ARCANE 09

Arcane 09 is a national-level technical symposium conducted by Computer Science Engineer's association of B S Abdur Rahman University,Chennai.

My friends and I had been to this college symposium in 2007. We were about an hour late. We reached at 1030 hrs against the scheduled time of 0930 hrs and were not allowed to register for the events.So we returned with sheer disappointment. I accept my mistake for not being punctual because this was my first symposium.

About 10 days back,we were informed about this college symposium.I was not in a mood of attending it as the above mentioned incident flashed in front of my eyes. My friends were all pumped up about the symposium as their only aim was to taste the 'Mutton Biriyani' which will be served for lunch.After a lot of convincing by my friends,I agreed with half-mind.

We came to know that we had to register online for the events. A good job done by that college students was making the registration online to avoid commotion at the registration desk.The registration was very easy too.The symposium was scheduled at 1000 hrs on 25.09.09 and we reached there by 0930 hrs to avoid any disappointment or frustration. We showed our ID card for verification. The registration was over,phew!!

They gave us a file,a pen and a notepad.We were also given a sheet containing 20 questions and the title read 'SURPRISE EVENTS-PRELIMS'. We settled down at the A/C auditorium, one of the best I've ever seen. The inauguration ceremony started with an urdu recital and then the Chief Guest,the Secretary and HOD of CSE department gave a speech. We were busy answering the questions given to us and didn't even listen to the speech. We dropped the sheet in a box outside the auditorium as instructed.

We were given 'refreshments' after the inauguration ceremony and were asked to move to a building for taking up the written 'quiz'. Maximum participants in a team was 2. So we paired up.The sheet given to us contained 30 questions and we knew the answers for only 10 and the allotted time was 30 mins . The quiz was very general,but tough. I liked it.

We rushed to the other room at the corner to take part in the 'puzzle championship'. It was as tough as the quiz. In fact,tougher. Our next target was 'debugging'. But by the time we reached the spot the time was up for debugging. We were late :(.

All our stomachs gave an "I'm empty" signal. So we then headed to the canteen and had our stomach full of Biriyani. Later, we took a slow walk to the auditorium with a hefty stomach. The finals of quiz and mock interview were scheduled to be held at 1400 hrs on stage.The quiz and mock interview were very interesting and informative. I even tried to answer some of the questions in the 'audience round' of the quiz. As time passed by,I was getting restless. Thank God!! The valedictory function commenced and the dignitaries on the stage gave a commendable speech once again. The Chief Guest from TCS gave an inspiring speech with his idea centered on OPEN SOURCE. We enjoyed his speech a lot.

We came out of the college with a fully satisfied mind and 'stomach' :).No complaints...

Visiting other college symposiums is always FUN!!!

Remembering a legend...

I'm a little reluctant to mention the King of Pop as "Late" Michael Jackson because i believe he lives and will continue to live both in our memory and heart. There has been no scientific discovery till now to control both birth and death, isn't it. But only thing i can say is that 'a star has passed away from the earth and a new star is born in heaven'.

History in Brief : MJ was born on Aug 29 1958 as the seventh child in the Jackson family and made his debut at the age of 10 into the music world as a part of Jackson 5. After learning a lot in this troupe,he separated from Jackson 5 and started giving solo performances from 1971. He then gave the world some best music in the form of albums such as Off the wall(1979), Bad(1987), Dangerous(1991) and HIStory(1995). The Thriller(1982) album broke all records by becoming 'The world's best selling album of all times'. MJ performed numerous stage shows world over which had mind-blowing response from his fans.The King of Pop's unique dance steps such as 'robot' and 'moon walk' are popular everywhere in the world. Often changing of his physical appearance and eccentric behavior drew criticism from the media and that damaged his image.

A bigger shock shook USA in 1993 when a child reported of being sexually abused by Michael Jackson and Jackson was arrested on charges of child abuse. The case went on for months before it was closed for lack of evidence and the King of Pop was cleared of all charges. This further damaged his image.

In 1994, he married Lisa Marie Presley, daughter of renowned singer Elvis Presley. She divorced Jackson less than two years later for unknown reasons. Later, MJ married dermatologist Deborah Jeanne Rowe and had two children with her. Michael Jackson's third child, Prince Michael Jackson II was born in 2002. This child was a result of artificial insemination from a surrogate mother.

Michael Jackson had a series of health problems since 1990s. Finally on 25 Jun 2009,a legacy came to an end when MJ collapsed at his mansion in LA due to cardiac arrest. Even immediate medical help could not save him and he died in UCLA hospital in LA. Pain-killers were administered to him for quite some time and medicinal overdosage is said to be the reason for his death. The Post-mortem revealed that MJ's death was natural and there was no "external hand" involved.

I'm not a great fan Michael Jackson till his death.This may be because of his not-so-good public image after the child abuse controversies. In fact, I even had a bad opinion about him despite the contribution of his soul-stirring music to this world. Whenever I thought of him, my memory retrieved only bad images of MJ. Obviously bad things cloud over good things and dumps it. When the news of his death was flashed in the media, I felt extremely dejected because the world has lost a legendary performer!!

It was after which i started surfing the net about MJ. I got to see some rare home-made videos of the King of Pop. These videos where from the time when MJ was a kid to the time when he became a globe-trotter. These videos implied he was a down-to-earth person who loves his family and enjoys the time he spends in his home. The video clips also showed that he was an extreme hard-worker, an inventor who'd love to enthral his fans with his mind-blowing music. I also got to see some interview videos of the legend. In one them, he was talking about the police brutality and the inhuman manner in which they treated him when he was jailed on charges of child abuse. He was even hand-cuffed so tightly that he was left with bruises on his wrist. MJ even narrated one incident in which he was purposefully locked in a "stinking" restroom for 45 mins. The way in which he narrated this brought tears in my eyes.

In that interview he said he loved children and that was evident from another video where he cared so much about a child with a damaged liver and asked the nurse about the child's health. The nurse said the child is in need of a liver without which the child will die. I saw MJ down with tears, literally. He was very concerned and was very keen on the child's liver transplantation.

I don't know why the 13 year old boy, Jordan Chandler accused MJ of sexually abusing him. The boy was supported by his father and a friend of MJ,Evan Chandler. In my personal view, I think Evan did not like the way MJ was gaining popularity and was extremely jealous.This was done for "personal gains".This statement is backed with a quote made by Evan Chandler after MJ's arrest. Evan had said "If I go through with this,I win big-time.There is no way I lose.I will get everything I want and they will be destroyed forever... Michael's career will be over".

We, as fans of MJ, don't believe in Jordan Chandler's accusation because we know about our "Hero". I personally extend my deepest condolances to MJ's family members and hardcore fans. I also wish them strong heart to bear this irrepairable loss.

"Eventhough your soul has left the earth, your soul-stirring music will continue to rock this world. May your soul rest in peace,MJ".