisshittyselftocomment-ingonhowsexyhethoughtthefemaleleadwas.Justfortherecord,sayshesupportedSpainatFIFA‘10.

*Thegenius.Hisonlyregret in life?NotbeingchristenedChristopherNolan.Activelypointsouthow the film could have beenmade better, andcomplainsaboutflaws,existentandnon-existent.NottakenseriouslyinfriendcirclesgenerallyduetoaplethoraofpastoffenseswhichincludesayinghowAl Pacino didn’t dowell enough towin theOscarforGodfatherII.

*TheHarryPotterfan.(ContrarytopopularbeliefIhaveasamatteroffact,managedtofindsuchaperson.)ComparesThePrestigetoHarryPotter4andsaysInceptionwasfarbetterthanHarryPot-ter5.WhathelacksisapackoffriendstobeatthesenseintohimIthink.

*TheTwilightfan.SimilartotheHarryPotterfan,excepthe’sgay.

*TheHarryPotterANDTwilightfan.Ifyouknowsuchaperson,pleaseshoothim(note : it’sokayif it’s a her..) in the head and put himoutofhismisery.

*Theidiot.Isprettycandidabouthowhedidn’tgeta single thing, and acquiesces to the factsheepishly, batting his eyelids at the same time.Generallyashebtw.

*Theglutton.Mightlookabitodd,butIassureyou, I have a friend who goes with us to thetheatres just for the popcorn and momos. No-body knows what he thinks about the filmshe watches while gorging on Food. On beingaskedhowhe thought Inceptionwas,allhe saysamong mouthfuls of junk crap is, ‘Acchi Thi’.

*TheAttentionhog.Heswingsintoactionthemomenttheendcreditsstartrolling.Hemessagesall his friends and updates social networking sitesfromhisphone.Framesatweet/fbupdateonhiswaybackhomeonhowhe’shadatopthatdoesn’tstopspinningallalong.Onlythistimehecallsitatotem.

*Thefacebookaddict.Differsfromtheattentionhog in the fact thathe’s takenquizzeson facebookwhichtellhimwhattotem’dsuithimthebest,andhowmuchtimehe’dbeabletofreehimselfinwhenchainedandlockedinaboxandkeptunderwater.

*Thecritic.Mightendupshowingsometraitsof‘The genius’ if he’s not too careful. The only per-soninthelotwho’sseen‘TheFollowing’.Topeoplewho think the title’dmake an excellent FB updateand people do give a damn about what you think,awordofadvice-Nolanflicksareflickslikeeveryoth-er,andtosaythat‘They’vemessedupyourmind...ooooh’etc.suggestnothingbutperhapsthefactthatit’stimeyoupayyourfamilypsychiatristavisit.

Ifyoudon’tget Inceptionontheotherhand, fretnot,watch something else like Salt instead. If thatsounds daunting too, I dunno, but isn’t there anAkshayKumarflicklineduptoo?

I don’t know from where itcame, how that happened or happening or whatever. Theyhad a 10 hour long match!And still they are not donewith that! 10 fking hours onthat tennis court! I almost dieafter 2 complete sets,well un-lessIlose,say6-0,6-0orso:P

Firstly, hats off to NicholasMahutandJohnIsner.

Secondly...

What if Isner an Indian?

1. The state government announces a reward of5 crores for him for making India proud, huh?And yes, not to forget that life long free railwaytravel pass. Note: The match has not ended yet.

2. The national government has short listed Isner’sname for thePadmaSri.Yeah, that localday-to-dayaward.

3. His hometown, let us assume Bhiwani (soundsfamiliar?),issuddenlyanall-facility-deprivedancientvillageandhence,theblokeisagiftedone.

4.Thereishysteriaeverywhere,andatleast1000differentpeopleareconductingthoseyagyasandhavanswiththefullfervour.GodblessIsner.

5.TheNEWSpeoplearealreadythereathishouse,school, college, colony, market, garden, playgroundand each one is claiming to be the first one to getthe interview of his father, principal, best friends, girlfriend,herfather,coach,assistantcoachetal.

6. There is a sudden and surprise appearance ofIsner’s childhood sweetheart, who is all chirpy,makeupladenandisbusypraisingIsner’ssimplicity.

7.Hisso-calledbestfriendssharesomeofthemostclichéd memories of them bunking the classes,breaking the rules, going for movies without permissions, the drunken celebrationsandofcoursethoseeve-teasingincidents.

8.IsnerwillsoonbeonTVagainsaying“Boostisthesecretofmyenergy.”

9.Hegetsapromotion.It’seitherairlines,railways,orONGC.

