No More
Hello readers! To all of you who have me in their subscribed lists in whatever form, I am very sorry to disappoint you all about not updating my blog. But I am here to give you some good news as well as some bad news.
Bad news : Care to take a Look will not be updated henceforth.
Good news : I started a new blog – Anniyanin Kaippadai. Do come over and check it out. š
Ok then, I guess the purpose of this post is accomplished. Do keep visiting. š
– AnniYan
The Game Maker
Hello readers! For those of you who have been following my blog and not finding any recent updates, my humble apologies. But I am now here to say a few things about the recent developments in my career/professional life. The first development being my completion of the B.E. course. I really don’t want to talk about this as it has been a long andĀ arduousĀ task for me. That was majorly because of my lack of trust in the current exam and education system. That is also a whole other thing that I would be talking about in another post.
And now, I come to the point. What am I going to do next? For the past few years of my exposure to programming, I have always wondered if anything fun can be done with software programming other than just those which provide solutions to various problems. The answer was right there in front of me: Game Development. I have been hooked onto video games and computer games since I was a child. I like almost all games and I am interested any game thatĀ comesĀ my way.
That said, I never play games just for fun or for whiling away time. I always went into the intricacies of the game, wondering how much the developer has put into it. I derive some kind of knowledge from it (I will be coming back to this point later on). And I enjoy whatever it is that the developer has thrown into the game. I had a sense of satisfaction that I had done somethingĀ marvelousĀ by finishing the game. After I felt this feeling a good number of times, I started thinking, what if IĀ could make someone feel that way?
That is when I started finding more about this field. Many things hindered my progress in this field, of which I don’t want to talk about right now. But now, I feel I have been liberatedĀ from that prison. After my feeble attempts at developing games like Tic-tac-toe and Hangman with Javascript and HTML, I have chanced upon a programming language that has captured my complete interest: PYTHON. I started learning game development with the help of this tutorial by Lorenzo E. DanielssonĀ which uses a library called pygame. And already I have developed small games like Whack-A-Mole and Snake(both of the being very minimal implementations).
Now I am confident that I will be well on my way to making games for a living. This being said, I would like to touch upon something that I had mentioned earlier. Most people see games as “Mind-melting addictions“. I see them as knowledge banks which have much to offer the younger generation. I developed interest in History and mythology only after playing some games like Commandos, Rise of Nations and Age of Mythology. While there are other games that are based on pure fantasy, that is not all that they offer. For example, Warcraft may be a game that is completely fantasy based. But it provides a way in which to improve our strategic thinking while having fun. These are just very few examples of what I have derived from games.
So to conclude, I want to say that games are not just toys that we use for pastime. They are much more than that. And I feel ecstatic to think that I will be developing games like these in the near future, no matter what kind of obstacles I might encounter on my journey. Until next time, signing off, Pavan a.k.a AnniYan. Adios!!
Two sides of the same coin
āTwo sides of the same coinā. Ā One may have come across this famous idiom stated using other words such as; āTwo ends of a telescopeā. Even though the words differ and mean something very different when taken in the literal sense, they both mean that there are always two ways to look at a problem or person. The idiom might have other meanings too, but I choose to consider this particular meaning for my post.
What exactly does it mean?
When one looks at any situation from one single perspective the person is biased; positive or negative doesnāt matter. What does matter is that when any situation is considered from different viewpoints it becomes clearer and easier to understand which is the wrong side if there ever is such a thing.
Why do I speak about this now?
Something that my brother recently said keeps ringing in my mind. Nowadays my brotherās gyaan (advice) is occupying many of my philosophical thought processes. That aside, He said that life is one huge balancing act. Neither side can be taken in most situations. And neither can be left out. Always look at both sides of the coin before making any decision. This is the case when one is involved in two different parties.
The simplest example is when a person is the confidante of two people who donāt really like each other. The sanity of the person who is the common factor can be greatly doubted if the person is not capable of handling the weight on either side. If you learn to do this properly, then not even one problematic situation can get the better of you.
