Tuesday 6 December 2011

Lessons learnt in a Luckless Delhi Day

In life there are some good days, some very good days, and then there are bad days, and obviously there are very bad days. Yesterday was one of the worst that I have seen. Yes, it was those days you see in movies where everything turns out wrong. Though in the movies it always ends with everyone smiling, yesterday was just a bad day.

I reached office at 1045, a good 15 minutes late, only to realise that my pretty red wallet was missing from my bag. It took me a minute to digest the fact that my wallet was indeed stolen. So there I learnt my first lesson of the day: NEVER TRAVEL IN A JAM PACKED METRO.

Then I called up home to get my card blocked, and my Grand dad told me that some cash had been already withdrawn from the card. Sigh. Call it a twist of fate, or whatever you'd like to call it, I had given my other ATM card to Thara. Phew! Now I have some money in Delhi.

Second Lesson of the Day: NEVER EVER CARRY ALL YOUR CARDS WITH YOU.

My friends at work had various theories as to how the money could have been withdrawn, ranging from Romilla's 200 rupee machine which can find out ATM Card Pins, to Thara asking who else knew the Pin and finding out he was the only one. Look at the irony of that.A few minutes after that Tribikram makes his point again : ALL METROS ARE BAD. Trust me, he has his share of Delhi Metros. Actually for more on that you should talk to Bharatendu.

Third Lesson of the Day : NEVER BE ALONE AFTER LOSING YOUR WALLET, BE AROUND FRIENDS LIKE MINE, WHO WILL GIVE YOU AMAZING AND MINDBLOWING INSIGHTS INTO HOW THE CRIME WOULD HAVE BEEN COMMITTED .

Later in the day, Thara and I decide to watch Puss-In-Boots, and Bharatendu as usual ditched us. We google the timings and the places, and find out that it's playing in Big Cinemas in CP. We while away an hour in the Mall next to our Office after work, and finally reach CP. After walking all the way to D Block what do we see? We see that the only two movies playing in Big Cinemas are Desi Boys and Dirty Picture. Just my Luck, ain't it?

Fourth Lesson of the Day: ALWAYS CALL UP THE THEATRE TO FIND OUT IF THE MOVIE YOU WANT IS SHOWING. IF YOU DON'T WANT TO CALL UP, DOUBLE CHECK ON ANOTHER WEBSITE.

So heads hung in dissapointment, shoulders down we made our way to the Metro Station and finally reached Patel Chowk. We got off, and Thara bought socks! Yes, socks at an amazingly cheap price.

Amazing Discovery of the Day : YOU NEED NOT ALWAYS SPEND A FORTUNE FOR GOOD SOCKS!

So, he went his way and I went mine. I was walking the same route I take everyday. I almost reached YWCA, when I realised some guy was walking behind me. I quickened my pace, and two minutes later, he started mouthing obscenities. I walked even faster and so did he, and I could make out he was drunk. He was reeking of Whiskey. My heart started pounding in a way it never did. All that I had read about Delhi not being safe for women started running through my head. I started looking for autos and there were none to be found. There were hardly any people on the road as well. The guy was still following me, and he kept asking me to wait and talk to him.

Then, I reached the Bus Stop, and this lady from my Hostel was there. It just took her a minute to realise what was happening and she started yelling at that man.PHEW! These two random men at the BusStop started beating up that man, and I was horrified, I mean I did not want him beaten up also. I walked back to the hostel with that Lady, my saviour.

My last lesson of the day : I really don't know. What happened to me there, could have happened to anyone anywhere. I should just be a little careful, and if he did anything start screaming as Bharatendu was telling me today. Maybe I should buy that Pepper Spray, that Aditi advocates. It's just the feeling of absolute helpnessness of that moment, of those terrible two minutes, that seemed to last an eternity that shook me.

So does yesterday make me hate Delhi?

I dont think so. Yesterday could have happened to me anywhere. I dont claim to love Delhi, but Delhi does help me learn a lot about myself, and a lot about the world. Delhi brings out another side of me. It yesterday was soo bad, today was really nice. I could sit in Max Mueller Bhawan Canteen and talk about yesterday, only shows how beautiful Delhi is. It can help you wipe away all your yesterday's tears. For the foodies out there check out Cafe Goethe in the Max Mueller Bhavan on Kasturba Gandhi Road, great Chicken Dum Biryani. I really liked it, and the best part a meal for two will cost about 150 bucks!

I still love the Metro. I am still game to going all the way to drop Saumya off in Gurgaon just for fun. I love the fact that while walking to the Metro Station in the mornings I get to hear lotsa things from how to run for President to how to cook Achari Ghosh. I love the fact that  I walk past buildings where important decisions are taken everyday.

Would I be ok with living in Delhi? I am not so sure. That will take me sometime. I dont think I can ever get myself to say, " I am from Hyderabad, but I work in Delhi."

So, in hindsight what was the most precious thing I lost yesterday, I lost the opportunity to look at my favorite photo of my mum on her Birthday. So here's a little request to the girl who stole my wallet :

If you do have my wallet, please return the pictures that are there in it. They mean a lot to me.

You can use my other Metro Card, it has some 70 bucks in it.

(This post is dedicated my Mom. Happy Birthday Mummy, wherever you are. I miss you.) 


Sunday 23 October 2011

Blessings are Counted!

"Count your Blessings" she said calmy. I stared at her blankly and almost cheekily said, "Really?".

A month or so later, when I went to the Missionaries of Charity in Jodhpur, I realised how right Ammamma was. So one very sunny afternoon, Gargi, me and Saumya went to this Home for Mentally Challenged Girls on the outskirts of Jodhpur as a part of our India Redefined program. We collected almost an auto full of clothes, and other necessities from our college to give the children there.

The Sister who we met was kind and humble, and showed us the entire place. She knew each child personally, she knew their problems, their history, their eating habits, and also their tantrums. The children were very happy to see us, shouting and screaming with joy, shaking our hands, and this one girl even hugged Gargi. Each of the girls there had her own story, her own sorrows, and her own world. Most of all they seemed happy to be there. The trip finished off with us taking pictures with the girls, and yes, even our photo hating Gargi smiled nicely.

While we were on our way back in the auto I could not help but think of Ammamma's words. I felt privileged and loved, and the whole excercise made me realize how lucky I was. Thanks Sukku, and Thank You India Redefined.

Monday 17 October 2011

Some posts do not need a title.

Music is powerful. Music unites us; maybe all countries should just have a MINISTRY of MUSIC. Yeah, this is my theory, pass a law saying that every citizen must know how to sing or play a musical instrument. Those who do not shall be prosecuted. I for one believe there is music inside everyone. So moving on, people who can appreciate (for the lack of a better word) are happy people, and happy people fight no wars, and that, ladies and gents, is how you achieve, WORLD PEACE.


All this thought process came into force after my amazing one day at the Rajasthan International Folk Festival. Another music festival which reinforced my long standing belief, which has been proven again and again, “The purest music comes from the most untouched lands.”

How many of us have heard of Reunion Islands? Yet on Friday night a crowd consisting of people from the US, the UK, Europe, Africa and Asia ( I am pretty sure there were a couple of Aussies around) sang along, whistled to (well, we tried) danced to the beats of a man from this very island, off the coast of Madagascar. Davy Sicard and his band rocked the crowd! What soulful music, what amazing stage presence; he managed to convey the pain and anguish of colonialism in the music of the sea.

In most places, most art forms are passed on from generation to generation. It’s not everyday that you see three generations of a family on stage performing. Shakar Khan Manganiyar was on stage performing with his sons and grandsons, all playing this instrument to me looked like a combination of the Veena, the Banjo and the Violin, called the Kamaycha. His profound exploration of ragas in his alaap just reflected his expertise and also his years of experience, and his deep knowledge.

