I Am Asif

Nepal 2011 - A Photographic Journey (Part 2)

2012-01-04T23:43:00.001+06:00

[Continued from Part 1. Click on the photos to get larger views in a new window, there you can also drop your comments on the individual photos.]

The World Peace Stupa (Pagoda) is another popular destination in Pokhara. Part of the attraction is the large gleaming white structure of the pagoda with a golden statue of the Buddha at the very top of the hill, but it also draws people being one of the key vantage points providing stunning views of the Pokhara landscape. The drive up to the top was pretty scary indeed, our sturdy old jeep was twisting and turning its way upwards over the winding hilly path, the road only a bit wider than the vehicle itself. Had to walk up by foot for about 10 minutes to get to the peak. But just like in Sarangkot the previous day, the weather wasn't on my side. But here I had a good chance of putting my newbie photography skills to the test, trying out some real Panoramas. The result wasn't so bad.

Panorama of the World Peace Pagoda.

Couldn't help going for BW with this one.

View from the World Peace Pagoda.

If Phewa Lake is a little too crowded for your taste, head over to Begnas Lake. This is a quite, serene place, secluded from the din and hustle of city life. The water here is still, clear and cold; the lush green hills moulding the lake into its shape giving purely symmetrical reflections in the water. It's far less crowded than Phewal lake, and boating in this lake is a truly relaxing experience. It's like Begnas and Phewa are two sisters. Phewa being the younger, more festive, energetic and flamboyant type who loves to have a blast with family and friends; while Begnas is the elder one, much more reserved, humble and mature. Both are beautiful, in their own ways.

Panorama of the gorgeous Begnas Lake.

The reflections in the perfectly still water of the lake made me speechless.

Panorama of Begnas Lake.

I just kept shooting from out the window of the passenger seat.

On our way back to the hotel, we were crossing a bridge over the Seti River which runs across Pokhara city. I don't know why our driver didn't think this spot would be interesting to see, I made him pull over and grabbed some shots.

HDR photography of Seti River, Pokhara.

Since coming to Pokhara I've had something in my mind that I had to do, riding a bicycle in this beautiful city. So on our last afternoon in Pokhara, I wasted no time. And boy did I have some fun! Paddling along the side of the lake, I went up to the Fishtail Lodge. It's a pretty fancy resort which can only be accessed by crossing the Phewa Lake by square shaped barges that are pulled across the lake using ropes. The place is quite attractively decorated and provided a lot of chances for nice shots, but I reached there almost at sunset, and had to get back to the hotel before dark, wimpy kid that I am. So I grabbed some quick snaps and headed back.

When the day comes to an end, Pokhara city can be a great place to walk around with your camera. There are tons of shops selling all kinds of things starting from trekking gear to Kashmiri handicrafts; there are gorgeously decorated restaurants that offer not only mouth watering food, but also offer some interesting shots if you're looking for them. So I used my time as best as I can, snapping away at.... well, all sorts of stuff!

Tried my hand with some Bokehs!

(Continued)

Nepal 2011 - A Photographic Journey (Part 1)

2011-12-30T22:02:00.000+06:00

This just shows how good I am at procrastinating, it took me a month to start writing a blog post about my Nepal tour. At first I thought I'd make a really descriptive post, but I'm just too lazy for that. So I thought I'd make it a photo blog instead. Makes the job much easier for me since many of the shots are already uploaded in G+/Picasa. Click on the photos to get larger views in a new window, there you can also drop your comments on the individual photos.

My father is the kind of a person who doesn't wanna wait for something he's decided upon. It might be really hard to convince him into something, but once it's set in his mind, he just can't wait. So when one fine noon he casually informed me that they (my parents) are going to Nepal within a few days and I should let him know if I wanted to accompany them, I knew it was just a matter of time, and a very short time at that. So I was off to making a list of places to visit :D. Also, since I didn't have any camera of my own (I know, it's pathetic), I called my photo enthusiast uncle to reserve his Nikon D40.

The only place inside central Kathmandu that's really worth visiting, from a photography point of view, is the Garden of Dreams. It's a decent looking place with various sorts of plants and Greek/European style architecture (yeah, I'm not very good at recognizing those). To someone with a photographic eye (not me), this place can provide some good shots.

Looking at the aircraft that was gonna take us to Pokhara from Kathmandu airport, I had mixed feelings. It was small, a toy like thing with about 40 seats, and looked adorable. And that's the very reason it scared me as well. But after it was airborne, I soon forgot to worry about anything. The view of the mountain ranges on the horizon was stunning, and I kept snapping with my D40. The trip was supposed to take just 30 minutes, but it was actually even shorter. The driver from the hotel was already waiting for us, and we took a 10 minute ride to our hotel. And those 10 minutes told me one simple thing; Pokhara is beautiful.

Pokhara is quite simply the opposite of Kathmandu. The air is pure, the streets are clean and wide, and the the city is surrounded by magnificent mountains and hills all around. Our hotel was very close to the Phewa Lake, and the 4th floor restaurant provided an absolutely stunning view of the adjacent lake, hills and mountains. Walking up the winding road that goes right beside the lake is very pleasant. There are bicycles for hire which are available throughout the lake side, which is a great way to roam about the place in the afternoon (which I did, later).

Devi's Fall, looking towards the source.

After a quick rest, prayer and lunch at our hotel, we headed out with our driver cum tour guide, a jolly guy named Mathura, towards Devi's fall. Reading about visitors' experiences and seeing some photos of that place before, I wasn't expecting a lot from there. But I was proved wrong as soon as I got the glimpse of the fall. It's not your typical waterfall falling from a great height giving a majestic view. Rather it's an expanding section of a rapid, falling down below to a great depth. What really makes this place absolutely breathtaking is the blazing speed of the water. The sound of the rush is deafening, and the water stream drops a long way down to a deep dark well-like opening into the rocks, from where sprays of water come up to meet you. The purely white water, it's intense speed and the sound of the rush is something that you really have to feel by standing there in front of the fall, and cannot be comprehended thorough photographs on a 2D plane. Still, being a newbie photographer I tried my best to capture the beauty of the place.

The majestic Devi's Fall.

The stream drops straight down through the dark opening.

Right across the street from Devi's fall is a cave called Gupteshwar Gupha. The cave is divided into two parts. The first section leads down into a temple, a very revered place to Hindus. From that level, the cave winds further down, deep into a place where the water from Devi's fall can be seen rushing in from an opening in the rocks, running on towards an underground river below your feet. The view at the very bottom is stunning. The ceiling of the cave opening is too high to be seen, and whole place is deep dark except for the jagged opening at the further end, a crack in the cave as high as the ceiling itself. The water from the violent fall is seen gushing in through the enormous cave, with equally blazing speed, running underground to some place unknown. Through that fissure in the cave, nothing can be seen except the white foamy water surging in. It was quite a feeling to be there, and I really wish I could just be there by myself, for some hours, just looking at the shaft of light out of the darkness, listening to the sound of the flow. Maybe someday I will.

If you look at the map of Pokhara, you’ll see that the Phewa Lake dominates the city. Not only because it’s big, (because Begnas Lake is probably bigger) but because it’s at the very heart of the city and around this lake have the hotels and the shops sprung out. It’s reputed for its view with the surrounding hills and the gorgeous view of The Annapurna Range including the famous Fishtail Mountain (Machhapuchhare in local lingo), which is clearly visible from the lake on a clear day. The reflection of the whole mountain range on the lake of the water in probably the most common photo you’ll see in Nepalese souvenir calendars. In the afternoon of the first day at Pokhara, we went out for a boat ride on the lake. Although we couldn't really see the mountains due to clouds, the hills on both sides of the lakes made a pretty decent view. Many boats, painted with festive colors and driven mostly by local women, goes out into the lake packed with tourists. Hindus also go to the Barahi Temple, which is placed on an island in the lake.

Out of all the shots I took at the Phewa Lake, this one is definitely my dearest.

The World Peace Pagoda, shot while boating in the Phewa Lake.

The next day we headed out right after our Fajr Prayer towards Sarangkot. This place is famous for the view it provides of the sunrise over The Annapurnas, Phewa Lake and the whole beautiful Pokhara valley. But, you need a very, very clear weather for that kinda post-card view, which I didn't get. Although I couldn't see the mountains at all, and the lake was hardly distinguishable from the land due to heavy fog, the sunrise at Sarangkot was a pretty enjoyable one. Using the 55-200mm lens at sunrise, and also for the fact that I wanted to shoot some HDR, I had my borrowed D40 and tripod all set up, ready for the sun to wake up (I was expecting quite a few of the other tourists to set up there gear as well, but they seemed quite happy going handheld).

High Dynamic Range (HDR) photograph of Sarangkot, minutes after sunrise. This shot is quite certainly one shot from that place I'm pretty happy about.

Next on our itinerary was the Chameru Cave, more popularly known as the Bat Cave. Well the name says it, it's famous for its bats. Three different species of these nocturnal mammals live in this cave which attract not only random tourists but also biologists and bat enthusiasts from around the globe. Walking downwards for quite a long way through rough hewn steps, I reached an enormous hall in the cave. It's pitch dark in there, and we only used very dim FTL lights to watch our steps. Pointing the lamp upwards, the light faintly reached the high ceiling above, and I saw that the ceiling was covered with bats. Following my guide I climbed my way upwards, which took me very close to ceiling at one stage, bringing me up close with the sleeping creatures. But the most memorable part of my time at the Bat Cave was not the bats themselves, but the final bit of rock climbing that I had to do get out of the cave. It was a really, really tight upward climb which at first seemed quite impossible for me, having no experience in climbing rocks at all. But my guide (who's actually a varsity student doing part time job here to cover his tuition) assured me, and climbing up himself first, he gave me very clear instructions on where to keep my hands and feet. Bending my body to positions I never thought was possible by me, I finally squeezed out of the hole into daylight. It was awesome!

After the Bat Cave we also went to the Mahendra Cave, which was nearby, but since our day was already getting quite tiresome, we didn't really explore it beyond a few steps. I didn't have the experience or the gear needed to shoot in the situations that are found inside the dark undergrounds, so I can't provide good enough shots from within.

(Continued)

Missing Eid on Eid Day

2011-08-31T01:25:00.001+06:00

I know it's a happy day, and I should be in a joyous mood. But today for some reason, what I'm feeling above it all is how much I miss the Eid days when I was just a kid. Things were so much simple back in that time. Eid was all about having a good time with family and friends. In the neighborhood, going from one friend's place to another in the morning, enjoying the home made mouth watering food cooked by my mom together with my family at lunch. Nothing bothering my mind. Nothing bugging me. Nothing irritating to see and endure. No constant pressure splitting my mind in half. No complications whatsoever. Plain, simple, clean merriment. Why in the world did I have to grow up? Why in the world did everything had to become so much more complicated these days? I wish I could become a kid again. A school going kid who loves to have a blast with friends and family. I really, really wish I could go back.

Sorry for this grim kinda post in the joyous day for Muslims all over the world. From the depth of my heart I wish everyone a very very very Happy Eid. May Allah make this day a truly happy day for us all, and may this happy day be the first of many. Peace. Salaam.

Blogging from my Lappy!

2011-06-13T20:10:00.000+06:00

It's always great when a new gadget is added to your arsenal, right? Well about half a month a ago, I've got myself a new laptop, Thanks to Allah. It's a netbook rather, an Asus EEE PC 1215T. Despite being tagged a netbook, which is usually synonymous to a low-end laptop, this little machine has a pretty decent configuration (surely you've checked out the specs by now via the above link). Well, I haven't bought this thing to play Crysis 2 right? It does whatever things I expect it to do pretty smoothly. Hey, it even runs AutoCAD 2012 nicely as well (which I'm currently learning).

In an age where everyone's going for the latest android tablets or the iPad, buying a netbook might not sound very tech savvy. But IMHO, despite being super duper cool and great tools for browsing, communication, note-taking and awesome time killing entertainment, neither Android nor iOS are good enough to replace windows or mac, as far as productivity is concerned. May be all that will change come Windows 8 next year, the recent demo of which seemed ultra cool to me as a tablet OS. Anyways that's all for now. Good day!

Smart Sunday??

2011-01-30T11:24:00.000+06:00

Smart Sunday? Really? Apparently there's a thing in the corporate world that office people really suit-up come sundays. Men dress up in suits, neck ties and all, and the women in sarees. Guess what, I just heard it for the first time from a colleague. Makes me wonder, what does that make me? I never cared to wear those fancy stuff, couldn't care less really. For almost a year now I.ve been wearing the typical islamic clothes wherever I go, plain long punjabi, lose salwar and cap. Does that make me Unsmart Everyday? Well, so be it!

Half a Month of Awesomeness

2010-12-31T12:24:00.000+06:00

I don't think there could be any better month to end this year. December, or the second half of it, has been jam packed with three very significant events, probably for my life. First of all there was the three days I spent on a jamaat, this time with my dad! Those who know me (or the unlikely souls who read my blog) know pretty well that I try to spend some time of the path of Allah regularly. I've been wanting very badly for a long time now to take my father with me some day. He's been eager a few times as well, but health issues and other mismatches were getting on the way. Finally thanks to Allah we went out together on a jamaat on the 16th and spent the next three days in the environment of a masjid. A long awaited wish of me and my sister has been finally fulfilled, Alhamdulillah.

Then came the biggest family event, ever. The place where my father and my uncles grew up is the native village of Fuljhury, in Pirojpur district of Barisal. There, the more than a hundred year old building of ours made by my great grandfather have recently been reconstructed from ground up, furnished with modern facilities, so that we can stay over there from time to time and reestablish the ties to our roots. A grand family reunion was being planned for that place which finally happened on the 24th. The crown jewel of our family, my grandma returned to her home, now built anew, after many many years, along with her sons and daughters and beloved grandchildren. It was a truly remarkable event, a memory that cannot be forgotten, and most probably will not be repeated.

