AFICIANADOZ

Exactly an year ago from now, on the same day of august 2009, Me, Niharika, Rahul, Shiva, Ashish and karthik were occupying the auditorium seats of S.P.Engg college-Mumbai, keeping our fingers crossed and biting our nails ….on the day of results.
It was finally announced that the Team Aficianadoz is out of the much cherished BAJA race. But we still had a chance as we could qualify to “Virtual baja” event. But the team lost hope on further advancements.

In 2009, me and my few seniors participated in  BAJA SAE ASIA competition. It is a platform which provides student members with a challenging project of designing, engineering, fabricating and marketing of an automobile.

This competition promotes Indian students to have an international exposure.
Our team was efficient and smart but we lost control over the design. We sincerely attempted to design a four wheel drive all terrain vehicle on PROE, but due to lack of guidance and certain apprehensions, we ended up with a design report which was full of flaws.
The whole team was upset with the result and, I personally have considered it to be one my big-time failures as I was carrying the guilt, for the fact that I’ve not contributed enough to my team.
But after a year long evaluation, I am not able to consider it as a failure anymore.
Now, I so completely agree with this statement which said, “BAJA is a 4 letter word that creates a magic in lives of those who experience it”

Although it seems to be a high profile student competition, it is a phenomenon that gives a meaning & direction to many directionless souls, kindles a passion for engineering. I fell in love with my academics after BaJA happened to me. I started respecting my stream, in a higher gear!

My  BAJA SAE ASIA 2009 experience taught me quite a few things …
A sincere attempt at innovation itself is a victory
Communication inside the team and collective work with every individual’s involvement can only deliver success!
I no longer blame any one for the idea of 4 wheel drive as I myself couldn’t make any impact in the team’s upliftement. I was doing nothing more than following my seniors footsteps (Now I am following my jr.s !! :P)
Thanx to BAJA for giving me such an amazing group of friends for my life time and Captain Varun (The Rabbi), who is so beautifully accomplishing his role, as my dearest mentor-friend (He used to top my enemy list back in those days ! LOL)

The Noteworthy Response ....

 Someone actually wrote a poem on me !!!!*stumped*  I always wanted this to happen .LOL

The glimpse of below lines in my mail, left me amazed and speechless today >>>>

"hey gurl,

really liked your blog on pondi and those events that u jotted down, knowing you im not gonna comment on any of the errors.. i really loved the narration this time around.  very mature with a slight touch of humor, sweet and gentle yet a strong sense of realization.. exploring your inner beauty rather than caring for others all the time is something a person must do when given even a faint opportunity.. words, thoughts brewing in your head for the time being spent for yourself are the things that make you love yourself for it keeps you away from judging eyes and taunting thoughts from the world around you.. fuck what people say or think for that drama will simply make one more irritated and angry.. aggression is substituted with the unprejudiced and unbiased rave of spiritual and physical beauty that the eye see's and feels in the surroundings to string a nerve in the brain to glow the heart with a tingling sensation down your spine.. is that happiness for the moment or affection towards your soul?  How you define it is up to you.. but a simple pure self-satisfying gleaming smile is what it comes down to at the end of the day.. Maybe you can relate to what I have mentioned here or not but my perception of the soul purpose of your vacation speaks volumes.. and when i mean volumes i can write pages but i'd rather keep this brief for i think i've made my point.

The sand in your clenched palm,
Spilling away from the edges,
The the faint breeze that brushes on your cheeks;
A blush caressing your gentle smile,
In the sweet aroma of the salty ocean.

Walking down the shore,
Your muddy feet washed,
The wailing sound of the winds in your ears,
Blowing your hair in unforeseen direction,
Quiver; as you stand awestruck.

You are an Inspiration, not a manufacturing defect :-)"

BY: Anonymous

Travelling alone... for the sake of SAE summits

This took the plunge all of a sudden. I received a call from one of my associate, a week before i started my Journey. He informed me about the 'club officer's leadership training programme' in Chennai and said that we have to attend it! I immediately said yes to it, without even giving a second thought, as I was getting a convincing reason to get out of my place.
 Life has been a hassle for the past one year. So I seriously needed a break in any way !

DAY 1

 I met my associate few hours before the start of my journey. He gave me a surprise( well a kind of shock) by saying that the venue is Mepco Shclenk Engg college, Sivakasi.. but not Chennai..! I never knew the right location of Sivakasi  but very well knew that, it is present somewhere down the penensula..... Dad enlightened the geography and I finally realized that the journey is gonna be too darn long.

