20.

For once in my ENTIRE life, I have nothing to say.

Last night was perfect. The people. The jokes. OTR. The food. The drink.The song. The SURPRISE!

It totally caught me off guard, like totally! I still can' believe that now I actually own a guitar! And it's beautiful, the feeling and the guitar too. It's the feeling of getting something which you have wanted since you were a little kid. After many many many years of classical Carnatic music, it's time to do something different! But still Carnatic is still and will remain my first love.

If you thought the night of surprises ended, at 12'o clock, There was a football cake, yeah a Chocolate one looking exactly like a FOOTBALL! OMG! My room was done up with streamers and there were pretty blue balloons, and they put the guitar right on the bed, admist the balloons and infront of my blue wall, it was "Surreal....but nice." Oh yeah, and the card....AWESOME!

If turning 20 is like THAT, whoa! I'd not mind turning 20 everyday for the rest of my life!

Here's a heartfelt thanks to all my friends who made it awesome.

Thanks Zara, Thanks Sakshi, Thanks Saumya, Thanks Aditi, Thanks Geetay, Thanks Dubey,Thanks Kirti, Thanks Nandini,Thanks Foodie, Thanks Pritha, Thanks Nikita, Thanks Ramu, Thanks Sukanya. Thanks Preethi. Thanks Sandeep, Thanks Thara, Thanks Surya. Thanks Bharatendu, Thanks Shashank, Thanks Viru, Thanks Neo, Thanks Pari, Thanks Animesh, Thanks Aparna, Thanks Shreya and Thanks Ikron.

Waking up in the morning today, totally reminded me of my 12th Birthday, where there was confetti all over my room, and I woke up like an Egyptian Princess among all the decorations and the sparkly, shiny bits of paper. I could not have asked for a better last day of being a teen! Absolutely could not have!

19.

Analysis.Appraisal.Check.See.Write down. Inspect. Make Changes.

So what have I done in my 19th year of existence?

When I turned 19 last year, I wished for a miracle. I wanted something to happen to my life that would make me feel much better, make me forget the demons of the past.

I think, someone somewhere must have heard it. Something did happen. Ok. Maybe not a MIRACLE. It did have a profound effect on almost everything I did in college. Maybe I should say several things happened which made me happy.

Bah. December followed September. Got through those killer music exams. Practical was ok. The theory paper was ummm.... Results came out in Jan and Ammamma was the happiest. Thatha got me that Chocolate Ice cream which he generally gets. I came back to College. All was forgotten.

I come back to College. Lex La Liga happens. January was a lot of running around. Amar Sports.Bargain.McD.Burger.Auto.Back. A few times of those coupled with, Ikron fit to play. Ikron Sick. and a little bit of Dissolve or no Dissolve. We finally did play all the matches with the same team.

Come February. It was matches. classes. Tests. Partys. Coming back lates. Making new friends. Basically FUN times.

In April I bid farewell to the only senior in my whole educational career, I really looked upto and wanted to be like.

School closed in May. Planned to sit at home the whole time. Did just that in the holidays.

June was the root discovering trip and the Football WC. What a trip! What a WC. Spain did win. Villa was indeed awesome! The trip made me realise that yeah, I may not have all the family I want, but I do LOVE the family I have. Yes! the big group of boneheads who are exactly like how I am. And who like me exactly like how I am. Big.Clumsy.Retarded.

July came slowly and I found myself in College. As days progressed I was diagnosed with the Mid Life Crisis. 90210.Castle.White Collar. Fringe.Glee happened.

August. Nothing Happened. Mid Life Crisis continued.

That was in short my year. Oh yah Archu came to India, got me a few gifts sadly we did not get to meet.

If this year can be called special, It can be because of all the friends I made. This year was all about reaching out. It was about coming out of that little closet I hid myself in, after the second semester. Thanks Srishti. I don't know who else to thank. And as for the new friends I made I am sure you guys know who you all are. Thanks a bunch! Give yourself a pat on your backs, you deserve it for tolerating all the bullshit that generally happens around me. As for my NLU family, you guys are and will always remain the best, no one ever can replace you.

