My first Skydiving Trip

Blogging from America

Its been a while since I have blogged. The reason being, well, shifting myself to a new paradigm. A new world. I am right now sitting in the lounge of the Illini Union in the town of Champaign-Urbana which is around 150 miles south of Chicago. What is the Illini Union ? It is the center of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. It is a huge castle in the middle of it all. Reminds me of Hogwarts from Harry Potter. The Union is the first flavor of the university any international student experiences. The Union has lounges, cafes, shops, auditoriums, halls, bowling arenas, pool tables, fooz-ball tables, arcade games, guest rooms and just about everything a student needs to spend time with. Enough about the Union, let me get started with my experience in the United States of America.

The first thing I noticed (or anyone for that matter would notice) is the absence of sounds. The great city of Chicago is so neat and quiet. No one honks, no one talks loudly, no chattering, no sound of construction. The place is so quiet. It's the same everywhere. Coming from a loud place as India, this was really my first nice thing. It keeps getting better. Americans are very friendly people. Everyone smiles at you, from the bus driver to the cafe girl to the janitor. It gives you a sense of happiness. A sense of belonging. It made me comfortable and accepted. I stayed in Chicago for four days and I loved it. I'll write a separate post on Chicago later. This post is more about how I feel in USA and the university.

I reach the towns of Champaign-Urbana which is where the University is located and its a pleasant sight. Very different from Chicago. Every piece of land has grass on it and its green and prosperous. There are lots of trees and oh yea, the place is full of corn fields. Its a agricultural town and a flourishing one at that. Agriculture in US is developed and farmers are happy (unlike in India). I reach the university and I realised that there are more people from other countries than white people here. America is truly a nation of mixed races. I met people from Trinidad-Tobago, Germany, Sweden, Bulgaria, Romania, Pakistan, Turkey, Brazil, Mexico, Canada, Equador etc. So many mix of cultures. Even though indians would like to say americans are racist, the truth is that they are not. Americans as I had said earlier, very friendly and happy people.

I really regret not being able to do my under graduation in USA. The american way of life is the most logical. People enjoy life here. They work hard and they party harder. Freshmen have so many options of everything. I met undergrads who are majoring in Linguistics, Art, History, Philosophy, Psychology, Physics, Chemistry etc. All I knew in India were engineers. In India, if you are not a engineer you are a loser. Here its all different. An art major is equal to an engineering major. Its all about equality. There is no gender inequality. Absolutely none. Even the swimming pools have gender-neutral changing rooms. Talking about gender, now I know why back in India there were so less girls. Because all are here. USA has more girls than boys. In the university, I see more women than men. That's nice to note (given I am a guy). The girls don't have any dress code. They just wear anything comfortable. Same goes for guys. I love the equality. I love the fact that everyone is treated the same. It just feels better.

The university students are very patriotic. The football season is about to begin and fever is beginning to rise. That's because the university gives what the students want. Education and a good life. I am proud to be an Illini. School spirit is high.

Education here is top-notch. The classes are great and the professors are really good at what they do. They know the stuff and they know how to deliver it.

I am having a wonderful life in the USA and I love the american way of life. No matter what my room-mates say that India is a better place, the fact remains that he is here too living the american life. Hypocrisy is what I never like with indians. We all know India is in another universe and never can indians catch up. Even though indians like to imagine that india is a great country, the fact of the matter is that it isn't. I miss my family and friends but never a second did I miss India. I miss mom's food but never Indian food.

In a few words, if you want to live life happilly and to the fullest, you have to live it in America.

Go Illini !!

Its Fine

I knew Chennai's traffic police was one of the most corrupt in India demanding bribes for everything and anything. I had a different sort of experience with a traffic police lately.

