Rohith broke the news of NITs lifting off the “state based” reservations. Now each NIT shall reserve only 50% of the seats for the local candidates and the rest of the seats would be free for all. This was reported in the Hindu and the circular from the HRD ministry can also be found here. I still remember as a bright Engineering aspirant going through the prospectus and getting disheartened on seeing that there would only be one seat in NIT trichy for CSE or NIT Surathkal for Electronics [Not that i would get it with my rank] and that it was reserved. I always felt that it was gross injustice to candidates with good ranks not being able to join “better” colleges. The previous system was flawed because it gave preference to state ranks rather than national ranks due to the geographical reservation. So there were cases in which a guy from AP with a better rank couldnt get in to NIT trichy but a guy from Assam with a lower national rank than the former could easily get in. [The reference to both the states is not intentional.]

But on the other hand it surely does affect the propects of students from not so well performing states. Students in states which have “corporatized” education like Andhra Pradesh [This is intentional] and Rajasthan [Kota] would be surely jumping with joy. Compare this scenario , A student from Kerala with a  national rank of 99000  has a state rank of  6000 while a student from AP with a national rank of 48800 has a state rank of 7700. The very intention of this ruling was to put all the students on the same ground as AIEEE was technically a purely merit examination but practically the geographical reservations foresaked the merit for their nativity.

Secondly this ruling will also have implications on the institutes both academically and socially. The top tier NITs - Trichy, Surathkal, Warangal to name a few, would definitely have a better talent pool than the lower tier NITs. I aint saying that their standard would increase or their standard would decrease - as I think that marginalizing “standards” on students ranks or their castes is pure bullshit. A lot of other factors come into play. But another grave consequence of this would be losing the diversity in the composition of a batch. With 50% locals and 50% others deemed to be from all the other states, the batch would definitely be more vibrant. But under the new law, there can be case that 80% of the non local seats can be filled by candidates from a single state.

A point in the case here is NIT Warangal. Before coming under the AIEEE scanner, the admission were sought under the “prestigious” EAMCET and only a few seats were offered under non local category. But now 50% of the seats would be filled by Andhra-ites. There is a possibility that the most of the other non local seats will be filled by Andhra-ites too [The circular clearly says that the 50% seats would be filled on All India Merit Basis]- Thus reverting it back to the old days.

So the ruling would surely help meritorious students but is it justified with merit being so unevenly distributed across the country - Its debatable and I prefer leaving it to the honchos of bureaucracy and academicians to fight it out.

Finally coming to the title of blog - Where do we stand ?.

IITs have increases in number, BITs Hyderabad is coming up, NITs have done off with reservations - What is gonna happen to IIIT ? The opening rank last year was 256 and the closing rank was 2636. You can find the information here. During our year the opening rank was around 120 [Kirthi Krishna] and the closing rank was around 2300. Opening ranks dont carry much significance since it opinions of students vary - I still remember kirthi joined IIIT because he wanted to do ECE and his rank in IIT wouldnt fetch him that. However the closing ranks do indicate the trend. With more seats in offering from IITs, BITS and NITs will students still flock to IIIT ? Surely people who dont find the course of their choice will but a majority of them would definitely go there. You might argue that our CSE is on par with IIT, NITs are no competition etc but try arguing with a parent and an aspirant who has for the first time heard about IIIT. What comes in to play here is the brand image. Does IIIT have that brand image that it can beat the others and still maintain its position. I still expect the closing rank to go beyond 3000.

I fondly remember going through the brochure of IIIT and joining it solely on the basis of the last 3 pages - Which read “Placements”. There were many others in our batch and there are several in IIIT who have done the same thing. The institute prides itself in saying that its one-of-a-kind reseach institute. Whats debatable is the stark difference between the view of the management and the view of the candidates joining the institute who still see it as an 6lpa-awarding-degree machine. Now what lays in front of Dr. Sangal is a humongous task of building a brand as unique as IITs and BITS. Yeah surely they have been around for 40 years how can you compare us with them. I aint. When they were budding there were the only ones and there was far too little competition but now its a battleground out there. Anothe issue is the exorbitant fees. IITs, NITs and BITS charge exactly half - The argument - Hey they are funded - A parent doesnt give a damn about it. He isnt doing any charity paying the fees. We are not competing against IIT, but the candidates and parents do pit us one against another.

