My favourite poem....

The Muddlehead

This is my favourite poem and probably the only one which I still remember and cherish even today! I first came across this in class 6 in my English Literature Reader. Quite a hunt to find it online, but ah, finally got it.

I knew a man from Petushkee
As muddleheaded as could be.

He always got mixed up with clothes;
He wore his mittens on his toes,
Forgot his collar in his haste,
And tied his tie around his waist.

What a muddle head was he,
That man who lived in Petushkee!

They told him as he went about:
“You’ve got u’r coat on inside out!”
And when they saw his hat, they said:
“You’ve put a saucepan on your head!”

What a muddle head was he,
That man who lived in Petushkee!

At lunch he scratched a piece of bread,
And spread some butter on his head.
He put his walking stick to bed,
And he stood in the rack instead.

What a muddle head was he,
That man who lived in Petushkee!

He walked upto a tram one day
And climbed in very sprightly;
Conductor thought that he would pay,
Instead he said politely:

“Parding your beggon,
Kister Monductor,
I’m off for a week’s vacation;
I stop you to beg your cramway tar
As soon as we reach the station.”
Conductor got a fright
And didn’t sleep that nite.

What a muddle head was he,
That man who lived in Petushkee!

He rushed into the first café:
“A railway ticket please, One way.”
And at the ticket office said:
“A slice of tea and a cup of bread.”

What a muddle head was he,
That man who lived in Petushkee!

He passed the man collecting the fares,
And entered a carriage awaiting repairs,
That stood on a siding, all by itself.
Half of his luggage, he put on a shelf,
The rest on the floor, his coat on his lap
And settled himself for a bit of a nap.

All at once he raised his head,
“I must have been asleep”- he said.
“Hey, what stop is this?” he cried
“Petushkee,” a voice replied.

Once again he closed his eyes
And dreamt he was in Paradise.
When he woke, he looked about,
Raised the window and leaned out.

“I’ve seen this place before, I believe,
Is it Kharkov or is it Kiev?
Tell me where I am,” he cried.
“In Petushkee”, a voice replied.

And so again he settled down
And dreamt the world was upside down
When he woke, he looked about,
Raised the window and looked out.

“I seem to know this station too,

Is it Nalchik or Baku?
Tell me what its called,” he cried.
“Petushkee’ a voice replied.

Up he jumped: “It’s a crime!
I’ve been riding all this time,
And here I am where I began!
That’s no way to treat a man!’

What a muddle head was he,
That man who lived in Petushkee!

Ogden Nash

IT-BHU v/s IITD

Before I start my chronology, I would like to share the latest bc topic, which I may forget otherwise..
It was last night when we were gossiping with a student of IITD at about 2 a.m. The bc took an interesting turn and we had some amazing facts in hand.there is so much hype about IITD that we totally neglect IT-BHU. Here are some of the points of discussion...
1) We think that the LAN at IT-BHU is worst and that at IIT is far-far better than ours..
But can you imagine that the person we met was appreciating the condition and the speed of our LAN.Normally the best speed which they get on DC is about 1 mbps and at our best we get about 8-9 mbps( you have to be at your best!) The net speed is also lot better then theirs..
And they have only one hot spot (Wi-Fi) in their campus whereas we have all the hostels having one.
2) We think that life in Delhi is very "happening" as compared to the life at Varanasi.
The reality is that their life is not better than ours or even worst then that.. How??? Let me explain: We have the opportunity to keep bike( I don't know for how long..) whereas its illegal to keep bike in IITD. So think how can you enjoy Delhi with bicycle!!!
They have so many places for hangout..That means the gentry is scattered there, whereas, we have only one place to hangout, that means the gentry is concentrated and you don't have to roam at so many places to look for class gentry...
3) We think that 'Miranda house', 'LSR' etc. are easily available for them, but... they also are devoid of it and only few unlucky ones get a chance to get in there..The same situation we are facing here..
4) Again they have the 'Miranda house' etc. So what? we also have 'MMV'!!!!(dont ever try to compare it) They have DU, so what? we have BHU!!
5) The nightlife-they dont have any- or they are geeks that they can't create it, whereas what kind of nightlife do you expect at Varanasi? I guess its better than theirs.. shocked!! Really, if you ever spend a nightout at assi ghat, the early morning view, the sunrise, you will wish to spend every night there..
6) The hostels and the rooms they have, think that they say "you have the best." And the most coveted thing is our mess( not the infrastructure, but the quality of food)..
7) The only thing which they have better than us is the exposure..No need to say something about it..But I can challenge them- meet us after 10 yrs...
8) And one thing which is common: They also sleep in their classes...They have the same boring lectures....same boring Proffs....

