AMAN

This will be a short article as far as my words are concerned. The video, I'm sure will speak for itself.



Let me give you a small commentry about the whole video. First of all is the tuning of the engine. i.e. The initial running in. The next scene is Megh filling up the tank. After that Niranjan and I strap up the plane with rubberbands. Megh then cranks the engine and...... it finally starts. And Adarsh revs it up. [I love the sound that the engine makes] Then Anjan helps me put the parachute into the drop-box.

Aman taxies to the take off position. Aman take off! I give a small shot at flying. You can also see that the payload works.
And, last of all,

Aman Has Landed

Man or Machine (revisited)


There has been a lot of talk among our small group of friends about Michael Schumacher. And in particular - his ability (or inability) to win. He is a true champion, no doubt about it. The records speak for themselves. He won the drivers championship not only with Ferrari but with Benetton as well! He holds the records for the maximum driver's championships, maximum poles, maximum podium finishes, maximum wins in a season, maximum.......well almost everything. And in 2002 he finished every race on the podium, with 11 victories out of 17 races! He is the highest earning sportsman by more than double! Phew!

One aspect that still baffles me quite a lot is "Is it the Man or the Machine" in Formula 1. With all due respect to the winners, I am quite sure that this still is a sport where your equipment decides your success. True, your ability is tested; but that is quite meaningless if you are in a slow car. Or in an unreliable one. Eddie Irvine is a classic example. He was among the top three drivers during his time with Ferrari. But after his shift to Jaguar he slipped right down to the bottom rungs of the sport. But his skill was good enough to get him a podium finish with relatively much slower Jaguar in Monaco. But his success rate was much lower than when he was with the scarlet red Ferrari team.

Coming to the most important and popular person in motor sport, Schumi, he began his career with Jordan as a replacement driver. He performed exceedingly well in his debut. In Shumi's first two seasons with Benetton he drove to his potential but was unable to deliver because of the limitations in the car compared to the Williams and McLarens. The '94 and '95 season saw him win the drivers championship for Benetton. Some reasons for that might be: In '94 the Benetton was the fastest car on track by far. It was so fast that its raw speed fuelled thoughts among people, that the team had found a loophole or a way to violate the FIA regulations. '94 also saw F1 lose one of it's heroes Aryton Senna. Now, there was no more competition for someone of the class of Michael!

In '95 the richest company wanted the best! Michael joined Ferrari and has never contemplated leaving it since. But Scuderia, with not even one Championship win till that time, couldn't give Michael the machine he needed to win. Improvements in the car were made constantly and by '99 they had the car to show the world that they were the best. Unfortunately a brake failure saw Schumi crash, break his leg and lose out on more than half the season. By the turn of the millennium it was Schumi all the way. Schumi and Hakkinen, his only competitor, were in a different league all together. But Mika got the better of Michael. In 2002 Ferrari won 15 out of 17 races. Schumi won 11 of those. This was the time Kimi, Montoya, Alonso were getting the hang of F1 'and learning their first lessons'. Then came Ferrari's (temporary) slump. In '04 Michael managed to hold off Kimi to win the championship by one point. The car they released for 2005 was the "pits"! The tyres didn't help make things better.

2006. Things weren't looking too bright for the Ferrari - Michael combination, with Renault winning the first three races. In San Marino, the race held last weekend, Schumi drove magnificently in the middle portion of the race where the Ferrari was much slower than the Renault of Alonso. This is the best I have seen him drive in a long long time! This is why I became his fan. To hold back a faster car (moreover that of Alonso) takes some doing! And he did it with relative ease. Is this a come back. Or is this a one-off? Let's wait and watch! Alonso will give the "speedmaster" a run for his money.

Getting back to the main argument. The "Man or Machine" issue can be looked at from another perspective. That Formula 1 is a team sport and the driver is only a part of this big team. So, the "Man" and "Machine" are essentially one. Then why does the driver get all the credit? Doesn't every man doing his small part deserve a share in the glory that the driver gets, for the sleepless nights that they have put in to get their "Machine" in top form to get their "Man" to the top?

Talent is one thing, and having the car to show it off is another! If the right combination can be found, they will be invincible. Like the Ferrari - Schumi one. Another is the budding combination of Renault and Alonso!

