Placement Season!

Placement season is one of the nervous times for all students. There is a lot of joy, disappointment and ecstasy involved during this time. I thought I would make it easier by specifying few guidelines to follow to land in a good job. 

In the recent past I have got calls regarding placements. I will try to answer all of them in the best possible way. 

Placement training is usually given before the commencement of the actual placements. This is kinda warm-up which would ease a few nerves. Try attending all the sessions if possible. I understand that few of you would not be able to attend all the sessions due to internship or any other reason. In that case make sure the questions are collected, solve them in free time which would be useful later.   

Firstly, you must know that it is a long process. It might take a few days or weeks or even months to get the first dream job! Patience is the key during this period. Luck plays quite a bit of role to an extent, so don't worry a lot when you see other friends get placed before you. After all 'Perseverance leads to success'.

The placement process happens mostly this way: there is a pre-placement talk given by the company. It is then followed by technical and/or aptitude written rounds depending on the company's job profile. The candidates short listed are called for the first technical interview. There could sometimes be a Group Discussion round before the interviews. There could be one or two technical interviews. In worst case even 3!! The technical interviews are followed by a managerial round and later a HR round to wind up things. This is a little specific to the circuit branches. There is often a coding round for software profiles. The duration of the interviews can range from few minutes to a couple of hours too!!  Few companies announce results the same day whereas some announce a while later.

Now coming to the preparation! Starting the preparation early will help a long way. Dedicate 1-2 hours each day for solving technical as well as aptitude questions. There are various websites which give aptitude questions, solving them is a good practice. Technical concepts are very much related to the syllabus of the corresponding branch. So revise the concepts studied in the previous semesters. In case the interviewer asks questions related to concepts not studied by you, you can tell it was not a part of your course. You will not be penalized for it. However, answering the other known concept related questions becomes important. Self confidence in the interviews is a crucial thing. Have trust in your answers and back it up with appropriate reasons. The interviewer might try to trick you. Be courageous and face it accordingly! 

Searching about the company profile at-least the previous day is important and can come in handy in the HR round to create some good impression. Make it a must to attend the pre-placement talk. Do not take it lightly. Many crucial things are told including the profiles offered and the pay! Make sure you go in formals for the interviews. That includes shoes and belt for sure! In case you are a day scholar, keeping a pair of clothes in your friend's hostel room can be helpful. This is particularly for the guys! Decent and well dressed clothes should do for the girls.    

Finally, try keeping in touch with the concepts at all times. Relax, stay confident and give it your best shot! 

BEST OF LUCK! 

GOD'S OWN COUNTRY- KERALA

This is one of the trips that will be etched in my memory for a long period of time. It was a very enjoyable trip which added to my life a lot of happy memories.

Well this was not the first time I visited Kerala. It was the third time but for a different reason though. It was my friend's sister's marriage. The trip was ON since long but arrangements were made just in time. So it was a Marriage cum Jolly Trip.

8 of us set out from Bangalore to Ernakulam. We spoke a lot over the Bus ride and came to more about our own friends deeply. At the end of it "What happens in Kerala stays in Kerala".

DAY 1:
It was morning and a hot and humid place was in store for us. This was the first Kerala Style marriage I attended. It started with the breakfast where we ate Appam Stew. It was delicious and my mouth still waters remembering it. Then we went to the Marriage place. It happened in a different way and I liked a few things about it. Then came the lunch. I had a hard time remembering the names of the dishes.(Reminds me of the Onam Lunch at Rohith's place)
It was a sumptuous meal.

We took rest for a while and then set out for Marine Drive in the evening. Kerala is known for its boat rides and this was the first of the boat rides we had there and it was worth it. Then it was time for LuLu mall which is supposedly the 2nd largest mall in India. It didn't let us down. It was humongous in fact. All of us were tired and crashed after we came back.

DAY 2:

We started to Alleppey early in the day. The Payasam at the Ambalapuzha Krishna temple was just like Amrutam. We reached the place around noon. We finished lunch and came to house boat place. The place is famous for its back-waters and house boats. It was a 2 hour long ride which gave us a lot of joy. Lots of photos, dance, crazy masti summarized the boat ride. 

