Random thoughts

The turtle, the lamp and the yin yang.

2011-02-28T05:26:00.015+05:30

(Click click click).. "Damn the pen!" She screamed and threw the pile of papers away. The room was full of paintings and framed photographs of friends and objects. For a visitor her room was an eclectic mix of art, for friends it was one of her many quirks. But for her it was chaos, an external reflection of her internal conflict. There was a pet turtle who she never named and just called turtle. Dogs and cats were too much to handle. The inherent slowness of the turtle soothed her frayed thought process.

She never believed that a writer's block could exist until that particular day. Her half eaten water melon placed in pretty transparent bowl lied ignored next to her pile of papers. She refused to use the laptop, she considered writing in her own hand more exciting. The dustbin was overflowing with papers scribbled with half baked thoughts and unsettled emotions.

Why was inspiration evading her? She made herself a cup of coffee and stirred it for fifteen minutes wondering if she has lost the "gift". She will no longer be the most sought after writer in the country. Someone new will come and steal her glory, like she once did. This thought sent a shudder down her spine.

Her neighbour came and knocked on the door. "I have forgotten my bag in the park again, can you please give me the spare key?" She was used to this and went to fetch the keys. "Do you know crows here are lovely, so shiny and black. Like that new Sunsilk shampoo ad. I know you must think I am a crazy, but they were really beautiful. I would now like to call myself a connoisseur of crows. They have a bad image, just like the Big Bad Wolf in the Red Riding Hood. I spent most of the time in fear of that creature until I saw the Jungle Book. Then I started hating Sher Khan but later fell in love with Hobbes." She gave her neighbour her keys and asked if she wanted to join her for coffee.

She made some more coffee and heated her own coffee again. She liked her coffee hot. They sat down and spoke for hours. The neighbour was convinced that the turtle could understand their conversation and would often stop abruptly and stare at him. But then the turtle was a turtle. She finally left her room after four hours.

She sat there long after her neighbour had left and pondered about the conversation they just had. Here was someone who saw beauty in crows and the ambiguity in public affection for wolves. The overflowing dustbin now looked like a giant bowl of popcorn. She looked at her turtle and thought if he actually understood what she said and hid all her secrets deep beneath his shell where no one could ever find them. She looked around and saw that her lamp actually looked like the Little Red Riding Hood crouching to look at her shoes. She too hated Sher Khan but loved Hobbes. "Was this the tiger version of Yin and Yang?" she wondered. The invisible contradictions seemed more tangible.

Her chaos began to unscramble itself.

Sea shells in my mind..

2010-07-11T22:13:00.002+05:30

I stare at the blank screen wondering what's wrong. There are thoughts inside me which want to come out in print, easily forgetting the fact the transition between thoughts and words cannot be met easily. Sometimes I wonder why people write. I still don't know why am I mindlessly typing. My mind feels like a galloping horse which has been set free in the long lush grasslands of a Savannah.
Writing for me is a cathartic experience. I write without any pretensions of an accomplished writer. I don't write to seek approval for my visions and perceptions. But giving shape and form to those countless thoughts and feelings is a task mastered by a select few. There is something unreal about what is going through my mind right now. There is this irrepressible urge to break free. Break free from I don't know what. The blinking cursor teasingly asking me to continue this uninhibited expulsion of words, I look into the deep recesses of my mind to find something fathomable. But I find nothing. Yes, its a meaningless post but certainly not thoughtless.
They say there is an order to madness in the world. Anything which cannot be comprehended is madness. The ways of the human mind is always a work of mystery. A simple thought cannot be explained by science. We all know there is much more to it than just an electrical signal and an electromagnetic pulse field.
As I look into the darkness outside my window, a cool mild breeze flows in. The senselessness of this entire exercise perplexes me and yet feels so right. I feel like Mozart playing on his piano, humming Beethoven's symphony. I feel like Frank Sinatra dancing to an Elvis Presley song.

Unrelated thoughts strung together like odd shaped sea shells.

“A Life that never will be..”

2010-05-12T00:11:00.001+05:30

Dedicated. Read on.

"Madam, bas chaalis rupaya, lelo lelo"...."Stupid magazines!!" saying this she brushes the guy away and rolls the window up. It begins to rain thunderously. The windshield is hit by huge drops of rain as loud as stones getting pelted at it from far away. The wipers don't seem very effective but good enough. People around are taken off-guard by the sudden outburst of rain. There is a traffic jam and chaos everywhere, the radio is playing a familiar song. "He loved the rains and getting drenched.." She shrugs the thought away and concentrates on the steering wheel at hand. " I wonder what he must be doing right now" again shakes her head and looks at the raindrops on her window praying for the traffic to clear up and her thoughts to wash away with the rain.

"Isn't the rain just lovely?" says Amrita and looks at her with a big smile on her face. "I hate rains, what's the big fuss about? Its wet everywhere, muddy and messy" saying this she goes back to sipping her coffee. She was lying, trying to hide the real reason behind this hatred. Amrita just looks at her annoyingly and says "You are the most unromantic person ever!" She smiles nonchalantly with a mock approval. "Wait till you meet this I set you up with, you'll just love him." She rolls her eyes, "This is what you said about Dev, and I loved it when he left unannounced from the dinner table, it meant less torture from all the unnecessary garrulity." Amrita with a scowl on her face, "You called him a shitface with verbal diarrhoea!!" She laughed and said, "It was bloody apt, wasn't it? Give it up Amrita, its not gonna happen." Amrita gets a call from her daughter and leaves. She goes back to being her broody self.

Its 6 in the morning and she's been putting the alarm on her cell on snooze for over half an hour. Finally wakes up at 6:15, grudgingly goes to the bathroom to brush her teeth. She's again flooded by some memories. Splashes her face with cold water and begins brushing mechanically. 6:45 am and the thoughts are still there, making no sign of leaving her alone. She takes a shower and puts music on full volume. Rammstein at 7 in the morning, she laughs to herself.

"Bread butter jam, I don't cook ham.

I eat vegetables but not animals that live in stables.

I don't mind eggs but not creatures with legs.."

She sings automatically as she enters the kitchen and immediately regrets it. She had stopped making such ridiculous poems many years ago, let alone singing them. But this morning was different, her thoughts of him were stronger. "Dammit, what's wrong with me?!!" she screams at herself. She goes to the medicine shelf and takes out the bottle of anti depressants, which never really worked for her and pops 4 pills into her mouth and swallows them without having water. "Work and work alone.." had become the new motto in her life, leaving little time for family, friends or life.

The telephone rings, she runs to answer it, happy about the distraction. “We have the results, got the imaging data analysed and the significant values checked. Looks pretty much like you had predicted it. This is big you know. Congratulations. You must celebrate." She is elated and is about to start singing again but she fights that urge. She calls up her mom and tells her about the news. She is extremely happy and almost cries out of joy. She calls up Amrita asking her if she can meet her. Amrita is only too happy to oblige taking half a day off from work. They go off to a bar and have some drinks. She tells Amrita the good news, who is also very happy for her. "Hey its getting late, I promised Rajesh that I'll be back home for dinner, I hope you don't mind, I would have really loved to stay...” saying this she indicates that its time for them to leave the bar and head home.

There is something about getting drunk and being alone. Well, she wasn't technically alone if you count her two dogs and a cat. "My lovely beasts.." she would adoringly call them but not today. She is not able to exercise enough control over her mind and repress those thoughts which she'd been doing forever. She sits in her balcony with tears streaming down her face. Her loneliness had come back to haunt her. There was no one to share her happiness with and that made her reminiscent of her past and that fateful decision.

"If only.." she said to herself out loud for the first time since that day. Maybe it was her way of gifting him by acknowledging her horrendous mistake. "This is the perhaps the best gift I can ever give you at this point of time." She looks up at the night sky with a sad smile asking Him to watch over him.

Just like that..

2009-10-25T23:04:00.001+05:30

"A woman on the road wearing bright blue jeans, red top with a black bindi on her forehead, orange flowers in her hair and anklets on her feet. She is waiting on the bustop chatting incessantly on her cell. Horror, shock, disgust and then pure amazement.
Here was a woman who was caught in translation between being a typical lower middle class South Indian woman and an aspiring woman who wants to get somewhere in life. It was a quixotic mixture of traditionalism spiced with modernity. She might have failed miserably when it came to fashion etiquette but she scored full points for exerting her individuality no matter how garish it would seem to you and me."

So read one of my unfinished posts which never saw the light of the day and I lost that chain of thought forever. Maybe that's why I am blogging as someone asked me to capture the memories. Among the many other things I want to write about, this one is about a bus journey.

Lily Allen was crooning in my headphones and I was looking out of the window, cool breeze hitting my face. I had blanked out the noise around me, just observing. A middle aged woman with huge red bindi and many bangles sat next to me. She had the look of a chihuahua. In front of me sat an old woman in a burqa who was having trouble getting the change for her bus fare. The conductor was patient and gently chided her. A young college student was sitting next to her constantly blabbering on her cell and blushing. I could see people pushing and shoving and I was grateful for my window seat. In a matter of 15 minutes three very different women along with me came face to face with each other. We never spoke but we all had made eye contact at some point. I don't know and I will never know what they thought of me but I was just amazed at the radically different lives each of us led and yet we were together for some obscure bus ride. It was humbling.

As I sat there thinking, the old lady got up and walked away. And before I could notice, there was another woman sitting next to me with a huge basket of flowers. My mind began to think of their stories and lives again..

The Blog Dissection.

2009-07-07T19:24:00.009+05:30

Most of the bloggers I know are very particular about posting regularly and have a loyal set of followers. Its what popular blogs are all about. Nothing wrong with that, that's the way it should be. What about reluctant bloggers like me? Bloggers can be classified into the following kinds:
1) Good writers with a good publicity.
2) Bad writers with good publicity.
3) Good writers with bad publicity.
4) Bad writers with bad publicity.

Where does that leave mine? To answer this, I was going through the posts of my 'almost' dead and defunct blog. I came up with another set of classification for my posts as follows:
1) "What was I thinking when I wrote that?!.."
2) "Why in the world did I publish this?!.."
3) "Why did I torture my readers with this post?!.."
4) "I could've written it better.."
5) " Grammatically incorrect.."
6) "Proud of this post.."

I once read an article by Jug Suraiya, a columnist and a writer, distinguished for the satire, wit and humor in his writings and who believes in not reading what he has written. He had to attend the book release function of his book and was asked to read a few verses from the book. He said, " I never realized that reading what you have written could be so traumatic, I saw mistakes which funnily escaped my notice previously and were now glaringly visible and I had to read it all aloud." I laughed when I read it then, but now I know what he must have gone through.

Its like watching an embarrassing video of yourself which you never thought was being recorded in the first place. For instance, the cute baby videos that parents take of their baby boy running around naked in the house, picking his nose and blabbering absolute non sense. The poor baby is totally oblivious of the fact that the very video could be used as a means of blackmail later on in his life. Imagine the horror he'll have to go through. Sadist parents.

I was undergoing something similar when I was reading a few of my posts, totally horrified at the stupidity of a few and mundane nature of others. But I also like a few posts of mine. The "Happily Ever After" is a personal favorite, though it has its own glitches when I see it now, but I resisted the urge to correct it. Let it be. There are posts which are so bad that I have had to physically stop my hand from clicking the delete button.

Whatever the posts, good, bad or ugly, they were written with a certain frame of mind at a certain period of time, in the past. The mistakes I made are mine and I'll let it be. This blog is not necessarily a record of the important events in my life nor is it a carelessly written collection of my thoughts.

At the end of it, I don't know if I would want to classify the blog like I earlier mentioned. Lets just say, like I always tell my friends, "We all have a story to tell."
This, is a part of mine.

THE finger.

2009-04-16T19:21:00.002+05:30

According to Palmistry, which is perhaps the best known form of divination and character reading, the index finger is said to be ruled by Jupiter, the middle finger by Saturn, the ring finger by the sun and the little finger by Mercury.

The finger in question today is the Index finger or the Jupiter finger or pointer finger or forefinger or trigger finger or digitus secundus, or digitus II.

