Saturday, December 31, 2011

-

It's been quite some time since I last blogged. I did want to do a couple of posts on the times I spent in Goa, but I'll save it for later. For now, I just want to wish everyone a Happy New Year ahead.

Thursday, December 15, 2011

Coffee chronicles

"A lot can happen over a cup of coffee", as the tag line of a Coffee shop goes.

A cup of coffee is what my day begins with.(though I often end up sleeping a bit after that first cup of coffee:) ).

It's coffee that got me reacquainted with PM. It was over a cup of coffee that my friend L and I caught up with each other. Coffee was the excuse for a conversation with a certain friend,MK. And the list goes on.

Some of my coffee-related memories:

- I dragged my best friend M to the Saravana Bhavan near the place where we used to live. It was an year after the two of us had quit Chennai. But, the reason I dragged her there wasn't to catch up with her (I'd done a lot of that, and could continue any time!). It was to meet KR, her school senior. I remember how we'd met at a quiz, where I'd gone as a representative of my school, and there was M, from hers. And then, there was KR. We had a brief conversation (for which M later blasted me asking how I could agree with him, not her (oh, KR and I seemed to share similar tastes, you know;), and for saying 'yes' right before him when she asked if I actually thought he looked good :P) Anyway, we were in touch, KR & I, and it was to say hi to him that I made M come along. And during the half-hour we spent there, I focused only on my coffee, and let M make conversation with KR(whom she hadn't seen in two years!), and his friend (whom we'd never met)...

- I remember having coffee with my school friend V. And with another friend K.

- There was the cold coffee my friend RS and I had at a CCD in B'lore. I did have a bad cold, but the coffee had "Spain" in its name. And it being the WC time, and Spain being the team I was rooting for, there was no way I could say no to it :)

- It was at yet another CCD that I met my friend S after one year, and it was great catching up with her, and building castles in the air about visiting Spain and the Santiago Bernabeu and Camp Nou. :) Talking of S, she was one hell of a roomie to have, and what with similar outlooks, and sharing an interest in the same things, plus wanting to watch football matches, we did have a great time together. Or at least, I did, thanks to her. Dhonnobaad, S ;)

- I remember hesitating to ask PM if we could meet for coffee - I even remember asking my friends for advice :) And in the end, we did meet for some coffee. And snacks :) Since then, I've come to know him so much better. It was he who told me about the coffee at Udipi, which we finally got to have.

- Speaking of Udipi, I seem to have become a regular haunter of the place - I walk towards the bus-stop after my music class, and if there isn't a bus the moment I reach, my feet end up automatically crossing the road (and taking me along), to stop for a cup of coffee :) I seem to be going there either before or after almost each time I go for my music class.

- There was the time when my friend SS and I tried out this new restaurant Chapattos; along with a friend of hers. I did like the coffee there, though the eating experience turned out to be a disaster.

- I had some lovely times with my frie nds SS and AS, when they'd come and wait for me to come from my music class, and we'd go and have chocolate tart balls followed by coffee, and then sitting on the steps near the shop and watching the roads while discussing a lot of things.

- It was when I was with the aforementioned friend MK when I suddenly popped the question, and he said "yes". But before your imagination goes into overdrive, let me clarify that my question was, "Would you like to have some coffee?" That we ended up discussing weddings was a different thing altogether :P

There are so many moments more, but I'll end this here. And go hunting for a cup of coffee :)

Adios!

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Tales of travels, tales of dreams, tales of other things in between*


I think I've been somewhere out of the city, at least ten out of the twelve months.

- A very brief visit to Chennai in January.

- A vacation in Yercaud with family. While returning, we stopped at Salem, and made a brief visit to Namakkal as well. I'd eaten lightly at Yercaud, as we'd be climbing down the mountain, and was quite hungry by the time we reached Salem for lunch. And we went to this place where we had unlimited meals. Now, what's the point of having unlimited meals if you're going to have just one spoonful of rice, I ask. To do justice to the food, I continued to have my fill even as people waited for me to finish, so they could eat. I finally did finish my lunch and come out. My brother's first question to me was, “You said the car-ride would make you nauseous. Is this what is called nauseous?” And then he said that I'd been eating as if I'd not eaten in the past few years. He called it the 'meal of my life”. Even now, he asks me if anything could compare to the 'Salem saapaadu', in my opinion.
- My friend's sister got married in May, and I had an awesome trip there with some other friends. The onward train journey was comfortable enough for me, given that I took up the seat I'd reserved. Plus, I had my sandwiches and my music. I can't say the same about my friends, though. When I took a walk through the compartment, I found them sitting at the edge of the seat, in Swades Sharh Rukh style:) (One of my friends knew for certain then that I was crazy, as no sane person would go for a “walk” through a place so crammed with people that you can't lift your foot and put it down without hitting at least three people in the process!). Then there was the taxi ride to our accomodation, followed by, what else, but a good dinner. It was fun walking back late at night, and cracking jokes. The chronicles of courage-part 1 also happened there. I had a good time during the trip, right till the food at the Sec'bad station and coming home to a good cold bath and a hot lunch! :P
- Then there was the Chennai-Bangalore trip, which by now seems to have become an annual affair :) For a change, I did a lot of walking during my time in Chennai. I visited the museum at Egmore. (I asked someone near the museum, “Museum yenga irukku?”, and he told me “Go further on this road, and you'll be able to see the buildings to your right”. In English. When I asked him in Tamil (or Tanglish, to be more precise)!!!) I finally got to take a look at the Connemara library. I then had lunch at Ashoka hotel, as per my brother's instructions. And I had fun eating by myself. The waiter at my table also spoke to me in English. Even when I spoke to him in Tamil. All this just because I was wearing jeans? & my shoes. (Don't even ask me about them. They're white. And Pink. P-i-n-k!!! There were no blue ones in the model I wanted, and there were these awesome black&green shoes that I kept staring at, till the shopkeeper told me they were men's shoes. Why do men get such great options, while I'm stuck with pink???) I also went to Mahabalipuram with a friend. (And had awesome ghee roast at the Adyar Hot Chips near IIT :P)
- October found me taking a very short weekend trip to Mumbai. October being a very good month, especially one particular day in the second half of the month, it was also the occasion where my brother's marriage got fixed. :)
- November found me making the next trip to Mumbai for the engagement. I also got to experience the Mumbai local trains I'd read and heard so much about (in fact, we even took the first train starting at 4:00 a.m.!), visited the Gatrway of India, Marine Drive and had a quick ride around, as there was not much time left. - One thing that left an inedible mark on my memory was the idli fry I had :D
It's now December. The year is coming to an end. I have my next trip planned. And am keeping my fingers crossed and praying that all goes well.

Talking of all this, I must definitely make a mention of PM, whose love for travel is making me do my bit towards realizing my own travel dreams. Thanks, PM. :) Maybe I'll do a post about it some other time. Meanwhile, you can learn about his travels here. I think I should just mention that PM will soon be visitng Egypt, one of my dream destinations. There. A line about one of my dreams, just to justify the title of the post. Will do a longer post on my dreams some other time.

And I don't know if you've noticed it, but Food is one of the biggest loves of my life. That's why there seem to be so many food details in this post.

Until the next post!

Bon appetit, folks :)

* - This is the result of listening to “Enter Sandman” as a bedtime song :)

Monday, December 12, 2011

:)


Wow!!! I can play my guitar in the dark!!!

There was a power cut, but I could still play a song on my guitar :D Never mind that it was not a very tough song to play, but then, I'm not an expert yet. I still know only a few basic chords. And this was my first song with more than 3 chords. Needless to say, I'm pleased. No, make that extremely pleased. :)

Can't say the same about my family members who bore the brunt of my (un)musical strumming, though... Like they say, one man's meat is another's poison. And like I said, one man's music is another's noise. (This line had my brother teasing me endlessly, till he found another topic to tease me with (mercifully), and led another friend to say that I should have been a philosopher :P )

And yeah, one of my friends (who himself happens to be a musician) told me that I should actually play the guitar and record my version of WTKKD and upload it. Imagine that!!! I think I should ask him not to put such wacky ideas in my head. I know what happened the last time I got some such thing into my brain - Bong boy's words led to my recording those Bong songs (and providing free (wholesome) entertainment to everyone who came into contact with those recordings).

Anyway, I shan't be doing it at the moment. So rest in peace. For now!