So in all..."IT-BHU" rocks!!!!!!!

Intro 3...

NAME: Ramesh, a.k.a. bhai,initially tewis. He is the most complex character after baba, but in a different manner. Many a times,we have a hot discussion upon the topic:- "aakhir bhai k paas aisa kya hai jo humare paas nahi hai?" Later we got some answers, He was doing such things from his childhood!! If you look at his photo when he came here, you will definitely say:-" kya aaya tha aur kya ho gaya.." Our favourite pastime is always a discussion on him. 90% of our discussions are always based on him. And now he has created a niche for himself in g....a and no one is there to compete him. Yahi to hai bhai ka sabse bada "bhokaal!"

NAME: Nikhil, a.k.a. chi2 and many others which I can't take here...He is the most unpredictable among us and is ususally my travel mate. Very sincere towards the job assigned to him, be it in KU or any other worst thing than that, he has the same enthu level throughout. If he gets caught of a whim, then he can do amazing things producing no results! And, his best characteristic, being a "pukka baniya". We dont't understand why he is here, he should have taken commerce somewhere, and should have done CA as he is a very very good account keeper. what you will find inside his wallet is no money but so many pieces of paper which are almost equal to a ledger, with all the entries upto the mark ( means his wallet has high liquidity!).And now something about his physical apperarence; when we first saw him, his body (he he he! not actually his plump body, but his skin),it was really a breathtaking moment!!

NAME: Pravesh a.k.a. enter. boni, accountant etc. I think he has a bright future somewhere as a manager of a multinational firm as he handled our "L.C" fund for the duration of 2 years. It is a fund maintained by us and had a turnover of lakhs for the last financial/academic year!!! He is always responsible for all our financial matters even now. He is also the owner of a flash memeory and a body!! After an incident which occoured on the last day of 4th sem, he has earned such a reputation that even our HOD knows him personally...

NAME: L.C initially known as Pranay. His nick has become so famous that anyone rarely calls him by his actual name. Now what does L.C stands for?? Guess.. remember it does not stands for limbdi corner..storm your brains but i think you may not even reach near to it, its really a million dollar question.He has all the characteristics which a Gorakhpuriya has. For him there are only few people who are "bhokaal" than him.You just can't prove him wrong for anything, he will give you so many reasons and logic that you will automatically stop by yourself. He has mastered his fluency for..... you bring anyone in competetion with him and see the result! He is also the owner of an extraordinarily innovative brain. Majority of our nicks are given by him. But i still remember the initial days when he used to be out and then came out something different from him. Be it the freshers or shikhar's b'day or something else, we cant forget those nights. Now he has achieved such an ecstasy (and helped others achieve it) that it is difficult for him to roll back..

NAME: Tanmay, a.k.a. Bond, now only known as Pandya saahab (see the respect for

him)ourgrandsire! He also has no different story from us but something is very different, he got the initial thrust, which none of us got. God fitted him in such a nice position(notice carefully his roll no. and his competitors!) but he can't make use of it.He also bought the brand new Pulsar (probably the first one, since I don't know who else was in the queue) but everything in vain...But someone said:"Ladki kabhi apna pehla pyaar nahi bhoolti!" and we still get a glimpse of it many a times. And what could have been the reason behind this?? Again the same:"bhokaal". After this catastrophe, he proposed many theories to be worked upon(including the one to reduce "bhokaal"), but the outcome same again..