I woke up at 5:30 am, went for a walk with my best friend (which I will regret later) and then began our "Voter Voyage". Both of us being first time voters, the excitement was palpable. Ale voted first and she did it without any hassles. It took her about 20 minutes and she had the "mark" on her finger. That mark is created by an ink produced by a little known state enterprise, Mysore Paints and Varnish ltd (MVPL) in Mysore. Yes, people should know this.

Now, it was my turn to vote and this is when my trauma began.
We went to my colony where there were people who were carrying the voter's list. I went and showed them my card. The person who was checking it, did not find my name in the list and coolly told me that since I got my card very recently, I might have to vote next time. I was pissed, Ale frustrated. The other guy who was checking my name was asking me about the others whose names were there in the list like, "Yeh Sheerlay kaun hai?" Read Shirley. I said I don't know. Then he asked me about some other 3-4 people, each time I gave him the same answer (patience getting tested). The first guy actually showed me the pic of some other female with some other name and told me it was me. I showed him the name on my card and the photo, but he again did the same thing, this time it was the pic of some 35 year old guy. His logic, the number on the card was almost the same as mine. Either I was going mad or the world was turning stupider. Finally when the third guy was checking the list, I found it myself. It was my "Eureka Moment!"

I did not know my polling booth and the person who had successfully found my name gave me the wrong directions. I am not surprised, when I think about it at hindsight. I guess some people are born with a limited intellect. Anyway, after wasting a good 15 minutes at the wrong booth, I managed to find out the correct address and we finally reached there. All my happiness was gone the instant I saw the huge waiting line ahead of me. Ale made herself comfortable in one of the benches provided there, looking half sleepy and half bored. My ordeal had just began. I spent about 15 minutes at one spot on an average. The female behind me was worried that her date of birth was not right. The middle aged woman behind was happy that the age on her card was lesser that what her actual age was. The woman in front of me was standing like a zombie. The girl in front of her had a rose in her hair which looked like a rotten tomato. I can go on about the innocuous details, shows the levels of boredom. I finally reached the spot where the symbols of the candidates were at display. Apart from the usual ones, there was a banana, a shuttle cock, a glass, a hat, and an unidentifiable symbol which I thought looked like a cat's litter box. Old ladies and physically handicapped people voted first. Finally, after what seemed like millions of years, I reached the door of the entrance. When I went in, I was almost expecting them to say that my name is not there in the list, but thankfully my worst fears were laid to rest. The "mark" was put on my left hand index finger and I was given the 2 slips. One for Lok Sabha and one for Vidhan Sabha. It was an electronic machine which was put and I casted my vote. I could almost hear the hallelujah chorus when I came out. Ale returned my gleeful smile and we were done for the day.

It was the click of a finger which changed a lot of things. That sound of the beeper going off when you cast your vote lingers on in my mind.

"Happily Ever After"

2009-03-16T20:54:00.003+05:30

Once upon a time, there lived a gentle King who ruled the land of Glory Dale...so on the story goes and after a lot of trials and tribulations, which normally includes rescuing a gorgeous damsel in distress, fighting a wicked witch and then riding away in an idyllic landscape on a milky white horse. The story ends in "Happily Ever After."

Such fairy tales were an integral part of my childhood and I was besotted by them. But as you grow older, you realise that the Prince Charming doesn't exist and the wicked witch looks pale in comparison to the real life villains. The dreamy idealism of childhood slowly gets eaten away by cynicism of adulthood. The innocence is replaced by an uneasy sense of responsibility. Sometimes you are tempted to get lost in this transition.

Deaths because of terrorism will become more common than natural deaths but the winners of beauty contests will wish for "World Peace" with a pearly white smile stuck on those plastic faces. The Antarctic and the Arctic Glaciers will melt but we'll continue to consciously ignore it, hoping that Santa Claus who lives in the north pole will magically set it right! The Panda along with our Olive Riddley Turltes and many other species will become extinct and we'll say "Tch tch, what a tragedy, they were such cute things". Civil war will break out in many of our neighbouring countries replacing the farcical democracy with dictatorship but we are more bothered about the IPL dates. Unconcerned desi politicians will politicise Valentine's Day but wont give two hoots about the 10% rise in poverty in the country where the number of children dying because of malnutrition is the highest in the world, beating even the Sub Saharan countries of Africa. Girls will get beaten out of their dignity for not upholding our "culture" and we'll celebrate Women's Day with aplomb. I will go on writing about these things and frankly I don't really have a point to make. Its a glaring reality.

Its in moments like these, I wish I could escape to the unbridled life of ignorance and bliss. Sing songs of joy and laughter with Hansel and Gretel. Play ringa-ringa roses with the seven dwarfs of Snow White. Take a world tour in Cinderella's pumpkin carriage. Have a chat with a leprechaun and find out the secret of sliding down a rainbow, maybe he'll show me that elusive pot of gold. Have a romantic dinner with Aladdin on the moon, Genie can arrange that and then climb trees with Mogli. Spend the next morning with Alice in her Wonderland and catch a glimpse of the Cheshire cat. Go trekking with Pocahontas and then a wild life safari with Simba who'll show me a breathtaking view of the forest and all its animals from the Pride Rock. Meet Little Red Riding Hood's granny. Finally I would help build an elevator for Jack to go up his Beanstalk.

As I sit here reminiscing about the various fairy tales, fully aware of the escapist nature of it all, the world continues to reel under the cruelty of its most intelligent species. I can't help but wonder whether I'll ever have my own "Happily Ever After."

Random Rumblings- Unpublished Musings.

2009-02-22T21:55:00.000+05:30

"Saas gaari deve, devarji samjhaa leve, sasural genda phool"
Presently that's the song playing in the background as I write. It beautifully captures the earthy and rustic tones along with those apt hip hop beats, rendering distinctively unique. Rehman is a genius and I've set the alarm for 6 am tomorrow (Mom's the back up alarm). Anyone missing out his live performance at the Oscars should seriously consider killing themselves. Jai ho!

I was looking at those various posts of mine which never saw the light of the day, meaning never got published. There is a wide variety actually, most of them unfinished. There is one on Woman's Day where I had written about a quote I read somewhere, "Feminism is a radical notion that women are people." It makes me chuckle every time I think about it.

Anyway, moving on as the title of this post gives me the liberty to flip in and out of topics as easily as Aamir Khan's ever changing hair styles.
Another post is about a short story I wrote about an old woman in an old age home. This is not unfinished but maybe I'm not confident to publish it. So I shall leave it at that.

Then there is post titled 'Youngistan' where I tried to decipher what that term means to the youth of our country. Very potent subject for a blog but alas remained unfinished. I'll take it up someday again.

"Chocolate Chuckles" was a post about my friend's birthday celebrations. I got bored writing midway and left it unfinished like many others. Now when I read it again I don't remember what we did after lunch that day. I wrote too many unnecessary things. I can be a very boring writer at times.

There is this untitled post where I attempted to put my general thought process into words. Failed miserably. Some things are better left shrouded in mystery.

Another untitled post where I wrote about a song I was humming that day- Karma Chameleon. Some songs simply get stuck in your head.

I had written a post on the nuclear deal getting cleared on the floor of the parliament. I was just really excited about the whole thing, watching it live that day added to the euphoria. I just lost the inclination to write after just some 5 lines.

There an untitled post where I began writing about the weird idiosyncrasies of people at social gatherings. I had attended some engagement ceremony and I was quite amused observing different people and their odd quirks. I don't recall why it remained unfinished.

There is another post which was the manifestation of an extremely bored state of mind. I actually came up with a fantastical predicament that the entire Universe had conspired against me not going to college that day. I had imaginatively put up many random coincidences like my mom not waking me up on time, the scooty not starting etc etc to Divine Providence. I just did not want to go to college that day and my prayers were answered. Period.

There is an untitled post where I wrote about various shapes of clouds. Now I don't know what I wanted to write about. Its frustrating.

I have another short story in the offing. I think about it whenever possible but I'm hard pressed for time these days. Blogging is a luxury I can't indulge in too often.

Well, I think I'll end it here lest it gets too boring and my attention gets diverted by some thing else again. This post shall get published. Haha

Yappy Nuu Err... :D

2009-01-03T15:58:00.000+05:30

I've been asked to blog about this, rather ordered to blog about this. What I am I talking about? Well this was the most awaited day of 2008! And it did not disappoint.

DAY: 31st December 2008.
VENUE: Nupur's residence.

This day had been planned for over a month. It was not a regular new year party for us, for we were to have vodka! Yes, my friends, VODKA! I'm trying to show the excitement here, which was palpable that day.
I reached Ale's place from college at around 1, only to find her snoozing away to glory on her much beloved bunk bed (she looks funny when she's asleep-further details is injurious to my health). After a good ten minutes, she woke up and stared at me as if I were some alien who had dropped in to say hello (remember ET?). After her coming out of the sleepy reverie, we had lunch and then she took her bath (Yeah, she took her bath late in the afternoon, I find that absolutely normal because I do that on holidays too. So, spare me the judgments!)
Ok, before you people tear your hair out,or wanting to pull mine instead because I'm boring you with too many innocuous details, I'll get on with the story.

Now began what I call "The Party Paraphernalia Parade" Both of us set out to buy various stuff (read lot of chips,soft drinks etc.Did I mention chips? Lots of chips. We can give Saif Ali Khan a run for his money when it comes to chips!) along with some weird stuff like thermo col balls (more on this later). I have edited many details like my inexplicable urge to doze off right there on the road, Man! I was sleepy; meeting an old classmate of mine in the supermarket and importantly my increasing annoyance with the traffic and the endless trips around those various shops.

We reached Nupur's place at last and I was very sleepy and my head was aching like crazy. I made coffee for everyone and it was fantastic! (Its my blog, I'll write whatever I please.) So after everyone had my awe-inspiring and superbly superb coffee, we decided to get ready for the party. We were all charged up, thanks to my heavenly coffee. Ale was the in charge of the make up and again Ale was in charge of the hair styling. Basically, the rest of us, were like lost. If not a physiotherapist, Ale will give tough competition to Shahnaz Hussain. Ale looks like a human being though, unlike her, who looks perennially electrocuted. I wonder why she insists on having her own picture on the product. Heights of delusion!

Ok, back to the party. After about an hour and a half. Yes, girls take an awful lot of time to get ready. We were all nicely dressed up and ready to rock n roll!
Everything was there except the food. So Ale and Nupur rushed to get the food. They rushed alright, but they took an excruciating hour and a half to get back. I remember, Ale called me up from there and the moment I picked up, she said and I quote, "Start dancing! The food will take a while."
I'm a huge fan of dancing but there is a limit you know. Just observe that sentence uttered by my dear friend, it looks as if I were asked to perform some ceremonial tribal dance for the benefit of mankind in general and the food in particular. I told her that I have other productive activities to indulge myself in apart from dancing like an absolute maniac. She got the point.

2 hours into dancing and we were a little tired. Not little, very tired actually. Then came the Breezer ( Yeah yeah, for all those who think I'm a wuss for not trying a Breezer so far, go smell a dead fish!) I did not like it at first sip but it later tasted like Appy Fizz with a zanny tang of course. All of gulped down a good amount of it and we were all ready to dance again. Point to be noted, we were all sober. All, except Nupur. She wanted to cut the cake with a mirror. Yes, that's right, a mirror. The way she danced after this, was legendary. Legendary, because she danced as if she were possessed by the legendary Elvis Presley. She was high and how!
It was around 11:45 in the night now. We had finished our dinner. Yummy Chinese food!! It was finger licking good! KFC can't sue me for using the line because we were really licking our fingers, maybe we were too hungry. So we danced, jumped, pranced around, loitered and then finally it was 12 am!! We got the cake, decorated it with candles, put it in a plate and again surrounded it by bigger candles. It looked lovely but unfortunately didn't taste the same. Blame it on the bakeries for running out of cakes on New Year's Eve!! How were we to know that every nut-case in Hyderabad would cut a cake on this day?

Anyway, getting to the MOST important part of the entire party and the reason behind my writing this post in the first place, which is absolutely insane, I know, but I cant write it any other way either and this is turning out to be too big a sentence which I shall end now. Crazy? I agree. No, I'm not drunk, but I am about to, in the party.

