NIT Agartala

I could not believe on my ears when my friend, Boni called me up and informed Tripura Engg College, my Alma Mater became NIT (National Institute of Technology). After a pause, my initial reply was ‘At Last’.

It was a long wait indeed, considering the college has been established from 1965. The State Govt all along were not too much keen on the development of our college. It was remained Orphaned, unattended and poorly managed by the management from its birth.

Way back in 80’s there was almost no concept of Campus Recruitment. Lack of co-ordination between college authorities and Govt was the major hurdle then. At that time State Govt job was easily available and very few students were willing to come outside the State to see the world. From a land locked state like Tripura it’s very difficult for the students to dream about their career goals and they were simply not well prepared for it. It was in the beginning of 90’s when outlook got changed. People tends to realize they need to excel in every way to build a successful career. Now, Our alumni spreads all over the world, not only they are in different fields of professions, one of them established himself as a successful singer.

My tenure with the Institution was full of events. Apart from the usual fun, fight and struggle to make it to the crowded bus towards College, we had healthy discussion with the AICTE stuff’s who came to visit our college. And also for the first time our final exams beings held on MBB College due to insurgency problems. In my second year I could remember Army patrolling while we were inside the college campus. Gone are the days ..

NIT status brings lots of responsibilities. And it’s the job of the people who are associate with the college in some or other way(Students, Management, Alumni) to create its Brand Name. The Institute needs to be properly aligned as per the industry needs so that students can get the latest technology initiatives which will help them in future to choose their own career. Apart from these, the Institute needs to have proper infrastructure to be a part of the other NIT.

It’s just the beginning, I would say. Much awaited face lift has been obtained, the future is promising. It’s now time for the Students to explore the enormous possibilities of a NIT. Best Wishes ..

What i am doing ?

Vacation time. So people are asking what i am doing ? Here goes the answer ..

Read all the books ...















Watched MacGyver ...
















Played with Shuvam
















Climbed up here ...
















Had great food everyday !! Mom's Care. Spend time with buddies and its time to return ..

Basic Instinct 2

Around 11 at night on 13th April myself and my cousin entered Esquare Multiplex in Pune to watch the premiere of Basic Instinct 2: Risk Addiction. Pretty much excited that Stone is back with her tricks. Little I know that it could be a disaster for the Catherine, (the character Stone portrays on Basic Instinct) we know for long.

15 years ago when the first part (at that time it’s was not known about any plan of a sequel) was released In India, it had created eyebrows among the Indian viewers, in other words it was the first entry towards adulteration for many young people. The story behind has everything one can imagine of, strong violence and sensuality, drug use and lots of skin showing. Popularity of this type of content to movie buffs in general, are evident on IMDB review of Basic Instinct. It was indeed a well-planned cat-and-mouse erotic thriller where you need to concentrate to understand how Catherine Tramell a.k.a Sharon Stone was controlling the story, there by writing her book ‘Shooter’. Certain viewers were in huge disagreements over who the killer in the film really was. It wasn't until Paul Verhoeven the director and stars went public in interviews, telling the public who the killer was and where the clues could be found, that the debate about the ending finally was put to rest. Stone became famous for this role and she did admit one for interview with CNBC 18

It was the character that everyone identified me with because before I played this part, people didn't know who I was as an actor ..

The film was history for the superb performance by Stone and Douglas with a perfect direction.

It started with a accident, as Stone driving her car off a bridge during wild sex. Stone survived and put to trial as the accident proves to be a planned murder. Police investigation put Catherine against a psychiatrist, played by David Morrissey, who is fascinated by her and the game of seduction begins. The show as I thought was houseful and the crowd was mostly young except one or two families. As Stone appears on the first scene the reaction was amid. She still has the glamour, which earns her instant fame way back on 1992. But its 2006 and Stone is at 48. The movie was boring at some point of time with more mind game than showing, heavier acting and terrible dialogue. It has less surprise being a sequel and a bad storytelling, which makes you laugh at wrong places.

I can only hope there wont be any more sequel on this. Stone a MENSA member a.ka. Catherine at 48,had a perfect time to get caught, punished by law and die or life sentenced, story ends. Rumors that Stone herself will direct the next one, good decision I could say seeing her age. No one wants Catherine of 1992 looks terrible on the screen. We remembered 'Shooters' not the 'Risk Analyst'.

In The Land of Dollars (Part I) : Reached

It was about to sunset when my flight reached Logan International Airport, Boston. The scenic beauty was overwhelming before landing. After getting I94 stumped I came out of the Airport and felt the chill outside. It was starting of the year and time for winter.

