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

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!!

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!!