I thought long and hard about this and ended up deciding one thing. Never make uninformed decisions. I know most people would scoff at this and say, āThis is what we are taught since when we were childrenā. To them I say only this. We were taught many values when we were children. If we followed even half of those not only will we be successful, but so will our glorious nation.
On a closing note I would like to say thanks to my wonderful brother (Mukundan P) who keeps enlightening me each passing day. I am proud to call you my bro. Signing off, Pavan a.k.a Anniyan. Have a nice day. š
The world through my foggy spectacle lenses
Aloha readers!!! I hope you’ve all been well during my absence. The past week has been very depressing for me. But as it turned out I ended up coming out of this depression with whole new outlook on life and the world. Things were blurred initially and nothing made sense. Uncertainty and doubt loomed over me wherever I went and in whatever I did. In short, I wasn’t myself. I was lost!!!
This, I thought was for two reasons:
- Loss of my identity
- EXTREME Negativity in thought
Initially I couldn’t explain either of these 2 reasons properly. Well, I wasn’t even sure that these were the exact reasons until two of my closest friends (Harsha a.k.a SU and Apoorva) slapped it on my face. I am infinitelyĀ gratefulĀ to these two for doing that. I had trouble digesting these facts at first. But I did a good bit of thinking and eventually figured out that I was indeed being stupid by not realizing these facts and accepting them.
I cannot possibly start to explain how exactly I lost my identity. But I want to try. Who a person is depends on what his actions are. Similarly, I was defined by my friend Harsha as more or less “living in my room”. I was devastated when I learned this. In fact, this was the major reason I went into the depression in the first place. But this did not deter me. I knew what I wanted. I wanted that randomness in everything that I do. Randomness not just in thought but also in actions. The only thing we are limited by is our imagination. And I was limiting my imagination.
Getting out of this was very simple. I became my same old random self again. It was an overwhelming experience. In short I could relate it to that feeling of completeness which we get when we learn that we have a special and unique place in this world. It felt like both warm and cold air was passing through my body at the same time. Every nerve ending in my body was sensing electricity. It was like I had broken into some hidden reservoir of adrenalin and it just kept overflowing.
Once I got myself back, it was easy to realize that I had extremely negative thoughts and my outlook of life was that of sadness and misery. Most importantly, Self Pity. This is one thing no person should have for more than 10 seconds. Things have become so much more lively and fun now that I have realized what this is all about. And my mind is now busy not being buried in a sea of sorrow, but int a lush pasture for it to graze to its heart’s content.
Things that looked blurred and skewed, look clearer and sharper now that I have wiped the fog off the lenses of my spectacles. Until next time, signing off, an awakened man, Pavan a.k.a AnniYan
Study Hard, Live Easy.
Hello everyone!!! I am back here today after another long break to talk about something that’s been eating me from since I was a child. See the title? That’s what my parents used to tell me when I was a child. Regarding what? Studies of course! Whenever I used to tell that I was finding it hard to score enough marks, THIS is what they used to tell me.
Look Pavan, if you study hard now you can live easy for the rest of your life.
I never wondered then, what those words even meant. But after a certain point I started to get rebellious. That was it. I started questioning each and everything. This behavior started somewhere around the end of my teenage. Maturity dawns, eh? Whatever it is, I started to think I had wasted my entire childhood. Why? Because I realized that whatever we were taught and whatever we were MADE to think was just useless. I am referring to all the bookish knowledge that most toppers nowadays seem to have in abundance.
Marks were everything. What am I saying? They still are EVERYTHING. However, I am not here to complain about my childhood nor what I didn’t learn then. I want to talk about what is being done to the younger generation. Let me try and give you an overview.