This night is quite high on the list of crazy things that I've done in my life so far. Nupur's boyfriend, apparently was more excited than her, at the prospect of his girlfriend and her friends getting sloshed on New Year's eve. He got us a sexy bottle of vodka which was carefully smuggled into the house by Nupur. Her parents could not know about it for obvious reasons ( DDD:Daughter Dearest-Drunk..A parent's worst nightmare). So after carefully analyzing the entire situation and making sure that her parents were asleep, the Vodka was taken out.
Amidst nervous glances and hushed whispers, we brought a tiny glass, (didn't have those shot glasses) some strawberry crush, straws, a huge bottle of sprite and of course the Vodka to Nupur's bedroom. We were behaving like a bunch of excited little toddlers, high on sugar. We were giggling and laughing and then hushing each other up fearing that even the slightest noise would wake her parents up.

CRAPPY COCKTAIL- One small glass (actually any container which can hold some liquid would do, because the name is suggestive enough to imply the importance of the glass to be used for this concoction); generous amount of strawberry crush ( the more you waste, the better); equal, if not more quantity of vodka (what we had was pretty expensive) and some stupid straws to sip it and a match box.
We were in all, 5 girls and we had in front of us a glass which was filled with strawberry crush and vodka to the brim. To the brim, because we now had the task of lighting it on fire. It was not as exciting as it sounds. I had actually imagined it to literally going up in flames, but it did not happen. In fact we struggled for nearly 20 minutes before we were finally able to set it on fire. It lasted for approximately 6 seconds. It was not the burning inferno I had imagined it to be, which was quite disappointing. We struggled even more to click a picture where the flame was visible. It was a tiring exercise.
Now finally, it was time to sip it. It was at this moment that my dad called up to wish me Happy New Year (What timing!!). I was totally taken off guard by the call but thankfully my dad didn't find anything amiss. At last it was my turn to sip it and when I did, it was the single most disgusting thing I had ever tasted in my life. I was reminded of all the sucky cough syrups I had as a child, only this was worse as it burned my throat. HOW CAN PEOPLE POSSIBLY LIKE ALCOHOL???? None of us liked it, Nupur's younger sis was a little tipsy by now. We still had half a bottle of vodka left. We wolfed it down with Sprite determined to get drunk. It was just not happening. All of us were telling each other, "I am not drunk yet, I am not drunk yet." Meanwhile one of the girls present there, Soumya, calls up a friend to wish him and says, "Hello Rakesh, Rakesh hai?" She was drunk as hell ( she was also laughing continuously).
At around 2:30 in the morning, angry that we were not drunk, Ale and I, decided to start dancing. Nupur badly wanted to sleep and Soumya had already tucked herself in the bed. But Ale and I were adamant. Some catchy western number or some hindi song was playing in the background and Ale and I were dancing. We were not just dancing, we were doing Kathak, replete with perfect footwork! Later we watched Sarabhai on the PC and laughed so loudly that Soumya woke up and watched it with us.

Odd? I know. Next morning, we laughed like crazy wondering why on earth were we doing Kathak.
So moral of the story is:
Tha thai thai thaa
Ale and Pal will perform kathak
After getting high on Vodka!

PS: No, I am not drunk right now.

Poli-'acid'-itize..

2008-12-15T18:02:00.000+05:30

It all started with a plain sms last night asking different students, girls especially, to gather near Indira Park to sign a petition regarding stricter laws and stringent action against those who commit atrocities against women. This was being done in the wake of acid attacks on 2 girls in Vijayawada, one of whom is battling for her life. So far, so good. I slept last night thinking that something constructive will be done the next day and I had the opportunity to show my solidarity for the cause. I enthusiastically messaged many female friends of mine and finally went to bed.
I started for college earlier than usual ( I normally end up missing the first hour, intentionally or unintentionally). Once I reached, I told every girl I know to come to Indira Park. The lecturer in charge of this event(Ms S) asked me to gather few more students to which I gladly agreed. After a lot of cajoling and convincing, many girls agreed. Many were ready to come, but ultimately just 20 of us made it to Indira Park(some lecturers played spoilsport by not allowing students to leave classes). I could have become disheartened, but I thought atleast a few of us would voice our concern. Little did I know that I was horribly wrong.

We reached Indira Park at around 10:30, the event was supposed to start by 10:30 and we were bang on time. We went to the place where it was supposed to take place. The woman who had asked our college students to come there was an ex-lecturer of our college. She immediately came up to us and made us sit in the front row. Ms S was yet to come as she was busy gathering few more students at the college. Meanwhile, the ex lecturer came up to us and asked us if any of us would be interested to air our views. All my friends asked me to do it and I agreed.
So we sat there waiting...waiting..waiting. It was now 11:30. We had a lab at 1. The stage was still being decorated. The mikes were still being tested( HELLO,HELLO 123!! went on for an annoying 10 minutes) To make matters worse, they started playing weird songs singing praises of "Praja-rajyam" (Chiranjeevi's political party) at such a high volume that I could feel the sound vibrations. Just when I thought that I had gone partially deaf, the music stopped. By this time I was extremely pissed. Then, out of no where we saw a truckload of women get down and make there way to the seats. These women were villagers from different areas who had come there to watch their so called cinematic "hero" Chiranjeevi.I was baffled, then it hit me like a cold hard stone. This was not an event to support those girl students who were victims of brutal attacks, but a party campaign for praja rajyam. When it struck me, I read the poster in telugu a little more carefully and it confirmed my suspicions. By now a bunch of folk singers got onto the stage and started singing( making strange incoherent noises would be more appropriate) at the top of their lungs. I was beginning to get wary of the whole thing and I had made up my mind to never vote for a person who had no respect for someone's else's time. I had made all those friends of mine to bunk the classes for this and the way it was going on was not looking good to me at all. I was mentally picturising myself kicking Chiranjeevi's shins and breaking his bones, just the way he beats up the bad guys to pulp in his absolutely senseless movies. I now totally regretted my decision to come there. Most of my friends got up and left when they saw that we were the only students present there. Just 5 or 6 of us were left. I wanted to leave as well as I felt totally cheated. But the ex lecturer wouldn't let me leave saying that the purpose would not be served if I left. Ms S finally reached the venue and the look on my face made it very apparent to her that this was a very bad idea. Both of them now started trying to convince me and my friends to stay. The ex lecturer said that those village women had been made to come because for someone like Chiranjeevi to "grace" a particular event, enough crowd should be gathered.( Balls to him! I thought). After dilly dallying there for another 15 minutes, we finally decided to leave. We were just in time for the lab mercifully.

I have briefed out a first hand account of how an issue is politicized in this country. The women who had gathered there had no idea about the girl student Swapnika who was battling for her life. They had no clue about Srilakshmi who was brutally hacked to death by her stalker in broad daylight, in front of her classmates. Nor did they know about Ayesha who was pushed to her death from her hostel balcony and later her head was smashed with a boulder, just to make sure she was actually dead.
There are many such ghastly incidents. But this was cleverly circumvented into a political agenda with a rally comprising these illiterate women. As I watched the hapless faces of many women who had come there, I couldn't help but think how hopeless our political system was. These politicians thrive on the gullibility of these ignorant people and piggy back their way to the top, conveniently forgetting the promises made, which we educated people call the "political rhetoric". How easily these people get fooled by it all and we educated people actually pride ourselves in seeing through the sham.
I felt sick to my stomach when I saw that the whole premise of the event was just a political propaganda and nothing else. I was rendered deeply sad by the fact that whether we like it or not, it is us, who elect these blood sucking leeches to power. Its a miserable tragedy where we are forced to choose a lesser evil and hope for the best. I'm totally disillusioned today and I have every reason to be so.

I have a dream..

2008-12-05T20:02:00.001+05:30

Just a song which I thought I'll share

I have a dream, a song to sing
To help me cope with anything
If you see the wonder, of a fairytale
You can take the future, even if you fail
I believe in angels,
Something good in everything I see
I believe in angels,
When I know the time is right for me
I'll cross the stream - I have a dream
I have a dream, a fantasy
To help me through reality
And my destination makes it worth the while
Pushing through the darkness still another mile
I believe in angels
Something good in everything I see
I believe in angels
When I know the time is right for me
I'll cross the stream - I have a dream
I'll cross the stream - I have a dream
I have a dream, a song to sing
To help me cope with anything
If you see the wonder of a fairytale
You can take the future even if you fail
I believe in angels
Something good in everything I see
I believe in angels
When I know the time is right for me
I'll cross the stream - I have a dream
I'll cross the stream - I have a dream

-a soulful rendition by ABBA

The woman who got up again..

2008-11-30T21:25:00.000+05:30

These past 4 days, I was (and still am), angry, frustrated, pissed or any other term which you would associate with sheer fury when I learnt about the attacks in Mumbai. But today after an extremely tiring day, as I sat down to read the newspaper, a small story of courage shown by one of the terror victims moved me so much that I cried inconsolably and my eyes are moist still.

This is the extraordinary story of Ameena Begum:

Shanu Begum, her husband Abdul Rehman, thier daughter Ameena Begum and her niece were waiting for for the Devgiri Express at the CST station in Mumbai to return to their hometown of Nizamabad, here in AP.
At around 10:15 in the night 2 armed terrorists entered the CST station and open fired at all those unsuspecting people. Instinctively everyone ducked to the ground for safety. But Ameena got up, to bring her father who had suffered bullet injuries to his knees. She was hit by the bullets but was still alive.
Suddenly, she realized that her niece was missing, and then she lifted herself up to bring her niece to safety. She was hit by the bullets again, this time she did not get up again. She suffered injuries to her head, chest, stomach and her teeth fell on the platform when one of the bullets hit her in the jaw.
"Ameena asked for water and breathed her last in my arms within a few seconds after consuming water." the wailing mother cried.

Ameena Begum was 20 years old. She was not trained in mortal combat. I'm sure her job description, if she did have one,had nothing about facing adversities like death. She was not a NSG commando, she was not an army jawan or a police officer, many of who carried out their esteeemed duty in sacrificing their lives. What made Ameena different, was that she was an ordinary citizen like you and me.

Her story has filled me with emotions that I can't fathom. I don't consider myself competent enough to pay a homage, that she rightfully deserves. But I shall try:

Today, I write with all my soul
With tears flowing down my cheeks
like never before..
A heart wrenching cry comes out
from deep within my core,
to salute a woman so pure..
She took in as much pain as she could endure..
had fallen once but got up again,
despite her frail body screaming- no more..

Now her death is a number,
in the many facts and figures around those who lay slain..
This humble poem is a tribute to her indomitable spirit,
her sacrifice wont go in vain..
Because,
the world may never know her,
but her courage will always be remembered by me..
For, I know, being the same age as her,
I am not as brave as she..

A View From Outside...

2008-11-29T09:55:00.000+05:30

Its been more than 60 hours now and the siege over the Taj seems to have ended. I did not want to blog about anything but this certainly made me change my mind. To say that it did not affect me would be an outright lie. But to also claim that I can understand what an ordinary Mumbaikar is going through, would again be a lie.
For most of us outside Mumbai, it was three days of television drama which even the perverse show like Big Boss cannot match. I'm talking about my friends and many of the people I know here. Everybody condemned it and made some politically correct statements. But none admitted that it did not make any difference to their lives. Which for a fact, is true.
The conversation was something like this..
Me: "Did you hear about the attacks??"
Friend: "Haan..In Mumbai."
Me: "I was shocked!!"
Friend: "Yeah, me too( makes a sad face)."
Another Friend: "What attacks?"
Me:(flabbergasted) "You don't know!?"
AF: " No, I did not watch the news, nor did I read the paper."
Me:(trying to control my anger-I don't know why I was angry) " There were terror attacks in Mumbai"
Af:(Totally aghast)" Omg! Really?!"
By this time the lecturer had entered and the conversation could not proceed any further. The lecturer came in and went on with the lecture like a zombie and we just sat and stared. All the while I was thinking about the latest developments in Mumbai but my friends did not share the same anxiety. After a while I forgot about it too. We went about making fun of the lecturers, smsing funny msgs, singing and pulling each others legs.
It was so easy to forget about it.
"How do you motivate people to agitate when they have no personal connection to the atrocity?" Another question which I asked myself after letting go a bit of the anger, " Who am I to question people's ability to move on despite such heinous acts of terror?" I'll share a bit of the mail that my project guide wrote to me from Mumbai

"you are dot right, about indifference and "spirit". most of us are complete cowards (myself included). there is no dignity in such deaths; the only commendable thing people do is not abstain from their work but forge right ahead the very next day. whether out of necessity or defiance, the motives can be different."