What I intend to say is that we might be at a loss of talent pool - A thing that we cant afford to lose at this junction.

But one has to see it, to believe it.  After being to 5 IITs, 2 BITS and a NIT - What I have noticed is that we are different. And mind you they too are different in their own ways. Each institute has its own identity - we are trying carve one for ourselves.

On another note you must be knowing about the AP IIIT thing running in our college. They recruit students from rural areas and provide them IT education. Though they bear the IIIT tag they dont have any relationship with us whatsoever. But lately reports have been surfacing in local papers and news channels that meritorious students have been refused admission in to IIIT. The heading read “IIIT refuses entry to a meritorious student” [Translated from telugu though]. People say that kamal reads this blog - If this is true just take care of it.

Just received a mail from Dr. Rajeev Sangal.

Dear students in the graduating batch,

It is a gentle reminder about the forthcoming Jeevan Vidya shivir at IIIT Hyderabad during June 22 - 29, 2008.

At the farewell FSIS with the graduating UG4 students, it was expressed by many students that they would like to attend JV shivir, provided it is held during times when there is no or less work pressure. I urge them to avail of such an opportunity now.

Passing out students of MTech and other programmes should also take advantage of the shivir and attend.
If you wish to bring your parents, you are welcome.
But register early, as the number of seats are limited.
= Rajeev Sangal

Ok now who were the students who were *interested* in this JV shivir [ I am already rolling my sleeves]

Thank You.

Made it into IIM A. Presently bereft of words that would explain my emotions - so would just stick to the basics. Converted A,C,I. Waitlist in K and Rejected by B,L. This is not a post to rant about my success or anything but I would like to thank a bulk of friends who have helped/inspired me in my endeavor.

First things first - SAMBA. Godfather to me. The guy who actually got me into writing CAT. For being that constant source of inspiration and that leaning shoulder when i wouldnt even pass a single cut off in mock series. For being that friend who would mock interview me and correct my SOPs. Thanks for all that.

Harish Baba - For answering my every silly doubt with patience and for correcting a badly written SOP at 3 in the night.

Abhishek Sharma - My mentor for IIM C GD/PI process.

Sharath Babu - My very first counselor - For patiently answering all my queries whether its 10 in the night or 3 in the afternoon. For taking time off from his busy schedule to talk to me at lengths, giving tips and proving that nothing can beat determination.

Amit - My brother. For bearing the wrath of my short temper. For exuding confidence in me - for pushing me to perform better and better.

Yaso - A person who would listen to my whole interview and infact remember every bit of it. For being the first person to knock my door and staying with me the whole 7 hours on the D-Day(1st may). He was the first person to whom I broke the news of me not making it through B.

Prasant/Kirthi - For the single line - “Abba, neeku edo oka dantlo vachesidi le ra … tension padaku” [You will get through atleast one IIM, dont worry..]. For being the towering beams of confidence and excellence and inspiring me to be like them.

Sarika/Daka/Bhaskar - For discouraging me by saying that I wont get into any IIM and that I should look forward towards joining Oracle. But for praying deep down in their hearts that I should make it.

Harinath - For printing those e-tickets at the very last moment and for wishing me luck every time.

Kowshik - For being a sport and taking the whole responsibility of the project over his shoulders so that I get time to prepare for CAT and subsequently for the GD/PIs.

Joy, Abhay, Arjun, Kritika - For the GD/PI sessions. Joy, Abhay and Arjun for supporting me after every interview.

Heaps of others - Vanshidhar, Revanth, Ravi Teja, Teja, Khare, Rathi, Varun ….. I can only say one thing to you all

ISRO - ^:)^

Billy the 10 year old - Awesome series of letters.

Someone is gonna get hurt really bad today.

IRONY - Free Tibet flags being made in China. [:P]

The most vulgar acronyms.

One can do ANYTHING for free internet.

And some stunning pictures [ 1 ] [ 2 ]

Cerf the Web.

All you corporate people, beware.

Galaxies gone wild.