It was time for beach time now. It was amazing playing at the beach. It brought out the kid in each one of us. We all played like the world was going to end the very next day! Roaring waves, Castles made in sand, Setting sun added to the golden moment of the trip. 

Later we reached Ernakulam and had our dinner. We started playing cards. We didn't know it would turn out to be so much fun that we go on to play till 3.30 am next morning!!! 

DAY 3:

Even though we were lack of sleep there was no lack of energy. It was another awesome day to be looking forward to but sadly the last day of the trip. We boarded a bus to Fort Kochi. Chinese fishing nets attracted our attention. I hadn't seen this type of fishing earlier. It was time for some shopping. This place attracts tourists from everywhere. It is famous for handicraft items, hand made stuff etc. 

We then visited the Mattanchery Palace/Dutch Palace. It gave us more insight into the place history and how it has become the place what it is now. Later we went to the Jew town and found peace after lots of walking and talking. 

It was then the last boat ride of the trip which took us back to Ernakulam. 

   Picture taken from the boat

It was time for some Pizza. We ate so much food in such less time. I still cannot forget it! 

It was time to leave the Villa! 

We then boarded the train. It was still not end of the trip. We had lots of fun playing the Truth/Dare game. It was 12 am soon. It was Reshma's birthday where it was special celebrating it by cutting cake in the train! 

The journey had to finally come to an end after having made memories for a life time!!! Then it reminded me of "Don't be sad because it ended, be Happy because it happened" 

Chase your Dreams!

We all have dreams which we intend to follow and achieve. We lose ourselves in the midst of many things that follow up. The goals are left far behind with passage of time.

 

As we grow up in our lives our goals start piling up. It can range from achieving a small thing to a humongous task. The motivation and inspiration we have to achieve a goal dies with time if not nurtured carefully. 

When I was a kid I wanted to swim. I wanted to go swiftly in the pool like my other friends. I was good as an athlete so I had thought I would learn this sooner than later. I initially was excited to achieve this dream of mine. I also worked towards it but lost the path somewhere. Sadly I have not been able to swim till date. This doesn't deter me from pulling myself up from swimming one fine day! I will keep trying. 

Well what are the reasons for not meeting our own goals we have set. When we look back we will see complacency, procrastination, not giving enough time for ourselves to achieve them as some of the reasons for failing. 

There are dreams which we achieve perfectly the way we have thought. 

When I was in my high school I had a dream of topping my school. I was just an average student who was fun loving and loved playing. Being what I was, it was a Herculean task for me to achieve. I was inspired that anything is possible with will power. I backed myself to pull of a wonder. I started working early towards it. I spent time daily on it. It was a success story at the end of it. I did top my school in 10th grade and I am glad my dream was achieved. 

However, there have been many dreams of mine which haven't gone my way and I inspire myself by remembering "You cannot fail unless you quit"

There are many times when you look back n feel 'Maybe only if I tried a little harder, it would have been possible' and there are many times when nothing clicks. My close friend rightly reminds me 'Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things and no good thing ever dies'

There would have been many dreams(goals) in your lives which would have died unknowingly. Go give life to it and embark on the journey of achieving them.

I would conclude by quoting

"A man without a goal is like a ship without a rudder" 

Remembering SWAMI

Today marks the 150th birthday of Swami Vivekananda. It is an honor that this great personality belonged to India. His contributions to India have been immense.

Swami was the founder of Ramakrishna Math. Later, he went on to become the founder of Ramakrishna Mission.
The mission performs extensive work in health care, rural management, elementary education and culture.
It has provided education to many rural children who, otherwise would have been deprived of it.

Swami was true 

"Education is the manifestation of the perfection already in man"




                                                  

It was Swami Vivekananda who traveled the country on foot to understand the country and its people. His speech at Chicago unraveled India to the world. 
Swami wanted to blend the culture and spirituality of our country and the knowledge of science and technology from the west for the betterment of mankind.