Somewhere, deep down, I know that this doesn't affect me much. But I refuse to accept it. I remember feeling like an idiot when I was walking down the streets of Hyderabad with a placard in my hands condemning the blasts, a year ago. I was constantly experiencing mixed emotions, emotions of pride, foolishness and hopelessness of it all. People had gathered there for different motives. Some were like me, others wanted to come on TV and claim their 15 minutes of fame. Some others had come because their friends were there and they did not want to look bad in front of them by their absence.
Yes,people are different and each has his or her own agenda. But what the situation demands, is to forge those differences and find a common platform.

Mumbai will bounce back for sure. But this time it has to make sure that this never ever happens again. The true spirit of any city does not lie in being able to get back to normalcy, it lies in being able to move on and annihilate those sources which caused so much agony.
A brave NSG commando said," Hamare liye kuch mushkil nahi hai.." with a smile on his face. It brought a tear to my eye. I salute all those bravehearts and I sing a silent prayer for Mumbai.

"Whether or not a terrorist should be forgiven, should be left to God but fixing their appointment with God is our responsiblity." -Indian Army. AMEN.

"Gray-Fashion"

2008-10-30T00:59:00.000+05:30

I never liked the colour gray as a kid. I was crazy about painting and drawing but I seldom used that colour. It was a very dull colour, lifeless and boring, unlike the lively yellow, vibrant orange,soothing blue or a bashful red. But today, my respect for this colour has grown bountifully.
Why? Well the answer is pretty simple. As a kid your world is either black or white, wrong or right. Simple and sweet. But this myth gets shattered as you grow older and the childhood innocence begins to wane away until its totally gone. This is when you realize that life in reality is Gray.
I watched the movie Fashion today,first day first show. It was totally worth it. Its not in the league of Dark Knight but then again, movies like DK aren't made every other day. What this movie essentially depicts is the dark truth behind the razzmatazz of the glitzy world of fashion. The movie talks about everything from the hassles of a struggling model, casting couch, gay designers, ego maniacal super models, plagiarism, wardrobe malfunctions, drugs, alcohol, rehabs, promiscuity etc. Basically anything which you would associate with the fashion or the glamour industry has been dealt with, in the movie.
Without giving much away, what I'd like to add is that this movie will make u think. In this industry, one can reach dizzying heights but the fall is equally abysmal. The lead role of Meghna Mathur, essayed by Priyanka Chopra, experiences tremendous highs and lows in her career. How she ultimately gets on with her life and career is the main focus of the film. The character of Shonali enacted by Kangana Ranaut is another highlight of the movie.It is based on the life of the doomed model Geetanjali Nagpal (though the makers vehemently deny it!!) There are many more well written characters in the movie, but I don't want this to be a spoiler.
What I appreciated was the level of maturity and sensiblity shown by the director when he depicted the issue of "closet-gays". Not everyone has the courage to accept the truth and publicly come out in the open. Do we condemn such people? Or do we blame ourselves for being so narrow minded as a society? Its an open question which arose in my mind while watching the movie.
This movie has many high points and one can see the amount of effort and research gone into the making of the movie,like the instance of plagiarism where clothes from some cheap stall in downtown Bangkok are passed of as original designer wear by a smart designer. The dialogues are good too, the movie shows you why models are treated like "hangers". It does get a tad bit filmy here and there, but that can be ignored overall.In this fashion world, you can become a star over night if you are ready to relinquish certain morals and principles. There are exceptions in reality but this is the sad truth in general.
What I took away from the movie is that its important to get your priorities in life, right. It is important to get up and move on when you fall. It is very important to exorcise your inner demons and forgive yourself. Most important of them all, was to face to your fears. It is a very hard thing to do.
In the fashion world, the show will go on despite the "showstoppers". Didn't get it?? Go watch the movie.

The Great Indian Terror Tamasha-"The Unforgettable Tour"

2008-09-14T12:08:00.000+05:30

RATING SCALE:

Excellent:*****
Good:****
Above average:***
Tolerable:**
Useless:*

CAST:The members of the newly formed IM(Indian Mujahideen).
DIRECTOR(S): SIMI-Students of Islamic Movement of India.
PRODUCER(S): 1)Hizb ul Mujahideen(HM)
2)Inter Services Intelligence(ISI)
3)Lashkar-e-Taiba/Lashkar-e-Toiba/Lashkar-e-Tayyaba/Lashkar-e-Tayyiba/
Lashkar-i-Taiba (LeT)
4)Al-Qaeda/al-Qaida/al-Qa`ida/al-Qa`idah.
(If there are any other possible combinations known to the above mentioned names of the organisations,the readers are most welcome to enlighten us.)

If the name of any other terrorist organisation has been left out,then the error is seriously regretted as there is severe constraint of space to mention all.A note of apology will be sent to those organisations whose names could not specified here.

PRESENT VENUE: New Delhi
Connaught Place,Greater Kailash M Block market,Ghaffar market in Karol Bagh.
TIME: Began at 6pm as usual on weekends.

The hugely popular theatre play "Great Indian Terror Tamasha" began its much anticipated Delhi-leg of the performance on September 13 after gaining immense notoriety in Hyderabad,Jaipur,Bangalore,Ahmedabad and Surat.They give a stellar performance,leaving you in awe over their power to strike in the one of the most secure cities of the country,the capital!
The play starts as usual like the other cities previously witnessed,at around 6 in the evening on weekends,ensuring a good audience for the play.The play begins with various men going around in the city and planting numerous "low intensity" bombs(a cocktail of ammonium nitrate,gun powder,ball bearings and nails,with timer devices) covered in plastic bags invariably placed in a garbage dump or behind a hoarding.The expertise of making these bombs has only shown that repeated practice leads to better execution and this teaches us that important lesson in life!The USP of the play is the practice of sending the "terror email" either a few minutes before or after the blasts to the local media,teasing the officials to try and stop them which showcases their attempt at black humour.The brouhaha over Kenneth Haywood's unceremonious exit from the country and his eventual return provided a much needed dimension and depth to the play in its previous performance in Ahmedabad, bringing about a touch of technological advancement,which shows that they make sure that they give us their best performance every single time by constantly improving themselves.
This time around the twist in the play came in the form a 11 year old boy who claims to have seen the terrorists.The investigation as usual will reach a dead end but this new development has brought about a much needed sense of suspense though the ending eventually will be the same,that being the terrorists running around scot-free enabling them to prepare to enthrall us once again next time.We sure seem to love them! The Govt as a follow up to their act tightens the security in other cities across the country declaring 'red-alerts' for a few days and then the "SPIRIT" of the affected city is appreciated for living their lives as if absolutely nothing has happened!
Looking at the immense popularity gained by this,certain television productions are toying with the idea of adapting it into the small screen.The possible names for the shows could be "Kyunki Terrorism Bhi Kabhi Shocking Tha" "Kahani Tere Mere Bomb Blast Ki" Some reality TV shows are coming up with the idea of educating the youth about the uses of WiFi.Many new books have arrived on the market on this issue,the recent best seller being "How to Diffuse a Bomb on Your Own-A simple and effective way to diffuse the bombs without the need of the over worked bomb diffusal squad" This book was a instant hit in Surat!
After this recent performance,many big companies are contemplating with the idea of coming up with "Terror" memorabilia which includes various action figures of Osama bin laden,Al Zawahiri etc and guidebooks on how to adjust to various bandhs and curfews.
This shows how terrorism has touched our lives and become an integral part of it.Lets wait and watch for their next mode of action as this "Unforgettable Tour" doesnt seem to be in a hurry to end soon.

RATING:****(there is always scope for further improvement)

Readers can send their comment to apathetic_assholes@socalledtruespirit.com
This article was brought to you by your favourite "Twiddling Thumbs of India(TTI)"

Who Am I? Or Rather..What Am I?

2008-07-27T22:23:00.000+05:30

I was asked this very interesting question yesterday which required me to identify myself with a particular object..it could be anything from the clear blue sky,the sea,a diary to a humble pani puri..It was a very innocent question but unfortunately I dint have an easy answer at that time..
It opened up a gamut of possibilities in my mind,a very enjoyable experience,as I had to find something analogous to my personality..Trying to achieve this is a little tough as you are required to find similitude between something palpable from the physical world and something as intangible as someone's persona.But I think I fairly succeeded when the answer dawned upon me this evening..
What I identify with is the "Rain forest".Well technically its not a single thing but I shall take that liberty as I've considered the entire forest as a single entity.
Now I shall attempt at drawing parallels between the rainforest and myself:
When you take a bird's-eye view of the rain forest what do you see? You'll see a vast expanse of land covered with lush green trees spread over thousands of miles..there is only one dominant colour-Green.But only when you take the pain of exploring it,you realise that there are many more things hidden inside that vast green facade..there are many exotic animals,,rivers flowing,,insects and birds thriving etc etc.There are many undiscovered species too.
Its very much the same with me..if you dont know me personally,you will draw your own conclusions about me based on which facet of my personality you've seen,conveniently labelling me as "aloof,sombre or snobbish." I get that a lot.Probe a little more and you'll realise there are more things to me than just that,a fact most of my friends will vouch for..
But everything is not always hunky-dory with rainforests.There are instances when they were totally devasted with forest fires or subjected to massive deforestation.But even after a devasting forest fire which might have wiped out the whole forest,with time the entire forest resurrects itself.Only this time there might be new trees and new species as well,a sign of evolution.
I have faced situations in life akin to forest fires but that has only made me a better person,someone who changes with time but at the same time retains her identity.
My answer might change from rainforest to something else if posed with same question 10 years from now in the future as the adage goes"Only thing constant in this world is change" and I couldnt agree more.

The 'Nosy' Nose..

2008-06-13T21:17:00.000+05:30

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaachoooooooooo!!!!" n there goes my 115th tissue to the bin..infact the tissue paper making industry will reap in huge profits this week thanks to me,for I succesfully emptied 2 full boxes of tissues in 2 days.
Yep you guessed it right..I have a cold and its a nasty one which is driving me nuts!!!!Your whole world goes topsy turvy once you catch a cold..no matter what you do (read steaming,taking a wide variety of medicines etc etc) the virus that has invaded your system refuses to budge..meanwhile you are left with a dull headache,watering eyes and a nose over which you have lost control over totally,I think its the nose's way of exerting its importance coz normally one wouldnt really bother about it.I would go on to the extent of saying that its one of the most neglected part of the human body that is until it decides to show its significance very violently through a cold!
All of a sudden your whole life starts to revolve around the whims of your nose which now assumes a silly red colour thanks to all the sneezing.It feels all irritable and itchy inside which mostly manifests itself in the form of a loud sneeze..it can be disconcerting when something serious is being discussed(like today when the whole class turned to look at me when I sneezed at a very crucial point in the lecture) The worst part is when your food starts tasting like paper-mache..that's the cold's most lethal weapon!You lose your sense of taste!!The tragedy!!:(
The cold's modus operandi is simple-drive the person insane and it succeeds very beautifully as my writing on this subject is a very powerful evidence of that.
Before i get into another fit of sneezes again I shall end it..Last time I sneezed for 10 full minutes at a stretch much to the amusement of my brother who extracts a great deal of pleasure in counting the number of times I sneeze in a minute..
It wouldnt be an exagerration to say "I've been knocked out'COLD'" :(

Borrowed Decisions

2008-05-21T16:43:00.000+05:30

"What is it that you want to become when you grow up? Someone asked me this question for the first time in class 2.. It so happened that I had painted a nice fish in the art class that day for which I got 3 stars and I was mighty pleased with myself. So I said "Painter" without batting an eyelid,not realising that such a career option would be considered nothing less than blasphemy later on in life..
I distinctly remember some of my classmates giving equally,if not more, interesting answers like 'Sailor','Magician','Florist'etc etc..There were some who wanted to become 'Superman' or 'He-man' and there were some girls who were fascinated with barbie dolls and wanted to own a house like one of those doll houses(I admit,even I was crazy abt dolls then.)
So you see..even though some of the answers given were absolutely ridiculous,no one objected coz we were just kids and the answers given were something which were very honest and our own.
Yesterday,after I had just finished my dance class and was on my way out, a little girl stopped me(she's the sister of one of the students in my class)she me gave a toffee,I smilingly accepted and thanked her.Then she asked me "Are you in college?"
I replied in the affirmative.She smiled and then asked " Are you studying in Sri Chaitanya college or Narayana college?Have you finished your BiPC?" (that's bio,physics,chem) I was surprised that she knew about it because she was hardly 6 years old.I told her that I had finished it long time ago and I was presently doing BSc.She had a puzzled look on her face and then asked me "What do you want to do when you grow up?" I was amused at her innocent question and said 'Scientist'.She got even more confused.Now I asked her what she would want to become when she grew up,she said mechanically 'doctor' I asked her why had she made that choice and she said "Because my sister is doing BiPC too and I want to be like her"
All the way back home I was wondering about that little girl and was remembering the day when I was first asked this question..and then I recalled my days as a student in intermediate when I was taken into the "MBBS-Engineer" phenomenon.I was told back then that life is not worth living if you are not a doctor after taking up BiPC.Those days were hard,I experienced some of my darkest moments then.But I ultimately realised that medicine was not the thing for me and the rest they say is history.
I may not be succesful yet but I know I will be happy in my chosen vocation.The decisions I make,whether right or wrong,will be mine and mine alone.I hope the same for the little girl too.