Music transcends languages; it makes you one with complete strangers. How else can you explain two brothers from Egypt (Joseph Tawadros on Oud and his brother James on Egyptian percussion), and two Kazak (Slava Grigoryan and his brother Leonard) brothers coming together in Australia as a band with a classical guitar, an electric guitar, and two very Egyptian instruments. Their compositions were supremely creative, and very catchy. Also impressive in this segment was Joseph Tawadros’s slapstick comedy, we realised he is just as much of a joker offstage when we met him later in the Mehrangarh lift.

Their jugalbandi with the Kamaycha playing Manganiyars of Rajasthan showed how beautiful and captivating Fusion music can be, if both the forms of music are blended effectively, yet ensuring that their original character remains true. (No, Dave, not like the time when we butchered Mahaganapathim, and the only person who liked it was Lin. Had my Grandma heard it, she would have chased us through the streets of Hyderabad with a Veena in her hand. True). Whether it was Davy Sicard inviting the Manganiyars onto the stage to perform with him, or Jason Singh’s beatboxing with Raies Khan’s Morchang, late in the night, fusion is all about both the artists understanding and respecting each other and their music.

The night ended with us dancing to Rajasthani Folk Group Dharohar’s performance featuring Jason Singh, listening to Jumma ‘Jogi’s poetry and vocals, and then again dancing away till the early morning to DJ Maga Bo who played beats from all parts of the world.

The next morning, having spent the night dancing at the fort, saw us at sunrise in Jaswant Thada, a little way away from the main fort, where we listened in rapt attention and wonder to Pt. Hariharsharan Bhatt on sitar (from Jaipur, Rajasthan) and Pt. Brijbhushan Bhatt on violin (from Alwar, Rajasthan). When Pt.Hariharan closed the morning’s show with my favorite Bhajan, Vaishnavo Janato, I did not feel leaving. It was a night well spent.

Music will not fill that void in your heart, that is something you have to do for yourself. Music only gives you the strength to try to fill it. It will always be there for you, it is beautiful and sacred. It will help you to try and help yourself to pull yourself out of any shit life has a habit of throwing at you. It will help you appreciate the value of the things or people that you have, and not those that you lost. Most of all, it helps you move on.

I guess I’ll close this post with the following:

“Some people believe in God, I believe in Music,

Some people pray, I turn up the Radio.”



(In the memory of the fine man who taught me how to enjoy all the good things in life, and made me what I am today. And also was one hell of a friend, mentor, and father. R.I.P. Daddy. You have no idea how much I love and miss you. Thank you, for everything.)

Monday 15 August 2011

Happy Independence Day


“Long years ago we made a tryst with destiny, and now the time comes when we shall redeem our pledge, not wholly or in full measure, but very substantially. At the stroke of the midnight hour, when the world sleeps, India will awake to life and freedom.” Ok. Stop. Now.

This is not your typical Independence Day article about India Shining and how it’s become the IT hub, and the entire world is coming to India and all that jazz. No. It’s not. If you want any of that, my blog is not the place to be. You can leave right now. Go! Go read some very pro-Government newspaper which talks about India. So yeah, Go!

If you are reading this, then I am assuming that you came here to read a 20 almost 21 year old’s view of India. As someone who grew up in the Globalization, Privatization and Liberalization era, I can safely say I have seen India change, and my, what a change it was. But, is it what we really need?

I am sure you remember my earlier post about Prof.Smith saying India’s a country of contrasts. After 21 years of living here, I can say its true. It’s been 64 years from the day of the above mentioned great speech, and even now when I order food from DMD, or go to eat in Cool Palace it’s a little boy, I am sure who is very much under the age of 14 comes to deliver food or serve me food. Irony, ain’t it? Considering that I live in a Law School “A premier educational Institution”.

When my car stops at a Traffic signal there’s little boy painted silver like a Gandhi Statue comes begging. Yes, dressed like that same Father of Our Nation, who went around fasting so that the British give us Freedom. Irony, again.

What exactly does the phrase ‘developing nation’, mean? How long has India been developing? What is developing? Is having maids to clean your house and paying them a pittance development? Is abusing your driver development? I dunno.

Child Marriage was abolished before independence, but a recent article I read in the National Geographic tells me the story of a little girl who was married off in Rajasthan. Yep, in Osiyan town, two hours from where I live, two hours from the Premier Educational Institute which is training lawyers to be the protectors of Human Rights!


My college like other institutions of its ilk had a little ceremony to commemorate the occasion today, what are the three top reasons for people attending the function:
1.      
My Friends singing.
2.       I ll get free food.

3.  I might win Best Dressed.

Yep. True Story. I am not saying that there weren’t people who actually went out of patriotic feeling, but this was the general observation.

64 years on, buildings have become taller, the rich have become richer, politicians have become more corrupt, the poor have become poorer, there’s McDonalds and KFC now to prove that we are becoming like the West, obesity is on the rise, reading and writing are almost on the verge of being things from the past, we have phones to call our friends in New York/Sydney/London, but we don’t have the time to talk to our own neighbors, we are consuming more alcohol, so I guess we are ‘developing’. I hate to say it still, this is soo ironic. I am not too sure that this is the India that Nehru imagined when he was making the above speech.

India man, its not full of contrasts, as much as it is full of ironic semblances of its glorious past.

I wrote about what I see through my 21 year old eye. Not the truth, just what I feel.
Happy Independence Day.

Saturday 23 July 2011

Die Pigeon, DIE!

Sometime a ago I had written a post about lizards being the most annoying pests in NLU, well, I was wrong. Until then I did not have the chance to come across, or rather be affected by the presence of another pest in the campus, well I realised I had met my nemesis here, no it was not moots, not public speaking, not drafting memos, but Pigeons! Yes, those disgusting, ugly looking two legged birds with red legs and red eyes, who the hell has red eyes, anyway?

I have heard of a boy who actually bought an air gun to try and shoot the pigeons away! And my ever shining beacon of hope, who actively encourages me in my every pursuit (does not!) , told me that the pigeons have a tendency to find a way through the mesh, and end up dying in the balcony! Yes, trust him to talk like that, and I did not pay much heed to that warning, when I should have.

The pigeons took a while to figure out the existence of my hostel. By the time they did that, I had to be one of the unlucky ones who did not have the presence of mind to get a mesh put in the balcony, and as a result spent an entire semester with a pigeon colony in my balcony. At any given time there were atleast seven to eight pigeons perched on my balcony grill, every single day. I gave my VI semester finals listening to pigeons cooing, and watching this big fat monster incubating mom pigeon sitting on my cooler, which I could not switch on courtesy the Pigeon Colony.

There were times when I used to feel that the mom pigeon was watching me with angry eyes, when I was loitering about my room instead of studying! True Story! They are everywhere in the corridors, in the bathrooms, sometimes according to a few girls, staring creepily at them. Ew. They reproduce at an unbelievable rate, and there are eggs every few days in every other balcony!

And so, the minute I got back to Jodhpur this semester, I called a carpenter and got a mesh put in my balcony. All seemed fine for the first few days, and despite several heroic attempts no pigeon was able to get into my balcony. Fort Knoxx was secured, or so I thought. One morning I woke to hear wings flapping in my balcony, I looked in only to see a Pigeon flying around in my Balcony! Fort Knoxx breached! I ran to SN Halls at 6 am to find a bhaiyya, who valiantly went in and threw the pigeon out, and sadly he did not put the mesh properly in place!

I did not notice that, a few more days later, paid dearly for it ( literally!). I was returning from class oneday to see a flock of pigeons in my BALCONY! Yes! There were 4 pigeons in my balcony, or so I thought! I met Vinnie on the way who offered to go into my blacony and try to shoo the pigeons away! Well she came up and went in bravely to my balcony and whoosh! six pigeons flew up! and Vinnie ran out!