Before this, my experience with the western winter was in Paris where I exchanged my flights and in between was outside for couple of minutes in –1 degree centigrade. Not bad I thought, but was unaware what was stored for me in the months to come. Outside the airport it was freezing cold and unbearable for a person who came from a hot country like India. Just managed myself to get into the taxi, and I was looking for a hot drink.

The day I traveled to US was very special to me, my birthday. And in my 29 years on this planet earth that was the longest day I ever spend. Could not even imagine at nightmares that I have to celebrate my birthday, alone at 10000 ft above with French wine (courtesy air France). But that was well enjoyed with thrill of visiting the country I dreamed off since childhood.

The first thing you will notice in the US is the road. Considering the roads we were using here for long it is surely a welcome change. Next will be the space. The parking space seems to be huge which you can’t even think of in your dreams. And suddenly you will feel the climatic conditions. Less dust, pure air will enrich your soul; you will feel you are in heaven. But that won’t last long.

I stayed a bit far away from Boston, a place called Merrimack under state New Hampshire (NH); it has a very nice slogan ‘Live free or Die’ justifying it as a tax-free state. It’s a modern village you can say, having very less population. People were inside all of the time because of the weather, reminded me of landing some alien city. However as day passes I was more comfortable with the climate, condition and also the culture.

First problem you will face there is the conversion of dollars with the rupee. Each and everything you buy you will calculate in rupee and think twice like its too costly, ohm!! Damn cheap etc. The time zone difference will also hit hard for initial days. You will wake up at middle of the night and feeling sleepy during day. So after I overcome this hurdles I was ready to explore States.

Winter is not a good time to visit states, especially in the East Coast. It’s the snow time. Likely this time the winter was not so cold. People said it was far better than last year. Then too I witnessed ‘Operation Whitewash’ the biggest snowfall after December 1947 where NY was knee-deep snow of 27 inches.

Continued..

MacGyver

Way back in 1985, one Wednesday evening MacGyver (a TV serial) was aired first and gained huge popularity. I was on 3rd standard. Unfortunately at that time, the place i grown up, Udaipur (a city in Tripura State, my native) was unable to catch Indian TV network. For us TV entertainment was from Bangladesh TV. We grew up seeing great Television shows like 'Knight Rider', 'Street Hawk', 'The A Team' etc aired by Bangladesh Television. Among them the best was MacGyver. It's a very charming adventure show and just right for young people, who are young by heart. I remember how we were waiting for the Wednesday to come to watch our hero. But it was not easy at that time. We had lots of hurdles to pass for MacGyver. First thing was the medium. TV was a very costly affair at that time and the place I grown up had only 2 TV's out of 10-11 houses. Next were frequent power cuts. Lastly, you have to pursue the owner to switch the TV channel for you, which was a tough task.We missed lots of episode in between, moreover most of the episodes we watched on Black and White TV. I could remember, it was on our top priority list. Even at the exam time too we never used to miss MacGyver!! The serial went up to 7 glorious seasons till 1992. And after which our hunt was started for the CD's. Last year when i asked about it to one the DVD libraries in Bangalore, the answer was as usual 'No', but the owner heard of that serial, which really encourage me to continue my hunt. At that time we knew that its available in States. The DVD version of this serial has been released. At the point of writing this entry up to 5 seasons has been released and others are slotted to release soon.

Last month, when i picked up 1-4 seasons of MacGyver DVD on my visit to States, my dream of owning that serial was fulfilled. The first thing I did was to inform my Bro that at last, we have it. And now as i am watching this great show once again i became nostalgic. This TV serial was so meant for us i could never imagine. I could only wish to watch the same with our old buddies who struggled like us to watch the glimpse of our childhood hero MacGyver. Those who don’t know about MacGyver you can find more info here or here . Long live MacGyver.. :-)

Arena - whats in a name ??

Often frequently, People say, What's in a name ?. But it matters some how one way or other in our walkway to life. I did a search though to get a name off the hook , bad luck, if you could get the heading you want but you will surely miss the url. So you can imagine how it became 'minearena'. Think 'mine' as a pronoun, which means 'Belonging to me'.

WordWeb a online dictionary says

Blog means "A shared on-line journal where people can post diary entries about their personal experiences and hobbies"

Blog, as i feel is a medium to free your mind. To say aloud what you feel, Oh !! yes not to hurt anyone or make some statement which does not has any boundary. Mates if you are here still, i am afraid i am not assuring for some gimmick of words rather I will go through Morpheous way of Freeing my mind. Keep visiting..