Parents want their children to be over-competitive. By this I mean that each parent wants their child to think that he/she has to be the BEST at EVERYTHING. Well, aspiring to do this is most definitely not wrong. But if it becomes an obsession, it is harmful to the psyche of the child. Secondly, each parent wants their child to score the highest marks in the class, school, university and even the state. Can you imagine what the child thinks? It’s something like this; “Marks are the most important thing in life. If I get any less, its not worth living.”
Now many parents will even say that they don’t do this. Let me tell you this; they are just filthy hypocrites! Because each and every day they put the child through everything stressful they can possibly think of. And what about extra-curricular activities? The child should participate in only those activities that THEY think is fit. Finally coming to the schools, they are the WORST thing that could happen to a child. I am of course, talking about Indian schools. They teach the children things that they will use through their entire life and yet, don’t make sure if the children have understood anything at all. So what about those tests and exams; one might ask. Well, do you really think that understanding is required to score good marks? I don’t think so.
Nowadays though, there are a very few schools that follow innovative teaching methods and let the children learn these things and understand them. I have come across a couple of these schools. They concentrate on making the child learn what it wants to and how it wants to. I may not make much sense. But try to picture a pressure-free learning environment for the child. Wouldn’t they WANT to learn themselves? They get more and more curious each passing day and their thirst for knowledge increases exponentially.
So what next, parents should put the children in one of these schools and keep nagging them to score good marks? ABSOLUTELY NOT! When we expect the teachers to provide good education, we should also trust that our children are in good hands. Now one huge question pops up in our minds. If there are only a handful of these schools available, they cannot teach the entire population. Doesn’t each child have the right to quality education? Absolutely! They do! This doesn’t mean that children should not be admitted into the other normal schools at all. Only that we need to take a little care that the child doesn’t just stick to the book, but also thinks why it is so. I am again requesting this of the educated parents. What of the others? Well firstly, they can’t understand what I have written here. Secondly, they are not expected to. This is where I request the teachers to provide some motivation at least to the children to understand what it is that they are learning.
I also ask one more thing of the parents. DO NOT get fanatical about these innovative schools. The understanding by the child does not necessarily depend solely upon where they study. It is HOW they study. Make sure they understand what they are studying. Then let them think about it and ask questions and let them find out more if they are interested to. And lastly, PLEASE don’t say that you need marks and not other stuff in order to progress in life. It is the normally “other” stuff that is more important in life than marks. I will be writing one more post about what happens AFTER education. So saying I sign off today, yours truly, Pavan a.k.a AnniYan.
Shop ’til you drop!!!
Hello readers! Good day to you all. Today I come here to express my feelings and thoughts about a seemingly simple, yet inherently complex topic – Shopping. When I say shopping, I don’t mean the safe kind which everyone does in order to satisfy their necessities. So now that we are clear about that, let me start with what I actually want to say.
The other day I had been to Mantri Square mall that recently opened in Malleswaram, Bangalore. I could see a variety of people there. Out of those, my interest wandered towards these two types:
- I have lots of money. So I shall spend it on stuff I don’t really need, but it’ll provide me some variety in life.
- I have some money that I could really use. However, I am going to spend it on some extra stuff that I don’t really need.
Of these, the first type of people are filthy rich. They have lots of money and can buy as much as they would want to and still have enough money to do other stuff. They shop because they want to buy something they like or because they just want to shop. Either way, I am not very bothered. They want shop and they can afford to shop.
The second kind are just there either because the others are doing it or because they want to show off with some costly commodities. The other reason could be that they really like something and want to buy it badly, even though they don’t need it. This is the kind of people that I am here to talk about now.
When I say unnecessary stuff, I mean the extras that you really don’t need even to be comfortable. Let me give you an example. A girl has 6 pairs of footwear, one to suit each occasion. This is understandable. But if that girl had 20 different pairs that she uses for these same occasions, I think it’s a little useless. I am not referring to only girls in this post. I do know quite a few guys that buy stuff that they can definitely do without.
