Well let me begin with a brief introduction of myself (the one at the side is understood only by abnormals like me). I am Amit Si, born in Nashik to an ex-army man and a sweet housewife in a Bengali household. My parents come from the Naxal infested district of Midnapore (in the twenty-first century, when the rest of India is graduating from Computers to Information Technology, this place hasn't seen even electricity poles........). Dad having joined the army took the first oppurtunity to get out of there and settled in Nashik---my alma mater. I was born there and completed my schooling in St. Xaviers High School---then an all boys school.
Born to an army man and an ambitious Bengali wife, i was a good student in the school days. Like a typical Bengali boy, my fashion sense consisted of well oiled hair, collared up shirts tightly tucked in, and a specs sporting a power of -9 in both eyes in the fourth standard. Of course !!! the blindness translated into marks. I was the topper all throughout in the primary division, before my parents realised that topping would eventually take out the sight from my eyes. I thought I would now live a more relaxed life...but my parents had other plans---they operated my eyes in the fifth standard and I was put back on track, albeit without my fashion accessory.
Slowly slowly i began to see and understand that life consisted of more than english grammar, algebra, history, marathi and sciences. In the later part i started taking part in the sport events, thus converting the years of built up potential energy to kinetic energy. And surprisingly i won also----I went up to district levels in Shot Put and Discuss Throw (guess my size was customized for throwing things). On the other fronts also i started erecting flags----Winning the Best Actor award, winning the elocution, being the Vice Captain of Gandhi House etc etc.
In the school the whole world seemed like my oyster, little did I realize that my life was like the frogs in the well. After completing my matriculation I joined the college---a very obscure period of my life, as if it never existed----wherein I learned the concept of bunking lectures. And I decided to live it full on. Life after Xaviers seemed like a wild horse whose reins have been removed. I didn't know what was I doing, why was I getting up at 5 in the morning in the chilly climes of Nashik and traveling 6 kms to my tuition when all I did there was doze off shamelessly in front of the tutor (Believe me! This is pure unadulterated First Grade Torture, I wonder why didn't Hitler think about this !!!). College consisted of traveling in the sun and sitting on the cycle stand, going to friends house and in some rare instances showing up in the class (and for obvious reasons, when all that was being taught seemed alien science to me, I made myself reasons as to why I should not be attending classes).
But somehow even I got through that. Then came the C.E.T. exams. I took up Biology seriously and Maths was an option----to the extent that even during the exam I would have left the center without giving the Maths paper had it not been for Johnson's prodding. Well, due to his insistence (the actual reason being-to kill time while I would have waited for him) I sat down to jot down the dots on the answer sheet---and the rest became history.
Medical results were a nightmare in making, engineering was of course I didn't look at all up to. Crap results in C.E.T. , mom's illness, tensions at my village, and a middle class Indian family set up----all the perfect ingredients to create hell. (I don't wish to elaborate on that) In the meantime I started filling up Engineering C.E.T. forms, my knight in shining armour--my brother--came to my rescue. Upon his advice I filled up some good colleges in Mumbai and Pune with I.T. as the first option (Please don't think as though it was my CHOICE, If i would have got even food engg i would have taken that----it was all a matter of filling up ur parent's egos, as in India, u r great if u r an engineer or a doctor, the rest are those who are academically disabled !!!---well that's the parent's views, not mine ). God understood my plight (or maybe wanted to Increase it) , he allowed Lady Luck to smile upon me, and hell ya!!!! I landed up Sardar Patel College of Engineering------------------(Okay please don't freak out! I got the unaided wing). I still remember checking the results seven times over a freakishly slow dial up internet connection , on an overburdened DTE website. The five looks did its trick-----25th July 2005, my life was scripted for the change ,26th July 2005------i embarked on the change.........(I hope you guys do remember what happened on 26th July 2005, Well for those who don't----I got admitted to S.P.C.E., this among other small events like Mumbai drowning in floods)
Born to an army man and an ambitious Bengali wife, i was a good student in the school days. Like a typical Bengali boy, my fashion sense consisted of well oiled hair, collared up shirts tightly tucked in, and a specs sporting a power of -9 in both eyes in the fourth standard. Of course !!! the blindness translated into marks. I was the topper all throughout in the primary division, before my parents realised that topping would eventually take out the sight from my eyes. I thought I would now live a more relaxed life...but my parents had other plans---they operated my eyes in the fifth standard and I was put back on track, albeit without my fashion accessory.
Slowly slowly i began to see and understand that life consisted of more than english grammar, algebra, history, marathi and sciences. In the later part i started taking part in the sport events, thus converting the years of built up potential energy to kinetic energy. And surprisingly i won also----I went up to district levels in Shot Put and Discuss Throw (guess my size was customized for throwing things). On the other fronts also i started erecting flags----Winning the Best Actor award, winning the elocution, being the Vice Captain of Gandhi House etc etc.
In the school the whole world seemed like my oyster, little did I realize that my life was like the frogs in the well. After completing my matriculation I joined the college---a very obscure period of my life, as if it never existed----wherein I learned the concept of bunking lectures. And I decided to live it full on. Life after Xaviers seemed like a wild horse whose reins have been removed. I didn't know what was I doing, why was I getting up at 5 in the morning in the chilly climes of Nashik and traveling 6 kms to my tuition when all I did there was doze off shamelessly in front of the tutor (Believe me! This is pure unadulterated First Grade Torture, I wonder why didn't Hitler think about this !!!). College consisted of traveling in the sun and sitting on the cycle stand, going to friends house and in some rare instances showing up in the class (and for obvious reasons, when all that was being taught seemed alien science to me, I made myself reasons as to why I should not be attending classes).
But somehow even I got through that. Then came the C.E.T. exams. I took up Biology seriously and Maths was an option----to the extent that even during the exam I would have left the center without giving the Maths paper had it not been for Johnson's prodding. Well, due to his insistence (the actual reason being-to kill time while I would have waited for him) I sat down to jot down the dots on the answer sheet---and the rest became history.
Medical results were a nightmare in making, engineering was of course I didn't look at all up to. Crap results in C.E.T. , mom's illness, tensions at my village, and a middle class Indian family set up----all the perfect ingredients to create hell. (I don't wish to elaborate on that) In the meantime I started filling up Engineering C.E.T. forms, my knight in shining armour--my brother--came to my rescue. Upon his advice I filled up some good colleges in Mumbai and Pune with I.T. as the first option (Please don't think as though it was my CHOICE, If i would have got even food engg i would have taken that----it was all a matter of filling up ur parent's egos, as in India, u r great if u r an engineer or a doctor, the rest are those who are academically disabled !!!---well that's the parent's views, not mine ). God understood my plight (or maybe wanted to Increase it) , he allowed Lady Luck to smile upon me, and hell ya!!!! I landed up Sardar Patel College of Engineering------------------(Okay please don't freak out! I got the unaided wing). I still remember checking the results seven times over a freakishly slow dial up internet connection , on an overburdened DTE website. The five looks did its trick-----25th July 2005, my life was scripted for the change ,26th July 2005------i embarked on the change.........(I hope you guys do remember what happened on 26th July 2005, Well for those who don't----I got admitted to S.P.C.E., this among other small events like Mumbai drowning in floods)
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