Tagged by "L"

2008-04-17T14:13:00.000+05:30

Hmm..interesting alphabet with a plethora of possibilities.My mind opens up to a kaliedoscopic,completely unrelated assortment of thoughts.So here is my list of the things,emotions,people,books etc etc when it comes to the letter L:

1)Love:Obviously the first thing to pop into one's mind is this completely over used,abused n misunderstood term called 'love'.According to me,love is not an emotion,its a state of being...Enough said..PERIOD.

2)Lust:Its curious how love and lust invariably get connected together when more often than not,they have absolutely nothing to do with each other.

3)Lethargic/Lazy:It is usually the characteristic feature of every bored college student like me..Infact I regard myself as one of the most laziest persons to have ever graced this planet.. ;)

4)Laughter:"The best medicine" and I couldnt agree more.There's nothing more relaxing than a good laugh and for that a "good" sense of humour is essential which I have in truckloads!

5)Lavish/luxury:The thing which was luxury yesterday is a necessity 2day..Talk of changing times!

6)Leadership:Its a gift,not everyone is born to lead and its high time a few of our politicians realised dat!

7)Lungi:This humble peace of clothing is actually symbolic of everything Indian..Right frm Punjabis in the north to the idli loving tam in the south everyone identifies with it and it is uniquely Indian.Anything that comes close to it might be the Scottish Kilt but I prefer the good old Lungi(I dont wear it though :p)..Pssst..Rohit Bal actually made it fashionable..but I dunno how many guys wud approve..hehe. ;)

8)Laddu:I love laddus! There are many varieties of this unassuming ball of sweetness..I find them really cute to look at..ofcourse I like them better in my mouth.

9)Laloo Prasad Yadav: This guy never fails to amuse me..he is so unintentionally funny! But he's a tough cookie..brought about a paradigm shift in the Indian Railways.He might be the butt of all of Shekhar Suman's jokes but he does have a thinking head on his shoulders.He is someone who is totally at ease with his persona despite being ridiculed at often.He has earned my respect.

10)Linda Goodman:I normally dont believe in astrology or numerology etc etc(no offence to the people who do) but reading this book was interesting coz many of the traits dat I have were aptly described in her book.Go read it if u have nothing else to do.

11)Lord Of The Rings: "WOW!!" I think dats enough to sum it up.

12)Literature:Mankind's intellectual indulgence! Where would we all be without it?I shudder at that thought!

13)Lesbian:I have no issues with them as long as they dont make a pass at me..Believe me its one of the weirdest things to have ever happened to me.Its one of those situations where u are rendered speechless not knowing wat to do or how to react coz it takes a while for ur brain to register what happened.

14)Lost: It has different meanings in different contexts.The television show by the same name is interesting but usually confusing..miss one episode n u'll be left scratching ur head wen u watch the next one.(I'm talkin frm experience.) I knw of many people who are 'lost' when it comes to what they want out of life..Fortunately I found myself in time.

15)License:I still have to apply for one.Yeah yeah I hear someone retorting "U still done have a license??" Well I dont n I never got caught..Muhahaha!! I've put it in my list of "to do" things which is never ending.

16)Leonardo da vinci: What a genius this man was! Da vinci Code is one of the most intruiging books I've ever laid my hands on.A friend of mine was so fascinated dat she actaully thought of taking up Mr Langdon's profession as her own only to find out dat its purely fictitious just like the book.

17)Leonardo di caprio:Hehehe..I almost always end up taking their names in the same breath.He's a fine actor..I liked him in 'Catch me if u can.' I'm yet to watch 'Aviator' and 'Blood Diamond'...
Dont expect me to talk abt Titanic! I've had enough of dat movie!! Dat Celine Dion's number gets onto my nerves!! Wat does she mean wen she screams 'my heart will go on' anyway?? Is her heart going to leap out of her chest n run away? I wont blame it if it does..anyone or anything in this case wud want to run away after hearing her sing dat track! One of the most over rated songs ever!!!

18)Lagaan:Amazing movie! Too bad it dint win the Oscar but I dont think its a big issue.I still love the movie,Oscar or no Oscar.

19)Lhasa:I feel saddened at the plight of Tibetans.I personally feel the Olympics should be boycotted! We Indians are more enslaven by our fear of antagonising China than the paece loving Tibetan monks n ordinary Tibetans fighting for their birth right.Its abt time we showed them our solidarity with the cause.

20)Langoor: The monkey with white fur and a pink behind.Its a very bizzare sight but funny.I saw them at the zoo n i must admit they scared me.

21)Lassi: Yummm!!!! I just had it y'day..Its so refreshing after spending time out on a hot summer day..Cheers!

22)Lady Nadira Naipaul: The better(and taller) half of the celebrated author V.S.Naipaul bears an uncanny resemblance with "Cruella" of '101 Dalmations'.This observation is purely based on her physical attributes only.

23)Lollipop: Oh how I loved these things!! I still do but I think I'm too old for it now..Nah!! I dont care! I still have them sometimes.

24)Lisa Kudrow: She immortalised the character of 'Phoebe Buffay'-the quirky,kitch,n funny..The series wud not have been the same without her! Her comic timing is just mind blowing..Kudos to u Kudrow!

25)LeT: "Lashkar-e-Taiba" one of the largest and most active Islamic militant organisations in South Asia has taken the word 'fundamentalism' to completely new level.They are creating havoc with their misguided views on Islam and 'Jihad' succesfully giving muslims a bad name.Its a shame.

26)Liars: "Liar,liar pants on fire!!" we wud scream in school wen we caught someone lying..Nothing much has changed..We all still lie n will continue to do so..only difference being the extent to which one chooses to lie which changes frm person to person.

27)Lemurs: Dont u just love those adorable little things frm the movie 'madagascar' I just love the lemur king with his funny accent and a fancy crown of leaves..
"I like to move it..move it." All hail to the lemur king!!

28)Litter: The roads in our surroundings are the biggest dustbins...one can throw anything there right frm a banana peel to unused plastic bags..its amazing isnt it? The best part is the roads also double up as spittoons!!Now dats something to be proud of isnt it? Give it a thought.

29)Lord Voldemort: The most feared wizard of all times..someone everyone loves to hate..The power of "He who must not be named" leaves u in awe.I had expected him to die in a colossal show down but he meets his end by a simple disarmament charm.But I must say the HP series were a integral part of my teens..I've been reading them ever since I was 13.The waiting and anticipation for the next book was exhilirating..I'll miss all the speculation and gossip..Take a bow Ms Rowling..take a bow.

30)Laser surgery: There isnt a single body part left dat cant be "rectified" with laser..skin,eyes,teeth,excess fat etc etc..u name it!..I wonder wat the "vanity-insanity" will lead to next..

31)Linkin Park: I LOOOOOOOOOOVE LP!!! For all who dont like LP..EAT DUNG!!

32)Laconism: Someone told me dat there's a thin line between taciturnity and laconism..Very true indeed.

33)Looney Toons:"Hey..watsup doc??" Dont we all just love Bugs Bunny?? I sure do..Daffy duck,Porky pig..so on n so forth..Best cartoons of all time!

34)Life: Different people..different perspective. A line dat stayed with me after I watched Shawshank Redemption.."U can either stay busy living..or u can stay busy dying." Go figure.

If u have actually managed to read it till here then give urself u huge pat on the back! dats commendable :P...I shall borrow a line frm Looney Toons to end my blog.. " That's all folks!!"

Welcome to MiGC 2

2008-01-19T22:15:00.000+05:30

I'm doing this to record some of funniest and weirdest moments in my class..Sometimes it becomes impossible to sit in the class as your intelligence gets insulted a lot but at the same time you dont want to miss out on the unintentional hilarity of certain situations in class..so here goes..This is a typical day in the class in Migc 2(that's my class)..
Enter "a wanna stay young old man" (my chemistry lecturer-who even dyes the hair growing on his ear lobe!) the moment we see him near the door,everyone lets out a very audible groan but he nonchalantly walks inside,comes near the teacher's table puts his both hands on the table and waits for everyone to stop talking,which obviously never happens.He pounds the duster on the table real hard n then everyone unwillingly shuts up.Now his standard dialogue-"Waat wus we doing in the pruveeos klais?" See amma..dont maik noise..I'm taiking so mach paain fur you peepul..egjaams are fasht yepproching..yevirday you musht go home,read aal my notses and write without seeing..then you peepul will becum furfect..I'm saying this as yoover brother" (yeah right!)
I simply stare at him wondering whether I'm back in kindergarten..I resort to my standard expressionless face, scribbling something in my notebook which resembles the ECG..I wonder how the creatures sitting in the front benches,yes creatures,not only manage to stay awake but also manage to maintain upto date notes with margins,highlighting imp sentences et al..another peculiar trait exhibited by these species is their 95% above attendance at any given period of time...they will never give proxy,they pride themselves in always being on time to the class..bunking a class is a sin in their dictionary n they will glare at you if you happen to make fun of any lecturer in the class..What a life?? Well its none of my business..maybe they have their own reasons for being the way they are and I'm no one to judge that..but still..whatever! Lets drop it! Coming back to my sir,he starts explaining the topic for the day and it seems as though time has stopped moving..the watch seems to have stopped functioning and my eyelids simply refuse to stay in place threatening to close down any minute and then all of a sudden i hear him say this(pardon the abusive language) "Iron whore is a mineral whore,I'll give u a list of whores(ores) come prepared tomorrow!!" My mind went blank after this sentence,like the static you hear when you are trying to tune to your radio channel. I was stupified,all my drowsiness vanished in an instant..I look at my friends wondering whether they heard the same thing I heard but they were too busy sleeping..I was just speechless and in a state of shock trying to digest what i had just heard, i was too shocked to laugh..rest of the period i was just staring at him thinkin whether he really knew what he was talkin in the class..then finally the time for taking attendance had come..the sole reason for my being present in the class!! attendance!! The coll authorities had shown me hell because of my low attendance..so my only aim in life right now is to get my attendance above the dreaded 75% mark..n for that I'll have to painstakingly attend each n every class,my worst nightmare...Ok forget about that as I can go on n on about it....so my sir started taking attendance,everything was fine until roll number 39..then he said "rool nember farty! ..fart one..fart two.."so on till the last number.The best part was when the students had to respond to their numbers..Oh Gawd!! I just died laughing!