10. Suddenly, there appears an old man, whosupposedly is Isner’s first coach or barber or maybe peon in his school, who somehow is intimatelyattached to him. Perplexed by the suddenstardom,the old fellow showers his blessings,catsanddogs.

11. Isner is next seen on the second page of theTimesOfIndiawithheadlineslike,“Yeah,Kiteswasan amazing movie”, “Sania Mirza inspired me”, “Iamabitshyaboutthosethings”,underthesectionwhere they take those funny interviews, in the name of a brief rendezvous. Not toforget that picture of his, where he is eitherposingasastud,orablushingchocolateboy.

12.Halfofthegirlsinthecountryadmittheircrushonhim.“Ohgod,Isnerissohot!!!”

13.HeistheninvitedforameetingwiththePrimeMinisterorthePresidentorDalaiLamaorevenBanKi-moon,ifheisinIndia,byanychance.

14.HegetsoffersfromBollywood.Thentheactress-essecretly release theiradmiration for Isner in thepress,shh...

15. Either Amitabh Bacchan or Shahrukh Khan arepested by the journalists until they say, “Ya, Iwatchedthewholematch.Itwasmesmerising.IamproudtobeborninacountrywithpeoplelikeJohn.”

16.Nextweseetheexperts,likeShebbySingh(alongwith some average looking random girl) , discuss-ingaboutIsner’ssportslifeandfutureperspectives.The girl definitely raises a point that Isner shouldstartmodelling.

And finally when John Isner opens his eyes...He isa richandhappyman.Hegoes forguest lec-turers in somemanagement college afterdiscover-ing thediamonds in himself.Heowns three tennisacademies, and not to forget the restaurant chain, John’s.Hehashalf adozenflopmovies inhis bag,andhenowfeaturesineitherPSPOfansorSonalikaTractors’advertisements.HeisalsoajudgeatDanceIndia Dance, after successfully emerging as a win-nerinBigBoss.Yeah,heisengagedtothatgirlformJohnkaSwayamvar.

IswearonChelseaFC,IsometimesloveIndiasoverymuch.

Seriously...there,there.

Therearestillagood4daysbeforeIreachcam-pusforthebeginningofyetanothersemesteryetIamfilledwithunease.LikealwaysIdonotwishtogobacktocampus.No,it’snotthatIdon’tlikecollegeor anything. It’s just that I don’t like leaving home.This will my 10th odd trip to the campus yet it’sthe same miserable, heart wrenching feeling whenever I leave from home. I amhomesickevenbeforeleavingcampus.

Callmechauvinisticorevengender-biasedifyoufeel but in my opinion girls have always had one littlethingveryeasy.Theyhavealwaysbetterthanusguysinexpressingtheirfeelings,speciallytheirfears.LikeIsaidyoumaynotagreewithwhatIsaidbutIhavefoundthattobetrueinallcasesinmy20years.Maybeit’saninborntalentormaybetheyhaveless

social ridicule associated with it but girls can pour their heartsandtearsout.IsaidabovethatI’vefoundthistobetrueinallcases,wellthereisanexceptionandthat’swhenitcomestohomesickness.Youwillfindasmanyboysasgirlsexpressingtheirdesirestogobackhome,eattheirmom’shandcookedfoodetc.Ifyoudon’tbelievemejustreadtheFacebookstatusupdatesafterOctober.Foreverythingelse,guysgenerallytryandactmacho.Iwon’tgetintodiscussionwritenow.

Homesicknessisreallynotasickness,notinmyview. I’d justdescribe itanacutedesire tobebackinthesurroundingsyou’vegrownupin,livedinandmadeyourspaceintheworld.Doesbeinghomesickmeanthatyouhavebeenabletoadjusttoyournewsurroundings, in this case college? Definitely not.I’vebeenherefortwoyearsnow,havemadeloads

offriends,participatedinvariousactivitiesandevenstudied occasionally. Once you’re back you’llmakeyourself a new lifestyle in a jiffy. But somewheredeepdowninsideyou’llstillmissthosestreets,thosehouses, your parents, your siblings, your friendseveryone.

Therewillbesomepeoplewho’ll think I’mbeingasissy,peoplewhohateholidaysandcan’twaittogetback tocampus.Toall those I say,go takeahike. Ithinkthere’ssomethingseriouslywrongifyoudon’tmisstheplaceyou’vegrownupin,foragood15years,evenalittle.WemaytryandapetheWestasmuchwewant,butonethingwe’llneverbeabletochangeistheintensityofourrelationshipswithourparents,familyandfriends.Andifthoserelationssometimespullme back, I’m glad for it. So if you think beinghomesick is an illness, you really should get your headcheckedup.