As for me, those three days in the village were just simply awesome. I've been there last year, but only for a few hours. But this time I got the opportunity to truly explore the village. And guess what, I just loved it. It's a real pleasure to break free from the caged life of Dhaka city and live a few days in a place where nature rules, instead of industries. My fun was particularly heightened cuz I had the chance to walk around and take shots with my uncles Nikon DSLR. Although I've learned the basics of photography theory, but this is the first time I got the chance to put 'em to the test, and boy did I love it!

If I wanna write, I could write volumes about this particular tour, as it has been a truly unforgettable one in many different ways. But as you know me, I'm feeling lazy already, so I'll just leave it here. Inshallah soon I'll post about the photos I took there, they're now in the process of editing! Thanks to Allah that everything went so smoothly without any mishap, and for letting me be there to witness this huge event in our family history. It would probably be a sin not to mention Shapanku, as from the construction of the building to arranging this mega event, he deserves most (if not all) the credit. Hats off to him.

Well, December didn't end there though. As you probably know since completing my studies I've been looking to work somewhere to gain some experience, without deviating from my line of studies. After several months of ... you know.... nothing, I finally got accepted for an internship at Rahimafrooz Renewable Energy Ltd. I got called for interview on the 29th which was not quite a formal interview, and was asked to start from January 1st. Alhamdulillah. I know it's not a job, but still I'll get to learn a lot Inshallah, and for me, that's very important. Thanks to another uncle of mine, Milanku for his support in this matter.

And so it ended, the amazing month of December. A fitting end to 2010, I guess, cuz the whole year has been truly unforgettable.

The IELTS Chapter

2010-12-09T18:26:00.001+06:00

I took a very rapid decision to take the IELTS test last month. I got registered just one month before my exam date. At that point l wasn't even aware of the format of the exam. So I just downloaded some practice materials from the net and started to give some practice tests by myself.

The first three parts of the exam, namely listening, reading and writing were on the 27th of november at the Bashundhara Convention centre. I was actually pretty impressed by the way the exam was conducted. Speaking test was on the 29th at a hotel in Gulshan. Thanks to Allah the exams went pretty well indeed. The exam was a pretty good experience for me. I was in serious need for a break from my seemingly infinite boredom, so the whole thing was a breath of fresh air for me.

Judging by my small practice and the way the exams went, I was hoping for a decent enough score. But when my results came out as 8.5 out of 9, I was actually overwhelmed! My individual scores are as followes: listening-9. reading-9, writing-6.5(!) and speaking-8.5. Alhamdulillah that's quite impressive actually. I just hope something good comes out of it.

My Tiny Little Nephew

2010-07-05T20:24:00.000+06:00

Although I’ve seen a few of my cousins get born and grow up a little, but since they didn’t actually stay with us I never really got to handle a baby before. We all needed a big change in the family, and this big change comes in the form of a tiny little boy! Yup, he’s small, believe me, like a pet. He’s the first baby of my sister cum friend. We’ve all been waiting for this little bundle of joy for a long time now, and when he came to us two weeks ago, instantly the youngest member of the family became the most popular one!
As I’ve said before, I’ve had no previous experience with babies. The first few days I couldn’t even carry him properly, as soon as he came to me he would start to cry. But in a few days, when he first slept on my arms for more than an hour, I got to feel something I’ve never felt before. It was really amazing. I now have some sort of idea about how my uncles and aunts must feel for me; since I’ve grown up in their hands from an age my nephew is in now.
He’s been named Zubair Abdullah. Strange thing about his first name; his dad, me and my brother each individually thought of that very name without consulting each other! That’s too much to be a coincidence right? Zubair has now become the center of attraction of the whole family. I never was the idle sitting kinda guy, but now I could spend hours just staring at his magical face even when he’s just sleeping (he actually doesn’t do much other than sleeping and crying, so far). The innocent sweet face casts a kind of a spell on my eyes, they just get stuck on him.
Looking at him I can’t help but wonder how helpless a human child is. He can’t talk, he can’t tell us what he needs and when, he doesn’t have strength in his arms and feet. Yet, a group of grown-ups are always on their toes to fulfill all his needs. My dad was saying one day, this is the grace of Allah Subhanu wa Ta’ala. Deep into the hearts of the people around the baby, The Almighty Allah injects the most important ingredient for the growing up of the child; love, pure and unconditional love.

On the Path of Revival - Part 2

2010-06-19T22:36:00.000+06:00

Ibn Abbas Radiyallahu Anhu narrates that Rasulullah Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam said: Today you listen to me about Deen; tomorrow you will be heard. And then it will be heard from those, who heard from you. (Abu Dawud)

Although I’ve been acquainted with Tabligh for several years now, but only after going in this jamaat that I finally got to see and participate in the Dawah activities in full swing. The effort that is going on in the name of ‘Dawat-e-Tabligh’ in every corner of the globe now is the effort to re-establish the missing bond among Muslims. Deen cannot be rejuvenated in the hearts of the Muslims without the proper understanding of Allah Subhanu Ta’ala. So our Dawah consisted of just that, to remind the people of Allah’s identity as the controller of the whole creation. The goal of the Dawah is not to preach to others and give Hidaayat, but to acquire Hidayat from Allah for ourselves by preaching the very words that we want to set in our own hearts. Once this purpose of Dawah is clear, you’ll never be disappointed or grow tired in calling people towards Allah. The urge to improve your own Imaan and set your Yaqeen straight will drive you onwards.
So wherever we went in Khulna, we got totally blended in with the local people. We stayed in a total of twelve masjids in and around the main Khulna town, so that’s a dozen different localities. In the period of forty days, me and my Saathis (it’s a norm in Tabligh to call another fellow Tablighi a ‘Saathi’ which means companion in the dialect of the subcontinent) got acquainted with numerous people, and we truly got acquainted with them. I mean we didn’t only get to know their names and whereabouts, but they truly became our brothers. Even when we changed a masjid and went over to the next one, the connection with the people of the previous area were not hampered, we would often visit them, keep in touch over the phone, and often they would come over to our current masjid to join us for lunch or dinner. Even now after almost two months, I call many of them back in Khulna regularly, and they call me as well.
In each of the areas we visited, there was a great stir in the place due to our work there. Thanks to Allah, all the members of our jamaat spent a lot of time in Gasht (preaching walks), talking to people in all sorts of places. Houses, tea stalls, shops, student dorms, you name it, we’ve been there. So within the very first day of our arrival at an area, the local people were well aware of our presence. And I must admit, I loved the people of Khulna. The hearts of the people are much softer compared to the stone cold people of Dhaka that I’ve come to see for all these years. In attitude they are much more cordial and polite, and more importantly they are eager to listen whenever the words of Allah and Islam are spoken to them. The foundation of our bond with the people of those areas was the Dawah towards Allah, and when you love someone for the sake of Allah alone, the bond that’s created is the strongest. So we totally blended into the lives of those people, who were just a few days ago total strangers to us. This is indeed a very basic necessity of Dawah, to create a true brotherly connection with the Ummah. Once that happens, the work of Dawah becomes much easier and fun, and the effect becomes more prominent. Thanks to Allah, through our work there, twenty four people returned with us to Kakrail for the purpose of spending time on the path of Allah at the end of our time in Khulna. Among them were brothers from varying levels like students, businessmen, government officers and even a renowned Mufti of Khulna. So, we went to Khulna sixteen men, and came back forty!

On the Path of Revival - Part 1

2010-05-30T22:34:00.000+06:00

How can we correct ourselves if we don’t know what to correct? How can we adhere to Deen Islam if we don’t know what it asks from me? How can we follow the Sunnah of the Prophet (S) if we don’t understand its importance? How can we obey Allah if we don’t love Him? How can we love Allah if we don’t even know Him?

It’s not possible to understand the value of something if there’s no effort behind it. Those who are brought up in rich families don’t understand how precious food is, because they never had to struggle for it, they never knew hunger.

We claim nowadays that just because we have recited the Kalima we’ve become Mu’min. But how strange is our Imaan that it cannot prevent us from an action which we ourselves know is a grave sin, in what level is our Imaan that it cannot improve our behavior, doesn’t make us humble, kind and soft hearted. What kind of Imaan do we posses that makes us arrogant and selfish? What sort of Imaan do we have that it cannot take us to the masjid when the muazzin calls? It is thus evident that the faith that we claim to have is not enough to keep us in the path of Deen, in the path of Allah’s satisfaction. The reason behind this miserable frailty of our Imaan is the simple fact that we have never struggled for it, never put effort for its betterment. Striving in the path of Allah, struggling against diversities to uphold the order of Allah makes our Imaan stronger, and that’s the very thing that we lack. And that’s why it is absolutely necessary now to spend some time in the path of Allah for the improvement our own faith and correct the concepts that we have towards Allah and the Deen Islam.

Since I’m acquainted to Tabligh for several years now, I’ve been raring to go out on a Jamaat for a long period for quite a while. The completion of my BSc presented the opportunity I was looking for. So after getting over my exams and dealing with the thesis papers, I left home for the sake of Deen on 22 March.
The first step is always the most difficult one. And I felt it on the early morning of that day. I got to Kakrail Masjid, which is the Markaz (center) of the Tabligh movement in Bangladesh (and one of the three major centers of the world), and enlisted myself in a Jamaat of 16 men. I have never met any of the other guys in my life, so the first moments were a bit uneasy I must admit. Our Jamaat was designated to work in Khulna city, due south.

A Few Out of Many

2010-01-29T15:07:00.000+06:00

This post is not a very good idea. How can it be? I've decided to mention just a few of my 'friends' here, out of so many. Section A of our batch is like a freak show. Each and every character is unique and has his/her own set of ideas, morals, attitude, pros and cons. So it would be better if I could talk about them all. But instead I'm just going with my short list.

For a couple of friends, staying together in the same school, college and university and always in the same section is rarity probably in the whole world. Yet, starting from class four at Udayan School, going through the time at Dhaka City College together and now here at AUST, me and Shuvro have spent 13 friggin years together. Amazed? Even I can't believe it's been that long. But the irony in it is that despite spending such a long time together, me and Shuvro never got to be close friends. Our conversations mostly comprised of me hitting on Shuvro, giving him a healthy dose of pochani, or otherwise over the phone, helping each other in our studies. I take all the blame on myself for not being able to be a real friend to Shuvro, I wish I could be a lot more closer to him. A big thanks to him for staying with me all these years despite my shortcomings, and thanks for all those precious notes as well.

The other friend I carried over from Udayan was Nobin. Although we were friends from school, but I really got to be close to him in the varsity life. Most of the guys here at AUST know him for his hilarious and irritating gags which make us all laugh out loud. Jokes he would throw at someone would definitely make him scream "Nobin-er bachchaaaaaa" (the direct english of that won't be appropriate, at all). But I've known him for more than that. In the early days at the varsity, I remember telling him that he has a gift that many don't, conscience, and I told him to make the best use of it. Everyone expects a lot from the ones most dear. It scares us to see our loved ones go in the wrong direction. It's out of this expectation and fear that I often had to yell at him, scold him and put up a frown. I think he understands that as well. Writing any longer about him would flatter him too much so I'm gonna stop without mentioning the things I would like to thank him for.

In one of the very first classes of university, some teacher wanted to know where we all lived. After that class a guy with curly hair and an enlarged nose came up to me and said he lived close to my place (although it's not as close as I thought). It was the first time I met Kanto. Probably our route back to home helped in bringing us closer. If you consider our class as a star connected network, Kanto is probably the central hub. Any gossip generating in any corner, would surely reach Kanto (thanks to sources like Fahad), and thus reach all the other folks. So nothing could actually remain a secret for very long. Over the course of four years, Kanto has been named a lot of things, mostly by me, agreed upon by all. Dalal, Dhandabaj, Gutibaj, Geen-er Badshah, Gero mia, Kutna Kanto, in short DDBGBGBGMKK has been a very popular attribute for this pal (again, I'm incapable of translating those). A characteristic of Kanto that always stood out (and sometimes bugged the rest of his friends) is the tendency to keep to the safe side of things. All these things and more makes Kanto a friend on the 'Most Wanted' and 'Most Needed' lists.

Now, what to write about Pulak? Although we knew each other from beginning of varsity, we really got to be friends from 3-2. It all started when Pulak called me up to work with him on a project for the Electrical Day. We chatted on the campus and over the phone on a regular basis. Soon I found out that we had a lot of things in common. I don't know about him, but from my part, in just one and a half years, I got much closer to him than I thought would be possible in such a short time.The tour to Sylhet strengthened our bond. But the thread that ties us more strongly (and Inshallah will keep us tied forever), is our inclination towards Islam. I've seen how selfless this guy can be. People from all four sections, friends or not, could rely on Pulak before the exams to make notes and help them on the studies. I've seen his concern for the safety of the whole group in the unforgettable Sundarban tour. We always joked about his many short lived interests. For days he would keep talking about buying a car, and all of a sudden it would fade away ('Hujug' is yet another word I can't translate properly). Many other things caused 'spikes' in his heart, you know what I mean, but all of those interests had the same fate, they just died.

Rumman is the self proclaimed one-member 'Committee' of our section, and honestly he has lived up to that title. From arranging funny yet entertaining cricket tournaments in the campus to hitting a guy on the face just when it's needed, you can always count on R-Man. He and I had a special sort of bond. Due to the.... ahem.... striking size differences between us, we were like Chacha Choudhuri and Sabu. More so, we were like the devil and the angel (or should I say, the devil and the devil in a good guys appearance, hehe).