Next period is genetics and this mam of mine dresses up in the most hideous way possible complete with super oily hair and ghastly gold rimmed glasses(most of the times she wears lenses but once in a while decides to torture us with her annoying glasses) and she wears the same salwar kurta 3 times a week atleast..she's got these droopy eyes which invaribly make me sleepy the moment I set my eyes on her..On top of that she speaks in the same tone throughout the lecture..I miss my bed very badly during her period,no lullaby can have this effect on me the way her lecture does,its like an instant cure for imsomnia,I wish I could capitalise on that,many people suffering from sleep disorders will thank me for it and I could become filthy rich..All of a sudden she screams "Hey you!!How dare you sleep in my class??Go wash your face n come!!" I'm jolted out of my dreamless stupor but she wasn't talking to me..it was another classmate of mine who hadn't yet perfected the art of sleeping with eyes wide open..I'm a pro at it...Poor thing was so sleepy that she couldn't sit still..her head would periodically go down as if burdened by tremendous amount of weight n suddenly come back to its original position..this happened for quite some time until my mam decided that she had had enough of her rhythmic siesta..Washing of faces has almost become a ritual in her class..Almost everytime someone or the other is asked to do it..my turn hasn't come yet..thankfully!

The next period is English.This lady thinks she knows everything but the sad truth of her life is that she doesn't know an iota of the language she is supposed to be teaching to us..She comes to the class with a big grin on her face and after she's done flirting with the guys,which lasts for about 15 min minimun,she decides to do something more purposeful in the class..and what does she do? She makes us write an essay on-'Reasons for conflict among people within and outside the country' I had never heard of such a bizzare topic for an essay ever before..Her weird way of pronouncing certain words will stay with me forever,for instance," Odey to a night'ANGLE'" That was supposed to be 'Ode to a Nightingale by John Keats'. I was flabbergasted to say the least and the way I controlled my laughter when she said that is something I can never forget..my face had become red because I was not able to control my laughter but somehow managed to do it..There are many more things,like for 'eccentric' she says 'essentrik'; 'embalmed' is'yem-baallmed' so on n so forth..And she once asked who's the leading lady of the movie"Pride n Prejudice" just when I was about to answer(I took some time because I was too busy sleeping), she said and I qoute " the ledding laidee of dee picture yees Kyra Brightly!" Now what to do say to something like that?

The last period for that day-Physical Chemistry..This lady lecturer of mine is 55 going on 16..The way she dresses up to coll can put any girl my age,to shame.Everything is colour coordinated in her outfit-right from the colour of her saree,necklace,earings,rubberband,sandals down to the nail polish..everything is matching-matching! Well one might argue that what's age gotta to do with it? But lemme put it this way..You are a lecturer in a coll..would you wear a black saree with heavy zardosi work and eaqually intricate blouse,complete with black-stone jewellery and even black nail polish? Its a coll for heaven's sake not a wedding!! I wonder how she would dress up for a wedding..and if that was not enough..one can easily notice how much cheap dye she appiles to hair everyday..One thing I cant understand about her is that when she takes so many pains to dress up each day,cant she apply the dye to her hair properly??..The outer layer of her hair is black whereas its all greyish orange inside.Another thing with this lady is, she wants to show off how much english she knows and how much in sync she is with today's generation..that's heights of delusion! We call her Basanti(of Sholay) because of the way she talks,she always sounds constipated to me because of the way she stresses at each n every syllable in a word,for example the word is'alpha' n she says"aaaaaaaalllphuhhhhh!!" it sounds as though she's having an orgasm in the class!! I really cant say whether she speaks that way on purpose..but yeah,I have a nice time laughing with my tongue placed firmly in my cheek ;)

That's about it..There are many things that I dint mention about many other lecturers of mine because it'll get too long and I dont have any patience to write about this anymore.

"Innocence Re-lived"

2007-12-21T18:07:00.000+05:30

I couldn't think of a better title for Taare Zameen Par..To say that it touched my heart would be a gross understatement! Kudos to Aamir Khan for coming up with such a gem of a movie...I'm still reeling under the magical spell of the movie..it just stays with you even after u walk out of the theatre-a sign of an excellent movie..
I,in my enitre life of 19 years,have never cried so much while watching a movie..infact i was on the verge of a breakdown..i'm not exagerrating..its true! The subtle display of various human emotions just bowled me over!
The movie is about Ishaan Avasthi(Darshan Safary-simply phenomenal)..a third standard kid who is dyslexic but his parents n teachers are totally unaware of it..as a result he is pushed around,made fun of,scolded at,bullied, and what not..
the frustrations he goes through bring tears to your eyes..no one understands him,no one bothers to actually..his parents are worried sick,wondering why is he so irresponsible when it comes to studies..completely opp to his elder brother,who is a school topper i.e, an "ideal" boy..but ishaan is total whacko! who loves everything but books..his innate talent to paint wonderful things is considered useless..he always fails in all subjects in school no matter how hard he might have tried..the list is endless...
He is sent away to a boarding school as a punishment..he worsens over there..he stops indulging in his fav pastime of painting...shuts himself up giving up all hopes..dats wen Ram Shankar Nikumbh( Aamir khan-flawless as usual) enters his life and discovers his problem..how he turns his life around is the crux of the remaining movie...
The character of Ishaan is a very well written role..you can find glimpses of Calvin(of Calvin and Hobbes) in him when he allows to take a sneak peek inside his boisterous imagination..his bubbling enthusiasm about life in its various colours is infectious..his unique perception of the world in its myriad forms forces you to think out of the box..he makes you feel elated and sad at the same time..he makes you feel his angst and joy effortlessly..his innocent vulnerability makes you cry, and you wonder where has all the innocence dissappeared from your life..
This movie made me re-visit my childhood...I laughed and cried with Ishaan,empathising with all his emotions and feelings..every scene,every moment touches you in ways unimaginable..I cried with tears of sadness and joy..something which I thought was never possible but I was proved wrong and how beautifully..
Every single person who has or will watch the movie will take away something from it..it'll be different for different people...thats where its beauty lies..and this movie will stay close to my heart for a long time to come..

"Tryst with traffic"

2007-12-20T20:56:00.000+05:30

"Red....yellow(blinking).....GREEN!!!!" and off i go..vroooom..on my nearly 6 years old scooty...feeling proud and amazingly independent..the intangible feeling of being free simply indescribable..it just has to be experienced to be understood..and i sure am loving it.
My first memory of being on any kind of a bike was when i was around 2 or 3 years old when my dad used to make me sit in front of the hero honda we had back then..i used to wear these little frocks and the moment my dad would lift me up to make me sit on the bike,i would cringe because the steel was icy cold..and then i used to stare at that shiny circle..which i later realised was the place where the petrol was put in..but for me it was a fascinating work of art..most of the time i would go on pressing it,hitting it,wondering what it does..but to my utter dismay it never did anything out of the ordinary except giving me sore hands..but i used to love the feeling of gushing wind in my hair.. eyes watering,my legs and thighs numb with cold and my dad behind me like a huge rock..i wish i could go back..but alas! we have a long way to go before a time machine can materialse..
Coming back to the present...not so long ago(read a few months ago) i was this person who was paranoid about driving on the roads thanks to some not so pleasant experiences on the road..like getting hit by a speeding motorist who dint care a damn as he was busy yakking away on the cellphone..and if that wasn't enough,he glares at me as though its entirely my fault! Here i am with a bleeding foot wondering what just happened and this guy simply gives me a angry look without a slightest hint of remorse or guilt for what he did to me and leaves..leaving me confused and angry!
After that incident i had totally given up on the prospect of driving a two wheeler..i would console myself thinking that i would drive a car instead.Everyone in my house including my younger bro can drive a two wheeler and i would be the butt of all jokes regarding my driving skills! And then finally one day..I found my Messaih in the form of my cousin who had enough faith in me to give me her brand new activa to drive..She was more enthusiastic than me,for i had casually mentioned that i wanted to learn how to drive a two wheeler..that's it! She was adamant that i start driving directly on the road,mind you..it was 8:30 in the night and roads near my granma's place have a lot of traffic..but she wouldn't listen..finally she managed to coax me into doing the unthinkable i.e, make me drive on the road yet again..I was totally overwhelmed,all the unpleasant thoughts entered my head..but the amount of confidence she showed in me,gave me the courage to venture out on the road one more time.. At first i thought i wouldn't last a minute and wanted to give up then n there but the encouraging look on my cousin's face did the trick..Poor thing had to literally stop all the traffic on the road to make come out..and it worked!! Once i was on the road..all my fears dissappeared! it was like magic! i never thought it could be so easy..
And here i am today going to the college on my own,on my two wheeler.. much to the surprise and envy of my friends all because of my"Driver's messaih"( that's what i call her these days) This brings a larger issue to my mind..i cant recall the number of times i gave up on certain ideas of mine thinking that it wouldn't work out..but now i know that impossible is nothing if you have a little faith in yourself and others around you :)
And and and..i love calling myself a "biker girl!!" hehehe.. :D

Part 3

2007-10-19T14:55:00.000+05:30

Ok..its been a reeeeeeeeeeally long time since i last blogged..i must admit i even forgot dat it existed..hehe..lol..
i had to go through my previous 2 posts to recollect where i had left off..turns out dat we had successfully, after lots of trials n tribulations,entered the train..the moment i entered i remember the foul smell dat was comin frm the bathroom there.."wat a way to start the journey!!" i thot...we were all pushin and shovin each other intentionally and unintentionally thanx to our over sized n over packed bags..hehe..it was fun..then finally made it to our seats..all the while one cud hear our nervous parents givin us last minute instructions frm the train windows..i can never forget those paranoid looks on their faces..finally after repeated gudbyes n countless promises made by us dat we wud take care of ourselves the train finally moved..wat a moment dat was!! dats wen it finally hit us..we were actually goin somewhere without our parents...just us friends..it was exhillarating!! some of my friends already started missin their folks back home!! one of my friends was like..i've never slept alone without my sis n mom(she's the youngest in the family) n dat triggered off a series of "i miss my mom,my dad,my bro my whole family" jargon...i got affected too..so even i started missin them although we had not yet crossed da boundary of our beloved hyderabad!! i wondered how we wud survive 5 full days without our families....
suddenly my friend sandhya called my name and i awoke frm my thoughtful stupor..it was decided dat we wud all start playin antakshari..n we did..we had so much fun playin..all of us were screamin at the top of our lungs..suddenly one of the guys..(oh i almost forgot to mention we were a group of 25 people of which there were just 4 guys..just 4!! we were wonderin y did they even bother to come..wen it was gonna be a girls show all da way) came to us n asked us to sing softly as there was a heart patient in the bogey..n the look on his face was not very cheerful..we decided to lower our voices..but after a while we got bored n i started feelin hungry..it was 8:30..all da bags dat my friends had brought including mine had many things to eat..n i was gettin tempted..but they all asked me to shut up sayin dat they wud not eat before 10!! since the majority always wins..i had to stay put..then our mam came up to us n said dat we had to finish eatin fast as the lights wud be put off my 9:30..dat was my moment!! a moment i'll always cherish!!afterall i was havin the last laugh!! i gave them this look which said"i told u so!!" but had to stop immediately coz they all stared at me as though they wud thrash me if i dint stop laughin at them..though i had to stiffle my laughter a lot..i still cherish dat moment..hehehe..
we had some delicious pulihora(lemon rice) which was very nicely packed into individual packets, we also had bobbatlu or bakshalu as my friend called it( well i dunno how to explain it..its called puranpoli in maharashtra...it something like a stuffed chapathi where the stuffing is sweet) it was lipsmackingly good..there was an elderly couple with us..they wanted to sleep n we had to oblige..so most of the lights were put off n the berths were set..now the "battle of the berths" began...