I panicked, and called SN halls to send a bhaiyya, and Vinnie and I waited half and hour for the "Pigeon Warrior" to turn up and save KungFu in my balcony. So after an hour and a half of trauma, my balcony was safe! And I called up the Carpenter and yelled my lungs out at him, and paid another one to finally put the mesh in place and fasten it in place. And so now, my balcony is safe. Atleast for the time being.

Tuesday 19 July 2011

I believe in Music

It's a sunny day in Jodhpur, and I have just returned from class, and switched on my laptop, and decided to listen to some music. I opened Media player and Last Kiss by Pearljam started playing and it made me realise what a great thing music is. Music is something that has always been a big part of my life, whether its my love for singing or having a minor musical celebrity at home, or my wonderful and very radical Carnatic Music teach who encouraged us to listen to and appreciate the beauty in all kinds of music.

As I finish writing the above paragraph, my Media player who seems to always be insync with my head, starts playing a beautiful renderation of 'Seethapathe' by 'Nookala'. Khamas is a wonderful ragam and has a soothing effect. Nookala's amazing exploration of the ragam in the alapana has never failed to enthral me and he is one person who I know I respect. You can almost hear him becoming one with the music that he is producing. Maybe that was what they call divinity.  

I know my share of musicians, and the ones who I respect the most are the ones who have the ability and the passion to create music of their own. I have seen Ammamma going into those phases where she's making music, it's a beautiful thing to watch her sit with her  regal Bobbili Veena and spend hours composing new songs, and I felt honoured to perform her songs in my recent concerts. She is one of the few composers of the present day who makes secular music, yes very rare in Carnatic. I only hope that one day I'll be even half as good.

And then the player switches to Colorblind by Darius, which is one of my favorite songs. I think the song has a great lyrical value, and the music is really good. Yes, thats one debate I have with my teacher always, who feels that lyrics are not as important to a song as the music itself. I have always and will always disagree ( maybe that's the writer in me acting up) I think both the lyrics and the music are equally important. Whats the point of having miraculous music if the lyrics don't manage to convey the message.But that's what I think.

I think music is, apart from food, the way into a persons heart. Music touches you where words cannot possibly go. It made me a lot of friends, I love all the times I spend singing with my friends, Karaoke or otherwise :). 

Po achieved inner peace with Kung Fu. I think I know how I'll achieve mine. I think it's the feeling you get when after practising a song for hours, that one time you sing it, after singing it a million times, that you know its perfect. You know that one time, you have that song in your heart, and you and that song have become one. I think that moment ( which is hard to come by for me) is when you are at peace with yourself. 

Music has helped me deal with some of the most troublesome times in my life, I dunno what I would have done otherwise. I think my feeling about music can be summed up into these following few lines which are a part of the 'theme' of 30 Seconds to Mars:
                        
                        Some People believe in god
                        I believe in Music
                        Some people pray
                        I turn up the radio!

And my media player appropriately starts to play Sultans of Swing, one of my dads favorite songs :) Yes, I miss him.

Peace.



Thursday 9 June 2011

The truth about being Gay

Jobless is what jobless do. In my supremely jobless stint in Delhi, I met an equally jobless co-intern who watches dramas and soap operas and also listens to pop music from the far east. Thanks to that very nice person, I started watching a Taiwanese Serial and a Japanese series. But no, that is not what this post is about. This post about about how two girls when left to talk on Gtalk can come up with amazing and often mind boggling ideas.


Today is my last day in Delhi, and I was online talking to Aditi and also watching a Japanese Serial. We were randomly talking about how sucky our lives are at the moment, and I was dreaming about the moment my grandparents are due to arrive in Delhi tomorrow morning, and how my life will significantly improve one they are here. Well anyway in the middle of all this, in the serial, there is a guy sitting in a plush chair,wearing a silk Robe, and there are four people tending to his four limbs giving him a Mani-Pede (for those who don't know its Manicure and a Pedicure). OMG!


I quickly convey this to Aditi, along with this I also tell her my other conclusion (which shall not be written here), and there's a little talk about the serial and the guys in it. Then Aditi comes up with an amazing query. 


How is it that Gay men are supposed to be feminine well lesbians are not supposed to be, well, manly?


Come to think of it, maybe the media is to blame for it, like it is to be blamed for the rest of the stereotyping, you generally know a gay man when you see one. Whether it's Cam and Mitch in Modern Family or that adorable Lloyd from Entourage, they are all well, girly. I am not saying there are no exceptions like that football player in 90210 who Ted falls for, or for that matter even Teddy. But then when you see a serial like the L-Word you don't actually see those woman and say, oh they are lesbians! nope!!


So what is my point?


Well my point is that even a gay guy looks for the same characteristics in his partner, that a straight man would look for in a woman. Think about it, all the effort and money spent on expensive suits and colourful and bright clothes. While the converse is hardly true for lesbians. Most lesbians dress and talk like straight women.The thing is girls are able to retain their girlyness even wen they are into other girls but men have to inherently assume the characteristics of the opposiite sex even to attract their own sex that means, well sadly, ALL MEN ARE INHERENTLY STRAIGHT!


So that means when Gays or even straight men fall for a person it's generally a person with female characteristics! But when a straight woman likes a guy she likes him for his inherent masculineness, but when a lesbian woman likes a woman she likes her 'cause of her feminineness. Well, that makes all women essentially Bisexual. 


So next time you see a Gay person, think, is he really gay?


P.S. Thanks Aditi for a jobless morning.


DISCLAIMER : THIS POST WAS NOT MEANT TO HURT THE FEELINGS OF ANY LGBT PERSON AND THE AUTHOR DEEPLY RESPECTS YOUR CHOICE, AND DOES NOT MEAN TO OFFEND YOU IN ANYWAY. 

Wednesday 1 June 2011

M.E.T.R.O

Sometimes in life there comes a time when you feel that you've had enough, well you've had enough of being you, being the same old boring self with the same old everyday problems and the same old highs and the same old lows. Maybe Delhi was feeling this mid-life crisis a few years ago, and few public minded old people must have thought, "Well, what does our dear old Dilli need?". And BAM! that was the birth and the beginning of the Delhi Metro. After a few years it was up and running and run how it does!

You walk into those nice and clean Metro Stations and you see the airport tight security, and for a first timer like me, two years ago, it was all very impressive. Two years into the future I am finally in Delhi to do my internship and well using the metro became an almost everyday thing. Thanks to Bharat I even have a swanky blue metro card! 

In a Metro you see all kinds of people, especially in the ladies coach. There's the Blackberry\I-phone girl next to the doors, a foreigner dressed in a smart kurta and jeans, the giggly college girls in the corner, a few lebanese ( or any european) tourists with backpacks and ofcourse a few old ladies and there's always that one pregnant lady with a kid (cliched, but true). Metro is definitely the most convenient form of transport within Delhi. My trip from Moolchand to Tee Hazari was the life changing one, yup, the change in the locales kinda hit me pretty strong.

So next time you are in a Metro think of it like this, yes its a blessing, but also maybe its a signal to you to think about your life, and where you are headed, maybe you'll also be surprised at the changes you bring unto yourself.

P.S. - I hope someone in Hyderabad reads this. (There's no harm in hoping.)

Saturday 21 May 2011

Dumplings from heaven!

Yes it's been long, but what to do, first there was my pre-exam and exam time policy of not blogging (except in exceptional circumstances) and then the post-exam laziness happened, we anyway I am back to nagging everyone I know ( and those unfortunate souls who stumble upon this piece of internet).

So what's been up?


Well, for starters I am in Delhi. Yes, the land of Momos. Yup, the first thing I noticed about this place is the number of momo-wallahs at the end of every corner. Momo, what used to be pretty exquisite in Hyderabad is available on every roadside in Delhi. and I simply love it!