Before 4-2, Taneem was in the Bhai-Bon group of our class. It's in the very last semester that we actually got to be friends (although he's been a silent but regular reader of my blog for the last couple of years I guess). Here's a guy I really wish I could get much closer with, could spend more time with. From the very little time he had to ourselves in the tour to Sundarban, in the campus after that, and in brief chat sessions on the net, I really feel like we could use a little more time to get closer. By the way, why do they call him 'Guardian'?

The same could be said about Imtiaz, our Pasha bhai. One could look at him and say that he's moody, with a serious look in his face and in the way he talks all the time. But once you get close to him, you would definitely get another picture. So it really amazed me when I saw tears in his otherwise rock solid eyes on the very last day. I wish I could get to know him a little earlier, I wish we could get to be closer friends.

As I've said at first, everyone in our section is special, and unique in their own ways. It's the presence of them all that makes our section complete. Imran with his selfless service of providing chotha throughout the four years, Fahad (khashi) with his endless wisdom, Pritom the ultra high speed chatterbox, Farhan with his...... I can't say, he might just lash out on me, Fokha's broad smiles that doesn't fit his pumped up body and everyone else's unique features that would take a lot of time to write down about, all come together and add up to make Section-A such a great family. It's been my second home for the last four years, and home is where the heart is.

Why have I used inverted commas for friends in the first para? Friends. I've always felt that a true friend is he to whom you could say it all, to whom you could express all your feelings, emotions, tears and joy. Before I started university, I wanted one thing from it, at least one friend just like that. Now, I'm asking myself, does anyone I've mentioned in this post match that description? I could express myself 90% to some of them, but a 100% ? It hurts me to say, no. And that's the reason it feels so bad that it all has to end now, cuz I deeply feel that if only I had a little more time, I could push hard and make up that remaining 10%. But harsh as it may sound, now is the time for relationships to dwindle, not for strengthening them. Yet another bangla word pops up in my mind, Afsos.

My greatest friend in life has always been Allah Ta'aala. And every time I talk to this Friend, I never forget to mention the others. May Allah keep us all together, on the Right Path, for eternity.

Tears Inside Me

2010-01-25T01:01:00.001+06:00

Since we've come to our senses, one particular thing has been part and parcel of our lives, classes. So now that our classes are all over, it's been a little hard for us all to accept the situation we're being thrust into. It's hard to imagine that I'm not gonna wake in a hurry anymore, putting on the clothes as fast as I can, grabbing my bag and dashing out of home without taking breakfast, to catch the first class. There will be no more staring at the white (or black) board and struggling to keep up with the pace of the lecturer, no more staring blankly into the eyes of the teacher, not understanding a word yet pretending to know it all. No more attending the quizzes with zero preparation and not regretting about it at all. Not gonna have to submit anymore lab reports, although most I did was change the font of someone else's hard work. But above everything else, the most striking fact is that there will be no more of friends. Sound too harsh I guess, cuz you're probably thinking, hey friends will always be there. But the fact is, one can never find the friends as they were in the magical times of student life. Without classes we won't be in touch on a regular basis, and without that, relations can never remain the same. Once I differed myself with the last statement. When the classes of school came to an end more than seven years ago, a very close friend of mine mentioned it on a letter he had written me. It sounded strange back then, but I was soon to realize that it was true. The school pals who I couldn't spend a day without talking to, soon started to fade away. We had each others cell numbers, and we still exist in our messenger lists, but something inside us have changed, that prevents us from knocking each other. Harsh as it may sound, the same is bound to happen with my varsity pals as well.
It is probably the realization of this very fact that made all the 'macho men' of our class cry out loud on the last day. I stood at the doorway of our classroom and watched with amazement, that all the grown up friends of mine who would otherwise consider crying as a girly affair, showed no shame in crying on each others' shoulders.
I've always been rather emotionless. When the situation demands a strong reaction in me, the true sense of the situation doesn't settle in into my mind. It's like I'm watching a film without much concentration. So when I really should cry, and my eyes just start to get a little blurry and a clot starts to form in my throat, the stronger part in me holds back the tears, and swallows hard, and keeps a totally indifferent reaction about the face. For this reason, my family members have always labeled me as a totally emotionless person. But yet when all is over, and I'm alone sitting in my room or lying down on my bed, another part of me takes over, and I really wished I could cry, and let it all out. It's a strange dilemma that has been my bane for my whole life so far.
The same sort of thing happened to me when all my pals were crying. I somehow didn't shed a single drop of tear. Instead I was smiling, and took a very good look on the unforgettable scene that unfolded in front of me. But as soon as I came back home, I started to regret how things went. I really wish now that I could let it all out, that I could hold them hard and shed all my tears on the shoulders of Nobin, Shuvro, Pulak, Rumman, Tanim, Imran, Imtiaz, Kanto, Kanon and all the others, and scream out and say "I'm gonna miss you all like you'll never know". May the blessings of the Almighty Allah be upon my dearest pals all through their life, my He keep them all on the Right Path. May Allah keep us together in this life and the next.

The Sundarbans 2009 - Part 4: The Prolonged Ending

2009-12-15T22:01:00.004+07:00

The last day on our trip to The Sundarbans started on an island called Dublar Char. This is a place famed for its shutki, a kind of dried fish preparation popular in Bangladesh. Right after daybreak we got out on the land to check out the place. This area is occupied for a certain period of the year by fishermen who catch fish and dry them up to produce the shutki. So almost all the people who live here are seasonal fishermen. Now in our family, we never were fans of shutki, mostly because of its awful stench. I remember back when we were in Elephant Road, our next door neighbors used to cook shutki every now and then, and we all started running this way and that, hurrying to close all the windows. So for a guy like me, this shutki island is not the place to be. If you don’t like the smell as well, you should be glad that you can’t smell them through the photos, cuz otherwise you would have to run away from the monitor. Rows upon rows of bizarre looking dried fish are hung upon strings throughout the place, and they smell much worse than they look. Many of the guys in our group are fans of shutki, so for them this place is the ultimate wholesale market. So when we got back on the launch, our rooms started to stink as well. Only if I could switch off my olfactory nerves.
The last spot that we visited on our trip was Karamjal. There's a farm here particularly for breeding deers and crocodiles. We got a chance to check out these amazing creatures up close. But what I liked most about the place is the Mangrove Arboretum. Through a practical mangrove forest, over its muddy land, they've built an elevated wooden walkway for tourists. Over here we also caught glimpse of some Macaque monkeys out in the open. Time was short so we couldn't spend much time there. And with that, our ‘Places to visit’ list ran out, and so did our time.
There have been moments in my life that made me feel puny and mighty at the same time. I had the feeling back on our Sylhet tour, when we were heading for Jaflong. I was amazed to see the vastness of the mountains on the other side, over in India, and the dense forest covering them. And here again at The Sundarbans, beholding the wide rivers, the endless sea, the narrow canals that spread out like tentacles through the forest, and the mesmerizing and mystifying jungles that even block out the sunlight, I had that feeling all over again. It made me feel small and utterly insignificant as a creation with respect to the seemingly infinite vastness of all the other creations that surround us. And yet again, it made me feel greater than them all, because despite however we may feel, The Almighty Creator has proclaimed us, the humankind, as the greatest of all creations. This is only because He has given a purpose to our lives that none of the others share. It’s important that we find out that purpose before our short trip to Earth runs out, just like our short trip to The Sundarbans.
We were back in Khulna by evening. We left our launch M.V.Kheyapar which has been our home for the last 3 days. A bus was hired to get us back to Dhaka. Before that, the group had dinner at a restaurant in Khulna. Going for a long bus ride with a stuffed stomach didn’t seem like a good idea to me, so I skipped dinner.
The going was smooth until we got to Dauladdia, where we stood in cue to get onto a ferry to cross the river Padma, and get to the Dhaka district. It took us more than an hour and a half to get on the ferry. The ride was supposed to be just for 25 minutes or so. Well, that’s what we humans expected.
The ferry stopped its engines after just 10 minutes, due to fog, and we stood anchored halfway across the river. In this kind of a situation, no one can say how long it would take for the fog to lift. So we had nothing to do but wait. Most of the guys took a nap at their cramped seats, throwing their hands and feet this way and that, making all sorts of awkward positions. Organizers Pulak and Imtiaz got themselves some well deserved sleep. Tanim and I got some time to ourselves to have a good long chat, for which we didn’t find time in the last four years of university, ha ha.
When it was time for the Fajr prayer, I got out of the bus and headed straight for the top floor of the ferry to perform the salaat. After finishing the prayer, I walked over to the railings of the top floor and looked out. It was only then I understood the adversity of the weather around was. Looking down, I couldn’t even see the water below, let alone distant objects. It seemed as if our ship was shrouded in a gloomy and mysterious veil. The visibility was an absolute zero. From then on, I spent most of the time on the top floor. I was expecting the fog would lift once the sun was up with its heat. One hour passed, and another. The sun had risen quite a distance up in the sky. But I was amazed to see that the sun had no effect on the fog whatsoever. In fact, through the dense fog, the sun looked more like the moon in the day sky.
The crew didn’t dare move the ferry an inch, fearing it could get stuck on one of the numerous sandy planes that have risen out of the river bed randomly. The general sense of feeling among the people in the ship was that we had nothing to do now unless Allah helps us out. It’s funny to see how in good times we claim everything is in our hands, while in bad times it doesn’t take much time to admit the truth.
It was almost eleven in the clock when the fog lifted only enough for the crew to move the ship safely to the other side. Ten minutes later, we were finally off the ship. From standing in queue for the ferry to getting out of it, it took was about eight hours! We got off the bus at noon, with the familiar sights and sounds of the jam-packed Dhaka city greeting us. Unfortunately Pulak’s luggage got missing after getting out of the bus, which is like the final signature of the whole tour. From there me, Kanto and Rokon grabbed a taxi and headed home.
Even after more than a week since I came back from the trip, I still dream of adventurous tours to unknown places, with all my friends. The events in the trip are still the hot topics of discussion whenever we get together in the campus. I know soon I’ll stop seeing these dreams, and the chatters about the tour will soon fade away. But the memories will always remain bright, as long as we live (unless we get amnesia of course, Allah save us from that). The nerdy self inside me is urging my hands to type in a huge philosophical ending to this post, so I better finish it up. Thanks to The Almighty Allah for giving us such a great experience, thanks to Pulak, Imtiaz, Tanim and everyone else involved in organizing the tour for working hard and making this possible, thanks to all of my friends who were on the trip, and also thanks to our parents for their kind permission. As long as we live, we can all look back at our days in The Sundarbans and say, “we had an AWESOME time”!

Check out some photos from the tour on my Picasa Album.

The Sundarbans 2009 - Part 3: The Very Peaks of Joy and Thrill

2009-12-12T22:56:00.000+07:00

The sun was shining bright in the winter morning when we reached Katka. This place offers a whole set of varying experiences. We had to get into our boat again at first and head into a canal for a short distance before we came to a landing spot from where the walk towards the sea beach started. This walk of about 45 minutes is a fun ride by itself. At the beginning the forests were at a pretty fair distance on either side of our path, as our caravan of 63 with the two armed gunmen at the front and back walked deeper into the region. Soon the tree-lines started to close in on us. And then came the spot called Jamtoli, were the path only allowed a single file, and the tree branches and bushes brushed us from the sides. Now, these parts of Katka are famous for spotting tigers and a considerable number of tigers are believed to be living in and around this region. This is the area where the famed tigress ‘Jamtolir Raani’ (The Queen of Jamtoli) was spotted. So passing through this narrow jungle path was a thrilling ordeal. Some of our folks even claimed to have heard the roar of a tiger, which most others refuse to believe due to our reputation for ‘honesty’.

The last time I was at a sea beach was back when I was six, so it’s almost beyond my memory. Walking for several more minutes, I couldn’t yet see the beach but I heard the sound of waves hitting the shores. Few more steps and I saw it. Running into the sand with my shoes off, I looked around in utter amazement. I never expected to find such a beautiful sea beach after a walk through dense forests. The change of view was striking, and yet it blended perfectly into the backdrop of the jungle. No artist but The Almighty Creator could paint such a beautiful picture. I knew I had to throw myself into the waves, so I quickly took some snaps, put away the camera, and ran straight for the sea.
Maybe ‘ecstasy’ is the right word to describe the feeling I had when the waves engulfed me from all around, and I felt the sand quickly shifting away from beneath my feet. I’ve always had a fear of open water. Despite learning to swim about 6 years ago, I could never get comfortable at the sight of deep water bodies. But strangely I found myself giving up my body into the waves. Almost everyone was having a dip in the sea. And those who were trying to avoid getting soaked found no shortage of helping hands. Even the over-cautious Kanto was ambushed, picked up, and dumped into the water. I was almost ready to get out of the water when Aninda called me. He told me it was great fun to dive head on under the water just as the waves hit, face first. So I gave it a try. I was facing the wave, put my head down, the water embraced my head from all sides, and I got up. Yeah, it did really feel good, but I noticed something strange, I wasn’t seeing things right anymore. It took me an instant to figure out I was missing my glasses. I groped uselessly under the water for some time, but to no avail. Dear Bay of Bengal, consider it as a parting gift (it was a little forceful though).