NAME: Nikhaar, a.k.a. norton, nikhaaaaaaaaaar! manager, makkhan etc.. He is probably the only person among us who was successful in the field where none of us could achieve success; his line is clear from the other side (let us concentrate on nikhaaaaaaaaaaaar!) but he never pays heed to it and what comes in between:-"bhokaal!" He got so many opportunities in life but always one thing interrupted:-"bhokaal". And now you find him always begging for one, but even now what he can't leave:-"bhokaal". Apart from this, he is also an active member of the theatre toli and is dedicated to it physically, mentally and monetarily. L.C usually says that he is exploited by someone(for just one cup of tea) and since he is a kid, he can't understand their ill motives, and L.C now takes care of him happily! The most interesting and "happening" night of his stay here probably was his stay in room no. 143 with makku. He still can't remember what happened with him last night except that his throat was paining the next morning!!!!

Intro 2....

NAME: Ghanshyam, a.k.a. 'baba', dhoot, buddha and more recently,'nachaniye'. As described by one of us as a "complex character", he used to be in the airs of a hostel(!) and was described as "hot topic". From this you can imagine his popularity that he is even discussed at a place where .......

The post of baba is not easily attained, you should have many inborn characteristics, one of them being the neta. You have any problem, just approach him and he will give you the usual 'fattey'. But if you ask anything from him the usual replies will be- aray kuch nahi yaar, bas aise hi...

His most coveted property is his sleep during the examinations, when the entire world is in the state of trauma i.e. the night before exams, just see his calm and comfortable sleep and you will be jealous.You wouldn't find any fear of exam on his face even after studying nothing(except the syllabus).And the most amazing thing which happened after the first end sem papers was that his grade points were better than that of his source(which now, after realizing his mistake, saggregated his ralations with baba).He brought the first bike among us and has lots of memories attached with it..

NAME: Prateek a.k.a. fundooo!!! bas naam hi kaafi hai. What to say about this guy,bas itna hi ki galti se iski kismat ise utha kar huamare paas chhod gayi.

we all are from chem and he is the only one perishing in mech.He is the second guy after Vikku, who are big flirters, having innocent faces but a nightmare for those having girlfriends( that is why we are never afraid of them, because none of us is having one!!).His killing smile,aah!!kya kya chhupa hai iske peeche!! Wherever he goes, he attains the ultimate experience which none of us ever had, be it Lucknow, Nainital, Bhopal....Padhai k baare mein to kya kehna..You will never find any signs of tension on his face even after the worst experiencs(his ever smiling face). We have to remind him always-thoda padh le, tu mech mein hai..his mind is a generator and storehouse of so many mischevious thoughts, you will always find one!! Recently our sardaarji of the bank gave him a compliment "chalaaak bante ho!!!"

Intro 1....

The story now requires the introduction of the characters which I have mentioned. The introduction will be very brief otherwise there are so many 'kaands related to each one of us that if i start including them, i am going to create an encyclopaedia of irrelevant stories which are amazingly interesting.

But all of us have some things in common, just try to find out after reading about the characters..

Let me start with ....

NAME: Kshitij Jha.

I am from the holy city of Ajmer, did my schooling from St. Anselms Ajmer, never was a sincere student(not even now, worse than before!),sailed through JEE, presently pursuing my B. Tech in Chemical Engg. from IT BHU Varanasi.

NAME: Tarun Poddar, a.k.a. 6 feet, poddu and many others, which I cant tell here! My room partner for 2 yrs, came from Birsinghpur Pali in MP. A person without whom we could not have completed our B. Tech! Sincere in every job, masti k time masti, padhai k time padhai. A role model for my other branchmates who always think how is this possible that a person living with us, studying so little always leaves them behind! Even when we have so many comps with us but when it comes to watching a movie or just a latest topic for bc, no room is better than his!