Part 2

2007-09-23T12:19:00.000+05:30

Hmmm...so where was i?....ya..the day when we finally gave our names for the tour..i think dat day was thursday and we were to leave on monday..n by this time the lectures abt what to do n what not to do on such tours had begun at home...i had to constantly remind my mom dat i am not a lil kid..but no..she wouldn't listen or maybe she din want to..result being i was told not to trust any strangers...i shouldn't eat anything they offer!!(as if i were some exotic monkey in a zoo!!! dat reminds me its been ages since i last visited a zoo...hmm..should make a mental note of it...) oh god!! it was annoying!! my mom went on n on...but i know it was for my own good..so i dint interrupt her much whenever she started off her tour trivia...i had to just grin n bear it..
The next 3 days went by painfully slow..i guess it was my anticipation for monday dat made those three days look like slow motion..meanwhile on saturday a few of my friends and i went on a peace rally for the victims of the blast..it was very tiring but we felt good abt it..then the next day sunday went away in a blur..i dont remember much..then finally came monday!!!!the day i was waiting for all my life!!(plaese excuse the exagerration..hehe..but dats how i felt at point of time)
I couldn't sleep the whole of previous night..so i woke up late dat mrng..i still couldn't believe it..we were actually going!! my friends and i purposely dint speak abt it much since thursday coz we thought talkin abt the tour is jinxed..i dunno how people come up with such weird superstitions..blame it on the human nature..but my imagination was on a overdrive..i was tryin to put on a facade of being calm n cool abt it but in reality i was all hyper n edgy inside..it was the same case with all my friends...Man!! was it exciting!!!..
My train was at 7 in the evening n we were supposed to be at the station at 6..i being the laziest person alive,started my packing at 4 much to the shock of my friends who were ready to leave for the station at any given instant..i wouldn't have been surprised if they did..hehe..i think i was online the whole time dat day..yeah..tellin everyone dat i was goin on a tour!! i was behaving like an idiot..meanwhile we were constantly smssing each other askin what snacks the other person was bringing to eat..my friends and i HUGE foodies...food is VERY important to us..so this ofcourse was very crucial..ultimately it was decided dat everyone had to bring some tid bits to munch on..2 of my friends took up the responsibility of gettin the dinner..so this major problem was solved at last..
My packing was another adventure in itself...my tour was for 5 days and i packed for a month instead..oh god my bag was SO heavy!!! I dint realise dat till i reached the station..both my dad and bro had come to see me off..my mom dint want to come citing emotional reasons..n i let her be...
The moment i reached the station i spotted my friend who had come with her cousin..the shock i got when i saw her bag was unbelievable..her bag was tiny in front of mine!! then i found my other friend who had come with both her parents..At this time i dunno wat happened but i just started laughin lookin at her..no she was not lookin funny or anythin...but i dunno sometimes i just start laughin..she too started laughin lookin at my bag..teasing me abt it..slowly all my friends started comin with their army of family members..i was missin my mom already..during all this i was constantly gettin calls frm my other friends wishin me happy journey...but i was more than happy..time was 6:45 and my friend prathibha was yet to come..we were gettin all tensed now..my dad asked me n the others to get into the train as it was gettin late.. my bro purposely made me carry my bag to show me how heavy it was.. i had to carry it all over the foot over bridge n dats wen i realised dat i had indeed packed a lil too much..
we started gettin worried coz there was no sight of prathibha..then all of a sudden we spotted her runnin like crazy on the other platform with her mom and aunts..it was such a funny sight!! we were relieved..and i massaging my completely red palm..thanx to my bag..my bro had a nice laugh..he had to take the bag midway through the footover bridge lookin at my expressions..and i was cursing my self for packin so much..
Finally we entered the train...

The Migc Tour!!!!!! Part 1

2007-09-22T17:03:00.000+05:30

Its been a really long time since i last blogged..there r so many things to write abt but i think its best i recorded the memories of my tour before they dissipate frm my memory...so here goes...
I've NEVER and i mean never gone on a trip like this with my friends before this trip hence it holds a special place in my heart...because i will never get to go like this again..ok m gettin too senti here..hehe..sorry abt dat...but cant help it u see..ok ok i'll get to it now...
Last year i.e, when i was in my first year there was a trip to kerela but we dint go becoz of multiple reasons..so we had made up our minds dat no matter what we wud go this year!! Finally the day arrived when they announced abt the tour..we were ecstatic!! they had given us a choice of places like chennai,pune,mumbai,palampur b'lore and delhi..A few of my friends and i wanted to go to chennai as i've never been there..also we wanted to meet our friend there(dis was da main reason of our wanting to go there)..but sadly it was dropped..reasons unknown to us..we were then told dat there were going to be 2 different packages for the tour..one was b'lolre,mysore n ooty and the other one was delhi,shimla,chandigarh n some other place...i've already seen all the places i've mentioned here so i din really care where we went as long as we were goin somewhere...but all my friends and i decided on the b'lore trip as none of them had seen ooty before and it was not so far away frm home unlike delhi n those other places..we all excitedly went n gave the names for the tour..almost the whole of our class gave the names...But one day to our utter dismay.. it was announced dat ooty was being dropped..instead we wud be visiting some 11 research institutes in 4 days!!! now dats too much!!!!!!!! i mean who in their right sense frame of mind wud be able to go to so many research institutes in a such a short time frame!!!!!this was a huge blow!!! a sort of anti climax...we all decided to drop out...everyone except some 2 guys withdrew their names(these guys r not human..seriously i dunno what they were thinkin..maybe they wanted to show off how serious they r abt their vocation..whatever..its another blog in itself ;) )
Seein the sudden drop in the names they made some changes in the plan..i wasn't in the college dat day when this happened..i was in the Times Of India Youthopia college fest..(my experiences in this fest deserve another blog!!) I was on the main road outside the college where this fest was takin place when i got a call frm my friend tellin me abt the changed plans of the tour askin me whether or not should we go...it was the last day to register n they were waitin for me to decide..i impulsively said YES!! i dint care..i just knew we had to go..my friend warned me again tellin me dat we had to appear for exams immediately after da tour but i was adamant demanding her to give all the names..she gave the names hesitatingly but i knew everyone wanted to go..so now we were goin..i had mixed feelings abt it..
Now dat the names were given..the excitement began all over again...

To cry or not to cry..

2007-06-22T16:39:00.000+05:30

I was watchin this movie "300" yesterday( some scenes were too gory for me so i simply walked out of the room n it was many times i did dat...an advantage of watchin movies in the convenience of ur home..)
It had a very interesting story..many would say inspirational..but dats just the superficial analysis..while watchin this movie i got an oppurtunity to take a sneek peek into the mind of a man..a man who believes dat love is a sign of weakness,crying is an act of cowardice and expressing ur feelings is the deed of the faint hearted ... In short,any man found exhibiting any of the above mentioned traits was not considered manly enough..To put it in the other way...only a man who shows no fear when faced with his worst adversary,who never expresses his feelings no matter what..who would never ask for help no matter how badly he needs it..and most important of all..who considers a woman a weaker sex..One can argue dat it was a period film where such notions existed..I completely agree..but if u look around, such men form a large chunk of today's so called modern society..
At the risk of being sounding feminist,lets examine this word "weaker sex"
If u say dat in terms of physical strength,then yes there is some amount of truth in dat statement and i have no qualms in admitting dat but then again,its not entirely correct and i have women like karnam malleshwari to corroborate my arguement although i admit its more of an exception than the norm..so u see dat statement isn't apt anymore..infact its the other way round..
Women can cry whenever they feel the need for it but a man cant thanks to the society,for such men aren't considered "macho"..a woman can freely express her feelings,her emotions,her fears etc but then again majority of the men cant,even if they want to,they wont..they think such things are "girly"..actually i can go on n on like this but ultimately my point is simple..in this rapidly changing and evolving society there is a desperate need to eliminate such ancient regressive conventions about manlihood after all just being physically strong and emotionally blocked isn't what defines a true man..a real man is someone who accepts change,who accepts himself for who he is,doesn't mind sharing his feelings with people close to him and most importantly considers women as equals..
I am writin this because i felt really sorry for all those men in the movie nad also also in our society...i mean whether u like it or not,sometimes crying ur heart out(ofcourse dat doesn't mean one should turn into a crybaby..hehe..) or sharing ur feelings with ur close friends is a huge relief and u always end up feelin much better..this has been considered as a sign of weakness for generations but if u ask me..its a sign of strength,coz it gives u courage to accept ur weaknesses and failures..and not many men can do dat and i feel truly sorry for them,for they lead a life of "false pride" and end up living a clastrophobic life..
So here i am sippin my cup of coffee(its cold now,thanks to all this typing..) and humming the song "strength of a woman" by shaggy..nice song..and i think i should go and heat up my coffee...

Exorcism of emily rose.....its scary..

2007-05-29T17:58:00.000+05:30

Do i like watchin horror movies??..NO!!..i'm shit scared of'em..when i was young wheneva there was a horror movie being watched on the tv,i would either run out of the room,hide behind the sofa or crawl under the bed and close my eyes n shut my ears real tight..but i would still get scared n be the laughin stock of the family but i couldn't help it..they scare the daylights outta me..god help those who sit next 2 me while watchin a horror movie coz if i have forgotten to cut my nails(which is rare) they'll have scars for the rest of their lives!!
My friend wanted to watch a horror movie real bad dat too exorcism of emily rose..i told her it was a bad idea..but she was adamant saying dat its based on a true story..somehow she managed to convince me(something i'll regret a lot later!!) she said she read abt it in a community in orkut n wanted to watch it by hook or by crook..after a lot of searching n unsucessful attempts of downloadin it..we finally managed to find a dvd in a cd shop...i was gettin scared already..but she wouldn't listen saying she cant watch it alone..
We came back n put it in the pc n watched it covered faces..we constantly had our faces covered with our hands,peeping through the fingers..at this point we saw each other n burst out laughing..we were looking ridiculous,the slightest sound was scaring us...somehow we managed to watch the movie completely...
I came back home expecting dat i wouldn't be scared for a change but i was wrong!
everything seemed fine until bed time..i have a room of my own now..n dat day everything looked sinister and eerie including my bed..i was panicking like crazy so i decided to do something to take my mind off the movie..i decided to start painting something dat i hadn't done for years at 1 o'clock in the night...it worked i got lost in my painting but then i cant paint the whole night..so i decided to sleep..but i couldn't it was already 2:30 in the morning by then..i sent an sms to my friend wondering whether she was able to sleep..she wasn't able to sleep either..she was listening to music on her ipod n was finding everyone's voice including shaan n atif aslam's voice scary..hehe..we chatted like dat for a while but she fell asleep midway leaving me all alone still wide awake..i think i chanted all the mantras i knew and sang all the devotional songs i knew dat day..i dunno when i fell asleep but i did thankfully..obviously i got up really late in the mornnig the next day...
I took oath to not watch any more horror movies..but now my friend wants to watch the Exorcist!!!!..here we go again :( om jai jagdish hare...i think i should learn more devotional songs...

My favourite childhood memories...

2007-05-11T15:23:00.001+05:30

If there's one thing i could wish for...it would be to go back to my childhood..i know its not possible but dats what is called wishful thinking..so dats y whenever i'm gettin bored or feeling down i recollect my childhood days when the world was a lot simpler and nice..as a child u r not aware of all the bad things happening in the world around us..that innocence was something one can never get back..but it can be cherished nonetheless...i still try to preserve the inner child in me..whether i'm succesful in doing that or not...only time will tell..
So today i thought i would write about some of my favourite childhood memories..there are many...but this was like a fantasy...
I was 8 years old when i came to hyderabad from faridabad..we stayed in hyderabad for a year and then went stay in the factory quarters where my dad used to work as the General Manager..the factory was situated in the outskirts of hyderabad..somewhere on the banglore highway...i remember the first time we came there..we were in a van...it had taken us almost 2 hours to reach there and i was sleeping on my grandma's lap in the van..she gently woke me up when we arrived...i saw out of the window and i remember seeing numerous eucalyptus trees..i felt as though i had arrived in a forest..then we got down near the quarters..there was huge ground in front of the quarters..surrounded by huge eucalyptus and ashoka trees..it looked as if those trees were protecting us from the world outside...i was amazed..just then my brother started crying..i dont remember why..Then we entered our quarters by this time all the other residents staying in the adjacent quarters had come to greet us..i felt like a royalty dat day..coz my dad was the seniormost officer in the factory and had singlehandedly managed to bring in some profits...so obviously everyone was going out of their way to be friendly with us.....
I would like to stop now coz its bringing too many memories and my eyes are getting watery...that factory no longer exists today...in its place lies an open wasteland...everything was demolished...but it will always remain in my heart...and when i'm ready i'll write about some of the wonderful experinces i had there...it truly was the best phase of my life and also the most defining..i discovered myself there...