NowIcometothefinalquestionIwanttoaddress.Why this 600word article? Did I write this just totakeapuntatpeoplewhodon’tmisshome?Well,tobeperfectlyhonest, Ididwant todo that justalittlebutmorethanIwritetotellallofyou,speciallythefresher’sthatthereisnothingwrongifyoumissyourhome.Remember two things - It’sokay tobehomesickandtherearemany,manymorelikeyou.Sowhenyoufindyourselfstaringdownatthatmessfood in your plate thinking of all the lovely thingsyoucouldbeeatingathome,don’tbedisheartened.Andwhenyouhearyourfriendscallingtheirmomsdon’tlaugh,you’llbemakingthatcallsoonenough.

There’s always somewhere I’ll belong, it’s a placecalledHOME.

ID No.:2009AAPS058HZodiac sign:Taurus.Colour:Black(black+redtoo)Hobby:playinghockey,music,com.GamesAOE,DOTAMusic :heavymetal(Ironmaiden)Songs :faceinthesand,nomorelies.Movies:seriousones.Shawshankredemption, gardenstate.Actors:RusselCrowe,JuliaRobertsSports:tennis(watching)Sportsperson:loveNadal.KimClijsters.Subject :History.Teacher:RameshBabu(MathsinFIITJEE Hyderabad),Kannansir.

Memorable moment :TriptoEgypt,Booedin fresher’sparty.School->clg :hectic,morework(butnotof studies),started knowing what life is.Concept of MasTi :friends.Life @ BITS:good,fulloffun.PeArl:morethanexpected,rocknytwasgr8. Butplannedlate.Part @ pearl:drama,quizzes.Future plans:CivilservicesorlaworMBA.Msg. to BPHC:njoydnext4-5yearstothe max,listentoIronMaiden.Msg to world: takeupresponsibilities.

Birthday :6thSeptemberOccupation:Student(we’resurprised)Favorite Teacher:Dr.VidyaRajeshFavorite Subject:BiologyColour: BlueMusic:ClassicalWesternMusiclikeBeatles, Enyaetc.Movies:Basicallyromanticmoviesbasically otherwise“APursuitOf Happyness”,“WhathappensInVegas”, “ButterflyEffect”Idols:B.Pratyush,SusnehaPatra,Shray Badam,ShruthiVishwanath,Revanth ChoudharyWho Would You Like To See In A bathing Suit: (nocommentwasrecieved)

What do you like of BitS: no attendance (so clichéd), Hostels

ChangeS you’d like to See: Lot more courses, No double standards, more issues of LTGTR

PlaCeS to ViSit: Goa

unforgettaBle exPerienCe: Her drowning four times (nearly)

MoSt eMBarraSSing MoMent: Fell face-first into horse shit from the top of a horse.

faShion: Casual

Birthdate : 12thMay

Occupation :Student

Favorite teacher’s : AmitkumarGupta

Subjects:POM

Colour : Black

Music :BollywoodMusic

Movies :ShawshankRedemption,SilenceOf TheLambs,theDarkKnight;noreal genre basically

Idols: AbhijitKane,JahnaviMeher,V.Shilp, KartheikGaneshIyer

Who would you like to see in a bathing suit: The Guard

Parts of Bits You Like:Noattendance(hopeitcon-tinues),goodstrengthofgirls(howstrongarethey)

What changes you would like to see in campus: Gamingarcade,moregirls(don’tweall), betterfood(OB)

First Crush:Class9thclassteacher

Places To Visit:Sydney,Amsterdam(youknow why?),Egypt

Unforgettable Experience :gettingkickedfortwo months, you can see what happened

Most Embarrassing Moment : Playing football topless

Fashion: ComfortFits

IfyougrewupbelievingthatOrkut™isthebestsocial networking site there is, you must have been avictimofseveralwannabeswhosentyoufriendre-questssaying,“Iwannamakefrandshipwithyou”orevenworse,“Haiiii!canvbfrndsnnicesmile.”(How-evercanone‘makefrandship’orbea‘nicesmile’).Thepurposeof thiswriting isnot todelve into thepsychology of such people, or to make any more fun ofthem.We,however,lookatwhatFriendshipisandwhy everyone in the world is looking for someone whomtheycancallafriend.

Man,theysay,isasocialanimal.Everyonewantstofeelsupportedasanindividual.Thisisevenmorerelevant in the present day scenario, where thanks totheever-increasingworkload,peoplearedriftingapart.Whatwouldwedowithoutsomeonetoshareeverythingwith?Man,again,isaverycomplexcrea-ture.Wetrytofindmeaning,ahigherpurpose,inourexistence.Itisthisinnateneedtobearoundothersofourkindthatmakesusgrowclosetopeople.