I don’t know how much time we actually spent there on the beach. It made me lose track of time. Before we left Katka, as a bonus we were lucky to see a trail of fresh footsteps of a tiger on the sands, near the line of trees. The walk back towards the boat was a bit of a hurdle for me as I was missing my high powered glasses, without them I’m kinda quarter-blind. But still on my way back I climbed up the 4 storey watch tower to get a view of the area from up above. By noon we were back at the launch.
Probably the most thrilling episode of our entire tour began at the evening. It was the time of low tide in the rivers. It is a common occurrence in the rivers for a boat to get stuck on the uplifted sandy plane on the river bed during these times when the water level gets really low. That’s exactly what happened to us. As our ship’s crew found out that there wasn’t enough water under the hull for the ship to run, they tried to turn the boat around to avoid getting stuck. That made matters much much worse. A portion of the front part of the ship went over the muddy river bank on one side, and our launch was stuck like hell. The position of the launch was so unbelievably weird that anyone (or anything) could just walk into the launch from the river bank. We had nothing to do, no way to move until the high tide comes and the water rises again. At first we all got a bit tensed from the thought of a tiger walking right into the ship. When we asked our guide Tapash bhai about our fears, he said we shouldn’t worry about tigers, but he was afraid of something much worse. Pirates!
The forest is home to about a dozen separate pirate groups. These are not your movie-type pirates with eye-patches who says ‘Arrrr…’ and stuff like that. These pirates are more heavily armed then you would expect, and lives in boats in the numerous canals. We got to know from Tapash bhai that we were stuck in the region of one of these pirate gangs. The forest officials know these pirates by names and know their whereabouts very well, so Tapash bhai himself was acquainted with many of these pirate chiefs. Moreover he told us that the pirates haven’t attacked any tourist group for more than two decades and mostly rob local fishermen. But still he was extremely anxious about our safety, because the pirates, he said, in his own words, “have no religion”.
Probably a writer like my favorite Henry Rider Haggard would find the perfect words to describe the intensity of the next couple of hours. But unfortunately my writing skill is no match for such a situation. Gone was the hum of the engine, the moon was still not up, the darkness around us seemed more black than we had ever seen. Our launch with our group of 63 plus the crew, was stuck on a land with dense jungle at a remote location of The Sundarbans, in the pitch black night with dark water all around us. There was an eerie sense of tension among the people, trying to keep the mood light, yet in tensed anticipation of the unknown. Chatting to ourselves, we had our eyes fixed on the water. Despite simple logic and Tapash Bhai’s word that the pirates would never try to approach by boat, the faint glows of distant lights on the water made us skip a heartbeat.
After a couple of ours, our launch started to move again. It sent a hushed relief through the whole crowd. But it wasn’t over yet. After a few minutes we found ourselves drifting towards the bank on one side, and the launch got stuck, yet again. This time, we got even more confused. We knew our ship was moving down the middle of the river branch, and yet for some reason it got pretty close to one side again. All sorts of conspiracy theories started brewing up in the minds of the guys, fearing if the ship’s crew had something to do with this. But thanks to Allah it was nothing of that sort, and soon afterwards our launch started to move again. Once we got out into the larger river, the suspense of the night was finally over, and we all could breathe a heavy sigh of relief.

Check out some photos from the tour on my Picasa Album.

The Sundarbans 2009 - Part 2: First Night & First Light

2009-12-11T19:44:00.001+07:00

When we reached the region of Kochikhali, it was already getting dark. So for the rest of the night we had nothing to do but to spend the time by ourselves as our ship lay anchored at some river-branch. From the evening, me, Kanto, our beloved teacher Ferdous sir, Monzur sir, Nobin and several others sat at the very roof of the launch. From before the journey I was very eager to witness the quiet of the night and the sky once we’re inside the forest region. Here in Dhaka, we’re always deprived of the beauty of night sky thanks to the air and light pollution. So there beneath the sky I sat, looking up frequently. At first there was no moon, and the sky was filled with a dazzling collection of distant stars. It was amazing to note that despite the utter randomness of the stars up above, there was a strange sense of order in them that knew no algorithm or pattern. It was a pattern with no patterns that screamed out the Majesty of Allah’s creativity that made a man with the slightest of sight think about the heavens and the Hand that created it.
I’ve witnessed sunrises before, but this was probably the first time I’ve witnessed the moon rise with all its splendor. It took more than an hour into the night for the first glimpse of the orange moon to show in the horizon. As the full moon crept slowly higher in the sky, the stars started to fade away, as if to leave the place to their king.
An incident took place deep in the night that I cannot describe in full, cuz I was in deep sleep then. I don’t know the details, but in short very late at night the ship’s anchor lost its hold and started to move backwards with the flow. And it almost collided with another smaller launch of some sort. For those who were awake at that time it was a pretty thrilling period. With the crew of the ship along with some of our boys putting their hands together to pull up the anchor and place it again, things were back in order after some time.

Our first real introduction to the sights and sounds of The Sundarbans started the next day, right after dawn. We set out in our smaller boat (which is a simple medium sized boat with an engine) and headed into the canals. The greenish water, the dense forests in the muddy banks close at either side seemed almost straight out of the Discovery Channel. We got off on a sandy plane and walked the along the banks of the river, keeping the water at one side and the forest on the other. We were lucky to have Taposh bhai as our guide, who’s the son of a local forest officer, and have spent more than a decade in the area. He has an invaluable experience about Sundarban and also tigers, as he has worked with foreign projects in this region as well. Walking behind him, he showed us dense bushes of a particular kind which he said were the ideal resting places of tigers. And when I looked at those bushes, I couldn’t disagree. It’s over here that he also showed us a tiger’s……well….stool! Doesn’t sound majestic though, but the fact that a tiger has been on this very spot recently to answer nature’s call is pretty significant.
Back to the ship we walked again and had our breakfast, we were starving. Moreover, we needed all the energy we could get for the day that was ahead of us. I knew it was going to be a great day. But little did I know that it was going to be a day of all sorts of different experiences, experiences that I never expected to gain in this trip.

The Sundarbans 2009 - Part 1: The Unforgettable Tour

2009-12-09T16:01:00.003+07:00

I’ve been in trips before, and Inshallah I’ll be in a lot more in the future, but last week’s trip to The Sundarbans was one that I’ll remember most when I look back at my life. This trip was a lot of things together. Other than being a tour of absolute visual pleasure at the sight of the rivers, the sea and the forest, this trip will probably be more remembered as the trip that brought every one of us together, the students of EEE, AUST, final semester. Our caravan consisted of 61 students from all four seasons…… I mean sections, hehe, and also two of our respected teachers. Doesn’t sound like a big crowd, but I am still amazed that our group has gone through the tour with such a degree of order and unity. There’s a reason why I typed in ‘four seasons’ a little earlier. Every section of our semester and every student in each is so strikingly different and have such diverse ideas that I can’t help thanking The Almighty Allah that our tour was such a pleasant one. I don’t know how the others feel, but I feel like I’ve rediscovered my classmates in the four days of the trip. Sounds nerdy right? Guilty as charged.

Enough of serious talk, let’s look back at the trip. May be we all had a course-ending tour brewing in our minds for a long time, but this tour was the brainchild of Pulak, Imtiaz and Tanim. I can’t give you the details on how everything was planned cuz I wasn’t involved with the planning part. All I can say is, they left no stones unturned. From our transport to food and beverage, every tiny detail was taken care of. These three along with Nobin went to Khulna a day ahead of the rest of the gang, to do all the shopping and other arrangements. Nobin’s the kinda guy who’s more useful for keeping you in a joyous mood than for doing any actual physical work. He sometimes throws gags so irritating that you really wanna hit him hard, but you can’t, cuz you’re already LMAOed. Anyways, The rest of the group got into the train from Dhaka on the night of the 2nd December. Almost one whole car of the train was occupied by us rodents. A ten hour long journey on a train may sound boring at first, but most of the guys were awake for most of the time with the typical gossiping and ‘pochani’ sessions. I enjoyed the train racing through the night, with the full moon shining through the windows. We crossed the famous Hardinge Bridge over the river Padma and the Jamuna Bridge as well.

Our train reached the Khulna station on time. The BIWTA Launch Station was just a 3 minute walk from there, and that’s where our launch was waiting. The whole boat was rented for us only and we got into it at the time of Fajr, on the 3rd of December.

Our journey towards Sundarban started at 9:30 in the morning. Soon after we started, the scene around us started to change. The banks were getting further as we traveled south over the river. We passed the range of the Mongla sea port a couple of hours later. Very soon after that, all we could see ahead was the line between the sky and the water, and the deep green of the forests started to dominate our line of sight on either side. We were heading into The Sundarbans.

Click here to check out some photos from the tour.

Out of the Squeezer

2009-11-25T13:39:00.000+07:00

Squeezer, grinder, hydraulic press, call it whatever you like, the month of November has been all that, and may be more. Having to attend non stop classes 6 days a week is a pain by itself. Moreover I've taken part in a training course on PLC at the Institute of Engineers, Bangladesh. The course was for 15 days, 4 days a week and a total of 50 hours. I always knew doing the course in parallel with the classes at the varsity will not be easy. But I went for it anyway cuz I have no intention to do anymore studies after my graduation is complete next March, Inshallah. So, many of the days in the last month or so started at Fajr (that's before dawn), and ended after midnight. Only yesterday my course was complete and the certificates were handed out. Yesterday was also the last day before Eid at the varsity. This gives me a much much much awaited break of about two weeks.We, the students of the last semester have a prettttyyy big plan on how to make great use of this break, I'll talk about it later I guess.
Well no studies or training could stop me from playing games though. I've awaited the month of November for about a year maybe, cuz the most anticipated game of the decade, Call of Duty - Modern Warfare 2 was out on the 10th. I wish to write about that experience in another post soon. That's all for now.

Home Run

2009-10-18T20:28:00.000+07:00

The classes of the 4th year 2nd semester are under way. This is it. The very last semester. The home run. 3 and a half years don't seem like much, but looking back at all the courses I've gone through in the last 7 semesters, it indeed feels like I've come a long way.
4 courses, 4 labs, that's all there's left now. Thanks to Allah, all four course teachers this time are the best we could ask for, so that should make things easier. The chief annoying thing this time is the routine. There are plenty of gaps between classes throughout the week that guarantee a huge waste of time. But hey, it's just a matter of three months, right?

Eid, After an Eventful Ramadaan

2009-09-22T13:54:00.000+07:00

I didn't like the way Ramadaan started this year. 4 out of the 5 semester final exams were scheduled to be held in Ramadaan, who would like that? There is the issue of fasting of course, but I didn't mind about that. But I was really depressed cuz I thought I would not be able to take part in the month long Taraweeh prayers. But thanks to Allah (and a little nudge in the right direction from my sister), I found within me the courage to go for it anyway. I never thought I would find the energy to study after attending the salaat for more than one and a half hours, but Subhanallah, I was surprised to find myself studying deep into the night, staying up till sehri. In times I felt my studies were actually going better in Ramadaan. And the exams went pretty good as well.
After the exams were done with, Allah gave me a much greater reward, to spend some time in the Path of Allah. Last time I went in a Jamaat was back in last year's Ramadaan, so I was feeling the increasing need to go out again. My sister was wanting to go to the Masturat Jamaat, the one that involves the Mahram women, for a long time. So me and my sis went to a 3 day Jamaat. This special kind of movement involving women is particularly important. We men go to the mosque, listen to the speeches, take part in the Taalims and thus strengthen our Imaan, but how many of us convey the messages to our mothers, wives or sisters? In order to make our houses steadfast upon the path of Deen Islam, it is highly important that the women have their Imaan renewed from time to time and are well educated in the requirements of Islam. Our sisters, mothers, wives can then encourage us and prey for us so that we can stay in the Right Path.
After returning home, the rest of the days in Ramadaan were pretty boring indeed. I'm always surprised by myself that I really don't enjoy the times when there is nothing to do, no class, no exams. I feel suffocated in fact, like I'm not doing something I'm supposed to. To pass my time, I did what I always do, sit on my PC, mostly playing games. Recently I've been playing Batman - Arkham Asylum, which is obviously the greatest comic book game ever made. Every ascpect of the game seems to be perfect. Don't wanna get into that here.
Then yesterday came the day of Eid. And yet again, it was yet another Eid, but still there was something different this time, cuz now we have a new member in the family, my bro's wife. Some of her relatives visited us on Eid day. So there are some new relatives to share our joy with.
There's a good couple weeks left till the classes start again. I don't really know what else to do other than play games and stuff. I'll be happy to be Batman for a few days.

An Untitled Semester

2009-08-18T22:56:00.000+07:00

It's over in a flash. Seems like it started yesterday, and yet I'm just 3 days away from the finals of the 4th year 1st semester. This has probably been the most dull semester we've ever had. The only spark of fun came from the T-10 cricket tournament that we had. Other than that, this semester's been totally boring.
But I gotta say something about a couple of courses in this semester. First up, Microwave Engineering. For those of us who took up this one instead of VLSI, it has been a decision we've regretted throughout the whole semester. Up until the very last week of the classes, I really didn't know how I would as much as get rid of this subject in the finals. But you know, even the most difficult problems can seem easy if Allah wants. And so within the 1st 3 days of the PL, I went through it like a bullet. And guess what, it doesn't seem that hard anymore, thanks to Allah. And nice to see that most of my friends who were also scared shitless about this one before, also found their ways to get around it.
Pretty much the same could be said about Power System Analysis. The course was totally untouched even when the classes were over. But this one was not like Microwave. Microwave was all theoretical, so it was more about memorizing than really understanding what's going on. But PSA is all about maths. And to solve those I needed to understand the theories behind it. Well, actually you don't necessarily have to understand the theories, if someone shows you how to do the maths, you really could. But the problem with me is, I find it really difficult to do that. Particularly in this subject, which is obviously the most important course for becoming a power system engineer, I really had to make the basics clear, cuz power has always been my first choice. So after dealing with microwave, with the help of Allah, I started digging through the text book and a copy of last semester's class lectures. After 4 days, I'm happy to say I understand the issues dealt in this course and the problems that I'm required to solve. I emphasized on 'understand' cuz that's as far as I've gone so far, I didn't get the chance to practice much. But getting the basics clear made me really happy and confident, cuz I felt this course is one those courses that really made me feel like I'm studying engineering. Thanks to Allah again.
It's really funny how you get used to things with time. Like the exams for instance. I've so become used to these pressure times of the finals, that I don't even feel the tension anymore. Once the exams are really upon me (like now), I just tend to go through the studies reluctantly. Not that I don't take them seriously though, but I just don't feel the pressure anymore. I know that things will go on as they always have, I just hope Allah helps me through it, as He always has.

