26/11 is a date that shall now be etched in the memory of every Indian who was alive and witnessed that brazen act of terrorism, yes no coward or foolish act of terrorism as this was particularly marked by flagrant and insolent audacity. Today, almost one month later, India celebrated the re-opening of the Taj and the Oberoi which were dubbed as symbol's of India's resurgence. So do many people say, that India's anger at being hurt is yet again going to be a matter of a few weeks or at the maximum a month and nothing more than that completely ignorant of the underlying fire in India's belly that has surfaced finally and is demanding responses off the bureaucracy and holding the men who must be accountable, accountable for their callousness and inability to capitalize and act upon necessary leads. We might finally shrug off that soft to terrorism tag and demand of our honorable neighbors to finally act and take concrete steps.

This much water has already traversed under the bridge and there is action being taken here and there. Today, as I was watching the classic Jaws II again, I saw Chief Broody being fired by the Amity Town Council for raising an apparently false alarm about a shark that could put the security of the township in jeopardy and what I could relate it to was the sparse news articles in recent days that have cried foul against the extensive media coverage and thus the word witnessed italicized earlier.

There were minute to minute updates and live coverage, exemplified by the 36 hour marathon streaming of live news inspite of impending exams by Darya managing to turn his laptop upside down in the process. Every move of the police and the commandos were put forth to the viewing public. The nation grieved as people fell to indiscriminate firing and wanton bullets took away the lives of innocent people. Reporters crouched in competition to the commandos and captured the movements of the terrorists in the corridors of the Taj, Recorded horrifying narrations of the victims who managed to flee the holocaust in two of India's most luxurious hotels and the Nariman House. Some segments of intellectuals and general public have cried hoarse asking for the media to exercise some self restraint while covering events like this. 

The Broadcaster's Association issued a clarion call for the media houses to exercise self restraint in the process of coverage of the turn of events and not create unwanted fear in the society and throw open a shadow of uncertainty on the society but to little or no avail. It is indeed an issue that everybody ought to be worried about. Continuous live relay of every action of the emergency commando groups etc who had come to combat the terrorists could have done more damage than not. It could even have resulted in people connected with the terrorists giving them information as to how the counter-terrorist force is moving and only helping the already sophisticated terrorists in implementing this systematic destruction of Indian self-confidence with this ruthless blow. 

Didn't the world see a 7/7 or a 9/11. Did we have the BBC or the CNN giving a minute by minute or blow by blow detail of the operations that are being undertaken. The police and the emergency forces cordoned off the site to a particular limit and no media troop were allowed to come close to the site of destruction. This definitely wasn't the case in India and at some points the media had greater and more comfortable access to certain locations than the police or NSG Commandos. Agreed no terror attack on the face of this world has involved such audacity and struck people with so much terror but that is indeed case for more restraint and not more recklessness on part of the Fourth Estate of every society. It is this that the Government also should look to regulate in India more effectively. An announcement by the Association is of no avail, as the regulations are neither binding nor punitive for breaches. Never did we see a professional video of the 9/11 attack and never do we ever want to see a professional video of any other terror attack on India let alone videos of a terror attack. Grow Up Media! Grow Up Security Forces! Be Accountable and make our fort more Secure...

Srini

Every semester has its routine of fun, work, fun, work, fun, work with work eventually taking a stranglehold on its closest competitor and wiping out any trace of that element called fun in the last week especially that which is also called end term examinations. 

With that sense of deja vu did we all shift our rooms to the ground floor at the beginning of this semester but what it turned out just cannot be equalled by any past experiences and can only be beaten by experiences that the future will churn out from its depths. Srinivas Vishven, came into what could be called the biggest shock of his life. He opened his room to mounds and mounds of dust and with his stuff giving Abhay's and mine company in the Corridor of Excellency, had a tough time cleaning and setting up his room infact was the last to set his room up if my memory serves right. Gupte Aditya Milind, the man moved into a room filled with coolers, around 5 coolers found shelter in His Imperial Majesty's Room. Anirudh Kapoor, the man opened his room to be covered with that fine sheet of dust and ofcourse with a spot or two where he could put his feet in a room otherwise filled or rather dumped with stuff to which Abhay and I could lay claim. Debapratim Ray, a little less dumping but loads n loads of dust was what he was welcomed to. Shreyansh Mardia, this ass stayed for a day or two after the end of last term and had his room cleaned and decently set up so he walked in to a room like any other in college but the Shenanigans of the Ground Floor ;) . And what was left of the floor was Abhay Pratap Singh and me, S. Srinivasan, two men whi didnt know what to expect in the room as it was vacated after we left college and safely locked and all our stuff assembled in the hallowed corridors of the Ground Floor.