But,tohellwiththemorepracticalreasons.Weneed friends because we all need somebody to share the pleasures (and miseries) of our life. We need

people whom we can talk to all day and never bother aboutwhethertheyhavegrowntiredofusyet.Weneed people to go shopping with, play ball with and gethighwith.Weneedpeople,aroundwhomwecanbestupidandnotfeelbadaboutit.Weneedsome-onewhowon’tjudgeusbywhatwewear,do,eatorbelievein.Inshort,wearealwaysonthelookoutforthat bunch of crazyheads who are as crazy as us, not less,notmore.Itisinthisspiritthatweraiseatoasttoallthefriendsintheworld.

Dedicated to the ones who have grown to love you for who you are, to those who beat you to pulp on your birthday but stay up all night when you are ill, tothosewhonevermissachancetotellyouyou’rean idiot but never let you make a fool of yourself in public, those who never let you suffer alone, whoturn your room into the common room but stand for anhourattheXeroxshoptogetyouacopyofthe10pointer’snotesbeforecompres,tothosewhocrywhenyouare inpainandspendtheir lastsixpencebuying your birthday cake, and most importantly, tothosewhobelieveinyouandwon’tletgo-averyhappyFriendshipDay.Yourbeingaroundhasmadeallthedifferenceintheworld!

Uponenteringuniversity,mostyoungstershavestarryeyedvisionsofworkinginplushofficesofmultinationals after graduating. Most doaccomplish their initial dream, but a few goalong the less beaten path, doing what they love as opposed to what brings in maximum cash.

Iwaschosenasan‘EngineersforSocialImpact’fellowthissummer.Thefellowshipinvolvesstu-dentsworking ina for-profitsocialorganizationduring their holidays and indulging in a lead-ership and entrepreneurship workshop later on. For two months I worked in an organiza-tion called iDiscoveri. The organization worksto reform education in schools bymakingcurriculummoreengaging.

I loved the job (marketing surveys, de-signing a part of their new product, data crunching),admiredthepeoplewhoareactuallynot afraid to do what they love, and who face the challenges of a developing nation head-onwithoutcomplaining.

Based on my time at iDiscoveri, here’s theessence of the gyaan I got: India is a coun-try of extremes. There is a huge part of thepopulation that lives in abject poverty, withno hope or dreams. As people fortunate tohave been educated at a top college, we can makeadifference.

Socialorganizationsarenotplaceswheresocialworkers walk around in white saris and ask forcharity. There are corporationswhich are bothprofitable and extremely profession-al in their feel, and they are changing the lives of thousands who live in poverty.

Anddowhatyoulove.It’syourlife,andlife’stooshorttoliveothers’dreamsandwishes.

Go ahead and make a difference!

cricket equipment and had started off with someinter campus matches within the QT and later played with mixed teams as most felt that cam-pus teams were rather unbalanced. Affected bythe FIFA 2010 fever, every student in Bhillai wasready to start playing the game. Cometh night,cometh the fun- CS clan matches, Poker (lost abit of money also), Bridge, Blackjack (only in thelast fewdays),FIFA,VT3andgames likedumb-cha-rades,etc.

After we received our gate passes and hel-mets, we were to be taken on a visit to differentdepartments of the Plant. It was during this vis-it that an elite group(3 seniors from GOA, myselfand one more student from our campus) decidedto show the officials our passion and dedicationto PS-1 and decided to take rest on the very nextday, thereby ‘registering’ the first bunk in PS-1,Bhilai, And so we continued for the next 5 days.We had to submit our diaries every Saturday forwhich we used to ask one of the regular guys to what hadhappenedthewholeweek.

By now I had made very good friends withthe 3 seniors from GOA campus who weredoing their PS-1 for the second time as an elec-tiveoption.Theywereverycoolandtoldme loadsof stuff about their campus and the ‘relations’ ex-isting (to every single person reading this, therethere). They also told me how to approach theelectives and campus placements and the way toplan and proceed with future prospects. They ofcourse dazzled me with rather ‘entertaining &enlightening’storiesaswell,whichImprobablysurecantbeprintedhere!

I was initially very disappointed when I wasallottedBhilaiSteelPlantastheworkstationformyPractice School-1 as I was looking for some placeclosertomyhome.EventuallyItookheartfromthefactthatsomeofmygoodfriendshadalsosufferedthe same fate and would be joining me in what Ipresumedwouldbe2monthsoftorture.