My friend, Ajay and me were going to Spencer Plaza and well, I wasn't wearing a helmet. So a traffic police guy stopped me. I was sighing because I have to pay him a 50 or 100 fine, but then I remembered that my friend, arun, saying that the official fine for not wearing a helmet was only Rs.100. So this is the conversation between me and the traffic police (tp)

Me : Sir, sorry that I wasn't wearing a helmet
Tp : Shut up and show me your license ( he was being very rude )
Me : (Show the license)
Tp : You know that you have to wear helmet no, how dare you drive without helmet. Show me the insurance
Me : (Show the insurance)
Tp : Give me 50 rupees
Me : Sir, what is the official fine for not wearing helmet
Tp : Oh you'll pay the official fine ah .. Give me 100 rupees then
Me : Ok here you go ( I hand over 100 rupees, which he promptly slides into his pocket and asks me to leave)
Me : Sir, please give me the bill for the fine of Rs.100
Tp : (shocked) Oh, you want the bill ah .. Wait
(after some 2 mins) Tp : The bill-book is full, so I cannot give you bill. I'll put the bill, you go now
Me : I am not leaving without the bill

So the Tp, now takes the bill-book and slowly fills up the form .. By now Tp number2 comes into picture. Tp1 and Tp2 now start talking in hushed voices

Tp1 : The bill book is full. I cannot give you the bill. Please go (he became very polite now)
Me : No I am not leaving. I made a mistake and I will pay the fine. Now give me the bill for a fine of 100 rupees

Tp1 takes the 100 rupee note I gave him, hands it to me and asks me to leave. I was like "wtf"

Me : So you wont give me the bill.
Tp1 : No, you can leave with your money

I couldn't argue. I left .. !!!

I still don't understand why doesn't the traffic police want me to pay the fine. Why is this happening ? This is worse than bribery. They are actually stopping people from paying the actual fine. What is the country going to !!!

Application Blues II

Part III - Prof letting

Prof letting is a tricky business and a certain amount of luck also plays here. For newbies, Prof Letting is "Letting" know of a professor in a interested university that you are applying to the university. First of all, why should you let a professor know. In United States, a professor is the god. He is the king and all bow before him. So if a professor likes you, then you are granted an admission and the University obeys him.

Timing and content is crucial here. You can email professors way before you apply to the university, during your application process or after you have applied and waiting for your result. I am not sure which is the best time. I haggled a lot and what worked for me is when I emailed after applying and waiting for the outcome.

Some points for prof letting

• Keep the email straight and to the point
• Make sure you highlight your strong points like good projects or good acads or good GRE/TOEFL score
• Just say that your "area of interest" matches with the prof's "area of interest" irrespective of what project you have done
• Highlight your projects and reword them so that they sound like its in tune with the prof's area of interest
• Tell the professor that you have applied to the university and awaiting the result and that you really want to work with him. Mention that you have specified his name under 'faculty of interest' in the application form for the university

Do not ask anyone else to send you a format of an email. The professors get millions of email per day and they'll know if you are serious about it or not. Write it on your own.

If the prof likes your work, he will contact you back. You can remind him after two weeks if he does not reply.

Part IV - Online Application (Preview)

All the universities have an online application process. The Fall application usually starts around August and ends around November. Some universities deadline extend even unto May of the next year.

Start the online application process of the university. The application process is quite straight-forward and you'll have to fill the fields as asked for. Most of the applications you can save and then complete it later and then submit it at a later time. During the application you have to specify whether your recommendation letter is online or offline. You also have to type in your SOP - 'Statement of Purpose' . (Posts about Reco-letters and SOP coming up soon).

Along with the online application, you will be needing to send documents to them by post. Some universities need documents to be send to the department separately and to the graduate office separately. The required documents usually are your recommendation letters, SOP and transcripts. The transcripts can be partial (ie) grades what you have earned so far. Also you need to send your passport xerox and financial support form (which is not required initially for decision but before they can admit you, they need the financial support form).

There will be a online submission deadline. This deadline is just for the online application submission. Your documents can reach them at a later date also. So don't panic. Don't start off your online application before writing your SOP and getting your recommendation letters.

More on Recommendation letters and Statement of purpose soon

Application Blues

The series of posts titled 'Application Blues' is for 2nd year and 3rd year guys who want to pursue their studies (MS or PhD) abroad (primarily USA). When I started applying, there was a horde of resources online and offline but there was no concise compiled version. I was confused and somehow went through the process of application and ended up with an admit to University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. This serial article will be a very concise and step-by-step procedure to applying based on my experiences and friends experiences. All the best to all of you out there.

Preface - What choices do I have after under-graduation ?