So much happened. And it's already time to turn 20. Sigh.

Cheers to the last day of me being a teen!

B.I.N

Like all great men he is known to the world by several names. Neo, Nimesh, Jha, Jha Sa, NimSa, etc. Like all great men he leaves his mark wherever he goes. You can like him or you can hate him, but, You cannot ignore him.

Neo gives life to his presentations. They are mere reflections of his highly celebrated personality.

Most people clean their rooms when they get back after the summers, not our Neo, he just shifts his saman into the nearest room he can find. Trust me.True Story.

You ask Neo his height and he says, "I am 6..5'6". Yeah, like Bond, James Bond. Only Neo is better.

Neo added life, colour, spice to our Pushkar trip. We just reached Pushkar, we were trying to find the Hotel.

Divya ( From inside the car): Bhaiyya! Punch Kula Road Kaha hain?

Neo( Inside the car): Bhaiyya! Bhaiyya! Laddoo kitne mein denge?

The world may be going to pieces, but Neo does this own thing! We decided to do things the Neo way this trip, and what a trip it turned out to be!

Only Neo can come up with words like "Chinese Nigger", and "Thai Nigger".Oh yeah, or Hyderabadi Biryani!  He is like the next Salman Khan  of India. In Little Italy he takes his shirt off, in the middle of lunch. He is said to have the third best body in college after Digvijay and Anshuman Bhaiyya!

When asked why he does what he does, Neo had this to say, " I like to make people laugh by doing shitty things".

He is a man of great tolerance, only he could have tolerated that one class every one else bunked. We all know the class and the time. He can come up with and excel at innovative games like, "Translate the hindi song into english and sing along!" Who can forget "Rock your body"!

Neo is a man of his word, when he says he will do something, he will do it. Like the time in Pushkar when he waddled through the rain water, and actually got the car. When we reached the hotel finally, he was heard saying this to himself, "Yes, I did it!". Yes, in the superhero style.

He is a man who had some great experiences in his life, yes I am talking about his other, hugely controversial trip to Pushkar, in a "tourist Taxi". Neo made friends in Pushkar too, like he "knows" the people in Cafe Enigma.

Neo was looking a little out of color one night in Pushkar,

Shashank- Are you ok?

Neo- I am not sure.

Shashank- Do you feel pukish?

Neo- No.

Shashank- Do u feel like vomiting?

Neo- No.

Sneha- Do you feel nauseated?

Neo- Yes.

That's our boy.

Neo empties the sugar bowl into his fruit porridge, and adds honey to it all and says, "Too sweet!". Neo has chocolate porridge for lunch. He is definitely credited for the discovery of the BHAGSU cake, which has now honorarily been named the NIMSA cake, after Neo.

If he chooses to take it Neo has a great career in advertising. He can come up with taglines like,
"No free French Fries, and say yes to Social responsibility".

His highly creative style of posing for photos can also make him the next hottest thing on the runways of Europe.

Neo has a unique style of playing CS. That's Counter Strike for all those bozos out there. He hides, and hides till everyone is dead and then goes around killing people. People are baffled at his talent to find new places to hide, in that same dust2 map!

Neo makes the world more colorful. Neo makes the earth go round. Neo completes our class.

Here's a trivia question,
What does Bin in Osama Bin Laden stand for?

Osama Believes in Nimesh Laden.

As the title of the post says, We Believe in Nimesh.
 Do you?

By:
G BIN Sneha BIN Sindhu

With much valued inputs from:
Zonun BIN Thara
Bharatendu BIN Agarwal a.k.a Yo BIN Daddy
Shashank BIN Amarnath
Divya BIN Sood.

and the man himself, Nimesh Jha. Respect.

Happy.Satisfied.Content.