As two very momo learned friends of mine say it's the sauce that makes the momo. And after experimenting with a few momo shops I must agree, it IS the sauce that makes the momo. I mean I have not found one person who does not like to eat  momos. It's not like back home where you have to shell out a fortune for momos in those exclusively Chinese (and mostly high end places) here you get about 10 momos for 30 bucks! OMG!! and still its the sauce man, its the sauce.

I'd like you all to meet a friend with whom I bonded with over momos and hiphop music and got me hooked onto Korean pop music (2NE1 and Taeyang! <3 ) and Japanese serials, say hello to Rigzen Yangdol (very cool)  from NALSAR (not very cool, from what she tells me!) my fellow co intern (sufferer). She says the key to a good momo is the bottom of the momo coming off, and something else to do with fat. She also clearly and nicely explained how momos are preferred in Ladakh ( that's where she's from). I am eagerly waiting to try the pork momos, but as I am stuck with a bunch of vegetarians, well I guess that could prove to be a bit difficult, but let's hope for the best. I'll even adjust with Mutton (please oh please!).

Aditi says one of the best momos are in Dilli Haat, I plan to check that out sometime, and yes, also come back from there with a little change to my hair which will remind me of something similar I had a long time ago. Aditi suggests Momos and fruit beer and Rigzen agrees, whole heartedly. But these days whenever I feel momo hungry (yes that's a special type of hunger), I walk upto the momo man at the end of our street, the one who Geetay says looks Japanese, and buy a whole plate of nice chicken momos and hog!

So until next time, I'll eat momos, you do whatever you want. Toodles!!

Thursday 5 May 2011

May angels lead you in

There are some people you meet in life, who you know you have to respect. Chitchat was one of those special people. "Such a cute old man!" I remember thinking when he walked into class a little over a year ago, much the same way he did for next two semesters he taught us. I remember telling dad, after one of his first classes that he reminds me of that wise old turtle,Oogway in KungFu Panda.

Whether it was the warmth in his voice when he taught us, or the free attendance, or simply the sight of him walking around the Campus, it always managed to bring a smile to most student's faces! He was soo worried when he used to see the attendance register, and say "Uff!", in a way only he could. To him I was the 'Hyderabadi', who used to sleep in class 'cause of all the rice I had, Saumya and Aditi were girls from Lucknow, Sukku ( who was arguably one of his favorite students) had very 'neat handwriting' (a moot point when it comes to most people in class) and the best, Thara was an exchange student sent by the Mizoram Government.

One thing that always struck me about that man is his genuine happiness, he was one of the most happiest people I have ever met. I know I'll miss seeing him walk around in College, I know I'll miss him asking me how I'am doing, and yeah, I ll also miss running into him at Reliance Fresh.

Here's to the man he was, the teacher he was, here's simply to our dear old Chitchat! Yes Sir, we will miss you! As Animesh said he is going to a happier place.

Thursday 21 April 2011

What's on Your Mind? by Anonymous

I woke up in the morning to find a mysterious looking email in my inbox. I open it carefully fearing it might be a virus, the address from which it was sent looked well shady. However there was a sweet message saying nice things about me and request to post the attached entry on my blog! Well, that melted my heart, and I decided to read it, and it was pretty entertaining and funny, that was something I'd wanted to write about from quite sometime, so I decided what the hell!

Hence, here goes nothing


A simple and seemingly innocent question. Four words. I mean what’s the big deal right?
Maybe there is, and maybe there is not. There is absolutely no reason why you should concur with me. I have come to terms with the fact that there are no absolute truths.  There’s no reason why anyone’s opinion should be subservient to another’s. Chuck, I am digressing, and that’s not the point I intend to assert in any case. 

That’s not what’s on my mind.

For me, it wasn’t kind of a big deal. Until 15 minutes back. Boom! An idea popped in my head, and consumed me so much so, that I had to write it down. Ha ha, I know what you are thinking. I am not stoned, nor sloshed. It’s such a simple thought, yet all-encompassing and consuming.

Why should I share what’s on my mind? Why should anyone? It’s kinda difficult for me to catch up with my own thoughts, and before I lose track: when I talk about what’s on your mind, I mean all these status messages on these whack a doodle do social networking sites, gtalk and the kind. (If you still don’t get what I am talking about, this is the place where you are supposed to stop reading and go back to whatever you were doing)Simple forwarded, ccped , funny messages are fine, what I am talking about here is the not so eloquent, not so artistic, not so complex, ordinary everyday thoughts, your thoughts. This is not to say that those of you who are gifted and can express yourself are not included. I am also not talking about bloggers and the like or people who have a point to make, freedom of speech and expression and thought and stuff...nay Sir/Ma’am I am myself a big proponent and supporter of this essential right, so don’t think too unkindly of me... simple ordinary folks is what I am talking about here.

Anonymity is definitely not the reason. In fact, unless you have your privacy settings and stuff sorted out right, you are sharing your thoughts with the whole wide world. (I am saying this from my very limited technical knowledge.) The whole world. All it takes is the right keywords, a simple google search, and there you are, wide open to the whole wide world. Voila! You just shouted out loud at a party exactly what you were thinking about, only a very very big party. Well maybe the analogy isn’t right, but you get the picture. The BIG picture. Well why not go out and tell it to real people. People around you. People you can talk to.

Sure, you could say that I can write whatever bulls**t I feel like. But hey, comeon, unless you are trying to throw the FBI/CIA and the like off your tracks by posting random blabber, you do end up mostly posting what’s exactly on your mind. And if it actually is false (in which case you need to get some serious s**t sorted out), why even bother with the whole charade?

So my point is this: Why would anyone in their right minds shout out loud to the world his/her thoughts? Why would anyone want to bare their soul, their mind? Aren’t our thoughts supposed to be our most private confines of our existence? To be shared with only a select handful, unless you are running for public office, or have to spread some major propaganda or the like.

Does it make anyone feel better, that somehow you have become part of a large virtual conglomeration, like a Sunday mass, where you can talk with the person standing next to you, and so can he/she, but there are absolutely no strings attached? Does it make you feel any better that people will like your thoughts, comment on it? Does it then give you a sense of gloating pride in acceptance from names whose faces you haven’t even seen in a while, and maybe even strangers? Does it give you a sense of comfort in the self pity that you are glorifying or is it the other reactions you seek to incite in other mortals, which make you feel like you just bedazzled everyone at Broadway with your excellent performance?

What is your addiction?

I am quite the sinner myself, for I have shared my mind quite frequently, as am I doing now. I wanted to put this point across, so here it is, my thoughts, my mind laid down on the platter for your appraisal. Yet as a token of atonement, I am hiding behind the garb of anonymity here...nah, am just screwing with your head. I am doing it for the heck of it. However, I am still confused. Confused as to why would anyone share as to what’s on their mind?

Maybe its how humans are supposed to be, all along. We might have come a long way from living in tribes to 
nuclear families, to live ins, but deep down a part of us refuses to change. Deep down, we still need to remind ourselves that we are a part of something larger than the 2-3 people we share a roof with. Technology has only made it easier, merely provided a platform. Deep down we still feel the need to be bonded, the need to feel needed.

Dear Anonymous,

Thank you. A big fan already! 

Sincerely,
Sneha

Tuesday 19 April 2011

R-OH (We all know what it is!)

Well, it's just over half past 12 and I just can't seem to get myself to do anything! So well , I finally put that Copyright symbol on my blog, and yeah so it's finally properly protected!!

Law School life is tough! Well admit it or not, R-OH (well more popularly known as alcohol) may not magically make it easy, but it well you know, helps you through it. Study hard  five days a week, and use the rare free weekend to well 'bust' your stress.

What is the first thing you do when you plan a party, well after deciding who to invite and whom to ignore, yes ladies and gents, you decide the booze! Whisky, Rum, Vodka, and others..Hours are spent deciding on the quantity, the brands, and most importantly the costs (well not in all cases though).

