Being a Mechie .....

The other day, I was enjoying my weekend with one of the perfect ambience I love.
Dark room, hot rava maida dosa, coffee & of course watching the movie ''The MARKSMAN''. This was a movie set out in the Chechen Warfield, when a US army officer all alone goes on a deadly mission of deactivating a Nuke reactor .Absolutely a masterpiece plot.

All of a sudden I heard a thud knock on my door, found 2 of my cousins visiting my home. Both had come on holiday to India from (where else US). One on her way to a PhD at U Mich & the other with the big daddy of Indian IT Co’s TCS.

After the initial (customary) exchanges they stared at the bunch of books on my cot. The Avenger, Fist of God, Icon, Afghan. All written by Fredrick Forsyth. Are u a hardcore undercover enthusiast, I said with a beaming YES. There came a big advice try reading some soft novels. I asked her way do u mean by soft. Soft means light romantic novels. These have strong repercussions on your character. I replied to her people read books to enjoy way they cherish, not for others sake and these are the one I love. Also it’s a known fact that I had been reading tin tin ,tinkle till the fourth year of y graduation and these were the one’s which inculcated me the habit .

Ok me doing this now. Back in US we get these books at these prices. Can get these all from Wal-Mart (My guess was rite ...) .Back in US ……. Back in US …. Continued on and on she was back again.

What r u doing now, where do you work? Hyundai, I replied. Wat … U not a SW engineer. I said NO (Is it a taboo????). U R missing something big kutta. Next what did u major . Mech ??? Didn’t u have any other options? This really offended me. I remembered the first time I got offended, way back in ’99 during the counseling. I opted for mech. Sir Can I confirm asked the counselor, I said YES. Sir…. Still seats are there in ECE, EEE, one minute... even in CSE …… my choice is MECH.
I had always toyed / loved the nuts & bolts and would continue so…


And those 4 years When we were looked up as a different species altogether by the student community .Wat a life man … University rank holders, overall sports championship or be the cultural events .Mech was rite there at the top .I still remember when the fourth year seniors of ECE used to make way for us on the corridors when we were entering the second year (No jokes.. true). This turns u in to an all thru bred individual.

I decided I need to take this head on. Dei nee oru Mech Maa Manidhan Yezhindudu, Vizhithidu ,Vendridu .After some initial rounds of shots I hit at point blank

Shreya tell me, wat is it you are researching .I’m working on a mapping the pressure at sub sea level for deep sea oil drilling. This will be useful for oil exploration. I said does at have any application other than exploration. No this is what I’am working very specific. Watts the use of finding oil?? . Are u Nutsssss .

Wats going to be this oil of use, if it’s going to be a hypothetical situation of no cars, no bikes, no bus, no airplanes. A blank face ……. Mechanical engineers move the world.


Now Ram tell me, I bet your whole IT only supports or facilitates wat our mech guys have been doing … Hey common kutta ….

Ok if it’s hard to come this side I will come there. said I . Now if I’m rite u have different BU‘s at TCS tell me one by one.

Retail - wats the use of writing a coding for automatic billing using RFID for retail concept if there is no manufacturing & distribution of goods which a re our forte.

Travel- No point in creating a customer loyalty program or Air ticket billing If the turbine on the wing is not able to thrust upwards.

Now see this BFSI - hey whats the use of Motor insurance if motor itself is not there.
And more that 70 % of Investments banks must be investing in a manufacturing base in shanghai ,Guangzhou or sriperambedur

Bye the way who is your onsite client. Arvin Meritor, They are in to …… Stop there.
Dei you could keep your foot in the US because the largest auto component company had called u. Just think at it.


I had my day ……
Mandalum Maraindhalum Maru piraviyulum mech maamanidhanai piraka vendum

Coffee Jottings .....

You appeared on my table all of a sudden steaming ,
God only knows from where perhaps from the vending machine at the terrace.
This reminds me one of the hidden pleasures of my job those club breaks,
Stirring you thru those froths reminds of the rough is life ahead.
I find the depths of the cup , chunks of white sugar with brown streaks ,
One side tastes white & sweet ,another taste bitter & black ,
Mebbe this is what life is…..


Call it obsession Call it habitual
Call it fanatical But I am not tryingTo make this a skeptical
I have this craving,Justifies behaving,I really need some of that
It all ground up, In my favourite cup,
Black or whiteDark or light Strong or Double
Right to start the dayRight at work ,
Right at endA perfect thing for those breaks

A lot can happen over a coffee

A Tryst with Mottai Madi Cricket

Motai madi Cricket is essentially the stripped down version of the most popular game in India, cricket. It is a rage almost everywhere in India, Particularly in few Places in Chennai including , Natesa Nagar 4 th,5th 3rd ,,2nd ,1st main roads.
Rules
The game requires the most minimum of investment with the mandatory entities being a ball , a bat , few bottels of water ,broom stick for cleaning and a 1 rupee coin for toss. Tennis balls, specially made for cricket and slightly heavier than usual tennis balls, or rubber balls are normally used. Broken Antenna or windows s serve as stumps at the batsman's end while a piece of brick serves as the stumps at the bowler's end. When sticks and canes are not readily available, two stones with a gap of around 1o inches is kept on the ground. The players assume the stumps at an imaginary height. This leads to many interesting events as to whether the ball would have hit the stumps or not had the had the stumps been there for real. Sometimes the stumps are drawn on the walls. The advantage, there isn't a need for the wicket keeper , but there are frequent instances when the bowler / batemen need to go 2 or 3 floors down to collect the ball.
An interesting aspect of motai madi cricket are the rules that apply while playing. These rules have been devised to cause the least public inconvenience while playing. Several innovative rules ( e.g. Half out / Full out, One pitch catch, ball touch body out of terrace out ,1g , 2 g , no extras ,
One-Man Gaaji, Last-Man Gaaji) are seen in , which make the game more interesting. While hitting a ball as far as you can in a cricket stadium is rewarded by runs, doing the same might shatter a few glass panes or lose the ball in to nearby houses , streets and thus put the future of the match in jeopardy. Hence batsmen with ultra aggressive instincts stand a very good chance of getting out very soon.Each venue carries its importance when the venue specific rule comes into play.One more interseting aspect is the batting team to field in the play area , the batsman too does the fielding setup along with the bowler to save his wicket .

Some of the finest talents got nurtured and blossomed on the terraces of Natesa Nagar . Notable were SP / Naani ( for their agressive shorts ) , Kutti Karthi for his first paced fielding , Peformer Pradeep for his performance & last but not the least the formidable pair of Vidhya & Natti , the deadly duo of Mottai Madi , who can wreck in to any batting lineup at any point of the game as well as glasses of neighbouring houses ...

Terms Used to be continued …… ",1]