Sunday, December 11, 2011

WTKKD?

Now that the question in the air seems to be "Why this kolaveri, kolaveri, di?", I think it's high time I posted my version of it :D

Hopefully, I don't get asked "WTKKD", after this post :)

So, here goes :

Why this kolaveri, kolaveri, da?
Why this kolaveri, kolaveri, da?
Gelf-la one boy-u, boy-u,
boy-u skin-u brown-u,
now I say hi-u, hi-u,
boy nethila frown-u

Why this kolaveri, kolaveri, da?
Why this kolaveri, kolaveri, da?
Boy romba nice-u, nice-u,
I gave him my heart-u,
boy got-u bored-u,bored-u,
he broke my heart-u,
God I am dying now-u,
he is smiling how-u

Why this kolaveri, kolaveri, da?
Why this kolaveri, kolaveri, da?
Why this kolaveri, kolaveri, da?
Why this kolaveri, kolaveri, da?



No wonder I'm an expert at mokkai-putting :P


(Please save your bricks for later - I'll inform you when I start building my house, the bricks would be welcome then!)


The playlist - part 1

"With so many roads that seem to lead down to the sea,
I wonder which road will be the right one for me."

So much I wish to do, but can't...

Here's one of my lists (incomplete) - a list of songs I hope someday to be able to play :

Comfortably numb : That "hello". And those beats. If only I could play them. The guitar bits, I wouldn't mind being able to play. (And hopefully, I'll be able to, soon!) But oh, those beats... They make me almost ecstatic...

Stairway to heaven : Again, I'd love to be able to play the beats. The guitar parts, yeah, but oh, those beats... Heaven, indeed!

November rain  : The awesome beats at the beginning. And then, the bit after "I feel the same"... and the rest :P God, how I wish I could play those beats... (I think I can, but then, you never know till you've actually done it!)

Us and them : Don't even get me started... Let me continue my dreaming...

Patience : The whistle! I'll master it someday. I thought I'd got half of it right, but unfortunately, I got only parts of it right. The rest sounds ok in my mind, but only air comes out of my lips, not the beautiful sound playing in my mind. Sigh!

Dust in the wind : The guitar... and maybe the violin... (even though I'm not normally a violin fan)

The final cut : If only I could sing it with just that one bit of emotion!

Nothing else matters : The beats, yet again!

Solitude : Those chords! Hopefully, I should be able to play it soon.

You and I will meet again : The beats. And the guitar parts as well. The singing I'm managing pretty well, thank you.

Roll another joint : That enticing drumming! It makes me feel energetic each time I listen to it :)

Pale blue eyes : The guitaring, of course!

Little by little : Do I even need to say?

Answer lies within : For once, I really loved the sound of a piano! Maybe I could learn this one song on it :)

O mon : Now, what's a Bong song doing in here, you might wonder. I just can't get that guitar solo out of my mind...




Don't give up (you are loved) : The beats, yet again...

Oh, there's so much left!!! I'll continue the list again when I can...

(P.S. : This is a very personal list of my personal preferences. And, yeah, I love percussion, in case you haven't noticed it yet... Am also hoping to graduate to a bass guitar soon! Ah, what a pleasant picture that is!!!)

Saturday, December 10, 2011

Letdown

Total letdown...

What's the matter with you, RM? 

Just because I was too sleepy to watch the match live doesn't mean you should lose. As if not getting Ten Action Plus wasn't enough, live streaming online also doesn't seem to be working for me. I thought you'd win, as I wasn't there to distract you. And what do you do???? The figures 1-3 did seem to come to me when I was asleep, but being the loyal fan that I am, I thought it'd be in your favour. I woke up early, and first thing I did was check the score. 1-3. There it was. But in favour of Barca. So much for my faith in you. Losing a home match, at that. 

I seriously wonder what's happening to you. Last time round too, you disappointed me. So, you won the Copa Del Rey. Ok, fine. But then, what happened in the CL and La Liga clashes? 

You still have one match left, and though I hope that you do get back to the top of the table, I can't be sure. When Barca could lose to Getafe, anything is possible. I can only hope. And pray that my faith in you isn't misplaced.

G, your Barca seem to be getting the better of my RM. Get back to being the RM supporter that you were. You can still admire your Messi's magic. And Xavi and Iniesta. Meanwhile, I'd also like to know you're a fellow supporter. And maybe your support could make a difference! ;)

Ok, winning and losing are part of the game. Accepted. But would you please win against Barca next time? Lose to someone else, if you must. (This doesn't mean you should lose to Sevilla, mind you!)

And since I'm going to keep my fingers crossed for the next match against Sevilla, I can't type any more :P

Adios!

Buena suerte, Madrid. 

Friday, December 9, 2011

Of ceremonies attended (and missed)

I'm finally feeling human again...

Missed attending a wedding reception, thanks to a fever... My friend reminded me that there was a high probability of many Bong boys being there, and thanks to his hype, I ended up feeling I'd missed something indeed :)

Didn't miss my brother's engagement, though :P Wouldn't have missed it for the world! And couldn't have, either... Anyway, the point is, it happened, and I was there. And yeah, the food was awesome.

My brother was really curious about one thing : how did I avoid the dishes containing curd? (this issue has often raised doubts on my tam-brahmness, but since there are a couple of relatives who don't take curd either, it doesn't really bother me). So, to let out a closely guarded secret, I lay emphasis on the seating arrangement... I take utmost care not to sit in any of the corner seats. If you're anywhere else, you can see what's being served, so you have sufficient time to raise your hand and put it forward the moment they come to serve you something you don't want :) Machiavellian planning, no?

And then, sometime ago, went to attend a certain ceremony early on a Sunday morning (I came to know about it only on Saturday - what with living a life split between campus and home, I end up not knowing what is happening at either place! "Somehow I'm neither here nor there", as the song goes). And guess what? One of the vathiyars was like Bong Boy (introduced here )

That's the roundup for now...

And hopefully, I'll finish this other post, and then start the post whose title I've been threatening people with, on my Gtalk status!

Until then, thank God for little mercies (like the posts not being complete yet). Or if you're an atheist, then thank whoever you thank for little mercies...

Oops, there I go rambling again... Better I leave now... (and sleep off the effects of the cough syrup - I feel like I haven't woken up properly in many days!)

p.s. : I've been reading this blog. That might explain things a bit.

p.p.s. : gosh, yet another TT title! I do seem to have a knack for them!

Thursday, December 8, 2011

Miss you, MB

So today I slept late. Actually I did wake up. At 7:30. Again at 8:30. Then again at 9:30,11:30... And finally, around 11:45, I formally declared my day begun. (or should it be as begun?) The times between the wakings up were filled with contemplation on one of the most crucial questions of life : "what should I eat?". It being too late to go to the mess for breakfast, I quickly thought of the other options available. Then finally I decided that I'd get up in just a few minutes and have a light breakfast, and do justice to lunch. That was my plan. But, alas, I ended up waking up too late for even brunch, so lunch it was. RIP, my missed breakfast, I really miss you.

I've been enjoying reading this blog , going through the archives. And I was glad I was Tamilian, as I could follow his posts. Awesome stuff.

(P.S.:MB=Missed Breakfast. Not that MB, my first crush ;) )

Monday, December 5, 2011

A request

Another post in the works, should be done soon, hopefully...

Keep waiting, folks...

Meanwhile, yours truly would be extremely happy & grateful to you if you did give some feedback and leave your comments here, so that she can recall who liked what and who trashed what, when she sometimes goes back and reads her earlier posts.

Thanks!

Rants again

Who is the South Indian man? Why is a lungi funny? "The lungi is definitely the most fascinating aspect of his identity. Whether it is pulled up or down, it is a sure shot to get the audiences to laugh." If the lungi were so comic, we'd be half a nation of comedians. 

South Indianmainly means Tamil, little bit Malayalam, kindabutnotreally Telugu and a lolzurnotreallySouthIndianbutwhatevs amountof Kannadiga. From here

Yes, thank you, I can take a joke on myself, and I love humour. But only when it actually is funny. And to me, there is nothing funny about being South Indian. Maybe some of my beliefs or habits are funny, maybe some of the things I do. Laugh your heart out at that, and let me in on the joke too. But then....