 Alcohol adds life to most parties. It makes making friends easier. As I was telling my friend the other day, "A few pints down, everyone becomes your friend". A very important tenet of alcoholics which well gets proven time and again. All those who disagree, you can put your hand up, and just let it be there! I don't really care.

Knowing about alcohol improves your geography and pronunciation, well how in the world would you have learnt how to pronounce Gorbatchow? or the right way to say Absolut?  My point exactly!

Alcohol I think is the A that comes after the three Cs that unite India. Well here's an example.
A dear friend of mine wanted to drink oneday, and she took her friends along and went to the shop only to realise that it was a dry day! They got into an auto and well, the more adventurous asked the auto driver if he knew any dealer, well the auto driver promptly agreed to take them to one, and yeah took them around till they found one. On the way they also got to hear gems like "I used to work in Goa, and the whole of Goa knew me" I heavily suspect that he was under the influence of some spirits too!!
Yes.True Story.

Here's to the Highs and the Hangovers and to the man who, apart from being my booze mentor, is also an amazing father (Happy Birthday, again!)!  Happy Drinking!!

Thursday 14 April 2011

The "Bhai" Phenomena

The world of NLU never fails to amaze me. The people, the places, our mysterious ways and life in general. Funny and weird things are part of our daily life. One of these which has recently caught my eye is the 'bhai' phenomena.Nope, we don't have a pan chewing, black kurta pyjama wearing and black sunglass wearing mafia in NLU. I am talking about the free and unfettered usage of the word, well you know it, 'bhai'.

Here's an example. One day three people were walking back from classes on the long winding road that runs through NLU. One of them is a lanky Ghazibadi Boy, a Hyderabadi Girl and a Mizo boy.They seem to be in the middle of a discussion which seems to quite engaging, and suddenly the girl exclaims, 'Bhai! what is he saying?". Well if you think it's a very North Indian phrase, well, Surprise Surprise!!

Yep, the girl who spent her entire life in Hyderabad in a very South Indian household, and who until she joined NLU was Hindi illiterate (well look forward to a very entertaining post on the North Indianization of Sneha G Sindhu) has just used the very popular NLU word.

The word 'bhai' is generally the shortened form of 'Bhaiyya' which means brother. However in NLU it is used to persuade, as form of exclamation, to express joy or anger, and sometimes used 'just for the sake of it' It is often used as a very desi substitute for 'dude'.

A bunch of girls sitting in Cool Palace also often punctuate their conversation about Gucci shoes and Fendi bags with a well placed Bhai! Well they also refer to eachother as bhai. Yeah, I have a very close friend of mine who keeps saying 'bhai' all the time!

When I went home this winter I was talking to my very Hyderabadi cousin, and my grandmom was nearby. And so I said, "Bhai, what nonsense blah blah blah...."

My grandmom froze! She could not believe her ears! She promptly walked upto me and said "Sena don't speak like an auto driver!"

 Sadly it's true......in Hyderabad its mostly the auto drivers who use bhai. So if you ask to go to Badi Chowdi, expect to hear a "Bhai, mai to nai jaathu....vahanpe is time pe bahut traffic hai!"

After that I spent a precious half an hour explaining to my gran that its weird and unladylike thing in Jodhpur! Yes, she did say that oneday I'll end up speaking like a truck driver!!

Hence in NLU if you are a Delhite, or a Punjabi, someone from Chennai, or from the Northeast you will end up picking up the 'bhai' culture in your 5 years of stay here.

To finish off, as Saumi and I always say

"We are the Bhai, we are the bhai!"

P.S. thanks Lohitash for the idea!!

Monday 21 March 2011

What all do WE care about?

 This morning I was tweeting very harmlessly (except for the Death threat I sent to the Pro-Telangana person), and my page kept getting updates about one Rebecca Black from the Harry Potter page on twitter, yeah and so, what is the first TWEET I see?





"I'll say it again. I don't hate Rebecca Black and I don't want her dead. Why would I? Yes she sings like a dying Hippogriff but really, now."


Since I am generally I step or two behind most tweeps I know, I type Rebecca Black in the little blue search box in Twitter (Oh! how I love twitter) and lo and behold! I see a million other tweets echoing the same emotion! Well after reading about 10 to 20 tweets I found out the follwing:


1.She is an 8th grader.


2.American ( what else? can she be? ). From California (again?)


3.She can sing say some.


4.She thinks she can sing say some more.


5.There are some who say she can't.


6. She released a song on YOUTUBE (yes yes like that lil blond guy we all know)


7.She called the song FRIDAY.


8.Also she wants to record a single with her 'idol' yes yes none other than Pretty Boy Biebs! ( I can't believe I just said that! )


9. The song is about how a teenager cannot decided whether to sit on the front seat or the back seat of a car. Wow! So cool na? I 'll also write a song about how I cannot decide what to eat? Paneer Makhani or Kadai Paneer! 


10. She is apparently out trended the Japanese Earthquake over the weekend!


The last point actually got me thinking! Wow do more people really care about a teenage girl blaring than about lives lost and property destroyed in Japan? That got me thinking What do we really care about?


On an average day in the world these days there's a political coup, or the aftermath, there's a natural disaster of some magnitude, there's a financial breakthrough, and oh there's also a sporting event and yeah like last week a 'Teenage Sensation" on the internet!  


I decided to poke around a bit and I found out that Rebecca did out trend the earthquake,Gaddafi, the Cricket WC and other more important things. Another shocker this happened not only on Google Trends but also on Twitter, Facebook and other social networks! Really? did the earthquake become boring now, in a little over a week? Are our attention spans that short, and are we that shallow? 


This is just another example of the myriad of things that we willfully choose to ignore in our busy lives! Tho kya? Japan mein earthquake tha, log mare the, India mein bhi tha tsunami, earthquake? I'd rather spend hours reading about this new chick who has biebered her way into my weekend! Let me laugh at her, let me call her the "BLACK PLAGUE", or the latest, let me make a parody out of her song! Yes, I am not lying there was a parody already on YOUTUBE!


Do TV channels and internet sites really dictate what we care about and what we don't? Do we really need them to decide for us what and when to like a thing? They tell us what to like, what to buy, what story is hot, they decided when a story loses importance, they tell us what is the new story! Maybe it is right, maybe its better that way, 'cause if you let everyone decide what they want to care about, yes, we will get more people fulfilling their 'teenage dream's! and that my friends will not be pretty! 


So then that got me thinking what is the one thing near home that I have actually cared about? What? Oh yea! I absolutely hate the fact that my city, my beloved Hyderabad is being destroyed! For what? So that a man's thirst for political power can be quenched? the statues destroyed may not be as famous as the Buddha statues, but to me, they symbolise a childhood spent running around in the green grass around them, of many Sunday evening spent near "Pedda Laala"! It was just sad to see hundreds of people walking on Tankbund, all this for what? For NOTHING! I wish they'd just leave my city alone! Yes, I care about it! 


Maybe Rebecca will record a new single with her idol (good for her!), I would love to record a single with Avril! It's ok if the Earthquake takes second place in google trends as long as efforts are being made to help the sufferers. All that really does not matter as long as people care about all that that has to be cared about! Peace.

Wednesday 9 March 2011

A general update on how things are!

Yes. Yes. It's summer here, well almost. Yes, yes it's that time of the year when there's dust, and sand everywhere and you risk getting stuck in the midst of a sandstorm every time you walk back from the library to the Hostel. And yes, I am over reacting!

Firstly here's a big hug to Tangypoison, as it got an awesome review the other day, or was it a compliment? Well remember folks, a few months ago I wrote about Shivam the Rooftop Restaurant, yeah as my really nice floor mate tells me that the owner of that place claimed to know me as I had written that post and he claimed several NLU people had come there after reading it on my blog! Well good good if he thinks his business has risen thanks to my blog, yeah next time I go, I ll introduce myself (Yes, anything in the hope of free food!).