Any guesses for the victor of 2006
GO ALONSO!

Extacy...... Aman is successful!

Phew! That should tell you how relieved we were. Wow! Our next expression.Now, That was extacy. I can't forget the feeling that swept over Nir, Danjan and me when we saw Aman take off for the first time. The landing was even more elegant. That was the reward for the hard(ly) work we had put in since about a month and a half.
Guys who have read the previous post on Aman! I had told you that I would keep updating you about Aman. So, here is.

Well last Sunday, it was a small step for Anjan, Nir, Megh and I but it was a giant leap for Aman. The previous day there was a "Niranjan's - Believe it or not"! He took the plane to Bangalore by train. The next day, we went to the Jakkur Air Field on the outskirts of Bangalore. This was the first time I would see remote controled planes fly. I had been waiting for this day from the time we started with the project. It somehow eluded me everytime. There, waiting for Adarsh (our project guide), were about 25 people. He is the trainer for everyone there. They get their planes and Adarsh fills them with the passion he has for this relatively expensive hobby. Age is absolutely no bar. I saw there people from the age of 10 to 65. The aspect that struck me most was that, even the old are interested in this kind of a leisure activity. Everyone there is friendly and willing and in fact wanting to help each other.
Staring with Suman, who lent us his transmitter and receiver for the project. Sharath helped us with the final settings in our model. All this time (the busy) Adarsh was testing and teaching other people with their models. We were getting quite angry and iritated with him because he wasn't even running-in our model; something we had to do before flying it. We had reached Jakkur at 9 and it was close to 12:30. Finally, he did come and got us started up.
I will not bore you guys with how the running in is done. Anyway, we used twofull tanks of fuel for tuning the engine. Now was the time. After a few final checks (without which the plane would have crashed - The clevices on all the control surface were loose). Thanks to Niranjan, we corrected it and got underway. I was quite circumspect about flying the plane that day, because we had a broken nose wheel. But Adarsh's confidence rubbed onto us. He gunned the engine, like that way you would have seen in the old films. By rotating the propeller! Then came the longest 10 secs in my recent past life. It was time dilation to it's perfect ultimate. Aman gathered speed and zipped along the runway without any sign of the nose wheel wobbling. We (Nir, Anjan and I) kept chanting in our minds: TAKE OFF, TAKE OFF......... And take off: it did! It seriously did. A feeling of relief came upon me and I felt that the time till now wasn't a waste but Project Aman was successful. Yeah!
Taking off was actually only to prove that the plane is flyable. Then it was all up to Adarsh to see what the plane could actually do. In the first sortie he did just the basic stuff, nothing special. Then came the landing, the next point of choking (for us at least). It was as smooth as greased lighting! At that point we were in seventh heaven. And all sated(in spite of not eating since 8; it was around 3:30)! In the second sortie, Adarsh then flew the plane to it's limit! Rolls, Vertical Charlies....... the works.

After a "clean" landing

After all that was done with, we were already thinking of how to show-off .......LOL. We then made our ways home separately pooped and drained. I was so tired, on the way to the railway station, I slept in the auto for 10 mins. But in the train Niranjan and I couldn't hide the excitement and didn't doze off even for a few seconds. Well that day had taken it's toll on us..... on me at least. I have been sick with a very high fever since two days. But the satisfaction is unfathomable.
I will keep updating you guys about Aman, that is, if you are interested. Well, even if you aren't I will write and force you to read ;)
So much for this time!

SJCE Mechanical : I can't get enough

It has been my passion to learn about the mechanisms that we come in close association with in our everyday lives. So, in school physics was my favourite subject. A good score in CET wasn't incentive enough to shift me away from this passion. Inspite of a lot of opposition from all round, I went ahead and chose mechanical engineering in SJCE, a decision that I will never regret.

Our lives as mech eng students wasn't all that great for the first four semesters, I would say. The usual mass bunking, proxy etc. Nothing out of the ordinary. It was in the 5th semester that I got to know more friends and realised what a fun loving and "koole" class we had. We organised industrial visits in and outside Mysore(but actually ended up doing more than just visit industries). Went on long bike rides. Started studying less, attended 60% of the classes and what not.