A Night of Rain, and the City Sinks

2009-07-29T22:47:00.000+07:00

Water water everywhere. To the left, right, front and back, below you, knee deep, and the rain falling from above. Waves rushing in all directions, made by the passing of the vehicles. I'm not talking about boats on a river, but this has become the scene of the busiest of streets here in Dhaka city, all thanks to just one night of relentless rain, and the horrible drainage system of the capital. Thanks to the damaged climate, this year the rain has come later than usual. Monday night's rain was the first proper rain of the Bangla month of Srabon, which is synonymous to heavy rain. The failure of the drainage system is nothing unknown to the Dhaka dwellers. But it was indeed shocking how much damage just 5-6 hours of rain can cause. The city is virtually in a standstill even after more than 24 hours. The busiest main streets of Dhaka sank under knee deep, and in some places under waist deep water, not to mention the alleys and the lower parts of the city. It is likely that there will be more heavy rain in the upcoming weeks, so things are indeed looking pretty bad.

PC Paint Job

2009-06-20T00:19:00.000+07:00

I was never into painting stuff. But those guys on discovery channel doing custom paint jobs on cars and bikes always amazed me. The wonders they make with spray paint and tape are simply fascinating. So for a long time I had it in my mind to try and do something with spray paint, and I wanted to customize my PC's casing! After grooming the idea in my head for a long time, I bought a can of red spray paint and some masking tape about a couple of months ago. But still I couldn't get painting, until recently. Only a few days ago, I finally did my first paint job on my PC, after going through a couple of test runs of course. I had a tough time deciding on the design. I kept drawing different patterns on a pad and finally I made up my mind on one.

The casing taped up and the design cut out. The design shows "A-19".

I did it like the pros. I taped up my PC's side panel, drew my desired pattern, cut out the part where I wanted the paint to be, and then unleashed the spray paint. I did read some important spray painting tips on the net before going for it, and the tips really helped a lot.

When I finally peeled off all the tape from the casing, the finished product was really satisfying. It's just an ordinary single colored design, but for me, who has never painted anything before, it was a good start. Thanks to Allah, I did something new in my one week summer break.

Widescreen Bliss

2009-06-07T16:56:00.000+06:00

[I don't know why, but recently I'm feeling a strange reluctance to sit and write here. Not that nothing noticable is happenning, but I just don't feel like putting them in words. Anyway, now that I've finally got myself here, let's get to the topic]

I've always had my eyes on my big bro's LCD monitor. It's nothing extraordinary, but I always knew it would be a great addition to my PC gaming experience, as so far I was playing games on my old 15'' monitor (4:3). A few weeks back, my bro got a Sony Bravia LCD TV as a wedding gift. I couldn't wait any longer. I plugged in his PC to his new TV, and took his monitor for myself!
The monitor is a 19'' widescreen LCD monitor from Philips. It's not high end or anything, but it's 16:10 ratio, 1440X900 display is indeed a fascinating addtion to my rig, and it was probably the upgrade I was missing very much. The change it brought about to, not only my gaming, but also overall PC experience is awesome. The 16:10 ratio looks much better than the 16:9 format of widescreen display (which my Dad's got).It gives you much more desktop space to work in. Browsing in full screen never felt better.
I've always been a collector of cool wallpapers from all over the net, but most of my wallpapers are for the 4:3 resolutions. So now I'm digging for some widescreen walls. And the screens I've got already are pretty amazing indeed. Thanks mostly to the widescreen walls collection at deviantART.
As for the gaming, I don't think I need to say anything. I've been playing Burnout Paradise, Mirror's Edge, and currently X-Men Origins: Wolverine on my new monitor, and all I can call it is pure gaming bliss. A few weeks back I've also got myself a couple of more gigs of RAM, so now the 4GBs of RAM is good enough to back smooth enough gameplay in the higher resolution in the new monitor. Some highly anticipated game titles are gonna hit the shelves within a few weeks, bring 'em on I say!

The Best and Worst of Me

2009-05-07T12:14:00.000+06:00

The 3rd year 2nd semester has brought out both the best and worst in me, based on results. As I've mentioned earlier, the telecommunication exam was the worst exam I've ever had to attend, for multiple reasons, and the result was an equal match. I got a poor 43 out of 100, which is the worst score I've ever got as far as I remember. I didn't expect any better, all I wanted was to get rid of it. Thankfully I did.
In striking contrast, I got my best ever score in the Power Transmission and Distribution exam, getting a 90. I don't remember hitting the 90 mark ever, so that's my highest mark as far as I can remember. Despite the poor marks in telecomm and semiconductor, thanks to Allah I've still managed to get a respectable GPA, due to the A+ scores in all the three other subjects. And Alhamdulillah I can finally say, 3-2 is behind me, which leaves just one more year to deal with.

Sylhet 2009 (Day 3): The Other Side of the Fence

2009-04-21T21:16:00.001+06:00

Monday morning we started later than we wanted to. We were actually pretty damn tired from the extended amount of walking on the previous day. We checked out of the hotel and kept our baggage at Nahiyan's place, and took a public transport known as tempo here in our country, towards Jaflong. On our way to Jaflong we feasted our eyes with the sight of the huge mountains that are visible across the border, over in India. Well, "the mountains are always higher on the other side of the fence", hehe. The shear magnitude of the mountain range clicked the inquisitive part of my mind, it made me wonder, what secrets lay hidden in those deep valleys covered with trees. There must be places within those mountains and forests that no one has ever set foot upon. Truly Allah's creation is way wider than our thoughts can be.

Jaflong is a place that combines sand, stone, and crystal clear water in a fascinating way. It is a tourist spot, yet the place is busy with labor, men picking up stone from the river bed. Stones of various dazzling shades and patterns form under the river bed, carried down from the mountains with the stream. The other guys again shed most of their clothing and got themselves in the water, while I was busy taking photos, as usual. But the clearness of water was enticing indeed.

We took a bus from there and got to Tamabil. It's just the very last point of Bangladesh in the east, and you can see the last standing milestone of Bangladesh and the two gates of the neighboring countries. We took some photos there and didn't make much delay, as the place is a little sensitive due to security reasons.

Next up we payed a very short visit to the shrine of Hazrat Shah Paran (R), another great preacher of Islam in the subcontinent. Over here the situation was a bit better than that of Hazrat Shah Jalal's (R).

Back in Srimangal I was a little disappointed to find the tea gardens flat. Well that disappointment was washed away when we got to the famed Malinichhara Tea Garden in the afternoon. The whole garden was planted over the hills. We got ourselves a guide from the garden, and soon we were on our way to the top. As we were getting higher from ground level, the view kept getting better and better. The vast hills seemed to be wrapped around by the tea plants. Withing a little more than half an hour, we got to the top, feasted our eyes with the view, took photos, and got down again, this is only possible by true adventurers like us!

That pretty much concluded all we wanted to see in our trip. Still, taking a brief but much needed break at Nahiyan's house, we started to walk and reached the shrine of Manik Pir which is 225 steps above the ground level. On both sides of the steps there are graves. From the top we got a view to the whole city in the night.

For dinner we were invited by Nahiyan's father to his own restaurant, and the food was awesome and well needed for our over-night bus ride to Dhaka. Our bus, a Scania from Green Line service, started on schedule at half past midnight. By dawn, we were back home.

Even days after returning from the trip, in my dreams, I find myself walking through forests, climbing hills, going to places I haven't seen before. Sylhet, with its mesmerizing natural beauty, has cast a spell on me that cannot be undone, and it may remain so for life. The trip made me wonder what amazing places are there in Allah's world, that I haven't seen yet. It made me feel small, and made me understand Allah's power of creation and supervision even more. This has been a remarkable journey for me, and maybe if I was a better writer, I could express it better. This was my first trip without any family members to watch over me, with my friends alone, so indeed is was a milestone for me. Thanks to Allah for everything.

Click here to view some of the photos I took during the Sylhet trip.

Sylhet 2009 (Day 2): Rock and Water

2009-04-20T11:13:00.001+06:00

The spot that played the chief role in bringing us to Sylhet was the Madhabkunda water falls. On our second day, we started real early towards there in our rented microbus, right after Fajr prayer. The road to Madhabkunda was a beauty itself. Curving this way and that, climbing uphill and going down again, we wished all of our roads were like that. At about 8:30 in the morning, we reached the gates of the Madhabkunda Eco Park, from there a walk of about half an hour in necessary to reach the falls. While walking towards the fall, we already started to feel that we're really gonna like this place. We could see the water from the fall running over the rocks below, at one point we got down from the path into the water just to get our feet wet and take some photos. We kept walking and admiring the beauty of the place, and then we saw it. The water fall itself. The stream of water running down from the top of the hill is like the grand jewel in the crown that is the whole surrounding. The sight that was in front of my eyes only made me wonder how much more beautiful can paradise be? The wide encircling rocky hills, decorated with green, the sparkling water falling from high above, the pool of water at the base, the stream and the sound of pure nature, this is heaven on earth. I was taking a lot of photos as I was walking towards the fall, but when I saw it for the first time, I just put the camera in my pocket and looked at the whole place for a long time. Then I started taking snaps, and I couldn't stop.

The pleasure got on to a much higher level as soon as we put ourselves in the water. It was cool, and yet it didn't hurt, it was just relaxing, it seemed to carry away all my thoughts away from me. I felt like there's just me and this place, and nothing else. I can swim, but I'm not confident about it, so all I did was sit in shallow water and take a few dips. As we went real early, for more than an hour we had the place totally to ourselves, just the six of us. I was busy taking photos of nature alone, while others where taking there own pictures for their facebook profiles, hehe. After staying there for about two and a half hours, against our heart, we started to head back. There's a watch tower which gives great view of the whole place, we got on top, and it looked as if I'm looking at a piece of art, come alive out of the canvas. Subhanallah. Guess who's the artist?

Our microbus took us to a bus stand in Maulavibazaar, where we took a bus and reached Sylhet City by the after noon, where our friend from AUST, Nahiyan picked us up. He helped us getting a hotel room in the viscinity of the Dargah of Hazrat Shah Jalal (R), the most visited shrine in the country I guess. We visited the shrine later that night.

After filling our starving stomachs with some food, we headed out to look around the Sylhet city, guided by Nahiyan. We saw the Keen Bridge, and the famous Amjad Uncles's Clock.

Before the Isha prayer we perfomed the Ziarat of the grave sight of Hazrat Shah Jalal (R), who was one of the key preachers of Islam in the subcontinent, and has been the medium of Hidayat of a large number of people. After coming to Sylhet, it was an unavoidable duty to pay a visit to his shrine. I knew the the dargah was full of Bidaats and non-islamic rituals, but I never imagined it to be so bad. The things that people are doing in the name of this noble person, was absolutely unacceptable according to Shariah. I don't wanna get into details here, but the scene inside the dargah cannot be fitted into any particular religion, as if these so called Khadems had invented a whole new religion using the name of this mighty hero of Islam. May Allah give these people Hidayat, and May Allah give peace to the grave of Hazrat Shah Jalal (R).

Me and Pulak stayed up late, walking in the streets and gossiping, while others went to bed early. A very eventful second day of our trip had come to an end.

Click here to view some of the photos I took during the Sylhet trip.

Sylhet 2009 (Day 1): Wake Up and Smell the Tea !

2009-04-17T22:51:00.001+06:00

Me, Pulak and Rumman have been calling each other constantly, planning a trip to Sylhet. We all needed a big break, a breath of fresh air after the turmoil that we went through last month. We planned to go to Srimangal directly, instead of going to the city of Sylhet first. We wanted to have some fun on the way, so we booked train tickets. On the night of April 10, Friday, the six of us, me, Pulak, Rumman, Imran, Kanon and Rocky all gathered at the Kamlapur Rail Station in time. As scheduled, our train started for Srimangal at 10:00 p.m.

Our seat arrangement was the best we could ask for, six of us facing each other. The whole night we spent awake, gossiping, laughing and constantly hitting on each other. We had some great laughs while playing chor-pulish, a famous pen-and-paper game in our country. It was a moonlit night, so as the train passed beyond the urban areas, the surroundings got more and more spectacular. I spent a lot of time just looking out from my window into the hills and forests that lay beyond. We reached Srimangal well before dawn, and we went straight to the rest house which we had already booked.

The first morning at Srimangal we gave for Lauachhara National Park, it's a semi-evergreen forest 'supervised' by an organization called Nishorgo Support Project. The 'park' was more like a forest than we expected it to be. After walking about half an hour into the heart of it, the environment became pretty amazing indeed, with dense trees on both sides and typical forest like silence. But our timing wasn't ideal to catch the sight of any wild animals. All we got to see was some monkeys and lizards. Nonetheless the walk inside Lauachhara was pretty enjoyable.

Back from the forest, we had lunch and got ourselves a quick nap. In the afternoon, we got out again to look around some of the tea gardens at Srimangal. I was a little disappointed to see that the tea gardens here are mostly flat. Then in the evening we went to the Nilkantha Tea Cabin to taste the famous multi-layered tea. After waiting for a long time, the tea arrived, and indeed it looked out of the ordinary, with six layers of tea visible separately. It didn't taste as good as it looked, but the change in taste from one layer to another was evident.

At the night, we all walked about the Srimangal town by ourselves. It was pretty amazing to see that even at 10:30 p.m. the town was still alive, with people moving around and shops still open, whereas Dhaka becomes a ghost town after 10.

So came the end of the first day of our Sylhet trip. And from the looks of things, we were expecting a great couple of days ahead of us.

Click here to view some of the photos I took during the Sylhet trip.