Secondly here's a new embarrassment in the author's life, earlier today while taking attendance in class, JPKJ looks at me and says:

"Are you able to follow in class? Do you understand? How much did you get in the last test?"

Ugh! Never in my 20 years of living did anyone ever say that! Oh by the way I managed a decent 15 out of 20 in that miserable test of his! I ll show him in the next test, yes I will!! Yes, I only ‘look’ confused, sleepy and dumb in class!

 I have noticed a recent spurt in the number of status messages aiming to give a message to other people, yes, I am not denying that they were always there, but all I am saying is that there has been a sudden increase in their number! Well imagine this, you log into your g talk hoping to play catch up with your friends, and you end up seeing status messages like those, and yes, you will feel scared! You'd think twice before pinging them!

Think about it, would you rather ping a person whose status says "Fairy Tales and Chocolate Cookies" or "is trying to go back to where it all began"? This is no offence to anyone, and both the above stated status  messages were your truly's at different points of her life! I am not saying putting statuses's like that is wrong or against the world order or messages like that will ring in the apocalypse or anything, all I am saying is, that well, they tend to scare people who really love you, and care about you. 

You have the freedom to put any status message you want, as long as it does not offend anyone, or ward off any random chat seekers like me! I would still reiterate my point that I really don't mind reading all those messages, you may have written them in absolute fury, but they actually seem quite funny to the people who read them. In-fact the status messages that I write when I am superbly pissed with something\someone make good jokes when I am simply being me.

 I believe it's the growing heat that is messing up people's heads, and making them HOT! Which in turn is manifesting itself in the form of those scary and dangerous status messages!!

On other news Sheelaism is growing, and growing pretty well,I  must say to the utter dismay of the hangover man. Who, by the way, claims I have misquoted him, and I duly apologize. We have named our new Microwave Sheela, and he has taken to calling us blasphemers, yes, I know one day he will wake up to the truth that is Sheela.

So until next time, it's TOODLES!!

Wednesday 2 March 2011

SHEELAISM by SAINT BUSHY HAIR!

For most people who know her she is a kind looking ( yes, notice the word LOOKING) girl with a psychedelic choice in phone covers, but for others like me, who know her a little more than most people, she’s a little off the road normally taken. Well, on a cloudy day, after her TOPA moot she decided to embrace ‘Sheelaism”, and become SAINT Bushy Hair. For all the losers who do not know what SHEELA is, it is SHEELA from SHEELA KI JAWANI, from the very sasta movie Tees Maar Khan, but all this is not what this post is about!
This post is devoted entirely to the philosophy that is Sheela. As Bushy says, it is more than a song, Sheela Ki Jawani has a deeper meaning. It is a Bhajan, yes, people she even sings like a bhajan, so, if you catch her singing it, don’t be surprised.
Bushy says, there is Sheela in everybody, yes, that is why the lyrics, WHAT’s MY NAME? WHAT’s MY NAME? and you must find and embrace the Sheela in you. The song is the ultimate expression of feminism. And there is no specific dress code for the religion, or cult (whatever you choose to call it) yes, ladies and gentlemen, this interpretation flows directly from the line “I am too sexy for you” that translates to “I am whatever I am and I have self-respect for myself, and I don’t need you to tell me what I am and what I am not.”
When you are actually writing about a belief, it’s always prudent to give the two sides of the coin. Here’s a warm welcome to our other expert in this matter, “Hangover Man”, he simply disagrees with Bushy. He says, while sitting on the breakfast table, the song is an expression of Carnal Desire. Well, this made a bystander (bysitter?) quip, “Goddess of Carnal Desire”? Well, think about it folks!!
Yes, listen to this song again, find the inner meaning in it. Respect the belief, respect the Sheela in you, and most importantly, RESPECT YOURSELF!! So now its time for me to go wake up Saint Bushy Hair from her sleep so she can indulge in her evening rites. SHEELA!

Wednesday 16 February 2011

Technologically challenged!!

Like the Cable guy in my grand parent's house, all electric appliances around me seem to hate me! Yeah my Music players, my phones, my pendrives, my Cameras, my Laptops, my hair driers and my biggest enemy, MICROSOFT WORD. Yes, Bitches ( you know who you are) I can hear you snigger already!

Here's an example of what happened very recently, we bought the VSFC jerseys, and decided to take photos in the mess with all the players, it was good fun, and I took some great shots! We come back to the Hostel, and another funny photo session ensued. After that I promptly run downstairs to Shraddha's room to get the USB, and after attaching the USB to my Laptop, I click to open the folder, an MS word which says the following, pops up!

"HAHAHAHA I AM VIRUS 'SOME CHINESE SOUNDING NAME', F*** YOU, ALL YOUR PHOTOS ARE GONE, HAHAHAHAHAHA!"

Yes, it took me a full 5 minutes to figure out that all my photos were actually deleted, sucks right? Temme about it! My bad luck with multiple I pods, has resulted in my dad finally buying me a PHILLIPS MP3 player, this thankfully has last the longest till now. True Story.

All the 'GIZMO'TIC people in my class who talk torrents, incriptions, proxies, and other complicated stuff, scare the living daylights out of me! Makes me wonder, was I dead when they taught technology in school? Maybe, 'cause people say knowing shortcuts in MS WORD is common sense? how in the freaking hell can it be common sense? Sorry, I don't think so.

Surprisingly the only electronic thing that has not caused me any trouble till now is my blog, now I really don't want to explain why a blog qualifies as a technology, but, for the sake of some of my readers, who love to argue with me, here's how

LAPTOP =TECHNOLOGY

So anything that comes with a computer is a technology! My efforts to format my memo are to my friends as entertaining as probably watching RUSSELL PETERS on TV, yes, how they enjoy spreading the tales of my incapability to remove an underline to everyone the FREAKING see!! True Story, again! That Saturday morning is one I'd kill to forget!

It's like wherever I step electrical things are either dying or bursting into life. It's like when I am around, they have to show their displeasure in extremely dangerous ways! I mean like that time, where the elevator doors almost killed me, yes, they guard actually said, Madam they hardly ever close! Yes, it's me, I am more convinced than ever now!!

But then being the SUPER TECH wiz can also get very annoying to people around you, yeah like LAN clogging, and stuff like, however I choose not to comment on things I dunno about!

Also on the point of blogs, my college, now has its own version of Gossip Girl who has something to say about everything from teachers to students to the MESS WAR! It's all in good fun and makes for a good read and you can read it here. So carrying on the GG spirit its me Sneha signing off,

YOU KNOW YOU LOVE ME,

XOXO!

Saturday 5 February 2011

Cadby's ( I don't remember how it's spelt!)

Firstly I'd like to thank Roshni for telling me about this place, and more importantly the CHOCOLATE SHOT! Yes, it's mindblowing!!

So on a Wednesday evening Aditi and I set out to the city, and on the way decided to check out this place. It's on B-Road just off Children's Park are, hidden in a little lane full of computer shops. It's just next to the big DELL poster.

A walk through the glass doors reveals a nicely done up place. It has two floors, you can place your order and decide to sit either on the ground or upstairs. As we saw the menu, Aditi and I let out a gasp of  happiness ( ok can you gasp with happiness? No idea), there was chocolate everything! There was a section of food, a cadbys section, a thick shakes section and of course there were ice creams!

Food included the usual Pizzas, burgers, pastas and Sandwiches. Not a big range but you do have a choice. The thing that caught my eye was the CHOCOLATE SANDWICH and the CHOCOLATE GRILLED SANDWICH! However, as we were sure that this was only one of the many trips we would be making to this place, Aditi and I decided to order a Pizza. Imagine our surprise that when we ordered the lady at the counter said that there was a buy a pizza get one free offer! For two super hungry people that came as a welcome surprise. The Pizza was alright for the price, and it was pretty nicely flavored. Zara, who went there today says that the Special Garlic bread was awesome, and she suggest Chocolate CadB and White CabB.