In another parallel universe she is a long haired musician. She sings songs about the world at large, and the things dear to her. She sings for herself, she sings for the world, she sings when she is happy, and she sings when she is sad. In that same parallel universe, she drives a Candy Blue Beetle. She lives in the free spirited London of the 70's. The London where there is great music, good food, and people from all around. It was the place to be. It was the time when London became the Paris of the world.Oh yeah, and the fashion too.

Most evenings, she used to take long walks along the Thames to get away from those horrible power cuts. She used the time to come up with new music, strumming her guitar and singing to herself. London shined in the moon light too, as the plethora of night clubs lit up the city by night. She sang at the 'Red Moon', 3 nights a week. Those were the nights she looked forward to, it was when she met the hippies, the free thinkers, the intellectuals and Americans.

Every Friday she used to take the 2'o clock to Surrey to spend the weekends with her parents, and to simply get away from the busy London life.

In this universe she is a wavy haired law student, living 2000 miles away from home. She leaves home every January and goes back home in May. Then she leaves home every July and gets back in December. She is still unsure if the path that she has chosen for herself, many years ago, is the one that is right for her. Her life is caught between the fast paced big life of her city, and the slow life of the town she studies.

In a way, her university is like the London of the 70's, diverse people and diverse ideas. She writes when she is happy and she writes when she is sad. She writes about herself and about the world too. Unlike the London girl this one has hopes, fears and dreams. Dreams which she hopes will come true. She knows they will, like a few of them already have.

She is no guitar strumming, Thames walking musician but she sings too. Music makes her happy. She wants to learn the guitar and hopes that someday she will.

In many ways both the girls are alike, in many way they are different. In the parallel universe the Londoner does not have the plethora of friends the law student has. In the real universe the law student may not have all the family she wants but she loves the family she has. She may not get all the time to spend with her family but she makes the most of the time she does spend with them. The law student loves her friends. They are what she values the most. They make her world go round.

She may not live in London, she may not drive a Beetle, she may not know how to play the guitar, her life may not be perfect, but the girl in the real world is happy. Content. Satisfied.

Restaurant Review: Shivam Rooftop Restaurant

 The other day I was reading a food blog, and I figured, since I love food and writing I might as well just write a post about a restaurant. So one fine Friday evening Nidhi and I took the college bus to check out Shivam. This is my first attempt at something like this, so hope you enjoy it.

In old Jodhpur, near the Ghanta Ghar area, a few metres away from the famous Omelet,down a little winding is Shivam Paying Guest House. Look carefully, or you might just miss the place. There is a glass door welcoming you in. As you walk in you can't help notice the quaint yet warm atmosphere of the place. Your eyes invariably fall on that little board which says "Shivam Rooftop Restaurant, 4th and 5th Floor".

The climb up the four floors is a little hard, thanks to the huge steps and the low ceiling, tall ones out there "WATCH OUT!". Once there the view of Mehrangarh is amazing! You can also see a wide range of places from there including the Clock Tower, and also Umaid Palace. 

The best thing about the place was it was all done up in blue and had a very very holiday atmosphere. 

The menu is vegetarian, but has a lot of variety. We ordered Coffee. It was 'tres magnificient'. They gave it in a white mug with a blue design on it! The only other thing we ate were Nutella Pancakes. They were good, could have been better.Nidhi had Nutella Banana Pancakes, and from the look on her face, it was pretty obvious she Loved em.

  

The best part of the menu certainly looked like the breakfast. They have a continental breafast, which consists of Tea\Coffee, Egg to order, Butter toast and Banana Pancake. They had a wide range of Pancakes from chocolate to blueberry to banana. Their Italian is supposed to be quite good.

I would suggest this place for breakfast simply because of the sheer variety of things like Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich, and Muesli with fruit. I can also imagine watching the sunrise, sipping that coffee or eating a poached egg can only be treat to both your mouth and your eyes!

The staff are very friendly and this seems to be a favorite haunt of 'firangs'. The pricing is very very cheap, and the whole experience is very pleasant. Finding the place can be a little tricky but once you find it it's worth a try.

I ll be back once I find more to write about! Ciao :)