Barisal 2009 : Revisiting My Roots

2009-04-10T16:16:00.001+06:00

It really came out of nowhere. On the noon of April 1, the day my exams ended, I was peacefully playing Burnout Paradise on my PC, when my uncle Shapanku (Shapan + uncle = Shapanku!) gave me a call, telling me that he was going to our village at Barisal the next day for a very short trip, and he asked if I wanted to go. I was looking for whatever chance I could get to refresh myself from the stress that I was in for the last month, so I jumped at it. Our trip was already planned, so the next day, April 2, I left home with my uncle in the afternoon, towards Sadarghat, where we were supposed to board the launch Sundarban-7.

Night at the river: My uncle had booked a VIP cabin for us, and the room was pretty nice indeed with air conditioning, double bed, sofa, impressive decorations, a separate veranda and toilet. It was as cozy as it could get. The ship started at 8:45 p.m. After some time, when the ship had left behind the city lights and was deep into the river, the sight that unfolded was beyond my ability to describe. The dark water all around, the star filled black sky up above, the thin black line showing the land on both sides, and as the jewel on top of it all, the glowing half moon, lighting up the whole place, and its mesmerizing reflection on the water. The dark flowing river was lighted up here and there by the lights of the small fishing boats. Sometimes there was absolutely nothing around, nothing to break your sight. The scene without anything to see is a sight you can't forget!
One thing that I noticed with great interest was the class difference that's visible within the launch. There we were in the nice and cozy VIP cabin. Then I saw the first class cabins, which have barely enough space to fit in a bed and a TV. And then I saw the lower class deck. A floor running from end to end, people lying on floor as they wish. Some sleeping, some gossiping, some watching the common TV. The contrast was quite stark.

Dawn at Barisal: The sleep was quiet indeed, with the slight vibration of the boat helping the cause. At dawn I woke up to the sight of the famous Kirtankhola river of Barisal, our launch had already reached the docks. Right out of our window I saw a Rocket for the first time. It's actually a steamer with two large pedal wheels on both sides. These have been running since the British rule in the country, and they have the amazing reputation of never sinking.
We got off the launch after having a brief breakfast. A microbus was already waiting for us to take us to our village. After 2 more hours, we finally reached our destination, Fuljhury.

Morning at Fakir-Bari: There I was again, at our village at Fuljhury, Mathbaria. Last time I've been here, I was probably two years old, so it's pretty obvious that I wouldn't remember much. Fakir is our family title, and the area that consitute our places or estates is called Fakir-Bari. This was the place that my family has come out of. My father, uncles and aunts have all grown up here, before they moved to Dhaka. Fuljhury is village in its purest possible sense. It is a kind of a village that comes to our mind when you read stories based on rural Bangladesh. The beauty of it is something else totally. The closest things to modern life here are the few solar panels I saw over the tin sheds on some houses, which just provide enough power to run a light, a fan and a TV occasionally. The relatives who live there are supposed to be well known to me, but unfortunatly they're not. So I was trying my best within the short time to get acquainted. It was nice to see their reactions when they got to know who's son I am, hehe.

I felt attached to the place somehow, I took the liberty to walk around the place all by myself, with my camera off course. The human brain works in amazing ways. I don't remember seeing anything of that place, but when I walked into one of the rooms of a house, some part of my brain suddenly clicked, and I thought I remembered that smell, that smell of inside a house on the village.
My uncle is actually conducting the construction of a new mosque at our place, and also the work a new building that we're planning to make around our house. If that's done we'll get ourselves a permanent picnic spot, and Inshallah a constant coming and going will start again.

After the Jumma prayer we had our lunch, and quite a feast was prepared for us. After filling up our stomaches we sat for some time in the porch of our school, which is a primary school within a few paces to our houses. This place was my favorite because of the constant cool breeze that makes you forget anything else.Time flew by, and it was after noon, and my short trip to Fuljhury was almost over.

Racing through the night: We were supposed to catch the launch at 8:00 pm that very day to head back to Dhaka. We left our place behind schedule. On the road, our microbus started to give some trouble and we got scared of missing our boat. The road to the dock was a scary ride indeed. As we were getting late, our driver was tearing through the rural roads, and all the light there was, was that of our own headlight. Fortunately we reached in time, and gladly we all got on to our cabin. The launch started at half passed eight towards Dhaka again. The journey back was pretty similar to that of the previous night. And moreover, this time we were too tired ourselves to enjoy much. So we slept earlier this time. By 4:30 in the morning, we were back at Sadarghat.

My short trip to our village cannot be measured by the short length of 8 hours that I've spent there, it was far more significant. This was my trip to revisit my roots. A trip by a new generation Fakir to the place of his origin. And I'm confident it's going to be the first of many. Thanks to Allah for this amazing trip.

Check out some photos from the trip in my web album.

Those 9 Days (March 24 - April 1)

2009-04-07T21:25:00.000+06:00

March 24 was the day before my brother's wedding, the day of his 'Gaye Holud' ceremony at our place. Should've been a great day for me, but it was also the day before my Semiconductor Devices semester final exam. So up till the evening I was switching between studies and arrangements. But after evening I had no chance to study. The program went pretty good thankfully. I was free to study at almost 1 o'clock at the night. I did my best to prepare for the exams, studying for a little more than an hour that night, and after the Fafr prayer the next day. So the preparations weren't so good, and the exam was nothing better. The exam didn't go any better than I was prepared for, but at least I wasn't scared of failing.
That very day after the evening, our whole family left for my Bhaiya's wedding together. But things took a turn again, at least for me. My sister was feeling sick from the morning, she was constantly vomiting for some reason. When me and one of my aunts were on our way to the community centre, we got to know that her condition was not good at all, and she must be taken to a hospital immediately. So we turned our car towards Elephant Road, while the rest of the party went on. Long story short, we reached our sister's place, took her to the nearest hospital and she was given saline. After staying there for some time as her condition became stable, me and others left her to the care of my brother in law, and went to attend the wedding at the very last moment. I reached there a little before midnight, and most of the guests were gone. Nothing much was left to be done except for taking our new Bhaabi with us and getting home. So went the all important day of my bro's wedding, So much for celebrations, hehe.
The next two days went like a flash. 26 March our house was full of people, as usual, and I didn't even try to study for my next exam. 27 March was the day of Walima. The party was great, a lot of known faces gathered there, many of those I haven't seen for a long time. Particularly our neighbours from Elephant Road, it was great to see them all together. Five of my friends from AUST Nobin, Pulak, Kanto, Rumman and Farhan went as well. We had a good time indeed.
So that leaves only one day for me to prepare for my Telecommunication Engineering exam. I tried, but I knew it wouldn't be enough to get anything respectable. Moreover, this time the question was prepared by Monzoor sir, and all the students knew it was gonna be a nightmare. Little did I know that it would be worse. When I saw the question next day, I felt as if I was looking at a question from a totally unknown course. Never did a see a set of questions I'm so unfamiliar with. Most of the examinees who studied all 3 days, were also shocked with the question, so it's pretty obvious that I would feel much more horrified as I couldn't study anymore than one full day. That day's exam was probably the worst exam I've ever attended (so far), and I'm actually not sure if I'll pass or not. May Allah save me.
Then it was back to the easy ways again. The last exam was scheduled for April 1 and I was able to prepare for it pretty well, and the exam went better than I expected. It was finally all over.
Those 9 days were few of the most mentally straining days I've had to endure. When you take a lot of things and put them all in a blender, the juice that comes out doesn't necessarily taste good. I'm just glad it's down my throat. Thanks to Allah.

'Sandwich' Time !

2009-03-22T22:13:00.001+06:00

It's time. Two events of greatest importance of our family, my bro's wedding ceremony and Walima, sandwiched between two of the most difficult exams in this semester, Semiconductor Devices and Telecommunication Engineering. Despite our attempt to fix the dates of my bro's events to avoid the exams, it has all come down to this awkward pickle. I know the sandwich won't taste good, I just hope it doesn't leave a taste too bad in my mouth.
Recently our home is buzzing with reletives doing all sorts of pre-wedding stuff. So the environment has become quite uncomfortable for studies. Even if I'm locked up in my room, the sound of all those hihi-hahas is impossible to keep out of my mind. So from today I've started to implement an old idea of mine, which I haven't had a chance to put to the test so far. I've got myself a headphone some weeks back, with a microphone connected to it. I've plugged in the headphone, plugged in the mic, turned up the volume of headphone and mic all the way up, and I wear the headphone with the mic in front of my mouth, and read everything aloud. Now almost all I hear is my own boosted up voice reading aloud all the studies. Guess what, so far it has worked pretty well! So, trying to adapt to the current situation in my house, I'm trying my best to swallow this 'Sandwich' in the least painful way. Allah help me.

Exams Finally Rescheduled

2009-03-08T12:39:00.000+06:00

Today's post could've been titled "Exams Finally Over", but instead it's what you've just read. After the exams got postponed following the clashes on our campus, our semester finals have been finally rescheduled to start on the 15th of March, one month after the original date. The painfull part is that the wedding of my bro will be between my exams, and the most difficult exam, that of Semiconductor Devices, is scheduled for the 25th, the day of my brother's wedding ceremony. How ironic is the fact that it's for my exams that my bro's wedding got dated this way, so that I can take part in the programs without any problem, otherwise it all could've been arranged last month. No complaints though, cuz I still believe that Allah is giving me whatever is best for me.

Speechless We Seek for Answers......Deeply We Mourne

2009-03-02T13:02:00.001+06:00

I'm just 23, so I haven't seen the murders by the Pakistani forces back in '71. And I was glad I hadn't been born then. But I am living and well here in 2009, and I had to be witness to a brutality the likes of which our country, and the whole world has never seen. By the time I'm writing this post, the bodies of 64 military personnel have been discovered who were killed by the latest massacre at the BDR headquarters in Dhaka, and 71 are still missing, who are most likely to have borne the same fate. The so-called 'jawaans' of the BDR killed all these assets of our country, stashed their bodies in ditches and manholes, like those of some mere street animals. I'm no political analyst, but it is pretty sure that these ruthless murders weren't committed just to claim some demand of the BDR men. And it is also evident that all this had been pre-planned by the murderers.
Looking at the images of the disfigured bodies of these elite military personnel being brought out from these holes in the ground, the people around holding their noses in the stench, the heart-breaking cries of those who lossed their loved ones, the whole nation asks, and struggles to find the answer to one simple question; why did all this happen? What's the reason behind this inhumanity? Why were our brothers killed with such barbarity in the hands of our own countrymen? What made them do it?
There have been all sorts of speculation going around in the air. Some say it's the work of some political party, some claim that there must be some foreign nation involved in this, some have other theories as well. But the general people actually don't have a clue about the true reason behind these atrocities.
One thing that we must notice from seeing the fate of those who lost their lives, is that we never know what future lies ahead of us. When these army officers were promoted to the ranks of Lt.Colonel, Major, Colonel, how proud they must have been, how happy must their families have been. Because we all think that positions, ranks, money assures our future, guarentees our peace. And yet, what future did these people meet? Did they or their family ever imagine this? Pretty sure they haven't. So in every stage of life, we must always pray to the Almighty Allah for the barkat in our future, we must ask for peace and prosperity from Him and Him only, and not depend upon our wordly belongings.
After three days of national mourning, people are still searching for the missing bodies in and around the BDR headquarters. The families of the army officers know that their husbands, fathers or brothers won't return to them alive, but they still want to see their bodies, to pay respect, and to give them a proper burial. The whole nation is in shock, speechless in despair, and it will stay this way for a long time. The wounds made in just one day, are not to be healed in many many years. Deeply we mourne the loss of so many of our brave brothers. May Allah bestow his mercy on their souls. May their final resting places become pieces of Heaven. May Allah give their families the strength to endure. May Allah show us The Right Path.

Exams Blown Away...Indefinitely

2009-02-18T23:46:00.000+06:00

By today 2 of our semester final exams should've been over, but actually we don't even know when our exams are gonna even start. The semester finals have been postponed for indefinite period following the recent clashes that took place in our varsity campus. Last Thursday, students of the civil department hosted a strike protesting the suspension of three of their students. The students put the whole campus under siege including all the teachers and staff for more than ten hours! Then the police took action and used brute force to get them cleared. Exams of some of the semesters were scheduled to start Saturday, but the students of all the departments (actually it's the 'senior elite' who take these decisions all the time) decided not to sit in the exams to protest the way they had been treated. The authority had nothing to do but to postpone the exams.
So instead of being fixed in my table, plunged into the books and notes, I'm sitting on my PC, playing games and stuff. The thing that bothers me most about this delaying of the exams is now I fear that I might just have to be studying for my exams during the time of my brothers wedding ceremony coming next month. But hey, what do I know? I'm just hoping for the best, as always.

Bhaia Ties the Knot !!!

2009-02-07T00:51:00.008+06:00

Alhamdulillah, all praise to the Almighty Allah, my sweet dear elder bro has officially tied the knot today. Now he can change his marital status to "Married". I've just returned from the Akth ceremony, which is the actual marriage. The programme was restricted to close reletives only, and was held at a restaurant. But it's a pity that my one and only new Bhaabi has not come with us to our home, yet. That has to wait for the final wedding ceremony on the 25th of March Inshallah. The very best wishes for Bhaia and Bhaabi from the depth of my heart. May Allah grant them happiness for the rest of their lives. May Allah be pleased with them, and may they be pleased with Allah.