As part of the society, it is important for each one of us to contribute to a better tomorrow.

Let us all get inspired by this divine personality by recollecting what he once said

"YOU HAVE TO GROW FROM THE INSIDE OUT. NONE CAN TEACH YOU, NONE CAN MAKE YOU SPIRITUAL. THERE IS NO OTHER TEACHER BUT YOUR OWN SOUL."

HYDERABAD- HOME AWAY FROM HOME

Hello friends, I returned to Bangalore only a couple of days back. I had an amazing time when I was at Hyderabad. It was almost a decade since I had visited this wonderful place. I felt it was worth waiting for such a long time. I enjoyed every minute I spent in THE CITY OF PEARLS!!!

It all happened sometime in my 4th semester. It was normal tea-time talk at home. I asked my father if we could give a visit to Hyderabad the forthcoming holidays and he agreed to it. The tickets were booked to Hyderabad. From this moment I was totally excited about this trip.
My 4th semester came to an end. I got very little time for myself after exams to get out of the exam mood.(This semester was very hectic!)
The day to board the train finally came. It was after almost 2 years since I had boarded a train.(Frankly don't know why I hadn't been in train for such a long time!! ) The next day we were in the Hi-tech city Hyderabad.
We got down at the Kacheguda railway station and caught a rickshaw. The city had changed far and wide.
There were fly-overs almost everywhere and even metro work. I could hardly recognize this very city I had seen a few years back. It had changed a lot!!!

City of Hyderabad

On the first day we had planned to meet my father's colleague ( a close friend). After around 45 minutes from the guest house we reached their place. My father and his friend went on and on with their talks. My mother had her share of talks with aunty. I started a conversation with uncle's son. After a while we played few matches of badminton (played after a long time). Then a game of chess. Then came the sumptuous Hyderabadi lunch!!! We almost got set to leave. It started drizzling. The rain only got heavier with time. There were no signs of it stopping. Amidst the rain, we decided to visit the locality in which we stayed during the time we stayed in Hyderabad. I was happy to recognize few places near my old home. I just got a glimpse of our home from outside. We couldn't go inside as it was raining and quite late. It however made me nostalgic. We visited a couple of my father's colleagues' homes in the neighborhood. My friend recognized me. We had a long chat. I wanted to meet other friends but it was almost 10 p.m. We had to leave. It was still raining. I was totally exhausted by the time I got back to the room. It left me with many more happy memories.

RAMOJI FILM CITY

It was still drizzling in the morning. We had planned to visit Ramoji Film City. On the way to Ramoji, we visited a couple of temples- Ashtalaxmi temple and Sanghi temple.
After we entered the film city, we went to the stunt show.

STUNT SHOW AT RAMOJI

Then "The Spirit of Ramoji" show which was quite excellent. The 3D ride was just awesome. It cannot be explained. It can only be felt. After lunch we went to movie making show. I learnt quite a lot in this. Then the train ride. After this a few fun games. The main part was still left. The ride in the special ramoji bus.
I got a seat for myself right in the front. We saw the brindavan gardens, japanese gardens, london street, Raj darbar and what not. We visited so many places in just few minutes. The guide explained how these places are put to best use in the movies. Soon after we got down from the bus it started drizzling. Some places couldn't be visited. I managed to get few snaps in the rain before leaving the place.

FILM CITY AFTER RAIN

FILM CITY

The third day had many things in store for me. The plan was to visit a temple and a mythological museum.
It started of as per the plan. After a 2 hour drive, we visited the Yadagirigutta temple. We got the darshan of Lord LaxmiNarasimha Swamy. Then visited other temples in the vicinity.
After lunch we went to Surendrapuri. The mythological museum here is just superb. No words can describe it. Ramayana, Mahabharata and many other mythological stories were depicted in the form of statues.( Hats off to the great work) The museum had more than around 370 scenes. I feel everyone should visit this awesome place atleast once.