We were provided accommodation by ‘BITS’in a local college called ‘BIT’ (Bhilai Institue ofTechnology).Theaccommodationwasgoodenoughwithahugeroomwhichhadtobesharedby4peo-ple,anattachedbathroomandalsoaQTinsidethehostel. All in allwewere comfortable enough. Thehostel mess closed within a week as the students of thatcollegehadfinishedtheirexams.Wethenhadto eat outside every day! I could go on about thegoodfoodoutside,but let’s justsaythattherewasgoodfoodoutsideinabundance.Oneadvantageofthisaccommodationwasthatallourevaluationcom-ponentsweredonewithinBITandhencewecould‘officially’takeleaveonthesedays(thoughnotwithpermission).

Wewereaskedtoreportatthemaingateoftheplanton24th(May)morningat9:30a.m.WewaitedforaboutanhourbeforewefirstmetourinstructorsandweretoldthatwehadtofillsomeformswhichtheywillgetsignedbytheDGM,HRDwhichwouldthenserveasourentrycard inthePlant.Wefinal-ly got our gate passes and helmets after about 10days.

Meanwhile, we were completely making useof the facilities available. We had bought some

Time flew by and before we knew it,we were facing the Thursday of the 3rd week on which we was told we were to make a presentation (our first evalua-tion).Weweretoformgroupsof6andselect one of the departments which we were supposed to have visited and make a presentation on the workingof that department. I luckily had somepeople in my group who actually at-tended the visit to each and everydepartment. My ‘lovely’ roommatessaw to it that Iwaswokenup justhalfan hour before the presentation andwas told to memorize the whole stuff.The instructor then informed us in the middleofthepresentationthatwehadto divide the slides equally, by whichtime the first guy had already finishedwith half the slides. Then each onewent and spoke on about a couple of slidesandtheslideshadfinishedwhenmyturncame. Isaid“sir, I ll justgiveabrief summary and conclusion to what all hasbeen spoken”andput in a sen-tence which each guy spoke, all that Icouldrememberatleast.Thequiz-1alsowent on the same way, people were seen doing night-outs and studying for the quiz,whileme andmy goa friendswere joking all night about them andwere shit-scared just before the quiz-1(naturally) but the paper was damneasy. .

Afterthevisit,wewereinstructedtogo to our department of and requestsome MANAGER(DGM, AGM, Sr. Mgr.,etc.)toguideusthroughtheproject.Allaround me people were talking about it being a rare opportunity and they would not be able do again. I was to-tally confused and said to myself “Allizzwell”. Idecidedto justseeto itthatI completemyproject intimeand staycomfortable. I aimlessly walked intosome management department where theHeadwasreadytoguideme. Iwasgroupedtogetherwith2morestudentsforthesameproject(onefromGoaandone from Pilani). The project title was“RoleofTQMinIndianEconomy;ACaseStudy:BhilaiSteelPlant”

During all this we had our Group Discussions(GDs),both times I spokeonly one sentence and got one mark lessthanthetopperbothtimes(Iamvery grateful to my instructors). Wehadamuchtougherpaperforquiz-2wherewehad todraw theflowdia-gram of the working of the SteelPlant(Igota4on5,highestbeing…..FOUR:P).

Wealsoplayedsomebetmatchesincricket with some local boys there ofwhich I would rather not want tomention the results. We went tosomemoviesinBIGCinemas,someofthe guys went on a trip to Raipur for onewholeday,theywerejustmovingthroughmalls. Some also went to atempleduringthefarendofthePS-1wheretheyhadtoclimb1500steps.(turnsoutreligionhasnobounds)

After Ihadgotmyproject, Iwentto the plant only thrice for the projectworkandtwiceintheendtoget the project report approved andgetthesocalled‘letter’whichwegotontheSAILletterhead(:-Dluckyme!!).I then took special permission fromsir to leave Bhilai early as I wasdone with my project and we werealso ready with our project reportand presentation. After some plead-ing, sir finally agreed and I wasready to leave on the 14th night.The goa seniors and some others came to the stationwithme to giveme a send-off. the trainwas late byan hour but it dint seem to makeadifferenceasweallspenttimechat-ting. I still cherish those final mo-mentsatthestationwiththoseguysand also the times we spent play-ing cricket in QT and cards in rooms whenever we got bored, the mandoli restaurant where we had the bulk ofour meals, and of course the num-berofdayswebunkedandhad fun.

“MY NAME IS PADFOOT* AND I AM A 5-POINTER.”

“PS kaisa tha?”

