The Beginning

Finally, after spending two days thinking of various means to do 'nothing' (the excuse being SPRING BREAK); i have decided to put pen to paper....how dramatic!! Well, nothing beats the feeling of holding a pen and its motion on paper with finite texture; but at the end of it all i might not be able to read what i have written...! Instead of wasting paper, i might as well follow a more 'sustainable' practice... the use of the 'delete' button on my DELL-icate laptop.

Come to think of it, my handwriting sure has worsened over the past five years! Ofcourse, it was at its best only during the five year trauma, an approach to get a degree in a creative field called 'Architecture'! But those five years have been the best to date ...

Hmm....so what have i achieved to date? Having reached 27...i have lived through nearly a third of my life; if i was to take the conclusions of a scientific research - the magical figure of 75!

Time for a retrospect: Spent the first six years in Kerala (people term as God's own country...sometimes i have reasons to believe GOD might not want to live there), three years in a school in trivandrum but hey what the heck, my grandmother was the principal there at one point of time!! hehehe....I have got my RIGHTS! ;)
Just when i was getting used to the dialect, I got transferred to the Middle East (a haven for keralites), and spent another nine years immersed in books and football, in Indian School Muscat...got renamed to TINTIN,...was called a math and engineering drawing freak when on the verge of entering 12th boards.
My thought process was very much streamlined then...1st std, 2nd std, 3rd std... to 12th standard. Once you are in the 12th, parents starts pressurizing you to frame 'GOALS'!!The only goal i knew of then was when i used to kick the ball into the net and scream 'goaaaaaaaallllllll....'

But there was always the creative side of me from birth - sketching automobiles, people, buildings....Having limited knowledge of the different fields out there, other than the zillion times people mentioned 'medicine' and 'engineering'...i was to make a choice! I chose ARCHITECTURE...a field that very few have a clue of and a word that computer hardware maniacs would associate to as 'computer architecture'. I am talking of buildings here....i wanted to design, sketch and relate to the people's thought process including myself...Having made up my mind before hand i had no idea of what laid in store over the next few years...

There i was in the jungle, one among the thousands of applicants in line for registration to the common entrance exam conducted in CEPT, Ahmedabad (a premier institute for architecture and planning in india); no clue of what to expect. Did i mention, why i chose Gujarat of all places in India? Well, to date i have no clue...
Having missed out a place in CEPT by one spot, the obvious next choice was M.S. University in Baroda. Only in my second year did i realize that it stood for MAHARAJA SAYAJIRAO and that the university was once the part of the palace that stood across the road. Allright!!...i was elated - i am studying in one of the historical ruins of India. Mind you, restoration works were going on! But the five year period from then on was a blast...a reincarnation of a warriEr. Helped me to inhibit my fears, become to be known as the silent fighter and a biking freak. Also developed a bonding with the gujju's (real and fraud), some of whom are my best friends.
Ah..finally the end was nearing.Graduation in 2003 was well awaited for; with tight security...not for us! but for the beloved C.M of Gujjuland (Mr. Modi). Little did i know he will be a core part of the decision making process in the projects that i will be working on in my first job.

All done, there i was, in kerala relaxing in the summer looking forward to take a two month break having undergone a series of operations in structure, materials and design. But the vacation was short-lived; pressure now to join the workforce. Hello??? Anyone out there looking to hire an architect? The pay scales of an architect a few years back were so low, that you are most likely to come under the 'low income category' of the masses. Five years of architecture,and i was no longer interested in getting back to the drafting board. I needed to draw a different line from the same vertex. Tried to get through various examinations for pursuing a masters in industrial/product design but in vain. Somehow the interviewers felt the ideal candidates are the ones with engineering backgrounds.....the math freaks!!! Is it a wonder that nowadays you find products of tata, godrej, philips etc lacking in design!.

In the meantime, there was an opening in CEPT; where i had stood in line once!! The post was for a research assistant in planning. I had some idea of planning; since my seniors had also worked in the same position. Hence i decided to give it a try...what the heck,it was different from architecture anyway!! The twist in life started just then. From the days of drawings and creative design to planning, policy and reports; from design sheets to power-point presentations; conceptual sketches to preliminary reports. Shades of grey were just starting to set into the brain cells. 'Torrid' would be the appropriate word attributed to the three year duration; a learning process to think beyond the box and most of all develop PATIENCE ! Had i hung on for one more year, i would have become a PATIENT. But the stint at CEPT helped in gaining an admission and funding into a two year master's program in Texas, in Urban and Transportation Planning.

So here i am, after 27 years, on the verge of completing my two years master's degree in Texas A&M (aggieland)....still chalking out my next stage of life. But today i am spending some 'worthwhile' time into blogging! An activity that i had been 'planning' to start since years - Sunday, the 9th of March 2008.
Shucks...there isnt even a historical event to associate this day to except for the fact being it could be my last spring break ! God forbid an inspiration to pursue a PhD or MBA after a few years....You never know. Unpredictability is a part of my life, dependability probably a curse.