My cool new Cooler Part 1

2007-05-05T09:17:00.000+05:30

"Its a cruel,cruel summer" goes the song sung by Bananarama...and it is so very true...the heat nowadays is unbearable which is all the more terrible now dat i am staying on the 5th floor..hence dat song is constantly on my mind..infact i'm listening to it right now..its so apt for my situation these days...
My dad couldn't bear the heat any longer so he bought two new coolers a few days ago..one for my room and one for my brother's..the privilege of AC obviously belonged to my parents...no arguments there...period...
As expected both my brother and i were very excited at the prospect of having coolers in our individual rooms and hence we were eagerly waiting for them to arrive...they came at around 9:30 in the night along with my dad..At first i dint understand what it was..later i realised it was indeed my own cooler...the reason i found it strange was that i had never seen such a cooler before..and then my brother teased me that i never know what's the latest in the market..i dint argue...its true..who cares what's new in the market?? well..many do...i dont...i kept that thought to myself...
Both my brother and i had identical coolers but he insisted that his was a little better...he always does this..i pretended that i dint hear it...best way to avoid confrontation..so now finally i could have a decent night's sleep in my room otherwise i literally sit and kill mosquitoes there until i fall asleep which happens really late in the night...
let me give a brief description about my cooler..its from a company called bajaj..and the most interesting feature is that the part from where the air comes rotates in a complete circle..and then there is also a provision for adding ice to it..i'm too lazy to to that..so i never bothered..and some more features which i dont care about..all i need is nice cool air..as long as it is serving this purpose i dont care about anything else...
Anyone who has a cooler knows that the cool air comes at a price...its true in my case coz on the very first day when i was filling it,i went out of the room and forgot about it..BIG mistake!!...my brother screamed saying that my room has flooded! then it hit me that i was filling the cooler...i slowly went towards my room dreading what was in store for me...it was my worst nightmare..(well not worst..just an exaggeration) there was water everywhere..luckily for me..my room had a balcony so i coolly pushed all the water with a broom there..problem solved..but i remember when my parent's room got flooded like this one day because of the cooler..there was no balcony there...and the situation was so bad that all our bathroom slippers were floating in that water!!i was quite amused at the sight..i was wanting to make paper boats but then decided against it when i saw my mother's face..now a huge task lay in front of us..getting that enormous amount of water out of that place..it looked impossible because i could even see tiny ripples in the water..such was the amount of water there...but then both my mom and i told ourselves that nothing is impossible...

My Lovely Garden

2007-04-14T19:44:00.000+05:30

I live in modern day apartments...so where's the question of having a garden?? Good point...but i have an interesting answer...
I was watching this debate on TV about beauty being skin deep..it was very thought provoking.Though i've always maintained that more than just superficial attractiveness its important to be beautiful inside..it sounds cliched as many people say that but nobody ever mentions how can one achieve that elusive "inner beauty"I gave it a thought and came up with a solution..."Garden" now one can wonder what a garden has got to do with it...but it does..coz i'm not talkin abt any ordinary garden...its a very special one..a garden which everyone can build and nurture even the ones living in apartments like me...how?...simple..
When we enter a garden,we are surrounded by many kinds of plants..in the same way just imagine that u have garden inside your mind where instead of plants there are several different thoughts and feelings...each different thought represents a plant...Now its upto you as to what kind of plants would u like to have in your garden..and once you decide you'll be surprised how many possibilities u can come up with...sounds confusing?...let me give u glimpse of my garden...
Its a very interesting garden coz u'll find all kinds of plants(thoughts)..I, being a typical Aquarian, am very unpredictable...i keenly observe the feelings of people and try to comprehend their various reactions to different kinds of situations...and this has helped me in being less judgemental , more understanding and tolerent.Its not easy, but i try, as i dont want any bad plants in my garden..Then there is this side of me that's still a child who loves cartoons,ice creams,choclates and nursery rhymes..(i hum nursery rhymes when i'm alone)...And there is this part where i'm like any other typical teenager doing everything that any ordinary person my age would do for example listen to music...now music is a huge amalgamation of various genres as i listen to any kind of music depending on my mood...
So on and so forth...mind u, i havent shown the whole garden as its too huge and yes, too personal.I am an assortment of several different thoughts, emotions,dreams and ambitions.
So this is how you build a garden,a garden which is full of lovely plants it could be flowering plants or cactii..the choice is yours...but remember it needs a lot of care and nurture and then one day it will transform into something truly beautiful and bring you true happiness..
Happy gardening...

"Holi"day Part 3

2007-03-13T12:30:00.000+05:30

When i said that the entire trouble begins,believe me it was an understatement....
First of all the auto in which we were travelling had a flat tyre in the middle of the road! i thought he was just joking...but when he really asked us to get another auto i knew my troubles had only began...Think about it..two girls in horrible clothes(beggers were looking more glamourous that day!) and obscenely pink....do u think we could autos easily....nah!!!....it was a struggle....absolutely nobody wanted to even bother to look at us...Finally after atleast 45 minutes in the blazing hot sun we finally managed to get an auto and that driver even charged us extra claiming that we had spoiled his seat covers....it wasn't true, afterall standing for so long in the sun one could be damn sure that we were plastic dry!! But we had no choice and had to part with the money...
I was standing in front of my apartment wondering whether my mom would recognise me....finally mustering all the courage i could,i rang the bell...my brother opened the door...i can never forget the look on his face for i had finally managed to scare the living daylights out of him!! My mom simply shrieked and went hysterical when she saw me..she started mumbling something about not letting me play holi again...i didn't bother to listen coz i was too tired and too fed up to hear my mom's scoldings...
Finally when she was satisfied that she had let her all her feelings out, she put on the geysor for me...all the while i had been pretending to listen to her..but i never knew that my ordeals had just began...
I went into bathroom completely confident that i would be back to my normal self in no time...but i was in for a rude shock..no matter for how long i took my bath(precisely 2 hrs n 15 min) the pink colour refused to go...i had finally met my match in the pink colour for it was more stubborn than i was..i gave up for that day.. later when i came out dressed in my night suit,i was still pink..my brother simply loved the way i looked..he started calling me "PINK PANTHER" i for once agreed with him b'coz i truly was looking like pink panther and we both started humming that pink panther tune much to the amusemant of my mom who joined us...
Its been more than a week now and i'm back to my normal self but i cant forget how i spent each day last week wondering whether i would ever look like a normal human being again... But to be honest i miss being the pink panther....hmmm...looks like holi is a fun festival afterall...

"Holi"day Part 2

2007-03-08T15:36:00.000+05:30

I panicked....my friend caught my hand and reassured me that someone had just screamed "happy holi" nothing to worry about..but my heart was beating so loud that i could barely hear her...i begged her saying we should go back..but she said we've been brave enough to have come this far and we should go ahead with it....just then my friend screamed out to us from her terrace asking us to come upstairs...we went there..she was in a room on the terrace which we later came to know was her brother's,my other friend was also there with her...she had not yet started playing holi coz she was waiting for all of to arrive..we are a gang of 6 girls and so far only 4 of us had arrived..so all of us sat waiting in that room for the remainig two to arrive...to avoid confusion-so far prathibha,vasavi,sandhya and myself were there in the room..prathibha was the one who had called me in the morning...we waited for about half an hour then we started getting bored..at this point prathibha lost her patience and said we should start playing,we agreed..
At first we didn't know what to do coz none of us had played holi in a long time..the last time i played holi was when i was in my 6th std and all i remember is running away from my friends whose sole intention was to get me drenched...the first few minutes were very awkward...all we did was get some dry colours on our faces that too in a very docile manner...then we started getting bored again...it was then i decided that i wont let my holi be such a demure & bland affair...so i secretly got a bottle of water from the room and spalshed all the water on my friend vasavi catching her completely offguard....it was then all our holi spirits got unleashed...we started playing like mad, all of us were drenched and horribly pink..just then we came to know that one of friends shweta was on her way upstairs...then just as how a leopard stalks its prey and then leaps on it...we decided to do something similar,cashing in on element of surprise, all of us simply pounced on her when she came up,in a matter of seconds her face had b'come completely unrecognisible...just then the little kids in the apartment came up to ply holi too...all of them looking simply adorable...infact we had so much fun that we completely lost track of time...i was a favourite with the kids,all of them were after me,jumping to reach my face to apply colour,i gave in most of the time(something i'll repent later on)
Then at last the 6 th member arrived,she already drenched and purple!she was late b'coz she was playing holi with her family but she was given the same treatment as shweta..infact worse..we ended breaking her specs while "attacking"her..We played on n on for hours the music (courtesy the PC in her brother's room)was amazing..i even played her brother's drums! must say i wasn't that bad...we simply let ourselves go and jumped and danced for hours....
Then atlast we decided to stop,we were famished,vasavi left immediately as her father came to pick her up..5 of us decided to go to prathibha's place to take some well deserved rest and ofcourse to eat! Everybody in prathibha's family except her brothers play holi(how ironic)when we entered the house,her brother simply vanished when he saw us...i thought we had scared him as we were looking terrible...but later we found out that he was hiding from his friends as they threatenend to break eggs n tomatoes on his head(good enough reason to hide forever!)We had some delicious biryani and then bid farewell to everyone and finally were on our way home....myself and sandhya found an auto with difficulty and quickly got in....
Now the entire TROUBLE begins......

"Holi"day!!! Part 1

2007-03-05T16:31:00.000+05:30

My day began at 7:30 in the morning yesterday...quite early for a sunday...but my friend wont let me sleep anymore...so she keeps on callin me on my cell till i'm totally awake..she knows i wont get up that easily so she calls me around 5 times...and ultimately i had to give in n get up...i really want to go back to bed but then i realise that if i'm late she'll kill me...afterall it was our first holi together...
Now began a real challenge for me...i had to search some old clothes that i was willing to expose to the colours of holi, for they would be destroyed forever(i know i'm over reacting here but still) It wasn't easy, i had to search a lot and with a heavy heart i selected an old dress of mine which had faded from white to dull grey....Now just as how a soldier prepares for battle i had to prepare for holi...firstly i had to apply enormous amount of oil to my hair, reluctantly i applied some to my face also, then i applied some to my arms also...now that my transformation was complete,i saw myself in the mirror, i looked pathetic...oily, slimy with a horrible grey dress....yuck! i was already regretting my decision to play holi.... but i knew it was too late..so i started waiting for my friend with whom i was to go to the place where we would play holi....she arrived half an hour later looking equally ghastly....we both decided not to talk about our attires as it was embarassing...i could tell she wasn't keen on playing holi either but like i said we had no choice....so silently we both embarked on our journey to that god forsaken place where we would be playing holi...we were quite a sight on the road,everybody simply stared..finally we found an auto and quickly got in...we were both grumbling to each other that it was a bad idea....
Finally we arrived at our destination-it was my friend's place who had called me in the morning...we both started toward her apartment with great care examining every step of the way...we were as alert as cats, moving gingerly towards the door...then suddenly we heard a scream....

Not A Girl Not Yet A Woman

2007-03-02T17:16:00.000+05:30

This is what Brittney Spears crooned a few years ago,and this is precisely my situation right now.Brittney Spears has herself transformed from a girl to a woman though not very succesfully if you ask me but she did it nevertheless and so will I,after all its only a matter of time....

My servant maid got married 2months ago,I remember my mum giving her some sarees and jewellery.I cant forget the sheer happiness on her face when she took them.My mom was feeling sad because she could no longer work for us as she would now live in her husband's village,my mom simply adored her....as for me.. I felt really weird because she was all of 18 years ready to settle in holy matrimony....and i have just turned 19 a few days ago.I wondered what it would be like to get married at such a young age.....for I still watch cartoons
A few days ago my mom came rushing into my room and told me that Anita had died.I gasped...then I wondered who Anita was... I asked my mom.....she was none other than my young 18 year old servant maid...
Her husband had killed her for dowry.We learnt that he had been harrasing her from day one....(I hope her husband gets hanged for such a heinous crime) Though I never really talked to her when she worked at our place.. I felt as though i had lost a friend...she was somebody who was my age but was very different from me...she lived in a world very much different from mine..I always saw a silent strength in her which is rare and that is why her death made me very sad.
She was just a girl who was forced to become a woman too soon...i'm sure she was a good wife or atleast she might have tried to be one but her life ended a little too soon...
Though her life was a short one..she will be remembered by me forever coz looking at her always made me feel damn lucky for living a life that i am and I am very grateful for that....and I'm still humming Brittney's song...