Thissmall,all-too-commonquestionhasavastanswer.AsIdidallthethingsotherthanPSinDelhi,allIcansayabouttheplaceisthatitisanawesomeplaceforenjoyment(ifyouhaveajob),forrelaxation(ifyouarestudying)anddefinitely for lotsof fun ifyou have a good balance of both a bank account and (preferablyheterosexual)company.Ifyoucomeun-derthe“ladies”categorydon’tworryevenaboutthebankbalance.Your friend is forever (hisnamemaychange)willingtoprovidetheunlimitedcreditneed-edtomeritthelifestyleyouneedtolead.Butsadly,afewsolitarypersonswhodon’tcomeunderanyofthesecanonlytastedust,smokeandsweat.Ourpoorcandidatemay justbe jealousof a few, rageaboutthe circumstances or curse his college’s location.Thenagain, you can’thaveeverything.C’est la vie.

MyPSDiary startswith “Highly attractedbyaspecialprogramofBITS,PS IchoseNorthernrail-way,Delhiforbetterexposureandunderstandingofanyjob”andendswith“ThankGodfinallyitended.”I came toDelhi full of enthusiasm for learningandwatching places and trying to adapt new things as it

wasnotmerelyatravellingtourofIncredibleINDIA.But the bargain included sweaty hot days, hours of waiting outside government offices, moving fromchamber to chamber and place to place for work that seemedtohavenopurpose.OurPSwasjustanewseasonof‘OfficeOffice’withafewmoreproblems.Wehadalreadypaidaconsiderablesumtowardsbe-ing unpaid labour. My introduction usually startedwith“IamfromBITSPILANI”carriedawaywith“No,Noit’sarenown/verygood/top/afterIIT…”andfin-ishedeitherwith“yes!IliveinPilani”orwithanhourexplanationofGoaandHydcampuses.Nextdoubtpeoplehad,wereaboutfees,admissionor‘oh!Youare coming from far.’ (Not to mention numerousquestions about donations, certificates receiveduponcompletionof courses, and reservedquotas.)

Theorganization Iworkedat (namewithhelduponrequest),hadnoinformationaboutthewholePrac-tice School program or even about BITS so peoplewere considering us aliens or convicts of every shady aspect in this whole wide world of fundamental ac-tivities. Staff, guards and even peons had jokes on(about, regarding, you get the point) us. Few dayswerelunchless,waterlesstoo.TillthisIdidn’tmen-

tiondayswithattendancefrom12-1:30,fewwithoutthat also, sitting in Rajdhani and Shatabdi coachesforhours,justsubmittingnamesofpresentsortrulylearningabout fewverygood systemsof <let’s callitx>.Idon’tfeelneedofeventhatmuch.Butyeah,themajor point of attraction in BarodaHousewasLitchijuice.WhateveratleastmyAgradeina5unitcourse never balanced fourteen plus few more thou-sands. Particularly in that casewhere you canpur-sueaninternshipinabetterorganization,andatlessexpenses.

Nowthereasonswhatallkeptmealive inDelhiwerefewfriends,mycousinsister,theMetroandthelibraries.InitiallyMcDwasinthelistbutnowI’mtoofull of that. Thanks to SSS I dint dumpmy luggageon footpath. SSS, GN or & NJ were almost alwaystheretogoseeDelhiwithme.AfterfinishingeveryPSaround1:30wehadreadymadequestion,“Nowwhat?Wheretogo?&Lunch?”weneverhadanyab-soluteanswerfortheseasitwashardtofindanairconditioned, reasonable place (of course) near theMetro,evenusingaDelhimap.Butwhoeverraisedthisquestion1stfeltunanswerabletoothers.SothebestplaceleftforustositwasstairsofRajeevChowk(CP) Metro station which was near our office andcoolerthanoutsideworld.Itwasourdailyroutinetospendafewhoursthereforfindinganswersoftheseimportantquestionsoflife.

I spentmostofmyfreetime inmetro.Somy‘LifeinaMetro’reallyhadalottoseeandlearn.Youjustspendafulldayinametroandyoucanseethewhole of INDIA (with few other countries thrownin). I lookedatoverathousandfacessimplysittingor standing, many of them on mobiles, some groups chatting,afewrushinglikegettingthismetroistheironlyaiminlife.Otherthanlisteningtomusic,readingbooksormagazines, Iused to read facesandbodylanguage and tried to visualise their behaviour, char-acterandnature.AnysociologyorPsychologyscholarcandohisPHDhere.

Thenext favouritewas theSahityaAcademy li-brary.Therearemanymorelibrariesinthatareait-selfbutthiswasmoreattractivebecauseofthegreatcollectionofbooksinalllanguages.Manyatimemyfriendskickedmeoutofthegroup,asIaskedthemtocometothelibrary.