What I am trying to say here is that these people might have all the things that are required to live comfortably. But they are not contented with that and want luxury. That is where the problem arises. The people that usually fall into this category are the middle-class people. Everything has a limit; and so does shopping.
So whoever is reading this post, please try to think and re-think whether you really need a product before you buy it. It saves you all from a lot of frustration and financial problems. So saying I take your leave until we meet next time. Signing off, Pavan a,k,a AnniYan.
Lifeā¦ In a nutshell.
Crying, we take the first breath of our life. Without any knowledge of the world we are being thrown into, we seek the one entity that hosted our bodily existence. Instinct guiding both the born and the birthed, the nourishing of the infant soul commences. Not even able to do the most minimalistic of tasks, we take what is given to us. Innocence? Incompetence? Neither. It is in-capacitance. Slowly we grow, our flimsy body adapting to the world as we know it.
Learning to perform meager tasks as though they were colossal achievements, our brain grows to absorb whatever it can of everything perceived. Nimble are we at the age of 5, when our certain goal in life is that of unadulterated play. No worries concern us of what we grow into. Encountering small failures and achieving apparently big victories, we learn that the scales may tip both ways.
In school many of us are thrown to procure what is thought to be EDUCATION. In reality, we are moving on to one more stage in the play called LIFE. Learning what is taught to us and believing in parents we continue into the most confused stage of the play, called theĀ Teenage. But oh! Once we enter this stage, we assume that the spotlight is on us andĀ act accordingly. Impervious to the reality of things, we kick 2 of the supporting stands(Parents) of the tripod and try to balance it on our own. Alas! We wake up to find that it is impossible.
One after the other we make mistakes and experience them first hand. No word of advice reaches our minds. It is all like the warming melody sung to a wall. At the youthful age of 21, we see that the world is much different than what was pictured. Slowly, we learn that after all, this is no walk in the park.
Putting on false faces, finding the right or wrong things to grow into and living each day like it mattered nonetheless; we drive into the seemingly endless tunnel ofĀ Career. Along the way we find a beacon which is ignited by the fire of love. We are consumed and stimulated by another who makes the similar journey. How long the beacon burns, is entirely up to the ones holding it. However, this beacon serves as the light which guides us through the tunnel.
The result of this love is the spark of another life which brightens our road and makes the journey seem very simple and non-tiring. While this new soul finds its way in this world, we provide for it and fight on to reach the end of the tunnel to find that we are right back where we started.
At this point we wonderā¦Ā What exactly did we achieve in our life? The answer remains with the person who wonders; for this contemplation occurs in the last few seconds of the journey called Life. I guess that completes my description of Lifeā¦ In a Nutshell.
Now I really don’t know what made me write this, but my pen kept on going and I guess a boring lecture is the best energy booster for a writer. š So until next time, you know it; Pavan a.k.a Anniyan. Bye folks!
My dog ate my homework!
Ah… Feels good to be back after a long time. š Let me skip the pleasantries and get right to the dirt. A few days back, my lecturer gave the class an assignment to write and submit. Now normally I wouldn’t give a damn about it. But of late, the studious idiot in me has awakened and is rearing its ugly head in full fury. So I started writing my assignment. š š I know, sounds close to impossible right? That’s what even I thought.
After a small bit of writing (3 pages to be exact), I did some good bit of thinking and got the REAL ME off his lounger. There waged a war inside my head and the nerdy bookworm was gloriously defeated. But I still had to come up with a good excuse and I had none as the REAL ME was swatting flies for a long time. And so I thought why not I use the classic alibi? “My dog ate my homework!!!” š š Awesome excuse isn’t it? No? That’s alright. I didn’t think so too. And I don’t even have a pet dog. š I just wanted to write about something. And here it is. š
So whoever read this post has now witnessed a taste of the sheer craziness and also lost 2-3 minutes of their apparently valuable time. š No, don’t thank me people. I already know I’m good. š So until next time (which won’t be too long), yours truly AnniYan a.k.a Pavan.