Well, I have seen how people wear ridiculous costumes and pout trash, all in the guise of comedy. Some jokes work only once, even then with great difficulty. It isn't everyone who can crack jokes that don't lose their essence even after repeated use. Well, laughter isn't laughter when it has to be forced. And if I am to go by Bollywood movie trends, I see only a bleak future. I don't want to waste even a picosecond on the trash churned out under the label of comedy. Sorry to offend those among you who enjoy them, but I personally wish there were a safe haven for me to escape into, so that I can avoid being sullied by them. (Maybe my threshold has gone really low or something, but these days, just the mere mention of 'comedy' and especially 'Bollywood' in the same sentence makes me run for cover. At least in the case of Kollywood I know what to expect...)

Anyway, I don't even wish to contemplate further on this. I have better ways of spending my time. 

(Many thanks to my experiences with so-called humour for leaving me with a bad taste in my mouth)

Monday, November 21, 2011

-

A brief update : I wrote something here.

I have a huge list of rants against the murder of languages, especially English. (it's one of the few languages I know, and it's one that seems to be the most abused).

Will elaborate later. Just one question for now. Do you have a hundred bugs on you?  (it's a question of money, folks ;) )

Of music(k) & magnets*

Last night, a friend asked me why I wasn't blogging much of late. (As a punishment  sign of my pleasure, I shall do a post on him... Sometime soon, hopefully.) My SLR (sole loyal reader) also commented on my absence from blogging.

I wanted to respond to his post, but have kept delaying it. And since I've anyway put it off for so many days, a few more shouldn't make a difference. M, I'll do the post very soon. Take my word for it. 

On Saturday, the people at home wanted to go to bed early, as we had to get up early on Sunday. I couldn't sleep, so I plugged in my earphones, increased the volume of my music player to the maximum, and started singing along. The beats of the songs made me sway along. I closed my eyes and lost myself in the music. All was well for a few minutes. Then I suddenly felt some movement near me. I opened my eyes, and there was my brother, doubled up and shaking with uncontrollable laughter. My mother was laughing, too.

It turns out that I wasn't just singing, I'd been screaming. Plus, I was singing a Spanish song. I actually sang "en el mar", (meaning, in the sea); which my brother took to be "ennama...". It seems I sounded like a beggar asking for alms. My brother even tried to make a video of my singing, but laughter prevented his hand from keeping still. And probably saved the world ;)

Today, my friends were commenting on my recent silence. I claimed I was usually silent, but they refused to listen to me. Then they started on one of their favourite jobs : inventing link-ups featuring me.

In recent months, they'd been linking me to a certain new friend. They even offered me an explanation for his trips out of town, and told me stories of a prospective Taj Mahal down south. If I can't go to visit the Taj Mahal, the Taj will come to me. Or so I thought. Alas... So fickle the tastes of Man...

The latest of my "conquests" seems to be this senior from my community. My friends keep on and on about my "progress" and the "interest" I'm evoking. I'm still looking for a wall to bang my head against. (My friend very kindly reminded me that there were many rocks on the campus, which would serve the purpose just as well. Thanks, I-man, for the suggestion.)

I actually tried to see if there could be a grain of truth in my friends' rumours. The mind boggles at the mere thought of the scenarios and pictures they paint.

All this makes me think of what my best friend once called me. "Psycho magnet"!!! Unfortunately, I'm reminded of this label now... 

"No comment". This will be reply to my friends' allegations. And maybe if I keep practising those words, I can say them confidently when I become famous and get asked questions by journos.

Now off I go. It's time I stopped being the "criminal waste to community" that one of my closest friends accused me of being. I'd like to get back my lost "comedy piece" label :) (The way I made a couple of my friends laugh makes me feel I'm well on the way back to getting the lost label)

Adios, folks.

*- the title reminds me of something I read by someone : "The reason we had kids was that it seemed like a good thing at the time"... I mean, it sounded like a good title when I typed it, now I feel it leaves much to be desired. But still, I've used worse titles, so I let it stand...

Thursday, November 10, 2011

For the time being...


Should be done with them soon. Hopefully. And should last at least 3 days, again, hopefully. Except for Rabelais, maybe, which should take quite some time. It's one of the books I've wanted to read, but not sure if I can read the French version just yet. Remains to be seen. The book on Egypt needs revision :) 

The variety should do me good, after a n-th time revision of  various Wodehouse novels...



Recommendations, suggestions welcome. As are books :) Thanks...

Thursday, November 3, 2011

Some things to ponder upon

"They failed to go into the students..."

This was a statement from the campaign of one of the parties at our student elections. Not going into students, serious crime indeed! No wonder they wanted to be elected. Wonder how they would have rectified it. The mind boggles at the mere thought of the possibilities...

Another point on their agenda : "In case of unnatural death of any student or employee, they should be given suitable economic compensation*." Now, I wonder how they intend to do this.

Anyway, enough about it.
***

On a different note, why is it that people claim to belong to a "grammar police" and say that they can't tolerate bad grammar, only to write with bad grammar the next moment?

Case in question here.

At least, she does not.

That's it for now.

Be back later.

Just wanted to get these out of my head...

Friday, October 28, 2011

A brief update

If only I'd known that "today's gonna be the day"...

As I was cycling down to the lab, it struck me that my cycle was sounding like a 50cc version of a Bullet. The screws on the basket were a bit loose, and even on smooth roads, it sounded as if my cycle's teeth had started chattering.

But finally, I got the screws tightened today, after having postponed it for a very long time. Alas, my cycle no longer sounds Bullet-like, 50cc or not. :(

But there is one consolation. The chains (still) need oiling, and my cycle now groans as if it had joint pain. It doesn't sound half as pleasant as the Bullet-like sound, but still, it is some sound.

As I wrote earlier, one man's noise is another's song... And so,my cycle is musical. It composes Metal songs. :)

Maybe I should do a Brigitte to promote my musical cycle ;)

I think it's high time my cycle got a new name. Like Mentallica? Suggestions welcome :)

Adios, folks!


(P.S. On an unrelated note, I got another darshan while I was having dinner, and later when I was returning - it kinda made me think of my 'willpower' & how strong it was to have brought him there ;) )

Open letter to a boy

Dear whoever-you-are,

I knew it was you I saw on the way to my music class. I'd been wondering if I'd get a darshan of you today. It was one of the thingsI was thinking about as I was cycling to the gate, with 'Enter Sandman' playing in the background in my mind.

You gave me a shock when you came into my view, and for a moment I was tempted to stop and smell the roses... I mean, stop and take a second look, well, you get my drift... But I was too much under the influence of Metallica's beats to bring myself to stop. I must confess that on nearing the gate I did wonder if I should have stopped and had some tea. But I consoled myself and crossed the road to reach the bus-stop. I looked at the time, and decided that I'd wait for ten more minutes, as the thought crossed my mind that you'd also be coming there for a cup of chai. I'd just about given up on you, when you came. It was the first time that I saw you with a backpack instead of your usual red bag. And just as I'd guessed, you got yourself some chai and sat down there. I thought of having some tea myself, but decided not to, so I boarded the next bus. And turned to look out of the window, past the man sitting next to it, to get yet another glimpse of you.

Well, I don't know who you are. I don't know your name, or what you're doing. But I do know that we have quite a few mutual friends. My best friend knows about you. In fact, you've been given the English version of Torres' nickname ;)

Last week, during a crazy chat with my best friend, she told me that everyone loves me. Including you. I wanted to confirm it with you the next day. But though I saw you then, I didn't think it would give you the joy of your life to have someone you don't even know come and ask you, "My best friend says you love me. Is it true?" Not exactly the best way to create a good impression, or the best way to start a conversation. It might have put you in a bit of a spot, as they say, what with noblesse oblige and all that; as PGW might say. Anyway, if you've read an M&B(one or a few, it doesn't matter, as most things are maintained constant), then you'd probably have experienced 'an electric chill up your spine', or been 'intensely aware' of me :P

"And now it's time to go..."

Maybe I'll see you again tomorrow, or maybe not. Maybe we'll get introduced someday. Again, maybe not. Well, it doesn't matter so much...

"I got a feeling so strong,
Maybe someday,
our roads will cross"...


Until then,

You-know-who.
(and if you don't, then so be it :P 'It just don't matter now')

(Special note for M. : this is a letter to a boy. Not A-boy. Or A-Boy (though you call him A-something-else. Those are more private communications, you know ;) )

Monday, October 24, 2011

Back... (or so it seems!)

It's been a long while since I wrote here, and even my one loyal reader commented on it. So, here goes...

