c:\> Enter The_Mad_Diggers

This is the blog dedicated to a group of people who have spent many hours together talking of Life, Universe and Everything. In fact, we have clocked so many hours, that it would be a shame if we didn't continue doing it for the rest of our lives. So at this temporal cusp when we are just about to graduate, we give to ourselves this space on the internet.

First the name: Mad Diggers is a multiple entendre. Apart from its trivial connotations, one of its possible interpretations is an allusion to the fact that we were all united in our quest for world domination at the Indian Institution of Technology, Madras (IIT-M, We shall lovingly call it insti). And in insti, the slang 'digs' refers to 'kannadigas' - the kannada speaking students of IIT-M. Although not everyone here is a kannadiga in the strictest sense, we have all spent our time, or are deeply related to Karnataka and especially Bangalore.

Another way to look at it (rather, hear it) is to pronounce it fast... and then it bizarrely sounds like 'mardigras' - the old name of the famous IIT-M cultural festival.

Now it is time to introduce ourselves (in alphabetical order):

Akhil: Yes, its just Akhil. The short name doesn't imply that he is short on anything. It just means he needs as short an introduction as the length of that name. Recognized throughout the four years of undergrad with his thick moustache, he is the guy with arguably the highest IQ in the group of the mad diggers. His fundaes on quizzing, academics and life in general are shockingly way above average. His maturity is never questioned. He calls himself a cynic and an atheist. In any case, this guy's priorities of what he wants in life (and how he goes about doing it) needs no more proof than the fact that he didn't attend even a single IIM call when he had all six of them! Instead he decided that he will take up his job. THAT, ladies and gentlemen is called studness in insti parlance.

Bottom line>> Akhil: male, single, 22, B.Tech (Chemical Engg.), headed to ZS Associates.

Arun Roshan Ganesh: The only guy in the mad diggers group to have a girl friend, Arun Roshan A.K.A. I.D. is also most likely the highest paid undergrad in India. This math enthu guy interned in Germany having fun and producing a publication in a short time. Noted for his fundaes on everything related to related to western music and rock, he is also an active quizzer. For a guy with a very complicated ethnicity (tam, swedish, mallu), his pronounced dislike for bongs is a little surprising. But his dislike for overzealous fellow Bio-Tech branch mates is quite understandable. ID is looked up by the members for not just for his towering height but also his fundaes.

Bottom line>>ID: male: committed, 21, B.Tech (Biotechnology), headed to Lehman Bros.

Chintamani Kurse: Instantly identified when chicks around him go "choo cute", Chintamani A.K.A. chin2 A.K.A. nano, is an ebullient soul always ready with a song or two to completely break the ice in any situation. This guy is notorious for his mischevous, never say die smile and his (sometimes abstruse) PJs. But apart from those things, this guy is one total stud in math, and has been fully utilized to check and re-check our restaurant bills infinite times. He is so good, that we have left our math talents of JEE times to our fancy casio calculators and an equally fancy chin2. He is ready to come to gurunath or somewhere outside at most times of the day if anyone of us calls (or gives a missed call); but he will always take bath and dress immaculately before coming.

Bottom line>> Chin2: male, committed to being single, 23, B.Tech (Chemical Engg.), headed to TechSpan.

Deepak Ramanath Canchi: The guy who is harder to get an audience from than the President, Deepak a.k.a. Du Fu, is known for his rather excessive “lateral thinking”. Be it walking in the rain or recalling the words of Kalidasa on seeing the waves on the beach, he can easily be misconstrued to be a struggling artist. Actually, in some sense he is. His enthu for Carnatic music and especially his perseverance on practicing the violin make him a perfect fit for that epithet. Spending more time in the library pouring over both books and his eternal so-near-yet-so-far misery, he has spent more time in the library than the librarian. Although always on the verge of giving up, our man always seems to come clean at the end.

Bottom line>>Du Fu: male, single, 22, B.Tech (Chemical Engg.), headed to Rensselaer Polytechnic Inst., NY

Sriharsha Veerabhadraiah Aradhya: The person with questionable and mistaken identity, his friends take him for a Bihari, profs take him for a Gult (but he is the only true kannadiga among the mad diggers). He has been living on US time since the time he landed up in the 'insti'. He holds a particular record for the insti:-the guy with maximum patents. He has more patents than any prof in the insti ever dreamt to have. Also, the crib-god (though not well known for this). People who think Akhil cribs the most, please meet Aradhya. Khufiya sources report, he is immensely popular for declining Stanford (the real reasons for the bump are witheld on request). The only person who wished no one ever got into Capital One for reasons known only to him. This is the funda god of the insti. Last seen with profs taking fundaes from him.

Bottom line>>Aradhya: male, single, 22, B.Tech (Mechanical Engg.), headed to Purdue University, West Lafayette

Sudarshan Anil Karanth: The most popular guy in the mad diggers group in IIT, Sudarshan A.K.A. octa is always making his presence felt in quite vocal ways. Going from a prude to nietzsche’s prodigy questioning the absolute nature of all morality, our man still refuses to eat on the street (because it is on the street). At times quite immature, he is nonetheless an integral part of the group. This guy doesn’t put up a fight for anything, except when he really wants something. But then again, he is unable to put up a fight for the one thing he wants the most. Yet he carries on - determined to spread his circle of influence on the online war zones of blr.in and orkut, which have become his constant hunting ground for some time now.

Bottom line>>octa, male, single, 22, B.Tech (Mechanical Engg.), headed to IIM (hel)Lucknow, final decision made

Vinay Jagannath: The guy with the most esoteric knowledge, Vinay A.K.A. Ravan has scared many a freshie with his looks. Entering the institute as a strong soul, his will was broken by a certain senior in the first year. That was when everyone in the mad diggers group was introduced to his softer side. He continues to amaze everyone by his offbeat ways, but he is also very popular for the same. Hurling such abuses as “Septic tank” and “Tasmanian devil” and painting his name on his cycle in Cyrillic, he has made his knowledge of trivia of A and Discovery channel specials very clear. After the end of Second year in Insti, he has tried to get in touch with the other half of the human species; that is an experiment still in progress...

Bottom line>> Ravan: male, single, 22, B.Tech (Metallurgy & Materials), headed to IIM-A.