Sir, Yes SIR!!!
Hello everyone! I am back here again after such a long time, that I don’t even remember how long. š But that is not what I am here to talk about. I want to dedicate this post to the people who changed my life and are constantly continuing change it for the better. These people are none other than my very close friend Abhilash and the person I respect the most, Mr. Nandeeshwar S. B. They changed the ragged course that my life was taking and guided me back on track. A million thanks to both of you.
These past couple of months have been something of a blur. First, there was the submission of our project – The Student Information System; a website for the college where parents could view the details of their wards seated at the comfort of their homes. Then there was my selection in the College Website Maintenance Committee for replacing the current website and maintaining the new one. And then there is the participation in SBMJCE‘s (Bangalore) programming contest.
One after the other it has been just like oneĀ battle after another. I feel proud to be part of this team which is led by my favorite lecturer, Nandeesh sir. I feel like a soldier in a platoon who is tasked to fight one battle after another. Here the Sergeant Abhilash guides me through all the rough terrain, briefing me whenever necessary. Our General Mr. Nandeeshwar points us in the right direction where there is something remaining to be done.
When I said I feel like a soldier, I meant that because I feel I am doing something where I don’t expect anything in return except that the battle needs to be won. As a soldier I also feel extremely loyal to you, sir; and my college. And even if there arises a time when drastic measures are to be taken, I know that I will be guided and I follow faithfully. Hats off to you Nandeesh sir!!! OVER AND OUT!!! š
‘Crick’ De India
Hello readers! This time I want to talk about something that has been plaguing my thoughts for a long time now. Wonder what it is? Before I tell you about that, let me ask you all question. How many of you have heard the names Dhyan Chand, Balbir Singh and Dhanraj Pillai before? Many of you might answer that you have heard the last of the three names I mentioned. And even that is because the name appeared recently in the papers. No, it was not in the crime section or the politics section. It was in fact under sports.
And the three people I have mentioned are actually former players of the Indian Men’sĀ Hockey team. They created history in a game which is supposed to be a country’s national game, but which is ignored by 90% of the country’s own population. The country I am talking about, as is obvious, is none other than glorious India. All this ignorance is because of a game called Cricket. I personally hate cricket. Just because of the publicity it gets. I feel it doesn’t deserve all this popularity it is gaining. In fact, the game gets so much publicity by the media that it has entirely eclipsed all other games and sports.
I wanted to write about this since a very long time. And now I am taking the initiative to put it into words. But before I wrote this article, I wanted to make sure how much other games have suffered. What better place to start than Wikipedia? And so I began with our national game, Hockey. Field Hockey to be exact. Did anyone know that the Indian Hockey Team remained unbeaten champions for six years in a row in the Olympics? And it has not even finished in the podium after 1980(Olympics)? This doesn’t end here. The same condition exists even in the World Cup. The statistics were disturbing. You can find out more about them here.
Courtesy: http://pinastro.wordpress.com/
One good thing is that Tennis is gaining more popularity and so is Formula One racing. It is high time that the people realized the tricks the media is playing on them and they start thinking for themselves. Having said that, as a closing note I would like to dedicate a poem which I wrote to the Indian Hockey team and the various other sports that have lost their value in India because of Cricket.
How fare thee Indian?
Do you remember me?
Or are you caught up in the tricks the media plays?
Forget me not oh diversified media; for I sway to the tunes that you play.
Steeping the people in ignorance and misinformation,
Is the most reliable source of the entire nation.
Why, oh why do you choose to obliterate;
what you claim is not worth to iterate?
Wake up, oh ignorant Indian!
For the time is nigh that you think like one.
I sign off today hoping that this small post which contains long suppressed emotions of a true Indian makes a change in at least ten others. Proud to be an Indian, Pavan a.k.a AnniYan.
Care to take a look? 