MYTHOLOGICAL MUSEUM AT SURENDRAPURI

Then we drove back to the city. I wanted to visit the Lumbini Park which a famous tourist spot. As time permitted, we could give a visit. Then the boat ride to the center of Hussain Sagar which has a Buddha statue. It reminded me of the times I came to this park so often during my childhood.

CENTER OF HUSSAIN SAGAR, BUDDHA STATUE

I had asked my school friend Sudhanshu for a meetup. I had waited for this for a long time. I recognized him with his 2wheeler. After an eye contact, he recognized me. The long wait ended with a hug. We decided to have dinner together with few of my other old school friends. He did all the planning of calling the friends and arranging everything. I met my other friends. Everyone had changed so much. We had changed from little kids to mature teenagers. We spoke a lot. We had so many things to share with each other. The supper was just perfect.(Hyderabadi) The food was very tasty. It still makes my mouth watery. These people stay at different parts of the city. I would like to thank you guys for having made time to meet me- Sudhanshu, Anith, Jainesh. You guys have left such sweet memories in my life which will be cherished for time immemorial.

WITH MY HYDERABAD SCHOOL FRIENDS

 The 4th day started quietly. I was still thinking about the awesome time I had the previous day.
We had made plans of visiting the old city of Hyderabad and the most important Charminar. After a half hour ride we visited the old city. The roads here are quite small. Its a perfect place for shopping.(for the ladies)
My mother shopped a little before we finally reached Charminar. The public could go to the 1st floor which was closed during the time I stayed there. So it was wonderful experience. The view from this monument is too good. Then we went to Mecca Masjid and soon after left the old city.

VIEW OF THE CITY FROM CHARMINAR

VIEW OF CHARMINAR FROM MECCA MASJID

The time to leave the city was fast approaching. The packing was done. We reached the railway station in next few minutes. I got the news the results were out. I had done much better than i expected.

It was only a few minutes before the train left. I felt my dream of visiting Hyderabad was finally fulfilled. This trip was just perfect. I couldn't have asked for anything more. It left a whole lot of happy memories in my life. Hyderabad for me is HOME AWAY FROM HOME

Life in hyderabad!!!

Hyderabad has been one of the beautiful places I have seen in my life.
I still cannot believe I spent 3 years of my life there. I would like to bring out some of my experiences in Hyderabad through this post. (Not all because this happened almost 8-9 years back!!!)

My father was transferred to Hyderabad. Our whole family had to shift to Hyderabad.
We were still searching for a good house. We could not find one soon. Moreover, my school was about to start soon. So, we occupied a house close to my school. My grandmother joined us almost a month late after we shifted to a new house.
The thing that always amazed me about Hyderabad was the name given to its different streets- Narayanaguda, Kachiguda, Domalguda, Chikkadpally, Kukkadpally and many more funny names. When I first heard them I burst out laughing loudly.
Some of the places in Hyderabad are amazing- Tank bund, Ramoji Film City, Birla Mandir, Lumbini Park, N.T.R. Park and many more.

Our new house had a river flowing behind it(which didn't look like one though) which was named Musi river.
One morning, when I was deep asleep, my mother woke me up. I was astonished to see the Musi river flooded. This was the time when floods occurred in Hyderabad. The current in the river was very high. I still remember people on the other side of the river crying aloud as their houses were carried away by the river. The sight of a house falling and being carried away by the river is very much fresh and green in my mind. It was a very sad situation and a pitiable one. All schools and colleges were declared closed for 3 days.
It took quite a while for all of us to get out of the situation.