The next biggest binding factor was Dues Ex Machina - Incarnation 2005, a technical fest that we, the then 7th sem students took on whole new roles as event organisers and put on a fabulous show. Each and every student did his (I will not say her, coz there are only boys in this batch of 2006) bit to make it a success, so it would be unfair to mention any one or two. But I still feel that Guru, Sukhesh, Niranjan, and a whole lot of other guys were the main stay (please don't curse me for missing out any other names). The fest knit the class into one and gave us a sense of pride in belonging to SJCE Mech 06.

Another important part of the fest, something we wanted to be a crowd-puller, was the sweat-shirt we designed. Anyone read Angels and Demons (a Dan Brown thriller)? It says there that ambigrams can be made by only a selected few people in the world. And as it happened, we were those few. One morning Niranjan came to class [late as usual], sat beside GB and me and said "I want an ambigram on the shirt". I, knowing what an ambigram meant, said that would be very very difficult. GB was dumbstruck. Anyway, we got hold of ourselves and worked at it for precisely 13 min and 13 secs. I worked out a portion of the word and GB the rest. This was just the beginning! GB, the artist, took the sample sheet home to draw it on a white paper and get it the next day. [Well, this pic will show you how good he is at sketching] The modifications he made to the initial sketch was soooooooo amazing, my vocabulary limits me. It looked better than the ones in 'Angels and Demons'. I'm not kidding. See it for yourself!





That's not the end! Coming to the front of the shirt, we guys, Varun C, Varun S, Megh, GB, Niranjan and I, went to Varun's house with the intention of brainstorming for a caption for the sweatshirt. We instead ended up talking nonsense for 2 hours or so (during which Varun and I completed our practical record work). And suddenly in a flash, one of us came with an awesome brain wave - Screw You (something not very polite, but something that gave us food for thought for the final caption). It was later modified as: I screw you; We screw you and finally We screw... But our innovation didn't stop there. "We Screw" was further modified to something really ingeniously presentable and "blatter-worthy material" by the Varuns......
" Life has Infinite degrees of Freedom and n constraints, We Screw those n constraints"
So basically, we mechies, are left with infinite degrees of freedom.


And like I said, we wanted it to be the centre of attraction. It was! For months to come. And not only among us but also with other branches and other colleges! It was also featured in the Times of India.
College after Dues Ex Machina was like the way we wanted it to be. We, the students, were kings. So impressed were the lecturers by the show we put up, that they let us practically dictate the terms. The highest attendance that anyone managed was a 65%. We, anyway, managed to get away scot-free with medical certificate, that we could buy for a measly Rs.25 .
Come the final year, and we were all busy with our placements. Our batch of Mech 2006 made history by getting placed the maximum number of students in mechanical engineering ever. We are a pretty brilliant batch, to say the least. This, I am quoting from the horse's (lectures') mouth. They were overawed by our performance considering the number of classes we attended. Internals had lost their meaning by then! We bunked classes to go on bike rides. Classes; we attended the first one of the day. The rest of the day was for doing stuff like this.

In engineering, I did a few things that I can never forget, other than the blast of time I had in college. I got into the habit of reading novels! Writing blogs! Learnt French! Played basketball nearly everyday for 4 years! Broke my limbs! Made a lot of good friends! Won quizzes and many other events (only a few times)! Managed to get placed in a company I wanted!
It has been a lovely journey with these guys in mechanical engineering. We have made sure we enjoyed ourselves in the three years that we were together, and make it a memory worth cherishing!

Three cheers to SJCE Mech 2006!

Project Aman

Well, aerodynamics! For a final year project in Mechanical Engineering. Possible? Main Hoon Naa?

Let's see how it all began. We [Anjan, Megh, Niranjan and I] had, in the beginning, decided to work on a project that one of our seniors had done before. After trying a whole lot of other possibilities Niranjan got a fresh brain wave about a guy in Bangalore, who he then thought was an aeromodeler [I didn't know what that meant when I first spoke to him]. Anyway, I gave him a call, struck a deal and we were off to Bangalore the very next week.