We ordered the food, and went up the meandering stairs, and Lo and behold!there were big squishy and colorful bean bags and cute little chairs shaped like leaves and bright red flowers! I almost screamed in delight! I quickly settled myself in the squishiest and the biggest beanie. Yes, that was satisfaction. Sadly our delight was only momentary as we were soon joined by the Jodhpur version of Romeo and Juliet, and we quietly made our way down the spiral staircase.

You have to try the Cadby shakes, they are normal shakes but made with real cadbury! Yes, you can actually taste the Cadbury! There are various flavors like Hazel nut, Almond, Snicker Bar, Mint, etc. Aditi ordered a Hazel Nut Cadby and I went in for a Snicker Bar Cadby, and they were BRILLIANT! Nicely made, and very very very chocolatey.

There were other things like thick shakes of different flavors like strawberry chocolate, Coconut and White Chocolate, I think there was Kiwi and Chocolate, or maybe that was Passion Fruit. 

Now coming to my favorite thing of the evening, and believe me, all chocoholics out there, YOU HAVE TO TRY this : The much famed, chocolate shot. Comes in two variants the normal chocolate shot and the Ferrero shot, yes it does taste like Ferrero! To Chocolate!

You can also buy pretty chocolates there, and give them away as gifts, like we did! They come wrapped in really cute packets, and range from anywhere between 100 bucks to 120 bucks.

The overall experience was good, the ambiance was decent also.  We thought the order could have come faster considering it was self service and all. Maybe the time will improve as time passes by.The bill was really really low, came upto a 100 per person, true! The chocolate shakes and the Cadbys come in variants to small medium and large, you can choose whatever fits your tummy or your pocket! Your choice!! Go there if you like chocolate, go there if you are bored of the other regular NLU-haunts, and lastly go there if you are ABSOLUTELY JOBLESS!!

BURRRP!!!!!!

Monday 24 January 2011

Pritha Chatterjee!!!!! (Isn't that enough?)

I have just realised that my blog would have been incomplete without a post on this preposterously funny individual. She has tried and tested my patience many a time.You might have come across her name in many of my earlier posts. She makes my day go by in NLU. She has shocked and surprised me. She makes me  want to pull my ears off my head. She can have me going from LOW to Extremely HIGH in a few seconds ( though she does know a bit or two about being high, herself! )  She has in innate gift for cracking the most unimaginable sastaas ever! Yes, I am talking about the ever-present, and very loud PRITHA CHATTERJEE!

She is among other things an assiduous student, and I am a big fan of her mooting skills.She is a lovely person and yeah I think I have praised her enough. Her other 'skills' shall be explained and analysed in this very delayed post. The limelight lover that she is, Pritha sits right in, what can be called, the MIDDLE OF THE CLASS. Yes, a perfect place to sit, observe and comment on every single thing that happens in class. Her jokes range from plain dumb, to really cheap and very very perverted. Her jokes have our very dear Yum, shaking her head in frustration!

Last semester, Aditi came up for the reason for or rather came up with the medicinal term for Pritha's condition, yes ladies and gentleman it's Prithaeria. Symptoms range from yelling loudly in class, feeling the sudden need to crack lame jokes, and being being very very narcissistic and you also you may have sudden uncontrollable urges to sing loudly, yes, wherever you are. You might also have more than a few tongue in cheek moments, like the whole "necessity is the mother of invention............................................" incident. Prithaeria spread like wild fire and people went from stage one to stage five in a matter of days! We even had one casualty! and slowly Pritha became the official sastaa queen of NLUJ2013!

She plans on marrying the Oxford educated Bhilaval Bhutto, yes anyone who knows of anyway to contact the poor man, can contact me!

She thinks she's perfect, (she's almost, but we don't tell her that!) and calls herself 10 on 10! Her FB profile pictures are legendary, yes the person photographing her will forever have tales of her radiance, her awesome photogenic face, and most importantly the number of times that poor soul had to take her photos to get that one "PERFECT 10 on 10" shot! There are times when she can make you feel 'uncomfortable', yes she's very gifted in that sense too. Ask a few people in our very large class!

I have complete faith in her that she'll become one of India's best lawyers, but then again the SCC will want to quote all her sastaas, and our already miles long judgements will become longer, and Pritha Chatterjee will be quoted in moot courts and real courts across India. Yes, the Bong Bomb, who supposedly looks like a Bengali Actress will be remembered forever, her sastaas will outlive her! Yes, yes everything about Pritha is a loud, noisy and very striking affair whether its her voice or her crazy imagination. Love you Chatt, thanks for all the awesome times, and I am sure we shall have many many more!

Signing off,
Sneha.

Thursday 20 January 2011

"Guess what?"

A rumor they say is like a baby. It is generally conceived in a moment of heated passion, and cared and cultivated slowly. Everybody loves it and everybody has something to add to it. It is often very hard to actually get to the root of the rumor, nope, you can never find that one person who first planted it. Nope, not ever!

Maybe the first rumor was way back in the Stone Ages when a caveman's mother saw her husband's mate ( well this was before the institution of marriage, remember? ) looking at another hairy and 'handsome' ( yes, back then people actually did want hair on their body!) caveman, and spread the first rumor about,well, adultery. Yeah well, it could have actually happened. Yes back then in the Stone Ages a rumor was born in the pointing and grunting language of the stone people! 

As man evolved rumors also evolved with man. The earliest instances of rumors I have read about was in the Mughal era. In this really nice book I am reading. Shah Jahan's (yes its that dude who built the Taj for his dead wife, only) younger daughter Roshanara spreads a pretty disgusting rumor that her sister, Jahanara is sleeping with their dad, after her mum passed away! But yeah later in the book the little bitch gets what she deserves! But yeah think of it the atmosphere back then was PERFECTO for making and spreading rumors about well, heated moments of passion!

 You are a princess, young and bored, forced to stay with women all day, despite the fact that there are soo many hot dudes around you, I mean you can 'hear' them, hear about them, but you cannot see them! wow! So what do you do? All have time to do is sit around the whole day bitching about your elder sister. Yes, that skank, fathers favorite, everyone loves her! Jealous as you are, you just pop a few coins to a few eunuchs ( who are by the way pretty good at keeping their trap shut! more out of fear than anything else, I am sure) and ask them to stalk your sister who is obviously prettier and has more clout than you, when that does not work you resort to paying the eunuchs more and SPREADING what can be termed as the most DISGUSTING rumor of the Mughal Era.

As the society evolved rumor became more and more sophisticated and slowly there emerged a species of rumor called well, we all know it, GOSSIP! Just a minor difference, gossip is generally exaggerated  truth, and rumors are generally make belief. People slowly starting making a living out of well spreading gossip and rumor how else do you explain shows like TMZ? or channels like ZOOM and ZING? These days anyone with access to an internet connection can start a rumor. 

The recent rumor about Facebook shutting down in March sent the world wide web into a frenzy, I am sure when THAT does happen, all the stock markets in the world will CRASH! All hail Zuckerberg. You can read about it here! I found whole websites dedicated to analyzing rumors about Iphones ( welcome to the era of the muchly suppressed NERD!)! 

I guess rumors about gadgets is the new 'in thing', and rumors about filmstars are passe, yeah just like animal prints ( are they? not if you look around in our college! more on that later.). Movie stars these days are as public as you can get! Case in point : Koffee with Karan. They spread rumors about themselves, leaving common people like us to get all excited about, yeah well the IPHONE revolution ( Geek revolution is well and truly on!). Don't believe me? Google 'rumor'.