An Incomparable Joy

2009-01-24T18:18:00.000+06:00

Has it ever happened to you that you wait for a day for so long, that when the day finally arrives, you can’t believe that the day has come? Last Thursday was such a day for me, and for my whole family, as my dear elder brother has finally got engaged! The whole family has been trying to get my brother married for a very very long time indeed. But the problem is, my brother, in case of choosing a bride for himself, has a band pass filter which allows a very narrow bandwidth. And so far, we couldn’t tune the perfect frequency. But thanks to Allah, we’ve finally got the perfect combination, and Bhaiya at last found someone who he thinks is worthy of spending his life with. I was there at the engagement program last Thursday, and I really liked my brother’s soon-to-be in-laws. They were all very much friendly and cordial. My mom put the ring on the finger of my future sister-in-law. Instead of the girl, it was my mom who was crying, as she has been waiting for this moment for a very long time.
My brother’s Akth (actual marriage) is going to take place on February 5 inshallah. And the marriage ceremony and wedding reception will take place inshallah in March. My elder bro is the eldest son of the eldest son of the family (my father is the eldest son of my grandma). So, he is extremely popular and most beloved to all the family members. So the joy his marriage is bringing about in the family is incomparable. I pray for Allah’s help and guidance throughout the whole process of Bhaiya’s marriage.

At the End of 'Power Stroke'

2009-01-24T17:35:00.000+06:00

I remember back in the very first semester, our Basic Mechanical Engineering course was taken by Ashiqur Rahman sir from BUET. He explained an analogy between the 4 years of our course, with the 4 strokes of an engine. The first year is the ‘Intake Stroke’, where the new students are taken in into the varsity for processing. The second year is the ‘Compression Stroke’, as the second year is said to be the most difficult, where the student really feel the pressure of studying engineering. The third year is the ‘Power Stroke’, as this is said to be the year when the students start to feel like engineers, they take over the most active roles in all sorts of campus activities. And the fourth year is the ‘Exhaust Stroke’, when it’s almost done, the soon to be engineers are already planning what to do when they get out.
Today at the last day of my third year, I really find this analogy perfect in every sense. The third year, particularly the second semester, was simply unforgettable. It’s been the most eventful semester so far, and the most enjoyable in every way, except for studies (who cares about that anymore?). The classes have just finished, and I’m already missing the third year. I know there’s one more year ahead, but I feel like the fourth year is not gonna be as fun as the one I’m leaving behind. My semester final exams are gonna start in a couple of weeks time, so for now I must start thinking about my studies a little bit. Hope that Allah helps me out this time as He has done so far.

First Vote

2008-12-30T12:18:00.000+06:00

The national election that took place yesterday, was the most anticipated event in the history of Bangladesh in many years. I'm not a columnist or a political analyst so I'm not going to write anything about it. If you're a Bangladeshi, you already know too much. But what I'm writing about here is my first voting experience. Several months back the work started to create the country's first national ID cards and the national voter list. From that point on right to the moment I casted my vote yesterday, the whole process seemed so systematic that it was almost unbelievable to many that it was happening in Bangladesh. Particularly yesterday, from going to the vote center and casting my vote, it didn't take me any more than 10 minutes, amazing huh? I went there, the whole center, which was a local school, was divided into several booths and lines so that the process gets faster. I only had to stand in my line for a couple of minutes or so. Then when I was called in, they asked me my voter serial number, which was provided earlier, they matched the number with my name, I went on to the second desk, a guy there checked my name against my photo which they had in their books, and another guy took my signature, marked my finger with an ink and handed me the all important ballot paper. I took it, went behind a curtain, took no time and cast my vote, folded the paper, got out, put it in the transparent ballot box, and there you go, it was done. No confusion whatsoever. Felt great to have exercised my right without any problem at all.
As for the results of this election, it definitely has been a silent revolution, against corruption, against crime, against economic unstability, against the war criminals and so on. Now all we hope is the winning party keeps up to the huge expectations of the people, that they learn something from the events that took place during the last two years, that they respond to the call for change that's being echoed throughout the country. May Allah help us all.

A Different Eid

2008-12-11T22:07:00.000+06:00

Usually my Eids are all the same, they don't vary much from year to year. But this Eid-ul Azha was indeed a bit different due to the fact that this time we've spent the Eid without my father and big bro, as they're spending the Eid in London. They went there about ten days ago, just for visiting purposes. My family members (other than me) have many golden memories in the UK, they had spent a considerable period in London for the post graduate studies of my dad and mom. Dad wished to revisit his old connections there so, quite out of the blue, he took my brother and set off.
Usually both of them play important roles during the Eid ul Azha, in coordinating the tasks of Qurbani. This time my brother in law, Dr. Helal replaced them. On the day of Eid I was busy the whole day with him. I don't know why, but I always enjoy one part of this Eid every year, getting my hands dirty with the meat! Yup, I just love it. Sorting out all the meat, putting them in plastic bags, storing them in the freezer, distributing them to a few of my relatives and neighbors. And that's what kept me busy that day.
It's too late to say Eid Mubarak, but still I hope that this Eid has brought happiness to our hearts. May Allah accept the Qurbani of us all, and give us the gift of Imaan in return.

Electrical Day: Milestones - Good and Bad

2008-12-01T12:26:00.000+06:00

The AUST EEE Society's Electrical Day '08, held on November 27 on AUST campus, will always be unforgettable. It marked several milestones for AUST, our EEE department and also for me personally. For the last month or so, the students of our department have been working relentlessly to stage this event. For me, this event brought many 'firsts'. As I've written earlier, I've never participated in a project fair. This time, me along with four other pals (naming ourselves "gEEEks", i.e, EEE geeks), have tried really hard to put forward a solid project. But the project we took turned out to be a little too complicated for us, and unfortunately we couldn't take part in the competition. I felt really sorry for Pulak and Fahad in particular, as those two really worked hard for the project. But on the positive side, we have indeed gained a great deal of experience while working for the project. I'll never forget the trip to Patuatuli, (the IC Heaven, as I'd like to call it) to buy the various electronic components we required.
Another debut for me was in the photography exhibition. This is the first time that such an event is being held at AUST. Five of my photos were selected for the exhibition which showcased 29 photos in total. It was indeed a delightful experience to see your own work being displayed, while others are watching them, making comments, taking photos. It was really inspiring. (I didn't win any prizes though, hehe)
Again, I've never written articles for any magazine before, but this time around I also submitted an article on Green Energy for publication on the mazazine of the Electrical Day event. I haven't got a copy of it yet, but hopefully my article has been published.
The project fair and photography exhibition started from the noon of the 26th. The 27th was the day set for the huge cultural event, the main attraction of the whole programme. The cultural show made a huge bang. The stage was enormous and awesome in design. The perfomances were mostly good, all by students of our department. The show ended with a rocking perfomance from Artcell, one of the most popular bands of the country. There's one thing that I'd like to say about the cultural show, which is my personal opinion of course. Some of the perfomances, mostly dances, were excessively vulgar, containing body languages which are not appropriate for performing in front of our respected teachers, who were sitting in the very front row. The blatant immitation of Bollywood even raised eyebrows of those who are used to such displays, and many of my friends, during the perfomances, agreed that such performances shouldn't have got clearance to be brought on stage.
Maybe it was because of this particular reason, we've crossed the limit of Allah's patience. Because, what followed after the event, was yet another milestone, only on the negative side. The show was on Thursday, and we were back on the varsity on Saturday. Based on some small issues which took place during the show on Thursday, students of another department were staging protest against the EEE dept. That part was almost calmed down, when another separate occurance initated the spark, the brought about a situation unlike any we have seen on our campus so far. The students of that rival department attacked our boys full on, with whatever they had in their hands. The square at the center of our campus became pandemonium, everyone throwning punches in every direction. Many were seriously injured. It was horrifying, shocking and disturbing to see the meaningless hatred the was displayed between students of the same university. When the situation got severe, I took no risk and quickly left campus for home (go on and call me a coward). Later I got to know that the situation was finally brought under control by the police. In the wake of the clash, the authority did what they had to do, they suspended classes until December 13th.
The 3rd year 2nd semester so far has been simply unique in every possible sense. This semester, I really felt like a varsity student. Dumping classes and sipping tea in the canteen with friends instead, working late in the labs for the project, running here and there, participating in events, long sessions of gossip on the campus and over the phone about various important (and unimportant) issues, and finally watching the clash of the students, all these elements come together to make 3-2 the most memorable semester so far, and the semester's not over yet !!

High Hopes for 'Electrical Day'

2008-11-05T21:19:00.000+06:00

The newly formed AUST EEE Society is arranging the first ever 'Electrical Day' on the last week of November. There's gonna be technical project presentation, cultural event, photography exhibition, magazine publication from the EEE department. I'm really excited about the event, and I've got some plans for it as well. Me and 4 other guys from our section have plans to submit a project about which we have been planning for the last couple of weeks or so. I've never actually participated in the science fairs that were held every year back in Udayan, but I was always a spectator, hehe. But this time I'm hoping to make a debut. I'm also gonna submit some of the photos taken by my to take a chance at the photography exhibition. Well, I know my photos are not probably good enough to be selected for the exhibition, but I'll still give it a try, nothing-to-lose style. Well, if somehow one of my photos get selected, that would be yet another first for me. But wait, my plans for the day doesn't stop there. I'm also hoping to submit an article for the magazine, and have already started collecting info. So, big plans eh?
About the event, I must say that I'm a bit concerned about the measures taken by the responsible personnel about publicizing the event. Events like these are great opportunites to spread tha name of the institution. So I feel that great attention and importance should be paid to taking full advantage of the media.
Anyways, my hopes are high, and I hope that those hopes last the course.

Bhaia's Health Woes

2008-10-19T17:37:00.000+06:00

My big bro's suffering from two diseases at the same time. He's got himself Dengue and Hepatytis-E. Last week he had to spend more than 4 days in the hospital. He was indeed very very sick and too weak even to move around. Me and my family members did duties at the hospital in turns. I had to stay over for two nights, which were my first nights at a hospital. Day before yesterday we got my bro back home, now he has to stay in complete bed rest for more than 2 weeks I guess. May Allah bring him back out of this illness with better health and Imaan. Amin.

Lazy Days are Over

2008-10-11T21:52:00.000+06:00

After a long break of one and a half month, the classes of the 3rd year 2nd semester have started from today. I have spent this break totally like a lazy boy, except for the 3 days I've spent on Allah's path. But yes, if you consider gaming to be work, then I was pretty damn busy! Last month after upgrading my PC, I've spent a hell lot of time in front of my monitor, and my fingers had started to give my pain because of excessive gaming. I've just played three games though, but thoroughly. Recently I've been playing Pure, which is probably the most exciting and fun racing game I've ever played. What does it lack? Here you get to build and ride cool ATVs (quad bikes), ride them in blinding speed through jaw dropping beautiful natural tracks, make unbelievably high jumps, and get to pull off dozens of utterly insane and spectacular tricks while you're in the air! I've just finished the game today, but I'm still gonna play this for a long time I guess, cuz it's just great fun. If you're into gaming, you really should try it out, I bet you'll love it.
Damn, started writing about classes, got into gaming again, hehe. Anyway, I heard from a couple of boys from 4-1 today that 3-2 is gonna be pretty easy, and it is possible to get a good grade from this semester. So I pray to Allah that He helps me throughout this semester (as He has done so far) and also my friends.

PC Upgrade, Call of Duty 4 and more...

2008-10-02T23:56:00.003+06:00

Last month something happened that I've been wishing for a long time, I've finally upgraded my PC ! Yup, I've only kept my old hard drive and DVD writer from my previous PC, and got myself a new Intel Core 2 Duo 2.53 Ghz processor, Intel DG31PR motherboard, 2GB DDR2 RAM, new casing, and most importantly, an XFX GeForce 8500GT graphics board. The graphics board is something I've been wanting to have for a long time, as I've been longing to play all the latest games. The board I got is nothing near high end, but it gives good enough graphics for a low enough price. Actually, the graphics it delivers is pretty awesome and I can't wish for anything better. So far my new PC has performed up to my expectations and I'm pretty happy with it.

Call of Duty 4: I've always been a great fan of the Call of Duty series. Before the fourth installment of the game, it has stayed with World War II. COD4 gets into the action of present day modern warfare. Since the game was announced I've always tried to get my hands on it, but my old PC wasn't good enough to run it. After getting my PC upgraded, this is the game I've installed first. For those who haven't seen this game, I don't know how I can explain how jaw-dropping photo realistic this game actually is. The environment, graphics, sound, script everything makes you feel like you're watching a movie, it's all just too damn good to be a game. One day I was playing the game and my mom saw it from behind and asked me "didn't we see this movie before?" I guess that says enough about how unbelievably cinematic this game is. It's undoubtedly the best game I've ever played (so far). Here are some snapshots:

Waiting for more: The next two months will deliver some of the most highly anticipated games of the year. Call of Duty 5, Far Cry 2, NFS Undercover, GTA 4 to name a few. Call of Duty 5 - World at War goes back to World War II, when I first heard this, I thought, haven't we had enough of WWII? Then I saw some screenshots, and the trailer, and now I wish I had a time machine to go two months ahead and grab a copy of the game. Most of the hyped up games coming in the next two months are expected to be hits. I can't wait.

Eid Mubarak to All

2008-10-01T22:13:00.000+06:00

Yes, it's that time of the year again. After one month of fasting the blessed day of Eid ul Fitr has arrived again. I'm just writing this post to wish everyone a very very happy Eid and many many returns of the day. May Allah fill this day with happiness and joy. May Allah fill our hearts with the Light of Imaan, as a gift of Eid.
Well, for me, the Eids are always pretty much the same. We don't have much of relatives outside of Dhaka, so we are deprived of the joy of going to our home towns or villages to spend the Eid vacation. Our Eids are mostly celebrated in the home of one of our uncles or aunts. But still this day I always enjoy with family. Not much with friends though, particularly after coming to Uttara. Most of my friends are in downtown Dhaka and I can't join their 'addas' on Eid.
Another thing I enjoy on Eid day is the emptiness in streets of Dhaka. The usually jam packed and over populated streets become totally deserted, as the thousands of inhabitants leave the city towards their home towns to get together with family. We the citizens of Dhaka can enjoy the streets for a day or two. It would be great if we could go out just for a ride through the city.
Signing off now, wishing you Eid Mubarak again.

