So, you did venchar out here !
Well, the name is actually Venkat, but junta call me the char. If you are wondering why, just put two and two together, you'll get it !

A brief history about myself
      Most of my childhood was spent in the beautiful town of Bhilai, in Madhya Pradesh, India. Later I've also wandered to Ranchi and Hyderabad for a while.
      I did my B.Tech in electronics engineering from Indian Institute of Technology, Madras. Had a swell time there for 4 years in the beautiful campus. Fundu place. We have deer roaming around freely (like cows in other places). I spent most of the days of the last semester just looking at the early dawn sky, with the millions of birds chirping away amongst the colorful clouds (of course I never got up so early, used to go to sleep at 8 am). Real cool life, not withstanding Madras (now Chennai)'s hot climate. Even managed to get my degree (in May '97) ! Visit the fabulous unofficial IITM home page (maintained by Sabs, one of my seniors). I was lucky to be in the Abode of the Gods, the Godavari hostel. Visit the Godav home page (maintained by bamba, one of the Gods) to pay homage to the Gods and learn why the Gods must be (and are) crazy !
      Made a lot of friends in the hostel. Real talented guys we had. Some of them are the cmooooooooooooooooon, the mooots, the kill, the kundi, (many more 'R there, but only these have web pages). I will be creating my own cmoooooooooooooooooon site in the near future. Visit this site and help propagate the cause of green cmooooooooooooonism. You should also visit the mooots' cmoooooooooooooooooon site, maintained by the most principal proponent of green cmoooooooooonism, the mooots, whose missionary zeal puts even those Jesuits, Arabs and the such to shame. Visit the Rogues Gallery '97, (maintained by the kill), to see all the wierdo arbitax characters from my hostel (who were unfortunately given some damn degree and kicked off in '97). Visit the cmooooooooooooooooon's art page, (maintained by the cmooooooooooooooon, obviously) to see his wonderful charcoal sketches, caricatures and paintings.
      After leaving the campus's shores, I was let loose to play havoc with the outside world (read electronic firms). IBM was unfortunate enough to select me in campus itself, for which it had to pay for dearly with bearing my presence (or rather, absence, during working hours) for nearly 6 months, which was when I decided to relieve them and left, for want of more intellectual challenges (ahem!), and a faster net access, more importantly, in January '98. My next target was Sage Design Systems, Bangalore, India, a company engaged in creating interface ICs to connect computers or TVs with the new flat panel displays coming into the market. I'm still here, they've had me for more than 11 months, and Sage has still not gone bankrupt (says a lot about the sages) ! !

Interests and Hobbies
      My first love is nature, and I like to go trekking and visiting good places. I also like to just roam around in parks and gardens.
      I also like listening to music a hell of a lot. Its something I do at almost all times, whether I'm mugging, eating, working. I listen to Hindi films, rock, classical, all kinds. My favourite is Dire Straits.
      I also do some sketching and painting, which I think I'm quite good at, apart from trying my hand at cartooning (at which I'm at present horrible).
      I don't like to blow my own trumpet, but I'm quite good with the flute. I'm also trying to play the guitar and the keyboard (been trying since the last 5 years with no improvement).
      I read comics - Asterix, MAD, Tintin, Archie; and also Dennis the menace, Calvin & Hobbes, Beaupeep, etc, from the back of newspapers. No novels or heavy stuff for me.
      I'm at least similar to other normal junta in that I also enjoy watching movies, Hindi, English, even Gult.
      I used to do hazaar jogging, running and cycling in college. I was very much into Darwin's "survival of the fittest" (though my outward appearance belies this. But you just absolutely can't argue with Darwin. Why? 'cos he's been dead for a considerably long time). In sports, I was never any good; not because I didn't have enthu, but because I have the reflexes of a drunkard. Still, once, I stood for the post of Sports Secretary in my hostel, promising to lay an ice skating rink and bungee jumping facilties, among other things; and believe it or not, almost won (lost by a narrow margin of 12 votes in a 200 strong hostel) ! I couldn't learn swimming till now :-(( (maybe that's because the char can never float).
      Eating. Yes, eating! Fish, eggs, mangoes, butter naans, koftas, watermelons, ice creams, kababs, Hyderabadi biryani, among other things . . . . (I'm stopping here, as it is difficult not to drool . . . . mmmmmmm). I believe that the best way to attain Nirvana without so many rebirths is through fish fry ! I'm also an 'egg'centric, comsuming 6 to 7 in one go (somewhat in 'egg'cess, you might say). I spent the better part of the last 4 years just fantasizing about these stuff (what with the hostel grub being as it is). The shortest way to my heart is indeed through my stomach (if you follow that particular blood vessel which supplies blood to the stomach . . . . . .).
      Yes, I can juggle ! 3 objects at a time ! The mooots taught me. This is something every able person should learn. You can put it in your job resume, like me (Sage selected me because of this. Where would an IC design company be if it didn't even have a juggler ?); or you can show off to the neighbourhood kid just back from a visit to the granny.
      I am a sadist. The last 4 years, I have been continouosly paining junta with my stupid pj's at an almost constant rate of 1 per minute. With the result that most of my hostel batch mates crossed all the oceans, went the Columbus way, and are taking refuge in some arbit islands.