I am stuck within this 50 acres of land with 600 other supremely bored young adults like myself. The line here between gossip and rumor here is probably the thinnest in the world. What you see is what you spread, well not really. Everything has to be analysed and debated upon in the halls of living, in the mess, in the acad block ( I refuse to call it Halls of learning), in Cool Palace, Hans and Sweet Dreamland. The tales of a drunken friday night at Geoffreys are generally well documented for the whole college to know byMonday morning ( burrp! actually Saturday evening)! True Story. Ask. well, anyone.

Who's seeing whom, who went with whom to Pushkar, which is the latest catfight,who beat up who where? who 'likes' whom? who's a bitch and whos a snitch and my recent favorite, who's wearing what?? Which teacher is doing what to which teacher (lol!) , the list is endless. You make two of us sit in the mess, give us a cup of hot steaming coffee and we'll give you loadsa rumors ( or Gossip, or wadeva!). It generally starts with "You'll never believe what I heard/saw" or "Oh my God! Guess what happened?" and ends with "too much no?" or "I never thought that chick/dude was capable of doing THAT!". Ask anyone here they'' all say it's true.  Tried and tested.

So next time you hear a rumor, think twice, examine it and dissect it and try to get to the actual truth behind it all. Or maybe not. Just hear it and LEAVE IT BE.





Sunday 16 January 2011

Dunno what to call it.

"India is a puzzle.", said the grey eyed Professor Smith, as he quietly sipped the glass of scotch my grandad poured out for him. His face had the look of someone who had not only visited India, but also bothered to get away from the 5 Star Hotels and explore the 'real' India. "It makes you love it, but at the same time, you realise  it's not perfect." That day sitting in the living room of my house in DD colony, Hyderabad I realised how true he was.And how privileged I am.

The very next day, when I went to my usual teatime hang out spot outside the CAT with Edward, Anwar bhai, the magnanimous Naan wallah observed,"Indian mein na kuch bhi ho saktha hain, humari Dubai mein bahut strict hain loga". He claims to be a descendant of the Nizam. As he says to everyone who bothers to listen, his mother was the last Nizams concubine and he was born in Dubai. Yes readers, you might be all fascinated, but you roam around Charminar, you will find at least 10 more men like Anwar bhai. True Story.

My country scares me. It makes me think. I feel disgusted, at the same time I feel proud of being an Indian. The diversity is gut wrenching. Just the sight of a little boy begging near a big mall tell you a story. I have tasted champagne a bottle of which costs anywhere from 3000 rupees to well, I even saw a 90000 rupees worth champagne. There are millions of people who do not make that much money in a year in this country. 
Human Rights activists have maids to clean their house, and cooks to cook their food. 

The diversity is not limited to the economy. People in the North would not know what's  an Appam. I din't know what Bhujia was till I came to Jodhpur. I don't get what people mean when they say "I want to see real India.". Dude, you have landed in India, and so you are in real India, as opposed to a 'fake' India. DLF Promenade in Delhi is as much a part of India, as Lepakshi is. People still think India is full of snake charmers and old men with big black moustaches!Golly!

Yes, as I told my Lebanese neighbor in  the bus journey to Jodhpur, we speak Hindi not India. He wanted to know what water is called in 'Indian'. Whether it's in the bylanes of Charminar or in the Second Class compartment in the Rajdhani Express, Indians are Indians. We care. One day during my internship I was sick, and the next day I went back to have chai in Anwar Bhai's shop he gave me free 'Paya', and not chai. I can never forget the Assamese family who totally helped me stay calm in the much delayed train to Delhi. I was even offered a house to stay the night in. Yep, all cause my Gran got all senti and asked that lady to 'keep an
eye' on yours truly who was travelling alone in a train for the first time. Well, if the decree passed by Ammamma stays it could well have been my last train journey alone!

As we have all read in second grade there is unity in diversity in India. If some work does not get done over the table, whether we are from Banjara Hills or Siatafalmandi, we all look 'under the table'. Fat uncles (whether rich or poor, south Indian or North Indian) all over the country gyrated to the beats of Sheela and Munni and oh yeah, Justin Bieber on the New years night! And when New Year dawns we call our friendly neighborhood Astrologer, or go to the nearby Baba or attend the midnight mass or go to the mosque, Gurudwara, temple, etc.

Try as much as you can, you NRIs, you can never run away from your heritage. Nope not the fake accent, nor the fake Gucci sunglasses, or the cheap Christian Louboutins and not even the "Oh my God! my baby will not survive in India" can make you look non-Indian. No amount of hand sanitizer will rub away the Indian-ness, that is inherently there in you. You will still have to fight the urge not to litter and not to employ household help. Gotcha! 

We have all types here, the watchers, the hopers, the 'live'-ers and the prayers. Each group with it's own attitude and own beliefs. The guitar players and the Sitar players, the rappers and the classical singers, the pickle lickers and the Pizza eaters, the cheap roadside romeos and the hot suave college guys, the mountain climbers and the beach goers. 

I differ from what I said at the beginning of the post, My country does not scare me, it amazes and sometime amuses me!

P.S.- Another post which is a result of this never ending writer's block! 

Tuesday 4 January 2011

Bad Hair Day. Everyday.

I totally get Harry Potter's frustration about his unruly hair. The fact that his mop of unruly hair gets mentioned at least once in all the books is a great credit to the hair itself! Harry, I sympathize with you, I know how it feels to have hair with a head of it's own. No matter how much you comb it, wash it, condition it, and as the fancy shampoo advertisements go, "take care of it", it still does what it wants.

I have been blessed, as some say or cursed, as I say with thick, wavy and most importantly unmanageable South Indian hair. As far as hair stories go, my hair has a pretty long tale. As Ammamma fondly remembers I was born with a crop of hair, so my hair troubles began on 21st September, 1990 itself. For as long as I could remember I had short cropped hair. Yet, everyday before I left for school my mum used to literally sit me down and struggle for 10 minutes to get my hair to 'not stand up'. By the time I got down in school my hair was just as it was before my mum combed it. Then thanks to my mum's and Sharon Aunty's combined efforts I had shoulder length hair by the time I was in class 4. So I let it grow, and took great care of it, it slowly started listening to me. At some point in class 6 I had even got one of those Pushkar type hair extensions in HOT PINK, don't even ask! 

However then class 6 summer holidays happened, and I suddenly decided to get all serious about my place in the swim team, yeah yeah, hard to believe now, but I was pretty good then. Hajira Mam happened and all of a sudden I decided to crop my hair! Yep! My mum was aghast, my music teacher, well let's not even go there. She almost fainted when she saw me! But then I found it really nice and very convenient. Even then, my hair used to never ever listen to me. NEVER EVER.

So my short cropped hair continued for quite a long time, sometime in class 10 I decided to grow it back, much to my mom's and grandmom's great relief! By the time my tenth boards finished and I came back from our awesome trip to visit daddy in Shillong, my hair was as long as it was in 6th. Then my real problems started. My hair as I sadly realised has some kind of energy with which it made up its mind to not do what I want it to! For as long  as I could humanly remember I wore a tight braid to Junior College, sigh! 

When I realised I made it to NLU, another fear overtook me. HOW THE HELL WILL I MANAGE MY HAIR? To my relief I managed it pretty well the first semester. Back then my hair was this long unruly mess, full of tangles! The desert winds have made it even more indisciplined. So, as year 2011 dawned upon me I made a decision. I decided I'd get get my hair cut off it reaches only shoulder. Yes, Sharon aunty was shocked once again, when I walked upto her, determinedly and said, "Please Aunty 5 inches!". She smiled sheepishly and said "Ok, sit". And an hour later, I realised to my HORROR, that my hair might not reach into a ponytail, but then it did! So, I begin this year with  shoulder length, OK, a Lil more than shoulder length,Sharon aunty left it there for good measure. 

So here's to probably having less bad hair days this year. Then again I realized how much I miss my long and unruly mop!