Now talking about a fewof the non-glamorousthings.IhavebeentotheBirlaTempletwiceandbothtimes,IfeelthatIhaveseenGod.Thefirsttime,ina

3-4yearoldboywhohadcriedwhenhisfatherkneltdownonfloortopraytheidol?Initially,hedidn’tun-derstandanythingbutafterseeinghisfather’shandsmoving, he himself imitated. The 2nd evening hadlovelyweatherandIthoughtofsittinginthetemplearea and simply talking to someone, but cell phones not being allowed inside and having no friends in the immediatevicinity,Iwashopeless.WhenIwastakingPrasad,themainpandit(whousuallyisn’ttheworld’smosttalkativeperson)askedformyname.Afterthat,wetalkedfor10-15min.aboutmycollegetomysur-name’sspellingtoelectricmotorofrailwayengines.Ineverexpectedsuchafriendthere.ButyeahIsawgodinaladywhowasshowingthesceneof“KrishnatellingsecretsofGeetatoArjun”tohis22-23yearsoldsonandexplaininghimaboutdutyandaction.

IalsohaveverysweetmemoriesofmytwovisitsofagovernmentblindschoolbutofthoseI’llmen-tionjustonething.An8thclassboyaskedme,“sir,ifyouknowanyboyorgirllikeuspleasesendhim/herheresothattheycanlearnsomething.Byeducationwe have realised that we are not wastes and now we haveaimsinourlives.”

These two months also comprises my cycling tour ofsomearea,wanderingoutsidealonetill11-12pm,endlesstraffic,ParatheyWaliGali,speciallunchesatAndhraBhavanandMaharashtraSadan,peopleandplaces.

Now just a little talk about themost attracting‘thing’(Ireallyshouldn’tusethisword,nochauvin-ism, ladies) Delhi girls. My many visits to DU, thedailyworkaroundCP,themetroand inthemalls, Igotmanyglimpseof this rare speciesof humanity.Mostpeople(notonlyboys)findattitude,despera-tionandafeelingofsupremacyinthem,whichmayevenbetruetosomeextent.OnaweekendeveningoneofmyfriendsKY(notofDelhi)cametovisitandwestartedsamplingthefinestofwhatDelhihadtooffer.Thenumberexceeded100injustanhourorso.

There had been a lot more in terms of personal feelings andunderstandings forwhich I don’t havewords toput forth. These twomonths,were likeayear for me, which helped in looking inside and comparingthatwithouterworld.Thereweresomereallygreatexperiencesandlearningofnewthings.

Thanks to PS, but still, PS I don’t love you.

“My PS was more a fully fledged vacation rather than what is assumed to be a learning of work practices. I found two months too long for this course. I missed home and campus life very much.” - BTarunReddy

“PS was OK. It was far from my home. We didn’t know much about the company’s work so they were feeling us as burden on them and we had to ask them a lot to get any work. For some work they expected a lot from us which we didn’t know.” - Nitesh

“It was gr8. I got in Kanyakumari and the employees of company treated us very well. Fortunately it was good for us but company should check more about the PS program ear-lier and students should get prior information about the work opportunities in their PS station.” - Shailesh

“My Station was nice but the project was not at all good. They didn’t allow us to learn much.PS program is fine but it’s not at all worthy of fourteen thousand bucks. Two months are too much for this thing.“ - G.Anvesh

“PS was good mainly because of awesome friends, I got to meet there.

We didn’t want to work and management was not interested to take any work from us.

I learnt a lot about life, work in group, dedication and performing few things even if not in work. I got to know how life changes and become tough as stepping out of college.” - SuhasShrivastava

“Well.. PS-I,,, the 8 weeks was a complete waste of time... personal view... would have learned & earned more, had I stayed at home, than I learned and spent in that period. Even then,, the first two weeks was acceptable..but enough... LET US..GO...!!!” - Abhishek More

StaywithmeawhileRise above the vileNamemyfinalrestPoured into my chest

IntotheorchardIwalkpeeringwaypastthegateWiltedscenesforuswhocouldn’twaitDrained by the coldest caress, stalking shadows aheadHaloofdeath,allIseeisdepartureMourner’slamentbutit’smewho’sthemartyr

Pledge yourself to meNeverleavemebeSweatbreaksonmybrowGiventimeendsnow

IntotheorchardIwalkpeeringwaypastthegateWiltedscenesforuswhocouldn’twaitDrained by the coldest caress, stalking shadows aheadHaloofdeath,allIseeisdepartureMourner’slamentbutit’smewho’sthemartyr

SpiritpaintedsinEmbersneathmyskinVeiledinpaleembraceReached and touched my face

IntotheorchardIwalkpeeringwaypastthegateWiltedscenesforuswhocouldn’twaitDrained by the coldest caress, stalking shadows ahead

HarvesttrulyisoneofOpeth’sfinestcreations.Themusichasahauntingmelodythatdrawsthelisteneranddrownshimintheflowofthemusic.Howeverthetruebeautyofthesongliesinitspoeticlyrics.Thoughsimpletheyareopentoapanoramaofinterpretations.