Over the phone I expected Adarsh to be a 25 year-old in jeans. He turned out to be a 30 year old management graduate [he is the Senior Manager in the circulation division of Deccan Herald] decked up in formals. He was a very friendly person to speak with. And he gave us a few options which we could consider.... We were amazed by every one of them. Even you will be:
They were (1)An aircraft made from locally available materials, (2)A model truck that could do 0 to 60 in 3 sec and (3)An ornithopter. We had already decided by then that this would be the guy with whom we would be doing our project. He was the man! We decided on the first option after a long thought.

After a small break for our exams [and holidays in between] we finally got down to work. This was the really interesting part. We made [fabricated] the plane from scratch. Ananth [a 2004 passout from NIE mechanical] helped us with the wing and all the portion that had to do with plastic [he is aSPAD freak]. He has always been very concerned about our project and I'm sure will see to it that we do a good job of our project report. It is because of his continuous pestering that we have finally got started with the project report. Thanks a lot, Ananth, for getting the ball rolling. Now hope we can continue with this initial momentum.

The fuse[lage]! We built that part with the help of another person called Shivkumar. He has great workmanship and is filled to the brim with ideas. A fun person to be with. He worked even as we drank juice! [as in the pic] He spent quite a lot of his [precious] time on our model, something for which we should have expected to compensate him for. But, we were first timers to this and were least expecting him to ask us for a sum of 2 grand. We were taken by surprise at first, but later I understood that it was quite obvious and right. The hilarious part of all this was that he too was charging-for-his-time for the first time and didn't know how much to expect! Anyway, all's well that ends well. The model was completed and done with. We were happy and so was he!

This article, I wrote because I didn't want to forget about the initial stages of the project. It is in a kind of a stall right now. I hope that this is only temporary and also wish that Aman will take to the skies as soon as possible.

I'm sure that this is a great project but we need to keep the momentum going for it to materialise. Instead of waiting for things to happen I feel that we ourselves should take the initiative and go on till the end. We need to get more involved. I'm sure we can pull it off. Anjan, Megh, Niranjan and obviously Aditya...... Come on. Buck up!

I will make sure I write an article to follow this up to tell you about the developments that will take place till the day of the demonstration.

AMAN

Goa

Soon after I was back from this small trip of mine with a few friends to Goa, I searched for communities that had Goa as a theme in Orkut. And one of the post in a well managed community said. "Everyone should visit Goa at least once in a life time". And I was quite lost contemplating how true that statement was. I had been to Goa once when I was 10. Visited all the churches, beaches, forts, etc. But this time when I had gone with my friends from school it was a totally different experience. Man! I'm at a loss of words describing the feeling I have right now! So....let's get into familiar territory. I somehow rush into telling people things. I'm impatient. Ok, let me reveal it to you a little slower.

One [bright sunny]day Karum(baiah) called me up and told me that they were planning a trip to Goa. Two days later I got a call from Amit and his pretty-decent job of convincing me to join them really got me interested in this....... and I took a decission that I would never regret. We then met in CCD (Cafe Coffee Day) to try and finalise plans. Akash, Carl, Krishna and Kashyap (Moza) were the other guys who were to keep me entertained for the next 6-7 days.

SO! All set to go, we boarded a more expensive Volvo and reached Mangalore, from where we took an express to Margoan. Nature took on a totally different look on this small 4 hour journey. This is where the Goan atmosphere hit me! Konkani, bermudas, sea food, good roads ( well.... compared to Kanataka) et al. After much debate we hired an auto to Panjim where we were to stay. The first place we stayed in was a hole, but the next morning we moved into a cleaner and a bigger place. I think the challenging first day helped us appreciate the kind of stuff we could get for 100 Rs. per day per head. The first evening we went on a "so-called" cruise that was more like an hour long boring boat ride! Pathetic! An experience I want to forget! But our miseries on the trip were thankfully short lived. We enjoyed every moment since. The meals, the beaches, the drives, the roads, the chicks, the CARNIVAL [ I was fortunate to be in Goa at the time of the carnival thanks to my mom; she didn't think it wise to send me a few days ago; thanks ma! ] and everything that was around us.