To me this was a very very memorable semester and I guess it was surely for you all too guys, a bond that I never ever thought I would share with someone in college I do share now with you all. To sum it all up as I have always said, it cant be called a floor in the hostel, it just is a huge room with some partitions in it, so would say those common t-shirts, deodorants, conditioners, shampoo, food etc etc etc...

Bumpat - Yeah, the new derivative of Bum P, courtesy Pranav. That massive godown of food :D ... I really cherish those secret raids that so many of us conducted so many times on that room of urs and cant forget the so many times that we left you squirming on the floor after the Floor tradition had been fulfilled. The Darya - Bum P duels are something that I think the Floor couldnt have done with. The super smasher of hand tennis. Can we forget the times that Bum P's dad was in town, the emergency clean up operations and the hours of scrubbing Bansal's hot plate and vessels.

Adi - The fakir, not so much for his knowledge but for his appearance definitely, that ragged cargos, unkempt beard and the shaggy hair. Oh! not to forget the honourable HMC of our floor who recorded the maximum complaints for faulty jets in the floor or ofcourse the dirty loos courtesy bad bad PG's of our floor. The man to go for whatever you want, exemplified by the comment by the anonymous first year come with sutta for collecting your outpasses. I owe it to this man more than anyone else for this sem being as memorable as it was and it shall ever be :) And ofcourse how can I forget my everlasting study partner, the man who will sit and listen to my rambling even if I am studying for Logic or Ethics where both of us none better. The man who can sacrifice the beard he loves so much for friends.

Ani - The God in every respect, God of FIFA, God of Virtua Tennis, God of Hand Tennis, God of Corridor Cricket, God of Academics, most importantly God for all those Gods of the Ground Floor :P . Ani, Anirudh, Kapoorani, Kapsa, persona par excellence, he is wit of the floor personified. More times than not has the floor rolling on the floor laughing about something or the other. The Boston Legal Freak who tries his hand at everything and can come up with the most imaginative differences between insurgency and terrorism :D :D. Whatever said and done the nerd at heart surfaces time and again in Ani, as everyone hunts for the Ani he might emerge suddenly from the two temples of learning 310@AA or 219@MCS only to take part in the fun as if he was always there. The bogey mailer of the floor.

Debra - Debra, the tag that has hung on to him courtesy Amar Singh but nothing can still beat the Sweetie of the floor ;). The man who still hunts for his clothes in that massive pile of clothes on his table and bed and the man who really destiny blessed by turning that page on his notebook as Muksa raided the Hallowed Corridors of Fame. The Bad Boy of the Floor who never studies except after 12 midnight on the day before the exam and who can get angry at the drop of a pin too and he needs that something to go and shit apart from his book and that handwash that he carries and that wonderful dance he performs at various places to get it :P. The super dancer of the floor and the Bengali that arose after Dada's retirement. The biggest victim yet of Anirudh's bogey mails.

Mardia - The stud Dj of the floor. The only man in all this earth that the floor dies to imitate as can cry the various photos on various birthdays especially the one clicked on Adi's birthday. The last soul to be corrupted and to fall in line with the floor. THe man who comes with his impeccable one liners, well not so one- liners call them stud dialogues which immediately make their way to the myriad status message bars of the floor and elicit laughter from the whole college. The super dancer who held the college's breath single handedly in the cultural week and Boston Legal freak next to Ani only. One great quality about Mardia which has to be appreciated is his impeccable ability to do the right thing at the wrong time. Agreed you have to study a subject once you get bad marks in it but then you dont study it on the day u get ur papers but the day before ur next test please. DJ PJ is really unbeatable, the entertainment factor as the floor plays cricket and tennis with both his back pain and soober doober music.

Coming now to the Manchester United Corner of the floor, Ladies and Gentlemen presenting to you The All-Round Guide to Effective Placements at the end of Five Years at Law School - Abhay. Never can a day go by without talking placements or internship. One Man Utd freak like I have never seen before apart from me. Slowest of the Slow returns in tennis giving Darya terrific competition. A stacked up book shelf and the genius mooter whom Mukul Shastry cites as an authority in class while teaching Murder. The first man who stood up for me in this place. You always have a special place in my life Dear Friend, for the various things we have done together and we shall ;) (Stay away naughty perverts).  

Whatever said and done, nothing of this scale would hav been possible without ppl like Bagda, Pranav, Sunny, Aman, Darya and all you people out there...

Oh yeah how can I forget that mighty Rat which forced us to keep our doors shut for a few days, till that F**k Off Rat attitude came in after that holocaust in Abhay's room :D

To sum it all up, whatever said and done as Ani said earlier SAMDAAB + BPADS = Awesome!!!!

Happy Birthday Abhay!! :)