New Year Resolutions

New Year is the time when people make resolutions, become nostalgic, sun burn themselves over dawn parties and make merry. I don't really think that the day is special or very different from the every other awesome day I live. Yet since our days are numbered (Remember 2012?) its worth giving my $0.02 to this phenomenon.

After completing 3.5 years of computer science, and watching 3 idiots, I have my new found passion for Cyrillic. I always wanted to learn it to facilitate communication between our fellow visitors from the far off lands. For example, after learning Cyrillic it would take minimal efforts to understand what's below.

An announcement for the Tourists at Mandrem Beach

For those who do not understand the above,its a pity since I would prefer using my skill sparingly. Also considering that the world would soon have non-english URL's, it pays to know Cyrillic.

Secondly I will explore each and every cave of Goa (No URL for something as pristine as that). I recently discovered an underground tunnel leading to a cave. The tunnel starts just below this desolate house named 'Matreja' around the fatorda stadium circle, behind Ravindra Bhavan and the unmaintained lake. The cave, largely inhabited by bats goes right into the city centre and has two openings which I have been to and one of them opens right at the spot from where I could see the below scene.

The century old Margao municipality building

As of now the cave has been hardly explored and much needs to be studied about it. Only a handful of people know about the exact location and this is the best description I can give of it since I am bound by the non-disclosure of the new caves discovery act, 1885 provedaria de Goa. As I complete my trail and make new discoveries I will release more information for public disposal. It is likely that soon we humans would go back to living in caves to show our solidarity towards our great ancestors without whose procreation we wouldn't have existed.


I would make a film, a tale of 2 hostels, of love and horror, passion and compassion, war and peace. The story will be an epic starring anti-Virus as the main protagonist with the tagline: Hostel life will never be lively again.

The last dusk of BITS hostel life

Several other resolutions are in the pipeline and would come out just in time the clock strikes midnight.

On a more serious note, I would like to thank everyone who made this year a wonderful experience. I will never have enough of you. Thanks to vodafone, gtalk BITS and Margao for the amazing moments and the many more...

Happy New Year -1!

InPiKs

At the Gateway of India

Being in Mumbai is always an interesting experience. Especially when its the eve of 26/11 terrorist attacks anniversary and you are standing right at the spot where everything happened. For Mumbai life goes on. Nothing can stop the spirit and vibrancy of this city. And for several reasons I love this place!

Leopold Cafe

The shoothout happened right here. A popular hangout for foreigners and locals alike and a menu that meets all your needs at a price, I got my first visit to leopold right on this day. We got a hotel room at bargain rates just above this cafe to spend the night. We were made to go through several security measures including our names being noted down on a suspects list 'coz we were idling at CST Railway terminus hunting some good book deals and had backpacks on; probably that reminded the on-duty officers of the night someone similar walked in doing much damage. Another unique experience :)

Crossing the Sea at Alibaug

Thanks to the DAAD and the Seminar they organized for us in Mumbai, we had a great outing to Alibaug. That's an island, an hours boat ride from the Gateway of India, followed by 30 minutes of bus journey to the beach. These ponies do real hard work ( Animal activists anyone?) and cross the seas during low tide, whih almost makes are feet wet as we cross the sea in the Tonga to reach the Kolaba fort some 500 metres from the shoreline into the sea.

The waters rising...
The horses/ponies waited for us as the tide was rising and we were out exploring the fort!

The bus ride and Village Folk on the island..surprising for Mumbai!

SeaGulls
Awesome company during the boat trip; this human induced daily migration of the sea gulls to and fro the harbour to Alibaug and back as food keeps flying off the deck is an amazing and entertaining phenomenon that gives you company in the Arabian Sea.

Far and away...Mumbai

Yeah..the Taj, now completely back in order though the heritage wing probably will take a lil more time to repair..historical place!

Vibgyor
Lens focussing and sunlight :P

Still waiting for our very own, Tortoise at Spicy Bella, Panaji, Goa to be followed by a dose of 2012 and Carassid and the tale of two sweet brownies :).

Now that's walking down memory lane..in 20 more days, I would no longer see this..sigh! But to cheer me up, some else has eyes too :)

BITS Pilani Goa Campus, the \m/ est place where everything is so so legendaryyyyyyy! No doubt I'm gonna miss it as I move out to new frontiers. Hopefully others too would have an awesome experience at this place! BPGC is not just a college, it is the college where Maggi can revolt and ideas evolve even in the loo, perhaps that being the reason why some room is so close to the place where SHIT happens!

Miss you! All the best!

Pratik Mandrekar
.mmmmmmmm.