Iftar with Friends

2008-09-29T01:01:00.000+06:00

Last Friday I had Iftar with varsity pals Shourav and Kanto and three of their school friends. We went to Captain's World, a recently popular place in Dhaka. Actually Shourav wanted to gather many more friends from AUST, but unfortunately only me and Kanto replied to his sms. Anyways, the Iftar was good, we didn't take any of the usual Iftar items like piaju, beguni (it always makes me wonder, why do these food items always make an entry in Ramadaan, and disappear for the rest of the year), instead we took tanduri chicken, nun, chicken broast, kabab and drinks. The food I admit, was pretty good, and we all enjoyed the time. The three guys from Kanto and Shourav's school I met for the first time there, and they were pretty friendly people.
One thing really hurt me in that place. They have made arrangements for Iftar, so that people can break their fast after having their stomachs empty for the whole day for the sake of Islam, while we were sitting there, recitation from the Holy Quran was playing, how religious minded this all may seem. But shockingly, they have no place for Salaat (Namaaz). The Maghrib azaan went off, everyone started eating, they've stayed hungry all day to fulfill a Farz of Islam, and yet 3 rakaats of Farz Salaat was going away begging, and no one seemed to care. Me and Shourav had to take an almost 10 minute walk to the mosque to perform our prayers. Really shocking to see the lack of knowledge and negligance about the Salaat within the common people. That only brings back the blame on us, those who understand, cuz it was our duty to make them understand, and we're not even trying.
Anyway, after having an otherwise great iftar, Shourav took to the steering wheels of his car to drop me and Kanto off to our places, and it was pretty amazing to see him drive so nice and cool through the extremely heavy rain that was going on in the night. Got back home well in time for Isha. I usually don't wanna go out for Iftar, so this one was a little different. It isn't that bad if you can get back in time (and if you can find a good place to pray).

Back to Blogging

2008-09-24T15:14:00.000+06:00

Well, after more than 2 weeks I'm finally back online. I was disconnected from the net for various reasons like modem problems, PC upgrades, room repainting etc. But Alhamdulillah I'm finally back online and blogging. Inshallah soon I'll write about my much awaited PC upgrade and a lot more. TC.

3-1 is History.....Hopefully

2008-08-28T21:57:00.000+06:00

Painful. The 3rd year 1st semester was simply painful. It was annoying during the classes, it was disturbing during the PL, it was horrifying during the exams, and it still hurts after them. Particularly Linear Systems and Electromagnetic Fields and Waves were utter nightmares. Imagine two thorns stuck under your toe, whenever you walk they send gnawing pain throughout your body, and you've been living with this pain for the last 4 months or so. How relieved would you feel to get rid of those thorns, and to have the pain removed? That's exactly how I feel to get rid of Linear and EFW. At first I thought Linear would be the toughest one, and indeed it was tough. But as soon as I started to prepare for EFW, I felt Linear was like heaven. EFW was indeed the most horrifying exam ever, and I'm still not free from concern about getting rid of it. I'm gonna have to keep my eyes open for the results to make sure of that. That's why the "Hopefully" part of the post title came in. Preparing for the exams was also particularly harder than before as I missed the loving care of my Mom, who, along with my Dad, was in Saudi Arabia at that time.
3-1 just left a bad taste in my mouth. I dearly wish and pray to Allah that he gives Barkat to my exam papers so I could get rid of this disgusting, disturbing and annoying semester once and for all.

Take Care, Adnan Sir

2008-08-19T22:44:00.000+06:00

I first met Adnan sir back in the last days of 1-2. It was in our viva of Electrical Circuits II lab, and Adnan sir was quizzing us. Probably he joined our department just a few days ago. He was asking all the questions regarding the very basics of the lab course, and my fellow examinees was putting them mostly wrong, and I was giving the right answers !! Anyways, back in that day I never thought that Adnan sir would one day become my favorite teacher. He took our C++ classes in 2-1, which was a nightmare for most of my classmates, but programming (at least the basic part of it) seemed fascinating to me, and I followed Adnan sir's lectures with wide eyes and an open mind. His approach was a bit different from the other lecturers. From that time we found out how friendly and cooperating Adnan sir can be. Whenever we went to him to get something cleared out, he would find some time for us always. He used to put up the class lecture sheets in his website, this particular approach was out of the line of the typical lecturers of the varsity. His website inspired me to venture into the world of amateur web development, in which I found great interest. Then in 2-2 he took Digital Electronics, but not on our section. But some of us, including me, found another reason to stay close to him. Adnan sir, towards the end of 2-1 came up with the idea of creating an online journal for the EEE department. From the start of 2-2, me and some other guys, under the guidance of Adnan sir started to develop this site, rather blog. We shared many tips and tricks of amateur web development during the development process.
Then in 3-1, he took Linear Systems, which is considered to be one of the toughest courses in our EEE programme. But I must admit, he did more than expected. During the class and beyond, he was always helping us out, just as he always have done so far. I just finished the Linear Systems semester final today. I must admit, I have learned a lot in this course, and whatever are my shortcoming in this subject, are only due to my lack of dedication to it. But Adnan sir has been more supportive than we could expect him to be.
It was probably back in 2-1 when he started writing his personal blog. From the very beginning, he has been a regular blogger. His blog is the kind of a personal blog where the writer writes not only about the happenings in his personal life, but also various other issues (unlike my blog). I've always been a regular reader of his blog and was also free to comment due to the friendly nature of Adnan sir. It is also a great honour for me that he also reads my blog (yes, this blog, he reads it, believe it or not), and he has been the top commentator as well. His comments and suggestions have been a great inspiration in my blogging and making websites. I thank him again for that.
There's a whole lot of things I could write about him, but my text wouldn't be the kind you would find in the magazines, because frankly speaking, I can't write that well, at least from the literary point of view. But why am I suddenly writing all this about my favorite teacher? No, I'm not doing this to make him give me more marks in Linear, haha, in fact he won't even check our exam papers. Because unfortunately for us (and fortunately for him) he is leaving the country to go abroad for higher studies. Inshallah he'll make his journey on the 21st of August across the continent into Europe to complete his MSc, where he will study in one of the top ranked universities of the world, just as he deserves. As I am happy to see him getting the opportunity to progress in his career, I'm also extremely disappointed that he won't be with us anymore. His support and encouragement, his friendliness and cooporation is what made him our favorite, and those are the very things that we're gonna miss. I don't see any reason for him to miss us, except for the fact that we were his first students who gave him a hell lot of trouble during the last year and a half. But we, particularly I, have every possible to reason to remember him. If I live that long, and Allah permits, after 3 more semesters complete my graduation from AUST, whenever I'll look back at my varsity life, I'll always see the supporting hand of Adnan sir.
So I'm writing this post to thank Adnan sir, for everything he has done for us. I wish and pray to Allah The Almighty, that Adnan sir finds success, progress, and most importantly, happiness, wherever he goes. May Allah keep him on the Right Path, and may happiness persuit him in this life and the next.

Mom and Dad Goes to Umrah (Without me !!)

2008-08-16T21:24:00.000+06:00

Last thursday my mom and dad left the country for Saudi Arabia to perform The Umrah and visit the two most beloved cities of the Muslim world. At first they've gone to the golden Madina Munawwarah, where they are performing their Salaats in Masjid e Nababi, the beautiful mosque which was the mosque of Prophet Muhammad (S) in the dawn of Islam, and they are conveying their Salaam to our beloved Nabi (S) who is lying there. After about a week inshallah they'll head towards Makkah Mukarrama and perform their Umrah and dazzle their eyes with the site of The Holy Kaaba. I'm really happy that my mom and dad have taken a break from their busy lives and went to the two most peaceful places on earth. But honestly speaking, I'm really disappointed and jealous that I'm not with them. We all went to Umrah back in 2002, and those five days were the most memorable days of my life, and the most pleasing. I always thought that whenever again my parents would go there, they'd take me with them. But unfortunately that hasn't been the case. No complaints though, because I know Allah will always give me what is best for me, and when it is best for me. So I just pray to Allah that He grants peace to the minds of my parents by this visit, and that they return to us with better Imaan and better health. And I also hope that me and my bro and sis, along with my parents get to go to the beloved cities together very soon again.

The Deep Breath Before the Plunge

2008-08-07T22:31:00.000+06:00

The semester finals start in less than 48 hours. Saturday's exam is Electrical Machines III which is a lot easier compared to the other courses in this semester. DLD II can be tricky, Linear Systems will need a lot of hard work in the six days of break before the exam to get a respectable mark, Electromagnetic Fields and Waves can be a terrible pain as it depends A LOT on memorizing , which of course, I'm horrible at, same problem goes for Sociology, but hopefully Accounting won't be much of a problem. So now I'm taking a deep breath before the plunge, don't know if I can hold my breath long enough. I just hope that August 26 comes as soon as possible, when the exams of 3rd year 1st semester will be all over, as this is definitely the most disturbing and uninteresting semester so far. Remember me in your prayers.

Classes Over

2008-07-17T23:41:00.000+06:00

Finally the classes of the 3rd year 1st semester are over. Classes ended with an expected cargo-load of exams in the last week. Thanks to Allah, the finishing was better than expected. This semester has been the most un-interesting one so far. The subjects were pretty much unattractive. Most of the students are particularly concerned about Linear Systems, which is a tricky course and consists of a lot of concepts from mathematics, at which I'm always horrible. I'll be very happy to get over this semester with the upcoming finals starting from August 9.

Firefox Sets the Record - It's Official!

2008-07-05T20:05:00.001+06:00

It's finally official, Mozilla Firefox 3 now holds the Guinness World Record as the most downloaded software in 24 hours. Firefox 3 was launched on June 17 and Firefox fans from all over the world pledged to download the browser on that day, to help set the world record. On that day, a staggering 8,002,530 people downloaded their copies of the software! It took about two weeks for the guys at Guinness to verify and confirm the result, and the day before yesterday I got an email from Firefox informing me that the record is now official. Here's what the Download Day 2008 page says now: "Thanks to the support of the always amazing Mozilla community, we now hold a Guinness World Record for the most software downloaded in 24 hours. From 18:16 UTC on June 17, 2008 to 18:16 UTC on June 18, 2008, 8,002,530 people downloaded Firefox 3 and are now enjoying a safer, smarter and better Web." I'm glad that I'm a part of the record myself, as I had also downloaded my copy on the download day. Mozilla is also giving out certificates for supporting them in this effort. I got mine too. Here's a snapshot.

As for the software itself, one might ask, is it really up to the hype? My answer: OH HELL YEAH!. The already awesome browser just got better. There are quite a few striking new features in the new version. But the most brilliant work was done to the address bar. Start typing there and the browser constantly matches what you've typed with your browsing history and bookmarks. It doesn't only match it with URLs, but also page titles. Doesn't sound like much, but start using it and you will soon find out why the address bar has been dubbed as the 'Awesome Bar'. There are other useful upgrades as well. Read PC World's Review to learn more. Those of you who are already a Firefox fan will love the new version. For those unfortunate internet users who haven't tried Firefox yet, start now, and soon it'll be difficult even to remember the name of ..... what was that browser's name........ oh right....... Internet Exploring...... or something like that. Bottom line: FIREFOX RULES!

Fuljhury's Website

2008-06-22T21:09:00.004+06:00

Should have written about this earlier. About a month ago, I had developed the website of Fuljhury, my uncles' company. Fuljhury is a 100% export oriented knitwear manufacturer. 2 of my uncles and an aunt hold the topmost positions of the company. The website is a very very simple site consisting of basic info about the company and its production. The site was created in Google Pages and customized with Photoshop and Flash. Out of all the sites I've created, this one is the closest to professional, as this time I had to deal with DNS (Domain Name System). Fuljhury already owned the domain www.fuljhury.com , and I had to point the domain to the Google Pages site. In order to do that I had to learn the basics of DNS, how it works and had to provide the necessary information to Fuljhury's domain hosts about the modifications that needed to be made to a couple of CNAME records. This was indeed a good experience.
The site is under construction still, and Inshallah in the future more features will be gradually added.

About the Last Semester, and the Present

2008-06-11T22:41:00.003+06:00

Let's start with the good news. The merit list for the second year second semester (last semester) was out a couple of days ago, and Alhamdulillah I found my name in the seventh spot. That means I've been included in the merit list for the third time so far. Being among the top eight also means that I would soon receive 18000 bucks as weaver Inshallah. All thanks to Allah.
Now let's get back to the present, which is in striking contrast with the past. The current semester seems to me to be the most disturbing so far, none of the subjects seem interesting to me. Particularly the subject Linear Systems, which is considered to be one of the toughest courses of the whole curriculum, is causing much disturbance. Digital Electronics-II is probably the only subject which seems a bit fun, although not as much as it predecessor, as this one is mostly theoretical and brings back the gloomy memories of Electronics from 1-2 and 2-1. Electrical Machines-III was supposed to be interesting to me, as I'm fascinated with machines, but so far I mostly haven't understood what our teacher is teaching us, as his classes seem pretty inconceivable to me. After two months of classes, I haven't studied a single line of the subject of Electromagnetic Field and Waves. And the other remaining course is Humanities, which consists of Sociology and Accounting. Sociology has been my nightmare in school, so I don't want to waste time writing about it. Accounting might sound boring as well, so it seemed to me at first, but honestly speaking, it's not that bad.
Anyway, we have only 1 month of classes left, and from what I've studied so far, it cannot be considered even 5% of the syllabus of the semester. But I'm not depressed, because Allah has always been there for me right on time, as I always depend on Him. Inshallah by the time of the finals He will guide me towards whatever is best for me, and that's all I wish for.