In the while I've been absent here, I've grown older by an year :) 


I'd invited some friends for lunch, and they decided that a birthday celebration wasn't complete without a cake.

Post lunch, I was going back to the library (which has become my new haunt, followed closely by the SSB canteen). I was almost at the lawns, when my friend called me, and said that my supervisor was asking for me. I told her I'd meet him the next day, and she kept on and on about how he was asking where I was, I finally had to go back to my department. It was only when I was almost there that I saw them sitting with a cake in the lawns in front of the building.

The cake was yummy. And when I cut the cake, I cut a piece such that it had both the 'B' of the the birthday and the 'S' of my name, and felt really happy. For those not in the know, B is the name of my first crush :) I had quite a bit of the cake, and much of the cream ended up being smeared on my face. Like a friend remarked, I did get a good facial :) (I must confess that I was secretly worried that the scent of chocolate on my face would attract mosquitoes, but thankfully that didn't happen).

Thanks A, A, J, K, M, N, S, R, S, V for making it a memorable birthday for me.

And yes, I also discovered that my music teacher and I share birthdays :)

Dinner with PM, followed by a meeting with another friend made a nice end to the day. And as I managed to stay awake till midnight, I must say that I 'made the most of the day'!

I was in Mumbai over the weekend. Thane, actually. We went by train, and it was really funny when a lady came and sat next to me, and kept her bag beside her. I usually detest putting my bag on the compartment floor, and it looked like there was someone else like me. But alas, when night came, her bag went down, while mine remained up... Alas... So much for thinking she was like me...

Returned by an IndiGo flight, which is another thing I must talk about. We'd reached the airport by 5 P.M. though our flight was scheduled to leave only at 8P.M. What with everyone talking about the Mumbai traffic, we ended up reaching much earlier than expected.

I had a window seat (we actually had 3 seats, of which I'd been alloted the middle one, but I just declared that I wanted a window seat, which left my parents no choice!). The view was lovely. My seat was along the wing, and I liked that too. The airlines had a catalogue, and I spent quite some time poring over it. We had potato sticks which tasted quite good.

The time passed with me trying to distract myself from thinking of every accident I'd read about! And, when we were close to landing, my ears got blocked. I could make out that my parents were asking me something, so I pointed to my ears and mimed that I couldn't hear what they were saying. I wanted to get some cotton to plug my ears with, but the air hostesses didn't have any cotton. Instead we were given some tissues, which we tore and rolled and plugged into our ears. The rolled tissues reminded me of the bullets that always just whizz past the hero in slow motion in the movies. I tried to look outside the window, and consciously avoided my reflection which I could see if I tried. I must have looked a sight!

On coming out of the airport, I had a chocolate coffee. It sounded good, and as I love chocolate and coffee, I got it. It turned out to be horrible. I spent a couple of hours trying to get the taste out of my mouth. Even now, I can remember the taste, and it makes me wonder why I had ever tasted something like it.
The cool night air on our way back home was awesome. I almost hung out of the window. The city looked different at that time of night, especially on a Sunday.

And despite my best intentions, I overslept as usual. So began my Monday morning.

So, the week has officially begun, and there's loads to do.

First on my agenda : go and see what's for dinner.

I'd better end this post and leave before the rumble in my stomach grows louder...

(P.S. : One reason why I didn't write earlier was that this blog is my happy place, and my thoughts weren't exactly as happy as I'd have liked. Anyway, looks like I'm back. So, rejoice. Or go bang your head against the wall. )

Thursday, September 29, 2011

Wash's the matter!

Recently, I was chatting with a friend of mine. A "new friend", as my friends insist on calling him. Anyway, I was chatting with him, and I asked him what he was doing, to which he replied that he was cooking, cleaning and washing clothes. Upon which I commented that it sounded very domestic.

Now, this person isn't someone I'd expect to be so much at home with certain chores. So, well, naturally conversations die when I make such witty comments. So, it's usually up to me to restart the conversation, and hope that it continues. Till my wit breaks it apart :P And then silence reigns supreme.

I digress. Coming back to what I was saying... Where was I? Ah yes... So, I was chatting with my friend. (In case you have forgotten what I was doing - I have mentioned it only twice before!) I was suddenly reminded of a conversation I had with... who else, but another friend? I asked him if he cooked, he said he could cook to save his life, and enjoyed it. But what he liked more was washing vessels on a Sunday afternoon.

So, I asked my friend, (this is friend 1, the friend I mentioned earlier) if he liked washing vessels. And he said he did!

And it got me thinking how nice it was that most of the guys in my life were well-trained in domestic chores, and even enjoy them. (I just hope that the majority of the m. of the s. is like this, so I can start dreaming of a happy future, where I get served my meals and coffees and teas and snacks ... wow, I'm already off on a flight of fantasy!)

Well, actually, these days, I've also started washing vessels, the one task I avoided till my PG days. In fact, it was Big FM and their RJ's, especially Imsai Arasi, Dheena, Bosskey & Balaji, who gave me company in the initial days. I remember singing item numbers, paettai songs & gaana songs while washing vessels.

A far cry from my school and college days. When I would not even touch a vessel in the sink. My brother was my saviour back then. I remember how sometimes, when I was asked to get a spoon, my brother would come to rescue me as I stood by the sink staring at a spoon inside. He'd take it and wash it for me. And the frown on my face would be replaced by a smile. I remember the times when I'd point out the vessels in the sink that I needed at the moment, and my brother would wash them for me.

And now, I wash his coffee mug for him!

Sigh!!! How times change!

And now, I'm off...

(I'm not apologizing for the pathetic title, as I'm tired of apologizing for the same thing every time!)

More random updates

I just finished watching my first Bengali movie (Pather Panchali). Thanks HG.

***
It's been raining here since yesterday. (It didn't rain all this time, when I was lugging my umbrella around. Why did it have to start raining just when I decide to put my umbrella at home?)

And the downpour has been affecting my movements.  Last evening, I was stuck in the lab for almost three hours. The only good thing was that I'd been to the canteen when the clouds were still gathering, and reached the lab just as the raindrops started to fall. While waiting for the rains to stop, I spent about half an hour pacing the corridor. Then, I started disturbing the two other people stuck there with me. And to give them some respite, I started calling people on my phone. With the end result that I can no longer make any calls till I pay my bill.

This afternoon, I was caught in the rain again. But thankfully, I had a novel which I read standing in front of our Mess door. :)
When the rains had slowed down to a drizzle, I came back to the hostel, and while climbing down the stairs, I kept thinking that the floors would be slippery, so I should be careful. And next moment, whoosh.......... Down I went, sliding down the stairs... Luckily, I wasn't hurt.

(It reminds me of Anguished English, where a student's essay says, "She slipped down the stairs and lay prostitute at the bottom", to which the professor had replied, "There's a difference between a fallen woman and one who has merely slipped" :D    And all afternoon I was thinking that I was now a fallen woman, thanks to the rains :P)

It reminds me of this other time when I was talking to a friend after my Spanish class. He was asking me why I didn't have any plans of going to Paris, as I could speak French too, and I started telling him, "I am not going anywhere...........". And I slipped down the stairs just then. (That time too, nothing was hurt other than my pride :) Thankfully!)

***
An announcement to a certain friend who expressed her concern for the people I'd sent my recordings to. Both M & PM (whom I've written about) are still alive. And doing great. I called M as I hadn't heard from her since the day I sent her the recordings. She spoke to me as usual. And I met PM this week, as I had to give him a book. He was also quite well and alive and in good spirits and all that jazz. So, there!

(Did I mention that neither of them has heard the recordings yet? ;) )
***

That's it for now :)

Sunday, September 25, 2011

Random updates

I was just watching a movie, and it made me wonder. Why is it that the villains are never able to locate the hero, when in the middle of the chase, the hero suddenly ducks down and hides (choose one - crouching behind a half-broken wall/handpump/under a basket/inside a phone booth/under a parked vehicle, especially the hand-cart type...). Why is it that if the hero turns left at a crossroads, the villains turn right, and go more than halfway into the road before turning and seeing the solitary figure of the hero running in the opposite direction? Why do the villain's henchmen always have to utter an earth-shattering war-cry before rushing to be knocked down on being hit by the hero's little-finger-nail? What powers do heroes gain when they tear open their shirt/tie a cloth around their forehead/arm / apply some colour powder on their faces? Why are a hundred badmen with machine guns no match to a hero with a single matchstick?