DAY2
 Koyambedu station had map of Tamilnad. I pointed my finger on Chennai and started moving it down the way to Sivakasi. *Quantum of solace* Madurai falls on the way.I was so excited and determined to visit it, no matter what.!
I Love Tamilnad for 2 reasons 1) For its Filter coffee  and 2) For the beautiful temples
I visited kanchipuram 6 years ago with my family and was so amazed with the architectural marvels of the temples. The layout would definitely have some meaningful purpose behind it and each sculpture engraved in the temple premises will have a different story to tell you !

DAY3

I successfully attended the conference at Mepco Schlenk by managing to stick myself to the auditorium seat for 6 long hours. And then came the time for fun. Event called Mr./ Ms COLT. Participants were made to answer an extremely funny yet weird questionnaire. Based upon the answers, 6 out of 90 odd people were screened and called on to the dais for the title race. I was surprised to hear my name getting announced as a screened member for the Mr.COLT title. I had to correct them saying that i can only fit into Ms.colt, due to my gender. One thing that turns me off about mechanical engg is, it is male dominated ! The whole mechanism gets Driven and screwed up by men always.

 I was the only female substance in the whole group. well i got so used to the feeling of being the only woman in a herd for really long. My class is full of guys with a very li'll gal population ....It happened in my family too. 90% of my cousins dived from Mars.
It is some times advantageous to be Unique ( woman ). I got the finest accommodation in the guest house.. like the delegates and dignitaries got for the summit,. where as guys were given a hostel accommodation.

DAY4

SAE TREK to the huge mountain. . I smelt sweat and adventure in the idea of going for the trek and was all set for it despite having dreadful back ache problem. Burnt helluva Calories in a 10 km terrain trekking. Made many friends during this experience and finally returned madurai with all those good retentions and terrible body pains. Darshan at meenakshi temple was blissful.

Quest of a relaxed and leisurely Holiday

'Pon di chéré'
 
  After an amazing company of 4 Jr. associates from SAE, during the temple visit, I finally had to counsel ...motivate ... and convince them to joining my voyage for few more miles. Pondicherry worked well to attract them. Luckily, My dad also encouraged my idea of visiting this fascinating place, as it falls on the way to Chennai.
      The next morning we reached Puduchery. The other 4 were also loving to explore the city in a glance for couple of hours. Well they finally left to Chennai in the same morning.
  Following father's guidelines; got a safe accommodation for two days there. Thanx to Mr. Aurobindo for setting up an ashram and giving a spiritual look to the city. If  I ask my dad.. 'Nanna! Can I stop at goa on my way back home, to relax for a day ? ' Forget about the sponsorship ..he will def'lly shoot me off, the very next moment he hears this. Thanx to Pondi for having such a non-goa-feel to it.!
Hmm Coming to the place of my stay ... it was extremely serene and few meters away from the beach. :-):-):-)
 I was loving to travel alone !!

 Bicycle being the best mode of transport in this place ....Borrowed a cycle ...... roamed a lot ........ ate a lot ........and shopped a lot !!! was involved deep into my thirsty traveler's character.
  I regret the fact that i didn't touch the tax-less liquor LOL :d

   "Pondicherry is so peaceful and very well planned with grand colonial mansions..... colorful  boulevards ... golden beaches ... & very less traffic. It is called as 'The French Riviera of the East’.. ...... seems like the French desire of expanding their empire our country started and ended here. We can still find the sign boards and certain other names of buildings written in french itself..... I noticed - buildings are brighter...... people are happier ... rocks and sands are darker here "

  I planned to use my tongue talent by using the petit French that i know to speak. I always got the replies in several other languages..... some times even in Telugu !! But never got a French reply.

 I dunno whether it happens only with me or with few others too; that a sudden impact strikes me to make me realize that I have over spent & the trip has been pretty expensive ! *well am kidding*  I practically blew up all the cash that i got ...
   Fortunately, dad booked the return ticket and mailed it to me, without even knowing the fact that I don't even process 1 grand cash for my return journey.
      And I salute the 'invention of ATM'; but if it disobeys you by leaving a note ..'yo transaction can not be proceeded further', that is when the actual fear starts. Your heart starts beating with a higher tempo , BP gears up...  etc etc
 And I arrived at Chennai now...with a wealth close to 1 grand full in my pocket! No matter what the distance is.. if it is less than 3 kms or if u wish to cross the road in an auto .. the first thing that comes out of the Chennai autowala's mouth is 100 Rs/- !!
  Chennai ATMs were generous.. They Helped me watch Marina beach. A friend of mine from Chennai says Marina beach is the worlds second largest.. I asked him, what is the world's first largest one. He smiled and said... 'I dont know about the first largest one. So Marina has to be the second largest' *Misleadingly convincing logic*

   well.... Finally I got into a running train at Chennai-Central and reached Hyd safely with all the pleasant memories :-)