Frommypointofviewthesong isaboutdeath.The lyrics depict the last moment of a mans life, his painandanguishasheembracesdeathreluctance. “Into the orchard I walked peering way past the gates Wilted scenes for us who couldn’t wait”

The linesportray theman’s feelingashe looksupon the life around him and the fear of what he mightfaceafterdeath.

Drained by the coldest caress, stalking shadows ahead Halo of death , all I see is departure Mourner’s lament but it’s me who’s the martyr”

Herethedyingmanrejectspeoplelamentingandcryingoverhissufferinganddeath,becausehefeelsthatonlyheisthemartyrinhisbattleagainstdeath. Theotherportionsofthesongexpresstheman’spainandhisrepeatedrequesttohisbelovedtosatybyhissideandlovehimtilltheendoftime.

I ask myself questions: Who am I? Why am I here?This overpowering sensation of uncertainty…or is it one of fear?

Times when obfuscation seems to rule my worldTimes when my mind is being tossed about, twisted and whirled…

Chants of a mind that’s gone haywire,Uncertainty spreading like wild fire…Forceful feelings flooding out freely,a tornado of thoughts swirls wildly within…

There should be some way to stop this train of thoughtbefore it derails and turns things tragic,there should be some way to stop this brainfrom acting as if under a spell of dark magic…

It all seems to be going down an abyss,it will still be empty no matter how much interludebut I guess, behind this emptiness,is a lost soul trying to escape from solitude…

Want to get in on the action?

want to be the voice of change?

Ifyouthinkyoucanhaveanydiscernibletalentinwriting,editing,designingorresearchingorforthatmatteranythingatallmailusatmail.ltgtr@gmail.comwithabriefintroduction.

WORK FOR US

Wantyourvoicetobeheard?Mailusyourarticles,stories,experieces,poems,any-thingyouwantat mail.ltgtr@gmail.com

andwe’llmakesureyourviewsarereadbytheworldUNCENSORED.Subjecttoproffessionalstandardsbeingmantainedofcourse.

Arjun VarshneyConversationoftheDay!!...SeeingthoseOrangecolouredCones(usedinFootballPractice)inAbhinavPandey’sroom,hamaareKiranNairkehtehain:“YaaryahaanpeVLCMediaPlayerkyakarrahahai!!“......:D:P:P

Leeon PassiI’vedonemybesttogiveyounothinglessthanperfectness

Peri Naga Satya Chaitanya2yrsbackonthesamedayicametobphc.................nthenthingshavechangedsomuch.........

Soham Paldownloaded@85kbps....:D

Mathews M JohnHesaid,“iloveyouforever”.shesmiledandsaid,“justwarnmewhen‘forever’startstoend”

Mahesh Kumareternalshitshineontheuselessmindasthe“ColossallyDestructiveCourses”lineuptoscrewusall...LTGTRppl:P:D;)

Sriram Chepuriyshudileavemycountry???afterallGREymeansnthingmorethanacolorswatchtome

Swagat YadavClassicalMechkyapakaauhaiyaar!!

Prasanna GiridharDay1:TotalDisappointment:(

Chandan Kumar SahuIcan’tbelieveIbrokesomebody’snosetoday...:-D

Radhev Paletiitfeelssoscarywhenmyroomlookssoneatandclean!!!

Jubin AroraInternationalBeerDay...!!!amindspidit.,...brrrr:X

Vishesh Kumar BabaEveryone’slike“koinayiMAAALdikhikya?”.......

Faisal AhmadEntrepreneurssetthevision,theromance,andculturearoundabiganddaringgoal.Indo-ing so, their thinking should be like an architect in the concept anddesign development phase rather than oneinthedetailedschematicphase.

Shruthi VishwanathSpentthesummeratidiscoverimakinglearningfun....Nowbacktothesameoldeducationsystemwithallitsflawsandemphasisontestscores:(

Vakul MohantyClassesstartfromtom...letsseehowmanyicanmanagethistime...

Jagruti VojjalaDeadinsects-Check.Insectsfeastingonsaiddeadinsects-Check.Shirtlyingonbedfromlastsem-Check.Table,bed,chair,etc.-WHERETHEHELLISMYCHAIR?X|

Nitesh BaskaranAllyouneedtogetawayfromtheworld:AquieteveningwithPinkFloydonand..