Ah, these eternal mysteries of life...


***
And so, my best friend calls me and asks me to send her my recordings. She says, "Send them. Now. I want to be entertained."

And another of my friends stopped eating, owing to be laughing so hard while listening to the aforementioned recordings. (Though she did concede that my pronunciation was right!)
***

And I wrote this. (After a long time, something written not Under the Influence.:) )

***

This morning, I dusted a trophy of mine which says, "Star Champ." It made me remember my brother asking me why they had mis-spelt the words on it, as it was supposed to read "Star Chimp." Sigh!!!


***

So, that's the state my world is in.

Friday, September 23, 2011

A brief reminder to self


Chivalry is not dead and gone. It is still very much alive. Don't misunderstand it. Or try to uncover non-existent reasons behind it. You do not need an ulterior motive to be chivalrous, just good manners are enough. So Stop. And be grateful for the thoughtfulness still around. Without reading too much into it.

Monday, September 19, 2011

Whatte weekend!

I finally finished reading 'Eat. Pray. Love' last night. The marathon reading session as I neared the end of the book left me feeling sentimental and emotional and ... - well, you can probably consult a Thesaurus for more words... (To think I was this sentimental before that too...)


My brother was home for the weekend, which basically means that I had a great time, while he had to bear with me. During this visit, my brother had stomach ache. No, I didn't cook (Actually, I did cook a bit, but my brother ate at our grandparents' place). But I made him listen to a recording of me singing Bengali songs, and he just couldn't stop laughing till his stomach ached.

We also tried watching a (1987) movie called "Paruvaragam", starring Juhi Chawla, Vishnuvardhan and Ravichandran (I'm not sure what the name of the very 'smart' (super)hero was). The action starts right from minute one - the hero's antics and the "novel" way in which the credits were presented had us rolling with laughter. We finally managed to stop laughing for a minute, only to start again the next minute.

The movie was set in a college, which ought to give you a clue as to what to expect. Well, no matter how hard we tried, we couldn't get past the first half-hour, as we needed time to recover from our bouts of laughter. Did I mention that the heroine could not recognize the hero when he came on a bike wearing cooling glasses? One scene had the heroine throw the heroine's jacket into the air, and in mid-air, the jacket becomes a hero doing a triple somersault dive into a swimming pool. The hero even speaks in English. Sample this : " Love is an accident, then it becomes incident, nothing is permanent... ... then you pregnant, we parents, life is fullllllllll of enjaaiment" (Sometimes it's a pity that the written words fail to convey the full effect of a spoken word...)

This was a Rs.1-crore movie back then, so you can imagine it for yourself. The costumes deserve a special mention. The heroine wears mostly short skirts or shorts, even when she goes to the market to buy vegetables. The hero (R, not V) wears a white shirt, white pants and a red towel in the opening sequence. After that, he wears mostly shorts - real shorts, which reach only half his thighs. Or just pants. Or pants with most of the buttons open. And once, even a golden dressing gown with a purple border. In one scene, he wears leather pants (maroon!), with a matching cap, and chains dangling from ear to ear, chains like a poonal... The hero is as smart as this. So you can see for yourself.


I think I'll end now. And keep you asking for more. Keep waiting. And watch the movie. (And if you do manage to watch it fully, please do let me know. I'll first congratulate you, admire you a bit, and then you can tell me the rest of the story. :) )

Sunday, September 18, 2011

Amigo mio

Plans are fun to make, especially when you have something to look forward to.


Right now, I have a lot to look forward to. It makes me happy and I'm going about with a spring in my step and a song on my lips. One of the things I'm looking forward to is jamming with Praveen, hopefully in the not-so-distant future.

A long way we've come, from being two people in a language class to friends who can make plans together. It has also been a journey of discovery, as my perceptions changed and I grew as a person.
Virtually the only things I used to associate with him were an audiographic memory and a great vocabulary which included phrases and idioms which I could never get the hang of; the result of the French classes where we were in the same class. (He used to sit way in front, and used to top the class, while I preferred sitting behind and was content dreaming of just clearing the level). But as I got to know him better, through conversations and chats, which started with his status message reading, “Backpacking in Chile?”, I discovered how much more there was to him.
Every now and then, my friends post photographs of the latest places they have visited. Most of the time, I don't even feel like seeing them all. Travel, to me, means something more than what I find in those photos. There are travellers and sightseers. There is something in the idea of travelling for the sake of travelling which appeals to me. It is also one of the things that I like about Praveen – his passion for travel, for its own sake. Among other things. The moments he captures in his photographs speak volumes – describing them would also need volumes.

Every so often, I feel the need to listen to some new music. It was when I was exploring some Spanish music that I came to know of another of his interests – music. He plays the guitar, and so far I've enjoyed the songs recommended by him (especially the Bengali ones!). Speaking of the guitar reminds me, it's thanks to him that I've finally started attending my guitar classes- I'd been delaying finding a suitable class until one evening I decided I'd put it off long enough and finally joined the class. And I'm really enjoying them.

Now, I'd be going on and on and you'd be bored, so I'll just wind up by saying that he's someone who has made a difference to my life. I've grown as a person, and am no longer scared to dream and wish for certain things. I've gotten back my lost faith in myself, in a way thanks to him. With him, some things don't matter, like how I look, what I'm wearing - he's someone I can just be myself with. In short, I'm just glad to have found a friend like him. Thank you, Praveen.


Disclaimer : Apologies for the at-times-forced structuring, as the Suitable Boy bug struck again when I started writing it. And yes, it speaks volumes that he didn't mind what I have written :)

So, now you know one of the people behind my singing Bengali songs of late. You're welcome to show him your pleasure ;)
(I hope the title is in correct Spanish, as it's been a while since I spoke the language...)

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Just ranting

As if this weren't enough, my friend has just been extolling the virtues of a dinner cooked by our Bong friend.


And in the morning, another friend was singing praises of the good food he ate at a wedding and a friend's place in Kerala. To rub salt in my wounds, he said he'd eaten his fill, and not brought anything for me to have. Schadenfreude!! He, not me. (Actually, I just wanted to use such a big word, and a foreign one at that!!!)

It was only when my friend and I walked into the mess around 20:10 Hrs that I realized it was the night of the Feast. And how did I guess? All the vessels on the tables were empty :) We then resigned ourselves to a dinner of some Kurma, a Gulab Jamun and an ice-cream. Halfway through, I espied some pooris being served, and thankfully there were some left when we reached the place.

(I should mention that my friend waited for me. Poor girl. If she'd gone as planned, instead of waiting for me, she might have actually seen or eaten some food. A, I salute thy supreme sacrifice!)

So, the last thing I need is to be reminded of the good food people have been eating. At this point of time, it's more than I can take.

Miss SS, you had a good dinner. Point taken. There's no need for you to elaborate now. Maybe tomorrow you can tell me in more detail when I confront H.

(And you don't have to tell me that he's Bengali. I know. And I remember. And yes, I've had the experience of watching RS cook and serve us dinner. Don't jump to conclusions. OK?)

Sunday, September 11, 2011

Effects

The aftermath of my singing Bengali songs (supposedly ;) ) of late :


- My friends are wondering why I'm so keen on the language.

- My best friend asks me, "Oh, learning Bengali? For what joy?"

- Another of my friends (who happens to be Bong) wants us to sing together (yes, I know she's got guts!)

- Two of my friends have started calling me 'Sam Bhattacharya'...

- When my brother called me, I asked him to guess what I was doing. And his first guess was, "listening to a Bengali song". The second was "singing a Bengali song". The actual answer was "Cooking" :


- My parents have started talking to me in the Bengali they know :D

- Today, my dad asked me to change my surname to 'Sen' and told me that mine was a Bengali/Oriya name. (And at that time I'd actually been listening to an English song!!!!)

- One of my friends has given me the task of watching some Bengali movies.

- People are under the impression that I've become interested in some Bong guy. They're even giving me tips on Bengali culture, and asking me to start thinking about getting used to "Machchibath" (Did I get that word right?)...

- When I brought cups of chai to our table in the canteen, my friend told me to keep practising it, as I'd have to do so when a Bong guy comes to "see" me. (I did tell him that I had no need to do so, and that I'd prefer to do the "seeing" :P)

- My mom asks me if I'm confused between the two extremes of the West Coast and the Eastern one :) (especially since I'd also been trying to sing in Malayalam which is a bit more difficult. Or maybe it's the song I chose!)