Our first day, with the cars that we hired, was basically orienting ourselves with the roads we needed the conquer in the days to come. It was Karum and I who usually did most of the navigating. When given a chance Carl made sure that he screwed up ;) (LOL.... no hard feelings). Anway, we did somehow manage to find our way up north to Arambol beach. The heat had really got to us by then. So we stripped down to whatever looked decent enough to sport, [though all this actually is meaningless in Goa with all the nude beaches around], and jumped into to sea for a swim! Anyway, we dressed to our satisfaction at least, if not for the onlookers, who were invariably foreigners.

On the beach in Arambol I ate the biggest pomfret that I have ever seen in my life. Tasted awesome. And the bill! It cost 250 bucks! This is 'coz I had forgotten to see the APS ( as per size) label beside the dish on the menu card. Once bitten twice shy, as they say! Next time I searched for any such mention of APS any where close to whatever I ordered.

Earlier that morning we made a short visit to Fort Aguada. We saw a lot more than the fort there! We actually realized that we had clicked ourselves so often that we were seeing ourselves more on that day than we had done during our whole lives till then!!! We returned to the room pooped and drained. But before that I saw one of the best churches till date. It looks even more amazing by night. The architecture is really awe inspiring.



Ok! That was our event packed first day! We some how managed to wake up at least at 9, thanks to.... Sorry! I was too sleepy to remember. On our second day we drove south to Vasco da Gama ( Vasco ), to see the famed port there. It was quite disappointing that we couldn't go into the port ( which was actually quite obvious ), but we did spend some time gazing at the serene and clear waters that lapped the rocky shore. Later that day we drove to Dona Paula, a place eponymous to the two lovers who committed suicide at that very spot.....ages and ages ago.... Some tales live on! Tourists like us make them popular!
Our next stop was Calangute...Well I have to mention here that Akash, for his keen interest in Calangute [ a word he repeated about 10-20 times a day], was nick-named Akash Calangute during our small burst of freaking out. And boy! Are the beaches in Goa clean or what? There must have been around a thousand or more people around and wasn't a piece of plastic one could see strewn about! Amazing isn't it? [ My last sentence was meant for only Indian readers; to the rest it would be quite meaningless ] The Banana Boat Ride was quite exciting! Credit to Carl, because he had the guts to come deep into the sea inspite of not knowing how to swim. He did try to cling onto me when we toppled into the sea, which resulted in both of us getting hurt pretty bad! That's all in the game!
In the evening we spent some time in the carnival dancing and watching a small display with fire. Let the photograph speak for itself here.

Today was THE DAY: We had to try out a shot of tequila! So, we went to a pretty fancy restaurant and after a few tips from our waiter there [ who was quite helpful ] we knocked down the shots with relative ease ;) It was more of a learning experience than any thing else! We learnt that the movies were wrong in the way they portrayed " Tequila". We then went down to the beach and sat there talking CRAP till around 1 in the morning. The beach is really lovely to watch in the night, when all is calm around and the rhythm of the waves can really sweep you away to ..... well, the place of your imagination.

The next day would be our last! I mean the LAST one in Goa. I have completely forgotten to mention to you our fiscal position. We were choked!.... and I mean choked with no breathing space whatsoever....I for one, had to manage the last day with around 1000 bucks. That would include in the tickets to be bought to get back! Get what I mean? Inspite of all these constraints our last day was undoubtedly the best!

Most readers of this piece of graffiti would be wondering why I haven't spoken about churches till now. That's because we kept the best for the last. We visited the Basilica of Bom Jesus and the cathedral opposite that. And got myself tattooed just outside. Now, we has to do that once we had come to Goa.... and why not?

We then drove to Anjuna Beach. I've seen about 20 beaches in my life and about another 100 on TV or so, but I have never seen or heard about one like Anjuna. It has latterite instead of sand on it's shore! How amazing is that. The stone is like a maze of miniature asteroidal surfaces that blow your mind away. It sure did blow mine [ that's why I'm writing this article ]. Check out the creation on the rock due to erosion. A face: something like a teddy bear above our heads. The shops around Anjuna were a good chance for us novices to learn how to bargain and we did so with a lot of vigour. It was fun!

Then for our final stop of the trip. The Vagator fort! The one that is shown in Dil Chahta Hai. After a lot of searching and bit of a gamble on my part we did manage to reach it; the very place that most of us had come to Goa to see. This place was heaven! Words fail me. Again, I will let the pictures tell you the story.