Everyone mocks Bush, yesterday was his day - Mocked his successors.

All this trouble for Playboy Cushions.

Google Movies.

Sreesanth is baby… Sreesanth is a baby ….

Humorous.

Remember Jerome Kerviel - The guy who made Societe Generale lose $7.14 billion. He just landed a new job.

And the controversy never stops.

Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday dear SPAM, Happy Birthday to you.

LOL @Veggies.

$2 Billion in illegal betting on IPL - Legalize it for heavens sake.

8 bit water.

I am big fan of Jason Statham and he is back in Crank 2.

The coolest USB drive I have seen till date.

IGN reviews GTA IV and the score is …… 10/10 [tada]

Tashan no nahi hai dekhna - Yahi hain mera Tashan.

No - This is not a post about cricket. After a few days of watching IPL matches you cant avoid noticing the band of girls in skimpy clothes and pom poms dancing after every boundary and wicket. I doubt that half of the junta that turns up in the stadiums is for them. Whoever thinks that they are mere cheergirls - Think again they are PROFESSIONALS.

Their team is called the Washington Redskins Cheerleaders. As you would have known by now they cheer the team Washington Redskins - The second most valuable team in NFL, Highest season attendance, an abovee 50% winning ration in super bowls and NFL championships, the first team to have a marching band and blah … blah … blah … you can find all the info here. Hey werent we talking about the cheerleading team … yeah this is there official site. They are oldest cheerleading association in the world. They have been in business since 1962. They are called “The FIRST ladies of FOOTBALL”. Once you have a look at their site, you would know that they are outright professionals. “Brand your business with the cheerleaders ….. We help you reach Washington D.C ….” - phew !!!

Want to have a look at their history .

“In addition to touring with the football team, they have also performed around the world. In 1982, they were invited to be the first NFL cheerleaders to perform in Asia promoting U.S. commercial products throughout Taiwan. In 1983 the cheerleaders produced their first calendar, which they have continued since. In 1984, they were the 4th NFL squad to perform in a United Service Organizations (USO) tour entertaining the armed forces in Turkey, Italy, Sicily, Spain and the 6th Fleet off the coast of France. Since then, they have participated in numerous Department of Defense (DOD) tours to entertain U.S. servicemen and women. DOD tours have included Egypt in 2000, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba in 2001, Kosovo in 2002, and others for a total of over 35 countries. In December 3-17 of 2005, they completed their 20th overseas tour for the USO, entertaining U.S. troops in East Asia.“

Every year the squad is rebuilt retaining some and recruiting some fresh talent. And girls who leave obviously find a place in alumni association.

Hey thats not the end - while the cheerleading squad entertain the crowds, there is another team called the Washington Redskins Cheerleader Ambassadors who interact with fans. Unfortunately our truly beloved Vijay Mallya invited only the Cheerleaders and not this squad.

There is a an all star team too and a junior redskins team for kids. They organize camps, clinics and train wannabe cheerleaders. They have an official variety show which they perform for corporate events, sports activities, troops stationed overseas etc. They have merchandise and customized calenders and what not.

With all this dancing going on, how can controversies stay behind. BJP raised this issue in the Maharashtra Assembly. Their point is that when Bar Dancers are banned in Mumbai, how come they are allowed to dance. I am neutral to this - Yeah sure inflation is up and employment is down - These jobs should have gone to Indians :P.

As a final gift here is the whole squad for the season 2007-08.

Finally I would like the reader not to have any misconceptions or second thoughts about my post. Some of you Right Conservatives might think that i have gone over the board - No I have not - I have not talked about their sexuality or their oomph factor - I have only and only potrayed them as pure professionals. This post was written so that next time you see them, you dont categorize them as dancers or skimpy dressed blondes and brunettes, but as a team of professional entertainers performing.

Just got the idea of posting some humorous, informative links from here.

Off.

Fish in all sizes, colors and emotions !!!

I cant understand why people having big money dont pay taxes.

“Quanum of Solace” - Second Alfa Romeo car destroyed.

Megan Fox - Transformers rey …..

We have been banning FTV , so its time for the western world to ban our channels :P.

For the non gaming community - Please dont read further.