So, let me put the record straight.

I'm trying to learn Bengali so I can understand what I'm singing. It's not my fault I got introduced to some lovely songs... And some of the words in the songs sound so *sexy* that I just feel I should know what they mean. Well, I've had the experience of trying to sing a Spanish song before I knew what it meant, and then when my vocabulary got better, I realized it wasn't exactly something you could sing to a group. Especially not in class. (Obviously I didn't feel like going about singing that I wanted to kiss someone, and admire that person's bare skin (the song was sung by a male singer)... well,you get the drift...)

Another reason is that Malayalam seems more difficult to learn. Especially as my teachers are too busy to teach me. And they seem to expect me to do my homework. (Isn't that a bit too much?) And yes, did I mention that I actually have to get up and go to them... Which is a Herculean task if you're half as lazy as me.

I'm NOT trying to impress any guy. If I was really that keen, I'd be working harder on my Malayalam ;)

It's now time for me to leave.

(And hopefully there won't be any casualties in this matter!)


Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Monsoon ragas

It's been raining heavily here. I should know, given that I actually closed the window in the bus myself. Voluntarily. And walked in the rain with something that I call an umbrella (at least, that's what it is supposed to be, and yes, it did protect the top of my head...), and got almost completely drenched.

But even today's downpour could not dampen my spirits :) I was almost singing leaning out of the window! (Before the rains started, that is.)

For starters, I've been singing this Bengali song almost non-stop since yesterday (during the weekend, I restricted myself to listening to them), leading my mother to wonder if I was becoming fond of Bengalis and Mallus (last weekend I was singing a Malayalam song).

Well, it was listening to my friend's recording that got me singing in Bengali.

His version here. (Do listen to it.) It seems to have some words in the lyrics. And it just keeps playing over and over again in my head...

My version goes : Komlo megheder ojon (from the title of the song!)-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-o-o-o-na-na-na.... The other song also seems to be slightly different in my version. It goes ta-na-na-na-na-ta-na-na-ta-na-na-na-ta-na-na.... And yeah, there's a janai somewhere in the middle of the song.

I'm still waiting to get the translation of the song, though.

Last week, thanks to Kiran, I got to listen to this song from Salt and Pepper (or is it Salt-N-Pepper?). I played it loud twice, and then thought that I shouldn't disturb my mother who was reading there. But as it was close to dinner-time, and "choru" (forgive my bad spelling - to any Mallu reading this) being the only word I could follow very clearly, I did a chorus to the song, shouting "choru" at the end of each line. But my mother still didn't take the hint :( I had to get my dinner myself. Maybe she's too used to my singing and banshee wails to notice any difference.

You too know the effects of my singing.

The next thing on my agenda is to learn some Malayalam and Bengali. And trying to force my brother to listen to the songs. He's had so much experience in this that he just runs away when he comes to know that I'm planning to unleash my musical discoveries on him.

And now, it's time to go.

Adios.
(P.S. : If anyone wants to gift me a drumkit, you're welcome. Thanks in advance.)

Sunday, August 28, 2011

???

A recent oh-I'm-so-dumb moment :

An acquaintance says, "I'm at IIM", and I ask, "Are you doing an MBA?"...

Quite the Sherlock Holmes I seem to have become!

(And it just struck me that I've seen his name in the papers plenty of times, but never realized that this was the same person!)

Another time, I remember thinking of a really witty repartee.... to a conversation that had ended an hour ago!

If only I'd been in a conversation with someone like that chap i' the tale, I don't remember his name, but he is the one who graciously starts the conversation again when this girl tells him she'd just thought of a good answer to his question.

Ah, these flashes of brilliance tire me out. It's time to rest the gray cells again!


Thursday, August 25, 2011

Modern day Cinderella

"Cinderella",they cried,"sweep the floor",
but she was too busy playing MK4.
"Cinderella",they screamed,"Where are you?
There's so much work yet to be done..."
But,Cinderella,she was having too much fun,
"Do your work yourselves, and mine too!,
And hey, look here, there's to be a Royal Ball,
we're all to go, for it's the King's call"
The house suddenly buzzed with activity
Everyone wore new clothes and made themselves pretty
It finally dawned - the day of the Ball,
everyone made their way to the Hall.
The event was a success, and things went well,
the Prince danced with Cinderella &went under her spell;
but, suddenly, the clock stuck midnight
making dear Cinderella jump up in fright,
for, it was now time for her to go
or she'd be missing her TV show
And if the house was locked, there'd be a row,
and they'd be yelling at her all day tomorrow.
And so, she suddenly took flight,
but, alas, one shoe wasn't tight,
it slipped from her foot as her run began,
but she ignored it, and on and on she ran.
She managed to catch all her shows
and fell asleep mourning her lost shoes.
She dreamt of an old woman with an apple,
who addressed her as some Snow White,
and, upon seeing her face in the daylight,
said,"I'm sorry, You aren't the one I must kill".
She then dreamt of being locked up in a tower,
where someone asked her to let down her hair,
And when she did let it down,
someone said with a frown,
"Oh, where is this girl Rapunzel, now?,
I can't leave her for even a minute or two."
Cinderella then woke up to a huge furore -
across town the news had spread,
that the Prince was seeking the girl in red.
The words brought nothing to her head,
till someone mentioned a missing shoe,
how they wondered who it belonged to,
and then she realized they were seeking her.
And at last, Cinderella was identified,
the Prince then asked her to be his bride.








To be continued... stay tuned...

Sunday, August 21, 2011

Down and Up

Yesterday I read something by an Indian author, after a long time. Having been really let down by some of my recent readings, what with the bad writing, worse spellings and grammar still rankling in my mind, it took a lot of effort to actually get myself started on this one.

"Keep the change" by Nirupama Subramanian proved to be a surprisingly readable book, and though I knew less than halfway through what the end was going to be, I was happy to be reading some good English. And, ignoring the little voice in my head telling me not to move on to the next book so soon, I was lulled into thinking that writing standards have improved.

The next book I happened to have was called "Have you met the Joker?", supposedly the writer's third book. It made me wonder who on Earth was crazy enough to read the first two and encourage him to write a third.

The author's introduction mentioned that he was an engineer. That in itself should have warned me. But, like a fool, I insisted on pursuing it till the end. How I wish I hadn't!

Well, my BEEPS (Bad English & Errors in Punctuation Sensors) went on Red Alert by the time I had come to the second page. I tried ignoring that and read on in the hope of finding the story. And now, the book is over, thought he'd some story to say (in Pink Floyd style). There was no plot, instead there was some note by the author, it seemed like some "philosophy" to me. And since these days, every third person is a philosopher, why not he? (or is it him? - asking this makes me feel like Emsworth!)

Hey, Mr.Author - please enlighten this poor ignorant soul - what is a "dotted child"? I though you were talking about a human child. If it were a leopard cub or a cheetah cub you were talking about, it would have been a different matter altogether. But, as I said, you were talking about a child. A human one at that. So, why was it dotted?

Ok, I'll stop questioning you about the dotted child. But tell me, do you read as a "usual habit"? And do thrillers take off at once? And please do tell me this : how can a book shiver you? I've read Angels and Demons too, but it didn't "shiver" me. Even the cold winter breeze doesn't do that to me. It makes me shiver, and I shiver. But never in all the years of my existence has a book shivered me.

And yes, what is the meaning of "What on earth do you think who I am?" ????????? I've given up trying to figure out that one.

I'll stop now, as I don't want to act as proofreader for your already published junk. Don't even get me started on your pathetic efforts at writing what I think were supposed to be scenes of passion and lovemaking!!!

And thanks for putting me off Indian authors again for a long time to come.

All this makes me wonder why is it that most of the time, only the worst junk gets published?

And to think, there is so much good writing available online :

This has some really good stuff. And the writer's a techie. Almost makes me revise my opinion of techies who can write. And incidentally, I'm getting addicted to his puns.

Chuck, as he calls himself is recommended reading for anyone who has or wants to have a sense of humour.

(And when the above two join hands, or minds, or whatever it that they join... wait, that sounds weird, what I meant was that apart from their individual blogs, this one to which they both contribute is also like a Godsend...)

Given their huge following, I don't think Sayesha, Silverine or Sunshine needs any introduction. Nor does Chutney Case.