NAME: Vivek, a.k.a. vikku, gavaiyya, convener. Quiet a simple guy, very helpful but there is one characteristic which distinguishes him from others, which makes everyone of us afraid of him. He is one of the two guys who have the power to hypnotise anyone and after the first meeting the person becomes his big fan. He already has a nice past record and that is what which makes it very difficult for us even to let him talk on phone to someone special!! He still can't forget his childhood and once you let him go free then comes out his other face, you wouldn't stop laughing for hours after he starts his performance.His another amazing characteristic is his ability to store sleep! He can sleep without a break for almost 24 hrs and then can stay awake for 2-3 days.He is/was the convenor of an event called Jhankaar and by grace of God ( let it be VPS), he is now a free man.

NAME:Somesh, a.k.a. Somi, bakasur, shahrukh and his remarkable identity " sir, Somesh Nath Gupta, Vivek ka room partner!". He is the one who not only knows our secrets(of a particular type) but of the entire branch. Everyone in the branch is his 'bhai' and once he puts his hand on your shoulder, your every secret flows to him. But there is one interesting fact!! This has been a record that whoever shared with him his story, his story came to an immediate halt.

Now people are afraid of letting him put his hand on their shoulder. One more important characteristic without which his description is incomplete, his love for stray

dogs. He can do anything to feed them, the first year incident can be the best example!

He is not a normal human being for us as he can work for the welfare of anything(he is running so many welfare programs that i don’t wish to include them here) for hours and sleeping for only 2-3 hrs a day. That is why we are planning a building in the department to be named after him when we will just pass out the portals of our department. Very much health conscious or to be more precise, wants to gain weight, but everything in vain. There is nothing on this Earth which is going to help him gain weight.And finally, as usual, the loveguru is never ever able to achieve his love without a lot of hurdles, we wish him best of luck so that he may complete his love story in this lifespan only.....

The commencement of genesis...

I think its my responsibility to share the best part of my life with anyone and everyone who would like to live even a small part of what we have lead.
The story begins on the 24th July 2005, when I entered this prodigious city called 'Varanasi'. I was unaware of the fact, that, for what I was cursing God, will prove to be the best part of my life. For this paradoxical city, juxtaposition comes naturally. When I first time caught the glimpse of the Cantt. station, I thought that the next four years will be a nightmare for me. Among the mob we saw some students holding the banner of IT BHU. For others this could have been a sign of relief, but for me this was another precalculated crucifixion!! My friend Shikhar was studying here and was going to be my senior. He had already told me the possible threats which I was going to face as a fresher. My first conversation with my seniors alone turned out to be my first ragging.. This added a little more to my trepidation. Finally the small looking conversation ended and I left for the BHU. Something more horrible was waiting for me outside, which I had never imagined-The crowded roads or the gullies of Benaras! This finally worked as the last nail in my coffin of terror. I was again and again thinking how am i going to spend the best part of my life at such a terrible place. The journey seemed to be unending with the auto moving like a caterpillar on the main roads of Benaras. Finally the gateway to heaven arrived and what I saw was unbelievable, the contrast between the inside and outside of the gate was just like having hell on one side and heaven on the other..The greenery suddenly took away all my anxieties and me and my parents were wondering that I was going to be a part of this scenic place.
Then i arrived to my hostel, The Limbdi, where I was going to spend my 2 golden years..I was alloted room no. 87. My roomie arrived late at night the next day. Before that I had had many personal meetings with my seniors and now I became used to of it.
What I want to describe actually starts now..
I had already met my new friends including Tarun, my room partner,Somesh and Vivek, the residents of room no 92, Prateek and Ghanshyam, residents of room no. 79, Ramesh, Pravesh and Nikhil. We started spending our evenings at the centre, discussing about the rumours floating in the air. I think this diluted the fear which was common to all of us. Initially there were many people sitting with us, but, as birds of same feathers flock together, there was regrouping among the students and we had some new members including Pranay, Tanmay and later on Nikhaar. This was the first good thing which was destined for us, I think!