I was very close to my grand mother(father's mother). She never ever scolded me in my entire life. She always told me nice and interesting stories. She always came to my rescue whenever my mother scolded me. My mid term exams of class 3 were nearing. One morning, my grand mother was hospitalized because of vomiting. The same afternoon she was struck by paralysis and she slipped into coma and passed away peacefully that evening.
All my relatives stormed into our house at Hyderabad. I was crying the whole day. I felt as though my life had come to an end. The last rites were performed. All my relatives left to their homes.
I was sad and plain for many more months to follow. No one in this world understood what big a hole was created in my life. My parents always consolidated me.(Tears are pouring down my eyes as I write this)

Life went on. My final exams of class 3 neared and finished in a hurry. I was still in grief. But I was becoming better day by day. My holidays came. My parents took me to Bangalore where I met my relatives. Then I went to my mother's birth place which is near Sringeri. I stayed there for a few days and then returned to Hyderabad. The incident was almost forgotten by now.
Class 4 began. Since I was not that good in Hindi as compared to my classmates, my mother forced me to join Hindi tuition and I had to. During my stay at Hyderabad I went to 5 different tuition centers.
In the mean time, I had made quite a lot of friends. I would play cricket and sometimes football almost everyday. I would always gaze at the clock waiting for it to turn 5.p.m as fast as possible as my mother would allow me to go and play.
Time passed on. Sankranti festival arrived. It is celebrated very grandly in this part of India. Varieties of kites add color to the sky through their presence. My parents also took me to a kite competition where kite fliers from different parts of India as well as from abroad came and took part in the competition.
Holi was the next festival to arrive. As all of you know, it is the festival of color. I thoroughly enjoyed it by getting myself totally coloured and also throwing coloured water at my friends. This is one of the best holi festivals I have had in my life.
By now I had moved into class 5. There was new subject(3rd language) which was to be taken this year. I chose Sanskrit as my 3rd language. It was a new subject which I really liked. I would like to mention my teacher's name - Shashi pandey as I scored a centum in my final exam in a totally foreign like subject.

CRICKET WC
The cricket fever was everywhere. It was the 2003 World Cup. I and my friends watched almost every match. If the match featured Indian team playing in it, then me and my friends would watch it together and support for team India.
It was then the final match. Team India had performed really well to reach the finals. All of us had made big posters showing our support. But it was a major setback to all of us as Team India suffered a heavy defeat in the last match.
Meanwhile my father was transferred back to Bangalore.
I had to leave my friends, my school and go. It was very tough. But it is all a part and parcel of life.

The fact that always hurts me is that we went to Hyderabad as a family of 4 and left Hyderabad as a family of 3.
I have not visited Hyderabad for the last 8 years. I hope to visit it at-least during this break.

I have put in my best effort to include all the incidents that happened in my  life during my stay in Hyderabad which was more like a dream!!!

rvce first year

One year has already gone by in rvce. I feel it was only yesterday that I joined rv. 
 The first few days of rv are still fresh and green in my mind.
It all started of with the inaugural function which had around 4000-5000 people. Then came the orientation program where I made a few friends. I came to know more about rv.

I still remember the first day at rv. The class was almost filled when I entered. I managed to get a seat for myself in the first row(as no other place was empty). I got to know my classmates better.
The first few days at rv went on smoothly. Then came the quizzes and the tests. These were a little different from normal ones. We were a little tensed to begin with as these would add to our final marks.(Now we have got adjusted to it)
The first semester flew by without much colour(except for the kannada sangha program).
Then came the final exam which was the first of its kind in rv. It was followed by the holidays which spanned almost a month which gave all of us enough space for a breather away from our busy schedule.

Second semester
The second semester was more fun filled. There were more fests and more fun.
We all got a first hand experience when we organised science fest Genesis-11.
I was part of the paper presentation event which was one of the main events of the fest. It went on well with a few hiccups here and there. But the fest was a huge success. The rain was like icing on the cake which poured heavily on that day.
One week later was the EC, TC, IS and IT fests. The fests were very well organized.
I took part in mock CAT event to get an idea of it. But it turned out to be much better as I made it to the top 6.
Even second semester came to an end with the semester end exam.

The last one year has been really nice. I have made a lot of friends. To name a few Sunil, Ranjan, Karthik, Reshma, Sushma, Raksha, Nair, Rohit and many more. (very sorry not to mention all of you)

I hope my holidays go on well. I will post one on that soon.