Conquering Heights

Messengers of God


Music: Life

After capturing a few memories to remind us of the fun we had, we tried out a few Rang De Basanti stunts [ well, in a safer manner ]. The dinner we had on the last day was the best ever! We casually walked into a restaurant, small in appearance from the outside, only to get in and see the grandeur inside. I somehow felt that those guys [ the restaurant management ] had pity on us [ or something of that sort; pardon me if I'm wrong ] and gave us 4 pegs of whiskey on the house! The food was out of this world. And to top it all up there was a guy who was doing face paintings. Knowing that opportunities don't knock on the door twice, I was first up to try this out. Tell me how it turned out.


Like all journeys, the return is rather difficult and the most boring part. And this one was no different. The fact that we were short of cash didn't help make matters better either. This was our exciting ordeal which, I'm sure, will be impregnated in our memories for a long time to come. Thanks to my friends with whom I had a blast and who gave me pleasant memories to treasure.





They were Krishna, [I]Aditya, Carl, Akash, Amit, Karum and Moza.

A TIME TO RECOUP

After a gruelling two weeks of exams, and after having the satisfaction of having completed yet another step in the long flight of stairs to becoming an engineer, I took a break from studies and normal life into the relatively slow paced life of a coffee estate in Chickmagalur. I made two trips this time around to my uncle's; once alone and the second time with Anuj and Rhea ( My bro and sis )

Reaching this town that is quite separated from the rest of the modern world takes a long drive of about 250 kms. I say long because the road in parts is quite pathetic, allowing us to do an average of about 20kmph. On the brighter side the portions of the road that have been mettled are really amazingly designed. ( I did 150 kmph too...My new record)

After getting there, it's like being in a total new world all together. The world of pollution and hustle-bustle was chucked out and a peaceful and scerene atmosphere came upon me. ( This happens every time! ) The biggest challenge in the beginning was making Rhea feel at home. It was a completely new environment for her and we needed to help her there. She was quite apprenhensive in the beginning but she got used to the other dogs.

Oh! I should have told you in the beginning that my uncle is such a lover of animals that he has a small zoo in the estate. That would include 2 horses, 6 dogs, 2 pups, 6 geese, 20 ducks, 25 rabbits, love birds, parrots, and..... Have I said enough? Well, that should give you a rough idea! And his interest in animals doesn't stop there! He saw that all his nephews learnt horse riding!!! So, I too know how to ride a horse...... even gallop.

I saw there, the amount of work that actually goes into the running of an estate. Most people see only the glamour on the outside, but little do they know the constant vigilance required for its proper functioning. Labour management is one major aspect that one has to learn, to be able to control the large employed force. Languages: the more the better. My uncle would invariably get up earlier than his nephews, [Anu and I] for the roll call in the morning at 7:30, stay awake and as busy as a bee till the end of the day. Still not satisfied with his performance, he might even get up in the night and take random walks in the estate to check for any suspicious activity. I'm not joking! At more than 50 he is more active and has more stamina than me. [a shame]
* In the pic he's inspecting the irrigation going on.......

A lesson to be learned and a habit to be treasured: HARDWORK is the shortcut to success.

And ya! We also went fishing! In the huge tanks the estates usually have for irrigation, we went fishing. Not my cup-o-tea though! I have never caught even one fish till now. Anuj always manages to catch the biggest of them all. Life's not fair!And my new found interest in photography did have a lot of scope in the vast and beautiful surrounding and the magnificent views that can be seen from many estates in Chickmagalur. That kept occupied for quite some time and also allowed me to capture some shots that are worth treasuring. All this, thanks to another uncle of mine who did buy me an awesome camera: with 12x optical zoom and 5 Megs, that give it almost limitless capability.



Let me leave you with some pictures that I think you might enjoy.....




Anuj and Rhea....Rather Rhea and Anu











How's my model?







Gerry Mama's ( My Unlce) pet: Aliah
My Pet : Rhea





The Horses: Coldplay and Majestic Boy








It's easy to comment about others, but I can't do that for myself.

The Majesty of the Western Ghats