And of course, Son of Bosey and this.
There are many more out there in the blogging world, so I still have faith in Indian writing.

Friday, August 19, 2011

"My Family and Other Animals"

First things first... The title isn't mine - it's a book by Gerard Durrell. Thanks to NM for lending it to me. I enjoyed it,and the title has just stuck to my mind...

With my family, I'm their pet. Needless to say, they pamper me a lot :) With this, I'll just move on to the rest of the Animal Kingdom, a domain so large that I can't even think of mentioning all its members...

(And who knows? Someday I might indeed write more about my family :P)

So, let me stick to a small subset of the Animal Kingdom.

Dogs as a rule have a tendency of making me imagine the worst that can happen. Maybe it's something to do with a nightmare I had featuring a dog - I still remember waking up in sweat (wow! I've just used a bookish expression!), and though I try to convince myself that it was only a nightmare, I would still prefer a live-and-let-live-but-you-live-far-away-and-don't-enter-my-territory policy when it comes to dogs. Like I said earlier, something about them affects me...

Cats, I don't have a problem with - only I sometimes wish the cat in our house didn't sit there dumbly on our doormat, even when we are opening the door... Since the cats, at least the ones I'm acquainted with seem to be satisfied in having just a nodding acquaintance with me, I'm happy and the arrangement suits me just fine. A symbiotic relationship, I think it's called. (If I'd known I'd be using some term like this in the future, I'd have actually paid attention to what the teacher was teaching in the class, instead of trying to will my friend's watch to point to lunch hour, and watching who was walking outside our classroom door.)*

On Rats, Gnats and Bats, that subject which made Veronica Wedge discover her twin soul in Tipton Plimsoll and that subject which (at least in part) made the scales fall from Gertrude's eyes, well, I must admit that I share the views of Veronica and Tipton , that is, I don't really like them! ** (Though bats seem more okay-er (is that a word?) than rats to me!)

I had a fairly tolerant attitude towards lizards, until last night when one made me scream and almost fall by getting under my feet while chasing a cockroach. The irony was that I was trying to escape the cockroach which was trying to escape the lizard, a merry-go-round situation ending with my mother startled by my sudden shout :) (I did come across a small lizard today, but we didn't fraternize :) )

I don't know how comfortable I am when it comes to other animals - I've never had the chance to get intimate with lions, tigers or even deer.

Monkeys, I still hold a grudge against... It was a monkey which made me throw down the big popcorn cone I'd just bought (I thought it was a life-or-death situation - in hindsight, I know I should have kept the pop corn and shown the courage of my forefathers ...which, incidentally reminds me of Wodehouse's words in describing Clarence) ). When I narrated the incident to my aunt, she said I should have just scattered some of the popcorn on the ground and not given the whole thing away. But how could I be expected to show presence of mind, when my usual state is absent-mindedness? I still yearn for That Particular popcorn. Oh, Monkey-who-stole-my-popcorn, you're a blot on your species. (Rant over.)

If the talk turns to Monkeys, can talk of Donkeys be far behind?

But then, I've never interacted enough with the species to form an opinion :)

If there's one thing I have against birds in general, it's that they seem think that the clothes drying out in the sun are the best places to shit in... I've had the misfortune of having to wash affected clothes, so it is with deep feeling that I speak now.

I have omitted almost 90% of species. But I'm just a speck in the universe, my mind is just a tiny part of the speck, it can do only so much.

Apologies to the species I've overlooked, for lack of mental capacity and energy - just enjoy the life your ancestors wanted you to have, when they came along with Noah, and don't bother to take time out to grieve against a poor soul like me :)

(I wanted to mention Homo Sapiens, and say m. of the s. a la PGW, but the overpowering effect of Sleep has prevented me from doing so...)

Au revoir, folks.

* I managed to sneak in some of my Reminisces :P

** References to a couple of Wodehouse works. In case you are wondering what I'm talking about, go read Wodehouse. Else, just shut up.

(P.S. I just wanted to mention that I've given credit where it's due, at least I hope so. I've been seeing too much of ingratitude recently, that it makes saying thanks all the more important)

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Soppy trophy

It was a great weekend, what with buying around 15 books...


And after ages, I got a novel by an author whose work I'd read earlier and found readable. Thinking that it would be a good read, at least as a dinner accompaniment (I'd just finished re-reading a Wodehouse for the nth time, and finished another novel in the morning, so needed something for dinnertime). The preface said that the book dealt with a religious community, and that was fine with me. As the story developed with pages filled with 'penance' and 'Matins and Lauds' and 'Confessions' and 'The Holy Book' (I knew by the end of the first chapter what the story was going to be), I was waiting to see how the end came about. Come about it did, with one of the soppiest dialogues I'm ever read...

Towards the end, the heroine tells the hero....

(Get ready!!!)

"I would gladly take as many babies of yours as I could"

Howzzat???

Imagine telling this is real life... Moreover, the character who says this is a nun who has denounced (is that the verb?) her vows owing to her dissatisfaction.

And more importantly, she says this not once, but twice. TWICE!!! Imagine

And you wonder why I avoid reading these books, except at times of desperation...

(This also puts an end to my dream of writing a soppy novel - I could never have imagined any dialogue this corny :( )

Talking of desperation, what else can I expect, when I know by the end of the first chapter who did it, or what the climax is going to be. The only question left to answer is 'how'...

And what to do, even good novels don't last more than a couple of hours :(

Poor me... Please do an act of charity and send some good books my way... (I'll bless you for it - there, you got your reward!!!:P)

Sunday, August 14, 2011

Multi-tasking Mishaps

I just remembered certain mishaps incidents that happened, especially at times when I was on my cycle.
***
Once, as I neared the gate to the parking lot, I thought that for once, I should ride my cycle till the cycle shed, instead of getting down near the gate and walking like I usually do.

I planned my strategy accordingly - I'd slow down near the gate, go slowly down and the slope, make a graceful turn and ride straight till the shed, where I'd put my cycle properly in place.

Alas... So much for my planning. What actually happened was that I ended up trying to do both at once - I held the brakes to slow myself down, and at the same time turned the handle bar. The result was that I almost became a Humpty Dumpty... It was only the presence of mind of my leg (I can see some objections being raised - how can a mind be present in a leg, what is mind etc. ... to be more correct, I think I should call it a reflex...), I remained upright while my cycle took the fall. (I think it was a more satisfactory state of affairs than both me and my cycle lying down, or worse, the cycle standing while I lay on the ground).

(Actually, there were (thankfully) no witnesses to this spectacle. But that doesn't mean that it never happened. It just means that I can report my version of what happened :) )

***
Another time, I was on the way to the mess to have my lunch. I was riding quite furiously, as I was nearing a slope I had to climb. As I passed the Food Court on the way, I started trying to decide whether the food would be edible (to me) or not. I even removed a hand from the handle bar to adjust my dress, and was marvelling at the control I seemed to have over my cycle.

And it was then that I went straight and rammed into a girl walking on the road. I distinctly remember thinking that I should ring the bell and go around her. Instead, I did neither and rammed straight into her. (She was still rubbing her arm where she'd been run into, when I saw her at lunch. Needless to say, it hastened my lunch, and I was out much before her...)

***
My usual multi-tasking efforts are limited to reading while eating, and listening to music while reading, and sometimes while walking. Sometimes, when I'm studying at home, I end up singing while studying. (I quite like my singing, though I can't say the same for others). I guess that it is because they want me to concentrate on my studies that my folks leave the room when I start singing while studying...

Once my mother and brother were playing chess, I was reading and singing... I'd finished half my playlist, and come to 'Answer lies within'. So lost was I that it took me a few minutes to realize that my brother and mother had stopped playing and were rolling with laughter. To this day, they ask me to sing that song, though they consider it more a banshee's wail, going by their expressions...

***
That's enough about myself and my numerous qualities (?), at least, enough for one day. So, let me call it a day. Or night, if you prefer to be exact and more literal.

And oh, did I mention that I had a vision of myself cruising along on a Harley - Davidson. And singing. I'm sure it would be a sight to reckon with, given my excellent skills in both riding and singing. So, here's wishing me good luck and hoping that my dreams come true :)

Meanwhile, you can start praying for your own safety :P

Relapse

(A warning first : This was written over a period of almost 9 hours, 8&1/2 of which were spent in a state of blissful sleep :) (the weird dream doesn't count!) - so, lower your expectations and be prepared for a damp squib... Will be back to myself soon enough, and a (hopefully) better post will soon be on its way (again, hopefully! And, now that you've been warned, you may proceed.)