With nothing much to do, I am back being my usual self - looking for some good games. With the whole 24 hrs of a day to my avail I have laid my hands on some decent games.

NBA 08 - Good for a sports genre game. I have never been a great fan of Basketball and this game does nothing to inspire me. Take this if you are really in to the Alley Hooping and Slam Dunks.

UEFA EURO 08 - FOOTBALL !!! With the EURO 08 coming up this game offers you enough footballing action to keep you busy. The menus are refreshingly beautiful - something that the last two versions for EA lacked in. The OSTs are really good. With some new free kick techniques and a weird (but funny) penalty shootout camera angle, EURO 08 is surprisingly good. Three modes - EURO 08(with and without qualifications), Captain your team and the EUROPEAN CAMPAIGN - Choose a C grade team and make it the champion of EUROPE. If you are really in to football pick this one up. Take care - same FIFA 08 controls.

Splinter Cell - Was checking out for some good old FPS and luckily found this on ORB’s ftp - Infact he suggested it. Good. Played Thief - Put it in the modern age, throw some NSA, CIA stuff and You get the first installment of Splinter Cell. A perfect stealth game and pretty easy to play. One thing that definitely stands out are the graphics of this game. After seeing Bioshock, Assassin’s creed, Crysis etc. you may not appreciate them. But considering that the game was developed in 2004 - I would say its pretty good and that Game Graphics have developed in an exponential fashion. There is one scene in which you walk through a garden and the light rays just diffuse in - Awesome.

Gears of War - Aha !!! If you are a great lover of hard core FPS - this is the game for you. If you are into adrenaline pumping games like painkiller, Quake, UT, Serious Sam - This game will not disappoint you. Extremely good graphics and some really good gameplay. You play Fenix - with a humongous suit around you - which makes you look uber cool and the other guys are just too cool to describe. With a pretty interesting story this shall grip you to your chair. Downside is that it can be heavily demanding on graphics - Running it in medium settings on a ATI x1600 128 MB/ 2GB ram machine. This is the game to play in the summer !!!!

Summer is gonna be interesting with GTA IV all set to release.

They say “Life is all about the small things”. The last few days have been great, sad, demoralizing, thrilling, disappointing and what not. Least to say, the days have been dramatic, bidding some really close friends goodbye. Farewell, Batch Trip - These were all big things - Big in the sense that they made us realize that the 180 odd people belonging to ug2k4 would never be together again. But time has taught me that its the small things that pinch you harder.

Not getting me -

It might be a simple mail. A mail from Appaji reminding us of our semester fees. As a 1st-3rd year student you would responsibly follow the link/open the doc to check your fees. But we dont need to do it, coz we are leaving.

It can be your gtalk/yahoo im. WIth scores of friends online, you could easily scroll down several times. But now with a mere handful online you just realize that your gtalk would never be “House Full”.

It can be a mail from PJN - As you pass out, we invite you to the alumni meeting ……. - you are invited because you are leaving.

It can be a mere form - No Dues Certificate - As you tread the steps of library for the last time, as you press the enter key of your lab pc for the last time, as you meet your BTP mentor for the last time, as you submit the TT racket/football/volleyball to the PEC which you issued in the first year, you realize that its time to leave.

It can be a registration form - Registration form for the Alumni Association. All these years we have been picking forms from the cabinet in Office room but never would anyone lay his eyes on this - but now its inevitable that you do pay attention to it.

It can be a mail from BLN - All fourth year students will have to vacate their rooms by april 30th. You are leaving ……

It can be as simple as packing your stuff - something you dare not do all these four years. There cant be a better example than varun for this. What looked liked a fortress till yesterday is now a clean room.

Your wing looks vacant - it has looked several times in the past - but you know that the rightful residents of the rooms will return in a few days. But not now - coz they have left.

It can be status messages - What used to be medium for satirical jokes, boasting off, http links - All these have given way to philosophical quotes.

Rooms - When everyother year you discuss about which hostel to stay and which room to take, its now time to talk about the city and the colony and the friends with whom your are gonna share your apartment. Dude its time to leave the portals of IIIT and head in to the WORLD.

There are lots of others - lots and lots of them. All tell us one thing - We are leaving.

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