What can one do after under-graduation (B.Tech or B.E) ?? Many people wouldn't have thought of it when joining college. The most obvious choice would be to take up a job. But with the current scenario of economic depression, jobs are beginning to get scarce. So what other options ? Doing a Masters degree is one of the options. MS degree is offered by many US universities and also in Europe and Australia. I am focusing primarily on USA. Before you choose to do a Masters, decide on what you would like to specialize on. Atleast a vague idea. I was interested in working in Robotics and Control Systems. You could opt for VLSI, embedded systems etc .. There are many fields out there. Just know what you are interested in and know what you want to continue your studies on. Don't just do a MS for the sake of it. Do what you enjoy doing and studying.

Part I - Choosing the list of universities to apply

This is your first step. Choosing the list of universities is very important. The number of universities to apply is upto you. I applied to 12 universities. Do not go blindly by ranking. What I'd suggest is to ask your seniors or someone to what range of universities can you apply for your profile ( your profile includes the projects you have done and your grades ). Then go to usnews.com (this is a good ranking system) , and go to the websites of universities around the ranks which you want to apply to.

When you are checking a university, always check for the following

1. Department to which you want to apply to
2. Relevant research going on in the department
3. Professors who are working on the research

If you really like the research going on in a university, then apply to the university. Usually people categorise the universites as ambitious, moderate and safe. I'd suggest a split up of 4 ambitious univs, 4 moderate univs and 2 safes for a total of 10 applications. If you don't want to apply for 10, then have a split up of 3 ambi, 2 mod and 2 safe. Don't apply to more than 2 safe universities because anycase its safe and you'll get one of the two. Apply to more ambitious and moderate universities because your luck might end you up in a really ambitious university .

Do not stick with a list, you can keep changing it till the last moment.

Part II - Writing GRE and TOEFL

GRE and TOEFL are required before you apply to any university. The right time to give your GRE is around July-August for Fall admissions. GRE has two sections :- verbal and maths. The maths portion is pretty easy. Brush up on 12th standard maths and you should be fine. Verbal is just Barrons in and out. Mug up the 50 word lists and also their usage in sentences and you'll be fine. The reading comprehension is the usual tough portion in the GRE test but practice makes perfect.

Some tips for GRE
1. Make sure you are thorough with atleast the high-frequency words
2. Just knowing the meanings of words is not enough. Make sure you know its usage.
3. Always finish the test fully. DO NOT SKIP any questions at the end of the test. In the last minute, just answer the questions arbitly. You'll lose heavily on marks if you miss even one question at the end.
4. You'll have just the adequate amount of time. Do not rush in your maths. Do it slowly and make sure you get it right the first time since there is no turning back once you have answered your question
5. For analytical writing section, read sample essays and organise your thoughts correctly. Don't keep jumping.
6. Take lots and lots of practice tests. One week before you GRE take atleast 20 sample tests. You can find lots of sample tests online.

Adequate time for GRE preparation is 2 months if you spend adequate time (around 2 hours) everyday.

TOEFL is a very easy test when compared to your GRE. One week preparation is enough .Take some sample tests to just familiarise with the speaking, reading, writing and listening sections.

Some tips for TOEFL
1. In the speaking portion, speak slowly and clearly. Do not try to imitate any accent. Speak naturally and it is OK if you hesitate during your speech. Just make sure you tell everything you mean to tell
2. Listening and Reading portions are a breeze
3. Writing is just like Analytical writing of GRE but you have to write more here. If you have given your GRE already, you'll have an idea

Give your GRE and then after a week take up your TOEFL. You will receive your official scores by post around 2 weeks after you have given your test.

( Continued in next post )

Memoirs of Singapore

I was asked to write an article for Currents Magazine of my department. 'Currents' is the technical symposium of the EEE department of NIT Trichy. So I wrote one. I just thought i'd share it here. So here goes :)

All of us fancy studying, living, working in the United States, Europe or Australia. No one gives much thought to a tiny island off the Malaysian peninsula in South-East Asia called Singapore. The size of a medium-sized city and a population which is a crazy mix of contrasting cultures makes Singapore a very lively and interesting place. First of all, let me introduce myself. I am Karthikeyan, a final year student of the EEE department. During my third year, I was lucky to get to work on a project in National University of Singapore (NUS) and that’s how I ended up writing this article. NUS is a world-class university which is ranked among the top 20 colleges in the world. I wrote to a professor in the Engineering department with my credentials and he replied. Professor Xu Jian-xin – yes, he’s Japanese – agreed to guide me and wanted me to work on a humanoid robot. I completed two projects with the Fujitsu Humanoid robot in the Control and Simulation Lab. One, I designed a real-time control of the humanoid and two, I designed and developed a vision system for the robot by which it could identify a basket and throw a ball into it with just visual cues.