Every little song playing in my head
makes me think of something you said,
turning the pages of the books I read
make me wonder if you've done the same.
When I see the bikes on the roads,
it makes me remember your words.
Every little thing, every little event,
makes me think of the times we spent.
And though it has been a very long while,
the memories can still make me smile.
Sometimes I play the 'what-if?' game,
and out of the blue, I hear your name.
At times I wish we could sit and analyze,
to see when things began to go wrong,
and it's only then that I realize
it's been this way all along.

(P.S. : I'd rather be spared being hit by slippers - if you use one for the hitting, the other half might be lonely... And, no thanks, no rotten food items either... If you think this is trash, please feel free to use my comments section or mail box to have your say! Thanks!)

Thursday, August 4, 2011

Random thoughts

Some random reflections on my life at the moment :

- My guitar classes seem to be more expensive than I initially thought - what else can you expect, if you have chocolate tart balls, muffins and coffee after the classes?

- I'm happy my fingers are finally reaching all the strings on the guitar. I'd have said that my fingers are now at ease with G- and C- strings, but it sounds rather awkward...

- the world seems to be obsessed with beautiful girls - first, there was this friend of mine, wondering if the new academic year would bring beautiful girls to the department. Then, there's this other friend of mine, who argues with us saying that a certain girl looks like Ash... And today, a schoolfriend had a status message saying something about beautiful girls and the workplace...

I was going to say something more, but distraction in the form of a chocolate tart has broken the flow...

Some lines I liked

Just felt like sharing few lines that I liked, from a book I've been reading:

           "...There's only one thing wrong with life : people don't love enough, they don't laugh enough- and they are too damned conventional. Even their love affairs are supposed to run true to form. But this is spontaneous. You walk down where the sailors are saying good-bye to their sweethearts because you said good-bye to one once. It's been raining a little, and their is a sort of melancholy tenderness in the air. You are remembering the past, not because of him, because his face and personality have faded, but because of the romance of saying good-bye, the smell of strange odors from foreign ports, the thoughts the ocean always brings to people - romance, color,distance. A sort of vague sadness that is almost a happiness..."

Thursday, July 21, 2011

Navigaterror

No one knows Chennai the way I do :)

My knowledge of the city has been proved more than once :

- One of the first times I went to college by bus (after realizing that the station was a long walk away!) , I had to change buses halfway through. My aunt drew a map for me, and explained that I had to cross the road, and take the buses coming from the other side, I just nodded and said yes. And next day, when I got down, I couldn't figure out which way to go. And then I came across this group of guys , and from their backpacks, I assumed that they were college students, and would probably be going to my university, and so I followed them. My hunch proved right, and I reached the university safely and on time. I did get some weird looks when I told people I'd followed some random guys just because they had backpacks!

- I boarded a train from Guindy to Pazhavanthangal, which is two stations away (Guindy - St. Thomas Mount - Pazhavanthangal). I got in at Guindy, and got down at St. Thomas Mount, and was wondering how in such a short while (I'd been there only that morning), things had changed so drastically - the staircase leading out from the platform, was suddenly so much closer. It was only then that I looked up to see the station's name. I boarded the next train, and earned the distinction of being probably the only person in the history of the world to have changed trains to go two stations!

- I'd gone to meet my friend at Spencer's, and called my brother while leaving. He told me to come to Ananda Hotel for a cup of coffee. I boarded a bus, bought my ticket, and I just got down when the bus stopped at a signal. I knew that Ananda Hotel was close to a signal, and I'd have to walk back if I got down at the stop, and so was praying that the bus would stop at the signal. So get down I did, only to realize that it was another signal, and I was not even halfway there. I took the next bus, and got down at the right place this time. It isn't my fault if all traffic signals are alike!

- I once went to my aunt's office. I'd been there many times, but usually by another route, and often by auto. This was the first time I was taking a bus from near my university. I got down at a stop, called my brother and asked, "Where is the office? It isn't here". To which my brother replied, "Look properly, it'll be somewhere there" . Like I'd misplaced something. It took me a few minutes to realize I'd gotten down at the wrong stop (yet again!!!), and I (again) took another bus and arrived at the right place. To this day, whenever we go anywhere near that area, my brother makes it a point of asking me if I'd located our aunt's office.

Thankfully, I've never been completely lost (my phones and purses may have been lost, but never me!).

Believe me, I know my geography very well ;)

No one knows Chennai the way I do.

(Ask me. Not my brother!)

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Random Rants - subject : Clothes

Why ? Oh why?

Why did I have to see her? She, in her black kurta and skin-coloured pyjama - I think it was the latter that actually made me sit up and take notice of her - I was trying to figure out whether she was wearing anything below her kurta :) Oh girl, whoever you are, I'm sorry to say this , but you reminded me of these movies of the 80's, especially Tamil and Telugu ones, where our beloved slim, young heroes used to wear such things under a frock-like dress, especially if they were portraying Alexander or any other mythological character...

And just when I finally managed to get that vision (shudder) out of my mind, I was forced to put up with this other sight that makes me feel like puking - a really low-hanging jeans, tight ones at that - I mean, the legs of the jeans begin just above the knee, and taper towards the ankles... And on top of that, there are folds, like in a girl's chudidhar... This particular pair of jeans, I came across on a guy.

There is one other sight I can't tolerate - low waist jeans worn lower... I don't want to see your innerwear, or, in some cases, the flesh on certain parts of your body. Unfortunately, I seem to be able to get the opportunity to avaert my eyes only after inedible damage to my psyche...

That's enough ranting for a day.

Not that I'm a great dresser or a fashionista or something - I'm more than happy to wear something on top, something below; and if the essentials are covered, I'm done :) But even I don't go to certain extremes...

Rant over... Time to say goodbye, as Andrea Bocelli sang...

A random thought

Just a small random thought that came into my mind today ...

How times change... When I was young (younger than now, I meant... not that I'm old now :P ), I used to ask my brother to eat the veggies on my plate. If he refused, I'd put on my puppy-dog look (or so I imagine, maybe it was more of a hideous-monster look...), and once he'd eaten my veggies, I'd tell him, please eat this as well, I don't want it.

And then we grew up. When I tried the same thing again, he told me to eat my food, or throw it in the dustbin.

Now, I think the roles have been reversed - when he got a new mobile, I got his old one. When he moved on to the next one, I got the previous one.

Not that I'm complaining :)

Just a random observation, this; that one aspect of my life seems to have come full circle!

Monday, July 18, 2011

There is something about him!!!

It was my mother who introduced me to him when I was still in school.

I rediscovered him when I was in college, and it was then that I discovered a new side to life.

Ever since he came into my life, smiles have never been hard to come. Life was so much more pleasurable.

I still remember how I chose to spend my time with him, even to the extent of putting away my text books on the eve of my Boards. Needless to say, the fixation continued through college, to this day. And hopefully, still will.

Through him I also found some new friends, and also got to know newer facets of my other friends.

He's one of my favourite topics of conversation - get me started, and I'll go on for hours and hours about him and his works. I come to a halt whenever I come across his name anywhere, and sometimes, it is with great reluctance that I step away. (That too, when I'm forced to!)

Fortunately for me, he's a favourite with half my family as well. I can discuss him with my mother, and even my grandfather!!!

He's made me wake up and smile in the middle of the night. He's made me laugh sitting all alone in buses and trains. He's been my inseparable companion during many journeys and waits. He was with me even through my admission process. In fact, another girl in the queue recognized him, and we had a short conversation about him then :)

He has helped me through some of my darkest days. If it hadn't been for him, I'd have thrown in the towel long ago. He showed me there was so much in life to enjoy and be grateful for.

There is one thing about him I don't like - his unfinished business... It sometimes makes me feel really sad, the way he left it half-done. So, I avoid thinking about it.

I absolutely adore him, as do many others across the world, and can't imagine a life without him. I just can't get enough of him.

In my eyes, he has only one rival. Almost. A 11 year-old. But they are each so good in their own way, that there is really no comparison between the two. And I love the rival too.

The man who changed everything, the writer whose works I 'devour', whose humour keeps me up half the night, and whose humour keeps me going - P.G. Wodehouse, you're an absolute gem.

(The rival is William Brown, the other W whose adventures I can't get enough of...)