I had to fund myself for the first trip. I should say, Singapore is quite a costly city. It is ranked quite high in the world’s costliest cities. I could not get a room to stay in, so I ended up staying in a dormitory sharing a dorm with 19 other people.

This turned out to be such an exciting thing as I got to meet people from various cultural backgrounds. I met people from Thailand, Malaysia, Germany, France, North Korea, China, Sweden and Bangladesh. This mix of cultures is the most interesting part of Singapore and that’s what makes the city tick. You get to know so much about the different cultures in the world first hand. The dormitory I stayed in was called Betel-Box backpacker hostel and it was located in the eastern part of Singapore called ‘Joo-Chiat’. It’s a quiet locality with a beach nearby.

Commuting in Singapore is a pleasure. It is said that you can get to anywhere in Singapore by public transport – the MRT and buses. Joo-Chiat to NUS is an hour’s commute by train and then a bus into the campus. NUS campus itself was a treat to the eye. Green and modern, NUS has some of the best laboratories in the world. The labs are open all through the day and the night. On my second visit to NUS during summer of 2008, I was funded by NUS and was accommodated for two months in the hostel inside campus. This made my commute to the lab easier and faster but I missed the journey from Joo-Chiat to the university. One of my juniors, Aswin Chandarr, joined me in the same project during summer. A known face in the lab made things easier and who doesn’t want company.

Singapore is a famous tourist hub. The city in itself is a spectacle. One of the most noticeable things once you land there is the cleanliness. The place is spick-and-span; you can literally eat off the roads! When in Singapore, I always suggest you walk a lot and look around. It’s colorful, it’s interesting and it’s buzzing with life. The Sentosa Island is exclusively for tourism and it’s a wonderful experience. The shows, the beaches, the rides make for a good day out in the sun.

Singapore is also a shopper’s paradise. SimLim Square is the word on everyone’s mouth if you talk electronics. It is an air-conditioned four storeyed Ritchie street. Places to shop include Mustafa Center, Bugis street, China-town market, Orchard road (for the uber-rich), Bugis Junction and more. Singapore, being the world’s busiest port, enjoys the commodities of more than 25 countries. Singapura, as it is locally called, is a modern island nation with top-notch technology and be it education, shopping or tourism, Singapore has it all.

You know you have been too long in NITT when ..

There is this group on facebook called "YOU KNOW YOU'VE BEEN IN UNIVERSITY TOO LONG WHEN..." The introduction of the group is really funny and is actually the truth. I am going to compile a similar one titled

You know you have been too long in nitt when ....

1. Home food becomes something you desire, not avoid
2. "Oh shit how did it get so late!" comes out of your mouth at least once a night
3. You sleep when its light and wake up when its dark
4. Listen to swearing and smile and nod
5. You obtain most of your education outside of college
6. You stop believing in clocks (especially at towers)
7. No matter how 'cool' you were in school, no one here cares
8. you talk about dota matches as if they were cricket matches
9. bathing, brushing and breakfast become optional
10. you feel lays is tastier than mess food
11. walking no longer is a chore
12. you don't flinch at power cuts
13. you get used to 0.001 Kbps internet connection
14. you don't mind waiting one hour for that 0.001 Kbps connection
15. you stop looking at nitt girls
16. you start feeling that every other girl from every other college looks good
17. you stop worrying about how you look (because everyone else looks as stupid as you)
18. eating is dhaba is more hygienic than mess food
19. you don't find any crazy person as crazy
20. you are able to go without shitting for two to three days in a row
21. you feel alone sometimes even when surrounded by people
22. you want to get out with the same desperation you wanted to get in
23. you no longer 'hide' the porn folder
24. cows walk side by side with you and you feel comfortable
25. rearranging your room is your favourite pastime
26. looking out the window is a form of entertainment

anymore you can think of .. add in the comments

be it good or bad, nitt has been my home for the past four years and its time to leave that home in a few months .. i'll miss the place with all its craziness and eccentric characters ..